This is the last chapter, but not the end of the story… As in all stories, there is an epilogue so don't forget to come back and read it, when I post it.  I just wanted to take time here to thank each and every person who has read, and in a way shared this story with me.  I so enjoyed writing this and was almost sad to see it end, but then that is what sequels are for, and I have already started to outline one to this story.  But it will be awhile coming, as this took 5 months to write this, and it is nowhere as involved as By the Hand of Destiny is becoming.  Please again Read and Review, Sincerely Fanilia

Gaea has been saved, by the sacrifices of those Van loves and the Prophecy has been fulfilled, but has it.  Yukari never did give Hitomi the letter from her mother, but discovers it was for another.  The time comes as it was destined to, for friends to part ways and return to the lives as before the coming of the Fire Star. 

Chapter 33; The Journey's End

The Crusade is traveling slowly thru the forests of Fanilia, back to the castle; to the place it all began.  The shrine is far behind, but now several crewmen are guarding it, they will stay till a guard from Fanilia arrives, from now on the shrine will be protected.

Hitomi is in the room she shared with Van on the voyage to the shrine.  Amano has given her condition a name, calling it a coma, it is common on the Mystic Moon; his father had been in the same condition before his death.  He tells Van that Hitomi doesn't feel pain, for she is gone only her body hasn't given up yet.  It's not the whole truth, but the people of Fanilia and those of Gaea will need an explanation they can understand.  It is important that Van and Hitomi's child be born with out being the object of fear from the unexplained.  Friends have stopped to check on Van, he refuses to leave Hitomi's side for any reason, his love for her and the bonding of the Mating Fire are like a prison encasing his mind, making him relive her death over and over again.

One person has been absent, not ready to come into the room, Yukari.  She has returned to her own personality, the only reminders of her experience are the painful memories she will carry with her and the scar down the side of her face, a mirror image of the one Van gave to Lord Dilandau years before.  She has come as far as the door several times, each time turning back.  Finally Amano urges her to go to Van and to see her friend.  As she

enters the room, lit by the soft light of candles on every table and shelf, she hesitates, Amano has assured her that while under the influence of the fate alteration, no one blamed her for anything she did, least of all him.  She walks to the bed, looking down at her lifelong friend, her best friend, her eyes are red and puffy from crying.

Yukari: "I'm so sorry."

Van: "There's no need, Yukari, it wasn't anyone's fault, fate had decided long ago the outcome, we were all just players."

Yukari looks around just now realizing that others are in the room.  She sees the expressions on each face, it is true, no one there blames her.  She begins to cry all over.  After a time she gathers her self and holds out in her hand an envelope.

Yukari: "After we return to Fanilia I hope to find a way to return to my home, I don't want to stay here, I just want to forget.   Amano doesn't want to go back, not yet anyway, we both feel it's for the best this way."

 She looks down at the envelope she is holding in her outstretched hand.

Yukari: "This is a letter to Hitomi from her mother, she told me I would know when to give it to her.  It's strange, but I feel now is the time."

She takes Van's hand in hers and opening his palm places the envelope into it.  He stares at the fine white paper as if it is some foreign object, then slowly opens the seal and removes the papers inside.  The letter is written in the language of the Mystic Moon, he is unable to read it so he hands it back to Yukari.  She holds it in trembling hands as she begins to read.

Yukari: "My dearest Van, 

My beautiful Hitomi is gone.  Dead by powers that I will never understand, but I know that no matter how I grieve, you're grieving more."

Yukari's stops reading, her voice is cracking with the threat of new tears.

Yukari: "She knew!  I can't read this I'm sorry, Van."

Yukari is crying again as Amano steps to her side and gently removes the papers from her.

Amano: "It's ok I'll finish."

He waits as she pulls herself together and joins the others sitting in the room.

Amano: "I knew three years ago when Hitomi returned from the land she called Gaea without her pendant that she would again one day leave me, but that when she did she would never return.  The pendant had protected her, without it she could be found and returned to her home world, your world.  Hitomi wasn't my daughter, she was my sister, her mother was my stepmother and how I came to raise her as my own, is a story that may be revealed someday, but not by me, and not in a letter. 

I am grate full that I had these last three years with her, I cherished every moment of them, and I will hold her forever in my heart.  I am sorry your time with her was so short, but she loved you, I know, as only a mother can know the heart of her daughter.

I also know that death isn't the end of everything, and I trust in the love you have for Hitomi, it will see you thru, Van.  You are in my heart and in my mind."

Amano folds the paper, handing it back to Van.

Allen stands and starts to pace in the small room.  To him the thought that destiny controls everything and the outcome was never theirs to change is something he can't and won't except.  He angrily slams his fist into his open palm.

Allen: "This can't be how it ends, I won't believe we never had any control in the outcome.  Destiny is how you make it, it doesn't make you."

Celena reaches a hand to her brother's arm; pulling him back she squeezes it looking into his troubled eyes.

Celena: "But it controls the flow of the choices we receive, Hitomi could have saved herself, but the cost would have been this world, she loved us all too much to let that happen.  She was rewarded for that choice, her child, created by the love she and Van shared will be a living reminder that she was here."  

Several weeks have passed since the Crusade arrived back in Fanilia and life has returned back to as normal as is possible. Van is no longer the young king, but is being called "The Dragon" by his people because of the small dragonet that now resides on this shoulder or never very far from his side.  The tale of how he again found his true love and may lose her to an illness that befell her not long after their marriage, has spread all over Fanilia. They will have an heir, but not a Queen to make the kingdom whole and their King happy.

Escaflowne is again asleep, standing silent guard at the Royal tomb, his energist removed and returned to the statute in Van's room.  Van used Escaflowne's energist to send Hitomi home once and is going to try to send Yukari back with it today. Millerna and Dryden are to leave for Palas and Allen will be returning to the kingdom of Freid and Eries with Celena.  His friends are all going back to the lives they left before the Firestar, but none of them will ever take a single day for granted.  They all agree to return for the births of both Merle's and Hitomi's babies.  Merle has been under the care of the healers and is doing fine.  But those same healers, unaware of Hitomi's true condition have tried everything possible to help her, but nothing has helped.

Everyone is again drawn to Hitomi, this time to say good-bye.  Van enters the room first, but Hitomi is missing.  The only occupant of the room now is a servant changing the bed.

Van: "Where is Hitomi?"

Servant: "Your wife is outside getting some fresh air, the healers thought it might help her condition, My Lord.  They took her to the gardens, it is so beautiful there."

Van: "Why wasn't I informed of this?"

Servant: "I don't know My Lord is something wrong."

Van: "No."

Allen: "I'm sure they are just trying to help, Van. We can say good-bye there, it is after all beautiful day."

The garden is beautiful, the flowers in full bloom, their scents filling the air.  Hitomi is covered with a light blanket she looks to be sleeping.  Van finds it harder every day to see her like this, as if she will turn to him open her eyes and smile.  Van excuses the healer sitting with Hitomi and for a moment he is left alone with his love.  He sinks to his knees beside her; again the grief floods his heart and mind. 'Why!'  He can't keep doing this, not today with his friends leaving.  Van sighs and stands as the others join him. 

Mr. Mole joins them as they are saying their farewells, Van had forgotten he was still there at the castle, but then the man is always somewhere.  He strolls up and hands something to Van.  It is a small golden frame intricately carved with dragons; the Prophecy is mounted in it, written in the language of the Mystic Moon, the Gaean translation under each line.  Dryden looks closely at it, a shocked expression crossing his face.

Dryden: "That's the page from the book, how did you get that."

Mr. Mole: "It's for the little lady, by all rights it is hers."

He smiles inwardly 'A little push, a lot of luck, he will know.'

Yukari walks over, for the first time reading the Prophecy that has brought them all so much pain.

Yukari: "Why is this written in my language? I don't understand."

Van: "The Book of Three is written in the language of the Mystic Moon.  The people of Atlantice were originally from there.  It was one of my mother's books.  We believe that the translations were added sometime later."

Yukari: "To think this was written so long ago, but I still don't understand something, this doesn't say anything about a heart of light."

Pointing to the verse he is referring to Dryden reads out loud.

Dryden: "Here the last line in the last verse.  Only when the balance is restored shall the dragon renew its shadow."

Yukari: "By the blood pact of the winged people."

Amano looks over Yukari's shoulder.

Amano: "She's right, someone must have translated it wrong."

Van: "Then we were never looking for the right answer, there never was a heart of light."

Van understands now as images flash thru his mind.  He is holding an energist high, standing in the castle shrine, with his sword he cuts his thumb allowing his blood to flow into the energist binding him to it.  He sees himself place the energist in the chest crystal of the giant guymelf and as he removes his hand it starts to beat, bring the sleeping dragon, Escaflowne, to life.  He sees himself in the Mystic Valley a blue/green energist floating down from his mother's image to his outstretched hand.  He sees himself, in the shrine at Thera Utopia placing the Green Dragon's energist in the resting place of the Light of Balance.  He sees himself standing in the very same shrine as Hitomi's grandma, no it is her true mother, tells him that it is not within HER power to save Hitomi for she is no longer whole.  No longer whole.

Van: "Oh No!"

Van turns and runs from the garden startling Goldie from his shoulder and leaving his friends staring at him.  Van is out of breath as her returns a few minutes later, bending with his hands on his knees as he allows his breathing to slow. 

Merle: "Lord Van are you alright?"

Van: "I've had it the whole time."

Van raises his hand and holds out the blue/green energist from the Mystic Valley.  Slowly he covers the last few feet to stand beside Hitomi.  He stares at her for a moment before removing his sword from his side.  He raises the energist high above his head and with his other hand uses his sword to slice along the skin of his thumb.  The blood flows from the cut and onto the energist, being absorbed by the stone, binding him to it.  He closes his eyes, concentrating on what he is about to do.

Van: "Sleeping Dragon Awaken!"

Van lowers the energist and places it on Hitomi's chest.  He stands there waiting as the seconds stretch by.  In the sky a single star, the morning star, brightens flashing in the blue sky above, giving the last of its power.  Everything becomes quiet, again it's as if time is standing still.  Goldie flies down to land on Van's shoulder his tail coils around the King's neck as he starts to sing.  Nathen had been right the song of the small dragon is like the songs of the angles themselves, beautiful, and joyous.  The energist begins to resonate as it fades and vanishes, its glow spreading across Hitomi's body.  She is rising in the air as if being lifted by unseen arms, her hair flowing out framing her face and cascading over her shoulders.  Hitomi's eyes fly open and she gasps as her body arches as wings of the purest white emerge from her back.  She is now truly part of Van. Not only does Dragon's Mating Fire mate them; they are bonded by blood pact, the blood pact of the winged people. Hitomi's friends watch in awe as the glow fades and she gently touches the ground, feathers flying in all directions among the flowers.

**

What does the future hold?

That's all I'm going to say.  Next the Epilogue to The Prophecies of Escaflowne

Fanilia