Vision of Escaflowne
is owned by its respective company, not by Yuki Fanel
The Link
By Yuki Fanel
The fires raged across the battlements, making
the castle a fiery hell. Small tongues of the flames teased his soot-covered
skin, taking him one at a time. *Where is
he? Where is that blasted boy?* He searched his way through, keeping well
away from the larger fires. His long blond hair had been reduced to half its
length, burned to ashes as he searched for the young king. *Show yourself to me, Van!* His
hand was gripped tightly on the hilt of his sword, knuckles turning snow white.
Debris rained from above, landing in loud
crashes around the Heavenly Knight of Caeli. A few
large rocks dropped over him but his sword had slashed his way through. He spat
between gritted teeth. Where would he find that boy?
The heat prickled against his skin. The flames
would soon find their way to his mind. *I’d
better find Van as soon as possible…* He took several steps forward,
noticing a dark figure back away from the raging flames.
“Van! Van!”
***
A voice rose over the flames, reaching
his bleeding ears. It sounded muffled though it was clear. Someone was calling
his name. He turned to a direction, finding the Heavenly Knight of Caeli waving at him widely. His face was covered with soot
but relief showed in his eyes. He came to
look for me! Van smiled, running towards the knight. One of his hands held
a sword and another a closed fist.
“Allen!
I’m so glad to see you. We’d better get out of here before the whole castle collapses.”
his mouth worked his mind though he couldn’t hear anything but muffled voices.
“Where’s
Merle?”
Van looked at Allen’s thin lips. He
tried his skill in lip reading and succeeded. *Where was Merle?*
“She’s…dead.
It was too late when I found her.” Van looked away, hiding the emotion that
shined in his eyes.
“We’d
better talk about this later. We have to leave before we die in this hell.”
He nodded. He didn’t understand though
he felt the need to just agree and think about it later.
The place was a complete mess. Bodies. Debris. Fires.
They were everywhere, scattered across the battlements of the palace. *Why this fate? Why do we deserve to burn to
the ground for the second time?* The pungent air smelled of death, ashes
and smoke. It was no place for the living. The living there would surely join
what lay on their paths. Van opened his closed fist and sought the comfort shed
by the pendant his one love had given him. It glowed a
brilliant red color, reminding him of what it meant.
“Van…”
A deep masculine voice echoed through
the core of his confused mind. Van stopped, listening to the familiar tone he
had once heard in his childhood.
“Van…”
“Van! Look out!” Allen warned him though he didn’t hear.
Van was staring at the ceiling,
looking at the rubble that fell. A cape. A sword. A metal limb. A face. And wings.
“Folken…”
Van brought up his sword, blocking the
blow. The older boy cringed in the force, jumping back to keep away from his
opponent. He straightened, brought down his sword and sighed.
“I
don’t want to fight you, brother.”
“Neither
do I, Van.” a smirk crossed his smooth face, showing
hesitation and denial flow as one.
“But
why did you burn Fanelia? Why destroy it again after
I had rebuilt it in two years? Why forsake your homeland?” his eyes flashed,
bringing back a boyish look on his part.
“I
want Escaflowne.”
“Never.” Van frowned upon seeing what his brother had
meant, his tone dead flat.
“Give
me the legendary guymelef!!!”
Folken
charged him, knocking him back into a stack of burning wood which was once a
door. Van screamed in pain. His back seared hot as the flames burned through
his clothing and skin.
“I
will never give you Escaflowne. Even
if you kill me or everyone else. Even if you destroy everything in your
path, I will never give you Escaflowne.” Van spat
between gritted teeth.
Van rose from the ground. He held out the
pendant that was nestled against his palm. He brought it up within arms’ reach,
letting it dangle over his head. It glowed faintly, illuminating its beauty and
elegance.
“The link to the Goddess of Wings and to Escaflowne.”
Van opened his mouth, dropping the
pendant into his open jaw. He swallowed hard, wincing in pain as the metal
chain slid roughly against his throat. He fell on his knees, coughing out blood
as his body rejected the digestion of such an inedible thing. Folken paled. *Why?*
“NO!!!
You fool!!!” Allen brushed past Folken, rushing to
Van’s side.
Allen cradled the young king in his arms,
wishing to the gods that this was all a dream. Van’s chest rose and fell in
shallow labored breaths.
“Van! Van! Answer me, Van!”
“This
is what is right for me. Merle is dead. My brother never cared about me. Hitomi is happy in another world. I have nothing else to
live for, Allen.” he smiled bitterly as tears flowed from his eyes.
“Live
for Fanelia, Van. Your people are your family. Your friends too.
“I
always feel lonely with you there. I have no one to really care about…” he
coughed out blood, pain gently crossing his face.
“Please,
Van. Don’t talk. You’ll make things worse.”
Folken
walked towards the two insects he wished to crush several years ago. They had
blocked his path to his destiny. They did it once again, removing all
possibilities to fulfill his destiny.
“You maggot! You destroyed my fate!” Folken
cursed, crushing Van’s chest with his booted foot.
“No!
Stop!”
Allen forcefully pushed him away as he
realized that Van was trying to scream in pain. His chest had a visible lump,
the pendant.
“Never
will I give you Escaflowne. Never will I allow you to
get to your fate. Never will I allow you to destroy Gaea!” Van coughed even
harder, more blood flowing from his mouth.
His labored breathing stopped. His
eyes were blank. Allen paled in shock when he saw that Van’s chest rose and
fell no more. Folken grit his teeth though pure
sympathy tightened in his chest. Allen rose, closing Van’s eyes with his own.
He set his body down and glared menacingly at the stunned boy.
He charged him violently, shouting his
battle cry as he went. Folken didn’t seem to resist.
He just fell on his back, willing to take any punishment he was fated to have.
“You bastard. Why did you kill your own brother? Tell me!”
Allen brought up his sword against Folken’s neck.
“Kill
me, Heavenly Knight of Caeli. End all the grief now.”
he closed his eyes, hiding whatever emotion it held.
“No.”
Allen brought his sword down with a
disdainful look.
“I
will leave you to your grief. Let your conscience torment you with what you
have done. You have destroyed your homeland. You have killed your own brother.
You have cursed yourself with your own pain. A tormenting death is what you
deserve.”
He turned around and walked away. Folken stared after him, not knowing what to do. He crawled
over to Van and cradled his body in his arms. *Now I will be with you, my brother. Forgive me for I have not seen what
you wished for. I didn’t fulfill my promise of coming back. Please forgive me. Escaflowne is nothing to me anymore now that I have you…*