So sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been so busy!!! But this chapter is very long to make up for it!!! Longest I've done yet... I'm so sorry!!! I'm in college now... and I barely have the time to write... I am trying to write though... and I will finish this story... unless something fatal happens!!! So sorry... I wouldn't blame anyone if noone reads this chapter... sorry... poo... I feel bad now... enjoy...
Hitomi Kanzaki smiled at her surroundings, taking in the scenery, the sight of Van curled up at her ankles. He kissed one of them softly, running his smooth hands, covered in scars from years of hard battle and living, over her calf. The skirt of her dress was a silky satin, and it flowed with a certain grace in the soft wind. Hitomi slid slowly down the length of the tree, placing her small hand over Van's eyes in a jest. "I can't have you peeking up my skirt... I didn't marry a pervert." She giggled.
Van laughed and moved her hand away. "Like I haven't seen it all before."
"Behave yourself. You are a King." She scolded softly.
Van rolled over onto his elbows. "Yes. And I have taken my Queen to a private field for a private, enjoyable day. We, my dear, are completely alone."
Hitomi raised one challenging eyebrow. "Really? Alone, are we?" She whistled out once and smiled in triumph as a troupe of Fanelian soldiers exited the trees. Hitomi leaned down over Van's head, her long hair brushing his face like the gossamer wings of an angel. "You cannot fool me, love."
Van gave her a wide grin. "It seems I cannot."
Time slowed as Hitomi watched Van sit up with extreme grace and ease. His long, heavily muscled arm found her waist and he pulled her close. Hitomi could not help blushing as his lips trailed her jaw line ever so tenderly. Her small hands curled up on his bare chest as she tried to keep her control.
"Van…" she hissed playfully. "We aren't alone!" she protested.
Van continued down her neck, his hands tracing her spine. "I don't care."
He sounded like he meant it.
Hitomi sighed, half out of annoyance and half pleasure, as he found her lips with his own. She couldn't help it. Her hands snaked their way into his wild hair, knotting the silky strands with her soft fingers. He chuckled against her lips, blowing his sweet breath across her face.
"You have a weak will, Hitomi." He jested, detaching himself from her.
She blushed harder. "It isn't my fault that you're wonderful." She said so quietly, it was barely audible.
Van laughed again. "Wonderful? That's great to know."
Hitomi sat in class, her eyelids drooping. Her dream last night had been wonderful. Sadly, it had to end when she awoke in the morning, and she couldn't go back to sleep after it.
"Van…" she mumbled, staring without feeling at the chalk board ahead of her. The class was making such a ruckus, they were all going around, trying to make up phony, yet believable ways to have a fortune telling booth.
"Should we read tarot cards like Hitomi used to?" A girl in pink tennis shoes asked excitedly. "I'd love to learn!"
A boy scoffed at her. "We can't learn to do that in a couple of days. Are you kidding? I say we just have a phony crystal ball and have someone dressed up as a mystic. Then we can have some crap fortune."
"It's got to be believable to people." Amano chimed in. "We can't have crap. Or else we won't get any service."
"I know!" A girl said happily as she flung herself over to Amano's desk. Having heard the news of Yukari and Amano's break up, every single girl in the school was all over him. "My cousin who lives in America has a friend who invented a sort of fortunetelling game using a simple deck of playing cards!"
"Is that so?" Amano asked her, an eyebrow raised. Hitomi rolled her eyes.
"Yeah!" The girl perched on the edge of his desk and started talking animatedly. "It predicts who you will date and marry, while giving you the particulars of the life with that person." (see authors note at bottom of page)
"That sounds neat, I guess." Said the girl in the pink shoes.
"I like it!" Amano smiled.
"I guess we could go with it." Said some other kids.
"Sounds alright. How do you do it?"
Hitomi glanced out the window again as the class began discussing the fortune booth. The trees swayed in the wind.
"Have you packed for England yet?" Amano' s voice assaulted her from behind. Hitomi turned to face him.
"Partially. You?" Hitomi said half-heartedly.
"Completely finished. After all, we do leave in a week." Amano smiled.
"That doesn't mean that I have to be packed now." Hitomi grumbled.
"I'm packed." Said a sweet and innocent voice. Hitomi turned to smile at her.
"Dilanda. You've packed already?" she asked slowly, noticing the humongous bow on the girls blonde head.
"Yes." Dilanda smiled sweetly, her cheeks filling up entirely in an attractive blush. "I have everything I need."
Amano snickered, and made a gagging face behind his hands. "Did you pack all of your male clothes as well?" He whispered into Hitomi's ear.
Hitomi elbowed him hard in the ribs, causing him to breathe out uncomfortably.
"Is something wrong, Amano-senpai?" Dilanda asked as she paused the repacking of her school bag.
"He had the noodles for lunch." Hitomi replied hastily, her hand flying to cover Amano's. "Just look at that facial color!" Hitomi's nervous smile was making her cheeks and eyes hurt. "Time for a visit to the nurse, Amano!"
The class became silent as Hitomi grabbed Amano by the collar and proceeded to drag him out of the classroom. The door slammed behind them.
She had meant to take him down the hallway and yell at him, but her hand loosened voluntarily from the collar of his shirt. She watched as it fell down to her side to hang there, lifeless.
Her body stopped moving.
"Hitomi, that was highly embarrassing! Why do you always have to ruin things for me?" Amano got right up in her face, his own turning purple.
"YOU ARE EMBARASSING!" She meant to scream back at him, but the words only echoed in the confines of her mind. Her skin grew cold and clammy, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move at all. Not a single batting of her eyelashes, not even a breath could be taken.
"Did you hear me, Hitomi?" Amano said heatedly. "Hitomi?!"
She couldn't respond.
"Hitomi, are you all right? Why are you just standing there?"
She couldn't say anything; she couldn't move.
Hitomi felt the bottom of her stomach fall out and become a pit as the scenery before her began to change.
"No…" Echoed her mind. "Not another vision. I'm done with that!"
There was no stopping it.
Van stood before her, his Draconian wings spread out behind him in majesty. He looked so real.
The hold released from her lips; she could speak.
"Van?" Hitomi whispered. "Is that really you?"
He smiled.
Hitomi felt her upper body sway as her invisible chains were lifted. It was as if she was emerging from a vat of maple syrup. The remains of her bondage clung to her, making her feel heavy.
Hitomi tried to move forward, but found she could not. Her legs were still bound.
"Van? What's going on? Can you help me?" Hitomi cried out, waving her arms in the general direction of the man she loved.
Van just stared at her, his eyes narrowing on her neck.
Hitomi looked down at her neck and spotted the pink pendant she had given to him. Why was it back? Why had it returned?
"Van?" Hitomi choked out, her voice rising in hysteria.
The Draconian King shook his head, the bangs of his wild hair falling into his eyes. His hand extended forward, the index and middle fingers flexed toward her then back to their owner, indicating that Hitomi should go to Van.
The hold on her legs shattered with a sound like the raging of a stormy wind. Hitomi stumbled forward, falling onto her hands and knees. She felt weak and drained of energy.
She picked up her hands to look at the palms; they were bleeding freely from the scuff on the ground as she fell.
Her head raised slowly to look at Van, and the pain vanished. He smiled at her, then beckoned again.
Hitomi rose slowly, fighting back the shivers of cold that ran throughout her body and down her spine. She felt as if she was moving through a swamp, her legs encased in freezing muck, her body covered in bruises and scrapes.
Van was not far away, and she reached him quickly. Her body was worn out from such a short distance of travel, and she collapsed forward, seemingly into Van's arms.
Her body fell against what appeared to be an invisible wall. Her eyes had slid shut as she fell, and she reluctantly opened them now, staring through the glass at the image of Van. He was smiling triumphantly now, and in his arms was another girl.
Hitomi stood up in pain as the realization hit her.
The girl was her. She could see the short, auburn hair just above Van's armored sleeve. Her school uniform was noticeable as well.
"It's just like that other vision I had." Hitomi thought carefully, trying to control the feelings inside of her.
There was no sound where she was, only the gasps of Hitomi's frantic breathing as she watched Van and herself through the glass.
"Why is it always this way?!" Hitomi shouted into the empty space. "Why are my visions always like this? When I get to watch myself be with Van, and not feel it or know it!!!"
Her words didn't even echo.
"My dreams are as vivid as sunlight, so why are my visions this way?! Are you torturing me?! Just because we aren't meant to be together?!" Hitomi felt the tears ice cold on her cheek before she knew she was crying.
She backed away from the barrier, hugging herself to attempt to keep herself warm.
She should be able to feel his warm arms around her, the hole in her heart should be filled. Merely watching what was supposed to happen didn't help at all. She needed more.
Hitomi sagged to the ground as she began to lose consciousness. It was so cold…
There was something under her, supporting her from the freezing floor. It was hard, but still much better than the ice of the floor. She was beginning to warm up.
Hitomi stared blankly at the image of Van and herself as her waist and stomach lit up in warmth. It slowly spread to her chest cavity, filling her lungs with warm, moist air. Her legs caught the fire, and her feet, and also her neck.
Her face was still cold, and her eyes still droopy without any feeling.
Hitomi felt a breath on her cheeks, almost as if the one who was breathing was also laughing at her expense. The breath lit her cheeks aflame, and she could feel the burning blush deep within them.
Fingertips brushed across her eyelids, warm and soothing. She opened them, not sure who it was peering into her face now.
She realized that there were arms around her waist, and she accessed her position, knowing that she had collapsed, and was now supported by the person who was holding her. She felt weightless and floaty.
Hitomi tried, failed, then succeeded in focusing her eyes on her rescuer.
A wild mop of dark black hair assaulted her vision, and beneath it was a pair of gorgeous amber eyes. He was tan, and the white of his smile set nicely to it's background. His wide hands were on her waist; Hitomi could feel every vein in his hands pump against her skin.
She suddenly felt too warm, and knew that her face was devoid of any whiteness of color. She gasped audibly as Van pulled her against his chest, apparently cradling her there in comfort.
"I'm glad you came to see me." He spoke, his voice sending thrilling signals through Hitomi's nervous system.
She barely noticed the way his voice was different than usual. It had a strange twang to it…
Hitomi hid her smile and shifted her legs, feeling the imprint from the hem of the jeans she wore on her thigh. She sent a silent prayer of thanks to whoever was in charge of her visions.
"When do you have to go home?" Van asked her softly, his face rubbing across her feathery hair.
Hitomi shifted again to face him, snuggling deeper into his embrace. She kept silent.
"I guess I'm ruining this aren't I, love?" Van laughed with little sound.
Hitomi smiled to herself, sliding her cool hands into his jacket. This action brought something to her attention.
Van was wearing a jacket. And a t-shirt with a rock band on it. And a pair of blue jeans.
Hitomi swallowed hard and lifted her head to gaze into his face. His answering smile filled her gut with butterflies.
He was wearing a choker around his neck. Hitomi tried to look at it, noticing the coin that dangled in the middle of his neck, but Van lifted her face up to his with one finger.
"I'm up here, love." He whispered, gently touching his lips to her cheek. The mark they left when they had gone burned deeper into her skull even more than her own blush had ever done.
Hitomi tried to speak but lost her voice in a gurgle as soon as it had opened. So, she studied his face instead.
It was Van, there left no doubt in her mind. But her gaze kept wandering down to his neck where the choker was. She couldn't help it.
Hitomi nearly gasped in surprise. On Van's neck, stretching down from under his left earlobe to the end of his chin was a long, white scar. She had never seen it before, and didn't remember it at all. It was luminescent in the strange lighting of the place they were in.
Hitomi snuggled against his muscled chest, her head spinning with worried ideas. "Van?" she whispered, noting the crack in her voice.
His answering reply was a chuckle. "It's been a while since you've called me that." Hitomi felt his left hand trail up her side to rest on her arm. It burned the trail all the way up. "What is it, love?"
Hitomi couldn't remember what she had wanted to say. "Why… why do you call me love?"
Van chuckled again. "It's an endearing term. Everyone I know uses it."
Hitomi released a small smile. "Oh." Was all she said.
There was silence, and Hitomi waved away the nervous feelings to enjoy the time she had in Van's arms, wondering to herself how and when this vision would come true. Who cared if Van decided to wear clothes from her world, or happened to get a strange scar while she was away from him. As long as he was here, now.
"What is the significance of your necklace?" Hitomi asked mildly, blushing and shivering as his lips made contact with her head.
Van pulled away from her slightly and grabbed the object. "This is the crest of my household. Of my Kingdom." He smiled at her. "But I like to forget things like that when I'm with you."
Hitomi blushed again, and took the round coin in her hands. On it was the crest of Fanelia, the dragon and everything. When she thought about it though, Hitomi couldn't ever remember seeing this symbol when she was on Gaea. Maybe she just hadn't noticed it.
"Hitomi." Van's voice had grown serious. He backed away from her completely, leaving Hitomi to notice the harsh coolness of the air. It was then that Hitomi also noticed the presence of a sofa they were seated easily on.
Hitomi frowned, shivered, then tried to worm her way back into Van's arms, but he denied her with a firm grip.
"I want to talk to you, and see your facial reaction." He explained apologetically. Hitomi sank into the couch, watching Van expectantly.
"As you know, I have been placed in an arranged marriage."
Hitomi did NOT know! Her stomach dropped completely out of her system. "WHAT?!" She shouted, ignoring Van's wishes and throwing herself into his arms. He seemed to welcome her gratefully enough.
He wrapped his arms around her soothingly, making a hushing noise with his attractive voice. "My reaction exactly." He purred, running his large, warm hands through Hitomi's hair. "Calm down, love. It's alright."
Hitomi fought against the jealous rage that wormed it's way up inside of her, like bile in her throat.
She felt his lips against her hair and heard him drink in deeply the scent that was hers with his next breath. "What do you say now to my proposition?" He whispered so quietly into her hair that the breath tickled her scalp.
"Repeat it again?" she asked mutedly, not actually knowing the proposition.
Van pulled her to a sitting position. "Will you, Hitomi Kanzaki, please consent to being my wife?"
The room became a little more warm then, and Hitomi grew hot in Van's embrace. "Wife?" she asked, her voice a tad bit shrill. "When have we discussed this?" She wondered if he would catch the hysteria in her voice and take it as an insult.
"You don't remember, love?" Van asked, revealing signs of insult and sadness.
Hitomi sat up a little more, her features worried. "I live on earth Van, and you on Gaea. How are we supposed to be married?"
This is a vision Hitomi. Came the unwanted thought into her brain. She had been all to willing to consider this to be an actual event that was actually occurring at this very moment.
But it felt real enough. And Van certainly looked and felt real.
Her heart thumped as if it was reacting from real experiences.
It's going to happen. Came the thoughts again.
"That's right. It is real, just not now." Hitomi muttered aloud. When she looked up, Van was gone. "Hey!" She shouted to the emptiness. "I get it now! Bring him back! I want to know what happens next!"
Just then, a beam of light shot out from her chest, and Hitomi was blinded immediately by the brightness of it. Reluctantly gazing down at the problem, she saw and remembered at the same time about the pink pendant dangling around her neck. But she had given it to Van.
The darkness faded away, and so did the pendant. Instead, she saw the face of Amano as he grabbed hold of her shoulders in concern.
"Hitomi! Kanzaki, snap out of it!" He cried urgently.
Hitomi blinked, then crumpled under the intense feeling of sadness she had gained. "Amano… what happened?" she asked him emotionlessly. Her eyes felt hollow, her chest felt lung less.
"You started talking about your mom." Amano said quietly.
Hitomi looked up at him immediately. "What?" she whispered. It didn't make any sense.
"Do you want me to walk home with you?" Amano asked sweetly, his face full of concern.
"No. I'll do that." Said a quiet and calm voice beside them. Yukari was standing there with a serene look on her face, holding her bag to the side like it was her lifeline, like she had to hold on to it forever, like it was her propping pole.
Hitomi smiled weakly. "See you later Amano." Hitomi looked into his eyes, hoping to find regret or some form of emotion.
"Take care of her, Yukari." Amano said loudly, his voice echoing in the hall. "See you later."
Hitomi sighed as he walked away. "Are you okay, Yukari?"
Hitomi was surprised to hear a giggle.
"I'm fine, Hitomi." Yukari said with a smile. "It's okay now."
The paper was crisp, glaring, formal. She couldn't help running her hand over the indentions the ink made on the page, and couldn't help releasing angry tears. She looked out the window in defiance, wondering when she would see a day where she wouldn't be possessed.
Millerna was sick of being a possession.
"Sick." She spat and closely followed it with a deep throated snarl and gargoyle grimace. Then she laughed as she caught her image in the mirror and had a sudden thought.
"Men would not want me if I walked around like that." She muttered to herself, playing with a small smile.
She had not left her room that day, she had instead chosen to stay inside and peruse her father's letter over and over. Thoughts kept going through her mind, again and again, not ceasing, not going away.
The only silver lining she could find about her situation was that Van didn't WANT to possess her. At least he was a gentleman, and with him, it was strictly business. Maybe with him, she could be free, to a certain extent that is.
On the other hand though, the stronger hand, Millerna still couldn't bring herself to marry for political reasons all over again. Dryden was enough. And her personality just wouldn't allow it. She was far too stubborn.
She tried and failed to steady herself as a wave of sadness fell over her. Why couldn't she find love? Why wasn't she allowed that chance? Like Hitomi, who found love, though she left it behind, Millerna was sure Hitomi's life was so much better, so much more rich than her own now that she had tasted it, known the feeling of love.
And like Marlene. Marlene, Millerna's older sister who had fallen in love with a Knight, and then had been forced into a political marriage. Wouldn't that even be much better than never knowing at all? Even if she had been stolen away from him and bound and tied to some heartless Duke?
"But, Marlene did fall for the Duke eventually. Once she had cleared her head of Allen…" Millerna wiped a harsh tear away. She didn't want that kind of love. That fondness that came out of her sister and poured into the Duke of Freid. She wanted to know love, know it's bounds and vast seas of pain and realization. Would she ever know it?
Van was her brother, her best friend. Being his wife would not be correct by Millerna's standards. He would take care of her, and she would tend to him, and bear children. And they would grow fonder of one another, but never fall in love. It would be like an extended friendship with political reasons and intimate moments. They wouldn't be in love… they wouldn't…
Millerna hunched over in her chair, forgetting to be a lady in the loneliness of her room. She hugged her knees to her chest up on her chair.
"I could retaliate him." Millerna whispered, hating her father with every fiber of her being. She could try to fall for someone, one of Van's soldiers for instance, or maybe even one of Allen's men.
Allen.
Millerna quickly pushed the thought aside. She had once thought she loved him, then realized as she grew that it was only a fascination with who he was, and the romantic idea that he had attempted to be with her sister even through her new marriage. But that was the problem. He had been with her sister. Millerna didn't think it would be quite right between herself and Allen, everyday they'd both be thinking, "Marlene was here." It didn't help that Millerna and Marlene were similar in appearance, and they were both in the same predicament.
But Allen looked so lonely.
"Gah, stop it Millerna!" Millerna grabbed her head and cried out in frustration.
She could just run away from it all. Millerna had a sudden image of herself trying to get to the Mystic Moon for a visit to Hitomi. She would know what to do. Perhaps Millerna could live there.
"The Mystic Moon? Be serious Milly." She sighed in annoyance.
Retaliation. The word hung on the tip of her tongue.
"Retaliation?" Millerna stood slowly, tightening the ribbons on the bodice of her dress to a suitable degree for going outside. She grabbed her gloves and slipped them on securely, then went to the door. Her hand froze on the handle for a second, but she waved all of her questions away. This feeling she had right now, these impulses were amazing and new to her, and she wasn't going to let them get away without acting on them. And it was a rare occasion, but Millerna had no clue what she was going to do. How did one attract a man for love?
She felt like somewhat of an idiot as she walked down the crowded street of the city, people staring at her with questions in her eyes. She had no clue what made up love, or how you acquired it, she only knew that she wanted it without question. She knew it didn't happen immediately, it was gradual, and that you didn't MAKE it happen… so she felt extremely stupid now that she was out of her room and looking for love. It wasn't going to come.
"Princess, what are you doing out alone?" Millerna cringed, stopping in her tracks, knowing the voice that addressed her and hating it. Why? Why was it him, why was fate so cruel?
Millerna continued walking as if she hadn't heard him. For a wild second, she had half a mind to tell him just exactly WHY she was out of her room at such a late hour. Then, a second later, she had erased the idea in panic and obvious horror. What would he think of her?!
"Princess Millerna?" He spoke, his voice following her. People stopped their busy activities to stare at her, whispers of the word 'princess' flowing through the crowds.
Millerna set a grim smile on her face and turned to face him, swallowing her heart back down after it leapt out of her chest. "What are you wearing?"
Allen's eyebrows creased as he looked down quizzically at his outfit. "What's wrong with it?"
"Nothing is wrong with it!" Millerna thought while she said at the same time, "Where is your uniform?"
Allen adjusted the collar on his black, form-fitting shirt and played with the tie for a bit, obviously willing it to behave. "You never came out of your room today, so I had no duties. I've been tired of wearing that dastardly uniform constantly, so I changed. Does it bother you? I can change if you will it."
Millerna stopped her gaze from flowing down his tall body. He looked like some fancy King, or rich Duke, something to that effect. She blinked, then willed herself to peek at his legs and feet, noticing as a royal, the perfectly tailored pants, and the ebony boots, sleek and easy on the eyes. He had a cape as well, a long royal blue one, with rich embroidery on the bottom of it. His gloves fit every single angle of his hands like he was born wearing them. (author here! Basically… Allen is dressed like a very cool aristocrat, kinda like the Count of Monte Cristo. Hee hee!)
"Where did you get all of this? If my father saw you like this… and not in uniform… oh dear…" Millerna was slightly hyperventilating. She tried to breathe while turning to glare at a group of young women gawking at Allen, blushing and giggling to one another.
Allen stepped closer to her, his arms outstretched to catch her should she faint. "Millerna, are you alright?"
Millerna stepped back from him, shaking her head to clear it. "Yes, yes. I'm fine." Her face was aflame, burning like dragons blood. "Get ahold of yourself! Stop being a fool! You command him!"
Allen stepped back as well, putting more distance between them, giving Millerna a better chance to survive. "They were my Fathers."
Millerna lay a small hand over her heart, feeling the radical beats. "What was that?"
Allen smiled softly. "These clothes were my fathers. He left them behind because they were too nice to wear on his excavations."
Millerna calmed immediately. "Your fathers clothes…?" Millerna let her mind wander, remembering the story of Allen's father. She wondered briefly if it hurt to wear those clothes, if it hurt to know that wearing them and having them fit so nicely that it might mean you will end up exactly like him.
Millerna yelped as Allen shocked her out of her thoughts by offering her his arm. She just stared at it, blushing madly as he spoke.
"Would you like to take a walk with me?" He spoke softly, mindful of the village people audience. Millerna felt his gaze on her face and decided she wouldn't look up if it saved her life.
"O-Okay." She attempted to say smoothly but accidentally hacked it up. Her stomach flipped as she slipped her small hand around Allen's arm and he placed his large, warm hand over her own.
"Thank-you." He replied to her actions, then began to walk, watching the scenery ahead of him. Millerna matched her pace to his own, recognizing that he had shortened his to make it comfortable to her. She stared at the ground as she went, feeling hot from the village gazes as they passed. She didn't know where he was taking her, but he was her Knight, sworn to protect her, and she trusted him.
They made their way out of the city gradually as the sun went down and the moon came up. Millerna dared to glance up at Allen's face and marveled at the way his hair attained a silvery look in the sparse light. Not watching the ground as usual, Millerna stubbed her boot onto a stone and stumbled a bit, catching herself on Allen's arm. She quickly turned her head back to the grassy floor, wincing at the feel of his gaze again.
"Are you okay?" he asked tenderly, squeezing her hand softly with his own.
Millerna's heart skipped, hating him for suddenly turning into a gentleman and looking so handsome. What had happened? The other day, he was so rude to her. This wasn't Allen. "I'm fine." She spoke quickly, wishing her heart to calm down.
He never said anything, but she knew he had looked away from her again.
They continued on the little dirt path that led from the city, and Millerna wondered if he was taking her to the next little town that was not far away. She had no clue why, but it seemed his only idea when he steered her off of the road.
"Be careful." He said quietly, patting her arm for whatever reason he did. "There are stones out here you could trip on."
Millerna blushed angrily. "I won't trip." She said defiantly. His answer was a soft chuckle.
Silence passed away. "Where are you taking me?"
Allen didn't answer. She rolled her eyes, feeling some more of the 'old her' returning. She felt more herself, especially when she started to make up ideas about where Allen was taking her. Among those, murder was the most wild and highly unlikely, but it enabled her to gain her head and not feel so love struck.
Millerna gasped inwardly. Was that what she felt? Love struck?
She wanted to glare at Allen, but knew she couldn't look at him without losing all of the emotion she had worked to gain in the last recent moments. How dare he cause her to fall for him! If this emotion she felt was love… she hated him for it. No wonder Marlene fell for him, no woman had a chance. And he still had that prostitute girl. Millerna fumed inside.
Allen stopped walking suddenly, and Millerna looked up at him, ready to take in whatever he had waiting for her. His face was turned upwards, toward the moon. He looked peaceful, serene, like an angel with the light falling upon him and chasing shadows down his back. Millerna sighed, feeling lost and insignificant. He was gazing at the moon as if it held something for him.
"Isn't it beautiful?" He said so quietly it could have been a gust of wind. "It's too bad this moon only comes around one month out of the year."
Millerna opened her mouth for sarcasm, but changed her mind to something softly rude instead. "The other moons are prettier."
Millerna choked on the look he gave her from the corner of his eye, a wry smile playing on his lips.
"Do you think so?" He asked casually, returning his gaze to the moon.
Disconcerted and feeling a little woozy from the presence of Allen, Millerna tugged her arm away from his. He dropped his head to a normal looking level and faced her haughty expression.
"Marlene and I used to discuss you." He spoke on a sweet tone, smiling sadly at the sharp intake of breath from Millerna. "I know… I never mention her. But I have a reason to now."
Millerna readied herself for his suave speech about Gaea knows what with a tough and angry face. "What would that be?" she asked in a controlled voice. "If he says 'You, Millerna.' I'm going to slap him."
"I'm moving on." He said quickly, turning once again to gaze at the moon.
Millerna lost all train of thought. "Oh." She might have said. "Of course… everything isn't about you, Milly." She mentally reprimanded herself.
"I… wanted to speak to you. Will you hear me out?" Allen said in a whisper as he stepped closer to her, his attention focused solely on her features in the moonlight.
Millerna couldn't speak, so she nodded, not sure how she should ready herself for whatever was coming.
There was a pause of silence within which Allen fiddled with the cuff of his sleeve. "Marlene once named that moon after you. Did you know?"
Millerna felt her stomach drop out of her at the second mention of her deceased, but loved, sister's name. What was he talking about?
"She and I were spending one of our last moments together, before she found out about the existence of Chid." Allen swung his eyes up to lock them with Millerna's. "She told me some things… strange things. She was trying to part with me."
Millerna blinked away from him, not wanting to hear this at all.
"She was worried about you." Allen smiled wholeheartedly, attempting to drive away the sadness. "She was glad that I would be the one to guard over you eventually. And I must say… I do believe she was hoping we would patch up the sadness of losing her by doing it together."
Millerna remembered her sister's kind and strong face as she married the Duke of Freid, Allen watching the entire time.
Allen went on. "She told me, by the light of this moon, that it had always reminded her of you. You were a beautiful child."
Millerna crossed her hands together, gazing down at them sadly. "It must have been hard, knowing she had to tell you to leave her alone."
Allen cleared his throat nervously. "Yes. But… that isn't the point."
Millerna looked up at him. "What is the point, Allen Schezar?"
He smiled at her. "I suppose I did get a little off track. I just, I can't stop thinking of her. And I thought you might like to know she thought of you constantly."
Millerna shivered slightly, not sure if it was from a draft or from the conversation.
"The truth is," Allen began. "I'm sorry."
Millerna looked up from her hands, startled. "What?" Her eyes were opened wide, threatening to spill tears.
She couldn't believe it as Allen's gloved hand extended to lie gently on her soft cheek. She dared to look into his eyes and cringed from the guilt and despair in them. "What do you-, Allen?" She peered at him, confused, as he let his head fall forward onto her own. She felt the weight of it, and felt the weight of his sadness.
"I've not been your Knight, Millerna. I've not been loyal, or even remotely as a Knight should be. I have made fun of you, and ignored your wishes completely, and to make it worse, I have lied to you, and hid things from you. You, my Lady, my allegiance." The words tumbled out of him, and Millerna felt something wet fall down her cheek. She wasn't sure if the tear was his or her own.
"It is a shame…" He whispered, and Millerna felt his head lift from hers, then felt the pressure again on the top of her head, on her hair.
He kissed her there, then on the forehead, and his presence was gone as he backed away from her to go down on one knee. His sword became unsheathed and suddenly it was in her trembling hands.
"I would like to renew my claim of loyalty to my Princess." He said calmly, his head hung between his shoulders.
Millerna gripped the sword, not knowing what to do. "But you-, Allen you don't have to!" She exclaimed, her eyebrows creasing in worry.
"Get up. Get up!" She cried, falling down beside him and ducking under his curtain of hair to force him to look at her face. "All is forgiven." She froze at the look he gave her, feeling despair clutch at her heart.
"I order you, Allen Schezar, Knight of Caeli, to tell me immediately what is bothering you so much." She said forcefully as she sat back and watched him sit upward again.
"I've already told you." He said grimly, staring at his sword gleaming in the moonlight.
Millerna sighed and collapsed into a slouch for the second time that day, ignoring the look Allen gave her for her unladylike actions. "Well, you don't have to go all 'I must repent and have my head cut off' on me!" She ran a hand through her hair as Allen began to protest.
"I didn't say to cut my head off!" He growled at her, clearly embarrassed. Millerna hid her smile, pleased she had one-upped him in this. His annoyed face was somehow so much easier to live with than his depressed one. The latter made her uneasy to see calm, cool, collected Allen in a state of certain uncalm, uncool, and uncollected. That usually meant that Gaea was spinning in the wrong direction.
Millerna laughed inside, amused at the thoughts she had the entire way here, her imagination going wild at what business Allen could have with her.
"So." She sighed again. "This is what you wanted me to walk with you for? Why the fancy clothes?"
Allen lay back in the grass, surprising Millerna with his lack of decorum. "I thought you would like them. I guess I was wrong."
Millerna gagged on her own saliva.
"At least I got to talk to you though. I had planned on talking to you in your room, but you weren't there, so I went looking for you." He said wistfully, his mind elsewhere as he removed his gloves. Millerna blushed, glad he couldn't see that particular reaction from his position on the grassy floor.
Millerna placed her hands in her lap, staring at her own gloves. She would do it. She would try to be defiant. She felt as if she was teetering on the edge of a precipice, her shoes slipping down the side while her arms held onto the top for want of life.
Millerna, tentatively , let go.
"I… I did… well I-, that is…" She choked on her words, feeling like a Gaean sheep for her ignorance and simple speech capacity. "I think you look… look very handsome today… Mr. Schezar." She had chosen to say 'Mr. Schezar' instead of 'Allen', thinking in a retarded way that it would make it sound nonchalant and uncaring, when all it did was make it more obvious. She only called him by his last name when she was angry, and NEVER called him a mister. Millerna clamped her mouth shut, wincing for his look of embarrassment at her obvious infatuation.
He sat up just as she realized it. "I am infatuated… I am very infatuated."
She dared to meet his gaze. "Is this how it is? Is this how love begins?"
Allen turned his gaze downward at the grass, causing Millerna to begin fretting. "Why did I do that? Why, oh why?"
She watched him play with a particularly long strand of grass with his lengthy white fingertips. As usual, ideas began to run through her mind as she tried to process his reaction and come up with a suitable escape from it. His response shocked her.
"Will you marry Van, as your father wishes?" Allen spoke softly, still playing with the grass. Millerna watched him braid it, speechless.
Her silence told him everything she didn't want to be obliged to say.
"Millerna," Allen sighed. "May I call you Millerna?" He looked up at her, his gaze innocent.
"Of course, you can, Allen. You always do any-,"
Allen cut her off abruptly. "No, not proper." Was all he said.
Millerna felt hurt, offended. "What do you mean?"
His response was immediate. "Princess, I am, for lack of a better word, 'Mr.' Schezar to you. I answer to your wishes."
Millerna cowered away from him in her mind, feeling her emotions shrivel. "Oh." She uttered softly.
Allen leaned forward and wrapped the braided grass around her wrist, his fingers lightly brushing her skin, tying it off with the gentlest of movements. Millerna stared at his hands performing their swift work, and noticed that every time his fingers brushed her skin, he flinched. It made her bolder.
"Fine then." She said smartly, her tone of voice sassy and controlling, the original Millerna that was constantly around.
Allen smiled reluctantly. "And there goes my moon." He said, a hint of sorrow in his voice.
Millerna let her guard down again, realizing the impact of his words. Just like the moon who only comes out once a year, then hides her beauty, she hid away her feelings for him. Did that mean that he looked forward to the times in her life when she loved him? Did that mean he loved her?
Millerna smiled blithely, rolling her body forward so that she was on her knees and closer to Allen. "So, we are Knight and Princess, are we not?"
Allen looked at her warily, trying to find the double meaning in her words. "That is correct, My Lady."
Millerna breathed in slowly to clear her head. "Then, I wish for you to do something, something gallant and brave and… knightly."
Allen nearly smiled, his thoughts going humorous as to what she was planning. "What would that be?"
Millerna, remembering the power she had over men, pulled her hair over her shoulder and concentrated on gaining the look that made men weak. When she looked up at him however, everything she had concentrated on had gone. He was invincible.
She gave up trying to sound coherent, and settled on getting her point across as best she could.
"Save me from my Father." She said quietly, her gaze full of emotion and forceful upon his face.
Allen hadn't expected that. He appeared confused while thoughtful at the same time. "Has he attacked you or threatened you, My Lady?" Allen asked, his mouth breaking into a large grin.
Millerna felt dismayed. "I'm serious, Allen."
Allen sighed. "Knight Schezar."
Millerna cried out, exasperated, not willing him to know that he had hurt her feelings by not getting the underlying message of her statement. He was too noble. "Are we not friends, at least, so that I can call you by your name?!"
Allen pursed his lips, taken back from her words. "Friends? Millerna, I've learned when a woman is coming on to me… Don't play innocent."
Millerna looked past that embarrassing comment to gasp out loud in joy. "See?! That wasn't so hard! You called me Millerna!"
Allen leaned back away from her, and Millerna realized that she had unconsciously been leaning towards him the entire time. Unfortunately, she hadn't noticed that Allen had been leaning toward her as well. So she once again took the entire load of embarrassment for the both of them. An awkward silence reached between them, causing Millerna to sink deeper into a dark depression. She had made a fool out of herself.
"Let it go, Millerna." Allen whispered, kissing her forehead as an older brother would do. "Time will find a way."
Millerna shivered, it was suddenly cold out.
"And," Allen paused. "I don't want to say this but, we can't get too close, Millerna. Do you understand? I can't let anything hinder my duty."
"But I am your duty." Millerna sighed under her breath.
"Exactly." He had heard her. "If I were to fall protecting you, what would you do?"
Millerna stared fiercely into his eyes. "I would bloody well stay behind."
Allen didn't even have to say that was a bad idea.
"I'd bloody well stay behind anyway." She growled defensively. "If it was Gadeth, or Van, I'd stay behind."
Allen just shook his head. "It's time to go back now, Millerna."
Millerna wanted to scream profanities at him. "Okay." She gave in easily, fuming at the progression of the night's topics. "Let's go then."
Okay... I put a note in the text about how you should look down here after reading... I think alot of you do anyway... I just wanted to explain the fortune telling game real quick. I learned it from bluetreeleaves, and it is very fun!!! Okay... you get a regular deck of cards, no jokers, and pick out the four kings. Whoever is performing the fortunetelling lays the cards closest to them in order starting from the person getting their fortune read (we'll call them... Bob.)... anyway... starting from Bob's left and on to the right. The first to lay down, closest to you remember, is the king of hearts, then the king of spades, then the king of diamonds, then the king of clubs. for this game, heartslove, spadesmoney, diamondschildren, clubsluck. You then have Bob pick four of their favorite boys(or if Bob is a boy... girls...) and each of the kings become that person for the time being. Naturally, Bob's favorite boy is going to be the heart, and Bob's least favorite is the club... get it? Then, you, the fortuneteller, take the remaining stack of cards and have Bob pick out two cards from the deck, but don't let Bob look at them!!! You lay them somewhere safe and don't look at them either! Then pick, right now!, which one will mean 'date' and which one will mean 'marry'... kay? it doesn't matter which one you make which... just remember which ones you DID make which, otay? lay them to the side... then you proceed to ask questions like "Who looks for you when you walk into a room?" or "who dreamt about you last night?" or even stuff like "who would die for you" and "who wants to kiss you very badly". It's fun to come up with your own questions... just... there is a rule! They have to be romantic gutsy cutey feely questions! aka: romantic questions! Haha! Well... let's say you and Bob decide to ask the fates this: "Who looks for Bob when they walk into a room?" Then You, the fortuneteller, proceed to take a card one by one off of the top of the deck and lay it on top of the king of hearts and so on so that the symbol on the king of hearts is still visible but there is a card on top of it, like in solitaire when you line up the cards in order. well, you asked a question, and you want an answer, correct? Okay. You have been laying cards out on top of the cards and suddenly you see... the card you just layed down is on top of the King of Diamonds... and it is the 2 of Diamonds!!! So... you have your answer! Because the card you layed down matches the suit of the King it has fallen on... that means that whatever boy the King of Diamonds represents is the one who looks for Bob when Bob walks into a room! Yay! So, you continue to ask a question at a time, until you rid your hand of all of the cards and Bob is feeling giddy because boys totally love her... (why does our heroine have a guys name?!) Now... You the fortuneteller ask Bob to pick her two favorite guys and order her to scoop up the cards for the two boys, keeping the two stacks SEPARATE! You the fortuneteller take the other two and stack them, then you tell Bob to do what you do. Now, what do you do, fortuneteller? I'm waiting!!! Hahaha... I'm kidding... I'll tell you! You take one of the stacks and start to sort the cards in the same order that the kings were sitting in the beginning (for example: the heart cards are first, then the spades, then the diamonds, then the clubs.) let's say you put down a 2 of hearts, then a jack of clubs, then an ace of diamonds, then a 7 of spades... now you have a 9 of spades in your hand and you don't know what to do with it!!! You lay it down on the spades pile so that the first spade is still visible, but you can clearly tell that pile is a spades pile, and so on with all the other cards. You do the same to the other Kings stack of cards, and Bob does the exact same thing to her two stacks. Good!!! Then, you annalize the cards to see which life is better! Let's say for instance that the King of Hearts (Bobs favorite) only has 2 hearts, 5 spades, 3 diamonds, and 5 clubs... guess what! The King of diamonds hardly loves Bob...only 2 hearts... He's pretty rich though with 5 spades prooving it, Bob has 3 children with King of Hearts because of the number of diamonds, and they have pretty good luck in life with 5 clubs!!! Do you get it? The amount of cards a king has in each suit is the amount of love/money/kids/luck he has for/with Bob in their life. You look at every King's pile (counting the King's card as one of the amounts) and see which one has a better life for Bob... then you take the card you dubbed as 'date' and reveal it to yourself first to make it suspenseful for Bob and also to be mean... then you show Bob who she will date and she squels either in delight or fear... then you reveal the 'marry' card first to yourself... and then to Bob and she knows then who she will marry! Hoorah!!! Unless it's the one she didn't want... sometimes its fun to throw in a guy you absolutely CANNOT stand... just to see what happens so you can get pissed off! So... go have fun with this!!! The credit all goes to bluetreeleaves tho... I did not invent this game... and again... sorry for not writing sooner!!! but... I am in college now... so the chapters are going to come very slow... I wouldn't hate you if you stopped reading... so... sorry! Till next time!!! Bye!
allensXoneXfiancee