Ne, minna! I've taken a bit of a break from writing this to pretty much
gather my thoughts (as well as concentrate on the piles of work that
have been dumped on me!) and reexamine where the plot is headed. I
admit, it was time that I really needed. I just figured things out to a
point but I was a little unsure as to which direction to take. But I've
decided on a few things that I'm sure you'll all enjoy. ^_^. I know
you're all probably thinking, "What? Did Hitomi go somewhere? I don't
understand." All of the episodes prior to this were written months
before this one. So I've taken a long break. ^_^*. But I'm back!!! So,
enjoy!!! 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 cursing, blood and violence

		    The Second Vision of Escaflowne
			Vision Two, Episode Six:
			 Stronghold of Darkness

	Shiori drew in a quick breath as Jared applied more pressure to
her shoulder wound. Her eyes squeezed shut as she clenched her teeth in
an attempt to bare the pain. The bandage that was tightly wrapped
around her arm was now almost completely red with blood. The knight
grabbed another roll of gauze from the bedside and covered the soaded
cloth with a fresh layer.
	"Onegai . . ." The girl moaned through the pain. "Onegai . . .
shimasu!"
	Jared's blue eyes swam with tears. "Daijobu." He said in as
calm a voice as he could muster. "Shiori, daijobu." The knight
continued to apply painful pressure to the girl's wound.
	Shiori's earthen eyes suddenly snapped open, a terrifyingly
blank expression on her face. She stared up at the ceiling, past Jared
who gazed at her in silent concern. Another vision began to play in her
mind. Fanelia was covered in dark shadows. She saw herself standing
with a look of contentment on the balcony of the palace. At her side
stood a sickeningly familiar man . . . who's emerald eyes danced with
intense joy . . . Shiori's heart pounded with fear whenever she saw
those eyes . . . Looking into her own eyes, the eyes in her vision, she
noticed the same intensity mirrored there. But what frightened Shiori
even more was how cold and dim they looked . . . never before had she
seen such lifeless eyes . . . her own soulless eyes staring back at her
hatefully . . .
	"Shiori? Ne, Shiori snap out of it!" Jared urged as he gently
shook her. "Daijobu?"
	The girl gasped as she blinked fresh tears out of her eyes.
Looking up into the azure of the knight's irises calmed Shiori's heart
with relief. "Jared! Thank goodness . . . I . . . I was having a
vision. I'm . . . so scared! Jared, the last time I had a vision . . .
it came true!" She exclaimed hysterically.
	"Nani?" He asked.
	"Fanelia . . . it was dark and Sapir . . . he was standing
beside me and  . . . my eyes . . . they looked so dim and
lifeless . . . not even Sapir's looked like that . . . it scared me!"
Shiori stammered. She sat up, despite her pain and clutched the sleeves
of Jared's clean white shirt tightly in her hands as she sobbed into
the knight's chest.
	"Daijobu." Jared comforted. "I won't let Sapir do anything to
you. I'll be right here, just like I am now. Nothing will happen. Just
rest." He said, running a hand through her raven hair. "You need to get
your strength back."
	"Hai." Shiori answered as Jared dried her tears with his sleeve
and laid her head back upon the pillow. "Arigato."
	Jared smiled. "I'm staying right here. I won't let anything
happen. I won't even let you get out of bed until you're all better.
I'll stay here and watch over you. Here," The knight offered her his
hand.
	Shiori took his large hand, closed her eyes, and sighed.
"Arigato." She whispered as she drifted off to sleep once more.
	"I won't let anything happen." He vowed in a whisper. "No
matter what."
				***
	The ten-year old child stumbled as he ran through a field by a
woman who tugged desperately at his hand. "Hahaue!!!" Cried the green
haired child. His cries were stolen by the rushing wind as his mother
urged him to follow her faster. "Hahaue!!! Can't we stop? Can't we
rest?"
	"Sapir!" The woman scolded, never once taking her eyes off of
the throng of people at the gates of Fanelia. "We're almost there! If
we hurry we can get in! Just a little further and we'll be safe!" She
gasped for breath as she ran. "Don't you want to be safe?"
	"I want you to be safe, hahaue." Sapir admitted more to himself
than anyone in particular. The ten-year old boy swallowed another
mouthful of air. All the while, the pair could hear the rag tag bunch
at the gates shouting to the guards who barricaded the entrance.
	A trio of large armored men stood with their sheathed swords in
their hands, fending off the chaotic group with their sheer strength.
"Get back! We aren't allowed to let you in! Turn around and go back,
all of you! You aren't coming in! Do you hear? Fanelia isn't allowing
any one in!"
	"Quit yer shovin'!" One man shouted.
	"I'm being trampled!" A woman lamented.
	"Lemme into the goddamn city!!!" Yelled an unruly drunk.
	"We'll be killed if we stay here!" Argued a man.
	"You'll die too!" Shouted a youth who pointed his finger at the
soldiers.
	"We'll take you all to hell with us!" Vowed another man.
	Sapir was instantly assaulted by an innumerable amount of
bodies. The poor boy felt people jabbing their elbows in his eyes and
cheeks. His head felt as if a few eager jeerers were using it as a
stepping stool. Half a dozen people spat and cursed as they shoved him
out of their way. All the while, Sapir never lost the grip on his
mother's hand.
	"I have a little boy!" Sapir's mother shouted amidst the chaos.
She pushed to be at the front of the throng. "I have a little boy!
Would you let the youth of Gaea die before you? Let us in!"
	The soldiers unsheathed their swords as the chaos was littered
with profuse curses and pleas to the heavens. People began acting
recklessly at that moment. A few men seized the opportunity to rush the
guards. The entire group took advantage of this.
	"Hahaue!!!" Sapir shouted as he felt people rushing past him,
pushing him forward. It was like the sea was suddenly rushing around
him. A sea that was alive. The green haired boy felt his fingers slip
from his mother. "HAHAUE!!!" Sapir screamed frantically.
	Tears clouded his vision. He could see nothing but the blurry
outlines of the moving sea around him. Sapir heard nothing but screams
and sobs around him. Through it all, everyone kept moving in the same
direction. Everyone was going forward. They were all driven to go
forward. It seemed like it would never end. Then it did.
	Sapir wiped the tears from his eyes only to be greeted with a
terrible sight. The bodies of those who were prevented from going
forward littered the ground at Fanelia's doorstep and stained it with
their blood. A few women lay battered and bruised. Most likely they had
been trampled on. There was one of the soldiers beside the corpse of
the unruly drunk. The guard's sword had sliced cleanly through his
body. Straight in front of the boy, was a something that flooded his
heart with relief. His mother!
	"Hahaue!" Sapir sobbed in happiness, seeing her laying before
him. "I thought I'd lost you!" He said, slowly approaching her. "Thank
goodness." The boy whispered as he wiped a few of his tears away. Sapir
took his mother's body and turned it towards him. Her eyes were open,
gazing unendingly at him.
	The boy smiled at the comforting sight, a few stray tears
splashing upon his mother's pale cheeks. "Hahaue . . ." Sapir choked,
running an affectionate hand across the side of her face. "I'm so glad
to see you . . . I thought I'd lost you . . ." He admitted, crying a
bit more. "I was so scared!" Sapir sobbed into his mother's
bloodstained dress.
	Rising once more, the boy noticed the blood on his mother's
dress was not from any other wound but her own. A nearby sword, forged
to protect the land of Fanelia, had sliced through her heart. "Hahaue?"
Sapir asked, meeting his mother's unending gaze. "Hahaue, look . . ."
The boy raised his mother's head up slowly. "Don't you see? We made it
to Fanelia . . . we're safe . . . aren't you glad? Hahaue? You can see
it . . . can't you? Tell me you can see it . . ."
	Sapir began sobbing over his mother. "I KNOW you can see it!!!"
He screamed as angry tears streamed out of his eyes. "You have to be
able to see it! You just HAVE to! Otherwise . . . otherwise I'll be ALL
alone!!! This isn't what we came for!" The boy raised his tearstained
cheeks up to the sky. "Hahaue, don't you SEE? CAN'T you see? SEE?!!?
TELL me you see this!!! TELL ME YOU SEE THIS!!! HAHAUE!!!"
				***
	Sapir sat straight up in bed, a cold sweat drenching his body.
Running a hand through his damp hair he tried to catch his breath. He
could see the moon spilling onto the floor through the filmy sheets of
the bedroom. With a numb fascination, Sapir walked over to the window
and opened it. His emerald eyes scanned the sleeping kingdom of
Fanelia. Sitting upon the windowsill, he breathed in the warm air of
the night in an attempt to calm his mind and heart. He had been having
nightmares for days now. Ever since he had come to Fanelia. It was like
a curse. He hadn't even been able to close his eyes without seeing
another nightmare. What was wrong with him?
	"Ne . . ." Said a soft airy voice. "Sapir-sama . . ." He felt a
hand rest on his shoulder. The man continued to gaze out the window as
the girl smoothed a bit of his damp green hair. "Daijobu?" She
whispered.
	"Kawari-chan," Sapir said softly in response, "daijobu."
	The girl sighed slightly. "Hontoo? There must've been something
bothering you. Won't you tell me, Sapir-sama?" She kissed his temple
and watched as the man closed his emerald eyes and took a deep breath.
	"I had a dream, that's all." Sapir replied. "Just a bad dream."
	Kawari kissed his cheek. "Don't worry, then. It's just a bad
dream, nothing real. It's alright now." She smoothed his hair absently
and remarked to herself she had never seen him so shaken before.
	"Nothing . . . real . . ." Sapir echoed numbly. "Nothing . . .
real . . ." His voice fell into empty silence. He felt Kawari wrap her
arms around his neck comfortingly. "It's . . . alright now . . ."
	"You're safe now." Kawari whispered in his ear.
	A tear trickled out of the corner of Sapir's eye. "Safe . . ."
He repeated. "Safe . . ." The girl was stunned at the sight of his
uncharacteristic show of fear and sadness. He no longer seemed like the
Sapir she had known for so long.
	Here he was, crying and trembling before her. He was scared.
Genuinely scared. That fear was mixed with something she couldn't name.
It seemed familiar to her somehow . . . a loss she couldn't quite
place . . . but what was it? "Sapir-sama," Kawari tried consoling him.
	"We're safe . . . in Fanelia . . ." Sapir said in a voice that
sounded far removed from reality, like he was trying to console himself
as well. It sounded like the voice of someone holding onto the last
thread of their sanity, deathly afraid that it would slip from their
grasp at any moment. "We're safe in Fanelia." He said again. His
emerald irises that were brimming with tears met Kawari's. The girl
gasped at how sad they looked. "Don't you see?"
	"I see." Kawari replied, feeling tears welling up in her own
eyes. "I see, Sapir-sama."
	Sapir's eyes grew wide. Tears spilled down his cheeks as he
gazed up at her. It looked as if he was relieved to hear this. His lips
turned upward slightly at the edges. "You do? You can see it?"
	"Hai, I see it." The girl replied.
	"Oh!" Sapir choked as a sob burst from his lips. "You see it
too!" He exclaimed as he collapsed in Kawari's arms. "Thank goodness
you see it too!!!"
				***
	"We're here! Finally!!! After DAYS of traveling!!! We're
here!!!" Chorused the crew of the Crusade. Jared opened his eyes at the
joyous song being sung around him. He attempted to yawn the grogginess
away and then scolded himself inwardly for having fallen asleep at
Shiori's bedside. Glancing beside him, he found the bed to be empty.
	"Shiori? Shiori? Ne, Shiori! You aren't well enough to be up!
Ne! Can you hear me? Where are you? Answer me!" Jared called, standing
up so quickly he knocked his chair over. The blond rushed out into the
corridor. "Has anyone seen Shiori?"
	Dalton paused a moment and regarded the frustrated young man.
"Shiori? Why, she's in the cargo bay." He elbowed Jared a bit for
emphasis. "Fell asleep and lost track of her didn't ya?"
	"That girl!" Jared growled as he ran off toward the cargo bay,
nearly tripping on his own two feet. "I TOLD her! What in Gaea does she
think she's doing? SHIORI!!!"
	Upon entering the threshold of the cargo bay, Jared's foot
caught on a piece of loose piping and fell flat on his face. After
regaining his composure and cursing a bit to himself, he raised his
head to see Shiori standing in front of the open door holding a hand
over her bandaged shoulder, watching the levi-ship's decent. The sun
was already overhead. It was already noon. Jared had caught up on his
lost sleep alright! He shook his head and remarked to himself he had
thought it had been eight in the morning at the latest.
	The raven haired girl did not turn to face him. "Something's
wrong." Was all she said.
	"Of course something's wrong! You're here when you should be in
bed!" Jared said angrily. "Who gave you permission to get up anyway?
You're gonna hurt yourself! Go back to bed!"
	"I can't." Shiori said. The gravity in her voice was unlike
anything he had ever heard before. "Something's wrong. I have to find
out what."
	Jared scrambled to his feet and took Shiori by the hand.
"You're hurt! Imagine how much harm you can cause yourself!" He paused
and fought back an emotional sob. "I don't want anything to happen to
you. I won't let anything happen. I'll protect you."
	Shiori met Jared's concerned gaze. In the depth of her eyes, a
cold fire seemed to be raging. "I can't let anything happen to Fanelia.
No matter what happens to me . . . I'm prepared to do whatever it
takes. Gomen."
	"Iie, Shiori!" Jared protested as she broke away from his
grasp. "Don't go." He urged painfully. The blond knight watched sadly
as Shiori glanced wordlessly out the open door to see the levi-ship a
mere three meters from the ground.
	"Gomen." She said again. Jared and Shiori both rushed forward
at the same time. The knight reached out, stretching his hand to be
able to catch her wrist. He missed her by inches. Jared watched in
defeat as the princess jumped out of the levi-ship and flew through the
air only to land on her feet seconds later.
	"SHIORI!!!" Jared yelled as he saw her flinch briefly before
she began running toward the castle. "Shimatta!" He cursed as he
pounded his fist on the door of the cargo bay. Without wasting any
time, Jared hopped out of the craft and took off after Shiori. "Next
time," he remarked to himself, "I'm going to make sure she's properly
restrained."
				***
	Shiori clenched her teeth and fought back the tears that
flooded her earthen eyes from the amazing amount of pain in her legs.
*I've got to keep going. For Chichiue . . . for Fanelia . . . It
doesn't matter how badly I'm hurt.* She thought to herself. A wave of
unbearable pain pulsed through her legs and Shiori unconsciously fell
to her knees.
	*I can't go on like this though.* She thought. *I've got to!
Even if it kills me! I've got to reach the palace! Even if I have to
crawl there using my teeth!* Shiori remarked inwardly.
	"If you're so determined at least let me carry you." Jared said
as he offered her his hand. "You're one hell of a princess, you know
that?" He said, scooping her up and positioning her comfortably on his
back. "You're either really stupid or the best ruler in the history of
Gaea."
	"Hurry!" Shiori exclaimed with a smile and a laugh, pointing to
the castle. "We've got to get there as soon as possible." She said.
*Something's not right. I just know something's not right.*
	Jared ran as fast as his legs would carry him. "There's the
(puff) palace!" He wheezed as the monument came into view. "Looks like
everything's (paint) okay. Maybe it was (gasp) a false alarm."
	Shiori frowned. "Lets hope so though I seriously doubt it." She
said as Jared slowed his sprint and stopped. The princess stood on her
own two feet and examined the surprised expressions on the faces of the
guards. *I knew it, something ISN'T right.*
	"I'm . . . I'm afraid you'll . . . have to come with us." Said
one soldier. He looked as if he didn't trust his own two eyes with what
he saw before him.
	"Nani?" Shiori spat. "What are you talking about? Go where?"
She was restrained by two guards clamping their hands down upon her
wrists. "What are you doing? Let me go! By who's order are you doing
this?"
	Two more guards restrained Jared. "By order of Princess Shiori
Tenshi de Fanel." Said another soldier as they began leading the pair
inside the castle. "She warned us there might be imposters attempting
to gain access to the palace."
	"NANI?" She exclaimed in shock. "I'M Shiori Tenshi de Fanel!
Don't you believe me? Are you saying someone's pretending to be me?
She's a fake! Don't listen to her! She's tricking you!"
	"Silence!" Shouted one of the guards who restrained her. Shiori
fell silent as they were dragged into the throne room of the castle.
She was then thrown to the carpeted floor and expected to wait poised
on her hands and knees as two shadowy figures entered before her. Jared
let out a yelp of surprise as he was thrown down as well.
	At first, no one spoke. Silence pounded Shiori's eardrums and
made her head throb in pain that was almost enough to combat the pain
from her legs. Suddenly, the stillness was broken by an icy voice that
was slightly drenched with sickening laughter. "So glad you could join
us here. It's a shame you got here too late."
	Shiori gasped as her eyes searched the shadow, trying to make
out the outline of the figure she already knew was there. She didn't
even have to hear his voice to know. Her heart had told her miles away.
The anxious fear that gripped her being every time she closed her eyes
had told her. It was him.
	"Who are you?!?" Jared shouted.
	"Silence!" A guard yelled as he kicked him in the back with the
heel of his thick boot. Jared fell flat upon the ground, his face
kissing the immaculate red carpet. "You aren't allowed to speak!"
	The voice from the shadows spoke up. "It's perfectly alright.
I'm curious as to what these two have to say. As to your question, I
think your dear lover there already knows the answer to that question."
	Jared glanced at Shiori who was clenching her fists as well as
her teeth in anger and fear. "You . . . bastard . . ." She growled.
"How dare you show your face here . . . you aren't welcome here . . ."
	"I think you're sadly mistaken. It's YOU who isn't welcome
here. After all, what does a kindom need with ANOTHER Shiori Tenshi de
Fanel?" The voice mocked as it laughed.
	Shiori narrowed her eyes despite Jared's silent confusion.
"Quite right. Then why don't you and your dear imposter leave then,
Sapir?" She watched as the chuckling man stepped into the light.
Standing beside the Zaibach, with half his cape wrapped around her own
shoulders, was a girl that looked to be an exact replica of Shiori. The
resemblance was so striking that both Jared and Shiori gasped.
	"She's . . . me!" Shiori stammered. Looking at the girls
smiling face, she noticed the striking eyes she had seen from her
vision. "Those were . . . YOUR soulless eyes I saw . . . you were who I
saw . . ."
	"She looks just like you!" Jared exclaimed.
	"How do you like my crew's handy work? Not bad, eh? And the
best part is, SHE doesn't talk back." Sapir said. He leaned over and
kissed the smirking girl on the lips, much to the horror of Shiori.
	Jared, angered by this sick display, growled. "Damn you, you
sick bastard!" He attempted to climb to his feet in order to throttle
the emerald man but was detained by another guard's boot heel.
	"We aren't going anywhere." Sapir said. "As far as everyone is
concerned, Kawari here IS the princess. Who could prove any otherwise?
You're only a pathetic wannabe. There's NOTHING for you here. Fanelia
isn't yours anymore. It's MINE. I told you it would be this way." He
paused and smiled. "It's still not too late. I'm a fair man, I'll give
you one more chance."
	"Fair?" Jared argued. "Is your definition of fair lying,
cheating, and stealing?" He asked angrily. "You aren't anything. You
aren't even a man. You're lower than anything."
	"I have never lied. I said I was going to have Fanelia and I
have it." Sapir replied calmly. "And as promised I'll give you one more
chance. I admire your undying spirit, Tenshi-Hime. No ordinary ruler
would run on two injured legs to get here. I'm impressed." He said,
smiling. "Here's my proposition. You can join me . . ."
	Shiori flinched at the proposal. "Never." She growled
immediately. "Or what? You'll kill me? You'll let me rot in the
dungeon? What of my undying spirit and your fairness? I hardly call any
of this fair."
	"Depends on who's point of view it's from." Sapir replied.
	"Go to hell!" Jared spat angrily. "You think she'd ever join
you? You're definitely full of it!" The knight yelled.
	Sapir ignored the blond boy and continued looking straight into
Shiori's intense eyes. "No deal." She answered flatly. The girl looked
around and remarked sadly that she was greatly disadvantaged. Still,
she repeated her resolution. "No deal."
	"What a fool." Kawari said suddenly, approaching Shiori.
"You're out numbered. There's no way you could beat us. You can't even
prove you're you. You aren't you. I'm you. Look at you! How pitiful!"
	"I don't need your pity, you Zaibach puppet." Shiori snapped in
reply. "I may be disadvantaged at the moment but I WILL find a way.
I'll find a way to right this horrible wrong."
	The emerald man shook his head. "I'm afraid you're out of
options." He said with a chuckle. Shiori gulped a mouthful of air as
calmly as she could as she realized he was right. "Guards, lock them in
the tower. I want them to be able to see Fanelia and be reminded of how
they failed it."
	Jared and Shiori were hoisted onto their feet and drug away
kicking and screaming. The guards pushed them up stone steps with
amazing force. Sapir followed close behind, enjoying the entertainment
of hearing their curses. At the top of the stairs, the guards paused to
open the door that led to the chamber that would be their prison. There
was a large window beside the captives that framed the scenery yet
prevented any fresh air from wafting into the tower.
	"Take a good look because, it'll be your last." Sapir said,
teasing them arrogantly by allowing them to approach the massive
window. "Just look at that view. Isn't it wonderful?"
	Shiori looked out upon the tops of the trees and the sun that
blazed in the sky, veiled by a few stray clouds. She closed her eyes
and took a deep breath. *I can't stay trapped here. It can't end like
this.* The girl thought. *Help me somehow. Escaflowne, give me
strength . . . help me . . . somehow . . . onegai shimasu! I just might
be able to . . .* Her body felt hot now. Shiori looked at Jared's sad
azure eyes. "Trust me?" She whispered.
	Jared answered with a confused nod. Shiori took his hand and
smiled at him. Then her look became serious as she looked out at
Fanelia once more. Suddenly, without warning, Shiori made a split
second decision. Sapir was surprised. It happened so quickly he didn't
even have time to protest. In one burst of energy, Shiori and Jared
jumped out of the window. Glass shattered around them and trickled down
to the ground below like a waterfall.
	"NANI?!!!?" Sapir screamed as he watched the two plummet from
the tower. "That bitch! She's getting away!!! SHIMATTA!!!"
	Shiori saw the ground approaching her body with frightening
speed. She immediately spread her snowy white wings. The girl held on
tightly to Jared's hand and felt their speed slow to a graceful decent.
However, due to the weight of Jared combined with the after effects of
the beating she sustained on the Zaibach Fortress, her wings were weak
and at the first sign of a chaotic current were unable to aid their
escape. The pair continued their frantic plummet to the ground below.
	Seeing this, Sapir smiled. "Maybe she'll die after all."
	Shiori shrieked in fear. *It's all over.* She thought to
herself. The raven haired girl closed her eyes as she felt the wind
whipping around her body ruthlessly. A second later, Shiori felt
herself land on a metal surface. It wasn't hard. Not like she expected
her impact with the ground to be like. Was it because she was dead?
	"SHIMATTA!!!" Were the first words Shiori heard, uttered by
Jared who sounded like he was behind her. Was he dead too? He'd fallen
with her. "I'll be damned! We're ALIVE!!!"
	"Nani?" Shiori asked, opening her eyes slowly to be greeted by
the sight of Escaflowne in dragon mode. "We're alive!!!" She shrieked,
assaulting Jared's face with kisses.
	"I don't believe it! This damn 'melef of yours saved our
lives!!!" The blond knight exclaimed. "But next time you ask me to
trust you, forgive me if I think twice."
	Shiori looked playfully offended. "Ne, we're alive aren't we?
Not rotting in the tower of my own palace?" She reminded. The joke was
rewarded with laughter as well as a few kisses as Escaflowne flew
towards where the worried crew of the Crusade was looking for them
both.
	"Thank goodness!" Hitomi cried, jumping up onto her tip toes to
see Shiori on Escaflowne's back. The Guymelef transformed before
landing firmly on the ground. The control hatch opened and a relieved
Shoiri waved at the crew below. Jared, who sat on Escaflowne's hand,
jumped down and smiled at his father as he shrugged.
	"Gave us all a scare." Dalton said, patting Jared on the back
with force enough to cause the knight to stumble a bit. He then
whispered into the knight's ear. "Boss, you're old man here looked like
he'd have a heart attack over here when he couldn't find you."
	Hitomi watched her daughter climb down Escaflowne's leg and
exhaustedly wipe her brow. "I was so worried!" She scolded gratefully
with tears in her eyes. "Allen and I almost passed away with fright. We
didn't know what happened to you both."
	Jared ran an absent hand through his blond hair. "Gomen nasai,
Hitomi-sama." He apologized. "To tell you the truth, we almost didn't
make it back here."
	Dalton smacked the knight upside the head. "You aren't supposed
to say something like that! Baka! Think before you open your mouth!" He
struck him again for emphasis.
	Jared's right hand man sometimes scolded him like his father
while other times joking around as if he were a long lost brother of
his. They were both close, having spent the years of their youth
training together. "Ow!"
	"What do you mean?" Allen asked. "What happened out there?" He
asked glancing at the pair. "Has something happened to the castle? Tell
us."
	Shiori's voice was soft and tinged with regret. "Sapir . . .
Sapir has control of the castle . . . There was . . . no way to . . .
stop him . . . no way . . . and now Fanelia . . ." The girl's eyes grew
dim and closed. Her body seemed to lose all it's power to stand
upright. Jared rushed to her side in time to catch Shiori as she
fainted.
	"Sapir made a clone of Shiori. He's fooling the entire
population into thinking it's really her. We were captured but before
they could lock us away in the tower, Shiori burst through the window
and saved our lives." He looked at the girl's calm, sleeping face. "She
ran almost the entire way to the castle and used all of her strength to
try and fly us here. But when her wings failed her, it was Escaflowne
that came to our rescue. Shiori did everything in her power but at the
moment . . . there's nothing we can do to save Fanelia."
	Hitomi held onto Allen's sleeve. "So what do we do now?" Allen
asked. "We can't get into the palace. It isn't safe for us here. We
need to regroup and come up with a plan. I'll help Tenshi-Hime in any
way I can." He turned on his heel and approached the Crusade.
	Jared watched him curiously. "So what are we going to do?" He
asked.
	"Go to Palas. We'll be safe there. Shiori can rest and rebuild
our strength. There we can come up with a strategy for taking Fanelia
back." Allen replied. "Let's go. For now, there's nothing more for us
here."

			  To be continued . . .
			     Next Episode:
			   The Hidden Crown


© 2000 Hitomi-sama