CHAPTER FOURTEEN - Trouble

Hitomi was beginning to wonder where Van was after her brother left and didn't want to stay in her room by herself so she decided to go look for him. It wasn't like him to be this late, but maybe that was because of the Fanelian ball and he was still attending to the guests? She sighed.

She loved Van and Van loved her, or at least was beginning to anyway. They had made love last night and then this happened; life was a living hell. She walked down the castle halls making sure that she didn't run in to any one from Tier. She then spotted the familiar figure of her husband, a blush came on her cheeks and she was about to call out his name but stopped once her green eyes spotted a woman standing a little too close to him. At first she thought that even after they had finally gotten close he was about to cheat on her. Anger started to build up but then it stopped when she heard the said.

"Your highness, it's my birthday, don't you want to give me a present?" The woman with red hair asked and Van stepped back a bit and was now against the wall.

"My lady, this is hardly…."

"I don't care…" The woman interrupted and wrapped her arms around Van's neck. "You see, I always get what I want." The red head said and leaned in.

"Your highness, I was just looking for you." Hitomi said loudly before the red head woman had time to press her lips against Van's. "Lord Balgus is looking for you." Hitomi lied as she tried to keep the jealousy down to being unnoticeable.

"Queen Hitomi…" Van said being in a very awkward position. "Yes, I was just heading over there now." Van said catching on. "Before I was stopped by this lady here." Van said catching on.

"Lady Yukari, from the Zaibach empire." Yukari said and Hitomi just gapped at her.

"Yukari?" Hitomi asked not being able to believe it. "Yukari-Chan is that you?" Hitomi asked as memories from her childhood came pouring in to her mind.

Flashback

"Hitomi Hime, I shouldn't be in the palace halls, you know that, your parents get angry when commoners come in to the palace with out any reason." Yukari protested as a much younger Hitomi with the same short hair and was wearing a fancy dress.

"You're my guest." Hitomi said. "No and's, if's or buts Yukari-san." Hitomi said. "Can I just call you Yukari instead? Chan sounds too formal." Hitomi asked and Yukari opened her mouth to say something, but she was quicker. "We're the same age right, let's drop all of the formalities.

"Hitomi Hime…" Yukari said.

"Keigo!" Hitomi said and looked in to the other girl's brown eyes. "Stop using Keigo and just call me Hitomi when we're alone its fine and around Oni-Chan to." She added remembering how her oni-chan knew that she and Yukari where friends.

"But Hime!" Yukari protested.

"Hi-to-mi!" Hitomi said. "Hitomi, not Hitomi Hime, not Hime, just Hitomi."

"I'll get scolded if I don't call you Hitomi."

"Like I said, just call me Hitomi when no one else is around. When it's just you, me, and even oni-chan you can call me Hitomi and I won't get mad. That's a promise. I get tired of everyone calling me Hime all the time."

"Hai, Hi…" Yukari started to say almost saying hime but stopped her self. "Hitomi."

"That's better." Hitomi said. "Come on, let's go play." The younger version of Hitomi said as she dragged Yukari by the hand.

"Hai, Hitomi." Yukari said not having much of a choice.

………

"Amano-Sempai is cute isn't he Yukari?" Hitomi asked as they where a little older, this still being a few years before Hitomi was locked away.

"Hitomi!" Yukari gasped. "You're not allowed to look at a commoner that way!" The fact was, was that Yukari was jealous of Hitomi.

"Who says I can't?" Hitomi asked. "It's more of look but don't touch." Hitomi laughed. "Amano-Sempai!" Hitomi finally called to the slightly older man and waved to him.

"Hitomi Hime," Amano said bowing. "Yukari-san." Amano was still tall, even for a kid.

"What are you doing Amano-Sempai?" Hitomi asked curiously.

"Getting ready for the elementary school run." Amano said.

"Lucky, I wish I could attend public schools." Hitomi sighed since she had specially hired and strict teachers that taught her, none of them where nice to her when she tried to be because her parents had paid them not to.

"Yukari-San is the manager of our track team." Amano said praising the other girl. "Though most of the guys won't go near her because she's a girl."

"That's stupid!" Hitomi said knowing about the whole girls and guys not liking to be near one another at this age; she was raised to where she had to be around both so it didn't matter if they where male or female. "I wish that there where other people in my class, I wouldn't even care if they where boys." Hitomi said.

"Hime, you have your lessons all by yourself don't you?" Amano asked.

"Hai, sometimes oni-chan will come in just to interrupt so he can escape his lessons but those are rare these days…" It was then when Hitomi got the idea. "Yukari, want to race? I might not look like I can but I can; I race against oni-chan sometimes but I think he lets me win."

"I'm the manager, not a runner." Yukari protested.

"I'll go, I won't hold back because you're the hime or a girl either." Amano replied.

"Thank you." Hitomi said smiling she took off her shoes and put them to the side since it was difficult to run in heals.

"READY?" Yukari shouted. "SET!" The red head girl said after a moment's pause. "GO!" Her eyes opened as she watched the two run and a small group formed. Hitomi had snuck out of the palace and met Yukari in the park, she just hoped that neither one of them would get in trouble. "Go Hitomi Hime! Go Amano-Sempai!" Amano was older then herself and Hitomi by two years.

"Who do you think will win?" A boy asked.

"I hope Amano-Sempai, but Hitomi Hime is doing pretty well to."

"Who knew that the hime could run?" A girl asked. "I thought that hime's weren't suppose to run, I thought that they where just suppose to be there and look pretty." She said.

It was at that moment when Hitomi's life changed forever, her eyes widened as her first vision came and she ended up not remembering what happened after that until she woke up. When she woke up she found herself in Mamoru's arms. "Oni-San?" Hitomi asked as he carried her back home to the palace.

"You passed out Hitomi." Mamoru said. "Luckily I was the one who noticed that you where gone and found you knowing where you would go, not to mention I ran in to your friend Yukari-Chan."

"You won't tell will you oni-chan?" Hitomi asked.

"No, I use to do the same thing when I was your age." Mamoru said. "I use to get in big trouble for it though."

"I want to play with everyone again." Hitomi said. "It was fun, even though I passed out."

"Everyone you mean Yukari-Chan and Amano-Chan right?" Mamoru asked.

"Yes, but everyone else was fun to." Hitomi said blushing at Mamoru mentioning Amano-Sempai.

"Next time you want to play, and I'm not busy let me know. I can be a very good person to ask when you need some cover." Mamoru said.

"Arigato oni-chan!" Hitomi said happily. She didn't tell him what she had seen in her dream, she felt bad that she didn't tell him about her nightmare because he had helped her out. No one needed to know that she had dreamt that sort of thing.

End of Flashback

"Yes, it's me Hitomi." Yukari said. "I heard that you had married King Fanelia but didn't believe it to be true, I always thought that you would marry Amano-San." Yukari said.

"Remember? I said I could look but not touch." Hitomi said almost having had forgotten that Yukari was about to kiss Van. What was Yukari doing so close to Van? "When did you move to Zaibach?" She asked noticing the clothing.

"A few years after we turned sixteen." Yukari answered. "It was an arranged marriage and I am now married to a man named Dilandau."

Dilandau, why did that name make her head hurt? "I see." Was all that Hitomi said. "Would you like to explain to me why you're standing so close to my husband for?" Hitomi asked as her anger rise up a little.

"Yes well you see that is a rather long and difficult story." Yukari said. "Isn't it customary when it's a friend's birthday to give them a present?" Yukari asked.

"He did not know you where my childhood friend Lady Yukari now is it?" Hitomi asked trying to be polite. "I want to ask you to remove your hands from…"

"Your husband?" Yukari asked now being the one to interrupt. "You always where selfish Hitomi, or is it Queen Hitomi now?" She asked somewhat coldly. "First Amano-Sempai now you get to keep this one here."

Hitomi could feel the change of emotions in the air. "I'll not ask you again nicely Lady Yukari."

"We'll play again later, your highness." With that Yukari kissed Van which made Hitomi's eyes widen, and want to punch the woman. This was not the same gentle Yukari she had once known. She watched as Yukari pulled away from Van and walked away.

Hitomi just stood there dumb stricken and shocked. This was too much, her parents coming, Mamoru on the verge of loosing the throne and now Yukari was here with Van. What on Gaea was going on? Hitomi couldn't handle this much longer, part of her wanted to scream.

"Thanks, Hitomi." Van said once they knew that Yukari was gone and that they where alone. "Hitomi?" Van asked and stepped closer to his wife. "Hitomi…" He whispered again.