Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ The Way of War ❯ Revenge! Dilandau takes Migel! ( Chapter 5 )

They had returned from the bizarre nearly an hour ago. Chesta was able to buy him three outfits for himself, and a journal complete with ink and a quill. Migel had insisted against it, but Chesta was quite persistent, and bought it before they could argue much longer.

He sat on the bed in Chesta's room, surveying the clothing that was laid out in front of him. They were some nice articles, but seeing as they came from Zaibach, he didn't think that he could wear them without cringing.

He sighed, and flopped back on the bed. The rest of the elite were at training, or dinner, or something like that. He insisted that he be left alone, so Chesta went on his way, locking the door behind him. All the doors locked from the outside, so that if a soldier was to commit a crime, he could not escape. Migel imagined that this was one of the reasons, but he imagined that there were many other reasons behind the locks being on the outside as well But what were to happen if assassins lurked in at night? Maybe the commander and captains or anyone else of important rank had their locks on the insides of their doors. He poked at the black clothing (he chose all black clothing, save for two ivory white blouses) and stared at the black clothing mournfully.

There was some clicking, and the doorknob turned. It swung open to reveal another boy in blue. He had platinum blonde hair, and large, blue eyes. He looked somewhat like Chesta, save for the way he did his hair. He bowed somewhat, and then returned to standing unnaturally straight.

"Lord Folken would like to see you," he said, and stood, waiting for Migel's response.

Migel sat, and looked the boy up and down a minute, surveying him, eyes narrowed. All he could think was that this boy was such a tool. he was being used by the government. But then again, did he have a say in the matter? He didn't know for sure, but he still stared at the boy with accusing eyes.

"All right." he said, after a somewhat unnerving pause.

The boy nodded in approval, and scurried out into the hallway, down towards some new, unexplored area. It got darker as he went, and the lights turned from a dim fluorescent to a cold, and wintry blue. The boy stopped at a small door, and rapped lightly.

"Identify yourself." A somewhat thin, yet strong voice came from the room.

"It's Gatti, sir,"

There was a short pause, the sound of glass clinking.

"Come in."

Gatti pushed the door open, and exposed a small, yet extremely equipped science lab. Migel had never even heard of this science thing, and looked about the room in amazement, awe struck by the strangely shaped beakers and glass bottles.

The Strategos smiled. "So this is Migel, is it?"

Gatti nodded. Folken stood, and went to a corner. He pulled open a drawer that seemed to come from the wall, and pulled out a blue and black bundle. He handed it to Gatti, and then pulled out several pieces of armor, and handed them to him as well.

"I assume that these would fit, since you are wearing Guimel's clothing. You must be about the same size, but if anything doesn't fit, just talk to me about it."

Migel nodded. Gatti handed the cumbersome bundle to Migel, who nearly dropped it, shocked at the weight. The Strategos smiled, and placed his good hand on Migel's shoulder.

"I wish you the best of luck, soldier. You have been ordered to join me on the Vione, with the rest of the elite."

Migel nodded dumbly.

"Go get changed. You are to meet with Dilandau at exactly 1740 hours. Don't be late, you'll regret it. Oh. and your room is in between Gatti's and Dalet's. Gatti, please show him to his room."

Gatti bowed low. "Hai, sir!"

Gatti walked out of the room briskly, not waiting for Migel to follow this time. Migel stumbled out, nearly dropping the bundle in his arms. Gatti stopped about halfway down the room. Migel cast an uneasy glance into the room that was Guimel's, which lay right across the hall. He swallowed hard, when he heard mournful whimpers and mumblings of prayers or something of that sort.

Gatti pushed open the door to Migel's room. Migel took one step over into the room, examining it. Maybe this used to be that guy Zion's room? It made him nervous. sleeping in the very room of the man he had killed. Gatti promptly shut the door behind him, locking it quickly. They still didn't trust him, apparently, even though he had complied blindly with everything that had happened thus so far. They had reason to, he supposed, after all, he was a vengeful boy, left alone in a world at war. But he could only wonder. why would they make a captive a soldier, a member one of the top forces of Zaibach? Wouldn't that just cause an array of trouble?

He set the bundle down onto the bed, and stripped of Guimel's clothing. He now smelled like the boy's cologne, deep and sensual. It wasn't over powering like the cheap colognes that his father always wore, but soft and subtle. It almost smelled like amber oil. but less natural.

He carefully examined the uniform before putting it on. It was made of leather it looked like. maybe dragon leathers. It was too thin to have belonged to a fully grown land dragon. maybe it was made with the skin of the premature dragons that lurked in the depths. It looked like it would belong to. maybe the selike dragons. They were a distinct race, maybe more mammal than reptile. They birthed their young live, and as they aged, they even grew fur at the base of their elegant, slender black necks.

He had no clue what the actual armor was made of. He picked it up, and examined it, once again shocked by the weight of one single shoulder piece.

He shrugged, and picked up the light cottony underclothing that he had been provided. He slipped the lavender sleeveless shirt on, followed by a pair of shiny, black, ankle length pants. They were a bit tight fitting for his comfort, but the waist line was perfect. He imagined that they were supposed to fit like that? At least they got looser around the ankles. He always hated pants that closed in around your ankles. it just felt so unnatural and constricting.

After putting on the jacket of vinyl and leather, He slipped into his boots and armor. Surprisingly comfortable, but there were some elements of the uniform he found highly unnecessary. Like the two belts on either side of this torso, that came around and buttoned near the zipper of the jacket, making it even tighter than it before. Maybe body revealing clothing that actually didn't reveal your body was a thing in Zaibach. He shrugged, and sat on the bed, waiting for someone to come fetch him. He couldn't get out, since the door was locked. He examined the room. It was totally wiped out, save for a few texts and some furnishings that probably came with the room in the first place. The bed was made with a thick comforter and a soft, fluffy pillow. They smelled clean, but it wasn't the kind of clean that he liked. It was the kind of chemical clean that this whole place reeked of. He absolutely hated it. Everything natural seemed to have disappeared from existence in this sad city.

He went to pick up a book from the dresser. It was blank. He flipped it open, and on the pages were lines waiting to be written upon. So, they provided a journal for the elite. How nice. He growled. What good would that do him anyway? He barely knew how to read, much less write sappy crap on the blank pages of book, that in time would be lost and meaningless to him anyway. But then, there were those boys, those hopeless romantics that poured their thoughts and feelings out onto a piece of paper, liking to think that they were writers, or poets, when in fact, they were just a regular fuck like everybody else. And what good would something like this do a soldier anyway? Weren't emotions a. distraction?

He frowned, and set the blank book on the dresser. He opened the drawers, and to his surprise, they weren't empty. He had been fully supplied with a razor, a compass, some blank paper, several ink bottles, two quills, and another, large blank book. On top of that book set a small dagger, whose sheath was emblazoned with a golden dragon. He scoffed. All this was so. meaningless.

He spun around in shock when he heard the door open. Chesta stood there, smiling softly as always.

"It's time to go meet with Lord Dilandau."

Migel closed the drawer, and followed him out. He wondered who this Dilandau was. was it that demonic boy on the horse that yelled at poor Guimel for mourning? He prayed to the Gods that wasn't him. That boy frightened him. more than anything he could imagine. He was like something that didn't exist, but was embodied in flesh and blood. It was like he. He wasn't sure. He seemed artificial. So pale. even in that horrible red light of the fire that was set upon his village. Even through the ash and soot smeared upon his face, he looked so deadly pale. Migel fancied him being something from beyond the grave, come back to take his revenge on someone. something.

Chesta stopped at a small chamber that bore no doors, and walked it. All five of the elite were there. Chesta wondered how many of the Dragonslayers there were? Was it an entire army? Had he been assigned to the lowest rank in the Dragonslayers?

A harsh throaty voice emitted from the corner of the room.

"ATTENTION!"

All the slayers simultaneously gathered into one line, bowing with their arms supporting their weight. Migel stood and watched in fascination, wondering what this was for. Why were they bowing already? Where was their commander?

He question was answered when he felt something slam into the side of his head, throwing him onto the floor. He clutched his temple, wincing in pain, shocked that it wasn't bleeding. He reluctantly looked up seeing..

Oh god. That boy. He smirked down at him, but he obviously was not pleased.

"You see fit not to follow orders on your first day?" He said, quietly.

Migel remained silent, not sure what to say. At long last he found something he could say. maybe something that would strike guilt into this soulless demon.

"I can't obey the man that attacked my village and killed my family."

His smirk twisted into a horrible frown. He screamed in outrage, and kicked Migel in the gut several times. Migel choked, and threw up, unable to help it. Dilandau laughed, and walked away shaking his head, giving Migel some time to recuperate.

"Gatti." He sighed, and went to go sit in the stone chair at the back of the room. The chair was elevated by a large marble slab, and adorned with stone creatures that appeared to be dragons. He took of his sword, and set it in one of the gaping mouths of these creatures, and let his head rest on his hand, making it appear as if he couldn't care less about this meeting.

Gatti stepped forward, and unfurled a scroll that had rested under his arm until now. He read it aloud, his voice quivering slightly.

"Sir, along with the report, I have a message to deliver from General Adelphos. It is in regards to the captives, sir."

"Read the report."

"Sir. Captured 128 strong men, 15 boys, 7 girls, 82 women. Executed 67 adults, and 3 children. The village was destroyed completely, and we don't know how many of the villagers may have escaped. The Men and women have been put to work in the factories and fields of Zaibach, and the children are being raised as soldiers."

"Like I care. Read the message."

"Yes sir!" He rolled the scroll back up, and pulled another one from under his arm, placing the read scroll where the other had been. He unrolled this one quickly, with trembling fingers.

"I would like to congratulate you and your men on the successful raid. However, the men I provided were a great help as well. Without them, so many would have never been captured. I just would like to remind you, you are not the only army in Zaibach. Don't get careless. With the aid of the silver and red army, we are to launch an attack on the capitol of Reydeen, Filinia. Despite the fact that Reydeen has a highly inadequate army, you are to train your men twice as hard for the next two weeks, for another mission will be presented afterward, and after judging your men's skill, I would imagine it will be quite a challenge."

"WHAT??" Dilandau screamed in outrage. He stood, clutching his armrests, shaking visibly with anger.

"That. THAT FOOL!!"

Dilandau sighed, and sat back down, rubbing his temple. Gatti was visibly shaking now, relieved that his commander did not decide to take out his rage on him again.

Dilandau laughed, and stood again, walking over to the second in command.

"It's your job to make sure that our men will not make a disgrace of me any longer." He growled, casting a glare at the five boys on the stone floor.

Gatti nodded, his eyes wide with fear. "Y-Yes sir!"

He let out a long sigh, obviously very distressed.

"Dismissed. I would like some time alone with the new soldier."

"Hai!" They all stood, and filed out of the room, all shocked that none of them suffered for the general's message.

Dilandau stood still, watching the soldier that was slowly getting to his feet again. He seemed quite amused. Migel took a deep breath, and shakily stood.

Dilandau seemed even more amused by this, and walked over Migel, who was much taller than his irregularly short captain.

He examined the new soldier for quite awhile, until he sent a punch flying into his left cheek, which threw him back down onto the floor.

"You think you are quite the man, don't you?? Openly defying me in front of my men, and even still defying me. What a soldier. Oh well. you lack discipline. That's all there is to it. I imagine you'll make a wonderful soldier. I just need to find the killer in you. where's the rage?" He stared at Migel for quite some time again, taking no notice of the puddle of vomit that was right in front of him. Then his eyes widened, and he smiled.

"I can help you take your revenge on your family. All you need to do. is give me your complete obedience. I will mold you into a perfect killer."

Migel frowned, confused at these words. These words.. These were words he least expected this demon to say.

"R-revenge?" He stammered.

"Yes. you can take your revenge in every man you kill, every drop of blood that you make them shed. Fighting makes the pain go away. it disappears.. believe me. I can take away your pain.."

Migel's eyes were wide in fear. He saw the bloodlust in this man's eyes. But maybe. just maybe he was right? Was it possible that the pain did go away in the heat of battle?

Dilandau laughed.

"I suppose. before we go any further, I should make you an official slayer. You may already have the forms and paper work filled out by Folken. but there is still one more thing."

He strode to a rack next to his "throne". Migel had taken no notice to it, but now saw that rack, and saw that it had 5 swords, in black, simple elegant sheaths. Dilandau picked up one carefully, and walked over to him.

"This is yours, if you swear to me that you will give me your complete obedience, your complete trust. your life."

Migel stared up at the sword, and imagined it's blade cutting down countless samurai from foreign countries. He imagined cutting them down, one after the other. He felt his veins surge with adrenaline, and took a deep breath in, returning his conscience back into reality.

Migel fell low to the ground, bowing.

"I will give you my life. My being is yours."

Dilandau smiled. He set the sword delicately on the floor before Migel.

"Welcome to the Dragonslayers, Migel Labariel."

THE END