Do u need a disclaimer for every chapter??? It sux if ya do. anyways enjoy the story!

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Van lay on his bed slowly letting sleep overtake him as he thought about the past years. Fanelia was doing better than anyone had ever expected, his people adored him, and all of Gaea respected him. Yet, he wasn't happy. He felt. dead. 'Could it be because of Hitomi?' Van thought. 'Or maybe the cause of his depression was Escaflowne. What exactly was going on?' He continued to reflect the events that took place following her departure. Merle had left. He did not know why though. All she had told him was "I want to find a reason" with tears in her eyes. 'What the hell was that supposed to mean? One day she has a deathgrip around his neck and the next she leaves on a philosophical note.' Thinking about Merle triggered his nostalgic memories. He smiled as he reminisced... 'Hitom.. Folken.. Allen.. Millernia.. Dryden.. Dornkirk.. guymelefs.. fighting.. war.. blood.. death.. Escafowne..' that was the last thing that went through his mind as he fell asleep.

Darkness.. Everything was dark. Van was suspended in the sinister void. He could follow the everlasting black to the edges of Gaea. 'Where am I?' Van thought. 'It can't be a dream. A vision then? But I thought only Hitomi had these. Wait. I can hear something.' The sound became clearer. Profound "ba- booms" struck the emptiness with such a force that tickled Van to his very soul. 'It's a heartbeat.' Each thump shook the space around him violently. 'Why a heartbeat? What does this have to do with anything?' With every beat he shuddered. 'Have I finally gone crazy?' Then slowly, a slit of light slowly made its way across what he believed to be in front of him. 'Now what? This almost reminds me of a guymelef.. it couldn't be.. can it? Escaflowne.. What are you trying to tell me?' Slowly, the slit of light erupted around him blinding him with a brilliant flash. 'I'm.. scared. What's going on? Somebody help me.. please..'

"Lord Van! Lord Van please wake up!" "Sir, you mustn't leave us!" "C'mon Van! Pull through! You can do it little man!"

Van was still lying lifeless. He looked almost peaceful. He had been breathing erratically earlier and crying out in his sleep. Just minutes ago he had lost a pulse.

A shadow of a figure gradually began to form directly in the light that now engulfed him. As it became visible Van realized who it was. 'Hitomi. What are you doing here Hitomi?' Van was overjoyed to see her again. He tried to cry out to her but the attempts were in vain. Instead, she began to speak. "Are you prepared Van Fanel? Prepared to learn the truth?" Van could do nothing but stare. 'Hitomi..' he cried out in his mind as everything just seemed to fade away.

"Van!!! Oh Van, I thought you had died!! Eden shrieked with relief as she rushed at the king and wrapped her arms around his body. He had just woken up as his pulse and breathing returned to him. Van had a stunned look on his face. He had no idea what was going on. 'Oh, yes. The vision. I remember now. Hitomi.'

The general immediately removed her arms from Van and quickly turned around when she realized what she had just done. Her face was once again the color of her hair. Van simply smiled and looked over the crowd that had formed around his oversized bed. "I'm glad to..to..to see..y..y.." Van could not finish his sentence for he had just lost consciousness once again

Van awoke again but this time only with himself to keep him company. He painfully got up as his head throbbed begging him to lie down. He ignored it. He had only one thing in his mind; Escaflowne. He dressed into his usual attire which consisted of his red tank top and khaki like pants along with his gloves and boots.

Van exited his room to find the beautiful general Eden seated on a chair next to his door. "Sir Van!" she cried. "Eden. What a surprise. What are you doing here?" Van asked already knowing the answer.

"Well.. um.. I was watching over you sir" Eden said weakly.

"Thank you very much Eden. I really appreciate it" Van replied softly.

Eden's face once again became flushed as she said "sir, maybe you.. um, should be resting." She sounded very hesitant.

"Its okay Eden. I'm fine, really. I just have something very important to do."

"What's that, sir?."

"Eden.. I'm not sure if I can really tell you. You might think I'm crazy. And please, call me Van in these situations."

Eden was grateful that the hallway was dark for her face was a bright red. She meekly replied "I would never think of you as crazy si.. Van. Please, you can tell me."

Van studied her face. She looked as if she were trying to say something different than what she had just said. He was confused. He had never understood women very well at all and took his appearance for granted. "Well, alright. Follow me" he told her as he began to walk.

Eden could not believe what had just happened. Had he just asked her to keep him company? She kept pace behind him and stared at his back. She observed his build, and his graceful stride. She loved everything about him. Before, she could care less about men and the feeling known as love. Her father had cheated on her mother driving her mad. She used to believe love was more trouble than it was worth. That was until she had met Van. It happened almost four years.

*Flashback*

Eden Lufia was just an average 18 year old girl. Well, except the fact that she was absolutely gorgeous with a body that 99% of women could not even dream of. Oh yeah, and also the fact that her fighting skills were almost unmatched in Gaea.

She walked into the city called Fanelia taking in the sights around her. Her vivid red hair stood out as she walked along the crowd. Her dazzling golden eyes radiated, entrancing the men who could do nothing but stare. They couldn't even whistle. She had to admit, the city was turning out to be quite stunning. The king of this area must be quite a man, she thought to herself but quickly shut them our once she realized what she was thinking. She was here to test her skills in a tournament and perhaps even win some money. She walked down some more roads turning here and there realizing that she was being followed. Several men surrounded her as she could do nothing but smirk. What appeared to be the leader of the group stepped forward.

"What's a woman like you doing walking unescorted on these dangerous streets?" the man asked smugly. "You know, you could have guys like us show you a good time."

Eden just smiled and replied "pigs.. you stupid scum.. your picking on the wrong lady boys."

The leader approached her and started to move his finger around her mouth. "Aww, c'mon. You can't really mean that, can you?" he asked as he strutted around her. Eden quickly bit his finger making blood drip down.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH!!! We were going to have some fun with you but now it looks like we're going to have to rape you right now!!!" the man roared as he drew his sword, but just as quickly as he drew it, it was out of his hands. The man was terrified. Eden quickly cut him down with one expert slash. All the other men charged her. There had to be at least 15 of them. Despite her skills, she was overwhelmed. 'Is this the end?' She thought as she her sword flew from her grasp and she was kicked to the ground. She closed her eyes flinching, expecting something to happen, but nothing did. Everything was quiet. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up. All the men were dead or unconscious. 'What happened?' Then she saw someone darting around a corner. "Wait!" she yelled out. She only caught a glimpse though. He had possessed wild untamed black hair, and a red top. Her savior.

The tournament was one on one. Eden was doing very well; she had made it into the final. She was fighting under a fake identity and with a cloak on. She was scared something might happen to her again if she was seen. She hated her beauty. Despised it. It was something she could live without. It only seemed to cause her trouble.

Her opponent was also a cloaked fighter. 'He must have his reasons' she thought. 'Probably because he's so ugly.' He or she was obviously very skilled but had been holding back just as she was. They circled each other and bowed waiting for a horn to sound. It did. The match began with the other fighter attacking first. She caught a glance of her opponent's face. It was a he and also appeared to be very young. His attack was blocked by her curved sword. She parried and swung back which he blocked. The two continued and a heated battle pursued. After many minutes, they both began to tire. No actual sword blows had landed but some punches and kicks had connected. She swung vertically from the top after he had just missed with a kick. He rolled sideways and then backwards, obviously tired. She was also tired but this was her chance she thought. She charged him preparing a final blow. As she started, so did he. The two swords met in front of them creating impressive sparks that flew all about. A strong draft erupted from the clash of swords blowing both of their cloaks off..