Standard Disclaimer: No own! NO OWN!!! Escaflowne, its characters, and its plot are all owned by some rather large company whose name I can't recall. I don't even wish I owned it. I would have botched the series terribly.

Forget

By Snow Raven

It had been four years now.

Four years since the Great War had ended.

Four years since he had returned to Fanel.

Four years since his heart had died.

The memories unfolded in his mind. It was evening, a mere three hours after moonrise. They were sitting in the meadow, quietly enjoying the peace, reveling in the fact that it was finally over. No more war. No more blood. No more death. Peace.

She was standing a few feet away, hands clasped around her pendant and face tilted towards the sky, almost as if she were praying to the full moon. The evening breeze rippled over the tall meadow grass, fanning out her short, gold hair until it formed a halo around her face. The moonlight, her wistful expression, almost made her look like an angel. His breath caught in his throat. She was so perfect....so beautiful....

A blinding pillar of light descending out of the sky...

Her voice....calling his name in panic...

His hand was closing around her slender fingers, the pendant pressing into his palm.....

No...no...she slipped.....he let go...

She was rising away from him, returning to her strange planet.....the Mystic Moon...

And she was gone, taking his heart with her. He was alone in the silent meadow, her pendant still clasped in his hand, the only remainder of the girl he had loved.

Van put a hand to his neck, fumbling with the tiny clasp. It came loose. He wound the thin, gold chain around his work-worn fingers, watching as the violet pendant swung hypnotically in front of his eyes.

He was very busy these days. With Hitomi gone, he had no choice but to return to his broken kingdom and to gather his scattered peoples. Together, they had started the long, grueling process of recovery. Roads had been cleared. Fields had been sown. Buildings had been painstakingly restored. Van had worked right alongside with his people- the happy, cheerful ruler. The long hours of manual labor gave way to endless lines of advisors and diplomats, carrying tidings of his people and the kingdoms beyond his border. By the end of the day, he was exhausted.

That was good. He didn't have time to think.

He had grown from young, naive boy into a man, from hotheaded warrior prince into a king. So much had changed- but not just for him. For Hitomi too.

Van stilled the swinging pendant. It hung suspended before his eyes, turning slowly on its chain. Van focused on it, feeling his consciousness being drawn away from him and into the teardrop-shaped stone. Images formed in his mind, dreams of another place, another world.

It was Hitomi. She was older now- almost nineteen. Her body was long and lean- almost gangly- yet she moved with an athletic grace. Her wheat-colored hair had grown out of its previous, boyish cut but was still short, hanging in gentle wisps around her face. Despite these changes, her eyes still held the same sparkle and she still had that same happy, shy air. Different body, same Hitomi.

It was late afternoon in her world. She was dressed in a cream-colored blouse and gray, knee-length skirt. An ugly, brown building- something Hitomi called a 'college'- loomed in the background. Hitomi made a sound of frustration as she struggled to balance an armful of books, papers, and binders.

A young man appeared in the faint dream-image. Van caught his breath. He was tall and lean, with chin-length blonde hair that he pushed impatiently behind his ears. He had a open, friendly face- the kind of person that was immediately popular with anyone around him. The thing that struck Van the most however was that this young man looked exactly like a certain knight of Asturia. Minus the hair of course.

Amano- apparently the young man's name- smiled at Hitomi and offered to take her books. With a flustered smile she handed him half of her burden, giggling and making some joke that Van didn't understand. They chatted merrily and began to walk off. Neither noticed the young, red-haired woman standing in the shadow of a building, her blue eyes filling with hurt and tears. Yukari.

Every day she watched the man she loved fall more deeply for her best friend. Her heart's desire was right in front of her, yet she couldn't have him.

"That makes two of us," Van whispered.

Hitomi had cried, of course, after she returned to earth. She had prayed to return to Gaea. She had begged heaven to bring her Van to Earth- but all in vain. Her mother and her best friend had each tried to comfort her in their own way, but Hitomi had continued to cry...until Amano came. Amano gave her the gentle tenderness she craved and soon he began to fill the hole in her life.

He absently brushed a strand of dark hair away from his face. He hadn't expected nor wanted Hitomi to be unhappy forever. But now it seemed like she didn't even remember Gaea, like she didn't even care.

Don't you remember what we had....?

Does it matter to you anymore....?

Hitomi and Amano were quiet now. They were staring intently into each others' eyes....leaning closer... Hitomi's eyes were fluttering closed... She was tilting her head, her lips opening slightly...

Van's hand closed over the pendant as the dream-image vanished. He stared into the courtyard below, unmindful of the cool breeze ruffling his hair or the sound of someone- probably a servant- stirring just outside his door. His right hand- a clenched fist- trembled against the window sill. He spoke, his voice filled with longing..

"Hitomi...."

* * * * * *

"Hitomi....."

Far away on another planet, a young woman lifted her head and turned away from the man standing in front of her- a man who was clearly waiting for the kiss that would never be. That voice....had been so familiar... It called out of the shadows of her past, a voice that had belonged to someone near and dear to her.

"Van...?"

* * * * * *

Merle pressed her body against the doorframe, waiting until all was quiet in the royal chambers. With the silent agility of a thief, she palmed open the door and made her way across the darkened room.

Van was asleep by window. He must have been exhausted after the council meetings today. Yet again, he had neglected to undress properly. He was still garbed in the clothes he wore to court, a white shirt- top three buttons undone- and well-tailored, dark blue slacks. At least he had removed his boots and coat, which were thrown haphazardly onto the bed.

The cat-girl brushed a strand of chocolate-colored hair away from his eyes, smiling fondly. Sleep and moonlight had smoothed his features into the youthful, boyish face of the childhood companion she remembered. She frowned, tracing his jaw line with a feather-light touch. Almost. This face was lined with worry and exhaustion and these lips rarely ever curved into a genuine smile. The prince was dead. Here lay the king.

Long fingers trailed down his neck and muscular shoulder, her face soft as she stared down at the sleeping man. She longed, craved, for one morning- just one- where she could wake up with this face on the pillow beside her, just one hour where she could call him hers. He was so beautiful....

Merle found herself leaning over the slumbering king, her rough, sandpaper-like tongue sliding gently over his cheek. A kiss. Just one stolen moment of affection. She closed her eyes, savoring the strong, earthy taste of his skin. Suddenly her blue eyes snapped open. Salt.... Her tongue experimentally flicked out again. Salt. Tears.

She abruptly sat up, gently moving his head to one side. Yes, she had missed it before in the darkness. Faint lines of silver streaked down his face, the remnant of hot and bitter tears. She sought out his right hand, prying open the clenched fingers. In the middle of his palm a teardrop-shaped, purple stone lay nestled in a puddle of gold links.

Curse you Hitomi.....

It dangled from her fingers as she held it up to the moonlight. A bitter expression crossed her face. Memories- like so many birds- rose in the back of her mind, fluttering, whispering.

Flashback

"Augh....not again!" Merle grumbled as yet another button popped off her dress and skittered across the rooftop. She was really getting too old to be climbing around like this but she had wanted to drop into Van's room unexpected, and the only way to do that was by entering through the window. She craned her neck, trying to see the royal bedchamber. She saw a dark shape moving away from the window. Good, Van was in his room. Grinning, she inched forward, her claws making soft, clicking sounds on the heavy, clay tiles.

She was perched on the edge of the roof, contemplating how to get through the window without Van hearing her when she heard it- the soft, almost inaudible sound of someone crying. Van? Crying? Never. Even when Fanel had been burned to the ground, she had never seen Van cry. He had always refused to show weakness.

Throwing caution to the wind, Merle dropped through the window and landed in a crouch on the wooden floor. Her eyes adjusted to the dark room. A white shape was crumpled on the bed, their shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Merle made her way to the rough-hewn, four poster bed. Her voice was quiet, timid.

"Van?"

The dark head lifted and Merle found herself staring at a pair of reddened, brown eyes. The horrible, heartbreaking anguish in them tore at her soul. She longed to gather him in her arms and hug that pain away but kept her arms at her side.

"Merle?" he spoke in a voice roughened with tears. He sat up. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry...I wanted to surprise you...Van, what's wrong?" He was silent. "Van! Tell me! You're scaring me!"

"She rejected me."

"What? Van, what are you talking about?"

"She rejected me," he repeated in a flat voice. He was staring blankly at his hand. That's when Merle saw it. The pendant.

"Hitomi...." she breathed.

"Yes," Van kept talking, as if he were speaking to himself. "I called her. I used the pendant to call her back to Gaea. But she was scared. She didn't want to come back. She rejected me."

"Van...maybe she was scared to leave her family. She just got back you know." Merle couldn't believe she was defending that girl, but anything to get that blank, dejected expression off his face.

"Perhaps..." He came to her then. He put his head on her shoulder and heaved great, hollow sobs. Merle held him for an hour, whispering condolences in his ear and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, like a child....

End Flashback

That incident had been repeated three times. Each year he called Hitomi and each time she refused. Merle looked at the pendant. Everyone in the castle knew that Van used the pendant to watch Hitomi. He never did it when he had duties of course, but at night, after the council meetings were over.... Servants were careful to stay away from the royal bed chamber and even the advisors checked their tongues until they were sure he had finished with his dream-seeing. Merle glared fiercely at the blue and green orb that hung on the western horizon, thinking somehow that Hitomi could hear her.

"I hate you," Merle whispered. "I would give anything to have him-- my life, my family, my soul, anything. You were given the chance- four times- to come back to him and yet you rejected it. If you knew you were going to leave, why did you let him fall in love with you?" Her voice rose. "Why did you have to hurt him like this, huh? Why couldn't you have left him alone?!"

"Why couldn't you have left him to me...?" she trailed off sadly.

Merle glanced down at Van, her eyes bitter and hard. He was wasting his life and his love on a woman that literally lived worlds away. If only he could see what was right in front of him. If only he could forget....

Forget.

What if... She resolutely put the pendant down. No. Van would be furious with her if he found out. But.... if he didn't watch Hitomi every day, perhaps eventually he would forget her. Perhaps he would direct his love at someone else. Perhaps.... No! She couldn't. It wasn't right. Anyway, he would still love Hitomi, pendant or no pendant.

Or maybe not. If she didn't take it, she would never know would she? She would never know if he could have loved her. But if he found out... A set of familiar, shuffling footsteps in the hall made her decision.

"Lord Van?"

"Wha...?" Van's sleepy voice floated out into the night. "Sagus? Augh....Sagus, what could you possibly need at this hour?"

"I'm sorry for waking you Majesty, but we have a problem that you may want to take care of personally....."

Merle- perched silently on the edge of the roof- listened as Van followed his most trusted advisor out of the room, shutting the door firmly behind him. She looked at the pendant still clenched in her hand. Could she really do this..?

For a few, precious seconds, she wavered. The moment of indecision passed however, and she jammed the piece of jewelry deep into the recesses of her dress pocket, scampering over the rooftop and disappearing into the night.

~ *~ *~ *~ *~ * ~

Author's Notes: Excuse me if this is too mushy, I'll try to make it a little less gooey in the future. O.o I really don't know where this came from. It just sort of dropped out of the sky and landed on my head like a little Chibi-usa, pulling out a gun and ordering me nicely to write it. I usually avoid pure romance like I would a rabid dog, but Van-sama looked so cute when he begged to be put back with his Hitomi-chan that I couldn't resist. Please, if you are reading this and think it's the stupidest piece of writing you've ever read in your life, keep reading. I promise that it will get better. And if it doesn't...you're welcome to flame me like a marshmallow. (And make a s'more! ^^ Those are nummy!)

This is dedicated to Key-chan and Hideko, for bringing the Escaflowne tapes to my house so that we can stay up 'til insane hours of the morning watching them and to Rei, for making me an Esca fan in spite of myself. (I had NO intention of liking this anime I hope you know. My obsession is ALL YOUR FAULT!!! Of course, I unleashed one of the most rabid Weiss fans in existence when I introduced you to Weiss, so I guess we're even.)

Also, I have not seen the end of Escaflowne so I made up my own. I haven't put Amano and Yukari together- yet- and from the other fics I've been reading, I'm assuming that Van is the one with the pendant at the end of the series. If he isn't...well, he is now! ^^

PLEASE REVIEW!!! *tries to look cute and puppy-eyed. Fails, and get Quatre to help me beg*