Ee! Like the last part or what? Pretty good for being under the weather
if I do say so myself. Wow, two stories down and I'm already lovin'
this stuff!!! I really like Sapir, I've got some cool stuff planned for
him. And Jared Schezar. . . I didn't even know his character was going
to turn out like that until, there he was! How kawaii! I got good stuff
planned for him too. This episode is gonna be pretty sentimental. After
having so much fun coming up with comebacks for Jared and Shiori and
then finishing off with Sapir's mental breakdown, I don't know how I
can top that! We'll see what happens. I have a tendency to get better
the further I go. So stick with me and I promise you won't be sorry! Ja
ne!
***********************************************************************
Escaflowne is not mine and never will be. It belongs to a lot of other
companies who's names I can't remember right now. Including Emotion,
Sunrise, TV Tokyo, and distributed by AnimeVillage.com etc.
***********************************************************************
Author: Hitomi-sama
E-mail: Hitomi_sama@hotmail.com
Rated: PG-13 for romance and mild violence

			The Second Vision of Escaflowne
			   Vision One, Episode Three:
			        Invisible Wings

	Jared Schezar heard his footfalls echo smartly around him as he
approached the throne room of the Fanelia palace. He could see through
the open doors, Shiori's mother Hitomi, regarding a massive portrait of
her late husband that hung on the opposite wall. What struck him the
most was how kind and just the king's earthen eyes were.
	"I'm sure that painting doesn't do the king justice." Said
Jared as he walked in. He saw the blond woman turn around and smile
with her tired tearstained emerald eyes.
	"Jared, gomen, I didn't hear you come in." She admitted.
	The knight knelt on one knee in respect. "Jo'o-sama."
	"Iie, you shouldn't address me like that." Hitomi replied.
"Shiori's going to be queen. I'm not fit to rule . . . after all, I was
the one that left Gaea in the first place." She admitted.
	The blond man rose. "Under those circumstances, I'm sure anyone
in your position would've done the same." He said.
	"I didn't want to come back here, either." Hitomi continued.
"When Shiori found out about Gaea and wanted me to go, I was ready to
face a life of loneliness instead of returning to Fanelia." She said as
she hung her head in guilt. "So you see, I'm not fit to be addressed
like that. Call me Fanel-san or Hitomi-san or even Hitomi-sama if you
wish but not jo'o-sama."
	Jared nodded. "I understand, Hitomi-sama." He watched the blond
woman approach a pair of glass doors and open them. A fresh spring
breeze danced around them. The knight smiled as he gazed at the middle-
aged woman who appeared to be surrounded by a holy radiance due to the
sunlight. "Hitomi-sama, chichiue has told me so much about you."
	"Your father is Allen Schezar, isn't he?" Said Hitomi. "When I
spoke of the Knight of Caeli I once knew, it was him." She chuckled as
she thought of the dashing blond man. "I was infatuated with him long
ago, but who wasn't? It was my crush on him that made me realize how
much I actually loved Van."
	"Chichiue speaks very highly of you, Hitomi-sama." Jared said.
"He was very much infatuated with you too."
	"Allen was such a gentleman. You are so much like him! He was
handsome, polite, galant but . . . he was . . . gomen, I shouldn't be
talking about his faults." She apologized quickly.
	The young knight laughed lightly. "That's alright. You were
going to say he was a sort of 'playboy' weren't you? It was very true
and I know it. The only difference between us is the fact that, unlike
him, I didn't make the mistakes he did before learning their
consequence. It wasn't until his sister, Celena came that chichiue
finally got his life straightened out."
	"That's very comforting to hear." The blond woman replied. "I
used to wonder if he had ever found happiness. When Van and I were
married, Allen would stop by once in a while but after Shiori was born,
we never saw him at all."
	Jared's azure eyes focused on the white marble fountain in the
middle of the courtyard. A butterfly fluttered near a patch of
wildflowers. "Chichiue spent time with Celena to make up for what they
missed during their childhood. After that, he decided it was time to
settle down and-"
	The azure of Jared's eyes deepened until they were a dark
sapphire, almost royal blue. He trailed off into silence as he watched
the butterfly flock to a newcomer in the garden who was drawn to the
flowers with innocent curiosity. There was Shiori, her raven hair
blowing behind her in the breeze walking in the tall grass barefoot.
She was dressed in a short, sleeveless red dress much in the Fanelian
style. Seeing her dressed like that reminded her mother of Van who wore
a similar styled red shirt in his youth. Her angelic wings were spread
and tucked behind her, glowing heavenly in the sunlight. Her earthen
eyes raised to meet Jared's and her pink lips spread into a smile.
	"Jared!" She called with a giggle as she waved at him.
"Hahaue!"
	"She's so beautiful isn't she." Hitomi said with a proud
maternal sigh. She looked at Jared who was nodding silently in
agreement.
	"She certainly is. She's heavenly." He added. Once the words
left his mouth, he snapped out of his haze and realized what he had
just said. Jared looked anxiously at the woman who's emerald eyes
danced with happiness. "Uh . . . eeto . . ."
	"It'll be our little secret." She whispered. The woman was
rewarded with a smile from the knight. His azure eyes returned to
regard the princess and a second later he found himself sighing
unconsciously. "Jared," Said Hitomi who tried to contain her chuckles
at his painfully obvious attraction to her daughter, "why don't you go
spend some time with Shiori? I'm sure she'd enjoy that."
	Jared looked happily at the woman. "Hitomi-sama, do you really
think so?"
	She looked over her shoulder to see her daughter stealing quick
glances at the handsome blond man as she stooped to pick a few roses.
"I know so. It's mother's instinct, we can tell these things."
	"Hitomi-sama, arigato gozaimasu." He exclaimed before running
off to join Shiori. As he approached the door to the throne room, the
knight corrected himself and adopted a slow stride.
	"Jared Schezar," Hitomi laughed out loud to herself as she
watched the blond man approach her daughter, "you are so obvious." She
saw Shiori smile and attempt to hide her blushing cheeks from view.
"And you too, Shiori Fanel. We've only been here a week but, how
quickly you fit in here." Hitomi turned around and entered the throne
room, giving the two privacy.
	Shiori handed Jared a red rose. "I've never seen roses so rich
with color in all my life. They're gorgeous." She commented as she bent
down to pick more. "I adore red roses. Chichiue used to let me grow
them right here in this very garden. He was so proud of how well I
tended them. But I never remember their red being so brilliant. It's
certainly-ouch!"
	"Daijobu?" Jared asked anxiously.
	The girl held up her finger that had been pricked by the thorn
of a rose and now was bleeding. "No matter how hard I try I always seem
to wind up getting stuck." Shiori admitted.
	"Does it hurt?" He inquired as he took her hand gently in his
own as he examined her wound.
	"Not anymore, it's just bleeding." She replied. Jared reached
into the pocket of his royal blue jacket and retrieved an embroidered
handkerchief which he promptly wrapped around her finger. "Jared, you
don't have to-"
	"This handkerchief was my mother's when she was young. She gave
it to my father when they met. It really doesn't do me any good in my
pocket. It's too pretty to use when I've got a cold so . . ." Jared
tied the cloth around Shiori's finger gently and continued to hold her
hand.
	"It's so pretty." The girl said, looking at the embroidery. "Is
that a butterfly that's stitched here? How cute. What does it stand
for? Usually people have their initials on handkerchiefs." Shiori said.
	Jared paused as he thought. "I remember hahaue telling me a
philosophical story when I was a little boy. Something about 'is
reality real or is it just a butterfly's dream' or something of the
sort. I was never too keen on philosophy." The blond man admitted.
	"Well what do you think?" Shiori asked, gazing into Jared's
azure eyes.
	"What do I think of what?" Jared asked.
	Shiori laughed lightly. "Do you think we're all just apart of a
butterfly's dream?" She asked.
	He smiled as his azure eyes danced. Jared gazed deep into the
kind earthen eyes of the angelic girl who's wounded hand he cradled in
his own. "I'm not sure. But if we are apart of a butterfly's dream, I
hope it never wakes up."
	"Me too." Shiori added softly as she melted under Jared's
adoring gaze. "Jared?" She said.
	"Nani? Oh, your hand?" He asked suddenly as he blushed and was
about to let go.
	Shiori shook her head. "Iie, it's not that." She blushed. "You
could hold it forever if you wanted to." The girl whispered to herself.
Focusing on her embarrassment and newly discovered yet still confusing
feelings toward the blond man, she forgot what she was going to say.
	"I think I just might." Jared replied as he whispered into
Shiori's ear. She looked up at him and blushed even more as she
realized he had heard her previous comment. He smiled innocently down
at her, his azure eyes twinkling happily. "Would you care to go for a
walk?"
	"I'd like that very much." Shiori answered as they began to
exit the garden and venture into the small forest that laid just
outside the castle walls.
				***
	"Lim," Sapir said, his dark green eyes locked on the red
Guymelef that flew through the sky in front of his floating fortress,
"how long before we reach Fanelia?"
	"A week, at most." Came the static filled voice of the
commander. "Sapir-sama, what will the Duke of Freid say when he finds
out?" Lim asked. "Isn't this a violation of our treaty?"
	Sapir chuckled deeply as the corner of his mouth raised until
his lips were stretched into a half-cocked smile. "Damn the Duke of
Freid." He replied. "Let him find out, what do I care? If we secure
Fanelia as our own, I don't think he'll have much of a problem with it.
Would you?"
	"Iie, Sapir-sama." Lim replied.
	The emerald man pressed his palm against the glass window of
his floating fortress. In the distance he saw the sun, slowly inching
toward the land below. The blazing sphere would continue it's journey
until it dipped low enough to kiss the tops of the mountains of Fanelia
and be devoured by them.
	"Fanelia . . . I can't wait until you're mine." Sapir whispered
to himself. "And you will be mine." He added with a laugh. "All mine!
All mine!" The man cackled menicingly.
				***
	The wind caressed the leaves of the trees in the royal
cemetery, causing the sunshine that streamed between them to dance
around the winged Shiori as she knelt before her father's headstone.
She laid a handful of vividly colored wildflowers at the base of the
stone cross with the exception of three. Shiori placed those on the
graves of her grandfather, grandmother, and uncle.
	She returned to her father's grassy patch and knelt once more.
Her hands clasped around the pink pendant that hung from the gold chain
around her neck. The girl appeared to be praying wordlessly, for she
remained unmoving for quite sometime.
	*Chichiue, can you see me from where you fly in heaven? I'm in
Fanelia. I'm doing just what I said I would. I wish you could see me
and . . . I wish I could see you too . . . Fanelia just isn't the same
without you. How I wish that you could be here to see me . . . to guide
me . . . to share with me this wonderful kindgom . . . to share my life
with me . . . and my rein . . . Now that I'm in Gaea, I feel like I'm
closer to you . . . I can feel you watching over me . . . thank you,
chichiue. I'll watch over your kindgom just as you're watching over me
now.*
	Shiori's pendant began to glow within her hands. She didn't see
the rose colored light streaming through her fingers because her eyes
were closed. Suddenly, her mind was filled with images of darkness. A
massive black craggy tower floated in sky and cast it's dark shadow
over the kingdom of Fanelia. An army of red Guymelefs trampled through
the city streets, entending their retractable claws through buildings
and other gray Guymelefs they encountered. Shiori saw a man who's dark
green eyes burned into her mind as they danced dangerously before her.
She saw another gray Guymelef, one with a long blue cape billowing
behind it accompanied by a pure white Guymelef that stood majestically
before the sea of destruction. Shiori stretched her arms toward the
gray Guymelef as she felt herself being sweapt away by darkness. She
heard Jared's voice protest loudly from inside the machine. Then
darkness consumed her . . .
	. . . The girl wiped tears from her brown eyes with her
trembling hands. "What was that?" She asked herself. Shiori tried to
shake the feeling of terror she had. "I should go back. Jared's
probably wondering where I am." She commented to herself as she
recalled her encounter with the smiling blond knight when she left.
	"Don't be too long." He said. "Dusk isn't the time when the
princess of Fanelia should be outside alone."
	Shiori looked through the trees to see the yellow sky that swam
with orange and purple hues. A few pink clouds hung above. "I really
should go." She said as she rose. "Sayonara, chichiue."
	The girl turned to leave but as she spun around, something
caught her eye. To the right of the royal plot was a large lifeless
Guymelef. Shiori approached it slowly, awe making her mouth hang open.
Her hand ran along the gray metal of the Guymelef's mechanical leg. She
looked up at the helmet of the unmoving machine.
	"That's . . . that's the Guymelef I saw . . . in my
vision . . . just now . . . but it can't be . . . the one I saw was
white . . . but this . . . this is the one I saw. It's quite
magnificent . . ." Shiori said to herself.
	"It's name is Escaflowne."
	Shiori was startled to hear another voice. She turned around
quickly and gasped in surprise. Two men stood before her. The taller
man was dressed in a blue Fanelian style shirt with his aqua hair
falling into his violet eyes neatly swimming behind his ears and
curling slightly as it rested on the back of his neck. The other man
was dressed in red, his raven hair spilling over his ears and hanging
before his smiling brown eyes. Both had their snowy white wings spread
behind them.
	"Chichiue . . . !" Shiori breathed in disbelief. She remained
unmoving as she stood in front of the inactive Guymelef, staring at the
two men in wide-eyed surprise. "How . . . ?"
	"Your wishes are powerful forces here in Gaea." Van replied.
"They have allowed us to appear before you here in your dreams."
	The aqua haired man smiled as his violet eyes regarded the
winged Shiori. "Otooto," he said as he addressed Van, "your daughter is
very beautiful."
	"Hai, she is." Van replied. "She is truely Tenshi-Hime."
	Shiori blushed at the comments and felt tears of joy streaming
from her earthen eyes. "Chichiue . . ." She trailed off. The girl took
a step forward and then stopped, resisting the urge to embrace the
image of her father for fear he might disappear.
	"Shiori," said Van, "this is my aniue, Folken." He introduced.
	"Ojiue . . ." The girl said as she smiled at her uncle.
"Chichiue, I had a vision." She admitted as her fear resurfaced and
apprehensive thoughts pushed their way to the front of her mind. "I
don't know what it means and . . . I don't know what to do."
	"Nani?" Van asked in concern.
	"Tell us about it." Folken added.
	"Eeto . . . there was a flying fortress . . . and red Guymelefs
that destroyed Fanelia . . . and a man . . . with scary green
eyes . . . and Escaflowne was there with another gray Guymelef . . .
and then I was sweapt away . . . and . . . that was it." Shiori
explained.
	Van stroked his chin in thought. "Escaflowne was there? How is
that possible?" He asked himself.
	"What do you mean?" The girl asked.
	Folken frowned slightly. "That Ispano Guymelef is very special.
It's been in the royal family of Fanelia for a very long time.
Historically, a Fanelian prince who completed the rite of dragon-
slaying was crowned king and with the energist he claimed in battle,
was able to activate Escaflowne." He said, his violet eyes regarding
Van as he thought.
	"Only the king of Fanelia operates Escaflowne. That's what's
always been done." Van admitted.
	Shiori frowned. "I'm the heir of Fanelia, couldn't I operate
it?" She asked. "I'm not the king but . . . I am a Fanel."
	Van paused and sighed. "I don't . . . I don't know . . ." He
stammered in honest confusion as he exchanged glances with Folken.
"There isn't anything that says it has to be run by the king, is
there?"
	Folken shrugged. "I don't think so. At least, not that I know
of." He looked at the raven haired girl and smiled at her. "I believe
you could operate it."
	Shiori smiled in return. "Hontoo?"
	"Hai." Folken answered.
	"If your vision is true, you'll need to use it to defend
Fanelia." Van said gravely, thoughts of the first Zaibach attack on his
kingdom coming to mind. "Don't let them destroy the city . . . like I
did."
	"Chichiue . . ." Shiori protested lightly. She approached the
light gray Guymelef and climbed onto it's metal knee. "So how do you
work this thing?"
	Folken laughed as he watched the girl climb up the Guymelef's
arm, attempt to open it futily, and sit on Escaflowne's shoulder as she
crossed her arms in defeat. "I'm afraid you won't be able to get in.
You need an energist."
	"Then where do you get one?" Shiori asked.
	Van shook his head in amusement. "It's not as easy as you
think. Energists are contained within dragons. To get one of your own,
I'm afraid you'll have to slay a dragon." He informed.
	"Oh." Shiori said, crestfallen. She turned pale at the thought
of battling and killing a large ferocious lizard. "Slay . . . a . . .
dragon . . . yeah . . . It'd be nice if . . . I actually knew how
to . . . slay . . . don't you think? I've only fought people!" The girl
paused and then winked. "I'm the highest ranked Kendo champ this side
of Yokohama."
	Folken laughed out loud. "Being skilled at Kendo is a start!
But I'm afraid you'll have to rely on more than skill in order to slay
a dragon." He exclaimed as he laughed hysterically.
	"How long did it take you to learn how to slay a dragon,
ojiue?" Shiori asked as her uncle continued to laugh.
	"Years! Even then I didn't slay one! It ended up cutting my
right arm off!" He admitted. Folken saw Shiori gulp in fear. "But
otooto here slayed one! How old were you then? Fifteen?"
	Van nodded. "Something like that. Took me a while to fix my
sloppy sword work." He admitted. Shiori looked a little down. Van
smiled at her. "But if anyone could learn quick, I know it's Tenshi-
Hime." He encouraged.
	Shiori perked up. Her brown eyes danced. "Hontoo? Would you be
able to teach me?"
	The raven haired man smiled. "We'll help you as much as we
can." He said. "As long as we're able to, we will." Van reached behind
his wings and retrieved his royal sword. He held it out towards Shiori.
She gazed at it in wonder. "This sword was given to me when I was
crowned king of Fanelia. Go ahead and take it."
	The girl hesitated. She took care to grab the sheath at the
opposite end of where her father gripped the sword. Shiori gasped as
Van put his hand on hers. When she realized his temporary form was
solid, she smiled at him.
	Shiori unsheathed the sword and began to run through drills
with Folken and Van. She swung the royal blade through the air with
precision. Her form was excellent.
	"She's a natural, otooto." Folken commented.
	"Balgus would be very impressed with her." Van added.
	The girl paused to wipe the sweat from her forehead. She smiled
at the two men but looked visibly exhausted. "I don't know but when I
hold this sword in my hand, something just comes over me . . . it's
different from when I'm fighting in Kendo . . . like I can feel you
both guiding my arms . . . my entire body into perfect form . . .
it's amazing but . . . I feel like I've been doing this my entire
life."
	Folken smiled. "You look like you were born holding a sword."
	Van nodded in agreement. "Tenshi-Hime, I don't know how you do
it . . . you have better form than I did when I was your age-and I had
been training for years! You're more ready than I was to slay a
dragon."
	Shiori smiled wordlessly. "Chichiue . . . ojiue . . . arigato
gozaimasu . . ." She said. The girl suddenly gasped as if she had just
startled herself awake. "Oh! It's already dark!" She gazed at the two
men with eyes that were full of tears of indecision. "But I don't want
to go . . ."
	The aqua haired man smiled as he put his hand on her shoulder.
"Don't be sad, you can come to see us anytime. We'll be here. Don't
cry . . . we aren't going anywhere . . ."
	Shiori raised her teary eyes to meet Folken's smiling violet
irises. "Hontoo? You mean, I can see you again, just like this?"
	"If you wish." Van added in reply. "As I said, your wishes are
very powerful forces in Gaea."
	"Oh chichiue!" Shiori exclaimed as she instinctively ran into
her father's arms. She felt him wrap his feathery wings around her.
"Aishiteru! Aishiteru!"
	"You had better go, someone's coming for you." Folken said as
his form became transparent. "Sayonara, Shiori-hime."
	Shiori watched the man as he disappeared. She clutched her
father's form tightly, not wanting him to go as well. "Aishiteru." Van
said as he too began to disappear. "Sayonara, Tenshi-Hime . . . for
now . . ."
				***
	"Shiori? Shiori? Ne, Shiori?"
	The girl's eyes opened to meet the concerned yet relieved
stare of Jared. His blue eyes took on a deep azure color as he sighed.
Her hand was gripped around the royal sword from her dream. Jared's
blue eyes took on a deep azure color as he sighed. "Jared, gomen
nasai." Shiori apologized as she stood rubbing the sleep out of her
eyes.
	He approached the girl and took her hands in his. "I was
worried about you. When you didn't come back to the palace at dusk, I
started looking for you."
	"I didn't mean to worry you." Shiori replied. "I was going to
leave here when the sun started to go down but . . . I fell
asleep . . ."
	Jared sighed once more. He looked at the girl's finger that he
had wrapped with his handkerchief earlier that day. "I see your
finger's better."
	"Hai." Shiori said as she smiled. "Arigato."
	"Iie." Jared replied. "Let's go back before anyone else gets
worried." He said, leading the raven haired girl back.
	"Matte!" She cried as she freed herself from his grasp and
picked up the royal sword that she had left on the grass in front of
her father's headstone. "Gomen, I couldn't forget this."
	"What's that?" He asked curiously. "A sword?"
	"It belonged to my father." Shiori informed. "He wanted me to
have it." She said as she gently took Jared's hand once more. He smiled
in delight as she laced her fingers with his. "Ne, Jared?"
	"Hai?"
	"Tomorrow, let's go slay a dragon!" Shiori exclaimed as
sheadded a skip to her step.
	Jared's blue eyes were squeezed shut as he burst out in
laughter. His hysterics confused Shiori to the point of offense. "Slay
a dragon!" He chuckled. "Just because you have a sword-"
	"You don't think I could?" Shiori asked as she narrowed her
brown eyes. She began to adopt the attitude she had when she first met
the knight.
	The blond knight began to laugh softly in embarrassment, trying
to avoid angering Shiori. "Eeto . . . I didn't say that! . . . That's
not what I meant! . . . It's just that . . . eeto . . . you see . . .
just . . ."
	"That's what I thought." Shiori said triumphantly as her face
softened and she smiled teasingly at Jared.
	Jared smiled. "I just can't picture you sword fighting let
alone slaying a dragon. You don't look like the fighting type." He
admitted. "You seem more of a peaceful person . . . at least . . . when
you aren't trying to pick a fight with me."
	"Pick a fight?" Shiori asked with a smile. "I don't know what
you're talking about. But if it's a fight you want, let's make it a
sword fight. You against me . . . tomorrow morning. I win, we go
dragon-slaying, is it a deal?"
	"It's a deal." Jared replied. The knight laughed as he thought
about how quickly the girl had managed to wrap his heart around her
little finger. She could get him to say or do just about anything she
wanted. "And if I win-"
	"We go dragon-slaying!" Shiori intrupted with a smile.
	Jared laughed. "You aren't going to let that one go, are you?"
He asked. "Alright, alright." The blond knight sighed as he caved into
her wishes. "Either way we'll go dragon-slaying."
	Shiori smiled like a triumphant little five year old who had
succeeded in getting her mother to buy her a new doll. "Hurrah! We're
going dragon-slaying! But then, what's the fun in sword fighting with
you?"
	"Oh, so you want to raise the stakes a bit now, do you?" Jared
asked as he arched his blond eyebrow. "Let's see . . . if I win . . .
hmm, let's see now . . . if I win, you have to . . . let me take you
out on a date." He concluded with a sly chuckle. "And give me back my
handkerchief!"
	"And if I win, you have to," the girl paused a moment as she
thought and then blushed, "kiss me." Shiori finished. Her earthen eyes
flew up to meet Jared's smiling azure irises.
	"Well that settles it then." The blond knight said. "I'm
winning!"
	"Is that so?" Shiori challenged.
	The knight nodded as he walked. "Yeah, who'd want to kiss you?"
He teased. "Not me."
	Shiori stuck her nose up in the air playfully. "Well who'd want
to be forced into a date with you? Boring old arrogant you?"
	"So I'm boring and old huh?" Jared echoed in mock offense.
	"You forgot 'arrogant'." Shiori said calmly.
	"Well you forgot 'good looking'. That's the second time."
	"Like I said, arrogant." She repeated.
	"You're a little girl." Jared shot back. "A little girl with a
hot temper and a big mouth." He teased. "Who'd want to kiss you? It's
already settled, I'm winning."
	Shiori rolled her eyes. "Like hell you are!" She exclaimed as
she laughed. Jared joined in as they continued their playful argument
all the way to the palace of Fanelia.
				***
	*I hope my dream was right . . . I hope I really am as good as
chichiue and ojiue said . . . I hope those moves they taught me
work . . .*
	Jared took down two large wooden swords from the wall of the
training room. A wingless Shiori looked at him questioningly. He tossed
one into the air and the girl caught it. "What's this? I thought we
were going to use real swords." She said as she regarded the wooden
weapon with disapproval.
	"It isn't proper." Jared replied. "Especially since-"
	Shiori waved it off. "I know, I know. It's 'cause I'm a girl
and a princess. Oya ma! Do you always have to rub it in as if it was a
crime!" She exclaimed.
	"Now see what I mean? With an attitude like that, who would
want to kiss you?" Jared said, jabbing his wooden sword at her nose for
emphasis.
	*Here goes nothing . . . give me the strength, onegai . . .
guide my hands chichiue and . . . help me like in my dream ojiue . . .*
	The girl, without taking her eyes off the blond knight, flicked
her own weapon and effortlessly knocked the sword from Jared's hands.
He cried out in surprise and bent to retrieve his sword. "Who has the
big mouth now? Better not put your guard down or you're going to eat
your words."
	"Soo desu ne?" Jared asked as he took on a serious fighting
stance. With lightening quick reflexes, the blond knight suddenly leapt
in the air and brought the sword down as he descended. Shiori
anticipated his actions, blocked them, and spun quickly away to where
she could easily jab his unguarded side. "Ne! Cut it out! Now you see
why I didn't want to fight with real swords?" Jared asked as he began
to grip the hilt of the wooden sword tightly as he spun out of the way
and attempted to get a clean shot at Shiori's stomach.
	"Not so fast!" Shiori replied as she ducked and tumbled through
the knight's legs and was immediately behind him, sword pointed at his
back. Jared did an impressive flip in the air, narrowly missing being
"stabbed" by Shiori's sword. He faced her and blocked an incoming
barrage of clever shots to his shoulders and chest. "This sword isn't
so good. I like my father's sword much better. This one doesn't move
fast enough for me."
	"Could have fooled me." Jared admitted as he struggled to push
Shiori back with his wooden sword that blocked her own. The knight
moved his sword above his head, in an attempt to stike the girl's
shoulder. Before he realized what happened, Shiori's sword whipped
through the air, pushed his weapon out of his grasp, and was placed
menacingly to his throat.
	Jared was stunned as he lay on his back, at the mercy of
Shiori, who had placed her foot gently on his stomach for emphasis.
"Shimatta." He said. "You're impressive. When did you learn to fight
like that?"
	Shiori took her foot off Jared's stomach and tossed the wooden
sword over to an empty table. The knight got up and wiped the sweat off
his brow. "Eeto . . . I've been in a lot of Kendo tournaments where I
used to live but I learned the majority of it yesterday." She replied.
	"Iie, seriously. When did you learn? And who could have
possibly taught you such great moves?" Jared asked again.
	"Yesterday. Chichiue and ojiue taught me." Shiori said calmly
as the blue eyed knight stared at her with disbelief. "I know you don't
believe me, but it's true. Somehow, my wishes let my late father and
uncle visit me in my dreams when I fell asleep in the royal
cemetery . . . I don't know how . . . you don't believe me, do you."
	The blond man shook his head. "Iie, I believe you. Why would
you lie about something like that? I know all about Hitomi-sama and how
her wishes came true in Gaea. Why shouldn't the same be true about
you?" Jared answered.
	"To tell you the truth, the reason I wanted to go dragon-
slaying was to get an energist. While I was praying at chichiue's
grave, I had a vision of Fanelia being destroyed. We were protecting
the city in Guymelefs and . . . well, I need an energist to be able to
operate Escaflowne." Shiori admitted.
	"You're going to awaken Escaflowne? Can you really do that?"
Jared asked.
	"We aren't really sure. Chichiue and ojiue believe I can."
Shiori said. "I'm going to try. I want to do everything I can to try to
keep my vision from coming true."
	"I'll help you." Jared added. He gently took Shiori's hand in
his own. "Now about that kiss . . ."
	Shiori smiled at him, her earthen eyes dancing slyly. "I
thought you said you didn't want to kiss me." She teased.
	Jared smiled and averted his azure eyes as he blushed. "I was
just saying that. The truth is, I do want to kiss you . . . I've wanted
to kiss you ever since we met . . ."
	Shiori's eyes closed as she felt Jared inching closer. She
leaned forward, anxious to kiss him. The girl felt her soft lips being
brushed by Jared's. They lingered there for what seemed like an
eternity to Shiori. When they parted, the girl's heart was beating
wildly in her chest. Unconsciously, Shiori leaned in closer, pressing
her lips once more to the blond knight's. He responded by running his
hand through the short hair on the back of her neck and deepening the
kiss. The second time they parted, they were breathless and blushing.
	"I'm glad I won." Shiori said.
	"Me too." Jared agreed. "But with a kiss like that, I'll gladly
lose anytime to you." He said with a laugh. "Losing isn't so bad after
all." The blond knight said to himself as the raven haired girl smiled
at up at him. "We should do this again sometime."
	"You don't have to sword fight just so you can kiss me again."
Shiori replied. "You can kiss me . . . anytime." She said softly.
	"If you insist." Jared said as he leaned in and kissed Shiori
once more. When they broke away, the embarrassed blush that had colored
their cheeks the previous times was gone. "I know I didn't win, but,
would you still like to go on a date with this boring old arrogant
knight?" He asked.
	Shiori laughed at her old insult. "I didn't mean any of it."
	"I know, if you would have added 'good looking'-"
	The girl smacked him playfully on the shoulder. "There you go
again!" She exclaimed.
	"You know I'm right." Jared said with a wink of his azure eyes.
	Shiori laughed it off. "I'll go on a date with you." She
answered seriously. The girl reached into the pocket of her red dress
and pulled out the white embroidered handkerchief Jared had used to
wrap her wounded finger with. "Here's your handkerchief back. I washed
the blood out so it's as good as new."
	Jared waved a dismissing hand. "I didn't win."
	"But it's yours . . . It was your mother's . . ." She
protested.
	"You keep it." He said. Shiori contented herself with the
instruction and pushed the handkerchief back into her pocket. Her
earthen eyes twinkled up at the knight, who stood maybe five inches or
so above her.
	"Let's go dragon-slaying!" She exclaimed all at once.
	Jared rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright." He said in instant
defeat. Shiori tugged on his arm like an impatient child on Christmas
morning. "I'm coming. Matte, I'm coming."

			To be continued. . .
			   Next Episode:
			 Alliance of Honor

© 2000 Hitomi-sama