Chapter Two

Author's Ramblings

Due to extremely nice and gratifying reviews to my prologue and first chapter, I have decided to post the second chapter earlier than planned! This chapter is a bit boring in comparison to the first two, but it's necessary to get the plot thickening. Enjoy!

Disclaimer

Ditto.

~*Chapter Two: Set Adrift on Memory Bliss*~

The morning sun rose gently but swiftly over the edge of the mountains, giving light to the kingdom of Fanelia. It streamed in though the windows of the castle, and cast its warm glow upon Fanelia's young King.

Van felt the sun gently kissing his skin. He lied in his bed, staring at the ceiling of his large bedchamber. "I wonder if this is how Allen feels sometimes," he pondered aloud. He was referring to the fact that Allen was Chid's biological father, yet Chid did not know. Will my child never know that I am his/her father? He closed his eyes, his hand tightening around Hitomi's pendant which now hung around his neck. No, he answered himself. My child will know his/her father. My child will know me. He smiled. "Because," he continued aloud, "Hitomi will come back some day. She just wants to learn how to defend herself on her own, which I can't blame her for. She went through so much here on Gaea." He frowned. "No wonder she left."

"Now you know very well that that isn't true, Van-sama," commented a voice from the window.

"Good morning, Merle," Van replied, instantly recognizing the cat-girl who blocked the sun's light.

Merle jumped down from the window's ledge. "You know, even though I gave her all that grief, I really did like her," she said, walking over to sit on the end of Van's bed. "She was strange, but she was nice."

Van's eyes narrowed as he sat up. "She wasn't strange," he said defensively.

Merle's blue eyes fell downcast as she pulled her knees to her chest. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it in a bad way."

Van sighed. "I know." He stood, the bed creaking as his weight left it. He walked over to the window, glancing out at the green expanse in the distance. A few minutes passed, and a tense silence ensued. Making conversation and changing the subject, he teasingly asked, "So, met any cute cat-boys lately?"

Merle knew he was just changing the subject, but she sighed dreamily anyway. "Well, there IS this one guy," she answered. "He's got nice brown eyes, and really black fur with these snow white patches around his eyes, and…. He's just so cute!!"

Van smiled, still glancing out the window. "What's his name?"

Merle nearly melted and slid off the bed. "His name?" she repeated dreamily. "Oh, I don't know his name…. But he's really nice and he's on your construction council and…whenever he looks at me I'm just butter and I melt right there in his gaze!!"

Van smiled again, wistful this time. He closed his eyes, feeling a slight breeze as he still stood by the window. "I know exactly how you feel, Merle," he said quietly. "I know exactly how you feel."

A WHILE LATER

"…determined the overall budget for royal excursions to be…."

Van shifted his chair yet again, being forced to listen to the droning of his Council. He glanced around at the various men seated at the table before him, forcing himself to at least try to listen to what they were saying. When his plan didn't work, he nearly banged his head on his armrest in frustration. The councilman seated next to him cast him a worried look. Van just smiled politely, and massaged the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger.

They're just so darn boring! His eyelids drooped and his attention span was, well, no longer spanned.

"…the heavy rains in the Freid region have been of no problem to the surrounding…" the council droned onward. Van was now in true danger of falling asleep right there in the weekly council meeting. Just one more syllable and surely he would….

"…And thus we come to the topic at hand. Your majesty, would you care to comment?" a councilman asked.

This woke Van up. He blinked, trying to figure what the heck they were talking about.

The said councilman sighed. "Honestly, Your Majesty, we know we're not the most interesting people in the world, but you could at least listen to the weekly reports."

"I know," Van replied, sighing. "I'm sorry. Now, what is it that you were saying?"

"We were saying that Duchess Neicole de Longg of Longgalia will be coming here for a short visit at the end of this week," explained another councilman. "And then we asked what your opinion was of that."

Van's eyes narrowed and his fist clenched. Those dirty, dirty swine…I swear, if they try to set me up…he thought angrily. "Why wasn't I consulted about this earlier?"

If the 'dirty, dirty swine' had the ability to, they most likely would have sweatdropped at their King's question. "But Your Majesty," began a new councilman, "we DID consult you! We asked if we had your approval—and you simply nodded, waved your hand, and said 'whatever'!"

Such an answer would not appease Van. Outraged, he stood quickly, knocking his chair to the floor in the process. "Enough!" he shouted. "Send a message that she's not welcome here! I don't want her here! Don't think I don't know what you swine are up to; you're trying to get me to fall in love with her!"

"Well, Your Majesty," interrupted yet another councilman, "the Duchess DOES have astonishing green eyes…." "And she does have nice honey-brown hair…." "Don't forget that healthy and trim figure!" "Or those nice, supple, perky brea…"

"ENOUGH!!" Van interrupted. His fist clenched and unclenched, traumatizing an invisible stress ball. "OUT!! All of you! OUT!!" he shouted angrily.

"But, Your Majesty!"

"OUT!! OUT OUT OUT OUT OUT!!" Van yelled repeatedly until he was left alone in the council room. He slumped to the marble floor, not caring that his knees would most likely be bruised from such an action. "Hitomi," he whispered as a lone tear trickled down his cheek. Never before had he been such a jumble of emotions; he felt anger for what his Council had done even though he absentmindedly agreed to it, he felt sadness for feeling like he was betraying Hitomi and their unborn child, yet at the same time he felt such an undying love for Hitomi and their unborn child that it somewhat drowned out the other two feelings.

As another tear splashed on the marble floor, he realized that he was gripping the pendant tightly. He concentrated for a moment, then he heard the beautiful voice of his one true love speaking words that brought joy to his heart.

"Kan…" her voice paused. "Fanel," she resumed. "Hitomi de Fanel."

Van smiled. "She'll come back," he concluded aloud, standing with a new-found self-assurance. "I don't care what my Council tries to make me do with this Duchess of Longgalia! Only Hitomi will be my Queen!"

From the doorway, unseen by Van, Merle smiled.