*****
Celena heard the footsteps of the new Zaibach army march past the closed door of the prison. She shouted to try to get their attention, but the sound of the footsteps slowly faded away. She slumped against the back of her cage, causing it to shake slightly.
"It's no use. We've tried everything to get them to release us, but nothing works", whispered a tired voice in the cage next to Celena. By studying the woman's dirty and tattered clothing, Celena could tell the woman had once held significant power. Celena inched closer to the woman's cage, wanting to know more about her and the other prisoners. "Who are you all? Why are you here?"
The woman sighed as she shifted to turn to Celena. "I am Queen Karie, and we all are the few remaining descendants of Alantis. Dornkirk stole us from our homes, using a transporting spell created by his sorcerers. We all came down with a deadly illness, and when we woke up, we were trapped in these cages."
"That's horrible! Has Dornkirk told you what he wants from you yet?" asked Celena, abhorred at the brutality the innocent woman was facing.
Queen Karie had a faraway look in her eyes as she shook her head. "It's not us that monster wants, its my daughter. He tried to abduct her, but captured all of us instead. I pray that she's safe; I don't know why Zaibach wants her..."
"Simple, Queen. The Princess of Kaneh holds an immense power, contained inside that weak body of hers. And once I find her, I will claim that power for all of Zaibach!"
Celena jeered at Dornkirk, who had to seemed to form out of the shadows. "Your plan to capture this princess didn't work, so why are they still here?! Are you trying to satisfy your sick mind by torturing these innocent people for no logical reason?!"
One of the Zaibach soldiers standing next to Dornkirk slapped Celena across the face, shouting, "Don't you dare speak to Emperor Dornkirk in such a rude manner! You were once one of his most loyal followers, until you turned traitor on Zaibach!"
Celena spit at soldier's feet, and scowled in disgust. "You idiot, that was Dilandau, and he is never coming back!"
Dornkirk nodded to the other Zaibach soldiers, who moved stealthily towards Celena's cage. "That's all about to change, my dear..."
*****
Millerna smiled dreamily down upon the picturesque landscape, her hands resting on the prominent bulge in her stomach. Dryden sneaked up behind her, and twirled her around in his arms. Laughing breathlessly, Millerna berated him teasingly. "Dryden, stop! Think about the baby!"
Dryden brought Millerna closer, his chin resting on top of her forehead. "I am thinking about the baby; I'm wondering why my darling wife isn't resting in her quarters like she is supposed to."
Millerna's smile disappeared, and she looked up to Dryden tearfully. "It's the same reason you've been pacing nervously back and forth, although you'd hate to admit it. I feel sorry for Allen; he just got Celena back in his life, and now she has been taken without him even knowing it. There's no sign of her anywhere; its like she just disappeared. My heart is going to break when we have to tell Allen the bad news."
"I understand what you're feeling; you were infatuated with Allen at one time, and you still care for him deeply, don't you?" Dryden questioned, searching his wife's eyes for her answer.
Millerna gasped at the accuracy of Dryden's astute guess. "Well...ummm, yes- I mean, no!-kind of...I don't know!!"
Dryden rubbed Millerna's shoulders, chuckling at her embarrassment. "It's fine if you do, just as long as you promise you love me more, and you will always be my wife."
Millerna nodded affectionately at Dryden, true devotion shining in her eyes as she nuzzled closer to him. "Of course, Dryden. I've grown to love you so much."
They held each other as they looked out a window of Dryden's airship. The Fanelian castle was coming into view, and Millerna gaped at the small but magnificent kingdom. "Wow, in three years, Van sure has reconstructed Fanelia fast. That large sum of money you donated a while back must have been put to very good use. That was very generous of you Dryden."
Dryden shrugged as he scratched his head nonchalantly. "What can I say? I just have a soft spot for the king, probably because he's the reason I met the love of my life."
Millerna blushed as Dryden drew her into a intimate and passionate kiss.
******
Tati was up and about, despite everyone's protests concerning his injury. He slumped in his chair, ignoring the hot breakfast sitting on the table in front of him. There were black bags under his eyes; in turn, their orbs were dull and darkened. His brow was furrowed, his mind troubled by a dilemma unbeknownst to the others.
"Tati, are you sure you are in good health this morning?"
Tati jumped up, and glanced around to see who had spoken. Joshu's distressed face was facing straight towards Tati. Tati slumped lower in his chair, muttering, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm not hungry, that's all."
Kaze looked up from eating, and wiped his face with a nearby napkin before speaking. "Tati, are you bothered by the dream you said you had this morning?"
Hitomi stared at Tati, her mouth opened in bewilderment. "What was your dream about?"
Kaze nodded calmly. "I had a dream too. There was a young girl and boy together, but the girl wasn't supposed to see the boy because she was a princess or something. Then the boy was taken in the same blue light we were taken in..."
"...and they tried to use fly away with their wings, but the princess crashed and the boy vanished.." finished Hitomi, utterly shocked.
Everyone turned as a chair turned over on the floor; Tati had abruptly stood up, and had quickly ran from the room.
*****
As everyone spread out looking for Tati, Van and Hitomi searched the woods surrounding Fanelia; but their escape from the palace had a double motive.
"Hitomi, are you sure you want to marry me and stay in Fanelia forever? I mean, I don't to force to give up your family and friends on the Mystic Moon," Van asked cautiously.
Hitomi smiled lovingly, and kissed Van playfully on the cheek. "I'm sure Van. On Earth, I missed you so much. Amano and Yukari are together all the time; I hardly get to even see them anymore. All my so-called 'friends' only liked me because of my tarot cards; and when I didn't do those anymore because of what happened here on Gaea, they isolated me. My parents are preparing me for college and on my own already; they ignore me and spend all their time on my brother, thinking I would understand. Kaze really is the only close friend I have left, and he's my personal trainer for track and field. But I couldn't even concentrate on that; my mind was on you the whole time. My point is, I love you Van, and I will always love you and be by your side,"
Van's heart jumped ecstatically as he swung Hitomi into his arms. "I will never get tired of hearing those words coming out of your sweet mouth. I love you so much, and I want us to be married right away, if you're willing..."
Hitomi wrapped her hands around Van's neck. "I couldn't be happier with the idea, but what about your advisors? I don't think they would like the idea..."
Van frowned, muttering, "I know. They probably want me to marry some blue blood princess or lady, but they can take that idea and shove it up their fat-"
"Van, look up there! On that tree up there!"
Van turned towards where Hitomi was excitingly pointing to. A few feet of them stood an old gnarled tree. It looked to have been struck by lightning many times; and when the branches just barely swayed with the breeze, the massive oak creaked and groaned roughly.
Swaying with one the sturdier branches was a large dark figure, facing the morning sun still rising in the sky. Van shielded his eyes from the bright sunlight to better view the figure, but it was covered by the tree's leafy shadows. The figure turned slowly toward Van and Hitomi, and appeared startled by their presence. It's motions turning frantic, the shadow turned to the oak trunk as to climb down. Changing it's mind, the figure moved swiftly to the middle of the branch. There was a light ripping sound as white wings spawned from it's back.
Van bolted backwards in disbelief, while Hitomi voiced his own thoughts. "It's..it's a draconian!"
The figure flapped it's wings once, causing dust and debri to scatter of the tree. It's wings finally caught the wind, and the figure soared towards Fanelia.
Van took off his shirt, and as his own snowy wings blossomed from his shoulder blades, he embraced Hitomi closely to his firm bust. They flew into the air, trying to catch the figure. But it was too fast; it quickly changed into a tiny dot in front of their eyes. Still, Van put on an extra burst of speed, ignoring Hitomi's defeated sigh, "Van, I don't think we can catch up..."
Before Van could answer, Hitomi blackened out in his arms.
Hitomi was standing in the dream field once more, the princess and Adrian crying in front of her. Hitomi covered her face in fear; she did not want to watch that gruesome scene again.
Suddenly, her surroundings changed to a dark room, filled with many cages. Hitomi opened her eyes briefly and glanced around; she recognized this place from the days of the Great War. There was a wide variety of female captives, ranging from infant to elder. In the center cage, a middle-aged woman sat regally, trying to calm everyone down with a low but gentle voice. When the woman turned, Hitomi gasped in shock. The woman looked exactly like Van's late mother, Varie; except the woman seemed older and was dressed in different attire.
Before Hitomi could rush to set free the prisoners, she was transported to hot and eerie desert, similar to the land near the Zaibach Empire. She saw Van, Joshu, Allen, Kaze, and a woman Hitomi did not recognize fighting against Zaibach troops. During the battle, Hitomi heard her own voice speaking:
more victorious than last.
Enemies, thought gone,
will awaken from the past.
The dragon fights with earth and wind,
and the Mystic Moon as Gaea's guide.
When all is done, they'll fly back home.
Their wings no longer need hide...
