Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ With Eyes Unclouded ❯ With Eyes Unseeing ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter Two: With Eyes Unseeing

~ My bedroom was painted a soft blue color, with posters of my favorite bands and actors hanging on one wall; the one opposite covered with newspaper articles and medals. Facing east there was a bay window over looking the ocean.

I was lying on my bed, enjoying the warmness and the quiet solitude of the room.

A soft knock woke me from my daydreams.

"Come in." I said, not bothering to raise my head from the pillow.

"Hitomi----?"

"Hmm?"

"It wasn't a dream."

I jerked my head around, seeing my visitor for the first time.

He was a tall, slender man with short green hair that was spiked so he looked even taller. He was wearing the same kind of clothes that boy had been in my dream; the tunic thing, except his was a silverish in color and it almost floated around him as moved catlike across my room.

"Excuse me?"

"Your dream, it was real."

"Then if that was real, then what is all this---? Delusions of grandeur?"

"I do wonder sometimes what Van saw in you… you can be so stubborn and naïve…"

"Van---?" I sat up a bit more, "You mean he was real?"

"I don't have time for this Hitomi… we need to get down to business… And you need to pay attention to everything I am about to tell you."

"Shoot."

The man cleared his throat as he took a seat on my desk chair.

"My name is Folken Lauquer de Fanel; I am Van's older brother and senior by ten years. Three years ago Van ended the Destiny War that claimed many lives."

"Okaaaaaaaaay… I think I'm getting this. Go on…"

"The war claimed many lives, including mine. In fact---"

I blinked, pulling my pillow to my chest as that last bit soaked in.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop the crazy bus… That would make you, dead right?"

He nodded. "For almost three years."

I swallowed hard, starting to edge away from him. "That means you are a ghost or something right?"

He nodded again, his patience with me beginning to wane.

"Ouch…"

"Can we move along now-----? I need to tell you more about your past that you have forgotten."

"How do you know that I lost my memory?"

Folken smiled slightly, "Being dead has it's ups when you become a all-knowing-one."

"Then by all means, all-knowing-one, you have my undivided attention."

Folken just rolled his eyes.

"My brother wished for a Fanelia and Gaea where no one relies on it on the power of Escaflowne. He wished to see the world of Gaea at peace." Folken continued. "And he wished to do what was best by you. He wanted you to have what he never had; a family… So he let you go back to your home."

"I'm confused… but can I ask one question?"

Folken nodded.

I was afraid of what he might say, but I needed to know.

"Did I-Hitomi--- love Van?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Van's point of view)

"Leave us now and you shall live long enough to see the sunrise." I growled at the man who hid in the shadows of the woods.

I pulled Hitomi's limp form closer to my chest, her shallow breathing soft against my neck.

I had to protect her…

The man laughed somewhere behind me. "You leave me the girl and you shall live long enough to see the sun rise."

"You'd have to kill me before I let you touch her."

A mocking laugh came out form the woods again; I spun around, where was he?

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

This was going to get ugly, I knew no matter how much I would like to stand around shouting insults at him, there was only one way to end this.

A fight. To the Death.

Slowly, I lowered Hitomi's limp form to the ground, impulsively brushing her forehead with a light kiss, before I let her go

"I will protect you."

I stood up and drew my sword from its sheath.

"Bad move." The man laughed.

A faint smirk crossed my face as an arrow imbedded itself into the tree inches from my face.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A sad look washed over Folken's face.

"I cannot answer that question, it is for your heart to tell you…but…"

"But what?"

"From what I remember about your and Van's relationship, you did care about each other greatly."

"After I died, and Hitomi--- you---- returned to the Mystic Moon, Van was very sad, for lack of better word."

"I made Van sad…?"
"Yes…" Folken coughed, dropping his eyes.

"So… you still have it…"

"What---?"

He motioned with one to where I was fidgeting with my locket.

"Be careful with that, it used to mean a lot to you." He stood up, pulling a pocket watch from his belt, "But come, it is time to send you back then young One."

I stood up also, staring wishfully at the soft bed.

"You sure I have to go? Things weren't so happy over there when I left."

Folken cleared his throat loudly and moved towards the door to open it for me. "

Yes, I am quite sure and it was been nice talking to you again, and be sure to send my regards to Van, tell him also that he chose well."

"Chose what?"

"Good bye Hitomi." He said pointedly, opening the door for me.

"Fine be that way. 'Bye Folkie." I said stepping through the door.

"Don't call me Folk-."

…The white flash…

… And I was lying on my stomach, and all around me was the sounds of fighting: metal on metal. I closed my eyes tight, hoping that what Folken said wasn't true. There was a thump on the ground next to me, cautiously I opened one eye and saw an arrow less then an inch away from my face.

Of course, I cursed my head off it the proper style of one whom was almost killed without saying a word in her defense.

"Hitomi?! Get out of here!"

I stumbled to my feet; Van was standing about ten yards away, deep in combat with three people, jumping over what looked like to bodies on the ground…Oh please God… no they can't be…

"I said get the #@$% out of here, blast you!" He shouted at me again, blocking gracefully a swing to his head, breaking my horrified stare down with the dead bodies on the ground.

"Excuse me? Where do you think I should run exactly?"

In case you haven't figured out where we where yet, we where in a forest, it was dark and there where some sad little men bent on taking over the world while cutting off my head, while some dude who I take was my boyfriend or something trying to protect my while getting his butt kicked.

And I had almost run myself to death, could hardly stand up _and_ was bleeding badly.

On top of that I was seeing dead people who had green hair.

Peachy, just keen peachy.

If I turned out to be this Hitomi chic when I got my memory back, I sure had dang good taste in men who where so not in touch with their feelings. I felt sorry for them, maybe I could get cable TV hooked up out here and instead of fighting, we all could go over to my house-wherever that was-and watch Oprah while drinking herbal tea.

"Hitomi, duck!" Van shouted trying to work the fight so he could be closer so he could protect me.

Of course, I dropped to the ground, quite shaken when I saw a flash of metal -- a sword--- where my head had been. There was the general name calling from the over weight smelly dude who owned the sword when he saw that he missed.

And this made me mad being called a large amount of four letters when the guy had the hygiene of a dead pig.

So mad I somehow managed to do an one-legged judo kick square at his stomach, knocking the air out of him and sending his sword in the air.

While he was stunned, I made a mad dash on my hands and knees towards the broad sword, hoping that I could use it somehow.

My hand had just closed around the hilt when he kicked my in the chest, making me see stars as I crashed through the air with the greatest of ease.

I looked up to see him as he neared me, his sword drawn and pointed at my neck, my breathing stopped and my heart skipped a dozen beats as everything started to slow down around me…

I rolled over to my side, trying anything to get away from the blade that was flashing through the air like lightning… I closed my eyes, praying that it would all end soon…

The blade crashed to the earth harmlessly to my side, less then a hair away, vibrating slowly.

I laid there for what seemed to be forever starring at that, thinking what if I hadn't been that fast or had eaten five or six extra Little Debbie's cupcakes, when somebody's hands roughly grabbed me from behind and hauled me to my feet.

And I, in the light of the current events and the multitude of times I had almost been decapitated in a short amount of time, screamed for all I was worth.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

"Hitomi! It's me!" Van hissed in my ear, shaking me slightly.

"Oh… sorry."

"Sorry? You almost scared me half to death you little fool." He said angrily his hands still on my shoulders.

"Nice to see you alive too." I said jerking out of his grasp and brushing my clothes off.

He snorted and absently cleaned off his sword on the tunic of the man who had the hygiene of a dead… guy.

The urge to throw up on Van washed over me, but I ignored it out of complete respect towards some guy who probably saved my life.

"You' re injured." Van said calmly looking at me after he had sheathed his sword.

"What?"

"You're injured." He repeated, cautiously touching the cut on my forehead. I flinched.

"No I'm not, I am in the best of health of my entire life."

Van half laughed and gave a high pitched whistle. "All the same, I must insist that you come with me to a healer."

"And if I choose not to?" I challenged, folding my arms across my chest.

"You forget which one of us is holding the sword, Hitomi." He answered, whistling again.

I frowned, "I am not afraid of you."

A horse came trotting out of the bush to my left, "I never said you where." He shot back, holding his hand out to the horse.

"Then say that I choose to go with you, and I am not saying I am, I will only go peacefully under one condition."

"And that is?" He grabbed the reins of a black horse, which I noted, was about twice my height and didn't seem to like me too much.

"No more decapitations."

"Deal."