Maybe we should blame my jelly bean induced sugar high or my weird dreams, but I am on an update kick. Honestly, I am trying to slow down cause well I do not want to rush, but I am so excited for the next two chapters! This one is a long one for me folks!
Chapter 10 – To the Rescue
"Van Sama, please, listen to me." Merle pleaded tugging on Van's arm.
"Listen too you? I've been listening to you, and everyone else for so long. That is how I ended where I am right now!" Van said dismissively, he snatched his arm away from his childhood friend.
Merle frowned, he had a point. They had been telling him what to do and how to feel for nearly 5 months now. Ever since those stupid Princesses had arrived, both she and Garmen spent more time doing what they thought best that neither of them even bothered to really listen to Van. Now he was marrying the Princess Aislynn of Cesario in little less than a week. Deep down Van did not want to do this, that much Merle was absolutely positive, but despite her pleading to call it off, he'd refused.
"You first tell me to do this and then as me to back out?" Van argued, "What do you expect of me, I am not just some stupid puppet you and Garmen can move around to where it suits you..."
"Van..." Merle said voice trailing off, hurt building up behind her voice, "I know what we did was wrong, but I am trying to right what I did. She is no good Van, really... call this off."
Van rolled his eyes and pushed past Merle stepping out of his room and into the hall. Merle was floored, too stunned to speak and she watched him walk off.
Van turned for a moment, "words are so much easier than actions, you tell me to do things, yet you seem to forget who's life this is and who is actually king here." Van left Merle with those words as he walked off down the hall, to find a certain advisor who was wishing to dispense advice down upon him.
Merle sighed heavily, running her hands through her pink hair. "When did he become so damn difficult to deal with...oh wait, this is normal..." She muttered under breath, stalking off to find a place to think. She would not let Van marry this woman even it meant having herself exiled to the furtherest corners of Gaea.
The night before Van's wedding to Aislynn...
Van lay in his bed staring up at the ceiling his hand resting on his bare chest, feeling it rise and fall with his steady breathing. His thoughts were to jumbled and messy for him to find any kind of rest today. Due to marry the Princess of Cesario in the morning Van was experiencing the worst case of cold feet ever. Van sat up swinging his legs over the side of the bed, running his hands through his messy dark locks. He stood slowly and moved to his desk, reaching into the bottom drawer he pulled out a calender that was buried under various documents.
Before Hitomi left she'd explained to Van, that time was told differently on the mystic moon, she also explained how they told when people celebrated the day of their births. He sat down slowly at his desk, lighting the candle with a spare match on the desk. The low glow of the candle was enough to illuminate the calender that was sitting in front of him. He opened up counting ahead just the way Hitomi had showed him to three years ago, August, September, October, November, December. Van stared down at the date, his eyes widening, as regret and hurt filtered down all over him. His finger resting on the date, his stomach began to hurt, nausea washing over him. December Ninth.
"Hitomi's nineteenth birthday," he whispered to himself, "I am getting married on her nineteenth birthday."
Van threw the calender across the room, the pages fluttering and flapping in the wind as they flew across the room. Van stood up quickly sending the chair flying backwards making a loud clanging sound against the stone floor. Moving quickly Van moved to the glass doors of his balcony, he threw them open angrily and stepped out onto the balcony. He breathed in the cool air deeply, laying his head in his arms, as he rested on the balcony railing.
"What do I do Hitomi?!" Van yelled, he shot up to stare at the mystic moon, "What do you want me to do? We were suppose to be together, it was suppose to be you and me, not me and some stuffy Princess."
His knuckles turned white as he gripped the railing, "What about our promises? All that I get is to be plagued by thoughts of you for the rest of my life, the what if's and what could have beens!"
"Ah!" Van yelped as the pendant on his neck began to glow violently, so much so that it burned him, he dropped to his knees and leaned forward so the necklace hung in the air. His breathing was heavy and labored, as the light subsided slightly. Van leaned back against the wall, only to have his head begin to throb and his vision went black. Visions began to form in front of his eyes, it was Hitomi, all different visions of Hitomi. They were all his memories, but the voice, her pleading begging voice was new.
"Van please, please find me, please..."
Her voice was sad, shaking and full of fear, as the vision subsided Van felt his fists curling into an enraged ball. He slammed his fists down on the ground cursing loudly, he closes his eyes tightly trying to force another vision upon himself, something that would lead him to Hitomi. Nothing came to him and he shook his head furiously. His eyes moved to the horizon, the sun was rising slowly in the east, the new day was dawning, he would be marrying Aislynn in a just a short time.
"No..." Van whispered, "I do not know much about this vision, but I can tell a sign when one is thrust upon me..."
He stood up to dress himself, Garmen would not appreciated being woken so early, but he had to inform him the wedding was off as soon as possible.
"WHAT?! HOW DARE YOU! YOU DO NOT JUST DECIDE TO NOT MARRY ME!" Aislynn was beyond furious as Van and Garmen broke the news to the Princess that she would not marry Van.
"We apologize milady but it does not seem to be the correct time. We ask your forgiveness and we agree to give you whatever you ask for to make your journey home even better." Garmen said trying to reassure the enraged Princess.
"Give me?? How about the head off that stupid cat girl on a platter," she said pointing to Merle over Van's shoulder. "She obviously had something to do with this, that and that stupid witch you can't seem to get over."
Van raised an eyebrow, their were few times in his life he had ever wanted to strike a woman and this one was rising up on his list. Meanwhile, Merle was making the situation no better as she did her victory dance in the corner, periodically sticking her tounge out at Princess Aislynn.
"Milady, please we will escort you back to Cesario immediately, your return shall be prompt and we assure you your reputation shall be protected. King Van has already accepted the entire blame for the incident."
"I will be the least of your worries when my father hears of this mess, you'll be so indebted to my father you wont even be able to move without his permission." Aislynn shrieked at the both of them, her hands permanently implanted on her hips. Her maids were behind her rushing around trying to pack without being noticed by the royal princess.
"Yes milady, again we are deeply sorry, we will take leave of you and let you begin packing" Garmen replied doing his best to maintain his calm demeanor.
Van was biting his tounge to the best of his ability, his arms folded across his chest. He was studying her displays only half heartedly, his mind was distracted by last nights visions. What did it all mean? Whatever it meant, Hitomi seemed to be in trouble and there was nothing he could do about it. Van felt powerless for the first time since Fanelia was burned to the ground three years ago. He shook his head slightly, as he realized Garmen was pulling him out of the room.
"Lord Van," Garmen began once the door was shut, "we need to schedule a visit to Cesario immediately, there is a great amount of damage that needs to be undone here."
Merle was silent behind the two men, a grin plastered across her face. She had her hands stuffed deep with in her pockets fingering a ring she had swiped from the Princess' dresser. This ring, she thought to herself, belongs to someone else and that stupid girl does not deserve to keep it.
"Merle," Garmen said, startling Merle, "you are going with him, since this whole mess is partially your doing..."
"What?" Merle said snapping back to reality, "my doing?"
"You know what you did," Van muttered, "we are going to Cesario in two weeks, we are going to try and smooth things over with King Isamu we need to maintain a decent diplomatic standing with them."
Merle sighed heavily, her shoulders sagging a bit. The last thing she wanted to do was take a week long journey to Cesario, to speak to some upstart King about his spoiled daughter. She begrudgingly followed Van and Garmen down the hall to discuss what they would talk about on their trip to Cesario.
Cesario is one of the oldest Kingdoms in all of Gaea, and thus was reflected in the very medieval architecture. A giant castle surrounded on all sides by a large city that at the closest point to the castle housed the richest and at he furtherest point was the poorest. The king was no different in his attitude of the old values. Chivalry, Family, Respect, Honor, all of these the King held highly. It was no wonder that he was in no real mood to deal with Van, after he insulted his daughter. The dealings with the King were most definitely not in Fanelia's real favor.
As Merle and Van exited the castle, he sighed heavily, "that did not go well at all..."
"I would say that is an understatement, did you get the feeling that no one wanted us to stay in the castle very long?" Merle offered, glancing back at the large ominous castle behind her.
"Definitely, I suppose it is because we insulted the Cesarian family, I feel I would probably act similarly in his position." Van suggested, as he mounted his horse.
"I suppose, it seemed like something more though, I just can't put my finger on it. Hey, Van can we eat when we get further out of the city?" Merle said rubbing her grumbling stomach.
Van laughed at little, "sure Merle. I saw some bar, closer to the towns exit as long as we remained cloaked we should be fine."
The pair road along silently, both lost in their own thoughts. Van toyed with the idea of revealing his vision of Hitomi to Merle but did not want her to worry. She seemed to be dealing with enough herself to need to worry after him anymore. The two arrived at dusk to a small pub just outside the exit to the Cesarian city, it was small and rundown but it seemed like it would do for the time being.
Merle and Van took a seat near a portly man and his wife, making sure to keep their hoods low, they ordered food and sat silently staring out into the open room. Van half listening to the noise going on around him, until the man sitting behind him, drew Van's attention.
"Silas is sorry Margret, but Silas couldn't watch then hurt little lady like that anymore. Silas knows the Seer lady is a nice person. It ain't right or natural how they treat her." Silas muttered to his wife his hands outstretched on the table. His wife laying her hands on top of his.
Van sat up right his back straight, he refused to move, afraid he'd miss even the slightest detail. His eyes were trained on Merle as she stared back at him her mouth hanging open. She mouthed Hitomi's name to Van, and he just shook his head. He needed to hear more.
"Silas, we will be alright. You did the right thing, from what you told me about the Seeress, she is a sweet woman, like our little Bridget. It is only lucky they did not kill your for trying to help her like that." Margret said trying to comfort and support her husband.
"Silas is down right sorry, wished there was something he could do more for the little lady. She was nice to Silas. None of the other prisoners were, they always tried to hurt Silas. Not Hitomi, the little lady, tried to be Silas' friend." Silas said chugging his ale and setting the mug down on the table.
Van's eyes widened in shock. His hand clutching her pendant around his neck, he stared at Merle, trying to reassure her to stay seated. He knew it was hard enough for him not to tackle the man behind him and demand to know where Hitomi was. They would wait till they left, follow them and then seek the aide. Van knew if he was going to save Hitomi, he had to keep this quiet. His heart broke into a thousand pieces as her voice raced through is head, "Van please, please find me, please..." and now he knew she was in a terrible place, and they were hurting her. His anger began to rise, his breathing was heavy again. The range of emotions surging through is body was making him shake, he rested his head on the table trying to control his body.
Merle watched Van, her eyes wide in horror. Then an idea struck her, she grabbed a napkin on the table and began to write down a note, she scribbled as fast as she could and hoped to god this Silas man could read, and that Hitomi had mentioned Van to him. She flagged down the barmaid and had her deliver the note. Watching carefully she saw Silas take the note and read it slowly, he glanced briefly over his shoulder before handing the note to his wife. She read it slowly and nodded to her husband.
"Silas sure wishes there was a way to find that Van man. Little lady talked about him all the time, he seems like a right strong man to Silas." Silas said leaning back. Van sat up slowly his eyes meeting Merle's as she put her finger to her lips telling him to be silent.
"I know Silas, but the chances of you finding that man are so slim. You just need to realize that there is nothing you can do." Margret offered.
"Silas would tell him exactly where to find her he would. Silas would say that little lady is in the last cell in the basement in the east wing prison of the castle. Silas would tell him, no one really guards little ladies door on account of no one but Silas and Lord Yukio knew where she was." Silas said slamming his fist down on the table, "Silas wishes he could help little lady..."
"Silas, let us take you home alright. You have had a little to much ale, you'll need your rest to find a new job tomorrow." Margret said standing up.
"Silas thanks you love, for being so understanding." Silas said kissing his wife on her forehead. He turned to walk out of the room and bumped into Van's shoulder.
"Silas begs your apology sir, he has had to much to drink, he wishes you and your friend a good night, and a good life." He gripped Van's shoulder for a brief second, dropping something into his lap as he moved out the door after his wife.
Van stared down into his lap a single key lay there, and a devious smile spread across his lips. He slipped the key into his pockets. He leaned forward rubbing Merle on the head, "you are amazing friend, tonight we rescue Hitomi. So here is the plan, you are going to leave town tonight, wait a mile out in the forest. I need you to pay someone in the bar to leave with you and then flee, it needs to seem like I left the city with you." Van began explaining.
"Say no more, I see where you are going. I will be waiting for you, bring her back Van." Merle whispered grasping her friends shoulder.
Van slipped down the corridor leading into the prisons. For a castle holding such a valuable prisoner it was certainly not guarded very well, most of the guards were aloof or sleeping on duty. He was able to sneak carefully into the castle completely unnoticed. The castle prisons were a disgrace by even the most despicable persons standards, there were rats everywhere and the smell was atrocious, he could hear men screaming in the distance, probably being tortured. Thankfully, none of the voices sounded feminine, causing Van to breath a sigh of relief. As Van reached the door to the hallway where Hitomi's cell should be he heard a man singing softly on the other side. Van cursed inwardly, and knew it was going to be difficult to get past this man without causing a commotion.
Luck seemed to be on Van's side, as the man moved from the door and began walking down the hallway, inspecting each room slowly. Once he was half way down the hall Van slowly opened the door and slipped into the corner and crouched quietly waiting for the man to resume his post. What was only five minutes seemed like an eternity to Van, and as the man turned his back to Van's hiding place he stepped quietly out of the shadows. He slipped his hand around the mans mouth and hit him hard on the back of the head with his sword hilt. The man crumpled to the floor like a pile of dirty laundry.
Nearly running, Van made his way down the hall quickly. He stopped in front of a large oaken door, time nearly stopping as he wondered what he would find on the other side of the door. Praying for the best, he unlocked the door and it swung open, letting light spill in across the floor. It trailed over Hitomi's still bodying laying on the cold floor. His whole body froze for a moment as he took in the sight in from of him.
Hitomi lay on the ground legs pulled to her chest shivering and shaking, her skin was paler than normal and her hair was long falling across her soft face. She looked fragile and malnourished, like someone hadn't let her eat in days. Her eyes were closed tightly as she whimpered in her sleep. Snapping out of his trance like state, Van rushed to her side. Kneeling down next to her, he pushed her hair out of her face slowly and gently, she stirred only slightly. She was even more beautiful than he remembered her being. Scared to shatter her into a thousand pieces Van, pulled her up into his arms gently and held her to his chest.
"I am here now Hitomi, I am here." He whispered into her hair. The heat coming off of her was overwhelming, and he knew then she was suffering from a fever. His heart was beating in his chest so heavily, it overwhelmed him. Cradling her to him just a few seconds more, he pulled her back so he could look at her face, he shook her gently trying to wake her.
"Hitomi, please wake up..." he whispered, carrying her would prove difficult for their escape. He would just assume fly out of here, but he knew that would cause to much of a scene, and potentially cause outright war.
"Mm mm" Hitomi moaned her eyes fluttered but she did not open them.
Van sighed heavily, knowing he had to get her out of here now, he leaned her against a wall in a sitting position and faced his back to her. He locked her arms around his neck and leaned forward so he could carry her piggy back out of the castle. Once in the city he could steal a horse or sneak through the alleys till he left the city. Getting up into the main castle was no problem, since he had knocked out the only guard for what seemed the entire prison. Once into the main castle Van was forced to slowly dart from shadow to shadow as the guards had seemed to wake up and start taking their jobs more seriously.
Van could see a window open across the hall in a small room, and knew he could use it to his advantage, waiting for the guard to turn his back and walk back down the hall, Van darted across the hall and into the small room.
"Perfect." he whispered as he looked out the window to see that it faced the back of nobilities homes, and thankfully it wasn't fashionable to have a window that looked out onto a castle wall. Van was able to move Hitomi to his front and release his wings. He took off from the ledge and flew to the edge of an alley that split two nobles homes up. Landing softly he quickly pulled his wings back in and set Hitomi down for a moment. He leaned her against a wall, and walked slowly down the alley to investigate his surroundings.
Pulling his hood back down over his head, he passed out into the main street. Everything seemed calm so far, which meant they had not noticed yet that Hitomi was no longer in her cell. He knew that would not last very long at all, as the guard would be waking very soon. Sighing heavily Van knew he was going to have to steal a horse, otherwise he would be trapped with a sick Hitomi in the middle of Cesario. He glanced back down the alley to make sure Hitomi was still there. He turned to looking to his left seeing a simple gray stallion tied up in front of a large inn. He grinned ear to ear.
"It is about damn time! I was starting to think you had gone and got yourself killed." Merle yelled as Van came stumbling into the camp, carrying Hitomi in his arms.
"I am sorry Merle, but she was sick, I couldn't risk hurting her, or getting caught." Van said laying Hitomi down on the bedroll Merle had laid out.
"Sick. Oh...my..." Merle's voice trailed off as she looked down at Hitomi for the first time in years, "she doesn't look good at all Van, what do we do?"
Van frowned, he was able to inspect Hitomi more throughly, trying to note any real injuries. Aside from an apparently broken hand and what looked like several very bad bruises and bumps, the only real thing that seemed to be wrong with Hitomi was her fever. Van spoke softly, "It is some kind of terrible fever I suspect, those bastards have been starving her, look at her wrists, nearly all bone."
"What do we do?" Merle asked again grabbing Van's arm.
"We ride. All night, to Asturia, Millerna can help her. I will not see her die, pack up quickly. I am going to get her some water." Van said grabbing Merle by the shoulders.
Once everything was packed, Van mounted his horse and had Merle helped him pull Hitomi up onto his horse with him. He sat her in front of him so she could lean her head into his chest, as he held her close to him with one arm. He gripped the reins with his free hand and turned to Merle. She nodded, and the trio galloped off into the night heading west towards Asturia. Van did his best to keep Hitomi warm against him, and although she was suffering a terrible illness Van felt lighter than he had in nearly three years.
I know rescuing Hitomi from Cesario was a little uneventful, but there is real reason for it, which will be revealed at a later date. Oh yeah, and that horse Van stole he released it back to the city, so that it would be less suspicious. Also I know that Cesario is near Asturia, but I couldn't remember in which direction so in my story Asturia is west of Cesario. Anyway, there is more cuteness and fluff coming up than a box full of kittens! So enjoy it all you HitomixVan lovers!
Jacks-peapod I am flattered! Really, I am, Silas really is one of my favorite characters to right, and dont worry we haven't seen the last of good ol' Silas just yet.
Wing Goddes – Ask and you shall receive! :-) I was eager for them to be back together again to, and like I said lots of fluff to come!
thepinkmartini - I love Silas, he was really just an accident, but he has just graduated to supporting cast.