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Brodie sat by the fire bewildered. Dilandau hadn’t told her anything. He hadn’t exactly told any of his loyal Dragonslayers much either. From what she had observed, she could only guess that Dilandau had decided to desert the Ziabach Empire. Did giving him those visions really affect him that much? Or did he see something she hadn’t?

Gatti sat down next to Brodie and looked at her with slight confusion on his face. She almost appeared to be in some sort of a trance. Her eyes stayed focused in front of her and her face was unreadable. He waved his hand in front of her line of vision to grab her attention. “Are you alright?” he asked.

Her head jerked up and she felt her body jump slightly as she realized that there was someone suddenly sitting next to her. How long has he been there? She wondered. “Uh…yea…I guess…” That’s a lie, she thought to herself. She was very much worried. Dilandau hadn’t said much about his “brilliant” plan. Is he still going after Scrawny Vannie? I know he’s still pissed as hell about that scar. For the first time since she began having premonitions, she actually wished she could force herself to have one. Not knowing what was their fate was really beginning to bug her.

Where does this path lead? Did I make a mistake? Was I not supposed to change the fate of his soldiers? She wondered as she leaned back and stared up at the night sky. How long have I been here? It seemed like she had been away from home for so long. The more she thought of her home, the more confused and conflicted she felt. She didn’t exactly miss her home.

What was there to miss? Her mother perhaps, she concluded. She could live the rest of her life without her father. Oh how she despised the old man. Setting impossible standards, constantly comparing her to her brother, berating her, terrifying her into submission. She would never miss him. Not in a million years.

Myranda watched Van practice his sword skills in the loading bay of Dryden’s airship. She needed to keep an eye on him. Hidden by the shadows, she watched him. He appeared to be in good form but then his body would freeze. His arms would tremble and his sword would fall from his hands, hitting the ground with a loud clang.

She wanted to say something to him but didn’t know what. How would she be able to comfort him? Van was never vocal about how he felt. Well, when he’s mad he is quite vocal…she corrected herself.

His cold and detached nature almost reminded her of Emma. Hiding behind a mask… Like Emma, Van didn’t like to expose his true emotions. She sighed and turned away. I should probably check up on Emma, she thought and made her leave.

Emma took one final sip of her tea before placing the cup down of the coffee table in Dryden’s study. She described to him, in as much detail as possible, what she saw when she and Myranda tried to rescue Van. “Thank you.” He said with a smile and closed his notebook.

“No problem.” Emma replied with a small smile. Dryden stood up and began to look for a few books in his library. He had many thoughts and theories running through his mind. Emma tilted her head and watched him carefully, studying his body language. What’s he really thinking about? She wondered. She could tell there was something else bothering him. She parted her lips to thought of how to word her question with seeming insulting. However, the question would never leave her mouth.

There was a knock at the door. Both turned to see who it was. Emma’s eyes narrowed as she watched the blonde bimbo princess enter. Millerna forced a smile as her eyes came across Emma. If we were on Earth, I’d settle this my way, Emma thought to herself. But, she wasn’t on Earth so she’d have to play nice, unfortunately.

Emma stood up and headed towards the door. “I’ve gotta go check on Myranda,” she said to a confused looking Dryden. “I’ll see you later.” When the door had closed completely, she suddenly felt her legs go weak and the next thing she knew, she was sitting on the floor. Oh my god…what am I doing? She asked herself. Not only had she just mentally flogged Millerna in her mind, but also the horrible feeling that she had banished from her mind when she first learned of who Dryden was hit her like a brick wall.

She’d been fooling around with a practically married man! She suddenly felt the urge to have a very hot shower and scrub her skin so hard that she would bleed. She felt so dirty, and not in a good way.

Brodie laid on her back, staring up at the clear night sky. All was quiet in their camp. Most, if not all, of the Dragonslayers had called it a night. A few still stayed awake, but just barely. They had been put on guard duty. Once their higher ups had learned of their desertion, they would surely come looking for them.

Dilandau was still wide-awake. He sat next to a small and dying fire, looking over maps, making notes of pieces of parchment. He would grumble every so often out of frustration. He would then let out a sigh, calm down and continue. Brodie rolled onto her side and watched him carefully. “Dilandau…” She spoke, not realizing she had actual said it aloud.

His head jerked up and looked at her. “What?” he asked simply.

“Uh…nothing…” she pulled her blanket close to her chest and averted her eyes. “Actually…” she took a deep breath and sat up. “What’s you’re big plan?”

“Plan?”

“Yes. You came back and out of the blue you decide to just up and leave. So what did you see?” She drew her knees close to her body and glanced over at him. He looked away and went back to looking at his maps. “Dilandau…c’mon…it couldn’t have been that bad.”

“I can’t explain it.” He said sharply. “Whatever it was you did…it showed me a more…” he paused to find the right word. “…logical path.”

“Logical?” she questioned. “So what are we doing out here? Are you going to go after Scra-er-Van? Are you still bent on getting revenge?” He gritted his teeth at the sound of that bastard’s name. He would get his revenge; he had vowed that the moment the Dragon’s blade touched his perfect skin.

“Not right now. I have other plans. But I will…eventually.”

“Myranda…” Emma began as she and her friend sat at the tops of the grand staircase. They hadn’t talked much about what had happened to either of them while they were separated. Emma decided now was the time to get everything out. “What happened between you two?”

Myranda bit her lip and turned her head away. “What are you talking about?”

“Between you and Van. Something must have happened. You’re acting so weird. And the very fact that you were going to send me off to go and save him alone. You know him better than me. I spent what…?” she paused and quickly tried to figure out exactly home much time she had been around Van. “Only about 5 days or so with him. You’ve basically been with him the whole time!”

“Nothing happened!” Myranda shouted. “Nothing…”

Emma raised a brow, not satisfied at all. “So then why? Why are you avoiding him? Why aren’t you caring? Why-”

“It’s complicated. I…I don’t know what to think or do…I was just so fed up with the dreams, the premonitions.” Her voice began to trail off and she tried so desperately to suppress her emotions. “I’m sorry I did that to you…I…” She stoped as she her footsteps approaching. Emma glanced in the direction of the sound, her eyes narrowed and her fists clenched into balls.

It was the bimbo princess. Bitch, Emma thought to herself and quickly turned away. “I’m sorry if I’m interrupting anything.” Millerna said as she came to a stop. “But, I need some advice.” Myranda and Emma looked at each other, both with very confused faces. “It’s for a friend.” She added very quickly.

Myranda shrugged and looked up at the princess. “Our ears are open.” Millerna smiled and carefully knelt down to be at the same level as Myranda and Emma.

“My friend, she has this boyfriend. He’s a bit of a playboy and recently found out he has a secret child.”

“What a man whore.” Emma commented quickly to herself. It wasn’t quiet enough though, as Millerna had clearly heard her.

“Let me finish please.” She said in a calm voice. “There’s another man, who is highly thought of and everyone thinks she should be with him. He’s rich and kind. He father really likes him too and seems to really despise her boyfriend.”

“Is that it?” Emma asked in a not too caring tone. She knew exactly who this friend was and the two men she must choose. Does she really think we’re that stupid?

“Yes.”

“I say go with the second guy.” Myranda announced. Emma looked at her friend completely shocked.

“Why?!” Emma heard herself demand, much to the surprise of Myranda and Millerna. “I mean, why? Her friend obviously doesn’t like the second guy as much. She should be with the one she loves. The first guy.” She ran a nervous hand through her hair as she tried to save her ass. That was close…she thought.

“But he has a kid! He seems like the type to just do it with anyone. And like you said before Emma, he’s a man whore.”

“But she loves him!” Emma pointed out. “Isn’t that what matters?”

“Yea, but guy number two is rich and nice. That’s the best combo.”

Emma raised a brow. “Since when did you become so materialistic?”

“Emma, this is a different world. It’s like the middle ages from back home. The best option would be to think of the future and if her friend wants hers to be secure she needs to be a bit materialistic. At least the guy’s nice. Most rich men aren’t.” Emma bit her down on her lip. She can’t be so oblivious can she? She knows how I feel about Dryden and yet she’s advising this bimbo to run into his arms!

“Millerna,” Emma began and turned towards her, “I would advise your friend to follow her heart. It’s the only thing that’s going to make her happy in the end. And who knows, maybe there’s more to the story about this secret child. Maybe he’s not such a playboy.”

Millerna almost looked as though she were deep in thought. Her eyebrows knitted together as she listened to the advice. They both made valid points. But what was she to do? As much as she wanted to be with the playboy, she knew ultimately that she couldn’t have him. Unless she could somehow convince her father that the rich kind man was not a good choice. She rose to her feet and quietly made her leave of the two girls. She had much to think about.

When Millerna was out of ear shot Emma looked at Myranda quite displeased. “What the hell were you thinking?” She demanded.

“What!” Myranda asked, very confused.

“Do you know who she was talking about?” Myranda nodded very slowly. She was lying however, she was actually quite oblivious to the Princess’s situation. Emma shook her head disappointed. “You were basically telling her to go off and be with Dryden.”

“Oh…so? Is that so bad?” Emma’s jaw dropped. “No way…Emma! I can’t believe you! He’s practically married-”

“Shhh!” Emma hushed her friend. “Not so loud. And no we didn’t do what you think we did.” Myranda raised a curious brow.

“Oh really eh? So you’re telling me that you’re pushing her away from him just because you want to or think you two might get a little…intimate?” she gave her friend a suggestive wink.

“It’s complicated.” Emma huffed and crossed her arms.

“Uh-huh, sure…complicated.” Myranda wasn’t buying her friend’s excuse.

“Hey, let’s talk about you’re so called complicated situation with Scrawny Vannie.”

“No we don’t.”

“Well then, let’s just leave my complicated situation alone then.”

Folken sat in his laboratory, his mind jumping all over the place. Things were not going as originally planned. He hadn’t expected his brother to have been able to master the Escaflowne so well in such a short amount of time. Then unexpectedly Dilandau, who was quite possibly the best soldier in Ziabach, made the brash decision to desert.

He hadn’t yet reported this to Lord Dornkirk. Before he would dare to do so, he needed to gather more information about their situation. He also needed to formulate a new plan. The Vione was now seriously lacking in skilled soldiers. It wouldn’t be wise to follow through with any of their original plans.

He sent a brief message to the capital, briefly explaining the situation and requesting more supplies and two new soldiers. Yes, they will suffice for the time being, he thought to himself. The twins would have finished up their training by now. They wouldn’t have the same devastating effect that Dilandau and his Dragonslayers would have, but at least they would buy them time.

Description
Brodie sat by the fire bewildered. Dilandau hadn’t told her anything. He hadn’t exactly told any of his loyal Dragonslayers much either. From what she had observed, she could only guess that Dilandau had decided to desert the Ziabach Empire. Did giving him those visions really affect him that much? Or did he see something she hadn’t?

Gatti sat down next to Brodie and looked at her with slight confusion on his face. She almost appeared to be in some sort of a trance. Her eyes stayed focused in front of her and her face was unreadable. He waved his hand in front of her line of vision to grab her attention. “Are you alright?” he asked.

Her head jerked up and she felt her body jump slightly as she realized that there was someone suddenly sitting next to her. How long has he been there? She wondered. “Uh…yea…I guess…” That’s a lie, she thought to herself. She was very much worried. Dilandau hadn’t said much about his “brilliant” plan. Is he still going after Scrawny Vannie? I know he’s still pissed as hell about that scar. For the first time since she began having premonitions, she actually wished she could force herself to have one. Not knowing what was their fate was really beginning to bug her.

Where does this path lead? Did I make a mistake? Was I not supposed to change the fate of his soldiers? She wondered as she leaned back and stared up at the night sky. How long have I been here? It seemed like she had been away from home for so long. The more she thought of her home, the more confused and conflicted she felt. She didn’t exactly miss her home.

What was there to miss? Her mother perhaps, she concluded. She could live the rest of her life without her father. Oh how she despised the old man. Setting impossible standards, constantly comparing her to her brother, berating her, terrifying her into submission. She would never miss him. Not in a million years.

Myranda watched Van practice his sword skills in the loading bay of Dryden’s airship. She needed to keep an eye on him. Hidden by the shadows, she watched him. He appeared to be in good form but then his body would freeze. His arms would tremble and his sword would fall from his hands, hitting the ground with a loud clang.

She wanted to say something to him but didn’t know what. How would she be able to comfort him? Van was never vocal about how he felt. Well, when he’s mad he is quite vocal…she corrected herself.

His cold and detached nature almost reminded her of Emma. Hiding behind a mask… Like Emma, Van didn’t like to expose his true emotions. She sighed and turned away. I should probably check up on Emma, she thought and made her leave.

Emma took one final sip of her tea before placing the cup down of the coffee table in Dryden’s study. She described to him, in as much detail as possible, what she saw when she and Myranda tried to rescue Van. “Thank you.” He said with a smile and closed his notebook.

“No problem.” Emma replied with a small smile. Dryden stood up and began to look for a few books in his library. He had many thoughts and theories running through his mind. Emma tilted her head and watched him carefully, studying his body language. What’s he really thinking about? She wondered. She could tell there was something else bothering him. She parted her lips to thought of how to word her question with seeming insulting. However, the question would never leave her mouth.

There was a knock at the door. Both turned to see who it was. Emma’s eyes narrowed as she watched the blonde bimbo princess enter. Millerna forced a smile as her eyes came across Emma. If we were on Earth, I’d settle this my way, Emma thought to herself. But, she wasn’t on Earth so she’d have to play nice, unfortunately.

Emma stood up and headed towards the door. “I’ve gotta go check on Myranda,” she said to a confused looking Dryden. “I’ll see you later.” When the door had closed completely, she suddenly felt her legs go weak and the next thing she knew, she was sitting on the floor. Oh my god…what am I doing? She asked herself. Not only had she just mentally flogged Millerna in her mind, but also the horrible feeling that she had banished from her mind when she first learned of who Dryden was hit her like a brick wall.

She’d been fooling around with a practically married man! She suddenly felt the urge to have a very hot shower and scrub her skin so hard that she would bleed. She felt so dirty, and not in a good way.

Brodie laid on her back, staring up at the clear night sky. All was quiet in their camp. Most, if not all, of the Dragonslayers had called it a night. A few still stayed awake, but just barely. They had been put on guard duty. Once their higher ups had learned of their desertion, they would surely come looking for them.

Dilandau was still wide-awake. He sat next to a small and dying fire, looking over maps, making notes of pieces of parchment. He would grumble every so often out of frustration. He would then let out a sigh, calm down and continue. Brodie rolled onto her side and watched him carefully. “Dilandau…” She spoke, not realizing she had actual said it aloud.

His head jerked up and looked at her. “What?” he asked simply.

“Uh…nothing…” she pulled her blanket close to her chest and averted her eyes. “Actually…” she took a deep breath and sat up. “What’s you’re big plan?”

“Plan?”

“Yes. You came back and out of the blue you decide to just up and leave. So what did you see?” She drew her knees close to her body and glanced over at him. He looked away and went back to looking at his maps. “Dilandau…c’mon…it couldn’t have been that bad.”

“I can’t explain it.” He said sharply. “Whatever it was you did…it showed me a more…” he paused to find the right word. “…logical path.”

“Logical?” she questioned. “So what are we doing out here? Are you going to go after Scra-er-Van? Are you still bent on getting revenge?” He gritted his teeth at the sound of that bastard’s name. He would get his revenge; he had vowed that the moment the Dragon’s blade touched his perfect skin.

“Not right now. I have other plans. But I will…eventually.”

“Myranda…” Emma began as she and her friend sat at the tops of the grand staircase. They hadn’t talked much about what had happened to either of them while they were separated. Emma decided now was the time to get everything out. “What happened between you two?”

Myranda bit her lip and turned her head away. “What are you talking about?”

“Between you and Van. Something must have happened. You’re acting so weird. And the very fact that you were going to send me off to go and save him alone. You know him better than me. I spent what…?” she paused and quickly tried to figure out exactly home much time she had been around Van. “Only about 5 days or so with him. You’ve basically been with him the whole time!”

“Nothing happened!” Myranda shouted. “Nothing…”

Emma raised a brow, not satisfied at all. “So then why? Why are you avoiding him? Why aren’t you caring? Why-”

“It’s complicated. I…I don’t know what to think or do…I was just so fed up with the dreams, the premonitions.” Her voice began to trail off and she tried so desperately to suppress her emotions. “I’m sorry I did that to you…I…” She stoped as she her footsteps approaching. Emma glanced in the direction of the sound, her eyes narrowed and her fists clenched into balls.

It was the bimbo princess. Bitch, Emma thought to herself and quickly turned away. “I’m sorry if I’m interrupting anything.” Millerna said as she came to a stop. “But, I need some advice.” Myranda and Emma looked at each other, both with very confused faces. “It’s for a friend.” She added very quickly.

Myranda shrugged and looked up at the princess. “Our ears are open.” Millerna smiled and carefully knelt down to be at the same level as Myranda and Emma.

“My friend, she has this boyfriend. He’s a bit of a playboy and recently found out he has a secret child.”

“What a man whore.” Emma commented quickly to herself. It wasn’t quiet enough though, as Millerna had clearly heard her.

“Let me finish please.” She said in a calm voice. “There’s another man, who is highly thought of and everyone thinks she should be with him. He’s rich and kind. He father really likes him too and seems to really despise her boyfriend.”

“Is that it?” Emma asked in a not too caring tone. She knew exactly who this friend was and the two men she must choose. Does she really think we’re that stupid?

“Yes.”

“I say go with the second guy.” Myranda announced. Emma looked at her friend completely shocked.

“Why?!” Emma heard herself demand, much to the surprise of Myranda and Millerna. “I mean, why? Her friend obviously doesn’t like the second guy as much. She should be with the one she loves. The first guy.” She ran a nervous hand through her hair as she tried to save her ass. That was close…she thought.

“But he has a kid! He seems like the type to just do it with anyone. And like you said before Emma, he’s a man whore.”

“But she loves him!” Emma pointed out. “Isn’t that what matters?”

“Yea, but guy number two is rich and nice. That’s the best combo.”

Emma raised a brow. “Since when did you become so materialistic?”

“Emma, this is a different world. It’s like the middle ages from back home. The best option would be to think of the future and if her friend wants hers to be secure she needs to be a bit materialistic. At least the guy’s nice. Most rich men aren’t.” Emma bit her down on her lip. She can’t be so oblivious can she? She knows how I feel about Dryden and yet she’s advising this bimbo to run into his arms!

“Millerna,” Emma began and turned towards her, “I would advise your friend to follow her heart. It’s the only thing that’s going to make her happy in the end. And who knows, maybe there’s more to the story about this secret child. Maybe he’s not such a playboy.”

Millerna almost looked as though she were deep in thought. Her eyebrows knitted together as she listened to the advice. They both made valid points. But what was she to do? As much as she wanted to be with the playboy, she knew ultimately that she couldn’t have him. Unless she could somehow convince her father that the rich kind man was not a good choice. She rose to her feet and quietly made her leave of the two girls. She had much to think about.

When Millerna was out of ear shot Emma looked at Myranda quite displeased. “What the hell were you thinking?” She demanded.

“What!” Myranda asked, very confused.

“Do you know who she was talking about?” Myranda nodded very slowly. She was lying however, she was actually quite oblivious to the Princess’s situation. Emma shook her head disappointed. “You were basically telling her to go off and be with Dryden.”

“Oh…so? Is that so bad?” Emma’s jaw dropped. “No way…Emma! I can’t believe you! He’s practically married-”

“Shhh!” Emma hushed her friend. “Not so loud. And no we didn’t do what you think we did.” Myranda raised a curious brow.

“Oh really eh? So you’re telling me that you’re pushing her away from him just because you want to or think you two might get a little…intimate?” she gave her friend a suggestive wink.

“It’s complicated.” Emma huffed and crossed her arms.

“Uh-huh, sure…complicated.” Myranda wasn’t buying her friend’s excuse.

“Hey, let’s talk about you’re so called complicated situation with Scrawny Vannie.”

“No we don’t.”

“Well then, let’s just leave my complicated situation alone then.”

Folken sat in his laboratory, his mind jumping all over the place. Things were not going as originally planned. He hadn’t expected his brother to have been able to master the Escaflowne so well in such a short amount of time. Then unexpectedly Dilandau, who was quite possibly the best soldier in Ziabach, made the brash decision to desert.

He hadn’t yet reported this to Lord Dornkirk. Before he would dare to do so, he needed to gather more information about their situation. He also needed to formulate a new plan. The Vione was now seriously lacking in skilled soldiers. It wouldn’t be wise to follow through with any of their original plans.

He sent a brief message to the capital, briefly explaining the situation and requesting more supplies and two new soldiers. Yes, they will suffice for the time being, he thought to himself. The twins would have finished up their training by now. They wouldn’t have the same devastating effect that Dilandau and his Dragonslayers would have, but at least they would buy them time.