Escaflowne 1. Once Upon a Time

After going to Florida with our marching band and seeing all the Disney things over again, I had a great urge to write a fanfiction using Escaflowne characters in the movie Beauty and the Beast. I will not follow the story line exactly but I will use the main jist of it and the sequence of events. It is set in modern day times though. You'll see some parody in it. You'll know what I mean when you get there. It won't be a long story... the movie isn't that long... but I'll write till it's finished. I may take a heck of a long time, but I will update. Please don't forget to R&R!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Beauty and the Beast or Escaflowne. Hell... Disney is so dang rich... they could do so much... like not sue me for using their idea...  
  
Chapter 1: Once upon a time...  
  
Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. One stormy night, an old beggar woman came to the castle offering a beautiful pink pendant in return for a glimpse of the prince's magnificent angel like wings before she passed to the next world. The prince, appalled that such a haggard woman should ever bear witness to his glorious wings, refused her request, and sent her away. She warned him that appearances could be deceiving, but he turned her away again. Wrinkles and ugliness melted away and the rags she wore became shining and surreal. She had turned into the Goddess of Wings. The prince tried to beg for her forgiveness, but she wouldn't listen. Seeing that no love lived in his heart nor anyone else held love towards him, she cursed the prince and the castle, including all whom dwelled within.  
  
His once beautiful glowing white feathers in his wings turned dark and gray. What was once easy to hide before, the prince was now cursed to never let be hidden again. His hair of the deepest black grew coarse and gray, and his skin turned deathly pale. Short and well groomed nails grew longer and sharper while his teeth became fanglike. Deep brown-red eyes changed to a fiery red color. He had transformed from a heavenly angel to a demon from hell. The pendant she had offered however was no ordinary necklace. It was an enchanted pendant that swung back and forth, never slowing and never stopping. If he learned to love someone and earn their love in return before the pendant stopped swinging, the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to live a demon for all time.  
  
~*~In the City~*~  
  
In a rural region of Tokyo, Hitomi Kanzaki, a young woman of twenty-two years came out of the front door to her and her father's home. Short golden brown hair blew around untamed in the breeze and piercing green eyes looked around at her surroundings. She started to make her way towards the commercial part of the town, a bag hanging from her shoulder. As she walked by shops and restaurants everyone greeted her, though once she was past, they would whisper to each other.  
  
"Must be heading towards the old witch again. I don't see why so goes to talk to her. She's full of crap," whispered one.  
  
"Yeah, I heard that that old woman can see the future. Should be sent to the mental hospital if you ask me," another agreed.  
  
Hitomi didn't care what they said though. She was an outcast at the town ever since they moved there.  
  
By the time she reached the old store front, most shops were open and ready for business. Entering the almost deserted looking building, a wave of incense hit her and a feeling of calm traveled along with it. The darkness of the room was dimly lit by candles of every color and smell, but a brighter light could be seen near the back of the store. Hitomi made her way by tables of crystal balls, candles, oils, pewter jewelry, kits to conjure up dead spirits, tools hypnotize people, and books for potion making. But of all the trinkets and items, a glass case holding tarot cards of every age and origin was Hitomi's main point of interest. She looked at them for only a moment until she tore her attention away and walked to the bright light that was only now hidden by a thin curtain.  
  
Pulling it back, Hitomi entered quietly seeing that the old woman so many people talked about in town was concentrating on the objects in front of her. The woman wasn't of very old age, but the lighting made her wrinkles look more drastic than they actually were. Shining white hair trailed down from a midnight blue silk bandana and an aged but wise face glowed from the flickering candlelight and faded with each shadow. Her clothing was of the same color as the bandana but on it were geometric shapes of all different colors. Thinning wrists held bangles of all sizes and colors and a few beaded necklaces hung from her weakening neck. No makeup was applied to her face for there was no need in her shadowy store.  
  
Hitomi sat down at a chair adjacent to the one the woman was sitting in and all was quiet. Then the objects upon the table could be seen clearer in the light and Hitomi saw exactly what they were since she walked in... tarot cards. Hitomi had brought her own tarot cards she bought from the old woman a while ago, but seeing that they would not be needed, they remained in her bag. With the silence lingering, she became relaxed, but suddenly the old woman broke the silence, startling Hitomi.  
  
"I know why you have come today child. I had a feeling during the night and brought out the deck of tarot cards that is most precious to me. You wish to have a reading done on your future... you are unsure of what is going to happen and you want more than what is in your life presently. I have already started to see what the cards will tell."  
  
Hitomi was still silent. She envied the woman greatly and had started to see her every week since the time they had moved. She actually dropped into the store on accident when a rain came down very suddenly. The store fascinated her and the old woman she had come to meet and almost love as her own grandmother had become part of her life. Madame Celine had sparked her interest in the reading of tarot cards.  
  
"Now I need you to think about everything that has happened since you arrived here two years ago and everything that happened before that. Think of what you wish to have and what you would wish to come..." Madame Celine's voice droned on inside Hitomi's head, but all Hitomi could hear after the voice faded were the voices of all the town's people... all their whispers of wonder and hatred.  
  
"Do not listen to the whispers Hitomi. Your love for me runs deep but do not trouble yourself on what others think of me. Only think on other events. The cards will tell in time..."  
  
Hitomi closed her eyes and concentrated harder, driving away the voices of everyone else. She then became relaxed and trusted that Celine was doing the reading as she sat there. Slowly opening her eyes, Hitomi saw a look of puzzlement on the old woman's face. Many cards were placed among the table in which each meant a different thing, but the last card that Madame Celine held in her hand was the one that counted the most. She then lowered her hand ever so slowly to show Hitomi what the cards had decided. Hitomi leaned in a little to get a better view and gasped.  
  
"The Lovers? But why?" Hitomi was astonished. Why would it have come out to be 'the lovers'? "I do not love anyone now and neither do I believe I will be falling in love with anyone anytime soon."  
  
"Not everything is what it seems. You may find love in the places you do not believe you will find love. Look hard my dear... the cards are never wrong. Remember that love can be found everywhere and anywhere... you may have to look deep within yourself to find it. I want you to take this deck Hitomi and hold onto it, but do not dwell on what I have shown you. It will come to you when the time is right... now you must go."  
  
Hitomi looked at her with surprise and was about to say something, but the deck was gathered up and pushed into her unsuspecting hands. A quick nod at the girl sent her on her way, but did not even leave her with time to say thank you and goodbye.  
  
Walking out of the shop dumbfounded, Hitomi walked back towards her home with tarot cards in hand. She did not snap out of her reserve until a very familiar voice called out her name.  
  
"Hitomi!"  
  
'Oh no...' she thought to herself. 'Not him. Why does he have to be here now?'  
  
"What a coincidence running into you here." Allen said, showing his wide smile very widely.  
  
Hitomi put on a fake smile. Allen Schezar... the most eligible bachelor in the town... the most attractive man that lived there was after her heart. His long blond hair reflected the sun gloriously and blew lightly in the breeze with a hair tie pulled halfway down its length. The jeans clung to his lower half and his leather jacket hung open loosely revealing a tight white shirt that outlined each chest muscle. Any girl would swoon at the sight of him, and Hitomi was expected to, but her interest did not lay in him. The only problem was that he had his eye on her since she had arrived a few years back. She held back all the rude comments in the back of her mind, took a deep breath, put on her best smile and replied, "Yes... in this small of a town its not very often we see each other." She couldn't help but add more sarcasm in her voice, but even Allen didn't notice it.  
  
Allen then noticed what Hitomi was holding and grabbed it out of her hands. "Tarot cards again? Why do you use these? It's not normal. The town says that you've been talking to that old nut in the fortune telling shop again. You should do better things... like be with me."  
  
He stated it so simply and Hitomi merely cocked an eyebrow at him. She then reached for her cards, but Allen pulled back his hand. This in turn caused Hitomi to stumble forwards and land against Allen's chest. She tried to push away immediately, but his arm went around her shoulders and held her there.  
  
The anger in Hitomi was starting to bubble up, but she refused to let it show.  
  
"Why I can't help but notice you're falling for me." Allen stated deftly.  
  
"Allen please let me go."  
  
He ignored her plea completely and continued to rant on, "You know you should ride with me on my motorcycle sometime."  
  
After a little struggling, Hitomi managed to wiggle free from Allen's grasp and grab her tarot cards away from his hands that were now waving around as if trying to illustrate something. The deck of cards instantly went into her bag to be kept safe and she then looked at him and replied, "I have my own motorcycle Allen. I don't need to ride on the back of someone's when I can just ride my own."  
  
"But women shouldn't ride motorcycles Hitomi! They should ride on the back while the men do the driving. Motorcycles are no plaything for women... they're big and dangerous."  
  
Anger started to build up inside of Hitomi as she listened to every word coming out of his mouth thinking that he would regret every word. Her hands balled up into fists and her nails started to dig into the flesh of her palm. Then one thought came into her mind...  
  
"Allen I'm so sorry, but I have to get going. My father was going to work on the car today and he said he needed my help, so I have to run."  
  
"Well I could always help you know."  
  
"No! That's ok; I wouldn't want you to get your hair all dirty and greasy." Hitomi was trying to make up excuses for him as fast as her mind could process them for the last thing she wanted was Allen ruining their only car. "Plus that looks like a new pair of pants... you really should stay away from dirty stuff with new clothing like that. Thanks anyways! Bye!"  
  
With no chance to reply, Allen was left alone on the sidewalk while Hitomi ran off towards her house where her father was. She came in sight of it and saw that the 1967 red Cadillac Eldorado was already outside on the driveway, tools scattered around it with a pair of feet sticking out from underneath. It had been acting up lately and other than Hitomi's pearl blue Honda Rebel, it was the only other vehicle capable of transporting her father. The car had to be fixed by tonight for her father was a businessman. A meeting in a city about one days travel was called and he had to attend. If the vehicle was fixed by midday, he could leave before sundown and get there the next day.  
  
Hitomi's father could hear Hitomi walking up towards the car so he called for her to hand him the wrench. Handing him the tool, she sat next to his legs on the warm pavement.  
  
"So how was your day so far sweetie?" her father asked from under the car.  
  
"I saw Madame Celine this morning," she replied.  
  
"Oh really? And what did she tell you?"  
  
Hitomi hesitated for a second. She didn't want to tell her father much for she didn't want him to worry, so she told him a partial lie. "She just said the usual. But she did give me a deck of her old tarot cards."  
  
"I believe you when you say she gave you some tarot cards but I'm not buying the part about what she said. I know something is troubling you Hitomi... what did Celine really say?"  
  
Hitomi almost giggled a little. 'My father knows me to well... he can see right through me,' she thought to herself then said aloud, "She told me that I would find love soon but that I would have to look for it. It could be anywhere... I don't know what to think. I do not think that I'm in love with anyone."  
  
Her father rolled out from underneath all the pipes and framework under the car. "What about that Allen guy? He seems nice and very handsome. Maybe you'll fall in love with him."  
  
Hitomi looked at her father with a disgusted look. "Sure he's handsome, but he's also self-centered, arrogant, ill-mannered, he has no common sense, and he has no respect for anyone other than himself. The day I fall in love with him is the day that mom comes back to us," but once those words came out of her mouth, they were regretted. Hitomi and her father looked at each other sadly for the subject was a tender one.  
  
"If I could bring back you mother Hitomi, I would... but none of us can. She's in a better place now... let's just remember that she suffered enough with the illness and all."  
  
Hitomi nodded her head slowly but surely. She had her father still and nothing was going to change that... nothing.  
  
In about an hour, the car was fixed and ready to be started up. Both parent and child held their breath as the key was turned and the whole car gave a noise and vibrated with a rumble. Its engine hummed as it sat idling and a smile was fixed on Hitomi's face. Her father turned the car off and walked into the house so he could pack his things for the trip to the city. He wasted no time and was soon washed up, changed, packed, and fed. He grabbed his bag, threw it in the trunk and gave a final goodbye to his daughter who was now standing in the doorway of the house. As he pulled out of the driveway, he honked the horn a few times and sped off down the road of the small town.  
  
"Be safe!" she called out to him. She lingered and watched as the car drove out of sight and then dragged herself back into the house to relax and think about Madame Celine's words.  
  
~Hitomi's Father~  
  
He had been driving for around an hour now and he was well out of the town. He was rather confused though for the road he took didn't look familiar. The signs were worn and the graffiti painted upon them covered most of the writing. With much contemplation about the split in the road, Hitomi's father picked a road and drove down it. The woods around the road got denser and the road turned to dirt. More paint could be seen sported upon the trunks of trees and everything seemed to close in upon the car like the jaws of a dog. The fear was building up in the poor man and nothing seemed to be right. Then in the distance he saw lights. He then felt thankful that someone was there to help him, but as the lights drew closer, his fear rose. Motorcycles... but they weren't like his daughter. This was a motorcycle gang... a ruthless bunch of teens that caused havoc to all those around them and made their life a living hell.  
  
There was no where to turn the car around and even when he looked in his rearview mirror, more headlights were coming his way. He was surrounded on all sides... a gang in front and behind and trees on both sides. Consumed by panic, he sat in the car and waited. The lights drew even closer and he could now hear the clear laughter of many of the bikers. As soon as they came into view, an object flew towards his car and hit the hood. This in turn snapped him out of his mood and one thought came to mind. 'Turn on the brights...'  
  
It sounded like a pointless idea, but he listened to his thoughts and did what it told him. The headlights on the car brightened entirely with a flick of the switch and many of the bikers had to look away from the sudden change in light intensity. This gave him just the opening he needed. The car flew forward and raced in-between a few of the bikers. The car started to get out of control as the dirt road twisted and turned at every chance. With the gang now following right behind the car, it became harder to anticipate the road in front. Without warning, the road turned sharply and Hitomi's father didn't have a chance to react. The car tore into the trees and stopped completely when it crashed into a giant oak. The windshield was shattered and smoke leaked out of the front. The driver's door was also ajar and nearly broken off, but a few feet from the accident lay Mr. Kanzaki, hands covering his head and breathing hard.  
  
By rolling out of the vehicle just before it crashed, he managed to avoid getting knocked unconscious or even getting killed. The revving of motorcycles in the not to far off distance told him to jump to his feet and run. His body felt sore from the landing, but he ran anyways. The road was long, but his feet took him down it. It seemed like forever that he ran and the bikes got closer than ever. He thought that all hope was lost right until he turned a corner and stopped dead in his tracks. In all its magnificence stood a castle, its gates were large but they offered safety. His breath was running short, but he ran towards the gates and pushed upon them. When they wouldn't budge, he yelled out into the night towards the castle for anyone to hear him but there were no signs of life. Not until the gang swerved from around the bend did his gaze return to them. He gripped the gate behind him like a life preserver and prayed to all the heavens that he would not die at the hands of the gang. That is when he became incredulously confused.  
  
The bikers had come upon him, but when they looked behind his body at the castle, recognition came to their minds and all gave a show of great terror. Each turned around harshly and sped down the road back whence they came. Mr. Kanzaki, who was extremely frightened, felt a sigh of relief wash over him as he saw the gang leave, but he was still utterly puzzled. What made them leave so suddenly? Before he could think of what he should do next, the gates which he was leaning upon started to give way and opened with his body weight that pushed upon them. Stumbling backwards, he caught himself and turned back around. He was now facing the castle directly and could examine it more closely than before.  
  
'Why haven't I ever heard of this place?' he said to himself.  
  
The castle in general was enormous. Missing it would be very hard but then again it was located in the middle of a forest where biker gangs raided each street and road that led to it. Though the castle was beautiful in décor and architecture, a dark shadow lay over the castle and gave it a foreboding feeling along with a sensation of loneliness and melancholy.  
  
With his cell phone smashed up somewhere in his wreck of a car, Hitomi's father decided to journey into the castle. For all he knew there wasn't anyone living out here for miles and if he walked the gang could find him. The possibility of getting lost within the woods had an even greater chance. With all this in mind he made his way towards the giant doors of the castle's entrance.  
  
The handles that hung against the wood were rusted and discolored. Hitomi's father lifted one and knocked it against the door which in consequence sent a rattling and banging noise outside and inside the castle. He waited and noticed just how dark it was. The night breeze crept up his pant leg and blew his hair slightly. It was cool and moist and sent chills down his spine. Then without warning, the giant door in front of him opened enough for him to walk in. Nobody peaked out from behind the door to welcome him in, nor did the door open any wider. A little unsure of what to do, Mr. Kanzaki took a small step towards the opening and poked his head inside.  
  
"Hello?" he whispered. "Is anybody there?" he said a little louder.  
  
There was no answer. When he thought he heard a noise, he pushed the door open a little wider and walked into the castle fully. Shutting the door behind him, he looked around in mild confusion. What if the castle was abandoned? What if no one really lived here and he didn't have a way of getting back home? The thought frightened him even more. He didn't want that to happen so he pressed his search around the mysterious castle for any signs of life.  
  
Though windows existed on every wall possible, little light showed through and the castle was dark and dreary. He walked not far until a light was seen going down one of the corridors that came off the hall Mr. Kanzaki was traveling down. He then walked after it and followed the faint glow of light. The light didn't stop moving even after he called out a few times. It went around corners and never gave him a chance to get a glance of the person carrying the light source. Then without warning the light went out and the only lighting within the hall was a few candles set in holsters against the wall.  
  
Continuing forward, Hitomi's father didn't know what to expect until something hit the back of his legs. He tumbled forwards and fell on his hands and knees. A sting of pain shot up his leg as he hit the ground, making him unstable. That is when he heard a voice directly behind him and figured it was the culprit of the pain infliction. There was something wrong with the voice though... it sounded almost childish. Flipping around and now sitting on his butt, Mr. Kanzaki looked in amazement at the little silver haired girl before him. The lighting made it hard to see, but the outline of her figure was that of a child's.  
  
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" she demanded.  
  
He answered, "I... I... I was... chased by a bike gang and my car... it hit a tree. I don't know how to get home."  
  
The girl's red eyes lit with suspicion until a little boy of the same height popped his head from around a corner and spotted the stranger in their castle. He saw the pain that showed in Mr. Kanzaki's eyes and rushed forward from his hiding spot.  
  
"Dilandau wait! He's hurt!"  
  
The girl turned around when she heard her name and watched as the boy with the brown bowl cut hair rushed forward.  
  
"Chesta... you're interrupting my interrogation!" Dilandau tried to sound threatening when saying this but it came out high pitched and almost cute sounding.  
  
"But he is hurt! We have to help him! You heard what he said... that stupid motorcycle gang is chasing people around again. He is lucky he escaped with his life..."  
  
Dilandau didn't want to admit anything so she crossed her arms in front of her and turned her head away from Chesta. Mr. Kanzaki just looked on in amazement and confusion.  
  
"Let me see your wound," said Chesta.  
  
Lifting his hand where he was gripping, a gash was revealed on the side of his thigh and there were cuts on his arms, hands, and knees. He hadn't noticed the pain all before because of the surge of adrenaline from the chase, but now it all started to sink in and throbbing pain consumed his mindset. He groaned when he tried to get up off the ground, so Chesta pushed him back down and shook his head from side to side. With a quick shout in one direction several other chibi heads popped from behind the same corner that Chesta came from and one by one ran towards Hitomi's father. Dilandau stood there the whole time looking at Chesta as if asking what he was thinking.  
  
Chesta just smiled a toothy grin and turned to the others, "Ok everyone, we need to get him bandaged up and comfortable. He's had a rough night so be gentle. Dragonslayers! To the sitting room!"  
  
When the command was given, all the little boys that Chesta called over lined up on each side of Mr. Kanzaki, and wriggled their small hands under his body. A count of three was given and those who Chesta called Dragonslayers lifted their injured guest above their heads like a person crowd-surfing. It was a strange sight to say the least... about a dozen little boys who all seemed to have been grown men at one time were carrying a reclined full grown man around a castle. One of the boys holding Mr. Kanzaki up left his position when the group reached a door. He pushed it open seemingly having a difficult time to get the task completed. When there was enough room to walk through, he retook his position and the chibi Dragonslayers marched their way into the large sitting room.  
  
Dilandau, who was following behind the group silently, also walked into the dimly lit room and nearly collapsed at what she saw. "What do you think you're doing Chesta?! That is the master's chair! He cannot sit there! He shouldn't even be here!"  
  
"Dilandau! Calm down! He is injured and has no way to get home. We must be hospitable." Chesta retorted.  
  
A few of the boys were bustling around getting this and that while Mr. Kanzaki made himself comfortable in the large armchair sitting directly in front of a roaring fire. A foot stool was brought over and he propped his injured leg upon it. A warm washcloth with water cleaned the wounds and the productive little boys bandaged them up.  
  
"Thank you..." Mr. Kanzaki started to say but Chesta interrupted him.  
  
"No, no it was our pleasure," he said while giving a slight bow.  
  
"This is an outrage! If he finds out, it might be our heads!" Dilandau, though she had a girl's appearance, grabbed Chesta roughly by the front of his shirt.  
  
Chesta just waved his hand in a 'back-off' manner and tried to cool Dilandau down. To try and reassure him, Chesta's one thought became words. "Who says that Lord Van will even find out?"  
  
But without warning the door which they came in through burst open and a huge gush of wind was sent inside. The fire shifted in all directions from the surge of air and all were silent. Each Dragonslayer fell silent, took a few steps back with heads down, and seemed to cower in fear. Mr. Kanzaki was aware of another presence, and by seeing the reactions of all the little Dragonslayers, he became terribly frightened. He heard a low growl behind him but dare not look back. He heard a swoosh of air and felt a push on the chair he sat in. Cautiously he looked to his right and then to his left, but he saw nothing. He nearly breathed a sigh of relief until he looked above the fireplace. From the light beaming into the door, the shadow of a winged person stood on the stone of the wall.  
  
With eyes closed and heart pumping quickly, Hitomi's father turned around to the one place he didn't look yet. His gaze traveled upwards towards the top of the armchair. The darkness concealed most of him, but large grey wings spanned from his back and a fang protruded from his smug smile as it reflected in the light. Gasping in horror, Mr. Kanzaki jumped from the chair and turned around to sprint from the room, but was caught unaware when the winged man stood right before him in the path of his escape. A clawed hand swung out and grasped the father's shirt threateningly. Without a second thought, his wings pumped downwards and lifted the two people up off the ground. The high ceiling was higher than Mr. Kanzaki had imagined for now he was being held at the peak of their height trying not to look down at the ground.  
  
"Why have you come here?!" the man demanded of him.  
  
"I... I... I... I was chas... chased by a gang and my car... I can't get home... I didn't have anywhere to go..." he stuttered quickly.  
  
"Well you are not welcome!" and with that he released his grip from Mr. Kanzaki's shirt. He plummeted to the ground and in one swift motion was grabbed again and was no longer falling. The 'angel' flew closer to the door and a few feet above the ground, dropped his captive. The one who the Dragonslayers dare not say anything to landed near his prey and grabbed the back of his shirt, thus dragging him away and out the door. Mr. Kanzaki, who had gotten quite shook up, lay motionless as the demon dragged him away to the prisoner cells in the high tower. It would be days till Hitomi ever found her father, but she would have never expected him to be held prisoner... by a demon.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
AN: If you're wondering why I picked that motorcycle for Hitomi, it's because I love Honda... my brother has one and that certain style by Honda is very light which is critical when a woman is driving it. I tried to hold up my brothers by sitting in it and it was unbelievably hard. You'll see why I threw Hitomi on a motorcycle also later on. It comes into play... trust me. If you are confused on what I mean by 'What was once easy to hide before, the prince was now cursed to never let be hidden again.' I'm pretty much saying that he can't retract his wings... they must stay out in plain sight of everyone until the spell is broken. Please tell me what you think so far. REVIEW! You must! This story is too short to just review at the end! I need feedback. Oh yeah! If you would like me to send you an email when I update, just tell me in your review and I'll get your address from your profile or tell me your email in the actual review. Please don't feel bad, it takes only a few seconds to send out emails to say I updated. Thanks! 


	2. Sacrifices

Thank you everyone that reviewed! I can't believe I got so many reviews for the first chapter... it really got me to writing this chapter sooner than I planned. Remember the update email list and if you would like to be a part of it to just tell me so. I'm glad many of you like my version of Beauty and the Beast so far! Please read on!  
  
Disclaimer: Tale as old as time, disclaimer as old as rhyme, I don't own Escaflowne or anything related to Disney... they own all the movies and ideas and such.  
  
"Well you are not welcome!" and with that he released his grip from Mr. Kanzaki's shirt. He plummeted to the ground and in one swift motion was grabbed again and was no longer falling. The 'angel' flew closer to the door and a few feet above the ground, dropped his captive. The one who the Dragonslayers dare not say anything to landed near his prey and grabbed the back of his shirt, thus dragging him away and out the door. Mr. Kanzaki, who had gotten quite shook up, lay motionless as the demon dragged him away to the prisoner cells in the high tower. It would be days till Hitomi ever found her father, but she would have never expected him to be held prisoner... by a demon.  
  
Chapter 2: Sacrifices  
  
Outside of the Kanzaki residence, there was a crowd of some teenagers. They all chatted amongst themselves and were all circled around the one and only Allen Schezar. Everyone was mildly curious as to what the playboy was planning especially since they were standing outside of Hitomi's residence. Allen pushed his way through the people gathered around him and made his way towards the front door. As he walked across the lawn, the sound of a few girls crying and whining echoed throughout the throng of people.  
  
Three girls all who had blond hair stood together with tearful eyes as they watched the love of their lives going to the home of another woman. The tallest one was very quiet but the youngest couldn't help but shout to Allen.  
  
"Why Allen? Why of all people do you want Hitomi?"  
  
He turned around quickly while flashing a pearly white smile and replied, "Millerna... Hitomi is the only girl for me. She's smart and intriguing, she's beautiful..." at this he paused. "Well... not as beautiful as me... but she is the girl for me. I deserve her..."  
  
The other two girls who appeared to be Millerna's sisters enveloped each other in a comforting and hoping hug. They did not want to loose their Allen, especially to a girl who didn't quite fit in.  
  
Allen puffed out his chest and held his chin up high as he knocked on the door to the front of the house. Hitomi had been reading a book in her favorite chair in the family room when the knock came. The sudden sound snapped her out of her story and she quickly got up to answer the door. When she reached the door, she stood up on her tip-toes to look out the peep hole and instantly fell back a few steps because of what she saw. She gave off a heavy sigh and prepared herself to give the person a quick farewell. Putting on her fakest smile, she opened the door a crack and tried to act surprised when she saw Allen standing on the front stoop of the house. Instead of standing a few feet from the door, he leaned right against the door frame.  
  
"I'm sorry Allen..." Hitomi started to say, "but I'm really busy now... I need to get back to my work so I'll talk to you another day."  
  
Once those last words came from her mouth, she started to shut the door as quick as she could without being as rude as she wanted. Before she could get the door close, a hand flew onto the edge of the door and held it open so as not to be shut fully. The strength was much more than what Hitomi had and easily forced the aperture to become bigger. Hitomi backed away from the door as Allen stepped into the house and closed the door behind him. He started to walk towards her, but Hitomi just kept on backing up.  
  
"Hitomi... this is your lucky day. Today is the day that I confess my love to someone." Allen said very confidently. "And can you guess who that lucky person is?"  
  
"Let me guess..."  
  
"You Hitomi... today we celebrate our love union..."  
  
"Our what?" she asked with much confusion.  
  
Allen continued, "It is the day of our love union... today is the day that you become my girlfriend. You should feel honored Hitomi. You're the luckiest girl in town to get a handsome guy like me."  
  
The whole time Hitomi had been walking away from Allen who kept approaching her. Hitomi started to get uneasy so she made her way back to the front door, walking backwards the entire distance. Allen was feeling rather full of himself by now and he thought he had Hitomi cornered when her back hit the door. Placing both hands against the door on either side of her head, Allen trapped Hitomi.  
  
Hitomi meanwhile was trying to find words to keep him at bay while she fumbled for the door knob. "Allen... I'm flattered... I truly am... but I... I just don't think that I'm ready for such a commitment."  
  
The knob was found and Hitomi turned it in a big hurry for Allen's head kept creeping closer and closer to hers. 'Thank all that's holy for doors that swing open both ways.' Hitomi thought as she leaned back with the door and followed through with it as it swung outside. Allen on the other hand had put all his weight upon the door and in turn lost his balance and ungracefully flew out of the doorway onto the front lawn. The door then slammed behind him and all who were standing waiting for the news looked at him in utter shock. Many were about to ask what happened but the scowl on Allen's face told many to back off. He stomped off, his ego damaged, and his determination rose even more. He would not stop at anything until he had Hitomi as his own...  
  
Hitomi, now safe inside the house with door shut and locked, looked down at the floor and sighed even more heavily than the last. "I should feel honored he says... I'm the luckiest girl in town he claims... why should I feel honored or happy? He didn't even ask me if I liked him! He just claims that today we are going out without a word to me. What a pig headed, self hearted fool!"  
  
Stomping back to her reading spot, she angrily sat down and picked her book back up. "Why can't I be like the girls in the fairy tales? Their lives are full of adventure and wonderful caring men... my life is full of boredom and uncaring boys who still haven't grown up enough to be called men."  
  
She closed her eyes to imagine the life of a character in the stories, but was once again knocked out of her dreaming when the phone rang. Getting up once again but this time more slowly, she walked to the nearest phone which was located on the kitchen wall and picked it up with dread, hoping it wasn't Allen on the other side.  
  
"Hello?" she answered.  
  
"Is this Hitomi Kanzaki?" the voice asked.  
  
"Yes this is... and may I ask who this is?"  
  
"Miss Kanzaki... this is Rio Musaki..." he answered.  
  
"You work with my father correct?" Hitomi inquired for confirmation.  
  
"Yes... so you do remember me. It has been a while. With your father doing all his work at home, I never get to see you or him very often..." Rio seemed to pause for a second but continued on, "Speaking of your father... is he home?"  
  
Shock hit Hitomi like lighting. "No..." she hesitated slightly, "he isn't home. He left for the meeting more than two days ago. I haven't heard from him since he left..."  
  
"I thought maybe he had fallen ill and had to turn back and go back home. A day of leeway is given for everyone attending the meetings in case something happened on the way here so we thought nothing of it when he didn't show the first day, but he still hasn't shown up. Usually the person would have called us to tell us something had come up or something went wrong so they couldn't make it... but no word has come from him. You say you haven't talked to him these past few days?"  
  
Hitomi started to get worried and she was now fidgeting with the phone cord. "No I haven't gotten a call from him since... he usually calls when he arrives to assure me he arrived in one piece... but..."  
  
"We called his cell phone, but it said that he wasn't available. It was like that all day yesterday and today." Mr. Musaki replied.  
  
"My father always keeps his cell phone on... it's never turned off... I don't know why he would have turned it off..."  
  
Confusion invaded her thinking... no thought process came out straight. 'What could have happened?' she thought to herself.  
  
"Hitomi... if you do hear from him, please give us a call. We will just have to move on with business without him. If we do get in contact with him then we will inform you."  
  
"Ok... thank you... goodbye..." and those were the only words that could make it out of Hitomi's mouth before she hung up the phone and shrunk to the floor. This was highly unusual for her father to act this way. First he is days late for the meeting, then his cell phone is off. A call to his only daughter was never made and he has not been heard from since. It was very unusual... almost too unusual for her father.  
  
'Anything could have happened... but what?' she asked herself.  
  
Picking herself up off the floor, Hitomi started to pace back and forth in the kitchen. After a few minutes she realized that pacing wasn't going to do any good. A quick walk out of the kitchen brought her to the coat rack that stood near the front door. Hanging upon it was her leather jacket and motorcycle helmet. Without a second thought, the jacket was lifted off its hook and thrown onto its owner where then gloves from the pockets were pulled out and placed upon her hands. With the navy blue helmet now under her arm, Hitomi grabbed the key off the hook and walked through the door that led to the garage.  
  
By the press of a button, the giant door slowly moved its way up revealing a blood red sunset. The light streamed in and illuminated both bike and owner in shimmering rays of gold. With key now placed in the ignition, she turned it making the power turn on. The helmet was thrown atop her head and buckled under her chin. A flexible leg flew over the leather seat and landed on the opposite side. With the motorcycle now straddled between Hitomi's legs, she kicked up the kickstand, and started the engine up with a press of a button. The engine hummed lightly as it sat in the open garage but when the right handle was twisted, it roared to life. The visor on Hitomi's full face helmet was pushed into place with a quick motion of her hand.  
  
Once ready, Hitomi shifted out of neutral and brought the bike to life. Her feet came off the ground just as she gave the engine its queue to move the bike forward. The sensor on the garage door hit the special sensor on the bike and automatically started to close as Hitomi rode from underneath it. With a quick glance to each side of the road, Hitomi sped off of the driveway and onto the street where the distant cry of the engine could be heard humming its never-ending song.  
  
After riding for over an hour, the sun was just disappearing against the horizon. With no sign of her father's car, she started to worry. The street had gradually turned from concrete to bricks to pebbles and now to dirt. The road was hard to drive upon, but Hitomi didn't turn back just because of its condition. With the last rays of sun still illuminating what they could through the few trees that had sprouted up along the road, Hitomi came to a fork in the road... the same split that Hitomi's father had encountered. The road sign covered in spray-paint was illegible and Hitomi looked for any hints of where her father might have gone. The dirt road did not hide any markings. Pushing up the visor on her helmet, Hitomi's eyes followed the grooves upon the dirt which eventually trailed left. A car had definitely been there... Hitomi knew it had to be her father's.  
  
The visor was slid back to its original place and Hitomi sped off in the direction which the markings led. The forest became denser and with the sun gone, the only light left came from the moon which was barley able to shine through the leaves that grew towards the sun, and the headlight on Hitomi's motorcycle which lit up her surroundings. When she traveled a little further, more tire marks were revealed along the road. Traveling more slowly now, she looked everywhere for any signs of her father. With more twists and turns in the road, the search started to become frantic.  
  
Suddenly Hitomi saw some trees that had been broken and overgrowth that had been disrupted. She came closer to see a sharp turn and many broken branches within the trees. Her heart pounded harshly against her chest as her worst fear played itself in her mind. Mechanically she flipped the kickstand down and swept her leg over the bike to dismount. When both her feet were on the ground, she frantically ran towards the dismembered trees. Just a little ways in from the road, a car, with pieces of it feet away from where it was, sat crunched against a giant tree. The driver's door was hanging barely on its hinges and the windshield was shattered.  
  
Being mindful of the parts scattered throughout the grass, Hitomi quickly made her way to the wreck. She held her breath until she reached the driver's side. Using the light from her motorcycle's headlight, she glanced into the car expecting to see her father's body, unmoving and blood covered, but instead she saw nothing. Relief calmed her nervousness, but there was one question still on her mind.  
  
"Where is he?" she asked aloud. She scanned the remaining area to make sure he wasn't laying somewhere beyond the car and went back to look inside the car. The suitcase was still in the trunk and his briefcase, or what was left of it, was on the floor of the passenger side. His cell phone however was barely a cell phone anymore. The impact causing the whole front of the car to get pushed in had in turn pushed the dashboard into the front seats. Nothing was accessible or in working condition.  
  
'That explains why no one can get a hold of him... his cell phone is destroyed,' she thought to herself.  
  
She quickly exited the forest and walked back towards her bike. Soon enough she was off riding down the winding road. It was only a short time later that she came into view of the enormous castle. Hitomi became so awed with its beauty that she immediately shut off the motorcycle as if it would ruin the image. Once again she put the kickstand down and slowly walked towards the giant gates. While observing the majesty of the mysterious palace, a flutter of cloth caught her eye. Running towards it, she found that it was a piece of her father's shirt.... the same shirt that he was wearing when he left the house more than 2 days ago.  
  
Looking back at the castle through the bars, she knew she would find her father inside. She pushed against the iron gates but the size made them heavy and hard to move. With much exertion, the steel gave way and Hitomi opened a space just large enough to walk though. The black boots she wore clapped upon the walkway and seemed to echo off from the castle. As she walked, she undid the strap on her helmet and pulled it off her head. Shaking out her honey brown hair, she then took off her gloves and placed them into her pockets. The giant doors were finally reached and Hitomi cautiously placed her hands against one.  
  
The door was chillingly cold, and it gave off strange feelings as if it were alive. Deep sorrow radiated from its being and Hitomi was overcome with a want to drive away the strange feeling surrounding the castle. Not bothering to knock, the door opened with no sign of a lock at all. Stepping quickly into the castle and shutting the door behind her, Hitomi quietly entered and walked through the entrance hall.  
  
"Dad?" she cried out softly, "Are you here dad?"  
  
There was no movement anywhere she looked and no noise sounded from any other parts of the castle. All was deathly still... though someone had to be there because of the candles that were lit along the walls to illuminate the dark paths.  
  
She called out again, this time a little louder, "Dad?"  
  
Just down the hall though, there was life... and it was bickering about. "I knew he would be trouble from the moment he stepped foot into this place. I tried to get rid of him, but you had to help him. Let us invite him to stay, let us bandage his wounds, let us do everything without Lord Van's permission!"  
  
Chesta just looked at a frustrated Dilandau from the floor and shrugged his shoulders. "I was being hospitable... calm down... there is nothing we can do now."  
  
Dilandau was about to smack away Chesta's calm demeanor until she heard something. They both looked at each other to see if either had heard the same thing and when they heard someone call out again, the both ran to the source. They peeked out from behind a wall and spotted the intruder. Upon seeing who it was, they gasped, quickly pulling their heads away from the corner of the wall.  
  
Dilandau then grabbed the front of Chesta's shirt and said in pure amazement and joy, "It's a girl!"  
  
Chesta cocked an eyebrow at him. "But you're a girl too..." All too soon, he was cut off with a quick lash of the hand at his cheek.  
  
"I am NOT a girl you idiot! The spell just gave it to me worse than all you and turned my appearance into that of a little girl's. I have and always will be a man at heart!"  
  
Chesta, though his cheek was tinting pink and felt tingly, chuckled to himself. "You'll never be a man unless someone breaks the spell."  
  
"Don't you get it? She's the one! She is the girl who will break the spell!" Dilandau hissed at him.  
  
Finally the revelation came to Chesta as he digested the words. As they stood there listening to the girl another thing hit them.  
  
"She said 'dad'! Do you think the man that we helped is her father?!" Chesta asked excitedly.  
  
Both nodded in agreement at the truth in the question. Dilandau then started to formulate a plan. "We must first bring her to her father without revealing ourselves."  
  
"How are we going to do that?" But before Chesta could even get an answer, the little Dilandau was climbing on top of him till she eventually stood upon his shoulders.  
  
"Now stand still Chesta!" Dilandau demanded from her position above him.  
  
"It's harder than you think!"  
  
"I need to get a candle... move more to the right."  
  
Chesta then scooted his way the best he could without falling towards the nearest candle that sat against the wall. Once they reached it, Dilandau did her best to stretch, but no matter how far, she couldn't reach it. "Chesta... I need you to boost me up. Let me step on your hands so you can lift me higher."  
  
Sighing in disbelief but knowing that Dilandau was serious, put his hands up next to her feet which were still digging into his shoulders. One foot was placed upon Chesta's waiting hand and then he raised his arm enough so that Dilandau could get a good push to get the other foot up. Using the wall for support, Dilandau placed her hands against the stone and waited for Chesta to raise his other arm and lock it. Using much strength, she pushed into Chesta's hand using it to raise her other foot on top of Chesta's locked and ready hand. With both arms now straight and shaking, Chesta mustered all the strength he had left to hold up Dilandau. She, in the meantime, grabbed a hold of a candle holster which was secured to the wall and reached up to grab the candle upon it. Being wary of the dripping wax, her fingers curled around the bottom and pulled.  
  
With candle in hand, Dilandau then whispered his next orders down to Chesta, "Now I'm going to hold onto this candelabra thing on the wall and you are going to let go of my feet. Get the candle from me and I'll just drop down from here."  
  
Chesta gave a grunt of his ok and Dilandau grabbed the metal of the frame with one hand. Chesta let his arms down and quickly came to the side of his friends hanging body. The candle was placed from one hand to the other and as soon as it was out of her hands, Dilandau dropped down onto the floor. She smiled at her handiwork and looked at Chesta. "Suck it up baby... it wasn't that hard... I'm not THAT heavy... am I?"  
  
Chesta just gave her a look that said everything and started to walk away. Dilandau just ran after him.  
  
They found the girl that was wandering about the castle once again and hid themselves the best they could. When she wasn't looking, they would run to another hall or to another stairway. It didn't take long for her to spot their light moving about and as soon as she did find it, she ran after it.  
  
"Hey wait! Please help me!" she shouted.  
  
The light would disappear around each corner and after running and calling after the fading light for several minutes it started to travel up a winding spiral staircase. The climb was long but Hitomi never stopped. When she reached the top, the light had gone totally and the only light left was that of the moon beaming through a hole in the ceiling. Neither yellow of candlelight nor a warm glow of fire... just chilled night wind with white light casting shadows about the small tower.  
  
"Hello?" Hitomi whispered into the darkness.  
  
A slight coughing sounded near her which made Hitomi alert. "Is someone here?"  
  
The coughing lessened and a horse voice called out to her, "Hitomi?"  
  
"Daddy?" Hitomi, in the dim lighting, caught sight of her father's face peering between steel bars. "Daddy it is you!"  
  
She ran towards him and fell to the floor to meet his eyes at his level. "What have they done to you? How long have you been in here?" she asked him. He coughed some more and reached out for her. Grasping his hands, she gasped at their loss of heat, her face showing all concern for him.  
  
"Hitomi... listen to me. You must run from this horrible place! Get out of here quickly before he comes!" he begged her.  
  
"Who will come dad? What are you talking about? I have to get you out of here..."  
  
But before she could try anything to release him, someone grabbed her shoulder and threw her. Her helmet flew from her grasp and clattered further into the tower. She was left in the dark and hurriedly got to her feet. Struggling to see in the dark, a figure of a man could be made out, but just barely.  
  
Her father then shouted out to her once again, "Hitomi run! Leave me here!"  
  
The man that threw Hitomi away from her father then interrupted him. "Who are you and what are you doing in my castle?!"  
  
Hitomi heard the threat in his voice but did not back down to it. She stood up defiantly to him and spoke right back at him. "I came for my father! Let him go! Can't you see he's sick?!"  
  
"He is my prisoner," he stated simply.  
  
"Then let me take his place!" Hitomi shouted at him desperately.  
  
"You! You... you would do that?"  
  
Hitomi thought about it only for a moment and answered him. "Yes... I would take his place."  
  
Mr. Kanzaki then cried out to her, "Hitomi! No! Please don't do this!"  
  
The lord of the castle only snarled at him, "If you take his place, then you must promise that you will stay here... forever."  
  
Hitomi seemed to be getting second thoughts until she said with a little uncertainty, "Step into the light..."  
  
After a slight hesitation, the man stepped towards the light which streamed in through the hole. He ducked his head slightly and until he stepped fully into the light did Hitomi gasp. Piercing red eyes reflected the light fiercely as she gazed upon him. The only thing that made her gasp was the two full size wings coming from his back. Hitomi backed up into the bars of her father's cell and clutched the steel. She turned her head away and closed her eyes tightly until they opened with decision and regret.  
  
She took a few steps towards the demon and looked right into his eyes. With one word, her whole life as she knew it would be changed... whether it be for better or for worse. One simple word escaped her mouth. "Agreed..." 


	3. Goodbye

Thank you for all the reviews. They just pour in! Thank you so much! Yeah... anyways... more story!  
  
Disclaimer: I'm running out of things to say... Me no like when you sue... so me will say that me no own Escaflowne or Beauty and the Beast and neither do me own the idea. Thank you very much.  
  
After a slight hesitation, the man stepped towards the light which streamed in through the hole. He ducked his head slightly and until he stepped fully into the light did Hitomi gasp. Piercing red eyes reflected the light fiercely as she gazed upon him. The only thing that made her gasp was the two full size wings coming from his back. Hitomi backed up into the bars of her father's cell and clutched the steel. She turned her head away and closed her eyes tightly until they opened with decision and regret.  
  
She took a few steps towards the demon and looked right into his eyes. With one word, her whole life as she knew it would be changed... whether it be for better or for worse. One simple word escaped her mouth. "Agreed..."  
  
Chapter 3: Goodbye  
  
The agreement had been made and with her word, all was said and done. The demon swept past Hitomi instantaneously, swiftly unlocking the cell. He grabbed Mr. Kanzaki by the back of his collar and started to drag him away.  
  
"Wait! Where are you going with him!?" Hitomi shouted towards him.  
  
The whole time her father yelled, "Hitomi! Hitomi, no!"  
  
She reached for him, but all too soon he disappeared with the demon, his cries echoing off the walls. Rushing into the cell which her father was located, she looked out the small window. Both her father and the lord of the castle stood outside seemingly waiting for something. Suddenly, an object flew into sight and hovered in front of them. It was a small mechanical armor about the size of a human. The man spoke to it and held up her father. Metal claws formed upon the armors fingers and with a quick gasp from Hitomi, they shot out towards Mr. Kanzaki. She turned her gaze away quickly and held her breath but upon not hearing a cry of pain echoing in her surroundings, she looked back to find that the metal claws had wrapped around both his arms.  
  
Releasing her lungs, she sighed with relief as she witnessed her father being flown away back towards their home by the strange contraption. She then sank to her knees from the overwhelming impact the day's events. All her emotions poured out right then and there, all released into tears. Her father was alive and was now safe, but now her fate had been chosen: to live in a castle the rest of her days.  
  
'How did this ever happen?' she would ask herself. 'How did my life change in just one day?'  
  
Her weeping didn't last long, and as the last few tears fell from her now red eyes, a light started to make its way up the winding staircase once again. The yellow glow from a flame cast a large shadow upon the wall and Hitomi knew it was the demon. She didn't bother to look up from where she knelt for once he stepped in front of the cell, his wings cast a large shadow upon her.  
  
She stared at the stone and spoke in a low voice, "You didn't even let me say goodbye. I'll never see him again..." tears started to well up in her eyes again, "...you didn't even let me say goodbye..."  
  
There was silence for quite some time after she spoke, but soon the lord broke the silence.  
  
"I'll take you to your room," he told her.  
  
Hitomi looked up in mild confusion. "My room?" she questioned him. "But I thought that..."  
  
"You don't want to stay up here, do you?" he asked harshly.  
  
"No..."  
  
"Then follow me..." he said curtly.  
  
She slowly got up, taking one last look out the small window before following him. The journey was quite long and the castle seemed larger on the inside than it did on the outside. No electricity existed in the castle and there were candles and oil lamps along every passage to light the way. A mysterious quite seemed to cover the entire castle and the gloom of darkness crept into every corner. Intricate engravings of griffons and beasts of all sorts lined the balconies and walkways. Weapons lined the walls and suits of armor stood against walls looking as if they could come alive at any second. Shadows were cast against every object and the creepiness of the castle seemed to intensify. With head down, Hitomi obediently followed behind Van as he led the way to her room.  
  
Van, wanting to break the eerie silence, cleared his throat, "This is your home now so you may go anywhere in the castle you like..." he thought about this but quickly added, "...except for the west wing. You must never go there."  
  
Curiosity got the better of Hitomi so she asked, "What's in the west wing?"  
  
Upon hearing her question, Van quickly spun around to face her.  
  
"It's forbidden." His raised voice echoed around them and made it sound harsher than he wanted. Hitomi, who had looked at him suddenly when he turned to face her, directed her gaze once again to the floor and their journey continued. Down one of the corridors, they reached a room upon which the demon stopped in front of. His clawed hand grabbed the handle, pushing it down to release the mechanism. With a slight creaking, the door opened to a large room that gave off an old, unused smell.  
  
"This will be your room. Just ask one of my servants if you need anything..." but he was cut short when there was a tapping at his leg. Looking down at the disturbance, he found that Chesta was trying to tell him something.  
  
"Ask her to dinner!" he whispered from below.  
  
Upon hearing the idea, he turned back to the girl that was inspecting the surroundings of the room. "And... you will join me for dinner. That's not a request!"  
  
But before Hitomi could even respond or say anything against what he had said, the door was slammed shut. She stood there, at a loss for words now staring in disbelief at the door. A monster... she was now the prisoner of a horrible monster. She had lost her mother, and now she would never see her father again. Her home was a place of sorrow and misery. Nothing was bright and sunny. Every object and person seemed to be hiding in the shadows which only the slightest ray of light could penetrate.  
  
Her gaze shifted towards the window when it burst with light as a bolt of lighting flashed through the sky. The rain fell heavily from the sky as the thunder continued to erupt from the distance. Hitomi slowly walked to where the window sat and looked out onto the surrounding land. Her eyelids shut when the tears threatened to come again. The closure did not slow their coming and steadily but surely they fell. Her forehead soon came to rest upon the smooth clear glass of the window as she heaved a deep sigh.  
  
~*~Back in Town~*~  
  
The sounds from the local bar echoed throughout the night but could not beat the pounding of the rain. Many a merry folk were drinking their beer and vodka, each talking loudly to be heard over the great noise of everyone else. The only one that wasn't joining in the happiness was a certain blonde haired man. Sitting at a table in the corner, he stared at his drink but not one sip had yet been taken.  
  
"Eh Allen... Earth to Allen! What's the matter man? Don't tell me you're still moping around about that Hitomi girl..."  
  
Allen glared back at his friend Gaddes and heaved a sigh. "Who does she think she is? Why... it's more than I can take. No one says no to Allen Schezar."  
  
"Darn right. Every girl in this town wants to be with you... but she's the only one who has the guts to reject you." Gaddes replied.  
  
"Don't worry. I'll do whatever it takes to have Hitomi as my own," Allen said more confidently. "She will see the mistake she made with time and come running back. Yes... she will be mine..."  
  
But just as Allen was finishing his sentence, a man came bursting through the doors panting heavily, his clothing torn, his face red, and hair sticking in everyway possible.  
  
"Masato!" The owner of the bar saw the figure as soon as they entered and within moments, recognized him as Masato Kanzaki, Hitomi's father.  
  
A few people rushed to his aid and brought him to a chair to sit in. He was catching his breath and sat there staring at his shaking hands. All his words came out barely above a whisper and were all said under his breath. Many people had now gathered around the usually calm man and watched in anticipation to find out what had caused him to be in such a state. The owner then stood in front of Masato, knelt down to be eye level with him and grabbed his shoulders with both hands. This caused Hitomi's father to snap out of his dazed state and look in front of him.  
  
The other man's voice came calmly and clearly, "What's the matter? Tell us what has happened."  
  
Masato sat there for a second to recollect his thoughts. The shock of all that he had happened within the last hour took a toll on his state of mind. One word came from his mouth... the only word that unconsciously came from his trembling lips.  
  
"Hitomi..." he whispered.  
  
Everyone looked around at each other then back at Masato.  
  
"What about Hitomi?" another man asked. "Has something happened to her?"  
  
A sudden vigor claimed Mr. Kanzaki as he rose from his chair and started to head back towards the door. "We must go! We must go and save her!" he shouted.  
  
The bar was now full of commotion. "Save her from whom? Does someone have Hitomi?"  
  
Looking around at everyone, Masato answered. "There is a demon that is holding Hitomi captive! We must go save her!"  
  
The people in the bar all fell silent and looked at the crazy man for a moment before they all burst out into laughter. Disbelief washed over Mr. Kanzaki as he stared at everyone laughing at him as though he were pulling a prank. Allen who had gained interest at the mention of Hitomi's name gathered with the rest of the people.  
  
He spoke up once his laughter subsided. "So what does this demon look like?"  
  
Thinking he was being taken seriously, Masato the described what he could remember about the mysterious lord of the castle. "He was tall and had sharp claws! His teeth were like fangs... and his hair was gray..."  
  
"Go on Masato! Tell us more!" some yelled his way.  
  
"His skin was pale... and... and... and... he had two giant wings coming from his back! But they weren't white! They were gray and dark..."  
  
The whole bar was exploding with laughter, some falling out of their chairs they were laughing so hard while others were crying from the intensity of all the hilariousness.  
  
"But you must believe me..." Mr. Kanzaki said in disbelief. "Someone must help me..."  
  
"Oh we'll help you..."  
  
He looked up and a few men walked towards him. A smile graced his features and he thanked them over and over but when the two men had reached the door, they stopped, opened the door, and pushed him out onto the street. The doors slammed behind him and even more laughter sounded from behind the closed doors. Spinning around on the street, Masato looked for anyone that would help him, but with no one in site, his hope started to fail  
  
His head fell back so his face stared at the stars and his eyes closed in defeat. He then whispered into the night's air a phrase in which would only reach his ears. "Won't anyone help me?"  
  
Back inside the bar the laughter died down. Allen took a drink from his mug from the now lightened mood. With closed eyes he shook his head from side to side in the comedy of the whole situation but his ears perked up when he heard a few men mumble to themselves. "That crazy old buffoon... ranting about demons and such. What next? Big Foot?"  
  
A group of men that were conversing started laughing once again which gave Allen a little time to think about the man's words. At the thought, a smile came to his lips. Gaddes, seeing this change in Allen, sat down next to him to make sure his friend wasn't going insane for Allen was whispering something over and over to himself.  
  
"Crazy old Kanzaki, eh? Crazy old Kanzaki..."  
  
Just as Gaddes was about to open his mouth to say something, Allen cut him off as he started to talk though he never directed his stare towards him. "I promised myself that I would have Hitomi as my own Gaddes... and I have just thought of a plan to make that happen..."  
  
Their talk went late into the night, but what no one knew was that Hitomi's father was telling the truth all along.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Holy crap! It has been a while... reason... I was in a musical. I practically lived at the school for about the last 2 weeks of rehearsal. Go to school at 7:00 in the morning and come home at 10:00 at night. Fit in homework, then on the weekends I was helping paint the set and playing floor hockey and trying to get more that 6 hours of sleep. Sorry for taking so long but now my life is back for the musical is over. Sorry if it is a bit short... I really wanted to get this chapter out as soon as possible to let everyone know that I'm not dead. I know how much everyone is enjoying this so I got the chapter written. Thank you for your patience and all the reviews! Continue to R&R! And remember I have an email update list... just tell me if you want an email when I update and I'll add you. Romance and exciting stuff will be coming up in the next chapter so keep posted! 


	4. No Escape

Disclaimer: I don't own Disney neither do I own Escaflowne.  
  
"Crazy old Kanzaki, eh? Crazy old Kanzaki..."  
  
Just as Gaddes was about to open his mouth to say something, Allen cut him off as he started to talk though he never directed his stare towards him. "I promised myself that I would have Hitomi as my own Gaddes... and I have just thought of a plan to make that happen..."  
  
Their talk went late into the night, but what no one knew was that Hitomi's father was telling the truth all along.  
  
Chapter 4: No Escape  
  
Throughout the still night, Hitomi could be found lying upon her bed while the demon paced back and forth in front of the fire. As the young girl was dozing into a light sleep, a slight knocking came upon the door. Sitting up, she walked cautiously to the door afraid it might be the demon.  
  
"Who is it?" she whispered through the crack.  
  
"It's Chesta ma'am. Would you let us in please?"  
  
Relieved that other beings lived in the enormous castle, she opened the door expecting to see someone there, but was shocked when all she saw was the wall beyond her door. She looked down the hall and still found no sign of life. When someone cleared their throat, she finally looked to where it came from... down. A gasp escaped her lips for what she witnessed shocked her. There stood five little people, the size of children, but each held themselves with great dignity and maturity. She backed away from the door, opening it wider for the little group to enter. Once everyone was inside, the door was shut and they all formed into a line, the only girl with them being the center person.  
  
"Miss Hitomi... we would like to welcome you and introduce ourselves," the little girl told her. "My name is Dilandau. This is Dallet, Gatty, Miguel, and..."  
  
"I'm Chesta Miss. A pleasure to meet you." After interrupting Dilandau, he stepped forward and took Hitomi's hand into his own, stood up on his tip toes and kissed it.  
  
Hitomi smiled at their politeness and gave off a light laughter when the other boys huffed at Chesta's boldness. The mood was broken though when Dilandau spoke up. "I should ask that you change Miss Hitomi... for dinner that is. We will leave the room..."  
  
"But I'm not going to dinner," she replied.  
  
"What do you mean by 'you're not going'?" Dilandau retorted.  
  
"What I say... I'm not going."  
  
"Then I must inform Lord Van about your decision," Dilandau told her.  
  
"Wait Dilandau! No... you can't tell him that," he yelled to Dilandau. "Please Lady Hitomi! You must change your mind."  
  
"Go ahead and tell him what you please. I won't change my mind."  
  
But before any of the other Dragonslayers could say anything else, Dilandau was out the door with Chesta right behind him.  
  
Van, who had been pacing the whole time whipped around when the door started to creak open. Expecting to see the girl, he let out a snarl upon seeing Dilandau. Chesta also entered and when neither said anything, their lord let out an exasperated sigh. "Well? Where is she?"  
  
Both looked uncomfortably at each other and Chesta spoke up looking anywhere but Van's eyes. "Well you see sir... we wanted to ask you... have you given any thought to it that this girl might break the spell?"  
  
"Of course I have!" he roared.  
  
Chesta continued, "Well... you see my lord... you must remember that to win the girls heart, you must be patient and kind. And you must most importantly remember to control your temper!"  
  
He started to get bolder in his statements, but as he was about to give the bad news, Dilandau jumped in. "She's not coming..."  
  
There was silence for a moment, but the stillness was greatly interrupted when he bellowed out, "What?!"  
  
"My lord, please..." Chesta tried to calm him, but Van's eyes narrowed to slits and his wings expanded from their folded placement along his back. He dashed forward a few steps and gave his wings a powerful stroke lifting his body into the air. The wind that was pushed away nearly blew the fire to nothing but ashes, and the doors which were opened only a crack crashed out with such a great force that they hit the walls on either side. Van flew down the corridor with great speed and accuracy, skipping the stairways and shortly after, he arrived at Hitomi's door. His wings were folded together while he was in the air which sent him quickly to the ground, but with a swift turn of his body, he landed on his feet and slid sideways across the floor, stopping directly in front of his prisoner's door.  
  
With unthinking movements, he threw his fist against the door and hit the wood with so much force, suits of armor rattled in their place. "I thought I told you to come to dinner!" he yelled.  
  
A faint voice was heard from behind the barrier, "I'm not hungry!"  
  
Van huffed and replied rather ungentlemanly, "If you don't come out of there, I'll..." he thought for a moment, "I'll break down the door!"  
  
"Go right ahead!"  
  
But before Van could reply, a worn out Chesta and Dilandau came running down the hall all out of breath. "My lord! You... you must be... gentle!" Chesta said in-between breaths.  
  
Dilandau piped in, "Yes... for once please try to be a gentleman!"  
  
Van growled to himself, but decided to use their advice. Taking a few deep breaths to calm his nerves, he cleared his throat and said in a lower but still threatening voice, "Would you please come to dinner."  
  
It was more of a statement than a question but the answer that came from within the room was still, "No."  
  
Van was about to blow up again, but when he saw the looks his two Dragonslayers were giving him, he tried again. "It would give me great pleasure if you would join me for dinner."  
  
"No thank you!" came the answer again.  
  
"You can't stay in there forever!" Van angrily replied.  
  
"Oh yes I can!" Hitomi yelled confidently.  
  
"Fine! Then go ahead and STARVE!" Van eyes became more prominently red as he stared Chesta and Dilandau down. "If she doesn't eat with me, she doesn't eat at all."  
  
And with ferocity showing in every muscle in his body, Van spun around and once again flew with great force back down the corridor.  
  
Dilandau turned to Chesta and sighed. "Chesta... I'm putting you in charge to watch over this door. Tell me if there is even the slightest change."  
  
"Yes sir!" Chesta started to march back and forth in front of the door. After Van had left, the other Dragonslayers that had been waiting in Hitomi's room peaked their heads out from behind the door. Upon seeing Dilandau, they scampered out of the room, shutting the door behind them. Each glanced at another and seemed to sigh inwardly. It was truly hopeless if any wished the spell to be broken. All except Chesta walked from Hitomi's room, walking with heads low, all their spirits shattered like berries upon the frozen bush.  
  
Meanwhile, a furious Van had flown to the forbidden area of the West Wing. What was already torn up and looked as though a tornado had gone through was torn up again. Tables were flipped, books flung across the room, and tapestries became mere shreds of fraying fabric. The balcony at the very end of the room had an opening which welcomed the night. No doors or windows stopped the wind from soothing the restless spirit within. Near the opening though, there was a bright pink light which seemed to move with the steady rhythm of a heart beat. The sight was a familiar one to Van... the steady swaying of the pendant which swung from side to side upon the gold stand. How ironic that something so beautiful was a curse upon his soul.  
  
Glaring upon the pink stone, he looked away swiftly at the thought of the girl. "I ask her nicely but she still refuses! Wh-what does she want me to do? BEG?!"  
  
His hands clenched into fists at this and his gaze returned to that of the swinging pendant. Lying upon the table next to the pendant sat a mirror. Made of an opaque bluish glass, it glowed with a mysterious light. Van grabbed it and once he looked into the mirror part, he talked to it. "Show me the girl."  
  
Suddenly, the reflection of himself was gone and the mirror crackled with a green energy that looked like bits of lighting. The mirror flashed and Hitomi appeared, lying upon her bed with Chesta beside her trying to comfort her lost emotions. "He really isn't that bad once you get to know him. Why don't you give him a chance?"  
  
Hitomi, who was looking at Chesta while he spoke, turned her head down to the pillows and shook it from side to side. "I don't want to get to know him. He has shown his true nature... I don't know if there is anything nice in him. My whole life is gone now... I don't know what to do..." her voice broke off as her body was racked with sobs. Again Chesta tried to comfort her, but it looked as if nothing would help. The image disappeared just as suddenly as when it appeared when Van pushed the mirror away from his view and back down to the table.  
  
His face turned solemnly towards the ground, "She'll never see me as anything... but a monster... a demon." He put both his hands on the table and leaned on it, now casting his eyes upon the pendant. The pendant, as though knowing he was looking, paused shortly when it reached the furthest its swing would go. It sat suspended in air for a second longer until it started its swinging again, though this time, it was slower and the swings didn't reach the distance they once did. Van brought his clawed hand to his forehead where he held it. He muttered words of his failing hope, but only the air surrounding him heard it. "It's hopeless..."  
  
~*~*~  
  
All was quiet once again in the castle until Hitomi's door creaked open. Her head popped out and looked around. Upon seeing that the coast was clear, she walked out and closed the door behind her. Without hesitation, she walked down the hall without the slightest clue to where she was going. Chesta, who was supposed to be guarding the door, was found fast asleep against the wall, obviously not used to staying up late into the night. His ears did pick up the faint sound of footsteps and his eyes peeped open. At first, he thought nothing of it and was about to fall asleep again until he caught a glimpse of honey blonde hair walking in the opposite direction. He instantly jumped up and ran after her.  
  
Back in the kitchen, everyone was cleaning up. The food had gone to waste and everyone's moods were down. Dilandau, along with the other Dragonslayers, hung around the door to the kitchen while all the servants and cooks (who were also chibi/small/midget sized) cleaned. The group of Dragonslayers were all talking to each other about what had transpired.  
  
"Lord Van did say please you know..." Miguel said. "What do you expect him to do when she still rejected him?"  
  
"It doesn't matter what he says. He must learn to control his temper." Gatty piped in.  
  
This time Dilandau spoke, "Gatty's right... we'll stay like this forever if he doesn't..." but broke off as he saw Hitomi walk right through the kitchen door with Chesta running out of breath behind her. "Why Miss Hitomi! How nice of you to join us! How may we be of any service to you?"  
  
"I am rather hungry..." Hitomi said shyly.  
  
"Hear that! She's hungry! Stop your cleaning and do some reheating!" Chesta shouted to the room.  
  
"But you heard what Lord Van said," Dallet added.  
  
"We can't let the poor girl go hungry now can we?" Chesta asked him. "We must make he feel welcome her... she is not our prisoner."  
  
"It's fine as long as you keep it down! If Lord Van finds out it will be our necks." Dilandau told him.  
  
"Of course, of course..." Chesta said as he led Hitomi to the dinning room. "But what is dinner without a little music?"  
  
"Music?! What?!"  
  
"It is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight. So please pull up a chair, and relax as the dining room proudly presents... your dinner."  
  
Chesta stood upon the table and started to sing, "Be – Our – Guest, be our..."  
  
"NO!" Dilandau ran into the room, jumped on the table and tackled Chesta, putting him in a choke hold. Every word seethed from her mouth, "You will NOT sing as if we were in a musical! In musicals, people sing for absolutely no reason and we are definitely not going to sing about her being our guest!"  
  
Dilandau got off of him and Chesta waved his hands in front of him like he was joking. "I wasn't really going to jump into a song Dilandau... lighten up."  
  
Hitomi surprisingly started to laugh along with everyone else in the kitchen. The thought of everyone jumping into a song was pretty ridiculous so everyone pushed the thought aside and gave Hitomi enough food to fill her twice over. When all was eaten and cleaned, a few of the Dragonslayers yawned.  
  
This caused Dilandau to look at the time. "My goodness... look at the time. You must be simply exhausted madam. Off to bed! Off to bed!"  
  
"Oh but I couldn't possibly go to bed now! It is my first time in an enchanted castle," she said as she gave a smile to both Dilandau and Chesta.  
  
"Enchanted?!" Dilandau shrieked. "Who ever said anything about it being enchanted? It was you wasn't it?" Dilandau said and directed her talk to Chesta.  
  
"Actually I figured it out on my own." Hitomi said with another smile. "I would like to take a look around... if that's alright."  
  
Chesta butted in, "Oh! Would you like a tour?"  
  
But Dilandau shook her head at the idea. "I don't think that's such a good idea... we can't go poking around in certain places... if you know what I mean..."  
  
"I'm sure you know everything there is to know about the castle," Hitomi said to Dilandau.  
  
Dilandau then glowed with pride. "Why yes... I guess I do know everything there is to know about the castle. We have lots to see! Come now!"  
  
Chesta, Dilandau, and Hitomi all left the kitchen, leaving everyone else behind to finish cleaning and to go to bed themselves. As they made their way around, Dilandau's voice droned on and echoed off the walls of the castle. Chesta walked beside Hitomi as she looked at everything in wonder and amazement.  
  
"These are from the Baroque times and show excellent craftsmanship," he was talking about the suits of armor lined along the hall. "And as I always say, if it's not Baroque, don't fix it!" she started to laugh to herself and Chesta had gotten sidetracked, but when they looked around for Hitomi, they didn't find her next to them. Only when they looked ahead of them did they see her walking slowly up a large staircase.  
  
"Madam! Miss Hitomi!" they both yelled in alarm. But when they were running towards her and it seemed as if she didn't here their calls. They ran a few step ahead of her when they reached her position and jumped in her path.  
  
"What's up there?" she asked innocently.  
  
"Oh nothing! Nothing, nothing at all. There is absolutely nothing of interest in the West Wing... nothing..." Dilandau spit out hurriedly, but Hitomi had heard him say the forbidden place's name and that's all it took for Hitomi to become even more curious.  
  
"Ah, so that's the West Wing," she said smartly.  
  
Chesta then nudged Dilandau in the side, "Nice going..."  
  
"So what does he keep up there anyways?" she asked.  
  
"As I said, nothing-nothing at all." Dilandau emphasized.  
  
"Well then it wouldn't be forbidden," Hitomi then started to journey up the stairs once making her point but the small Dragonslayers jumped in her path again.  
  
Chesta then spoke up, "You don't want to go there... there's nothing up there and it's boring. What else do we need to see? There's the greenhouse, dinning halls, sitting room, a library..."  
  
But Hitomi interrupted him, "You have a library?" She tried to sound as excited as possible.  
  
"Why yes... YES! A library with tons of books! Rows and rows of books stacked to the ceiling!" Dilandau said excitedly.  
  
Chesta put in his own two cents, "Mountains of books!"  
  
The trio turned around and started to walk the other direction with Hitomi towing along, but she stopped and waited for Dilandau and Chesta to walk ahead, making sure they were unaware of her not following. Their shouting and rambling kept them from not hearing her footsteps that would have been muffled on the carpet on the way. Once she was sure they didn't notice, she turned back to the staircase and made her way up.  
  
At the top, there were only a few doors that lined the hall of the wing, but one caught her attention. The door at the very end of the hall had scratch marks directly upon the wood. She walked cautiously to it and pressed it open. The loudness of the creaking made her wince so she opened only as much as she would need to squeeze through. Once in, she slowly made her way around the room, horrified at all the upturned furniture and shabbiness of the room. The only light came from the moon's beams which shined through the doorless balcony. Cloth that hung from the ceiling fluttered in the breeze and all the wooden furniture had either been broken or slashed.  
  
As Hitomi continued, a flutter of cloth against the wall made her look twice at a framed item on the wall. There were five gashes on the canvas that made it flop downwards, hiding the image painted within. Hitomi slowly reached towards the painting and pushed the pieces back into place, gasping at the face which was shown to her. A man around her age with raven black hair and eyes of soft red brown made up what she could see in the darkness but she wasn't able to see the rest for a light caught her eye.  
  
Right next to the balcony, a soft pink light swayed back and forth from an unknown source. With the painting now gone from her mind, she drew near the light. What she saw awed her. On a circular wooden table, a necklace with a pink pendant hung from a golden hook. Both were covered with a large goblet shaped glass and next to it sat a mirror. The pendant inside the glass seemed like a clock for it swayed back and forth without slowing or stopping. Curiosity took a hold of Hitomi as she neared it. Being extra careful, she grabbed the glass on both sides with her hands and gently lifted, being sure not to hit the pendant or drop the glass. She placed it by her feet and stood back up to be eye level with the glowing pink stone. She swallowed her nervousness and put her hand out again as if to grab the chain which the pendant swung.  
  
Suddenly, before her fingers grazed the gold, a figure appeared behind her. "What are you doing?!"  
  
She quickly spun around from where she stood and looked in terror at hell's angel. She backed away from him and away from the table never taking her eyes off his furious stare. "I wasn't doing any harm!" she said desperately.  
  
"I thought I told you never to come here! Do you realize what you could have done?!" his voice grew with intensity as his fists clenched up.  
  
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to..." but her pleading was cut short by a growling erupting deep within Van's throat.  
  
His teeth were showing and his voice bellowed straight out at her, "GET OUT!" but not even seconds after he shouted this did he realize his mistake.  
  
Hitomi whipped around and sprinted to the door. Once out, she stumbled down the stairs and went straight for the main entrance doors. Chesta and Dilandau, who were heading her way, saw her and ran towards her. "Where are you going?!" Chesta yelled.  
  
"Away from here!" Hitomi yelled over her shoulder. "I can't stay here any longer... I refuse. I'm sorry... I just can't stay!"  
  
"No! Please wait!" shouted Chesta, but before his words could have made it to her, she was ready to fly out the door.  
  
She snatched her coat which was lying on a chair near the main entrance and threw it on. Her helmet was still lying in the tower somewhere from where she dropped it, but she could live without it. She just prayed that her bike was still accessible. Once she burst open through the doors, she was greeted with the site of her bike parked off to the side of the dirt path. Running over to it, Hitomi found that the key for the main power was still in it and that the battery hadn't died yet. Running over to the gates, she pushed one open all the way and ran back to her motorcycle. Jumping on it, she kicked up the kickstand and pressed the ignition button. It took a few tries, but eventually it started and gave a mighty roar of life. Twisting her right hand a few times, she revved up the engine before shifting it out of neutral and speeding her way through the gate and away from the castle.  
  
As Hitomi raced along the dirt road, her breathing came in quick deep breaths. Her adrenaline was pumping from her encounter with the lord of the castle and she now felt as if she were fleeing for her life. Time was nothing to her as the wind whistled past her uncovered head. She couldn't think straight and all her focus was upon the road in front of her.  
  
The only sounds she heard were the low rumbling of her engine and the wind rushing past until an engine other than her own could be heard getting louder from behind her. She thought she saw the reflection of metal in the distance in her rearview mirrors, and she soon realized that her eyes were not deceiving her. As if on queue, three headlights switched on directly behind her. She became greatly alarmed and sped up, but her bike seemed to be slower than the others that were following her.  
  
She had no idea who they were. For all she knew, it could have been the lord's men coming to get her back. Having not encountered anyone on her way to the castle, she would have never expected this time to be different. She still pushed her bike harder, but going faster and turning around the sharp corners of the road gave Hitomi more difficulty in handling the motorcycle.  
  
Somewhere along the way, she could hear laughter. Looking behind her once again, Hitomi found the bikers were closer than ever. She could tell from certain attributes that these people were part of a gang. With her heart racing faster than ever, Hitomi tried to stop herself from panicking. She looked ahead of her and from side to side, but there was no where to run or hide. The rode had hit a straight-a-way and looked like it wasn't going to turn anytime soon.  
  
As soon as the other bikers were right behind her, she couldn't keep calm. Before she could even react, something hit her back. She leaned forward a little and let out a sharp breath from the impact in turn making the bike swerve. Gritting her teeth from the pain, she steadied herself and looked ahead of her, trying to go faster in a desperate attempt to outrun them. A person that was hiding in the trees some distance in front of her flew from the foliage upon a motorcycle, and took Hitomi by surprise by turning on their headlights to their fullest power. Not wanting to hit him, Hitomi reacted by trying to swerve out of the way, but the tires lost their grip upon the dirt road and slid. The whole bike fell onto its side, Hitomi falling off in the process where she rolled on the ground and the bike slid until both stopped. The person who had jumped in front of her had moved out of the way as if knowing what was going to happen and waited to be joined by others.  
  
When Hitomi started to roll, her arms instinctively covered her head because of the lack of her helmet. Lying on her side, she struggled to breathe, giving a few strangled coughs which blew up some dust from the road in the process. Her arms had lowered and shakily she pushed herself into a sitting position. As she sat on the ground trying to gain her bearings, it went unnoticed to her senses that the biker's had gotten off of their motorcycles and were making their way over to her.  
  
All went unnoticed until one of them spoke, "Well, well, well... look what we have here. It's a bitch on a bike. Or a bitch that WAS on a bike."  
  
Hitomi's head shot up to the person standing in front of her who had just spoken. He had short spiky blonde hair which reflected the moon's rays like sun flares and eyes the color of burnt coals that glowed dangerously. Mildly tanned skin and moderate sized muscles were revealed from the lack of a jacket. Only a white t-shirt covered his torso while faded black jeans revealed the amount of dirt and dust kicked up from riding. From looks alone, it was hard to tell that they were a gang.  
  
Hitomi's eyes looked past the appearance and revealed the contempt for the person who stood in front of her. All too soon they filled fear as she realized that there were a total of 5 men surrounding her. Once Hitomi felt that she had recovered from the shock of the fall, she rose to her feet. Some of the other men laughed as she struggled to keep herself balanced but all were put into a silence as she slapped the man who had spoken first. She wouldn't go down without a fight.  
  
After Hitomi had slapped the man, who happened to be the leader of the gang, his eyebrows furrowed together and his mouth drew into a line, scowling upon the woman in front of him. Hitomi stared at him, calm and composed, trying her best to not let him see through her mask and see into her fear. As if wanting revenge, he threw his fist back and flung it towards Hitomi's standing form, but she saw this and ducked. She missed the blow and seeing her opportunity, she rammed her shoulder into the man's legs. This caused him to loose balance and fall to the ground flat on his face. She tried to get up and run off, but the man she just knocked down grabbed her ankle and pulled her down with him. She fell hard and as she hit the ground, her chest hurt even more. The pain became overwhelming as she started to see black spots taking over her vision. Breathing became difficult, but despite the pain, Hitomi struggled to free herself. The other men grabbed her arms and dragged her away. The fallen man got up, still scowling, and walked over to where his men were holding Hitomi. Again, she tried to back away or free herself, but she earned a slap of her own from the leader.  
  
"Let her go," he said.  
  
Hitomi became confused as the men holding her arms freed her but soon felt why they had let her go in the first place. The leader grabbed her shoulders and drew her stomach straight into his knee. With the wind knocked out of her, pain flooded her senses. Not being able to bear it, Hitomi wrapped her arms around her gut and collapsed to her knees, gasping in pain. Before she could comprehend what was happening next, the man grabbed her short hair and yanked back on it, making her face him. More pain hit her nerves and soon tears started to form in her eyes. Her hands went to her hair where it was being pulled and tried to wretch his hand free. He smiled and laughed at her attempt. He was kneeling on the ground at her level and brought his head closer to her own.  
  
"You're a feisty little girl aren't you?" he started to say.  
  
A low chuckle escaped his throat. "You're mine now..."  
  
As Hitomi listened to every word, her anger and frustration grew. She opened her eyes to glare at him and spit out, "I belong to no one..."  
  
Then lashing out her foot from underneath her, she kicked him in the stomach and pushed. The surprise had made him release her hair and he stumbled backwards. Hitomi took the opening and sprinted for the wooded area on either side of the road. Before she could even reach the edge of the road, a figure grabbed her wrist and whirled her around. Again, it was the blonde haired leader. He was more furious than before and having a steel grip on her, he threw her backwards. The force had caused her to slam straight into a tree, her head hitting the hardest. In wasting no time, the leader grabbed Hitomi by the neck and pressed her against the trunk, in turn cutting off her air supply. Her eyes widened and she clawed at his hand, struggling for a breath of air.  
  
All attempts to free herself went in vain as she continued to push him away. With every push, her mind became cloudier and her muscles lost most of their strength. Her heartbeat became dominant in her hearing and her vision started getting splotchy.  
  
'Am I going to die here?' she asked herself. 'I should have never left the castle... why... how could I have been so stupid...'  
  
With her vision leaving her, Hitomi let out whatever noise she could before her body went limp. Her arms fell to her sides and her tightly squinted eyes relaxed. The last thing she saw was a large shadowy figure standing behind her assailant. After that, nothing registered in her brain, not even when the tight grip on her throat was released did she feel the air leak into her crushed windpipe. Having blacked out, she crumpled to the ground, muscles failing her. But what caused her assailant to let her go is what she didn't find out until quite a bit later.  
  
The whole time Hitomi was struggling with her captor, a fight had gone on without her even noticing.  
  
The men in the gang were standing around, watching the innocent Hitomi become deprived of oxygen and coming closer to her death. All was funny and well until the trees around them gave a little rustle in a breeze they didn't feel. No one knew what was happening until a creature swooped down from the sky and landed right in front of the group. Only a little could be made out in the light of the moon, but from what they could tell, it was a person... but he wasn't normal. His back had two enormous black angel wings. They had no doubt in their minds that this was the demon from the castle. Each and every one of them stared at Van in fear, neither moving a muscle. No time was wasted on Van's part as he sent his fist flying into one of the gang member's jaw. The instant this happened, the others snapped out of their shock and immediately ran for a weapon of some kind.  
  
A lead pipe flew towards Van's head, but he saw this and grabbed it with his hands. His opponent had a strong grip on the pipe and tried to push Van down with it. Giving off a loud growl, his wings stretched upwards and were thrown down, giving lift to both people. Van, with the pipe still held firmly in his hands, lifted himself off the ground and brought the other man with him. Looking down in fear, Van's attacker held on for his life as the ground grew more distant. Shifting his wings around in the air, Van started to spin making the man hanging on below him gain momentum. Once satisfied, Van let go of the pipe which in turn sent one person flying who flew straight into another one of his buddies. With both laying flat on the ground, Van swooped down to the remaining men. One was grabbed by the collar of his jacket and sent into the trees.  
  
Landing on the dirt, Van tried to search out the remaining man, but was surprised very suddenly when the guy jumped down from a tree he had been hiding in. Van dodged to one side to avoid a collision with the flying gang member. With wings quite larger than their owner, they lagged behind in the side step and Van's attacker took his chance. His arm rose then snapped down suddenly, releasing something that was concealed within his hand. Gasping in pain, Van stumbled backwards as blood flowed freely down his gray feathers and arm. A hidden knife had grazed his arm and was now embedded in his wing. Enraged at the bold move the other had made, Van ran forward grabbing the man's throat with his clawed hand. With eyes burning their fierce red, the infuriated demon held his enemy above his head, muscles tensing as time ticked away. Lost in another world and completely forgetting why he had flown all the way out here in the first place, a strangled whimper made itself known in the wind, snapping Van out of his furiousness. His head turned, settling on the last of the men. The young girl he had pushed up against the tree made his eyes widen with alarm.  
  
Throwing the man held in his choking grasp across the path, Van rushed to where the leader stood. Grabbing the back of his shirt, he forced the man to let go of Hitomi and go stumbling a few feet backwards. A quick grab of his arm and a strong push to turn him around is all it took for the leader of the gang to face the lord of the 'devil's castle'. Van gave him no time to react and sent his fist flying into the man's cheek. When the leader turned around to face him, an angry scowl forming on his face, Van sent his foot into the man's gut.  
  
The force sent him to his knees, but before the man could even hit the ground, Van grabbed him by the collar and lifted the man so they were eye level with each other.  
  
Van's voice came out covered in an icy chill of threat, "If I ever find you around here again, I won't hesitate in killing you. Leave here now... my patience runs short with your antics."  
  
The man Van was holding drifted out of his fearsome state and tried to break free of Van by swinging a punch at his face. Van caught the flying hand in his own free one and knew what he had to do. Turning around swiftly in a circle, Van used all his weight and strength to heave his attacker straight into his own motorcycle. Both machine and man tipped over and collapsed to the ground.  
  
Groaning in pain, all the members of the gang looked at their leader for their next action, and those who were on the ground picked themselves up. Their leader was helped to get back on his feet while the motorcycle was lifted by a few others. Both Van and the leader stared at each other, one with anger, the other with intense fear. The gaze was broken when the leader turned around, pushing his men out of the way to grab his bike. Sitting down upon it, he started the engine, hoping it wouldn't die on him. Once it was running, the others took it as a signal to get on their own motorcycles and follow his lead. One last sneer was sent Van's way as the gang sped off down the dirt road, going in the opposite direction of the castle.  
  
Satisfied, Van turned around to where the girl who had run from him lay. He walked over to her cautiously and when near enough, he examined her body for any serious injuries. Her mouth was partially open and her eyes lightly closed. A slightly darker color was starting to appear around her neck and she had cuts on her hands and a few areas where her pants were torn, her skin and the material showing signs of bleeding. Lucky for Hitomi, her leather jacket had protected her upper body but he still took caution to the possibility of wounds that were only on the inside.  
  
By seeing Hitomi's injuries, the pain of Van's own came back to him. He looked at the knife still protruding from his feathers, grabbed it, and pulled it out giving off a loud growl as he did so. With the knife gone, the wound started to bleed, but it wasn't serious.  
  
The knife was tossed aside and Van knelt next to Hitomi. He gently put one arm under her legs while the other slid under her shoulders. Lifting her up, he had her head rest on his shoulder. Once he was sure his grip was solid, he walked to the center of the path where the trees leaves and branches were bare. Outstretching his wings, he ignored the pain that came with the movement because of the wound. With a few swift pushes of his wings, Van and Hitomi were lifted off the ground and into the night's sky, traveling a path straight to where Van hoped Hitomi would eventually call home.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
People... I hope I haven't kept many of you waiting an extremely long time, but I have repaid you with an ultra long chapter. I won't give excuses... I just hope you are happy with it. I had Hitomi be injured for the most part because I want it that way. Van is injured and she probably will take care of it like in the movie, but more so on Van taking care of Hitomi. I'll get the next chapter out ASAP and until then, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and will R&R! Don't forget I can send you an email if you wish to know when updates are. Just tell me in your review you wish to receive and email. Thanks! 


	5. Wounds Take Time to Heal

Disclaimer: I just don't own it! Get off me freaking back! I don't own Escaflowne or Beauty and the Beast.  
  
The knife was tossed aside and Van knelt next to Hitomi. He gently put one arm under her legs while the other slid under her shoulders. Lifting her up, he had her head rest on his shoulder. Once he was sure his grip was solid, he walked to the center of the path where the trees leaves and branches were bare. Outstretching his wings, he ignored the pain that came with the movement because of the wound. With a few swift pushes of his wings, Van and Hitomi were lifted off the ground and into the night's sky, traveling a path straight to where Van hoped Hitomi would eventually call home.  
  
Chapter 5: Wounds Take Time to Heal  
  
Back in the castle, Dilandau and the other Dragonslayers were shocked to see Van bleeding from a wound with Hitomi unconscious in his arms. No words were needed and Hitomi was brought to her room. With the help of Chesta, the door was opened and the covers upon the bed drawn back so Van could lay her down gently. Others came hurrying in with bandages, water, and clean clothing. Unknown to anyone who might set foot in the castle, a few small girls came in hurriedly behind the boys carrying the supplies. These women included the castle's seamstress, nurse, cleaning ladies, and maids.  
  
Van stepped back from the bed as they all rushed along and helped each other jump on top of the mattress. Each lady started to fuss about with the fallen girl, starting with taking the worn leather jacket off her arms. A hard glare that was given to all the boys to get the point across that none of them were supposed to be in there. Not wanting to deal with the women, everyone turned around and walked out the door, waiting in anticipation for Hitomi's condition.  
  
With much trouble, Hitomi's clothing was taken off without so much as rubbing against a wound. The cuts were cleaned and bandaged while bruises were given ice. Her badly bruised neck was draped with a cold rag while the rest of her body was inspected for any internal wounds. All the women worked quickly and efficiently, soon finding that Hitomi had broken a few ribs, and had cracked even more. Thankfully none of the ribs had punctured any organs and no internal bleeding could be found... at least from the naked eye. Bandages were wrapped around her torso to help her keep from moving her upper body too much. When all was done, a new light silk nightgown was placed on her body and the covers of the bed drawn up around her. All materials were gathered back up again and Hitomi was left in peace.  
  
Exiting in a small group, the ladies silently made their way to the doors. Upon arriving outside the doors, they found a few Dragonslayers and Van, who paced relentlessly, right outside the opening.  
  
"Now don't you go barging in there making a great ruckus," a maid scolded them as a few Dragonslayers were about to run in. "She needs her rest... it has been a long night for everyone. Please, if you go in to see her, don't disturb her wounds or cause her to do anything to do more damage."  
  
All the women nodded in agreement, turned away and walked sleepily back to their quarters. Dilandau looked at all her Dragonslayers and decided against bringing them all in to see Hitomi. "You will all see her when she is back on her feet. Go and get some rest. There doesn't seem to be anything of concern."  
  
Chesta, Dilandau, and Van were the only ones left standing outside the door, but Van suddenly seemed to make up his mind about going in, gave a low huff of breath, and stalked away down the hall. Dilandau and Chesta just looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. They just wouldn't even ask. Their visit was short for Hitomi didn't stir and not much could be done on their part. Seeing the extent of damage with their own eyes was enough to know it would take quite some time for her body to heal. Giving off a light sigh, Chesta whispered goodnight to Hitomi and made his way back to his sleeping quarters. Dilandau lingered only a little longer but followed after Chesta after frowning at her bruised and battered body.  
  
'Whatever happened, it was a good thing that Lord Van found her in time...' Dilandau admitted to herself.  
  
With large doors now closed and curtains drawn, no sound echoed in the halls of the immense castle. But one large figure crept with bare feet along the cold marble floors, never making any sudden noises. The person stopped short to listen for any wandering sounds but upon hearing none, they crept closer to the large wooden doors. With unheard movements, the door opened and closed with only a rustle of wind and slight noise of the hinges. Their crimson eyes were softly glowing as they made their way over towards the sleeping figure lying in the bed. A fire was burning with the occasional snap and crack of the ambers, giving its warmth to the surrounding air.  
  
Golden hair reflected the glow in the room while certain strands clung to a damp forehead. Each step taken towards Hitomi was slow and cautious. Her very presence seemed to be that of an illusion and if one were to run to it too quickly, it would disappear. Dark wings upon her visitors back were shifted around as he stood nervously looking upon her. Not much damage could be seen for her clothing and the blankets on top of the bed deceived the eye, but Van knew the extent of damage without further inspection or report from the women. Her battered body was clear to his eye when he found her and he feared for her life deep inside his heart. But why did he fear for her safety?  
  
Was it because of the curse? He had little time left... yes... but did he truly expect someone to fall in love with him when he kept them prisoner? The curse haunted him day and night, never letting his mind rest. It's strange... when he first saw Hitomi in his castle, he wanted to kill her. He cared for no one and the very thought of someone else trespassing in his home made him furious. Only when her compassion for her father and strong will that told her to take his place did he once again remember the curse. She would possibly be his last hope and he wouldn't let it slip through his fingers.  
  
Not being very good or practiced at human kindness, many events had not been turning out the way he had expected. With every day he let his true self show, he pushed his chances of turning everything back to normal further away. He was afraid... afraid because of what he had caused.  
  
"What I caused..." he told himself.  
  
'No... I didn't do this...' but Van started to question himself as he once again imagined the wounds upon Hitomi's body.  
  
'You were the one to cause her all this pain...' a voice in his head said.  
  
'It was her fault for running out of the castle. I told her not to go in the West Wing... but what did she do?' Van reproached.  
  
'You can't blame her you know. If she is expected to live in the castle for the rest of her life, which may I remind you was your deal with her, she is going to want to see all of it. She won't listen all the time. You can't really expect anyone to.'  
  
'She was the one who agreed in taking her father's place.'  
  
His inner voice sighed, 'Being highly emotional, finding your father stuck in a cell in a huge castle you never knew anything about, and suddenly meeting a being you've never seen before can make a person act hastily. Were you even thinking at the time?'  
  
Now there was only silence and the battering going on in Van's conscious mind had ceased. Hitomi's innocent face stirred slightly as if she felt Van's presence but wished not to open her eyes. Seeing that Hitomi was starting to wake up, Van feared to make any sudden noises. He did not wish to make his presence known.  
  
With feet not moving and the fire still crackling, Hitomi's eyelids sluggishly opened. Squinting and blinking to the light from the fire, it took her quite some time to gather where she was. Her body felt stiff and numb, her head felt the beating of her heart from the pain that throbbed in it. With eyes still half closed, Hitomi let her mind question where she was and why it was so hard to breath.  
  
To Van, she looked half asleep and took the chance to shift towards the door. Hitomi on the other hand heard the slight noise and shifted her head against the pillow to find the source of the sound. Upon seeing Van, memories of fleeing the castle and her encounter with the gang flooded back. But how in the world did she end up back in the castle?  
  
Frozen in place, Van stared at Hitomi, eyes wide with recognition. Yes... those eyes showed fear of him, but held something else. Seemingly wanting to talk to him, she lifted herself into a sitting position on the bed. The motion caused her to wrap her arms around her upper body from the intense pain and she struggled to take a breath without gasping in pain. Caught by surprise at her willingness to confront him, black wings followed suit as Van rushed towards the injured girl. Without thinking, he propped up a few pillows against the headboard and forced Hitomi's curled body to straighten out and lean back. With chest heaving and face contorted with pain, Hitomi's tightly shut eyes relaxed with time and gradually opened to reflect the soft glow of the fire's light.  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked softly from his spot at the edge of her bed.  
  
It was the first time he had spoken with true sincerity in his voice and she was shocked from it. "Ye... yes. I'm ok now."  
  
"You shouldn't move much. There was a lot of damage done on your ribs. They won't heal overnight so take it easy."  
  
When she was informed on this, she looked down at her torso and felt through the fabric of her gown the many bandages that were wrapped around her rib cage. The thought of who had bandaged her though lingered in her mind. "You didn't... put the bandages on me... did you?" she managed to get out with some embarrassment.  
  
Both Van and Hitomi blushed at the comment and Van stammered, "N... no... I had my other servants do it. There are woman that live here that you have never seen before. They fixed you up."  
  
Van sighed in relief that he got it off his chest, but the next question made him feel uncomfortable and slightly irritated.  
  
"How much more do you plan on keeping hidden?" she asked him straight out.  
  
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"You expect me to live here the rest of my life, though I'm restricted and I have to watch everywhere I go? Everything I do or anyone I meet becomes a new surprise that I wasn't warned or told about before hand!"  
  
"What do you mean? I warned you NEVER to go in the West Wing, and where did you go?"  
  
Hitomi shook her head in disbelief. "Do you honestly expect someone who you're keeping prisoner to stay away from a place you emphasize so greatly to not enter because it holds a great secret?"  
  
"Secrets should be kept secret. One shouldn't go snooping around in other people's business!"  
  
"Well you could have told me to leave without starting an outrage when you found me there!" Hitomi yelled at him.  
  
Van, upon this, stayed silent. Hitomi on the other hand continued in a lower voice, "Do you know how to just talk normally without scaring everyone half to death? I was so frightened when you started to yell that I ran in fear for my life."  
  
Hitomi looked down at the covers and at her hands. She told him the truth and it seemed to hit him hard. He closed his eyes tightly and looked the opposite way, almost as if he were ashamed of his behavior. His hands clenched into fists, and deciding that he had had enough of her talk, he turned to leave. Hitomi heard his footsteps across the floor, looked up from her hands, and called out to him. "Wait!"  
  
She didn't stop him because she had more to say, but an area on his wings was darker than the rest, the gray tinted with red that was barely noticeable in the low lighting.  
  
At her call to him, he stopped but refused to turn around. If she had something to say, she could say it to him without her seeing his expression, but with the sound of the bed sheets rustling, he whipped around to witness Hitomi swing her legs over the edge of the mattress and stand with much difficulty. Van stood frozen by her determination, not even rushing towards her when her face became flushed with pain. She carefully and slowly walked towards him while he watched her.  
  
Confusion was in Van's eyes as he looked down at the girl standing in front of him. A tender hand reached, not touching his wing, to merely point out or question the wound which he had received from the knife. With a little stretch of his wing, the wound became clearly visible. Hitomi averted her eyes away from the dried blood, knowing she was the cause of it. She breathed in slowly and turned her head towards his.  
  
"Please let me clean it. It's the least I can do as payment for saving my life," she told him.  
  
Van made a quick reply, "I'll be fine. It's not serious. I need to be going now."  
  
"What if it gets infected? Please at least let me clean it."  
  
"You shouldn't be doing anything but getting rest. You shouldn't even be moving much less standing," Van scolded her.  
  
"I'm the cause of this," her eyes looked over the blood. "Can't you stop being so stubborn for a second and just accept someone else's kindness?"  
  
Van didn't have anything to say to this. Still she continued to talk back to him, and knowing she had made a good point he sighed in defeat, nodding his head in consent to let her know she could do what she wished.  
  
Hitomi smiled, thankful that she could repay him without his temper exploding. Motioning for him to sit on the bed, he looked at her oddly for only a moment before complying and sitting upon the cushioned surface. Hitomi walked to a table where a bowl of water was kept, a rag sitting next to it. The piece of cloth was soaked in the water for a moment then rung out by Hitomi's shaky hands. When she turned around to where Van was sitting with an uncomfortable look, she found his wings pulled in close to his body. Reaching out to his injured wing, she grabbed the edge of it and tried to pull it open, only to find that every time she pulled it out, Van retracted it, thus hiding the wound.  
  
Hitomi reached out and tried again but Van continued to be stubborn, "Just hold still..." and she stretched his wing out and pressed the cloth against the wound.  
  
Van shouted in pain and growled deep in the back of his throat, whipping his head around to glare at Hitomi. "That hurt!"  
  
"Well if you would stop moving and just let me help you, then it wouldn't hurt as much!" she yelled back.  
  
"If you wouldn't have run away, this would have never happened!"  
  
"I wouldn't have run away if you hadn't frightened me!"  
  
"You should have never been in the West Wing to begin with!"  
  
"You should learn to control your temper!"  
  
Silence.  
  
To break the awkward air, Hitomi pulled Van's wing open once again, only to find that he didn't pull back on it. She cleaned the blood off the surrounding feathers and carefully cleaned the stab. When he winced, she paused for a second or two, but continued with her work, being more careful than before. Her fatigue was evident but Hitomi refused to stop until she was done.  
  
When both were starting to get comfortable being so near each other, Hitomi spoke to him in voice that matched the gentleness she was using while cleaning his wound, "I want to thank you... for saving my life..."  
  
Van looked up at her face which was concentrated on his wing then looked down at the floor, suddenly interested in the wood grain. Before he knew what he was doing, he spoke. The words were rare and foreign to his tongue, but each was spoken with sincerity. "You're welcome..."  
  


* * *

Allen  
  
"I don't usually leave the prison in the middle of the night... I hope what you called me here for is worth my while."  
  
Three men, two of which were Allen and Gaddes, sat at a table in a bar which was closed for the night. The man sitting across from the two was old and had wrinkles that sagged upon his dusty skin. His eyes were set so far back into his head, the shadows around his eyes looked like never ending pits in the earth. Thinning hands were folded on top of the table and coarse silver hair flowed down from a balding head.  
  
Upon his comment, Allen reached behind him and grabbed a stack of money. The rubber-banded bills was thrown onto the flat surface right in front of the man. Picking it up, he flipped through the bills quickly then upturned his lips slightly in a thin line. "I'm listening..."  
  
"It's like this... I got my heart set on Hitomi, but she needs... a little persuasion," Allen explained.  
  
"Turned him down flat... flat on his face..." Gaddes piped in and laughed aloud but was cut off rather quickly when Allen gave him a sharp look.  
  
Allen continued, "Her father came running in here last night raving about a demon and how he's got Hitomi locked up. Everyone knows he hasn't been the same since his wife died."  
  
"But he is harmless..." said the man.  
  
"The point is... Hitomi would do anything to keep from loosing him. She lost one of her parents already and she won't let go of her father very easily."  
  
Gaddes laughed to himself a bit, "She would even be with _him_." He threw a thumb in Allen's direction but shrunk away when a threatening fist was raised in his direction.  
  
"So you want me to throw her father into prison unless she agrees to be with you. That is the most despicable thing I have ever heard..." the man closed his eyes and paused for a moment but lifted his head and gave both a cruel look. "I love it."  
  
With a plan in motion, Allen smiled to himself.

* * *

Hitomi's House  
  
Mr. Kanzaki rummaged about his house, getting supplies he thought he would need on his trip back to the castle. All were stuffed into a backpack and thrown over his shoulders.  
  
"If no one will come with me, I'll go by myself. I have to save Hitomi. I will not loose her."  
  
Grabbing some gloves and a hat, he walked to the garage where he pulled out his bicycle. It hadn't been used in years, but nothing would hinder it from being used. Not caring if the door was left open or not, he jumped on it and rode down the driveway, struggling to peddle because of the gash on his leg and the few cuts and bruises on his body. He rode straight back towards the castle, pushing himself as hard as he could. Little did he know that he left his house just in time.  
  
A car pulled into the driveway and parked. Two figures stepped out and made their way up to the open garage door. Walking inside, they went through the unlocked door that connected to the house.  
  
"Kanzaki! Hitomi! Are you here?" Allen shouted through the dark house.  
  
"Looks like no one's home... guess it's not going to work after all," Gaddes started to walk away, showing how much he didn't like what he was doing, but was grabbed from the back of his collar by Allen.  
  
An angered and impatient Allen strode back to the door, pulling Gaddes with him. When they arrived outside, Allen spoke directly to his partner in the scheme, "They have to come home sometime. They WILL come back, and when they do, you're going to be the first one to know. Park across the street in your car and don't move until they get home. Tell me once they arrive... got it?"  
  
But Allen didn't even wait for a reply for he pushed Gaddes away from him and jumped back into his car, starting it up and driving away without so much as another word. Gaddes sighed deeply and let his shoulders sag. He didn't like it... he didn't like it at all.

* * *

The Castle  
  
Van leaned against the railing of a balcony facing the courtyard. Looking down below, he could see Hitomi waving her hands around. Anyone who looked at her would think she was going crazy but as soon as you were to look up, everything would become clear. One of the machines that had carried Hitomi's father off was floating above the ground, a very large object in its metal claws hanging below it. Both machine, which Hitomi came to know as guymelefs, and the object below it swung dangerously. Van watched in much amusement as Hitomi yelled orders at the Dragonslayer piloting the mini guymelef.  
  
"Chesta, be careful! Don't damage my bike any more than it is!" she yelled.  
  
"I'm trying! But your bike is just breaking the weight limits I'm able to hold!" the struggling Dragonslayer managed to yell back.  
  
"I think its ok! Put it down right here!"  
  
Chesta, relieved that he could set her motorcycle down, lowered the guymelef until he felt the cargo touch the grass. The metal claw unwrapped from it and retracted.  
  
After hearing a "Thanks Chesta!" from Hitomi, he flew off to put the guymelef back at its station. Hitomi walked over to her bike, her violet skirt flowing around her legs, and started inspecting it right away. Her ribs were still in the process of healing which made her take great caution to what she did, but a few days had already past, giving Hitomi most of her strength and mobility back. After looking over the exterior and checking pipes, and buttons here and there, she came to the conclusion that fixing it would be no problem and that having it run again would only take minor repairs. The worst of the damage was done on the exterior with scratches and dents all along the left side of the bike.  
  
The breeze caught Hitomi's hair and made it fly away from her face, revealing her smiling and pleased features. Van who was still looking upon her from above felt something stir within his heart. It was all new to him for he had never held love for another within him. Dilandau, who was on the balcony with him, noticed the soft change of expression in his eyes. The need to follow his eyes and find where he was looking would prove pointless. Dilandau giggled out loud in turn making Van turn his gaze towards her. Van only looked at her with a raised eyebrow as if asking what was so funny.  
  
As if knowing what he was about to say, Dilandau spoke up. "You're starting to like her... aren't you?"  
  
Van was about to object to Dilandau's statement until he noticed her gaze on his wing. By stretching it out only a little, the wound he had received became more visible and with that wound, an image flashed before his eyes.  
  
"No one has ever stood up to me the way she does. When she first saw me, she was scared... but who wouldn't be? After she saw what I was, she didn't care. I would yell, and she would yell right back. No matter what the threat, she always had some way of defying me and refused to obey my orders. She's making me realize more things about myself than I have ever cared to see. She can be so strong at times and can ruffle my feathers the wrong way, but there are moments when she is gentle and will see past what I am." Van's fingers gently traced over his wound.  
  
Van, who was in a trace like dream world, suddenly snapped out of it and looked at Dilandau, with excitement evident in his eyes. "I want to do something for her."  
  
Dilandau started thinking of ideas that could help Van and voiced them, "Well there is the usual. Chocolates, roses... promises you don't intend to keep..."  
  
Van interrupted him, "No, no... it needs to be something special, something that will spark her interest."  
  
Both were locked in deep thought and when they started to draw blanks, Hitomi was in their sights once more. Chesta was now standing beside Hitomi who was still looking over her bike. She started to point out different mechanics of the bike for the little Dragonslayer had never seen anything quite like it. The smile that came from Hitomi was one that was thrilled to be sharing her joy with another and from this happiness did Van realize exactly what he wanted to do for her.  
  
Too excited to wait, Van jumped on the balcony rail, spread his wings out, and walked off the edge. He landed softly a little ways from where Hitomi stood by using his wings to slow his descent. He walked over to her bike where she was still explaining every bit to a curious Chesta. Being the first to notice him, Chesta looked at Van which made Hitomi stop in the middle of her sentence to turn and greet the lord of the castle.  
  
Van spoke in an apologetic tone towards Hitomi, "I'm sorry if I interrupted you, but I would like to show you something."  
  
Chesta looked as if he were in shock. Did he just hear right? Did he hear an apology come from his master's mouth? Was he being nice? Hitomi didn't seem to be affected in the same way and merely shook her head. "No, it's ok. What is it that you want me to see?"  
  
"It's a surprise," replied Van.  
  
Hitomi looked at him skeptically for a moment, but saw the seriousness in his face and the excitement, which he tried to hide, in his eyes. Looking back down at Chesta, she apologized but was surprised when he started wave his hands in front of him saying it was ok and that she go off with Van. Hitomi blinked a few times and questioned Chesta's quick change in behavior but pushed her worries aside as she did not want to keep Van waiting.  
  
Seeing as Hitomi had in a way agreed to go with him, he motioned towards the back of the castle, "Follow me."  
  
Walking in silence, Van, excited for what he was to show her, quickened his pace making Hitomi more anxious. Upon reaching the back of the castle, Hitomi was invaded with structures that she had never seen before. A greenhouse entirely made of glass and a huge stone building that was set into the trees further from the castle sat alone. Vines crept along the walls of the structure within the shade of the forest nearly hiding all signs of an entrance. As Hitomi struggled her way through knee deep grass and weeds, she noticed that the whole area looked abandoned. The greenhouse was bare with no signs of plant life and the glass did not show its clarity by letting sun in. Rather it looked like opaque glass trying to hide the contents of a secret place in the back of the castle.  
  
Van noticed her difficulties in traveling, especially with her ribs being in the condition they were, and slowed his pace. Hitomi was filled with too much curiosity to keep from asking what exactly he wanted to show her. "So what do you need to show me anyways?"  
  
Even though Van could see her need to know, he told her nothing, "I'm not telling. You will just have to see it for yourself."  
  
She sighed aloud, obviously going through all the possibilities of what he was to show her. Time passed quickly as they strolled towards the stone building and soon Hitomi found herself staring up an ancient structure that from the looks of it only had a door. The door, made of a dark, dry wood, stood covered with vines and moss, its handles wrapped in the plants as well. Not wasting any time, Van grabbed hold of the vines keeping the door shut and pulled on them. Most came free easily and with only the ones that were in the way now gone, Van pulled with all his strength on the door. The plants that grew along the rest of the door broke free when the wood creakily gave way.  
  
The entire building was one giant room and the only light was that which beamed in from the entrance. An ancient smell rose about and drafted with the opening motion of the door. Van seemed to peek in the giant room first and turned back suddenly to Hitomi who was trying to peek around him, curious as to what was in the enormous place. She looked at him when he turned to face her, Van not even noticing she was trying to sneak a quick glance inside.  
  
"Close your eyes and don't open them till I tell you. Remember that it's a surprise, but be patient because this might take a while. Since there isn't enough light inside I'm going to bring it out," Van told her this as gently as he could. Before he disappeared behind both doors, he added in for her to get as far away as she could from the entrance.  
  
She gave him a suspicious glance but he didn't take witness to it for his head went out of sight into the musty old structure. Shrugging her shoulders, she stepped away from the wooden doors onto the grass and closed her eyes. All was quiet around her until loud grinding noises and air compression echoed out of the building. Her wonder increased with each passing second, her mind racing as to exactly what he could be getting. Before long, the ground beneath her started to shake which made her struggle to keep her balance, especially with her eyes closed. After a few rumbles, the earth beneath her sat silent. She thought all the commotion was over, but barely seconds after the ground stopped moving, the rusty hinges on the doors ground upon each other causing a shrill screech louder than the last to vibrate around her.  
  
Just as suddenly as it had stopped, the huge thuds on the ground continued. They came closer to her and Hitomi wanted to do nothing more than to open her eyes. The object had to be enormous. A waft of wind brushed around her and getting extremely curious she shouted out in the direction she thought he was, "Can I open them now?"  
  
Van's voice answered from above her, "Yes! Open them now!"  
  
Immediately uncovering her eyes and squinting against the light that had been blocked from her sight, Hitomi looked at what lay in front of her. At her height, she only saw the legs of a giant machine. Until her head tilted back to face the sky did she start to stumble backwards upon seeing the whole body. Hitomi's mouth fell agape as she gazed upon the shining metal surface and reflective crystal like structures.  
  
The machine stood with beauty. Off-white in color, the hunk of metal represented a man in a suit of armor. What awed everyone who laid eyes on it though was the giant cape connected to its back. The giant piece of red material extended from shoulders to ground, flowing as freely as silk in the light breeze. A pink crystal took the place of where a human's heart would be and looked as if it were glowing. As Hitomi was looking the giant piece of machinery over, she searched for a sign of Van. After looking with her eyes, she called out his name, "Van? Where are you?"  
  
A laugh erupted from inside the machine, Hitomi's eyes immediately squinting at what looked like grating on the face. Just as she laid eyes on it, the grating/visor slid upwards, Van's face appearing behind it. Hitomi, startled at the sudden movement, jumped away slightly.  
  
Van's voice broke through her surprise, "It's called Escaflowne. It has been in my family for generations. This was actually used in wars and has spilled the blood of many people from centuries ago. That's what I was told at least... time has taken its toll and now it just sits in this building. I haven't touched it in years."  
  
"It sure looks like its seen better days," Hitomi replied.  
  
"You'd be surprised at what this can actually do," Van yelled from his position. "You might want to get out of the way for this."  
  
The warning came and Hitomi obeyed. She backed away even more but never took her eyes off of Escaflowne. Having no idea of what exactly was to happen, Hitomi started to get tense. It was seconds later when the machine's feet disappeared and all the limbs and pieces of the armor shifted this way and that, forming an entirely different object.  
  
It seemed as though the giant mechanism had finished when it landed on the ground. With a release of pressure, a door popped open on its back and Van jumped out from it. Hitomi started to near it once again until from its sides pieces of metal unfolded like bones to a wing and with that, the cloth that was once the cape stretched out, creating the skin of the wing itself. The transformation was complete, but Hitomi was still unsure if it was safe. Van saw her uncertainty and used his own wings to glide down from Escaflowne to where she stood.  
  
"So what do you think of it?" he asked her as his feet touched the ground.  
  
Hitomi thought for a second, still taking in the enormous machine before her. Before it looked like a person... now it took the form of a giant dragon. "It's really hard to find words to describe it. In one word... amazing." Van smiled at her answer. "I've never seen anything like it before. More or less I've never heard of anything such as this. You would think that in kid's fairy tales or even in scriptures from the people before us that someone would learn of such a machine."  
  
"But no one does know about it. Only the people within my castle, myself, and you know about Escaflowne. I trust you will keep this to yourself."  
  
"Of course I will," Hitomi said rather quickly.  
  
Van chuckled at her hasty reply, "Well, do you want to stand around all day staring at it or do you want to ride it?"  
  
Hitomi's expression didn't waver as if she didn't hear him, and when Van didn't receive a reply he questioned her again, coming close to loosing his patience. "Hitomi... did you hear me?"  
  
She looked at him. "I didn't know if I was hearing right... did you ask if I wanted to... ride on it?"  
  
"Yes I asked if you wanted to ride on it. Well fly to be more exact," he replied as his posture softened.  
  
Hitomi blinked a few times, "Did you say fly? Are you sure that's..."  
  
"Safe?" Van finished her sentence. "Of course it's safe. And if anything happens, I assure you that I will protect you."  
  
The sincerity in his eyes could clearly be seen and Hitomi felt that she could trust him with her life. Feeling a deep calm spread throughout her mind and body, she nodded her head.  
  
Excitement lit up in Van's eyes. He gently took hold of her hand and led her closer to Escaflowne's dragon form. When they reached its body, Van picked Hitomi up bridal style earning a yelp of surprise and pain from her. With a push of his legs and lift with his wings both flew gracefully up to Escaflowne's back. Setting her down, Van moved towards its neck where he grabbed two handles attached to some sort of wire coming from the machine. Van turned his head around to face Hitomi's still curious one which was still exploring with her eyes.  
  
"You can come sit in front of me. My wings would get in the way if you were to hang on from behind."  
  
Hearing Van's voice snapped Hitomi out of her amazement and made her move to where he stood. Van lifted his arm and Hitomi ducked under it to get settled in front of him. Once Hitomi was settled and Van was situated with himself, he pulled back on the handles. Hitomi's muscles tensed up drastically as the enormous piece of metal shifted around and started to lift off the ground. Watching as the ground got farther away with each passing second, Hitomi closed her eyes tightly. Not knowing what was happening, a rush of air towards her face made her open her eyes. No longer were they moving up, but now they were going forward. Van gave off a mighty laugh as Hitomi peeked through her eyelids.  
  
He yelled over the noise of the rushing wind, "Don't be scared Hitomi. You're going to miss so much! Open your eyes and take a look at your town!"  
  
The exhilaration in his voice made her open one eye fully to the sights around them. What that one eye saw though caused a chain reaction to make the other eye shoot open as well. The sight was amazing. A little ways distance was the castle, and much further from that was Hitomi's town. The sky was filled with light fluffy clouds and the horizon was just changing to the colors of sundown. All of it took Hitomi's breath away as she gazed in amazement at all the wonders she was coming to witness. Van, having seen it all, gazed at the girl in front of him, eyes full of joy and exhilaration. He felt content because of her presence. It was in a way, scary but amazing to feel as such. All the worries about the curse seemed to be forgotten, if only for just a moment, and left Van to enjoy himself.  
  
The wind pushed against his wings sending ripples down each of his gray feathers. Hitomi's hair flew in every direction with the air flying around their forms and both their laughter rang throughout the sky. For these two people, this moment was good, and it didn't matter what was going on. All the two passengers of the unknown armor knew was that anything else going on didn't involve them and that this time was theirs. What Hitomi would never realize though is that in these moments, she had caused Van to be happy for the first time...

* * *

Reasons for not getting this out sooner: I had finals for it was the end of the school year and I now am working two jobs. Busy? I think so. I'm sure that the next chapter will be the last, so review while you can. Critiquing is welcome. Thanks for reading and reviewing. 


	6. Ever After

Disclaimer: This is truly the last time I must say that I do not own Beauty and the Beast nor the idea and I don't own any characters taken from Escaflowne.

The wind pushed against his wings sending ripples down each of his gray feathers. Hitomi's hair flew in every direction with the air flying around their forms and both their laughter rang throughout the sky. For these two people, this moment was good, and it didn't matter what was going on. All the two passengers of the unknown armor knew was that anything else going on didn't involve them and that this time was theirs. What Hitomi would never realize though is that in these moments, she had caused Van to be happy for the first time...

Chapter 6: Ever After

The night was dark as Escaflowne swooped down low near the castle grounds. With not so much as a shift of the breeze and a rustle of leaves, the giant machine landed upon the grass. Hitomi, a little tired from the flight, stood up and with the help of Van was gently lowered to the ground. Stepping back like she did when she first came to witness the giant mecha, Hitomi watched as Van transformed the dragon back into the standing warrior. Soon enough it was walking step by step back to the building where it sat in waiting. A few moments after it disappeared through the doors, Van appeared from the inside and pushed the heavy wood closed. Once he found Hitomi in the dark, he walked towards her, holding out his arm for her to hook onto. Together they strolled back to the castle.

With the late moon high in the sky, two sets of feet gently padded through the corridors of the castle. No whispers followed the echoing of the walking, but once the clicking of shoes stopped, a door broke the silence and soon after, the low hum of voices.

"This night was amazing," Hitomi told Van in a dreamy state. "Thank you for showing me something so wondrous... it's certainly something I'll never forget."

Van smiled. "You're welcome." Van thought for a second. "Will you need any help getting ready to sleep? I can send one of the maids down to assist you if..."

But Hitomi cut him off, "No. I'll be fine. Thank you again... and goodnight... Van..."

The door shut with a soft click and Hitomi's serene face was cut off from view. Van on the other hand looked shocked with mouth partly open.

'Did she just call me by my name?' he thought to himself. 'Van... she didn't even say Lord Van. How different it all sounds... especially when fallen from her lips.' Van stared at her door for a second longer until he finally shook his head clear and walked away to his own quarters.

For the next few days, Hitomi showed Van everything there was to know about her motorcycle while she repaired it. With the help of the liquid metal used in the guymelefs, all repairs were made with ease and the bike was working just as it was before.

On both Hitomi's and Van's part, they spent much time together. Van agreed to show Hitomi around the castle a bit more as long as she agreed to never enter the West Wing, especially now since she knew exactly where it was. What bothered Hitomi the most was Van's refusal to tell her what the pendant within the forbidden room was and why he was overly protective of it. Just the mention of it turned his mood around to one of frustration and hate. There was one instance during their dinner when Hitomi wouldn't drop the subject and drove Van to nearly drive Hitomi off once again...

"The sun is setting more later in the day than usual," Van commented as he gazed out the giant window sitting parallel to the long dinning table.

"Yes..." Hitomi commented, "...but the colors the sky turn as it sets are so beautifully blended. Everyday is so different looking. Today the sky is so pink it looks unnatural. It looks like the same color as that stone in the pendant you keep locked up in..."

"Do not bring this up once again," Van warned her.

"And why not? Aren't we supposed to not keep any secrets? Why is it a big secret anyways? Everyone seems to know what it is except me."

"You wouldn't understand," Van started. "It was here long before you ever came to life."

"So it's an heirloom of some sort then?" Hitomi suggested more to herself.

"No... that pendant isn't something from my ancestors."

"Then why is so precious?"

"Why do you ask so many questions? I've told you before when you bring the same subject up every time that I cannot tell you the truth about that necklace!" Van's temper was falling short but Hitomi didn't seem to care.

"What is it? Is it that if you tell me the big secret, then everything will disappear like a dream or you will die a most miserable death? Will I be cursed for the rest of my life or be sinned to burn in hell?!"

This broke Van's strength to hold back his anger. He stood up from his chair so quickly the chair flew back and tipped, landing upon the floor with a loud clunk. His arm which was clenching the table cloth swung slightly to the side and came back viciously, pushing all the dishes and food in front of him straight off the table. His eyes shot up and burned through her frightened face, glowing so dangerously that Hitomi couldn't even find herself to move. Van's low voice then broke the silence that came after the crashing of the dishes, "Leave me alone..."

Hitomi, with mouth slightly agape in shock, stood slowly. She didn't move and seemed to be contemplating whether she should say something or just leave, but when Van saw her hesitation, the lower voice he spoke in just a moment ago shot up in volume drastically, "GO!"

With the order given, Hitomi ran from the room, never once looking back. Once she was gone Van breathed in the surrounding air with deliberate slowness and released it heavily. His feet took him from the table to stand next to the window, making him look at the sky Hitomi had mentioned. Van wished he could tell her everything but knew it was impossible. His thoughts journeyed back to the words she shot at him just before his anger exploded.

"_Will I be cursed for the rest of my life or be sinned to burn in hell?!"_

'I will be the one to be cursed forever... to stay the way I am and live for eternity. Once that damn stone stops swinging, nothing will ever break the curse put on me over 200 years ago. If I tell her the truth now, she will only think she is here to break a spell... but if she knows that to break the spell, she must hold love for me in her heart then she will never come to love me. It would only seem forced and would never be true. I mustn't tell her anything or else everything I've ever longed for will be gone in a single moment. My time is running short... too short. She is our last hope to breaking this retched curse. If I loose control of my emotions once again and chase her off... I will have failed not only everyone dwelling within my castle, but I will have failed myself. It would prove that I do not have the ability to love another and earn their love in return. I've had so many years to try and break this curse but nothing had ever happened. But why now has someone come to possibly break the spell when time has almost run out? What can I possibly do?'

His forehead came to lean upon the glass and his arms pushed some of the weight off his neck as they moved to lie against the glass above his head. With fists clenched and eyes shut, all his aggravation formed a solitary tear which seeped from closed eyelids and flowed down a curved cheek where it fell unnoticed to the polished floor.

Hitomi in the mean time was running from the dinning room. The change in Van was so sudden and she was in such a state of shock that she didn't quite know how to react to it all. She didn't wish to run out like she did the first time... she had to give him a chance. For now his temper could be cooled with time. Eventually her pace slowed and she soon found herself standing in the library. The bookshelves here reached bounding heights and never ceased to amaze her.

Suddenly her thoughts were not on that of the library but on what she had just run from. 'It's my fault he got so angry. I kept pushing him for information.'

Shaking her head slowing from side to side, she tried to think of every possible reason as to why his secret could not be told at all. The only ideas that came to her were those that she had yelled from her confrontation with the demon lord. 'Maybe I should just give it a rest. Who knows... the truth might just come out without me even having to ask.'

Seeing him again had its one hundred percent chance which brought up Hitomi's next problem. What would she say to him? Could she say nothing at all and try to avoid him? Or could she act as if nothing had happened? No... none of that would work. The only option left in her mind was that of an apology. She would just have to find the right words and time to talk to him. Now was not a good time for either of them. Van still had to cool his head while Hitomi had to calm her nerves.

Not wanting to leave the room in case she were to bump into Van, she walked to the nearest shelf of books to start her search for a book to occupy some time. Every page of every book seemed yellowed and ready to turn into dust in the hands of the holder. The leather bindings were dust sprinkled but seemingly in beautiful condition as if they were only there for show and the words within the pages were never read.

Hitomi, after scanning over a few shelves of books came across one that sounded interesting. She gently pulled the book from its spot in-between the other books and carried it to one of the big armchairs placed at the center of the room. Once comfortable, the book was opened and soon Hitomi was immersed in the story.

As she read, a few hours passed by and the sun swung its way around the horizon to send its rays through the glass. A ray of light hit a page in the book just as Hitomi's eyes shifted, bringing more attention to the words written.

"Maybe we're the fools, for thinking we know things. Maybe humans are the only ones who can deal with the fact that nothing can ever be known at all." (1)

Though the person talking wasn't human in the story, the quote struck Hitomi. In reality people think they know things. Ideas and ways of understanding the world pop up everywhere. We accept those as the truth. Sometimes those concepts are challenged and proved wrong but who says that the new ideas that proved the last one wrong isn't wrong itself? Like all grains of sand in the world. We may think we have an accurate number as to how many tiny specks of broken rock, shell, and salt there is, but every second new sand is being made by the crushing waves, the tools of mankind which dig, drive, and crush rock and soil, and even the humans put upon this earth crush the very knowledge beneath their feet. Smaller and smaller the specks get until realization dawns. Though we may think we have all the answers, we really don't.

"No matter how hard I try and think of reasons why Van won't tell me what the pendant is for, I will truly never know the answer."

With the book seemingly giving her a message, she closed it and set it back on the shelf. Upon arriving at the door, she turned and glanced at all the books, smiling to herself as she did so. Maybe in the future she would have to return here and find answers once again.

The door opened and closed softly, leaving the books alone and in their solitude. Setting off on a search around the castle, Hitomi didn't ask anyone where their lord was. If she knew where she was headed, she might have a second thought about confronting him. If she bumped into him on accident, she would feel more confident. She knew what she had to do... the only thing left was to accomplish it.

After seemingly searching the entire castle, Hitomi nearly gave up. She dared not go into the West Wing again, but every other room was either empty or Van wasn't there. Wanting to give up, she retired to her own room. She immediately went to her balcony and leaned against the rail, sighing to herself. A light breeze tousled her hair, making her relax, but as soon as she did, something brushed against her ear, making her jump and whip around. Nothing was behind her but a lonely gray feather. Swaying back and forth in the air, Hitomi's gaze shifted from that of the feather to the roof. There gazing at the clouds was the person she had been looking for. He seemed as if in a daze and didn't even feel her gaze. After looking around, she saw that getting up to where he was would be relatively easy. Though he probably flew up to where he sat on the slate roof, Hitomi climbed upon the statues and crevices in the stone eventually setting foot upon the slant of the roof. Her motion of lifting herself completely to her feet offset some rocks that lay under her feet, making them break and slide down the slant. Van heard the slight commotion, making his red eyes shift from the sky to her. Hitomi carefully made her way over to where the lord of the castle sat, now giving her a look of utter disbelief.

"You're still here?" he asked her in a low whisper.

"Yes..." she replied, "I didn't run off like last time."

"But why?"

"I guess I learned my lesson the first time and..."

Van waited but she didn't finish. He started for her, "And..."

"And I believe you deserved another chance."

"A second chance? I thought _that_ was it... and I did the same thing. I lost my temper and I made you run."

"You told me to run," she corrected him.

His voice rose a bit, "It doesn't matter."

"It does matter!"

At her outburst, Van's gaze shot to Hitomi's.

Hitomi continued after seeing she had his attention. "I'm giving you a third chance... don't you see? I'll give you however many chances you need until it doesn't happen anymore! Listen..." Her voice took a calming tone, "I don't know what happened in the past nor am I responsible for it. You have a split personality it seems. One minute you're sweet and funny, showing me such wondrous things and the next minute, a question makes you loose control of yourself. I realized that no matter how much I try to push for answers or guess at them myself, I will never know. I respect what you're hiding and I promise not to ask anymore. As much as I would love to know your past and the truth about what happened, I understand that even you yourself may not know the answers. You may not even be ready to trust in someone other than yourself..."

Van's eyes turned soft and a smile lightly curved his lips.

"I came up here to think... and I can tell you that you're not completely right. You're not wrong either. If I did tell you why you mustn't touch the pendant or why I can't tell you my past, something that I've waited for an unbelievable amount of time will slip through my fingers and everything I have ever hoped for will have been in vain. You must understand..."

"I do..." she cut him off. "I understand completely. Don't say anymore. When I ran off, I did some reading. The book I picked up somehow gave me a message. It sounds crazy, but I understand... I didn't come up here just to tell you that... but I wanted to apologize. I shouldn't have pried. I was the one that kept pushing your limit to holding back your anger. I'm sorry Van..."

There was silence between the two as Hitomi smiled and lowered her eyes. "Well... now that's off my chest, I'll leave you alone."

But as she shifted her body to make her way back to where she climbed up from, she lost her footing on the slippery slate rock and tumbled right off the roof.

"Hitomi!"

Van leapt up and ran for her but couldn't grab her as she fell from sight. Running to the ledge, he took no second thought at jumping straight off. Luckily Hitomi had fallen away from the balcony and nothing else was in the way. Van pushed at the air with his wings making him fall faster and gain more distance on Hitomi. Mere seconds passed as Van wrapped his arms around Hitomi and stopped their descent to the ground. With Hitomi gripping Van's neck tightly, Van swooped away from the ground, nearly loosing control of his wings from the sharp degree at which he had to change his flight. He released the breath he was holding and flew up gently to Hitomi's balcony. Her face was buried in his neck and her breath came in short gasps as her heart pounded in her chest. He gently placed Hitomi's feet on the stone of the balcony, feeling her relax as he did so. As she let go of him, Van noticed her blush and hide her face by looking at the ground. Van smiled slightly and cupped her cheek with his clawed hand, making sure he didn't scratch her in the process. Hitomi felt his gentle touch and didn't resist as he raised her face so he could look at her.

"I accept your apology and thank you... for giving me another chance even though I don't deserve one."

Hitomi smiled back at him in relief.

"Hitomi?"

"Yes?"

"Will you dance with me tonight?"

Hitomi, completely forgetting her near death fall, giggled at how princely he said it but replied quickly in a rich voice, "Of course my lord."

Van took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, kissing it gently.

"Until tonight then... my lady."

He gently let go of her hand and walked to the railing of the balcony, jumping on top of it. With a swift push of his wings, he rose up a little and let his feet hover over nothing but air, and in a moment he was gone, floating down to the ground to get ready himself. Hitomi made her way into her room, ready for another night of wonder and magic. Upon entering her room and after quite a bit of pacing because of nervousness, the main hall door opened. Little women that she had never seen before entered. Each carried their own items that would seemingly be used on Hitomi to get her ready for the night. The last two women that made their way in carried an amazingly poofy but gorgeous ivory dress. Hitomi was so busy marveling at the gown she didn't notice when some of the ladies went behind her and started to push on her legs, making her stumble towards her bed. She sat on the mattress and watched with mild amusement as each small woman climbed up and once up started to grab items the others were holding. The bed was soon bustling with activity as each woman started fussing over Hitomi. Makeup was lightly applied as her short hair was brushed out, a few small jewels added here and there for simple decoration. A crown of ivory colored seed beads with hanging teardrop shaped pearls was placed at her brow while a simple string of pearls was clasped around her neck. Just as soon as it had started, the fidgeting stopped.

One small maid spoke from next to her, "Lady Hitomi, we will leave if you wish to dress in private. Just give us the word and we shall obey."

Hitomi thought about this for a second and nodded her head. "If a few of you could stay to assist me, I would be grateful."

With a few words to each other, hand waves, and a gathering of materials, all but two women left. Hitomi undressed herself and pulled the dress on. It took a little time because the ruffles and layers in the dress kept getting caught on something. If that didn't happen, she was stepping on the length of the dress, making her fear the chance of ripping or tearing it apart. With much fussing about from underneath the dress, the ladies arranged it and were able to get Hitomi into it without any damage being done. Once zipped up and settled, Hitomi walked to the floor mirror, twisting and smiling at her reflection. Never before in her life had she felt so princess like and womanly.

Shear lengths of material were connected at the back and the opposite ends were hooked onto silver bracelets around her wrists. The effect was like butterfly wings. Spaghetti straps held the dress on her shoulders and more sheer material went from under the bust line to the floor, splitting like an upside-down 'V' in the front. Ivory high heeled shoes were placed at her feet which she slipped on. The low heel gave just enough rise so the dress didn't drag but not too high to maker her fall. Everything was done and each person gazed at Hitomi's reflection taking a few steps back to admire the beauty in their presence.

Van, whom was also getting prepped for the night, was in his chambers, not only getting physically prepared but mentally as well.

"Tonight is the night... it is the night you confess your love for the girl and poof! The spell will be broken," Dilandau told him simply.

"Yes. I confess my..." Van gave a look of nervous apprehension to Dilandau. "I can't do this. What if she doesn't feel the same?"

"I'm sure she will... especially after tonight. You must sweep her off her feet!"

"I've done that... a couple of times," Van replied.

"No! Not literally! You must show her how kind you can be and how much of a gentleman you are. Be courteous and show her who you really are. There is barely and time left my lord!" Dilandau said with urgency. "I don't want to be stuck a girl forever!"

"You think I don't know that?! I'm trying... I really am. Every time I try... I seem to fail. I don't want to mess up again. I _will_ go through with this. Trust me."

After getting new looking black pants, black loafers, and a white button down shirt and jacket made especially to fit his wings (otherwise known as... holes in the back), he went to his door, arriving at it once a knock sounded upon it. Opening it, Van found Chesta smiling brightly at him.

"The lady awaits you sir," Chesta said while bowing.

With a brisk nod, Van walked out of the room and toward the ballroom. Magnificently carved doors opened to a shinning, golden room of enormous sizes. Windows along the top of the walls let star light glimmer while candles upon the chandeliers and walls lit up the room with a brilliant warm glow. Floors of polished wood stretched across the room and a long blood red rug zigzagged its way down the stairs like a river of blood flowing down a mountain. At the top, two entrances, one to the left one to the right, forced the staircase to split in either direction. Van walked to the center of the ballroom waiting in anticipation for Hitomi to appear.

While Van had made his way over to the ballroom, Hitomi was directed to the room that led to the top of the ballroom's stairs. The door was opened for her and Hitomi walked out onto the rugged floor. She looked down from where she stood so high on the balcony and saw Van, his hair still tousled and rugged with spikes, but well dressed and standing there looking just like the prince he was.

As Hitomi lowered her feet onto each stair, Van stepped leisurely toward the last stair of the staircase. Without breaking eye contact, both ended up meeting each other, Hitomi a few stairs up and Van right below her. Van extended his hand to Hitomi which she graciously took in her own bare hand. Leading her down the rest of the way, Van took Hitomi out onto the dance floor, spinning her into his arms just as the music started up.

Though Hitomi had little experience in dancing, Van led her and learning was easy. Hitomi's laughter flowed and mingled with the notes of music the Dragonslayers were playing, putting smiles on everyone present. It had been a long time since everyone was in a joyous mood.

Since everyone's moods were high, the beat to the music picked up and a livelier tune broke out. Hitomi twirled and ran around the room, Van mirroring the best he could. More laughter flowed into the surrounding air, and to Hitomi's surprise, the laughter of Van's own voice joined in with the rest. Before either knew it, Hitomi started to dance with a little salsa, lifting her skirt slightly, swishing it back and forth with her hands. Clapping sounded in with the music as it sped up even more than when it started. When Hitomi started to breathe a little heavier and with the music coming close to the end, Van took Hitomi's hand and pulled her towards him. He quickly wrapped his arm around her petite waist and dipped her low to the ground just as the music hit its last note.

Applause resounded throughout the ballroom as both dancers held the pose they ended on. As another song was strung up, Van brought Hitomi up to stand normally. The slow hum of the melody brought Van to keep the arm wrapped around Hitomi there. Hitomi brought her own hand up to his shoulder and rested the other in his free hand. Unhurried movements led the dance as no thought was needed to keep from falling. Contentment filled Van as he held Hitomi close and felt her comfort because of her relaxed muscles beneath his hands. Things couldn't be more perfect.

There was just one thing that was nagging at the back of his mind... one thing he had to do that night before it was too late. "Hitomi, would you like to get some air?"

She looked up at him with eyes glinting and a smile spread across her shinning lips, "Yes. I'm getting awfully warm. I wouldn't mind a break."

With her approval, Van stopped their dance and led her to where the glass doors of the balcony stood open to the night's breeze. Sitting down upon a stone bench, Van took a seat next to her and stared at the ground.

"Hitomi... do you like it here?" he asked meekly.

She giggled slightly. "At first I wanted nothing more than to leave. But now... I wouldn't mind staying. It's just..."

"What is it? You can tell me anything."

She sighed, "I miss my father. He's the only one I've ever had since my mother passed away and I'm worried about him. I miss him so much."

Seeing the face once full of joy turn to sorrow, Van contemplated in his mind an action he should take to make her happy once more. "Do you really wish to see him?"

"Yes... of course I do... but..."

"Follow me," Van said as he got up off the bench.

Hitomi was hesitant but stood and followed after Van. After walking through the castle for a little, Hitomi found they were heading towards the West Wing.

"Are you sure you want me to come here?" she asked him.

"Yes. It's fine," and with that he continued on his way.

Upon entering the room Hitomi had been chased out of before, Van led her to the open balcony where the pendant still swung back and forth on its hook. Quite curious as it was though, Hitomi thought she noticed the swing was of less distance than when she had first witnessed it and the brilliant pink glow was fading. Her thoughts were quickly interrupted when Van spoke.

"This mirror will show you anything you want. Go ahead... use it."

Hitomi took the mirror from Van's giving hands and looked into the glass, seeing her own reflection. "I'd like to see my father... please..." and without another word, the mirror lit up intensely, making Hitomi look away. Once the bright light died down, Hitomi returned her gaze to that of the mirror which revealed a sight she did not wish to see.

Her father stood leaned against a tree, breathing heavily and looking unbelievably pale. Dried blood stood out on his pants and his clothing was torn. As he tried to walk, he limped and had to grab the trunks of each tree he came close to. Though there was determination set in his face as he pushed on through the woods towards the castle.

"He's hurt... and he's sick. He might die!" she said despairingly.

"Then go to him," Van said without hesitation.

"What?"

"I am freeing you. You are no longer my prisoner. Go to him."

Hitomi couldn't believe she was hearing him right. Her jaw dropped a little but she closed it and threw a smile on her face. "Thank you."

"Please... keep this," he pushed the mirror back into her arms. "That way, you will always have some way of looking back."

Without another word, Hitomi nodded and ran from the room just as Van started to reach out his hand as if to stop her. She changed into her normal clothing and ran to where her bike sat parked with the guymelefs. Grabbing her helmet that sat near it, she threw it on and started the engine. Even after the accident, Hitomi did not fear to jump back on, especially when her father needed help. Everything was in working order and without any second thoughts, Hitomi sped out of the building and onto the path that led to the entrance gates. Finding them already open, she gave the bike more gas, sending her faster down the road. All the while, the engine noise and helmet blocked out Van's cry that sounded into the night's air, a cry of great loss and anguish.

Hitomi drove at a speed for which she could look around for any sign of her father while still watching the road without hurting herself. Upon driving for more than 10 minutes, she turned a corner only to be greeted by the sight of her father's body, lying face down in the dirt. The bike came to a screeching halt as Hitomi rushed towards her unmoving father. She turned him over carefully only to see how pale his face was and after examining him closely, saw his breathing was slow but there.

"Dad?" she called to him gently. "Can you hear me?"

His eyebrows twitched slightly and his eyes opened with an unbelievable slowness. Blinking a few times cleared his vision and his voice came out weakly. "Hitomi? Is that you?"

"Yes... it's me dad. I need your help. Try and stand... I'm going to take you home but you have to get on my bike first."

"But how did you escape?" he asked while trying to lift himself off the ground.

"I'll tell you about it when we get home. Save your energy and please try to stand," Hitomi told him desperately.

Mr. Kanzaki nodded his head and stood up with Hitomi's help. With much difficulty from his injury in his leg, he sat upon the back seat of the motorcycle and waited as Hitomi got on in front of him. Being as exhausted as he was and deathly sick, he held onto Hitomi but dozed off once they started their drive home, leaning comfortably against Hitomi's back.

It felt like hours until finally the town came into sight and Hitomi pulled into the driveway of their house. Waking up from the stopping motion, Mr. Kanzaki got off the bike the best he could as Hitomi put it into neutral and shut off the power. After kicking down the kickstand, she got off the bike herself and ran to help her father who was attempting to walk towards the house.

What Hitomi didn't notice though was that right outside the house, parked on the street, was Gaddes talking on his cell phone to none other than Allen.

Gaddes hadn't been paying attention and couldn't hide that a motorcycle had indeed drove by him. That's when Allen started to get suspicious. "Did Hitomi get home or what? You can't hide it. I heard a motorcycle go by and I heard the engine get shut off."

"Yeah..." Gaddes breathed heavily. "They just pulled in... Hitomi and her dad."

"Good. I'll be right there."

Without any protest or word from Gaddes, Allen hung up leaving only a dial-tone blearing in Gaddes' ear. The whole time he stood watch at the Kanzaki house, he prayed neither one of them would return in hope that Allen would just give up, but it hadn't worked the way he would have liked. The worst of it was that Allen had to be on the phone when they came home, seemingly telling him themselves they had arrived. But no matter how much Gaddes would have liked to lie to Allen, he couldn't. It's hard to say exactly why he couldn't betray his friend. Maybe there was a debt to be paid, or true friendship existed there. It was impossible to tell exactly.

Back inside the house, Hitomi had laid her father on the couch so he could rest. Turning on a few lights, Hitomi started to examine her father for any major injuries. With minor cuts and bruises she found nothing major until she encountered his leg. A bandage was wrapped around his leg but looked worn and as if it had been on for days. Blood had seeped through the cotton but dried. What worried Hitomi the most was the size of the bandage and how much blood it had actually soaked up.

Just as she was about to fetch the phone to call a doctor, there was a knock at the door. She walked over to it, wondering who would be at their house at such a late time in the night, and opened it a crack. There stood an old man with a balding head and aging features, shadows cast everywhere about his face from the porch light.

"Can I help you?" Hitomi asked him suspiciously.

"Please don't be alarmed Miss Kanzaki. We are just here to arrest your father," the man stated simply.

"What? What do you mean arrest him?"

"We found some evidence that could possibly connect your father to the attempted murder of several young bikers. We found his car in the forest not to long ago after some young bikers came back to town badly beaten."

Hitomi was speechless. What was this man talking about?

"How could my father have hurt those men? How many exactly were there? Don't you know he is injured?!"

"He was injured while fighting those young men. Now please step aside and let us take him in for questioning," the old man said a little more forcefully.

"I won't let you take my father! He is innocent!" she shouted at him.

"You don't have proof."

Hitomi thought for a moment and when an image of bikers appeared in her mind, she saw Van. It was Van who injured the biker gang. It was Van who had saved her. It was Van who she had left. She knew one thing; she couldn't loose her father especially after she had just gotten him back.

"He's not the one that did it. A demon did it," she stated before him.

It was then that Hitomi noticed the crowd of people in her lawn. Among them were Allen's friends and a few people from around town. Her statement towards the man at her door not only went to him but to everyone witnessing the scene before them.

"Don't tell me you're going insane like your father is Hitomi," Allen came from around the corner to look at Hitomi. "You know he came bursting into the bar raving about a demon and how he took you away. But how is it that you are with us now? He must be crazy and that's exactly why he tried to murder those young men. He isn't all together in the head Hitomi. It isn't safe for you to be around him. Please let us take him and I'll make sure he doesn't harm you in the process."

"Never... I'll never let you take him. My father isn't crazy! There is a demon and I can prove it!"

Shoving past some people, she made her way over to her motorcycle and started to undo one of the buckles on the one saddle bag. Once it was opened, she pulled out the mirror that Van had given her. Everyone was looking her way in amusement as they looked at the mirror, really wondering if that was her evidence.

"Show me Van," she said to the mirror.

The burst of light came forth and Hitomi flipped the mirror from her vision to that of everyone else's. The silence was deafening as each person looked on in wonder and in fright. Allen stood, seeing exactly as Masato had described, too shocked to say anything. Whispers came from every direction "It's a demon." "It's a monster." Then someone in the crowd spoke up, "Is he dangerous?"

Hitomi looked around at all the people's faces and shook her head, trying to toss away their fears. "No, he's really kind and gentle. He's just like any other human being." Her eyes softened as she looked at the melancholy image of Van.

When Allen saw her expression towards 'the demon' jealously snapped him out of his daze. Striding up to Hitomi, he ripped the mirror out of her hands, making her gasp in surprise.

"If I didn't know any better, your goo-goo eyes just then tell me that you have feelings for this son of the devil. What did he do to you Hitomi? Did he beat you into submission or did you just sleep with him every night willingly?" he spit out, the venom dripping from each word.

Hitomi couldn't hold it back any longer and with a swift movement, her hand connected with his cheek. The force sent Hitomi's hand tingling and Allen's face flying to one side. With Hitomi's anger still fueled, she yelled at him, "How dare you even think something like that! He's a gentleman and the complete opposite of you, you son of a bitch!"

Complete silence plagued the mouths of the people all until an ambulance came tearing down the street. The policeman that had been there to take her father to the station had gone inside only to find him in a very bad condition. An ambulance was called to take him to the hospital. As it came into the driveway, the crowd moved so as not to be in the way of the paramedics. They left with a stretcher and exited after a few minutes with Mr. Kanzaki lying upon it. Hitomi started to rush towards the stretcher so she could join her father in the ambulance until a hand grabbed her arm and held on a little too tightly. Whipping around, she found it to be none other than Allen. His look was dangerous and before Hitomi got a chance to even shake off his grip, he pulled her towards the house's front door and threw her inside.

"Allen, what are you doing?" Hitomi demanded of him.

"I'm going to stop this little fantasy of yours once and for all. You are mine Hitomi... mine and mine alone. I will go and kill that demon, and you are not going to stop me or warn him in any way," he said to her coolly.

"How do you plan on stopping me Allen?" but as soon as she had asked that, she knew it had been a bad idea.

Allen reached behind his back and pulled something from his pants which had been covered by his leather jacket. Cold steel caught Hitomi's vision as she followed the movement of the object. Before she could comprehend what was happening, the barrel of a gun was pointed straight at her head. Fear struck her first, but the more she thought on it, the more she came to realize how little power Allen actually had.

"You won't shoot me. What would be the point? You don't have the guts Allen," she threatened him.

"No... I won't kill you. But if you try to stop me, I won't hesitate in shooting one of your legs. It would be just enough to stop you but keep you alive all the same."

Hitomi glared at him, but Allen ignored her look. He clearly had the intention of impeding her if need be for it could be seen written all over his face.

"Do you have a bathroom with no windows?" he asked.

"Yes..." Hitomi said hesitatingly, "upstairs."

"Walk to it," he said as he flicked his gun to signal her to move.

Hitomi walked over to the staircase and traveled up it with Allen in tow. Once at the bathroom door, Allen roughly shoved Hitomi within its confines and stood in the doorway, taunting her, "You know Hitomi... you could have made it so much easier on yourself. So be a good girl and stay here for me. I'll be back to get you later."

Hitomi rushed at the door as he slammed it shut and pounded upon its wood body. "Allen you bastard! Let me out of here!"

The only sound from the opposite side was that of a desk chair being shoved up underneath the knob. No matter how much Hitomi tried to force her way out, it was impossible and soon Allen's footsteps died away along with the engines from many other motorcycles. It was then Hitomi realized she was completely alone.

Pounding her fists against the door, Hitomi screamed for help though in her mind she knew it would be useless. Her pounding lightened and soon enough, her arms and head sat leaned against the object blocking her way out. Frustration and anger took over her emotions as she sank to the floor, steady tears leaking from her eyes.

"Van..."

"Damnit! We were so close but he has to go and ruin it all just when we are nearly out of time," Dilandau sat in her guymelef mumbling to herself. "I don't want to be stuck a girl forever! Hitomi! You're coming back whether you like it or not!"

With that final note, Dilandau put the guymelef into flight mode and wasted no time in flying straight towards Hitomi's town. At the speed the guymelef flew at, it was no wonder Dilandau arrived at the quiet town with the few glowing lights that lit the ground ever so slightly just within a few minutes. Not really knowing what to look for, her eyes searched the ground for something that would give up her location. After buzzing around in the air for a while, trying to stay hidden from any spying eyes, Dilandau suddenly spotted something that was exactly what she was looking for.

"Motorcycle!" It was as simple as that and Dilandau darted to the ground. No question about it... the scratches along its chrome body screamed that it was Hitomi's bike. Since parking the guymelef out in the driveway was out of the question and since it needed to have someone in it to have the cloaking device active, Dilandau decided to take her guymelef into the house to hunt down Hitomi. It would also be easier on Dilandau's part to just grab Hitomi instead of being a munchkin trying to pull at her leg. Yes... this was going to be easy.

Activating the invisibility cloak, Dilandau made her way to the front door, made sure no one was around, carefully opened the door, and went inside. It was relatively easy since the guymelef was just about the same size as a normal human being. Searching the first floor high and low was useless for there was no sign of life. Not until the cloak device was inactivated and Dilandau flew up the staircase did she see why it seemed no one was there. Using the crima-claw, Dilandau grabbed the chair wedged up in the doorknob of a room and pushed it away. The door opened immediately to reveal Hitomi, looking very shocked at what stood before her.

"Dilandau?" she said hesitatingly.

"Yes it's me! You hav..."

"Take me with you back to the castle Dilandau!" Hitomi said hurriedly.

Dilandau sat there shocked. This was easier than she thought. Not dwelling on the thought, Dilandau yelled through the visor, "Right!". An arm was stuck out towards Hitomi and the liquid metal poked out. Hitomi nodded her head and raised her arms a bit. The claw shot out and wrapped around her body. She was then lifted from the ground as the machine lifted from the ground and flew straight out of the house and into the night sky.

"Hey Miguel," Chesta called out to his fellow Dragonslayer. "Do you know where Dilandau is?"

Miguel gave a shrug and walked off, leaving the other to stand, lost in confusion. Ever since Hitomi left, the inhabitants of the castle were all sulking about. He could understand why too. Time was almost up, and Hitomi was probably their last chance to ever change everything back to normal. Now she was gone by Van's own decision. At a time he showed kindness, it had to be at a time to ruin all their hopes. Chesta sighed heavily and decided to keep walking about in search of their commander.

As he wandered about the darkening castle, a faint noise reached his ears. The sound was very familiar but he passed it off as his imagination. To think Hitomi would come back to them now would be getting one's hopes up. He couldn't take anymore disappointment than he already had. But as he walked by a window, the sound of an engine grew louder. Stopping the sound of his feet clicking upon the stone floor, Chesta stood for a moment in the silence that surrounded him only to hear the soft mumbling of a motorcycle. His face lit up and hope escalated his feet to run to the main entrance. As the seconds went on, the sound that reached the Dragonslayers' ears grew louder and instead of sounding like a single engine, it started to sound like more than one.

Suspicion grew in Chesta as his hope slowly faded away. Rushing to a nearby window, he leaped as high as he could to the edge and grabbed onto the window sill. Hoisting himself up with one swift movement, he searched the forest just outside the castle with his eyes. Faint beams of light were visible through the trees' thick canopy and if one were to keep your eyes glued to one spot among the trees, you would see many lights flash by and disappear, one by one. As more sound traveled to his ears, shouts and howling faintly cried out from amid the engine noise.

Not wanting to panic, Chesta kept his post at the window. As he stood watch, the motorcyclists finally emerged from the trees and one by one stopped at the gate. No need to set off an alarm. They were just sitting there... right?

"Kill the demon!"

OK! Time to sound the alert. Jumping from the window, Chesta ran down the hall of where the Dragonslayers stayed shouting at the top of his lungs, "Red alert! Red alert! Everyone to your guymelefs! Prepare for battle! The castle is under attack! I repeat, the castle is under attack!"

Not having had this much excitement in a long time, every little warrior ran from the rooms and sprinted to the docking building. Chesta on the other hand ran to find Van. Room upon room, Chesta entered and yelled his master's name until finally he came across him in the West Wing.

"Lord Van! There is an attack against the castle! What are your orders?" Chesta asked him while breathing hard.

"Let them come."

Chesta's eyes grew large as he looked at Van in disbelief. He shook his head from side to side and stalked off. He wouldn't take that... not when everything was going so well. He would not stand by and watch as the whole castle was overtaken. Chesta didn't care if a punishment was in store for going against orders or not even getting an o.k. on a counterattack. He rushed to the guymelef building where all the Dragonslayers were standing by. All eyes looked upon him as he entered, waiting for the command. With a nod of his blonde head, each of the midget sized soldiers gave a shout of joy and jumped into the cockpits of their machines. Each came to life and moved towards the door that led outside. Some not having flown in a long time took great joy in bursting forth into the night sky.

Once all were flying above the castle, Chesta spotted the biker gang still at the gates. Hooks of some kind had been thrown onto the tops of the gates, chains leading from the hooks to a few bikes. The bikers were turned around and started to rev the engines. A signal was given from their supposed leader and about four of the motorcycles flew forward, yanking the gate while they did so. The rusty hinges soon gave way from the force and a shout of triumph exploded from the group as their vehicles jumped into action, riding over the now fallen gate.

It was all Chesta needed to give the word, "Attack! Defend the castle! Don't let anyone get inside!"

Thus chaos ensued.

Liquid metal shot through the air, some grabbing the men and the rest destroying the bikes which they sat upon. After lessening their numbers, a few soldiers landed on the ground and activated their invisibility cloaks to start toying with the rest of the standing men. One person caught Chesta's attention within seconds though. His long blonde hair flew behind him as his face, alight with murder, stared at the castle doors. Going to stop him, Chesta flew right in front of his path and aimed his crima claw. What he didn't expect was the steel gun the motorcyclist was aiming straight at him. With no second thought, the man shot at the guymelef blocking his way. Chesta went to dodge it, but was seconds too late as it pierced his guymelef's armor and his own skin. The guymelef hit the ground and liquid metal leaked from the hole along with a foreign red substance. A grunt of pain echoed in the cockpit as its pilot struggled to make the contraption stand once again, but as more and more blood seeped from his small body, the harder it became to stay focused.

Chesta took in a sharp breath as he uttered his lord's name before falling into unconsciousness.

Allen on the other hand, after caving in the main doors with his bike, jumped off it to hunt for his prey. He went from room to room, slamming open every door with gun in hand, ready to kill anything in sight. At last he came to a desolate looking area of the castle and opened the door that would lead him to Van. Seeing Van lounging upon a chair, seemingly oblivious to everything going on around him, Allen raised his gun, deciding to give the demon a scare, and fired. Van roared aloud with great intensity and turned his eyes upon the intruder just as he witnessed Allen coming at him in a mad rush. Without even reacting, the broken lord just flinched as Allen's fist came in contact with his cheek. The blow sent Van flying backwards and into the railing of the balcony. Allen didn't stop there though. Van soon felt his body fly over the rail along with the weight of Allen. A short distance soon ended their fall as they impacted with the roof. Rolling down the slant of the roof, the two broke apart and slid to a stop upon reaching one of the ledges.

Van slowly picked himself up uncaring if Allen was rushing upon him. A punch in the gut sent Van staggering a few steps backwards. Putting his hand on one of the statues as he took a few steps backwards, he steadied himself. Allen gave off a stout laugh as he looked upon the demon with malice and triumph.

"What's wrong demon? Too heartbroken to fight back?!" he stated, "Do you really think she could love someone like you? If you did, you are sadly mistaken my friend. No one could ever love a freak like you. Once you are out of the picture, Hitomi is mine."

Van shut his eyes tightly at his words. His hands shook as Hitomi's face flashed through his mind. Allen's gun rose very closely to Van's heart, but as he started to squeeze the trigger, Hitomi's voice rang out from above the commotion below.

"NO!!! Allen, don't kill him! Van! NO!"

Van and Allen's eyes caught sight of a horrified Hitomi there in the battle with Dilandau still holding her up in her guymelef. But when Dilandau caught sight of her fallen Dragonslayer, Hitomi was lowered to the ground as commander sped towards a fellow comrade. Van's spirits, upon seeing Hitomi, returned. With Allen's attention away from him for a split second, Van grabbed Allen's wrist which held the steel handgun, ripping it away from his chest. Allen automatically pulled the trigger in response but was not fast enough, sending the shot into the air. With a twist of his wrist, Allen shouted in pain as he released the gun, sending it clattering to the ground. Resuming their battle once again, now with Van fighting back, Hitomi ran into the castle, hoping to stop the unnecessary war. A punch into Allen's sternum sent him staggering back, coughing and gasping for air.

Van took his chance and grabbed Allen by his collar, within seconds he then took to the skies. Allen squirmed no more as his eyes rolled down to the ground and found his voice after some sputtering, "Please... I beg you! Let me go!"

Van's grip loosened on his shirt and fear struck hard in Allen's eyes. "NO! No don't let me go! I'll do anything! Just don't kill me. Please... I beg of you... "

Hardened red eyes gradually softened as Van stared into the pitiful orbs his enemy showed. Van growled deeply in his throat as he made his descent back to the castle's roof. As Van's feet pressed against the stone, he lowered his arm eventually going so low that Allen was on his knees, Van's claws still holding the fabric of Allen's shirt in his grasp. Scrunching his eyes dangerously, Van brought his face close to Allen's, whispering a simple command, "Get out."

The grip was released and the blonde fell backwards a little onto his butt. He watched in horror as the black winged demon walked away. His ragged breathing was the only noise that could be heard until Hitomi appeared from a balcony above them. Upon spotting them, she smiled and yelled his name.

Van's face softened considerably as he looked up at Hitomi. Lifting himself into the air, he flew up to the person he thought he lost forever. Neither of them wasted any time in wrapping their arms around the other. The happy moment seemed to end the whole ordeal when unexpectedly a boom echoed into the air. Van gasped suddenly, his grip loosening from around Hitomi. Tightening her own grip, she pulled Van over the edge of the balcony then sending them both to the floor. Hitomi removed her hands from his back only to see them covered in blood. Allen, having reclaimed his gun, shot Van in a final attempt to be rid of him, but the kickback sent his unbalanced feet to slip upon loose rock on the roof. With nothing to grab a hold of, his body fell carelessly to the ground. Just as he was about to make contact though, one of the guymelefs flew above him and grabbed him with a liquid claw. Now unconscious, he was laid with the rest of his gang on the ground. Not wanting to kill, the Dragonslayers did not sacrifice one life and planned to bring each of the men to their own residence, hoping they would be dealt with there.

Back atop the balcony, Van lay on the white stone which started to turn red from his blood. Hitomi rested his head in her lap, her tears now spilling into his hair. Van looked at her wearily, still amazed that she was there, "You came back."

"Of course I did. I couldn't just leave you," she replied.

"I'm just glad I got to see you one more time," he managed to sputter.

Hitomi shook her head in disbelief, "No... you can't just leave me. Not like this,"

"Maybe it's better this way..."

By this time, Dilandau helping a bleeding but now conscious Chesta, and a few others had made their way up to where the two were, and they now looked in shock as they watched their lord die before their eyes, the pendant swinging a lesser distance during each passing second.

"Don't talk like that," Hitomi tried to say as her tears came more freely. "We'll be ok. We'll be together. Right?"

"Hitomi... I don't care if you don't feel the same, but I... I need to tell you before I go..." he gave a harsh gasp as his eyes shut tightly.

"Don't talk. Save your strength... please... you'll be fine."

After a few staggered breaths he continued, "I... I love you... Hitomi..."

Red eyes closed off from the world in one final struggle until all muscles in his body relaxed and the slowing heart stopped its life giving beat. Not wanting to believe it, her forehead pressed against his own, her sparkling tears falling like droplets of rain onto his cooling skin. The Dragonslayers looking upon the scene turned their heads away in grief and towards the once glowing pendant. It's swing after so long had finally ceased, and all hope that was once there for hundreds of years vanished within the seconds that the pink jewel stopped its swaying.

Hitomi's sobbing quieted as she whispered, "But I do feel the same. Van... I've come to realize something. I love you."

The smile upon her face pulled down into a frown as she saw it was too late.

As Hitomi sat there, a soft wind blew around her, drawing her attention to Van's wings. All the feathers which had once formed both his angel wings were now all separated and swirling around freely in the breeze. Hitomi became startled as the feathers started circling around Van and lifted him into the air. Hitomi watched in awe as Van transformed right before her eyes. The wound in his back healed up and his hair turned a soft jet black. Deathly white skin became bronzed, muscles became more pronounced, and his clawed hands retracted and smoothed out. Fangs turned into normal teeth and the once blood red eyes swirled with brown, regaining the look they once had. His body lowered to the ground and the gray feathers dispersed into the surrounding air, leaving the lord of the castle to stand on his own. With face towards the sky, Van threw his arms out as gleaming white angel wings burst forth from his bare back. As his gaze lowered, the lids that covered his once fiery red gaze opened to a shocked Hitomi.

Hitomi got up slowly as she looked upon the spectacle before her. She prayed it wasn't a dream in her mind as she rushed towards the man standing before her. Wanting arms threw themselves around the warm skin of her angel and her head laid against his chest as her grip tightened around his waist. Hearing his heart was enough for her to believe that he was real and she fell into the comfort of his hold.

A slight noise near them made them turn to look at Chesta, who was now growing tall and back to his normal size. The wound in his side healed right before his eyes and his wooziness from blood loss went away as quickly as he had been shot. Right next to him, the little girl grew bigger in some places and smaller in others, soon growing to his fellow Dragonslayers' size. Dilandau patted his body to be sure he wasn't dreaming, eventually reaching in-between his legs and finding the all to long gone appendage there once again. A sigh of relief sent everyone around into fits of laughter.

"Is this a dream or are you really an angel?" Hitomi asked the man in her arms.

"I'm not dead, so I'm not an angel... and no this isn't a dream. All I know is that I'm yours."

"As am I."

Van and Hitomi, with their eyes on each other, exchanged an unspoken message. Strong arms lifted Hitomi's legs off the ground as Van held her tight against his chest. With no effort, he leaped upon the balcony's railing, took one look back at all the people within the castle celebrating, and shook his head. Hitomi's hand cupped his cheek, grabbing his attention, and slowly brought her lips to his. They gazed at each other after pulling apart, smiles on both their faces, and with one powerful stroke of Van's majestic wings, the boy who never knew how to love and the girl who thought she would never find adventure flew high into the cloud covered sky. Though many may ask 'Who could ever love a demon?', but this love has proved that a love such as theirs can exist and it can last. It is a love that will live on... forever...

For just as all other stories go... they lived happily ever after.

The End

(1) This is a footnote. If any of you were wondering where I got that quote, it IS actually from a book. The book is Xenocide by Orson Scott Card. It's part of the Ender's Game series... if you've ever read the books, you will know they are very good. To clear up confusion (if there is any), there are two alien species talking about humans... that's why the term 'humans' is used.

I thought I was ruined because we were updating my computer. It ended up that the new motherboard we got was broke... and I had already written the first half of this chapter and saved it onto my hard drive before we updated. We had to wait for a new floppy drive and motherboard to come in through the mail (my dad broke my other floppy when taking it out). Then we had to transfer all my stuff from my other hard drive to my new one. Luckily, when I was on vacation for a few weeks, I took a notebook with me and... dun dun dun... hand wrote the rest of the chapter! It took a few weeks and I used my brother's laptop to type it up. I saved it to a floppy so I could just add it to the section of story I had written. It would have taken much longer to get this chapter posted if I hadn't done that. So I'm happy. I waited until my computer was up and running once again and I was finally able to get this out to you.

I'm glad I got this done but now I have to finish my other fanfictions. Oh boy. So I just have a few last words. Thank you to all who supported me throughout this story. If you have ever reviewed during the duration of this story, your name will be below with a comment next to it. If you reviewed once, chances are you got a thanks and that's it. If you reviewed a little more and went above and beyond, you might have gotten a few sentences. Just please look and read yours since I took the time to write them.

One last thanks to everyone and even if you never reviewed, but read... well please review this chapter at least but thank you anyways for reading. I hope everyone has enjoyed the ending. Thanks again for reading and for those of you who reviewed!

Jossi-31 – You were my first reviewer though I lost you after that. Maybe you were reading and not reviewing, but thanks for being the first to take a chance at reading my fanfiction.

La Femme – You really think going to Disney with your marching band is cool? Well I guess it is. I lost you too after your first review. Hope you finish reading otherwise and thanks for reviewing!

Aranel Lindtaure – I agree with you on your first review. I could have presented it differently but when I first started writing, I was trying to get it as close to the movie as possible. I hope you finish reading and thanks for your support!

Yoshi Kanzaki – Thanks for your comment. I'm glad you like it and I hope you finish reading it!

bookworym – I sure did write loads more and I hope you read the rest of my story when it's finished! Thanks for your review!

DillyChic16 – Thanks for reviewing and I hope you get to read the rest!

Clearsunrise – Have fun with your new computer and I hope you enjoy the rest of the chapters.

Rhiannon – I'm glad you noticed how close but different the dialogue and story is with the movie. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.

Tsubasa - Don't you just love when movies just randomly break out into songs? Lol... I sure do. Thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope you get to finish reading!

Anthius – MORE... I must say that is the first time I've gotten that as a review. Thank you for your support... even if it's one worded support.

AnimeFan98 – Thanks for reading and your review! Hope you read the rest and enjoy!

blue ice2 – Thanks for your review! Enjoy the rest!

Bradybunch4529 – My finals went great and I hope you continue to be impressed. Thanks for your review and I hope you like the ending!

Watergoddess – Glad you're enjoying it! I hope you liked the rest and thanks for your review!

SabrinaYutsuki - Hope there were enough twists in the end! Thanks for your review!

f-zelda - Thanks for your review and I hope you enjoyed the rest of the story.

snow blossoms – Thank you for your first long review. I'm glad you like the whole chibi Dragonslayers too. I couldn't stop thinking of how cute they actually were when I was writing it. I just want one or two to cuddle! To bad they were changed back to their normal size in the end. Well I hope you enjoyed the rest of the story! Thanks for reviewing!

NeverEndingQuest – Yes... Dilandau the she... now a guy! Thank god... I could never stand it if he stayed a woman. Thank you for reviewing! Your support is much appreciated. Hope you enjoyed the end!

Anime Monkey – I'm glad you enjoyed what I had written and I hope you liked the ending. Thanks for your support and reviews!

SabineballZ – You reviewed for almost every chapter! Thanks you so much for your support! I always looked forward to reading your reviews! They were always so cute and they always gave me a good laugh or a smile. Thanks for your time!

Princess Neptune – Thanks for your support and reviews. I hope you enjoyed the ending!

Denithya – Thanks for reviewing my story. I hope there was enough romance between Van and Hitomi for you. Thanks again!

vixon I – You reviewed almost every chapter! You get a cookie! Don't worry... the musical went very well and I'm sorry that yours didn't turn out so good. I hope it has gotten better and I'm sorry if I disappointed you by making this the last chapter. Thanks for your reviews and support! I hope you enjoyed it all!

fireangel621 – I'm glad you liked my story and I hope you enjoyed the ending especially since you hate Allen and Gaston. Thanks for your reviews!

Rhapsody's Song – Every review except the last one almost seemed like you were in a song... lol. Thanks for all your support and reviews! It's much appreciated. And by the way, I love your name.

Kya77 – I hope it wasn't too close to the movie yet not to far from it. I'm glad you like my adaptation of it and I hope you enjoyed the ending. Thanks for reviewing and your support!

Inda – Thanks for reviewing and reading! I hope you enjoyed the ending!

Koriina – Your reviews are always fun to read and I love looking forward to getting them. Thanks for your support! I hope you enjoyed the rest!

Saotoshi – You read it all at once and even reviewed every chapter! You get a big cookie! I did see the show at MGM when I went to Florida and I loved it. I've seen it before too so I knew about it before I went last year. I've never been a big Allen fan... I only like him in the movie. And you know what? I never even gave Merle a thought. She's pretty annoying in my eyes and I just couldn't find a main character roll for her. Oh well. Dilandau got it worse because he is higher up in the castle... lower than Van but higher than a servant or Dragonslayer. Don't worry... I'm not obsessed and I didn't have the movie memorized. I frequently turned back to the movie for quotes and sequence of events. Yeah I didn't think of a way to incorporate Escaflowne in until last minute. I'm glad I did though. Having two jobs doesn't leave me with much free time so I apologize if it took a little to get this last chapter out. I loved reading your reviews and I still enjoy reading them again for a good boost to make me want to write. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed the ending! Thank you thank you!

Thanks and don't forget to review one last time!

MysticalDreamer32


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