Untitled "Don't run! The more you run, the less chance you have of escaping!"The leaves barred her vision, and all she could see was a blur of color and light before her. Her legs were tired and her lungs were about ready collapse, but she pushed one more spurt of energy out of her body, swallowing gasps of air. Her fingers grabbed blindly at the branches in front of her; all she could hear was the pounding of wild hooves behind her.
"STOP!" This time, she could hear his voice closer to her, "You're only going to frighten it! Listen to me, stop running!"
She screamed, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to push his voice away. All she could think about was getting past the trees, getting into the open plain, where she at least had some chance of surviving. The creature behind her was getting closer, and she could already feel its breath on her back. The tears had already begun to flow freely down her cheeks, and a full panic had taken over her body. She was only vaguely aware that the sound of one set of hooves behind her had now doubled to the sound of two. She didn't dare look back to see whom the second set belonged to. Her legs were getting tired, and she couldn't breath. Her head was beginning to hurt, and her arms were bloodied by the branches. Her steps became heavy and clumsy. Before she knew it, she was vaulted into the air as she tripped over a branch…

"FATHER!" She woke screaming, her body drenched with a cold sweat. Her throat was choked with tears, and her empty hands grasped in front of her for vacant air. Her breath was coming in spurts and she found herself shivering.
"Erina!" Her door burst open. Eric was standing on the threshold, his hair tousled and his eyes frantically searching the room for hers. Within seconds, he was next to her. "Erina… what happened? Why were you screaming?"
She shook her head, burying herself into his chest. She felt sick, disgusted at the feel of her own flesh.
"Erina…" He engulfed her with a hug and gently stroked her hair, "Calm down… it was just dream…"
"No…" Her voice came out in gasps, "No… I didn't mean it… I didn't… father… I didn't mean it…"
As if realizing some unspoken fact, Eric gave his sister a tight squeeze, rubbing her back soothingly. "Don't think about it, Erina. You can't change things from the past… Calm down… you should get back to sleep, it's very late."
"No… Eric… you know I didn't mean it… don't you?" Suddenly, she pushed him away. Her teary eyes searched in his, "I didn't…" Before she could even finish her sentence, she was overcome by another wave of nausea.
"I know, Erina. I know." He whispered, gently pushing her back onto the bed, "Forget about the dream… Go back to sleep. When the morning comes, everything will be all right… you'll see."
"I didn't…"

* * *

"The prisoner is being detained in the dungeons. He refuses to speak, and seems to only mutter to himself. Most of the guards believe that he has lost his mind…" The guard gave the report in a monotonic voice.
"Keep him there… after the king regains his strength, he will decide what to do with him." Allen's voice was stern and commanding as he gave the order. "You are dismissed." He waved the guard off with one hand. As soon as the man left the room, he turned back around to face the others.
"You think he was hired?" He finally asked, his eyes troubled.
"No…" Millerna shook her head, stepping forward, "No… who would hire a madman?"
"He could be pretending… Assassins can be very good actors." Allen countered, leaning against the wall.
"Somehow I doubt this one is acting." Millerna finally said, "I saw a glimpse of him when he was being taken away by the guards. He looked pretty far gone to me."
"I just don't understand… why was he here? And what did he have against Van?" Allen shook his head, heaving a sigh. "Damn it… it doesn't make any sense to me."
"I could…" Hitomi began to speak up, her voice very hesitant, "I could try… talking to him…"
Allen looked up sharply, his eyes curious, "You mean… use your powers?"
Hitomi shivered, remembering what it was like to delve into another person's mind. "I could… try. I haven't done anything like this for three years though, I don't know if I could still do it. I gave up divining when I went home…"
Millerna watched the girl with uncertain eyes. She looked over at Allen, silently pleading with him.
Reading her expression, he nodded solemnly, "Maybe it's not a good idea, Hitomi. You might get hurt… I remember how hard it was for you to try and read the future… and the past."
"I…" She trailed off, her head bowing. "I don't know."
Allen sighed, running a hand through his hair. Finally he shrugged, "Maybe when Van regains consciousness he'll be able to shed some light onto who this man is. We've never seen him before… but maybe Van knew him."
Millerna shrugged, getting up. She gave Allen a meaningful look and slowly pushed him towards the door. Resignedly, he turned and followed her out.

* * *

The door clicked shut and Hitomi knew she was alone in the room. She waited, listening to the footsteps fade in the hallway. Finally, she let out a deep breath. Her eyes glazed over as she lost herself deep in thought. What am I doing here? She hadn't even considered the consequences of her decision when she had rashly jumped back into this world. Now, a few days had passed, and she still didn't quite know why she had come here. She had left Gaea without any regrets, and she had promised herself that she would be happy… but was she really? It had been three years, but when she felt the soft soil underneath her feet and smelled the scent of dragons in the air, it felt like only yesterday that she had left Gaea behind. I have no right to be here…I don't belong here. But something inside of her tugged at her, as if telling her that she was wrong. She heaved a sigh before getting up out of the chair. Her eyes wandered absently towards the door on the other side of the room. She knew that through that door was Van's bedroom. Without even thinking, she began to walk towards it.
The room was getting dark in the waning sunlight. Van was lying, sleeping atop the bed. His breathing was slow, but regular. His expression was calm, frighteningly still. Hitomi made her way over to the side of the bed, sitting down in the chair. Slowly, she clasped his hand within hers.
Van…please get well soon. I want so much to be able to talk to you…She laid her head down on the bed, next to his arm. Her fingers caressed over his bandaged chest. She closed her eyes, remembering the words Millerna had spoken to her that afternoon. "You have to be gentle with Van… He's lost a lot of blood, and will most likely be disoriented when he wakes. You probably shouldn't startle him with your presence when he wakes up. The surprise might worsen his condition." She shook her head, closing her eyes. She knew that she shouldn't be there, in his room. There was always the chance of him waking up and finding her there. But she couldn't bring herself up to leave.
"Oh Van… there's so much I want to ask you." She trailed off, her head nodding down with fatigue. She let herself be lost within her thoughts again. She had been in Fanelia for a few days now, and still Van's condition had not improved. She squeezed her eyes shut, afraid to think what might happen if Van never woke up. Her mind invariably wandered back to that nagging question in her mind, did she really belong here? For three years, she had thought that her life was complete. Earth was her home; it was the place where she was born. How could she ever belong anywhere else? But now, sitting next to him, she could no longer keep her thoughts straight.
Suddenly, she was startled out of her trance as his fingers grasped hers firmly. She sat up, her eyes jerking open.
"Van…?" She whispered.
Slowly, his eyelids opened. His grasp became even firmer on her hand as he became aware of her presence.
"Who…" His voice was weak, barely above a whisper, "Who are you?" His eyes looked questioningly at her face. He squinted, trying to make out her features in the waning light.
"I…" She began to say. Suddenly, she cut herself off, remembering what Millerna had said. "I… am one of your handmaiden's, your Majesty. I was charged with watching over you until you awoke, sir."
One eyebrow shot up, as he tried to see her more clearly. Finally, he sighed, closing his eyes tiredly. "Oh…" He said, "I understand… I must have… dreamed it."
"Your Majesty?" She questioned. She slipped her hand out of his grasp and rose from the chair.
"Nothing." He responded, "I had expected someone else…" He paused, "How long have I been asleep?"
"For four days, sir." She responded, walking away from the bed. It was all she could do to keep from throwing herself into his arms.
"Four days…" He whispered to himself. Slowly, he raised his good arm to grasp his chest as if looking for something. Suddenly, he bolted up in his bed. With a yelp, he fell back down, wincing with pain.
"Your Majesty!" Hitomi rushed back to the bed, "You've been badly wounded. Don't try to rise…"
"Where is it?" His voice was frantic, his hand grasping for her arm.
"Where is what, sir?" She was surprised by how strong his grip was, "I don't understand what you're trying to ask…"
"My pendant." He responded, "There is a pendant that I always wear around my neck. Where did it go?"
She felt her heart rise to her throat. She swallowed, trying to keep herself from crying. "It is safe, sir." She finally responded, her voice quivering. Carefully, she reached over him and underneath his pillow. She retrieved the silvery pink pendant and showed it to him. "I put it under your pillow for safekeeping, sir."
Before she could pull back, he had grabbed her hand the pendant still clutched within her fingers. He stopped, holding her hand close to his chest. Squinting, he examined her features, again. He tugged at her arm, making her lean closer to him so that he could see her better.
"Your Majesty…" She tried to pull back but was too enchanted by his warm touch.
"What did you say your name was?" He asked, his voice growing urgent.
"I… I didn't, sir." She replied. She looked away, trying to hide her face from him. With a surprising amount of strength, he forced her to look at him. His eyes searched over her features, as if looking for something that wasn't there. Suddenly, his eyebrows shot up in recognition.
"Hitomi…?" He whispered her name. His expression was unsure, and his voice was quivering.
She closed her eyes, unsure of how to respond to him. She swallowed the lump that had arisen in her throat, before looking back at him. "Yes, your Majesty…"
His other hand had found its way to her cheek, and his fingers gently caressed the tears from her eyes. "I am dreaming… can it really be you?"
"It is me, Van." She finally replied, "I've come back to Gaea."
"I thought I heard your voice… when I was asleep… you were the one, calling to me."
"I couldn't stay on Earth, not knowing what was happening to you here on Gaea. I'm sorry, Van… I was so afraid for you… I was so afraid I would lose you." She was crying now, her tears falling from her eyes onto his chest.
Carefully, he began to sit up in the bed. This time, she helped him up. He winced painfully and clutched at his side. Finally, he leaned his head back against the backboard tiredly, shifting his body to make room for her. Hitomi sat down on the bed next to him, her eyes on the ground.
"Hitomi…"
She shivered. The way he said her name… it resounded within her. His voice had grown deeper in the past three years; and there was something in his tone that was unfamiliar to her. His voice was filled with a sense of longing… of desire. It sent chills up her back. She closed her eyes, afraid to look at him. She was afraid that she would open her eyes and find that she was imagining everything. She didn't want to be away from the feel of his hand spread over hers, or the touch of his breath on her cheek.
"Hitomi…" He said her name again, this time a little firmer. This time, it struck an even deeper chord. She couldn't resist. She opened her eyes, and found herself being lost within the gaze of his chocolate eyes. Did she really even know him any more? When she had left, he had been a boy. But now, he had grown into a man. It had been three years… how could things still be the same?
As if sensing her confusion, he cocked his head to one side. One of his eyebrows rose in inquisition, and he bit his lip jauntily. With his hair tousled and messy, he peered at her. Within that second, it seemed as of all the years lost had been gapped. There, Hitomi recognized that same rash, reckless, boy king that she had known.
"Van!" She cried out, her voice filled with pure joy. She threw her arms around him, pressing her body close to his. "It is you…"
He responded in turn, his arms finding a familiar comfort around her. He held her close.
"I've missed you, Van… I've missed you so much."
He didn't respond with words, he only caressed her head slowly. His fingers stroked through her hair. Finally, after a long pause, he broke the silence. "Welcome home, Hitomi."