A/N: Well? That wasn't a cliff-hanger was it? See! I broke the chain! Woo hoo! And you guys really like violence don't you? I'm worried as to how scary you guys can be. :S

Ok, now onto the rest. Hope you like it! Title once again accredited to Jav-chan-sempai

Oooh, and a sneak preview of chapter 8 to anyone who recognises where Van's line from chapter 6 came from ^^….

Previous:

He later would claim that her striking beauty and his slight inebriation caused him to blurt,

"You're over me? Over me…?"

He noticed her lower her gaze and start to turn her back as if to leave when he finished in the same mystified tone,

"When were you…when were you under me?"

Having anticipated a slap earlier, he should have known not to tempt fate as she strode towards him and left this jaw aching and his neck sore from the force of the blow.

Chapter 7: Whiplash

She had allowed him, no, wanted him to do what he had been so very gifted at doing. It had been a very pleasing discovery to find it was something else he was good at. But he ruined it.

In that very room, their reunion had started off worthy of a badly-written trashy romance novel and he chose to rip the book in half and crush any hormones that had been coursing through her blood.

He completely and utterly ruined it all by opening his stupid big moron of a mouth.

And what had he said? What had he said to her, of all people? Making her out to be some sort of common whore! As if she regularly did this sort of thing!

Her cheeks flushed as the cruel side of her brain repetitively ran over what had happened in their childhood playroom.

Did he regularly do this? Was that why he had found her in that room? Was that where he took his choice females and instead found her and decided to carry on as he did with other women he was acquainted with?

And his comment.

As she veered round another corner as fast as she could in the unnaturally high heels that the evil, utterly evil Asturian Queen had forced her into, never mind her damn dress, she blinked furiously as his words echoed in her mind,

"When were you…when were you under me?"

Had he changed so much in two years that he could no longer remember which female was sneaking into his bedchambers? Or that he had taken to his bed?

She cringed at the idea of him being on a par with Allen Schezar. She attributed part of the stupidity of his comment to the sweet sake she had tasted. From his tongue massaging hers, running along the inside of her mouth. Ugh, tasted. How the hell had she gotten herself into this mess?

Once more she reached the end of another long corridor and turned to find her hands gripping an intricately carved wooden rail that overlooked a sweeping staircase, candles burnt down almost to their ends as they had been lit at the start of the evening. Her fingers curled over the edge of the banister as her stomach rested against the flat side of it.

She could hear her breathing, shallow and fractured as tears still poured down her face. Never mind controlling emotions, she had no idea what to feel.

If she were any other woman she would be distraught at the very thought of her mascara smearing down her face, never mind the actual image.

If she were any other woman she would have ignored his drunken words and happily let Van Fanel do what he pleased, then race to her friends and declare proudly she had slept with the Fanelian King. As well as describe in intimate detail all the happenings.

Once again a curt side of her mind informed her that she did have intimate details of him, she had felt him press his hips against hers, his fingers sliding up from her knee…

This wasn't a good area of thought, as well as the idea of telling anyone, he was the Fanelian King for Escaflowne's sake.

But Hitomi wasn't like that. Hitomi Kanzaki didn't give a toss about her childhood friend's title; it held no bearing for her whatsoever when she had last been here. She hadn't even properly understood who he really was until Folken had failed at the Dragon Slaying rite, when they were only ten rotations young.

So really, it was all Folken's fault. Of course it was, the damned idiot hadn't even been able to kill a stupid overgrown lizard! Meaning Van had to go out and salvage the family pride, no questions there. But in the name of Atlantis how did Van slaying a dragon and trawling its innards for a pink rock make him King?

Why in the forbidden name of the thirteen icy hells didn't his father stay King? No one had ever truly found out why Goau de Fanel had passed on the title whilst in the best of health, anticipating his eldest succeeding. But it had been the youngest instead who had taken the throne, having to wait five years until he had reached fifteen rotations.

There was nothing wrong with being the ruler of a country. But she did have a problem with the man ruling it. Or rather, returning to the palace of the ruler after being ignored for twenty-three months and then ravished, yes ravished seemed appropriate enough, as if they had been doing so for a long time. As if they had been in constant contact for their time apart.

She didn't see a point in holding grudges against people. She thought they only led to angst and stomach ulcers, neither of which seemed appealing to her. But they had gone from speaking to each other everyday to no contact whatsoever. For twenty three months. Just under two rotations of nothing, well on his side at least.

She gritted her teeth as she realised just how petulant she was being. Her primary aim of the day had been lost entirely as he touched her. And that first touch had been innocent; she could have walked away or talked back and left with her head held high.

But she wanted to know, she had needed to know why she had let him carry out his actions. Why she had responded to him. The twenty-three letters that she had no reply to whatsoever rested heavy on her thoughts.

Equally heavy as him pressing against her, his mouth and tongue…

Oh Gods! She had to stop this!

She needed to forget about the extremely pleasant, but equally bittersweet sensations that seemed to have ingrained and looped themselves in her memory. A breath shuddered from her lungs as her tears started to recede.

The silence in the corridors of the Fanelian Palace had never bothered her before, she had never paid attention to them as a child or even a teenager.

But they felt so very oppressive now, almost as if they were telling her. Telling her just how insignificant she was. Twenty three letters hadn't been worth his time, and the childhood playroom incident was merely a banal occurrence for him.

The silence told her that he wasn't running after her, shouting her name, trying to follow her and stop her, to explain.

But what did he have to explain? Why he had kissed her? From her brother's attitude towards women, she knew that physical affection meant nothing to the majority of the male gender, merely a cheap thrill or foreplay as she had heard one of Yukari's gentlemen friends call it. It was nothing significant to them. And if Van—she sniffled uncomfortably as her stomach tightened—if Van felt the same, then he would think no more of what had happened and would soon forget it.

Hitomi knew she wouldn't, wouldn't want to, wouldn't be able to, wouldn't think of forgetting it. Her childhood friend, her childhood crush had kissed her, held her, touched her as if he had desperately missed her. As if he had replied to each of the twenty three letters and motioned in some way of his yearning for her.

The logical part of her mind recalled there had been alcohol. She had tasted it on him, his lip between hers, her tongue curling around and along it, receiving the sake aftertaste. He must have been quite drunk, she reasoned. In order for him to have been so forward he must have been rather intoxicated, or legless as they merrily called it in Pallas.

And then there was her dress.

She didn't know whether to praise or curse Millerna Sara Aston. The Queen of Asturia could possibly be entirely at fault she thought, one hand leaving the banister to smooth a non existent crease on her dress. The cut of it had allowed him to touch her where only she had touched before. Brushing her own fingers along her collarbone didn't produce the feeling of heat pooling below her stomach, not like his fingers did.

Perhaps the design of her dress, so utterly outrageous and nothing like what she had ever worn before could have given the wrong message to Van. Perhaps in his drunken state he had seen her dress and viewed it as a message that she wanted him to do that. Maybe he thought she had dressed that way for him, to entice him.

The amount of skin she had on show had been a great deal more than she had ever displayed before in her day clothes, let alone her nightgowns. She had seen some of Yukari's rather risqué purchases, no doubt for married women, but Yukari never let that institution stop her from enjoying herself. The amount of skin had indeed increased the amount of male attention she had received.

Even Allen, who she already had history with, had approached her for a dance; even touching the bare skin of her shoulder and curling his fingers as if in a possessive gesture. Granted, it was nothing compared to the assertive manner that Van had behaved in, even after her shock.

There was no room for shock as she reasoned how Allen's attempt at possessive behaviour annoyed her likening him to an irritating insect, yet Van's had left her wanting him to continue acting in such a raw, masculine way.

When Allen had appeared again; whether that was good or not was left to be seen, the protective gesture Van had displayed baffled her. He had attempted to hide her, keeping her out of Allen's sight, away from him.

The word witness stunted any other thoughts as the realization materialized that she, or rather they had been caught. And by a Knight Caeli of Asturia. By Sir Allen Schezar, one of the biggest gossips in Pallas. Allen Schezar, the man who had been attempting to court her. Or so the threats of gossip weaved.

Allen, Allen Schezar had caught her with Van in the act of…or on the verge of…

Well, how could she explain or describe it?

The very idea of explaining her actions, their actions, to anyone made her cringe completely. So completely consumed by the thoughts in her mind, in the process of being torn to shreds, Hitomi didn't notice the click of feminine heels on the stone floors as someone approached her.

She was so lost in self turmoil that she felt herself almost topple over the banister in shock as an arm came round her shoulders and pulled her to the body attached to the arm, along with a joyous cry of,

"Hitomi-chan!"

Having been pressed against another person, but female this time, she recognized the voice of another member of the de Fanel family. Barely managing to pull herself gently out of the Queen Mother's tight grip, she curtseyed slowly and was pulled, mid-curtsey and completely off balance back into the Queen Mother's arms.

"Oh Hitomi-chan!" The Queen Mother sighed overdramatically with a nostalgic smile on her face, "My dear, you have no need to curtsey to me. I've known you since you were a small wee child, with my Van leading you along by the hand!"

Hitomi tried her best not to flinch or have goose bumps at his name. She listened to the excited woman continue as she was pushed gently backwards, still held by the Queen Mother's arms,

"Look at you! Just look at you!"

Hitomi cringed, waiting for the comment of surprise or aversion to her dress.

"You look wonderful!" Hitomi barely controlled her instinct to flinch in shock at the words of the Queen Mother. She had not expected her to be harsh, but at least to acknowledge that Hitomi had never worn anything like this before. And here she was, acting as if she regularly dressed this way.

"My dear, it has only been two rotations, if that. And look how you've blossomed. A true lady of the court."

"Thank you, your—"

"—Now child, remember what I told you?"

"Thank you…Varie-sama." Hitomi mumbled, her cheeks flushing at the memory of being told many times as a child not to use titles with Varie or indeed any members of her family. It was one Royal Command Hitomi often disobeyed.

"That dress suits you perfectly. You remind me of a fairytale enchantress, breaking men's hearts and having no knowledge of it whatsoever. Why I was saying to Goau during the banquet how truly beautiful you looked. I know for a fact that quite a few young men asked you to dance didn't they?"

Hitomi felt conflicted.

On the one hand, Varie-sama had been a guiding light to her in her childhood, a steadfast comfort after her mother died. But on the other, she was the mother of the man who had been groping her not long beforehand. How was Hitomi supposed to react or behave?

Gods, she almost wished she had never come here. Or never left in the first place. Hitomi swallowed and was about to respond, when Varie cut across her again, overflowing with words,

"You seemed to be the centre of attention for many young courtiers. I'm sure our native delegation was amazed at your transformation." She stopped suddenly. "Dear, are you alright?" Her hand touched Hitomi's cheekbone, at the smears of makeup, causing her fingers to clench at the recollection of him touching her there, brushing his lips down…

She tried her best to nod as convincingly as possible, fully aware that she probably looked traumatized. Well her brain felt that way. Inhaling cautiously so as not to start sobbing again, she chose her words carefully, "I'm fine Varie-sama, thank you. It has been a very long night, that's all. I have missed Fanelia very much, and coming back here—"

"—Only served to remind you of what you left behind. We have all missed you greatly. How many times did I tell the servants to lay an extra place at meals, only to realise that you weren't with us."

Varie's words were only making it worse, her feel worse. Tightening the coil of angst in her mind, the headache that had been rolling in, starting to toss and turn in her head as her nerves and jangled emotions flew about.

"I must say, Van felt your departure most keenly."

Hitomi scrunched her brow as indistinctly as possible to not arouse suspicion as her heart jolted at the Queen Mother's words.

"Even this evening, I noticed he kept an eye on you. After all, two rotations is a long time. And you look absolutely stunning tonight. I didn't see him speak to you during the official celebrations. Did I miss the two of you catching up?"

Hitomi's heart thrummed with adrenalin as the King's mother's words described perfectly what had happened. Only, not in the way Varie probably meant.

This time, she was thankful for Varie not waiting for an answer, "I must say Hitomi-chan it is awfully late, why are you still up at this hour?" Hitomi was unable to speak and was left to her thoughts as the Queen Mother answered for her again,

"Ah of course, you must be on your way to see your father, ne? I'm sure he'll be delighted to see you, even at this hour of the night."

Hitomi could only nod, slightly dazed by the rapid flow of one-sided conversation that was aimed at her,

"Well my dear, I hope to see you tomorrow at breakfast."

Once again she nodded and watched the Queen Mother float off gently towards the next corridor who turned indistinctly back towards her and said gently, "It would be nice to have a proper chat with you before you leave. Oyasumi Hitomi-chan."

"Oyasumi Varie-sama," she managed to reply and pulling out of her daze she turned to the sweeping staircase, even darker than before their conversation had started.

Sweeping down the stairs as carefully as possible with her sweeping gown and spike thin heels, she tried her hardest to concentrate on getting out of the palace before any more members of the Royal Family cornered her and sent off of the edge and into a mental breakdown.

As she reached the last flight of stairs, this time overly decorated and with candles that had obviously been replaced, she allowed herself to inhale deeply in order to calm herself before she stepped out into the night air.

Back in the palace, another two people sat wide awake,

"Well?" came the masculine voice that sounded effortlessly bored, but the recipient of the remark caught the curious tone of voice,

"What did you expect?" She replied, tiredly having waited for the girl to arrive.

The man let out an aggravated sigh, listening to the underlying comment from the woman's voice,

"He screwed up again didn't he?"

"Yes."

Thanks for reading. Reviews would be excellent Christmas/Eid presents ^^ Always appreciated, and preview of 8 for anyone who can tell me Van's line from 6!!!!!

Sina xx

Thanks and *huggles* go to:

Jav_chan – You and your angst.

InLuvWidVan – Lol, Van is an adorable drunk isn't he? ^^

Lil' Dinky – Yup Van can't express himself even with alcohol. Glad you liked the slap

AmethystWings – Thank you and the slap is always lurking there, isn't it?

Ispano-Guymelef – Well if it ended there, it would be boring…wouldn't it?

thepinkmartini – Van's not cocky, just a hilarious drunk. Highly entertaining. ^^

sharonrose

The Moonspinner – Yup, but an idiot we'd all happily be ravished by ^^ xxx

Vicky – Yep, it is the most awesome line. But it's not one of my own :(

RiverDolphin – Yep, being a seer is hard isn't it? ^^ Run? Is that really Van's style? Thanks for faving!