#milerna princess

[gifsrescatables]

[mirimiramiri]

The curious case of two identical sport bags

A not so serious take on the trials and tribulations of time travel

Maybe this is not a new idea in a fandom that is almost 30 years old. Still, I haven't seen it yet, so I'd like to take this opportunity to write about a theory of mine regarding the infamous gym bag that follows Hitomi throughout the series.

(gif was made by @riafunnel)

There has been some discussion why she was holding her bag at the very last scene of the series although she clearly did not have it while saying her goodbyes to Van. Maybe she bought a new one, maybe that faithfully soul simply floated back to her through time and space.

I want to believe that the answer is time travel.

There is one bag that came to Gaea during the first abduction.

Since she did not take it with her when she departed from Astoria in a state of blind fury and disappointment, one remained in the palace. The pillar of light transported her back in time, though only her mind apparently, as otherwise we would have the misfortune of witnessing two Hitomis simultaneously. However, Gaean time proceeded as usual, and so did the bag, which is likely in the care of Milerna at this time.

Also the reason why Hitomi could change back into a uniform when she returned with Van on Escaflowne (in sweatpants and a T-shirt). If I remember correctly Yukari was holding the bag and Hitomi didn’t take it with her. Guess she was a bit distracted by someone 😄

The Gaean bag waited for her and when she returned home (probably again going back in time…) the earth bag waited there, too.

So now… two bags. On earth and Gaea. Children of time.

I wrote a short scene about this for my current wip fanfic „Star-crossed lovers“ which I hope to fully translate as soon as it’s ready. Hitomi and Van are talking every now and then through their psychic connection or as I like to call it telepathy telephone.

++++++++

For months they enjoyed their inexplicable form of communication. Taking advantage of every spare second to check in with each other. It was weird, but if anyone had seen enough weird to somehow get used to, it was these two separated yet connected souls.

One evening things got even stranger when Van opened their conversation with the following words: "Your bag arrived today." Hitomi turned around in her desk. She had been working on an lengthy essay and was glad for the distraction. "My bag? What do you mean?" "Your bag, the one you always carried with you." He sounded clearly confused as to why she was neither pleased nor understanding. "I'm holding it in my hand." "Uh, describe it to me." "As you wish. Green and purple, about half a costa wide, a long row of golden teeth on the sides. A carrying strap." "That sounds like mine…how did it get to you?" She had risen and crossed her room in two steps. "From Princess Milerna. She wrote that you left it in the palace." "That can't be… how could… Van, my bag is with me! I see it right in front of me, standing in my closet." "Then what do I have here?" wondered the one on the other end of the psychic line. "Hmmm." Hitomi gently ruffled her hair, which was still wet from showering. Back then, in the shadows cast by the hopelessness of a cruel war, when Van had unyieldingly sent her back to Astoria, her bag had been waiting there for her like a good dog, fortunately including a spare uniform. Otherwise, she might have had to spend the rest of the time in running shorts and a sweaty t-shirt. In retrospect, it was all very practical and yet totally strange. Still she never really wondered. Unknowingly she had gotten used to the bag following her around like a second shadow.

Somehow she hadn't taken it with her… there were so many more important things… chaos and relief, unbearably many deaths to mourn and a gentle, blooming love to explore…

And here at home she hadn't given it much thought. Instead, she had always taken it with her to training as a matter of course. She had probably subconsciously assumed that the faithful soul of a sports bag had simply floated after her through space and time… Hitomi opened the zipper. The familiar smell of tartan and detergent came out. And a mess of various things. "Did you look inside?" "Of course not." He sounded indignant at the insinuation, and she believed him. Although the curiosity had certainly been killing him. "Why don't you?" she said carelessly. The need for certainty was too great. "Describe to me what's inside."

There was silence for a while. Hitomi took the opportunity to vividly imagine him. Sitting on the floor in his simple tent, illuminated by the drag energist’s rose red glow, tugging at the zipper with a befuddled expression because of the odd thingy until it mercifully revealed its innermost parts. She chewed her lower lip, bursting with excitement. "A flat, metallic black treasure chest," he finally reported. "How strange, there are two strings growing out of it. Like thin tentacles." My discman and headphones, Hitomi thought and couldn't stop marveling. She also held one similar slim device in her hands, which was hopelessly behind the state of the art. Sometimes she had been ridiculed for it, after all, there were smartphones and, in a pinch, iPods. But she didn't care. The device had been a gift and, as we all know, those were to be cherished. And somehow she liked listening to her parents' old CDs on it, feeling nostalgic for a time when she hadn't even been born yet. "What else?" Van made a sound of muted disgust. "Your tarot cards," he grumbled, forcing himself to a neutral tone. Hitomi felt a chill run down her spine. Of course, he wasn't entirely comfortable with them, and she wasn't either by now. To much had happened involving the seemingly innocent deck of cards. That's why, shortly after her return, they had to be put into a box and were now gathering dust in the attic buried under some old toys. Almost exactly at the same spot where she had discovered them many years ago. She could have thrown the suspicious cards away, or even burned them. But she just couldn't bring herself to such drastic measures.

"It's like those things are chasing me…" Hitomi mumbled for no reason. "What else is there?" Somehow she knew that Van hasty put the tarot deck aside as if poisonous spiders were about to hatch out of it before he continued. "A coin-sized glass disk, but it's fragmented… the ends of a short belt are attached to the sides." Their game began to amuse Hitomi. The way he idiosyncratically described things that were strange to him was quite comical and puzzling. "Are there three black lines in the disk?" she speculated, because she had the slightest idea. "Yes… and the picture of a small winged figure." "My watch!" Hitomi exclaimed. She pushed back the left sleeve of her sweater a little, but she already knew that she would find the same model on her wrist. Eagerly counting second after second, accompanied by soft ticking sounds. A mechanical piece, also a gift. Plain, except for the cute silhouette of the tiny angel on the dial, serving as a clumsy way of foreshadowing future events. Stranded in Ford Castello, she had noticed that the watch had probably been damaged during her escape from Fanelia. The glass was crushed and its steady ticking had died. But on Gaea, time was measured differently, if at all. She had glumly put the useless piece into her pocket and imagined her mother's scolding… oh, what petty worries had preoccupied her at that time. Van had continued his voyage of discovery.

"Hmmm…" He hesitated in his description, the object in his hand was too strange. "It's a bizarre piece of jewelry," he said to her astonishment. She certainly hadn't been carrying any jewels in her bag, and if she had, it would surely have fallen victim to the mole man. "Made of silver, I presume. Set with a long emerald and a short chain with the figure of a dolphin dangling from it… a gift from Milerna, perhaps? A token of appreciation and gratitude." "My pager!" the penny finally dropped. "I completely forgot about that." Merle had stolen it back in Fanelia, which in retrospect had come in handy. It had eluded the mole's greedy claws and distracted the soldiers at just the right moment. In Freid, she had carefully put the little hero into the bag.

It did not escape her that Van seemed to know how a dolphin looked. Astonishing, since he grew up cradled by mountains and had seen the sea and it’s majestic beauty for the first time when they sought asylum in Astoria. According to himself he was an excellent climber and a lousy swimmer. So exactly the opposite of her. Anyway, the very same pager was on Earth, in her hand. But apparently on Gaea as well. Could perhaps… "It’s not from Milerna and no jewelry, it’s a communication device! Press the tiny button in the middle…. Does something happen? The, uh, emerald should glow like a, well, drag energist." She pressed the start button herself. Unenthusiastically the display came to life. No new messages, of course. Nobody was using pagers anymore. "Nothing's happening, the crystal seems dead," Van reported after a short radio silence. "Aw, that is too bad." How funny it would have been if she had been able to send him messages with it. Amano's short query about her whereabouts, which against all odds had reached her with perfect timing, had probably drained the last drop of energy from the battery. "There are a lot of white socks." Now Van sounded amused. "How many feet did you say you have?"

Hitomi chuckled at his attempt at humor, as usual. She also held several clean, rolled-up running socks in her hands. They were always there. Her mother, bless her soul, just picked them out and put new ones in without being asked. "A hairbrush." "You should try it," she couldn't help herself. "Haha," he said in that dry way that always made her imagine his eyes rolling. "Oh!" "What?" "Your dress from Astoria." There was insufficiently concealed awe in his voice. "Oh yeah…" In the deceptive safety of Freid, Hitomi had slipped it into the bag without thinking twice. As pretty as it was and as incognito as she could travel with it, she missed the simplicity of her school uniform. The elegant robe was already quite battered after her past escapades. The torn hem from the rescue mission in Palas, the escape from Dilandau's sea of flames, the journey through the wilderness to the Duchy that promised protection. Milerna hadn't said a word about it once Hitomi was back in her old chambermaid's outfit. Perhaps the beautiful princess had immediately abandoned her plan to mold the foreign girl to her liking.

But maybe there were more important things on her mind, an impending war for example. "You hmmm…" Van started to speak, but then fell silent. Typical behavior for him. It had always irritated her a bit. What was on the tip of his tongue? What was too dangerous to say? Unlike her, he never just blurted something out, but preferred to remain despondently quiet. She did the same now. There was no delicate pink dress with an elaborate lace collar in the bag in front of her. In her imagination, thousands of miles or even light years away, Van held the shimmering silk up to the light of his lamp and admired its dazzling beauty. "More clothes," he finally said hesitantly, clearing his throat in embarrassment. Was it possible to just hear a human's bright red face? Very much. "So hmmm…" "Okay, okay, stop it. Close the bag, it's clearly mine." Somehow she didn't like the idea of him rummaging lewdly through her laundry. He obviously didn't either. She should have thought of that before. There were also several very very private things in there she simply was not ready to discuss with him. She fumbled with the zipper of her own bag. "How odd that there seem to be two of these bags now." "What do you want me to do with it?" he asked pragmatically. "Just keep it, it’s a gift. And, uh, the contents, give it all to Merle. I'm sure she'll know what to do with it." "Wouldn't you like to…" He trailed off.

"What do you mean?" "Excuse me," he said quickly. "I'm being called. Good bye." "Talk to you later," she said hopefully, but already felt that he was gone. What had been left unsaid? Again?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

So if there are two bags, why not two Hitomis? Well I guess Gaea doesn’t play by the rules of physics (or basic sci-fi) everyone else has to obey. Time travel is a tricky thing and I’d love to see it used more often in Escaflowne fanfic, wouldn’t that be fun? I mean, as the ending suggests Van and Hitomi kinda control those pillars of light (or at least he with the energist). Doesn’t that make them time lords? Last words go to somebody who should know:

(Gosh this would be me dream cross over, Hitomi and Van as The Doctors new companions. Let me work on that!)

[mirimiramiri]

Arkana

Although Hitomi never objected to a jogging round, she was quite surprised at the suddenness of the current one. In addition, the long dress was a hindrance, but she didn't want to rip it like the first one. On one hand, there was probably no danger to life, on the other hand, Milerna had seemed bewildered when she had personally trimmed the tattered hem with scissors.

She hadn't accepted excuses that the king of Fanelia had almost been shot.

"Bringing that poor innocent dress into this," the princess actually nagged softly.

So it had to be like this now. Also, Van was not very fast, hampered by the dangling sword at his hip.

Soon she caught up with him and together they chased through the dark streets of the sleeping city. Only the moons listened attentively to the sound of their quick footsteps.

"What's wrong with you all of a sudden?" Hitomi wanted to know and jumped down a few steps.

"I thought of something that I need to check immediately." Van called out over his fast breathing.

"In connection with Escaflowne?"

"In Escaflowne."

"In connection in Escaflowne?"

"No of course not. Only in Escaflowne.”

"OK! Then who gets to the Crusador first wins!” she yelled exuberantly, shifting gears.

"Hey, this isn't a race and besides, you should have said that sooner!" he called out indignantly after her rapidly retreating back. She was so fast, again he could only admire her for it.

Then, with renewed ambition, he tried to catch up, but had no chance.

In front of the gate of the military airport, however, she inevitably came to a halt. She was denied entry.

"Dear lady," said the soldier on duty, eyeing her tousled hair and cheeks red from running. "At such a late Rata you demand admission and then without a good reason?"

"I have to go to the Crusador, I want to be there first, no I mean I want to go to Escaflowne."

The face of the tall, strong man became more and more skeptical with every word she said, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword as a precaution. One couldn't pay too much attention these days. Even pretty young women could be up to something sinister.

"Let... us... through.", a panting young man with messy black hair came into view.

"And who are you, if the question may be allowed?"

"Is that enough of an answer?" Van slowly, and as nonthreateningly as possible, pulled his sword half out so that the crest was clearly visible.

"Your Majesty, I'm sorry.", the guard murmured embarrassed and gave way.

"You can't be too attentive these days," the king only answered him as he walked through the entrance. Hitomi was already running again, but he didn't care now. He wouldn't be able to catch up with her and he didn't want to look ridiculous in front of the soldiers either.

When he finally caught up with her at the Crusador, he ignored her victorious grin and instead jumped onto the hangar deck.

"Come on." He gave her a hand, but she just snorted and hopped after him.

There he sat, lonely and abandoned.

Escaflowne, Fanelia's tutelary god, the legendary Guymilef from Ispano.

Surely he had been wondering lately why his pilot hadn't come back for him. Hitomi almost thought he saw the armor dropping its ears in sadness like an abandoned puppy. But of course that was just her imagination running wild.

Nimble as a weasel, Van climbed up and routinely held his hand in front of the pink energy crystal to gain entry.

Absolutely nothing happened.

"Well?" He repeated the gesture, then added his left hand. Nothing again, not even a sluggish crunch of the old hinges.

"Open!" he growled imperiously at the armor, though of course it was useless.

"What's wrong?" Hitomi's voice came from downstairs.

"I don't know... it's stuck or something." Van started to rattle at the entry hatch, causing Hitomi to climb up to him.

"Where are we flying to?" she demanded as she stood on one of the gigantic knees.

"Nowhere, because the stupid I mean because my dear guymilef doesn't have the kindness to open."

Maybe he's sulky, she thought. We've left him alone for too long and he's pouting. He and Van, they were one, still... shared one personality. She could clearly picture Escaflowne with his arms crossed and his energy crystals glowing defiantly.

Please open, she thought, feeling a little ridiculous saying it out loud. Didn't this also work in Zaibach?

And indeed, with a dramatic roar and the hissing of the escaping water vapor, the negative pressure was released and the hatch opened. Without giving a dam why it suddenly worked, Van stood on it and began to scan the cabin with his bare hands.

It was dark, just the pink glow of the crystal giving off a little twilight.

“We don't fly? What are you going to do then?” asked Hitomi, who honestly had been looking forward to feeling the wind in her hair and his back against her chest again.

"When we left for Fanelia," he explained. “I thought I heard and felt a kind of rolling inside. With everything that's happened, I've completely forgotten about it...but I think I know what it is now."

But he couldn't find anything. Briefly he closed his eyes, imagined the small artefact and mentally rooted for it. Without success.

"What is it?" Hitomi could hardly stand his secrecy anymore.

"You search the ground," he ordered instead. "Your hands are smaller." But if they were unlucky, the tiny thing fell through the slats into the gearbox. They couldn't afford to disassemble the Guymilef. He didn't even want to imagine what that would do to him...

"Phew." Hitomi stood next to him and stuck her head into the cabin. She had always been with Escaflowne only in his dragon form, at most she sat on the shoulders of the armor. The cabin was awfully cramped, it probably became dreadful dark as soon as the hatch closed.

Like sitting in a prison cell.

The pilot's controls felt like old torture tools.

An Iron Maiden, a coffin with thorns pointing inward...

She tried to banish the horrid thought while her fingers searched for whatever.

"It smells in here," she stated. "After centuries-old cheesy feet..."

"It it... it was like that when I got it!” he stuttered, visibly shocked.

"You could hang up a little scented tree," she continued to tease him. However, as soon as she noticed his dismay, she hastened to say, "Relax, that was a joke oh I think there is indeed something... hopefully not just a loose screw..."

A little something out of my story translated with Google help. The picture is very old and I was never totally satisfied with the perspective. Our heroes are in their cute slightly too sugary teeny relationship. Out of respect they present themselves in darker mourning clothes, because the king of Astoria has died (although they both do not have the best experience with that guy).