Windflowers...
Chapter 5: Apple Blossoms and Ivory Combs
Version 4... yes... I've rewritten this chapter four times... my computer just doesn't want to save it or it crashes while I'm half way through... forgive me if it's crappy... I'm just sick and tired of rewriting it... _
Van closed the door silently behind him and sighed... his advisors had given him a hard time about his late arrival to the meeting or, more precisely, about the reasons why he had been late... Amused chuckles had greeted him when he entered the meeting hall, chuckles and comments on how he made his father proud, thoroughly embarrassing him... and they didn't know half the story...
He couldn't believe it himself but he had a daughter... a daughter that was four rotations old, a beautiful baby girl with raven hair and ruby eyes. An adorable, cheerful and trusting girl... just like her mother...
Hitomi...
His thoughts wandered to the young woman he had missed so much... not only had she come back into his life but had given him a family... just staring into her eyes made him scream at himself for letting her go all those years before... everything would have been much easier, Hitomi wouldn't have had to suffer alone because of him and he especially wouldn't have to explain to the people of Fanelia that they now had a four year old princess...
Would the people accept Hitomi as their queen? And, more importantly, would they accept Ran as the heir of Fanelia's throne? It didn't help that Ran was female... but until he had a male child they would have to accept her as the kings only heir... Hitomi was a descendant of the people from the Mystic Moon, that was common knowledge... but nobody knew she was a Draconian, and he hoped nobody would ever find out... too many problems... he was a Draconian himself and he didn't think that they would accept the royal family to be full-blooded Atlantians...
But Hitomi was too important... there was nothing anyone could do to make him change his mind. He was going to ask her to marry him and make her queen of Fanelia and all the consequences be damned... But only if she wanted to he reminded himself...
What if she said no?
*Don't be absurd, Van Fanel! Why would she refuse? She loves you, and she loves our daughter... she wouldn't do anything to cause her pain...*
Van smiled at the memory of Ran's stunned expression when he had told her he was her father... and how much happiness that "I would have asked mama to marry you anyway... I've always wanted a dad like you" and the smile that followed those words brought to him... he had just hugged the little girl to his chest while she cried... That was one of the moments in his life he would never forget... the bitterness of the past minutes had vanished in an instant as soon as Ran had thrown herself in his arms...
Being a father was nice, he decided.
But still, he had too many responsibilities as a King now... he needed to make sure that they all approved of his marriage... especially his advisors and the elders.
Walking down the corridor he gazed dreamily out of the windows that faced the palace gardens... They were in full bloom since the spring solstice had already been celebrated... Clouds of pale pink, white and yellow flowers decorated the lush trees of the gardens, their delicate colors a strong contrast with the lush green grass, whose tender stalks bent gently in the morning breeze. Crystal water flowed noisily in a small creek that crawled through the tall trees... it's rippling surface covered in fallen petals, the blossoms spiraling on the water, painting it with rainbows... the water tinged with silver when one of the small fish that populated the creek surfaced...
"You surprise me Lord Van"
Van whirled round, startled, his face an inscrutable mask when he realized who it was...
"I have been offering you Tareel's hand in marriage for the last three summers, your majesty, but you've always refused... and now, and now I find out you have a lover... how improper of a King to get caught with a common whore by his own maids..." Burnel smirked at Van's barely contained fury...
"The one you just addressed to as a 'common whore' Sir Burnel, is Hitomi Kanzaki... I presume you know what her role in the Great War was..."
"Oh... of course... your childhood sweetheart if I'm not mistaken..." another unpleasant smirk...
"Yes, my 'childhood sweetheart', who also happens to be the mother of my daughter..."
Burnel's smirk turned into a frown...
"Are you certain that you are the father of the child your majesty? This lady could be deceiving you to ensure her position as mother of Fanelia's heir... was that the reason you kept refusing Tareel?"
"Tareel is just a child... I wasn't refusing her. I was refusing your ambition Burnel"
Burnel shrugged the accusation off and continued...
"Tareel is old enough to bear your child Lord Van... a child whom we would be certain to be your rightful heir..."
"That's enough! I'm certain of the fact that Ran is my daughter... I trust Hitomi and I trust myself. Is that clear to you Burnel? I disapprove of this... this haggle! You would stoop as low as prostituting your own daughter... it's appalling. There will be no more of this! Understood?" Van's hand tightened on his sword, feeling the cold metal respond under his grip... he was tempted... too tempted.
Therefore he just turned away and left... ignoring Burnel's sarcastic answer... an answer that held a threatening meaning to his words... "I'll do whatever is best for Fanelia..."
Like anything Burnel ever did had some benefit for anyone but himself... the problem was that Sir Burnel had been one of his father's advisors and was trusted by all the other members of the royal council not to mention the elders all over the country.
Van sighed... this could be a problem.
He had his hands tied... could do nothing when this man appeared after the Great War bringing an unhappy looking Tareel with him and couldn't do anything now... but if he dared touch Hitomi or Ran there would be nothing stopping Van from murdering him. Absolutely nothing...
Poor Tareel... she never said anything about her mother... wondering who could marry a man with Burnel's personality, so cold and calculating, Van clenched his fists in anger...
*Damn*
Van realized that his feet had taken him to the gardens when he found himself stepping onto the damp grass... inhaling the sweet scent of the blossoms Van trudged silently towards his favorite spot... he had some thinking to do.
But when he reached the ancient apple tree he was rewarded with the most beautiful scene he had ever seen in his life...
Hitomi was sitting cross legged under a shower of apple blossoms, her mauve dress left her slender shoulders bare... her neck seemed paler than ever in contrast with the golden strands of her hair that were cascading down into her lap... the shadows were playing on her soft curves as the breeze gently ruffled the pale green leaves of the tree causing more blossom to spiral to the ground and into the creek that flowed next to her...
But the most amazing sight was the little girl that was sitting next to her, with a look of pure adoration on her tanned features. Ran was facing her mother, clothed in a pale yellow dress, closed on the front with a silken bow that she was tugging at... at the same time Hitomi was brushing the little girl's hair with a delicate ivory comb... the pearl color of the ornament was accentuated by Ran's raven hair. Van recognized that comb... it once belonged to his mother... he could remember every detail of it. The missing tooth that he had broken when he was young, the faded flowers painted on its surface... the flowers his mother couldn't name...
"Van!"
Van looked up and noticed the tenderness in Hitomi's eyes as she smiled at him and therefore smiled back...
"How are my girls doing today?"
"Papa!"
Ran flew towards her father and thew herself in his arms, giggling as he picked her up and sat her on his shoulder. The weight of the little girl felt so familiar to him that he sighed loudly... but then smiled when Ran's arms tightened round his neck...
"How did the meeting go papa? Was it boring?"
Van carefully sat down next to Hitomi and wrapped his free arm round her waist as he settled Ran in his lap... Ran giggled again.
"Nothing out of ordinary honey... meaning, yes it was very boring"
This time Ran laughed out loud and Hitomi smiled, resting her head on Van's shoulder...
"I'm jealous Lord Van... I leave for five minutes and there you are! Cuddling up to two beautiful girls..."
Van smirked at his long time playmate... Merle had grown a lot taller during the last five rotations, she now reached his nose which was a lot, since Hitomi forehead barely reached his shoulder... she had also let her hair fall out of the usual cut, now she had a thick strawberry colored braid reaching halfway down her back... but her eyes were still the same, bright blue cheerful orbs, shimmering with curiosity as she walked towards the happy family... he smirked again as he realized she still hadn't dropped the habit of wearing short dresses, much to every other lady in the castle's annoyance...
"Merle, auntie!"
Merle visibly tensed at being called auntie, but just smiled at Ran as she walked up to them...
"Come on Princess, I promised I'd take you to visit the castle didn't I?" with that she grabbed Ran's wrist and gently disentangled her from Van's lap...
"But... but..." Ran tugged, but Merle's grip didn't loosen...
"Leave mom and dad alone for a while... they have a lot to talk about..."
"But I want to talk to papa too!"
"Don't be stubborn brat!" the words were harsh but the tone was not... the brat was said in a very affectionate way as Merle dragged Ran away from the giggling couple...
"She hasn't changed one bit..." Hitomi's words were punctuated with a wistful smile...
"You haven't either..." Van answered as he tightened his hold round Hitomi's waist and buried his face in her hair...
"You have... I don't remember you being so forward the first time we met!" Hitomi giggled as Van nibbled at her earlobe, trailing kisses down to her bare shoulders...
"I thought you were in love with Allen at the time..."
"Well, you were wrong... we were both wrong..."
"I'm glad..."
And with that the couple fell into a comfortable silence, broken only by the sounds of the water and of the wind the blew between the tall trees of the garden, rustling the blossoms and creating something that resembled a snowfall...
Hitomi nestled in Van's lap as she wrapped herself in his warm cape, snuggling against his tanned shoulders... Van's hands were busy for he was twisting some pale blue flowers into a delicate garland... he was used to this sort of things... his brother had taught him when he was very young... before... before his life fell apart in the space of a couple of months...
His arms tightened round Hitomi... crushing her to his chest...
"Van?" she asked, surprised.
"Don't you ever leave me, Hitomi... please... I wouldn't bear to live another day without you by my side... please"
Those words were whispered in her ear as she pulled herself up, wrapping her arms round his neck, hugging him close wishing to comfort his wounded soul... too much pain. He had had to live with too much grief, too many responsibilities...
"I'm not going anywhere Van..." she murmured into his lips as she kissed him softly, staring into his eyes to seal her promise as their lips met.
Van pulled back too soon, but anything shorter than an eternity wouldn't have been enough for Hitomi...
"Hitomi... I... I don't have any ring to give to you... nothing would be able to represent how important you are to me... but... would you... would you be my queen?" those words were uttered from the depths of his soul, a soul that was completely sincere as his eyes burned into hers...
Tears started trickling down Hitomi's cheeks as she nodded, smiling... finally, she burst out crying when Van rested the fragile garland on her head, caressing her golden hair in the process... stroking her cheek he caught her lips in another kiss...
A kiss she gleefully deepened as his fingers left her cheek to trail down her dress, finally resting at the base of her spine crushing her to him...
As he moaned her name softly into her mouth, Hitomi realized she had finally found the eternity she sought...
~to be continued~
Yay! Sorry it took so long to post but my computer is such an idiot! It deleted all this fic twice and crashed the third time... so this is Windflowers, chap 5 version 4 ... _ I wanted to write something more but rewriting this chapter out for the fourth time drained all my energy... ::sigh::
neway! ^_^
Hope you enjoyed, please review... I love you guys! *_*
Disclaimer: Esca does not belong to me: Ran, Tareel and Burnel do though... so no stealing onegai shimasu! ^_^
luv
Koneko Kamiya
P.S.
Yes, there will be a twist in the plot in the next few chapters... Life is not just fluffy romance so stay tuned! ^_~
