A/N: Hi everyone. I'm back with another fan fic. I hope you like it. I got this idea while doing my CAT6 Test and my scratch paper turned into this story. Unlike my first story (which I will finish), I have no idea how this fic is going to turn out so if any of you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them. If not, I will just make it up as I go along. Hope you all like it. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: *Yugismpuzzle is strapped to a lie detector machine. Van is doing the questioning*

"Do you own Escaflowne?"

"Yes!" *lie detector machine blows up* "Hey Van! Look! Now your face matches your hair!"

-___-

Chapter One: Let's Make A Date

Van walked down the streets of Fanelia as the morning sun rose. This was his favorite time of day. Hardly anyone in the streets so he didn't have to worry about girls pouncing on him, even though he gets pounced on everyday by Merle.

"Just don't walk in the streets if it bothers you so much." His brother Folken had told him for the hundredth time.

But to Van, the girl factor was a risk he took almost every day. Anything to get out of that stuffy castle. The sun quickly rose and people started coming out of their homes.

'I'd better get out of here before the crowds come.' He took a left hand turn down an ally and eventually found himself at the bottom of a grassy hill with an old, tall tree sitting at the top. 'I'll bet that you can get a great view of the sunrise from up there.' He began walking towards the top of the hill, his shoes squeaking slightly against the foot long grass. When he reached the top, he stared in awe at the size of the tree. It was huge. The top of the tree seemed to touch the sky. Van wondered why he never noticed this tree before. 'Probably because it looks like a normal tree at the bottom of the hill.' Van thought. He looked down at where he came from and saw a small group of women dressed in elegant gowns and wearing many pieces of expensive jewelry. 'Uh oh. I got to hide.' Van leaned his back against the tree trunk the shadows of the tree concealing him. Once the group of chatting women left, he breathed a sigh.

"Every time…" Van said to himself.

*Flashback*

"Every time I go out into the market, I get bombarded by women." Van complained to his brother, Folken. "Why can't they just leave me alone?"

Folken chuckled at his younger brother. "Because you are the only eligible prince around for miles who's at the right age to marry. Speaking of which…"

"I know, I know. I've got to pick a bride…" Van said, his voice sounding mellow.

"It's not that hard to pick one you know. There are hundreds of beautiful girls in Fanelia. You just have to pick one."

"But I don't want to marry a girl simply because she's beautiful. I want a girl who's smart and can think for herself."

Folken sighed. "Who would have thought I would have a hopeless romantic for a brother."

Van scowled and threw a nearby pillow at his brother's face.

"Hey!"

*End Flashback*

'Maybe my brother is right.' Van thought as he slid down and sat at the base of the tree trunk. There just aren't any smart women out there. Smart eligible women out there. Maybe I should take Folkens advice and just pick one…' Van was jolted away from his thoughts by a large object hitting him on the head.

"Ow! Hey!" Van looked at the object that had bounced off of his head and landed in his lap. "What the… a Piscus?"

Suddenly, a voice called out from above him. "Hello? Is someone down there?" Van looked up and saw a girl, sitting high up in the tree branches.

"Miss, did you drop this?" Van called out while holding the Piscus up in the air for the girl to see.

The girl leaned over a tree branch to get a better view. "Yes. How did you find that?"

"It landed on my head." Van said with a smile.

"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry. Hold on, I'm coming down."

Van grinned and looked at the sky, the sun had fully risen. 'Darn, I missed it.' A second later, the girl jumped down the last tree branch and landed right next to him on her hands and knees, like a cat.

"Wow. That was fast. How did you get down so fast? You were near the top of the tree just a second ago."

The girl smiled kindly at him. "I've been climbing this tree since I was very young. I could climb it and get back down just as fast, blindfolded."

"Seriously?"

"Yup. I even tried it once a couple months ago."

"And you did it?"

"Sure did. Could I have my Piscus back?" the girl asked with her hand outstretched.

"Oh! Sure. Here you go." Van gave the Piscus back to the girl and she placed it in a large bag that was hung over her shoulder.

"I'm sorry it hit you in the head. I had a bit of a clumsy moment up there." She said with a slight smile.

"That's all right." Van said politely. "What were you doing up there, anyway?" Van could see the girls cheeks redden slightly before answering.

"Well, I was watching the sun rise. You get a really good view of the whole town if you climb high enough."

"Really? I'd like to see that."

"Well then, come on!" the girl said as a mischievous smile crossed her features. She grabbed both of Van's hands and pulled him up to his feet. "Upsidaisy. Now, first you've got to…"

Before Van could find out exactly what he was supposed to do, the sound of a crowd of girls, giggling a little too much reached their ears. They both looked down the see a large pack of elegantly dressed girls, chatting away madly.

"Ugh…everyday…" the girl beside Van said with disgust in her voice. "Everyday those girls parade around the village, wearing the most expensive dresses and jewelry they own. Then at around lunchtime, they all head over to the castle to try and get a glimpse of Prince Van."

'What? But I'm Van. Doesn't this girl realize…'

"They're all convinced that someday, Prince Van is going to come down from his palace and ask them all to marry him. It's sick. I tried to talk them out of it, but no…"

"What do you mean? Do you know those girls?"

"Unfortunately yes." She said with an exasperated sigh. She pointed at one of the girls. "You see that girl with the red hair and the lilac gown? That's Yukari. I don't know why she hangs out with them. She already has a boyfriend."

"You two friends?"

"We used to be. Anyway, we had better get up in this tree before they spot us and start going all goo goo gah gah over you."

"Why would they do that?"

"They always do that when they spot a cute guy." She said in a rush before disappearing into the branches of the tree before Van could say another word.

"Hey, miss, wait…" Van called out while grabbing the nearest tree branch and hoisting himself onto it.

"Come on slowpoke…" came a delighted voice from above. Van struggled to keep up with the girls' insane pace, but he couldn't. After a while, he couldn't even see her anymore.

"Miss, where are you?" he yelled.

"Right here!" Van looked up to see a pair of emerald eyes only inches from his face. She was hanging up side down and grinning from ear to ear. "And don't call me 'miss.' My name's Hitomi." And then she disappeared again. "Come on, we're almost there!"

"Almost there?.." Van looked down to check his progress and almost lost his grip when he saw how high he was. He wasn't afraid of heights, after all, he was a Draconian, but no one was to know about that. He was just surprised that he was that high up in the tree already. Turning his gaze upward, he continued his accent. After a few moments, the branches around him thinned out and he could see the girl, Hitomi, sitting on a branch, her back resting against the trunk.

"You finally made it." Hitomi said with a dazzling smile. Van sat himself on a nearby tree branch beside Hitomi and took a rest. Using his gloved hand, he wiped off a few beads of sweat off of his brow. "Are you thirsty?"

"Yeah, a little." Hitomi swung the bag off of her shoulder, and pulled out a Piscus and tossed it to Van.

"Enjoy." She said after pulling out a Piscus for herself. Van ripped off the top of his Piscus and caught the scent of the slightly sour liquid.

"Do you have…" Before Van could finish his question, Hitomi held out a straw and Van took it. "Thanks."

"No problem. You know it's a shame you missed the sunrise. You can see all of Fanelia on a clear day like this. I may come back tonight to watch the sun set if the weather keeps up."

"Mind of I come back to join you?" Van asked without looking at her.

Van didn't notice Hitomi blush slightly before answering. "No, I don't mind. But I still don't know your name."

"My name is Van…" he said without thinking.

Hitomi nearly fell out of the tree when he said that. "WHAT?! Van? Prince Van? You're Prince Van?"

'Smooth move Van. You finally meet an interesting girl who treats you like a person and not like royalty, and you let slip that you're a prince. You idiot.'

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry. I didn't realize it was you. If I'd of known I never would have…"

"Please, don't apologize." He said, waving his hands in the air and almost losing his balance. "It was my fault entirely. I should have told you who I was."

"You mean you did that on purpose? Why?"

"I was afraid if I told you who I was, you would start acting like those girls down there and treat me…"

"…like a prince?" she finished.

"Yeah. I was enjoying your company and I didn't want you to start acting different."

"Oh." After a long silence, Van shifted positions and prepared to leave after thoroughly embarrassing himself.

"Well, I'll leave you alone then…"

"No, wait!" Hitomi reached out for his arm before thinking. As soon as she touched him, she retracted her arm and stared at the ground apologetically. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"That's alright, but I really should be going." Van began his decent then paused and looked back up at Hitomi. "Will I see you tonight?"

"What?"

"Tonight. You said that you might come back to watch the sunset. Can I meet you here?"

"Um…yeah…I'll be here."

"Great! It's a date then." Van smiled and then started climbing down the tree. It wasn't until he was out of the tree and walking back to the palace that something hit him.

'Did I just ask that girl on a date?'

Meanwhile, up in a tree, Hitomi was struck with a thought.

'Did I just agree to go on a date with Prince Van?'

A/N: That's it, for now. So what do you all think? If you like, I will continue with it. If you hate it, stop reading, and I'll continue it anyway cause I like the way this story is coming out. But if you want an update soon, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW. They give me inspiration and boost my moral. Also, read my other story, which I will finish eventually. Now, REVIEW or I will be VERY UPSET!