Le Jeune Guilavene

Chapter 11:

Van flexed his back for the hundredth time that morning. Upon telling Folken about Dilandu protecting him, the Strategos had been less than pleased. The result being the impish boy had pretty much been scared awake. However, he had sat up so abruptly he had startled Dilandu, who cry out in alarm. This scared Van all over again, causing him to scream and fall out of bed, which was rather high up from the floor.
The racket they had made woke up the couple in the other room, who started pounding on the wall and telling them both in very colorful language to be quiet. Dilandu, who was already pissed at Van for scaring him, proceeded to yell back at them. This did not help matters as it caused some other guests to wake up in a rather grouchy mood. When the young hunter had finally reoriented himself, it was just in time for the innkeeper to come pounding on the door.
To keep his pet demon from ripping the man’s head off he quickly sent him back into the sword, where he hoped a nap would make him less irate when he was summoned again. Grabbing his still damp clothes from the bathroom, he shoved them on. The innkeeper had by now found his keys and unlocked the door, cursing and spitting almost fanatically. Van barely managed to grab the rest of his things, before the burly man grabbed his collar, drug him to the door, and threw him less than gracefully in the street.
He did not know what everyone was so upset about. It was only a little before dawn.
He flexed his back again.
It was almost noon now, and Van’s back still remembered his tumble from the bed that morning. He knew it was not serious, but it was still a dangerous weakness to have during that time. So, having nothing better to do, he went searching for an acupuncturist. His little quest in the vast and unfamiliar city, lead him north to the wealthier districts of the city. Unlike in the southern districts, this area was mostly housing for the elite of the city. Great mansions of white marble and trimmed with gold,
surrounded by small over flowing gardens of blue and white flowering vines. The windows here actually had glass in them, something Van found rather fascinating.
The young man soon realized ouldould find no acupuncturists here, but still lingered a bit to wander about the magnificent houses with their glass windows for a little longer. It gave him time to think about what he should do now. He was in a tough spot. On one hand, he could not prove his innocence unless he defeated Strategos. On the other hand he was not yet strong enough to do that, and in order to get strong enough he needed to become a demon hunter, but he could not until he proved he was innocent. The whole thing gave him a headache.
Van was actually considering the option of leaving Austoria and heading south to Freid when he saw her. He could not be certain how she had first caught his attention, since she was behind him and too far up the street to have been heard. However it had happened, his gaze was now glued upon the young girl. She was running down the hilly street, her little orange dress riding up her thighs and her arms waving wildly to keep her balance. From her slender, and not yet fully developed, form he guessed she could not have been more than 13 years old. She seemed distressed to him, though he could not imagine what must have scared her so.
He soon found out as two men on large riding elk appeared from behind a large wall and cut off her flight. The hunter’s keen ears picked up a frightened cry, then saw her turn to evade them and dash down an adjoining street. It was then that he noticed she was not quite human. As he saw her from the side, he realized she had a tail and large black ears. He stood frozen for moment. His first thoughts were of the Strategos and all the possible tricks he might be trying to pull. Sending a demon child even smaller than the boy himself, did not make any sense to him but he was not a strategist so he might easily be missing something.
Another desperate cry shook him from his stupor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Merle cried out again as she barely managed to dodge the beasts sharp hooves, rolling away over the hard cobble ground. She fled back to the far wall, cursing her luck for turning into a dead end alleyway. She tried to scale the wall again, but her sharp little claws slid uselessly over the smooth marble. Behind her, her pursuers laughed mockingly at her attempts of escape.
She did not understand what they wanted, why they had chased her. She had done nothing to them. She had left the garden because Chid was being a brat again and she wanted to be where he could not find and bother her. She had barely been over the wall when these men rode by, nearly trampling her in their recklessness. She had thrown them a couple of hardy curses and the next thing she knew she was running for her life.
“Where do you think you are going, vermin?” sneered the mustached man in high cultured voice.
Merle turned and hissed at him, baring her little fangs. The riding elk fidgeted nervously, but their masters would not allow them to back away.
“Is that all you have to say, mongrel?” chided the younger man, shaking his head in mock exasperation.
Both men pulled their swords from their sheaths. rms around herself and looked at the ground, clearly embarrassed by her own behavior. The girl fidgeted for a moment, her ears drooping a bit, until she forced a smile on her face and straightened.
“Of course not! I’m fine!” she said cheerfully, but he could tell she was not looking him in the eyes.
Van did not believe her, but he smiled gently just the same.
“That is good. Now would you mind telling me who you are and what happened here?” he asked, keeping his voice casual.
The girl’s face went blank as she now stared at him, uncomprehending.
“You mean you don’t know who I am?” the cat-eared girl asked, surprise evident in her awed voice.
Mentally, the boy panicked. Had he just blown his cover? Was this girl someone everyone in this city knew of?
“Ah, no. Should I?” he asked, looking sheepish.
“B-but I look like a demon, why would you help me if you did not know who I was?”
Van was now the one fidgeting nervously, unsure of how to answer. At least she said she merely looked like a demon and not that she was a demon. That was comforting, sort of.
“Uh... who are you then?” he said, trying to change the subject.
The not really demon, but clearly not human child looked exasperated by the question and little overwhelmed. Van briefly entertained the idea of fleeing, but before he could carry out the plan he quickly found her wrapped around him again, this time crying loudly. The boy blinked, wondering what he had missed.
“Ahhh.. are you sure you’re ok?”
Muffled by her sobs and his own armor, he received a shaky reply.
“No one has ever done anything this nice for me, and just for me!” she wept.
He did not know what she meant by that, and her erratic behavior was making him feel more and more awkward and uneasy.
“Please, tell me your name!” she said, looking up at him with her shiny blue eyes.
Every name Van had ever heard and remembered suddenly vanished from his brain and he searched it desperately for any plausible name he could give her that was not his own. Several seconds passed and he knew if he did answanswer her soon she was going to get suspicious.
“Uh.. I asked you first!”
Alright, it was lame, but it bought him some time. The girl pulled back a little, and giggled a little through her tears. She wiped the droplets from her eyes, and stood tall as if she were a noblewoman. She took up the ends of her dress and gave him a small curtsy, which made him want to grin but he held it.
“I am-”
“Merle!”
Both boy and girl jumped in surprised and turn to see who had spoken. Their eyes fell upon a child, a year or two younger than Merle, blonde hair, blue eyes, and clothes tailored more fancifully than seemed fitting for a such a young boy. He reminded Van of Allen in a way, which is why he flinched upon first setting eyes on him.
“Chid!” she exclaimed.
Van’s heart suddenly fell from his chest to stomach as the name rang through the alleyway. With his luck, he knew this new character was exactly who he least needed to know. The fancy clothes and the similarity in appearance between him and Prince Allen cinched it. This Chid, could be none other than Prince Chid, crowned prince of Austoria. The country boy might have been a less than knowledgeable about Austorian politics, but even he knew the name of his future king. Somewhere, he knew the gods were laughing hysterically.
With all the enthusiasm youth could muster, the blonde boy ran down the alley way and flung himself into cat-eared girl’s arms. She hugged him back, but the young hunter could clearly make out her embarrassment at the spectacle they made before her rescuer. Only after they had separated did Chid seem to notice the two unconscious men and Van, who would have dashed away as soon as the distraction had been provided if it had not been for the small group of soldiers who were following the young boy. The fugitive had nearly drawn his sword before realizing they were not paying any attention to him.
“Merle, what happened? Someone came to the palace saying they saw you being chased by men onrms around herself and looked at the ground, clearly embarrassed by her own behavior. The girl fidgeted for a moment, her ears drooping a bit, until she forced a smile on her face and straightened.
“Of course not! I’m fine!” she said cheerfully, but he could tell she was not looking him in the eyes.
Van did not believe her, but he smiled gently just the same.
“That is good. Now would you mind telling me who you are and what happened here?” he asked, keeping his voice casual.
The girl’s face went blank as she now stared at him, uncomprehending.
“You mean you don’t know who I am?” the cat-eared girl asked, surprise evident in her awed voice.
Mentally, the boy panicked. Had he just blown his cover? Was this girl someone everyone in this city knew of?
“Ah, no. Should I?” he asked, looking sheepish.
“B-but I look like a demon, why would you help me if you did not know who I was?”
Van was now the one fidgeting nervously, unsure of how to answer. At least she said she merely looked like a demon and not that she was a demon. That was comforting, sort of.
“Uh... who are you then?” he said, trying to change the subject.
The not really demon, but clearly not human child looked exasperated by the question and little overwhelmed. Van briefly entertained the idea of fleeing, but before he could carry out the plan he quickly found her wrapped around him again, this time crying loudly. The boy blinked, wondering what he had missed.
“Ahhh.. are you sure you’re ok?”
Muffled by her sobs and his own armor, he received a shaky reply.
“No one has ever done anything this nice for me, and just for me!” she wept.
He did not know what she meant by that, and her erratic behavior was making him feel more and more awkward and uneasy.
“Please, tell me your name!” she said, looking up at him with her shiny blue eyes.
Every name Van had ever heard and remembered suddenly vanished from his brain and he searched it desperately for any plausible name he could give her that was not his own. Several seconds passed and he knew if he did not answer her soon she was going to get suspicious.
“Uh.. I asked you first!”
Alright, it was lame, but it bought him some time. The girl pulled back a little, and giggled a little through her tears. She wiped the droplets from her eyes, and stood tall as if she were a noblewoman. She took up the ends of her dress and gave him a small curtsy, which made him want to grin but he held it.
“I am-”
“Merle!”
Both boy and girl jumped in surprised and turn to see who had spoken. Their eyes fell upon a child, a year or two younger than Merle, blonde hair, blue eyes, and clothes tailored more fancifully than seemed fitting for a such a young boy. He reminded Van of Allen in a way, which is why he flinched upon first setting eyes on him.
“Chid!” she exclaimed.
Van’s heart suddenly fell from his chest to stomach as the name rang through the alleyway. With his luck, he knew this new character was exactly who he least needed to know. The fancy clothes and the similarity in appearance between him and Prince Allen cinched it. This Chid, could be none other than Prince Chid, crowned prince of Austoria. The country boy might have been a less than knowledgeable about Austorian politics, but even he knew the name of his future king. Somewhere, he knew the gods were laughing hysterically.
With all the enthusiasm youth could muster, the blonde boy ran down the alley way and flung himself into cat-eared girl’s arms. She hugged him back, but the young hunter could clearly make out her embarrassment at the spectacle they made before her rescuer. Only after they had separated did Chid seem to notice the two unconscious men and Van, who would have dashed away as soon as the distraction had been provided if it had not been for the small group of soldiers who were following the young boy. The fugitive had nearly drawn his sword before realizing they were not paying any attention to him.
“Merle, what happened? Someone came to the palace saying they saw you being chased by men on elk. Are these them?” the child prince asked, staring at the unconscious men.
The tailed child gave a pouty expression and nodded her head, playing with the white fur lining of her sleeve in a sheepish gesture. As much as she liked Chid, he had the worst habit of treating her like she was made of glass just because she was a girl. Merle really hoped he did not see her cry or she would never live it down.
“What happened to them?” he asked, sounding both astounded and perplexed.
The five other guards shared his expression as they gingerly examined the fallen men. While they were distracted, Van quickly concealed Escaflowne in his cloak without their noticing and tried to remain inconspicuous. The fugitive wished desperately that he that the prince’s guards were not blocking his only direction of escape.
“This man helped me,” the girl was saying, pointing towards him.
Instantly, all eyes fell upon the small and rather scruffy looking guardsman. He did not even look old enough to be a soldier, with his diminutive frame and smooth, beardless face. His armor seemed a size too big, and he fidgeted uncomfortably in his uniform. Dark hair and eyes, so definitely not a native of the area. They quickly deduced he was new recruit transferred somewhere near the Eastern Austorian border. A Frescan, or Venetrian perhaps.
Van avoided meeting their eyes and clenched his fist to prevent himself from instinctively reaching for a sword. They did not seem to recognize him, and if he gave himself away here he knew would not be able to get past them. From the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Chid smile at him.
“I thank you, soldier, for what you have done on behalf of my dear friend Merle,” the little blonde said in a regal tone, and bow slightly.
Around him, the other soldiers seemed to bow as well, and the young hunter froze with uncertainty. Merle took one look at his panicky expression, and tried to gesture what he should do in response. For a moment, Van had no idea what she was trying to convey, but then quickly made a jerky bow, much lower than Chid’s.
“I-it was nothing, your highness,” he managed, feeling more than weird at calling a child that.
They all straightened, and Van hoped this meant they would all leave now, but knew in his heart that fate would not be that kind.
“Please, tell me your name,” the boy asked.
“Equilar,’ Van tried, ‘Guil Equilar.”
Mentally, the disguised boy slapped himself for using such an obvious pseudonym.
“Well, sir Equilar, I insist that you join Merle and me for lunch. I would really like to hear exactly what happened and learn more about the man who saved my best friend,” Chid said, his excitement marring his regal air only a little.
The situation was getting worse and worse. If he went to the palace it was likely that he would be recognized, but he could not think of any excuse he could possibly give the PRINCE and future king of the entire nation that would plausible and not result in his head being severed from his neck. So he resigned himself to fate, and decided to escape when the opportunity presented itself.
“I would be honored,” he said, and made another small bow.
A small secretive smile crossed Merle’s face, and as the party moved from alley- minus the still very unconscious men- she discreetly stepped between Prince Chid and ‘Sir Equilar‘.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Van sat at the table in a smaller dining room of the palace, fiddling with his food on his plate. He had not been given the opportunity to escape, since at some point during their trek Merle had wrapped her arm around his in a playful gesture and dragged him along to make him go faster. A handful of servants had immediately rushed upon Prince Chid when he entered the palace, informing him of several trivial matters and then seized them from the company of the guardsmen down long marble corridor. He had been quickly ushered into a wash room, which thankfully Merle could not follow him into, and experienced the awkward situation of having someone else wash your hands and face for you.
They were escorted down yet another corridor, this one lined with guards, to the dining room. Food had already been laid out, in a quantity that seemed ridiculous for only two children and rather skinny guardsman. Merle rejoined them shortly after, having traded her orange play dress to an elegant white tunic with a pink sash around her waist. She looked a little older, more mature wearing them and Van suspected that that was the point.
Chid had taken his place at the head of the table, Van by his side, and Merle right across from Van. They were left alone to dine, but the hunter knew there were guards right outside the door, and jumping through the ornate windows seemed more trouble than it was worth, especially since they were covered in glass. He waited some more, hoping they would simply let him go after the meal. In the mean time, he played with his food and listened as Merle related what had happened in the alleyway. It sounded a little more dramatic than he remembered it, but the tale kept Prince Chid’s attention riveted on the cat-eared girl and not on him so he was not going to contradict her.
“And then you showed up and that was that,” Merle finished, taking sip of her juice and waited for her friend’s response.
Chid sat there, his eyes wide and mouth agape, staring at her with complete awe. A second later, his awe-inspired eyes turn their attention to Van, who was turning pink from the attention.
“Oh Sir Equilar, you are truly deserving of knighthood!”
The dark haired boy nearly choked on his mushrooms at the statement. He coughed lightly to clear his throat and shook his head.
“Ah ... It was hardly that grand of a deed. They weren’t dragons, just men, and not very skilled men at that,” Van protested meekly, staring down at his plate.
“You are too modest, Guil,’ Merle said cheerfully, ‘They were both armed and on mounts, and there are not that many who would have gone out of their way to help a demi-demon.”
Demi-demon. That explains a lot, thought Van. He had heard about them from the Fresians. They were hybrid human and demon offspring. They were not common, at least not in the human territories, but not unheard of. Normally they were killed as infants, and those that survived were typically taken to the demon territories where they could be transformed into pure demons through ritual sacrifice or potions. Merle must have been one of the extremely rare demi-demons who remained in the human territories, likely under the care of the human parent.
“It... it just seemed ... Wrong,” Van tried, still not looking up from his plate as their young intense eyes burrowed into him.
The silence stretched for several uncomfortable seconds as they studied him, and for what he could not be certain. However, when he finally managed to look up at Merle, she had an almost dreamy expression and he quickly turned his attention back to his plate.
“So, Sir Equilar, tell us about yourself. Where are you from? What brought you to Palas?” Chid finally said, breaking the quiet.
“Ah ... what makes you think I am not from Palas?” Van asked.
Merle and Chid shared an amused look that not even the shy guardsman could miss.
“Oh please, we would know if you were from Palas. For one thing, you don’t have that city attitude about you and your court manners are atrocious,” the hybrid informed him.
Van froze. Had he inadvertently insulted them? That could be very very
bad.
“Oh do not worry about it, we know it was not intentional,’ Merle continued, and the blonde child nodded, ‘And for another thing, you have dark hair and skin. There are not many people born in this city with your coloring. If I were to guess, I would say you are from the Eastern border, likely in the mountains.”
That made Van smile a little. Everyone always assumed he was from the
East.
“I am sorry to inform you, but you guessed wrong. While you were right about me not being a native of this city, I was actually born in the foresting regions of the Western border,” he said.
“Foresting regions? You look nothing like them.”
“Merle!” Chid admonished.
Van shrugged.
“It’s alright. Neither of my parents were from Eastern border. My father was actually born in the country of Freid, but came to Austoria as a child and eventually earned citizenship. My mother was Frescan, as Merle guessed, from the mountain regions. They moved to a little village along the border to enjoy the peace of the countryside and raise a family.”
“Ahhh. You sound as if you have an interesting family history,’ commented the prince, ‘But tell us, what brought you all the way from the border to Palas?”
A small frown crossed the dark youth’s features and his hand tightened around his fork.
“I had no where else to go…” he murmured.
Then he snapped out of it.
“I- I mean, there was not anything in my village I wished to spend my life working at. So I decided to come to the city and become a guardsman until I figure out what to do with my life. I have not been here very long and city customs are still rather new to me. I’m sorry if I was rude at all, I did not mean it,” he said quickly, trying to smile.
Merle and Chid shared sympathetic looks, and Van wondered if they realized how incredibly obvious they were.
“Well, Sir Equilar, I hope you find what you are looking for. But if you are thinking about remaining in the armed forces, I would be more than happy to give you a recommendation to my cousin to have you transferred to the royal guard-”
The clinging of silverware falling on porcelain echoed through the dining room louder than normal, followed by pervasive silence. Chid blinked in confusion at the young guardsman, who stared blankly at his plate and whose trembling hand did not move to retrieve the fork he had dropped.
“Guil?’ Merle asked timidly, reaching out to touch him, ‘Are you all right?”
Van drew back before she reached him and stood abruptly. He could not do this. He could not play this role before these two unassuming children. Their words, while innocent, stuck him like daggers, and his own lies felt like salt over the wounds. He had to get out of here.
“I am sorry, I should never have come here,” he said, finally able to look at them both without flinching.
They both stared wide-eyed and gaping as he stalked towards the door. It was not till he was walking away that Merle noticed the quiet haunted look in those dark eyes. Her heart seemed to stop as he looked back briefly, but said nothing.
The dark youth reached for the door, but it opened before him of its own accord. He jerked back in surprise. A woman, in her mid-thirties perhaps, with beautiful features and a steely expression stood before him. She stepped back a little herself, slightly shocked to see him there. Van thought she looked a bit like Prince Chid.
“Queen Eries? Is something wrong?” came a familiar voice from behind her.
Another surprise followed the queen into the fugitive’s view. Allen, seemingly as arrogant as ever came up behind his aunt to see why she had stopped and came face to face with whom he currently considered his arch nemesis.
“G- Guilavene!” the captain of the Royal Guard managed to force out.
No words managed to reach the dark youth’s throat so he quickly stepped forward, startling the Queen into stepping backwards into her nephew, and slammed the door shut. All the good that would do him.
There was no lock.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Octavian always enjoyed afternoons like this. Not too hot, a little breeze coming from the North, and barely a cloud in the sky. It made his gardening duties all more pleasant in such fine weather. He stood for a moment to stretch his back and survey the landscape for anything else that needed tending.
The palace, perched on the very peak of the sea cliffs, looked over not only the immense city, but also beautiful expanse of land. Nestled between the very edge of the sea cliffs and back of the massive estate was an enormous garden. It was common knowledge that the Palas Royal garden was the largest and grandest in the world. There were more than forty fountains, seventy statues, and dozen fresh water ponds- filtered from the ocean 500 feet below. You could not find a place in the entire garden thas nas not less than three paces from a flower bed or a willow tree.
But most impressive of all, was the labyrinth. Over six hundred passages twisting and turning mindlessly, and only one leading to the other side of the garden. The maze itself was made of both stone walls and square shaped hedges, over grown with flowering vines and lichens. No one knew of everything that lay with in the labyrinth, at least none who were still alive, and none had ever seen every secret age age or hidden statue that littered the pathways. In fact, few ever ventured into it at all. It was plenty impressive from the safety of any of the palace balconies.
Octavian smiled to himself and pulled off his tattered work gloves. He was done for the day and ready to head home to his wife. T hat was what he liked about his job. It was so nice and predictable. Nothing ever happened.
Except that day.
He was just gathering up his tools when the sound of glass breaking caught his attention. He looked up just in time to jump to safety as a heavy wooden chair landed where he had been standing and shattered. The gardener look up to the second floor of the palace to the broken window. If he had not been startled enough by the falling chair, the young man that followed it certainly had. The dark haired youth landed heavily on the ground, just past the splintered remains of furniture, and rolled gracelessly a few paces away.
The fallen boy managed to struggle to his feet and looked about dazedly, then stumbled off towards the maze. Octavian looked back towards the window to make sure nothing else was going to come flying out, and saw people who looked suspiciously like the royal family staring down at him.
“Guilavene! You little coward, don’t you dare run away from me
again!” the older male shouted down at the quickly disappearing fugitive.
The gardener looked back towards the boy, but he had already escaped into
the labyrinth. “So that was Guilavene, huh?’ the laborer thought to
himself, ‘I thought he would be taller.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~