FF.Net has annoyed me vastly. But nevertheless, I perservered and tried not to go insane without my nightly doses of fanfics. Don't know how I did it. I think Sage is partly to thank for keeping me within my mental faculties. Thank you, Sage, I'd have gone bonkers if I didn't know you!!
As always, check out my rambling site: http://www.angelfire.com/anime3/abydospersephone/index.html.
Ditto. I have Sage's permission to use her name, but I still don't own her.
~*Chapter Four: Darling, Lady, and Volunteer*~
A WEEK AGO
A dark-haired woman lay underneath a pillar of fallen stone. The pillar had fallen a century ago, most likely, and it was supported by the strength of another pillar which was still standing. The woman's keen eyesight was directed to the base of the fallen pillar, where she had noticed several pictographs. Most of them were quite primitive and not well-drawn, and told simple stories which were actually quite similar to Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty. Love stories, the woman deduced.
"Strange," the woman mused aloud. Never before had she seen pictographs depicting love stories. She had uncovered pictographs which told the process of albino sea-slug mating once before in an old cave near East Austuria, but she was in Asgard now. Asgard was an island of mystery, always surrounded by heavy fog, but nevertheless the woman journeyed here to see what archaeological finds could be found. On her way to Asgard, part of her had been hoping to discover the massive island had inhabitants. No such luck. But obviously, many someones lived here at one time. The pillars didn't just erect and carve themselves, now did they?
Back to the pillar, she commanded herself. There was a small patch that was heavily encrusted with dust, but aroused the woman's curiosity anyway. She reached for her satchel that held her tools, only to find it wasn't there. She cursed mentally. "Balthazar!" she called out.
The man called Balthazar stood from his position of watching the small fire that he and the woman lit in the ruins. "What is it, my darling Sage?" he asked as he made his way towards his wife.
Sage couldn't help but smile at her husband's affectionate term, and she almost became as giddy as a little schoolgirl. Balthazar seemed to have that effect on her. "Could you find my satchel and get me my dust-brush, sweetie?" she requested nicely.
"Of course," Balthazar replied happily. Within seconds, he located his wife's satchel and delivered the sought-after item to her. He knelt down beside Sage, letting his brown eyes glimpse with wonder at the huge fallen pillar. "What have you uncovered?"
"There's a dusty patch," Sage answered. A tanned hand held the small dust-brush, and with it she carefully and slowly brushed away the encrusted dust. What was revealed was nowhere near as primitive as the previous pictographs. In fact, she wasn't even sure that it could be called a pictograph, because it was more like a sketch with wording alongside it. "What do you think it is, sweetie?" she asked her husband.
"I'm not sure," Balthazar answered candidly. "But it does look like an elaborate and well-drawn sketch of a man and woman."
"It does, doesn't it?" Sage paused, running a finger lightly over the wording. "Hey! I know what this says!" she exclaimed proudly.
"What does it say, my darling Sage?"
" 'Man of sky; Woman of mind; Engraved in stone; The destiny entwined; Streak of fire; Streak of light; Engraved in stone; The lovers' plight'," Sage recited. "It's in the ancient beast-folk language. Why do you suppose this tragic one is amidst all the happy love stories? And why are all of them of humans and not beast-people?"
Balthazar handed her a hammer and chisel. "I do not know, my darling Sage, but perchance you could take this interesting piece home with you? We are scheduled to return to Freid tomorrow."
Sage pouted teasingly. "But I'm having so much fun!"
"I'll show you fun."
"Eeeeeeeeee!!"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
BACK TO THE PRESENT
Van stood and simply stared at the innocent green switch on the wall. The green switch that would bring forth his Hitomi. Part of him was almost panicking; what if he seemed too forward? What if he started asking too many questions? What if he made a complete idiot out of himself? Suddenly the teachings of his old swordmaster drifted into his mind: "You must charge more aggressively." Did that apply to more than just swordsmanship?—did it mean that it was perfectly fine if he seemed forward?
Van finally decided that he should flip the green switch; nervousness and confusion be darned. Once again the bluish white light beamed down from nowhere yet everywhere at once, and the beautiful hologram with whom Van was infatuated was revealed.
Hitomi smiled. "Hello, Van."
Van just about lost it right then and there. Her beautiful eyes, her sexy hair, her dazzling smile, even her tone of voice…they assaulted him and nearly made him weak in the knees. Nevertheless, he kept his apparent composure and attempted to sound…normal. "Hi, Hitomi."
"So, do you want to start the tour? There's not much on this deck, but…"
"Stop," Van interrupted. It came out gruffer than he wanted it to, and he instantly berated his vocal chords when he saw the mixture of anger and hurt appear in the depths of Hitomi's eyes. "I…" he continued, "I wanted to ask you something."
Hitomi was startled at how cold his tone had been when he interrupted her. He had been so warm and complimenting at the end of the previous day's encounter. What had changed? Was he sick? She found herself almost getting worried. Finally answering his question, she said, "Okay."
Van stuttered for a while, trying to ask what he wanted to ask. Heaving a sigh of frustration, he finally managed to spit it out, "I wanted to know if you could feel me."
Hitomi opened and closed her mouth and quickly turned several shades of red. Did he just…did he just ask me for a sexual favor?! Assuming that he did indeed do just that, she lifted an arm and slapped Van squarely on the face.
Van reeled backwards, almost falling to the ground. His eyes were wide, and despite his dazed and confused look he knew exactly what error he had made. In fact, if she hadn't have slapped him, he would've slapped himself. He ignored the biting pain on his face, and exclaimed, "No! That's not what I meant! Honest!"
"Father told me you were different. Father told me that…"
"I am different," Van interrupted, nicely this time. Before Hitomi could ask anything, he continued, "I'm…sorry, Hitomi. I didn't mean for it to come out like that."
Hitomi arched an eyebrow, obviously wary of him now. Soon, though, she saw the honest look in that hypnotizing reddish brown gaze of his, and commented, "You can rephrase if you want to."
Van sighed with relief. Fidgeting a bit, he stammered, "Well, I…that is…err…." He paused, clearing his throat. "I wanted to know if, when we shook hands yesterday, you could feel it. I want to know if you can feel things."
"Feel…" Hitomi repeated. "I can do that. I could feel your glove yesterday—it was soft and rough at the same time, and it was warm." She smiled as she recalled their meeting yesterday. Getting him to shake her hand was an accomplishment she would always hold in high esteem. Blushing again, she hung her head low. "I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions."
Van moved closer to her, lifting her head up with a gentle hand. "Don't be," he spoke simply. "Gaddes warned you of men taking advantage of you, no doubt. No offense, but to many you would be considered a beautiful thing instead of a beautiful woman."
Still blushing, Hitomi closed her eyes and nuzzled into Van's touch. "Father called me a 'beautiful little lady'. But I always thought it was a father's endearing sentiments for a daughter, and not an actual description."
Not being able to resist, Van ran his other hand through Hitomi's short honey brown hair. Acquiring a blush to rival Hitomi's, he spoke, "You are. You are a beautiful lady. But more than that…you're a beautiful soul too." He smiled tenderly as Hitomi opened her emerald orbs.
Hitomi smiled for a moment, relishing in the many compliments, but soon it morphed to a frown. "But I'm not real."
"You're real enough for me."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"This." Van bent down slightly, and captured Hitomi's lips in a light but passionate kiss. He sucked slightly on her lower lip, then reached her upper lip with his tongue and licked it. His hands traveled from the sides of her head down to her shoulders, then finally rested on her hips.
Once their mouths pulled apart, they took a few moments to breathe. "Could you feel that?" Van asked.
Hitomi nodded dazedly.
"Then you're real enough for me."
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"Your abilities with linguistics astound me, Iquitel." Zelacks grinned, rubbing a finger over his lips. "To think, I'm speaking Gaean now."
"It's a relatively easy language, My Lord. And much easier to pronounce than our own."
"Yes, well now we must concentrate on who we will send to…be our eyes. You know as well as I do that the dear King is adventurous. Once he assembles a crew, he shall set off, and then he might discover his craft's true abilities. We cannot have that."
"You are true, My Lord."
"Then whom do you recommend, Iquitel? Who shall be our eyes?"
Iquitel trailed a finger down Zelacks's chest seductively. "I am your top officer…. Perhaps I should go?" Truth be told, the only reason she suggested herself was because she'd be able to get away from Zelacks. Good in bed, bad in heart. Not a good combination, she reminded herself.
"My my, Iquitel…" Zelacks spoke with a slightly startled tone. "You would volunteer yourself? This assignment shall be dangerous, seeing as how you will not be able to hold your altered appearance for long. We should send someone who is expendable."
"But someone who is expendable may not be reliable."
"There is truth in that."
"So, then…My Lord, let me go."
Zelacks sighed, debating. Finally with an aimless wave of his two right hands, he consented. "Off to the sorcerers you go."
Iquitel grinned like a Cheshire cat. "As you wish, My Lord."