Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Shadow War ❯ Shadow War 2 ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

? It was around three in the morning when Selena stole out of the castle, using the servants’
corridors that ran through the back. She didn’t know where she was going or why, but moving
away from wherever she was seemed like a good idea. Dilandau whispered to her within the din
of her frayed mind, claiming all sorts of impossible things, reciting lines of military tactics,
holding a conversation with a dead friend. Her mind echoed back at him and herself at once,
making her believe there were three entities in her head.
Down a staircase, through the narrow hall, a left turn and another. Her sense of direction
had been shot down with the rest of her, leaving her lost even without a destination. She walked,
then ran, then walked a bit more. Fast or slow, speed, caution, speed, leisure. Was she running
from something? To something? She didn’t know. Tears dripped down her cheeks. Tears of joy?
Sorrow? It made no sense. Why was she running, anyway? To where? From where? For what?
Oh, so many unanswered questions. ::You in there,:: she thought hopelessly to the other within
her head. ::Help me, hold me. Show me the way:: Dilandau hissed back something about a
pendant and seeing what could not be seen with sight. He could not help her.
Fresh air, cool and crisp flew against her face. She had made it outside. ::When did I get
out?:: she pondered with great concentration. ::Was I ever in? In where?:: It all seemed
completely muddled. Dilandau piqued to attention as the fresh scent of plants and night air struck
him through her mind. ::Run, run:: he told her. ::Run or the Dragon will get you! He’s here with
his sword, coming to cut you. Cut us:: there was a long pause filled with meandering thoughts of
her own, uncomprehensible. Then he spoke again. ::His hair is raven dark, eyes warm brown, too
warm. Hot eyes, dangerous. The dragon.. .:: So she ran, flying over the grassy landscape, a
trained runner, taking from Dilandau’s training, fleeing toward the snow.
The steep mountain trail cut her feet, stiff plants scraping against her bare ankles, where
the nightshirt did not reach. There were some trees along the path, gnarled but heavy with leaves,
casting pitch black shadows in her wake. She jumped over the shadows, lest they gobble her up.
She ran for hours, chest heaving, throat tight and legs aching, until she reached the tree line. She
slowed a little as the path turned from gravelly dirt to cold snow, allowing herself a slower pace
to avoid slipping. The wan sun peeked over the far horizon, sending a misting of grey light over
the path. As the sun reached out with yellow orange rays, Selena was at the mountain’s summit.
Wind whipped around the barren top plateau, smoothing the snow over as it created
flurries that made it hard to see ahead. Dilandau was quiet now, sleeping uneasily within her. He
had been awake for several days, giving her no rest until now. Running into the night, confusion
making his blood sing within imaginary veins, made him concede to rest. Even though he
technically did not need sleep, the habit carried over from his earlier life. As he receded into the
background, reality came crashing down on Selena instantly. Thoughts that were fragmented
when Dilandau was at the forefront came together, their clarity sharp. Thoughts crystalized
reality returned with such magnitude that it made her dizzy. She looked down at her torn
nightclothes, scratched ankles and deeply cut feet, realizing her error in leaving the castle. There
was an instant urge to rail at Dilandau for forcing her out, but part of her knew it wasn’t just him.
She was messed up beyond repair it seemed and she finally knew it. Allen tried to help, the
doctors tried to help, everyone tried. It was no good, she was stuck.
She fell to her knees heavily, hands clutching at the snow beneath them as the cold
wetness soaked into her night gown, wetting her bleeding legs. “Help me. . .” she said, a dry
whisper on the frozen plateau.
The wind howled around her and the snow beat itself against her, but no answer came to
her. It was a silent doom and she did not know how to escape. For the rest of her life she would
be someone else, and no one else at the same time. She would go crazy, if she wasn’t already,
and unwillingly torture the brother she loved so dearly. She could feel the helpless yell of anguish
working up through her throat.
She took a few quick, deep breaths, feeling angry and depressed and utterly at the mercy
of everything and everyone. “Help me!!” She howled, to the wind, to the snow, to the sky.
“Damn you, whoever you are! Help me!!” Sobs and wails lifted skyward as she tilted her hear to
stare at the grey sky above; it wasn’t even blue. “Someone help me! I beg you, please!! I can’t
live like this! There’s two of me inside. I just want to be Selena Schezar! Free me from this. Kill
me! I don’t care. Just. . .please. . .”
In the grey sky high above where she sat, more miserable than she had ever been, a light
sparkled for an instant, then was gone. Her eye caught is as it twinkled a second time, turning to a
constant shimmer before seeming to explode downward, landing in front of her. The ground
shook at the impact, but did not disturb the snow. Selena watched in fascination as it spread
outward from a single strand, until the magenta colored light covered a circle of about three feet
diameter.
Then as quickly as it had come, the light faded, leaving behind a slight glow on the being
curled on its side in the center. Selena leaned forward to see what it was. A girl, nothing more,
nothing less, lay before her. Plain, was the first word that came to mind. The girl was not
strikingly beautiful, nor was she ugly. Her hair was long and dark, tied back with a band at the
nape of her neck. With skin several shades darker than herself, Selena guessed she was foreign.
The girl’s clothes made that apparent beyond doubt: loose black pants and a long sleeved green
shirt with complex, fire colored patterns swirling around the cuffs and neck.
At first Selena was at a complete loss. One moment she was railing at whatever would
listen for permanent peace and quiet inside her own head, the next she was staring at a strange
girl who had fallen from the sky. ::The Gods have lousy jokes, ne?:: Dilandau chuckled drowsily,
disappearing from her thoughts as silently as he had come.
Selena looked at the odd arrival for several minutes after that, pondering her connection to
her own situation. All in all Selena thought she looked quite harmless, incapable of saving her
from whatever hardship lay ahead. ::Hitomi. . .:: Allen had mentioned her on more than one
occasion as ‘The girl from the Mystic Moon,’ and ‘The card reader,’. Could this girl be of a
similar caliber? Did she hold the key to her salvation? Or was she a cruel joke wrought by some
higher force? Selena didn’t know, but she had to admit that when she asked for help, this time,
there was not utter silence. “She holds the key,” she said out loud, even though her main
audience was the sleeping soldier in her mind. Dilandau let out no indication he heard her, but he
subconsciously felt his prison shrink around him.