The castle guards nodded, trembling. They scrambled out of the door, all too eager to escape the Knight's presence.
"Calm down, Allen… calm down." Millerna placed a hand on his shoulder, "Getting angry won't resolve anything."
Allen sighed, shaking his head, "How could an assassin get through the guards to easily? They shouldn't be able to…"
"Look, it won't help trying to ponder over that. Right now, we have to find a way to save Van's life." Millerna had now returned to the bed, her fingers clutched tightly to the ball of bandages. She glanced down at the figure lying in front of her. Van had turned pale; a large gash had been cut down his right side. She took a towel, soaking it in hot water and began to clean wound. Each time the cloth touched the open flesh, Van's body winced involuntarily, but never once did he open his eyes.
"Master Van…" Merle watched with wide eyes, "Master Van… please don't die… Master Van…"
"We're losing him…" Millerna said, alarmed as she felt his heartbeat faltering.
Allen quickly took the bandages from her, sitting the unconscious king up.
"We have to stop the bleeding. If he doesn't stop, he'll lose too much blood." The princess began to create a combination of herbs in her bowl.
Allen supported Van, watching helplessly as the king's breath began to falter. He quickly took the bandages and began to wrap them firming around the king's torso and side. He looped it back around the shoulder a few times to keep it in place and continued to wrap it around the wound, tying it as tightly as possible.
"At this rate…" Millerna watched Van, "At this rate… I don't think he's going to make it."
Her strides were long and unbroken. The running came to her like instinct. She could feel the wind blowing past her, throwing her long, hazel hair back. The skirts of her school uniform fluttered around her thighs and knees, but she didn't let it bother her. Over her shoulder, she had slung her duffle bag, as always. Subconsciously, she was heading towards the track. She closed her eyes, letting her feet do the thinking.
Van… wait for me. She pleaded to the starry night.
She ran through the gates, pushing them aside as her strides grew longer. She began to speed up, her mind concentrating on the stars.
Please! Take me to Van! I beg you! Take me there! At the last pledge, she spoke the words out loud. The rhythm of her running was unbroken even as she began to feel herself being taken off the ground. Finally allowing herself to open her eyes, she found herself being engulfed by an all too familiar column of light.
The room was silent; everyone had already gone to bed. Allen sat, slouched in his chair, sitting next to Van's bed. His eyes were fixed on the form of the young king.
"Damn it, Van. You are always so reckless… why did you have to be so reckless…?" He clenched his fists on the arms of his chair. Van's chest moved very unevenly, rising and falling in unsteady breaths.
"Come on, Van… stay with us… come on! You've survived this kind of thing too many times to let it bring you down now."
Suddenly, a bright flash appeared. Allen looked up quickly, his sword already in hand. Before him stood the figure of a young woman. He squinted. She had long, brown hair that fell to a point just past her shoulders. Her emerald green eyes were looking at him with concern. She was panting slightly, as if she had just been running hard. She wore a simple gray and black school uniform, with running shoes. Over one shoulder, was slung a blue duffle bag.
"Allen-san…"
Her voice, her tone, they were all so familiar to him. The sword dropped from his fingers with a clang. "Hitomi…?" He was afraid to say the name louder, afraid that she would disappear. With one fluid motion he had moved from the side of the bed and was standing in front of her.
"Allen…" Her eyes looked him over, trying to see him in the dim light. He took this moment to examine her. She had grown so much in the past few years… her hair was much longer, and she had grown much taller. Her body had taken on many of the curves of a women, but her emerald eyes remained just as innocent and concerned as they had always been.
"Hitomi… you… how…?" He stuttered for something meaningful to say.
She blinked, looking at him, "I felt Van's pain…I had to know that he was all right." As if suddenly remembering, she frantically looked around the room, "Van…"
Allen hesitated before taking her hand and leading her to the bed, "He's here…"
"How is he?" She asked, her voice filled with concern as she approached the bed, "Is he all right…?"
"We don't know."
She had grown silent now as she peered down at Van. His skin was pale, almost blending in with the color of his fresh bandages. The bandages started at his left shoulder and crossed his chest down to his right side where it was wrapped around his body several times. His face was eerily calm, impassive. Hitomi fought back tears as she gently picked his hand up in hers. "Van…" Three years. It had been three years since she had last seen him. He hadn't changed much. He had grown taller, and he had lost the boyish immature look. His bushy black hair fell around his eyes, which were shut tight in sleep. But she knew that this was the same boy she had fallen in love with, only now he was no longer a boy, he was a king.
"Hitomi…" Allen's voice was soft as he watched her, "Bring him back to us, Hitomi. I know you can do it."
Hitomi glanced at him, unsure of her ability. "I can't… Allen… I can't. I don't have that power anymore, I gave it up…"
"You can, Hitomi." His hands were firm has he squeezed her shoulders gently, "You have an extraordinary power, whether you decide to use it or not, it's always there. Please, Hitomi, try. Try for Van."
She looked down at the still figure laying before her. How could she…? Silently, she closed her eyes, her fingers clasping Van's.
Van…She sent the thought very softly, channeling it down her arm and into his fingers, Van…come back to me.
She waited, hoping for something to happen.
"When one power calls out to another, they will know…" Van…hear me. Don't leave me. Please… come back.
Still there was nothing.
"Allen-san, I can't. It's not working…"
"Don't give up, Hitomi." His voice was comforting, "You can do it. I know you can."
She closed her eyes again, her mind searching for Van's. Please, Van. It's me, Hitomi. I've come back… I've come back so that I can see you. How can you greet me if you don't wake up? Come on, Van… come back so that I can see you again.
There was a faint flicker on the other side.
Van… come on now. I'm here waiting for you. When you wake up, I'll be here. Don't you want to see me again?
Hi…to…mi…
Yes, it's me, Van. It's me… come back…I know it hurts, but please… come back to me!
"Hitomi…?" Allen's voice penetrated her thoughts, "It's all right now, Hitomi. His breathing has become regular."
"Van…" She let her hand fall away from his. "Come back to me…"
Allen waited a few minutes. The two watched the King of Fanelia with concern.
"Come on, Hitomi." Allen gently guided her away from the bed, "It's really late. You need to get some rest."
"Rega went to Fanelia… that madman has finally lost his last real nerve." The voice came from the shadows, latent with fear and anger.
"And..?" Her response was very light, "What happened?"
"They captured him, but not before he did some damage."
She whirled around, her eyes gleaming dangerously, "Go and retrieve him. Or if they insist, have him executed. Whatever you do, just take care of this." Her tone was dangerous, as she began to walk towards her servant. The long, heavy, blue cape that hung from her shoulders fell to all the way to the ground, serving to be more of a train than a covering. Underneath, she wore a simply cut dress of the finest black velvet. She glared at the man in the shadows with her golden eyes, "Do you understand?"
"Yes, milady." The man bowed before disappearing into the doorway.
She waited until he disappeared before turning back around. Looking out the large, plate glass window, she examined the lush scenery below. Zaibach was making a slow but steady recovery from the devastation of the war. She grinned; it was a leaderless, abandoned country. The people farmed for themselves, and created their own sense of local government. None of them cared to peel off into other countries; no one wanted their autonomy. They seemed all to be waiting for someone to take them up, and lead them to a new future. It was a country, sitting there, ready for the picking. And she would be the one to take it. Though the people would never accept having her as a leader, for she was a woman, she would be able to lull them into her grasp soon enough. She had worked hard over the past three years, to rebuild Zaibach to its old glory. When Dornkirk had been in power, she had never been able to come to a standing of much power, but now with everything else out of the way, she was ready to make her move. The people agreed that she could be their collective speaker, and that if she were to find a husband, they would acknowledge him as their king. But until then, she was nothing more than a figurehead, self-proclaimed princess.
"Erina," someone had entered the room again, "You knew that Rega was going to go the Fanelia… that man is wild, he lost his mind after the war… why didn't you keep a closer watch on him?"
She turned, her eyes meeting those of a young man, with golden eyes that matched hers, "Rega was not my responsibility, Eric. You know that. If worse comes to worse, I will apologize on behalf of the Zaibach empire. Fanelia and the rest of Gaea will understand; no one can control a maniac."
"You planned this, didn't you?" He finally said, "You planned to have Rega go to Fanelia, you knew that he would try to kill Van Fanel. Didn't you, Erina."
She glanced at him, "No." She finally said, "I didn't. But when I found out he had escaped, I did nothing to stop him. Fanelia deserves a scare once in a while, we don't want them to think that they're the capital of the world." She paced over towards him, "Besides… for what I have in mind, they're going to be getting much more than just a little madman once in a while…"
Eric watched her, his eyes calculating, "What you are proposing is a full-scale war, Erina. Zaibach isn't ready for that yet… not again. We've barely been able to recover from the last one, if we go into war again, we'll never survive."
She laughed, "Come on, Eric. Don't be naïve. I'm not about to bring Zaibach into a war, not yet. But we have to start reaffirming our existence, show that world that we're still here. I'm not going to let us fade out and become nothing." She glared at him, "Don't you care about anything father ever taught us?"
"Our father was a maniac, Erina." His voice was hard, "He didn't know anything, and he didn't care about anything. He had an overblown vision of a glorified Zaibach… don't you start becoming more like him too."
"Our father was not a maniac!" Her retort escalated to a shout, "He was an honorable man, who died fighting for his country! I intend to follow his vision… I intend to make him proud...!"
"Why, Erina?" His voice was soft now, "Because you want to make up all those times you let him down before? Is that it? Erina, nothing you do can bring him back. And nothing you do can make him forget all those things… those horrible things…"
"Shut up!" She spat the words at him, "I'm going to make this work. You'll see…"
Bright rays of light came spilling in through the window, and penetrated the curtains on Hitomi's four-post bed. She blinked herself awake, letting out a large yawn. She turned around, enjoying the warmth and coziness of the covers. It took her a moment to figure out where she was. The room was very familiar to her, and yet it felt so strange. She hadn't been back in this room for three years, and nothing had changed. It was just the way she had left it, as if no one had ever lived in the room after she had left. There were large, framed windows on the side, leading out to a balcony. Her bed was a large, decorated four-post fit for a noblewoman. She began to take a look around the room, finally able to see it better under the sunlight.
A knock on her door forced her to get out of her comfortable bed. She was wearing a long, sleeveless silk nightgown. It was forest green in color, and seemed to flow like water around her. Quickly, she donned the matching kimono-robe and walked to open the door.
"Good morning, Hitomi." She looked up to see Allen, "I hope I didn't wake you."
"No, not at all." She replied, shaking her head back so to get the hair out of her eyes. She leaned casually against the doorframe; "I've been awake for a little while already."
Allen nodded, looking her over for a moment. She looked so mature; her body had grown in all the right places, making her quite attractive now. A twinge of pain shot through his chest, as he remembered a time when she had been his. "Well, I came to tell you that we're having breakfast in the dining hall. The others are all eager to see you again, they all heard of your return."
Hitomi blushed, "I hope they aren't disappointed when they see me."
"They won't be." Allen smiled, "I'm sure of it." He paused before continuing, "The closets in this room have been restocked with all different gowns that should fit your size… feel free to try some of them on."
Hitomi nodded, "I will." She smiled, "See you at breakfast?"
He nodded, "See you at breakfast." With that, he turned and continued down the hall.
Hitomi closed the door and walked towards the large closet on the side of the room. She was debating whether or not she wanted to try on one of the gowns. When she had been in Gaea before, she had mainly dressed in her own earthling clothes, but now, her hands itched to get themselves on the beautiful fabrics. Finally, she gave in, and chose one of the gowns. It was a light creamy blue, and it fit her almost perfectly. She laughed, allowing herself a twirl before she bounded towards the door.
"HITOMI!" She was knocked to the ground even before she could see who was addressing her. She was engulfed in chaos of bright orange fur, and prickly ears.
"Hello Merle." She laughed, trying to push the cat-woman off of her, "It's nice to see you again."
"I can't believe you're back!" Merle laughed, still refusing to get off of the other girl, "And you've grown!" She quickly stood up, examining her old friend. She twitched her nose approvingly.
Hitomi recovered her balance and got back up, dusting off her gown. She smiled, ruffling Merle's fur, "So have you." She looked around at the others present at the table. Sitting next to Merle was a beautiful young woman, with a cascade of blonde waves. Hitomi smiled, nodding to her, "Hello, Princess Millerna."
"It's good of you to come back to us, Hitomi." Millerna replied, flashing a large smile, "We've missed you."
Next to Millerna was an empty chair, apparently left for her. Then, to the other side, Allen was seated. He nodded to her, offering a comforting smile. Hitomi looked to the other side of Allen and found herself staring at a young woman. She had beautiful blond hair, and looked somewhat like Allen. She sat with her back straight and her head held high, showing her pride and her training in being a noblewoman. She looked at Hitomi with cool, blue eyes.
"Serena…" Hitomi finally was able to recognize who it was that she was looking at. She was surprised; could this really be the same girl that had once been so evil? It shocked her, but she could see the Serena had matured much in three years. She was truly becoming a charming noblewoman of Asturia.
The girl looked at Hitomi with a one eyebrow raised before she rose in her seat. "Kanzaki Hitomi," She finally said, "I have heard much of you from my brother and his friends. It is a pleasure to finally meet the girl from the Phantom Moon."
Hitomi smiled, "As it is a pleasure to meet you, Serena."
There was an awkward silence before Allen stood up and gestured for Hitomi to take her seat. "We should have a quick breakfast and then Merle wants to give us all a grand tour of the new renovated palace."
Merle flicked her ears forward her expression mischievous, "There's been a lot of repair done, and we've added on a whole new wing. You've got to see how much its changed since the war!"
Hitomi nodded silently, nibbling at the apple in her hand. "How's Van…" She finally asked.
The moment her words penetrated the air, the room grew silent. Even Merle's persistent enthusiasm seemed to drop.
"He's healing…" Millerna finally said, flashing a small smile, "Slowly… but steadily. I think he's going to make it. Van's always been a fighter, he wasn't about to let an unidentified assassin take him down."
Hitomi let out a sigh of relief, "That's good to know." She finally said, continuing to eat her breakfast. Silently, she made a mental note check up on him personally later.
