Amoro Revidi
Title: High Priest [Part Seven]
Series: Vision of Escaflowne
Rating: PG [very very mild language]
A/N: Part 7... don't know how well these are
coming out since I'm doing them so late at night after much homework done
beforehand. For instance, tonight I started this part after building a house out
of celery, cucumber, peanut butter, ranch dressing and red pepper... go fig.
***
Her first sensation, after a slight foray into delirium and between white areas of pain, is that of a careful hand wiping her forehead. Keeping still, she begins testing her body to see its limits.
“You should try to rest,” a female voice says to her. “Whatever you’re thinking of doing is pointless, your sword’s locked up and your friend isn’t doing any better than you are at the moment.”
Startled, she opens her eyes to see an impassive feline face glancing down at her and then across the room. She follows the blue eyed gaze and sees a young woman washing down her companion’s face and neck. He is covered in some few bandages and she can feel bandages covering herself as well.
“For now you’re safe, the king’s decided,” here the cat woman pauses for a moment, “that you’re to be cared for. He’s meeting with his advisors to try and figure out what else to do.”
Her eyes widen and she opens her mouth to speak.
“Just… rest,” the cat woman’s eyes flash agitatedly and she puts a hand to her breast bone, pushing her more firmly into the bed. “Nothing’s going to hurt either of you for now.”
Unwilling to do so, and yet unable to physically do otherwise, her eyes drift closed and exhaustion overtakes her once again.
***
“You shouldn’t delay your trip to Asturia because of this, Your Highness,” Brett says, standing. “It would be rude to Lady Hitomi and all those expecting your arrival.”
“Those two were attacked,” Van says angrily, feeling very much like a child being told to go to his room. Angrily he glares at his advisors, but they stare evenly back at him. “I don’t want them molested,” he says with an aggravated sigh.
“So you will be heading on to Asturia?”
“Under the condition that they be detained for questioning only. They will be considered my guests until we have information suggesting otherwise, is that clear?”
The advisors nod.
A knock on the door comes and Merle is admitted.
“Leave us,” Van says with a dismissive wave.
The advisors file out of the audience chamber, eyeing the cat woman somewhat suspiciously as they go, but none of them commenting on her presence since it is nothing abnormal.
“You weren’t listening in this time,” Van remarks, leaning forward and rubbing slow circles on his temples.
“I was tending to the young woman you brought in.”
“Oh?” Van asks, somewhat disinterestedly.
Merle glares at him, tail moving in angry strokes, left and then right. She nods and says, “She woke up for a little while and tried to get away from me,” she says as though that should explain everything to him.
“And the young man?”
“Not a peep out of him, and he’s better off than she is,” Merle says, smiling wryly, “Hitomi’s keeping his fever down as we speak.”
“Hitomi is?” Van asks, startled out of his introverted thoughts. “Why is she doing it?” Merle shrugs. “Don’t we employ people to take care of the sick here?” Van asks hotly.
“Yes, we do, but she’s only sponging his forehead, geez, you act like she’s bandaging him. The healers took care of that much at the least, they even were the ones to put the robes on them, calm down, Van.”
Van stands and heads over to the window, lost in thought.
“What happened to Hitomi?” Merle asks in a careful, clear voice.
“Ask her yourself,” Van says distractedly, staring out the window past his reflection and at the countryside. I never wanted to get Hitomi wrapped up in things here. She deserves… some time to herself, to feel better. He sighs, I should have been there to protect her, maybe none of this would have had to have happened.
“She won’t tell me, so you’re going to.”
And now I bring her here and what happens? The first full day and she’s already involved in some incident that might be another conflict. Why must my life always revolve around conflict? Why can’t I just spend a little time as a normal boy? Dismissively he says, “Her family was killed… there was an accident.”
Merle, realizing Van’s mind is far away at the moment, asks another question, “And why did you bring her here of all places?”
“Because I care about her and…” he stops short and throws a glare at his childhood friend. Merle folds her arms and smirks in response. “And it’s none of your damn business.”
“Oh come on Van, you can’t blame me for trying,” she responds, winking at him and coming over to stand next to him, placing her head on his shoulder and looking out the window. “You lock yourself up so much since…”
“I do not.”
“You don’t even like to talk about it,” Merle says, pulling back and smoothing out his shirt with one hand before placing a kiss on his cheek. “Hitomi won’t be so easy to fool, you know. She’s going to catch on that you’re not who you were sooner or later.”
Van scowls.
“The sooner you get it out and talk about it with her, the less likely she is to be upset with you,” Merle pulls away, hands falling to her sides and swinging slightly as she starts to exit the room, adding, “She’s in the west wing with your new guests, if you’re wondering where she is.”
“Merle…” Van begins in a warning tone.
As she pulls the door shut behind her she adds, “It’s all right to trust her, Lord Van, she’s never let you down before.” Merle leans against the door for a moment, staring up through her bangs at the vaulted ceilings in the hallway. “Not like I have.”
***
Sponging the pale brow of the brown haired young man, Hitomi imagines what his eyes look like as she watches his temperature closely. His cheek length auburn hair falls aside, revealing more of his face as he turns a little and groans in his sleep. Consolingly she touches his brow and receives a jolt of images.
She freezes in place, eyes wide.
***
“Mama!” the brown haired young man calls out, looking much younger as Hitomi watches the dream-memory unfold.
A tall, darker haired man, bearing a cold expression of hurt on his face, brushes the young man aside, saying gruffly, “Learn not to call for her, she cannot help you your whole life.”
An angry young woman crosses the small room to kneel down at the adolescent version of the auburn haired stranger’s side, wiping tears from twelve year old cheeks and planting a kiss on his forehead. He quiets down and holds out his arms for a hug, which she supplies with a caring smile on her face.
Suddenly the scene switches and Hitomi finds herself looking up through his eyes at a kind face with familiar green eyes and dark brown hair. “He is only a boy, Edrick, have some patience with him.”
“I tell you he’ll never amount to anything Iona, there is no reason to have patience with the little whelp.”
She stands and moves away from him, to stand by the aforementioned Edrick. “Regardless of what you think, his bodyguard will be here in a few days and then you’ll not have to worry about anything more than training him to use a sword,” the woman says, folding her arms across her chest and glancing out the window into the orange glow of the sunset.
Edrick mutters, “You’re the Priestess, afterall.”
“I am,” she responds angrily, “and you’d do well to remember that,” she adds in a dangerously low voice, “and your place.”
Edrick looks as though he is about to protest when the young woman’s green eyes spark with a threat that Hitomi, through the young man’s eyes, does not miss at all. “Your tenure here depends on two things. My will, and the boy’s training. Do not presume to think you hold more meaning than you do, swordsman.”
The man opens the door to the room and leaves, slamming it behind him.
The woman, Iona, turns back to the young man and smiles, taking a seat in a rocking chair and motioning him to come and climb up into her lap.
“I’m sorry, mama,” the boy says in a quiet voice.
“Hush, my dear,” she coos in response, wrapping her arms around him and stroking the hair back from his face.
“Sometimes I think it’d have been better if I’d never been born.”
Abruptly she holds him away from her, expression serious, “Never think that,” she says in a harsh tone. “Never. You are my son,” her eyes soften again and a smile soothes away her angry look, “and you are the best and most important person in the world to me.”
***
“Hitomi?” Van waves a hand in front of her face, somewhat worried at her unresponsiveness. “Hitomi,” he tries again, a little louder.
As though waking from a daze, she pulls her hand from the young man’s forehead and shakes her head slightly before regarding Van with a confused gaze. “Oh, Van,” she says in a far-off tone.
Gently, he puts a hand on her shoulder and leans forward a little, looking straight into her eyes. She pulls back slightly and he regards her carefully. “You were somewhere else, just then,” he says quietly. “Where did you go?”
“Ah… I…”
Another groan comes from the bed and the young man turns over.
“Let’s take this conversation somewhere else?” Van asks solicitously cupping her elbow and helping her to her feet. “You haven’t eaten dinner yet, have you?” he asks, taking in her pallor.
“Me? No,” she responds.
He puts his hand on the small of her back and guides her from the room, nodding to the guards stationed outside of it. “Well let’s go get you something to eat, then.”
Why are you doing this, Van? Hitomi asks him mentally, a little distracted by the light and lingering touch on her back. And what makes you change so suddenly.
“I’m not really hungry,” she says truthfully, turning to look up at him.
He pauses. “I am,” he responds, “will you at least come with me while I eat?”
With a slight sigh, Hitomi nods. And of course I’ll eat something as well…
***
As the two moons rise over Fanelia, Merle steals her way into the armory to take a peek at the armor and sword the young woman had been wearing. Tying on the scabbard and sword belt she slowly draws the blade and holds it aloft, taking a few swings with it.
Something about this blade… she thinks to herself. Bringing it above her head and slicing a circle in the air with it she listens to the whistle. It’s almost perfectly balanced, but then if she was using it I suppose it would have to be.
Drawing the blade close to her face she examines the edge. After a moment’s inspection she nearly drops it. I’ve never seen an edge like that…
… not since…
Sheathing the sword and stripping the thing from her waist, Merle replaces it and moves to inspect the armor, confirming her suspicions. Shaking her head she makes her way out of the armory and moves towards the library.
I can only hope…
***
The following morning, Hitomi wakes with a slight headache and asks her maid to bring her a glass of water. I’d really rather I didn’t have all these servants waiting on me, Hitomi thinks to herself. She sighs as the maid returns with the glass of water, setting it on the small stand next to the large four poster bed.
But like they say, when in Fanelia…
Taking some of the pain medication from her bag, she swallows it down with a large gulp from the glass of water before getting out of bed. Glancing at the simple gown laid out for her she sighs and goes to wash up.
By the time she’s dressed and leaving the bedroom, Merle is waiting with her breakfast. She sighs slightly, noticing Van’s absence.
“You’re pathetic, Hitomi,” Merle says, as though voicing Hitomi’s inner monologue. “Are you so in love with Lord Van?”
Hitomi blushes slightly and looks down at her feet as she starts her meal. Merle, meanwhile, sips some milk from a goblet and eats a small repast of her own. “Didn’t you dine with him this morning?”
“He didn’t dine this morning at all,” she replies in a tired voice, “or if he did, I wasn’t awake when he did.”
She puzzles at that statement and finishes her eggs quietly. “Didn’t he require your presence there?”
“I suspect he was meeting with his advisors to discuss your departure and how to deal with the newest guests to the castle.”
“Aren’t you coming with us, Merle?”
“Me? At a royal gala event?” she chuckles a throaty chuckle and leans her head on one arm, regarding Hitomi quizzically. “In Fanelia I’m accepted as one of Lord Van’s consorts and confidants,” she scrunches her nose in annoyance, “elsewhere I’m frowned upon and tolerated because of my role in the Great War.”
“That’s unfair!” Hitomi says immediately.
“I’m sure I could go with the two of you, no problem,” Merle continues, dismissing Hitomi’s exclamation with a flick of her fingers, “but I’d rather not overstay my welcome. I’m not sure how much I’d really enjoy being in Asturia anyway.” Seeing Hitomi’s depressed expression, Merle adds, “And besides, someone’s got to mind Fanelia, the castle, and the strangers while the two of you are gone,” she winks mischievously.
That brings a chuckle up from inside Hitomi and she grins. “Not that he tells me anything about what it’s like running Fanelia anyway,” she says dryly.
Merle shrugs, “Comes with the territory. He doesn’t speak much about it to anyone,” she confides with a sigh. “I have to sneak into the meetings he has with his advisory council in order to get most of what’s going on, myself.”
Why the change, Van? Hitomi asks mentally, not expecting any return even if she’d asked him that to his face.
Merle watches the expression on Hitomi’s face change as she puzzles over that concept and then says, “How’s the wardrobe working out for you?”
Hitomi frowns a moment and says, “It’s pretty enough, I just wish I had some pants.”
Blue eyes sparkle with mischief. “The only ones there was a pattern for were riding pants, but there are some of those that should be ready by tomorrow.”
Hitomi sighs, “And I’m sure they’re form fitting and tight, right?” she rolls her eyes. “It’s not like I’m trying to attract anyone.”
“Nope,” Merle says, getting to her feet, “not that you need to. Lord Van’s already got it bad,” she heads to the door. “I’ve got to go look some things up in the library. I think Van’s in his meeting or whatever right now, but the garden courtyard is quite nice.”
Hitomi stutters and stares at Merle, open-mouthed.
“Any of the maids can show you the way, or if you’d rather look in on the two you guys rode back in with last night, they’re in the upper west wing, I’ll see you sometime this afternoon if you don’t go out riding again,” then she pulls her head out the door and disappears.
“Merle!” Hitomi calls after her, but the cat woman is gone from the doorway and so Hitomi sits back down, folding her arms across her chest and making a displeased noise in her throat. The words repeat in her mind, ‘Lord Van’s already got it bad,’ and she snorts. Sure thing, Merle, sure thing… why would anyone…
Interrupting her thoughts comes the question, “Lady Hitomi, are you finished with your breakfast?”
She nods archly and asks, “Can you direct me to the west wing?”
The maid curtsies and nods.
***
Sitting up, he groans and puts a hand to his head, only to find bandages running from his palm to his elbow. What the…? When did she do that?
Glancing around the room he takes in his surroundings.
That bright light… where did it take us? All I remember is that afterwards we were in these trees… and then I blacked out. She must’ve carried me, but…
There is talking on the other side of the door and then it opens and a woman enters. He glances up at her nervously and then freezes.
“Oh, you’re awake,” she says, obviously pleased.
Staring straight into her eyes he nods.
“You must be bewildered, my name’s Hitomi Kanzaki. I suppose I should welcome you to Fanelia.”
“Fan-elia?” he asks, feeling a heavy accent in his voice in comparison to hers. He coughs slightly to clear his throat and she brings over a glass of water, holding it up to his lips as she takes a seat in the chair beside his bed.
“Yes, Fanelia.” She seems somewhat uneasy and so he smiles, wanting her to trust him. “You don’t sound like you’re from around here… that’s all right, I’m not from Fanelia either.”
There is a pause in which he sips some more of the water.
“So, what’s your name?” she asks him.
“Tristan,” he replies. After another moment’s pause he asks, “I was brought here… was there a young woman with me?”
Hitomi nods and motions across the room. “She was more badly injured than you were, and she hasn’t been able to stay awake for very long.”
Tristan frowns as he takes in the amount of bandages covering her body, imagining the ones underneath the covers and the thin robe she had been covered in to sleep with. “What happened that she was so badly wounded?” Hitomi asks.
“She took the shot that was meant for me…” he says quietly. Hitomi gasps. “And then we had to fight our way out. She’s much better with her sword than I am with one, and I’d lost mine by that time.”
“You let her get shot for you?” Hitomi asks, exclaiming somewhat loudly.
“I didn’t have much of a choice, she threw herself forward and shoved me away as it was fired,” he responds, a frown marring his pale features. “I tried to get her to leave me there, but she wouldn’t…”
“Don’t tell her any more,” a high alto voice cuts Tristan off. “You’ve told her more than enough already.”
“Arik, this woman hasn’t done anything to us, nothing wrong, and we’re guests of her country,” Tristan replies with a little anger in his voice. “Show some respect.”
“It’s not her country, this country is ruled by a king,” the prone figure responds. “And as much as I’m sure you enjoy having someone with manners to speak with, they get you so far and then they get you dead. Since it’s my job to keep that from happening…” she groans and pushes herself up into a sitting position.
“Arik!” Tristan exclaims.
Hitomi gets to her feet and moves to the other bed, arms out to catch the young woman as she collapses. “I might not be a doctor, but I know you’re not ready to be moving around so much!”
Arik glances up at the kind face and pauses. “Priestess?” she asks bewildered.
“No,” Tristan says quietly. “She’s not my mother.”
“Who are you?” Arik asks with a vicious gleam in her gray eyes. Hitomi continues to support her upper body, laying her back against the pillows carefully.
“Hitomi Kanzaki,” she replies. “I’m a friend of the king of this country.”
Just then the door opens and Van’s voice precedes him into the room, “Hitomi…?”
In a sudden show of strength, Arik grabs Hitomi’s wrist and twists, startling her and giving the invalid young woman the advantage.
***
Van freezes as the voice tells him to do so. He takes in the scene before him and anger flares up in him. “Let her go!”
A second voice commands the same and the young woman on the bed does so, glaring at the young man across the room. “Who are you?” she snaps at Van.
“Who the hell are you?” he retorts, just as heatedly.
“Van…” Hitomi says softly as he helps her to her feet and pulls her close, glancing over her for any scars.
“Arik, stop this right now!” the young man in the bed across the room shouts. “I demand it this instant!”
The gray eyed young woman glances at the young man and leans back, muttering to herself as her muscles go slack. “Your Highness, I’m utterly sorry we’ve inconvenienced you in this way,” he begins.
“And for that matter,” Van says in a loud voice, “who are you?”
The young man smiles slightly and says, “Tristan Senegro, High Priest of…”
“Of nothing, we barely escaped with our lives,” the young woman says. “And you dropping your sword didn’t help us out at all.”
“High Priest of…”
Van interrupts him, “Who’s she?” he nods his head in the gray eyed woman’s direction. “And where did you escape from?”
Tristan, seemingly unperturbed at being interrupted and having his title ignored, nods acquiescently and says, “Arik Dulchap, my personal bodyguard. We were forced to flee from Ispano when there was an uprising.”
“Ispano?” Hitomi asks, going stiff. “You’re from Ispano?”
Tristan nods, brown eyes looking slightly sentimental before he closes them, obviously remembering. “Oh now you’ve done it,” Arik says, rolling her eyes, “Once he gets started talking about his homeland he never stops.”
***