Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Shadow War ❯ Shadow War 14 ( Chapter 14 )

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

?Author: Ari

E-Mail: RedYume@aol.com

Notes: FINALLY, I'm back writing this story. It has been on the shelf fr so long, and I feel so
badly about that! To Anyone who has managed not t forget it in all that time- thank you. To those
just discovering it, welcome and thank you! Sorry if it seems rougher than the other chapters, I
am without a beta at the moment and have only reread it myself. If you see any glaring errors,
feel free to tell me. No sense in letting them go unpunished! I am already writing the next chapter
so you won't have to wait long for it! Feedback ALWAYS appreciated.

With a stifled cry, consciousness rushed back to Aristae with a chilling shudder. Bubbles
scrambled desperately to the surface as she lay motionless in the inky darkness, edged in the gold
of faint torchlight from above. ::I'm in the moat:: She thought anxiously, jerking her body toward
the surface.
As she broke above the darkness of the water she took a deep shivery breath. The water
was extremely cold and her body felt stiff and unresponsive as she tried to keep afloat.
"Se-Selena?", she said quietly, unsure of whether she really wanted to hear a response from the
monestrous girl.
She was greeted with absolute silence, save for the soft crackle of torches high above and
the soft swirl of water around her. She blinked the icy water away, looking around slowly,
"Selena?"
Again, she was greeted with no response.
She lifted her head high, looking to a parapet where she could barely see the top of a
night guard's head. She took a deep breath and lifted herself as far from the water as she was
able. She opened her mouth to yell for help but a hard pull on her leg cut her short.
Water filled her open mouth as she was dragged back under with surprising force. She
had found Selena, and she wasn't done with the chase just yet. Aristae began to kick fiercely
against the heavy pull on her leg, screaming into the water as she tried to claw back to the top.
Beneath her, Selena swam away from the surface, pulling Aristae with her by the ankle. Selena
added a second hand to grip with the first, kicking back against her as she descended into the
black depths.
As the surface fell away, so did the panic in Aristae's heart. A strange sense of absolute
peace settled in its place, which was almost as disconcerting as the prospect of death. ::I am not
afraid:: Aristae thought calmly. ::I no longer give you that power::.
As if struck by lightning, Selena froze in the water, looking up at Aristae in absolute
terror. Her cold green eyes shone wide and bright in the darkness, framed by illuminated wisps of
her champagne hair. The thought echoed in Selena's head, bouncing off the confines of the
burning field and the black abyss, "I no longer give you that power."
Against the instinct to fight for air, Aristae reversed her direction in the water, catching
Selena by the arm and pulling her into a tight embrace. ::THIS... IS... OVER::




A blast of arctic air whipped across the burning field of Selena's mind, silencing the
roaring flames in a single gust. They hung there, like crystal shards of amber, before shattering
and falling to the sooty earth below. The sound of breaking glass echoed across expanse,
harmonized with the gale's howl of ice.
From beyond the smokey wall, Dilandau heard the shrill whistle of the wind come closer.
He could hear the snap of the grass and flames as they broke from its power, so fragile against its
torrent of cold. Something important was happening beyond that wall, but he had neither the
strength nor the fight to go to it. He lay motionless with the heavy feeling of airlessness tight in
his lungs. He tried to breathe more deeply, to quell the panic of a slow suffocating death, but he
just couldn't. His heart fluttered faintly as fear replaced resignation. His final moments, trapped
inside Selena's mind as a prisoner of a deranged ghost. . . it was unbearable.
His chest tightened painfully, then a second time. ::I need air... need something...:: His
mind reeled through memories, his memories, her memories, his dreams and her nightmares.
They all crashed over him in a sick wash. It was all too much to take in, too fast to catch himself
falling through.
The smokey wall shook as the wind beat against it. One gust then another quick on its
heals hit its dark surface. The shudder was deep and booming as the chilled air struck it as
soundly as any hammer. It was after him, it wanted in.
Dilandau barely heard the piercing chime of the wall as it broke into a thousand shards,
falling all around him in thin splinters. The wind rushed like an avenging demon, stirring the bits
across the blackness. ::It is so cold:: Dilandau thought painfully. ::I am so cold::




Zongi awoke in the abyss. He was not in Selena's mind and he was not in her body. It was
quiet, save for the lull of spring Cicadas. "No," he croaked into the absolute black of his
surroundings. "NO!"
The sound was all but eaten by the darkness, barely reverberating in his own throat. Zongi
had failed, and he was not left to roam anymore. Without a mind, without a body, he was tied to
nothing in the world he had lived in. So he found himself trapped inside his own mind, which
unfortunately was an endless loop of non-existence. There he would remain, with the sounds of
spring cicadas, eternally. It was truly over. He was nothing more than a figment of his own
creation, rotting inside the corpse of his mind.




Aristae awoke slowly on the muddy bank of the moat. Unconsciousness gave way to
dizziness and then to severe nausea. She rolled onto her arm and vomited earthy tasting water
onto the slope, heave after heave, purging itself from her body. She rolled further, pressing her
hands against the muck, pushing herself up as the last waves hit her and receded. With a shaky
sigh she realized she actually felt much better.
She looked around stiffly, unsure of what had brought her to the bank from the bottom of
the moat. Above her, safe on the grass, lay Selena. She looked peaceful and at rest. There was no
hint of the malice which had consumed her before. Her nightgown still clung wetly to her body
but her hair had begun to dry, a few stray locks curling against the early morning breeze.
It was still dark, but the stars were pulling back to the thinning grey of the dawn on the
eastern horizon. The light matched that of the ensconced torches, which were sputtering and
dimming as their pitch was spent.
Aristae spit weakly, trying to rid the last taste of the water from her mouth. The saliva slid
lazily down her chin, hanging a moment before dripping slowly to the ground, followed shortly
with another thin string as she spit again. She finally wiped it away with her muddy palm,
smearing it in a arc across her cheek.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw another figure, hunched loosely in a fetal position
some distance away. It was still partly in the water, as if they simply lacked the strength to pull
free of the moat. Aristae pulled her legs beneath her, pushing up from her knees.
She tottered a moment, sitting on her haunches before standing. The mud was slick, and
she slipped as she made her first small steps toward the figure, several feet away. She felt woozy
and light headed as she stumbled. Several short, halted steps later she was beside him, and she
felt sick all over again.
Aristae choked back the bile rising in her throat. She slumped heavily to her knees,
placing a hand on the ghostly white shoulder of the boy in the water. It was a surreal moment of
recognition. She knew who this was without doubt or hesitation. This was Dilandau Albatou.
Unlike his counterpart Selena, who looked to be in peaceful slumber with a rose hue to her
cheeks, he looked as pale and cold as the grey morning which crept around them.
Aristae put her arms beneath Dilandau's dragging him half onto her lap and out of the
water. He was heavy and limp, with no movement to show life flowed through his veins. She
brushed his hair away from his eyes with her fingertips, ignoring the wet tangles as she smoothed
it behind his ear. There was an unearthly pallor to his skin and his stillness worried her greatly.
She wished she had something to cover his body with, to shield it from the heavy morning chill.
Her mind worked in slow motion as day broke over the horizon. With the warm yellow
rays came the sound of voices from the castle, and soon to follow came the palace guards. She sat
there with Dilandau's head in her lap, watching in silence as they raced toward her.
The morning light chased away the mist quickly, leaving a growing warmth in its place. It
felt good against her body, though it seemed Dilandau did not gain any of the warmth from it.
The guards seemed very concerned about all three of them as they rushed around her. One picked
up Selena while another checked her vitals on the walk back into the castle. Another carefully
pulled Aristae to her feet, pulling her up into his arms, "Lady Aristae, are you injured?"
Aristae looked from Dilandau to the guard who held her in his arms. It seemed an eternity
before she could form the words to answer, "No. I'm ok."
"Selena!" The word shot through the morning lull like a knife as Allen dashed from the
castle gate to his sister. His panicked look said it all. There was a moment where he thought he
had lost her again, a moment of lapse where he had not protected her. A moment, which he
thought had cost him his only family. "Selena." He said more softly, touching her cheek with the
back of his hand.
Her eyes fluttered lightly at the touch, "Allen."
Relief washed over him. She was ok, despite his truancy she was alive and still with him.
He silently renewed his vow to protect her, nodding to the guards. "Take her to her room and
fetch the doctor."


Aristae watched the tender moment between Allen and his sister. For the first time since
her arrival, she felt a lonesome pang for home. Not that there was really anyone she would have
moments like that with there, but it felt like there should be someone like that waiting for her.
There wasn't, but her heart said there should be.
Allen walked somewhat slower to Aristae's side, smiling weakly after his scare with
Selena. Aristae tried to smile back, but she could feel that the corners of her mouth weren't quite
tipping up as they should. She still felt very disconnected from the whole situation.
Allen's gaze traveled from her down to the naked boy at his feet, Dilandau. There was a
strange mix of confusion, hate, and pity written against his refined features. It seemed impossible
for the boy to be there at all, yet he was. Allen wanted to punish him for all he'd done to Selena,
yet he was so still that Allen wondered if he was alive. Beyond what he'd done and what Allen
wished to do, there was the question of what to do with him. In all their attempts to extract him,
there was an element to dispose of him. Allen had never anticipated having to house the war
criminal.
Aristae opened her mouth slightly, trying to think of what to say to him. All her thoughts
coalesced to, "Allen, I think he needs help."