Intricacy of the Heart
Chapter: Ten
Title: Tables Turn
Author: Talia (Cascata)
Genre: Romance
Rating: R (for future)
Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne nor do I own any of the characters from the series or movies.
Author's Note: There will be revisions going on… most of what I've posted earlier I wrote at my dad's so it wasn't the best it could have been. Not enough sarcasm and it's all worthless rambling and jabber. Must fix! Oh well… You're going to be amused to find all the chaos that's going to occur, so… I might even change the genre to Humor Hehe… you can be the judges. Don't forget to R&R! BTW There is a reason Talia calls Van a Baka constantly… hehe, you get to see the past later so HA!
~~~~~*~~~~~
Hitomi stood on the balcony and gazed out across the desolate land. This temporary palace Nem had made from his ship wasn't too terribly bad other than the fact that it was the ugliest metal she'd ever had the misfortune of laying her eyes upon. People actually pay for this? Sighing softly she rested her head upon her hand and watched as the sun rose, casting it's rich colors across the lifeless land.
However, she wasn't too absorbed to notice King High-And-Mighty-Pain-In-The-Ass walk up behind her, though she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a greeting. Not then anyway.
Nem gently placed a hand on her shoulder before standing beside her. "Beautiful, no?"
Hitomi didn't respond. If he honestly expected her to speak to him after being kidnapped he was obviously much more dim-witted than she'd initially thought. He had come off as somewhat intelligent the first time she'd met him… now he was being beyond stupid.
Nem leaned down next to her, for the most part unnoticed. He gently brushed his lips against her ear before whispering her name heatedly, causing her to almost shoot through her skin. "How did you…?"
"Your mind doesn't have many blocks," Nem replied simply, his gaze never leaving her shocked face, proud to have been able to shock her to silence. "And I see that you don't find me at all resistible…" as he spoke he gently turned her to face him and smirked as she struggled but found herself under his spell. "As I find you irresistible, Hitomi…" he breathed, his lips only inches from hers.
Hitomi tried to pull away but found herself frozen in place. Why couldn't she move? Did that bastard really know that much magic? She felt her heart stop as Nem closed the distance between them and pulled her into a deep kiss.
Without knowing why she called for help mentally to the only person she had a mental link with. 'Make this stop! Van!' she managed, before Nem lifted her and carried her into the bedroom.
~~~~~*~~~~~
Van paused and stopped in the center of the path causing a domino effect until everyone was staring at their "fearless" leader. 'Hitomi?' He responded mentally, but she was gone. Shit, that can't be good. Even Hitomi wouldn't do something like that just to be cruel.
"Van-sama, are you all right?" Merle asked softly, one of those damned rhetorical questions of which would earn a smack from almost everyone.
"Hitomi," he breathed, then turned to Drydon, "May I borrow your horse?"
Drydon stared at him a moment, then dismounted, "Go ahead and keep him if you want…"
Before he could finish Van was already mounted and cantering away, leaving three rather confused friends. "Right…"
~~~~~*~~~~~
Allen groaned as the insanity increased. Talia was now being nice to him, which was a small reward for the amount of pain she was putting him through. "I told you not to move, Allen," she said softly, leaving the baka part out of it due to his fragile condition, which she would take absolutely NO blame for!
"If you'd learn how to stitch…"
"Do you want a scar there or not?" Talia interrupted. The foolhardy knight was not taking well to the fact that stitches shouldn't be PULLED at in unnatural ways. "Not that anyone's going to be looking at your thigh anytime soon…" she trailed off as she returned to her stitching the slash on his VERY high up inner thigh. God, a couple more inches and he'd either be castrated… or she'd be even redder than her current state. Damn her hormones.
Allen noticed the slight blush gracing her normally porcelain features before smirking. "You act as though it were the first time you've touched a man there…"
Talia's eyes whipped to him with a piercing glare that would have made Satan look like a saint. "Perhaps it is, and if it were why would it matter?"
Allen shrugged, the headache still ripping through his scull though went unnoticed as he was finally gaining the upper hand of this conversation. "You just don't come off as the type of girl who hasn't touched…"
"I am innocent in my maidenhood, nothing more," Talia snapped.
Allen gave her a smile. "As feisty as I remember…"
"Feisty is an understatement," Talia interrupted proudly. To her, feisty was child's play… like biting off a man's finger… or shaving their eyebrows… perhaps even slipping the hair removal formula into their hair care formula. Ahhhh the good ol' days.
"With you, I agree," Allen commented then winced as Talia tugged a bit harder on the thread than needed be.
Talia smirked and continued stitching before searching for a knife of some sort. Damn it all, there wasn't one close. Oh well, may as well cut the string as she was used to. Without giving it a second thought she bent down and bit the string in half, her lips brushing against his inner thigh in the process earning a gasp from the injured knight. Grinning triumphantly, Talia stood and walked away.
Allen's eyes appeared as though they would pop out of his very scull; Talia was hardly able to contain the laughter bubbling up within her throat. "Stew, Allen?"
Allen didn't respond, only pulled the blanket back up on him self, not there was much to show off with his undergarments, but still.
"I'll take that as a no," Talia replied, her lips forming a sly, feline smile. "Oh well." Dishing herself out some of her infamous stew she sat down at the table and dined alone, leaving Allen to his momentary loss of words. Keep in mind; it takes a lot to shock the hell out of him… this is appropriate, no?
~~~~~*~~~~~
Van rode to the gates of Allen's hold and pulled his mount to a sudden halt. "Lower the bridge!"
Several of the guards glanced out to see the fool calling for them to drop their bridge. It took them a moment to recognize the young monarch, though once his identity was confirmed the bridge was dropped instantly, the way it should have been to begin with in Van's opinion. Quickly dismounting his horse he ran inside to find Hitomi. He knew something was wrong… however, he made it less than two steps before he ran into Celina. "Van…"
"Where's Hitomi?" Van demanded, formalities could wait, finding Hitomi could not.
Celina sighed, "Van… she's gone."
"Where?" Van demanded. Celina cowered away for fear of being shredded by Van's urgency.
"I… I don't know. A man came and took her…" before Celina could continue Van was rushing up to he and Hitomi's room. The pendulum would most likely prove useful in his search for her.
~~~~~~*~~~~~~
Hitomi's eyes fluttered open and met with the deep purple, which belonged to Nem. Scowling she sat up in bed, then straitened out her dress. Fortunately, Nem refused to take her until she submitted herself freely… though the previous night had scared the hell out of her.
~~Flashback~~
Nem gently laid her down on the bed and ran his hand up her covered thigh, still holding her in a deep kiss. Hitomi couldn't fight it, it was as though something had taken over her body and wouldn't allow her to push him away. The king's hands roamed, though never once becoming too heated. After moments of this ongoing, Nem sat up and gazed down into her emerald eyes. "Not unless you want me to."
Hitomi responded with the only thing that could possibly get the point across. Moments later, the king was sporting a lovely red mark on his right cheek. Nem nodded and left her that night… and she cried herself to sleep once the terror finally allowed itself to settle in.
~~End Flashback~~
Hitomi glared down at him, then noticed that his right cheek was still bruised. 'The bastard deserved it' she reasoned as she jumped up from bed. "What do you want, Nem?"
Nem stood and straitened his clothes out, his eyes never leaving hers. "I want to know what I can do to set things right between the two of us."
Hitomi narrowed her eyes at him. Was she really going to listen to this crap coming from a dick too good looking for his own well-being? HELL NO! "Liar…"
"Hitomi, I could have easily taken you last night," Nem stated as he began to close the distance between them. Hitomi took a step back and the king paused, his eyes gentle as his words. "But I won't."
Hitomi stared at him, fear fighting its way into her emerald colored eyes. She was not comfortable with being alone with this man… not after hearing so many stories of him. However, her womanly incites said nothing that would confirm these stories. She wasn't uncomfortable around him for what her instincts told her… she was uncomfortable for the knowledge of what she'd been told.
Nem took another step closer, and Hitomi once again retreated. He sighed softly and knelt before her, "Hitomi. I don't wish for you to hate me."
Hitomi looked around for any means of escape, though Talia's escape only proved that there needed to be more security. "Keeping me here is not going to help my opinion of you."
Nem's face was serene and he once again stepped forward. This time, however, Hitomi didn't move, instead she found herself once again under some strange force she could only assume was Nem's doing. The king stood tall in front of her, then reached forward and pulled her to his self, holding her in a gentle embrace and caressing her hair. "Do you know how long I've been watching you, Hitomi? Have you any clue what over four years does to a person enchanted by you?"
Hitomi felt the blood drain from her face. He'd watched her for over four years? She couldn't pull away in her shock, only stand and bury her head in his chest to hide her state of shock. However, Nem seemed to know already, and he didn't pursue it.
"Hitomi, I want you to be my wife…"
"WHY does everyone want to marry me all of a sudden?" Hitomi demanded upon finally being able to speak.
Nem ignored her question and used his fingers to direct her head to face him. "Hitomi," he whispered softly and leaned in, brushing his lips against hers.
Hitomi felt tears swelling in her eyes and tried pulling away only to fail miserably due to that force still holding her. She couldn't even speak now, which she was sure was courtesy of King Testosterone here.
This time, however, the king didn't seem intent on sparing her until she was ready. He lifted her once again and gently laid her back on the bed before slowly untying her tunic. Soon he was undressing her with his steady, gentle hands… kisses being placed in various places, kisses of which burned on Hitomi's skin despite herself. 'Allen-san… gomen.'