Hitomi woke up with a sick feeling in her stomach. It was barely dawn, and no one else was up. She rushed to the bathroom. There, Hitomi violently emptied the contents of her stomach. After the ordeal she sat back and wiped her mouth. No, she couldn't be pregnant. It was just impossible. It must have been something she ate. Hitomi got up and quietly made her way to the alleged kitchen. She poured herself a glass of water and drank it slowly. The sickness in her stomach ameliorated a little bit, but it still lingered about. Hitomi closed her eyes. She wasn't pregnant. There couldn't have been a worse time for this than now. It was just something she ate.
"No matter how much you keep denying it, it will still be there," she heard a raspy voice behind her.
Hitomi jumped. "Oh, it's you," she exclaimed eyeing the weird woman that came on board with Celena.
"Yes, it's me. You must be Queen Hitomi of Fanelia." the woman stated.
"That's me. You are...."
"Eunice. I'm a Priestess with the High Order," the woman said.
"The High Order?" Hitomi asked confused.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot you're not from around here. The High Order is just the guardian of ancient Gaean secrets."
"How do you know about me? And how are you helping Celena?" Hitomi asked.
"Well, we know everything. After all, we do have the power of sorcery. As for me helping Celena, I can't do that. She must help herself." the woman smiled.
"Hmm, there is something missing in Celena." Hitomi whispered.
"So you can see it too!" the woman exclaimed surprised.
"See what?" Hitomi asked.
"Her aura. The only thing that can indicate Celena is not whole." Eunice told her.
"Well, I just see her surrounded by this faint yellow glow," Hitomi confessed.
Her stomach shot with sudden pain. Hitomi put her hand on it. She could feel the sick feeling returning.
"Don't worry. It will go away after the first week." the priestess told her compassionately.
"Go what?" Hitomi asked playing dumb.
"Don't be silly girl, your aura is golden. This is a sure-fire sign that you are pregnant. Only pregnant women can give off that aura."
"No, I can't be." Hitomi said shaking her head in denial.
"Well, no matter how much you deny this, it's still going to be there."
"Damn it!" Hitomi said upset. "I will not bring children into a world full of chaos and destruction."
"You can change all that, before your children are born." the woman told her.
"How? What does Zaibach want from us? How can I stop it?" Hitomi asked.
"The answer will come to you. All you need to do is accept it. You have the answer" Eunice smiled.
"I wish I knew where to go from here." Hitomi sighed.
"Just ask your pendant. It will lead you," Eunice told her smiling faintly.
Hitomi looked at the weird middle-aged woman in front of her. With her golden brown hair, and somewhat wrinkled features, as well as her black robe, she looked very eerie. Almost like she was not from Gaea. How could she have possibly known of the powers her pendant possessed? There was something uncanny about the way she seemed to know everything. Maybe she did posses powers of sorcery. Hitomi decided to give her pendant a try. She closed her eyes and focused. The pendant started glowing, and it swung to the left. It showed Hitomi their next destination. It was Freid. There, they would form a council and try to put a stop to the destruction Zaibach was causing.
Eunice was watching Hitomi. All of a sudden, her golden aura flamed. It turned bright red. "She much stronger than I thought." Eunice thought. "Maybe she is the one we've been waiting for. Yes, she truly is the match for the White Dragon. Together, they will finally finish the deed they began."
"Hitomi, there you are?" Merle asked sleepily.
Hitomi broke her concentration.
"Merle!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing up? It's still early morning." Hitomi asked.
"Well, I felt you get up, and when you didn't come back I got worried." Merle confessed.
"I was just having a talk here with Priestess Eunice." Hitomi told her.
"You're a priestess of the High Order aren't you?" Merle asked recognising her clothes.
"Very keen eye cat-woman," Eunice said slowly.
"My name is Merle," Merle said a little infuriated. She knew she was a cat-woman, yet she didn't like it when others called her that.
"Hello everyone," Allen said coming out of nowhere. "We set a course for Freid. We're going to be there before nine o'clock."
"Hi Allen," Merle said.
"Hi Merle. I see everyone is up." Allen observed.
"How is Celena?" Hitomi asked.
"She's fine. She taking care of some things below deck." Allen responded.
"Allen, I told you to go easy on your sister. She's a lady after all," Merle told him acting mad.
"She insisted upon it," Allen defended himself.
"I hope Van got to Freid all right," Hitomi muttered to herself.
"Don't worry. Van can take care of himself. He's a good fighter." Allen told her.
"I know that, I just hope he made it on time." Hitomi continued.
"You'll see him soon enough." Merle told her. "Sheesh, it's like you can't stay without him for a little while." she said grinning knowingly.
Hitomi was silent. She put her hand on her stomach. She had managed to last eight years without Van. It was just that she needed him with her here right now. So much had happened to her in the last week, that she felt the need for Van to be there. He was her pillar of strength, especially now.
"Hello everybody. Got room for one more?" Astrid asked coming in the kitchen.
"Yes, come in Princess," Allen invited.
They were all enjoying merry stories, when Hitomi felt the sick feeling come over her again. She excused herself and went to the bathroom. Again she emptied the contents of her empty stomach. Hitomi felt a little better after the ordeal. "I guess all things come with a price." She thought.
"Are you ok Hitomi?" Allen asked when she came out of the bathroom.
"Yeah, just fine Allen," Hitomi smiled. "Why?"
"Well, you just seemed pale when you left the table. I thought you might be feeling airsick."
"No, I'm feeling fine. After all, I flew with this ship eight years ago." Hitomi argued.
"Well, I just wanted to check on you. We didn't get a chance to talk Hitomi, but god, you've changed so much," Allen whispered.
"Thank you. I hope it was for the best. How have you been Allen?" Hitomi asked.
"I've been fine, but all these years, I missed you Hitomi. Being a knight is just not enough." he told her.
"Don't worry Allen. You'll find somebody. I'm glad that you're fine and got your sister back."
"Yeah, although there's something been missing about Celena ever since she came back from that sorcerer."
"She just needs some time Allen. Don't worry. Things will be fine." Hitomi assured him.
"Brother, there you are," Hitomi heard Celena's faint voice.
"Celena. Are you done underneath?" Allen asked.
"Yes. Hello Lady Hitomi." Celena greeted.
"How are you Celena?" Hitomi asked.
"I'm fine. We should be reaching Freid in a half an hour. I made some adjustments to the engines." Celena briefed them.
"My sister is good with repairing this ship," Allen said proudly hugging his sister.
A half an hour later, they were arriving in Fried. Prince Chid and Van were waiting for them.
"Van!" Hitomi exclaimed and jumped down from the ship. She ran to him and gave him a hug.
"Hitomi, you're finally here," he exclaimed.
"How is Dryden? Did you arrive on time?" Hitomi asked.
"Yes, we did. Millerna is taking care of him. He's in a critical condition, but Millerna says he will be fine." Van told her.
"I'm glad. Did you start the council yet?" Hitomi asked.
"How did you know about that?" Van asked surprised.
"My pendant showed me. There's more I have to tell you." Hitomi said.
"Well, can it wait? I need to discuss pressing matters with Allen and Gaddes." Van told her.
"Sure. Hello Prince Chid." Hitomi greeted him.
"Lady Hitomi. It's a pleasure to have you here." Chid said.
Hitomi bowed slightly. She left Van, Allen and Gaddes get to the council. An action needed to be taken immediately. Zaibach had gone far enough.
"I'm going to go see Millerna now." She told Van and left.
"Hitomi! Wait up! I want to come with you!" Merle called after her.
Hitomi waited for Merle, and together they went to see Millerna. They found her in the infirmary, nursing Dryden.
"Millerna! There you are!" Merle jumped excitedly in the queen's arms.
"Hi Merle! Hello Hitomi," Millerna said wearily. You could see the bags of sleeplessness under her eyes.
"Millerna! How is Dryden," Hitomi asked.
"He's fine right now. It's going to take him a long time to recover though." She said slowly.
"You look tired. Why don't we watch him for you?" Hitomi offered.
"No, that's ok. I need to be here. Something could go wrong any second." Millerna shook her head.
"You can't live like this. Go get something to eat, and sleep for a few hours. I can see you haven't slept in quite a while." Merle jumped in.
"I promise you we'll call you if something happens." Hitomi reassured her.
Millerna finally gave in and left to get some sleep.
"Poor girl," Merle said.
"Yeah. She should be able to get some sleep, now before the council announces its decision." Hitomi told her.
"Council? What council?" Merle asked confused.
"The countries that are left undamaged have decided to form a war council against Zaibach. The destruction must be stopped." Hitomi briefed her.
"Oh, I see," Merle said enlightened.
Hitomi approached Dryden's bed. His breathing was raspy and irregular. Hitomi kneeled down, and took his hand in hers. She could feel his pain. He was ready to stop fighting.
"Dryden! Don't give up. For Millerna and your daughter. Fight Dryden! Fight!" Hitomi whispered.
"You know, I never get tired of watching you," Merle said. "You're always so weird."
"Come on Dryden." Hitomi said. Her pendant began to glow. "You mustn't give up. I'm here with you. Fight!"
"Hitomi!" Merle yelled when he saw her engulfed in the light of the pendant. The cat-woman jumped and shook Hitomi.
"Merle! You shouldn't have done that!" Hitomi explained after she got Merle off her.
"You scared me. I thought you were going back to the Phantom Moon!" Merle told her.
"No, I was just healing Dryden." Hitomi told her.
"Lord Van would have never forgave me if I lost you." Merle continued as if never hearing her.
"I wasn't going to leave. I'm never leaving. My place is beside Van." Hitomi told her. "All I was doing, was healing Dryden."
"Can you do that?" Merle asked.
"Well, I don't know. I... I just felt how I was replenishing Dryden's internal energy. It's ok. He'll be fine now." Hitomi said.
"Good. I wouldn't want you giving your life away."
Silence fell over the room. Merle was off daydreaming, and Hitomi just stood there thinking. She had to tell Van that she was pregnant. This wasn't a good time though. They must get the war council going. The sooner they stopped Zaibach, the more time they had to rebuild Fanelia. She didn't want her child to be born in a destroyed world. She needed more pieces of the puzzle, but how could she find them? What was it, that Zaibach needed?
Hitomi was falling asleep, her eyelids growing more close together by the minute.
"Hitomi, Hitomi, wake up," she heard a gentle voice.
"Hmm, who is it?" Hitomi asked.
"It's Princess Astrid. I've come to watch over Dryden while you and Merle go have your lunch. Millerna is fast asleep. Allen sent me." She told her.
"Oh, thanks Astrid, don't worry. He's stable. He should be feeling better tomorrow. Just stay with him. It's Millerna's wish." Hitomi told Astrid.
"Very well. I'll call you if something goes wrong." Astrid said.
"Yeah, although nothing will. Dryden's fast asleep, his bleeding controlled." Hitomi informed her.
She got up, and left the room. Merle was already gone.
Hitomi had to redirect herself to the kitchen. There, she grabbed a plate of food and ate it outside on the veranda. She was curious as to the progress of the war council.
"Hey, there you are," Van said spotting her hiding place.
"Hmm.... how's the war council going?" she asked.
"Fine. We've formed the union, and later on we're going to give tasks to each country." Van told her.
"Maybe we shouldn't get all the countries involved." Hitomi stated.
"Why not?" Van asked.
"Well, this is our war in a way. You see, Zaibach only wants us. It has something to do with who we are. Why should we bring destruction upon the other countries?"
"You don't understand. They are doomed anyhow. Zaibach wants power and full control. The countries will fall one way or the other. If we form a council now, we may be able to protect them. Heck, we might even be able to stop Zaibach in its tracks." Van told her.
"Don't be so enthusiastic. We beat Zaibach eight years ago. They wouldn't come out of their shell now, unless they had and ace up their sleeve, or they are pretty sure they will win." Hitomi pointed out.
"You do have a point. This alliance needed to be formed anyhow. Just for the sake of Asturia, if not for Fanelia. What they did to that country is beyond excuse." Van's jaw griped tightly.
"I think their ace is that new weapon with which they scorched Asturia. Somehow, I feel that there's more to it." Hitomi said more to herself than to Van.
"Have your visions told you anything new?" Van asked.
"No, although I had a very strange vision of Lady Celena."
"Lady Celena?" Van asked surprised.
"Yeah. Something horrible happened to her Van. She's dying, and somehow I have a feeling that it's related to Zaibach." Hitomi said.
"Celena? Conspire against us? No way. She got rid of her alternate personality Dilandau. She's completely against them." Van said firmly.
"All I'm telling you, is that I feel she's a part of the puzzle. Be on the watch when around her." Hitomi told him.
"I will, but now I have to go. The short recess we had for lunch is over. The council is meeting again." Van said and got up.
"There's much we don't know. Proceed with caution." Hitomi kissed him lightly.
"We'll be as careful as cats," Van kissed her back. He got up and headed for the war room.
"How ever am I going to tell him?" Hitomi wondered.
~~~~
That night, Hitomi was walking the corridors of the Castle. The council still had not adjourned, and she was anxious for news. She wished women would be allowed in, but since this was Gaea, not Earth, here war was considered man's business. As queen, Hitomi would have to oblige to the customs. She walked past the room where the meeting was in progress.
"United we stand!" she heard a cry from inside.
A few seconds later a bunch of men came out the door. The meeting finally adjourned. She continued walking, not wanting to seem extremely curious about the results, although she was about to bust with questions.
Hitomi suddenly felt that feeling of sickness coming over her. She felt drowsy and found a place to sit down.
"I thought this was only supposed to happen in the morning," she mumbled.
"Are you ok?" Van came up behind her.
"Yeah, fine," Hitomi answered smiling. "How am I ever going to tell him?" she wondered for the hundred time that day.
"You don't look so fine. Maybe we should take you to a physician." Van suggested.
"I'm fine Van, don't worry. Has the meeting adjourned?" she asked.
"Yeah. Can we talk about this tomorrow morning? I just want to free my mind for a little while," he said and kissed her.
"Sure," Hitomi agreed. The feeling in her stomach was growing. Hitomi anxiously looked around for a garbage can. There was none, and no washroom in sight. When she could hold it in no more, she ran and emptied her stomach behind a bush.
"Hitomi!" Van said running after her. "Hitomi, what happened?"
"Nothing Van, I'm fine now." she told him.
"Yeah right. We're going to a healer right now! You're not fine." He said looking worried.
"Yes I am, there's no need for a healer. I'll be fine. This night air will do me good." She said.
"No. I'm not taking any chances. I'll have a healer look at you this instant. Hitomi, I don't want you getting sick." Van told her.
"I appreciate you looking after me, but I think I know what's best for me. I'll be fine in a week or so. Don't worry." Hitomi smiled.
"A week or so? Hitomi, don't be hard headed. Come have a healer check you out." Van insisted.
"Ok, Van, I was hoping I could tell you this later, but, I guess you have a right to know." Hitomi sighed. "The reason why I'm sick is because I'm pregnant." She said flatly.
There was silence on Van's end.
"I know this has come at a bad time but I want you to know that I still have to be with you on that battlefield...." Hitomi began.
"Ssshh," Van said and leaned over to kiss her passionately. "Don't say a word. Not now." he whispered to her, his eyes shining with sheer delight.
"So, you're not mad?" Hitomi asked.
"Mad? God no! Hitomi, I'm speechless. I.. I.. I'm sorry that we couldn't...."
"Sssh," Hitomi interrupted. "I'm as happy as you are, but this gives us one more reason to end this war sooner."
Van kissed her again. This was something he did not expect, a most wonderful surprise. He locked Hitomi in a protective embrace, and they continued their walk along the palace corridors. The moonlight shone brightly on the castle.
"Now let's see how the tides of Fate shall turn," said Eunice from her room. "Now that she's told him, all the cards are on the table. Zaibach, your move." she said in her raspy voice.