Elements of the Mind
~2~
Hitomi's eyes fluttered open. The pale light of morning filtered through her window and pooled on the floor. She pushed her blankets back and swung her legs over the side of her bed before she noticed her sitting there. A strange woman with cascading long white hair and a flowing kimono sat on her windowsill. The woman looked up at Hitomi with her large pale eyes.
"You're…you're that woman from my vision." Hitomi stuttered. The lady closed her eyes and bowed her head. Suddenly Hitomi felt like she was falling and the room went pitch black. When Hitomi woke again she found her self standing on a hilltop that over looked Fanelia. The strange woman stood next to her, smiling sadly down at the town.
"Be true to your heart Tenkou and he'll be true to his." She murmured before disappearing. Hitomi stared blankly at the space where the beautiful woman had stood. Thoughts swirled through her mind and within each of them came a vision of a king.
"Is she talking about Van?" Hitomi pondered, "And if so, what does she mean?" She left her thoughts and started to slowly make her way down the hill. The city had begun to take shape but it still resembled a pile of burnt rumble. People had made camp on the streets or made shelters out of the skeletons of the old building. A large crowd had gather up ahead, people were shouting demands and waving their arms in the air as loaves of bread where thrown at them. Anyone who caught the bread gave a happy cry and left the square. "Food rations." Hitomi thought. She stood and watched until everyone had left, save the three men who had been throwing the bread. His hair and eyes gave him away in a second. Hitomi gave a happy cry and ran towards him.
"Van!" she screamed. He didn't even look up; he just kept talking to the other two men by his side. When Hitomi was about three feet in front of him she stopped running. "Van?" she said slowly, waving her hands in his face. Frustrated by his lack of response Hitomi reached out to grab his arm. When she went to grasp his wrist she found that her hand went straight through his. "Is this only a dream?"
"That is right Tenkou, what you are seeing is only an illusion, unfortunately you can not touch it." Said the strange woman out of know where. Suddenly they were on the hill again.
"Is it real? Is what I am seeing actually happening?" Hitomi asked, searching the woman's face for answers. But she found no answers, for the woman had disappeared again leaving Hitomi staring at her own reflection in the mirror.
"What's wrong with me?" Hitomi screamed in frustration before collapsing to the floor.
"The wind whispers forgotten pain."
Van stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom. It was around seven he guessed by the light streaming through his window. She had woken him up and he knew it. It had been a long time since he'd heard her call him. He knew that he and Hitomi where linked telepathically but it had been ages since he'd felt that connection with her, until recently. Every so often he'd hear her say his name, for the longest time it had only been a whisper but last night he'd heard her call him. Her voice had sounded so excited and happy at first but then she grew annoyed.
"Why do I still hear her?" he asked the walls, "It's not like I love her anymore."
Knowing full well that he wasn't going to fall back asleep, Van, elected to get out of bed. After getting dressed he sat down at his desk to look over some paperwork and yesterday's forgotten mail.
"What in the world does the Duke of Maylina want with me?" Van wondered before opening the letter. After reading the first paragraph he sighed, crumpled the paper and threw it out. "Why do they keep sending me this crap? All the letters are the same… 'I have a lovely daughter who is at the perfect age for marriage…blah blah' What part of 'I don't want to get married yet' don't they understand?" Van pushed back his chair and walked silently over to the window. Fanalia lay spread out before him in the morning light, about two thirds of the city was completely repaired the rest of the city was the charred remains of what had been.
"Why don't they understand that I can't marry until I see that my people are happy and comfortable. My happiness is second to those of my people and besides marrying some stranger is not going to make me happier. So my advisors can continue advising about marriage but it's not going to happen, not yet, not now, not until I can give my wife my full heart." Van sighed, " Even after my country is re-built, I seriously doubt anyone will have my full heart simply because one woman still owns a small piece of it." A small knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. "Come in" he called.
The door opened a crack. "Lord Van…?" came a timid voice.
"Come in Merle"
Merle let out a little sigh before stepping in the room and closing the door behind her. "I heard you talking," Merle explained, "So I wasn't sure if you had company." She added with a wink.
Van gave her an exasperated look. "I was just thinking out loud."
"I see. What were you thinking about?" she inquired. Van didn't feel like telling her so he just shrugged his shoulders and stood up.
"Where you thinking about Hitomi?" She ventured.
Van almost choked, "How did she know him so well?" He thought. Merle was giving him a strange look. "No, I wasn't thinking about Hitomi." He finally replied after clearing his throat.
She didn't look as if she believed him.
"What? I wasn't!"
Merle raised her hands in defense. "Hey, I never said you where." Van was about to say something else but stopped himself after looking at Merle. She had a very smug smile plastered across her face. Realizing, that she just called his bluff, he ordered out of his room.
After she left, Van walked over to his bed and flopped down on it.
"Van" he heard her whisper his name.
"Why Hitomi? Why are you calling me now? I thought you'd forgotten, I thought I didn't care. So, now why are you whispering my name again?"
"To see is to believe."
Taishin smiled down at a sleeping Shakaku. They had been traveling by horse back for quite sometime now and exhausted, she had fallen asleep while riding. It was early morning and the sun was just starting its ritualistic climb into the sky, illuminating the thick forest with its rays.
Shakaku woke suddenly and let out a small cry.
"What is it? What is wrong?" Taishin asked, worry etched in his face.
"She…she, she saw me Taishin, she saw me enter her dreams. She even spoke to me and heard words that I did not speak!"
Taishin's eyes widened in surprise. "No one was supposed to be able to detect a dream watcher, not even the queen." She stared up at him with seemingly blank eyes, but he alone could read the anxiety that shone in them. "What does it mean?"
"I am not sure, but there is a problem."
"What?!"
"I think our queen is in love with the dragon."
"And what's so wrong with that? I love you."
Shakaku smiled at his words, she loved hearing him say he loved her, it made her feel so warm. "The problem is that, she isn't sure if she loves him and he doesn't think he loves her. Their conflicting emotions will bring them both mental turmoil. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to aid them except give friendly advise. But once they discover their true emotion their power will be limitless, much like our own."
Taishin nodded solemnly because he understood her words. "There are going to be some bumps on the road to come aren't there?"
"Yes, but alas there is nothing we can do."
"When will the queen arrive?"
"Soon, you must have patients. We will arrive in Fanelia in two days time, by then our queen will have arrived and the dragon will be the only problem. We will have to trick him into coming with us but it must be done." Shakaku's eyes started to flutter closed again. Taishin didn't press her for more information because he knew how much energy it took for her to see other people's dreams. Instead he wove a sleep spell over her to ensure that she slept peacefully.
"I can see you now Taishin, you look so hansom when you smile." She murmured before surrendering to his magic. He nudged the horse forward as they continued threw the woods. If anyone had been looking carefully they would have seen the trees part their branches to let the couple pass.
"There is a world just around the corner of your mind, where dreams are reality and the will is the greatest power of all."
"Hitomi." She heard him whisper her name. Her head snapped up and she looked around the store for signs of him but found none.
"Hitomi!" This time it was her angry manager. "Hitomi this is the third time you've messed up. I am getting sick of your incompetence!" His face had turned a shade of scarlet and you could see veins protrude from his forehead.
"I am sorry, I guess I wasn't concentrating." Hitomi said briskly before grabbing the bill from his hand to inspect. "Hey at least it wasn't as expensive as the last item right?"
"Hitomi!!!"
"Hmph, that guy has some nerve firing me. Oh well, the store wasn't going to last long, I've known that for awhile now." Hitomi sat down on a park bench and watched the people hurry past her. It was around six o'clock, everyone was going home to the their family. She let her gaze wonder around the park until it fell on an unusual looking girl who was standing with her back to Hitomi. The girl cast a backward glance in Hitomi's direction before she started walking.
"Hey, it's her! That's the woman from my dream." Hitomi stood quickly and started running after her. The girl disappeared into the darkening forest. "Wait" Hitomi called out as she entered the woods. The stranger was nowhere to be seen but Hitomi kept looking frantically. Alas she came to a clearing in the forest. Suddenly, Hitomi's purse started to glow a radiant white. Upon opening the purse Hitomi discovered that it was the feather she had found yesterday morning that was emitting the strange light.
"What's happening?" She pulled the feather out and it started to float in front of her.
"Hitomi, come to me!" Was the last she heard before the light enveloped her and she fainted.
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Van was in a bad mood; he wasn't sure why but he just was. After almost taking off three servants and Merle's head, she'd told him to go outside and cool off. Van had taken her advice readily and apologized profusely for his rash behavior. He had blamed his temper on work stress. Fanelia was almost completely restored which meant that his excuse for not doing certain things was about to come to an abrupt halt. Marriage.
"Damn it." He thought, "Why does that word keep coming back to haunt me. I am King I should get to decide if I marry." But for some strange reason the word marriage seems to lead to the name Hitomi which resulted in his temper flaring. "Why can't I get her out of my head?"
Van grit his teeth in frustration and nudged his horse to ride faster. The sun was setting slowly in the West and the sky had turned violet and orange. He stopped his horse on top of hill to admire the beautiful display of colours in the sky.
As his vision panned around the country- side, Van noticed something gold and sparkly in the forest below him. Curiosity got the better of him and he rode down the hill to investigate. The first thing that occurred to him was that the gold was attached to something, actually someone; a girl to be precise. The gold that Van had spotted was the arm cuffs, which she wore on both arms. The girl was clothed in a white, flowing, sleeveless dress that somewhat resembled Roman attire and her hair was drawn back in braid. A feather was gripped tightly in her right hand as she lay face down in the moss.
Van quickly dismounted his horse and circled the girl. There were many crafty magicians and nymphs in these areas and Van didn't feel like becoming a victim of their sorcery. After assuring himself that she wasn't bait Van bent over the sleeping girl and shook her gently. She stirred slightly but made no effort to awaken. Growing, impatient Van pinched her ear.
"Eeeek!" she cried and sat upright. The girl's head moved from side to side quickly taking in the surroundings. Her gaze fell on the two moons. "Oh no, not again." She muttered before slowly getting to her feet.
"Are you alright?" Van asked hesitantly. She let out a startled yelp and turned in his direction. Shadows distorted her feature and Van couldn't make out who she was or if she was from Fenalia.
Hitomi stared up at the strange man and caught a flash of red in his eye. Suddenly a vision field her mind and she felt so cold. She could see herself and she was alone, so alone. Hitomi could see herself crying herself to sleep night after endless night and she saw how each day she found it harder and harder to get out of bed until one day she didn't. She simply lay there and cried. Another vision started as the first one ended, she was crying once again but this time it was tears of joy. She saw her self sitting at a vanity wearing a beautiful white dress but she wasn't alone, no there where other people there with her.
Van watched as the strange girl shut her eyes and wince like she was in pain.
"Miss?" He said as he waved his hand in front of her eyes. She snapped out of it quickly and looked up at him trembling.
"Sir, would it be too much trouble for you to take me to Fanelia?"
"No of course not. May I inquire as to why you would like to go to Fanelia?" Van led her over to his horse and helped her up.
"One of my good friends lives there, but truth is I haven't seen him a very long time." Hitomi replied rather shyly as Van mounted the horse and instructed her to hold on to his waist.
"What's his name, I might know him?" Van nudged the horse forward and they began to ride to towards the capital. Hitomi held tighter and pressed face into his back as they increased their pace.
"He smells familiar, like…" Hitomi mind raced, "Van?"
He almost fell off the horse. "Pardon me?"
"Van!" Hitomi cried and hugged him tighter. They came to stop and got off the horse. Hitomi had tears in her eyes, "It's you, I can't believe it! And you're real this time."
Van gazed down at the bubbly woman who was hugging him tightly. Unsure of who she was he lifted her chin so he could look into the stranger's large green eyes. "Hitomi…" A wave of emotions crashed over Van and he fought to keep his feelings in check.
Hitomi gazed up at Van who looked like someone had just punched him the stomach. She released him and stepped back. Suddenly her senses began to real; someone very powerful was approaching them quickly. The mysterious aura crept up her spine causing her to shudder involuntarily. Hitomi realized quickly that Van had felt it to for he had pushed her behind him and drawn his sword.
"Who's there?" He demanded in a harsh tone.
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Well, that's all for now! Things are just starting to get warmed up! *g* Thank to all that reviewed! You people are my inspiration! I am off to sunny Texas (yeehaw!) for 9 days so the next part won't get put up until I get back! Love ya all! ^_~ Chi
*I don't own Escaflowne, I just own my original characters!*