Unexpected Partings

Unexpected Partings (予期せぬ別れ, yoki senu wakare) is episode 7 of the anime series The Vision of Escaflowne.

Synopsis
"'It's said that being too beautiful is a sin, Allen.' - Grava Aston" The episode opens where the last one left off, with Van in Escaflowne facing off against three bounty hunters in the ring. A short battle ensues in which Van knocks out all three of his opponents by impaling their respective Guymelefs' Energists. Hitomi and Allen protest that Grava's "test" pushed the boundaries of what would be considered an acceptable test of someone's power, but Van says he doesn't mind because uneven battles happen in real life. Grava and Meiden are impressed by Escaflowne's power and value.

That evening, Hitomi and the others are invited to a dinner party hosted by Grava to honor Escaflowne and Van. One of the King's advisors suggests disguising Escaflowne as an Asturian Guymelef so that Zaibach will not be tempted to steal it. Grava asks Van for his consent in the matter, but he only says that it's up to the King, and he leaves the table to look out the window, Merle accompanying. Grava teases Allen that "being too beautiful is a sin." Allen looks ashamed, then exchanges a glance with Eries.

Meiden asks Hitomi where she's from. Millerna says she's from a far-off land. Hitomi gives her a frustrated glance, drinks her vino, and is given another cup, which she also downs in one go. Allen advises Millerna away from talking about Hitomi, so instead Millerna tells him she'd like to talk to him since he wasn't able to come to the bazaar with her. Eries joins the conversation, telling Allen the news that Millerna has been betrothed to Lord Meiden's "eldest son." Hitomi is overjoyed at the news, and Allen congratulates Millerna. Millerna, indignant, corrects that the marriage was arranged without consulting her, and she hasn't seen her betrothed in years. Hitomi, blissful and drunk, reflects on the fact that Allen is single.

The scene cuts to Dilandau impatiently scraping a bottle of vino, that he then throws across the room in a fit of rage, frustrated that he isn't being allowed to go after Escaflowne. Folken tells him they know where Escaflowne is, but Dilandau isn't satisfied with just knowing where it is; he wants to capture it. Gatti arrives with a message from General Adelphos that says that Zaibach plans to attack Freid. Folken wonders if they have found the Power Spot. The end of the message warns against not getting carried away, which angers Dilandau, so he slaps Gatti. Folken tells Dilandau that if they're going to invade Freid, they'll be using Asturia's harbor as a staging ground, and so they should avoid offending Asturia. Dilandau wants to occupy the harbor to pay back what Van did, and Folken tells him he can wait for his revenge until after Van has been captured.

Grava tells his advisors that they'll ignore Zaibach's intentions for now. He mentions that Meiden found out (from the Mole Man) that Hitomi is from the Mystic Moon, and that he wants to capture and sell her.

Allen carries an unconscious Hitomi to bed. He watches her sleeping for a moment, then Eries comes in to talk to him about Millerna. She tells Allen to stop leading Millerna on. She knows that Millerna is in love with Allen, but Allen is seeing their older sister Marlene in Millerna, and she doesn't want Millerna to get hurt. Allen tells her he will never fall in love again, and she calls him a liar and leaves the room. He leaves for the rooftop, where he finds Van training and asks to spar with him.

Hitomi dreams she is in a forest, telling her own fortune with tarot cards. The cards blow away, and she sees a huge horse-drawn chariot, and wakes up in fear. She leaves the room to get fresh air, throwing Merle off of the blankets.

Allen notes Van's improvement, but, as he bests him in swordplay, also meditates on Van's rash nature, which may become his downfall. Millerna, having seen the whole thing, claps for Allen, and Van sees himself out. Millerna runs over to Allen, and starts to make advances on him. He pushes her away at first, but when she hugs him he returns her embrace. Meanwhile, Hitomi is coming up the stairs, and sees Van. Van tells her not to go up there, but Hitomi goes anyway, and she sees Allen and Millerna. Millerna notices Hitomi and kisses Allen, causing Hitomi to cry and run away. Allen hears her and calls after her, but Millerna tells him to stay with her and he does.

Hitomi comes back to her room, crying. Merle comes back in the room from where she was sitting on the balcony and bugs Hitomi, wanting to know why she's crying. Hitomi throws a pillow at her, telling her to go away, and Merle runs outside. The Gecko People positioned on the ceiling use Merle's absence from the room as an opportunity to capture Hitomi. At first, Merle wonders why she should help Hitomi, but then she remembers how distraught Hitomi was a moment ago, and resolves to tell Van.

The scene cuts briefly to Grava and Folken talking to each other, and Grava is about to ask Folken why Zaibach is interested in Escaflowne, when they are interrupted by a report that Escaflowne has been found. Grava lies, telling Folken he didn't know it would be disguised, or that it would be in Palas, and orders his advisor to deploy troops, and asks Folken to send out Zaibach troops. Folken asks to have Dilandau sent out, but he's already gone out looking for Van. Meanwhile, Merle and Van find the submarine holding Hitomi, and Van tells Merle to swim to shore. Van picks up the submarine and cracks it open. Hitomi thinks Allen has come to save her, but is surprised to realize that it is actually Van. Van steps onto shore and Merle bites off the rope binding Hitomi's arms.

Dilandau spots Van and they begin to fight. Dilandau uses the flamethrowers in his Alseides to set the surrounding buildings on fire. Dilandau tries to kill Van, but he escapes by turning Escaflowne into its Dragon form and flying away. Dilandau is about to wreak more havoc when he is interrupted by Allen. Hitomi, Merle, and Van escape on the back of Escaflowne, but Hitomi is disappointed to be separated from Allen.

Characters

 * Hitomi Kanzaki
 * Van Fanel
 * Grava Aston
 * Millerna Aston
 * Allen Schezar
 * Dilandau Albatou

Trivia

 * At the royal dinner, Hitomi drinks vino, a type of liqueur. Because of vino's strong alcoholic content, people on Gaea usually imbibe vino in small sips. Not incidentally, the bottle Dilandau scrapes later on is filled with vino distilled in Asturia.

Quotes

 * "It's no wonder Zaibach wants that Guymelef. That Melef would fetch a pretty penny." - Meiden
 * "Allen's available!" - Hitomi
 * "I'm a man who destroyed his homeland." - Folken
 * "I don't want to see Millerna hurt. It's always the woman who ends up being hurt!" - Eries
 * "It's amazing how much he's improved in so short a time. But he's taking too many risks. If he keeps this up, he'll get himself killed." - Allen
 * "I'd throw away everything for you. My father. Even my country." - Millerna
 * "I owe Hitomi. I'm going to save her this time." - Van
 * "Van came to rescue me?" - Hitomi
 * "BURN!" - Dilandau
 * "Hey, it's your fault. The city's on fire because of you. My cheek is throbbing because of you. So DIE!" - Dilandau