(Back in Freid)
Hitomi came out of the infirmary looking very worried. Van was standing in front of the door.
"How is he?" Van asked.
"Burnt. Millerna says that he has burns all over his body." Hitomi told him.
"God damn it. I was supposed to be the one that was scorched. Not Allen." Van said running his hand to his raven hair.
"It's not your fault. You didn't see him behind you." Hitomi said wearily.
"Hitomi. You're so tired. Did you stay up all night watching Allen?" Van asked gently when he saw the dark patches under her eyes.
"Not all night." Hitomi said.
Van brushed his hand past her cheek. "I'm gone one night. Only one day and one night and you disobey my orders of going straight to bed." he said with a gentle strictness.
"Come on, Van. It's not that big of a deal. I had to. Allen was in deep shock." Hitomi reasoned.
"Well, whatever. You're going straight to bed right now." Van said and grabbed her hand.
"I can't! There's so much more to do." Hitomi protested yawning.
"It can wait." Van said and dragged her after him. Oddly enough, Hitomi stopped her protesting.
He tucked Hitomi into bed, and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Then he sat on the edge of the bed and watched her breathing get regular. She looked so peaceful when she slept. Van smiled. Somehow, watching Hitomi sleep relaxed him. Knowing that she was there, and was safe, meant everything to him. Now that she was pregnant, Van found her irradiating even more life. He could feel exhaustion overwhelm him, and his eyelids were getting heavier. He let himself drop on the bed beside Hitomi. "I'll just rest my eyes for a minute," he whispered to unseen shadows.
"Hitomi! Where are you?" Van dreamt. He was in a strange looking garden
"Over here! Help me! It's getting closer! Vaaaannnn! Don't let it get meeeee!!!!!" he heard her scream.
Van was running through a maze. There was no way out. He was trapped, and Hitomi was calling out to him. She was so near, yet he could not reach her. He tried to sprout wings, but he couldn't.
"Hitomi!" he yelled.
He could see her. Van ran, and ran, but the more he ran, the farther she became. Van could see two snake's eyes appearing in the background.
"You'll never reach her Van Fanel!" it said in a sadistic tone.
Van woke up, in a cold sweat. He shifted over to the other side, but to his surprise, there was no Hitomi. He got up startled.
"Hitomi? Where are you?" Van called out alarmed.
He ran out of the room, and through the corridors.
"Hitomi!" he called out.
"Van?" Hitomi's soft voice asked from behind him.
Van turned around. There she stood, as lovely as ever in her weird clothes. He ran to her and hugged her fiercely.
"Van, what's wrong?" Hitomi asked surprised by his odd behaviour.
"You're ok," he whispered. "You didn't go anywhere." He said hugging and kissing her.
"Van. I'm right here, and no one's got me. I've been here the whole time. What's wrong?" Hitomi asked.
"Oh, nothing. I woke up, and you weren't there. I thought something had happened to you." he confessed.
Hitomi laughed. He's been so protective of her ever since she got pregnant. "Nothing happened to me. I woke up, and decided to let you get some more sleep. Van, you worry too much." she said running her hand through his hair.
"Sorry. It's just that I don't want anything to happen to you." He said kissing her lightly.
"Nothing will happen. Just because you wake up and I'm not there, doesn't mean that someone kidnapped me."
Van didn't say anything. She couldn't have known how real his dream seemed.
"I do know Van," Hitomi said out of the blue. "I love you." She added.
"I love you too. I won't let anything happen to you." he whispered.
"Come on, let's go check on Allen. Millerna told me he's awake." Hitomi suggested.
Van nodded. They walked to the infirmary. Inside, Allen lay on the bed. His arms and legs bandaged. From Hitomi's perspective, he looked like a mummy.
"Hey Allen, how are you feeling?" Hitomi asked.
"Ok. Van, did you find Celena?" he asked weakly.
"Allen... I'm sorry. I looked and looked. The flying fortresses just disappeared." Van said with regret in his eyes.
Hitomi could see tears forming in Allen's eyes. None of them were allowed to flow, but she could feel how his soul was breaking to pieces.
"I...can't believe they want her back. Why can't they just leave her alone? She's innocent!" he yelled.
"Allen... I'm...I'm so sorry." Van whispered.
"I know you tried your best. Why must those villains torture me? They give her back to me, and then they take her away. Why?" Allen said his voice trembling with emotion.
"Allen, we'll get her back." Hitomi said and hugged him dearly. She could feel his pain. "Poor Allen," Hitomi thought.
Just then, Princess Astrid came in.
"Sorry to bother you," she said "but I think you may want to see this."
Astrid stepped out of the way, and behind her, Celena appeared in the doorway. She looked a little bewildered, and you could see the dark patches under her eyes. Overall she looked like she hadn't been harmed, but no one could tell for sure.
"Celena!" Van, Allen and Hitomi exclaimed in unison.
"Brother!" Celena cried, and ran into Allen's bandaged arms.
"Celena. You're back? How?" Allen asked.
"I escaped from the flying fortress." she lied.
Hitomi eyed Celena suspiciously. She knew it was hard to escape from that place. Celena seemed intact, yet there was a touch of darkness surrounding her moves. Like everything was diabolically planned. "Hmm...." Hitomi thought. "Something isn't right here. Something isn't right."
She let Allen and his sister enjoy their reunion, and stepped out. She signalled Astrid to come with her.
"How did Celena return?" she asked the Ispano Princess.
"Some of our soldiers found her. She was unconscious. They brought her to the palace." Astrid responded.
"Did she say anything about her escape?" Hitomi asked.
"No. She said she was feeling very weak."
"She certainly doesn't look very weak now. Can you sense anything?" Hitomi asked.
"No. I scanned her. She's perfectly normal. Nothing is wrong with her." Astrid told her.
"Impossible. They wouldn't abduct her without any reason. Are you sure?" Hitomi asked.
"Yes. I double checked. Nothing. Her brain waves are perfectly normal."
"Then maybe it's not something in the brain. Be careful around her." Hitomi warned.
She left Astrid and went in search of Merle.
"Hey Hitomi! Celena's back!" Merle screamed after her.
"Yeah I know. Hey Merle, have you noticed something strange about her?" Hitomi asked.
"Well, she quieter than usual. Heck, she's always been quiet, but now she's really silent. Must be the shock." Merle reasoned.
"Maybe. Thanks Merle," Hitomi said and ran off to the one person she that knew who could help her.
"Eunice? Eunice where are you?" Hitomi called out.
"Here, in the garden." The raspy voice called out.
"What are you doing here? It's full night." Hitomi asked.
"I'm meditating for your information." the woman told her.
"Celena's back. Did you know that?" Hitomi asked.
"Yes. I felt her presence return."
"Do you feel something wrong?" Hitomi asked.
"She's more perceptive than I thought." Eunice thought. "Yet I must not interfere in the meddling of fate. I have no intention of ending up like Dornkirk." "No. Not really." Eunice said.
"I think there's something wrong with her. She's changed." Hitomi observed.
"And how!" Eunice thought. "Yet this must take place." "What makes you say that?" Eunice innocently asked.
"Well, just an inner feeling. I was hoping you might confirm it. You may help me identify what's wrong." Hitomi explained.
"Nope, can't help you there my queen." Eunice's conscience said. "I have lived too long to risk my life in the meddling of fate. You may be trying to change this, but you can't. What was written a long time ago cannot be changed. You cannot oppose fate."
"Nope, nothing wrong with her. She might be in a shock. That might make her seem a little weird." Eunice reasoned hoping to distract Hitomi from her original line of thought.
"Nice move Zaibach," Eunice thought. "It's a hit below the belt, I did not expect. Celena is the perfect tool."
"Thank you," Hitomi said and left.
Walking the corridors of the castle, Celena thought back to her frightening experience. She could not afford to get caught again. Dilandau was a frightening figure. He was sadistic, and evil to the bone. She shuddered, thinking about her actually being him for so many years. A few seconds later, the instructions imprinted into her subconscious executed. Celena's peaceful look was replaced by an icy murderous glow.
Hitomi left the garden unsatisfied with the answers she got from Eunice. She knew she wasn't crazy. There was something very wrong with Celena. Her pendant was glowing warmly. Hitomi went back inside the palace. She was pacing through the corridors, when a blossomed hanky covered her mouth and nose. Hitomi's muscles tensed up, as she prepared to throw her kidnapper on his or her back. Unfortunately, the sleeping potion took effect, and she went limp. The shadow caught her before she hit the floor.
"Not so tough now, my queen?" the shadow asked mockingly. She then picked up the sleeping Hitomi, and walked quietly out of the palace.
Celena headed for the nearest docking bay. She picked the fastest ship docked there, and threw Hitomi inside. She then sat at the controls, and the ship took off in the night's sky.
"Hitomi!" Van screamed back at the palace. He ran out of the infirmary only to see the ship disappear in the air. "Nooo!!!" he yelled. "Hitomi!!!!!!!!!" There was nothing but silence in the air. Cold, deadly silence. Van's scream echoed throughout the castle, however, Hitomi was gone, and there was nothing he could do to prevent that.