Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Thoughts ❯ Reflections of a King ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne, nor would I ever dream of doing so.

Author's Note: I think first of all, I should thank Gabriella, my sister. She's the one got me to sit down and watch Escaflowne, and introduced me to fan fiction. Then, I also have a few things to say about this story. It's an Alternate Universe, though this part isn't really, and begins in Fried, after they've been released from any doubts. In this story, Hitomi tries to corporate herself more into Gaean culture, and wears a Freidian dress, to fit in. This relates to the first paragraph.

Another aspect is that although this at the moment is PG, or even G, it will raise to PG-13, or most likely R if I continue this. I still haven't decided if this is to be a one shot, or not.

This fic, or chapter, is very Van oriented. It goes into his thoughts, about what he wants, and his past.

This is definitely a Van/Hitomi. Van is in love with her, and wants her to love him as well. Now, with all that said, I believe I can begin the story.

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Her skirts swirled, her laughter rang out. He watched from afar, not daring to go to her, to spoil her moment. Her dress was long, and pretty, a light blue. The lace over skirt swirled around it, and for a moment, she looked like an angel. My Angel, he whispered.

She turned to the cat-girl sitting next to her, who glared at her. His heart leapt at the sight of the two of them. Soon she burst out laughing, and the cat-girl swept at her with a paw. The chase was on.

He pulled back in the bushes, not wanting to be seen. It would be disastrous, if he was seen. He wanted to watch his angel from afar.

It had hurt him terribly when she had called out for the Knight, when he had rescued her. It had ripped out his heart, but he wasn't one to show it. He took it in stride, letting it eat away at him from the inside.

He smiled as he thought about how she had clutched at him, how she had needed him. She was truly his angel then, even though she had been the one to call him that. She hadn't cursed him, nor was she afraid of him. She had liked his wings.

He sighed, and felt the necklace in his pocket. As a child, after his mother had left, and he was the only member of his family left, he had found her wedding and engagement rings on a golden chain. She had known she was going to leave, that she most likely wouldn't come back, and asked him to give them to the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He had kept the necklace with him through everything. It never left his pocket, unless he needed the reassurance of it, like he had that night.

It made him shiver to think about what he wanted to do. He wanted her, damn it, he did. He wanted her to love him as much as he loved her. Was it all in vain?

He pulled the necklace out, and held it up to his face. Give these to the woman you love, Van. There's someone out there who was made for you. All you need to do is find her. And, Van, in a favour to me, when you propose to her, do it in the spot where your father and I met. There's magic in that spot, and I want to see it. Or the time Merle had taunted him about having wings, and he had jumped off the roof. His mother had saved him, making him promise never to spread his wings again, until the time was right…

That was why he had showed Hitomi his wings. He had wanted her to know that he had been the one to rescue her, not Allen. Allen hadn't even been there. And even if Allen had been there, he couldn't have done anything. It had been his moment to shine, to prove he was worthy of her love.

He sighed, picking up his mother's wedding ring. It was beautiful, gold, with a diamond surrounded by smaller stones, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, amethyst, engraved with a dragon. The ring of the queen, it was called, for it had been passed down every generation to the Crown Prince, and his bride.

Crown Prince. The words stung him. Folken, his older brother, his hero, had been the crown prince. The Heir to the Throne. Van had always been the second Prince. Sure, he was a Prince, and that title would follow him around his life, as was customary of second born princes, but it wouldn't mean anything. He'd enrol in the army, and became a great warrior. Or, he might go to the University, and learn to be a scholar. In all events he would sit upon his brother's Council. He'd marry a nice, rich, beautiful young woman, and either live with her in the Palace, or receive land from his brother, making his home away from the Palace, where he would become a Lord, and his wife a Lady. If he was lucky, he would marry a woman who was the Heiress to her family, who needed a husband to receive her fortune. Funny, he thought, how everything can change so quickly.

It had started on the day of his brother's fifteenth birthday. It was Farnellian tradition that the Crown Prince one week after his fifteenth birthday begin his rite. As Van remembered, he had just turned five himself, three months prior. Folken had tried to convince the Council to let him wait. He argued that the proper mourning time of one year hadn't been reached yet, and to begin the Rite before the old King had lain for a year was a scandal he wanted no part of.

It hadn't worked. One week later, Folken dressed in his armour, took his sword, and was brought to the Dragon's Nest. He was never seen nor heard from again.

At the time, Van had been melancholy. His older brother was gone-his hero worshipped, wonderful older brother was gone. And what didn't help matters was that Varyie was also deteriorating. At the time, Van hadn't noticed how his mother hadn't eaten all of her meals, how she often left for bed before the eight bell struck. How she spent most of her time sitting in the garden, or in her room, looking out of the window.

It wasn't till now that Van had even realised it. It was funny, he mused, how ten years later things started to make sense. Well, making sense wasn't exactly the right word, but he didn't care. And now his brother was back, but on the other side.

It had been an arrow through his heart when he realised that his captor was in fact his brother. How his brother had no remorse for what he had done. How even thought it was a good thing. Van had vowed to kill his brother. To make matters worse, they had met on an Astorian bridge, and he had almost lost his life, in his brother's presence. His brother had done nothing. His angel had saved him.

He remembered the feel of her body on his, how much he wanted to be with her. At the time he had shoved the thoughts out of his head. Merle had interrupted the moment, throwing herself at him.

Merle. She was his sister, his adopted sister. She had come into his life when he was four, and she was one. Though cats had a longer memory than humans, her memories of Folken were blurry, if even existent. Her family had been hung, and Merle was next in line when King Gaou and a group of knights came upon them. Gaou had taken Merle with him to the Palace, where she had been cleaned up bye Queen Varyie, and eventually adopted.

Van remembered meeting Merle for the first time, and how she instantly latched on to him. He was never sure why she did…maybe because she had also had a brother his age, who had died, or maybe he was the one who had time to spend with her. He had never asked her, and she had never told him.

He sighed and replaced the necklace in his pocket. His past was not something he was open about. Actually, Hitomi, Merle and a few selected people in Farnellia, who he wasn't even sure if they were dead or not, knew about his past. And Hitomi was the only one whom he had told. The others had grown up with him.

He sighed, and wondered if Hitomi knew how much she meant to him, that he had told her his past. Did she even realise that he trusted her like no other? That he had basically told her all his secrets?

He sighed, and sat back in the bushes. Hitomi and Merle were long gone, and it was safe for him to come out. He rose, shaking off the leaves that had clung to him. Staring up at the sky, he let the moon light bathe him.

The moon. The Moon of Illusions. What a mysterious place. Hitomi spoke of it, as if it was above all others, as if it were fit for the gods. She had revered it, as if it were the Palace of Fate, the lost temple, who's beauty was supposed to be indescribable. He had been there only for a short time, but he knew that if Hitomi loved it, so would he.

It was ridiculous, he soon decided, that a warrior and King such as himself was pining over a woman, a woman who didn't even turn his affections. It was ridiculous, but he didn't care.

He was a fifteen year-old warrior, King of a broken land, pilot of the famous Guymelef, a descendant of a lost and cursed race, orphaned, and betrayed. And with all those things sitting on his shoulders, weighing him down, he swore a vow that he would carry out, if it was the last thing he ever did.

I, Van Slanzaar de Farnel, swear to protect Hitomi Kanzaki till I die, and in that time, confess my love to her. He drew out his sword a little ways, slicing his thumb, and let the blood drop on the ground. This is the blood that binds me to my pact.

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Wow…I didn't really mean to end it there, but I guess I did. This is my first posted story, and I wonder how it turned out. I guess I'll find that out in my reviews. Anyway, I'm not sure if I should leave this as a one shot, or if I should continue. I do have a plot forming in my mind, but I haven't decided if I will continue this or not.

Anyway, if I do continue this, I don't know when I will. I'm planning my wedding, and started working, and I have a lot to do, but I will write more, this story, or another. So, I must be going now, but expect more from me later. Bye.

Madrilène, the nineteenth of October