This chapter gave me a lot more trouble then I expected. I wanted to give you some more Hitomi and Van time as well as introduce something that comes into play a bit later on. Had a rough idea where I wanted to go, but had a difficult time getting there, hence the uber late update. Hope you enjoy my attempt at random fluff!
And unedited, because it is 2 in the morning.
Part Twenty-Eight
Rampant Port
For a port whose sole purpose was to cater to the leviships that docked in Rampant to visit the capital, it was much more alive then Hitomi had expected. She didn't quite understand why King Aston had a private dock for his special guests and the important foreign dignitaries such as herself. There was something different about this place that was severely lacking in Palas. For some reason the scent of the sea seemed to be much richer here, and as she waited for Van to pay the stablemaster she tilted her head back and enjoyed the fresh sea breeze and the damp scent of seaweed. She took off her straw hat and removed the hairsticks and bonds that kept her hair coiled up. Running, a finger through her dark caramel locks, she undid the tangles. She half-turned to ask Van where they were to go to next, and was surprised to see him staring at her. A blush darkened her cheeks when she briefly recalled her mother's lectures on hairstyles. It was never lady-like to change one's hair in public, especially if it was bount up. Hitomi twirled her finger around a clump, but resfused to look a way. She had never acted like a simple minded twit in front of men before so there was no reason why she would start now.
"Van?"
He walked forward, his hand resting easily on the hilt of his sword. She wondered if he found that same sense of ease when holding a blade that she often did. There was something about grasping cold steel that gave one a sense of power, security. There was something about knowing that one had the ability to step outside of the confines of society and the expectations of race and gender. In the arena or the duelor's circle only one thing mattered. It all came down to the ability that bridged the gap between the one who was strong and the other who was dead. This wasn't the first time that she had noticed it, the way the very atmosphere around the prince seemed to change when he held that blade. Arrogance and surity seemed to seep into his very being. She had never seen such a change in Allen, who always moved with the confidence of unwavering faith that he was the best. Dilandu was the same way, but like her Naria and Eriya seemed to change whenever they weilded their daggers. She cocked her head as a thought occurred to her. Was that how one leveled the playing field when dealing with those of the opposite gender?
The young prince stepped next to her, raised his hand as if to offer it, only to thread it through his dark, raven locks. Hitomi watched in fasciantion as the breeze caught the wild locks and played with them. For some reason she had an over whelming desire to run her fingers through his hair.
"Where are we going?" It didn't look like there was much to do in Rampant. The port city held none of Palas' unneccessary shops and restaurants. There was only one tavern that she could see, and nearby there were a few stands that bore fruits, meats, and breads. Only the basic neccesities that were needed for a long voyage.
"First we need to get some supplies."
"Supplies? Supplies for what?"
"Just something for lunch later."
"Why is it that men always think with their stomaches?" Hitomi muttered under her breath, scowling when she caught Van's smirk but she followed him to the fruit stand.
"Any requests?"
"Surprise me." She crossed her arms as Van pointed at some dried apples, sugared mangos, fresh raspberries, bananas, and sliced pineapple. As much as she was loathe to admit it, the fruit looked very good, almost better then what they had been served at the Torushina. He had the shopkeeper also put all of the fruit along with a block of white and hot peppered cheese and a couple rolls of bread into a small whicker basket. A checkered cloth was placed over the food and two pale candies in the shape of maple leaves were tucked into the side.
Van grinned at her. "If you've never had maple candy before then you're in for a real treat."
Hitomi allowed herself to smile, and tried to tuck some of her hair behind her ears. It really wasn't obeying and the way the wind was tugging at it constantly made her regret her impulse to let it down. "Are we eating so soon? I doubt the food will last so long in such heat."
"Rampant caters to a lot of the middle class that come over on luxory cruise leviships, especially two young couples. A lot of the open land that surrounds the port is used for those who like to ride. There's a pavillion not far from the outskirts," He pointed to the area just south of a large lake, as he paid for the basket of food and handed it to her.
Hitomi eyed it for a moment, arching an eyebrow, before taking it without protest. She blinked in surprise at the slight steam that she saw rising off of the bread.
"A lot of the young couples that come here from other countries on those cruises usually end up spending a day or so over there. There are falconers and tamed deer for those that are interested."
"Tamed deer?"
"They sell food there that the animals like to eat. A lot of ladies like the chance to feed the fawns."
"For a foreignor you seem to know a lot about this place."
Van rubbed at the back of his neck as he led Hitomi down the street. "My father told me to take care of knowing the cultures that surrounds Fanelia, and for their fifteenth anniversary he took my mother on a private cruise here. She never stopped talking about it whenever we went over Asturian culture." Hitomi watched with interest at the way his tan skin reddened. "She told me that it would be useful to know if I—"
"If you what?"
He turned his head, and Hitomi was quite sure that if it wasn't for his long bangs then she would see cheeks that were a lovely shade of pink. "It's not important."
"So where are you taking me? We'll need to eat some of this soon or the fruit and cheese will spoil."
Van looked down at her. "For a noble lady, you seem quite worried how the food will last."
"It common sense!" She jabbed at his arm, and grinned when he rubbed at the spot. "In this heat almost anything will go bad. If we weren't right by the sea this weather would be almost unbearable." Hitomi shook the collar of her bodice.
"That's one of the nicer things about Rampant. The vendors here, few as they are, developed a way to combat that little problem. Over by the docks they have some ice boxes that are powered by energist beads. It keeps the food from rotting, even on the hottest days."
"The docks? Is that where we're heading?"
"Not yet. They have a courier service just up ahead that will deliver the food to an ice box for us. It will be waiting there when we go to the docks later. First I want to show you around."
She had never cared much for the way foreign dignitaries had the need to show off their country's power with leviships surrounded by escorts, but even Hitomi could appreciate the sheer magnificance as she watched the leviships from Fried and Cesario dock. Van seemed very much to enjoy playing the part of a guide as he pointed at the metal platforms that had been built into the mountain whose base the port had been built at.
"So just the ambassedors dock on the mountains?"
"Yes, unless they happen to be a private guest of the royal family. For those that have received personal letters of invitations from King Aston there are the docks over in Palas by the castle. There's a path that I was going to take you up the mountain, but it looks like it's shut down for today."
"Why?"
"Duchess Marlene, a former princess of Asturia, is visiting with her familiar in honor of Princess Millerna's engagement. Since not only is she the wife of Fried's ruler, but also a daughter of King Aston it looks like the guards are taking ever precaution and allowing for no mishaps."
Briefly, Hitomi wondered if Van just liked to hear himself talk or if it was just nerves. She had never heard him talk so much since the day that she first met him. Turning, she met the sea breeze, closing her eyes as it caressed her skin and played with her hair. It was like a balm against the heat, and was doing wonders at easing her headache. It was dulled now to the occasionally throb of pain that she grown accustomed to.
A peal of laughter, like that of a small child, reached her ears and she opened her eyes to look for the source. Van was rambling on, how there was a back path that would take Fried's royal family to Palas by going around the port city, but she paid it no mind. Then she saw the source, a small girl with dark auburn ringlets was running across the street, chasing after a bright blue ball. Her small body was swathed in a patch work of dirty cloth that surprised Htiomi. The girl's blue eyes were nearly as bright as the ball, and the springy curls gleamed a copper red in sunlight. The ball came to a stop right at Hitomi's feet, and she crouched down with a smile and held the ball still as she waited for the child to get closer.
The little girl let out a delighted laugh at finding that her toy had finally stopped running away from her. With no amount of shyness she ran right up to Hitomi, stopping only inches away.
"Is this yours, little one?" Smiling, Hitomi held out the ball.
"Mommy bought it for me." The girl broke out into a toothy grin as she took back her toy.
Hitomi cocked her head at the sound of Van stepping next to her but other then that she ignored him. "Where is you Mommy, sweetie."
"Over there." She pointed over to a shadowy space between two buildings. "Thank you, lady."
"Sayuri!" A woman came rushing out of the spot that the girl had been pointing to. The woman, obviously the girl's mother, was dressed in clothing just as shabby and patched as her daughters. It was only then, as the woman drew closer to them that Hitomi was able to make out the familiar cutting of the dark fabric. Her breath hitched in her throat, as she stood up. She would have taken a step back if she hadn't collided into Van. All blood drained from her face when she saw the mother's eyes narrow in recognition. She felt Van's hand on her arm as if to steady her, but she ignored it, all of her attention was focused on that one woman who rushed towards her daughter.
The child turned around and squeeled. "Mama!"
The woman grabbed her child's hand and started to drag her back, adjusting the collar of her yukata as she did so. The woman's gray eyes went from Hitomi and then to Van. Confusion flited across the woman's face before she returned her attention back to Hitomi.
"You." Hitomi at the hateful rasp. "You will stay away from us. You've already caused us enough pain. Don't you dare come near us!" She spat in Hitomi's direction. "Come Sayuri."
A fine tremor sezied the former princess, and it was omly when the woman left her sight that she realized that she felt rather light headed. It was some time before she could find her voice again.
"Van," she had to cough and clear her throat to get the next words out, "what is over there?"
He stepped beside her and she looked up, needing to find some sort of reassurance in those warm cinnamon eyes. She needed him to reassure her that it was not what she thought it was. There was none of that reassurance and she remembered why she had never relyed on a male for help before. There was only a curiosity, the concentrated type that people had when they felt they were on the verge of solving a rather difficult puzzle.
"There is a refuge." His words were spoken slowly, and she almost dreaded the next words that would come out of his mouth. "A refuge for the people of Veshrane. Word has it that many of the people from the outlying, smaller islands are traveling to whatever country will offer them sanctuary.
"Why? I thought the Isles where allowed to keep their own government when they submitted to Zaibach." That was the deal I made with them when I submitted.
"That's how it is supposed to appear to everyone else, but there is a regent that was set up to ensure that the people 'recover' properly."
"So people have been leaving." Goddess, what did I let them do?
"As I said, only those who dwell in the outer islands. The centre island is controlled, from what I hear, but thriving. Hitomi, where are you going?"
She let her feet guide her to the shadowed area with the refuges, her refuges. Every nerve in her body was telling her to stay away. She wondered how many wounds had festered in their souls since that fateful day so many months ago. Hitomi hesitated for a moment when she reached the corner. Images flashed through her mind then. Like something out of the historic tales of the times of chaos she imagined everyone, men and women alike coming after her, waving their hoes and axes as they screamed obscenities and chased her. Taking a deep breath, she peered her head around the corner to watch them.
For, no matter how much she berated herself, she couldn't find even a sliver of the courage that she would have needed if she had stepped past the corner. Her stomach clenched and the pain that filled her was worse then any amount of agony that the dreaded tonic could ever cause her.
Was there any way that she could have avoided seeing her people reduced to this? Clothes that had once been full of vibrant colors of Veshranean dyes were muted and bleak. They sat hudled in groups, hunched over as they ate. Some merely stared off at whatever was in front of them, thinknig things that she could not begin to favom. Fear was evident in the eyes of the women and the ederly as they looked around, and the only source of laughter and cheer was found in the girl Sayuri and the three other children that ran over to join her. Infants wailed painfully, their scrunched up faces a bright red that almost looked unhealthy.
Her eyes brimmed with tears and she turned away and pressed her head against the wall. She brought a hand up to her quivering mouth. Taking deep breaths that made her feel slightly light headed Hitomi tried to find something to latch onto that would prevent the wracking sobs that were threatening to shake her.
There was no excuse for this! She would never be able to apologize and blame it on Zaibach. There must have been something she could have done, some type of bargain that she could of made with Dornkirk that would have prevented this. Surely, Folken would have been able to do something if she had asked it of him.
A hiccup that nearly twisted into a cry escaped her, and she dropped to her knees, breathing hard as she tried to find even an ounce of that control from before.
Her hand went to the dagger hidden beneath her dress, and the blades form helped to ease her back from the precipiece. Then there was the sound of booted feet approaching her, and she remember the sound of marching soldiers, silver hair that was deliciously windswept, and crimson that burned with a lust beyond what the normal man could comprehend. She recalled the rough sensation of his lips against hers and hugged herself. Her well-manicured nails—oh, how could she enjoy such comforts while they suffered!—dug into the material of her sleeves. Her stomach rolled and clenched, and the tears fell down her cheeks, hot and wet. She hoccuped once, twice, and then just as a fist gripped the long locks of her hair she was violently ill.
She was hardly aware of the cool cloth that wiped away the traces of vomit, or of the deft fingers that wove and bound her hair into a lose braid. Hitomi was hardly conscious of the arms that wrapped around her when she was finished or the way she rested her head against a solid chest as she was led away.
She was laid done on soft grass, but the sweet scent did little to pull her away. Her head pounded as images assailed her. Visions of the hell that her people must have gone through when Dilandu had accomplished his mission, when Dornkirk had acquired what it had set out to, assualted her mind and she wanted to scream until her throat was raw and bleeding. Women being raped, children burned alive, men whipped, and the elderly beheaded. She curled into a fetal position as the images continued to assail her. The whimpers that she emitted was the most of all of the emotions churning inside of her that she allowed to voice. Hitomi whimpered and rocked and lamented her very existence until a hand unbound her hair once more and started stroking it. She clung to that comforting sensation that made her want to cry just a little bit harder, and it wasn't long until she dirfted off into a dreamless sleep.
Van was utterly and completely confused.
He continued to stroke her hair, he rather likely the feel of her silky tresses against his skin, while he tried to figure out just what had happened. What was it with Hitomi? The way she acted…it was almost unstable. He knew pregnant women suffered from some sort of hormonal imbalance that caused them to cry almost on cue, and he knew that when it was that certain time of the month for women that they suffered from intense emotions, but he had never seen anything like this before.
Besides, he personally thought that Hitomi was more liable to knife or verbally castrate the nearest male when either of those occurred.
He just didn't understand what had made her fall apart so completely. He had suspected that her cheerfulness earlier was rather forced, and he had seen some strain from her encounter with the Dragon Slayer, but she had seemed to relax so much since they left Palas. He had seen her amusement and curiosity as he led her through the port city. She had rolled her eyes when he talked about how popular Rampant was for couples. Hitomi had even smiuled indulgently at the refuge child. Her smile had been honest as she handed the ball back to the girl, and he had been unable to stop a brief fantasy of her in a similar position with a child with dark hair and green eyes, while her hand rested on a rounded stomach.
So why had she changed when she asked about the refuges? Why had she gone to look at the corner that those people were calling home until the leviships from Fried and Fanelia arrived.
He just didn't get it.
Van rested his back against the trunk of an oak tree more, and pulled her closer. She shifted and mumured fitfully, twisting her head so that she could find a more comfortable position in the crook of his arm.
What was it about those people, that had sent her spiraling into such a mess. He knew that, at first glance, the refugee camp was rather pitiable, but a lot of that was due to the unease that the Veshreaneans had at being so close to a city where promiment figures from Zaibach were present. He, on the other hand, had taken the time to reassure them that they would be safe until Duke Mahad's men arrived. Once given that reassurance the Veshraneans had proven to be a people unlike any that he had ever encountered. The women were surprisingly witty and protective, and a refreshing change from the usual fare of females that he encountered. The children were extremely intelligent, and was surprised to see how sharp and agile the elder folk still were. He wanted to do more to help them and he knew that he could, just as soon as he got Allen to reveal the location of the crown princess.
So what was it about them that had made Hitomi sick?
If it wasn't for Dilandu's presence, among other things, he would have demanded to be healers and shamans see to Hitomi. Van was almost positive that whatever it was that ailed Hitomi it wasn't completely physical. She had visions that scared her, and only the gods knew what else she was dealing with. Most likely she was under so much stress that her body was hardle able to handle it anymore.
That, of course, had been the purpose of the day he had planned. It was supposed to make her forget about her worries, relax, and hopefully learn to trust him.
How bad could things be when the lull of the ocean and a nice meal of new foods weren't enough to completely distract her?
He didn't like the way that her brow was drawn together or the lines that he could now see on her face. There was a pale scar on her neck that he had never had the chance to notice before. Hitomi sighed in her sleep, and he tucked a curling wisp of hair behind her ear.
"Hitomi, what are you hiding from me?"
This is what happens when you use a really tiny font. I got a couple of comments on how much longer the last chapter is compared to the others. According to the page number for word it was the same pages as the other chapters, but I used very curly font that is almost half the size of the one I normally use. So until I decide to switch fonts again, enjoy the longer chapters.
Thanks to my reviewers Inda, poptart, thepinkmartini, Sun Knight, Green.on.Black, Sakura Crystals, & Suils Saifir.
Inda - Glad you like.
poptart - Thank yous.
I promise. After the next chapter the ball will finally start!
"We forged it in secrecy. Wanting for one like who, I'm sorry what is your name?"
"Buffy."
"No, really."
