[tenkuu no escaflowne] Beginnings
Title: Beginnings
Series: Tenkuu no Escaflowne
Word Count: 777
Rating: G
Author's Notes: Post-series fic, so spoilers are likely. This is possibly the beginning of a series which will eventually include a plot, but for now, I am stuck in drabble-mode I think.
This is how it would begin.
Sometimes Hitomi thought it was all a dream.
She'd never told anyone about Gaea once she'd come back, had remembered the reactions of Amano and Yukari and their disbelief over her first disappearance.
She wished she could tell her mother; after seeing the way Kanzaki Sumi had reacted to Yuri's stories, she couldn't.
Hitomi could not face that disbelief from her mother.
It was real. Her story, my story. We loved, and were loved, there.
This is the foundation.
In her dreams, Hitomi talked to Van. She had been worried once, about the flow of time - had not weeks passed on Gaea while minutes or hours had passed on Earth?
Perhaps it was her worries about time, that forced her wish to come true. She talked to Van, spoke to him, ensured that time would now flow concurrently between the two worlds. Her two worlds.
All she wished, in those dreams, was that she could hold Van. But every time they tried, the dream would fade as though she was coming out of a fog, and Hitomi would wake, an ache in her heart.
Still, she remembered the lesson that came at the end of the war.
You, girl, have the power to change the fate of the world.
This is how the first steps were taken.
They never discussed it, but Hitomi knew that the reunion was approaching.
Without conversation, they had come to an agreement: he would come, when they were ready.
Readiness differed for both of them: for Hitomi, it involved graduating, and gradually, gathering the mementos that would survive on Gaea, that she could cherish.
A family album, pictures of Yukari and Amano, her grandmother's tarot cards, and her baby blanket to someday hold her child in.
For Van, readiness surrounded Fanelia, rebuilding it, making it strong, a place that would entice Hitomi to stay forever.
There was one thing that barred this path: Hitomi had promised to witness Yukari's wedding.
How fortuitous that weeks before their graduations, Amano had finally proposed successfully. A week after the ceremonies, Hitomi's best friends were wed.
When she'd said 'thank you,' they'd smiled and said 'you're welcome,' not knowing why. They would learn shortly after.
This is how the journey begins.
It would be the last dream they would share together, and yet apart.
Not a word was spoken, and as they stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking Fanelia, Hitomi turned to Van, and smiled.
And then she kissed him on the cheek, and the dream faded like the fog for both of them.
When Van woke up, he quietly left the newly-built palace, making sure to leave a note for Merle, and touching the pendant hanging around the neck.
And so he wished. And so, came the beam of light.
This is the last time I'll make this journey alone.
This is how they were reunited.
She was waiting for him as the light disippated. For a moment, they stood, drinking in the appearance, the presence, the physical being of the other person.
And suddenly, she was in his arms.
Moments later, a neighbour, having missed the beam of light, would spy the eldest Kanzaki child bringing a strange man into her house, setting off a chain of gossip.
It wasn't gossip if everything was true.
This is how they came to believe.
It only took a few hours. With Hitomi's family present, with Amano and Yukari (Van's face at meeting Allen's twin had been amusing for the second it existed - he'd learned to mask his expressions quickly as King, much to Hitomi's chagrin) present, the tale began.
They could not refute it. Where else had this boy (this man, Hitomi corrected) come from, with a sword and scabbard, Hitomi's pendant that Sumi had not seen for years, and with an air of self-assurance and power that no one could deny?
There had been tears, and perhaps a bit of disbelief, but all present followed Van and Hitomi back to the open space of the yard, and watched as she placed the bag securely on her back, before hugging and kissing her family (on Earth) goodbye and turning towards Van.
To their surprise, he wrapped his arms securely around her. To the their shock, the air was suddenly filled feathers the colour of fresh snow, and a beam of light lit the area, long darkened in the evening.
And then, with one last smile, Van and Hitomi were gone.
We are together, loved.
This is how they would go on.
"My baby girl... she's gone."
"It will be okay. She's where she's meant to be."
Comments are greatly appreciated!
Series: Tenkuu no Escaflowne
Word Count: 777
Rating: G
Author's Notes: Post-series fic, so spoilers are likely. This is possibly the beginning of a series which will eventually include a plot, but for now, I am stuck in drabble-mode I think.
This is how it would begin.
Sometimes Hitomi thought it was all a dream.
She'd never told anyone about Gaea once she'd come back, had remembered the reactions of Amano and Yukari and their disbelief over her first disappearance.
She wished she could tell her mother; after seeing the way Kanzaki Sumi had reacted to Yuri's stories, she couldn't.
Hitomi could not face that disbelief from her mother.
It was real. Her story, my story. We loved, and were loved, there.
This is the foundation.
In her dreams, Hitomi talked to Van. She had been worried once, about the flow of time - had not weeks passed on Gaea while minutes or hours had passed on Earth?
Perhaps it was her worries about time, that forced her wish to come true. She talked to Van, spoke to him, ensured that time would now flow concurrently between the two worlds. Her two worlds.
All she wished, in those dreams, was that she could hold Van. But every time they tried, the dream would fade as though she was coming out of a fog, and Hitomi would wake, an ache in her heart.
Still, she remembered the lesson that came at the end of the war.
You, girl, have the power to change the fate of the world.
This is how the first steps were taken.
They never discussed it, but Hitomi knew that the reunion was approaching.
Without conversation, they had come to an agreement: he would come, when they were ready.
Readiness differed for both of them: for Hitomi, it involved graduating, and gradually, gathering the mementos that would survive on Gaea, that she could cherish.
A family album, pictures of Yukari and Amano, her grandmother's tarot cards, and her baby blanket to someday hold her child in.
For Van, readiness surrounded Fanelia, rebuilding it, making it strong, a place that would entice Hitomi to stay forever.
There was one thing that barred this path: Hitomi had promised to witness Yukari's wedding.
How fortuitous that weeks before their graduations, Amano had finally proposed successfully. A week after the ceremonies, Hitomi's best friends were wed.
When she'd said 'thank you,' they'd smiled and said 'you're welcome,' not knowing why. They would learn shortly after.
This is how the journey begins.
It would be the last dream they would share together, and yet apart.
Not a word was spoken, and as they stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking Fanelia, Hitomi turned to Van, and smiled.
And then she kissed him on the cheek, and the dream faded like the fog for both of them.
When Van woke up, he quietly left the newly-built palace, making sure to leave a note for Merle, and touching the pendant hanging around the neck.
And so he wished. And so, came the beam of light.
This is the last time I'll make this journey alone.
This is how they were reunited.
She was waiting for him as the light disippated. For a moment, they stood, drinking in the appearance, the presence, the physical being of the other person.
And suddenly, she was in his arms.
Moments later, a neighbour, having missed the beam of light, would spy the eldest Kanzaki child bringing a strange man into her house, setting off a chain of gossip.
It wasn't gossip if everything was true.
This is how they came to believe.
It only took a few hours. With Hitomi's family present, with Amano and Yukari (Van's face at meeting Allen's twin had been amusing for the second it existed - he'd learned to mask his expressions quickly as King, much to Hitomi's chagrin) present, the tale began.
They could not refute it. Where else had this boy (this man, Hitomi corrected) come from, with a sword and scabbard, Hitomi's pendant that Sumi had not seen for years, and with an air of self-assurance and power that no one could deny?
There had been tears, and perhaps a bit of disbelief, but all present followed Van and Hitomi back to the open space of the yard, and watched as she placed the bag securely on her back, before hugging and kissing her family (on Earth) goodbye and turning towards Van.
To their surprise, he wrapped his arms securely around her. To the their shock, the air was suddenly filled feathers the colour of fresh snow, and a beam of light lit the area, long darkened in the evening.
And then, with one last smile, Van and Hitomi were gone.
We are together, loved.
This is how they would go on.
"My baby girl... she's gone."
"It will be okay. She's where she's meant to be."
Comments are greatly appreciated!