This was a fun chapter to write! I wanted to upload this last night, but I just couldn't get the second part right until today. But oh well. Anyhoo, this is a turning point for Neicodemus. He gets some valuable information, but I fear that he doesn't understand the meaning of it. But I know all of you will!! Enjoy!
Ditto.
~*Chapter Thirteen: Building a Mystery*~
Merle
hissed, pounding her furry fists in the conference table. "So that ditzy Duchess's daddy just waltzed
off the Mystic Moon with Hitomi?!"
Van nodded
sadly. "I couldn't do anything,
Merle. I was…scared stiff."
Merle put a
comforting hand on Van's shoulder. "It's not your fault, Van-sama." She paused. "But what are you
going to do? How are you going to get
Hitomi back?"
"We're
going to go to Palas, Austuria," Van began, pointing to Kaoru, Kenshin, Sano,
and Yahiko (who was conscious now), "to get Allen. Then we'll go to Longgalia. I was hoping that we could entrust you to take care of Sachairi; we
certainly can't take him with us."
Merle
nodded. She would have grinned wildly
if the situation hadn't been so grim. "Sure, Van-sama! I would love to
watch him!"
Van smiled,
giving Merle a much-deserved hug. "Thanks, Merle." He gestured to
where his new friends were grouped around a Gaean-style baby crib. "Already my son has more friends than I ever
did."
Merle
sighed. "Already I can tell that he's
going to be quite the stud when he's older."
"Merle!"
Van exclaimed, astonished. "Sure he'll
be handsome; after all, he is half of Hitomi. But please don't term him as a 'stud'! I don't want him to turn into Allen!"
Merle
laughed. "Wow! You actually insulted someone indirectly!"
she teased. Quieting into a more
serious tone, she asked, "When will y'all leave for Austuria?"
"I don't
know," Van answered honestly, hanging his head low. "I want to leave as soon as possible, but I don't want to be
brash and immature like I was in the Great War. I don't want to overlook something that could endanger Hitomi, Sachairi,
or the whole kingdom of Fanelia."
Suddenly a
shrill squeal was heard, along with the speedy clicking of high-heeled shoes
against the marble floor of the castle. The cacophony of excitement was caused by none other than a blushing
Neicole de Longg. "King Van!" she cried
out excitedly, rushing into the conference room in which everybody stood. Balthazar followed her faithfully.
Van
grimaced. "Hello, Duchess," he greeted,
catching the attention of Kaoru, Kenshin, Sano, and Yahiko.
"King Van,
you're back!" Neicole screeched. She
immediately attached herself to Van, hugging the living daylights out of
him. "I was so worried, King Van! After you flew out of the window, I was
scared you'd never come back! Oh, I
missed you so much, King Van!"
Before Van
could reply, Yahiko said in a powerful whisper, "Are you an idiot?!" He pointed to Sachairi, who was obviously
asleep. "You'll wake the kid!"
Balthazar,
offended at someone daring not to address his dear Neicole with proper respect,
hissed, "You will show more respect to the Duchess of Longgalia: Neicole de
Longg!"
Neicole
detached herself from Van, and stuck her nose in the air to give herself more
of a royal air. "You tell him,
Balthazar!" she yelled.
As a
result, Sachairi awoke screaming (for once). Sano growled. "Now look what you
did, Miss Priss!"
"Neicole is
not a priss!" Balthazar exclaimed in her defense. Neicole "hmph"ed to backup his claim.
"Would
everybody just hush please?" Van demanded quietly, making his way over to
Sachairi, who was squirming in a patient Kenshin's arms. Of course, since Van is King, his word is
stone and must be obeyed; hence Neicole and Balthazar immediately quieted.
Van
lovingly lifted Sachairi into his arms. He rubbed him on the back, slowly comforting him and soon quieting
him. "I know you miss your mommy," Van
whispered into Sachairi's little ear. "I miss her too."
Neicole
swooned, although she did not hear Van's words. "Wow! King Van, you're so
good with children!" she exclaimed quietly.
Merle
coughed. "HeshouldbeThekidishisson,"
she said under her voice.
Neicole
looked towards her in curiosity. "What
did you say, Lady Merle?"
Merle
almost panicked. "Who, me?" she asked,
pointing to herself. "Oh, nothing! I was just…uhh…just…agreeing with you! Yeah! I was agreeing with you!"
"Oh,"
Neicole replied, shrugging. Turning to
Van, it finally occurred to her to ask, "Whose baby is that?"
Van
paled. How on Gaea am I supposed to
answer this?! I don't want to lie, but
it wouldn't be safe to tell the truth right now! Before he could make a reply, Kenshin stepped forward. "He is Sessha's son, that he is."
Neicole
lifted her eyebrows in curiosity. "Really? He doesn't look a thing
like you. And why aren't you the one
holding him?"
"Oro!"
Kenshin said in a panic. He was about
to add something more, but Kaoru stopped him. "Well, you said yourself that Va- err, I mean King Van, is very good
with children." She paused. Pointing to Kenshin, she added, "And our
little Sachairi doesn't look like Kenshin because he looks like me." She smiled, winking at Kenshin who was
blushing like mad. "I'm the baby's
mother."
Neicole
nodded her head in understanding. "So
THAT'S where he got the black hair from!" She paused, then cracked up laughing.
"What is it,
my dear Neicole?" Balthazar asked worriedly.
Neicole
continued to laugh, pointing to Van who was still holding Sachairi. "If I didn't know any better," she said
between laughs, "I would think that he's the son of King Van!!"
* * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It took
several minutes, but Neicodemus finally cried all that he could cry. He glanced at his hostage, noticing that she
was still unconscious. He walked up to
her glass prison, rubbing a gloved index finger over the slickness of the
glass. "Such a pity that you have to
simply stay in there," he spoke, knowing full well that she could not hear
him. He clawed at the glass, relishing
in the slight nail-on-chalkboard sound that resulted from the friction between
the glass and the leather of his gloves. He groaned. "Why is it that I
feel so drawn to you? Is it because you
resemble my little Neicole?"
Silence.
"AaaarrAAAA!!!"
Neicodemus screamed, grabbing fistfuls of his short ivory locks. "Why?! WHY?!" he ranted. "Why do you
torment me so, you wench?! Why is it
that every time I think of killing or try to kill you or your son, I can't?!"
Again,
silence.
Neicodemus
angrily paced to the stand that held his precious mirror-globe. "Show me King Van!" he demanded.
As usual,
the mirror-globe swirled in a dizzying and beautiful array of silvers and
grays. Neicodemus could see the ebony
locks of Van slowly materializing, but suddenly everything stopped. What's this? Why has the mirror-globe disobeyed me? He growled. "Show me King Van, I said!" he yelled.
But all the mirror-globe showed him was a pinwheel.