Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne!

So this is the next chapter, and I hope you like it!

Enjoy!


The month of preparing seemed to go by in a flash. Before Yuki knew it, she had been presented to Van's council and people. She now stood in front of Van, who was dressed in formal attire, holding her left hand and slipping a ring on her finger.

"I accept this woman as my wife and queen, in front of all these witnesses."

She looked into his eyes and saw they were full of pain, as if he'd done this several times too many and none of the marriages had lasted very long. But that was impossible that he could be that broken, wasn't it?

They danced at the ball afterwards, the same feeling coming off Van. Yuki gazed into his eyes, he was in such pain right now, so much that it almost seemed endless. Yet because of his unguarded eyes, she felt like she was being given a chance that had been given to so many others, yet not taken as it should be.

As they retired to his room that she was to share with him, he turned away from her and unbuttoned his jacket and shirt, letting them slide to the ground. He then bent over, before a pair of pure white wings came from his back, delicate feathers floating to the floor. She didn't hesitate, but walked over to him, her hands reaching for the beautiful wings.

Just then he turned, his eyes reflecting her in their depths. "Yuki, the contract has been set in motion. Do you swear to take it all in and become as I am?"

"What do you—"

"Do you swear?" he repeated, eyes narrowing.

She gave up, knowing she had no choice. "I swear."

The instant she said it, she felt an unbearable pain through her heart and back, making her collapse to the ground. As if they were going through mud, a pair of white wings emerged from her back, although they were soft, they felt razor-sharp with how much they seemed to tear through her shoulders. Out of her chest came her heart, only for a ruby of the same size to be replaced. Van's hands closed around the heart, holding it as it fluttered, almost like a bird trying to get free. He placed it in his own body, then murmured, "The contract is complete. I will keep your heart for a year, and will only give it back when you have returned the feelings that I feel for you and keep them until our wedding anniversary."

"But how am supposed to feel them without a heart?" she asked. "Am I an angel too?"

"No, you're what people here call a Draconian. Instead of being blessed, like an angel, you share the curse I carry, being one of the winged people who caused the destruction of Atlantis. Should anyone except myself see your wings, they will try and kill you." He turned to the bed, pulling his wings in. "You should get some rest, my lady, because you'll find that the ruby is heavier on your chest than your heart used to be. And as for how you're supposed to feel without a heart, you'll have to find that out on your own."

With that, he laid down in bed, though he didn't seem to be asleep. He actually just lay there, not moving. She closed her eyes and pulled her wings in, now knowing why she had a dress that had no back on it. She slipped it off, leaving just a backless slip, looking at Van in the bed. He almost seemed to be waiting for her to get in with him.

Nodding in resolution, she walked over to the bed, getting under the covers and turning to him, breathing in. She felt like she was standing in a grassy field with the wind blowing through it. "My lord, that scent emanating from you…it's so unlike my home country. Soothing, and gentle. Like you, even though you caused me physical pain, it was necessary." She crawled over to her new husband and he looked up at her. "Your gentle and loving heart that has been broken, I will take it into my keeping as well, soon enough…"

She bent down and gave him a soft, chaste kiss, but was caught when he put a hand on the back of her neck, pushing them together so their lips were never too far apart.

As everything faded into a haze, he whispered, "Be strong, for me…"


There it is, my readers! Next things might get a bit shaky for our lovers!

Please review!