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Disclaimer:
Escaflowne and all derivations of its product belong to Sunrise, Bandai,
etc.
Author’s
Note: I just know if I don’t finish this series soon I’ll never
get it done…BTW, if I could, I would truly adopt Prince Chid. He’s just a
sweetie-pie.
Background:
In the last chapter, we see Lisette become increasingly suspicious of Migel
and Celena..
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Speak No Evil
Chapter 6
Author: Remalna Marguerite
Lisette Cassimey
nervously smoothed back her hair. She wanted to bolt out of the antechamber.
Mentally, she berated herself for her imprudence; who did she think she was
to seek a private audience with the Duke of Freid at a moment’s notice? Her
thoughts were interrupted when a servant of the Royal household coughed and
discreetly motioned for her to follow him. The heels of her riding boots clicked
against the hard, marble floor. After what seemed an eternity, she finally
neared the great doors of the audience chamber. The servant announced her,
then gestured for her to enter.
“Hello Lady Lisette,
how can I help you?” The young Duke of Freid asked her politely. Despite his
young age, Lisette could not help but be awed. Here was the ruler of
one of the most famous Duchies in Gaea, and despite her father being the former
ambassador to Freid, she knew quite clearly that her family connections were
far inferior to the Freids.
“I…I. My father
does not know I’m here.” She said lamely. The young Duke smiled at her. She
smiled back, relaxing somewhat.
“I’m seeking permission
to the National Archives.” Lisette explained. Chid crinkled his eye-brows
a little.
“The Archives?
If you don’t mind, may I ask why?”
“My…my friend,
he was orphaned in the Great War. He was Freidian, and it’s only recently
that he--my friend--has decided to look into what happened the night he was
separated from his family.” She prayed the lie sounded convincing. The blond-haired
young boy nodded absently. He seemed to be absorbed in thought. “I doubt you
would find anything worthwhile at the Archives—it’s in terrible disarray.
But,” Chid said with a grin, “I could help you hunt down the papers if you’d
like.”
“Oh, but I would
be taking you away from your—“
“Duties? It’s all
right…I want to do this for you and your poor friend. I do remember the loyal
services of your father, and I shall be glad to return the favour.” Lisette
could not help but be impressed. ‘Well said’ she thought to herself. He seemed
to have an innate grace of diplomacy that even a skilled diplomat would envy.
She sank into a deep
curtsy—her skirt,
pooling about her--and rose up just as gracefully.
**************
It was nearly dusk
and Lisette had found nothing that could help her discover anything about
Desral’s past. She sighed heavily. From behind a mountain of papers, Chid
glanced up at her. He noted the pallor of her cheeks and the quickness of
her breathing and guessed quite correctly she was near an emotional breakdown.
“I’m sorry.”
He told her quietly. Lisette nodded and tried to quench down tears
of frustration. Her parents were going to kill her for disappearing like that.
Even if she got on the nearest transport back to Palas, she would arrive too
late for the dinner party the family had planned to attend. She knew that
as an ambassador’s daughter, she had certain crucial obligations to fulfill—such
as attending whatever functions her father deemed necessary.
“Is there anything
you can recall that you haven’t told me yet?” Chid asked carefully, not wanting
to upset Lisette further. “For example, do you recall exactly where your brother
found Desral? Anything that seems unimportant.”
“I…I can’t remember.
I—no. No wait a moment. The house my father had rented was quite near town’s
square.”
“The big rose-bricked
one?”
“Yes. That one.”
“Hmm…that’s very
close to the palace garrisons.”
“And my brother
found Desral one day before the Zaibach army attacked Freid.”
“One day? But right
up to the Zaibach attack, everything was very peaceful. I just can’t see how
he could have suffered such an attack before the battle.”
Lisette bit her
lip. Suddenly, Chid scrambled to his feet. “Wait! Wait a minute! I *do* recall
something that was out of the ordinary…but I can’t see how it might connect
to your friend. One night before Zaibach attacked, Allen Schezar’s crew captured
a Zaibach soldier. I *think* he was one of the more elite soldiers of their
army. On the same day you say your friend was discovered, that Zaibach soldier
had tried to escape. There was a great commotion in the town square, in fact.
A guymelef fight I believe. Well, his body was never found, so we all just
assumed he’d been killed in the fighting.” At Chid’s words, Lisette’s eyes
widened in shock. Suddenly, it all made perfect sense to her. A melef fight.
That would explain Desral’s leg wound. A violent melef battle. That would
explain his strange, bloody dreams…and his apparent loss of memory. For three
years, her parents, Asturia’s most loyal citizens, had been harboring a wanted
war criminal. She wanted to laugh at the irony, and cry at the pain of her
heart shattering. “I don’t suppose you could remember what the soldier’s name
was…” She said off-handedly. To her surprise, Chid nodded eagerly.
“Yes. Yes I do.
I recall it quite clearly for Boris and I had been interrogating him personally.
Migel. Migel Labariel. That was his name.”
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Author’s Note: I *apologize* for writing such a short chapter. But I thought that was a nice little cliffhanger for ya. Lisette: she’s a plucky girl…but former dragonslayer or not, Migel will not let anything or anyone get in the way of his carefully planned revenge. And that, is my big hint for the day. Stay tuned! And if you’ve enjoyed reading this series, please send me a note, or write a review. Thanks!!