Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Asturia: Love and Duty ❯ ch 5 ( Chapter 5 )

This is the chapter that we have enjoyed writing the most so far. The background song in this chapter is hS's FAVORITE out of the entire soundtrack set. It's quite pretty and we don't know why they didn't use it in the series. Hope you enjoy!

By the way, we still do not own Escaflowne (and if you did not know that before, you have serious problems)

Ron and his Sakura

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Shortly after dawn on Market Day, Eries Aston made her way out a side gate of the palace and started down the route that took her to the cemetery.She was strolling at a smart pace, reveling in the sunshine above, and the freedom of being in a commoner's clothes, with her portfolio tucked securely in her skirt pocket.

It was a relief for her to get out of the palace that late spring morning. The afternoon before, Meiden and a few other members of her father's Council had unexpectedly brought up the subject of Eries' current unmarried status. Becoming the Crown Princess had completely changed Eries' marriage prospects. Before , it was inevitable that she be married to a foreigner to better Asturia's relations abroad. However, as Crown Princess, she now was required to marry an Asturian, according to royal custom. The rationale was supposedly that an Asturian consort would have more of a stake in Asturian interests and support the reigning monarch accordingly. The advisers, especially Meiden, wanted to discuss the possibility of betrothing Eries to Dryden.

Eries had been disgusted with them. Millerna had been dead for barely half a year, and they were talking about putting on a joyous event. And to her deceased sister's fiancee no less. On the other hand, King Aston , who had also been part of the discussion, had started weeping uncontrollably at the mention of the words "wedding" and "Dryden." Discussions of anything related to Millerna would occasionally result in something akin to an emotional meltdown. She had spent the rest of that afternoon and part of the evening performing damage control (i.e., trying to calm her father).Eries did not know if it was old age or his illness, but her father was not the vigorous ruler he had once been.

For the thousandth time, Eries wished that caring for King Aston was a task she could delegate to Charity or Reina. Although she did feel sorry for him ,she did not have any warm feelings towards her father and cared for him mainly out of filial duty. King Aston had been so preoccupied with ruling the kingdom and other business matters that Eries rarely saw him outside of royal functions when she was growing up. King Aston only started showing interest in his daughter's upbringing after Queen Therese had died. Even then, Millerna claimed the lion's share of his attention. Marlene and Eries already had well-developed and distinct personalities by that point, personalities which sometimes perplexed and bewildered their father. Millerna at least was still at an age where he could influence her nature.

As far as Eries was concerned, her true family consisted of her mother, her sisters, and her Uncle Nueva and his family. They were the only ones with whom she could let down her guard and who truly understood her situations and needs. Eries sometimes wondered at the hand that had been dealt to her. Of her family, those she cared about the most had been taken from her one by one. When Eries was seven, her mother had died. A few years later, when Eries was 12, her Aunt Miriam had died due to complications from a miscarriage. A few months after that, her cousin Lavender had been thrown from a horse and had died from the injuries. When Eries was 14, her cousin Indigo had died after a long bout with pneumonia. The following year, Marlene had been married off to Duke Freid. Her Uncle Nueva was killed in a hunting accident about a year after Marlene died. That left Eries with only Millerna until years later she took Serena under her wing. Still, it wasn't quite the same with the younger girls. Her cousins and Marlene had been peers; her mother, aunt, and uncle had been mentors and protectors. Marlene and Eries had raised Millerna after their mother's death so that Eries' feelings toward Millerna were a mix of maternal and sisterly ones. Similar were her feelings toward Serena, who had required so much attention after her unprecedented transformation. But both of them had now passed on. The result was that Eries' entire family resided in the cemetery she was en route to visit, and the only one remaining with her was the one she cared for the least, her father.

As Eries walked, her mind kept on drifting back to the previous afternoon's discussion topic: a possible betrothal to Dryden. She was becoming increasingly annoyed with herself. She was getting out to relax, perhaps sketch or write a letter. She had canceled all of her appointments that day so that she could think about anything and everything BUT that discussion. And now her train of thought simply was not cooperating...

It was not that she disliked Dryden. She respected him and he was one of the very few she considered a close friend. As they were of the same age and his father was a royal adviser, Dryden had been tutored with Eries, Marlene, and their cousins in a number of subjects while they were children. Consequently, he was quite familiar with Eries and her family. He had even given Eries her childhood nickname.

It was because of this familiarity , however, that Eries knew the match would be miserable for the two of them. He was a dreamer; she was pragmatic. He embraced the unconventional; she held firmly to the footsteps of tradition. But more than that, Eries knew that behind Dryden's cool mercenary mercantile exterior, Dryden was a sensitive man whose emotions ran deep. Marriage was not simply a political or power tool for him. With Millerna he had loved deeply, and when he lost her, he had mourned deeply. His pain would heal eventually, she thought, but until then, it was best for all parties involved to leave him alone.

Eries' other objection to the match was highly personal: she did not want to have to compete with her sister's ghost. She had been resigned to the fact that she would probably marry a stranger from another country and that love would not immediately be a part of the package. But she had hoped that with time and mutual respect, love would eventually come. It had for Marlene. Eries had been willing to make the best of that situation.

But she was now faced with the prospect of a husband who she knew had been in love with someone else. Someone that she had known intimately. Someone to whom she had routinely been unfavorably compared. Someone she had even envied in a number of respects. She was not sure if she could disarm all of her emotional bombshells to turn the marriage into a pure political move. She knew what her duty to Asturia was. More than anyone else, she realized that there was no one left of her father's line except for herself and Prince Sid, whose responsibilities and loyalties lay in Freid. Marrying and producing an heir was critical to ensuring the stability of Asturia. But she fervently felt that there had to be a better way than this particular match.

As Eries turned off from the main paved avenues to take the shady, tree-lined gravel path that would take her to the cemetery, she was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she did not realize that there was someone else on the path until she collided with him.

"Oh! Please pardon me! I wasn't watching where I was going," she apologized. She composed herself as quickly as she could, though she could feel the color rise in her cheeks.

"That's quite all right, miss."

He was tall and lean and spoke with a rustic accent. He was wearing waterproof boots, dark striped trousers, a homespun shirt, short woolen jacket, and a slightly stained but brightly colored neckerchief. A few errant strands of blond hair peeked out from under his woolen sailor's cap, the brim of which was pulled low over his eyes. A canvas bag was slung over one shoulder. A short layer of dark blond stubble covered his face. From his accent and dress, Eries surmised that he was probably a young sailor or fisherman, although she found it odd that he was at that particular location. It was rare to find many people at this part of town so far from the marketplace on Market Day.

He smiled pleasantly at Eries and asked her if she would be so kind as to show him how to get to the piers as he had lost his way.

Ah. So that was it. He was probably from one of the outlying villages and was unfamiliar with Palas. Eries turned and, pointing in the direction that he should go, described the route that would take him to the piers. As she did so, she mentally reminded herself to drop her usual, formal speech and imitate the coarser language of the palace scullery maids and stable hands.

The stranger listened intently to Eries' directions and when she had finished, he smiled at her again. He tipped his cap even further down his face as he made a short bow at the waist. "Thank you kindly,--

--miss."

As he straightened, he pushed his cap back. His eyes, which had previously been obscured by his hat, twinkled mischievously at Eries. Those blue eyes...Eries only knew of one person in Asturia with eyes like that. "Allen--!?"

"At your service, Princess Eries," replied Allen in his everyday Caeli voice.

Eries was taken aback. His disguise had fooled her completely. He even SMELLED like fish. She was not sure if she should burst out laughing at the joke he had just played on her or if she should gape in bewilderment as his disguise. She opted for the latter.

"Allen, just what are you doing?!"

"I could ask the same of you, Princess Eries."

Eries found her confusion increasing at his reply. What did he mean by that?

Serious now, Allen continued. "I know where you're going, and I know why. But to be completely honest, I don't think that it is healthy for you to be spending so much time in such a place. I'm sure if Serena were alive, she would be scolding BOTH of us for hovering around her grave so much instead of going out and truly living. I realize that you have to be careful about your actions. But there are other means. Today I was hoping you might allow me to show you another way. This disguise," he said, indicating his fisherman's garb, "is a part of it, at least for a little while. I was fairly certain you would be appropriately dressed for the occasion."

Allen was right regarding that last statement. Almost as if to complement Allen's ensemble, Eries was dressed in a blue woolen skirt, linen blouse with a plain laced bodice, and a light brown cloak. She wore no jewelry and her hair was plaited, coiled, and pinned neatly into a bun beneath her calico bonnet. Eries was slightly irked at herself for becoming so predictable in Allen's eyes. But she was touched that he had taken notice.

Eries was also intrigued, "What do you have in mind?"

Smiling mysteriously, he said, "You will see." A skeptical look crossed Eries' face, and he added, "but I swear no ill of any sort will come from it. I hope you will trust me." With that, he held out his hand to her.

Eries stared at his outstretched hand. She was truly touched by his concern. But she felt she should decline his offer. It was not that she did not want to go. Part of her wanted to take his hand and go running off on whatever adventure he had planned. Nor was it that she did not trust him. He could have exposed her faults long before this, but he never had. The Allen Schezar she knew him to be was considerate, trustworthy, and never acted rashly. Whatever he had planned, she knew she would not be put into a compromising situation. Still, her old inhibitions, long since ingrained into her habits, held her back. She opened her mouth to decline.

"Please."

Eries hesitated. There was something about the way he said that word. She shifted her gaze from his hand to his eyes. They seemed to be pleading gently with her. Something told her that this might be as much for him as it was for her.

~Go~

Eries blinked. There it was, clear as a bell. That voice of guidance, that some call intuition. Though her mind was racing with what-ifs, for some reason, her heart was calm.

~It will be all right. Trust him.~

[Lover's only, Track 18,"Windy Day (Kaze ga Fuku Hi)"]

Suddenly bashful, Eries slowly reached out and tentatively took Allen's hand. When her hand touched his, all the doubts in her mind fled, leaving her with a sense of shy anticipation. Allen drew her to his side, tucking her arm into his. He gave her an encouraging look, and said softly, "You won't regret this, I promise."

As Allen led Eries to their unknown destination, Eries felt no guilt, no worries, no apprehension. Strange, she thought. But she resolved not to dwell on that. After all, she had set aside the day for herself-it was just a convenient twist of fate that Allen had something in store for her as well. So for the moment, her father, Dryden, the Council-none of that existed.

She gradually became aware of the fact that Allen was whistling. She did not know if he was doing it to look his part or to relax her. At any rate, it brightened her mood even more. She recognized the tune. An old Asturian song. Not the most well-known, but Serena had loved it and sang it often. Eries found herself singing the words, and in a few seconds, Allen's whistling was replaced by his voice.

Kirei na aoi umi wo aruite

Muimi na koto bakari nayamu kurikaeshi ni ki ga tsuku

Nurui kaze fuku hi niwa kinou ga

Hidoku mabushiku miete

Kanashiku kirameitete demo

(Walking by the beautiful blue sea

I realise that what I'm worrying about is really meaningless

In this day the lukewarm wind is blowing,

I can see I've been terribly dazzled

There's a glimmer in the sadness, but)

Doushitara jibun no koto wo daisuki ni nareru n darou nante

Motto motto jibun no koto wo daisuki ni nareru nara

(How could you do a thing like falling in love with me?

More and more, falling in love with me...)

Mita koto mo nai asa ya kiita koto nai uta

Atta koto nai jibun ni aeru kamo shirenai

(The morning I couldn't even see that, and the song I couldn't hear

The self I haven't met, perhaps I can meet)

(Authors note: the source of these lyrics are at http:ds.dial.pipex.com.asbel)

The result was less than harmonious. Allen's voice was middling, but Ereis could barely carry a tune under the best circumstances.They ended the first chorus with a large measure of dissonance.

"Oy!" exclaimed Allen, clamping his hands over his ears. "It's a good thing your livelihood depends on what you say and not how well you can hold a note, or else you'd probably starve."

Eries made a face at him. "Well it's not as if you're a Corello Banta either." (a well known Asturian singer at the time -we made that up)

"But that sounded worse than the time Alexandra's grandchildren tried to give Oski a haircut…"

They bantered on good-humoredly like that, back and forth. Soon, they had crossed two canals and were on the outskirts of the marketplace. They blended right into the crowds. Out of habit, Eries surreptitiously checked around them to see if they were attracting any special attention.She sensed,rather than saw, that Allen was doing the same. As far as she could tell, they were not, and Allen seemed satisfied with his survey as well. To all those around them, they were nothing more than a fisherman and his wife visiting the marketplace.

Eries had thought that their final destination lay within the marketplace, but Allen took her through the edges of that activity and was leading her toward the water. They passed barges being unloaded, fishermen hurrying to get their wares to market, tourists boarding sightseeing vessels, and the occasional gondalier dropping off a passenger before returning up the canals. Finally, Allen led Eries down one pier where a number of small wooden boats were tied off. He stopped before one with the name "Caprice" painted on the bow. It was a rather ordinary skiff with room to fit four people. It had a plain canvas sail and a set of oars, which were currently placed neatly within brackets on the sides of the boat. It was the sort of vessel peasants would use to visit neighboring villages or fish for sport.

He placed his bag into it. Producing a key , which had been hanging on a string around his neck, he unlocked the chain securing the boat to the pier. He then stepped into the vessel and set about readying it to set sail.

Eries was speechless. Surely Allen was not expecting them to hop into that thing and set off? Allen, not receiving any response from Eries, looked up at her, Her reaction must have been plain on her face. " What?" he asked.

" You can't be serious," she said, indicating the skiff.

"Why not?"

"Let's put it this way. If you were defending my life by sword or guymelef, or if you were navigating the Crusade, I'd have all the confidence in the world in you. But don't you think you're just a LITTLE out of your element here?"

Allen smiled and held out a hand to invite her into the craft. " I have many talents."

Eries held back for a second, and then took his hand. Might as well, she'd gone this far. But this was extremely uncharacteristic behaviour for her, she thought as Allen guided the small craft out of dock and into open waters.

"You'd better know what you're doing there."

"Trust me."

Eries need not have worried. It soon became apparent that Allen was more than an adequate sailor [AN: Remember Eps 3, Allen is introduced on a small boat]

Eries' attention quickly shifted from supervising Allen's nautical abilities to the view around them. The late morning sun shone in a cloudless sky. Gentle breezes played across the water. In short, a beautiful day for sailing.

"Caprice," thought Eries, remembering the name of their vessel. This certainly was one for her. At any rate, she was there and she was going to enjoy it, she decided as a flock of terns flew overhead.

Eries had been out in the bay before. However, she had been royally observing military exercises or ceremonies or entertaining a dignitary. This was the first time she was in such a small craft. The first time she could feel the spray around her. The first time she could truly feel the inundations of the water, which had been dampened by the larger royal vessels she usually boarded. As Eries admired the blue waters around them, a dolphin shot out of the water, arced, and splashed back into the sea. Eries gasped in surprise. A school of dolphins was passing by their boat. She watched in delight as they gamboled and played in the waves. As they surfaced, they clicked and whistled, and Allen whistled back.

"Show off!" she scolded goodnaturedly.

"Who me?"

**********

About a half hour later, they were at the mouth of the bay, near the huge monument to Chrysotile, the sea serpent symbol of Asturia. Allen, balanced on the edge of the boat, was taking down the sail so that they could enjoy the magnificent view from that vantage.

He glanced at Eries. She was gazing in rapt silence at the city laid out like a jewel before them.

"Well?" he demanded playfully.

Eries snapped out of her reverie."Well what?"

"I seem to recall someone on this boat making a comment. Something about me `being out of my element."

Eries blushed. She disliked being wrong, especially about people she thought she knew well. Allen apparently wanted to needle her by having the full satisfaction of proving her wrong.

Well, she owed him that much. In her haughtiest royal tone, she declared, "Sir Knight Caeli, I fear I have greatly underestimated your nautical skills. Your capabilities are passing fair, and I pray you accept my deepfelt humble apologies."

Eyes twinkling, Allen responded in kind, "Apology accepted, dear lady. I am ever at your service." Nimbly keeping his perch on the edge of the boat, he bowed elegantly with a flourish-and a self-satisfied grin.

Eries was just thinking that Allen looked a little TOO smug when the boat suddenly lurched. A small convoy of military ships was passing by and churning up the water in its wake. The waves were not huge, but they were enough.

The boat dipped downward. Allen was caught off balance. He reached out to grab the cross bar of the sail as the boat rose up, and he grabbed-AIR. Allen was launched upward and landed in the water with a large splash.

"Allen--?!"

Eries' alarm was quickly replaced by mirth. Allen surfaced almost immediately, sputtering as he did so. His cap had flown off in mid-flight and his hair was in a soggy disarray about his face. Between that and the startled expression on his face just before he became airborne, Eries just could not control herself.

Eries laughed. A full-on belly laugh. Not very lady-like, but then again she was in a boat in the middle of the bay, away from prying eyes. She laughed so hard it was difficult to breathe. She could feel her eyes watering over.

Ego completely deflated, Allen wiped the hair out of his face and eyed the gasping, laughing princess with a slightly annoyed look. After retrieving his hat, he swam back to the boat. Suddenly, Allen grinned mischievously and pulled at the edge of the boat as if to tip Eries out as well. Eries shrieked and quickly threw her weight to counter his prank. Still laughing, she managed to squeak out, " Hey stop that!!"

Allen let go and chuckled. He had only been joking and both of them knew it.

With some effort, they managed to get Allen back into the boat. Allen ruefully regarded his drenched condition.

"I don't suppose you have any extra clothes in that bag you brought?"

"I wish. No, that's just lunch," replied Allen as he yanked off his boots and emptied their contents overboard, eliciting a fresh round of giggles from Eries. "I wasn't exactly anticipating something like that to happen."

"Neither was I, " replied Eries, eyes shining.

The crossbar of the sail progressively began to resemble a clothesline as Allen tugged off his wet clothes and hung them up to dry.

"You're lucky it's so warm today, Allen. Here, you can use this to dry off with." Eries pulled off her cloak and offered it to Allen, who accepted it gratefully. At that point, Allen was barefoot and had stripped down to an undershirt and trousers. He turned so that his back was facing Eries and began tugging off his undershirt.

Eries quickly averted her eyes. She had steeled herself long ago against Allen's physical charms. However, at the moment they were

Alone and

in relatively close quarters with no where to go

AND

Allen was about to be naked from the waist up.

All that combined might even overwhelm her well-trained sensibilities. If she let herself look, she had a feeling she would wind up staring at him like some star-struck teenager.

She diverted her gaze to the horizon and her attention to her hair, which was escaping from its bun. She took off her bonnet, unpinned her hair, and unwound the braid. As she freed the last strands, the sea breeze picked up, blowing her hair gently behind her. It smelled and felt wonderful. Arching her back, Eries stretched out her arms and leaned into the wind with her hair streaming behind her. She took several deep breaths and relaxed. Between her unrestrained laughter earlier and the invigorating breeze, she felt quite renewed and happy.

She grasped her hair to gather it over her shoulder so that she could rebraid it and turned-

--to find Allen staring at her.

With her cloak now wrapped around him, Allen was looking fixedly at Eries with the oddest expression on his face. One Eries could not quite decipher. She never had anyone look at her like that before.

"Is something wrong?" she asked nervously, trying not to blush.

It was Allen's turn to be embarrassed. He dropped his gaze. "It's just that I've never seen you like that before-so relaxed and free, I mean. It's good to see. I wish I could see more of that side to you…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to embarrass you.

"No, it's alright. Actually I should thank you. You were right about me-spending too much time at the cemetery. And it's been ages since I've had so much fun. I guess part of it is that I was taught that it was only proper to participate in these sorts of indulgences with family. Unfortunately, the only family I have left are father and Sid.I suppose Sid is the only family you've left as well."

Allen started. Eries had not meant to say that last sentence, but now it was out and couldn't be taken back. He did not say anything but his probing gaze burrowed into her eyes. The unasked question hung in the air between them.

"Of course I know. How could I forget?" she said quietly.