AUTHOR'S NOTE

This story is a result of the feeling that consumed me every time I have read a story in which Van had moved on and married another woman. It was a mixture of sadness because by favorite anime couple didn't ended together in the end and anger because Van was such an ass and didn't waited or went to get Hitomi back.

So I figured it was time for that choice to move on has a proper payback…

OUR SOUL

What separates kings from peasants? Findings perhaps, money to afford anything their hearts desires? Connections, links with other important people and families that could bring more profit? Or maybe it's fortune which no peasant has, an unbelievable luck that doesn't allow any bad thing to happen to those with royal blood? All those things perhaps?

But there are times when that line between those two kinds of people vanishes. There are times when one simple decision, a choice people make every day make the money, connections and luck irrelevant. For noting can bring back the time.

And then every king must pay the price...

Anyone who mattered arrived in Fanelia to be present at the ceremony that would bond two people in a marriage people will talk about for years. The weather was perfect for such an important event and matched perfectly the feelings of the people. They were happy and pleased with the bride their king has chosen, after all no other girl could match the dragonking that saved their world. They were truly made for each other.

When only two more hours remained till the ceremony young Asturian queen walked in the chamber the bride was residing in since she arrived to Fanelia. Millerna smiled right away and hugged her friend.

"I knew it. I knew you were a perfect match from the moment I saw you two standing next to each other." She said smiling and the future queen just shook her head.

"That was three years ago. And to be honest I never believed Van would have enough courage to ask me or that the people of Fanelia would accept me as they have. I mean, just remember where I'm from."

"That doesn't matter. All that matters is Van. And he loves you with all of his heart." Millerna ensured her friend and helped her in the dress.

Fanelian ceremonial wedding dress was truly a piece of art. Gold embolden white silk and most soft velvet fitted the young bride perfectly and brought out the beautiful color of her eyes. Something her future husband noticed on their first encounter and according to him they were most precious jewels Fanelia ever possessed.

In the royal wing Van was in his chamber preparing for the ceremony as well. His attire was ready and he really hated the fact he needs to wear it. But it was a sacrifice worth making for her.

Her: the girl that stole his heart three years ago. Van admitted himself he was worried the people of Fanelia might have something against the union but when he announced the betrothal and the upcoming wedding only good wishes came from his people for the future royal couple.

The doors opened and Merle walked in. Van smiled to his sister but was surprised to see her there "Aren't you gonna help…?"

The cat-girl shook her head "Millerna is there. And I wanted to help you and well… talk to you…"

Van looked at her seriously "Is there something wrong? I thought you agreed with me. I thought you two are friends."

"No, no, no…" Merle smiled widely "We are friends and I believe you have made a best choice possible. But there is a feeling that bothers me…" her ears dropped "A feeling someday you may regret the choice you have made…"

"I won't regret Merle." Van said back seriously "Why should I?"

The cat-girl just shrugged and sniffed. Smiling sadly Van walked closer and hugged her. It was a comfort she needed. She needed to know nothing bad would happen to any on them. If only she knew…

As the ceremony began the silence spread through the gathered guests. Van was waiting patiently in front of the priest as his future wife, in form of a goddess from heavens, glided down the aisle. Her smile was hidden behind a veil he couldn't wait to lift. The bright sun made the dress she wore glister like the surface of the water, like the surface of the Asturian see on which shore he had ask her to be his wife.

But what glowed on the spring sun the most was a pink pendant that rested on her chest.

The priest talked for several minutes about the duties and responsibilities the future spouses had towards each other. But the truth was he could have talk about what ever he wanted and it wouldn't matter to them. They didn't hear any of it anyway.

Van felt Allen nudging him discreetly just before the priest said the words he waited to hear for so long "Your majesty, you may kiss your wife."

Mentally Van thanked his witness for bringing him back to reality before he managed to embarrass himself. He lifted the soft fabric of his brides face and kissed her gently. The gathered high dignitaries applauded as the royal family of Fanelia turned to them and the priest announced "I give you king Van and queen Opal Fanel!"

Van once more turned to his young wife and smiled. She was a gift from the Gods, a younger daughter of the regent of Zeibach he had met on the summit in Asturia. And she was the one who changed him mind and showed him that people that lived in Zeibach weren't his enemy or wanted to have anything with the evil Dornkirk had once represented. She was the one with eyes that glistered like two sapphires and hair that seemed to be made out of purest silver.

Cries from the gathered citizens echoed between the streets as the royal couple stepped on the high balcony to greet them for the first time. But one person remained deaf to all wishes of happiness and long life. The soul of Varie Fanel stood alone at the gravesite her son visited whenever he needed an advice. Her face revealed the sadness that consumed her.

Van had made a choice and cut the bonds… and put an end to a life that could have give so much to the kingdom she had grown to love…

Watchers from the bleachers jumped on their feet as the racers went through the finish line. A redhead with a smile that could outshine the sun hurried towards her friend that was standing on the track catching a breath. Yukari was happy and proud on her childhood friend. She was the fastest girl in school and today she had proven to be the fastest girl in all schools in the state.

But that title seemed to mean more to the agent then to the racer.

Hitomi headed to the podium where the medals will be received after just giving Yukari a small hug. She didn't even say a word or smiled properly. Some may think it's because she is tired but Yukari knew better. For the past three years Hitomi changed from the happy, always smiling girl that read everyone's fortune from the tarot cards to a lethargic shadow of what once was her best friend.

Once the medals were around the necks participants started to spread and heading home. Hitomi was on her way towards her brand new car she got for her eighteenth Birthday when she heard male voice calling her name. Turning around she saw Taichi Samura, the most sough-after boy of her school, running towards her.

"Is something wrong?" she asked when he stopped in front of her.

"No, nothing is wrong Kanzaki." He answered and smiled "I just wanted to ask you if you were busy this Saturday? There is this new restaurant in the center and I thought maybe we could-"

"Thank you for the offer, but no thank you." Hitomi said back calmly before he managed to finish his question.

"Why not? I'm late, aren't I? Someone asked you before I managed." Taichi asked seemingly worried before giving her a smile that would melt any girl's heart. But Hitomi remained cold.

"No, no one asked me out before you." She answered calmly "I simply have no desire to go out. And please don't take my refusal as personal. I would say 'no' to any other guy who asked."

Taichi looked at her and said seriously "He must be something special if you cling to him like that even though he is nowhere near you."

Hitomi blinked confused by his words and watched as the boy other girls would kill for leave disappointed. His words hit the mark perfectly. She was still clinging to the young Fanelia king, even though… Even though for the past several weeks a feeling of helplessness was keeping her from falling asleep. It was like an avalanche of feelings, each one more dreadful then the previous.

White feather glistered on the moonlight; it was the only prove Hitomi had that her adventure were real and not a fantasy or a dream. She placed it next to her pillow once more and closed her eyes in hope sleep will come faster this night.

But if she had knew what kind of a dream awaits her she would have never got to bed.

He was laughing; she could recognize that sound among thousand others. Van was laughing, he was happy. And that was something she was glad for. But…

Hitomi looked around the beautiful garden in which she was standing. It was spring and the flowers started to show just how amazing they looked painted in any color imaginable. Hitomi smiled. It was a lovely place to be. She followed a narrow path towards the forest border when the laughter reached her ears once more. But it wasn't just Van… Hitomi frowned. It was also a woman laughing together with the young king she loved so much. Hurrying to the source of the sound she tried to come up with some possible explanation for Van being in presence of another woman. And laughing.

And then she saw them.

Two people that couldn't look more different from each other, lying on a thick blanket on the soft green grass observing the clouds. Such a peaceful sight, but yet it brought nothing but a feeling of grate loss to Hitomi. She didn't need to be told, she already knew.

The pail haired woman lifted the chain she carried around her neck so that the pendant that was hanging on it caught the sunlight before she smiled.

"Thank you for letting me keep it love." She said sweetly "It really is lovely."

"A beautiful jewel for my beautiful jewel." Van said back before leaning over her and kissing her passionately.

In that moment Hitomi turned away. It was something she didn't want to witness. She closed her eyes to prevent the tears from escaping but it was in vain and she started to weep. It broke her heart and that was it.

Between sobs she barely managed to whisper "I gave it to you… so you would remember… me and everything… we did together… for the good of Gaea… but what did you do…you gave it away… to another woman… a woman who could never… love you as much as me…it's not fair…how could the Gods allow that…?"

Comforting voice answered "The Gods can not directly influence on the decisions of mortals. But they can award a good decision or punish the one who have made a wrong one."

Hitomi looked around the darkness that suddenly surrounded her "I heard that voice before." She muttered.

"That you have." A beautiful woman appeared in front of her.

"Lady Varie..." She was surprised to see Van's mother. The truth is she was expecting anyone else but not the Draconian woman.

"Three years ago you have made a selfless choice and the Gods have allowed you to do something they usually wouldn't allow. Back then a bond was formed. Yesterday my son broke that bond and the Gods… there is only one way for Van now…"

"Only one way?" Hitomi was confused "What way?"

"Forgive him Hitomi, forgive him so he can find peace…"

Two green eyes opened wide and Hitomi sat up in her bed. Her sheets and clothes were wet from sweat and her pillow from the tears that came down her cheeks once more. Van had moved on.

Council members were looking silently at each other. The king was already ten minutes late on a meeting he himself summoned. They were starting to worry.

Merle who was also a member of the council decided to look for him and see what prevented him. She thought it might be the queen after all they were newlyweds. But after she turned at the corner and stepped in the hallway where royal bedchamber was a loud scream alerted the guards and servants.

The cat-girl was instantly next to Van's motionless body lying on the floor. Several guards rushed to get the king on the bed and one ran in the direction of the healer's chambers. During that time all Merle did was repeating "Wake up Lord Van, wake up Lord Van, wake up Lord Van…"

Young queen Opal heard the commotion and the scream as well and arrived at the chamber several moments later. Right away she rushed on her husband's side and took his hand in hers. She was visibly worried for his well-being.

The healer was an older man that limped in the royal chamber and right away ushered everyone out. He wanted to examine his ruler in peace without irrelative questions to interrupt him. But he found nothing.

Several minutes later Van opened his eyes and groaned. Pain was consuming his body making it hard for him to speak, breath, even blink. Opal sat on the bed and gently moved the hair from his eyes. She talked to him softly about their plans for the future, about the children they wish to have and changes Van had said he would make in Fanelia.

Two hours later he fell asleep. His young wife was relieved believing rest would do him good and that he would be back on his feet in no time. But she was wrong.

Merle was just on her way back to the chamber followed by queen Millerna who had previously went to the market to find a gift for her sister when a loud cry made both women froze. They had no problem recognizing Van's voice as he screamed "HITOMI!!"

The neko ran as fast as she could to the chamber and when she opened the door the sight in front of her made her gasp. Opal was standing several feet from the bed with a hand covering her mouth. Young queen could not believe what she was seeing. She knew but she did not expect to actually see them.

Millerna walked in the room and stopped as well.

Van was sitting in the bed, his upper body bend forward and he was breathing heavily. The pain that washed through him like lightning as a side effect made his wings sprout. And it was exactly the sight of Van's wings that left three women speechless.

They were no longer pearly white as they used to be. The feathers were now black as starless night. Merle's ears dropped and she sniffed. The cat-girl knew well what that meant.

Millerna was first to recover from the shock. She turned to Merle and said "Go to my room and bring my medical bag. I'll do some tests to see what's wrong."

The neko nodded and turned to leave when soft voice appeared "My son's illness is not something a healer could fix. Death is inevitable." Merle stopped and turned back. Lady Varie Fanel appeared next to the bed and looked at Van sadly.

"What is happening with me mother?" he barely managed to mutter.

"When you married you have cut the bonds that were formed previously. Because of that your soul could no longer escape the World of the Dead." She answered.

"I… I don't understand…" Opal muttered looking at the ghost of the late queen.

"It happened three years ago, those who were there will remember the events as long as they live." She had started to explain "During one of that battles with Dilandau, an Zeibach general, Van had died. The souls of the ones he had killed seeked revenge and what was a better way to do so then to took the soul of their enemy with them? Van was lost to the world of living that day, and he would have stayed lost if there was no one to help him back. That someone was the young seer from the Mystic Moon. Hitomi died that way as well, she had chosen death so Van could live, but she needed to find him first. And find him she did. But… When Van's soul was dragged to the World of the Dead it was damaged, no longer whole and as such could no longer exist. My son was no longer whole. So Hitomi did the only thing possible then. Using the power of wishes she had bonded their souls, gave Van what he needed to be alive again and brought him back."

"But now that bond is broken?" Opal asked.

"The Gods rarely allow a soul to return to the body, but in Van's case you could say they have made an exception."

Van interrupted her before she managed to say anything more "How much time do I have left?"

"Several hours the most." Varie answered sadly "You will not live to see the light of the next day."

"I guess I deserved the punishment of the Gods." He whispered. When Opal heard it she rushed to his side and kneeled on the bed. She wanted to hug him but any physical contact would only bring him more pain.

"Send a word to your aunt in Ezgardia." Varie interrupted the silence "She needs to return now."

In the morning black flags on the palace shocked the citizens. They started to gather on the square below right away and ten minutes later queen Opal walked on the balcony alone. The advisers agreed it would be for the best if she made the announcement herself.

"People of Fanelia… the words I must say now are the ones I have hoped newer to speak. Little before dawn king Van had passed away from an illness no healer could heal. The burial will be in usual three days."

A question from one of the gathered people stopped Opal before she managed to leave "Who will be our new ruler?!"

"Before his death king Van had send a message to his aunt in Ezgardia. Her son Helas is the only living male member of the Fanel family. According to the laws he will be the next king." She answer and left.

Merle who was with the other inside the chamber turned to the main council member "But Helas is not really a Fanel. I mean lady Gala is married and-"

"That marriage was canceled when she had reported her husband was hitting her and their son after something went wrong. He had blamed her for everything." Merle nodded after hearing the explanation "And once it was canceled she had once more took her family name. So Helas is a Fanel."

Opal nodded and sat on the chair "That is good. It would be a shame if some other family would take over. Fanels ruled this land since the beginning after all."

As planed the burial was on the third day. Future king was standing next to now former queen Opal and helping her to stand strait. The young girl finally had to admit to herself her husband was gone after only two days of their marriage.

Later that day a meeting was held in which Helas agreed to marry Opal after fifteen months of mourning she must go through till she is allowed to become someone else's wife. She noticed that even though he didn't looked much different from Van with black hair and brown eyes their temper was completely different. Helas was far more calmer.

After the meeting when the councils left Merle leaned her head on the table and sniffled. Opal sighed seeing her so sad, they both lost so much with just one death.

Helas stood up and headed towards the doors. He could see they wanted some privacy. But one question kept bugging him since he came to Fanelia. He turned back and pondered for a moment if he should really ask now, after all it wasn't such a good moment. But then again there was no right moment for that question.

"Did he say something?" he asked with almost a whisper and they both turned to him "Before he died I mean. Did Van say something?"

Merle wiped the tears that were flowing down her cheeks and said back with hoarsely voice "His words were… Forgive me Hitomi…"

Siren of the emergency deafens the calls of the gathered people. All was going so well at first but then during the last race of the meeting but then the girl everyone were expecting to ran first through the finish line simply crashed during a race in which she was leading.

Yukari was first on her friend's side but Hitomi was unconscious and showed no signs she heard all the people calling for her to awake.

She was taken to emergency right away and her family that was also watching the race drove right away there as well. They were concerned for her well-being like every family would be, but Hitomi's state seemed to be more serious then just mere tiredness. She was healthy and in a physical shape many would be envy on.

The doctors were confused. There was nothing wrong with Hitomi; her lungs were clear, as was her blood, she wasn't anemic or had any infection. Only thing that bothered then was low blood pressure and it seemed to go down every time the nurses measured them. For some reason her heart was giving up.

"Doctor, please tell us there is something we can do." Mrs. Kanzaki said with pleading voice.

"We are looking into every option that might help your daughter but it seams as she had a stroke from which she isn't recovering. Something that is very unusual for the girl her age that in such good form." The doctor answered and sighed "We will try and do our best, but if her heart doesn't show any signs of normal rhythm soon I fear she may not make it through."

Mamoru Kanzaki, Hitomi's twelve-year-old brother gasped on the doctor's words and right away rushed towards the room his sister was brought to. He wanted to be on her side, he needed to be on her side.

Her parents followed. Mrs. Kanzaki was barely holding back the tears. She knew she needed to be strong for her daughter but it was so hard to remain calm when her elder child might die from unknown reasons.

A younger nurse walked in the room to once more measure Hitomi's blood pressure and was not pleased with that the machine showed. The young girl's heart was loosing the battle. Mr. Kanzaki looked at the nurse and asked "Can she hear us? Did she wake up at any moment?"

"No, I was with her the whole time till she was brought here. She never opened her eyes, not even for a moment." She answered sadly before a thought came to her mind "Um… if you don't mind me asking but… did a member of your family died recently? Someone your daughter was very close to."

"No. No one died." Mrs. Kanzaki answered not understanding how that could be linked to Hitomi's state.

"Well you see, I was wondering because her state remind on what some call 'stress cardiomyopathy'." She explained "Although many claim it was never proven a thing like that exist."

"What is this illness?" Mamoru asked gripping his sister's hand tighter.

"As I said it was never confirmed… but the symptoms Hitomi has are same as the ones we were told of during…" seeing how the girl's family became anxious to hear what the problem might be she cut herself off and said strait out "It's called 'broken heart syndrome'."

Before anyone managed to comment on that Hitomi turned her head towards the window groaning and opened her eyes. She looked at the clear blue sky and smiled wistfully before saying hoarsely "Of course I forgive you Van…"

The silence that followed the sad words was interrupted by a clear sound of the heart monitor that was showing a strait line. Hitomi's heart was no longer beating.

A young man was standing on the green meadow and watched the white buildings that stood proud on the other side of the wide abyss. His family was waiting for him back home but he needed some privacy. He needed to get away from them because of the suffocating feeling he did not deserve them or their presence.

He never noticed the young woman that was standing behind him and observed his posture. She smiled sadly and started to approach him. It was when she was only several steps away from him that he finally noticed her.

Van sighed and admitted what pained his deeply "I had to lose everything to realize how little I actually need to be happy." He tuned and smiled upon seeing two emeralds looking at him.

Hitomi smiled back and approached Van. He pulled her into a tight hug and whispered in her ear "Welcome to Atlantis love. Welcome home."

Hitomi snuggled even closer before responding "Atlantis isn't my home… You are my home."

THE END