The bloodied sword caught the light of the sun as it slid slowly over the roofs of Asturia, casting a bright light onto Celena's face until half of it was in stark shadow. Hitomi wiped blood and dirt from the face of the elderly tailor with a handkerchief of Van's, while Van stood close behind her, and the cat-man Eiru stood in the doorway, alert and watchful, and Rhum and his men stood guard around the building, called back from their breakfast at a local tavern.
Celena leaned over so her elbows were resting on her knees, and smiled. A could passed overhead, blocking out the sun, and the old tailor coughed herself back into life.
Hitomi shut the door behind her with a soft click. It was now around nine in the morning, and though Allen wasn't back yet from guard duty, and would not be likely to return until after dark, Van and Hitomi had taken the liberty of bringing Celena home. Susan gave them the key to the front door, and before disappearing into the market once again, thanked them profusely for their kindness toward the young mistress. Hitomi was a bit annoyed by Susan's negligence for her mistress, but Celena insisted she didn't care, and that Susan really was very busy. As for Van, after what Celena had done for Hitomi, he was more than willing to make up for Susan's behavior and look past his first impression of Celena, offering her his thanks and a promise to do whatever she asked of him. And what she'd wanted was to go back home. She was tired.
"It really was nice of that tailor to offer to do her dresses for free," Hitomi said to Van, who was sitting cross-legged and pensive in the plusher sofa of the Schezar sitting room.
"Yeah," he said, and patted the seat next to him. Hitomi sat down.
"I hope Celena will be okay. I think she overwhelmed herself."
"What exactly happened to her?"
Hitomi put her head on Van's shoulder. "Who knows."
In her room, Celena was cradling her sword in her hands, holding it up so it glinted in the sun. She noticed that there was still a little blood on it, and wondered what she would do with it. She'd wanted to leave it there, on the floor, but Van had insisted that it was rightfully hers now, quoting some old Fanelian code about abandoned weapons and the rules of dueling. Her brother would disapprove, but to her, there was something satisfying in Van's logic. Perhaps someone could make a sheath for it, and she could wear it around her waist like a Knight Caeli. With her skills, maybe she could even become one herself.
Quite the proper Asturian lady she was turning out to be.
She'd been so scared. That man had something like murder in his eyes, and he was going to take Hitomi away and no one would have been able to stop him. Van figured that the man's orders were to prevent them from appearing before the Alliance, but Celena recognized what he really meant to do no matter what his orders were. She'd seen the same desire in him.
Again and again, the vision of her pressing the sword into the man's throat flashed in front of her eyes. She'd wanted to hurt him so much. But the desire wasn't Dilandau's. It was hers.
She sighed, dropped her sword on the floor, and flopped down on her bed. When Hitomi had told her that she was stronger than Dilandau, she knew that her new friend was right. No matter the nightmares, he couldn't exist without her. She had an edge, like a sword, and she could fight him with it.
But deep inside, deeper than even her hatred and fear of Dilandau, part of her craved what he could do, and wanted him to live...
"Celena?" Hitomi called from behind the door. "It's getting late, and Van and I have to go to the meeting. Will you be okay on your own for a while?"
"Sure," said Celena. "And Hitomi?"
Outside the door, Hitomi paused on her way back to the parlor. "Yes?"
"Thank you."
Hitomi smiled and pressed her hand against the door. "You too."
The sound of her footsteps faded away, and Celena could sense that she was alone in the house, aside from the servants. So she went to the linen closet, pulled out a strip of washcloth, and returned to her room to polish her newly won sword.
When Hitomi and Van arrived in the crowded entrance hall outside the room reserved for mass-gatherings, Eries ran up to them, her face tight and drawn, followed by her guard apparent, Allen Schezar. From what little she had seen of the princess, Hitomi was somehow not surprised to find them together.
"Thank Jichia you're safe. The foreign minister told me of what happened this morning," said Eries.
"Hitomi, are you okay? Did he hurt you at all?" Allen spoke up concernedly.
"We're fine thanks to Celena," Hitomi said.
"Celena?" Allen balked. His eyes went wide, and he turned to Eries, who returned look with a puzzled glance of her own.
"But... didn't you hear?" Hitomi said, glancing uncertainly at the two of them. "Celena's the one who protected me. She took the sword from the man while he was occupied with keeping me still and fought him off."
"But my sister was getting fitted for her wardrobe today. You've had quite a traumatizing morning. Are you sure it was her?" Allen said, looking at Hitomi with a slight frown.
"Of course I'm sure! After meeting her once, she's kind of hard to mistake." Hitomi answered with a glare that could rival Van's worst scowls.
"Surely you heard that much?" Van sharply inquired.
Eries was tentative, almost hesitant in her next words. "We... we heard of the attack from an unorthodox source."
"Unorthodox?"
"Ah... the Foreign Minister was... gathering information about our allies before dawn this morning. He came across an order, dispatched last night, to keep the Girl from the Mystic Moon out of today's meeting."
Van's face clouded with anger. "Who issued the order?"
"It wasn't their President," Eries explained, her demeanor once again cool and stern. "It came from one of the four Ministers he brought with him to this summit. So don't think of bringing it up during your testimony. The President will deny all knowledge, because in all likelihood he has no idea the order was even issued. Fanelia will look as if it is trying to provoke Basram, and that would damage your chances of aid, war hero status or not."
Van looked as if he wanted to say something about where Basram could stick its provocation, but his lips remained tightly shut. He nodded, though his expression was deadly with rage.
"But that's not fair," Hitomi protested.
"No, it isn't," agreed Eries. "It's politics."
The sound of a bell reverberated throughout the hall, and the dignitaries of Gaea began to file inside the meeting room. Eries gave Hitomi and Van a graceful bow, and joined the throng, followed by Allen, who looked over his shoulder at Hitomi as he walked away.
"State your name and nationality," Dryden said from a seat situated on the highest level of the room. Hitomi stood on a raised dais in the middle of a circular room, and all around her at graduated levels she could see the representatives of all the nations of Gaea involved in the Great War. The President of Basram seemed nervous. He was sweating profusely and constantly pushing his papers around. Deadalus' King played with his mustache, and the Queen of Egzardia was gazing at Hitomi intently, her startling golden eyes nearly boring holes through Hitomi's head. She couldn't make out the faces of the other monarchs or representatives. Many of them were seated, or behind her, and Hitomi thought it would be better manners not to look around.
"Hitomi Kanzaki. I'm from the Mystic Moon."
No one reacted. Her nationality was old news by now. Some, however, began to take notes.
"And you have been involved in the Great War since Fanelia was razed, correct?"
"Yes."
"You witnessed the invasion of Freid?"
"Yes."
"And you visited Zaibach before they began open hostilities across Gaea?"
"...yes."
There was an increase in the scratching of quills.
"On the night the war ended, where were you?"
"I was in my room, at the royal palace of Asturia. My friend Merle was with me. I looked out the window and saw a white light across the sea."
"What did you do when you saw that light?"
Hesitantly at first, and then stronger as she moved further in her story, Hitomi told the nations of Gaea how she arrived in Zaibach with the help of Folken Fanel, exiled Strategos of Zaibach, and how he killed Emperor Dornkirk and was in turn killed himself. She told them that the Atlantis Machine was activated after Dornkirk's death by her pendant, a relic of Atlantis, and how it created the Zone of Absolute Fortune. She told them about what the machine did. She told them about her posthumous conversation with Dornkirk. And she told them how Van Fanel came for her, destroying the Atlantis Machine in the process, after which the fighting suddenly ceased. She was sure to gloss over the more personal aspects of the war's end, hating to imagine what stately Egzardia or conniving Basram would think of her and Van's love for one another.
There was a long pause after she finished, punctuated by the fervent scratching of quills and shuffling of paper. Dryden continued speaking once the writing was less audible.
"After you and Fanelia left Zaibach, where did you go?"
"We flew to the border of Cesario and Zaibach, where we rested until midnight, and then continued on to Pallas, where we were escorted to the palace. We've been here ever since."
"Thank you, Miss Kanzaki," Dryden said. "If any nation has further questions for the witness, let them speak."
A hand went up in Basram's area. Dryden nodded, and announced Basram's intention.
"Surely you don't believe this, Asturia and fellow members of this Alliance?" protested Basram's president, getting to his feet. "Information from the dead? The dead cannot speak, let alone give up state secrets."
"Miss Kanzaki has proven time and again that she possesses insight which has proven invaluable during this war," deadpanned Dryden.
"But am I correct in assuming that she has never demonstrated the ability to talk to the dead before?"
"I-" began Hitomi, but Dryden spoke over her.
"During my travels with her, she demonstrated just such an ability on more than one occasion."
"Ah yes. Your trip to Atlantis," the President emphasized the word and made a gesture of disbelief, attracting more than one smirk from the gathered dignitaries. "A country that was destroyed thousands of years ago. A country whose people are so scattered and diluted that none exist who could back up your claim."
"That's not true!" snapped Hitomi. Basram looked down at her, startled by her sudden outburst.
Seated behind Dryden, Eries smiled.
"We went to Atlantis! I traveled there with Van Fanel, Merle, Allen Schezar, Princess Millerna Aston, Dryden Fassa, and the crew of the Crusade! I saw the Draconians! I spoke to Van's- to the King of Fanelia's mother! I spoke to my dead grandmother, and Leon Schezar!"
There were titters in the Asturian section. Allen's mouth went thin, and he stepped forward. "I can corroborate her story. I spoke to my father through her."
"I would be willing to put Asturia's support behind it, judging from what I saw on that journey," said Dryden. "Unless Basram is accusing us of having a group hallucination?"
"Of course we are insinuating no such thing. We were merely pointing out how improbable it is that this girl spoke to the dead Emperor Dornkirk. And what of the Atlantis Machine, which she claims she and Fanelia destroyed? Are we to believe that Zaibach succeeded in its plan to control fate at the last second of the war? Are we to believe that they did this through the us of the mythical Atlantis Machine, without power or magic? There are not enough energists in the world to power such a machine."
There were mutterings throughout the room. The queen of Egzardia looked thoughtful, and someone whispered in Cesario's ear. Then, Dryden nodded to someone behind Hitomi, and a familiar, small voice spoke up.
"If you please, Basram, members of the Alliance. Fried has been out of contact with the rest of Gaea's nations, owing to the devastation wrought on our capital of Godashim and our most ancient temple, Fortuna, and so we have as of yet been unable to communicate to you the motivation behind Zaibach's attack on our Duchy: to find and utilize a power source for the Atlantis Machine."
Hitomi turned around to be greeted by a welcome sight. Though he was still quite young, it appeared that Chid had talked his advisors into accompanying him to this important summit. He was guarded on all sides by the imposing-looking, dark skinned monks of Fortuna Temple. Chid saw Hitomi looking at him, and he smiled at her kindly.
"Deadalus would inquire as the the meaning of Freid's assertion."
"Ever since the foundation of Freid, her people have been charged with guarding the Power Spot, which has been well-known throughout the countries of Gaea since time immemorial. This council has no reason to doubt the truth of my words when I say that Zaibach attacked Freid in order to gain control of the Power Spot. During the negotiations with Strategos Folken after our surrender, we were ordered to unlock the seals placed upon the Power Spot as a sign of friendship. We agreed to this. We had no reason to wish further destruction on Freid, as our capital and our oldest temple had been laid to waste.
"After I broke the seal on the Power Spot, Strategos Folken thanked me for my cooperation towards a better future for Gaea. He assured me that through the use of the Atlantis Machine, Gaea would break free of its Destiny of War. I say this because the Council can plainly see that Freid is not in a position to gain anything by supporting Miss Kanzaki's claims. We say this because we are interested in the truth of what happened during the last days of the war. Many of our people sacrificed their lives during the war. Aside from Fanelia, no country involved in this conflict could have a higher interest in seeing justice served."
Hitomi was shocked and thrilled. She knew that Chid had the potential to be a great leader, but an improvement on this scale in so short a time was stunning. Chid sat down, apparently finished with his speech, and Dryden called for the countries of the alliance to corroborate Freid's claims.
"Deadauls can find no fault in this information," said the King in his reedy voice.
"Aye, nor can Egzardia," said the Queen, whose voice was a dark and golden as her eyes.
"Cesario, as one of the nations on the border of Zaibach, witnessed the green glow that overtook Zaibach on the day of Freid's surrender to overwhelming invasive forces. The rules of chivalry command that her Emperor stand with Freid on this matter."
"Basram... Basram finds the information presented to be correct."
"As does Fanelia," chirped a familiar voice, and Hitomi was surprised to see Merle stand up on behalf of Fanelia, Rhum standing at her side. It finally occurred to Hitomi that of course Van would have sent someone to vote for Fanelia in his stead. Merle was probably the most logical choice, as she would be sure to vote just as Van would. She fought the urge to laugh as Merle stood proudly for her country, tail swishing behind her and patient dignitaries all around.
"And based on the information that Strategos Folken presented before this very council, as well as what we have heard today, Asturia agrees. Do any other nations wish to question the validity of Miss Kanzaki's testimony?"
Silence reigned, and everyone sat motionless..
"Then let it be known that the Alliance stands behind the claims of Hitomi Kanzaki, citizen of the Mystic Moon. Thank you, Miss Kanzaki. You are dismissed."
Once again, the scratching of quills filled the room, and the representatives began talking amongst themselves, some at more urgent speeds than others. Basram, she noticed, was wiping sweat from his face while his advisors argued behind him. Risking a glance behind her, Hitomi looked up at Chid, but he was busy speaking to the members of his delegation to notice her. Hitomi decided that she would speak to him later. He would, after all, be there for at least a week.
A short, fussy man led her to an exit opposite the door through which she entered the chamber. She stepped out into another room, this one long and rectangular, with benches and chair set through it at irregular intervals. A wide window faced the sea. The other witnesses which had spoken before her were milling around and speaking to one another, comparing swords or swapping war-stories. She didn't know any of them.
The door opened once again, and Allen stepped through it. "Hitomi!"
"Allen? What are you doing here?"
"Eries gave me leave to speak with you," he said, and then took her hand and squeezed it in greeting. "Don't worry. I won't get in trouble by being here."
"That's good..." Hitomi looked around at the other witnesses, who were staring at the two of them rather frankly, nudging each other with grins on their faces.
"I came here to tell you that you did a wonderful job out there."
"Oh, really? I don't think I did that well," Hitomi walked over to one of the benches and sat down. Allen remained standing. "They only believed me because of what Dryden and Chid said. Chid was amazing, don't you think?"
Allen looked slightly pained, but nodded. "Yes. He'll be a good leader for Freid."
"I wonder how he was able to come up with all that on the spot..."
Allen lowered his voice and sat down beside her. "I also came to talk to you about my sister."
"Oh!" Hitomi looked around, and noticed that the rest of the witnesses had gone back to chatting among themselves. "She was very brave today. I wouldn't have made it here if it weren't for her."
"When she fought off that mercenary, what was she like? Did she say anything that sounded strange to you?"
Hitomi was uncomfortable. She trusted Allen, but she wasn't sure exactly how much she should reveal to him about Celena's behavior. Celena seemed to have told Hitomi her story in confidence. She'd certainly waited until there was no one around to witness her say anything about her relationship with Dilandau. Even Allen was elsewhere. Still, Hitomi didn't want to lie to him entirely, so she opted for her impressions of Celena's actions rather than a graphic description of her coarse language.
"She threatened him a lot while they were fighting. It was probably to make him nervous, though. It was almost like she was toying with him, to tell you the truth."
"What I was wondering," Allen said, "Is where she learned to fight at all. She did not receive fencing lessons as a child, and it's a tricky matter to steal a sword from a skilled mercenary, even when his hands are otherwise occupied. There's the catch of the sword to consider, among other things. So if she's learned this how I think she has... I don't like to think about what's going to happen to her in the future. I can't lose my sister all over again. Not when I finally have her back the way she was."
"Don't you think that's unfair, Allen?"
"What?"
"I mean, she has to have changed a little," Hitomi said, looking at Allen seriously. "She grew up while she was away."
Allen laughed. "You misunderstand me. I meant to say that she's whole again. The last time I found her, she was wandering around without a thought in her head. I had to stop her from eating bugs or drawing on the wall... but this time she's Celena again."
"Oh! Sorry," Hitomi said, feeling a little silly.
Allen smiled at her embarrassment, but then became very serious again. "A Knight is loath to own up to any fear he may have, but I must confess that I'm afraid she'll wake up one day and be gone again, that he will have taken over, this time forever."
Allen trailed off and stared at something in the distance, his mouth fixed and his eyes distant. As she watched him despair, Hitomi recalled the words that her grandmother spoke to her that day in Atlantis, which had proven so valuable again and again. This time, she promised herself, she'd say something right.
"Believe in her," she said.
"I'm sorry?" Allen returned from his reverie and started at her.
"She's not going to be able to overcome what's inside her on her without your faith in her. She needs your trust, Allen, so she can be strong."
"To be needed..." he said with an absent smile. "It would be nice to be needed. And I'm certainly more than willing."
Hitomi nodded, happy that she'd said something useful, and then recalled something that had been tugging at the edges of her mind her ever since she spoke with Celena that morning. "Allen, this might be a silly question... but do you have, uh, psychiatrists in Asturia?"
"Sy-kia-trys-tos?" Allen tried out the unfamiliar word.
"I guess not," Hitomi said with a sigh. "They're people who've been trained to talk to you if you've been through something really awful, or if something isn't right in your br- your heart. With time, they help you overcome what's wrong inside."
"We have something like that, actually," Allen replied, thoughtful. "There are women who travel over Gaea who worship the Freidian Goddess of compassion, Kritem-Alari. They usually set up headquarters in the capital city of their current locale and send representatives to the homes of people who need to talk about... well, anything, really. Eries was telling me about them this morning when the Freid delegation walked past us."
Hitomi thought that Eries was probably trying to distract Allen from Chid as well as drop a few hints about Celena, but she supposed that Allen had been a little preoccupied at the time. So she decided to go for the direct approach; subtlety really wasn't her thing. "You should see if you can arrange one to talk to Celena twice a week. I think she'd heal faster if she had someone she could talk to about her problems who isn't her overprotective brother."
"I'm not overprotective!" Allen said, affronted. "I'm a gentleman, and as such I must act according to my station."
"Sure, sure, my mistake," Hitomi giggled.
"No one appreciates the efforts of a true gentleman these days," he sighed with a sardonic smile. "But I'll make an effort either way. Thank you for the advice, Hitomi."
"No, it's no problem!" Hitomi said, waving her hands at him.
"Well then." Allen got to his feet, and took Hitomi's hand, bringing it to his lips for a kiss. "If you'll excuse me, I should return to my duties. Until we meet again."
Allen bowed, and then exited the room. She supposed he was going up to stand behind Eries again, and wondered if he would ever figure out what Eries had inadvertently done for his sister. Probably not, she decided, unless someone told him first.
About twenty miets later, Van walked through the door. He scanned the room for a few seconds before he found Hitomi.
"Van!" she said, waving. "How did it go?"
"I think it went well, actually. I was expecting Basram to protest more, but they didn't dispute anything once I got done with my testimony."
"That's great!"
"Yeah," said Van. "They should be adjourning the meeting now."
"I liked your choice of representation for Fanelia," Hitomi said. "You didn't tell me she'd be casting your votes for you."
"So she didn't sell the whole country?" he teased.
"No! She was perfect."
"I knew she would be, with Rhum there to watch her," Van said, putting his hands on his head. "You coming?"
"Yeah," Hitomi said, and followed him out the door, through the empty meeting room, and into the entrance hall. When they arrived, most of the representatives were already out the door, and Merle was chatting with Chid, a huge smile on her face. Hitomi waved in their direction, and the two of them waved back and continued with their conversation. In the middle of the room, Dryden was discussing something with Eries, while Allen hung back, stoic as any Knight at his mistress' side. Dryden laughed about something, and then bowed slightly to Eries before walking toward the door, pushing through the departing crowd of delegates on his way out.
Van dropped his hands to his side, and turned to Hitomi. "I'll be back in a moment. I want to speak with Dryden about something."
"About what?" she asked, curious.
"I want to go with him to Zaibach. Tonight."
And he began jogging towards Dryden before Hitomi could say another word.
A/N: From now on, I'm going to update the story one day before I updated it the previous week, since I'm getting so far ahead in my writing. Next week, expect the update on Saturday. Or Friday. I hope you liked it!