Hitomi sat up after a few minutes and pulled her sword off of her waist, Pulling it out of
the scabbard slightly, she studied the way the light bounced off the edge of the blade and into her eyes. She sat like that for a while, letting the physical pain override the emotional pain swirling around inside of her at the moment. She slid the sword back in with disgust filling her for feeling so sorry for herself. She stood, clipping her sword back around her waist. *If Dilandau doesn't want me around, then I'll just go on without him.* She walked back to the clearing where Dilandau and Miguel were talking about what to do now. Dilandau spotted her approaching them out of the corner of his eye, and turned to face her.
"Where have you been?!" He snapped. To his shock, she completely ignored him.
Instead of even looking at him, she walked over to Miguel.
"I'm going to head on by myself now." She told him, adjusting her sword belt, then
looking up at him.
"What? But why would you want to?"
"I have my reasons." With these words said, she shocked Miguel, (and deeply angered Dilandau), by kissing Miguel powerfully. After a moment, she pulled away, leaving him out of breath and speechless. "Thanks for all you've done. I"ll come back someday." She turned and started to walk away, but felt a hand grab her arm. She turned and found herself looking into the immensly angered face of Dilandau Albatou, garnet eyes ablaze with an inner anger that had her on the verge of terror.
"Miguel, I'll speak to you later." He hissed. Miguel understood what he was saying and quickly left the two alone. Dilandau stared at her for the longest time, then hissed through grit teeth, "Just where do you get the idea of taking off like this? You got something that you're upset about, you face your problem properly. You're still a Dragon Slayer, and you're still under my command, so you're going to stay right here. Don't take your anger out on me, 'cause I can easily solve all your problems in one battle." She jerked her arm out of his grip, glaring at him, disgust written all over her face
"Well, you're one to talk, aren't you?"
"Just what do you think you're talking about?!" She turned away, shaking her head and laughing. This just angered him more, and he gripped her shoulders hard, whipping her back around and squeezing them hard. "What's so funny?" He demanded in a low voice, eye twitching dangerously. She struggled in his grip, then stilled.
"I mean, just because you can't get into Zaibach because of that so called traitor on the tower, you strike me down, calling me useless. Well, if I'm useless to you, I should just leave!!" He swore he could feel the anger building up inside of her, and her shirt started to stretch. She realized in shock that her wings had been set off from the anger inside of her. "Oh, perfect. Thanks alot." A second later, she fell to her knees in pain as they burst out, fanning out in all their glory, sending a titanium-white cloud of feathers raining to the ground. She looked up at Dilandau, thouroughly p*ssed. "I hope you're pleased. That hurt more then usual because it wasn't time to let them out."
"What do you mean by "time"?" Dilandau questioned, kneeling beside her.
"If you're born with the wings, then you have to let them out on your birthday every year to keep them from being damaged. If you get them the way you did, then this rule doesn't apply to you. You also only let them out in emergencies."
"What happens if you don't let them out on the dates, or let them out when you're not supposed to?"
"Then your wings become imobilized, and you can never let them out again. They
become cramped, and soon, try to come out, ripping through your skin. If you don't die from them damaging your back, then you will from loss of blood. but this only happens after you've broken these restrictions 20 times. I now have only 8 more chances." Afte a moment, she stood, retracting them. "Now, since I'm, "useless", I'll be on my way." She turned and headed back the way they had came, in the opposite direction of the country.
"Hitomi!" She stopped at the pleading sound of regret in his voice, but didn't turn back.
"Like I said to Miguel, I might just come back." With this said, she disappeared into the shadows of the forest, leaving Dilandau feeling like he lost a part of him permanetly. Miguel watched from the edge of the clearing, then walked over to Dilandau.
"Lord Dilandau?" Dilandau turned and looked at him, and Miguel was shocked beyond belief to find tears in Dilandau's eyes. He quickly brushed them away.
"Miguel Lavileir, what am I going to do? I just lost the one and only person I care about, maybe for good." After a moment, he shook his head, and gripped Miguel by the collar of his shirt. "If you tell ANYONE that I was crying, I will make you pay for the rest of your pathetic life." Miguel watched him walk away towards some glade in the shadows.
"He really does love Hitomi." He looked towards the path that Hitomi took, and sighed.
Hitomi was about half a mile down the path when she heard the sounds of footsteps
behind her on the trail. She slowed slightly, then gripped her sword tightly, but didn't stop. After a moment, she heard a branch break, and started to turn to see who was following her, but someone grabbed her from behind around her waist, pinning her arms down. Another hand came up and covered her mouth quickly with a cloth drenched in a sweet smelling fragrance. She felt herself go limp and she collapsed against the form behind her. Before she passed out, she heard two male voices whispering fiercely,
"You get the right one this time?"
"Oh calm down. Yes, it's her. I'd recognize her anywhere."
"Yeah, because she beat you so badly. You could never forget someone who beat you
the way she did."
"Shut up. That's not the only way I know her. Just help me get her onto the
Leva-ship." That was all she was able to hear before she drifted into unconciousness.
~3~hours~later~
Hitomi came to slowly, her head aching slightly. She opened her eyes and at first, imagined she was tied down to a slab of stone and was back in her leather pants and undershirt. But when she shook her head, then opened her eyes again, she found she was actually in a softly lit room that had a beautiful fire glowing in the corner hearth. She also noticed that she was laying on a large, kingsize canopy bed that was colored in different shades of red. When she sat up and pushed back the blankets, she also realized that she wasn't alone.
"Nice to see you're awake." A voice said softly. She saw a man that seemed to be around his early twenties sitting at a table, studying a wine glass that he had sitting on the table infront of him as he swirled the wine inside it around slowly with his finger. Her breath caught in her throat as she studied him. He was wearing black cloth pants, and his dark green shirt was untied, showing the upper part of his chest. He had light brown hair, and the tips of his hair seemed to have the effect of being dipped in gold dust. His dark blue eyes stared at the wine glass from under his bangs with semi-concentration.
After a moment, he stood and walked over to the fire, stirring the coals on the bottom, then tossed another log onto the fire, watched it burn, and turned back to Hitomi. "I was starting to wonder when you were going to wake up." Walking over to her, he sat down on the bed beside her and brushed a strand of her hair out of her face, then trailed his fingers down to below her chin, lifting up her face so he could get a better view of her eyes.
"Why do you have me here?" She asked quietly.
"Because you owe me something."
"And what would that be?"
"I'll tell you later on. Right now, we have to get you changed into some clean clothes. You can't go walking around in you're Dragon Slayer uniform." She pulled away, startled and confused.
"How did you know that I'm a Dragon Slayer?"
"I know alot of things about you. But like I said, we need to get you changed."
"If you come near me with a peice of clothing that is like a dress in any way, shape or form, I will break both of your arms." She warned. He just laughed.
"Don't worry, I already know how much of a tomboy you are. Never did play to the role of princess very well."
"How-" She stopped herself, already knowing the answer. Getting up, she followed him out of the room and down the hall and into the changing room.
A few minutes later, she was somewhat satisfied with her outfit. She was in a white dress-like outfit that went to her feet and had long slits up the sides past her hips and tight, white cloth pants underneth the, "dress". The top part of the outfit didn't have any sleeves; it just wrapped around her under her arms and the back was completely bare, except for the strings that held up the top part of the outfit. The man that she had met before was studying her closely, making her blush slightly.
"You should wear white more often. It suits you." He said quietly. She picked at the side of the slit on the left, causing it to slide back and reveal more leg without her noticing. He bit his lip at this.
"At least I'm wearing pants along with it." She muttered, sighing. She looked up at him. "You ever plan on telling me why I'm here?"
"Later on." He said.
"How 'bout your name?"
"Deje." *Deje. Lord Dilandau will be pleased to learn the name of my kidnapper.* She thought bitterly as she followed Deje down the hall. After a while, they came out into a large room wilth a large table in the center that was laden with luxurious meals. Seated all along the sides were many men and women dressed in formal wear. All twenty heads were following them as they walked over to the table.
"My good people, thank-you for being so patient. As I have promised, I have brought someone special with me. May I introduce, Miss Hitomi, the Princess of Fanelia." This brought about a huge buzz of whispering, then once the silence returned, Hitomi sat down, extremely confused. She saw that she was seated directly next to Deje, who was sitting at the head of the table. After a moment, one man stood, still gripping his wine glass tightly.
"Lord Deje, is this true? Is this the missing princess of many rumours that we've heard when we first set foot in Dynasty?" *Lord Deje?!* Hitomi thought in shock, blushing at all the people staring at her.
"Yes, King Kaizer,this is the same princess." The woman sitting beside him stared at Hitomi curiously. She seemed only a few years older then Hitomi herself, and the king that had spoken seemed to be around Deje's age. "King Kazier, if you would sit down, then we could begin this fine meal that the chefs have laid out for us." The king reluctantly took his seat, then, almost instantly, a woman four seats down stood up, slamming her hands down on the table.
"Lord Deje!!! Are you telling me that Me and my daughter have come all the way up here for nothing?!! Are you telling us that this-" She looked at Hitomi with obvious distaste. "Young woman is the princess of Fanelia just because she is Drac-"
"Queen Iris!!" Deje said harshly, startling Hitomi. "I would ask of you to shut your mouth unless you are about to eat! I never said that she was going to be my queen. As usual, you have jumped to outrageos conclusions, without any right. If I hear one more unkind word from you, or anyone at this table, then I will have the speaker instantly removed from the castle. Is this understood?" The rest of the guests nodded quietly, and, her face a deep crimson, Queen Iris sat down, straightening her skirt to avoid Deje's glare. Hitomi instantly did not like Queen Iris at all.
All throughout the meal, Hitomi could feel the eyes watching her every move. When the meal was over, Hitomi wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but knew that this would be very rude. After a moment, She excused herself, and walked out into the large garden. She then remembered that she was still wearing her sword and pulled it out of the scabbard. She glanced up at the castle, caught a glimpse of Queen Iris breezing through the castle angirly, muttering to herself, shook her head, laughing, and started sparring. Deje watched her from a distance, intrested in the sight before him. *I don't think Queen Iris had a bad idea. She would make for a nice queen, as long as she didn't decapitate
me for presenting her with the idea.*
Hitomi was halfway through the paces when Deje came out from the corner. "Hitomi, wouldn't that be more challenging if you had an experienced partner to go up against?" Hitomi just smirked.
"If you think you can keep up with me."
Queen Iris stood on her balcony, watching in shock and disgust as she watched Hitomi and Deje sparring down in the garden.
"Disgraceful. Absolutely shameful. A so-called "princess" should not disgrace herself by becoming a warrior." She watched as Hitomi blocked attack after attack from Deje. Her daughter came out and stood beside her.
"Mother, you don't think that she poses a threat in my chances with Deje, do you?"
"Don't worry, I'll personally make sure that she has no hope of being more then a lowlife warrior." * I don't care what Deje says. A princess from Fanelia is a very large risk in our chances. We can't take that chance.*
Hitomi swung her sword down at Deje's waist, which he easily blocked. but she instantly pulled her sword away and swung her sword at his throat before he could recover. He stepped to the side, and as she didn't have time to recover from the force behind her strike, so she wasn't able to stop herself. She was 3 feet away from Deje when she was able to stop. She turned in time to see Deje come up to her with his sword aimed at her throat. To her shock, he tripped her instead of knocking away her sword, and she fell to the ground on her back. Her sword flew from her hand and embedded into the ground 5 feet away, and she found herself staring into the blade of Deje's sword. After a moment, he pulled the blade away and helped her up.
"Very impressive. You were able to last more then twice as long as my usual competers, and you were much harder to take down. No wonder Dilandau was so willing to let you join." She looked up at him in shock, then looked over her outfit. Hitomi was shocked to see that there were no stains on her outfit.
"I've had better battles. I'm just out of practice." She looked up at him. "Did you bring me out here because you need a wife?" Hitomi demanded quietly.
"Not at first, but it doesn't seem like a bad idea, if you want my honest opinion." She stared at him for a moment, as if she were searching him to see if he was serious.
"Well, I'm sorry, but my heart already belongs to someone else." Hitomi said softly. She then turned, retrieved her sword, and left him standing in the garden.
"Well, I believe that I have just been shot down for the first time in my life." He said quietly. "I think that I have a new game in mind." He headed in the direction Hitomi left in. "Here's a riddle: How much will it take to win the taken heart of a powerful warrior princess?" A grin slid across his face. "Guess I'll have to find out."
Hitomi walked through the halls, exploring the castle. She was in the weaponry room, looking over a crossbow, when she thought she heard someone walk in the room. Her instincts told her to be on edge, and she'd learned to trust them. She slowly turned, and, even though she didn't see anybody, started to look around the room. She opened a closet, and, finding only old swords and spears, was about to close it when a small form burst out and tackled her. She opened her eyes, and saw that she was on her back, and a trembling cat-girl was on top of her. It took her a moment, but she was able to recognize the cat-girl.
"Merle!" She still remembered when she and the cat-girl met in Van's castle after she left Zaibach the first time. Hitomi sat up, and could see terror in the cat-girl's green eyes, which startled her. "Merle, what's wrong?"
"Oh, Hitomi!! Y-you ARE alive Thank t-the Gods!!! L-lord Van's m-missing!!!!" She cried out, bursting into tears and wrapping her arms around Hitomi, buried her face into Hitomi's chest. Hitomi was in shock, and as she unconciously wrapped her arms around Merle's shaking back, she stared into space, absolutely shocked and horrified. "H-he's been gone f-for 2 weeks, I've been l-looking for you everywhere because I knew you would kn-know what to do." Hitomi looked down at her. *Van's...missing?!* Merle looked up at her. "Y-you know what to do, right? 'Cause you're Van's sister, s-so you think like he does, and h-he would know what to do." *She's right. I've got to snap out of it.*
"Merle, when was the last time you saw Van?" Merle thought for a moment.
"He was heading into the woods outside Zaibach when I saw him last."
"Oh no." Hitomi gasped. She stood suddenly, scaring Merle.
"What's wrong?!"
"Merle, come with me!" Hitomi ran off down the hall, Merle following on all fours.
"Hitomi, where are we going?!" Hitomi didn't answer; she turned a corner, and bolted down some stairs. She ran down a damp hall, and just when Merle was feeling tired, Hitomi skidded to a stop, causing Merle to run into her. "What happened?! Why'd you stop!? Hitomi!!" Hitomi didn't answer her; she was too busy staring into a cell. Merle saw that she was gripping the bars so tightly that her knuckles were white. Merle looked in, and almost fainted with terror: Van was in the cell, unconcious.
A/N: Sorry I haven't added in a long time. High school and lots'a homework can be a real time filler, as well as a drag. But now that I have more time, I'll be adding more often. Once again, I'm really, truly sorry.
~*~Wild Angel~*~