Chapter 14: Hear This

Hitomi entered her room to find her bags sitting to one side of the door. Both Chid and Millerna had given her several new outfits to wear, despite her protests. Shifting through her duffel bag, she found what she was looking for at the very bottom of the bag, almost missing it amongst her cloths. "Well... I'm happy to see that you survived Merle." She smiled at the grey CD player, wondering if the batteries still worked. It had been a while since she had last played it and she was sure she wouldn't be able to find a shop that carried more batteries if these ones were dead.

Placing the CD player down on the bed next to her, she picked up the small hand mirror that the Asturian Princess had given her. Studying herself in its reflective surface, she noticed how her skin was beginning to darken into a golden tan, and that her hair, though still short, was beginning to grow longer and become a little wild. She tugged one of the ends a few times before setting the mirror down on the nightstand. Rising to leave, there was a soft knock on her door.

"Come in, it's open." She called, seating herself back down on the edge of the bed. The door swung open slowly allowing the small figure to enter. "Chid?" Hitomi asked in surprise as the young boy snuffled into the room.

"Hit-Hitomi…?" His prince hiccupped, eyes filling with tears.

The sight pulled at her heart. "Come here." She opening her arms so that the young boy could climb in them. He curled up on her lap, crying into her chest.

"They- they all…" He stammered through his tears.

Stroking his blond hair soothingly, she let him sob. He tried so hard to keep it all in in front of his father, but Chid was still young, and there was nothing wrong with crying. He also needed someone to comfort him. Something is father continued to deny him in hopes of making him stronger, but he had just lost his home, and many close friends at the hand of the Zaibach army. The same one that had burned Fanelia to the ground. She hugged him tighter.

Chid lay quietly in her arms after a while, all cried out. Looking down at him as he whipped his eyes, she couldn't help but be reminded of her own little brother back on earth.

"Thank you, Hitomi." Chid croaked. Leaving her arms, he slowly walked to the door. His eyes were lowered shamefully to the floor, his eyes red and puffy. "You won't… You won't tell father will you?"

"This will be our little secret." She promised the young prince with a soft smile. "You can always come to me." He smiled then as he left the room.

Happy that she was able to comfort the prince, but not keen on having any more visitors, Hitomi picked up the CD player and ventured off to find a quieter place aboard the ship where she could think.

Van had finally escaped Merle's grasp by claiming he wanted to rest in his room for awhile but what he really wanted to do was to find Hitomi. He felt that he had to talk to her about what had happened before, and was to happen after this battle. He... needed to apologize in person and with everything that had been happening he hadn't been able to just sit down and talk to her, something always seemed to get in the way. She wasn't making it very easy for him either and he was starting to think that she might just be avoiding him. She hadn't been in her room, the hanger or the galley. No one else he had run into had seen her and there were only so many places she could be on the ship.

He stopped and leaned against one of the heavy metal walls. Closing his eyes, he tried to think of where else she could be hiding. 'It's a ship; we're high in the air. She's bound to be around here somewhere...' Then he heard it, the faint sound of someone humming. '…Hitomi?' He turned in the direction of the sound.

Van followed the soft voice down the empty corridor, and up a flight of stairs that lead to a wide open balcony on the top of the craft. There, sitting on the edge over looking the mountains in the distance, sat Hitomi. She wasn't humming like he had first thought, but singing softly to herself as she watched the world go by. Van stood quietly in the shadows of the doorway as he listen to her strange and haunting song.

"How can you see into my eyes, like open doors? Leading you down into my core, where I've become so numb. Without a soul... My spirits sleeping somewhere cold, until you find me there and lead… it... back… home…" She voice carried on the breeze, her eyes turned up to the twin moons in the sky.

Was she singing about someone, did she just miss her home? Van listened closely, pulled in by the alien melody as her voice grew stronger.

"Wake me up inside. Wake me up inside. Call my name and save me from the dark. Bid my blood to run, before I come undone. Save me from the nothing I've become…"

Eyes closed, she was singing from the heart and he felt it pull at something inside of him. There was a strange longing to her song.

"Now… that I know what I'm without, you can't just leave me. Breathe into me and make me real. Bring… me… to… life…"

Van's eyes widened as he listened to the words.

Leaning forward he sealed his lips to hers. Breathing into her still body, he willed her dead heart to beat with life once more.

"Frozen inside, without your touch, without your love… darling. Only you are the life, among the dead!"

Van carefully took a step out of the shadows.

Hitomi's shoulders and head moved with the beat of the music only she could hear, unaware of the world around her as she continued to sing.

Van walked farther out onto the balcony as she continued to sing like there was no one else left in the world to hear her. Drawing closer, he reached out a hand to touch her shoulder. The action caused her to jump violently. She would have fallen from the ship too, if it hadn't been for Van's quick reflexes.

"I'm so sorry, Hitomi." Van apologized quickly as he pulled the frightened girl back up onto the ledge away from the edge. "I didn't mean to scare you like that."

Eyes wide, she was breathing heavily, her heart pounding. "God Van, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" She slumped warily into his arms, catching her breath. After a moments pause, she stilled in his arms "Van… were, were you listening?" She asked, as a deep blush grew across her cheeks.

He nodded, slowly pulling away from her and walking to the far side of the balcony, his back and some distance between them with his own sudden embarrassment. "You're… really good." The king admitted shyly.

She blushed even harder at his compliment and studied her hands, almost afraid to look up at him. She knew how she sung, she had probably had the whole ship listening in on her, so caught up in the music like she had been. That always happened when she put her headphones on. She always got carried away. It was so embarrassing... everyone must think she's crazy.

Van didn't know what to say in order to break the awkward silence as he finally turned back to face her. She sat on her knees no more then ten feet from him, with an odd black device with cords lying on the floor beside her. "Hitomi, what is that?" Van pointing to the squarish object of interest.

"What?" Snapping out of her thoughts, she looked to where he was pointing. "Oh, that! That's my CD player, it plays music." She explained simply picking the item up and holding it out for him to see better.

He sitting down beside her, his booted feet hanging over the edge of the balcony. "Like a music box?" He asked, eyeing it.

"Well, kinda." She turned it over in her hands. She knew that Gaea didn't have technology like this. This would be alien to them. So… what better way to explain it then to just show him how it worked. "Come over here." Hitomi indicated for him to sit on the floor next to her. He hesitated for a moment before sliding closer, wondering what she was planning on doing.

Leaning in close, she placed the earphones over his unruly black hair and batted his hands back when he moved to take it off. Then sat back to watch his reaction, she pressed the play button.

Van jumped at the sudden flow of music through his head, his expression turning from one of utter surprise, to confusion. After a few more moment, he frowned. He wasn't able to understand the words that the voices were singing and the music was so odd...there seemed to be so many sounds happening at once.

Hitomi looked at his frown a little puzzled. Not knowing what he was actually listening to, she leaned forward again, placing her hands on his shoulders so not to fall into him as the shim beneath them continued to move, and putting her ear against the outside of the headphones. She smiled at the sound of the familiar melody.

Unknowingly, she began to sing along with the music once more. "Baby.. don't understand, why we can't just hold on, to each other's hand... This time, might be the last I fear..."

Van flushed a deep red as Hitomi sung softly in his ear. Enjoying the close contact he had missed over the last few days.

"Unless I make it all too clear, I need you soooo…Ohhhh... Take these broken wings,"

Van's eyes widened and he turned his head to see her face. The action pulled her even closer and his blush deepened and his heart hammered in his chest.

"...and learn to fly again. Learn to live so fre- Van?" Hitomi pulled back, looking at him in confusion when she felt his shoulders stiffen under her touch. He had an almost haunted expression on his face as she realized what had made him tense up. She couldn't stop from giggling softly as she reached over to take the headphones off. "Van, my angel, remember that they have a different meaning back on the Mystic Moon."

Blushing even more at the mention of his nickname, he looked away, but her continued laughter brought his eyes back to her.

Hitomi stopped suddenly as their eyes met. They were so close to each other. She was kneeling in front of him almost in his lap. His hands had somehow found their way to her hips, their faces only a few centimetres apart. His rich amber eyes seem to hold such warmth that her heart hummed and she felt herself being pulled even closer.

Van frowned at the memory of what had happened that evening out on the balcony. He had been so close! All he had to do was lean in a little closer, and he could have been able to finally show her how much she really meant to him, but he hadn't been able to go through with it. Instead he had made up some lame excuse and run off. Just like he always did. He clenched his fists.

They would be arriving at Fortona Temple within the hour, and he was on his way to the bridge to speak with the Duke about the battle and defence plans they were to go through once they landed. Everyone was a little bit edgy about the battle to come. He, himself, was actually looking forward to it. He was almost excited to go out there and fight.

"Van?"

He turned to find Hitomi standing in an open doorway. She had changed back into her fiery red velvet dress, which Millerna had insisted on since they would be arriving at the temple soon. "What is it, Hitomi?" He asked, not quite being able to meet her eyes.

"I was wondering, if you're not busy," She looked at her feet. "If you'd teach me how to use my bow again…" She asked shyly. "A-after the battle, of course."

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

They gathered within the main halls of the ancient stone temple Fortona as the Duke informed the monks in residence about the dire situation and what was to come. Outside the men perpared for battle.

His voice boomed off the high ceilings. "For our final battle we must protect the legendary secret treasure of Freid at all costs. With Fortona being our last stronghold, I have travelled here to ask you, the Zegu clan, for your aid." The Duke said, standing tall before the assembled monks before him.

One in particular, Kaja, knelt before the Duke. "Our clan has lived for this day, Duke Freid, and in return we give you this, the treasure sword of Freid, which has been entrusted to us for so long." He he bowed his tanned head.

Hitomi and the others watched Kaja turn to the monk beside him, picking up the long sword that rested on the pillow he held. In the handle of the iron sword was a large energist, that gleamed as the monk presented it to his Lord.

As all the eyes in the room were watching the Duke's movements, Hitomi took the opportunity to steal a look at the young King beside her. Feeling Hitomi's green eyes on him, Van turned his own eyes to meet hers, but she quickly looked away.

"Chid," Sword in hand, the Duke turned to his young son. "I will now tell you the duty of those born into Freid's royal house."

"Huh?" The young prince looked up at his father questioningly. The duty of the royal house?

"I would have you hear this as well." The Duke cast his dark eyes over to the Knight and young King. "And you, who will fight by our side." He finished, his gaze stopping on Hitomi.

I had to laugh a little when I read "CD Player". I wanted to change it but its in the anime and it was correct for the time. Escaflowne was aired before the first MP3 player hit the public market and 4 years before the first iPod. Makes it feel old, doesn't it?

Then the song... dated too haha. It was a big hit when it first came out. I still enjoy it. Again, it just made me laugh a little and also shows that I wrote this chapter originally in 2003.

To Be Continued