A New Beginning - Chapter 2

Van sat in his throne, listening to official country matters. Merle knelt next to him, waiting for the court meeting to end so they could go out. He was bored as usual, and tried hard to keep his mind on the matters at hand.

"Sir," a young boy in metal-clad armor said, "are you alright? You look a bit dazed. I've been talking for quite a while, and you haven't said a single word."

Van blinked a few times from his return. "Yes. No concern on that matter, Haligre. What were you saying?"

Haligre. An odd name for a young man, if not still in his teenage years. Haligre was also Vargas's student, and it was custom for his disciple to take over Vargas's job shall anything happen to him. Since Van was king, Haligre was the next one in line to be Van's combat specialist and the king's advisor. Supposedly, he had survived the first attack from the Zaibach army, and had hid in the forest until everything was over. Merle had survived the same way, but she had come out of the forest to search for Van. A trusted knight, he claims to be part of the secret attack against Zaibach, but never revealed himself. Funny how no one knew Vargas had another disciple. Funny how no one suspected him. Merle didn't like him very much, but it seems Van has put the whole country into this man's hands. I'll be watching him.

Van wished that Hitomi could see his new life as king, and what a good job he had done with rebuilding Fanelia. He wanted to share it with her, to let her see this beauty. To let her have the title of queen.

"Hitomi…" Van whispered.

"What?" Haligre asked, leaning closer to hear it more clearly.

"Nothing important. What were you saying?" There, he had drifted again. He did that too often these days, probably because of the responsibility of the task. Not that he didn't want the role, but to have someone ideal to share your life with, yet to have lost that opportunity. Isn't the king supposed to get everything he wants?

"…so I think that you need to rebuild the tower in the West wing of the castle. Van, I need your opinion." Crap, I wasn't supposed to call him that. "I will act upon your decision."

Gladly, Van didn't hear what Haligre was saying. "Fine, go ahead, you have my permission." Eh, better to get this over with and get out of here, thought Van. "End of court meeting." Merle jumped up in joy. "Finally! Where do you wanna go today, Master Van?"

"I don't want to go anywhere. I'll go for a walk in the garden. I need some time alone to think." Merle pouted and looked as if she was ready to cry. "But I thought you said we were going out today…"

"Merle, I'd play some other time, not now. I'm tired from the court meeting, and would like some time alone." Just then Merle started skipping around him. "Master Van, Master Van, I can think for you! Then afterwards we can play!"

"I. SAID. NO!" Merle froze, and dropped her front paws to the ground, her weak eyes welling up. Van stared at her, realized what he had done, and walked away, always not the type of person to apologize. On her hind legs, Merle looked on as Van disappeared. "Poor Master Van…" she whispered to herself.

The streets of Fanelia at night were really quiet. Everyone was back in their own little house, cooking or having dinner already. He had walked by a few houses with laughter inside. How he wished he had a family. How he wished he still had a family. She was just about the only family he had. Or felt close enough to be family. He shook his head from the memories. He was heading to his brother's grave, and ever since Hitomi had left, he did that almost every day in secret. "Folken…Brother." You died in honor of your country. Memories of his childhood with Folken flooded back to him. You never failed on the dragon hunt, Brother. You succeeded in a way no one else could… Before he knew it, he was walking in the forest, and had passed the barrier between the city capital of Fanelia and the wilderness. Memories of Hitomi then flooded back to him. He remembered this forest well. This was where he first loved Hitomi, the point where he'd shown his wings. A flashback. […your wings are beautiful.] And then he saw himself smiling and responding to her comment. [The only people who've ever said that is Merle and you.] But what is the point in thinking of something that had once been but never will be? More memories. [I want you,] he remembered himself saying. Then he remembered being a wimp and backed out of the original meaning of his confession. [I need your power.] If only he hadn't backed out, then he'd have spent more time with Hitomi while it lasted. Baka.

A faint groan came from the bushes, snapping him away from his memories. A hand reached out to grab his leg, and kicked it away in surprise, flinching away and pulling out his sword, pointing it at the bushes. "Who's there?" He readied himself for whatever was there.

"Help…" As that was whispered, the hand tried to grasp for something, only touching air, and then it fell to the ground. Convinced that this was human and not dangerous, he stared in stupidity for a few more seconds, and sheathed the sword. He walked slowly towards the hand and noticed a broken feather lying clenched in the hand. He grabbed the hand and dragged out whoever was there.

When he saw the face of the speaker, he gasped. "Hitomi!" He checked her breath. Not dead yet. He shook her, to make sure she was real and to try to wake her. "Hitomi! Snap out of it!" She remained still. She was in rags, and he knew the bushes she was pulled out from were thorny, but it looked impossible to have cut clothing into shreds. And oddly, she had a few red cuts on her, but they seemed deeper than what the bushes were able to do. He picked her up and started making his way clumsily back towards the castle.