Chapter XIII

*Chapter XIII, The beginning of the War*

(*A/N: Warning, there is some swearing, but I have stared most of it out, but I don't think that does much anyways there is FLUFF to a very BIG degree, and there is blood at the end. Sorry if I have offended anyone. But I can say I warned you! Enjoy!!*)

Chid and Allen were starting to become very nervous about getting to fried on time. Their horses just weren't going fast enough for the likes of them.

"Allen I don't think we're going to be there on time. I just can't let anything happen to my country! Please we have to do something!"

"I have an idea!" Allen said al of a sudden. He whistle and his bird, Natal came swooping in and landed on Allen's arm. He took the bird's message carrier and wrote fried a warning about the oncoming war. "Natal, bring this to Fried."

Chid watched Allen talk to the bird. He didn't think that it was going to work, but he just hoped that anything would work right now. He couldn't let down his country right now.

"Do you think that it will work?"

"I'm not sure, but let's hurry anyways.

~*~*~*~

Dilandau was sitting in 'his' chair, waiting for news of the attack. It wasn't coming fast enough so he called a guard into his thrown room.

"Where the hell are the reports of the attack on Fried?"

"Sire, they haven't started to attack yet, they have just only arrived and now are resting, so they can attack at full strength."

"Not good enough. When I ask something to be done, I expect it to be done then, not days later! Prepare my guymelef unit now, oh yes, and if it's not done by the time I get down there, consider yourself dead."

The guard paled, he ran from the room as fast as he could. He started to yell at everyone to get everything ready. Thankfully as Lord Dilandau was walking down the stairs everything was ready.

"Lord Dilandau, all is ready."

"Good." He said with an odd grin on his face. Before the guard knew it, Dilandau's sword was embedded deep in his stomach.

"Lord…Why?"

"Because you've failed me too many times. I won't have any more failures. That's a warning to the rest of you dim-witted fools. I will not have any more failures! Now I'm going Fried, everyone is coming with me. Don't disappoint me. Or you shall suffer the same fait as your fellow friend."

They all ran to their melef's and ready for departure.

"I shall finally have revenge on all of Gaia!! I will finally be able to kill Van Fanel, just like his brother promised me!"

~*~*~*~

Van flew under Hitomi, afraid that if she fell he wouldn't be able to get to her in time. She had been flying for over an hour, and he knew that she must have been getting tired now.

Hitomi, please let's stop now. You won't be able to fly forever, not even I can do that. Now please let stop. He knew if he tried to speak to her the other way she won't have been able to hear him.

Van I have to keep going, I can't stop because of being tired. The war won't wait for us to start. It just will start. I can't let that happen, Van. I can't stop; I know that you understand that, because you feel it too. You're just worried about me. Well don't be!

I'm sorry Hitomi, but I can't let you keep going, you'll hurt yourself, and I can't have that. Van caught up with her, and grabbed her around the waist and slowly brought her down to the ground.

"Van! Let go of me this instant! Let go!" Hitomi tried to push herself away from Van, but it didn't work, he was too strong for her.

"Not this time Hitomi! You'll hurt yourself."

"Stop be so f**king protective of me! I have to do this you a** hole! Let go!" She pounded on him, trying to get him to listen to her.

"No. I won't talk about this anymore. We are going to take a break, even if I have to tie you to a tree! If you get hurt, there's no point in us going, because I won't leave you behind! So stop trying to fly! Please." He ended with a plea, after bringing her down to the ground beside a tree.

"Van, I… I'm sorry, I just can't let anything happen to Gaia, I feel like it's my fault, and if anything ever happened to Gaia and especially Fanelia I would blame myself." She sat down beside Van, and rested her head against his shoulder.

"Hitomi, please just settle down. We should take a quick nap, then right after we'll get going." He wrapped his strong arms around Hitomi, as if to protected her from everything.

They rested against a tree with his arms around Hitomi. She felt so safe a secure in his arms, she never wanted to leave.

"Van…"

"Yes Hitomi?"

"Nothing I just wanted to say your name."

"Oh."

They silently sat, each worried about the well being of Gaia. They were about to face another great war. One that would take more of their friends and family, it would once again change their lives.

"I love you so much Van, I don't know what would've happened to me if I never met you."

"We would have eventually met, we were destined to be together forever."

Hitomi was sitting so peacefully; Van knew that now was as good a time as ever to ask her. He knew that there wouldn't be any time once they got to Fanelia to ask her.

"Hitomi…I want…will you be…" He took a breath and started again. "Hitomi, I love you more than life it self, and I would be honored and privileged if you would become my wife, and I your devoted husband. I promise I would never let anything happen to you, I know you want to learn to defend yourself, but I can't help but protect you. I love you too much to ever let anything bad ever happen to you."

"You know people will talk. Their King marrying a girl from the Mystic Moon, the cursed place. Not to mention that I'm a Dracongian. I don't really think I should…"

"It doesn't matter to me, please I would do…" Van started to panic, he couldn't believe that she was saying no. He had to try and convince her. Hitomi kiss him to shut him up.

"Van I was only joking. Of course I will marry you, you crazy dumb fool. Although, I can't love you more than life, because, you are my life. I would do anything for you. I love you too."

Van brought her face up to his, and brought her lips to kiss her in a deep passionate kiss, that would seem like it's their last. He put his hands on the small of her back, and pressed down, to deepen the kiss even more. She slightly tugged at his shirt, all the while their lips never parting. He got the message of what she wanted, and he obliged. Briefly taking his lips off her's, as he shrugged out of his shirt, and she did the same. Van looked down upon his fiancée with pride and devotion as he made love to her under the starry sky.

~*~*~*~

As the guard drew his sword Gaddis didn't flinch at all he kept the grin on his face and checked out his surroundings, he then looked at Anana. Anana sat on the wagon purely frightened. Gaddis noticed this and spoke to her.

"Don't worry. You'd be surprised how many of my 'merchant's' aren't really merchants. Nothing is going to stop us from getting to Fanelia. Don't worry, calm down or they'll notice."

"I'm sorry." She whispered. Gaddis nodded as an answer.

"Why are you not letting us pass peacefully? It doesn't matter, we're leaving and if you get in our way…just say that I warned you..." Gaddis look and counted about 40 guards, usually enough to take a string of merchants but not the entire population of the Crusade.

"Excuse me, I don't think that mire merchants could stop us from preventing you."

"Your right, but we're not mire merchants." Gaddis drew his sword. "Do you really want to fight, because it would be very pointless on my side, so it would be better if you just let us be on our way."

"It's that funny, the stupid merchant man is trying to bluff us. Men get ready to attack."

"Teo call out the men, it looks like we're about to have some fun." Gaddis shouted over his shoulder. His men started to file out of all the wagons and each had a different deadly weapon.

The guards looked at the huge mass of men and their face became white as snow.

"Now really do we have to carry on with this pitiful thing, because it would be a shame if you turned an run off like the mice you are. My men are all too willing to fight; they haven't had a good show in a couple of months now, so they're really rowdy. It's up to you."

"We'll get you, you pig s**h! You can't stay awake for ever."

"Yes we can, it's called shifts." Gaddis called after their fleeting forms.

"See miss Anana, nothing to worry about."

"Where are these men from?" she asked in wonder.

"Ever heard of Sir Allen Schezar, we're his crew."

"Oh." Her eyes were wide with delight.

"Well we are almost to Fanelia, you better get some sleep."

"Ok."

Gaddis looked at Miss Anana, noticing that she looked somewhat familiar, and then it hit him, Wow! She's looks so much like Merle! I can't believe it! Same pink hair, same strips and fur color, I can't believe I didn't notice that before.

They reached Fanelia about an hour before dinner. They stopped right inform of the main entrance of the castle that belonged to the King. He gently woke up miss Anana.

"Do you have a place to stay, here in Fanelia?"

"No. I'm looking for family and the boy lost his family so I'm taking care of him. We have no place to stay."

"Hold on I might be able to arrange something. Come with me." Anana went over to get Doran and saw that he was still sleeping. She was about to wake him, but Gaddis shook his head. He picked him up and carried him inside the castle.

"Gaddis, it's good to see you again."

"Griff, do you have some royalty here today other than the King?"

"I do. Follow me; I'll take you to them. I see you have some friends."

"I picked them up along the way, they didn't have a place to stay, and I felt bad for them." He said quietly so that Anana wouldn't be offended at the sympathy act.

"They're right though that door."

"Thank you." He opened the door and saw Dryden, Millerna, Merle and another cat-man.

"Hello?"

"Gaddis, we weren't expecting you for another day or so. Who's you friends?"

Anana was somewhat hiding behind Gaddis, because she was in the presence of royalty.

"This is Miss Anana and her friend Doran, we picked them up along the way and…" Anana bowed very deeply to show respect. As she came up from the bow she looked at the cat-woman.

Anana gasped. "Merle?" She said in a harsh whisper. Merle turned around and saw this older cat woman looking at her very intensely.

"Yes. Who are you? How did you know my name?"

Anana was shocked, that she found her. She felt like she was almost brought to her.

"May I speak to you alone, I just have to ask you something."

"Ok." Merle waved off the curious on-lookers, and she put a hand up to Lavi as if to say that she would be fine.

They moved out the door and closed it. "How did you know my name?" Merle asked curiously.

"Because I gave it to you. I don't know how to say this but I thin that you're my daughter."

~*~*~*~

"We made it. But, look Allen nothing has passed. I wonder what's going on. Hitomi's never been wrong about a premonition before, why now." Chid looked happy but very surprised.

"I think that we may be early. I hope so, that might give us some time to prepare. Let's hurry to the palace."

They rushed to the palace, trying all the same not to trample anyone on their way there.

"Guards open the gates and hurry." The guards saw who it was and quickly opened the gates to let their Prince in. Chid jumped off his horse and ran to his lead guard and then to the conference room.

"Please sit down and be quiet. We don't have much time. I have word that we'll be under attack fairly soon. We have to prepare, I'm not going to run away this time. I'm old enough to deal with this. I want guards to surround the city gates. Half a dozen guards, every ten meters. * I want tree guymelef's at every gate. I want people to evacuate the city. You have don't have anytime to waste, get this done now!" Everybody ran out doing everything to warn Fried of the on-coming attack.

"I see you've become an amazing leader of your country and an excellent tactician too. I'm sure your parents would be very proud. What would you like me to do your majesty?"

"First stop calling me your 'majesty'. We went through this before, we're friends. We don't have very many experience guymelef pilots so I was wondering if you could help there. I know you don't have Schezard with you but we have some capable units."

"I would be honored. Were would you like me to go."

"It doesn't matter, just protect my people. I don't want anymore to die like last time. It's unfair to them. They sacrificed their lives to protect me and the other people of Fried. It won't happen again!"

"I will protect Fried with my life if it comes to that." Allen bowed to show his sincerity.

"Thank you, friend."

~*~*~*~

"Lord Dilandau, the camp is just over those hills."

"Fine. Once we land we are going to gather up the willing soldiers and attack."

"What are you going to do with the unwilling soldiers?"

"They failed me and don't deserve to live anymore."

Dilandau and his unit all had their invisible cloaks on. The technology in Zaibach has improved so now they can fly invisible to all. They landed in the very middle of the came, Dilandau put on his speakers. "GET UP NOW!!!"

All the men jumped up at the voice, scared s**tless for several reasons. Dilandau was there; they all knew that they are in trouble, so they rushed to get ready.

"Would all the commander's who thought that taking a break and catching up on their beauty sleep please step forward, I would like to award you." The men somewhat eagerly jumped forward

Dilandau shot his liquid metal and decapitated them quickly. The others stood shock to the bone.

"Prepare to invade Fried. But first are they anymore objections?"

Everyone ran to their units to get ready. Dilandau stood laughing; he would finally have revenge on Gaia. They left him alone.

~*~*~*~

(A/N: Hello everyone!!! Thank you all for the very considerate reviews!!! ^_^ I still can't believe how many people like this story. Anyways this chapter had a bit more of gruesome parts and lots of FLUFF!!!! I know some of the parts are really rough, but I hope that you liked it!! Thanks for reading!!! Oki Miya)