Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Sweet Perfume ❯ Stolen Pendant ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Sweet Perfume

Disclaimer:
Escaflowne and its characters do not belong to me. This is just a fanfic made by a fan for fans.
However, I did create the plot, so that's mine.

Author's Note:
Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews! I'm so happy that you are enjoying the fanfic. I've been planning this story in my head for over a year now. I finally finished sorting out the wrinkles and so I decided to start writing it.

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Three quarters of Asturia's capital city, Palas, had been destroyed by Zaibach's first attack. One of the few locations spared was the palace and the land closely surrounding it. Millerna looked out the window of her room horrified. The peaceful atmosphere was no more; instead fire and smoke were everywhere. However, she was more worried about Fassel than her kingdom.

What would happen between them? Was she supposed to be angry? Would they ever be able to meet again? What if Fassel was injured, or even worse, killed in the battle?

She paced around the room aimlessly thinking about these questions but not being able to answer any of them. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was that they were on opposite sides now.

She was expected to be in the meeting room but she couldn't force herself to leave her bedroom. It was the only place where she felt sheltered. If she stepped out the door, she would have to face reality again. She rubbed her eyes and looked in the mirror. Her normally perfect hair was frizzy and messy. She had dark circles around her eyes and many trails of dried-up tears covered her cheeks. She combed out her blond hair and tied it with a red ribbon. She washed her face and put on light makeup to hide the evidence that she had been crying.

As she stepped into the meeting room, she was greeted by her sister and Allen. The other members of the council had already left. She could tell that they were already in a deep conversation before she came in. It was odd to see them together; they normally didn't get along very well.

"Millerna," Eries began hesitantly, "Father had requested that you and I leave the country tomorrow. We are in grave danger in Asturia."

"Zaibach has become stronger than before," added Allen, "five of our best men were killed in the battle. The dragon slayers were-"

"Were any of the dragon slayers killed?" Millerna suddenly interrupted.

Allen stared at her face quizzically, "Yes... One was killed."

Her heart sank into her stomach. She suddenly had a vivid image of Fassel's dead body. Dry, black blood on his blond hair, his contorted face bloodied and scarred. His whole body twisted in such a form that was painful to look at. Millerna couldn't bear this gruesome image in her head anymore. She shook her head violently but it would not leave her mind's eye.

"Is something wrong?" Allen questioned her with a worried tone.

"N-no," Millerna stammered, "no, I just don't like death. That's all." She remained silent. She knew further questions would stir suspicion in Allen.

"Pack your most important items today. We're leaving tomorrow morning." Eries ordered. She too had a worried expression on her face.

"Princess Eries, the king would like to see you again." One of the servants escorted her to the king leaving Millerna and Allen alone.

"Princess..."

She tried not to think about it but the vivid image kept reappearing in her head. She realized that she was overreacting. The dead dragon slayer might not have been Fassel. Still, she had a bad feeling about it.

"I'll be fine," she lied, "I have to go pack my belongings."

She packed her clothes, her jewelry and some medical books. She wasn't going to come back to the palace any time soon so she needed something to pass the time. She opened the jewelry box and picked up the "pre-engagement" ring that was given to her by Fassel right before Zaibach attacked Asturia. She thought back to the day that he gave it to her.





"What's this?" Millerna eyed the ring that was put on her finger.

"It's a pre-engagement ring."

"PRE-engagement ring? What does that mean?"

"It means I want to ask you to marry me..." He trailed off. "But I know that the current circumstances won't allow it."

"Why?"

"Zaibach... Zaibach will attack Asturia soon. The day is coming closer and closer. Although the dragon slayers are never told of the exact date, I know that it will be soon. I can't control it. I'll be forced to fight with the rest. This is just something to remember me by."

"You sound like we'll never see each other again."

"We'll see each other again. When we do, I'll give you a real engagement ring." He smiled at her reassuringly.








She smiled at the thought and put the ring on her ring finger. He was going to come back to her. He had to. Her body jumped when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in."

"Wear this around your neck," Eries handed her a red pendant.

"Wait," Millerna examined it to get a better look. "Isn't this Hitomi's?"

There was a moment of silence in the room. "It used to be."

"Why do you have it?"

"It was our father's descision. His orders... Hitomi is not an ordinary girl. She's not from around here. She's dangerous. Zaibach traced her powers to this pendant. Without this pendant, her powers will be decreased..."

She looked at her in disbelief. "You stole it? Aren't we on Fanelia's side?"

"No, we are on our own. Zaibach is on their own. Fanelia is on their own."

"Does Hitomi know about this yet?"

"I don't think so. Before they find out we have to get away from this place as soon as possible."

"So Fanelia will come after us... Why then, is Zaibach attacking Asturia?"

"Zaibach was the one who told us about the pendant's powers. They expected us to give it to them peacefully when we stole it from Hitomi. We were about to, until we realized that they wanted to use the powers of this pendant to take over our country. If we want peace in Gaea and in our kingdom, we need to keep this pendant."

Millerna touched the pendant delicately with her fingers. It seemed to glow brighter with her touch. "I don't think it's right. I know Hitomi... She's not a threat to us. We're just making another enemy. I'm going to give it back to her."

"No!" Eries snatched the pendant from her hands and hit her face with full force. "This is the only way to keep peace! Why can't you understand? Hitomi is going to start a war! I thought you would support me on this!"

Without saying another word, Millerna pulled the glowing pendant from Eries' tight grip and banged the door shut. She put a chair under the doorknob to prevent her insane sister from escaping. She heard her screaming in the bedroom to let her out. She had a few minutes to spare before one of the servants noticed anything wrong.

She ran to Allen's room, "Allen! Where did Van and Hitomi go?"

Allen was surprised to see her in his room. Women were prohibited to enter a knight's bedroom without consent. "They left three days ago to ask Duke Freid for help in defeating Zaibach. Why do you ask?"

"Allen, I need your help. I need to go to them now!"

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I'm sorry I'm taking so long to put Dilandau and Millerna together. It'll happen soon ^_^... hopefully.