Le Jeune Guilavene

Chapter 14:

Van paced his little shelter, fuming mad and mortified at the same time. What was it with these demons?! Why did they all like to molest him in his sleep? What would Merle have done it if Dilandu had not waken him up? The frustrated boy quickly dismissed that thought. Merle was only twelve and hardly likely to even think about kissing, let alone molestations of the unconscious.
Another thought occurred to him. What was he going to do with Dilandu, now? This was hardly something that could be forgiven and forgotten. If it had happened once, what was going to stop it from happening again? Van mentally slapped himself, he felt like such an idiot. He would just order him never to do anything like that again. He felt silly for not remembering that the demon would magically bound to do what ever he said. That sort of power was unnerving, but in this case he was thankful for it. Now if only he could take care of Folken so easily.
Thoughts of the Strategos left him more cold, than angry. The dreams no longer disturbed him like they had before, when he would awaken frightened by what had taken place and all the control he had lost. Oh, he still always woke up upset and disconcerted, but it was not the same. Part of the reason, he thought, might be that he no longer feared sex. In Fanelia, he had no one to talk to it about, except his parents, and he had been in no hurry to ask them.
Girls had always been a mystery to him and he felt more anxiety by their presence than attraction, and the concept of attraction to boys had never even occurred to him before. Oh he had read stories about it, mostly in some of his mother’s classic literature books, but he had never understood. Now, he was not certain if he would ever feel attraction except towards men. That idea alone was enough to make him antsy and slightly hard.
Damn Folken. Look what the bastard had cursed him to?
Finding his thoughts becoming increasingly disturbing and unproductive, he tried to shove them aside. Looking to his little camp he tried to find something to distract himself. He was in luck. The fire had gone out at some point without anyone watching it. Mindlessly, he gathered all he needed and set about the tedious task of creating a flame with a cold draft blowing things about and trembling fingers.

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

Dilandu was miserable. No, he was worse than miserable, he was actually dying. That stupid boy had left him out in the middle of a rainstorm without concern that it was likely going to kill him before morning. He did not deserve this. It was not his fault Van had practically been begging for good shag in his sleep. Who could blame him if he had accommodated the brat out of innocent curiosity?
Ungrateful whelp.
Sitting out in the open, soaked to the bone with icy water and a strong gale coming from across the ocean, was more enough to make him regret his actions. Though, he still felt he was not to be blamed for them.
Damn, he was freezing.
Tired too, but his mad shivering was unlikely to let him fall asleep. At least not yet. Mentally, he cursed his master. Did the fool think demons immune to the cold? Or did he truly think his transgression worthy of death? He tilted his head back towards the shelter, hoping Van might just be there to tell him to come back inside. Instead he saw a small flicker of flames through the ivy curtain. The boy was rebuilding his fire. Anger and loathing swept through Dilandu, and for that moment he hated Van more than Folken, more than Zongi.
The feeling faded quickly, however, replaced his own self pity and misery. The cold had actually become increasingly painful in his hands and feet, and his shivering starting to exhaust him. He considered mewling, begging for his master’s pity and forgiveness, but even in this state he had too much pride to stoop so low. He would rather die than admit himself a slave.
Trembling, he curled himself into a tighter ball and prayed.
And somewhere, a goddess heard him.

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

Van was not sure what it was that had made him think to check on his demon prince. He had still been angry with the little albino and content to let him suffer outside. He was a demon after all, his body could take the abuse better than a human’s. That was true of everything else, after all. However, as he was dutifully tending to his fire and warming his hands, a worrisome thought caught him by surprise.
What if demons were as vulnerable to the cold as any other creature?
He had dismissed the thought, still intent on being angry. He refused to forgive Dilandu so quickly, certain the demon prince would see it as weakness and try to exploit it. However, the worry still lingered and continued to the grow the more he tried to ignore it. Finally, he had decided that checking on the demon did not necessarily mean he would have to forgive him yet.
Using the still glowing Escaflowne like a lantern, he looked about for Dilandu. He could only make out his huddled form on the ground, sporadically shivering and stilling every so often, but it was enough to send him into a panic. Anger and humiliation forgotten, he clambered through hanging over growth and into the storm. Immediately, he was drenched and shivering, already realizing he had underestimated the severity of the storm.
“Dilandu!” he called, grabbing the demon and shaking him.
The pale boy did not respond and lay limp in his arms, his shivering having ceased. Van quickly lifted him into his arms, mindful of Escaflowne still in his hands, and climbed back into the shelter. He laid the albino on the table beside the fire, noticing in the orange light that he was paler than usual and his lips were tinted blue.
“Oh, Dilandu, I’m so sorry,” he whispered to the unconscious boy, who only turned his face into the slightly warmer hand touching his cheek.
Immediately, the dark child knew what he had to do. Fear and adrenaline threw off any inhibitions he might have regarding the matter. Quickly, he stripped himself and Dilandu, using a belt to tie Escaflowne to his back so that his hands would be free. Using his own brown cloak he dried first Dilandu and then himself. Then, moved himself near the fire and positioned the pale demon in his lap and wrapped the larger cloak he had take from the city guardsman around them both.
Almost immediately, the unconscious demon shifted to press his icy cold skin to Van’s. The mortal shivered, but still encouraged him closer by wrapping his arms around other boy and rubbing his back in soothing gestures.
“Come on, Dilandu. It’s okay. Just wake up. Just please wake up,” he prayed softly.
Dilandu did not wake up, but he did warm up. Curled around one another before the fire, it did not take very long for both to heat up. The demon prince actually seemed rather comfortable with his head buried under Van’s chin and did not shift once, even when the mortal could finally feel warmth against his own skin.
The young man did not send Dilandu back to the sword, even after he was certain the pale boy was out of danger now. His guilt superseded logic, and he kept the demon close by way of apology and for his own reassurance that his mistake had not cost him dearly. He was not sure why, but the thought of the demon prince dying was devastating. It almost felt like he had nearly lost a friend, albeit a friend who had homicidal thoughts harbored against you, but a friend none the less.
And it had been his fault.
“I’m sorry, Dilandu,” he murmured for the hundredth time that night.
“Mm.. as well you should be,” came the unexpected reply.
Surprised, Van tried to pull away, but the demon seized his arm and the boy ceased his movement. Dilandu relaxed against him again, as if this were not an unusual and awkward position they were both in. Quite the contrary, the albino looked rather pleased.
“Don’t move,’ Dilandu said sleepily, ‘Not yet.”
So the dark child did not move, but placed his arm around the demon like before and simply held him.
“I am truly sorry,” he whispered.
“I know. Just don’t do it again,” Dilandu replied blandly.
Yes, the demon prince thought, this was nice. The boy was doing what he wanted him to do for a change, and he intended to milk this situation for all that it was worth. For the moment though, he was content with having Van’s warm body wrapped around him and his gentle, almost affectionate hands rubbing up and down his back. At this rate, he might actually refrain from killing the foolish mortal. A hair cut and some new clothes, and he might actually make a decent concubine.
With a secretive smile on his lips, Dilandu slipped back into slumber. He gave a silent prayer of thanks to his goddess, before his dream took him.

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

They stayed like that until just around dawn, when the sound of footsteps quickly roused Dilandu from his slumber. He opened his eyes to find Van had fallen into a sleepy daze and the fire had gone out during his distraction. That was fine though, as the rain and wind had ceased a short while ago and the earth was already beginning to warm with the rising sun. The demon prince sat up, alerting the dark child, and listened more closely to the two approaching mortals.
He let out an irritated snort.
“Your girlfriend is back,” he drawled.
Van blanched. Being seen naked with another boy was a position he most definitely did not want to be caught in.
“Dilandu, get back in the sword,” he said quickly.
The demon looked to protest, but thought better of it, realizing the logic behind the command.
“Alright, but you owe me,” he grumbled, then disappeared with the usual ‘poof‘.
“Says who?” Van muttered after he had disappeared.
Still, he doubted after last night that he would turn down any request from the pale boy. He had nearly killed him after all.
Soon, Van could hear the two pairs of approachiootsootsteps that had alerted Dilandu. Two pair of footsteps? The fugitive youth tensed momentarily.
He believed the demon prince about one being Merle, but he had neglected to mention who the second person might be.
Securing his cloak more tightly around himself, he seized his father’s sword from the floor and stood prepared near the rip in the vine curtain, which he now considered the ‘door’. Anxiously, he listened to his visitors as they neared. They paused a short distance from the shelter, and Van could make out the unmistakable silhouette of Merle, her tail swishing to and fro. The second silhouette he also recognized, much to his relief.
“Lord Van?” came the little girls soft call.
Why did she call him that?
“I’m here, Merle,’ he replied softly and added, ‘Good morning, Prince Chid.”
“Good morning, Van,” Chid replied cheerfully.
“Can we come in?” the hybrid asked, already heading for the ‘door‘.
The boy looked down at his near naked self briefly.
“Wait a moment!” he said quickly, scanning the room to look for his clothes.
Merle hesitated at the opening. She looked back at Chid, who looked just as confused and merely shrugged.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
“Ah, yes. But I’m… er..”
Van sorted through his pile of clothes, but they were still soaked and now dirty from their night on the floor. They were unwearable at the moment. How did he get into situations like these?
“Van?”
The boy nearly jumped out of his skin and whirled around to the entrance, clutching his cloak about him. He heaved a sigh of relief that it was Chid and not Merle who had walked in to investigate. This situation was embarrassing enough as it was. The little prince gave him an amused, slightly perplexed look.
“What on Gaea happened to you?” the child asked.
A dozen different scenarios ran through Van’s mind that did not involve being naked with a demon, and he decided on the one closest to the truth.
“Ah, I got caught in the rain last night and had to remove my clothes,” he explained.
“YOU WHAT?” came Merle’s alarmed voice.
Both boys thought it best to ignore her.
“You have no spare clothes?” Chid asked.
“Ah, Dilandu had on my spares and he got soaked too.”
The crowned prince scanned the room, searching for said demon.
“He’s not here right now. I sent him back to Escaflowne,” Van offered.
“Escaflowne?”
“It’s complicated. I’ll explain later.”
The blonde boy just smiled and nodded.
“You’re lucky. We thought you might be a little water logged, so we brought you some supplies,” Merle said from outside.
Almost instantly, her dark arm popped through the opening with a handful of clothes dangling from her hand. Van could not help but chuckle softly as he accepted her offering.
“May the gods bless you both,” he said.
Once Van was dressed in a white shirt and a pair of black slacks that were definitely meant for men older and larger than him, he and his young guests sat outside under the shining sun much like yesterday morning. They talked about simple matters over a breakfast of eggs and muffins. The country youth had some fun demonstrating the proper way to eat an egg raw, which actually inspired Chid to pretend to gag. Merle had to bite her lip to keep from laughing too loudly.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get to come last night,” Merle apologized after breakfast.
“Its alright. I wasn’t in a position to entertain guest then anyway.”
Chid suddenly gave a pained expression and buried his head in his hand.
“Ah! I completely forgot!” he exclaimed in anguish.
The half-demon girl and demon-pursued boy looked at him with startled expressions.
“Forgot what?” Merle asked first.
“I forgot that Lord Balgus is coming!”
“Lord Balgus?’ Van asked, ‘The famous demon hunter?”
Lord Everett Balgus was a well known man in Austoria and Fried. He was thought to be the most experienced and skilled demon hunter since Saint Patrokles, and current head master of the Hunters Academy. Van knew about him from his father, who had served with him while they were both fresh from the academy.
“Yes. He was suppose to arrive last night, but was held up by the storm. He should arrive at any time now,” Chid explain.
“Chid! How could you forget something that important?!” Merle admonished.
“Sorry!“
“Wait a moment. Are you telling me Allen has summoned a demon hunter to hunt me down?” Van asked in disbelief.
The prince and the hybrid shared on of those looks, and the hunter groaned loudly.

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

Lord Everette Balgus rode proudly through the Austorian main gates just before noon, his small company of hunters following not far behind. He was an older man, nearing his fifties and sporting the gray hair to prove it. However, one would have be a fool to assume he was someone to mess with. Standing as high as a garuuk, and twice as large with a huge muscular chest and arms. Several great scars marred his body, leaving one to wonder how anyone could have possibly survived the wounds they had once been. The most striking scar was over his eye socket, the eye having been lost.
People in the market place stopped whatever they were doing to stare at him and his company. They all knew him. Who else could it possibly be, but the World’s Greatest Demon Hunter? Even the youngest of children watched him with awe and fear (he was a scary looking man after all). Even his fellow warriors caught the curiosity of bystanders.
To the hunter’s left, sitting side saddle on her silver mountain elk, was Lady Sora, his summoner. Pale and beautiful with her wide knowing eyes, she always attracted the awe of those around her. To his right, on his common riding elk, was Miguel, his top pupil so far and assistant on this mission. A very handsome and disciplined young man, he left the margirlgirls to swoon as he passed. Behind Balgus, a seemingly unorganized group of seedy looking characters on various beasts, eying the surrounding crowds mischievously. They were not really demon hunters in the truest sense, but everyone recognized their importance just the same.
Soon the public’s awe faded and was replaced with wild speculation. Rumor and gossip followed the band as they made their way steadily towards the palace. It was from this that they first learned a bit about had been happening in the city.
“They’re here for that Van child. That boy’s a devil!” murmured an old woman to her daughter.
“They’ll never catch him! I heard he won a tournament and has been playing with the city guards ever since!” boasted a young boy to friends.
“I heard he killed a man in the Pherowae temple!” a fruit merchant mentioned to his customer.
“Did you hear how he ended up in the palace? He was trying to steal Prince Chid’s soul! The Queen was furious!”
On the on the rumors went, becoming more and more fantastical. Lord Balgus and his party listened very closely to what they were saying, though their eyes did not wander from the road ahead of them. The only evidence that they heard the people at all, was the tiny smile that found its way on Lady Sora’s lips. As their party left the market place and entered the more wealthy district, the civilians all but disappeared and they turned to talk to one another.
“How much of what they say do you think is true?” Miguel asked of his teacher.
“Most of it is probably nonsense. However, Guilavene must have been doing something to catch all those people’s attention,” replied Lord Balgus in his deep powerful voice.
“Does your letter say anything about it?” queried one of his underlings.
“It merely talks about a boy stealing a demon and something about a sword. Rather vague, and it was written several days ago and much could have happened since then.”
“Much has happened,” Lady Sora said softly.
Immediately the men turned to her in surprise. The beautiful woman was not prone to speaking outside of her duty, but when she did it was important to pay attention to her.
“Much is happening,” she continued, and then looked up the sky. Above her the cursed blue moon overlapped the silver moon, their images perfectly clear even in the light of the afternoon sun.
“Much will happen before the day is done.”
They waited for her continue or to elaborate, but soon realized she had said all she was going to say. They continued the rest of the way in silence, no one feeling there was anything left to say on the matter. As they came in sight of the Royal Palace, the golden gates swung open and messenger came out on a riding elk. The man, dressed in a Royal Guardsman’s uniform, stopped before them.
“Greetings, Lord Balgus, on behalf of the Queen and her family,’ he said stiffly, ‘Her majesty has ordered me to bring you to her immediately upon your arrival. Will you please come with me?”
The old demon hunter nodded and the party followed the messenger into the
courtyard. Their riding animals were immediately seized by several servants, and a few of the underlings offered to stay behind to make sure their steeds were properly taking care of. The servants looked insulted. The rest were lead through the palace’s corridors and to a conference room, this one much larger than the previous one and with a window to let the sun in. The Queen and her nephew were there waiting for them.
“Lord Balgus,’ Allen greeted, standing from his chair and taking his former teacher’s hand as he enter.
The old hunter smiled at the young man and was pleased to find that his former pupil had taken good care of himself since their last meeting. Though, Allen did seem a little tired, despite his warm greeting.
“Allen, it has been a long time. I have heard good things about you on the frontier. I am pleased you have done well for yourself,” he said.
“Thank you, Lord Balgus. Please take a seat, there is much we need to discuss,” the prince said.
Everyone took a seat around the long rectangular table. The Queen gave them all a short greeting and then got straight to business.
“I thought there would be more of you,” Eries said, sounding a bit disappointed.
“To be quite frank your highness, I did not perceive this mission to require many of my troops. Besides, I cannot simply leaved the Friedian colonies without enough men to protect them with the current demon activity. In fact, I dislike the idea of being dragged away,” Lord Balgus said gruffly.
The Queen stiffened in her seat.
“I assure you. We would not have summoned you if I thought I could simply take care of the matter myself,” Allen said.
For most of the remaining afternoon, Prince Allen and Queen Eries described what had happened over the past several days Allen told of Guilavene’s mysterious appearance and his impressive victories at the tournament. He told of Dryden and the history of the sword Escaflowne and its link to the Strategos and Dilandu. The prince reluctantly described the boy’s successful attempts to evade his soldiers and the incident in the park with Strategos and the female demons. The Queen told them about Guilavene’s sudden appearance in the palace and his attempt at befriending her son, Chid. By the time they were finished with the boy’s escape into the maze and the Strategos’ threat to Allen, the rest of the table seemed to be taking the situation seriously. Balgus appeared even more grim than usual.
“Are you alright, Lord Balgus?” Lady Sora asked, capturing everyone’s attention once again.
“I am fine. However…”
The old hunter hesitated, wondering if his thoughts were even relevant in this matter.
“What is it?” Queen Eries prompted.
“It is just... I am familiar with the name Guilavene.”
Everyone shared surprised looks, except for Lady Sora, who started blankly ahead.
“You mean you know of this boy?” Allen asked.
“The boy? No, I do not believe I have ever met anyone matching your description. However, I knew of a Gauo Guilavene back at the academy. He was originally from Fried, but became a citizen of Austoria. When the war broke out, he and his wife headed out to the boonies somewhere to keep out of trouble. I haven’t seen or heard from him in almost twenty years,” Balgus explained.
“Then this boy may well be his son. The merchant said that Guilavene mentioned his family had a history of demon hunting,” the prince suggested.
This was the first real piece of information he had of the swordsman’s past and he felt elated with it.
“Was Gauo Guilavene bitter about his self appointed exile?” The Queen asked Balgus.
“I do not believe so. After the war, there was plenty of time for him to come back.”
“Do you have any ideas how his son might have come into contact the Strategos?”
“Gauo was a very dedicated and honorably man, but I know of Strategos’ reputation. His evil is more subtle than most Zaguraha. If the demon wanted his son, I do not think there would be much that even Gauo could do to stop it,” Lord Balgus said.
“So this guy’s son, may just bet he victim of circumstance?” Miguel asked.
“Lord Van is no one\'s victim, not even circumstance’s.”
Lady Sora had spoken yet again. She must really be excited.
“Lord Van?” the Queen asked.
The white-haired woman broadened her smile and turned her wide blue eyes to her.
“You shall see... some day.”
The royal woman narrowed her eyes. She thought she should punish her for
her impudence, but thought better of it. The girl was obviously insane.
“This is all speculation,’ Allen interrupted, ‘and futile. The only way we will received our desired answers is to capture Van Guilavene.”
“Agreed,” Lord Balgus conceded.
“But where do we start looking? This Van character is a human, not a demon, right? Lady Sora can not find a human, can she?” Miguel asked, looking towards the pale woman.
The summoner smiled at him and shook her head no.
“Guilavene owns an enslaved demon. If she can find Dilandu than she can find him,” the blonde man said.
“Very well, but we also must remember the Strategos. He is likely behind whatever is happening here. After we capture the boy, we must take care of that demon as well,” the scarred hunter stated.
They all nodded in agreement, except Lady Sora, who merely smiled and glanced at the paintings on the wall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the adjoining room used for storage (graciously provided by her majesty), Folken listened to their talk. The wall separating them was not very thick, and a few strategically placed holes allowed noise to travel between them with relative ease. Add to that, the demons ultra sensitive hearing and he may as well have been sitting at the table with them.
It amused him a great deal to hear them exchange theories. He almost laughed when they said they would have to deal him. Him! The Strategos did not get where he was today by being so weak and careless as to let a pack of foolish assassins get the best of him. He had survived an era in which is kindred had fallen all around him like leaves in autumn and these amateurs invoked no fear in him.
However, they may prove trouble for his little one. Hn. Allen should have listened to his warning. He turned to Nariya and Eriya, who lay almost on top of each other on a dusty and neglected sofa and looked extremely bored. When their master looked at them, however, they smile and gracefully slinked from couch to sit on either side of his chair.
“You wanted something, Master?” Nariya asked softly, so as not be heard by those in the other room.
“Yes. I am going back to the castle for Zongi. I want one of you to watch the demon hunters and make sure they do not find Van before I return. I want the other to keep an eye on the maze to make sure Van doesn’t leave. Do not confront him though, he still has Dilandu with him and I do not want to risk either of you. Understand?”
They both nodded.
“But Master, what do you need Zongi for?” Eriya asked, trying to hide her distaste for the other servant.
Folken just smiled affectionately at them and patted them on their heads.
“You will see.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Van leaned against a brick wall with Dilandu, now dressed in dry but unfortunately dirty guard’s blue and black uniform. Merle and Chid had both gone, but before they left they had shown the hunter where they had managed to sneak in over the wall. Come nightfall, he would take that chosen route and hopefully find his way out of this cursed town. He had thought he would be able to stay in Palas long enough to prove his innocence, but Allen’s pursuit was forcing him into some very tight and risky positions.
“So we are leaving?” Dilandu questioned, looking bored.
“Yes.”
“Fine with me, so long as I get better clothes,” the demon prince said, picking at his uniform with mild disdain.
Van chuckled softly. When you stopped taking Dilandu’s snide attitude seriously it was rather comical.
“I promise to get you better clothes. You can even pick out your own, if you like,” he offered, knowing he would regret it later.
Dilandu smirked.
“You’re going to regret you said that.”
Van just smiled and looked towards the sky, willing the night to come sooner.