When Escaflowne Rescued Trilladen 11
Okay this is three chapters and I know its not done this way so much,
but my life has been hectic of late. Mugwa makes his move. Griffin
and doppleganger scene. Dillandua just about to burst into the
action. Allen gives as good as he got from Princess Edwina. Let me
know what you think. I really appreciate it when you read this and
let me know. Thank you very much.
Chapter Eleven: Dining Couples
Chapters 11- 20 will appear on this page in
the next couple of weeks. I don't own Escaflowne. I just wrote
this, because it was the best Anime I ever saw. Don't sue me, just
read this and tell me what you think, unless, of course you think
it's crap. Then don't write
me.
Van and Hitomi dined privately in Van's private rooms in the
palace that night, since Merle was still up in the flying fortress
and Allen and Princess Edwina were still in the library studying the
history of sword fighting in Gaea. Hitomi was more quiet than usual,
and Van couldn't seem to draw her out.
"Hitomi, are you feeling all right? You're very
quiet tonight." Van inquired of her.
Hitomi put her fork down and took a deep breath. It
was now or never. "I don't want you to leave me behind. I think
could be of use to the mission. I have begun to have visions again
and I am concerned that you seem determined not to take me." She
confessed.
Van looked down at his plate as if trying to
carefully form the right words in his mind. Instead he decided to use
a different approach. "Does this have to do with the other night?
You never told me why you were so upset. I didn't want to press you
for an answer, but now I think I should know considering your
feelings."
Hitomi bawked. She didn't expect him to put this
back in her lap. "It's true that the other night I was frightened by
a dream I had, but I think that you shouldn't leave Merle, Yukari and
I out of this. I was able to handle myself the last time I was here
when conditions were far worse." She reasoned.
"If you will just tell me what your dream was about,
maybe I would be in a better position to decide if you, Yukari and
Merle should go or not." Van responded noncommittally.
Hitomi faltered and stumbled over her words, "I can't
remember exactly." She bowed her head and studied what was on her
plate.
Van gave her a penetrating look and softly said, "I
think you're lying. You should trust me more."
Hitomi looked into his eyes and nearly fell into
them. "I do."
In exasperation Van slammed his fist into the table
and yelled at her. "Then tell me what your dream was about! If you
trust me than prove it by confiding in me. I think I have a right to
know. You were deeply out of sorts and the more I tried to comfort
you and couldn't, the more worried I grew. Why would you want me to
worry not knowing what upset you so?" He ran his hand through his
hair, shut his eyes, and took inner measures to calm himself.
Hitomi had no answer for him. She was battling with
herself, uncertain how to proceed. She kept her head bent and let
silent tears cascade down her cheeks. He waited for her to respond,
keeping his gaze locked on her, hoping she would relent. She didn't
and his ire began to rise with each passing moment of her silence.
Van had enough of this and pushed his chair back
violently and pulled hers away from the table and turned her to face
him. The wooden floors screeched loudly from the legs of the chair
dragging on it, heavy with Hitomi's weight. He knelt down, put his
hands on the air chair, effectively locking her in and glared at her.
"After everything we've been through, you insist on
building walls around yourself! Hitomi!" He was ready to shake some
sense into her.
"Do you really think its reasonable for me to agree
to see you off, not knowing whether or not I'll see you again? I've
had precious little time with you, and whatever time we have here
should be together!" She shouted right back at him.
In a fit of temper Van grabbed her by the arms and
lifted her off the seat. His grip was to tight and she winced,
spilling more tears. Immediately he regretted his temper outburst
and hugged her tenderly to him. She wouldn't hug him back. She
wouldn't put her arms around him and feel how glorious his hard body
felt in her arms. She kept her body rigid, hoping not to give in to
the temptation to cave in.
He sensed her reluctance and grew concerned. Did she
regret what we shared? It means everything to me, but I can't tell if
she has withdrawn from me because of the dream she had or if she
wished we hadn't made love! Van felt a terrible ache in his heart,
worse than the one he felt the day she returned to the Mystic Moon.
He refused to let her go. He continued to hold her gently, caressing
her arms and kissing her neck. He refused to think she changed her
mind and her heart.
The palms of his hands reached up and cupped her face as he
gently caressed her eyes, forehead, cheeks and finally her mouth with
his lips. His breath was shallow as if he was nursing a fresh injury
from some unknown battle. She capitulated and opened her mouth to
his. He moaned in complete relief and yearning to taste her
sweetness. His kiss was imploring, gentle and vulnerable. She knew
what he was asking of her and the cold hand of fear gripped her
heart. She must not get pregnant. She pulled away from him.
"I'm sorry, Van. I just can't! Please understand. I
am so afraid of you leaving me. You've got to let me come with you!
I can help you. I am seeing visions again. I was a help to you in
the past. You need to trust me!" She insisted.
When she pulled away from him, he felt hallow
inside. Then her words infuriated him. Stiffly he replied, "It seems
we still do not have enough trust between us. I wish only to protect
you, Hitomi!"
"And I wish to protect you!" She cried up to him to
see her point of view. He got up and left before he said something
that he would regret. She remained where she stood. Well I did it.
We're not going to sleep together.
**************
Folken and Merle dined quietly and peacefully together. He
told her of his triumphs and foibles trying to lead the shattered
Zaibach Empire back to economic health and establish diplomatic
relations with the very countries that were once foes. He laughed
with her over the petty games politicians and courtesans engaged in
and bathed in her rapt attention. Every moment he spent with her
soothed his brooding spirit, releasing a younger Folken who could
laugh at himself. The dinner was moving smoothly along these lines
until Merle gave in to her curiosity and asked in almost childlike
interest.
"Why do you keep your arm hidden beneath your cloak?"
Folken grew quiet and still. His smile had faded a little
and he glanced down at his empty plate, then poured himself a tall
glass of wine. He decided to tell her the truth as painful as it was
for him. Her face grew hot with embarrassment at her own stupidity
and she tried to smooth it over.
"It doesn't matter really. I mean, you can just
ignore my..."
Folken interrupted her as he brought forth his
hideous concoction of an arm and replied. "No, it's okay. I should
tell you. I keep it hidden because it is a contraption, a device.
It's not a part of me, yet it is, for it is very useful and durable.
I can do more with this thing than ever I could with my old arm and
hand. It has the benefits of the strength of steel, but it has no
feeling. I couldn't use it to caress your skin like I can with this
hand." At that his hand gently stroked her bare arm, sending shivers
through her. "There is less of me as a man without it, and more
mechanical use with it. With you, I wish only to be a man." He said
gently as he withdrew both his touch and retreated his metal
appendage beneath the folds of his cloak.
She got up from her seat and walked up to stand
behind him. Boldly she unlatched the clasp of his cloak and pulled
it away from his shoulders. She lay her hands on them and slowly
started a descent. One hand reached down and gently rubbed his real
arm and the other hand moved across his chest tantalizing him. He
breathed more rapidly and harder and closed his eyes and leaned back
in his seat allowing her free reign to let her hands roam.
"You were never less of a man. You will always be
this mountain of a man who is back in my life. Don't ever say that
to me again. Don't ever think that of yourself, Folken. You have
returned to Fanelia, to us. Your heart is good and always was
good." She leaned down and hugged him from behind. Whatever his
intentions were for her, she knew she cared about him fiercely. She
just wasn't sure what that would mean to her future or his. With
catlike calmness she decided not to concern herself about it. She
just remained still, taking in his heat and closing her eyes, loving
how good this embrace felt.
"You are so young, Merle. Life can be...complex
at times. I think you should leave." Folken said as he pulled his
chair back to get up and place some distance between himself and her
lush fragrant body.
But being bold was what Merle was all about. She
stood her ground and when he turned around expecting her to move back
he was confronted by her determination to keep their intimate moment.
"I'm not going anywhere. I can't leave until I know I haven't hurt
you. I would never want that, Folken." She stepped in and put her
arms around his waist and laid her cheek against his chest. "Please
forgive me." She looked up at him imploringly.
Folken's voice was tight and raspy as his heat
was raised from her nearness. "I'll escort you to the conveyor
shuttle."
He had tried to keep a distant avuncular tone
with her throughout the meal, thinking himself successful. That
dilution was shattered as he felt her curves meld with the lines of
his body. He felt like a schoolboy in the heat of his first crush.
But he wasn't. He had been a warrior for years and now a ruler of a
disgraced nation. He gently nudged her away correctly assuming that
she did not understand the effect she was having on him.
Merle felt his retreat and was quite put out
about it. She decided to press her point, hoping only to lighten the
mood and depart on a happy note. Stubbornly she pressed against him
more tightly and said, "I'm not leaving until you at least
acknowledge the fact that I care about how you feel! Please don't
send me away like this!"
Folken took deep determined breaths to slow his
racing heart. She was an innocent, and he wasn't a seducer. "Merle,
I know you wouldn't hurt me. I am fine, really! Don't be
concerned."
He intended to put his hand on her head to give
her a fatherly pat. She unconsciously shifted her neck and turned
his touch into something quite different. His fingers wove
themselves through her hair feeling its luxuriant softness and rested
at the nape of her neck. She purred at the petting touch of it and
closed her eyes feeling safe and reassured. She didn't realize what
an inebriating effect she was having on him. He had been alone and
accustomed to his solitude, purposely not viewing it as intense
loneliness which it was.
Now he couldn't deny the flood of emotions and
sensations that were running rampant through his body. He bent his
head down and caught her mouth in his, plundering it with intense
gratification. Merle's world began to spin. She went weak in the
knees and leaned into him so as not to collapse from the shocking
pleasure of her first kiss. Her breath came rapidly. The feelings
that sprang from her body felt like a volcano of intense frightening
arousal that she had no way to describe in her young inexperienced
mind. This alone raised her alarm and she pulled away from him in
fear.
He sensed her panic and cursed to himself
quietly. "I must be an idiot! I'm sorry, sweet Merle." He held her
trembling form in his arms to soothe her. "I shouldn't have done
that. You are just so beautiful! But you are so young and I had no
right to kiss you. Forgive me, it won't happen again. I would never
hurt you or make you do anything you aren't ready for." He reassured
her as her rocked her in his arms.
Tears spilled down her cheeks and she sniffled.
She didn't understand what was happening inside of herself, but she
trusted Folken. She let him comfort her and it worked. She was
calming down enough to relive every wonderful moment of her first
kiss and a wide grin soon plastered itself on her face. She closed
her eyes and breathed him in for the first time the way a woman
breaths in a man's scent to savor it with relish and desire. The
sobering words that he would never do that again to her sunk in and
her heart fell through the floor they were standing on. Oh yes you
will! I will have more kisses like that from you, many more. I
won't stop until I get them all.
**************
Yukari was seated next to Amano who was engaged in a heated
discussion with General Pauk about his training. He very much wanted
to try a curved sword and practice undercuts, over cuts, diagonal
slicing and key points of artery severing. General Pauk wasn't sure
the lad was ready for such advanced sword fighting, but he liked
Amano's enthusiasm.
Meanwhile, Yukari ate glumly, feeling more
ignored with every passing day and less important to Amano at the
same time. He clearly preferred training and fighting to spending
time with her. With her heart feeling bruised and her pride battered
enough she quickly got up from her seat and left the room. Amano
didn't seem to notice.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid." She grumbled to
herself. She saw Hitomi walking slowly down the hall looking all down
at the mouth herself. She decided to commiserate with her best
friend. "Hitomi! Wait up! Where are you going?"
"To our room to get some sleep." Hitomi
emphasized.
"You mean you actually went through with it?"
Yukari asked. She almost felt scandalized that Hitomi was
manipulating the King.
"I have no choice. If we stayed the way we were I
would have surely gotten pregnant. I can't have that happen with so
much riding on this journey. Van told me yesterday that the
renovations to the flying fortress will be done by the end of next
week!" Hitomi explained.
"So if everything is the way you set out for it,
namely not sleeping with Van, why do you look so utterly miserable?"
Yukari pointed out with her question.
"Would you rather see me heavy with child, alone,
scared, no Van, being utterly emotional and hormonal with only you to
pester?" Hitomi countered.
"You will have me and Merle and ...."
"Oh be quiet. That's easy for you to say, you're
not faced with the fears I am!" Hitomi complained.
"You are right, as invisible as I am to Amano,
I'll never have to worry about getting knocked up." Yukari tried to
sound light hearted as if she was joking around, but the lilt in her
voice clued Hitomi in.
"I'm sorry, Yukari, I am being totally selfish. I
am wrapped up in my own problems and haven't paid attention to what
is happening in your life. Is everything okay?" Hitomi stopped and
turned to her friend.
"Hitomi, I could be buck naked in front of Amano,
with dried ketchup and mustard caked in my hair, while I danced a
ballet looking like the some psycho Harley chick from hell and he
wouldn't know I am in the same room as him. It's ironic, isn't it?
You are trying to keep Van from paying attention to you so you don't
get pregnant, and I'd give my eye teeth for one glance from Amano!"
Yukari grumbled as they made their way down the darkly lit corridor
their Yukari's room.
They never once noticed that Van was quietly
following them and heard every word. He was only trying to catch up
to Hitomi to ask where in the devil did she think she was going with
Yukari when he learned why she was behaving the way she was. Of
course! She was afraid of being left alone to raise a child, possibly
without him! He could remedy all that. He would make sure she knew
that she was going to be looked after no matter what happened to him-
not that he didn't plan on growing old with her by his side!
***********************
Allen and Princess Edwina were nibbling on
sandwiches and perusing ancient manuals, going over essential points
of the male anatomy to know best where to strike for a quick kill, or
a painful wound to gain the advantage. She was an avid listener as
Allen added his own hints and tips. She was so impressed with his
knowledge and expertise that she realized she was gazing at him in a
starry eyed manner that could be found questionable. Once again she
found herself checking herself, trying to keep her feelings from
surfacing. Allen noticed every move she made and was amused by her
attempts to conceal her crush on him.
Allen cracked a joke that set them both into
hysterics and he slapped her on the back in a gesture of camaraderie
that left her winded and sprawled over the books on the table.
"Really, your highness, you've got to toughen up if
you are going to be a warrior!" Allen convivially helped Princess
Edwina to her feet by grasping her by the arm and hoisting her
up. "With all of the training you've received, your muscles should
start to be as hard as mine!" He groped her burgeoning biceps with
his hands, feeling for "manly muscles" causing her to feel self-
conscious.
"Don't!" She laughingly protested. "Why must you
always be touching me?" She said half jokingly.
"I believe it to be inevitable if I am to properly
train you to wrestle an opponent and not fall flat your butt!" Allen
quickly twisted her around, grabbed her arm holding it behind her
back.
"Ow, stop, that hurts!" She yelled.
"No, think of a way out of this strong hold instead!
Show me you've caught on to something!" He demanded.
Angry and ready for blood Edwina countered in her
rage, "You mean like this?" She stomped on his toes and as he
responded to the pain by moving she threw him down hard on the
floor. "There! How do you like it, you ruffian!" She snapped.
Allen didn't move. His eyes were shut tight and he
looked unconscious. Edwina queried. "Allen? Are you quite all
right?" Still no movement. Edwina's anxiety turned to fearful
concern that turned to a white-hot panic thinking she hurt him
seriously. She scrambled to her knees beside him and cried
out. "ALLEN!" She crouched down close to his chest to see if he was
breathing. Her hands were resting on his chest as her ear was
pressed against it to listen.
A thoroughly wicked grin slowly inclined the corners
of Allen mouth. She looked at him in dread fear and was caught
completely off guard. Allen moved like lightening and grabbed her by
the shoulders and wrestled her down, effectively pinning her beneath
him and kissed her squarely on the mouth. Princess Edwina drew in a
sharp breath with shock. Her eyes opened wide as she watched him
kiss her with his eyes closed. Unexpectedly Allen's tongue licked her
lips and Edwina again drew her breath in sharply opening her mouth to
do so and Allen took full advantage of it.
His tongue probed deep inside her mouth. He held her
face still with his free hand as he caressed her tongue with his.
Edwina's whole body turned to hot liquid. She relaxed and closed her
eyes and let him kiss her. His kiss deepened, causing her to moan.
She slowly began to kiss him back. Trying to move her tongue in
response to the movement of his. Intense feelings of love surfaced
through her. Her heart swelled with it. She clung to him and kissed
him, hungry for more.
He slowly ended their first kiss. Looking deeply
into her eyes he finally whispered, "Why have you tried to conceal
from me what a beautiful young woman you are?" He didn't wait for a
reply he just started tenderly exploring her mouth her with soft
tender kisses that left her stupid with desire. She opened her mouth
for more of him and he gave her more. He kissed her passionately,
his arms slowly caressing her torso into a cradling embrace.
At some point she had forgotten his question. Her
arms went around his neck and her hands grabbed fists full of his
flowing blonde hair. She pulled him closer still and kissed him with
all of the love she felt in her heart. She was beyond caring about
the consequences. At seventeen, she could finally acknowledge that
she was indeed a girl to the one person she wanted most to make her
feel feminine.
Slowly he raised his head to look down into her
eyes. "Why have you kept your true self from me?"
She couldn't talk just yet. She needed to catch her
breath. She just looked up at him beseechingly, trying to pull him
down for another kiss. He raised himself up bringing her with him,
settling her on his lap as he sat cross-legged. His hands roamed her
body freely and she let him. He caressed her shoulders first and
cradled her head in the crook of his arm as his free hand slowly
traveled up her shirt. With each move he made, she was thrown into
a world of sensations that made her want more still.
His hand felt the soft skin of her breasts. "It is
a wonder that the doctor didn't discover that you are female when I
first found you. Why all this?" He whispered in her ear causing her
to tremble with desire.
With Allen's hand on her skin, it felt so good, but
so foreign to her she couldn't find her voice, only breath quickly.
He knew what he was doing to her and had no intention of ceasing. He
pulled her shirt over her head and began to explore the soft
roundness of her bosom. He did so slowly, gently. Sometimes he
looked deeply into her eyes to gage her reaction, other times he
kissed her lovingly and felt her with his hands, putting her curves
and softness to precious memory.
Before she knew what she was doing she confessed
herself completely to him. "I love you." She stopped suddenly
realizing her mistake. Wide-eyed and fearful she forced herself to
look in his eyes. What she saw was acceptance and something else.
Sadness? She wasn't sure.
Like the wake up call of a trumpet blaring, he silently
gathered her shirt from the floor and helped her put it on. Edwina's
heart broke in that instant and tears of anguish stung her eyes but
didn't fall. She would save her pride. She wouldn't show her pain.
With purpose she slowly got up and smoothed down her waist shirt.
"Who are you really?" He asked.
"I am Princess Edwina. I have concealed my sex for
as long as I could remember. If Mugwa knew that I was a girl, he
could've sacrificed me to use my blood to awaken the green dragon. I
was to do this until either Mugwa was no longer a threat, or I was no
longer a virgin, but safely married and no longer a candidate to
carry out his scheme." She intoned evenly. Her heart beat heavily
and painfully in her chest. She could no longer look him in the eye.
As if it all suddenly made sense to Allen he nodded
his head and said, "Ah, I see. And the griffin?"
"One of Mugwa's minions. It was sent to destroy me,
I suspect, or bring me back. Instead it got to you." She informed.
"I know I placed myself in front of you and the
griffin slashed at me. I almost think I should be dead, I was
bleeding out so fast, I couldn't have stopped the blood. No one could
have. How did I survive, with no mark to bare?" He mused half to
himself.
"That doesn't matter. All that matters is that the
griffin is dead and you are alive." With that she got up and left
him.
Allen remained where he was. He hadn't intended to
carry his scheme this far. He just wanted to end her charade. He only
meant to kiss her once and teach her a lesson. Instead he learned
the truth of her feelings. It wasn't a crush. She was older than he
thought, and she truly loved him. It wasn't an infatuation or
something pretended at by a needy young schoolgirl. Somehow, he knew
she was responsible for saving his life and he was going to get to
the bottom of it.
He quickly got up to hunt her down. It wasn't hard
to find her. She was in her room. He heard her muffled sobs and
strode purposefully into the room closing the door behind him, not
caring that he was once again barging in on her. She looked up and
caught her breath. He sat down beside her and gathered her into his
arms.
He began stroking her hair, her short beautiful black hair and
kissing her again. She was beyond protesting. She wanted him more
that she wanted anything in her whole life.
He began to undress her and laid her down on the bed.
Quickly slipping out of his own he laid down beside her and embraced
her as he kissed away her pain and tears. His mouth began to
expertly cover her body with kisses. His tongue tasted the skin of
her nipples and she arched up to meet him insisting on more. He
eased himself down on top of her and made his intentions known to
her. He took her face in his hands and softly spoke to her while
looking deeply into her eyes.
"I am going to take your virginity, my love." He
kissed her gently once. " It belongs to me. You love me and I claim
you as mine, forever! You will no longer have to worry about being
sacrificed to a madman's lust for power. I will never let anyone harm
you. As a knight of heaven I vow to hold you to me. Wherever I go you
will be with me, and I will always be by your side. "
Princess Edwina cried tears of joy as she discovered
the intimate pleasures they could share.
**************