Suffice to say, I don't own any these characters. The Escaflowne characters belong to Bandai or whoever it is that owns the anime. As for the background and certain original characters, those are the property of Aerika S who has given me her expressed e-mail consent to do something with them. Previous knowledge of her works "The Secret Life of a Girl" and "Always" are not necessary for the enjoyment of this piece of fiction, but it is encouraged because it will offer a better perspective of the characters, and besides her writing is really terrific.

Second Loves, Second Chances

posted June 2007

"... and then we have the schedules and final statements, the shadowgraphs, and then I think... I think that's it, Princess Eries."

"Wonderful, Celena," I say, penciling in a few final notes. "And it looks like we managed to finish in the nick of time. We're already at the main bazaar."

From the carriage windows, the familiar sights of Palas blur past. I smile. "Well, as much as I enjoyed being away from here, there's something to the saying, 'There's no place like home.'"

Indeed, the capital is a sight for sore eyes after several weeks of inspecting Asturia's border settlements. Nearly two years after the conclusion of the Great Gaia War, Asturia, like most of the other battleground countries, still bears scars from the fighting. However, the kingdom has progressed rapidly in rebuilding. It's a matter of national pride after all. Since the declaration of peace, the majority of the Council's man-hours have been devoted to all manner of projects and capital improvements to restore the country to its former glory. I have taken the lead on several major projects along our borders, and now that they are nearing completion, one of the few perks of the near-thankless job of being primary sponsor is getting to inspect the work.

The last month and a half have been hectic, and life on the road scarcely compares with the luxuries and conveniences of palace life, but I hardly minded. The last time I traveled out of the capital like this was years ago, and it's been refreshing to escape the City of Intrigue. Not to mention, being able to see for myself the new schools and libraries I managed to slide in as part of the reconstruction packages actually standing solid and tall is quite gratifying.

But I've been gone long enough, and it's good to be home.

Celena scowls. "You can say what you like about coming home, but I'd rather be back in Fort Castelo with all the mosquitoes than back here. Especially if I could ditch SOMEBODY." Her eyes roll expressively in the direction of a blue and gold clad figure seated on the driver's box.

"Celena, Allen's been traveling on the open road with his only sister and a friend who happens to be a member of the royal family. I think you can understand him - taking precautions."

"Humph. The only way he'd possibly be any more cautious is if he had the Crusade hovering over us and Scheherazade stomping beside us."

"But he did let you come along on this trip. He could very well have fordidden you from going at all."

"Yeah, I guess." She's not much mollified by my words.

Despite my attempt to persuade her to think otherwise, I do empathize with the younger girl. To say Allen is overprotective is a huge understatement, but it's understandable considering their tumultuous past. However, for the energetic 17-year-old that Celena is, such treatment is suffocating, which is why I requested her presence on this journey in the first place. Ostensibly, she's acting as my assistant. And while she has proved herself quite adept at the role over the duration of the trip, the real reason for bringing her was to provide her with a change of pace. Much as she loves her brother, she chafes against the protective hedge he's surrounded her with. She's too restless to be the proper young noblewoman Allen's trying to mold her into, and anyone around Celena for any length of time inevitably gets an earful about the boring and futile existence she's forced to endure in the name of her own good. I've heard it so many times, I can recite her rant by heart. So when this trip came up, I figured I could at least give her the chance to get out of their estate, out of her routine, and out of her Palas monotony.

If it had been anyone else asking for his little sister to come along on a cross-country journey, Allen would not have even considered it. However, he could hardly refuse a request from his princess and one of his closest friends. The key condition though was that he wanted charge of security for our entourage. I agreed readily. We needed someone to do it anyway, and Allen as Knight Caeli more than qualified for the job. Celena though was less than thrilled with the arrangement.

"He didn't have to make such a fuss at Caliper though," Celena sniffs. "All that stable master did was open the carriage door and wish me a good morning, and Brother practically shoves a sword down his throat! I could've just died of embarrassment right there! I mean, what was he going to do? Threaten me with a riding crop?" An exasperated huff escapes her lips to puff up against her bangs.

From what I recall, that stable master had been a not unattractive man in his late 20s, who, while courteous and friendly, let his gaze linger a bit too long and a bit too appreciatively on the young Miss Schezar. As for the morning greeting in question, I would interpret his interchange with Celena more as flirtatious banter than a mundane exchange of good mornings.

I sigh. It's part of Allen's job to use his best judgment to protect me, but it's entirely up to the two siblings to work out what qualifies a threat to Celena and what doesn't. I know better than to take sides. Fortunately, the carriage is rolling into the palace driveway so I'm saved the trouble of finding a way to coax Celena out of her sulk without saying something that might potentially upset either Schezar sibling.

We slow to a halt before the main palace entrance. Allen alights from his seat beside our driver to help us down. However, one of his colleagues from the Order beats him to it.

"Welcome back, Princess Eries." Sir Dashir Revius opens the carriage door and extends a hand to me.

"Well, this is a surprise," I say, accepting the proffered hand and stepping out of the carriage. "I didn't think you'd be the one heading the welcome wagon."

"I'd like to say that it's because I missed all of you so much and things haven't been the same with you gone," he replies wryly. "But it's because the King gave me specific orders to escort you to see him as soon as you arrived."

It must be important if Father is having the captain of the palace guards hanging around the front door to wait for me. However, nothing about the palace atmosphere or even Revius indicates any kind of emergency. "Did he say what it was about?"

"Can't say, Princess," he says although the smirk on his face indicates otherwise. "Just that it was private. And urgent."

Right. I turn to the Schezar siblings to give final instructions. "Allen, consider yourself off duty once the carriage is taken care of. Celena be ready to go over that report with Lord Poniard. Understood?" Allen responds in the affirmative, and Celena, though she's positively burning to ask what the "private" matter could possibly be, does the same. "Good. I'll see you both tomorrow. Sir Revius, if you would be so kind as to lead the way."

Revius keeps a respectable distance as we make our way through the bustling main areas of the palace. However, once we reach the more secluded upper floors, I close the gap between us. Revius is a close friend of mine, and an old one, too - I've known him for nearly a decade now. The formalities we exhibit in public are necessitated by our respective ranks, but in a near deserted corridor with only the occasional handmaiden passing by, we can relax those restrictions a bit. "So, care to tell me what's going on?"

"Whatever makes you think I know something, Princess?" he teases.

A swift kick to the shin tells him exactly what I think. Revius protests, "Hey! Such behavior is hardly befitting a princess."

"Whatever. Just spill it already, Revius. Don't make me turn it into an order," I growl, angling my shoe towards his other leg.

"As you wish, my Highness, the beautiful, esteemed, and violent Princess," he says, dodging my next kick. "Let's just say that your inspection tour must've inspired other members of your family to thoughts of travel as well because Her Pinkness has left the castle."

Revius' particular epithet for my sister is more or less accurate considering the dominating hue of her wardrobe. However, as a sister and a princess, I can hardly condone it. Still, I let it slide this time because it's more important to pull information out of him than to give him a lecture.

"Left? Where did she go?"

"Chezario. Some hospital there's starting a medical school at Trevie, and that's where she went."

"Oh. So she went to consult with doctors about new treatments for Father?" I guess that's why Father wants to see me. Millerna tends to get overly excited about "new advances in experimental medical technology," and Father likes to get my opinion before deciding whether or not to submit to the latest, trendiest therapy that's caught her eye.

"I didn't say that."

I'm ready to take another shot at Revius' shin at this point. "So what ARE you saying then?"

"That maybe, maybe there's just a little chance that her trip has less to do with her father than it has to do with the other man in her life."

No sooner has he uttered that than I'm anticipating his next words and hoping I'm wrong.

"You know how the repairs on the church complex are nearly finished?" he says, somehow managing to sound airy even in a rushed, hushed voice. "Well, at their last meeting, the Council made the final approvals for the last bits of work. Being the forward thinking people they are, they start talking about its reopening and all the ceremonial brouhahas to go with it. Anyway, Meiden makes this not-so-subtle suggestion that the most auspicious symbolic thing that they can do to make the shindig a success and wash out the bad taste Zaibach left by blowing the old building apart is to have Dryden and Millerna do a renewal of vows. Millerna just so happened to be in the room at the moment, and from what I heard, Her Highness practically had a panic attack."

"And you heard about this how?" I ask skeptically. Revius may be a Knight Caeli but that hardly means he's privy to what takes place behind the Council's meeting room doors.

"You know Giselle, that really good-looking redhead with the freckles that works in the kitchen? She got it from her roommate who is best friends with the sister of the wife of one of the doctors attending Aston during that meeting."

R-i-i-ight. With sources like that, how could I possibly doubt him?

Despite Revius' less than conventional channels of information, he's probably not too far off the mark. Meiden was rather heavy-handed in cutting short Dryden's voyage of self betterment and steering him back into the capital; but once his son was back, he had taken a hands off approach, trusting in proximity and his son's good qualities to turn Dryden's and Millerna's marriage on paper into one in practice. Three seasons later, husband and wife are still occupying separate bedroom suites and Millerna as jumpy around Dryden as ever. I'm actually surprised Meiden did not make a move sooner.

"Anyway," Revius goes on, "things got ree-a-l-ly tense and awkward between the happy married couple after that. Next thing you know, her bags are packed, and she's boarding a leviship bound out of the country. She's been gone four days now."

My heart sinks. I'd always been so sure that given time Millerna would come to love Dryden, the way Marlene had come to love Mahad. But as much as she said she accepted him, emotionally she had not, and the strain was obvious even to the most oblivious. She never shirked her public duties as wife since his homecoming, but whenever they were together, the atmosphere was tenuous at best, downright nerve-racking at worst. Her doubts and indecisiveness made Dryden try harder to please her, which unfortunately made her withdraw further, which made Dryden try harder, and so on. It was a sad spiral. I anticipated the situation driving Millerna to do something, but I never expected it to be as drastic as leaving the country.

This doesn't bode well. I frown, remembering the last time she made an abrupt departure from home.

Revius senses my mood and says, "Don't worry. She couldn't leave without someone to make sure that she doesn't run away like she did that time she was chasing Allen. And as luck would have it, Alucier got the assignment. I'm sure he'll be sending you notes regularly about Her Pinkness' status. After all, he'll need some way to blow off steam now that he's stuck with princess babysitting duty again."

Revius' last statement is meant to be a jab at me. For years, his roommate, Knight Caeli Alucier Maerzen, was assigned as my personal guard, which in practice amounted to preventing my adolescent self from associating overly much with Allen Schezar. However, I ignore Revius' remark as I'm glad to know that Alucier is keeping an eye on Millerna. I couldn't have made a better choice. He's discreet enough to handle a touchy situation well and experienced enough (from his dealings with me and his six sisters) to handle any sort of emotional outbursts Millerna may fling his way. But he's also smart and sharp enough to detect the slightest thing fishy, and more than capable of thwarting any sort of trouble with a minimum of fuss and muss. The fact that he is a good friend and probably will keep me well apprised of Millerna's doings is a bonus.

Alucier is probably less than thrilled with the arrangement though. After an exciting but brief stint on the frontlines during the Great War, he's been hoping for more challenging and high profile assignments to display his ability and prowess, and playing watchdog for yet another teenage princess definitely does not fit the bill. Having his colleagues mock him about his detail, the way Revius is doing now, is like pouring salt into a wound. I'm sure Alucier can't wait for Millerna to resolve whatever it is she needs to resolve and go home already.

And neither can I. I'm glad to know that Millerna is in good hands but it doesn't assuage all the worries in my mind. Millerna is a princess - she cannot escape that reality - and that means that her actions have implications. Not only on herself, but on her husband, her family, and even the kingdom. And as Revius and I round the final corner to Father's room, I wonder what the ultimate outcome of all these implications will be.


My meeting with Father more or less confirms Revius' gossip. However, he holds a much more optimistic view of the situation. Millerna must really have played the I'm-doing-this-because-I-want-you-to-get-better card well. Father's not so deluded as to be blind the fact that Millerna has other reasons for wanting to leave, but he sees her trip as more of an act of filial devotion than an escape from her marriage. Meiden stands by Father's bedside and nods in tune with Father's words, but I don't believe for a moment that he is convinced of the purity of Millerna's motives.

As for Dryden, he looks... drained. From what Revius has told me, Dryden hasn't slacked off of his duties, but the circles under his eyes tell of sleepless nights, and I wonder if he's been eating properly. Slumped in his seat without his characteristic vitality, he looks like an entirely different man. I've never seen him so depressed. The toll Millerna's departure has taken on him is painfully clear, and I feel badly, for him and Millerna both, because I know she's just as miserable about the situation as he looks.

I want to do something, to step in and mend the brokenness between them. But I cannot allow myself to do that no matter how good my intentions are. I have meddled in their relationship enough already. Father and Meiden may have been the ones to arrange their betrothal, but I played my own part, pushing Dryden onto Millerna while forcing her away from Allen, and all the while not being open and honest about my own entanglements in the whole mess. I treated Millerna as a child then, but I know that she is not one now. She's proven she is mature enough to handle her own affairs and can take responsibility for her own actions. It's been difficult for me not to give in to the temptation to interfere, but I've learned to take a step back and simply leave my door open should she need a sympathetic ear. And on the occasions that she has come to me, that's all I give her. No advice, no direction. If she has a specific request for help, I don't hesitate to assist, but I don't attempt to guide her actions. I must trust her to make her own decisions. And it's all I can do now.

A week passes, and there's no word from her. However, Revius' prediction of updates from Alucier is on the mark, and I receive my first correspondence from Alucier. According to his letter, the most exciting aspect of their journey to Chezario was dealing with Millerna's motion sickness complaints. However, now that they're in Trevie, he gets to be alternatively bored and disgusted by the discussions my sister holds with the stodgy old doctors she interviews. Aside from Alucier, Millerna's entourage consists of two handmaidens and her former tutor, a retired doctor. Millerna's old teacher couldn't be more thrilled with the trip. Alucier and the handmaidens spend most of their energy trying to ignore the medical blood and guts talk. However, he notes that there has been no suspicious activity on my sister's part. No attempt to bribe him or running away or sneaking around at odd hours or associating with anyone other than the medical professionals and patients she consults. To her credit, she's garnering a great deal of useful information, but the thing he finds bothersome is that she keeps adding more clinics, medical facilities, and interviews to their itinerary.

It's all well and good that she's sticking to the purpose of her trip and apparently does not intend to disappear on us again. However, I am troubled at the way she prolongs her absence. In addition to the negative impact that it will have on her relationship with Dryden, it only adds more fuel to the rumor mill, which has already been spinning overtime. Frankly, the longer she stays away, the more her public image suffers here.

Although official reasons for her travel have been released to the public, that doesn't stop the populace from speculating about a split between the royal couple. True, it's not the first time the couple has separated. However, when Dryden left, his departure was overshadowed by the dread of attacks from the Zaibach empire. Gossip about the royal family is so much less interesting when enemy flying fortresses are looming overhead. Plus, the populace could appreciate the Prince Regent going out to serve the less fortunate during the turbulence. But without the distraction of war and given the much vaguer explanations for her traveling without her husband, people are much more biting with their comments about the Crown Princess' abrupt journey to Chezario. Theories about her absence run the gamut from elopement with a foreign lover to revulsion to some secret horrible deformity Dryden bears. And those are only the snatches I hear as I walk through the halls of the palace. According to Celena, they say much worse on the streets of town, but Allen won't allow her to relay any of those details to me. But what I do catch is difficult for me to hear, and I wonder how Dryden bears it.

Another week passes, and no Millerna. And before the next week can lapse, Dryden's on his fastest leviship en route to Trevie.


Dryden returns with medical journals and articles, shadowgraphs, medical paraphernalia, and a small cadre of medical clinicians in tow. But no Millerna.

Dryden explains to Father of a new field of medical study called "physical therapy." From the way he describes it, it sounds like a kind of skilled nursing that maximizes the benefits of conventional medical treatment. Apparently, Millerna learned of it while in Trevie as the medical school being established there will include a physical therapy program. According to Dryden, Millerna expressed a burning desire to learn more about it as she is convinced of its benefits so he allowed her to stay in order to eventually bring this knowledge to the Asturian people. In the meantime, she'd asked some of her new physical therapist colleagues to demonstrate it to Father and his doctors for their evaluation and hopefully incorporate aspects of it into the King's medical regimen to promote his recovery.

All of this is quite interesting, especially when the lead physical therapist starts sharing data on special exercises designed to increase mobility of stroke patients. Eventually, all the dozen or so doctors, therapists, and nurses in the room are engaged in a lively and intense conversation about potential treatments for Father. Unfortunately, the discussion quickly gets too technical and complicated for me to follow. So when Dryden excuses himself, saying he's exhausted from the flight from Chezario, I immediately offer to escort him to his room. We exit, leaving Father and Meiden to make sense of all the baffling terms and acronyms filling the air.

We walk in silence. As we traverse the halls, I watch him from the corner of my eye. There's something different about him. I can't quite put my finger on it. Despite the excitement he displayed for Father and Meiden when describing Millerna's lofty goals for this physical therapy in Asturia, I can tell things haven't progressed between him and Millerna. He doesn't exude the same hopeful aura he once did. Yet neither is he the listless soul that flew out to Chezario. He's returned with purpose. There is something he's determined about. It's certainly NOT physical therapy, and I wonder what goal he possibly has in mind.

Dryden's room is on the fourth floor, one level above the floor where my room and Millerna's room are located. As we reach the third-floor landing, he pauses, just for the briefest moment, to look at Millerna's door. Even with that tiny gesture, I can tell how much he aches for her.

As he turns to mount the next flight of stairs, I say, "Dryden, I know how difficult things have been for you and Millerna. So I just want you to know that if there's anything I can do to help or if you ever need someone to talk to, please don't hesitate to call upon me."

He stops to regard me then. Dryden has a rather piercing gaze when evaluating something's worth, and I feel him sizing me up, weighing me and my offer against some sort of criteria in his mind. Finally, he says, "Actually, I think I'd like to take you up on that."

We go to my room where we can talk in private. I offer to ring the kitchen for some tea, but he declines. "I think that for what we are going to be talking about, we'll need something a bit stronger than tea," he says, depositing himself onto my sitting area sofa. "I don't suppose you've got anything handy."

I do actually. I rummage through my shelves to produce a bottle of vino and a pair of glasses.

I settle myself across from him and pour out the vino. Dryden takes his glass, but instead of drinking, he toys with the stem. His eyes watch the swirling of the dark liquid as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world. I lean back in my seat and sip my own drink patiently. Some of my talks with Millerna have lasted until dawn, and I'm prepared to do the same for Dryden.

Finally, the swirling stops. "I'm letting Millerna go."

I inhale sharply. Out of all the things I anticipated, I never expected him to say that.

"It's for the best," Dryden continues, eyes still fixed on his glass. "It really hit me right after I arrived in Chezario. She had no idea I was there, no idea I was coming. I found her in a clinic talking with some nurses and that old tutor of hers. It was the end of the day, and all of them were a mess, including Millerna, but Millerna... she was positively glowing, she was so vibrant."

He smiles sadly. "It's been so long since I'd seen her like that, excited and energized about something. Seeing her genuinely happy... it was so beautiful, yet at the same time it really hurt. Because I've always wanted to be the one to fulfill her that way and never was. And then, she saw me... in that moment, her smile, her laugh, all that was gone. Just because I was there..." Dryden tips his head back and drains nearly half his glass in a single swallow.

I regard him with sympathetic eyes. He tried so hard, wanted Millerna so badly. But in the end, all he did and all he had - his money, his intellect, his influence - none of it was enough to win him the one thing he really wanted. "Dryden, I'm so sorry -"

He cuts me off a wave of his hand. "No, please don't. I'll survive. Besides, I think I've known for a while now that things wouldn't work out. Even before she left. Even before my father's stupid remark. It's just... it was really hard to give up that last shred of hope, you know?"

I do know, I think to myself. I can understand the frustration of a one-sided love. I've been there. I can't count the number of times I agonized over how perfect things would be if Allen would just come to his senses, realize how wonderful I was, and fall in love with me. And I understood the pain of letting the dream go, coming to grips with harsh reality, and moving on.

"She was surprised when I suggested we permanently separate," Dryden continues. "I could tell she was extremely touched by the offer. She told me she doesn't hate me, and there isn't anyone else out there, but after all the time that we've been together, her heart is still not in this marriage."

He sighs deeply and sets his glass on the end table. "Did you ever hear the story about me and the mermaid?"

I shake my head, puzzled by the abrupt change in topic.

"This happened not too long before my fleet encountered Millerna and the Crusade escaping Freid," he says, resting his chin in his hands. "My fleet was visiting one of the southern island kingdoms, and that's when I found her, this mermaid, in this wretched excuse for a beachside carnival."

"Her name was Sylphy. The poor thing was shut up in this tiny little tank. There was barely enough room for her to extend both arms, let alone swim. Can you imagine? Being stuck into a glass cage and put on for show for everyone to see? She was sick, too—the water looked like it was never changed and the aeration pump wasn't even functional. Ghastly, absolutely ghastly. Of course I had to get her out of there. So I paid the price. Didn't even bother trying to bargain the price down because I just wanted to get her out of there as fast as possible."

"She was thankful for a new master of course. Especially after she was transferred to my leviship's aquarium. It was absolutely spacious compared to what she was in before. And when I told her that I was going to return her home, she looked at me as if I were Jichia's greatest gift to mermaids."

"I expected her gratitude. But what I didn't expect was that she was going to fall in love with me."

He closes his eyes and chuckles at the memory. "She was a sweet thing. Really she was. Pretty, too. Lovely smile and beautiful ocean green hair. But to be honest, she wasn't my type. Aside from the whole issue about me not being able to survive underwater and her not being able to last long out of it, I found her company a bit boring. Did you know that merpeople talk almost exclusively about fish? I mean, I can enjoy a conversation about the intricacies of the patterns on mackerel for maybe a morning, but not for entire week. Plus, she smelled like fish. Her breath especially - ugh. One day, I went topside to visit her at her aquarium, and she grabbed me and kissed me. It was like sticking your face onto a piece of raw tuna."

"So when she confessed her love to me, I obviously turned her down. I did it gently as I could, of course, but from the way Sylphy reacted, I might as well have been telling her that I was going to filet her for dinner that evening. But even after I turned her down, she wouldn't give up. She was innocent, young, and naïve, and believed that if she was just persistent enough, her feelings would get through to me, and I would fall in love with her. So... well, let's just say it was quite a relief for me when we finally reached her home waters, and we parted."

"All that to say that I understand how Millerna feels. As painful as it is for me to love her without her loving me back, I know it's hard for her as well to be pursued by someone she has no feelings for."

"Millerna's tried to love me, but she will never be completely happy unless she knows for sure she's chosen me. Chosen me on her own terms. But she can't. Not with my father, the King, the Council, and everyone else in the kingdom forcing us together. When she looks at me, she's never quite able to separate her own feelings for me from all the things people are telling her she should be feeling for me. Because of that, her heart is always keeping me at arm's length. And without being fully able to accept me, she'll never be completely happy in our marriage. And neither will I. So the best thing for both of us, I think, is to go our separate ways."

He buries his face in his hands, and I can't help but pity him. Maybe if circumstances were different, she would have chosen him, but the truth is that she is a princess, she is a public figure, and for her to escape the hubbub that surrounds them is impossible.

So much of me wants them to reconsider, believes that they can still work it out. However, they've made their decision, and the only thing left for me to do is stand by them. "Dryden, I truly wish it didn't have to come to this. But if that is what you've decided, then I'll support both of you. If there's anything I can do..."

"Actually, Eries, there is." Dryden looks up at me, and I see it there again, that determined glint in his eyes. "There's something I need to do. Something I promised Millerna. And I could use your help. Can I count on you?"

I nod and reach for the bottle to refill our glasses. I have a feeling it's going to be a long night.


Over the last few years, breakfasts in my suite have become somewhat of an institution amongst my closest friends. The two things outsiders find most striking about those dining with me is that the majority, if not all, of my company are male, and that the men in attendance all wear the uniform of the Order. I guess it just says something about the crowd I run with.

However, today marks a change in this tradition. Dryden could not stand out more. Considering how disheveled his hair and robes are, he looks as if he's just rolled out of bed in the clothes he slept in. Quite a contrast to the shined boots and immaculately tied cravats sported by the other three men at the table.

However, Dryden did not get to be where he is from being intimidated and retiring in unfamiliar social situations. He made himself at home the moment he stepped in and, to Allen's chagrin and Revius' amusement, instantly struck up a kind of rapport with Celena.

"... I understand the ponytail. I mean, it's practical and all. Actually, Brother should probably try it, too, considering the way his hair just gets all over the place -"

"Ha! Allen with a ponytail! Why don't we add some braids and barrettes while we're at it? Or maybe a hair net would look better!"

"Another word, Revius, and Alucier will know exactly what kind of activities you were partaking of in his room when that mysterious stain got on the floor."

"Aww, you're no fun..."

"ANYWAY, as I was saying - before I was so rudely interrupted - I can understand the ponytail, but why the skirt?"

"It's not a skirt, Celena. It's a habayah."

"Habayah, skirt, whatever. Why don't you wear pants? I mean, they're so much easier to move around in..."

"Psst, Allen. You're letting Celena wear pants? I didn't know you were so open minded. Or has she just been raiding your closet?"

"Revius, you should know that when Alucier evicts you, you're not welcome to stay with us."

"Geez, can't you take a joke…"

"I'll have you know that habayahs afford as much freedom in movement as pants do. The reason why your skirts don't is because you just have way too many layers weighing you down, what with petticoats and stockings and bloomers and garters and such."

"Are you saying don't have any underwear on under that skirt of yours?"

Allen chokes on a forkful of food.

Dryden leans over to wink slyly at Celena. "Care to find out?

"WILL YOU LOOK AT THE TIME!" I exclaim loudly. Gaia has already suffered the effects of one energist explosion, it doesn't need the equivalent of a second unleashing in my room. "Celena, we'd best be heading to the library now. Dryden, I'll see you in the Council meeting later. And don't the three of you have somewhere you need to be going?

Seclas practically jumps out of his seat. According to Alucier and Revius, the knight is a rock in the face of military onslaught, but when it comes to dining room skirmishes, he's the first to shrink back, especially when superiors on the level of the Prince Regent and the second princess of the kingdom are involved. Mumbling something about overseeing morning drills, he starts ushering his fellow Caeli towards the door. Seclas nearly gets Revius and Allen out of the room when the door bursts open and a young girl bounds in.

"Good morning, everyone! Dryden, you ARE here! I almost didn't believe Mr. Rat when he said you were having breakfast. You never have breakfast at home! Wait till I tell Mother!"

"Hariotte!" Dryden exclaims in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

The girl flounces over to him. "I got here early. I thought I'd get a head start, but the library wasn't open so I thought I'd go look for you. And here you are!"

"Everyone," says Dryden, clearing his throat. "I'd like you to meet Hariotte, my younger sister." He drops a quick peck onto the top of her head. "She just turned 14 last month."

"Pleased to meet all of you." Hariotte bobs a curtsy.

Everyone simply stares. Partly because of her sudden entrance, but also because of the striking differences between her and her brother. Dryden is gangly, quite frankly one of the tallest men I know. In contrast, Hariotte is short, stocky, and more than a bit plump. Dressed in her full, ruffled skirts, she resembles a frilly ball of energy bouncing into the room. However, the same olive skin, green eyes, wavy brown hair, and free easy manner marks the two as siblings.

I quickly stand to introduce myself before Revius recovers and starts making snide comparisons between brother and sister. "Good morning, Hariotte. I'm Princess Eries, and this is Celena -"

"I thought you might be Celena!" Hariotte rushes over and starts pumping Celena's arm vigorously. "Very pleased to meet you indeed! Brother's told me all about you, and I'm looking forward to working with you!"

"- and those gentlemen over there are Sir Dashir Revius, captain of the palace guard; Sir Jesrel Seclas; and Sir Allen Schezar, Celena's brother. And while they'd love to stay, unfortunately they have to leave to attend morning practice."

Seclas takes the hint and resumes hustling out the door. Allen, however, has other ideas. "Actually, Princess Eries, Celena, may I have a word with both of you?"

Uh oh. Allen's tone is polite but cold. It looks as if Hariotte dropped one word too many. And given Dryden's and Celena's earlier antics plus the fact that Allen's opinion of Dryden is lukewarm at best, things might have just gotten a lot more complicated for us.

Revius' curiosity is piqued now. He looks as if he'd like to linger to hear what Allen has to say. However, Seclas, recognizing an impending storm for what it is, grabs his colleague, drags him out the door, and shuts it firmly behind them.

Meanwhile, Allen pulls Celena away from her merry new acquaintance and ushers me and Celena to the far corner of the room. "Celena, you told me last night that Princess Eries had a private assignment for you."

"Yes, I did."

"So what does Dryden's sister have to do with it?"

"She's working on the same to assignment. Duh."

"You knew? And you didn't tell me about it?!"

"Brother, what's your problem? We're just working together in the library. Are you also going to get mad at me because I'll be talking to the librarian, too, and I didn't tell you about it in advance?"

"Celena, don't be impertinent."

"Brother, I'm not being impertinent. Whom Eries assigns me to work with is none of your business."

"It is my business whom you associate with…"

I have to admire how well Celena is handling this. It wasn't too long ago that telling her to keep a secret was the equivalent of broadcasting it all over town with fanfare and trumpets. However, I've since figured out that as long as she has one or two people also in "the know" that she can talk to freely about the secret, no one else will hear a peep out of her. And in this case, she's keeping Allen firmly out of the know. Even with all the squabbling, she hasn't given away a thing yet, but it looks like I'll have to step in to get Allen off her back.

"Allen, it sounds like you have some concerns -"

"Eries, is Dryden somehow involved in this task that you've assigned to my sister?"

"Allen, Dryden is my brother-in-law," I state, the very picture of reason. "We're both members of the Council. It's hardly realistic to think that we work in separate vacuums."

"Yeah, Brother," says Celena, sticking out her tongue at him.

"Celena, stop that. That's not ladylike. Eries, I would appreciate you not having Celena involved -"

"Allen," I break in. "Is there something about Miss Hariotte that you object to?"

Allen stops to choose his next words carefully. Gentleman that he is, he would never speak ill of a woman, no matter what the circumstances. "It isn't her I object to per se," he says in a low voice. "It's just that if Celena and Dryden's sister are continuously working together on something that Dryden's involved in, Celena will be exposed to Dryden on a regular basis, and it's his influence I disapprove of. And I also disapprove of the fact that both of you neglected to inform me of this detail in the first place."

"Brother!" Celena fumes.

"Excuse me for barging in," says Dryden, earning a glare from Allen for the interruption. "I think the three of you have reached an impasse, and I think I can clear things up."

"Dryden, you don't have to -" Celena says.

"It's quite all right, Celena. If your brother is the man of integrity I know him to be, we can trust him with our secret."

Allen looks at all of us in bewilderment. "Just what's going on here?"

Without hesitation, Dryden says, "Millerna and I have decided to separate. We're going to divorce officially."

Allen is instantly abashed. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yes, well, not as sorry as I am, I assure you," replies Dryden dryly. "But anyway, for now, that knowledge will only extend to the five people in this room and will not go beyond. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, of course. But why the secrecy?"

"Basically, it's because a divorce is complicated, and a royal one doubly so." Dryden sighs, folding his arms before him and slumping into a chair.

"When I left Palas just before the war ended, I told Millerna I was leaving, gave back the ring, and thought that was that. It wasn't though - a point my old man took great pains to make when he dragged me back to Asturia. There's a lot more paperwork, people, and proclaiming involved if we want to make it official and legitimate. And that doesn't include dealing with the opposition that's sure to come from both our fathers and likely a whole load of others about this. Given the stakes certain individuals have in our union, things could potentially get really ugly really fast."

"That's why, before I left Chezario, I promised Millerna that I would set the proceedings in motion and take care of any major obstacles before she comes home," he says, his voice softening. "I may not have succeeded in becoming the husband she desired, but I'd like to do this one last thing right for her. As much as possible, I'm going to make this divorce as quick and painless as possible for her. So that's why I'm back here alone. She'll be dragging out her time in Trevie learning about every bit of minutia Chezarian medicine has to offer while I prepare things here."

"Since that lecture that I got from my old man, I've learned a little more about the formalities involved. However, it being a royal divorce involving a Prince Regent, historical precedent and a bunch of other legal things will also factor in. Much as I'd like to delve into the details myself, it's a bit too risky with my Father and his employees always around me, and trying to retain a lawyer to take care of it could arouse suspicion as well. So that's where the ladies come in."

He gestures towards his sister. "I'd been thinking from the start of having Hariotte help me. Hariotte's young, but she's got a knack for political history the way I've got one for business."

"Yup," pipes up Hariotte. "And I spend most of my time reading through old documents and archives anyway so no one will think anything's out of the ordinary. They'll just think I've taken on a new subject to study. And keeping it secret from Father won't be difficult. He barely acknowledges my existence as it is - he's too busy trying to take over the world," she adds, with a flippancy that clearly showed where within the Fassa family her loyalties lay.

"One problem though was that the documents and books that are of most interest to us are in the royal library, and Hariotte's never accessed it before," says Dryden.

"Dryden approached me about the royal archives since I'm so familiar with the library," I chime in. "Much as I'd like to help Hariotte myself, my schedule won't allow it. Not to mention, too much involvement on my part could arouse suspicion as well. So we figured that the best way to handle it would be to have someone else I trusted assist Hariotte. Celena was the obvious choice because she's assisted me before on researching other topics. She's familiar with the library, and she's discreet. If she runs into any difficulties, it won't raise any eyebrows if she goes to me for help; people are already used to seeing us work together. And the two girls are about the same age so having them work together shouldn't attract much attention. It'll be easy for them to come up with some plausible reasons for being together if anyone asks."

"So Schezar, those are our plans. Our sisters will be basically reading through a bunch of old documents in the library together and reporting back to Eries and myself so we can figure out the best way to bring about this divorce between myself and Millerna." Dryden fixes a steely gaze upon Allen. "Do you have any objections?"

I wonder what's going through their minds at this moment. Granted, things have changed a lot over two years, but considering their tangled past with Millerna... How hard it must be for Dryden to tell his former rival that after winning Millerna's hand in marriage he's failed to win her heart. And although Allen has assured me that he realizes that his romantic feelings towards Millerna were misplaced, what will it mean for him now that she may potentially be released from her marriage vow?

"None."

"Good," says Dryden curtly, "because we've wasted enough time here. We've work to do."

Author's note: as those of you familiar with Aerika's writings have probably already figured out, this is kind of an alternative third part to her Eries trilogy (i.e. it picks up where "Always" left off and goes in a completely different direction than "Intrigues."). For those of you wondering why I put this out instead of finishing Dryden's story, it was because I had a dream about Aerika S's characters (no, I'm not kidding!), and then I couldn't get this plot out of my head. So I figured I'd just write a one-shot and get it out of my system. But then the characters just wouldn't shut up! Gah! Yeah, Ron thinks I'm daft for starting another story, and he's been stingy with his help because he has manga reviews to get out. Oh well…

I'm hoping to wrap this up in two more chapters. But that is only if Aerika likes the story. If she hates it, then I guess that's that…

-hS