Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Through The Glass ❯ Visions of The Future ( Chapter 10 )

* Ok everyone, this is it!! Last chapter of "Through the Glass!!" I'm not going to answer any of the questions in your reviews for 2 reasons: 1. You'll see shortly for yourself, 2. I need SOMETHING to put down/ answer in my Q&A section >after Epilogue, before sneak preview<. Send me all the stupid questions you can think of- ask me my favourite type of cheese, anything, just ask me something!! ..Yeah.. Anyways, last chapter. Things are cleared up, the Fate of Celena and Dilandau decided, Plans for what lies ahead are made. Minna-san, I give you the conclusion of "Through The Glass"! Enjoy! ~SLS~*

Visions of the Future

When Dilandau awoke, he was all alone in his chambers. The sun was shining, birds were singing, and he felt like he had a hangover that could rival the destruction of Atlantis. He sat up grogily, and tried to recall the events from the previous night. Had he been partying? He vaguely remembered becoming extremely elated, then extremely drunk afterwards, but he couldn't quite remember why exactly he'd done so. He also felt sore and bruised, as though he'd been tossed and beaten about by sparring male dragons in mating season. Then, memories of the night started to come back to him. Celena promising he'd see his men again, the kidnaping of Celena and Hitomi, then his battle with the sorcerer. That was why he felt like shit. He'd been picked off the ground and thrown into trees, burned, drenched, electrocuted, and zapped by that damned Rusent jerk's magic. Dilandau winced as he reached down and felt the bandaged slice a rock had given him as it was hurtled through the air at him. But even as he winced, his lip curled into a grim smile. He closed his eyes, replaying the death of the sorcerer once his magic had run out, and the slow recompense and revenge he'd gotten before Rusent succumbed to his wounds and died. Though she had seen all of his previous battles and his finest glories, he would not let her see this. Celena would never see what Dilandau had done to the sorcerer; he would not burden her with the details of his cold reality of hatred and bloodlust. He opened his eyes again, and stood, somewhat shakily. Though the attack on the sorcerer explained why he felt like kneaded dough, he still couldn't figure out the hangover part. Had he celebrated with Celena the passing of the Sorcerer? No, she'd never let him near her again if he'd told her what he'd done. Had he finally been able to pick the lock to Allen's prized vino stash? But there would have been bottles thrown or smashed about in the room, and the room was clean and fresh. He had some blurry memories of seeing the Dragonslayers again and then partying long into the night, but that'd just been a hallucination of some sort; a manifestation of his hopeless wishes. What then?

He sat down on the bed again, trying to think and wishing it wasn't so very difficult. He kneaded his head with both palms, trying to ease out the tension and overall throbbing sensation, but not making much of an impact. He looked to his bedside table to drink more of the tonic the household's nurse had given him, then suddenly everything made perfect sense. The bottle was near empty, and she'd told him not to drink more than a few sips, or he'd regret it. Well, the few sips hadn't worked, and it'd taken most of the bottle to make his bruised limbs feel mostly a part of himself. He'd fallen asleep on his bed, and the bottle had given him the hangover from Hell. Some medicine. He drained the rest of the bottle and decided that he wouldn't grace the household with his presence today, rolling back onto the bed and throwing an arm over his eyes, trying to block the invading light. He was almost back to his medicine-induced sleep when there was a soft knock on his door. He mumbled to them to go away unless they wanted their head torn off, and turned over, pulling the covers over his head. The knocker seemed slightly taken aback by this warning, and there was blissful silence for several minutes before another rap on the door was sounded, this time more persistent. He shouted at them to leave him alone, and the knocking got louder still. Throwing the blankets off of himself, he got up with a roar and tore the door open, teeth bared and ready to bite the head off whoever was stupid enough to bother him. He was ready to look up and see an idiot like Teo, Gaddess, or one of the other lunkheads who consisted of Allen's posse, but instead was forced to look down. The threat he'd had broke in his throat, and Guimel cleared his throat softly.

"F-forgive me, L-lord Dilandau. I- I didn't want to disturb you sir, b-but S-SirAllen demanded I bring you to him. Lady Celena was going to come, but Sir Allen forbid her, and he told me to c-come. Forgive me, Lord Dilandau!" The boy saluted, and Dilandau stared at him for a several minutes. He looked at the bottle of medicine he hadn't bothered to put down again, then he looked back at Guimel. The young slayer gulped and tried not to run or shake in his borrowed an too-large boots. Dilandau raised a hand, and the boy winced, expecting a slap. Instead, the hand came down to rest on Guimel's shoulder, and he opened his eyes to see his superior still staring down at him, though he didn't seem as upset as before. Instead, a slight smile tried to keep itself from creeping across Dilandau's face. Instead of a sharp reprimand, curse, or order, Dilaandau allowed his smirk to spread as he said, "

"Good to see you, Sheep-boy." Guimel's eyes widened, and he blinked, trying to see if he'd heard his captain correctly.

"S-sir?" Dilandau raised an eyebrow, irritation begining to take the place of the smug smile.

"You heard me, soldier. Now, take me to where Allen is waiting." Guimel's eyes snapped back to attention, and he stood taller, saluting again.

"Sir!!" Guimel quickly turned and led Dilandau back along the twisted corridors of the mansion, responding to Dilandau's questions as best as he could.

"Sir, we don't know how it happened. One moment we were fighting, there was a flash of pain, and then there was nothing. I can vaguely recall a road of some sort, but it's all fairly hazy. The next thing I know, I'm standing next to Dalet, and Gatti and Migel were getting into clothes that Lady Celena had ready for us. The rest of the unit began to appear, and we all tried to figure out if we were all really back or not. Then, Lady Celena said that she'd brought us back using the power of Atlantis to help protect Gaia. The other and me, well Sir, we all talked before you came and before Migel went to go get you. We all agreed, Sir, that we would die again to protect you, and that no one would be able to harm you. We are in your debt, Sir, forever. You have given us our lives again, and for that we will-"

"You don't owe me anything."

"But Sir-!!"

"You owe the Lady Celena, Lady Hitomi, and Lady Merle for your lives. I had nothing to do with it. But," he admitted, going through the door Guimel held open for him, "that does not mean that I am not grateful for what they have done. If we all survive this, we'll we them our lives."

They entered the room, and Dilandau felt a wave of surprise wash over him. He knew that they'd all been actual, living, breathing bodies when he saw Guimel outside his door, but he couldn't help feeling some shock at the sight of his fifteen trusted slayers, Jajuka, and Folken standing in the room. They stood in a nervous bunch, talking in low voices and sending looks over in the direction of Allen-

Dilandau stopped short when he saw the knight, and burst out laughing immediately. Allen scowled, running his fingers through his hair and trying to primp away what three bottles, six shots, and a sip of the strongest drink in the house had done to his usually perfect looks. The knight look horrible, eyes dark and face pale, hair sticking this way and that, and rumpled clothes bearing witness to his adventures of sleeping on the couch in his clothes. The bloodshot eyes glared at Dilandau as he continued to chuckle, and Allen growled angrily.

"Shut up Albatou." Dilandau quieted down, though he continued to wear a grin on his face. He looked over at his men, who also had the shadows of hangovers on their faces. They all straightened, saluted, and looked nervous. Dilandau turned his gaze to Folken, who looked as he always had, though without his cloak. Dilandau didn't remember seeing Folken at the festivities, and then remembered that it was because he'd been up with his brother. Red eyes went to Van, who sat silent and unreadable in the loveseat with Hitomi. Neither had the look of a hangover, and Dilandau felt a fleeting pang of bitterness knowing that Van hadn't woken up with a hangover. He soon forgot it when he looked over to Celena, who sat straight and still in her chair, gaze down and expression serious, almost pained. She sat next to Allen on the large couch, Allen still glaring at Dilandau, but had given up trying to primp.

"Sit down, Dilandau. We need to talk." Dilandau sneered, but sat down, eyes on Celena. She didn't look up as he sat across from them, nor did she speak or answer his silent questions.

//Celena? What's wrong?//

"Now, Dilandau, kindly explain why you have done this. Celena told me that you had nothing to do with it, but I know you. What did you do? Did you bribe the sorcerer? What did you do, Albatou??" Allen sounded angry, and Celena put a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him and whispering to him; telling him again that Dilandau had nothing to do with it. Allen shrugged her off, and glared at Dilandau, who stared back with equal amnesty.

"I did nothing, as your sister said. Perhaps you should listen to her-"

"What did you do, Dilandau??"

"Nothing, Allen. The fate of the sorcerer doesn't matter, only that he has embraced it and not even the power of Atlantis can bring him back, even if someone wanted him back. If *you* have said anything to Celena, or punished her for my actions, I swear I'll-"

"Quiet!" Celena's voice choked back tears, and she sat down again, looking back at her hands. She began to pick at a nail, upset and afraid. "Dilandau... Allen brought you here to tell you that-"

"I've written to the King and Queen of Asturia of your presence here. Millerna herself is coming to speak with the sorcerer. I want to know what I'm going to tell her when she finds seventeen people who were suppossed to be dead walking around in my old clothes, and where she's going to have to send troops to send what remains of Rusent back to Cyriell. You will have to prepare yourself to pay for your crimes, and pray that Queen Millerna will be more merciful than her father was with war criminals. What has happened here will not be tolerated; I am grateful for you rescuing Celena, but-"

"Shut up Allen. Don't talk, you're making things worse." The blonde looked over at his sister, who seemed to be getting angry with him, and she began to sit straighter, defiance in her eyes. He opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off.

"You've gotten all of us mixed up in this mess; and as it's your fault, so you could at least have the decency to allow me to talk uninterrupted. Now, as I have said several times, I talked with Hitomi and Merle, and despite what everyone wishes to think, Gaia is not stable, and nothing has really changed at all. The Sorcerers are still trying to take over the world, governments are still corrupt, Gaia's wounds are still healing, but they cannot when no one will acknowledge them. I did what I thought was for the best of Gaia- what she needs is an elite force of soldiers to keep the peace and get rid of those who would destroy the balance of nature and mankind. The dragonslayers fulfil all the requirements of what is needed, and I did what I thought would fix the problems. I do not regret my actions, and I will say so to Queen Millerna. Don't patronize me, Allen. I'm not stupid, nor will I let you kill my slayers. And I doubt that Van will allow you to do anything to Folken." She smiled over at Van, who glanced over at his brother. Folken blinked in response to Celena's comment, but remained silent. Dilandau chuckled, proud that Celena had the guts to stand up to Allen.

"Well, Allen, looks like we're not as opposite as you would have hoped-"

"You keep out of this. Celena, I have heard your side of the story several times, and I have nothing to say further on the matter. I called you all here to tell you that Queen Millerna will be here this afternoon, and that we will discuss what will be your fate. If you want fortune to smile upon you, I suggest you don't do anything that will anger the Queen. When Millerna has her answer, we will call you back and you will abide by her decision. Do you understand?" Gatti stepped forward, challengingly.

"We will not let you hurt Lord Dilandau, Knight! We will give our lives again for our patron, and we will not let any harm come to him!" The slayers stepped forward threateningly, surrounding Dilandau's chair and looking tense and alert. The Crusaders drew their weapons, and formed their own circle around Allen, Van, Hitomi and Merle. Merle's tail thrashed around angrily, and she hissed at the two groups.

"You're all being stupid! Why can';t you all just sit down and behave? Listen to Celena, she has a really good plan and-"

"I regret, Lady Merle, that Lady Celena's plan will not be accepted by a majority of the world's population. Though I am not a warrior, nor a politician, I can see that you all looked over one very important factor in this; Lady Celena herself will be put on trial, if not as a cause at least as an accomplice to our crimes." The room fell silent, and Celena laughed it off weakly.

"I know, Folken, but I will stay by what I think is right. So help me, I will see this through to the end." Folken bowed to her then, graceful and smooth, and Dilandau noticed for the first time the ex-sorcerer was missing- or rather, had gotten back- his right arm. No clawlike structure was to be seen, instead the Fanelian Prince was full flesh. Dilandau also noted with some irritation that the man was being very smooth, almost flirty with Celena. Anger boiled in his gut, but Dilandau kept his tongue, his mind trying to sort out everything else. Folken was swearing fealty to Celena, Hitomi, and Merle, and to his surprise and satisfaction, he heard his slayers do the same. Dilandau closed his eyes and ignored Allen's protests of Celena not needing their protection, and Dilandau took that moment to stand. Dalet and Refina moved aside, and the two adversaries faced each other, though Dilandau still kept his eyes closed.

"Allen." His voice was soft, non-violent, and eerily calm in this argument- especially for him. He opened his eyes, and locked them into the gaze of the Knight's cerulean blue. "Thank you for telling me. I will abide by whatever decision your Queen comes to, and I will see to it that my men do the same. We are sheltered in your house, clothed in your clothes, sated with your food and drink. We will honor our duty to you as our host and we will abide by your rules, and do as you wish. If any of them give you any trouble, report them to me and I will punish them." He turned to the slayers, all of whom were stunned and more than a little freaked out by their leader's odd behavior. "Do you all understand? You are to do as Allen tells you; if you do not, you will answer to me and wish you were still dead."

"Sir!" The group chorused, too afraid to disagree or question him. Dilandau turned back to Allen, and gave him a nod. Allen, who snapped out of his gape fairly quickly, nodded as well, then stood.

"Thank you, Dilandau. I trust your word, and I do not think that I am wrong in doing so. I will send for you later this evening when Millerna has decided. Van, please come with me, I need to speak with you." Van stood, looking at Merle and Hitomi >mostly Hitomi< , and then followed the knight out the door. The Crusaders followed out, though a few still stayed in the hall outside the room. Celena stood to speak with Dilandau and Folken, but Van called his brother from the hall, and Folken left after kissing Celena's hand. Dilandau resisted the urge to take the leg from the small coffee table to beat Folken with for being so pathetically soppy, and left before Folken, off to sulk in the gardens by himself. Celena frowned, then looked at the others, shaking her head as she looked them over.

"You all need to lighten up. Dilandau knows what he's doing, and I know Allen's being an ass, but... Please don't try to kill him. I don't want to have to get married yet." A few soft chuckles come from the group- the boys who had been raised in noble houses knew what she meant by forced marriage, and knew how a noble woman had very little to do with choosing her husband. She looked over them again, and frowned. "You can relax, you know, just think of me as Dilandau's ... hmmm..... sister, I guess. Actually, that might give you the wrong impression, because he can be a hard-ass sometimes. Think of me as a.... I dunno, just don't be so bloodly formal, it's giving me the creeps. You, Dalet, come here!" Dalet stepped forward- well, actually he was pushed forward by several comrades giving him leering smiles- and he tired not to balk.

"Lady Celena?" She frowned, looking him over, going around and squinting as though she didn't like what she saw. He began to sweat, nervous and not at all his usual confident and flirty self.

"You, sir, need to relax. You're messing up your hair." Dalet's hand went to his hair unconsciously, and she giggled, grinning.

"Like I said, relax. You all need to try to calm down, you look like you're getting frisked. Have you any thoughts on what I said? Or anything about this whole thing?" Ryuuon stepped forward, and looked around for support.

"I think, Miss Celena-"

"Call me Celena."

"I think that none of us know what exactly to do, but I don't think that we can stay here for very long. No one will have mercy on us, and I don't think I just speak for myself when I say I don't want to die again for a long time." The group nodded, and the twins stepped forward.

"We could try a stunt like we could pretend we were kidnaping you-"

"But we wouldn't really be hurting you we'd just say we would to get to the woods-"

"So then we could make it by ourselves. We could make it-"

"But we need to get away from here, not matter what." Chesta stepped forward, shy and quiet, yet adamant.

"We promised we would follow Allen's wishes, he told us to stay here. I think it would be wiser to stay here, and try to win sympathy for our case." Migel nodded.

"I think it'd be best if we stayed, Ryuuon. I don't feel safe here either, but... We could do worse, you know." Viole frowned, looking down.

"I also wonder of Lord Dilandau. Lady Celena, please, is he... alright? He's acting very... peculiarly..." She sighed, then gave them a smile.

"He'll never say what he said last night again, but I'm telling you now: he missed you all very much. He will do what he thinks will keep you all safe, including give his own life for you. He's different from the Dilandau you knew- he's a bit saner, and he shows his emotion more frequently- something he got from me, I'm afraid. But know this; he will never abandon you, nor will he let anything happen while he lives. I wish I had half the bravery he did sometimes, but... I'm glad he's here. I'm also glad you're here, because... I feel like you're a part of me too- you grew up with Dilandau, and you were friends with him before you were his soldiers. Know that I too will do what I can to help you, but you must be patient."

"We will do what you say, Celena, we owe you our lives, and you already have our loyalty through courage and kindness. Please, if there is something we can do for you, tell us, and we will do all in our power to aid you." She ran over to the dogman and gave him a hug, squeezing him tightly.

"I missed you all.... more than you'll know... But, enough of this sentimental stuff," she said, wiping her eyes across her sleeve in a manner that would appall Allen. She giggled, then grabbed Dalet by the wrist, pulling him out the door.

"We're going to have some fun! C'mon! Merle, Hitomi, help me!! Dalet, it's your lucky day!! We're going to make you look pretty!!" The poor slayer was dragged out of the room by Merle and Celena with such a force that he almost fell on his face. Hitomi sighed, then noticed the three women slayers were looking at her nervously. Refina stepped forward.

'Kanzaki- Did Lord Dilandau actually.... Did he really say that he missed us? A lot?" Hitomi smiled, and nodded. The women blushed, and Hitomi realized that the three of them probably had it bad for Dilandau, and that they were jealous of Celena's closeness to their patron and the apple of their eyes. She took it on herself then and there to befriend them, seeing as they were the most recluse of the group and didn't seem to like Celena as much as the boys did. They chatted as they followed the train of slayers towards the flower gardens; Celena's beauty parlor for Dalet. When they got there, Dalet, Chesta, Gatti, and Biore had pretty flower crowns on their heads, Chesta and Biore blushing, Gatti bearing it stoically, and Dalet admiring the handywork, though fretting about his hair. Jajuka had the luck of not only having a crown, but two bracelets and a ring as well. Merle's quick fingers wove the flowers Celena picked, and the two were able to hunt down and capture their victims- a kind of tag, though instead of being out, you were forced to wear a flower crown. Anyone who didn't want to wear one was threatened with claws and a threat of Dilandau, and so the boys enjoyed the simple- if bizzare- way Celena tried to calm them down. They stopped when they saw they royal carriage of Asturia pull up, and Allen, Van, and Folken stepped out to greet the Queen. Millerna, upon seeing Folken, fainted dead away and was carried into the house by Allen. Van stopped, looked at them briefly, then followed inside. Celena stopped, and stared at the house.

"Now we wait... Jajuka, what do you think will happen..?" The dogman shook his head, holding her hand in his large paw and patting it consolingly.

"I don't know, Celena. We can only hope for the best, things will work out in the end."

Despite the fact that their lives depended on the queen's graces, the slayers tried to enjoy themselves by taking a tour of the grounds of the mansion, then they ate a picnic lunch out in Celena's prize gardens, with Pandora begging meat from anyone who would share. Then, she tried relaxing them by reminding them of happier times; funny dorm stories, botched missions, practical jokes played on General Adolfus., and, of course, the fate-enhanced socks. Hitomi and Merle giggled as they listened, and time began to pass more quickly. Chesta was in the middle of a tale of Dilandau attempting to bake cookies but instead ended up burning half the kitchen down when Dilandau stepped up, glaring at Chesta, The slayer squeaked and sat still, eyes bugging out. Dilandau sat down and finished the story, then told them an embarrassing story of Celena's childhood, making her blush and counter with a story of how he'd received a love letter from a secret admirerer, only to find out it was from one of the general's six year old's. Dilandau glared at her, a flush in his cheeks, but laughed all the same, and was about to counter when something caught his eye. He scooped it up, then tossed it to her. She squealed and held it up to Jajuka, grinning.

"Want to have snails for dinner tonight, Jajuka??" He shook his head, and the crown fell off, flowers wilted and breaking. Several of the boys realized they hadn't removed their own crowns and laughed as they took them off, trying to straighten hair, or bangs or pick petals out of their hair. Celena giggled, then stopped, looking at the house.

"Folken is coming out... What does that mean, Dilandau? Is the meeting over, or are they just taking a break?" Dilandau didn't answer, but stood and met Folken halfway. The group grew silent, and Dilandau returned in a moment, face grim.

"They've made their decision, and they want us all in."

"Does Folken know...?"

"No."

Celena looked at Folken, who's face was pale and very tired. She walked over to him and took his hand, smiling and trying to give him encouragement.

"Don't worry, Folken, I'm sure you'll be fine." He gave her a flicker of a smile, , but his lips remained tightly pressed togther. She looked down.

"It didn't go well, then?" Folken shrugged, and they all trudged on, into the house and past the Crusaders keeping guard. Celena felt almost as though they were walking towards an executioner's room, these their last moments of life. She squeezed Folken's hand again, drawing strength from his presence. They all took a deep breath to brace themselves, and then walked into the room.

I have to admit, I felt sick when I saw the grim expressions on Millerna's, Allen's, and Van's faces. Folken released my hand and walked to stand by his brother, but not before whispering a soft thank you to me. I suppose I wasn't the only one drawing on strength from contact. Hitomi sat down by Van, Merle dragged Dalet, Gatti and Chesta over to sit with her. The twins Erin and Aaron chose to stand with Biore and Viole behind Merle and her captives. Migel, Guimel, Shoji, and Maverick stood behind my chair, Ryuuon stood by the door, Refina and Terra sat next to Hitomi. Talin paced back and forth by the door. Dilandau, in all his out of character calmness, sat near me and across from Millerna. He even bowed to her, which I thought was gentlemanly of him. Though he probably did it only to be a suck up, and he'd never do anything to suck up unless he thought there was no hope. He murmured greetings to them, then sat, waiting for Allen to begin. Allen had cleaned himself up dramatically from this morning, and he no longer looked like a wraith from Hell on a makeup trip. His hair was back to it's perfection state, and his clothes had been changed. I looked down at my own grass-stained clothes and wondered if I should have changed for the queen, even though we'd become fairly close friends in the past two years. Friendships couldn't stand in the way of her duty to her country, and Millerna took her job seriously. It was that determination that had awarded her with the return of Dryden- though, personally, I didn't care for him much; he scared me at times, always asking questions then looking at me funny. If I was him, I'd probably look at me funny too, but Millerna had been different. She'd helped me recover, and she'd given me the feeling that I really did belong- more or less- to Asturia. Would she think of our past conversations and remember me kindly? I prayed for a miracle, and Millerna was the one to begin.

"I just want to star by saying that on behalf of Asturia- no, Gaia in general- what is about to be said will remain strictly confidential and will not be talked about outside of this room." I blinked- I hadn't expected her to say anything like that, and it made me wonder what kind of agreement had been made. No one looked particularly happy, so why bother us with warnings? Why not just get it over with? Millerna began again, and I snapped to attention, hanging on her every word.

"As you all may or may not know, the death of Dornkirk and the destruction of Zaibach's many factories left it a barren country where there was little to profit off of. The sorcerers of the countries fled, seeking shelter and status in the developing territories to the south of the borders. Rusent- the sorcerer sent here by the medical committee of the Zaibach 'healers'- was from one of the larger countries to the south, a place called Cyriell. It's a small country whose resources are just beginning to be delved into, and it will almost definitely become a major power of Gaia within ten years. However, the royalty of Cyriell is growing weaker as the sorcerers grow stronger. I fear that without the threat of a large and powerful nation to keep them in check, they will soon try to reclaim their old lands in Zaibach, hence ruling almost half the main continent. This is where you all come in." I could see everyone almost slide forward in their seats or lean in closer where they stood to her what she had to say. It almost sounded as though she was asking for their help....

"Zaibach is struggling to stay a country; she needs a leader who is intelligent and trusted by her people. Folken is a brilliant scientist, and he is known as the hero who helped purge the country of the sorcerers; a man who gave his life for the good of the world. It's true, many will not accept him at first, because he did kill Dornkirk. But given some time, I know he can win the hearts of his people, and become a good king to lead Zaibach to a more peacful and prosperous nation." Several slayers openly gaped, Hitomi hugged Van fiercely, Folken stood speechless. Van took over for Millerna.

"We don't have enough resources to watch over Zaibach from where we are. We've sent committees, counselors, even minor royalty to try to keep the peace, but there are riots and famines, and no one can keep it under control. We think that you would be best suited for the job- monitored, of course, by selected counselors of the various countries- and using some of the technology adopted from Zaibach, we were able to contact most of the major leaders of the world nations. They approve, on several conditions of ambassadors, the counselors, status reports and so on. But we'll go into more detail on that later. There's still more to go over." The slayers and I gulped- despite my pride and joy for Folken, I still feared what my men's fates would be. Would Van kill them mercilessly again? Or would they spare them, like they did Folken? And what about Dilandau? I cast a look over at him, and he sat, reclined as though relaxed, but I could see the tension in him. I could also feel it- I couldn't hear his thoughts, because he was blocking me out- but I could feel fear, apprehension, and, I was surprised, some resignation. Was he giving up already? I snapped back my attention to Allen as he spoke.

"We also talked to them about the dragonslayers, and what we should do with them. The Duke of Freid, whom we all thought would oppose the idea of their part in the renaissance of Zaibach, actually suggested that they be put under Folken to serve him as an elite force. You have all been pardoned- the leaders agree that your sins were atoned for when you died in battle. You will no longer be the Dragonslayers, however, as they are no longer needed, and hunting down Van will be a sure and quick way down the path of your destruction. You will be called the Sorcererslayers, as your tasks will be hunting down the last of the sorcerers and stopping whatever plans they have. You will also be the main line of defense for the castle of Zaibach- it won't be as grand as Dornkirk's fortress, but the castle is already underway and nearing it's halfway mark of completion. With some encouragement form their new leader, I'm sure efforts will be redoubled. I'm sure you won't find any problems in defense or your positions, but if you do you may address Folken and his counselors, and they will see what they can do to make your job more suited for your skills. Are there any questions?" Migel stpped forward bodly.

"What about Lord Dilandau? We won't serve anyone but him!" Shouts of agreement echoed this, and Millerna looked to Allen. I could feel my stomach churn as they exchanged that look. * Oh gods no... Don't take him from me....* Van cleared his throat, and answered very softly.

"They did not believe that Dilandau is exempt from his crimes. They thought that because he did not die, that he never really paid for his sins, and therefore must do so." I could see him close his eyes, and that look of resignation came over him again. I wanted to run over and shake him out of it, tell him to run, but I found I was beaten to it when Maverick leapt across the room, gathered Hitomi in his arms and pulled a knife out of heavens knows where and held it to her neck.

"We won't let you hurt Lord Dilandau!! Please, Lord Dilandau, get out of here while you still can-"

SMACK!!

Maverick released Hitomi and fell to his knees, clutching at his cheek where he'd been struck. Dilandau stood over him, eyes blazing in fury, hand still raised. His voice was even and soft, which made it actually very threatening sounding instead of calming.

"Did I not say that we would accept the judgments, Maverick? Do you dare go against my word? Do you wish to show them insubordination now, at your moment of freedom? I have accepted my fate, you can deal with it too. If you can't, you don't deserve the right to be called a slayer. I begin to question that even now, seeing as you used a woman as a shield and using others as shield sis a sign of weakness. Remember that, all of you. Now," he said, turning to Van again, " what were you saying?" Van looked from Hitomi, to Dilandau, to Maverick, back to Hitomi, then to Allen and Millerna. Allen took over again.

"They believed that you had not paid for your sins. They wanted a public trial and then a public execution- probably a hanging. But...." Allen looked at Millerna again, who nodded then looked at Van. Van was stroking Hitomi's hair absently, focusing his attention to his boots. Allen waited, then finished his sentence. "But Van was able to convince them to pardon you." I think I swooned right there, because the next thing I knew, Chesta was fanning me and Terra was slapping my cheeks, Allen hovering in the background. I pushed them away, embarrassed, and looked at Allen again.

"What did you say? I kinda got caught up in the moment." Allen smiled, and repeated what he'd said.

"Van was able to convince them to pardon Dilandau." I looked at Van and stared- probably something a Lady shouldn't do when in the presence of royalty and at such an important event and everything, but I didn't care. Then I did something that was probably forbidden in all contexts of manners- again, I didn't care- and I threw my arms around Van, hugging him. After a few awkward moments, I pulled myself off of him and he smiled to me.

"You're welcome, Celena. Though, I didn't really do much." Allen shook his head, and Millerna mimicked this action.

"He's just being modest. He told them about you two- what you had gone through and everything- and then how things began to happen recently with your dreams and everything, then about how you summoned Hitomi, and how you split, and then how the sorcerer was killed-By the by, where *is* the body, Dilandau?" Dilandau, who hadn't moved from his spot over Maverick, suddenly flinched.

"There isn't anything left. Except his head, but that's because it rolled into the bushes and I couldn't find it. The rest was obliterated by one of the sorcerer's own tricks- I won't go into details because it is not something I wish to recall, nor do I wish to describe. Leave it at that, and you'll not regret it." Millerna looked at him for a moment, then decided to take his advice.

"So, he told them everything, and when they asked him if he thought you were the same, he said no. When they asked if you were trustworthy, he said you were honest at least, and you always followed through with what you swore. After a few more battles back and forth, they agreed that you should be given another chance- but you still had to pay for what you'd done. So, your punishment is still being decided on, but you will be given the command of the Sorcererslayers, and you will be General Albatou instead of Captain. There aren't enough military minds to go around to send someone to be in charge of the military in Zaibach, so you'll be monitored by Folken's counselors as well. What do you have to say to that, Dilandau?" Dilandau stood motionless for several minutes, staring at Van. Then, he shook his head and let out a deep breath.

"The only thing I *can* say is... thank you. We will not fail you, nor will you be disappointed in our efforts. Zaibach will return to glory, only this time we won't try to destroy or take over the world."He looked at Van with a slight twinkle in his eyes, though his mouth was even. "We will also give up our hobby of Dragon hunting, though I must say we'll miss it. Sorcerers won't be as much fun as Dragons, but we'll get used to it." Van's arms went around Hitomi, and everyone smiled. So there was going to be a happy ending after all!! A hand came to rest on my shoulder, and I looked up to smile at Folken's face, butterflies in my stomach. He was not smiling however, he was looking next to me at Allen, a frown on his handsome face.

"What about Celena?"

The room was silent, then everyone was looking at me. Yeah, what about me? I looked at Allen, and he smiled, kissing the top of my head.

"She will stay with me; this is her home, and I cannot lose her yet." I had a mixture of relief followed by regret that I would not be joining my boys and yet happiness that Allen wanted me to stay with him a bit longer. So he wouldn't try to marry me off immediately!! I smiled, and hugged him fiercely, then got up and threw my arms around Dilandau, who was still standing slightly stunned in the same spot. I took him by surprise, and we both fell to the floor with a thud. We celebrated for the second night in a row that night- though not quite as recklessly as the previous night, and I felt happy and tingly the whole evening- I'd kissed all the boys on the cheeks, hugged the three girls, danced with Folken, and thoroughly embarrassed Dilandau and Allen. That night, when things began to wind down again, I went to bed thinking of the future, and all that it might bring. It wouldn't be easy, the sorcerers were out there, and there were civil wars going on in Zaibach- Folken would have his hands full, but I knew he could do it. I was so proud of them, so proud of all of them. I wrote a quick note in my journal before blowing out all my candles- except the one by my bed, of course- and I soon fell into a deep sleep, going to dreams of the slayers, Folken, Millerna, my Brother, and Millerna, then they faded away until I was left with my flame, my light in the dark, Dilandau, and I knew that I was never going to be alone again.

*Soooooooooooo??? Y'all like it or what? Lemme know, and send me questions or I'll hafta make up some for the epilogue. 2 chapters in one week, are y'all proud of me?? This chapter's 12 pages long, thank you very much, and I'm veyr proud of it, considering I wrote it in a sitting of about four hours, of the top of my head with very little help from my notes. Now, I'm gonna kick back, finish my costume for the contest on Saturday >though maybe I'll wear it Sunday too...< and watch my ultimate edition of the Esca movie... or not It's 3 AM, so I'm thinking bed is a good thing, ya know? Neways, write me : SirLadySketch@hotmail.com Let me know what you think, k? I'm aiming for 100 reviews, think we can make it? >coughcoughstuffedvoteboxscough< ^_^ Until after Otakon, this is SLS, signing out!*