A/N: Wedding was great. To see the interesting story on it, go to my livejournal (link found on profile).
Bad Dreams
By angelwings1
Chapter 14
The world was collapsing around his ears as he stared helplessly at the seer's blue tinged face. There was a primal urge to yell in her face and demand her to wake up. He could feel a cry forming tight in his chest and he went to let it loose on the unconscious woman, but it failed to be more than a whimper.
The seer's chest bindings were suddenly exposed to the many eyes of the room, but the princess ignored the indecency as she crossed her palms between the woman's breasts. With a small grunt Millernia began to rhythmically pound her weight into the frail seer. The only sound was the distinct grunts of the princess as she worked. With each pump the seer's body would flinched as if she wanted to return to them, but was caught in another place and was being dragged out of reach.
Each second that slipped by without Hitomi's warm breath puffing out sent his heart deeper into the ground. The cold air wrapped around his chest as he watched her lifeless doll eyes. He began to silently beg her to wake up, staring so intently into the gray irises that he believed his voice was reaching her on some spiritual plane.
Merle was gripping the seer's hand as if the appendage was a blanket. She wept softly, trying her best to keep quiet so the princess could concentrate. She restlessly pressed the seer's clenched hand to her face. She glanced at her brother, but he was focused completely on Hitomi.
With growing dread, Millernia knew the window of opportunity was racing out of reach. If she didn't get her heart to start up again in the next few minutes than Hitomi would never wake. 'No! Hitomi, come on!'
All of her energy fueled into the rocking motion and she was forced to pull back on her overeager pace. Her blue eyes focused solely on the girl's limp face, watching anxiously for something, any sign of return.
..
So tired…
She feebly attempted to open her eyes, but they were stitched firmly close. The hot air pressed down on her chest, pushing the breath from her lungs. Still lost between ceiling and floor, her fingers stretched blindly out.
So tired…
Her fingers felt rushing air, but she didn't feel like she was falling. No, she was drifting. It was as if she was a feather being caught in the wind. There was just no way to tell which way she was floating.
In sleep there is rest…
She no longer fought to understand. She let her head fall back and she heard the gentle whistle of air. The warm air enveloped her mind. She was ready to let go.
..
Millernia's arms began to shake, exhaustion beginning to set in. She gave a final pump and panted over the seer's silent form. Her blue eyes brimmed with tears. "It's no use. Her heart won't start."
Won't start…
His own heart seemed to stop at the defeated tone. Van immediately dove forward, pushing the princess aside, and mirroring the woman's hands over Hitomi's chest.
"Is this right?" he asked in uneven cry.
Shocked by his quick rescue, Millernia blinked and hastily replied, "Yes. Pump with the rhythm of your heartbeat."
My heart beat…
Taking a deep breath, the king pushed down causing the seer's body to flinch. He repeated the motion and Millernia coached him on. "Harder, Van. Harder."
..
Then a sharp, white star broke through the curtain and stabbed into her eyes. She tried to curl away, to sink further into the drifting sleep she so desperately wanted. Yet, the star grew brighter, its white light stretching across the expansion.
Suddenly, her body jerked downwards, plummeting at an alarming rate to what she could only surmise was the bottom of a deep pit. She was so startle her arms jerked upwards, a scream tearing out of her throat.
..
"Come on!" the king began to rant, half delirious with fear. "Breath, Hitomi!"
Another pump, another second lost.
"Hitomi!" Merle sobbed.
..
Whiteness covered her view as a hand slipped into hers, one that fit utterly perfect into her grip. There was a rushing feeling swooping through her and she passed through a whirl of colors and smells as her heart simultaneously burst through her chest.
..
"Snap out of it, Hitomi!"
She jerked, sucking in a loud wheezing breath and turning over to cough. The cold sensation of marble beneath her was the first sensation she recognized, followed by the wet feel under her palm.
"She's going to be alright." The faint exclamation tugged on her memories. She knew that voice. As she coughed, she felt a bitter taste fling from her tongue and land on her exposed knuckles. The gray world slid away like rain and colors rammed painfully into her brain. She winced and squeezed her eyes against the onslaught. Too much information was rushing into her weak form.
"It's a miracle."
When the coughing lessened, the seer sighed wearily, wanting to sink into the earth and sleep. She felt so exhausted. She was grateful to whoever pulled her up off the cold floor and set her in a warm lap.
"Hitomi?"
Distorted green eyes opened to blurry faces. Hitomi squinted and slowly the lines ran solid, distinguishing the teary, anxious expressions of the throne room. She laid there, picking up the pieces of her memory. When she rearranged the scattered remnants and finished the puzzle, dark resolve settled in her blood and she shakily pushed to her elbows.
"Rest a bit, Hitomi." Millernia scolded gently. "You nearly died."
Hitomi didn't hear her. Her brown eyes were planted on the monk sitting several feet away. His frightened stare watched her warily as she pushed aside her friends' insistent hands and knelt. Several heads darted towards the monk. Raising her trembling hand, she wrote a jerky pattern in the dividing wall of smoke. The monk flinched and attempted to get up, but she had already closed the spell with the needed star symbol. There was distinct snapping noise and then the sunlight sputtered and shook.
Hitomi could see the monk frantically try to adjust to the abnormality in the light. His invisible hands raced across the air, reweaving broken fibers and forming new ones. The seer hurried to repeat the air pattern, concentrating on the light that encompassed his illusion. Unbeknownst to her, the nosebleed that had slowed began to quicken again, a result of straining her weakened magic.
"Hitomi!"
"Dispel!" She commanded with a furious hiss, her fingers repeating a third time. She completed the third round twice as fast and Doppelganger's hold on the fibers of light broke in random patches. The room gasped in shock as the left side of the monk's face paled to sick purple and deep brown lines. Fingernails lengthened and hair grew before their shocked eyes and soon there was little that remained of the illusion.
"Oh my Goddess!"
"It's a doppelganger!"
"Guards!"
With a frantic lurch, the doppelganger launched over the spectators. Hitomi's stare matched the doppelganger in midair as he flew. With a growl, he miraculously landed across the room and raced for the nearest window. The guards scrambled to catch him, but he threw himself against the glass and broke out into freedom. A thousand bells of glass hit the air. Hitomi was relieved to see him exposed, but she had wished she could have questioned him.
"Hitomi, are you alright?"
She mumbled something incoherent and wavered. Hands stretched out and steadied her. Once their warmth leaked into her cold body, her head lulled to side and she crumbled in their hold.
..
"The guard said she stopped eating after the first day. He found her meals thrown up on the cell floor and the next day she wouldn't eat." Merle swept her hands over her arms as she stared out the bedroom's balcony doors.
"It's not surprising from how thin she is." Millernia uneasily wiped away the blood covering the lifeless woman. "I'm just surprised by how rapidly she lost weight. She at least lost ten pounds, maybe more. That's extremely dangerous in only a short week."
When the blood soaked up to the last available thread, the princess tossed the stained rag into a nearby bucket and ripped another chunk from the sheet in her lap. "Her weight doesn't explain the blood she's been coughing up."
She glanced up from her work at the king, sister, and knight standing scattered nearby. "Did anyone see if she was coughing up blood before the interrogation?"
A negative shake of the head.
"What are you thinking, Milly?"
The princess breathed deeply through her nostrils, "Can't say—"
Her words stopped when a red spot under the woman's chin caught her attention. Pulling the rag back, the princess carefully turned the seer's face closer to the lantern. It was about the size of a small coin. The sore was an irritating red with the faint trace of fingernail scratches. Dreadful feelings began to sink into her stomach and the princess gently lifted the girl's sleeve, eyes frantic. She found three around her shoulder. Next, she hawked up the bottom hem, revealing a dotty pale thigh. Her hand tenderly pressed against the blotted skin, finding several abnormal…lumps.
"Milly?"
Replacing the robe's position, the princess studied the woman's ashy face. "I don't want to say what I think. I'm afraid to consider the possibility because if I'm right, she doesn't have long."
She didn't look up at them, but she could sense their immediate flinch. They had hoped, they had prayed, and they had begged they wouldn't hear the one sentence all humans feared.
"Please tell us, Milly." The king choked.
"It's hard to diagnosis," she began quietly, never diverting her gaze from the seer. "My medical career is still very young and inexperienced so I've never come across the disease, but from what I've read she's showing several signs. Mind you the symptoms can easily be dismissed as signs for another random disease. I don't know her people or family's health history. It could be a hereditary illness."
A heavy shift. "But…?"
Her eyes squeezed shut as her jaw tightened. "It's called cancer. It's terminal, it's painful, and it's never been cured."
She sadly turned to the king, apprehensive of his reaction. The ruler was expectantly silent, but inside his mind, a million words raced through.
Fault…Need to…
Pain…No…Can't…
Tell…End…
He swallowed, forcing the wave back. He could only see her face, her blood crusted, worn face. He didn't want to think of five minutes beyond that second. He wanted to stand and watch her in the blissful ignorance of her impending end. There was no kingdom, no rulers, or no citizens. There wasn't even a set of sun and moon. The entirety of his being was resting on the edge of her, hanging on every strained breath she inhaled.
"Is there anything you can do, Millernia?" he stated louder than anyone thought possible after hearing such a dark stroke of news.
"I can give her something for the pain, but that's going to be hard enough for her to keep down."
It was becoming hard to breath. He wasn't even sure if he was breathing. Shakily he looked up at the princess and discovered her scowling curiously at him. Offering a small smile, the king whispered, "I would like to be alone with her."
Millernia's lips slid into a tight line and she nodded. Signaling the others with a firm glance, she led the way out of the room. Being the last to exit, Merle had the responsibility of closing the door behind her and stealing the opportunity she tried to catch her brother's gaze. Sadly, his eyes had returned to the unconscious woman. With a weak heart, she pulled the door closed.
Van let out a long breath when he heard the door click. Somehow, he had foolishly believed she would open her eyes once they were alone. Forcing his mind to will his foot forward, the king stepped out of the position he had retained for the last twenty minutes. Reaching the side of her bed, he waited.
He scowled lightly. What was he waiting for? She wasn't going to snap up in the sheets, healthy and awake. She was dying.
His hand hastily stretched out and gripped her limps fingers. Tears began to push against his eyelids and he sucked in several deep breaths to fight them back. When there was no reaction from her, he could only hold back his voice as he cried. The warm saltwater slid powerfully down his tan cheeks. They steadily became waterfalls, no longer taking shape as single tears as they escaped.
He clung to her hand as he stared down at her face. Through the blur of tears, he followed the line of her eyebrows, her cheekbones, her nose, and all the way down to the slight opening of her chapped lips. Involuntarily, his other hand rose and pushed aside a lock of stiff blood matted hair from her temple.
"You can't leave…"
It was stupid to believe she could hear him, and he had no hope she would remember the smallest part of his conversation. But as the shaky words broke out into the air, the tightness in his chest loosened.
"You just can't," he whispered, slowly dropping to his knees at her bedside. "I don't know what will happen if you die. All I know is that if you're gone…everything will…"
His fingers tightened marginally as tears splattered his knuckles. "I haven't cried since I buried my parents."
His lungs shook. "I was twelve. The ceremony took days to prepare, but once the final shovel of dirt covered their coffins, I cried and cried and cried. I had told myself I could cry for them that day, that a funeral gave me the right, but after that, I never allowed myself to cry."
"I swore to them before that morning sunrise, that I would be strong for them. I would rebuild our home for them. I thought I could cry away the pain in one day."
He laughed darkly, "I guess if you consider the fact that I never cried since that day than I was right."
"You told me my heart was disturbed. That's why I had nightmares. I suppose that was the way I got to cry ten years, by reliving the memories I had forced myself to bury."
His hand slid down to cup her cheek and his thumb rubbed the edge of her nose. "I never thought someone could enter my life and make me feel…anything."
"And if you leave me now, after everything…" His tears slowed and he shook his head. "Why did you do that spell? Why didn't you tell me it was dangerous?"
His heart pressed against his ribs and his limbs began to sink like weights in a lake. "You knew I would never let you. That's why you did it, but did you know there was chance you would get my sickness? Did you know you would switch places with me?"
He smiled. "I bet you did."
His finger lightly grazed her closed eyelids, barely feeling her eyeballs shifting in her sleep. Without any knowledge, he leaned forward. He was aware of the movement under her eyelids, the way her breath wafted over his cheeks, and smell of blood. He told himself it was dangerous to continue, but he wasn't sure why it was dangerous. Any grip he had on logic left him as he brushed his lips gently over hers.
Something sparked in his blood and he pressed harder against her. This was what he had wanted for days. It was fleeting dream and he basked in the moment of racing heartbeats and moist caresses. Even if she could not respond to him, he could dream she was and as he kissed her in that empty, quiet bedroom that's all he could think about.
Warmth in his stomach surged up through his nerves and he began to tremble in the aftershock. As he became aware of her limp lips failing to respond to him he pulled away feeling cold and empty. He desperately searched her face, but even her skin was still the same tint of blue.
Reluctantly, he pulled away from her. He calmly ignored the dizziness that swam his head and stood. With a hollow chest, the king decided it was time to face the awaiting jury of royals. "No matter what happens, I'll protect you, Hitomi."
..
"You were aware that you would be lying to future allies."
"Yes."
"You were aware that your illness could possible make you incapable of ruling."
"Yes."
"You allowed a foreigner into our meetings."
"Yes."
"In all honesty, we have the right to rip you from this alliance for the wrongs you have willfully committed."
Van nodded solemnly, "I understand the consequences and I humbly kneel before you to beg for you understanding of the position I was in. If there is anyway for me to regain your trust, than tell me so I might complete the task."
Coldness swallowed their eyes and suddenly the king feared the answer they might give. Stepping forward, the king of Bosrom replied stonily, "Execute the mystic."
Van didn't hide the flinch as his chin dropped to the floor, "You can't be serious."
"We are very serious." The ruler of Korris stated passionately. "The woman knows things she shouldn't."
"She knows little and hardly anything worthy of murder!" Van shouted aghast. "My lords and ladies, please reconsider. I understand you are fearful of her origins, but do not kill her for a birthright she had no say in."
"If she was not willing to risk her life, she should not have left her home than."
Van couldn't believe what he was hearing. Kneeling before the court, he scanned the faces and found dark agreement. He could understand ignorant civilians recoiling from her, but these were the educated minds of the world succumbing to superstitions of children! Curling a fist, the king knew he would not win if he continued to debate her heritage. "What information does she know that other lower royals do not? She was not the only commoner in the room during the meetings. If she is executed for her knowledge, than so must everyone else who was not a representative."
"Absurd!"
Van's furious eyes snapped to General Jorgus, "I think it is absurd that a group of outstanding rulers would allow themselves to grow squeamish over a nonviolent woman."
"How dare you!" The general thundered, taking several steps down the short steps of the huge platform.
"Stand down, Jorgus!" The Bosrom King ordered. The general glared momentarily at the Fanelian King before quietly resuming his spot behind his lord.
"She has sacrificed herself to help my kingdom and yours!" Van proclaimed, his head swiveling to look at every face. "She has exposed an intruder and you ignore it!"
The Duke of Freid scowled, "Are you accusing me of the doppelganger's presence?"
"No, Duke." Van exhaled wearily. "I am saying she has revealed that there is someone sending spies in our midst for purposes we are failing to acknowledge. You are more worked up over this woman's curse, than the possibility of another dangerous individual."
"The doppelganger will be found!"
"But will his leader?" Van shouted desperately. "If you continue to place your focus on her, than the one who threatens our alliance will escape!"
His words echoed vividly through their minds and the court was struck into silence. A stroke of a beard and downward stares told Van he had hit the right cord.
"What do you suggest, Lord Fanel?"
"Let me find the spy." He pressed a firm hand over his heart. "If I can reveal the leader of the one who has trespassed on this union, than my kingdom will not be taken from this alliance and the Lady Hitomi's life will be spared."
A few nods at the unshakable logic. "You are given one month to reveal the snake. Your kingdom's fate is in your hands, Lord Fanel, but the Mystic's will yet be undetermined."
Van lurched forward, "Please—"
"Her life hangs on the thread until otherwise." The cold statement vibrated in the tight air. The young king's heart fluttered dangerously close to stopping as he faced the unmoving decision on their faces. His mahogany eyes dropped in defeat.
"I propose another option."
The room shifted curiously as the Zaibach Emperor was rolled towards the head of the group. Van's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Dornkirk's face was blank as he respectfully nodded to the rulers. "It is my understanding that a lot is riding on this king's abilities. If he fails we are at a great disadvantage. The snake shall remain hidden and our alliance might be attacked by a invisible enemy."
"Your point, Lord Dornkirk?" Someone gruffly questioned.
"I do not want to risk my country or this alliance on the shoulders of a man who's already shown his weakness."
"Weakness?" Van seethed. "A sickness is not a sign of weakness."
"Regardless!" Dornkirk overtook the man's furious voice with his own louder one. "I challenge the throne of Fanelia!"
Deafening silence settled on the room, completely shocked by such a request. Several words were muttered as the Fanelian King shook his head. "You have no authority to challenge my seat, Emperor Dornkirk."
A smirk slid subtly into place as a movement of bodies caught the king's attention. "I cannot…"
The black sentential ripped back his hood, revealing a face framed with vibrant summer blue hair. Van's heart did stop this time as he marked the presence of a person he had given up ever seeing again. Dornkirk nearly laughed in glee at the sight of the king's disbelief. "I cannot challenge the Fanelian throne, but the first son of the late Goau, Folken Lancour de Fanel, has the right."