Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Thinking About Forever ❯ joining the search ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne or any of its characters but I do own Veronica, Victoria, and their gang; that and all other original characters you see. This is NOT an AU. You'll learn more about the plot and my villain which we met briefly in the second chapter *hint hint red eyes, shadow, fangs hint hint* If you like Hitomi she won't really appear all that much and it won't be until much later on in the story. I hope you like.

Thinking About Forever

By: Raven Moonshadow

Chapter 3

Victoria clenched her fingers and found soft green blades of grass. Long grass that rose above her body that lay immobile amongst the foliage hid her only partially from the rays of the fiery sun.

The red head could barely call herself conscious. Everything had happened so fast. The fight with Hammer's gang, being nearly beaten by them, Veronica's strange burst of hurricane-ish power, and then the beam of light. After that it was a blur.

One huge blur that made no sense.

Well she definitely wasn't in the city anymore. That much could be proven by the grass and the sounds, or lack of. She blinked her sapphire eyes quickly before closing them back up. She wanted to make some kind of sound but her throat closed itself off from letting anything pass.

I wonder how everyone else is, she thought. There had been quite a few injuries. Was everyone okay? How was Veronica? Were there somewhere in the same field?

Wait…what was that?

Something crunched through a spot of dry sun blasted grass and swore. There were other foot steps around the first but softer. From Victoria's experience, barefooted people made less sound because they were already trying hard to miss stepping on anything potentially dangerous then people with boots.

"Are you sure you saw something fall around her last night, Ruhm?" It was a male voice.

"Yes, lord Van. There was a bright light that came down for a second and I saw two figures in it." The guy, she assumed was this Ruhm, answered. He was getting dangerously close to stepping on her. She could feel the grass near her left side shifting slightly and she just hoped that he saw her before he stepped on her. Victoria didn't have a voice to tell him to stop or the consciousness and strength to wave an arm or something.

But luckily the crunching stopped near her.

"Lord Van, Ruhm, I found someone." Came a voice from above her. Her eye lids could barely lift themselves to look at who found her. "It's a young woman." The person knelt down, successfully blocking the sun, and put a hand on her neck. The red head assumed to check if she was alive. But the problem was that the so called hand did not feel like a hand. It was more like a paw with slightly longer toes that any other animal she had known and larger.

"Yes I can see. There is another one over here, but a male." The Ruhm guy said. She was beginning to pick out voices with names she heard them say.

"They both look to be about my age." Lord Van guy. She could tell because he sounded like the youngest of the group. "I can carry the girl, but the guy looks like he'll need more than one of you to carry him to the caravan." His voice got closer until she felt some one pick her up and cradle her.

"Her hair is like enchanted ruby fire." One gasped. If she had the strength to or had her eyes open she would have blinked rapidly in confusion.

"I have never seen one with such brilliant red hair." Another said. These people seemed to like her hair. The guy who was carrying her shifted and she felt him grasp her hair and place it over her shoulder so that it lay across her chest.

"Then we shall have to keep it nice and away from the dirty things you guys keep in the caravan." He sounded like he was smiling. And her eyes flickered open slightly to catch the profile of a handsome young man with brown eyes and messy black hair.

Then everything faded into oblivion.

* * *

The quiet chirping of birds woke her. Warmth surrounded her as sunlight bathed the entire room from a huge open window. Her sapphire eyes blinked open and her brow creased. Victoria brought her arm up to shade her eyes. Sun…way too bright…

Ugh. She moaned, her entire upper body stiff as she tried to sit up. "Where am I…?" She rolled her shoulders as she propped herself up onto her elbows. Her ruby red hair slipped over her shoulder in a braid. She blinked. Her clothes had been changed too.

Someone had…touched her. While she had been out cold and completely defenseless.

And that was a disturbing thought.

A girl opened the door. Victoria jumped and snapped her head in the direction of the young teen, instantly regretting it as her neck made a loud snapping sound. OUCH! Ahhhugh that hurt… She winced but kept her eyes trained on the younger looking girl, maybe early teens, in what looked like some kind of maid outfit. The girl gasped.

"You're awake, milady." The girl placed down a pile of clothes, clothes that happened to look very similar to what Victoria had once been wearing, and quickly made her way to the redhead's side. She gently covered Victoria's forehead with her palm. "Ah good. You're not feverish anymore. This is good news. I shall go fetch king Van and the physician." The girl smiled kindly, curtsied, and then left. Victoria could almost swear the girl was skipping happily.

Victoria blinked watching the maid. Milady? Feverish? What the hell? Unconsciously the redhead began to twist the end of her braid. There was something seriously wrong with this place. And she hadn't even left the room yet.

A few seconds later, and a lot of thinking on Victoria's part, the double doors parted and the maid and two other people entered. One was a young man around her age and the other was an older man with a scraggly beard and a kind smile. The maid and the old man seemed to be in a friendly argument with each other. "See! She is awake you old coot." The girl finished pointing to Victoria. The old man scratched his beard.

"Ah…so she is." The old man smiled. "It seems that I have lost the bet." The girl smiled triumphantly as he dropped a small clanging bag into her palm. She blinked. Bet? They had a bet of some sort concerning her!? Her eyebrow twitched.

"What is going on?" The redheaded orphan said in a level tone. Nothing was familiar to her. It made her confused. She wanted some answers. She wanted them now, and she wanted them fast... "Would someone care to enlighten me?"

…so someone better start talking.

"Oh nothing." The old guy said. "There is nothing going on."

"You must be getting senile then." The maid said rolling her eyes. The teenager between the two smiled.

"Now you two. We should be glad that she is finally up." He gave them both looks of authority. "Not squabbling around making bets and fighting with each other."

They both bowed. "I'm sorry lord Van."

Okay. Lord Van. She recognized the name from…from…she blinked. Alright she didn't know exactly where she recognized the name. But this Van guy apparently had power. Maybe she was in enemy territory of some sort and he was their leader. She'd heard other gang members call their superior lord or lady. But the setting didn't fit. She knew, from her view out the window, that she was no longer in the city. But then where could she be?

"Are you alright?" Lord Van asked. Victoria nodded, slowly.

"Yeah I think so. But…where am I?"

"Oh dear. Where do you think you are?" The old man said suddenly serious. He knelt beside the bed and opened up a large bag. Victoria leaned over the side and looked into the bag full of medical supplies, but not ones that she was used to.

"Um…I have no idea. My best bet is that I'm not in the city anymore." The redhead said. "I don't even know how I got here. I just remember a bright light."

"A bright light eh? And what city do you hail from?" The doctor asked raising a fluffy gray eyebrow.

"New York." Everyone of the people in the room frowned in confusion. "What?"

"We…" Lord Van said looking at the other two people. "..have never heard of this New York. This is Fanelia." Both the doctor and the young maid nodded.

Both of Victoria's eyebrows rose. "I've never heard of Fanelia."

"Could it be, Lord Van, that she is from the Mystic Moon?" A large man asked as he stepped into the room. And when thought large she meant large. So large that he nearly had to bend his head down a bit just to walk through the door way. Victoria thought that if she had stood face to face with him she'd either have to be practically three feet off the ground, have him bend over on his knees, or be looking at the bottom of his ribcage. He held a warrior's demeanor and was covered in scars. One such scar kept one eye shut permanently.

"Do you really think so, master Balgus?" the maid asked covering her mouth in surprise. The maid looked at Victoria and then out the window to look up at something in the sky.

"Well she does hold some characteristics that are uncommon to Gaea. Like her hair is definitely a rare quality that we have never seen…" The doctor said.

"Gaea? Mystic Moon? These words are new to me." Victoria said. She sat up quickly, earning another crack from her resistant back. She winced. "Oww." She rubbed her shoulders and neck.

Suddenly the door burst open. There stomped in Lucan with a small human like creature clinging to his arm. It looked like a little cat girl. Long ears, short pink hair, orange skin, and a long striped tail that was puffed in a very angry feline way. Her features screamed cat.

"You're not supposed to get out a bed yet!" The cat girl hissed. Lucan tried to pry the girl off him.

"I don't care! I had to make sure Victoria was awake and well." He strained angrily waving his arm around wildly trying to fling the clinging girl off.

"Lucan?" Victoria blinked sapphire eyes at him, following the arm that was being waved wildly with the cat girl attached. He blinked blue eyes at her, his arm slowed.

"Victoria? You're awake?" There was a quiet time just before Lucan threw his arms up, all but throwing the cat girl up into the air, and sighed loudly with relief. The cat girl on the other hand, after being thrown unexpectedly from his arm, had imbedded herself into the ceiling with her claws and was hissing as her tail became nearly as big as her, fluff-wise anyway.

Lucan was on the other side of her bed within seconds looking her and everything about her. "Are you alright?" She nodded.

"Yes. Just a little confused."

"About where we are?"

"Yes…how did you…?"

"I'm still confused but at least I know the jist of it all, although it's kinda hard to swallow. I'll explain it to you late. Right now I think it's important for us to feed you," At the mention of food Victoria's stomach growled. Lucan laughed. "Then get you some clothes to fit in around here."

"I can tell right now that you will be explaining quite a lot of things to me." Victoria smiled. He smiled as well.

"I know."

* * *

Victoria, as politely as possible, ate and pillaged all the food she could get to. Now, that's actually very hard to do politely when you feel like you haven't eaten in weeks. The stares that she received were blissfully ignored in favor for a more satisfying approach on eating. At least, for the moment.

"Wow you sure were hungry." The cat girl said. She had been introduced as Merle. Victoria nodded between bites. Lucan smiled.

"At least she's back to normal. She's always had a big appetite."

"Not half as big as yours." Came Victoria's mumble.

"Hey!" The ashy haired boy yelped, traces of red spreading across his cheeks.

"Well…at least you didn't deny it like the last time." Victoria said with a grin. He sweatdropped anime style. "So you were explaining before that we're on some different planet, kinda like an alternate world, and we were brought here by some kind of beam of light. That is why I am forced to where these-" She fingered the strange clothe that she wore as a loose black top that showed her navel and the black sash that held up a pair of cream colored loose, puffy pants. Her sleek black slippers tapped against the floor. For some reason Victoria felt like a gypsy or something. "-clothes."

Everyone nodded.

"So what do we do now? Veronica and the rest of the gang are no where to be seen, we're stuck on this Gaea for an indefinite amount of time, and I'm still a little baffled to our entire situation." Victoria raised an eyebrow at Lucan. He shrugged his broad shoulders.

"We could always accept the hospitality of Fanalia's king."

"Actually…" Van pointed out. "I'm not king yet. The coronation ceremony takes place tomorrow since I have recently brought back a Drag Energist." He watched both Lucan and Victoria take on a confused look. "A Drag Energist is like the heart of a dragon. It powers most of our machines. I have to pass the Rite of Dragon Slaying and present a Drag Energist to show I'm ready to accept the kingdom." He explained. Both nodded.

"I see. So you're going to be king, but don't you need a queen for that too?" Victoria asked. Instantly Van colored with embarrassment. "Um…never mind. I'm guessing that royal rules from the 'Mystic Moon' don't apply here." She quickly closed her mouth. "Forget I asked anything."

The dark haired teen nodded and looked away. "Yeah sure." Yeah. An odd silence followed as Van and Victoria both twisted nervously in their seats while Merle, Lucan, and Balgus watched. Two were with frowns and a slight jealous twinge and one with an almost knowing smile. Guess who had what?

I'm sure you can figure it out.

"So…"

"Well…" Both the redhead and the Fanelian prince tried to break the ice so to speak. Both with not much luck. Oh well. That's what Lucan and Merle were for.

"So, Victoria Le Fay, is it?" Balgus started earning a nod from the red head. "We know you're from the Mystic Moon and that Lucan is your body guard but you mentioned before that there were others before."

"Oh…well I'm the leader of our gang, Mystic Curse, odd right? I have a twin sister who is second in command and we lead our gang to survive. Most of us are orphans or come from abusive homes. Or some of us are runaways. We, unfortunately, steal often to feed ourselves and the children that we take in who come from similar backgrounds. The last I remember was when we, the older group, left to go out and party and were faced with a rival gang. They attacked us, and nearly defeated us, until, strangely enough, my twin sister unleashed some kind of strange power. It was like we were all suddenly in the middle of a hurricane. But only the enemy gang was affected by it. Then she collapsed and we were all brought up by the bright light. That's all I remember but I'm sure that the others are here on this planet as well. I just don't know where they are." Victoria said wrinkling her brows in concentration. "If she were close then I would have sensed her by now, seeing as we're twins. I wonder where she and the others are." Victoria sighed and propped her chin on her fist.

"Are you worried?" Lucan asked, patting her back. His eyes held the same worry that was reflected in hers.

"Off course I am. She is the only relative I have. My own twin sister is somewhere out there. I don't want anything happening to her or the rest of the gang." The red head stared down at the wooden surface before her.

"If you would like, we might possibly be able to help you look for the rest of your gang." Van said. "But it would have to be after the coronation sermon."

"The people of Fanalia would be very uneasy if their king were to leave their country unprotected." Balgus said.

"That is why I will leave you and Merle in charge while I help them search."

"But Lord Van!" Merle yelped. "I want to come with you."

"I don't want to risk you being in danger should we run into trouble."

"But Vaaaaaaaaan." The cat girl pleaded. Her eyes were wide with the pretty-please-with-sugar-on-top-aren't-I-cute look. Her lip trembled. Victoria had to visibly wince to keep herself from not rolling her eyes.

"I think he's right. My sister and I seem to attract danger. You'd probably be much safer here at the castle." Victoria said. Merle instantly glared.

"You stay out of this. I don't want you anywhere near lord Van." The cat girl pointed one clawed finger at the red head. "You might try to seduce him or hurt him you strange girl from the Mystic Moon." She hissed.

Victoria instantly colored. Beside her, Lucan gulped. "I beg you're pardon! I would do no such thing. Who do you think I am you snobbish little cat girl?" The red head growled, her sapphire eyes flashing a brighter blue. "How dare you assume that I would do anything to you're precious lord Van when I hardly know him."

"Victoria maybe you should quiet dow…."

"I will not when this girl is insinuating that I would whore myself off to the ruler of some country on a foreign world." Victoria snapped at Lucan.

"You don't have to shout at me!" Merle hissed. Her tail shot straight up into the air and puffed up.

"You were the first to begin shouting!" Victoria looked read to leap over the table to strangle the cat girl who looked verily ready to do the same. The room had suddenly escalated 10 degrees in temperature. Lucan looked around before settling his eyes on Victoria. Waves of shimmering heat seemed to be radiating off of her. He blinked blue eyes at the sight. He quickly looked around the rest of the table at noticed that Merle had backed down quite suddenly and Van and Balgus were both staring intently at Victoria. He grabbed her arm and yanked her down into her seat, ignoring the sudden burning feeling in his hand.

"She backed down, Vic. She acknowledges that you are the tougher one and right one. Can we please calm down now?" Lucan whispered in her ear. Victoria took a deep breath before nodding.

"Fine." She crossed her arms and looked away from the table. The temperature dropped back down to normal and everything seemed fine once again. But there was still tension lacing the room firmly.

"Well, lord Van, I see no problem with helping them. After the ceremonies we will announce that you will be leaving for a short period of time on business matters. In the mean time we should get Miss Le Fay some normal Fanelian garb. Maybe a nice dress to attend your coronation in." Balgus said standing from his seat. Van nodded numbly, still looking at Victoria. Merle glared before tugging at Van's shirt. He blinked and then got up. Lucan and Victoria stood and walked after Balgus and the maid, Cecilianna.

"Where are we going?" Lucan whispered. The red headed girl shrugged.

"I have no idea. I'm just playing follow the leader."

~Owari

Raven: Wow. This is the only story that I have up that can consistently have long chapters. For some reason this story is relatively easy to write now. I'm sure it'll be different later on. I'll probably get lazy and not update within months. But I'm trying to put this story up just for the sake of the few reviewers who actually reviewed and liked this story. It's for all of them. A thank you. Hopefully I can throw in some surprises and make the plot known soon. The chapters are probably going to swich between what's happening with Veronica and then what's happening with Victoria. We'll probably also meet Allan in the near future. At least Victoria will. Stay tuned for more Thinking About Forever. =^_^=