Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Rembrance ❯ Proulogue and Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne.

A/N: Okay, a new story from me. It's AU, obviously, and stays pretty close to the Escaflowne plot, except for a few things… anyway, I hope you like it.

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Prologue and Chapter 1

The young boy looked around. He knew that if he were seen, he'd be in such trouble. But, he decided that he'd risk it. It was such a nice spring day, and as our little friend was quite an adventurer, being locked up in a stuffy room doing lessons was not his idea of fun.

He was wearing a pair of khaki shorts, and a red short sleeved shirt. He had raven hair that flopped in his eyes, and brown eyes. He was five years of age, and proud of it. He stumbled over a rock, and then stood back up, looking at the clearing. In it stood a carriage, sleek, with a coat of arms the boy did not recognise. He sneaked over to it, when he noticed there was someone there. "What's your name?"

The girl sat in the carriage. The coachman and footman had left, they certainly weren't going to wait in the hot sun for their Lord and Lady. She was dressed as a Lady, a beautiful pale green dress, sparkling earrings, emerald ribbons running through her honey brown curls. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." She said properly, folding her hands. Oh how she wished to run around the beautiful gardens, to climb out of this horrible carriage, to explore.

The boy shrugged. "I'm not either." Which, in a way, was true. Of course, he knew his parents would make an exception for visiting nobility, like this young girl. "Why are you sitting in this carriage?" He prodded a butterfly which had landed on the door.

"I didn't come promptly to dinner, and when I did come, I wasn't properly dressed and washed. Mother says the servants can't handle me, so they'd have to take me with. I then am to stay in this carriage for the duration of this visit." The girl shifted.

"I'm in trouble too." The boy disclosed. "But it wasn't my fault!" He insisted. "It was my older brother's idea to go swimming instead of going to lessons"" He crossed his arms and scowled, but lost the effect when a butterfly landed on his nose.

The little girl giggled. "It's nice meeting you. I like you."

The boy made a face, but then grinned. "I like you too." He tried to open the door of the carriage. "Why won' it open?"

"Magic, silly. My mother's a sorceress, and so am I. That's why I'm here, none of their servants are able to defend themselves from my magic. Mother and I are equally powerful, but she's older so she knows more spells than I. She commanded the door to stay shut, and probably put a force field around the windows as well."

The boy frowned in thought. "Then why can't you just break the spell, if you're so powerful?"

The girl sighed. "Like I said, don't know the spell my mother used. Also, she used a command which is almost impossible to break. I'd have to be really powerful to break it."

The boy shrugged and climbed on the carriage. "That wasn't very nice." He then attempted to stick his arm through the window, but froze when it worked. "I can stick my hand through!"

"Probably because Mother set the spell only against me." The girl said properly, straightening her skirts. She was trying to ignore the feeling coming from the boy, the pulling feeling. Soon she sat up straight, someone was coming. "I think someone's coming. I've been here long enough, it isn't surprising."

"How long have you been here?"

"Two hours, but you have to go. Someone's coming, I'd say the footman and coachman." She straightened everything up. Please, you must go."

"I know they're coming." The boy said, scowling. And, looking at her, he leaned over, and let the pulling sensation have it's way with him as he kissed her.

The girl blushed. She had no idea who this boy was, but she still felt so strongly for him. And may it be that she was only five, it was her first kiss. Reaching around her neck, she unclasped a silver locket. "Here, take this."

The boy took the locket and fastened it around his neck. "Thanks, I'll always keep it with me." About to scamper off, he turned back towards her. "Bye, and I know I'll see you again." He ducked behind a bush, and was gone from sight.

The girl stared after him in the direction he had run. They may have only been five, but they had already connected with one another.

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"Father! I will not!" The young woman looked at the older man in front of her with indignation.

"And I say you shall." Lord Darren Haiken Kanzaki, of Corain crossed his arms.

"And I say I shall not. I am not to marry a man that I do not know. I have never met him, and I certainly do not love him." Lady Hitomi Marei Kanzaki folded her arms. The fifteen year-old girl had woken up that morning, expecting to visit her friend Yukari in the village, and receive her birthday greetings. But, instead of receiving greetings for her birthday, her father had announced her engagement.

"Daughter. You shall marry Sir Allen Schezar, Knight of the Heavens, of Astoria, and that is final. You are fifteen years old on this day, and I expect the preparations to begin for your wedding. This marriage has been made since the day you turned five, and you shall marry him."

Hitomi swirled around, her golden brown curls swinging out, her emerald eyes blazing. "Have I no say in who I marry? With whom I spend the rest of my days with, with whom I bear my children? I have never met Sir Allen. And, from what very little I know about him, he is eight years older than I am. Eight years is such a difference."

"Eight years is no difference. You are now a woman, and he is a man. You have been promised to each other for the last ten years, and on this day, the engagement has begun. In six months you shall be married in Astoria, and, on this day, the preparations begin."

Lady Malaika Aurora Kanzaki watched the argument between her husband and daughter. Though she believed the match would be for the best, Hitomi came a highly bred family with riches and honour, and Sir Allen also came from such a family, it was true that she understood her daughter's arguments. Sir Allen and Hitomi had never met, and they certainly weren't in love. Not to mention that there were eight years difference between the two. But then, as Malaika sadly recollected, most marriages between the noble class were not made for love, but for power. And as long as the woman was old enough to bear a child, and the man young enough to father a child, a marriage was approved. Her marriage had been a mixture. Raised in Astoria, near Corain, she had often spent time in the company of Darren, and slowly began falling in love with him. Her father had pounced on that, and had arranged for them to be married. When Malaika realised that Darren might not be the right one for her, it was too late. They were married on her sixteenth birthday, and Hitomi was born ten months later. One year following, Matthew was born. She and Darren were sealed forever, and soon Hitomi and Sir Allen would be.

"Father! I am not to marry him. I will not!"

Darren grabbed his daughter's sleeve. "If you don't marry Sir Allen, you shall wish you were dead. You will be at the altar if I must tie you up and carry you there."

Hitomi tried to free herself from his grasp, failing to do so. "I shall not! If I am truly a woman on this day, then I should be able to decide for my self, should I not? And I decide not to marry Sir Allen."

"So long as you live in this house, and I am your father, you are under my supervision and control, daughter. As an unmarried maiden, the Lord of your family is your guardian, and you must follow their orders. And this is an order: You shall marry Lord Allen."

"Then maybe I wish not to be part of this family." Hitomi said, turning her head away. "I-"

Darren grew red, and brought a hand up, slapping her with the back of his hand. "You dare to wish that! This is the most respected family in all of Corain, equal to the King of the country, if we had one. And you dare to wish to be part of another?"

Hitomi brought her hand up to where the mark on her cheek was. Tears filed her eyes, and Malaika felt instantly sorry for her daughter. "I do not care, Father. It is better to die and to have loved, then to die and never have loved. And die is what I will do if you send me to marry Sir Allen." In one movement, Hitomi freed her father's hands from her sleeve, and ran up the Main Stair, sobbing all the way.

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"How's the missus?" Aliya, Hitomi's handmaid, and friend, leaned in the doorframe.

Hitomi raised her head. She had ran straight to her hiding place; a small, never used room hidden behind a painting of her great-grandfather. She had made the entrance even safer, using her magic to create a password to let the enterer in. Only Aliya, Hitomi and Yukari knew the password, though Hitomi suspected that her mother knew it as well. She knew she looked a sight, her dress was a mess, wrinkled to an extent, and her face was blotchy from crying. She took a deep breath. "I'm all right, Aliya."

Aliya shook her head, and sat down on the bed that was in the room. "You can't fool me, Lady. There's talk around the entire estate, milady. You refusing Sir Allen's hand, and the fight between you and your father."

Hitomi hid her head in her hands. "Wonderful. Now I'll certainly be in more trouble, when the other Lords of the Council hear, and go to Father." She stood up. "I suppose I should make myself presentable. Yukari wanted to come and visit." Lady Yukari was a friend of Hitomi's, and the daughter of one of the Lesser Lords in Corain. In Corain, instead of having a King, there was a Council of Lords. There were seven Lords, and Coarain was made up of their lands. Lord Darren was the Highest Lord, for it was rumoured that e was a direct descendant of the Corain Royal Family, when there had been one. Not to mention that Lord Darren also held the most land, riches, and he had a pedigree that no one in Coarain could beat, including a princess as a great-grandmother, and a prince as a grandfather. He had also married Lady Malaika Rainsen of Astoria; where on the female side of her family ran the blood of the Atlantians. Not the Dragon-God People, with their wings, but just the Atlantian normal people, with their power and magic. Hitomi and Malaika bore the Seeing capabilities of the family, always carried on to the first-born girl, and Matthew and Hitomi had both inherited the other magical powers, as in Healing, Offensive Magic, Defensive Magic, and others. With Lord Darren as the Highest Lord, there were three Middle Lords, and three Lower Lords, one of which was Lord Mikah, Yukari's father.

Hitomi exited the room, making her way to her chambers, which consisted of a bath, a sitting room, a bedroom, a dressing room and a servant's room, where Aliya slept. Aliya hurried after her. "Milady, wait. I have orders from her ladyship to send you to her in the Drawing Room."

Hitomi turned around, and sighed. "Fine. Please hurry to Mother, and tell her that I am making myself presentable, and I shall come as soon as I am finished." With out waiting for an answer, Hitomi entered her bath, walking over to the sink. Turning on the water, she washed her face, and dried it, leaving the bathroom, and entering the dressing room.

The dressing room consisted of her vanity, and three wardrobes, each with different kinds of dresses. One was 'Formal', one was 'Respectable', and the other was 'Everyday'. And that was just for late spring and summer weather. She also had wardrobes for autumn, winter and early spring. There was also a chest of drawers, for under things, and a shelf with different kinds of boots and shoes. Different cloaks and hoods hung, as well as shawls and hats. A full-length mirror in the corner was for she to look into. Hitomi did so now.

At first glance, Hitomi was a beauty; there was no doubt about that. She had golden-brown hair to her shoulder blades, which curled, and small bangs over her forehead. Her skin was pale, except for her cheeks, which were rosy. Her eyes were a dazzling green, her lips a bright red, her nose not too small, but not too large either, in other words perfect. She had a sculpted body for a fifteen year-old, curves in the right places. And even though she didn't overflow from her dresses, she had enough bust to please a man, as her father would say. She was thin, with sculpted legs and a bottom. Her feet were delicate, as were her hands, with perfect nails, unblemished. The emerald green dress she wore was made to fit her perfectly. It had a square neckline, and flowing sleeves to her wrists, which were hidden behind lace, the same lace the neck was embroidered with. The skirt opened in the front to display light white fluffy lacy petticoats. The skirt swept the floor, hiding her delicate feet shoed in black flats with a diamond buckle. Hitomi fluffed out the skirts and sighed.

She was wearing her grandmother's pendant. Nana, or Ariadne as her rightful name was, was her mother's mother, and had died two years ago, leaving her red amulet and tarot cards in Hitomi's hands, right before she caught the illness that took her life. Hitomi treasured both, and always wore the amulet, keeping the tarot cards in a drawer in her secretary. Hitomi also had emerald and diamond earrings hanging from her ears, and an emerald and diamond chocker laced with silver threads around her throat. Her hair was pulled back with an emerald and silver comb. She might have looked wonderful, but she certainly didn't feel like it.

Realising that her mother was going to get angry if she didn't come soon, she left her chambers, and walked to the Drawing Room, wondering what her mother had in store for her.

* * *

Malaika watched her daughter enter the room. Though Malaika realised that freshening up a dress, or even possibly changing it, would never take almost half and hour, she decided to hold her tongue. Making an argument with her daughter would never help the situation at all. Hitomi stopped as she reached the middle of the room. "Sit." Malaika commanded.

Hitomi sat, turning around to face her mother. "You called?"

"Yes. You are fifteen today. You are at an age to marry. You need to marry a noble. And, your father and Sir Allen's father, Lord Schezar, met, when you were the age of five, and arranged the marriage. I do not expect that Sir Allen was notified before the arrangement was sealed, so you should not feel as if you are the only one to be pushed into this." She folded her hands over her lap.

Hitomi brought her eyes up to her mother. "I realise that. But we are eight years different, and I do not believe that marrying Sir Allen is the right decision for my future. I have never even met the man!"

"You have seen his portrait, and read about him. He is a Knight of the Heavens, and very trusted in Astoria. I see no problem with the marriage. He needs a wife and an heir, you need a husband. He is twenty-three years old, and not very many women are his age, and unmarried. Therefore he has to marry someone younger. And you should be glad that it's you. Many noble ladies would die to trade places with you."

Hitomi sat there, letting her mother's words run through her head. "Fine then, Mother!" She sprang up, not taking a care for her skirts. "If other ladies would die t trade places with me, then they shall! I have no desire to be forced into a marriage, which means nothing to me. " Turning on her heel, Hitomi ran from the room.

Malaika sat there, staring after her daughter. "What am I to do with her?"

"She's quite like you were, my dear. She's like a caged bird. You cannot just keep her shut up, send her to a man she doesn't love, and expect her to remain quiet about it. She needs her freedom, her choice of her life. It's her life, dear, and she's the one who has to live it."

Malaika looked up, and gasped when she saw a shadowy form of a young woman, about twenty-five years in age. "Mother…" she whispered.

Ariadne smiled. "Correct. Now, where is she?"

Malaika shook her head. "In her room, I suppose." Ariadne started to leave. "Wait, Mother! What are you doing here?" Ariadne was someone between living and dead. Not dead, but hanging on a very thin thread of life, one that almost broke quite often. It also allowed her to move through the realms of the living and the spiritual, and was rumoured to have been to the Mystic Moon. And though her body laid in a grave on the far corner of her estate, her spirit as a young woman roamed the worlds, and came, offering guidance and consolation when she was needed. And yes, this time she was needed.

"Offering guidance, like I normally do. This time my grand-daughter needs it." She stopped and turned around. "Oh, and Mali? Don't try to write this off as you going through the same thing. You knew Darren, and were friends, even if you grew to realise that it was a crush, and only friendship you thought of him. Hitomi will not be so lucky, I can see it. And, you have powers for a reason, so use them."

Malaika stood there, mouth open, as her mother left the room. Regaining her composure, she sat down, this time not bothering about frilling out her skirts as not to wrinkle them. "What ever did she mean?"

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Hitomi ran to her dressing room, and ripped off her dress. Standing in her under-things, Hitomi collapsed on a stool. Thoughts, thousand of different thoughts were running through her head, and Hitomi did not know what to do. She could marry Sir Allen, which she'd rather die than to do so, she could kill herself, something she also did not want to do, she could forsake her father on the eve of their wedding by refusing to marry Sir Allen in front of everyone, she could kill Sir Allen, another option she'd rather avoid, or she could- She stopped thinking and looked up, freezing as she recognised the face of her Grand-mother. "Nana."

Ariadne smiled. 'Correct my dear."

Hitomi grabbed the hem of her under-dress to wipe the tears from her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I felt that you needed guidance, and it looks as if I am right."

Hitomi gave a watery chuckle. "You're certainly right about that. I assume you heard?"

Ariadne nodded, wrapping her arms around the young girl. "I know you're hurting. So, tell me what's happening, in your words. I got to see your mother's view, and I want to hear yours."

Hitomi nodded. "First-may I wash my face?"

Ariadne laughed. "Of course, Hitomi, please wash your face, dry your tears, and pull on some dress, so you look at least a little bit presentable."

Hitomi frowned at her grandmother. "Nana, not you too."

Ariadne laughed. "No, honey, what I meant is that I don't think you should be parading around in your under-things. Just throw something over it."

"I assume that's okay then." Hitomi returned from washing her face, and reached into one of her wardrobes of Everyday clothing, searching for one of the simplest dresses she owned. Pale blue, it had a high neckline, short sleeves, and reached her mid calves. It was not a dress to be worn outside of the estate; her father had reprimanded her once. It was her playing dress, a dress she could get dirty in. Picking up her hairbrush, she began to brush through her hair.

Ariadne stood there, watching her. "You know, you're quite like your mother."

Hitomi whirled around. "Mother? Mother's so proper, so formal. I remember playing with her in the garden, chasing butterflies. And then, she changed. Everything had to be perfect, clean, and presentable. I miss how she used to be."

Ariadne shrugged. "It was her marriage that did that to her…she used to be as carefree and fun as you are. And then she started to be interested in your father. It was a crush, nothing serious, but it was too late. Ronius and Jaden had already decided on the marriage. You should have seen your mother before the wedding, so full of doubt, and not knowing what to do. Soon after they married, she had you, and then Matthew. Her fate was sealed. She still tried to be carefree, and fun. But soon the responsibilities of being married to a very important and strict man ran it's way, and she had to grow up."

Hitomi bowed her head. "And that's the reason I don't wish to marry Sir Allen. He has a rich estate, and is a very prominent figure in the Astorian court, but I do not want to be forced to be with him, to always be on my behaviour, and have the best manners. Never have time to myself. And most of all, I want to marry because I love him. Do you know? Yukari's to be wed to Amano, the First Son of Lord Heisen. They're getting married because they're in love, not because it's political. And I did not ask to have Lord Darren as my father. I meet foreign Royalty, and they treat me as if I were made of glass, as if I were a delicate thing that would break under the tiniest touch. Not to mention they're all cold, because I'm not a Princess."

"Would you rather be a Princess?" Ariadne asked slowly.

"Are you joking? Never! Princesses are weak things, that don't know how to do the simplest things. They can't ride a horse, they know nothing of swordsmanship-"

"Swordsmanship?" Ariadne looked at Hitomi skeptively. "Have you ever held a sword?"

Hitomi blushed. "Well, no, but I've watched Markus train the recruits and soldiers, and even though I'm not allowed to hold a sword, I learn by watching them."

Ariadne shook her head. "I see. So what do you want then, in life?"

"Love, true love, not being forced into a marriage. Freedom, being able to choose for myself what I wear, what I do. Happiness, with a man that loves me, to have a warm fire, and children, eventually. I want to be set free from the duties of a daughter of the House of Kanzaki, to be able to go and not worry for my family's reputation." Hitomi said, twirling. Ariadne watched her silently.

"You do realise that that is much to ask for."

Hitomi sighed, and sat down. "But is it really? To tell the truth, I do not think it is too much to ask for. Is love really that hard to find? Or to be happy? To be able to make my own choices?"

Ariadne watched her. "Unfortunately, in our world, yes. Not many marriages are for love, nowadays, and there's nothing I can do about it."

"But that's not fair. Love doesn't cost anything. I just wish there was something I could do."

"Follow your heart, and make your decision. My time is up, and I must go. Good luck." And Ariadne faded away.

"Bye Nana." And then it hit Hitomi. "That's it!"

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Going through her wardrobes, she searched out the few dresses she had made herself. They were peasants' clothes, and she used them when visiting the peasants. She also pulled on her mary-janes, knowing that she could run in them. Stripping, first came on the slip and petticoats, then the peasant under-dress, a long-sleeved white cotton dress to her ankles, followed by a dark brown overdress that had a lace-up bodice, and an apron. She grabbed the hood and cloak that went with it, tying her hair back with a ribbon. She fastened her amulet around her neck, stuck her tarot cards in an inside pocket, and grabbed the coins from inside her secretary, twenty Gold, fourteen Silver and thirty-four bronze. She grabbed a bag to put food in, and cloaking herself in spells, snuck down, and grabbed a loaf of bread, apples, a pitcher of milk, which she be spelled, and a bit of jerky. She was ready.

She snuck out the servant's entrance in the kitchen, and ran through the back to the edge of the woods. If her father was going to marry her off to some Knight she had never met, then she might as well run away. Looking back behind her, she slipped in through the trees, and was gone.

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Malaika sighed. It was late evening, and her daughter still hadn't come out of her room. Dinner was about to be served, a birthday dinner, and would be quite pointless without the birthday girl. Edna, the Head Housemistress looked pointedly at the empty place next to Malaika. "Aliya, go get her ladyship." Aliya looked up from her servant's place by the door. Normally the servants would serve the Family and their guests, and then leave, to eat their own dinner in the Servants' Dining Room. But, since it was a special occasion, all the servants were lined up by the walls of the Dining Chamber, and were awaiting the toast and the Congratulations to begin, so that afterwards they could have their own diner.

"No, Edna, I'll go find her." Malaika rose from the table, receiving a put out look from her husband, and a worried look from her son. Hurrying up the stairs, Malaika knocked on Hitomi's door, and opened it when no one answered. She searched the entire room, and found no sign of life. And then Malaika noticed Hitomi's bedside table. Her tarot cards were never moved from that spot, unless Hitomi took them somewhere, and she only did that when she was going on a journey. Malaika looked closer. The tarot cards were gone.

"Hitomi." Malaika whispered, the full situation hitting her. Hitomi had left, ran away, taking her tarot cards with her. And it didn't look like she was planning on coming back.

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Anyway, that was the first chapter. I'm working on the second chapter, and am about half way through. If anyone wants to beta, just tell me, and I'll be glad to have you do it. So, please review, and constructive criticism is very helpful.

-Jennie 9/24/02