Thanks for the very kind responses, and for those who don't know the anime, I've put a few pictures up on my server so you can get an idea what people look like.
http://www.no-assumptions.com/escaflowne/charas.html
The only pic of Serena is lower right hand btw. And the page may load slow cause the pictures are kind of big... ^__^;;;;
Twisted Fortune - An Escaflowne Fanfiction
By Bonnejeanne and Nixers
Contact: bonnejeanne@yahoo.com and nixerchan@aol.com
Warnings: Spoilers for the entire series, (nothing else yet)
Notes: Set a little over one year after Vision of Escaflowne's end.
Chapter 2 - Another Way to Travel (part 4)
Allen could hardly sit still for long enough for Millerna to finish securing the bandage around his hand.
Millerna gave the Knight a stern look around concerned eyes. She held onto his hand long enough to double-check his bandages. "That should do it. It looks like you will heal up fine if you avoid attacking any more inanimate objects." She smiled tightly.
The blond swordsman launched to his feet with barely a glance at his hands, which were already curling again into fists. "There's an animate object I'd much prefer..." he growled.
The princess' eyes tracked the knight. "There has to be a good explanation...." she trailed off, catching his expression.
Allen walked over and snatched up the tattered remains of a lavender dress... not much more than the bodice and a few hanging shreds of skirt. "For THIS? It was in his room, by all that's unholy! And they were seen together in the marketplace, not twenty minutes after he told Gaddes he'd stay away from her!" Allen thundered. His fair complexion was starting to show an advancing flood of darker red hue, moving up his neck. He threw the tatters of cloth across the room and stalked its length.
"Allen," Millerna whispered, a hand clasped over her chest. Taking a deep breath, she brought her bearing up. "No matter what *did* happen, do you think you are in any condition to listen right now?"
"No," he growled. "I'm in no condition to listen. I'm in a condition to find MY SISTER before that...." He bit off the next words. His eyes moved, unseeing, around the room and then he stopped on the princess. A vein beat a pulse next to his temple. In a slightly more restrained tone he said, "I... I realize now that I didn't entirely understand Eries' concern for you, once upon a time. I lost Serena so long ago... I won't... I *won't* loose her again."
The princess returned his gaze with sad eyes. She rose from her seat and placed a comforting hand on his arm. "She may still return, there's no guarantee that... that will happen Allen. Van has to know what he's doing. No one else knew D.... him.. better."
Allen turned to look into her eyes and his showed a turmoil that went even beyond what he'd expressed. "I keep remembering... he would not stop... he was killing... her... even when I blocked his way he did not stop. You weren't there, Millerna. The boy had a bloodlust in him. Buried, yes, but greater than.. than almost..." He grit his teeth and shook his head. "I never thought he'd do anything like this, never imagined... but what if... what if he has some demented desire to finish..."
"Listen to yourself. This is *Van* we are talking about. I've heard that he hasn't so much as worn his sword since the war's end... since today." Millerna turned her head, shielding herself from his gaze. "It might not even be his choice. You know how she can get when she wants something..."
He watched her, banking his rage as the conversation nibbled at his impulse to mindless action. "Did you see him in the arena?" he asked more slowly. "I talked to young Kaerin. Van... almost killed him."
"No," Millerna's face was troubled. She was fond of the young Knight. "I simply heard that Van had won."
Allen walked to the wide casement, looking out into the night. "Serena... is troubled. Now it seems Fanel could be as well. I can't simply sit here and wait to receive news of disaster!"
Millerna turned away, her hands fiddling with silk fixings on her dress. "I seem to remember someone you respected very much saying that when you expect disaster, it causes it to happen. Perhaps we should wish for the best... instead of dreading the worst," she asked, her voice rising hopefully at the end.
The look he turned to her was a mixture of unexpected wounding and deep, old pain. "Perhaps we should," he answered, his voice low. "But I can't."
Millerna bowed her head, silent. "You know... whatever you do, I'll support you in it, Allen san."
Allen closed his eyes momentarily. When he opened them, a cooler sanity was in evidence, though just barely. He walked over to the princess and took her hand, kissing the back of it gently. "I know, Princess," he said quietly.
A soft flush spread across Millerna's cheeks, and she couldn't help but smile down on him.
The tableau was broken by a hasty tap on the door, which opened quickly to allow Gaddes to enter. His usually pleasant countenance was pulled with concern and a touch of dread.
Allen looked up, his features hardening before the other man could speak. "What? What did you find out?"
Millerna looked between Gaddes and Allen, her expression closing to carefully school politeness. "Excuse me, sirs."
Gaddes nodded respectfully as the princess swept out of the room before clearing his throat. "Not much. As far as I've heard, only person to see them leave was the night guard at the eastern gate."
A muscle in Allen's tight jaw twitched.
"And, they had a wagon laden down with something heavy. The guards didn't get a look and they dodged the question of where they were headed. East is probably the best guess."
"A big heavy wagon," Allen repeated, puzzlement flickering across his features. "It doesn't sound like they'll be traveling fast. But they did leave the city together." He straightened. "We'll ride east. You, me... Katsu and Pile..."
Gaddes straightened up, for once giving Allen something a bit more than his usual lazy salute. "You got it boss-man, I'll tell the others and have the horses prepped."
Allen nodded, acknowledging the salute. "Not a word to anyone else," he added.
Gaddes nodded again and turned on his heel. Striding down the hallway to their "wrecked room," he snorted to himself, a wry twist pulling up one side of his lips.
/Don't tell anyone, he says. It ain't like your not doing something that everyone hadn't predicted./ He sighed and scratched the back of his neck before throwing open the door to the Crusade crew's rec. room. "Katsu, Pile, get a move on your lazy asses. We're up."
Allen returned to the window for a moment after Gaddes' departure. The sky was starting to lighten in the east. It would be dawn by the time they go out of the city. Fine then. In daylight they could ride faster. With luck they'd catch the heavy wagon and the two in it. At that point, his mind shut off, rather than think about what kind of insanity might ensue at that juncture.
"Wake up sleepy head," a sing-song voice called, breaking up Van's dreams into a fuzzy, pre-aware mist. Blinking awake, he peered up into Serena's smiling face, disoriented, as she idly tried to brush his stubborn bangs out of his face.
He fisted his eyes, not immediately connecting the pleasant sight of the attractive face and voice with a name or identity. His neck and back ached as if he'd slept sitting on the seat of a jostling wagon...
Sitting upright suddenly, he looked around, eyes going to the large, partially-covered lump in the back, and then to the face of the young woman beside him. His eyes widened in an expression that would have looked at home on the face of a seven year old.
Serena followed his gaze back to the tarp. "Yup, he's still there. I never would have dreamed that dragons snore, would you?" She turned to look back at Van. Her face was crinkled with exhaustion but cheerful.
"S-Serena," he seemed to stumble over the name a bit. His expression settled back to a more impassive one, but not completely. /Okay,/ he thought. /I woke up. *He*... wouldn't have let an opportunity like that pass by.../
He looked around at the countryside, which was slowly becoming wilder, with gentle woods approaching the roadside. It was almost park-like compared to the deep forest of Fanelia.
Her face fell slightly as she noticed Van's expression change. "Too bad," she lamented, "Your eyes were more honest a moment ago." She smiled, fighting off a yawn. "Allen always told me that you can tell a lot about a person by their eyes." She stretched, quickly, not waiting for a response. Almost with a negligent flick of her wrist, she tossed the slack reins to Van. "Your turn. I need a nap."
She turned to curl up as much as the cramped seating would allow.
Van looked sharply at her in response to the 'honest' remark. He took the reins just as automatically as she tossed them, gathering them into one gloved hand. Watching her stretch and settle onto the narrow seat, he edged over slightly to give her a little more space, then, slowly, almost unconsciously, reached over with his free hand and brushed a few locks of sandy hair away from her cheek and forehead.
Serena twitched violently and caught his hand as it traced, featherlight, over her cheek. She looked up at him wildly before releasing the glove and settling back with a sleepy murmur. "Oh, s'just you Van."
He watched her, his brows drawing together, but didn't disturb her any further. Glancing at the road now and again to keep them on the right path, the rest of the time, he watched her sleep.
The sun hadn't cleared the trees but the sky was lightening quickly. Lost in thoughts that wove a strange circle in his mind, Van's attention was broken by movement from the back of the wagon. A low half-rumble, half mewl.
The dragon poked its massive head out from the cover of the tarp and moved from side to side. He slowed the tired horse, and turned slightly to look back into the beasts' eyes. It was getting a little easier.
Suddenly, his own nostrils twitched and he knew what the dragon had reacted to. It smelled water. Casting about partially with his own senses but to some extent with the dragon's, he thought he could detect a stream coming within a few yards of the roadway.
He clicked his tongue to the horse and moved forward a little further, then pulled the wagon off onto the grassy verge and stopped it. The equine was more than happy to oblige; the poor thing was about to drop.
Serena snapped out of the semi dream-state she'd fallen into at the unusual jarring of the wagon as it came to a sudden halt. "What's wrong?" she asked, lifting her head.
"Nothing," Van answered, draping the reins down into the box. "We're taking a rest. I think there's a stream nearby." He stood, stretched, and then jumped off the box to the ground. He turned and looked up at her and held up his arms. "Want to stretch your legs?"
"I could use it," she admitted, taking his proffered hands and hopping down herself. "Are you sure it's a stream though? We didn't get far from Pallas and a channel could be dangerous with all the traffic they get." Serena put her hands against the small of her back and arched, trying to work out the accumulated kinks.
Van shrugged. "Don't know what it is, just that it's water and the beasts need some. I could use a drink as well." He looked around but the area seemed deserted. "Be right back," he said, and started off in the direction he thought the water source was.
Serena watch his departure with sleepy dispassion and wandered over to begin unhitching the sweat-lathered horse.
She got a distinct sense of being watched. When she looked around, she saw the dragon's head, now resting on the edge of the wagon.
/No fear,/ she reminded herself. To her mild shock, she realized she felt oddly calm around the dragon, now that she noticed. Some flight of fancy caused her mind to compare it to Van.
"What are you doing out, big guy?" she asked, not expecting an answer. Keeping one eye on the dragonling, she worked at loosening the hitch. "You know you're a loud sleeper huh?"
One golden eye blinked. It gave a sudden and rather startling impression of intelligence.
Serena returned the blink with a thoughtful one of her own. Drawing the reins into a passable lead, she led the exhausted horse away from the cart a few feet. She drew herself up, side by side, with the massive creature. She grinned at it suddenly. "If I didn't know better...."
The dragon sat up suddenly and the covering fell completely off. Its attention swiveled from her to the area beyond the trees, where Van had disappeared. Then, there was a hard shudder of the wagon bed, and the dragon hopped onto the ground.
"Ya!" Serena backed into the horse's flank, startled. "Van! We've got a wandering dragon here!"
The dragon swiveled to look at her, blinked again, then turned back to the woods. Abruptly, it began moving across the grass towards those woods, with remarkable speed for something so massive-looking.
Serena hurriedly looped the equine's reins around one of the wagon's cornerposts before taking off after the swiftly lumbering dragonling at full speed, not sure at all what she was going to do if and when she caught up to it.
Van emerged from the woods, his dark hair dripping - his shirt was wet also. The dragon made a b-line for where he stood. He watched it come, and flung up a hand to Serena, then stepped aside at the last minute as the beast moved past him. A moment later she heard a somewhat loud splash.
"A ...stream... I hope," she panted, looking rather frazzled. "Feather-brained thing... got me all worked up!"
Van crossed the distance between them and nodded, giving his head an absent shake. "Small stream - too small for traffic. I saw a bucket in the back of the wagon," he said, and trotted over to grab said object before returning. He came up beside her with an obvious expectation that she was going to walk with him to the water.
With a small smirk she obliged him, falling into step. By habit, she walked one pace behind him. "You know, strange as it sounds, I'm getting fond of the big lizard." A fancy struck her. "What are you going to name him?"
He glanced at her startled, as if such a thought had never occurred to him. It hadn't. He also looked somewhat oddly at her positioning, slowing as if expecting her to come even with him. "Name a dragon," he muttered.
"Why not? Isn't your dragon named?"
"My.. my dragon?" He stopped and looked at her curiously.
Serena paused also, still a pace's length away. A glazed look of confusion passed over her face. "Your dragon? I didn't know you had one."
He looked into her eyes searchingly for a long moment. Then, he turned back to the stream. "I don't."
"Oh," she said, her tone somewhat disappointed. Looking at the shadow of the bathing dragon behind the copse of trees, she brightened up. "Well... it looks like you do now."
Van threw her a look but simply shrugged one shoulder. He found a place slightly upstream of the dragon, where the bank of the stream was easy to get to, and knelt, rinsing the bucket, then filling it. He looked up at her. "You want to drink from the bucket or the stream?"
"I'm fine. I don't get thirsty or hungry often really," she replied absently. Her attention was fixed on the earth dragon. "I'd name you Gimpy," she said with a mischievous tone, "but I figure you'd bite me for it."
Van made a sound suspiciously like a muffled laugh. He set the bucket down and pulled off his gloves, then pushed his hands into the stream. After a minute, he turned, cupping them full of water. "You need to take at least a drink of water," he said. "It might be a while before you get another chance." He held his hands up.
She looked at him strangely for a moment before obediently kneeling at his side, and placed her hands under his cupped ones.
Dipping her head, she tilted his hands, drinking a few small sips of the proffered water.
He watched her, and the expression might almost be becoming familiar. Familiar enough perhaps to recognize. It was an odd kind of fascination.
Catching his look over his wrists, she drew back, smiling gently. "See! There. Your eyes are honest again."
Those eyes widened, and then he ducked his head, turning to let the rest of the water run out of his hands onto the ground. He rocked back on his heels and stood, then glanced down, offering her a hand up.
An impish gleam shone behind her eyes for a moment. She took his arm behind the elbow and pushed herself up using his weight, more in the fashion of a mercenary. Most ladies would have swooned if it was even implied that their manners were so crude.
He didn't seem to notice the slight in manners, but the *look* was back. Once she released his arm, he grabbed the bucket. "Horse," he said shortly, and turned to head back to the wagon.
Snorting indelicately in the direction the young king had taken, she turned back to regard the dragon. "Are you going to stay in there all day?" She paused. "And do dragons get all wrinkly after a bath?"
The dragon had pulled itself on the bank and was sitting still with just its tail in the water. It looked at her with much the same expression as it had at the wagon and blinked.
"Once a coincidence..." Serena tilted her head with catlike curiosity. Maybe a little test. "Let head back, Gimpy."
The dragon stared at her. Then it turned its head towards the road. It hissed. It drew up. Hissed again. And suddenly began moving with that same unexpected speed back towards the road.
She tried to catch its tail as it passed, but all her fingers encountered was an oddly smooth surface as it whipped by. The force of its passage knocked her flat to the grassy topsoil.
"I'm an idiot," she muttered to herself, smoothly pushing herself back to her feet. She followed the dragon at a more sedate pace. The hissing was unsettling but still... "Whatddaya know!" A grin quirked her lips, and she picked up her pace.
Van had set the bucket down for the tired horse to drink from. He'd also pulled some handfuls of grass and given the animal a very crude rubdown. The sun was peeking over the trees and the exertion was reasonable, so he'd pulled off his shirt and thrown it up on the box.
The dragon was heading across the grass but its path wasn't directly towards the wagon. Instead, it seemed to be angling towards the back of that vehicle, and its attention was fixed on the road.
Serena broke into a full run, noticing the direction it took. Usually, it seemed to go straight to Van. What was the difference this time? Worse than that, over the pounding of the earth dragon's passage, she could have sworn that she'd been able to make out fast hoof beats for just a moment.
Van saw the dragon's movement and followed it, then his expression darkened. Without looking at Serena, he moved toward the back of the wagon, but his voice came back to her. "You've time to duck back in the trees."
Her expression was startled and a bit fearful as the meaning of his words sunk in, without thinking, she hid herself in the shadows provided by a nearby clump of fir trees.
It didn't take long. Horse horses, riding hard. The one in front held a familiar figure. Having spotted the wagon, Allen Schezar was now bearing down on Van, who stood beside the earth dragonling. His expression said sheer murder.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HER?!"
"Boss!" Gaddes and two of his men were riding hard behind him, trying to catch up with the enraged Knight.
Allen drew his horse back hard, only a few feet away from Van and the imposing dragonling. The vicious yank on the horse's bit caused the beast to rear before it settled, prancing in place. Allen's sword was drawn in an instant.
Another blade flashed out just as quickly as Van recklessly imposed his body between the mounted swordsman and the hissing beast.
The two blades met and held, razor edge grinding against edge from the force Allen's rage exerted down on the blade below him.
"What..... have... you... done... with.... HER!" he ground out, seemingly oblivious of everything else in his single-minded passion. The men behind him nearly were thrown from their horses as they sought to stop and back up. They were not so blind, and had heard many a story around vino about Fanelian earth dragons.
The force of the blow drove Van to one knee as he strained to deflect it. He could feel the beast behind him, reacting to Allen's emotional storm. Van had a very clear mental picture of being sliced in half just as the dragon's jaws closed on his back.
"ONIISAN! Wait!" Serena broke from her cover, running to the road. "Oniisan stop! He didn't do anything! I left on my own! Please calm down! Please!" Her eyes darted between the sight of Van at such a disadvantage and the posture of the dragonling behind him. She was about to lose both of them...
"Stay *back*!" Van gritted, hearing her voice coming close. He feared what the dragonling would do, riled by the emotions churning around them. He managed to push Allen's blade away long enough to jump back as far as he dared, choosing the jaws over the steel. Around his neck, a chain swung, the pendant dancing against his bare chest with the movement. The pendant seemed to twinkle and then spark.
Serena ignored Van's warning, stepping between the fighters as Van backed away. Allen's horse danced back nervously, unsure, as its rider both pulled back on his reins involuntarily and dug his heels into the beats flanks as if urging it on. The tip of Allen's longsword dug a small furrow in the ground. He just now seemed to see her, and in turn, the dragon behind both of them.
"Ser..." He began, cut off as the dragonling sat back on its haunches, letting loose an impressively loud, keening wail. The horses and equine spooked.
Van reached forward with his sword arm and pulled Serena back, out of range of the flailing hooves of the plunging horses. As he did so, he felt heat against his chest, and oddly, heat behind him. His free hand groped and closed around the pendant without awareness.
A lick of light, pure energy danced across their feet before shooting straight into the sky as a flood of illumination. The three figures within the circle blurred. Their forms were whitened out in the glare as the wind screamed through the trees and further set the horses deeper into their panic. It took all the riders' skill to keep them from bolting out from beneath them.
As suddenly as it condensed, the light tapered off. It dissolved in at upward motion, leaving behind the small clearing at the roadside as if it had been untouched by the three. The only signs of their presence at all were a damp red shirt, a battered wagon, and the white-eyed equine who was tied to it...
"Shit!" It was Pile who summed it up so succinctly.
Allen stared at the empty space and then up at the sky, disbelieving.
"SERENA!"
END OF PART 4!