KINGDOM ESCAFLOWNE

AN: Well, when we last left off in chapter three I said this would be done fairly shortly. Never trust those notes. Most of the time I'm wrong. I ran into a writer's block in this chapter and then college started. I've been swamped with homework and classes and trying to find a job. I'm hoping to get close to finished with this fic before Kingdom Hearts II is released. I think I have until fall 2004. Anyway, Van fans should be pleased since most of this chapter is written through his point of view.

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne, Kingdom Hearts, or Disney.

***

". . . The power of the guardian. Kindness to friends. A shield to repel all!"

Chapter Four: Prelude to Open War

They made a smooth descent into Fanelia. The weather all around hadn't changed much. It was cool out and there was a light snow fall. There was little to no breeze to sting their faces as they walked to the Fanelian castle gates. In the streets Hitomi could see the worried and confused faces of the people. They were probably most concerned about the weather, since it was unusual to snow this early in the year.

Hitomi sighed sadly. Fanelia was just pulling itself back together and now this. Will it get any worse than this? A light snow fall would never hurt anyone, but the Heartless would. She stopped briefly in the middle of the road. Donald and Goofy stopped just ahead and waited for her. Her mind was not on the here and now, but what may lie ahead. Just about everyone she knew and cared for was missing. Van was at least one soul on which she could count on to see again. Not all of her struggle had been in vain. She had gathered a piece of what appeared to be part of Ansem's report and the name of a place of further withheld information, Hollow Bastion. Wherever that was she was going to find a way to get there somehow. She began moving again and so did Donald and Goofy. It wasn't until after that brief stop that she realized that she was exhausted from everything that had happened. I can't rest yet, I have to see Van first.

"Hitomi," Ruhm greeted. They were barely at the castle and Ruhm was right there in front of them.

Why is he out here? Is he leaving? "Ruhm, are you -?" Hitomi was cut off.

"I'm not leaving," he said. "I saw the pillar of light and came out to get you."

"Where's Van?" she asked.

"He's in his study. Come," he led them back into the castle.

Everything was fairly quiet all through the streets and in the hall of Van's castle. The hall was still much the same as when she had last seen it, except it was a bit warmer than the outside. When they came to Van's study she saw that there was only one Fanelian soldier standing in front of the door. When he saw Ruhm approaching he left down the hall where they came. Just as he left he turned and gave Hitomi a dirty look. She wondered what that was about, but she thought she'd ask Van about it. Ruhm opened the door and the three of them filed in the room. Ruhm came in shutting the door behind him.

Van was sitting at his desk, his head facing down. He had felt awful for breaking his vow. He hated the fighting. Yet there was still worse news he could not keep to himself. He didn't want Hitomi to know otherwise she would worry over things here and might refuse to complete her mission. Van would rather have her stay, but things on Gaea now . . .

"Van?" Hitomi spoke up.

Van slowly looked up from his desk. She was back! Though she appeared to be quite calm her eyes did not hide the fact her mind was troubled. Van could see that. He could see it because he understood it. He got up from his seat and walked over to her.

"Hitomi, I'm glad you came back safely," he said to her. He didn't know how to explain that whatever was protecting Gaea before was now gone and that this place was as dangerous as her travels were. Though, when he said those words to her, her expression changed. Her eyes didn't convey any troubled feelings as they did when she came in. They seemed to convey a warm and comforted feeling.

"It's good to be back," she replied. Before she was about to settle into a conversation about how everyone was since she was last there she remembered the three pieces of paper safely tucked away under her jacket. "Oh! Van, we found something." She opened her jacket and pulled out the three pieces of paper and handed them to Van.

"What's this?" Van asked as the glanced through them.

"Well, we're not sure. We think it might be apart of that report Ruhm mentioned before."

Van's eyes locked onto a small sketch of what looked like a Heartless. Is it really? He looked at the papers in almost disbelief, but he didn't know if it was or wasn't part of the report they were looking for.

"Let me see," Ruhm asked and took the papers from Van. He looked through them as Van did and his eyes also caught the tiny sketch. "Do you know what it says?" he asked Hitomi.

"Um, no," she replied.

"Lord Van?"

"I've not seen writing like this before," he replied.

"I thought you knew how to read it," she said.

"I'm sorry, I've never seen writing like this before either. I know . . ."

"The King has!" Donald spoke up, finishing Ruhm's sentence.

"But when you were talking about it, I thought that you would know . . ." Hitomi restated.

"I've only heard of this report and what it contains, not what it says exactly." He looked at the papers with a confused look as to what was written.

Hitomi sighed in disappointment. She once again had that worried look in her eyes.

"Don't worry about it," Van said. "We'll call Dryden to help us out. If he could translate the language of the Mystic Moon without any help he should be able to translate this. Don't worry, we'll get it figured out."

Hitomi only sighed again. All that work and still far more to do.

Van became very serious again. After a hopeful note on understanding their enemy he still had to tell her, tell everyone, that the Heartless on Gaea have massed into an army. He couldn't tell her, not now at least. He thought it would be best if he waited until Hitomi was in a better mood to take the news. Now with the calm exterior gone he could see that she was tired from her traveling.

"Come," he said, going to the door and opening it. "You need a hot meal and some rest. We can talk about everything over dinner and after I'll make sure a bed is made up for all of you."

"All right!" Donald said and jumped to high five Goofy. They were in an agreeable mood for this.

I guess it'll be nice to relax with a warm meal. Although it was a nice thought, she still felt tired and unnerved. She followed everyone dismally to the dining room.

**

The dinner went over without much complaint. Now and then Hitomi, Donald, and Goofy gave Van odd glances before asking, "what is this?" Hitomi had eaten food in Asturia, but she never exactly had a Fanelian dish before. As close as she got to eat food alongside Van was that flight from Palas in which the main course was roasted beetles. Though this was much better than that night. The food actually looked edible and Merle wasn't trying to steal her pocky (not that she had any to be taken).

Merle was at the table with them and asking Hitomi for just about every detail on her journey just before criticizing one thing she did or another. This annoyed Donald to almost no end and Hitomi's patience - what was left of it - was wearing thin. She found trying to eat, talk, and accept Merle's remarks very difficult to do at the same time.

Van cleared his throat at mid conversation to get everyone's attention. "I have something very important to tell you. . ." he trailed off, finding it hard to come right out and say it.

"Yes?" Hitomi asked.

Van cleared his throat. "I must say," he began. He looked at the wondering faces of Hitomi, Goofy, and Donald and became unnerved by it. "There is something you must know. . ." Van restated.

"Uh... you already said that," Goofy verbally pointed out.

How can I tell them now? If I don't tell them and a surprise attack comes then . . . but if I tell them they'll worry and they look so tired still. Hitomi. . . "I wanted to say how glad I am that all of you are back safely," he announced and took another bite of his meal. Perhaps dinner isn't the best time to say this, he thought nervously.

Their expressions hinted at confusion. Then Donald spoke up.

"You said that in your study, your Majesty."

"I did?" Van asked, becoming slightly more nervous.

"Yeah," Hitomi answered. "Is there something wrong? You seem kind of nervous."

Van always tried to look confident no matter the situation. It was a poor thing for a king to show feelings of concern or discontent. He wondered if he had slipped up in that. Surely he was feeling nervous about telling them, but he wasn't sure if he was actually showing it or not.

"Well," he began, carefully choosing his words this time. "I'm just glad to see you all back safely. Truly, you know. Your journey couldn't have been easy, and I worry about you, Hitomi."

She smiled at him. "Thanks for your concern, Van."

Van smiled and then leaned back in his seat and sighed. "Well, enjoy your meal. There's something I must prepare for right now, but I'll be back to see you all off to bed." He got up and left the room.

"Where do you suppose he went off to?" Goofy asked.

Hitomi's concern returned. There is something wrong. I can feel it.

**

Van had gone out into the garden. It was dark and cool outside still and ever so silent. Darker now since it was nightfall. Normally he could relax on dark nights anywhere outdoors, but on these nights he still felt unnerved and the more so while he was outside. He wasn't sure why he came out here. It was probably due to habit. To escape the stress and smothering indoor air he'd go outside and just soak up what nature had to offer. It was very soothing to him. One of his favorite things to do was looking up at the night sky. After Hitomi left, his eyes fell more on the Mystic Moon. These nights though there was no wondrous night sky to look up to and more saddening, no Mystic Moon.

I wonder how Hitomi is coping with that, he wondered. It wasn't easy for him to deal with the loss of his country and wondered if the loss of a whole world was more painful than that. He decided not to think too much about that. When he did, memories of his mother, Folken, and Balgus came flooding back and those always hurt. He began walking toward Escaflowne's resting place.

He stopped just in front of it. For his own safety he should have moved the Escaflowne to a safer location rather than leave it out in the open where it could be preyed upon by the Heartless. He left it there because he wasn't willing to let anyone else but Ruhm know that his vow had been broken. Mostly, he didn't want Hitomi to know.

"I can't hide you forever," he whispered in the silence.

**

"Hitomi, shouldn't you and your friends start getting ready for bed?" Merle asked persistently.

"But Van's not here yet," Hitomi said.

They were standing in a finished hall with some of the nicely furnished rooms in the castle. It branched out from the more main halls of the castle and the dining room where they were previously. This was a part of the castle Hitomi remembered seeing before when she first came to Fanelia. Of course she was placed at the opposite end of the hall with the not so nice rooms. Donald and Goofy, who were overcome with curiosity, had opened most of the doors and looked in. As far as Hitomi could remember, much of the castle was rebuilt with hard wood floors in the rooms. Those were much nicer than a rug on stone. Probably why Fanelia burned so quickly and well, much to Hitomi's dislike of remembering all of this, but pretty much everything in Fanelia was made out of wood in contrast to stone. There were a few stone structures, but most of the country's homes and other buildings were made of wood.

Although stone wasn't as comfortable it did last longer. She wondered how often floor boards were replaced in the castle over the centuries before it was burned down. Her thoughts snapped back to the present time when she felt Merle poking her sides.

"Would you cut that out!" Hitomi shouted and Merle stopped.

"We've been waiting for a long time for him to come back," Goofy stated.

"Yeah," Donald said, "let's just go to bed now and we'll talk to him in the morning."

"I think I'll go look for him," she said and began walking in the direction of Van's study.

"Hitomi, I think it would be best for you to wait here with us." Ruhm took hold of her arm.

"Come on, I'm just going to his study. He probably lost track of time or something."

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to go alone," he said.

"Will you come with me then?" she asked.

Ruhm sighed. "Sure, I'll go with you."

"I going too!" Merle shouted.

It wasn't going to do them much good to stay there by themselves waiting to go to bed so Donald and Goofy sighed a bit, shrugged their shoulders and joined in the quest for Van.

**

"He's not here," she said worryingly.

"Perhaps he went out to the garden. He's been going out there a lot since you left."

"Oh?"

"Come, I know where to find him."

She followed the giant wolf-man out the half finished corridor. As soon as they left the walls and roof behind she felt a sudden chill run through her. It was like ice had penetrated her skin on all sides, but as suddenly as it came it left. She noticed all around her that the air felt still. The snow had stopped falling and it no longer felt as cold as it did before, but it did seem darker. She didn't know if what she felt actually happened. No one else seemed to be as alarmed as she was.

"Was it just me or did you guys feel that too?" she asked, her voice a bit shaky from the shock.

"Feel what?" Goofy asked.

Donald turned around to face Hitomi and Goofy and nearly fainted in doing so. Behind them was a gigantic shadow creature. In the middle of this thing, where the stomach was supposed to be, was a hole in the shape of a heart.

"Run!" Donald shouted.

Goofy wasted no time in getting away but Hitomi was frozen in place. Aside from Wonderland she had never encountered a Heartless of this size before. It was a huge, towering figure that was even darker than the night itself. She wanted to run, to get away from it, as fast as she could, but she felt like she was wearing cement shoes. She staggered back a couple of inches but couldn't find the strength to get beyond that. It wasn't fear alone that paralyzed her, there were a number of hard truths that she came to realize. Gaea wasn't the haven she had hoped to find. Ever since she had arrived Van had neglected to tell her something. Something important, from what she could tell in his expression. Is this what he didn't want to explain? Why would he not tell us? she wondered. Although all of her thoughts also managed to stop her in her tracks, she'd known that Gaea wasn't all that safe from the Heartless; but if it was this bad she couldn't understand why Van would not warn them of the danger right in his own backyard.

The Heartless made a fist and swung it down at her. She managed to break the bonds that held her in one place and jumped back a foot or two. The Heartless wasn't moving all that quickly. Just when it tried to smash her did any part of it seem to move fast at all. She watched as it tried again. It appeared to move in slow motion as it made another fist. Although she was aware of what was going to happen if she didn't move all of her focus came down to one question: Where is Van?

It came down again, just the same as before, but Hitomi couldn't find the power to make herself move out of harm's way. She heard the cries from Ruhm and everyone else for her to move, yet she could not react. Her friends seemed too far out of reach and even though they were shouting she could barely hear them. She looked up one last time as the darkness came down for her. In a heartbeat a flash of light came crossed in front of the darkness. She blinked a couple times to clear her vision. She wanted to make sure that what she was seeing was really there. The light that came across wasn't really light, but a small gleam from a long, metal object. The object was held by an enormous white figure. Escaflowne!

"Hitomi!" Van's voice shouted from the control chamber. "What are you doing down there? Get away from here, Hitomi!"

She gave a slight nod and ran to where Ruhm was. Escaflowne made quick work of the enormous Heartless. Escaflowne's blade took off the creature's arms and finally its head. The towering Heartless diminished in a puff of black smoke. When it all cleared there was nothing left in its place.

Escaflowne kneeled before Hitomi. The control chamber opened and Van stepped out. He felt heavy, as if the guilt he was feeling were really on his shoulders. He fell more than he jumped off of Escaflowne's knee and landed with a loud thud on his feet.

Hitomi and Merle rushed to him. Van looked up with a heavy heart into Hitomi's eyes. "Are you ok, Hitomi?"

She nodded in reply.

Van looked at the ground again. If I hadn't have made it. . . he thought. He looked up again. "Hitomi," he whispered, "I'm so sorry."

**

They went to Van's chambers after that to discuss what was really going on. Van felt it was much safer for everyone to meet in his chambers for there were more guards on sight and it was more enclosed than his study currently was. Hitomi, Merle, Goofy, and Donald sat on Van's grand bed. Aside from the bed she had in Asturia, Van's was the largest bed she had ever seen. Ruhm stood off in the corner of his room while Van paced back and forth in front of Hitomi and the rest.

"I just don't understand why you didn't tell us all of this before," Hitomi told him.

"I was just," Van started. "I didn't really–- it's just that I. . ." he trailed off again.

"Van stop pacing back and forth like that and just tell us what you mean, exactly!" Hitomi commanded.

"Yeah, you're making me dizzy," Merle agreed in a sickly tone.

Van stopped pacing. He went over to a comfy looking chair and sat down. "All right, all right," he said.

"Van, I know you didn't awaken Escaflowne without a good reason so don't take it so hard," she comforted.

"Hitomi, I'm sorry," he began again. "I should have told you about the dangers here right from the start it's just that. . .I was afraid I'd worry you with such news. I just wanted to make it so when you came here you didn't have to worry so much. . ."

"Van," she began, "I appreciate what you were trying to do but . . ."

She was cut off. "I know! I should have told you all." He looked away for a moment. He looked back and said, "Can you ever forgive me?"

She looked into Van's eyes and saw that they were full of guilt and regret. She sighed and said, "Of course, Van."

That didn't change his mood though. He still felt as if he had committed an unspeakable crime. He turned away and stared upon Escaflowne. If I hadn't gone to get Escaflowne Hitomi would have been. . . He felt something on his shoulder at that moment and jumped as if surprised. Hitomi was right behind him and her hand lifted away when he jumped.

"Van, are you all right?" she asked.

He only nodded in response. Merle came up by his side and hung on his arm, as she normally did.

"Van, don't take it so hard. The important thing is that we're all ok," she told him.

Merle nodded while Van continued to stare, and sat rigidly as if he were to have his body react to anything at moments notice. After a moment more of silence Van finally spoke.

"If I hadn't gone for Escaflowne you–-you wouldn't be here now. . ." he choked out the last few words as if he were about to cry. He sucked in a sharp breath of air and sat as rigidly as ever.

"You were going to tell us, weren't you?" she asked.

Van turned his head a little. She had guessed right. There wasn't any other reason he had in mind for fetching Escaflowne. "I guess so, but that still doesn't make what I did any better."

"Come on, Van! Let it go, we're all fine and you're the one who saved us. Isn't that enough for you? Don't sulk all about it, Van," she nearly shouted at him.

He turned all the way around this time. Mostly out of surprise that Hitomi was yelling at him.

At that moment one of the guards burst into Van's office. "Milord!" he shouted. When he got up to Van, he bowed and said again, "Milord!"

"What is it?" Van asked rather sternly.

"We have a visitor. You need to come to the throne room right now!" he said with urgency.

"A visitor? Whom?"

"Prince Chid of Freid wishes a conference with his majesty, the King of Fanelia," the guard said.

"Why has word not been sent ahead of time of his arrival?"

"Perhaps if his majesty were to go in and meet with the young prince he would find out?" the guard told Van in a questioning tone. Realizing how he must have sounded to Van, the guard bowed once again, but lower this time.

"All right. Go in and tell the Prince that we'll be but a few minutes."

"Yes, Sire!" He turned to run back, and as he did he gave a leery glance to Hitomi, though she didn't pay much attention to it.

Hitomi stepped forward. "Prince Chid's here?"

"I guess so. You all may retire now or Merle can show you some other parts of the castle, if you wish, I have to put Escaflowne in a safer place. I shall explain all of this later, all right?"

"Yeah, ok. Be careful, Van," Hitomi said.

"I will," he replied and climbed into Escaflowne.

"Come on, Hitomi! I'll race you to the other end of the hall!" Merle shouted.

"Huh?" Hitomi said.

The cat-girl leapt ahead and darted out the door. Hitomi started running after her. Donald, Goofy, and Ruhm continued walking at a comfortable pace.

"So, who do ya think's gonna win?" Goofy asked Donald.

"Who cares," the duck replied.

Hitomi had caught up to Merle, but her mind wasn't on beating the cat-girl but on another matter. Prince Chid. . . I wonder how he's been.

**

It was a close race, but in the end Merle came out the victor. Hitomi didn't really care, but Merle's constant teasing was starting to dig deep holes in her tolerance of the cat-girl. Ruhm eventually picked up pace and led the group away from where Prince Chid was waiting for Van.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Somewhere more private," he replied.

"Why?"

There were a number of guards that were giving them dark looks as they walked by. It was hard to not notice so many people giving them strange looks. Some men glared while others seemed edgy. This kind of attention made Hitomi feel uncomfortable. Goofy and Donald didn't seem to notice. She glanced down at Donald who was following just behind her. He was too busy trying to keep pace with them. Goofy, who was in back, was whistling some tune Hitomi had never heard before. She looked ahead and saw that they were once again heading down another long corridor.

Near the end they went into another room that looked something like Van's study, except there were a couple of sofas, chairs, and a bar. At the opposite end with two more sofas was a fire place with a fire in it. There were shelves all over the room as well displaying hundreds of books. There was also a small desk with some papers on them. Ruhm gestured for them to have a seat.

"What is this room?" Hitomi asked.

"Van's private study," Ruhm replied.

"He has two studies? Why is this one so much closer and well protected than the one Van works in?"

Ruhm cleared his throat and began explaining. "This is Van's private study. No one is allowed to disturb him while he's in here. This is a place where Van can read to himself, entertain a small number of guests if he chooses, and or work apart from being bothered every few minutes about the matters of the kingdom."

"Oh? So the other is like a public place?"

"Something like that. That study is used to deal with matters that need his attention immediately. It is also a place where diplomats can meet him and they deal with international affairs," Ruhm explained.

"Why have them spaced so far apart though?"

"It's because Lord Van wanted it that way when they rebuilt the castle. He wanted them to be on opposite ends of each other. Before Fanelia burnt down the private study was next to Lord Van's sleeping chambers!" Merle explained as though Hitomi should have known that before.

Ruhm spoke up, "That's part of it. There was another reason why it was designed that way. Van wanted the more public study to be closer to the garden so if he wanted to he could take diplomatic representatives out for a stroll in the garden to discuss treaties and alliances there. I think Van intended it to be for show as well."

"Oh, I see," Hitomi said with a better understanding.

"I wonder how long it's going to take before they come down here," Merle wondered.

"As long as it needs to take," Ruhm answered. "I will go down there and observe what's going on. When they're done talking I'll tell Lord Van that we're all waiting down here for him."

"He doesn't know?" Donald asked.

"No, he doesn't. Merle, I want you to be in charge until I get back. Should any of those guards come down here, explain that you are waiting for Lord Van to come down here. Be mindful of how they'll react when they see Hitomi and her friends here. They won't like it," he finished and walked out of the study.

"They won't like it?' What does he mean by that?" she asked Merle.

"Hitomi, some of the guards and people of Fanelia think that the invasion of Heartless are your fault."

"My fault? Why do they think that?"

Merle sat down in one of the chairs. "Well, they think that you brought them to Fanelia when you came."

"So they think this is like The Curse of the Mystic Moon,'" she said rather flatly, not too surprised that they would think that.

"The Mystic Moon has a curse on it?" Goofy pondered.

"No, it's just some stupid story," Hitomi replied.

"You'd think that at least the guards would know better, but since you left there have been more problems with the Heartless attacking the people. They don't know how to explain what's going on so when word got out that you had come to Gaea again they blamed you," Merle explained.

Hitomi sighed and leaned into a chair sitting across from Merle. At first she was annoyed about all this curse rubbish. To the people of Gaea just about everything was cursed. Too bad you need the Mystic Moon in order to even have the curse! she thought bitterly. Just as she thought about her home though she grew melancholy. I wish I could be at home right now with Mom, Dad, Yukari and even my brother. There would be no more monsters and everything would just be normal . . .

Hitomi hadn't noticed how quiet the room was until Goofy spoke up. "I wonder what they're talkin' about."

**

Van walked into his throne room and before him was Prince Chid with a most urgent look upon his face. He had a couple of armed guards with him and one person who was his advisor. He strode over in front of the prince rather than sit upon his throne to hear what he had to say. One of Van's own advisors made a small coughing sound to hint that Van was to traditionally hear the matter while seated. Van ignored him and awaited to hear what Chid had to say.

"It is good to see you again, Lord Van," Chid said in a most polite tone.

"It is good to see you again, Prince Chid," Van replied and then cut to the chase. "Tell me, what brings you to Fanelia?"

Chid didn't know where to begin. He looked to his advisor for assistance. His advisor silently gestured for him to continue as he was. Chid turned back to Van. "Something terrible has befallen my kingdom, Lord Van. I've come to ask if you'd assist us in the fight to resist it."

The Heartless? Van thought. They're in Freid now. . . He looked down to the young Prince. "Terrible? What is it exactly that would require military force to stop it?" He asked to confirm what he was thinking.

Prince Chid choked out the words as he spoke. "These. . . horrible shadows. . ." he began. "They suddenly appeared and attacked us. . ." He choked back, fighting off the urge to cry. "Please. . . Our soldiers are but a few since the war ended. These things that come now are too much for my soldiers. My people cannot defend themselves. The bodies have already begun to pile up. I fear that there will be more graves than people left. They are too much for us now. We need your assistance, Fanelia."

Van caught a glance of Ruhm walking in the room just as Chid finished. He took a place alongside of the wall and leaned against it. Van turned to Prince Chid. "Prince, you realize that Fanelia has her own problems right now and even if I could spare a moment to organize an army for you, our soldiers too, are few now and my men do not wish to fight so soon after what happened to my country."

Chid looked crushed upon hearing his words. He then shook his head as if to shake the sadness of being turned down away.

"That's all right. I understand."

"Prince Chid, did you not ask Asturia for assistance? They are closer and they can spare the soldiers to aid you in this fight," Van suggested.

Chid shook his head. "I went to them first. King Aston refused for the same reasons you did. After the war I couldn't press upon Asturia to act on our treaty."

"Your treaty?"

Chid nodded. "Yes, our treaty. Since Asturia had aided Zaibach in the attack against us a new treaty was written up demanding that they pay retribution and that they must aid us when we ask of them," he explained.

"Yet you do not force them to act on this treaty?"

"I cannot. Asturia had already paid us a necessary amount to help rebuild, but they still have their own people to take care of."

"Prince Chid. . ."

"It is because of that war that I cannot impress upon Fanelia or Asturia so much. I realize that we all have our own troubles. I will continue to search for the aid we need. Thank you for hearing me, Lord Van," Chid said and turned to leave.

"Your Highness, wait," Van said. "I cannot promise a great amount of soldiers, and I cannot promise a victory over these creatures, but since you have asked you have the aid of Fanelia and the guymelef Escaflowne."

Chid smiled. "Thank you."

Ruhm came up to them. "Lord Van, Lady Hitomi and company are waiting for you just down the hall."

"Hitomi?!" Chid shouted with surprise. "She's back?!"

"Why, yes, she is," Van told him.

"Yes, and if his majesty of the Duchy of Freid may, he is more than welcome to come, is he not, Lord Van?"

"Of course," Van replied. "Come, Prince Chid."

Ruhm led the way down the hall and into Van's private study. Chid trailed just behind Van with his advisor following him. Inside Goofy and Donald were talking about all the different titles of books on the shelves, and Hitomi and Merle were relaxing in the nice, comfortable chairs. The first thing Chid did upon entering the room was run up to Hitomi.

"Hitomi! It's really you?!" he asked just to be sure, although he thought it looked like her.

"Prince Chid!" Hitomi said, rather surprised to see him so suddenly.

Aside from Van, Merle, and Ruhm, Hitomi hadn't really heard too much of what was going on with everyone else she had met on Gaea. It was nice to see Chid again.

"I can't believe you've come back, Hitomi!" the young ruler shouted with glee.

"I can't believe it either," Hitomi agreed.

Donald and Goofy cast all too knowing looks at one another.

"How have you been?" Chid asked her.

"I've been all right," she replied.

"I haven't been able to see the Mystic Moon for some time, tell me," he said, "how have things been at home?"

Her light expression dropped. She didn't know what to say or how to say it. Her home was gone and nothing could bring it back. She looked at Chid and tried to hide the sadness in her eyes.

"Oh, it's been, uh, ok . . ." she lied. "How have things been in Freid?"

"Awful," he simply replied. "We were right in the middle of our reconstruction when we were attacked."

"Attacked?"

"By these horrible shadow creatures!" Chid fumed. "We don't know how they came in but now we can't get rid of them. Oh, it's just horrible!"

"It seems as if the Heartless have been attacking various places of Gaea," Ruhm said.

"Who? What are you talking about?" Chid's advisor asked.

"Those shadow creatures you were talking about, Prince. They are called the Heartless. Creatures that do not have a heart. Hitomi, you should tell Chid the truth," he said softly.

"Hitomi?" Chid looked up at her.

Hitomi didn't know what to say. On top of that, she didn't even want to say it. She looked around the room and she could see that all eyes were on her. Being put on the spot didn't make any easier now. She cleared her throat a couple of times, but in the end she couldn't make the words come. Every second that went by she felt worse and worse. Ruhm then cleared his throat, redirecting some of the attention in the room to him.

"The Heartless . . ." Hitomi began. She looked to the expectant crowd. "They came and destroyed my home," she choked out the whole sentence. The awkward silence after didn't help. Hitomi felt awful. First for lying and then having to tell what really happened.

"Is every. . ." Chid began.

"Well, not everything is gone. I think the very last place we went to before coming here was London."

"London?" Chid asked.

"It's a large city back on the Mystic Moon. It's the capital of a country called England. . ." Hitomi trailed off thinking about her home.

"Then a piece of your home is still there with your family and. . ." Chid was very excited for Hitomi that a piece of her home still remained but he stopped talking as her fell down cast to the floor.

"London is not my home. My home, with my family and my friends, was in the part that was destroyed. . ." she whispered in sorrow.

"Oh, Hitomi. . ." was all Chid could say before trailing off and giving her a moment of silence.

Donald came forward. "All worlds are in danger!" Donald suddenly began. "We're on a quest to find out King now. He left to try and find a way to make it stop."

"Yeah, but now Hitomi's the Keyblade Master so everythin's gonna be ok!" Goofy added.

"The what-blade?" Chid asked.

"The Keyblade," Hitomi clarified and showed Chid the Keyblade.

"It does exist!" Chid's advisor said in a rather astonished tone.

"You know about it?" Chid asked.

"Yes, there is a small section on it in the Book of Lions," he said.

"What does it say about it?"

"It says that this Key will be our world's salvation, it doesn't go into the specifics of where it came from or what it does exactly. It merely states simply just that," his advisor said.

"So you don't know much about it then?" Chid asked.

"Well, we're learning. The Draconians had some idea of what it was. My mother did, anyway," Van added. "We know it is a weapon that the Heartless fear and that it chooses the person with the strongest heart to be its master."

"Yeah, it's also pretty handy with locks, too!" Goofy added.

"Locks?"

"It's a key, what did you expect?" Donald said.

"There was this thing in that first world we went to and it seemed to lock up that talking door knob. . ." Goofy said.

"It was weird, though," she began. "The Keyblade seemed to try and jump away from me to lock that door. There are many locks in this castle, aren't there? Why didn't the Keyblade try to lock those?"

Goofy scratched his head. "Uh, because talking locks are special?"

"Perhaps," Ruhm said. "I believe your King mentioned this before. That every world has a Keyhole. The Keyblade's purpose is to seal the Keyholes. That could be why you felt it's power tug you when you were in front of that door."

"Every world has a Keyhole?" Van asked.

"That's what he told me."

"Where do you suppose Gaea's is?" he asked.

"Perhaps it is in Freid? That's where the power of Atlantis was once sealed. It took a kind of key to unlock it," Chid's advisor said.

"Perhaps, but what is the point of sealing all of these Keyholes?" Van asked.

"Well, that could be how the Heartless are getting into all of these worlds," Ruhm said, even though he wasn't sure how to explain it.

"This world has been connected. . . tied to the darkness. . ." Hitomi repeated the dark words in monotone.

"Huh?" Merle said.

"That's what I heard when the Mystic Moon was, um, destroyed. Maybe when the Keyholes are open, they connect all of the worlds to the Heartless?" Hitomi guessed.

"That may be true," Ruhm said.

"I forgot to say this earlier. Hitomi, I am going to Freid to help them fight off the Heartless. I will gather recruits tonight and we will leave first thing in the morning. If the Keyhole to Gaea is in Freid we will find it and let you know. I would like you to wait here and rest for a little while. . ."

"No," Hitomi said. "I'm coming with you."

"Hitomi, please, I feel bad enough about tonight. I'll have my guards stay around and make sure that you're well protected."

"Van, I know what you're trying to do and I appreciate it, but if the Keyhole is the link, then you going to find it by yourself won't do any good. I have the Key that can seal it. Van, please, let me come with you. I might be able to help you out in battle. . ."

"I don't know. . ."

"Don't worry, your Majesty, we'll make sure she's safe," Donald said.

"Yeah, that's our job!" Goofy added.

"Hitomi, if you come, I don't want you to have to fight," Van said.

"Then don't," Donald began, "let us look for the Keyhole."

Hitomi nodded in response. Merle ran to Van's side and hung on his arm.

"What about me, Lord Van?" Merle asked.

"I'd like you to stay and keep an eye on things here, Merle. Don't worry, you'll be well protected," Van said.

"But Lord Van. . ." Merle whined. "What if the guards can't stand up to the Heartless? What if the soldiers . . ."

"The soldiers are coming with me, Merle," Van said.

"But. . ." Merle began.

Hitomi interrupted. "I know that you and Donald are supposed to follow me wherever I go, but maybe one of you should stay behind to help Merle out."

"Really?" they both asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

"All right, it's settled then," Goofy said. "I'll stay and protect Merle. You and Donald go find the Keyhole!"

"What?!" Hitomi and Donald panicked.

"Yeah, Donald would be more helpful than I would. He can cast spells on a number of Heartless all at once. I can only get maybe one or two at a time. If we were to get swarmed or somethin', then I wouldn't be much help. Donald, you go and protect the Key!"

"All right then, you all need a good night's sleep and I'll see you in the morning," Van said, ushering everyone out of the study. Goofy was the last one, aside from Van, to leave.

"Should I guess that Hitomi and Donald need to learn how to get along?" Van asked.

"How did you know?"

"I seem to recall a similar thing with Hitomi and Merle," he replied.

Up ahead Hitomi was thinking, I have a bad feeling about this.

***

End of Chapter Four!