Chapter 5
I opened my eyes and took my first peek at my surroundings. A small clearing, bordered by the woods, with a shallow spring crossing it from what she believed was north to south.
Were the hell am I?
I've never been at this place and...
Hitomi...
The voice calls me, it lures me towards the farthest end of the grass-covered area. Without even thinking I follow it's call. Perhaps whomever is there can help me?
Come, my child... Your destiny awaits.
What? Now, that doesn't make sense. My feet keep dragging me towards the voice, even as I command them to stop. Panic is rising inside my heart, cold perspiration covering my forehead. Why can't I control my body? What on Gaea, Earth or wherever I am, is going on?
Don't worry, little one. Everything will be explained. Soon...
Will it? Fear has already numbed my senses, I can feel it's icy talons in my mind. The presence, for that's the only way I can describe it, was all around me. It seem to merge with the wind, the water, with everything around me.
The little hairs at the back of my neck are standing still, as if suddenly alive, but it's only for a second, for at the same moment I stepped into the forest, I felt my consciousness slipping, and merciful blackness enveloped me.
Van looked at the letter lying in his hands. Why would Dryden call him to a secret meeting? The asturian merchant had never needed his advice for anything so why did he request his assistance in a 'financial matter' as his letter stated?
He turned towards the other man in the room: Allen Schezar. The Kaeli knight had been the bearer of the letter, but as far as Allen knew, their merchant friend didn't need money or advice, though it was truth that Dryden seemed tense about something lately. Could this note mean he had found something that might cause them trouble?
Van's attention was again drawn towards the knight sitting across the room. His rival, not only in love, but in everything, that was, aside from being a king. He still felt self-conscious around the older man. As if he was always being compared to him. And that made his feelings towards him a really nice and tangled mess. Were they friends? Were they enemies?
Hitomi's beautiful face flashed across his mind. He still loved her, after all this years, but what did Allen feel for her? Did it even matter? She was long gone, with little, if any, hope of coming back.
Come on, Van. Stop fooling yourself. She probably won't ever come back and your just pinning after her memory, after a phantom of what she used to be. Get a grip man and stop holding grudges for things that nobody can help. You better...
-"VAN? Are you even listening to me?''
It was Allen's voice what pulled him back from his reverie. He remembered then the letter, which still rested in his hands, and that he still had to tell his answer.
-"What would you do, Allen? Think this is important, or just one more of Dryden's little jokes?''
The older man stared at him dumbfounded.
-"Okay, who are you and what have you done to mister I'm-a-royal-pain-in-the-ass Van Fanel?''
Van couldn't help a smile. Sure, it was unusual for him to ask for help, but he wasn't that bad, was he?
As an answer to Allen's question, he decided that a nice glare would be enough.
-"Yep, still the same grouchy teen I remember. What would the other guys think if they saw you, Van?''
-"They would probably say I haven't changed one bit, not that you would care.''
Van flinched at his own icy tone and words. Okay, so old habits die hard, right? It would just take some getting used to, even if Allen had never been on his good graces, he could still be civil to him, right? Right!?