Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Reflections Of The Heart ❯ Empty the Pocket ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2

The dinner had been less than palatable for our heroine; between watching the Princess bat her long lashes at her older brother and having to listen to political gossip and fashion designs that were newly spreading across Gaia, Celena felt the urge to scream grow ever more intense. Though the princess had tried to include her in her monologues, Celena could not bring herself to smiling while speaking, and found it increasingly difficult to be pleasant while downing more and more vino. Allen, who would have normally given her a look after three glasses, was happily downing more than he should himself- which, considering he got wobbly after two glasses, was not wise. In fact, when she looked around the table, she noticed that the only two who really seemed to be enjoying themselves were her Brother and Anna. Millerna kept squirming in her seat, trying to look cheerful but not completely successful in masking her desire to shove a dinner roll down her sweet cousin's throat while the redhead flirted away with her former love interest. Her husband, already in bad humor because he had to eat with Allen at his table without any vicious remarks being passed between himself and the knight, kept giving his wife meaningful looks and pouting when she ignored them. Eries, as promised, had vanished; when called upon to be informed of dinner by one of the maids, her window was found open, her things gone. All that had been left was a note saying,

"Sister dear, I'm going to save what sanity I have left while Anna's here, I'll write you if you promise not to send anyone to collect me. Maybe. Love, Eries"

After the discovery of the note, things had gone downhill. Though Anna looked a bit suspicious when Millerna had launched herself into a lengthy explanation of Erie's sudden pilgrimage being inspired by Atlantean knights and Priests who visited her in her dreams, the girl was soon jovial and laughing again, and yes, flirting with the heavenly knight. Celena made a mental note to help Millerna come up with more plausible lies, and tried to engage Dryden in light chatter. They found it nearly impossible, however, because Anna kept asking questions at random and one had to pretend that one was listening, else you could be considered rude. Celena had never seen someone so repulsively positive, and after about her third bottle of vino, she found her more and more less than enjoyable company. She made her excuses, gave Dryden a pitying look when he gave her the 'help me, for the love of the Gods' face, and ran out of the door as Anna began to launch herself into her thoughts on the costumes of Freid. Dryden, not to be outdone by Celena's quick escape, tried convincing his wife that they should be leaving as well, but Millerna, too wrapped up in her thoughts of Allen flirting with Anna, ignored him. He then resorted to leaning back in his chair, closing his eyes, and falling asleep to the ever vivacious, never-ending chatter of Anna, an occasional comment from Millerna, and the ever-rarer velvety voice that could only be accomplished by Allen Schezar.

Celena was beginning to realize- a little belatedly, unfortunately- that her borrowed high tolerance from Dilandau had waned over the months they'd been apart, and that she was having difficulty keeping the floor still, and the windows single. She made her way down the deserted hall slowly, praying desperately that Jajuka would not find her in this state. He'd already given her a lecture this evening about being kind to Anna and giving the princess a chance, but as far as Celena was concerned, the farther the princess was from her, the better. And watching her brother flirt with women always made her sick- she would be damned if any man tried to woo her into oblivion like Allen did to the court ladies. She scowled, realized she had passed her door four times already, and hurried in, paying respects to the toilet for a good twenty minutes. She decided that she should try to walk off whatever she hadn't given the porcelain as an offering, and washed thoroughly before going out for a walk in the gardens. If anything, to get out of the palace and out into the air where someone could think in piece and quiet.

She made a detour of the hall that led to the dining area of the King and Queen, and decided that she'd go through some of the halls that went out onto walkways and through breeze-ways. The more night air, the better. She walked for several minutes, encountering no one, and hearing only the distant echo of soldier's boots on stone, or the laughing voices of men off-duty. She was about to give up her lengthy though scenic route through the airways when she noticed a solitary figure on one of the balcony's, back to her and glowing in the moonlight. Unable to resist her curiosity, she stealthy crept over to the door, and peeked around the frame. Well, she *thought* she'd been stealthy, but as she watched him, he turned, and she got a good look at his face.

He was of fair complexion- hair as pale as Dilandau's, skin as white as the moonlight surrounding him. He was dressed in ceremonial-type clothes; a long cape and a tunic bearing strange markings being most prominent around his belt. His face itself was fine boned and fair, and the locks on either side of his head were wrapped in the same sort of fabric of his clothes. But, even as she looked upon him, Celena knew at once who- or at least, what- he was. A Magliss. Even without looking at his oddly pointed ears of his vibrant amethyst eyes, she knew him for what he was. She stepped out boldly, deciding to play the stupid female act to wheedle some information out of the mage. He, however, was one step ahead of her; he turned to face her completely and gave a half bow with his arm across his chest. His voice would have rivaled Allen's on a good day- luckily for Celena, the alcohol flowing through her veins made this less than a minor impact on her perception of him. He was handsome enough, if you liked tall, lanky men who happened to be part of a race that was threatening Gaia's safety. He gave a seductive smile that only made her think of her brother and snort in irritation.

"Lady Schezar, I am glad to meet you at last. I have heard much of you from many people; all say you are as witty and intelligent as you are beautiful. I can see that tales of your loveliness are-"

"Pathetic in number and overly-exaggerated by a Brother who would have only nice things spoken of his little sister. Who are you, and why are you here? I didn't think that the sorcerers had anything to do this far north, especially considering the recent fall of Asturia's sister country, Cyriell. You've got guts coming here when the Princess is being sheltered by Asturia. What brings you to these regions?" He seemed to have been impressed in that she'd decided to drop the 'simpering female' and speak her mind freely. He put up his hands in mock defeat, the drag-energist on his gloved catching the moonlight and winking back at her.

"I mean no offense, Lady, no offense! I am Mryth, captain of the Magliss and current ambassador of the United Southern Continent. I am here to speak with your King and Queen to give our sincerest apologies for the way in which we-"

"Overthrew the local governments? Massacred hundreds of people? Started another war-"

"The way we reorganized the government of Cyriell. The sorcerers want nothing more than peace, and the fleeing of the Princess made us realize we were a bit to ruthless in our pursuit of worldwide pacifism. I have come offering an alliance between Asturia and our people, and also to speak with the Princess Aurieallanna , to try to have her return to her rightful place on the throne of Cyriell." Celena didn't know whether or not to believe him, but one thing made her ears perk up a bit.

"Return the Princess to her throne? I thought the sorcerers wanted to have all the power for themselves. I was under the impression that your kind was responsible for wiping out cities that did not concur with the laws of the sorcerers. Are you telling me Anna left of her own free will, when all she had to do was bow to a few rules laid down by the sorcerers? Why don't I believe you?" He shrugged slightly, and pushed away some errant bangs.

"It is the truth. While I admit, there has been much blood shed in the past few months- too much, for our taste- we have not been the complete cause of this unrest. The southern continent was in turmoil for most of these past two and a half years after the fall of Dornkirk. While we admit that conditions are not perfect as of yet, our rule is trying to bring peace to the warring peoples, and we wish for a unified, prosperous country in which all may live in harmony. Many think the sorcerers are evil- I can see that you yourself are one of them- but, in fact, they are attempting to atone for the sins they made while under Zaibach's rule. I think that if you were to speak to the people, you would find them more at ease with a board of Sorcerers leading them then being forced to serve a mad genius. We, the Magliss, are trying to help the sorcerers create that better world for which they strive to achieve. You cannot berate us for that, my Lady." She was about to tell him many of the reasons why she thought he and his sorcerers could all go to shove their peace-proposition when a hand clamped her on the shoulder, and she looked up to see Dryden smiling grimly at Mryth.

"Mryth." The mage bowed low, giving a sort of salute.

"Your majesty."

"I believe that your rooms have been made ready, and that a dinner has been prepared for you, waiting in you room this very minute." The captain bowed again, saluted, and hurried off, taking note of his dismissal. Dryden scowled after him, then sighed, turning to her. "Do you believe anything he said?" She frowned, also unsure of what to say.

"I.. I don't know. He seems honest enough, and he seems to believe everything that he's saying, but... I don't trust the sorcerers, or their claims for peace. You can't forget everything they did, and forgive them for all they did when they claim they were under orders. I *remember* what they did to me and others, and I *know* they enjoyed doing their experiments. So, while it all sounds like peaches and cream, no, I don't believe him." Dryden nodded scholarly, scratching the back of his head in thought.

"I agree. I was going to ask my dear cousin-in-law about the circumstances in which she decided to flee, but I had to run before I started to fall asleep in my soup. I'll have to ask her tomorrow, or have Millerna bring it up. I don't know... Just watch him, Celena. I know he looks fairly weak, but you haven't seen the shadowgraphs of the towns that were destroyed. Magic is not to be taken lightly, and we've much to think on before we speak to him formally."

Mryth was the least of my concerns, however, those two weeks I stayed in the palace. Allen had taken it on himself to amuse the Princess, and, being one of the lucky people who didn't have anything to do, I got to go with them. Jajuka came too- I don't think he trusted me- not that I blamed him. There were several opportunities which I would have taken to run off, but Jajuka followed at my heels and gave me a look that said not to try anything while he was watching. So, I got to sulk behind Anna and Allen, who were having a perfectly wonderful time taking in the sites, shopping, and enjoying the other's company. I think I might've been able to walk the streets stark naked and Allen wouldn't have batted an eye- at least, not in my direction. And... well, I admit, the princess was endearing- in small doses. She seemed genuinely enthusiastic about making friends with me, and I suppose we came to an agreement of sorts. We both liked shopping, defying our elders, and getting what we wanted. We also both loathed the colour pink, so I knew she couldn't be *that* bad. So, while I didn't appreciate all the attention Allen was giving her, I did eventually begin to like her- though it wasn't until much later on that we truly became friends. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. At the time, I could see that they were both head over hills for each other, but I didn't approve at all. I tried bringing it up with Allen on one of the rare occasions that I found him without her, and our dialogue went something like this:

"Allen, you shouldn't get too attached to the Princess. She can't marry below her status, and besides, she'll be returning to her country when everything's sorted out, and you'd have to stay here because of your vows, and- ALLEN! Are you even remotely listening to me??"

" Hmm...? Oh, I'm sorry Celena. Of course, go ahead."

"You know, I was thinking abut running away, cross-dressing, getting a guymelef, and then coming back to pose as you so I could inherit the entire estate. Afterwards, I'd dye my hair bright orange and begin flying lessons with Van and Folken, all the while riding green horses. What do you think, Brother?"

"....Of, course, you must do what you think is best.... "

"..."

".....I can't believe he said that, you should tell Millerna..."

"I'm going to go kill the Princess, Allen."

"WHAT? Celena, what a vulgar thing for you to say! I won't stand for it, you have no manners and I wish you'd try to get along with her. She's just trying to be friends with you! Apologize immediately, then go to your room!"

"...Anna's calling you, Allen."

"Oh..? I'm coming, Anna! Goodnight, Celena."

"Goodnight Brother."

I knew that I'd either have to get out of there, or go mad, so I waited until I could get a private audience with Millerna and Dryden, minus Allen and Anna. Millerna seemed distressed over Allen's state of mind, Dryden just shook his head, though I secretly think he was trying not to burst out laughing. If I'd been him, I would have done it anyway, but no one ever said I was a lady with good manners. Millerna ended up pacing, which made the room tense and quiet.

"I don't know what to do. I love Anna with all my heart, but I think that if I have to listen to how things were different back home I think I'm going to throw her in the dungeon. And Allen will be posted out in the wilderness where there aren't any women to distract him from his job." Dryden simply snorted, which was better than me- I was laughing out loud, not caring if it was improper or not. The King walked up to his wife and gave her a smile that made her stop pacing, and said in a sincere tone,

"But Millerna, if Allen is away from his estate, what about Celena? She couldn't be forced to stay at home to take care of the place, now think." Millerna sat down in a huff and sighed, kicking her feet back and forth in frustration.

"I know... I just wish I knew what to do with them. It's driving me insane. But, if they're fated for one another, so be it. Though I'd hate to lose Allen to Cyriell..." We all sat in silence for a bit, then Millerna continued. "We'll just have to see how things play out- with the South being as it is, and everything else going on. I just wish that things would settle down for a bit, so that we could sort out these things one by one." She looked at me suddenly, as though for the first time that night. "You know, I've been so caught up in my own thoughts that I haven't really given much attention to you, Celena. I'm sorry to be such a horrible hostess, but..."

"But times are tough. I know what you mean, and I don't feel shunted or ignored, so don't worry. I've been too preoccupied to think about courtesy and all that nonsense." Millerna frowned sympathetically.

"I know, but it's still shameful. I mean, here I am, wallowing in my own misery, and you're going through the same thing, and neither of us can do anything about it." Dryden shook his head, chuckling.

"So what do you plan to do, sit around and mope some more? Highly effective, I'm sure. We can all sit around feeling sorry for ourselves and let the world continue on it's miserable little path of existence- I'm joking, ladies, don't give me that look." Millerna did the adult thing and stuck her tongue out at him in response, and he made to grab it, making her giggle and dart away. I began to worry that the conversation would degenerate into mushy nothings that would leave me the odd man out, when Millerna suddenly froze, a smile creeping over her mouth. She looked over at me with a gleam in her eyes that I didn't entirely trust, though Millerna was hardly a vindictive or evil-inclined individual.

"Celena... What would you say to doing some field work for me? It'll get you out of the castle, and give me something to think about while getting some valuable information. What do you say?" I looked at her warily.

"What do you have in mind?" Another evil grin on her part. Why did I have this sinking feeling that I was going to regret whatever it was?

"Oh, something I should have done long ago, but it just came to me... " I sighed, thinking, 'what the heck? I need to get away for a bit..'

"Alright then, Millerna. What do you want me to do?"

"Millerna, have you seen Celena? She seems to have run away.. again." Millerna looked up at the heavenly knight innocently, and gave him a slight smile.

"Have you lost track of your sister again, Allen? I'm sure she's fine; she's probably out shopping or something, you needn't worry." Allen ran his fingers through his hair irritably, not satisfied with this reply.

"Millerna, I haven't seen her for some time. Her or Jajuka, and you know he rarely leaves her side. Are you sure you haven't seen them?" Millerna gave him a look, and he flushed awkwardly, feeling guilty because the look was one of reproach, not the swooning gaze he was accustomed to receiving from women.

"Allen, how long is 'some time'?"

"Ummmm.... I really couldn't say, M'lady..."

"Well, I can. It's been exactly one week, three days, four hours, and twenty minutes. Shame on you for not paying the slightest bit of attention! You should be ashamed." He flushed first in embarrassment, then in anger.

"You knew where she was and you didn't tell me?? Why? Where has she gone?" Millerna airily waved her hand in a gesture that indicated she was around somewhere, then looked back at Allen, who was beginning to lose his natural calm look that kept his hair from frizzing. She smiled, and replied,

"Oh, you know I've been meaning to replace Ambassador Elskin ever since he retired last year. Celena wanted something to do, and seeing how she had a history..." Allen stared at her, open mouthed and appalled.

"You sent my little sister to Zaibach to be ambassador without consulting me?? How could you? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? Elskin retired-"

"Because Dilandau was complaining that he didn't do his job effectively, which he wasn't. I don't see why you're upset, Allen. Celena is quite capable of taking care of herself, and she is allowed to make her own decisions without you telling her what is and isn't acceptable. Besides, she's got Jajuka going with her, and, as you said, he never goes anywhere without her. Celena will be fine, I've all my faith in that. She is level headed and collected in all circumstances, which is more than can be said about you."

"But-"

"Now, that that's settled, let's move on to more serious matters. Namely, what on earth do you think you're doing with my dear cousin?"

**AN- Well? The first ch didn't turn out as I'd hoped, but I like this one better, I think. I've also run out of ideas for witty/catchy chapter titles, so any suggestions would be appreciated. As for Dilandau, Ummm.... he was mentioned, does that count? ^_^ Waii, don't worry minna-san, There will be enough of Dilly in these upcoming chapters that you'll have to make sure that your computers are non-flammable! ...That didn't make sense. Oh well. Oh, and to those I wrote to on a certain predicament concerning Dilly-chan, my solution is in the next ch! Thanks to all of you who helped me, I've taken a couple different ideas and mixed 'em up to come up with what I've got. Hope y'all like it, let me know by REVIEWING >hinthinthint< ~SLS~**