Chapter 3: The arrival.

Van sighed as he stared out the window and turned back around to the council advisors who were arguing with the new ambassador, Lord Giata, over a trade agreement with Asturia. He watched them spit comments back and forth for a few moments silently, then opened his mouth to interject a comment. The words never left his mouth as a pulse of light from the pendant around his neck distracted him. Stunned and puzzled, he lifted the necklace in his hand and stared at it for a few seconds. His heart thumped and a flash of fear for Hitomi made bumps rise on his arms. Van stared at the small pink stone, hoping for another sign or a clue as to why it had chosen to glow for the first time since their separation. He examined the pendant and let it swing in front of his eyes, but it remained quiescent. He turned and looked out the window for a sign, a column of light or anything.
The advisors paused for a moment in their verbal battle with Lord Giata to regard their king. Van, noticing their silence, turned back to them and placed the necklace beneath his shirt. He silently vowed to find the cause of the flash of light as soon as the advisors had left him. The setting sun shined through the new windows behind him and lit the faces of the men before him as they looked to Van for his decision on their squabble.

Hitomi groggily sat up in a clearing. She shook her head to clear it and looked around. The landscape was familiar, and with a start she realized it was the site where she and Van had arrived on that first bewildering trip to Gaea. She desperately searched her memory for the name of the nearby village, but could only recall the astonishment she had felt on that first day.
Suddenly howls arose around her from the trees and bushes. Hitomi, relieved rather than scared by the sound, called out "Ruhm, are you there? It's Hitomi!" The howls ceased and a shape rose out of the bushes to her left. The wolf man regarded her critically, eyeing her strange close and odd haircut. Apparently satisfied, he spoke.
"Ruhm is my cousin. I am Theenan." The wolf-man said. "Ruhm has told me of you, Little lady, and of your deeds in helping Fanelia during the Great War. We are at your disposal. How can we help you?"
Hitomi stood up and, brushing the grass from her knees, said quickly, "I need to get to the city quickly. I believe King Van is in danger. Can you show me the quickest way to where he is?"
Theenan replied doubtfully, "King Van is in the castle, protected by guards and samurai. I don't think he is in any danger, but I will take you there. Will you be able to keep up if we run? It would be fastest, since we don't keep horses. They don't like our scent." Theenan gave her a toothy grin.
Hitomi raised her head proudly and said dryly, "I think I can keep up. Which way do we go?"
Theenan pointed westward and began to jog towards a path through the woods. The rest of his people watched him lead her away. Hitomi shouldered her bag and quickly caught up with him. Sensing her urgency, Theenan quicken their pace and they sped toward the city. After two hours of running, they reached the outskirts of the city. They did not pause at the gates to the city, but raced through before the guards could even protest. Theenan led Hitomi through the crowded marketplace towards the half-built castle at the far end of the city.

Merle paused in her shopping, her nose twitching. Her tail whipped back and forth as she tried to place the familiar smell. Just then the crowd parted to let two running figures past through. Merle's eyes opened wide as Hitomi's racing figure swept by her. Despite the years that had passed, there was no doubting who the figure was.
"Hitomi?" she yelled, dropping her packages and racing on all fours after the disappearing runners. "Wait! What are you doing here? Stop!" "Stupid girl," She muttered to herself as she exerted every effort to dodge the crowds and catch the pair in front of her.
Hitomi slowed slightly, thinking she heard her name being called. She looked behind her and barely recognized the panting figure of Merle being left behind. She turned and, running backward, called to Merle in a panic, "Where is Van?"
Merle, very out of character, gave a straight answer. Hearing the panic and fear in Hitomi's voice, she yelled, "In the meeting room - through the Great Hall, up the stairs, third door on the left then second on the right!" Merle did not slow in her pursuit, dodging nimbly to miss a vendor on her right
Hitomi nodded her thanks and increased her speed towards the castle, saying to Theenan as they reached the towering building, "Find the closest rooftop to the large windows of the meeting room. That is where they will shoot from!"
Theenan didn't stop to question her, but broke off to the left through an alley. Hitomi prayed that he would reach the archer before he had a chance to notch his arrow. She reached the castle gates and, as the guards started to block her entrance, heard Merle scream from behind, "Let her through! Lord Van needs her!" Hitomi silently thanked Merle and pelted through the doors as the guards, startled, obeyed Merle's command and let Hitomi pass through unhindered. She ran down the cavernous hallway and pounded up the wide steps at the end, every muscle in her body now aching for oxygen after the long run but her mission too desperate to stop for a breath. She rounded the first corner, nearly taking out a chambermaid in the process, and, reaching the meeting room, threw the door open with a crash.