Disclaimer: I guess I might as well go on as the broken record of my five Tenkuu no Escaflowne fics...I don't own Escaflowne....there. Happy? WHOA!! *quickly dodges the rotten lettuce that was thrown at her. Stands up grinning only to have another one thrown right in her face*.....ouchies....
Dedication: To all who love Leia Avenrose and her stories....*giggles and winks* even though they SUCK *mutters low under her breath, hoping that no one heard*


~**~Chapter 3~**~

~*~Love for the one and death as well~*~

Benji sighed lightly as he walked up the path towards the large castle. He ran a hand over the back of his neck, hoping to relieve the tension that was beginning to build. He watched as a streak of light orange flew past him and he sighed heavily this time.

" Good morning, Merle.... ", Benji called out over his shoulder as he kept walking.

Merle blinked, stopped, and then whirled around, " Wha -? Oh!! Benji....have you seen Kitiara? ", she asked lightly as she scratched her head.

Benji turned around to face her, " She's out in the fields....playing probably.... "

Merle nodded, " Thanks!! ", she called out as she turned back around, dropped to all fours and took off again.

" Merle!! ", Benji shouted.

Merle stopped and turned to face him, " What?! "

" Is Puck in? "

Merle frowned deeply and then nodded, " Yeah, why? Is Mara hurt? "

Benji shook his head, " I just needed to talk to her.... "

Merle nodded and then turned back around to take off again. Benji slowly walked up to the gates of the castle and they opened slowly. Benji placed hia hands behind his back and bowed his head deeply as he walked through the gates, deep in thought.

' Should I tell him about the girl? ', Benji wondered.

A few minutes after walking, Benji found himself standing in front of the large, oak double doors of the castle. He reached out and opened one easily. He stepped into the front hall and then frowned as he looked around. Everyone was running around as if something important was going on.

Benji cocked his head to the side and then licked his left paw. A maid with blonde hair pulled back in a tight bun wiped her hands on a stark white apron and looked at him, " 'an I help ye? "

Benji blinked and then nodded after he realized that she was talking to him, " Yes! Can you tell me where the doctor, Puck is? ", he asked lightly.

The maid nodded and pointed to a dimly lit hall, " 'he'd being down t'ere.... "

Benji nodded a thanks and then made his way through the dimly lit hall to come to a stop in front of the only door in the hall. Assuming that it was Puck's room, he reached out to knock on the door, but it opened slowly before he could rap his knuckles on the wood.

Puck's red head popped into the open and Benji jumped back, slightly startled. Puck smiled at him and held the door open, " Benji! By the Gods....what are ye doing here? "

Benji's face went serious, " We need your help, Puck....Mara and I.... "

Puck cocked her head to the side and lifted an eyebrow, studying him closely, " Why? What's happened? "

Benji sighed heavily and then brushed past her to pace the ground, " It was all too strange actually. Kitiara and I were playing in the fields and she tripped on something. She got scared and I went over to see what it was... "

" What was it? "

" A girl....she was laying there, all bruised up and bleeding.... "

Puck's eyebrows both went up in surprise, " Bleeding, ye say? "

Benji nodded, " Aye! We brought her back to our place and have been caring for her ever since. She has a high fever that we've tried endless of times to bring down, but it only gets worse....it's as if this girl doesn't want to get any better.... ", he shuddered lightly at the thought of death.

There was a knock on the door. Puck held up a hand, " Come in.... ", she shouted.

Benji and Puck watched the door open and then a head topped off with raven black hair that fell over the brow popped into the room. The young man looked at Benji then at Puck. Benji cleared his throat lightly and then bowed deeply, " Majesty.... ", he muttered.

Van nodded briefly to him and then looked at Puck, " It's not getting any better.... "

" What? You too? "

Van looked at her questioningly and Puck sighed, " Benji here was telling me about some girl who's really sick and if getting worse by the minute..... ", she informed him.

Van nodded absentmindedly and then went to unwrap the bandage around his hand. Girl?! Girl!! His hand froze in mid-air and his head shot up. Van looked at Benji with an eyebrow arched slightly, " Go on....explain to me what this...girl looks like.... "

Benji nodded and then frowned, " Well....she has...rather short hair that's the colour of a light brown....like sand. She hasn't opened her eyes yet, so we can't determine her eye colour yet.... "

" Who's 'we' ? "

" Mara and I....my wife... "

Van nodded, " What was she dressed in? ", his hopes were rising just a notch.

Benji's eyes went wide as he tried to remember, " Oh.....she was wearing a dark robe that was soaking wet. We stripped her of it and underneath she was wearing the most strangest clothes a person has ever seen..... "

" W-w-what do you m-mean? ", he stammered.

" I mean.....she was wearing a pair of pants only these were pink and cut really short....and a funny looking shirt. Honestly Sire....women shouldn't be allowed to wear these kind of things.... "

" S-she doesn't have a name? "

Benji shook his head, " I apologize, Sire....no. "

The corner of Van's lip went up slightly and he suddenly grinned as he jumped up, " I've found her, Puck!! ", he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Puck winced and covered her ears, " Ye don't be taking it easy, I'll be strapping ye down...just like I did to yer pappa...I'm very happy for ye........ "

Van's went wide and he looked at Benji, " Quick! You have to take me to her....can you do that? ", he asked, desperation entering his voice as he reached out to grasp Benji's fur covered arm.

Benji searched his King's eager expression and then nodded once, " Yes..... "

Van grinned, " Thank you, Gods!! Puck....don't tell anyone where I went. Aright? "

Puck frowned deeply, but nodded, " Aye.....but I was suppose to go with you.... "

Van shook his head, " No....you stay here. I'll bring her here. Then you can look at her....she shouldn't be that bad... "

Benji and Puck both shook their heads. Van knitted his brows together and cocked her head to the side, " W-w-what are you guys t-trying to say? "

Puck bit her lip, " Well...like I said earlier, she has a high fever that isn't going down....it keeps getting worse... "

Van closed his eyes and groaned loudly as he ran a hand over his face, " This is far worse then I had expected.... "

Benji nodded and looked down at the ground, " Sire....we should get going now, to get her.... "

Van opened his eyes and looked into Benji's eyes. He slowly nodded, letting the words sink in, " Y-yeah.....let's get going now. We'll take some of the horses from the stables and ride there, it'll be quicker... "

Benji nodded, " Understood, Sire... "

Puck frowned, " Well? What are ye waiting for? Yer birthday? Get going before this situation gets any worse.... ", she said to them as she shooed them from the room.

Van nodded and led the way down the hall, with Benji following closely behind, " She's right.....I'm going to be pretty mad if something happens to her.... "

Benji remained silent as he followed the young King through the hallway, down the hall, around the corner and then out into the courtyard where he and the young King grabbed a pair of black horses. Van glanced at Benji from the corner of his eye and then turned to look at him as they galloped up the path towards the house in the near distance.

" Why are you quiet? ", Van asked lightly.

Benji blinked and turned his head to look at Van. He shrugged, " I don't know....I'm getting a bad feeling about something, I just don't know what though.... ", he replied softly as he lowered his gaze to the dark saddle.

Van nodded, " I understand....you have no need to be...afraid of me. It's not like I'm going to attack you or something... "

Benji smiled softly and then chuckled, " I'm sorry, Sire....I'm just a little shaken by the turn of events that have happened this week.... "

Van smiled and then nodded to a house that was coming in range closely, the smile was wiped from his face, only to be replaced with disbelief and worry, " I-is that it? "

Benji blushed lightly and nodded, " Yeah.... ", he replied as he looked up at the house.

To his horror he found it in flames. The dangerous looking flames looked hungry as they licked the sides of the already falling apart house. Benji's heart caught in his throat and he had to swallow several times before regaining some parts of his voice, " T-this isn't right...something's wrong... ", he croaked, his voice hoarse.

Van nodded and stepped down from the horse. He went to reach for his sword with he kept at his side at all times, but his hand passed through air. Van cursed loudly and turned to watch as Benji stepped down from his own horse and slowly made his way towards the house, his arms outstretched, spread out at his sides slightly, his eyes brimming with tears, and his mouth open.

Benji shook his head and walked a couple of more feet towards the burning house until he thought he could actually feel the flames licking his body, tasting to see if he were any good to try out. Van rushed over to him and dragged him back, " Don't! You're going to get yourself killed.... ", he practically shouted at the older man.

" Lord Van!! ", a shrill cry of happiness came from behind him and he whirled around to find himself facing a soot covered Merle, clutching a small cat-girl to her body.

Van let out a sigh of relief as he ran to her and hugged her head. When he pulled away, he firmly gripped Merle's arms, just above the elbows and gave her a little shake, " You see her? Did you see Hitomi? ", he questioned.

Merle swallowed and nodded slowly, " Y-yes... "

The little cat-girl in Merle's arms opened her eyes and spotted her father sitting on the ground, his strong shoulders trembling. Kitiara pushed herself away from Merle and ran towards her father, tears streaming down her cheeks, her hair flying wildly behind her.

" Daddy!! ", little Kitiara shouted as she ran to him with her arms outstretched, a rag doll clutched tightly in her left paw.

Benji whirled around and looked at his daughter. He jumped up and ran to her, catching her as she threw herself at him, her arms sliding around his neck, hugging him hard. Benji held onto his daughter as tight as he oculd, afraid of letting her go. Kitiara pulled away slighty and looked up into his sad face.

" Why are you crying? ", she asked as she reached up to wipe away the tears. More fell in their places.

Benji shook his head and hugged her again, " I was sad... "

" why? "

" Because I thought I had lost my little girl. Where's mommy? ", Benji questioned lightly as he looked down into her face, planting a firm kiss on her forehead.

Kitiara's bottom lip trembled and she pointed to the burning house with a trembling hand. Benji slowly turned around and blinked. He shook his head, " No...sweetie. Be honest with daddy.....it's very bad to lie.... "

Kitiara's eyes over filled with tears and she closed them. The big tears slid down her cheeks and she shook her head," They left mommy in there after they stabbed her through the head.... ", Kitiara hiccuped lightly and buried her face into her father's chest.

Benji's eyes went unblinking. Everything around him wasn't real. Everything around him WAS real, it WAS happening. The one he loved was now dead, and he only had his daughter left. Kitiara's loud sobs and trembling body snapped him out of his thoughts and anguish and he hugged her hard, tears streaming down his face as he stood up and faced the young King and the young cat-girl.

Benji faced Merle, " D-did you see who did t-this? "

Merle was crying. Crying for the loss of the mother that her little friend had shared with her, " Y-yes.... "

Anger flashed in Benji's eyes and Van took a step towards him, " It's alright, Benji.....just calm down. We'll not go there just yet...once you go, you'll never be able to come back.... "

Benji's head swung in his direction and he glared at Van, " My wife's dead! How can you tell me that it's alright?! I will go there if I please. No one can stop me, not even you.... "

Van's lips went into a straight line and he held Benji's glare with his own, " I'd watch your tongue if I were you. At least for the sake of your daughter.... "

Benji blinked and then looked down at the ground as he cradled his baby to his chest, rocking her back and forth gently, " I'm sorry, Sire...I...I -- "

" Acted out of anger? You're forgiven....it's perfectly understandable.....I've been in this situation before.... ", Van replied calmly as he raked a hand through his hair.

He was so close to finding her, but she was taken from him again. That's twice now that this has happened. Van sighed heavily and looked down at the ground, his arms hanging at his sides, his hands clenching and unclenching into tight fists. Benji looked up at his King and frowned lightly through his tears, " We have to find out who did this....we have to find the girl... "

Merle sniffled lightly and wiped away her tears, " They took her too....there was nothing we could do. We were helpless....just as we were helpless in helping Mara.... ", she whispered as tears came back to her eyes.

Merle shook her head and then brushed past Van to drop on all fours and then take off up the hill towards the castle. Van looked around, scanning the fields carefully for any sort of movement. He found none. Benji watched him and then he looked down at the sleeping cat-girl in his arms, " We have no home now....after all that work.... ", he muttered lightly.

Van looked at him, " You're coming back with me, Benji.... "

Benji looked at the King and frowned, " Are you sure? "

Van nodded and then went to climb onto his horse, " Positive. Together we can find out who did this to your house and to your....wife... ", he added in a low whisper.

Benji nodded as he climbed onto his own horse, Kitiara still sleeping peacefully. Van sighed through clenched teeth as he flicked the reins and set the horse into a slow walk. He was almost with her again. He needed her, and when he needed her, she was always taken away from him, always at the last night.

Van looked up at the sky as they rode back to the castle. A single tear slid from his eye, down his cheek, over his lips, and then dripped off his chin, ' Oh Gods....Hitomi where could you be? Don't you even realize that I need you? I promised you once, and I'm going to promise you this again, whatever happens, it doesn't matter what, I'll find you...even if it means taking my very own life to do it...as long as I find you...... '

(A/N** : I'm sorry this is taking so long.......if you find it confusing.....*grins* forgive me....it's 6:45am here and I'm now going to go to bed.......man, do I ever need sleep.....*groans lightly as she feels her eyes closing* ight, ight!! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Another one coming up tomorrow....... )