Hello lovelies! Guess what? It's new chapter day! I know, I know, it's been a long time coming. I have to admit that I'm not sure exactly how I feel about this chapter. There's a lot going on here, like...a lot a lot. There was so much editing and rewriting to try and get the tone right and the phrasing just so, and I don't know if I managed to get everything I wanted across but there's so much set up in this chapter that well...this is what we got! A quick thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favoured, or even just read this story. It means the world to me, honestly. I also want to apologise to everyone who has reviewed and not received a response, life has been crazy upside down and sideways the last few weeks and many of my adult responsibilities have taken a serious hit. I promise to try better next time! Anyways, here we go!
Merriet took a deep breath of warm, clean air. The sun felt wonderful as it kissed her face and the sky was such a gorgeous shade of blue no one could possibly have been angry while looking at it. It was an absolutely perfect day to travel.
She tried not to bounce a little as she watched the last of their belongings being hauled aboard the levi ship. She was a lady after all, and would be Queen soon. It wouldn't be very regal to be seen bouncing up and down like an impatient child. The problem was that she'd only been on a levi ship a handful of times in her life and air travel made her both excited and a little nervous.
Her father had always been apprehensive of air ships and preferred to travel by carriage when he could. Sometimes that was simply impossible. The journey to Asturia was one such instance. The distance alone was a deterrent, they would be several days in the air, but while much had righted itself since the war there were still areas of Gaia's landscape so scarred they were virtually impassible.
She felt a warm hand on the small of her back and her smile deepened. She turned and her fiancé placed a light kiss on her forehead that almost made her melt, his handsome face smiling down at her. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever hoped to find someone so wonderful, someone she could love so much.
"Are you ready?" he asked, his voice smooth and as warm as the sun that shone down on them. She nodded and his eyes crinkled a little at the corners. "Good. Would you let her know that we'll be departing shortly?"
"Of course".
He gave her one last chaste kiss and left to see to the final preparations. She watched him go with a sigh before scanning the clearing for her quarry. One of the staff caught her eye and pointed towards the other side of the ship. Merriet nodded her thanks and set out on her small quest.
As she rounded the ship's bow she spotted them instantly. A beautiful young woman stood close to the edge of the clearing, her long honey coloured hair loose and fluttering slightly in the soft breeze. Strikingly green eyes gazed unseeing at some far off point. She was lost in thought, a state that she seemed to be in more and more often these days.
A great black shadow stood at the girl's side. Horrifyingly large, it's scaled body dwarfed her smaller one, it's enormous dark head draped over her shoulder. A month ago the sight of a Fanelian dragon would have terrified the Estrians, but now they seemed almost common place.
"Hitomi".
The seer's head shot up, her eyes becoming focused as they sought out the source of her name. Her hand stilled where it had been gently stroking the side of the dragon's muzzle, the creature chirping a little in protest until the stroking resumed.
"Time to go," Merriet heard the girl say to the beast before turning and walking towards her. He was right at her side.
Hitomi smiled as she drew closer and Merriet couldn't help smiling back. She had expected such a legend of the Destiny War to be, well- different. Appearing suddenly in the middle of the night, the girl had been a bit disheveled and only slightly worse for wear. And dressed so inappropriately that Merriet had blushed for her; but the seer had proven to be such a sweet, odd thing it was almost impossible not to feel drawn to her. She knew her fiancé and his grandmother felt the same.
"Ready?" the future Queen asked as the dragon at Hitomi's side reached forward to brush it's nose against her hand. She smiled and let her hand fall to the top of it's surprisingly warm head. The foreigner made a bit of a face.
"As ready as I'll ever be".
Circling back around the ship Merriet watched as the staff kept a respectful distance from the trio, and the dragon's large tail. They passed a knight, one of only five who would be accompanying them, and he bowed. There were only the five knights, a far cry from the twenty skilled men who would normally guard the wooded and secluded ship mooring. The royals of Estra were well loved, but precautions were always taken. Passing by a dark shadow in the treeline Merriet knew that they had all the security they could possibly need.
"Have you named him?"
Hitomi's bright eyes shifted to her again and she tilted her head slightly in confusion. Merriet tilted her chin to the beast at the girl's side.
"No," the Seer admitted as her hand found the dragon's scales again. "It never really occurred to me to name him".
"It might make speaking of him a bit easier," the future Queen mused. They'd all simply been referring to the dragon as 'him', after a month a name was certainly called for. "How about Baka?"
Hitomi laughed a little as she smiled and gave Merriet another confused look, "Why Baka?"
"You have called him that a few times. I had assumed it was a name".
The seer laughed again, this time seemingly out of embarrassment, "I have called him that, haven't I?" She looked down at the creature before casting an almost wicked grin back at the Estrian woman, "Baka means idiot in my tongue".
Merriet let out a surprised and delighted laugh of her own. Leave it to the Seer to call a fire breathing land dragon an idiot. She thought for a moment,
"What about Baku then? It's similar but it means 'Shadow' in Freidian".
Hitomi mulled the name over before saying happily, "Baku. I like it".
X
Aldrin sighed as he dismounted. Traipsing through the forest was not what he wanted to be doing right now but he had little choice. A scout, a young wolf, took the reigns from him and pointed over his shoulder.
"He's that way".
Tugging his somewhat displaced coat back into proper order, the Fanelian Knight set off in the direction the wolf had indicated. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for.
The King of Fanelia sat on his heels, the fingertips of one hand hovering over the ground, his head bowed as he studied something intently. Aldrin sighed again, this time internally, as he watched his Lord and King scan the forest floor with a deep frown.
"My Lord, we were scheduled to depart an hour ago," he reprimanded. "At this point the Captain might very well leave without you".
The King's odd, intense eyes became only just visible through the long fringe of his dark hair, "I doubt that".
Van Salanzar de Fanel stood slowly and scanned the brush around him. Aldrin felt a wave of annoyance and something akin to pride wash over him. In the six years since he'd begun his employment he'd watched the King of Fanelia become a rather impressive man. Headstrong and self assured almost to the point of arrogance the young man did things his own way, on his own time and there was little that anyone could do about it. He was difficult, but at least now he looked and acted the part.
The knight had been glad to discover that the young man preferred practicality over colours and frills but it had taken him a full year to get the royal out of those raggedy tunics and into something more befitting his position. A King should look like a King, so he guessed the black hide vest was a suitable alternative to a coat. He would have preferred the coat.
"Tell me what you see," the King's voice broke through his musings. With some reluctance the older man walked to where his Lord stood and sat on his heels. His eyes racked over the forest floor and he frowned.
"Blood".
Blood was certainly not an unusual thing to find in the forest, but if the wolves had sent for the King he had to assume there was something more. Aldrin continued to scan his surroundings, pressure around the edge of his eyes building as colours became more vibrant. Edges crisper.
More blood, a trail of it leading through the trees. He took a few steps and found a partial print. Damn.
Following the trail was simple enough, and soon he caught the inevitable scent. When they finally stopped he turned to look at his King. The younger man watched him with an unreadable expression, a hand resting lazily on the hilt of his sword.
Taking a couple steps closer Aldrin felt his frown deepen. Rot had just begun to set in; it couldn't have been there more than a few days. There was a pool of dried blood where an arm should have been.
The arm was missing at the shoulder, the skin torn. There were only a few creatures in their forests that could do such a thing. That was why they were late.
"Dragon attack?"
Even as he said the words the knight knew how ridiculous they sounded. Despite what everyone seemed to think of the backwater little country and its beasts, dragon attacks were a rarity. There hadn't been a death attributed to dragons in almost seventy years.
"I'm not sure," the King said, his tone grave. "At this point anything is possible".
They stared down at the corpse of what had once been a man and Aldrin felt himself pitying it. What a terrible way to go. The King's deep sigh drew his eyes from the gore, the young man's dark brow was knit with concern.
"Something's happening. I just don't know what".
X
Hitomi fiddled with the stem of her wine glass almost incessantly. She spun the smooth glass between her fingers, over and over again, in small circles that made the dark burgundy liquid swirl in delicate waves. Merriet watched her from the corner of her eye as she took a sip from her own drink. The Estrian was on her second glass already and Hitomi had barely touched hers.
Palas was exactly as she remembered it. Well, almost. The atmosphere was the same, and while the new construction still looked picturesquely Asturian with it's white stone walls and blue tile roofs it just didn't look- quite right. There were enough changes to the city that they rendered her memory of it unreliable, and yet so many things were still the same that she had no choice but to rely on it. It was…frustrating.
The castle she could have walked through blindfolded and still been able to find her way around. It even smelled the same.
They'd arrived sometime around noon the day before, right at the same time as many of the other guests, and while Hitomi had expected to go relatively unnoticed in the crowd any hopes of that were killed the moment Millerna spotted her. Running past many of the other dignitaries the Queen called out her name before throwing her arms around the seer. Hitomi smiled as she returned the Queen's hug, but she could hear the whispers already starting.
The guests were given a day to settle and recover from their travels before the festivities began and her identity was a greatly delighted topic amongst the rumour mills, but it wasn't the only one. Someone was missing, someone who's absence was definitely noticed.
The Fanelian ship hadn't docked, and by the time the sun set there was no word of its whereabouts. As Hitomi readied herself for what would turn out to be a pretty rotten sleep, her mind raced. Would he really not come because she was there? He couldn't possibly hate her enough to miss Chid's birthday, right?
Now, almost twenty hours later, bright emerald eyes scanned the crowded ballroom while she tried to ignore the excruciating tightness in her chest. The moment she spotted his unmistakable form it felt like a hundred pound weight had been lifted off of her.
"If you keep playing with your vino like that you might end up wearing it," Merriet's wind chime like voice suddenly said from beside her. Hitomi gave the girl a frown and watched as the future Queen's grin widened behind the rim of her glass. She liked the girl, a lot, but sometimes she reminded her just a bit too much of Yukari.
"If I try to drink it I might end up wearing it anyways".
"Then put it down".
Hitomi sighed morosely, "If I do that I'll just end up picking a hole through my dress".
Merriet let out a small, dainty laugh. The Mystic Moonling had been reprimanded, gently, not once but twice already for almost doing just that.
"Do you think Baku followed us?"
The question was only mildly surprising as Hitomi had been wondering the same thing herself over the last few days. She hadn't heard anything, and she was positive that a dragon this far east would draw some serious attention. No news was good news- maybe.
The seer let herself shrug, "He's more likely than the others but it seems like a long way to go by land. I can't imagine how good the hunting would be".
Hitomi began chewing on her lip at the thought of the dragon following them all the way to Asturia. Back and fourth between Estra and Fanelia was one thing as it wasn't unheard of to see a dragon wondering through the forests but there weren't many large forests this close to the coast. She began to think about what would happen if he had followed them, if somebody saw him. If he ate- something he shouldn't.
Merriet watched her for a moment, head tilted just ever so slightly in that dainty lady-like kind of way. There was an almost amused glint in the girls eye, and then suddenly she smiled.
"You're worrying too much about too many things," the Estrian declared as she laced her arm around the seer's. A single, soft bell pealed over the chatter. "Come on. It's time".
Hitomi allowed herself to be lead towards a set of massive double-doors, the guests forming a large semi-circle around them. They found Darrius and Elora near the front, the King helping his grandmother up from a nearby seat.
Hitomi tried to keep her hands still and her eyes from wondering. She didn't manage either. Still fiddling with the stem of her glass, her green eyes flicked across the faces of the people around her as discretely as they could. She spotted Allen and Melody off to one side, Gaddess, Celena and Aeries on the other. Big, sapphire eyes caught hers somewhere near the Caeli Knight.
Merle looked beautiful in a coral gown. The fitted, capped sleeve bodice was modest and very Fanelian as was the black and white stripped ribbon around her waist, the ends drifting almost to the floor. The neko began to smile, the sort of smile that warmed her heart and made her sad all at the same time. She smiled back before her gaze was drawn up towards the dark figure at Merle's shoulder.
They locked eyes, the dark burgundy of his as mesmerizing as always. For several long heart beats she tried to read what was hidden there and became lost in the depth of that oddly warm color. It was only when one of his eyebrows raised, ever so slightly, that she realized just how openly she was staring. Hitomi looked away with a start, her cheeks flaming while the King's eyes softened.
What was she thinking, staring like that? Merriet snuck her a little grin and Hitomi groaned. As if she wasn't embarrassed enough already without being caught in the act. Gods, she was an idiot.
Suddenly the double doors opened and any feelings of embarrassment disappeared. Tears began to swell in the corners of Hitomi's eyes and she had to muffle a watery laugh. She really had been gone too long.
Flanked on either side by his aunt and uncle, Duke Chid was magnificent in his formal wear. Already a few inches taller than Millerna he was the spitting image of his biological father; minus the hair of course. His wavy blonde hair was still cut fairly short but in a way that was reminiscent of somebody else she knew. Shorter on the sides and back with a little more length on top.
His attire was Friedian but also somehow not. A brilliant blue tunic accented in gold fell to the Duke's thigh and was cinched at the waist with an intricately tied gold sash. Under the tunic was a clean white shirt, the upright collar and stiff cuffs also accented in gold. Loose blue trousers were tucked into soft brown boots at mid calf and a jeweled saber securely sat in the sash at his waist.
He'd changed so much. He was still Chid, but older and so mature looking for his age despite the slight roundness of his cheeks. The only thing that hadn't changed was the warmth of his smile and the way his brilliant blue eyes crinkled ever so slightly at the corners as they gazed out at the guests.
Hitomi watched as those eyes scanned the crowd discreetly, searching for something. Eventually they landed on Merle who smiled, mouthed something to the young Duke and used a clawed finger to not-so-discreetly point in her general direction. A second or two later his bright blue eyes found hers, widened and then his smile grew to show his sparkling teeth.
"Chid?"
The Duke's gaze ripped away from her and snapped to the man beside him. Dryden's lips were pulled into a knowing smile, his warm brown eyes laughing. He'd been giving a speech, and they'd both missed it. Chid took a moment to blink himself into composure.
"Thank you uncle," he said, his voice still youthful but definitely not child-like. The Duke looked out at his guests with a polite smile. "At risk of repeating what my uncle has already said, we are so grateful that you have all taken the time to be here to celebrate with us. My family and I are truly honoured to be in the company of so many dear friends, and we feel very blessed for the opportunity to enjoy this time with all of you", his eyes flicked to Hitomi, her tears threatening to spill over as she smiled back. "Now I'm sure everyone's quite hungry so please, enjoy yourselves".
"To Duke Chid".
After the toast a cloud of content chatter began the slow procession towards the dining hall. Hitomi watched from the corner of her eye as Merle moved towards her only to be pulled back by her brother's gentle hand. The neko argued with him quietly, her eyes flicking to the seer and then back again before her ears started to droop. With one last glance Merle let her brother guide her off towards dinner.
"Hitomi!"
The seer barely had time to throw her arms around a pair of broadening shoulders as Chid wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. She marveled at the difference eight years had made in him, and at her magically disappearing wine glass. She could have sworn…
A few inches taller than her as well, the young man's enthusiastic hug pulled her up onto her toes and she laughed. When her feet touched solid ground again her hands found his soft cheeks and he beamed down at her while she tried not to cry.
"Look at you", she whispered. "You've grown up so much". The Duke's chest swelled a bit with pride as his cheeks tinted again and her hands fell to his shoulders.
"You're here, you're really here. I can't believe it".
"I'm sorry I was gone so long, and that I crashed your birthday party".
Chid shook his head with such vigor that Hitomi worried he was going to rattle his own brain, "This is the best possible thing that could have happened. We've all missed you so much, Aunt Merle and Lord Van especially".
Hitomi's face dropped a little but Chid didn't seem to notice as he offered her his arm. She took it and let him lead her towards the banquet hall.
"Will you sit with me? I have so many questions".
X
As the last dinner plates were cleared away Merle couldn't hide the giant smile that threatened to split her face. It wasn't the food that made her smile, although it could have, and it wasn't the fact that Millerna had chosen her favorite dessert, a chocolate tort, for the final course of their meal. It was the ringing of happy laughter from across the table that made her feel a little gooey inside.
Hitomi's face glowed with a light, genuine smile as the Duke spoke so animatedly his hands moved almost on their own. They'd been like that the entire dinner, heads bowed together, voices quiet despite their enthusiastic conversation. More than once Millerna had been forced to scold her nephew gently and remind him that his guest needed a chance to eat. Dryden had burst out laughing at his nephew's bright cheeks.
Merle beamed as a plate of delectable looking dessert was placed in front of her. Things couldn't be better, Chid was more excited than she'd seen him in years and Hitomi was here and smiling, actually smiling. The neko almost hummed as she raised her dessert fork with child-like glee. A low 'thank you' made her pause.
Catching his profile out of the corner of her eyes she watched her brother gain a startled reaction from the young man dispensing the delicious treat. It wasn't common for royals to thank the staff during formal dinners but from the distracted look on his face she knew he only said it out of habit.
Watching him discreetly Merle took an inventory of her only family. His expression was passive and he only engaged in polite conversation when it was absolutely necessary. If it wasn't for Gaddess on his other side she doubted he'd bother talking to anyone. At all.
Things between them had been…off, for the last few weeks. No, not off. Awful. After Hitomi left Van had tried to explain but no matter what he said or how good his reasoning was she just couldn't understand how he could send Hitomi away like that! It didn't make sense! Maybe he really did believe it was in her best interest, but he could have fought a little harder for her. He could have at least tried!
They hadn't spoken since, not really, but at first it was just her. Merle couldn't bring herself to say something that she knew would only end in a fight and after a day or two of frustrated pleading Van had resigned himself to their new situation and that had been it.
Not talking was hard on both of them. She was lonely and he'd become withdrawn and quiet, or at least more so than normal. When they were forced to dine together she'd catch him staring off into space, his brow pulled together and an almost haunted look in his eyes. They'd sit there in silence, Merle picking at her plate while his remained untouched until he left without a word. Things were definitely not ok.
When Van and Genish arrived at the airship almost four hours late the day of their departure she'd stormed down the gang plank with two weeks of pent up frustration ready to boil over and a direction to point it in- but she stopped short. Ruhm and Brudha were also there, along with a stench she knew too well.
Something serious had happened, and as the men boarded she expected her brother to say something. He hadn't. Only sparing her a glance he'd walked right by; she could see it though, a barely masked worry that had her fur on edge. No amount of pleading had convinced Varo to tell her what was going on, and she'd be damned before she asked the knight, so she was still in the dark.
The whole thing hurt more than she wanted to admit. Then, to make things worse, the first words Van had said to her in weeks were to keep her from giving Hitomi a desperately needed hug! It was only now, watching Chid and Hitomi's happy faces, that she realized exactly why he'd stopped her. Not that it put him back in her good graces or anything.
Merle stabbed her dessert and put a forkful of the deliciousness in her mouth. It tasted bitter. There was a sudden noise from down the incredibly long table that drew over a dozen eyes. The clank of a toppled wine glass, a squeal followed by howling laughter. Apparently someone was having a good time.
She turned her attention back to her dessert and watched as, not for the first time that night, Van and Hitomi's eyes met across the table. They watched each other for a moment while Merle watched them, her fork still in her mouth. Hitomi was the first one to look away, a tint to her cheeks, and Merle groaned inwardly. She wasn't the only one to notice the pairs awkwardness though as Chid shot the neko a look from across the table. Merle just rolled her eyes at him before glaring at her brother. Feeling her ire he raised an eyebrow at her but she huffed and looked away.
"Are you two not speaking?"
Merle felt her brother stiffen beside her. The question was quiet, very quiet, but Draconians, like nekos, had exceptional hearing. They just didn't listen well.
Sticking another fork full of torte in her mouth Merle watched as a pair of green eyes flicked across the table and back to the Duke almost reflexively. The seer's shoulders dropped slightly as did the corners of her mouth.
"It's… complicated".
What was so damn complicated about talking to each other!? Five minutes, an hour, a god damned hello for Gaia's sake. Anything! But if things were complicated now they were about to get much, much worse.
"Duke Chid, you and Lady Hitomi seem very close. How did you meet?"
The entire dining room became quiet, which was impressive given just how many people there were sitting around the ridiculously long table. The voice, a woman's, came from the same direction as the last outburst just a minute or so ago. The entire ballroom sat riveted.
Chid, innocent boy that he was, beamed as he looked at the seer, "We met a number of years ago in Freid. Lady Hitomi was traveling with Lord Van and Lady Merle aboard the Crusade when it landed in my country. They, as well as my Aunt Millerna, had been traveling to warn us of Zaibach's treachery when Sir Schezar was injured in combat".
The room erupted with excited murmurs. There were so many stories about what had happened during the war and the rolls The Dragon and The Seer had played. Some of them were a bit romanticized while others were just god awful. Seriously ridiculous. Getting the story right from the sources had never been an option before, so no one should have been surprised at what came next.
"Lord Van, how did you and Lady Hitomi meet?"
The King's eyes came up and fixed once again on the woman across the table from him. His expression was calm, still passive, but Merle could see something almost like amusement in his eyes as he considered the question.
"She ran into me," he finally answered. "Literally".
"You're the one who appeared on my world completely out of no where with a land dragon on your heels", the seer retorted without thinking. She looked up, stunned at her own out burst, and turned pink again.
The very corner of the King's lips twitched just slightly as the room erupted into more excited chatter. Somebody else cried out 'Is that true?'.
"It is. For my right of succession I had to engage a land dragon and take its energist. Not long after I found one I was transported to the Mystic Moon, the dragon was close behind".
Merle smiled as the room erupted with excited questions. Did the King really go to the Mystic Moon? What was it like? Did he travel there in a pillar of light? That was how Lady Hitomi had arrived on Gaia, wasn't it? Had there been a pillar of light this last time? The amazing thing about all of the questions was that Van bothered to answer them, in his own way of course.
Yes. It was different. Yes, both times. Yes he'd been to the Mystic Moon more than once. Previously yes, but no, not that he was aware of. The last answer raised another question, one that many of them had been wanting to ask from the moment Hitomi'd walked back into their lives.
What had brought her back this time?
The room was absolutely silent, it's occupants waiting with baited breath for the seer to say something. Merle's dessert was completely forgotten about as she stared at her friend with her heart hammering in her chest.
"I have no idea".
"None? At all?" Chid asked, his voice a little higher pitched than normal. He was as invested in the conversation as everyone else and his mild frustration at the answer only mirrored the feeling of the room. Hitomi shook her head, eyebrows raised helplessly. "There was no light, nothing that would have given you any hint?"
"No, not that I can think of".
"What were you doing just before you arrived here?"
Hitomi looked over at Dryden's calm face, her eyebrows and nose scrunching together thoughtfully. It took her a few seconds to respond.
"I was at a charity gala. My cousin Ai organizes functions where affluent members of the country come to socialize and they donate money that will later be put towards things like medical research, aid for individuals displaced by war or natural disasters, things like that. She convinced me to go but while I was there something happened that really upset me so I left". The seer's voice trailed off as she looked down at her hands, lost in the memory.
"The gala was at a conservatory, and there was a little garden behind it. I went for a walk, and just past the garden was a wooded area. About a minute after I past the treeline there was this-heat on my skin. When I looked up, there were two moons in the sky".
The room fell silent again. Merle's mind was racing, and she knew her brother's was as well. Everyone was trying to make some sense of what the seer had said but…how? There had to be more to it.
"What made you upset?"
"What?"
"You said something happened that upset you," Chid clarified, his eyebrows also knit in confusion. "That was the reason you left the event, wasn't it?" Hitomi flushed and simply shook her head. It couldn't have been good. The Duke watched her for another moment before, "Uncle, does your scry glass work?"
Dryden raised an eyebrow at him while Merle tensed. Uh oh.
"It does".
"What's a scr-"
"No".
Merle's ears pulled back at the harshness of her brother's tone. Several eyes were fixed on him but he didn't seem to care. His own were steely, his jaw set. Hitomi's lips pulled into a tight line as she watched him, but it was another male voice that spoke next.
"Lord Van, I understand your aversion to Zaibachian technology but the scry glass is perfectly saf-"
"If it's as harmless as you say, Lord Byron, then perhaps you'd like to volunteer to go first," the King bit out. Nope. He was not happy. He fixed the man with sharp glare and the fat lord shrank like a scolded child. "It's not the fact that it's Zaibachian that concerns me, it's that Lady Hitomi should have at least some modicum of an idea what she's getting herself into before she's forced to agree to something".
An uproar of opinions started and Merle almost growled. Who were these people to think that they could dictate what should happen to their Hitomi? Dryden put his hands up, calling out over the crowd until the noise stopped.
"I believe Lord Van is right," the Asturian King began but followed quickly with, "This is not our decision, it's Lady Hitomi's, and we cannot ask her to make that decision without first giving her all the information that we can". Dryden turned to the foreigner, his face unusually serious.
"The scry glass is a piece of technology that came out of the newly formed Zaibachian Republic about two years ago. It is apparently based on Emperor Dornkirk's 'Destiny Prognostication Engine' and uses an energist to connect to the memories of an individual. Those memories are played on a piece of obsidian that is connected to the machine, but it doesn't just rely on your memories. Because memories are quite subjective, the machine somehow pinpoints that moment in time and shows exactly what happened, not always what you think happened.
'It's not an exact science though. It's impossible to direct how the memory plays out, the machine determines what you get to see and what you don't. It also takes a little while to 'warm up' and will likely show bits and pieces of other memories that have nothing to do with the ones you want".
Hitomi's eyebrows shot up as the exact nature of what was being asked of her seemed to settle in. They wanted pry into her past, into her life. Into things that she maybe didn't want them to see or know about. Merle knew that was why Van had protested. He didn't want to see something about her life that he couldn't…unsee.
"If it helps to answer some questions, I'm-", the seer hesitated. She took in a deep breath. "If it helps to answer some questions, I'm willing to give it a try".
Everyone started talking again, the sound almost deafening. They were all so excited, well…most of them.
Merle's heart hammered in her chest. She caught Gaddess whispering hurriedly to her brother but couldn't make out what he was saying over the noise. The King's shoulders were tense, tenser than she'd seen in a long time.
An energist was quickly brought, wrapped in a white cloth, and deposited into Hitomi's hands. They were shaking. Dryden said something to her which was also drowned out in the noise, but he pointed to one corner of the room just behind the girl's left shoulder and she jumped a little at what she saw.
As the chatter began to settle the noise was replaced by shifting fabric and the scraping of chair legs. Everyone wanted to have the best view that they could. Even Hitomi had turned her chair more towards the giant obsidian disk that hung in its corner.
"What do you think?" Chid asked once the room had stilled again. Hitomi gave him a weak smile.
"It looks kind of like a tv actually". When the boy gave her a confused look she just shook her head and looked down at the cloth bundle in her lap. "So what do I do?"
"You just unwrap it, hold the energist in your hands and the machine will do the rest".
Hitomi nodded, her slight frame quivering. As her bare hands came into contact with the dragon's heart it began to glow, and everyone's attention turned to the disk.
The images were hazy at first. Flashes of colours, odd shapes that were probably people. There was no sound, not yet. Merle took a deep breath as the first somewhat clear images began to appear. There was Hitomi, dressed in a uniform that was very different from what she had worn years ago. All black, the fitted jacket reached the widest part of her curvy hips and accented her very womanly shape. The skirt was also fitted and reached to the girl's knees. Merle had no idea how she was managing to descend a set of stairs with such speed in the get up, and with a slight heel, but the numerous people around her were dressed similarly. The men's uniforms weren't that much different than what Van normally wore to be honest.
The images shifted. Hitomi sat on a bench with another woman beside her and the pair couldn't have been more different. While Hitomi still wore fitted clothes, a pair of dark trousers that hugged her strong legs tightly and a tan hide jacket over a white shirt, the other woman wore a loose and very modest dress over her large pregnant belly. The woman's hair was chocolate brown, her skin bronzed and her eyes a soft hazel. They laughed happily beside each other, some sort of a drink in their hands as they looked out on a body of water. Apparently the woman was her sister-in-law, Lohna.
Another shift. A park of some kind came into view, the trees just beginning to sprout green buds. It was twilight, the setting sun casting a beautiful pink glow over everything.
"This was just before I left," Hitomi offered suddenly, her voice low. "I took my cousin's daughter Yuri to a festival".
Merle's ears perked but she didn't have much time to consider the seer's words as her past self suddenly came into view. She was beautiful!
Long rectangular sleeves fell roughly to the girl's knees, and the odd gown which was tightly wrapped around her went straight down from her hips to her ankles. Dark rich blues, greens, teals, purples and black covered the dress and were flecked through with dots of silver that sparkled when the light hit them. It was if the night sky had been pulled down and draped around the woman. A wide sash, a beautiful plum colour, wrapped itself around her waist and was tied in an intricate bow at her back while a black and silver cord was knotted at the middle. She looked like a queen.
Hitomi seemed to call out for something, her bright eyes searching. They softened and suddenly Merle understood why she'd felt the need to volunteer the identity of her company.
The little girl was just as gorgeous. No more than three years old, she was the spitting image of Hitomi. Dressed in the same style gown, this one covered in cheerful pink and peach flowers, the child rushed towards the seer. There was something clutched to her chest.
When the little girl, Yuri, was close enough she held her hands out to the older woman for inspection. Hitomi knelt, with more grace than Merle could have imagined in such a tight dress, and cupped her hands around the little girls. As they sat there, heads bent over soft hands with the sun setting behind them, Merle studied the pair. What she saw almost made her cry.
It wasn't just the style of dress that was the same. Yuri's skin was just as pale, her nose turned up slightly at the end in just the same way and her eyes…they gazed up at Hitomi with the exact same shade of emerald green. Everything about them was exactly the same except for something that made her brother's scent turn a bit sour. A head of wild ebony hair.
They spoke for a little while, their voices fuzzy and far away. Merle strained to make out the words but couldn't, the machine still wasn't ready. Suddenly the little girl spun and began running away in that adorably awkward way that children do and Hitomi's shoulders shook with a laugh. There was a patient smile on her face, and then, with more grace and poise than probably any woman in the room possessed (Merle included) she stood in one fluid motion. The little girl's treasure was cupped in her hands.
Hitomi found Yuri at the bottom of a tree a few seconds later, the seer's gait smooth and languid. The child pointed at something above her head. Merle's eyes went wide as her friend bent down towards the little girl, the rich tone of her voice conveying her patient instruction even though the words remained too muddied to understand. Depositing the treasure back into Yuri's hands, Hitomi stood behind her, grasped her under the arms and raised the little girl up towards a low hanging bough. Tucked in the bough's joint was a nest and, with great care, Yuri replaced the baby bird that had fallen from it.
Merle's heart swelled and she couldn't help but smile. Beside the neko, her brother's heart was breaking.
Another shift. This time the image was perfectly clear, the sounds crisp. This had to be it. It made sense; it certainly looked like a gala. Everyone was clearly dressed up, the men's attire again very much like what her brother usually wore but with less embellishments. Clean cut jackets with a couple of buttons, white shirts underneath and straight crisp pants that went down to their ankles. Ok, that seemed pretty normal.
The women's attire was…different. Some wore bright colours, others muted. Some dresses were straight and some puffy while some covered more skin and others seemed to cover not that much skin at all. Some of the dresses sparkled like crazy. The startling array caused a tidal wave of curious and judgemental questions. Merle quite liked the variety.
A woman came into view. Roughly the same age as Hitomi, she had the same pale skin and soft features. Her hair was a rich brown and her eyes a sage green. They kept shooting off to the side as she tapped a rectangular…something, in her hand nervously. This had to be Ai. Suddenly she stopped, her eyes wide while a bright smile spread across her face.
"You look amazing!", the woman cried out to someone they couldn't see. "I'm so glad you wore it".
"I'm so annoyed with you right now", Hitomi's unmistakable voice replied. She didn't sound happy. Ai's face fell.
"What do you mean? You look great in red".
The seer suddenly came into view as well and Merle heard the entire ballroom gasp. She really did look great in red.
"Its not the colour that I have a problem with," the seer pouted. The dress she wore was a beautiful crimson, and definitely showed more skin than was considered appropriate in many Gaian societies. Made of a soft, silky fabric that clung to the girl's appealing figure it flowed down from her hips to pool gently at her feet. A deep cut v showed off the soft pale skin of her upper chest while thin straps left her arms and upper back bare. For a neko it really wasn't that much skin, but for a noble woman… She heard Van inhale sharply. The scent of the room started to change.
"You know I have gowns at home that I never wear right?" Hitomi continued, looking quite unimpressed with the situation. "One's that don't make me look like…"she looked down at herself.
"Stop it. Seriously, you look great", Ai protested as she laced an arm through her cousin's. "I know you're not thrilled about being here, but I'm glad you came. It means a lot to me, so please try to have fun tonight".
Hitomi sighed and nodded, a ghost of a smile on her lips, "Ok".
The seer let her cousin drag her further into the heart of the gala. They stopped occasionally, Ai introducing her to anyone she could. The men smiled openly and were visibly thrilled to talk to her while many of the women eyed her with some level of envy. She really was stunning. Suddenly a voice called out for them.
Another young woman rushed into Hitomi's arms, this one sporting wavy black hair and grey eyes with her pale skin. They laughed excitedly against each other.
"It's so good to see you Sakura, I feel like it's been ages".
The grey eyed woman pulled back and grinned, "That's because it has been! How could you quite on me like that?! The only time I ever got to see you was at work".
"I know, I'm sorry. How is work? When did you get back?"
"It's been ok, and this morning. I'm not home for long though, we've got another tour coming up soon but it'll be a nice short one. Only a few week".
"Training?"
"Basically. You know how the newbies are; so much hand holding".
"Where to?"
Sakura raised an eyebrow, her lips pulled up on one side, "You know I can't tell you that Sansa. Let's just say we'll be playing in the sandbox for a bit". She pulled away from Hitomi and looked at both women with a large smile, "I'm so happy to see you guys! My beautiful cousins; one thing though, Tomi, you have to stop letting other people dress you".
Hitomi sighed and shot Ai a dirty look. The dark brunette blinked in feigned surprise before she let out her own exasperated sound,"You two have no taste".
Time in the memory seemed to pass by quickly after that as it sometimes did when there was nothing really important going on. The sky outside had shifted from twilight to black when Sakura walked up to her cousin Ai, the brunette sipping a drink by herself. She looked distracted.
"So, you going to tell me what's going on?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about".
Sakura raised a skeptical eyebrow at her cousin, "Ahuh. Sure. Well, to me it seems like you're deliberately trying to make Hitomi mad, which just doesn't make any sense considering the fact that you love that girl to pieces and can't stand uncomfortable situations to save your life". When her cousin didn't say anything the woman's eyes widened with surprise. "You are trying to make her mad, aren't you? Come on Ai, I know something's going on".
Ai made a sad noise as she looked down at her drink, "It's the only thing we haven't tried".
"That's it? That's the plan, really?" Sakura asked incredulously which only gained her an annoyed look. "Look, I'm not a psychic, I don't come from that side of the family. I don't know what's going to happen before it does, I can't tell who's going to marry who or when and I can't see what people have gone through in their lives just by touching them. If this is what you guys think is the right choice then I guess that I have to believe that it's for a good reason but…this seems cruel. Hitomi's our family".
"And she's not happy here".
The grey eyed woman scoffed as she turned those eyes back out towards the crowded room, "That's an understatement. So I take it we're not going to go save her from handsy then?"
"Nope, but I think it's the other way around".
There was a soft laugh, "Good point".
Merle's ears fell as Hitomi appeared again on the obsidian surface. How awful was this for her? What could have happened to her that would make her family resort to such an extreme knowing it would only send her away? Nothing made sense, except that the Mystic Moonling was not having a good time.
Seemingly abandoned in the company of about eight other people, Hitomi looked relaxed as she talked politely with the group, but she wasn't. Her shoulders were rounded slightly, an arm wrapped around her own stomach while the other kept her wine glass close to her face. If the girl were neko, her ears would have been plastered to her head and her heckles up. Handsy was right.
Merle let herself growl as the atmosphere of the ballroom changed again. The thick sent of anger peppered the air and it wasn't just coming from her brother. In the memory a man stood too close to their girl, bumping into her too many times for it to be accidental. The inappropriate behavior even caught the attention of the others in Hitomi's group. Another man, perhaps a little older than the rest, snarled at him to 'knock it off' but the creep shrugged it off with a laugh. It wasn't long before one of his hands disappeared where it shouldn't have.
There was an odd crunch beside her that Merle barely noticed it as she watched (with a great amount of pleasure) Hitomi spin, grab a fistful of the man's jacket and ram her knee into his stomach. Gaddess and Dryden, as well as a few others, let out excited cheers as the man crumpled to the ground. After that, true to her word, Hitomi left.
The garden was pretty but they didn't get to see much of it as the seer let her feet and her anger carry her. She shook visibly and didn't seem to notice the trees that loomed in front of her even as she passed them. The girl was so lost in her anger that she seemed to be trying to run away from it. Suddenly something caught Merle's eye and she shot a look over her shoulder. Her brother's eyebrows were pulled together in confusion.
"Isn't that how you said the dragon followed you?" she whispered as a…a tear seemed to form in the woods in front of Hitomi who was too distracted to notice it's shimmering red edges. Van nodded slowly.
A second or two after Hitomi passed through the tear she sucked in a deep breath and stopped. Her eyes shot up to the sky and the twin moons, then behind her before she let out a swear. The tear was gone.
"No, no, no. This can't be happening", she groaned as her hands came up to her face. "Not now. Shit".
Letting out another frustrated groan, Hitomi's hands fell from her face, her eyes closed. She took in a steadying breath and after a long moment let her eyes open, but they weren't quite right. They were hazy and unfocused, unseeing, but she started off through the forest anyways. She seemed sure of her direction, but knowing the power of Hitomi's gift she probably was.
There was a sudden commotion from the machine. The sound of men shouting and the scared whinnying of horses. Hitomi started to run as soon as she heard it. This had to be…oh no…
"Dragon! Hold your ground men!"
"Stop!" the seer cried. Merle's heart hammered in her chest as the stupid, stupid girl broke through the treeline. She came to a halting stop in front of a dozen knights dressed in Estra's colours and threw her arms out wide. A carriage that bore the royal crest sat unmoving behind the wall of armour while a black shadow reared at Hitomi's back, "If you put down your weapons I promise it won't attach!"
The knights did drop their weapons, but in complete and total shock. The same shock that flooded the ballroom. People gasped and cried out from all sides while others started to yell. They all turned on the seer, those who knew and loved her the loudest in their dismay.
Everything after that seemed to happen at the same time. The energist in Hitomi's hand glowed white hot and grew brighter and brighter with every second until it's light became blinding. There was a flash, a cry of pain and a loud crack as every piece of crystal on the table shattered at the same time. The sound was deafening but was quickly followed by more chaos as people screamed and chairs scrapped and toppled.
Merle tried to blink away the ringing in her head and the little white spots that clouded her vision. As the chaos settled she looked around, stunned, and found Gaddess looking back at her. She knew that his dazed expression matched her own.
She turned to Van, or where the King should have been, and realized in an fragmented way that he was gone. So where Hitomi and Millerna. What on Gaia had just happened?
X
Millerna sucked in a deep breath. Or as deep a breath as she could. The gods damn the monster who invented corsets.
The Queen smiled at one of her staff, a hand braced against the stone wall closest to her. She waved the girl's concern away and looked up just in time to see a black shadow round a corner. Picking up her skirts the blonde took one last breath and followed. If she was lucky she could maybe catch up. Maybe.
It wasn't unusual to see the Queen of Asturia, Lady Millerna Sarah Aston-Fassa, running about the halls of Palas' castle. In fact, years of being one of the leading healers in the country had conditioned the palace staff to such a sight. What wasn't normal was for the Queen to be chasing down two other people who were barreling through her corridors.
Rounding the corner where she'd lost him Millerna saw nothing and let out a frustrated huff. How could they both be so fast? Not why, but literally how? Van, he made sense. As a half blood draconian the King of Fanelia possessed physical and athletic traits that humans simply did not. He was lightning quick, could be silent as the night itself and, more often than not, his temperament resembled that of something wild.
Hitomi, on the other hand, had always been quick but the Queen was beginning to wonder if the girl had some gazelle in her distant family tree. For some reason the thought made her picture the Mystic Moonling with antlers and hooves.
Rushing down the empty corridor Millerna caught the excited chatter of more staff. She turned, found the girls and they pointed her in the right direction. A moment later she found him, almost a hallways length away again, but he wasn't alone.
She watched, heart in her throat, as Van reached out roughly and wrapped a hand around Hitomi's upper arm. The seer let out a startled cry as he pushed her towards an unlocked room. They were behind the door in seconds and things seemed to erupt from there.
As she drew closer to the door Hitomi and Van had disappeared behind Millerna could hear loud, angry shouts that made her heart pound. Terrified of what could happen she reached for the door handle, but stopped.
Are you serious?! That's what you're upset about right now?!
Hitomi!
How Van?! It's not like the phrase 'Oh, by the way, I stopped a land dragon from attacking and killing a bunch of people' comes up in casual conversation! And when was I supposed to tell you?! In that half hour after we saw each other for the first time in eight years? Because as far as I can remember you spent most of it screaming and swearing at people, and the next three days you refused to even be in the same room as me!
Millerna pulled her hand away from the door as she heard several harsh bangs. Van let out an almost animalistic growl and she could picture him stalking angrily about the room, hands in his hair with frustration. Despite what the King would say, she knew his anger came from a place of concern but he really had no tact.
That's not the point! You put yourself between a land dragon and trained soldiers who are better prepared to handle something like that than you are! Do you even realize how incredibly stupid that was?! What on Gaia were you thinking?!
To be honest I really wasn't at the time!
No shit! Nope. No tact. What if something had happened?
It was fine! Nothing happened, the dragon just walked of-
God dammit Hitomi!
There was a brief pause, Then I guess we wouldn't be standing here SCREAMING AT EACH OTHER!
Millerna pushed the door open and what she saw both surprised her and didn't. A few of the chairs and a footstool had been shoved out of their natural spots in the small and seldom used sitting room, but that made sense when the man storming about it seemed too large for the confined space.
What did surprise her were Hitomi and Van themselves. They were barely a breath away from each other, Van looming over her, his tall frame rigid even as he looked down at her upturned face. The King's hands were fisted at his side and his jaw was clenched as he breathed heavily. Where Millerna had expected to see blind rage burning in his garnet eyes there was indeed anger but the type fueled by fear and worry. The true rage came in the form of blazing emeralds.
Hitomi stood before Van stretched to her full height and even then she just made it to the tip of his nose. A bright fire burned behind her eyes as she glared up at the King, her fury reminding Millerna of when the pair would fight during the war over…well, anything. Van's recklessness, or hers. The fact that he wouldn't eat, refused to take care of himself. It was nice to see the old Hitomi back in fighting form.
Millerna clasped her hands delicately and squared her shoulders. Her voice was stronger and steadier than she expected it to be, "That's enough. Both of you".
Two sets of eyes shot towards her briefly. Hitomi looked away first, her eyes filled with shame as Van's returned to her now hidden face. What anger he had faded quickly and left him with a pained expression. After a long minute he relented and turned towards the door. As he passed Millerna put a sympathetic hand on his arm and he paused, only for a second, before he left. Part of her felt sorry for him.
After shutting the door behind Van the Queen turned back to her friend and was dismayed by what she saw. Hitomi's hands were splayed across her face and her shoulders shook.
"I'm so sorry Millerna," the seer's muffled voice said from beneath her hands. With a bitter laugh she wiped away a few stray tears. "God, what a mess. It's been nothing but a disaster since the moment I came back".
Millerna stared at the girls hands as she spoke. It hadn't just been the thought of Van and Hitomi alone together that had worried her, but the pained cry that had preceded the blinding flash of the energist. The fighting had eased her concerns of injury only just enough to keep her from flying through the door the moment she'd reached it. Now, seeing unmarked skin and no visible signs of pain, she felt the tension between her shoulders ease.
Looking back at Hitomi as a whole she saw a defeated and emotionally tormented young woman. Her shoulders slumped and her arms fell to her side as if the very act of holding them up had become too much to bare. Fresh tears threatened to fall as the seer shut her eyes against the world. The Gaians weren't the only ones who were upset by what they had witnessed.
With a delicate touch Millerna reached for one of Hitomi's hands and lead her to a small love seat tucked away in the corner. The brunette sank into the fabric with more grace than the Queen would have expected given the circumstances but then again almost everything that the Mystic Moonling did came as a surprise.
"I'm so sorry Millerna," Hitomi said again, the exhaustion clear in her voice. "I really am".
"You really don't have to keep apologizing sweetheart," the Queen tried to assure but the seer just shook her head, her once frustrated expression starting to mirror the King's with every moment that passed.
"No, I do. I'm sorry for everything, not just for tonight and roping you guys into this mess between me and Van. I'm sorry I wasn't here, I should have been, for everyone but especially for you and Dryden. I should have been here after you lost Astrid".
Millerna periwinkle eyes turned sad even as she smiled. The loss still hurt, as it always would, but the mention of her daughter no longer crippled her as it once had. While Hitomi may not have physically been there to comfort her, the Queen still attributed much of her current peace to the seer.
The first time she'd noticed it was on the night of the funeral. She'd made a spectacle of herself in her grief and could not stand another kind word or pitying look. Somehow she'd managed to convince Dryden to let her retire alone but with precautions (a posted guard) in place. Thinking about it now, her sweet husband's precaution would have been helpless if she had been so inclined.
As she'd sank into their plush bed, still fully clothed and damp, she'd wanted the world to end. She'd cried fat silent tears, her mind almost blank with pain until she began to drift to sleep with the sensation of a warm hand rubbing circles against her back and the soothing of a kind, wordless voice in her ear.
It continued to happen, again and again, for the next several weeks. Always when she was at her lowest and alone, until one day when Merle found her still in bed late into the afternoon. The neko had crawled in beside her and as she cried against Merle's soft fur she felt warm arms wrap around her waist and a presence rest against her back. That was when the dreams started.
In every dream Hitomi waited, and in every dream she changed. Her honey coloured hair, which just brushed the wide straps of her white sundress that first night, grew as the girl's body matured. In every dream Millerna would fling herself into her friend's waiting arms and the seer would hold her as she cried, as she wailed into the dark abyss that surrounded them.
She poured her heart out in those strange dreams and told Hitomi everything. Her pain, her fears, how they had named their daughter Celest Astrid Fassa after both of their mothers, and Hitomi listened. It was one such dreams that convinced her to finally talk to Dryden about their loss. It had been a year, and in some strange attempt at self preservation they had never discussed it, but as soon as she mentioned their daughter's name Dryden broke down in tears. Her sweet loving husband was always the strong one, was the one who comforted her as she cried, and she'd forgotten that he too shared her pain. He had waited for her to be ready, and she learned that when he'd been unable to endure the pain alone Van had been a patient understanding ear for him.
The Kings grew close, and she and Dryden eventually started to heal. Hitomi may not have been there physically, but Millerna knew some part of her had been. She was sure of it.
"You're right, you weren't here," the Queen replied eventually and watched as Hitomi's shoulders rounded, her guilt almost seeping from her pores. She gave the brunette's hand a reassuring squeeze that drew those green eyes up to meet her own, "But I know how you can make it up to me". The seer's brow furrowed, just ever so slightly, and Millerna took a steadying breath before she managed to voice the question they had all been asking for eight long years,
"What happened? What happened between you and Van?"
Hitomi looked away. Millerna frowned as the seer shook her head, eyes wide with shame and fear.
"Please Hitomi. Please tell me because the way that you two have been over the last few weeks just doesn't make sense. We all thought that things were going so well with you two; Van seemed so happy". Perhaps it was cruel to say but, "To be honest, we all thought that he was going to propose".
"He did".
The Queen of Asturia's eyes went wide and she sat and stared at her friend for a long time. Hitomi was silent while she struggled to find the right words. Eventually she managed a soft, "What happened?"
"I panicked".
Hitomi's voice was almost inaudible, her chest heaving with distressed. "I just-I panicked. With the war, and Allen proposing to me and the fact that people don't get married at eighteen on my world, I just- I don't know. Even with all of that though," she stopped and took in a shaky breath. "If it had just been about saying yes to Van I would have. I would have in a heart beat, but it's not just Van. It'll never be 'just Van'; the guy comes with an entire country. So I- I told him that I wasn't ready, that I needed more time".
"And what did he say?"
"He was upset. He was upset and that was the last time we ever talked". The seer shut her eyes tight as if willing the memory away and whispered painfully, "I never meant to hurt him".
Hitomi's pain and distress ate at her. It tore at her instincts to comfort and made her want nothing more than to wrap the girl in her arms and let her cry out her pain but something else nagged at her more, "Dryden said that you were the one who broke the connection. Is that true?"
Shining emerald eyes shot up to meet hers and Millerna felt her heart wrench in her chest. The seer's body shook with a barely contained sob, "I didn't want to".
"Then why?"
"Because things weren't ok. I wasn't going to be ok".
Hitomi's voice was low and emotionless, her face suddenly devoid of any type of feeling and in that moment Millerna felt the long fingers of an icy hand wrap tightly around her heart as horror and understanding flooded through her body. A gasp caught in her throat.
"I couldn't put him threw that," the seer continued, her eyes lost in the memory. "I knew I couldn't keep it from him, but I didn't want him to see me like that. I knew that he'd come if I let him, that he would fight and do everything he could to keep me safe but I couldn't let him. I couldn't let him see what was going to happen so I- I uhm", Hitomi's voice broke as tears started to pour down her pale cheeks.
"So I shut him out. I shut him out. I couldn't let him come, he had so many things that he still needed to do. He had so many responsibilities, a kingdom that still needed him. I- I just couldn't".
"You were trying to protect him".
Hitomi managed a simple nod. Millerna's entire body shook; her face was wet. She could taste bile.
"I woke up in the hospital. I was there for about a month, or just over a month, before the doctor's said that I was ok enough to leave but-", there was another shaky breath, "but I'm not sure if I was ever ok after that. Not really".
Millerna's heart shattered. It broke into a million little pieces as she stared in disbelief at her friend. Hitomi turned to her, those bright eyes full of pain. Pain and regret.
"It was the only way. Fanelia needed him, his people needed him". Her eyes welled with more tears and her voice broke, "I never wanted to hurt him".
Hitomi doubled over as strangled sobs racked her entire body. Millerna pulled her into her arms, and buried her own tear stained face into honey coloured hair. They sat there, in the dim firelight, as the sounds of the seer's pain filled the room.
"I never should have come back".
X
He looked up at the twin moons as a cool breeze brushed across his warm skin. A rare smile pulled at his lips.
It had started. Things were about to get very interesting.
Well, there you go. You can hate me, I hate me too. Yup.
I took some liberties with Dryden and Millerna's mother's names as I didn't have the energy to research if they had names or not, so that's a thing. I also hope that the memory scenes make sense. I was thinking about just having them be strictly italicized with no external commentary but I kind of like external commentary because the reactions to the memories were just as important to me as the information they provide. Not sure how well it worked, I'd appreciate it if you guys could let me know.
Anyways, lots of love! Hope to see you all again soon. Oh, and I PROMISE that things will get better in the next chapter! Serious promise.