(smirk) I did something some of you might find horrible in this chapter. But I did it for a reason! Well, truthfully, no. I justa wanted a change. Five years went by, right? He was bound to change just like everyone else.
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CHAPTER X
The image of Allen Schezard, Knight Caeli of Asturia, was something that was burned unchaging in Hitomi's mind.
But the young man she saw descending from the Asturian leviship Crusade got her confused for a long moment. The face was the same; the bright blue eyes, the perfect nose, the long sensual mouth. The frame was exactly as equal, although he seemed a little more wiry, thinner perhaps.
The most shocking development was his hair. It was short; really short. Shorter than Van's, actually. It was as unruly as it had always been, but now it was a perfectly masculine cut, like Stelius or Mikoh Bas sported. It made him older, but not less handsome.
"Hitomi!" Millerna hugged the girl very tightly, glowing with happiness, and Hitomi returned the embrace laughing. Dryden and Allen were smiling smugly at Van, and the young King was blushing slightly. Princess Eries smiled honestly at Hitomi and said she was glad to see her back, the very image of diplomacy and composure. Dryden patted her shoulder affectionately, and then she turned to Allen.
"Well—what a change!" she said smiling at him.
He smiled dashingly back. "You've changed quite a lot yourself, Hitomi."
She nodded. "And what inspired you?"
Allen took his hand to the back of his head and ruffled the short golden bangs carelessly. It wasn't a gesture she would remember in elegant, self conscious Allen Schezard, but he really was different.
"It wasn't much of a personal decision as a… series of unfortunate events." He said smiling.
"Huh?" Hitomi asked blinking. Allen arched a blond eyebrow at Van.
"You didn't tell her?" he asked.
Van shrugged. "I wanted her to see you safe and sound before. Otherwise she wouldn't have been in peace."
"What?" Hitomi demanded, growing worried.
Allen took her gently by the arm and steered her towards the carriages, the bright noon sun reflecting off his unruly hair. "I was… captured, little after you left Gaea." He said carefully. Hitomi paled, but he smiled reassuringly. "Only for a three days. Van rushed to the rescue." He chuckled low, and Van returned a sidelong glance, his emotions undefined. "Well, they didn't get much time to actually hurt me, but they did crop my hair and break my sword, which I grieve a lot more, since it had been Vargas' gift."
Hitomi stared at him. He was as calm and laid-back as always, and the only difference was the deeper glint of his eyes and of course his hair. He seemed no older than his real age, which was a relief, and he looked content. She looked down at his hip and saw there a new, jade green sheathed sword.
Hitomi was glad he was okay. Allen had been a source of worry for her in the last days. That had actually been sprung off of Van's concern for his friend, born out of his suspicion that Allen was ashamed of the events occurred in Freid five years ago—reason why he so willfully avoided Chid.
Hitomi had grown pale at that comment, but she had sipped her tea and steadied herself. At that point she had become aware that eventually, she would be forced to tell Van of Allen's secret. She would need his help in protecting both him and the child.
Presently, she sat in the carriage between the blond and Van and in front of Millerna sitting between Eries and Dryden. Topaz rode quietly along.
"So, I assume we'll have a spring wedding, Van?" Dryden asked smugly. Van blinked, blushing madly. "Well, I figured, Fanelian winters are crude—but then if you can't wait four months that's perfectly understandable."
"Of course I can." Van muttered self consciously, and glared at Allen when he chuckled.
"Oh, come now, Van." Allen said, tilting his head and looking at him smirking. "We're all friends here. Out with it."
Hitomi saw Millerna look down and arch an eyebrow and realized she had laced her fingers with Van's. She blushed, but smiled widely, and Millerna laughed out loud.
"Don't tell me—" Allen said suddenly, leaning down to look at Van across Hitomi. "You… did you listen to what I said back then?"
Van frowned. "Well… Not exactly, but…"
He was interrupted because Allen was laughing again, whole-heartedly. Hitomi didn't know if it was that his laughter was contagious or that Van's awkwardness was funny, but Dryden and Millerna followed suit.
"I should have been more serious!" Allen said shking his head. "It must have been the shock—fancy me giving you advices on women—but nevermind that. Hitomi, did he really act like a gentleman and took the lead? With you, I was fearing he'd never dare."
Hitomi laughed softly. "Well, the first few days there was a bit of a—"
Van elbowed her. "That's more than he needs to know, thank you." He muttered.
Tha provoked a fit of laughter even in Eries, and in the end Van himself was laughing along. When they reached the Castle, they went separate ways to freshen up before lunch. Van pulled Hitomi along with him to the gardens. In the way they met the Egzardian delegation, exchanged a few polite words and then went on their way.
King Kurun Egzard was a nervous man. He didn't have the nerve to put on a hard, cold face to mirror Van's, and at his arrival, he had shown himself rather sheepish. Hitomi hadn't been there, because Jasmine had wanted to go to the old part of the city, the section of it that remaned as it had been before the War, and Hitomi had joined her. Jasina had kept silent and tugged back a little all the while, now and then exchanging a few quiet words with the gyspsy bodyguard.
"Well now" Jasmine had said at some point, glancing back quickly. "If he ever goes missing, at least you'll know he's in good company."
"Jasmine!" Hitomi chided playfully, grinning. "You don't mean that."
"Oh, I don't?" Jasmine asked arching her eyes brows suggestively. "Mm. We'll see."
Whataver anyone's suspicions may reveal, the fact remained that Topaz was not unfazed. Hitomi had observed that when he was spoken to, Topaz never looked back unless he wanted to make a point with his eyes. He generally kept looking around, watchful and alert, and nodded or answered. But with Jasina, he inmediately looked at her, as if not looking when he answered would have been unthinkable. But in any case, that was the only change in his behaviour, if it could be seen as that, and it was hardly decisive.
Presently Van sat down on a bench in front of a spring, in the gardens of the Fanelian Castle, and Hitomi sat by him. Topaz went to sit down under the shade of a tree, keeping watch, but disengaging himself of their conversation. If Van tried anything, he could always throw him something.
But the King had none of that in mind—at the moment anyway. "I wanted to ask your opinion." He said to Hitomi. "In whether I should tell Dryden and Millerna about Meridiana now, or later when I tell all the other dignataries together."
Hitomi though of that for a moment. "Well, Dryden and Millerna are closer to you than the rest. Maybe they deserve to know first."
"I think the same." Van nodded. "We ought to tell them today at lunch, then."
Hitomi looked at him, noticing his perfectly natural use of the word 'we'. But she didn't comment on it, because Van was distractedly looking over her shoulder. She followed his gaze, curious.
There was Chid, and with him was a tall, lanky boy about twelve years of age, dark brown hair glinting in the daylight and bright green-blue eyes sparkling with amusement. Chid looked a little surprised.
"That's Stelius' youngest, Makarios." Van said quietly. "I don't begin to think what could set him with Chid—they're black and white."
Makarios Stelius had taken much of his father's and his grandfather's large frame, and it was clear in his long limbed body that he would be a powerfully built man. He wasn't armed but with a long steel pole crossed at his back, and he was telling Chid something that apparently stunned the blond.
Hitomi smiled. "It would do well for Chid to be a kid from time to time. Makarios seems nice enough."
Van looked doubtful. "You clearly don't know him. You should see him train with Topaz. Oh, by the way, about that" he added suddenly very happy. "Stelius wants to set up a small Kreina tournament before the Opening for the entertainment of all the dignataries."
Hitomi looked at him confused. "What's Kreina?"
Van grinned. "It's a game that's played a in a large grass field, with three teams per game. Every team has seven players, and it's played by time, six Chakkers of ten minutes. The objective is to take an arrow and stick it in the grass behind another team's poles; that's a score. Once someone plants one arrow another is given and it starts again. It's very violent, but it's esentially about strategy and speed. I like it a lot, it's very fun. The team that's stuck more arrows in the others' poles wins."
It sounded an awful lot like rugby to Hitomi, and she really liked rugby, so it sounded interesting.
"We plan to start playing tomorrow after Vivelin gets here. You see, Vivelin is ruled by a King as well, and he has three boys, all of which play really well, and like playing against each other. Also, Stelius' older son Stellan is going to come with them, and he plays very good as well, and you should see him trying to get past his father."
He was still chuckling when he stood up and helped her to her feet, and they headed to the dining room to have lunch with Asturia. Usually Van would have been pleased to extend an invitation to Freid, Basram and Agrava, but because he wanted to talk about Meridiana, he refrained.
This time, though, it was Stelius that didn't join them from lunch. Whether he had stayed at home, or was around following his son and making sure he didn't shock Chid al Freid excessively, was a mystery.
But Van took it in stride. He sat Phillip at his left and Hitomi at his right, and everyone else took their places at will, Millerna right by Hitomi and Eries by her side, and Dryden by Phillip and Allen next to him; Merle sat at the far side of the table in front of Van. Hitomi caught the glimpse of a long scar in the back of Allen's neck that disturbed her for some reason, but she didn't ask.
"Dryden, there's something I want to talk to you two about." Van started, right to the point, when the first course was brought in.
"I take it it's not your wedding."
Van sighed tiredly. "No. It's not. Have you heard of the Meridian Empire?"
Dryden paused, thoughful. "Yes, I have. I was by their borders once in my travels, but I wasn't allowed passage. Why do you ask?"
"Because a few months back, I sent them a message. A letter, in which I invited them to reform communication with Fanelia."
Dryden put down his glass. "Why would you want that? Meridiana is an isolationist nation; they've never tried to open up to the rest of Gaea."
"Not for many years, at least." Eries added. Dryden glanced at her, and Hitomi thought there was some kind of smugness in his eyes, but she discarded it, because Van was going to explain everything, and she herself knew very little of the whole Meridiana business.
"It was an impulse." Van answered, not untruthfully. "I'm fairly aware that they're isolationists, but they did answer the letter. They even invited me to send an envoy."
Now Dryden and Eries were both openly surprised.
"So Lord Van sent me." Merle said. Everyone turned to her. "I was there for a month, came back three days ago. I stayed in the Palace, though I never met the Empress, and I learned a lot. They are very different from any country in this side of Gaea. They have their own strange ways, and they were very polite in directing me through them. For starts, the political system is very different. There's not a royal lineage, as in blood line. From since before they can remember, it's been a matter of choice. The Emperor will marry, to whoever he loves, and will have children. When it is time to appoint an Imperial Heir, he presents three candidates to take on the role. These may or may not be his children, and so if one of the advisors is chosen to become Emperor, the blood line changes. It's very strange, but they have very stricts codes of nobility and trust, and they never act dishonestly. The Council of Twenty chooses the next Emperor, and its formed by representatives chosen by the people in the different districts of the nation, one per each."
As Merle paused to let the servants take the plates and set up the second course, Hitomi realized—Meridiana was the beginning of democracy in Gaea.
"The descendants of the old Emperors become Old Nobles, and they are right below the Council of Twenty in importance. They're devoted more than anything to keep peace and life style everywhere their infuence reaches, and make sure no one lives on the streets or is hungry. It's like this heaven kingdom, you see—except that the politics are impossible to understand. They hold weekly audiences with the Empress in a large stadium-like place, where the Council and the Old Nobles gather to tell her stuff. If someone speaks out of line or something like that, he or she can be sanctioned and expelled from the court—let's say for two weeks. And that can't be benefficial for the people under his or her care, so that keeps most of them in line. The thing is, any Noble can sanction another one, for some reason, so it's kind of tense in there. There's this very strict arrangementt in the stadium, like the Old Nobles sit in the back, higher up, and the Council much closer to the floor and to the Empress, and—"
"I'm sorry, Merle." Dryden interrupted. "They can choose women as well to become the Imperial Heir?"
"No." Merle said firmly. "Only men. But the current Empress, you see, she's a widow. The Emperor died two years ago."
"Oh." Eries said sadly. The rest gave her a puzzled look, but Merle was still talking.
"But all the same, she's in her right, and she's Empress till she dies, and no one questions her authority. Currently there's no Imperial Heir, even though she has four children, three men and a girl."
"Who taught you all this?" Allen asked, curious. "Did they appoint you a guide?"
"No, that was kind of a cunfusion they had." Merle said laughing lightly. "They thought I like knew everything about Meridiana, and didn't think I'd need guidance, so the first two days I kind of wandered about with no clue of what to do. Then I happen to meet this Old Noble, his name was Mansur and I forget his lastname—"
Millerna saw Eries pale so quickly she pressed her hand againts her sister's arm, concerned. But Eries recomposed herself, nodded in reassurance and continued listening attentively.
Hitomi glanced at Van, who was arching an eyebrow, and then at Phillip, who was regarding the young woman with a thoughtful look.
"—and he helped me through everything." Merle continued. "He even showed me the Stadiums, told me how it arranged, and he asked his cat-girl Almas to lead me through the city."
"I see." Dryden turned to Van. "So Meridiana shows interest in a relationship with Fanelia as well. You must be honored, Van."
"I am." Van said honestly.
"In any case, I like it that you trust us, Van." Millerna said looking at the King. "But, why do you tell us? From what I gather, you haven't told anyone else, right?"
"No, just my closest." Van answered nodding. "I wanted to tell you because you're my friends; I wanted you to know." That earned him honest smiles from around the table, but he wasn't finished. "And, Meridiana sent a message together with Merle. They would like for me to go there when I can, and they said they'd welcome any other nation that would like to join in as well."
There was a pause after that. "I understand where you're going." Dryden said. "And you can trust that if it weren't a political mission, as a curious traveler I'd would still join you. I appreciate your extending us the invitation." He looked at Millerna and she nodded, agreeing. "But it's still strange, though—why would they invite everyone to send envoys after decades of willing isolation?"
Van couldn't answer that, so he didn't try.
After a few moments of thoughtful pause, it was Allen who spoke up.
"Van, there's been a series of strange reports coming to Costello Fort. What's this about Zaibach activists?"
Van nodded, and briefly explained everything to them. Merle hadn't heard ot the attack at the memorial either, and her eyes were blazing when Van was done.
"Well, and why did they do that for?" she snarled. "You killed them all, right?" she turned to Topaz, standing by the wall.
But Topaz was absentmindedly gazing out the window, and he didn't seem to listen.
"Well, we could have done with one of them to interrogate." Dryden said. "When's Zaibach coming, Van?"
"The very day of the Opening. They couldn't arrive sooner."
"We'll talk to them then. Any other political mess we might want to know about?"
"Apart from Cesario pushing me off the Board, I can't think of any." Van said, half amused, half bitter.
"Smooth, Your Highness." Phillip observed sarcastically. When everyone demanded an explanation, Phillip took over calmly, relying everything Bas had told Stelius the day before and what had happened in the lunch the other day. Of course, the reason behind the iniciative was left for them to guess. But Dryden and Eries were quick, and they reasoned it at once.
"Well, that little rat." Millerna hissed.
"It's stupid." Dryden said with indifference. "First of all, nobody would believe them, except probably Balea, and secondly, you have too many nations backing you up, and I'll say we'll be the first standing against it. Don't tell me you're worried."
Then again, thought Hitomi, with all those very same nations backing him up, wasn't Van an actual threat to Cesario's intentions?
"I'd be lying if I tell you I'm not." Van replied. "Cesario's not powerless, and not all the nations on the Board have good relationships with us."
Dryden nodded, but shrugged. "Leave that bussiness to Eries and me, my friend, and enjoy your Opening. Just focus on your romance."
"Yes, please do." Phillip added a moment later, and that caused laughter around the table, except for Van and Hitomi.
But even after Dryden's open support, with which he had counted already, Van was uneasy. Seeing him restless Dryden decided he'd get to work at once, and he asked him to have a meeting with Bas and Freid that very afternoon to discuss it.
That left Hitomi, Merle, Allen and the Princesses on their own. But Eries wasn't well; Millerna insisted she'd get some rest, and followed after to examine her thoroughly. Merle, open and lively, still didn't much like polite, gentlemanly Allen, so she took her leave.
Topaz remained a little ways off as Hitomi studied her friend more closely. Allen subjected to the exam with his usual calm smile. Hitomi wanted to talk to him right now—but this was clearly not the appropiate place to do it. Instead she turned to the other thing that was worrying her.
"Allen, that scar in the back of your neck—how did you get it?"
Allen selfconsciously took his hand to the mark and rubbed it gently. "It was back then, before Van and the rest got me out. Of what happened in those three days I'm half unaware, but I believe they must've slipped when cutting my hair. Were you asking for any particular reason?"
"No, it just intrigued me." Hitomi answered, not dishonestly, but not completely truthfully either. There was something about that scar that made her uneasy. It was her sixth sense speaking to her, she recognized, but she was currently untrained in understandign it, and so she was at a loss.
Allen nodded. He was going to say something, but just then Van came out of the room, and Allen seemed reluctant to discuss it with him. The King wasn't dumb, and he realized Allen was hesitating. He paused, blinking.
"Should I…?" he asked uncertainly.
"No, that's alright." Allen shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Were you coming to get me, or her?"
"Dryden wants you to come in too, but I mean to talk to Hitomi."
"Well, then I'll leave you to—"
"HA!" a loud cry interrupted him, and loud footsteps were heard heading their way in the hallway. Out the corner into the hallway came running Makarios Korinder, and in his hand he held something Hitomi was quick to recognize—Merle's old large pendant. Skidding behind him and slipping precariously on the floor but keeping pace, Chid was laughing out loud in a manner Hitomi hadn't seen before.
Makarious looked back triumphantly and saw Merle come around the corner, fuming, and clinging with her claws to the floor in a ver unlady-like manner.
"You're too slow, cat-woman!" Makarios teased, and then turned to look ahead. "Ah damn—Move!" he yelled, trying to dodge, but to no avail—he crashed into Allen, who had purposefully stepped in the way, and then fell to the floor on his backside. He scowled up at the blond.
"I never did like you."
"It's mutual." Allen said, but Makarios was already rolling to the side and jumping to his feet, just in time to dodge Merle, who by hairwidth didn't collide into the Knight herself.
"Catch!" he threw the pendant at Chid who had stopped, surprised at seeing the Knight. The boy barely reacted, but he managed to catch it indeed, and then was at a loss of what to do with it. Merle whirled around to face him, eyes flaring. Chid flinched. Hitomi supposed she would have done the same, because Merle was furious.
Van ran a hand down his face, irritated. "I told you he was a beast." He said to Hitomi.
She was laughing too much to reply, and Van himself was grinning widely. Dryden came out of the study to see what all the noise was.
"Here, before she leaps!" Makarios commanded. Chid threw it at him, too high, but Makarios jumped with an astonishing strength and caught it in mid-flight. Then he made it to the other side of the hallway, trying to slip beside Merle, but she whipped around to confront him. As a result Makarios dropped to his side, slid across the floor and threw the pendant back at Chid, who had moved behind Merle so as to not be knocked over; he was now standing in front of Allen.
But Makarios met an unfortunate inconvenience; his father, turning around the corner and calling his name in a thunderous voice, not a happy camper at all. And suddenly off balance, Makarios miscalculated and threw high and to the side. Chid had to stretch to catch it, but he was still too short; he stumbled.
Allen caught the pendant in the air, for it was just at the height of his head, and with his usual, admirably accurate senses, darted forward to catch the boy in his arms before he fell to the ground.
With his hair this short they were the same person, in different versions.
And Hitomi knew in what moment exactly he had made a terrible mistake. She knew it when Van's hand cuaght her wrist tightly as he saw something he hadn't seen before and loose ends of questions he had had for years suddenly met each other and formed answers. She knew it when Merle paused and stared, paralyzed in mid step. She knew it when Stelius froze in shock in the hallway, and when Dryden's wide grin dissolved into a look half between shock and half between understanding.
And when she turned to Van, as Allen quickly righted Chid and backed away uneasily, shaken, regretful, she caught just the glimpse of smoldering fire in his eyes, before he smothered it, and his grasp on her wrist tightened at the point it became hurtful.
Behind her, Topaz cursed.
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This chapter was the hardest yet. The last part after lunch was the difficult one. Did it end up well?
Namariel, out!