Princess Astrid of the Ispano Clan arrived in Fanelia's capital city early in the morning. She could not believe that she had been rejected as future queen of Fanelia, even though the clan had warned her. According to their prophecies, Van's only love was to come back, to save Gaea from harm a second time. All of that was so "blah" and why did she have to be chosen for this mission? After all, she was a princess, and didn't have to worry about this, but no, the elder of the clan said she must be the one to do this. Astrid sighed and stepped out of the carriage. A Fanelian escort was waiting for her, Gaddes being the first person that greeted her.
"Welcome to Fanelia Princess Astrid," he bowed courteously.
"Hello, I am glad to be here. I'm sorry for my early arrival, but I was on a trip to Fanelia, to discuss some matters with King Van. I hope he does not mind that I will be staying for the wedding." she said.
"Not at all. The king welcomes all who wish to attend." Gaddes assured her.
"Very well. I trust you will take me to the palace?" she asked.
"Yes, milady."
Gaddes led her to the castle. He didn't like her arrival one bit. He knew she was one of the matches the council had selected for Van, and he also knew her to be very inquisitive and proud. This very beautiful lady was not so beautiful once you got to know her. However, she was a princess, thus a pretty good match as he saw it. He doubted her intentions, but there was nothing he could do. Just by the way she talked to him Gaddes resented her. He sighed and hoped she wouldn't cause any trouble for Hitomi and Van. Speaking of which, they met with Hitomi, coming from one of her sword training sessions. (Of course none of them knew that)
"Good morning, milady," Gaddes greeted.
"Hello Gaddes, good morning Princess," Hitomi responded guessing by Astrid's clothes that she was indeed a princess.
"And you would be...?" Astrid snapped.
"I'm Hitomi Kanzaki." Hitomi said.
"Well, I'm Princess Astrid of the Ispano Clan, nice to meet you." she puffed.
"Oh, then I shall see you at breakfast?"
"Yes, I should think so." Astrid huffed.
"Very well, we eat here in half an hour," Hitomi smiled and left.
"Who was that servant girl?" Princess Astrid asked Gaddes.
"That was no servant girl milady, that was the future queen of Fanelia." Gaddes chuckled.
"What an odd woman." Astrid remarked.
"Yeah, you could even say she's out of this world," Gaddes laughed and led Astrid to her chambers.
Hitomi left Gaddes and Princess Astrid to carry on, as she headed for her room. She just came back from a tough training session and her bones were aching. It had been 5 days since she came to Gaea. In two days she will finally be Van's wife. Hitomi sank in her bath and pondered upon her accomplishments on Gaea. She managed to learn how to sword fight, although she knew she wasn't a very good fighter. Balgus never encouraged her and although she strove for perfection it seemed like she could never reach it. It was a bit demoralising, considering she only got 5 hours of sleep every night. All that hard work, and not a word of encouragement. Well, she needed to know how to defend herself mostly. She didn't need to be perfect at it. No one would expect that in only a week. After all, she hated fighting. Back on Earth, she could never stand it when her friends fought. Back on Earth.... Hitomi hoped that everything was alright. Yukari would have probably shown her letter to her mom and little bro. They would understand. No one would make a big deal over her disappearance. They all knew how sad she had been the last eight years.
Hitomi got dressed and went down to breakfast. As usual, she was late. Everyone was already eating.
"Come on Hitomi, dig in," Merle invited her.
"Thanks Merle, I will. I'm quite hungry today. Hey Van," Hitomi said and gave him a little kiss.
"Hey, have you met Princess Astrid?" he asked.
"Yes, I saw her this morning. Are you well princess?"
"Yes, quite well," Astrid told her.
Hitomi yawned. She was so tired.
"Are you ok?" Van asked.
"Yeah, just a little tired," Hitomi told him.
"I hope you're not too tired. I was hoping maybe you could show Princess Astrid around." Van suggested.
"Sure, I'd love to, unless she wants someone else as a guide."
"No, that's quite all right." Astrid said coolly.
The rest of the meal continued in silence. Hitomi just concentrated on her food. She needed two more days to complete her training. Then the war could begin. She was ready. Oh, all she wanted to do is sleep, but she had to show the princess around. Hitomi thought something was wrong in the front she was putting up. It was like a piece was missing, but she couldn't identify what. This Princess did not look right to her. She felt that there was something more to the story she brought. On her way to complete a business deal with Van, now so near his wedding. Hitomi didn't want to admit it, but she didn't like the way that princess looked and talked to Van. It was like she was trying to compete with her in a way. Too bad! Hitomi knew Van loved her and only her. She just made a mental note to herself to keep a watch on the princess. Something just didn't feel right about her.
That night, Hitomi went to bed extra early. She had a long and demanding sword session ahead and Princess Astrid wore her out like a rug. She could not believe a woman could have that much energy when it came to shopping. Hitomi guessed that if Astrid could, she would have brought the whole market. Hitomi still didn't like her much better. There was still something false about her. With those thoughts Hitomi fell asleep and woke up at 3 a.m., right when she was supposed to start her training session.
Hitomi got dressed quickly, and made her way quietly thorough the corridors. Balgus didn't like it when she was late. She crept around the balcony, and headed to the forest - where her training was going on.
"So, the future queen has a skeleton in her closet," Princess Astrid whispered menacingly. "I wonder what King Van would say when he finds out about her nocturnal trip. Hmm… we're just going to have to see now." Like a hawk, Astrid continued watching Hitomi creep in the dark.