Chapter 36

It was over.

Sweat dripped from his scratched, dirt-covered face as he swayed on his feet.

Van's breathing was labored as his sword tip touched the stony ground. The beast's blood was evaporating, filling the cave with a gut turning stench. All flesh, bone, and blood turned into a smoldering pile of dust before his eyes. Dragons who died naturally kept their remains, but those who were 'harvested' evaporated in order to hide their shame or so the children's stories told.

On shaking legs, Hitomi made her way to him and with a very gentle hand, touched his shoulder. Van's eyes drifted over to her pale face and trembling lips.

"A-are you okay?"

"Yes," Van gave a small, forced smile. "We need to get out of here." Sheathing his sword, he offered her a hand. To his surprise, she bypassed his hand, and wrapped her arms around him gingerly so as not to hurt him.

Van's eyes snapped wide then closed as he returned her light embrace.

"That was-" Hitomi closed her eyes and tightened her arms around him.

"Thanks," Van managed to get out in a tired voice.

"Huh?" She pulled away, staring up at him.

"You helped me," Van gave a very weak smile, "Thank you."

"You shouldn't thank me! You're the one who saved me from being dragon dinner!"

"It wouldn't have hurt you if you'd have stayed by its mate," Van shrugged. In one hand, he held the pink-purple heart and in the other he held his upper arm where the creature had slammed him into the cave wall. "He wouldn't have chanced hurting her."

Tucking her shoulder under his good arm, she wrapped one arm around his back and placed the other on his chest to stabilize him. Van didn't push her away or give any acknowledgement of her aid; she supposed this was a good thing.

"This is going to be a long trip back, you realize." Hitomi tried to give a smile, but her fatigue set in and her attention was drawn, instead, to focusing on their journey back.

"Yes," Van was already going through the how of getting from the mouth of the cave, but didn't think it was important enough to mention it to her at this moment. They might not be that far down now, but it was still going to require them to climb. He was hurt and she wasn't 'built' for rock climbing.

They walked together in silence, until Hitomi slowly came to a stop.

"Where's the breeze coming from? Are we almost there?"

"Yes. The mouth is on the cliff."

"A cliff?" Hitomi echoed, moving forward again. "How are we going to get up from a cliff?"

"I'm working on that."

She huffed, but didn't say anything further.

After minutes of walking, the slight breeze became stronger. Van said it meant they were close to the mouth; he failed to mention that he hadn't figured out what to do after that.

He was ready to wince when she opened her mouth, doubtlessly to ask the question, but something else echoed down the cave's throat. Hitomi's head lifted slightly as a low, mewing cry resonated from far behind them. It sounded almost like a long drawn out 'no'.

"What's that?"

It wasn't any real word. It sounded like the sobs and wails of a broken heart resonating from a shattered spirit.

"His mate," Van admitted. His voice apathetic as he stared down at the crystal heart in his hand. "She's crying for him."

"She's crying?" Hitomi was surprised. "They can cry?"

"Dragons are of higher intelligence than most creatures," Van explained, "They mate for life. Her mate is dead, she knows this."

Guilt sponged on his heart. A chilling thought ran through him as he considered that probably the only other creature to cry over their mate would be a human. What if he hadn't survived? Would Hitomi cried like that? Would he if she had been taken?

His heart clenched at the thought and that was enough to prompt him to think about other things.

As they exited the cave, Hitomi gave a yelp of surprise as a wind traveling up from the river whipped her skirt up to her waist. With her free hand, she quickly tried to pull her skirt down while her face turned red.

Van's attention was elsewhere as he studied the steep cliff. They weren't as far down as he feared, about twenty to thirty feet. The dragons must've been new mates; most of the older pairs took residence further down the cliffs to avoid humans during hibernation.

Gently pushing off Hitomi's hand, Van walked, with a slight limp, over to the other side and tested the strength of the rocks.

Hitomi peeked down the cliff, and felt her head spin along with her stomach. That was a long way to fall. She shivered and clung to the cave wall for support and dared to peer over the side again.

Van put more weight on the rocks and they instantly crumbled apart. It was more mud than rocks. "They can't support much weight-"

The shrill scream jerked the king around in surprise; all he saw was the blonde falling over the side—the wall had given out under her weight.

"Hitomi!" Van screamed out her name, watching as the girl was thrown from the cliff side.

There hadn't been a thought or a heartbeat that gave his mind time to react; he just acted out on his instinct. Launching himself off the cave's small outcrop, he allowed his heavier weight to pull him toward the falling body, the air rushed past his face as he stretched out his hands for her.

It couldn't end like this!

Reaching out as far as he could, he was able to grasp her wrist and within another breath, he closed his eyes and pulled her toward him. Closing his eyes, the King willed his family curse to come. A scream of pain was muffled behind clenched teeth as white feathered wings pushed free from his back, spread wide, and instantly slowed their descent.

His body protested with aches and promises of cramps as he locked his hold on the frail girl and used the strong winds to his advantage. With the cliff winds, he was able to surpass the troublesome cave and swiftly up into the dark blue sky.

Hitomi's eyes fluttered open momentarily, she felt weightless, as if she was in a dream. As the pain started to seep into her awareness all over again, she wondered if this was another one of her visions. Was this a new part of them? To feel pain?

What kind of person in real life would have such strong arms and beautiful unearthly wings spanning the sky?

"And if anything goes wrong?" Serena questioned, fingering the design of the tiara sitting on her lap.

"Nothing will go wrong," Folken reassured. "Every piece is in place; all that is left is for the wheel to be put in motion."

"I'm not going to believe that until I get what I want and after so long, my patience is growing increasingly thin." The princess narrowed her light blue eyes at the blue haired man who didn't flinch under her icy stare.

"Coron has already agreed to let us use his lands to pass to the other countries."

"Like Fanelia?" Serena's smile was that of a lioness after a kill. "Doesn't it bother you in the least that we are going to lay waste to your precious home country?"

His eyes narrowed slightly, but quickly returned to their relaxed expression.

"Of course not. If I cared I wouldn't have left in the first place. Isn't that what prompted you into this? People leaving you?"

She growled under her breath.

After the King and Queen came staggering back through the city gates the next morning, there were cheers. When Van held up the pink crystallized dragon heart, the shouts were deafening. Seeing the royal couple was a bit worse for wear, the guards herded them into the castle and to the healers' care immediately.

Neither had suffered any severe injury that wouldn't heal with a few days of bed rest, mostly just cuts and bruises. Upon hearing this, Van made an announcement that was to be spread throughout the city that it would be after those few days, he'd leave to fight.

The city was thrust into a celebration that their king was well and wasn't going to back down. Hitomi wasn't so excited. When she questioned Van about how she didn't die from falling from the cliff, he would cough and say he grabbed her before she completely plummeted. It didn't make lot of sense to her, but knowing he wouldn't say anything else until he chose to, she dropped it.

"You give aggravating a whole new definition!" Armand snapped, nearly seething. "You could have been killed!" He plucked his pillow from behind him and threw it at her in his fit. "Have some consideration for my poor nerves! Not to mention my exceedingly fragile neck and quickly dissolving career!" He leaned back and jerked his head to the side, "You are so selfish."

"I know I could have been hurt," Hitomi admitted, deciding to ignore his bitter little statements.

She was extremely tired after chasing Van around and then the battle with the male beast that ensued. It took nearly half a day for the couple to struggle back, and when they did, the councilmen were proclaiming thanks to gods between discussing battle plans and calling for healers.

"And still you went," Armand pointed out in a shallow tone and huffed, crossing his arms. "Women are so thick sometimes."

"Are you implying I'm dumb?" Hitomi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I'm not implying anything. I was hoping I was saying it flat out."

His pillow went sailing back to him and smacked him in the face.

"Lord Van!" Merle purred happily, clutching to his upper arm. "You made it back! I'm so happy!"

Van patted her hand softly and gave her a ghost of a smile, "Yes."

Merle tipped her head in confusion as he stood up, walked over to the windows, and sat down on the window sill. Her eyes narrowed as she blew a couple of stray hairs from her face.

"What happened?"

"I had to show her."

Her tail swished impatiently, "Showed her what?"

"My wings."

The swishing tail stuck straight out from her body,"You-you-didn't."

"I had to, she would've died." Those words sounded odd and haunted. Died, she could have died and that thought bothered him more than he thought possible.

"And," Merle began, perching on the window sill next to him. "What did she say?"

"I don't think she remembers. It's possible she hit her head before I caught her on some of the falling debris or on the cliff side."

"Well at least you don't have to worry about that then," Merle's tail began its to-and-fro rhythm as she tapped the end of her clawed finger on her cheek. "So why worry about it?"

"Because," he brought one leg up, allowing the other one to dangle from the edge of the ledge. Wrapping one arm around his bent leg, he ran his fingers through his dark hair with the other. "I was hoping she would see it that way."

Merle's eyes almost popped out of her head as she lost her balance due to the shock.

"You what! Why! You know what happened to you last time!" The neko protested in a voice that was something between anger and dread.

Van bowed his head and stared at his lap. Serena had asked to know his most personal secret and he, like a true fool, showed her and she hated him for it. He had spread his wings before her and it only took a few seconds for wonder to shade into disgust and love to plummet to hate.

"I know but -I still want her to know," Van whispered. "I want her to know."

Fear took on a new meaning as it swarmed over his heart. The fear of rejection and losing something so precious to him that he couldn't even think about what to call the emotion for dread of never being able to feel it again.

"King Aston!" Allen addressed the royalty, bowing low, and then standing up quickly. He had come straight from Fanelia, direct from his ship to warn the King there was misery forming above their heads, but no one knew to look up.

"Guards!" King Aston bellowed, causing Allen to step backward. The king's thick finger was pointed directly at the blonde. "Arrest him!"

Blue eyes widened considerably as the pure confusion ran through his mind and prevented the knight from reacting to the several guards surrounding him. Two stepped from the circle and roughly grabbed the knight's arms, while another one stripped off Allen's sword and belt.

"Wh-What is the meaning of this?"

"Don't pretend that you do not know," Aston hissed, clambering up to his feet. "I know all about you, Sir Allen Schezar …. I here forth strip you of your title and any immunity within Asturia."

"What offense have I done to deserve this?" Allen demanded. "I have always served this country loyally."

Aston's smile tainted to a smirk, "You have always severed a country loyally, but I do not think it is Asturia. As the crown prince of Zaibach-" Allen's stomach sunk and the coldness of Aston's stare engulfed him. "-we can assume which country to which you are truly loyal."

"Where did you hear this?"

"By the one person who put a hole in your traitorous plans," Eris, who had been standing silently next to her father's throne, spoke up. Her voice reflected her father's anger, but there was a heavy tone of grief.

"Isn't that right?" She lifted her hand and placed it on the child's head who was hugging her waist loosely.

"Prince Chid…" Allen was barely able to breathe out his name. Armand had been right. Chid was the attacker, an imposter! If he was truly a Doppelganger, then it only meant one thing: the real Prince had been murdered.

Though sadness painted his inner heart, the knight clenched his jaw and glared ahead. "It's a lie."

"Are you saying you are not the Prince of Zaibach?" Aston almost teased. When Allen didn't deny or confirm anything, the King chuckled. "Your silence is golden." Looking at the two guards flanking the prisoner, he tipped his chin up and commanded, "Take him to the dungeons. No one is to see him."

Two day flew by in a blur of metal and royal colors. Hitomi's stomach kept churning in every direction the closer it came to when the healers would allow Van to enter in the war. If she cried, he'd feel bad or so Armand said.

After being so long on bed rest the knight was thrilled to be allowed to hobble around on crutches as long as he didn't over exert himself. Being pampered by all the maids and cooks convinced the brunette to use this injury to his advantage.

As they all sat at the table for dinner, Armand being allowed to join them since he wouldn't be fit for the battles ahead for a month or more, decided to try and lift the spirits.

"So tomorrow's the big day, eh?" So far, he had only made them sink like an anchor in a bottomless ocean.

Hitomi's eyes began to water and Rai swiftly slapped her son on the back of his head while she was refilling his drink. Merle tried to kick him under the table, but only managed to hit air. The old maid gave an encouraging smile and Van glanced away.

"I'm done," Hitomi couldn't sit there and make like nothing life altering wasn't going to happen tomorrow. She wasn't that good of an actress.

"Nice going," Merle stuck her tongue out at Armand and scooted her chair back before leaping from it and running after Hitomi. If everything else was different, the two females at least had one thing in common: they both loved Van in their own ways.

As for the king, there was nothing he could do but watch them leave. There was nothing he could say to make them feel better, no promises he could make. They needed to rely on each other, as they would learn in the months to come.

"Sire?"

Van turned his attention to his knight.

"May I have a word with you?"

Leaning back in his chair, his hand gripping his goblet, the King considered saying 'no', but instead told the knight to continue.

"About the Queen and your duty in the bedroom-"

"I told you I don't want to discuss-"

"Sire, please, hear me out." Armand was using his 'normal' voice, the one that sounded like a knight and not a gossiping maid. "I am serious about this. It really isn't any of my business, but I beg you to consider what I am about to say for just a moment."

"Fine," Van fought to keep his blush down.

"I wish that you would think about an heir," Armand's blue eyes were met with mahogany eyes. "Up till now it has been all fun and games, but with you heading off to war and without knowing whether you truly will return— the kingdom will be in a fragile state. At least if they knew there was an heir, if the people knew the Queen didn't have to remarry thereby handing over the throne to an outside power— to know the blood of Fanel wasn't going to end and with it Escaflowne—" Armand sighed and looked away. "It's just a thought."

Van felt a new weight settle on his shoulders.

"I can't approach her with these reasons and expect-" His eyes studied the design on the table cloth instead of finishing his thought.

"Then approach her as her husband," Armand suggested. "Not a king, but a man who loves—" Van's face snapped up so quickly Armand almost heard an audible 'snap'. "Okay, cares for her."

"To use her like that?" Van spat out after a few moments.

"You must care for her enough to be willing to consider her feelings on this matter," Armand indicated, making a valid point, but only received a cross stare from Van.

"I'm not heartless."

Taking in a deep breath, Armand closed his eyes.

"Caria thought of our daughter as another part of me to love and a part of me that would love her unconditionally when I was gone." Even when I was right there, Armand added mentally. "If you are gone, at least a baby could give some comfort." He reached for his crutches, "And there aren't any assurances that one night will do the trick anyway."

Van raised an eyebrow.

"Are you scared?" Her voice was lighter than a wind's sigh in his ears.

Van turned, staring at his bride. She wasn't wearing her robe, and with the balcony doors opened enough to show the bright sparkles and lively fires of the festival down below to be see, he knew she had to be freezing. For him, the air was cold, but with the help of a large fire and the lack of wind made it bearable.

His mind blanked as she stepped further into the glow from below as it brushed light through their bedroom windows. Hitomi stared at him with questioning eyes as Van went from the top of her soft blonde hair, tracing every feature of her face with his eyes, and continued his slow study to the tips of her naked feet. The gown she wore was made from a fabric that clung without bunching, allowing her curves to be highly feminine and delicate.

"W-what?" He had trouble speaking with his mouth dry and his throat sticking together. "What did you say?"

"Are you scared?" She repeated, stopping right next to him as he leaned on the doorjamb of the balcony. He could see a faint hesitation when she reached up, and gently touched his upper arm.

"Not of fighting," Van commented, forcing himself to look back toward the source of the fire glow. His breath caught in his throat and he had to restrain himself from locking up when she laid her head on his shoulder and curved her body against his.

Did Armand or Rai talk to her as well? How could he ask that! If they did, she wouldn't admit it. Van knew he'd deny any type of conversation of that nature with Armand.

"Are you afraid?" Van questioned, covering her hand with his own.

Turning her face more into his shoulder, a muffled "Yes" was heard.

"Of what?"

"Of never seeing you again," Hitomi answered softly.

"…a part of me that would love her unconditionally when I was gone…" Armand's words echoed in Van's mind. It was a possibility he might die, though he had all the desire in the world to live through this, it was still a probability. His grip on her hand tightened, as a silent war went on in his mind.

"…gone…"

The idea of being with her, completely, was tainted by not knowing whether it was truly what he wanted or if it was just the knight's words meshing with his senses. Van wouldn't tell her, couldn't ask her to do something that would make her feel so—so used.

When he turned, she let go of him. Van rested his back on the wall and drew her to him tightly. Wrapping his arms around her, he nuzzled his face into her hair and breathed in her scent. Hitomi squeaked in surprise.

Van wasn't afraid of fighting; he had been trained by the best to be prepared for the worst. He was sick over the thought of dying and of leaving her. What would she do without him? What if the roles were reversed? What if something happened to her and there was nothing and no one who could comfort him? Maybe this type of being used wouldn't be completely selfish.

Sending a silent prayer to anyone who was listening, Hitomi made another noise of shock when Van gently tugged her away from his chest. Her eyes were wide and questions were dancing within their green hues. He couldn't say anything, so he allowed his actions to speak for him. Lightly brushing her cheek with his fingers, Van allowed her time to back off before he made his final move.

Hitomi's eyes instantly slide shut as Van's mouth moved over hers. He was behaving oddly, even for him, but Hitomi wasn't going to ask anything to make him back off. He was warm and he was there with her. Come tomorrow he wouldn't be anywhere but gone and she couldn't let that thought rule her.

It only took a slight turn of his head and her breath escaped completely. As before, her knees went weak as her mind blanked of rational thought only to fill with a warm, cloudy feeling. Her fingers trembled as she gripped his shirt. She wanted to be close to him, the closest he would allow her to come.

If he pushed her away now, Hitomi knew she wouldn't be able to hold back the tears anymore. She wanted to have the unfailing belief he would come back triumphant. Still the facts and lingering knowledge he might not was too heavy to move and too big to cover up in optimism.

The kissing soon wasn't enough as both started to become bolder. Van's lips worked their way down Hitomi's neck as his hands lost their shyness. Hitomi was caught by complete surprise as her fear rose astronomically. She had swallowed her fear, he wasn't pushing her away.

"Van," Hitomi breathed out, close to his ear. She felt him shiver in reaction and couldn't stop a small smile. Without warning, Van had scoped her up bridal style and made the short trip from the balcony to their bed.

Carefully, he laid her on to the bed. Van took this time to strip off his shirt and threw it behind him. Garnet eyes studied the beautiful creature lying on the bed, flushed face, and eyes clouded with desire for him. Hitomi's hair was mused, her night gown was far from decent at this point, but her eyes were still on him. She wanted him, not anything else at this moment and Van felt guilt prick his heart, guilt and a very large feeling of pride.

This beautiful creature was enraptured by him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close to her body again. But would she be so compliant if she knew?

"Hi-Hitomi," Van forced out, having gotten reasonable hold on himself. If what Armand said was true, this was the only time she'd have to know the truth before anything else happened.

"There's something—you have to know." Though he tried to move away from her, Hitomi kept her arms around his neck in a lose hug, not really a difficult hold to get out of but he didn't move when she didn't.

"Is it that important?" she asked, her voice deeper, sending chills through him. With one of her hands, she gently cupped one side of his face, and brushed her fingers through his hair.

"Yes," he answered solemnly, leaning into her touch. "There is—something I haven't told you—about myself."

Though it was important to tell her about his 'curse' he couldn't resist nuzzling the spot where her neck curved into her slender shoulder.

Hitomi nearly purred when his lips met her skin again.

"Van-" she managed hoarsely. "If it's part of you, your past, or whatever, I'll love it." There was an unmistakable flash of uncertainty in his red eyes.

"I love you, Van," she sealed her statement with a bone-melting kiss.

If she wanted to pretend that it wasn't going to affect her, if she wanted to think love could cover up his demons, then he'd let her pretend. He would pretend that, for just tonight, the world wasn't falling down around them and that the drums of war were just his heart as it pounded in his ears.

Just this once, he could pretend that he could stay with her.

Meanwhile, just outside the door stood a knight with a semi-wistful smile on his lips, but that quickly melted into a bitter frown when a guard came rattling along the hall and stopped outside the door.

"You even think about touching this door and I will break every bone in your withered little hand," Armand growled at the guard who had his hand raised slightly; ready to knock on the bedroom door stopped cold in his tracks. "Am I understood?"

The guard nodded slowly, eyes wide.

Armand leaned forward to make sure his threat was clear, "Tell your buddies that tonight, the king is not to be disturbed."