Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne....

Dedication: To all those who love me and my stories... I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! Wait! -_-;;; Don't run away...

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~Chapter 11~

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~It begins~

Hitomi flinched lightly as she sat on the bed hunched over hugging one of Van's pillows to her chest, resting her chin on. She could smell him all over the pillow, even in the room him musky field scent floated through the air like another presence.

Van examined Hitomi's bare back that was in front of him. She had just gotten out of the bathtub and Van insisted on checking her for any wounds that would be critical. He leaned forward, his mouth only inches away from her bare neck that had a few wisps of light blonde hair feathering it from the rest of the hair that was piled up on top of her head.

Hitomi shivered lightly as Van's warm breath fanned the nape of her neck. She hugged the pillow tighter and closed her eyes, suddenly wishing that she had been the one who had been asked to marry Van instead of Gabriella.

But Gabriella was nowhere to be found in the castle. She had just vanished in thin air, without leaving a trace.

Van reached down into the large bowl sitting on the bed and grasped the cloth that was sitting in the warm water. He twisted it around and around, wringing out the excess water before pressing it to Hitomi's scraps and bruises.

Hitomi sneezed lightly and then sighed in relief as she felt the cool breeze from the open balcony doors caress her heat flushed skin. For some strange reason she wanted to be free of the nightgown.

Van slipped a finger underneath the left side of the nightgown and pulled it down slightly so he could clean her other scraps and bruises. He watched Hitomi's face from an angle as he cleaned her wounds, being gentle with her.

" Hey Hitomi...? "

" Yeah, Van? "

" What happened? I mean... why'd you leave? ", he asked as his bare fingers were free of his gloved for once in his life and he placed them at the base of her neck and began to gently massage the skin.

Hitomi sighed and then groaned quietly. How that felt so good, " I did't leave, Van... "

" Then what happened? "

Hitomi pursed her lips as she tried to remember that night when the five thugs came into her room and took her away.

" I was taken from my room in the middle of the night.... "

Van frowned and stopped cleaning her wounds to stare at the back of her head, " Taken.. in the middle of the night? ", he echoed.

Hitomi nodded and reached up to scratch her head, " Yes... they drugged me and took me from the castle, leaving me in some dark small room that was filled with rotting bodies... ", she shivered at the memory.

" I'm sorry... ", Van whispered as he began to clean her wounds again.

" Whatever for, Van? ", Hitomi voiced her thoughts as she turned around on the bed to face him.

Van searched her face as she turned to face him. He dropped his hand into his lap and sighed heavily, " I was... I wasn't there to protect you.. ", he murmured lightly, bringing his eyes downcast in shame.

Hitomi cocked her head to the side, " Oh, Van... it's alright. You don't have to feel bad about not being there for me... I'm fine now, aren't I? "

Van slowly nodded his head and then brought his eyes up to meet hers, " Yes, but... still. You could be dead now, Hitomi... and it would've been all my fault. I would've l-lost you... "

Hitomi blinked, " V-van... you can never loose me. I'm a keepsake... ", she replied, chuckling at her lame joke as she slowly stood up from the bed.

Van suddenly reached out and grasped her wrist lightly. Hitomi jerked her head to look down at him in surprise, " Van... what are you doing? ", she whispered lightly while staring deep into his eyes.

Van tugged on her hand and she ended up sitting back down on the bed. Hitomi looked at him and watched him as he watched her. Van slowly brought Hitomi's hand to his lips, watching her for a reaction as his soft hungry lips found her fingertips. Hitomi stared at him, her heart slightly racing in fear for how far they could go and in happiness for he was kissing her, even though it wasn't the first time since she had arrived.

" V-van... please do-- ", Hitomi began, but Van reached out with his other hand and placed his fingers to her lips.

" Hitomi... please... ", Van begged her as slowly and silently slipped an arm around her small waist and pulled her near, her fingertips still being stroked with his lips that felt so good.

Hitomi swallowed and slowly lifted her hands up to cup his face gently, her thumbs stroking his cheeks delicately as he lowered his face to hers, watching her watch him. Van smiled gently and then went serious as he pressed his lips to hers slowly and softly at first as if afraid of hurting her anymore then she hurt.

Hitomi's hands slid from his face and she linked her arms around his neck, pulling him down onto her as she laid down on the bed, feeling his gentle, callused fingers caressing her sides, stroking her gently. Van slowly tore his lips from Hitomi's and gently pressed kisses to her neck, dragging his lips to kiss the base of her neck just where the collarbone met.

" V-van... ", Hitomi whispered, causing him to bring his head up and look at her.

" What's wrong? Did you not... want to... ", Van asked as he searched her face slowly.

Hitomi's lips spread slightly and she chuckled as she lifted her hands up to brush aside his bangs that got into his eyes again. She shook her head slowly, watching him watch her.

" N-no... it's not that, Van.... "

Van frowned, " Then what is it, Hitomi? "

" It's just that I... I don't know how to feel about you... "

Van blinked, " What do you mean? Are you confused? "

Hitomi smiled and shook her head as she grabbed his hand and placed it over her heart, " No... I'm not confused at all, Van... I just don't know if it's love that I feel for you. I believe that I've fallen head over heels for you and that there's nothing you can do to stop it.... ", she whispered, feeling tears brim her eyes.

Van let out a light sigh as he lowered his face to hers, his nose touching hers, " I love you too, Hitomi Kanzaki... I've always loved you.... ", he whispered to her softly, tenderly before pressing his lips to hers.

Hitomi couldn't help but let out a choked sob as she pressed her lips to Van's, kissing him with all her love and all her might. She tightened her arms around his neck and then pulled away to bury her face into his neck, inhaling the scent of the fields that he carried while she cried softly.

Van wrapped his arms around her and held her as he flipped onto his back, placing her on top while he let her cry away all her pain into his shoulder. He gently rubbed her bare back, stroked her hair, whispered soft, sweet words into her ear.

" It's going to be alright, Hitomi... nothing's going to happen to you again, alright? Nothing. I won't let anything happen to you... even if it costs me my own life... ", Van whispered softly as he closed his eyes and held her...

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" Mommy isn't coming home... is she, nana? ", Tony asked as he poked at his cheerios that were beginning to grow soggy in the small Big Bird bowl.

Hitomi's mother looked up from her crossword and sighed lightly as she shook her head, " Now, Tony.... we've been over this a million times. Mommy's going to come home, alright? Mommy hasn't forgotten about you.... she'll be back... ", she assured the small child.

" I want mommy!! ", Tony shouted as he grabbed his bowl and threw it onto the ground, cheerios and milk spilling everywhere.

Hitomi's mother sighed in frustration and then stood up from the table to go grab a cloth and a mop, " Tony... get down from the table and go to the bedroom... "

Tony pouted and tears sprang to his little green eyes, " I want my m-mommy... I don't want to s-stay here anymore... I wanna be with my mommy!! ", he shouted as he jumped down from his chair and ran off into the livingroom.

Hitomi's mother sighed heavily and raked a hand through her brown hair that was graying, " I'm never going to learn am I, Hitomi? ", she asked the air as she got down on her knees and began to pick up soggy cheerios. "I'm never going to understand why you're always leaving... who keeps calling? "

In the livingroom, Tony eyed the front door and then ran into the playroom to go grab his teddybear. With "Beary" clutched tightly in left hand, and "Blankey" the blanket clutched in the right, Tony silently made his way to the door and managed to pull it open.

Tony watched people walk by and wave at him. A smile spread his small pink lips and he took a step forward, out onto the front step of the Kanzaki residence. He then walked forward, making sure to grab onto the low railing as he climbed down the small flight of stairs. He stopped at the edge of the street and watched for cars.

" Look both ways... that's what mommy always use to say... ", Tony mumbled as he looked both ways and then ran across the street, clutching "Beary" close to his chest.

As soon as Tony was safe on the other side of the road, he took one final glance at his grandmother's house before taking off into the park to find the place where his mother was taken from him...

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Gabriella frowned lightly as she hugged the robe tighter to her body. She glanced around before heading across the small road towards the small house on the other side. She and Serge had found their usual hideout at the edge of Fanelia, just in the perfect spot where they could watch the castle closely.

Gabriella was just about to enter the house when something thin and bright suddenly dropped from the sky and struck the ground, lingering around for just a few more minutes before sliding back up into the air above. She blinked and then frowned as she ditched the going into the house idea and decided to check out what had just happened.

As soon as Gabriella made it to the spot where the light appeared, she found something small hidden within the tall grass of the fields. She bent down and pushed aside to the grass to reveal to her a small child clutching a strange looking thing and a blanket...

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Merler gasped outloud as she spotted the column of light that had dropped from the sky. She jumped off the roof of the windmill and ran across the field on all fours towards the castle to report what she had just witnessed. As soon as she arrived, she found Van sitting in his room with Hitomi by his side.

" What's wrong, Hitomi? ", Merle asked as she walked into the room casually, eyeing the red, puff eyes and trembling chin.

Hitomi looked up at the catgirl and then shook her head as she buried her face into Van's shoulder, the arm her had around her waist tightening, bringing her closer to him as he looked at Merle.

" What is it? Can't you see that we're discussing something? "

Merle shrugged and then sat down on the floor, cross legged in front of them, " You won't believe what I just saw while I was out on the windmill... ", she told them, her attention on Hitomi's face the whole time.

Hitomi lifted her head and looked at the catgirl, " What'd you see? A flying saucer? ", she joked, wiping away some tears that had managed to slip past her lashes.

Merle and Van both looked at her, blinking and frowning deeply. Hitomi blinked and caught them staring at her, "What?! What'd I say? ", she asked Van, looking at the both of them.

Merle shook her head and held up a hand as Van went to respond, " Forget about it... we'll ask again later. You wanna know what I found? Huh? Huh? Huh? "

Hitomi and Van both nodded, " Yeah... sure... ", Hitomi replied, leaning her head over to rest it against Van's arm.

Merle suddenly frowned and scratched her chin, " Well... while I was out on the windmill, I saw a thin column of light drop down from the sky. I didn't go to see who arrived. Instead, I came here to inform you two first about it... "

Van felt Hitomi go tense in his arms and he looked at the side of her face, " What is it? What's wrong, Hitomi? ", he asked as he watched her slowly turn her head around to face him.

Hitomi swallowed thickly, " I... I have a bad feeling about this, Van... I think I know who's come to Gaia... ", she whispered in a trembling voice as she brought her hands to her head.

Van knitted his brows together and Merle leaned forward to look at Hitomi's distraught expression, " Who, Hitomi? Who? ", Van asked lightly.

Hitomi slowly turned her head to face Van, " T-tony... my baby... I know it's him. Van... we have to hurry... ", she nearly shouted as she jumped off the bed and made her way across the room towards the door...

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" Allen.... what do you think it was? ", Millerna asked as she gently rubbed Leon's back while walking around the room from the window to settle her eyes on her husband who stared out the window, a strange look in his deep blue eyes.

Allen blinked and looked at Millerna and then at Leon's deep blue eyes that watched him intently, " Hey there, little guy... ", he cooed to the baby, extracting a small toothless smile from the boy. " I don't know who or what it was... but whatever we do, I'd better go with Van and Hitomi to where they're headed... and if I'm right, they're headed towards the place where that light landed."

Millerna nodded and then gently went over to the cradle to place the baby into it, handing a small stuffed animal. She turned back around to find Allen watching her.

" What's wrong now, Allen? ", she asked as she walked up to him slowly.

Allen looked at her and shook his head, " Nothing... I'm just going to go out and see what happened. Alright? "

Millerna nodded her head slowly, " Alright... "

Allen reached out to gently trace her cheekbone as he bent over to kiss her lips softly, " I'll be fine... don't worry about me. I'll survive... ", he whispered as he kissed her once more before leaving the room, leaving Millerna to watch after him, a hand held above her chest as she waved slowly....

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Hitomi bit her lip hard and prayed silently in her head, ' Please don't let it be my baby.. please don't let Tony have come.. oh please, oh please... '

Van wrapped his arm around her waist tighter and held her lose, " Don't worry, Hitomi... it's going to be alright... we're going there to see if he's there or not... ", he whispered into her ear.

Hitomi frowned, " I hope you're right, Van... I hope you're right... ", she whispered back as she wrapped an arm around his arm that was around her waist.

" Van!! Hitomi!! "

Van stopped the horse and turned it around to see who called them and found Allen riding towards them quickly, his long blonde hair flying out behind him as he rode.

" Allen! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Millerna? ", Van asked as he frowned.

Allen shook his head, " No... it's alright, Van... do you have any clue as to who came? ", he asked as he turned his attention to Hitomi.

Hitomi brought her eyes up to meet his as she slowly nodded, " I'm pretty sure it was Tony... ", she replied softly.

Van licked his lips and then turned the horse around again so that they could continue riding towards the West side of Fanelia, just till the edge where Merle had explained to them about seeing the light. Hitomi leaned back into Van's strong chest and closed her eyes, silently saying the words over and over to herself.

' It's not Tony... it's not Tony... it's not Tony... it's not Tony... '

Allen's horse fell in step beside Van's and he shot a sidelong glance at Hitomi's face and then brought his eyes up to meet Van's troubled ones.

' What's wrong, Van? ', Allen mouthed silently.

Van just shook his head and brought his gaze from Allens to the fields ahead of them, ' I wonder where that witch went... where could she have gone? There's no place left in Fanelia or even Gaea for her to hide in or turn to... so, then where?! ', he asked himself.

Hitomi scratched her head lightly and then sighed heavily. Allen frowned and Van remained silent. All Hitomi could picture was the small frightened little face streaked with tears, small pink lips trembling as he sat in the middle of nowhere clutching his blanket and bear tightly, calling for her over and over...

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" You're not my mommy... I want my mommy!! ", Tony shouted into the Gabriella's face as he tried to lash out at her with his blanket.

Gabriella snorted, shot out a hand and grabbed the blanket from him, riping it from his small hands and tossing it into the blazing fire behind her in the fireplace. She narrowed her eyes and stared at the small child sitting on the floor.

" Listen here, kid! ", she spat in his face. " I don't have time for games and I don't have time to waste on pathetic little brats like you. Now... tell me, who is your mother! What does she look like... what's her name... ", she demanded as she searched the Sea-green eyes.

Tony jutted out his chin defiantly and glared back at the lady, " You're a meany! Mommy's not going to be happy about this when she hears about what you did to Mister Blankey.... ", he retorted.

" Such a fiesty little one.... where'd you learn how to speak like that? For your age.... ", Gabriella muttered as she raked a hand through her hair, staring at the child as he stared back at her.

Tony now frowned, " It don't matter who taught me to speak... who else?! My mommy.... "

Gabriella rolled her eyes and stood up from her crouching position. She turned to find Serge standing in the doorway, his hands clasped in front of his robes as he stared at the child, his eyes ablaze with a weird gleam of some sort.

" Serge? Is something the matter? ", Gabriella asked softly as she stepped towards him and watched him.

Serge blinked, tearing his gaze from the boy on the floor to look at Gabriella's worried face, " I'm alright, Highness... don't worry. I'm just starting to get tired... would you mind if I went to lay down for a while? "

Gabriella smiled kindly and nodded, " Of course, Serge... go right ahead. I'm going to sit here and wonder about what to do with the little runt... ", she replied softly as she went to sit down in a rocking chair beside the fire, her eyes straying on Tony the whole time.

" You have strange eyes, boy... you mother has the same ones, I suppose... ", Gabriella muttered as she watched Tony stand up, arms crossed over his chest as he backed away from her to climb onto the small cot in the corner.

" I-it doesn't matter... ", Tony whispered. " You're a bad lady... you mean to kill mommy.... "

Gabriella quirked an eyebrow, " Rather interesting... how do you know such things? ", she asked as she leaned forward in her chair.

' He knows about you because he is the one... '

, someone whispered to her in the back of her mind.

" I don't know... you just feel wrong... ", Tony replied, whispering as he brought his knees to his chin and wrapped his arms around them, pulling them against his chest for assurance.

Gabriella let out a light growl as she stood up from her chair to walk over to the bed and sit down on the edge. She outstretched a hand to the small boy and sneered as he tried to back away, but couldn't for he was already pressed up against the wall.

" Go away!! ", Tony shouted as he suddenly brought his hands up to cover his ears, his eyes suddenly wide and frantic as they darted back and forth, searching the room instead of Gabriella's face that was set in a mask of confusion as she watched the child.

" What's wrong with you? ", she asked as she crawled onto the bed now, slowly making her way towards him.

Tony closed his eyes and then opened them to find everything gone. The fireplace that lit the small room, the scary lady's face that was almost in front of his, everything. He was surrounded in complete darkness before he could call out to anyone for help.

There was a flash of light and he spotted someone walking away from him, the small baby blue sundress bellowing out behind her as she walked away, a single, fluffy, stark white feather in hand. Tony felt his heart soar with happiness as he giggled and began to run towards the figure.

" Mommy! Mommy! You came back... you came back!! ", he cried with happiness as he continued to run after her, his lungs suddenly burning as he began to slow down quickly, losing sight of his mother.

Tony stopped and bent over, placing his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. He brought his head up and watched as his mother stopped and then slowly turned around to face him, her hair whipping around with the sudden slow movement.

Tony couldn't help but sudden freeze. She was all there, but... where was her face? Where was the smile that he loved to see every morning as he jumped on her stomach to make him breakfast? He shook his head hard and then tried to back away from her as she began to make her way to him slowly, her hand outstretched, her face completely blank, gone, capute.

" M-mommy... ", Tony whispered as he took a step back and felt himself falling as the grouynd beneath him rumbled to life and then gave out on him.

A loud cry escaped his lips as he outstretched a hand to the woman standing above him just watching him, a smirk defined greatly on her blank face as he fell into the blackness below that would swallow him up and never give him back, never allow him to see the light again.

Gabriella blinked and watched as the child toppled over on the bed, his head coming to rest on the pillow, his sea-green eyes wide and now a pale sickly green as they stared ahead at nothing in particular. She knitted her brows together and then leaned over to wave a hand in front of his face.

Nothing happened.

" Hey! Hey, kid... you alright? ", Gabriella asked as she reached out to grab his small shoulders and give him a shake or two, his head snapping back and forth like a ragdoll.

Tony blinked and then looked up into Gabriella's face to find her staring at him, a worried look on her face. He blinked another few times before throwing his arms around her neck and then burying his face into her shoulder, crying softly.

Gabriella blinked. She was completely surprised. What the heck was wrong with this kid anyway? Why was he acting so strange? She shook her head and then slowly found herself wrapping her arms around his small body, holding him close as she rocked him back and forth, stroking his soft, silky black hair gently, whispering soft words into his ear.

" I'm scared... mommy... ", Tony whispered into Gabriella's ear before a fresh batch of tears came to his eyes...

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{Author's Note: Omg!! What's wrong with Tony? Why's he calling Gabriella, the witch who wants to kill Hitomi, his mother?! What's gotten into the kid?! What's Hitomi going to do when she finds out her son's missing and that Gabriella has him? Will she go on a killer rampage? killing everything and everyone that gets her way of getting her baby back? What will Van do? Find out next time in Forgotten Love.... }