Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ When Escaflowne Rescued Trilladen ❯ A Ghost's Tale ( Chapter 24 )

****************************

Chapter 24

***************************

A Ghost's Tale

They were at an impasse that was about to drive Folken out of his mind. He remembered Cerise from his childhood, he remembered that she was difficult and unreasonable then as now.

"Cerise, we have no time to waste for your religious ceremonies right now. We have to get to Palas and talk to the young king!" Folken was almost shouting at her.

"I'm telling you that we need to stay to give my witches that passed on a proper rites burial into the spiritual realm. They could be of use to us in this present crisis, besides, you don't want to go to Palas, there is a scourge upon the whole city that we were fleeing from." Cerise stated stubbornly.

"What scourge? I've heard nothing. We must speak with King Chid." Allen jumped in.

"Something is wrong with the people of the city. They are like the walking dead, zombies, no soul or will of their own." Cerise explained and shuddered.

"That doesn't make sense." Allen was losing his patience.

"I know it doesn't, but I can't explain beyond that what has happened because I don't understand it. I've never seen anything like it. But it was enough to spook an entire coven of witches to leave as spontaneously and as quickly as possible." Cerise didn't back down.

"Mugwa is a serious danger to my country and I must get to the king to warn him." Allen said evenly.

Cerise paused and sensed a deeper meaning in Allen. He became uncomfortable with her penetrating stare, as if she could read into his soul, but he wasn't going to back down either. He feared for King Chid, the Duke of Fried, and acting monarch of Asturia while Drydan and Millerna were absent on a long extended honeymoon. With Dyrdan's track record, they could be floating for many growing seasons on his elaborate air convoy. Allen could never find it in himself to like Drydan, not that he tried much.

"After the rights have been performed, I need to see you alone to discuss your dilemma." Cerise told Allen and then walked away. Allen looked at her as if she were a lunatic.

"Allen, what dilemma is she talking about?" Folken asked.

"I have no idea." Allen answered him.

"Cerise has always been a little eccentric, I'm afraid." Folken volunteered.

"We don't have time for this!" Allen was exasperated.

"Still, she is an experienced necromancer witch. It may prove useful to let her have her way. We don't know what we're walking into." Folken reasoned.

Allen let out a heavy sigh. He was very worried about King Chid. "Then let's get this over with so we can get there finally." Allen said.

Cerise was already gathering her witches into a circle around the dead. The healers respectfully attended the ceremony, but would not join the circle. The witches in their natural weave clothing looked like a group of peasants praying over departed loved ones. The mountainside was steep. The circle of witches and warlocks formed over the precarious slope by men and women of all varying ages, all wearing the same natural weave fiber cloaks. There were twenty who were still alive and twelve who had died. There were only seven healers without Helliese there with them, and they had been lucky, not one of them died from the raid.

Allen felt the hair at the back of his neck stand up. He witnessed it, as did Folken, but Folken looked serene. He had seen this before in his life as a youth. He had gone with Helliese to Asturia when his parents were still alive. The familiar chants and singing brought back of flood of memories that were happy and carefree. He remembered Cerise then and her mother. She was always impossible, beautiful but impossible. A smile tugged the corners of his mouth. She was a good leader as he knew she would be.

Cerise began the chanting. She raised her face to the heavens above and closed her eyes. In a resonating devout voice she first spoke the ancient language from the book of the dead. "Ce mort cumik, duz ing ma ru. Ce mort spirituam ce comra sing. In death we bid you farewell and peaceful journey to the land of spirits in paradise."

The witches repeated her translation and in unison they spoke, holding hands, faces turned to the heavens with eyes closed-yet for some tears fell. Grief laid their hearts heavy.

Cerise suddenly opened her eyes and shot a startling look at Allen who had distanced himself by many paces from the witches. "There are those whose souls must linger as their work is not yet done. Allen Schezar! Come forth and witness!"

Allen wasn't about to move. He got a stubborn look on his face, crossed his arms in front of his chest and shook his head no. Folken stepped in.

"Allen! Do not show such disrespect! She's a witch, don't anger her! Go!" He whispered harshly.

"She gives me the creeps! I don't want to!" Allen looked sullen.

"You have to, she will help!"

"I don't need her help!" Allen stated evenly.

Just then Allen saw a vision of Marlene appear before him. She had tears in her eyes and she looked at him accusingly. Allen broke out in a sweat and could barely breath. He looked distressed and Folken sensed it. He nudged him forward and Allen walked up with stiff legs that did not feel like his own.

Cerise spoke to him in a commanding voice. "There is unfinished business in your heart. You love deeply one who walks the land of the dead. You cannot move forward until you look back. Marlene! She calls you!"

"Marlene! What do you know of Marlene?" He snarled at her. "Do not meddle with her spirit, witch! You'll regret it, I vow!" Allen trembled with rage.

"I cannot save your family if you do not trust me." Cerise stated flatly. "Leave us now. Go back to the fortress with Folken. Because your heart is hardened, I cannot help. Let Marlene soften it with terror." She cursed him and he ran.

Folken was angry with Cerise for tormenting Allen. He'd lost so much: most of his men, his ship, his sister, his wife is near death, Scherazade. He wanted to step in and reason with Cerise, but he knew better than to disturb her. She could be a taunting hellion with her spirits and curses when provoked.

On the horizon of the Chantal mountain range one lone figure shivered in the descending sunlight. Soon it would be dark and Dilandau's tattered gown offered no warmth or comfort. He skulked about the shrubbery trying to avoid being seen. He spotted Allen walking to a ground transport carrier and his heart filled with rage. There he is! I will not fail you my Emporer! I will kill Allen Schezar and give you his head! He scrambled down the slope closer to the carrier when he heard the voice in his mind again. To him it was Dornkirk!

"Dilandau! You must change your appearance Dilandau! Concentrate! His sister, Dilandau, she has blue eyes. See her face in your mind. Change your appearance Dilandau, change your body to Celena!" Dornkirk's raspy old voice reverberated in the dark corners of his mind and terrified him.

"Emporer Dornkirk! How? I'm not a shape shifter. I can't do what dopplegangers do. How?" Dilandau whispered out in the chilling dusk of the day.

"Trust in me, Dilandau. I will set you free. But you must kill Allen to be free forever. You must kill him to be free, Dilandau. He always held you back. Kill Allen!"

Dilandau fell hard to the cold hard ground shaking. He closed his eyes and pictured Celena. A small voice screamed in his mind. "I am Celena! I am not Dilandau!"

No! I am Dilandau! I am the servant of Emporer Dornkirk! I will look like Celena and serve Dornkirk! I am still Dilandau! I always want to be Dilandau! His mind shouted. He released an anguished sob from the mental and emotional torture of being Dilandau in mind and being Celena in body. The sob turned to a wailing of a lost soul that turned into a high pitched scream, the scream of a young woman in distress.

Allen heard. Everyone heard, but it was Allen who reacted. "CELENA! CELENA! I'M COMING! HOLD ON!"

Allen broke out into a dangerous run on rugged terrain. Folken stopped him. "Let me get her! I will get her. Stay here and wait for me." Folken unwrapped his dark heavy velvet cloak and ripped off his waist shirt. His jet-black wings unfurled in a glorious display of chivalry as he quickly took off and flew up the mountain to save Celena.

Celena had fainted. Her body was slumped over a jutting rock and she was close to tumbling over and becoming a human avalanche. He reached just as she began to slide off the rock and gathered her limp body into his arms. He cradled her there as his wings began to majestically flap. They were in the air within moments. While gliding down the mountain Folken looked down to land safely.

Celena opened her eyes quietly and almost gave a start. Strategos! He lives! She shut her eyes and pretended she was still unconscious.

They landed safely by Allen who grabbed hold of her in a fierce hug. He fell to his knees, still holding her. Tears streamed down his face. He loosened his hold and stroked her cheek noticing a long scar down the length of it and wondered how she got it. He lifted himself off of his feet, still holding her and boarded the transit carrier.

The necromancers continued their ceremony into the darkness of night, for the moons did not rise on the red of the 24th until long past the witching hour. Folken stayed close by and remembered the time of his father's death. That was the catalyst that changed his world. How was he to be the kind of man his father was? He would have to try. He tried too young to become king by right of slaying the dragon. Now he tried through redemption. If he could not be the man his father wanted him to be, then he would not permit himself to love Merle. He would leave.

Just before the witching hour, in the pitch of blackness, the witches lit their torches and burned their dead where they lay. Many cried, others stood silently and watched and smelled burning flesh numbly. They had not completely escaped the scourge of Palas. The healers who had stood apart from them now closed in ranks and put comforting arms around the grief-stricken. They all slowly filed into the waiting transit carrier dimly lit by the same torches used to light the bon-fire.

************************

Allen carried his sister all the way back to his quarters. He laid her on the bed and covered her up to sleep. He sat down on the side of the bed and gazed lovingly at his sister. His eyes watered with emotion at the peaceful sight of her. With his forefinger he gently traced the scar on the side of her right cheek and wondered again how she got such an ugly scar.

Sighing he got up and left his rooms in search of a guard. He found the same unfortunate hapless soldier that had been through so much guarding the landing bay, watching women materialize, and his flying master's dark wings as he pirated away his femme fatale. Now Allen placed him in charge of guarding his sister's safety. The soldier saluted nervously and poked himself in the eye. Allen didn't notice. His mind was on his wife.

He entered the sickbay and sat down on the chair next to the bed where his wife slept peacefully. She didn't look like she was in pain anymore. She looked content and comfortable. He studied her beautiful face. He lovingly caressed the gray tendrils of her hair by her right temple and smiled at her.

"I was prepared to die for you, my love. Yet here you are. I wish you would wake up and smile at me or argue even. I don't much care, just so long as I can lose myself in the deep purple of your eyes. I love you." He laid his head down by her side on the mattress and held her right hand, because her left hand still looked very black and bruised. While he settled into sleep, he lightly kissed her forearm.

And then he dreamed of Marlene. She was furious with him. She wailed like a banshee right in his ears. It was loud and piercing and it terrified him awake with a start. His head sprang up quickly, eyes wide open. He was frightened and only half conscious. He glanced down at his princess and her face changed. It shifted, elongated slightly and her hair turned from mostly jet-black to platinum blonde. It grew in lengths and her eyes opened up blue as the azure sky.

"Why don't you love me? Have you forgotten me? Can I be so easily replaced? You don't love me! She has taken you from me! You have broken our promise to love each other forever! Your word means nothing! You are nothing! I kept our promise!" The mean-hearted specter lashed out at him.

"Marlene, don't say that! Of course I still love you. I will always love you. Rest in peace, my love." Allen spoke fervently.

"Allen? Who is Marlene? Allen?! Are you all right? Please Allen." Princess Edwina weakly asked, for he had awakened her.

Yet he didn't see her or hear her. Tormented by his own guilt, the ghost rubbed salt in his old wounds. It spoke again to him. "Say you love me. If you do love me, then prove it. Say you love only me."

"Marlene, I love only you, please believe me. Marlene." Allen whispered hoarsely as tears fell unchecked down his face.

"Allen! Who is Marlene? Who is she? Why are you calling me Marlene? Allen?"
Princess Edwina became frantic, but in her weakened state she could do nothing but look helplessly at the man who was breaking her heart. She cried softly as was he, not understanding that he was trapped in time.

*******************************

Cerise was tired and cranky and in no mood to be sociable to Folken as he walked beside her. She gritted her teeth as he tried to lighten the mood with his friendly bantering.

"I hope you haven't hexed Allen. As a guest on my ship I feel a responsibility to him. I remember the time you cursed me to see ghosts all around me for a day. Let's see, I had to be around eight at the time. A harsh lesson in manners you taught me that day. Please don't do anything like that to any of my passengers or soldiers, will you. You can be amiable at times. I've seen it. Besides Helliese is here and she always took my side over yours so don't push it." He smiled meaningfully at her and walked on.

"Wait a minute! Did you say Helliese is here?! I want to see her now!" Cerise stormed at Folken striding up beside him to keep pace.

"I won't let you see her unless you remove Allen's curse. Do so now, it was mean of you!" Folken smiled as he informed her nonchalantly.

"You can't do that! You can't keep me from her! You may have grown up to be drop dead gorgeous-no pun intended-but you're still a snotty nosed brat I could beat up with my eyes closed!" Cerise goaded him.

He didn't take the bait. "You are older than I, and were bigger too…then. I wouldn't be so threatening now. Besides, this is my ship and I'm captain. In language you can understand, know this. Only the gods have more authority than I do while you are on my ship. Lift the curse, now!" He spoke deliberately with a tight-mouthed grin on his face.

"I don't remember you being a bully, just a push over." She grumbled. "Besides, he's a stuffed shirt that could use a lesson in humility." She lifted up her nose.

"He's been to hell and back for the people he loves. Leave him alone. Or maybe you just aren't compassionate enough. Does being a leader stroke your ego that much?" He looked ahead strode angrily.

"Why you… No it doesn't. Okay, fine, consider the curse lifted! Jerk." She grumbled and walked forlornly and slowly on in the corridor until a grizzly cackling voice hailed her down from behind.

"CERISE! Oh my sweet child! I've missed you so." Helliese waddled as fast as her fat body could sway and her ham-hock legs could gander. The surrogate mother hugged the temperamental surrogate daughter. "What's the matter?

You have heat waves emanating from you. You are angry about something?"

"It's Folken. He's interfering with my work. Allen's a stubborn stuffed shirt who needs to get knocked down a peg or two to be workable. And he needs my help, so I thought to expedite matters with a curse. Folken shouldn't meddle."

Helliese sighed heavily and moaned. "It boggles the mind. How long did it take for you two to start right back up again, bickering like peevish siblings. Besides Folken is right. Allen's been through quite enough. "

"You always take his side! I'm older than he is, I know my calling, and I just want to help! But noooo…it's Folken this and his soul is older than yours, my dear, and Folken has heart so pay attention, or Folken's sensitive and you should be too."

Helliese just rolled her eyes. "Some things just never change. What's the matter with Allen anyway? Why does he need your talents?"

Switching gears immediately Cerise became deeply concerned. "A strong loving presence is trying to enlist his aid. Someone from his past, Marlene, but I don't know what she wants of him, and of course, he thinks I'm creepy."

"Now you know that if he is being tested by someone in the spirit world, he's going to be defensive and sensitive. You should expect that my now, working with the citizens of Palas. It's a common reaction to a unique and disconcerting experience." Helliese reasoned with her.

"He doesn't have time to get a cushy introduction to channeling. This presence is in dire distress and risks eternal peace trying to reach him. The matter is that urgent! He's got to step up to the plate now." Cerise explained.

"All right, dear, I'll see what I can do. He's in the sickbay with his wife right now. I'll talk to him there."

"I'm going with you." Cerise stated determinedly.

When they reached sickbay they saw a sight to see. Allen was crying out to Marlene and Edwina had cried herself to sleep and looked worse for the wear.

"Oh no! What has happened? Cerise didn't you lift the curse?" Helliese was worried. "The princess looks weaker. She must live if we are to defeat Mugwa."

"Mugwa? Who is that?" Cerise was confused.

"I'll fill you in later, we have to fix this now." Helliese ordered.

"Right." Cerise dropped to the floor cross-legged and began meditation to contact the spiritual realm. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and then her chin fell to her chest. She was there.

"Who are you?" Helliese asked.

Two voices merged into one throat box. The eerie sound was raspy and deep. "I am Marlene."

"Why do you seek Allen?" Helliese probed.

"Only Allen can save our son now. He's in grave danger and must protect the seal of Atlantis."

"Release Allen from his torment and reason with him." Helliese suggested.

"I do not torment him. He torments himself. Every time I try to reach him becomes more painful for him."

"How can we bring him back to us to help your son?" Helliese asked.

"The queen and the dragon have wondered the land of the dead together. They can bring him back." The voices intoned.

"I will bring them to you." Helliese rushed out of sickbay in search of Van and Hitomi.

She found Gaddes and Yukari strolling hand in hand together. "Please, we must hurry. Bring Van and Hitomi to sickbay immediately. They are needed right now." Hellliese looked distressed as she implored the young couple.

They ran off to fetch the royal couple and Helliese went back to sickbay to keep company with a ghost.

Within moments they arrived with Gaddes and Yukari. "Helliese what is wrong?" Van asked.

"Hush, child, not so loud." Helliese shushed the king.

Hitomi was in a trance almost from the moment she entered the room. Van looked at his wife and the ethereal vision she had become and grew scared. "What have you done to Hitomi?" He demanded harshly.

The voices responded to him. "She wonders the land of the dead. Go with her and protect her. She has many enemies. I cannot protect her and she's frightened."

A terrifying loud scream escaped Hitomi's lips and Yukari ran to her as she fainted. Yukari put Hitomi's head in her lap and began to cry. Gaddes sat on the floor next to her and held her shoulders and head to comfort Yukari while Hitomi lay unconscious in Yukari's lap.

"Hitomi! I'm here! Hitomi, you're not alone. I'm here. Hear me. Hitomi!" Yukari began to cry she was so frightened. "Help her! You've got to do something!"

Helliese whispered, "If she finds Allen, he may have enough presence of mind to protect her. I think he would anyway, even if he doesn't recognize her. Van, you must walk the land of the dead."

"How? I have no talents or gifts. I don't know how to." Van cried out. He bent down and close to his love and took hold of her hands.

"If you don't, she will die. She needs protection to walk the land of the dead. She will die, Van, and so will your baby."

"NO! I CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN!" Van's world began to spin. His head felt hot and he got dizzy. Blackness seeped into his mind and he fainted.

Helliese was frantic. "Marlene! Does Van walk with you? Is Van there?"

"He's here but he hasn't found Hitomi. He can't hear her crying out to him. His fears are blocking his spirit's strength. He will not persevere." The voices were sad.

"Van! Courage Van!" Helliese shouted into thin air.

Van was huddled at the base of the trunk of the tree of life. It's mammoth branches spanned out like a canopy of green clouds. He was rocking back and forth, crying. "I can't lose my baby, I can't lose you Hitomi. I can't live without you."

"VAN, COURAGE, VAN!" Helliese's voice penetrated.

Van looked up and cried out for Hitomi. "HITOMI!"

"Van, remember her words, Van." A sweet serene voice penetrated his mind.

"Mother? I can't find her!"

"Remember her words Van. What did she say to you?"

"She said, ' This world could pass away, and the heavens fall from our mind and I would still be with you."

"Then search for her with your heart, Van. Find her now." His mother's voice faded.

Breathing deeply to calm himself, he opened his eyes to see to look for her. "No with my heart, I must find her with how I feel. I must have faith in our love." Van reminded himself.

The tree of life fell away and Van was surrounded by mist. His feet rested on the storming canvas of clouds hovering over the vast waters of violence. His heart swelled with love for his family and his bosom could not contain the spirit of faith that grew within his breast. The thundering clouds could not cover Hitomi's screaming. She was being attacked.

"Hitomi! Hold on! I'm coming!" Van spoke out softly, yet his voice carried and echoed through the storm.

He floated closer and closer to her voice, her crying and screaming. And then he saw her. She was crouched underneath a horrible guymelef that was constructed out of human bones. It rattled and shook, threatening to topple over her. A claw reached down to grab her to squeeze her spirit dry. She screamed in anguish and mortal fear for her soul.

Van unfurled his white angelic wings and flew to her, and scooped her into his arms. The claw missed them both and vanished. He flew on until he saw an island in the eye of the storm. There he saw a beach to land on. Flying swift and sure he landed with his lady on sand. She refused to stop hugging him.

"We have to find Allen, but I'M SO SCARED!" Hitomi cried into his shoulders.

"Hitomi. I am not afraid. Do you hear me? I am not afraid. I have faith in our love. We will find Allen and bring him back. We will look together. If we are together we will be safe." Van soothed her soul.

In the distance Van and Hitomi heard Allen's anguished cries. "MARLENE! I'M HERE! MARLENE! I'M SO SORRY!" His voice was racked by sobs.

"Van, he's close by, I can sense him." Hitomi said.

"Let's bring him back." Van said. "ALLEN! CAN YOU HEAR US?"

Hitomi joined in! "ALLEN! It's me and Van is here too. ALLEN FOLLOW OUR VOICES!"

Allen stopped crying and looked up. He was kneeling in water and sand. His face was stricken with guilt and shame. He saw his friends and cried again. "I failed her, Van. I failed Marlene. She doesn't believe that I loved her. I have a wife now and she feels betrayed. I didn't betray her. I will always love her and our son. I will never forget." Allen began to cry and rock back and forth.

Hitomi walked over to him and put her arms around his shoulders. "No Allen. That's not it. She loved you, but she fell in love with the Duke. He became her life. She would want you to be happy. She wouldn't want you to lock away your heart and stop living. Think about it. She built a new life with the Duke and Chid. The Duke protected her honor and loved her and she loved him for it. She does not feel betrayed. You fear you have done so by marrying Princess Edwina, but she would be glad for you. " Hitomi reasoned with his anguished soul.

"Think about Marlene. Who was she really? Would she want to hurt you, or would she want you to know the joy of love in your life, the kind of love she had with the Duke?" Hitomi continued. "You must not feel guilty about love. It's love that's a true gift from the gods. Love makes your spirit grow and mature and become eternal. She would want that for you, as you did her, Allen. Love is always a gift. If you have love your soul will grow in strength and faith. The gods are love and the power of the stars cannot compete with the power of love, for the gods made the stars themselves."

"Allen come back with us. Marlene will talk to you if you come back with us." Van said.

Allen nodded his head and stood up on the beach. He took Van's hand and then he took Hitomi's with his other hand. A bright light surrounded them and it grew in intensity. They were washed in its cleansing illumination. A line of understanding dawned on them as they disappeared into the light.

"They're coming back! Quickly, wrap blankets around them. Cerise will be too weak soon to pass on Marlene's message to Allen. We must hurry! Gaddes, breathe into Hitomi's lungs for her. Lay her out on the floor and make her catch her breath! Yukari, do the same for Van!"

Allen was slumped over the unconscious form of his wife. He was gray and pale. Helliese grabbed Allen and brought his torso upright. She breathed in deep and pressed her mouth against his filling his lungs. He jerked suddenly and coughed. His eyes opened to see the ugliest woman in the world kissing him, and he thought he died and went to hell.

He fell to the floor. "What are you trying to do to me, old woman?" He coughed some more and tried to sit up.

"Trying to save your ungrateful hide." She snapped at him.

The two voices spoke to him softly, weakly. "Allen, our son is in danger. His mind is trapped. His will is imprisoned by the beast. You must save him. Mugwa's spell casts a dark shadow over all of Palas. He holds Chid prisoner there. Rescue our son or he dies tonight. He cannot die and give up the secrets of the seal! Go to him. Save Chid…" At that Cerise fainted. She was exhausted and frail from the tremendous exertion. She slept on the floor where her head hit.

For the first time Allen understood why Marlene was trying to reach him. A determination born of desperation formed a hard ball in the pit of his stomach. "Where's Folken? I must speak with him." He stood up on two shaking legs and walked with purpose to the door.

Yukari helped Van sit up and Hitomi was rubbing her head from the pounding throb in her temples. Both were too disoriented to have the presence of mind to follow Allen. Allen walked out the door in search of Folken.

At the bridge he found him. Merle was standing close to him as he studied a map. Allen walked up to him and Folken looked at him. His face immediately registered concern.

"By the gods you look nearly dead, Allen. Are you all right?" Folken inquired of him.

"Marlene, I talked to Marlene. She said King Chid is in danger and I must save him. With a plague in the heart of Palas I cannot think that going by land is feasible. I need to use one of your cloaking guymelefs to get to my son."

Folken's eyes widened at this news and the revelation behind it. Merle looked stunned too. She stepped closer to Folken and put her hand around his arm of flesh. She looked up at him and he looked down at her. As if a silent communication passed between them he nodded to her and kissed her forehead.

"I'm coming with you my friend to watch your back." Folken informed him.

"Thank you, Folken."