Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ To Mend the Rose ❯ Sketches and Cages ( Chapter 12 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Author's Note: I AM BACK FROM THE DEAD!!!!! WOOOOOO!!!! Hem...I am SO SORRY about the...ah...three month long hiatus. ^_^;; I knew I'd be swamped, but MAN. O_o; Yipes. Although, college has been good for me. College anime club video library= love. I am actually becoming more cultured in anime. ^^ And I've found a new series obsession: X/1999. Pretty pretty pretty artwork...*sighs*

Anyways, you don't care much: you're out for the fanfic, right? It's not too long; I'm still trying to fall back into my niche for this fic. But hey, I wrote something, right?

Um...to be frank, this chapter ain't nearly as good as any of the others. But be kind: I'm getting readjusted after three months of no writing. The next chapters will get better, I promise.

Recommendations:

"Mask of Insomnia" by Sand3: Very tasteful shounen-ai with Folken and Dilandau. It mostly consists of philosophical discussions during the night, the dual personality that Dilandau must keep up, and plenty and plenty of angst as the series goes on. It's Sand3 though. How can you go wrong? She's awesome. Trust me; I can't write a summary flattering enough to do this fic justice. Just try it. ^_^

Disclaimer:

Feye: So, Seishirou-san, do I own Escaflowne?

Seishirou: ...the world is ending. What does it matter?

Subaru: You seem so sure the Angels are going to win.

Seishirou: *smirks* Of course I'm sure. How can your side win when your Kamui has no backbone?

Kamui: I resent that!!

Fuuma: Hello, Kamui.

Kamui: O_O EEP!!! *runs away*

Feye: HEM!!!

*The cast of X/1999 turns and stares*

Feye: None of you have anwered my question. Do, or do I not own Escaflowne?

Subaru, Seishirou, Kamui, and Fuuma: Nope.

Seishirou: And I will kindly stick my hand through the chests of any objecting lawyers, and feed them to my Tree.

Kamui: O_O;;;

Subaru: -_-;; Wonderful. Seishirou. We need to talk.

Feye: O_O;; Ahh....ONWARD!!! ^_^;;

TO MEND THE ROSE: SKETCHES AND CAGES by Feye Morgan

Within a week and a half, Dilandau was reliably able to rise out of bed and pace his small room. That feat achieved, boredom soon followed. Van and Allen were usually elsewhere, making plans with Dryden for smuggling the three of them inside Zaibach's borders. And even though the two were hardly pleasant company...any company at all was better than the gnawing silence that grew in his heart as the hours of the day lengthened.

~This is why I hate being alone~ the youth thought sadly. ~There's too much time to think on everything that's gone wrong...and all that I've lost. Or never had in the first place~

Two days before the convoy to Zaibach was due to leave port, Dilandau had taken to sketching, in an attempt to keep his mind occupied. At first he had centered mostly on drawing the hospital staff. He wasn't a very good artist, in his own opinion, and he was rusty by his own standards after recent events.

But slowly, he found the faces on the paper drifting towards those more familiar.

His Dragonslayers.

Tenshi.

~I should draw them, just so I never, ever forget~

Charcoal traced onto paper memories of long ago, expressions captured in time, always to be treasured. Tenshi smiling, eyes full of hope and wisdom. Dalet shooting a glare as he caught Shesta stealing food from his plate. Migel playing his violin. The whole group as children, playing hide-and-seek in the forest from the very angry survival instructor. Moving forward in time, he made sure to sketch each one of them, capturing them the day before they died.

He knew, as his hand traced the lines, that he would always remember them as he drew them. Always happy, always smiling.

~If only I could forget everything else that happened...~

Dilandau closed his eyes and fought off the wave of darkness that threatened to swallow him up.

~Maybe I should have gone with Enmu. Even if he was just an illusion. Maybe I could have been happy again, even if it would have been for only a little while before...~ He chose not to think of that.

Every option was a dead end. The road he faced now was good as hopeless...but he had to try, didn't he? For Tenshi?

For Tenshi. Tenshi had always said that there was hope, no matter how dark life seemed.

But, then, Tenshi was dead, wasn't she.

The door creaked open, and the youth looked up. Van walked in and approached Dilandau cautiously. They still treated each other as enemies; enemies with a truce, certainly, but still enemies.

Dilandau nodded his greeting. "You're welcome to have a seat," he said, indicating that company was not objectionable.

Van drew up a chair and peered at the papers in Dilandau's hands. He paled slightly as he recognized a couple of the faces. The king's expression did not escape the albino's attention.

"Yes, they're my Dragonslayers," he said curtly.

Van nodded, and pointed to a picture of a golden-haired girl, in an attempt to break the tension in the room. "Who is she?"

Dilandau's expression softened almost imperceptibly. "That's Tenshi."

"She's lovely."

"Yes. She was."

The silence drew on, and Dilandau retraced old sketch lines, unwilling to break the silence, but unable to draw his mind away from it.

"How are you feeling?" Van asked at last.

"I'll be able to leave on schedule, if that's what you mean." the boy replied shortly, eyes not leaving the page.

"No, that's not what I mean," Van countered, annoyed. "I asked how you are doing."

"Oh." Dilandau shrugged. "Better. I still can't move my wrist much at all, but that's to be expected. I don't really need it. My ribs are good enough that I can walk fine." He shrugged again. "I've fought in worse conditions."

Van nodded again. He kept looking at the sketches of the Dragonslayers.

The albino sighed. "If you want to ask me something, go ahead. It's not like I have much else to do."

Van opened and closed his mouth. "I was just wondering about...about them." He indicated the sketches with a nod of his head.

Dilandau shook his head. "Why do you care?" he snapped.

Van flushed angrily, and bit back a sharp retort. "I'm just curious, that's all."

"Then you'll have to be more specific if you want me to say anything."

"Just forget it, Dilandau."

The boy shrugged. "Fine."

The king couldn't take it anymore. He stood up abruptly and started to walk out of the room. He paused at the door and half-turned. "Dryden wants us to go over the plan later today, after dinner. I'll come and get you."

Without waiting for a response, the raven-haired boy left.

Dilandau leaned back on his bed and sighed heavily. He particularly hated his existence at the moment. Most of the time he was alone, and even when he did have company, the conversation was strained and tense enough to almost make being alone preferable.

~But why was he interested in my sketches?~ Dilandau wondered. ~I thought he didn't care at all about them. He doesn't. He can't possibly. He killed them without remorse...and I couldn't protect them~

But if Van did care...would that make it better?

No, decidedly not. But...it might help.

~Don't waste your energies on false hopes, Dilandau~ he chided himself, and turned back to his sketches.

~*~*~*~

Dryden and Allen were already waiting in the merchant's study when Van entered with Dilandau. The knight and the merchant were pointedly ignoring each other.

Van groaned. "I knew it was a bad idea to leave you two alone together."

Dilandau raised an eyebrow questioningly.

The king shook his head and looked at the albino. "They get along about as well as you and I do."

"Ah."

Dryden snorted. "It's not me that's disagreeable." He jerked a thumb at the blonde. "You'd think I was out to plan his ruin daily."

Allen glared at the merchant.

"So, are we going to go over the plan, or are we going to exchange pleasantries all evening?" Dilandau asked wryly.

Allen and Dryden glared at the boy, but seemed to regain control.

"Right," Van said as he sat down, and motioned for Dilandau to do the same. "We know how to get to the capital, or at least we think we know. The question is what to do once we get there."

Allen nodded. "We know we have to find the madoushi's records, but none of us have any clue where they are."

"And that's where you come in, Dilandau," Dryden finished. "You can find your way around just fine, but Allen and Van ought to know as well, just so that this operation can go as smoothly as possible."

Dilandau nodded, understanding. "The madoushi labs are connected directly with Dornkirk-sama's throne room: where he kept the giant fate machine...which I'm assuming is now destroyed."

The others nodded. "We're fairly sure of that," Van said. *Especially seeing as I flew straight through the thing,* he mentally added.

Allen frowed slightly. "Van, we've been in that room before," he remembered. "After we were transported from the Mystic Valley. We were hung in cages from the ceiling."

Dilandau's eyes opened wide, the shock in them outclassed only by the realization that Enmu had not been real.

"You...You...were...there?" he managed.

Van nodded. He looked over at Dilandau, somewhat sadly.

"Did they experiment on you too?" the boy asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Allen's eyes shadowed with sympathy.

~Van was...maybe that's why...maybe that's why he's been acting as if he cared a little bit...~

Van shook his head, and then paused. "Well, not really. They...tried to take Escaflowne apart, and it backlashed onto me."

Dilandau winced slightly.

Dryden watched the pair closely and silently behind his darkened glasses. It was interesting how the two suddenly seemed closer, now that Dilandau knew that his archenemy had been in somewhat of the same predicament not too long ago. Although, granted, not nearly to the same extent as Dilandau himself had been exposed to.

"So, we're that much farther," Dryden said, interrupting to get the focus back on the plan. "This is good; I hadn't expected you two to know the room."

Dilandau bit his lip. "It's not exactly that particular room. That's just one of the places they keep the subjects, if they're doing tests on more than one at a time. The real room where all the files on is where they actually do the experiments themselves. It's adjacent to the cage-room. Actually, it's the only exit that doesn't go to Dornkirk-sama's throne room."

Van and Allen nodded. "So, how do we get to the throne room?"

Dilandau bit his lip and thought for a few moments. He looked up, ruby eyes tired. "Anyone have a piece of paper? A big one?"

Allen and Van exchanged glances and Dryden rose to pull out a roll of parchment. The merchant handed Dilandau and pen. "Draw."

The albino's mouth twisted in annoyance at the other man's tone, but chose not to say anything. He didn't feel like it. The sooner this was over, the sooner he could leave, and go to sleep. Maybe tonight he would have good dreams...he could always hope. That's what Tenshi would say.

Tenshi.

~I have to keep reminding myself that I'm doing all of this for her. And when I do...it doesn't seem all that bothersome anymore. It feels like I'm doing something...good~

The silver-haired boy kept the image of a golden-haired child of angels in his mind's eye as he went over the map for the next few hours. Outside, shadows chased away the remaining light as the sun sank below the horizon of the sea. The four were awake long after lamps had sputtered and died in the homes of Palas.

When Dilandau finally made it back to his room, turned out his own lamp, and slipped into bed, his heart and mind were reeling with questions.

~The madoushi had captured him too...maybe...maybe he knows my pain. Maybe that's why...~

But it didn't make sense. Van was cold. Van was cruel. Van hated him, and he hated Van.

So why had the king given him the box of rose pieces?

It was too late to be asking all of these questions. He would think on it in the morning. But for now, he laid his head on the pillow and closed his eyes.

A vision of a smiling girl with silver eyes glowed. ~It'll be okay~ he thought as he drifted off. ~Tenshi is here with me still...she'll protect me~

Maybe there was hope after all.

~*~*~*~*

Yep. I'm rusty all right. Please, contructive criticism will be SOOOOO helpful. I need to get my mind back on track here. O_o It's been such a long while...and absence does bad things to writing talent. -_-

OH! OH! I almost forgot! I've started up an X/1999 RP, if any of you are familiar with the anime and are interested. Please drop in! ^_^

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Rewriting_Destiny_RPG/

Well, I do hope you liked it just the same! I'll be writing more sooner, now that I've actually got my fingers back in gear. Ja!