1 Chapter 1: The Longing
The sun rose behind the hills, slowly casting its gentle orange glow over the kingdom of Fanelia. The mystic moon, visible high in the sky, seemed to help the sun in welcoming this brand new day in Gaea. Indeed, it was to be a very beautiful day.
The sun's rays crept closer and closer to the royal palace, seeming to bring with it the awakening of the hustle and bustle of palace life. The earliest of the early were arising and soon the whole palace would be buzzing with people scurrying about, trying to finish their chores and prepare for the day ahead of them.
It had been 7 years since the Great War with the Zaibach Empire, 7 years since those marvelous adventures with the girl from the mystic moon, 7 years since she had disappeared just as quickly as she'd come. Fanelia had been quick to recover from the repercussions of the war, as news of the defeat spread like wildfire all over Gaea and back again, bringing Fanelia's citizens racing back to their homeland, eager to begin anew.
As the light of the sun crept even further, up the palace walls and shining into select windows on the east side of it, Merle awoke to the sound of the birds chirping their happy morning song. Stretching, she looked around from her perch on the roof and smiled to herself. Fanelia seemed to be blossoming in the morning light. Yawning, she roughly combed her claws through her bright pink hair, now long past her shoulders, and stood to greet the day. No sooner was she on her feet than she took off like a shot, scampering from rooftop to rooftop, not stopping even when she heard shouts of meddling servants below. She ignored them as she grasped the edge of one of the rooftops, swung herself down and inside an open window.
'Lord Van sure is going to be disappointed he missed the sunrise,' she thought to herself as she continued running in her cat-like way out the door of the room and down a familiar hallway. 'There's just no pleasing him lately. What does such a cute kitty like me have to do to make him lighten up?'
Merle rushed past a few servants carrying trays of dishes, knocking them down with a loud, "CRASH!" She grinned. 'Serves them right, nosy busybodies.'
She scampered around a corner, and skidded to a halt outside the large double doors that served as the only barrier to the room of Fanelia's king. Pressing her ear up against the door, Merle listened intently for sounds of the king stirring, and smirked when she heard none. She backed up for charging distance, preparing to body-check the door.
Merle burst into the room. "LORD VAN!!" she cried, leaping onto the huge canopy bed. "Lord Van, I- " But the bed was empty. Merle pouted. "Just like him to get up early and ruin my fun," she grumbled to herself as she took a cross-legged position on the bed. "I wonder where he is?"
Meanwhile, Van Fanel, the young king of Fanelia had also taken to the rooftops, being ever so careful to avoid Merle, watching her rocket over the shingles like the cat she was. He had then climbed from window to window, hoping not to be caught. He now sat on the roof, far back from the edge, and watched the sun in all its splendor as it made its ascent into the sky.
However, he did not marvel at the beauty of it all as Merle had for the few mere moments after she awoke. Van sat there, hugging his knees, surveying the land, his land, with a look of malice. He had grown much since the days of the war. He was no longer small in build, the reward that comes with daily sparring. His hair, though a tad longer than those days long past, was still just as black and untamed as ever, and his eyes were still the same deep brown, though they had lost the shine for life that they once held. He wore a pair of black trousers, tall leather boots and a shirt that resembled that which he wore in his journey days, only much bigger to fit his muscular frame.
He scowled at the landscape. It meant nothing to him. Not much of anything meant anything to him anymore. When Fanelia had first started to rebuild, which had taken off at a soaring pace, he thought that maybe, just maybe, he might get over what had happened those 7 years ago. But 7 years had just deepened the wound left upon him by the girl from the mystic moon as she had once again risen up into the sky in that pillar of light, taking her back home, far, far away.
Van clutched the pendant that hung from his neck. It just wasn't enough to comfort him anymore. At first, all he had to do was look at the pendant, its pink stone reflecting the light, and he'd have the courage to continue. For her. But as time wore on, and he found that she didn't return, perhaps couldn't return for some unknown reason, the pendant was no longer enough to keep him going. What was going on? Why hadn't she even returned to visit? Had she moved on?
And as if he hadn't had enough on his mind, his advisers were strongly "suggesting" that he find a queen. "A strong king needs a strong queen," one of their voices echoed in his head. "Yes, and if you don't choose one soon, you will not be able to produce an heir, your highness," another argued. "Who knows when a war might break out? If that should be, what would happen if you were lost to us?"
Van lowered his head in the morning light, resting his head on his knees. Small sobs shook his defined shoulders. "Oh Hitomi…"
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"Where did she go?" Yukari, Hitomi's best friend sighed in an exasperated voice, sitting in the shade of a huge tree.
"Your guess is as good as mine," replied Akiko Kunakida, both Hitomi and Yukari's friend from high school. She was very tall and slim, and had long, flowing black hair with light blue eyes, the color of ice. She had moved away after the first year of high school when her mother passed away and neither Yukari nor Hitomi had seen her since, until the very last year, when Akiko's father got a job transfer back home. They were all overjoyed to be reunited once again, the three of them. They had since become very close friends once more. She scanned the park with her hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun. "Maybe she went back to the pond? She's always going on about how she adores the scenery there."
"I suppose that'd be the first place to look," Amano, Yukari's boyfriend agreed. He helped Yukari to her feet as she slung her handbag over her shoulder. "That Hitomi, always lost in her thoughts…"
The four of them were at the park for a picnic that day. The sunshine practically screamed for summer activities, and the group never was prone to turn down a sunny day.
They had packed the lunch and left it in Amano's car while they walked, looking for a proper place to set it up. About halfway, Yukari noticed that Hitomi had gone missing.
Yukari complained to Akiko and Amano about how distracted Hitomi had been lately. "She gets these really weird, empty looks just out of the blue," she explained. "It creeps me out, seriously. It's like she's not really even there."
Meanwhile, Hitomi Kanzaki was staring at the water in the pond, watching the light dance across the surface, just as Akiko had guessed. She was in one of those states that Yukari had just described, thinking deeply about something long forgotten by her best friend and ex-crush.
'We can see each other any time we want,' echoed a distant voice. How she could only wish it were true. She had tried to go back, wished and hoped so hard to go back to Gaea, but it wouldn't work. There was something wrong, she could feel it, and she felt like there was nothing she could do. She felt so helpless. Helpless and lonesome.
After 7 years, the girl from the mystic moon had grown up considerably as well. She was now very well developed, and a bit taller than in high school. Her hair had grown out past her shoulders, the same sandy brown, which she now had braided. She wore a wrap skirt with dolphins in a blue theme on it, a white tank top and comfortable cork sandals. "Hitomi!" She blinked her green eyes as she heard her name being called, coming out of her trance.
"Hitomi, where have you been?" Yukari cried as she stopped by the bench Hitomi was sitting on, trying to catch her breath.
"I didn't think you guys would mind if I broke away for a little while," Hitomi replied, a tad bashful that she hadn't told them where she was going. "Sorry, I thought you'd know where I was."
"Well, main thing is you're safe, right?" Akiko said, walking up behind Yukari with Amano. She took a seat beside Hitomi. "You are alright, aren't you?"
Hitomi nodded in reply. "I've just got something on my mind lately," she said, staring at the water's reflective surface again.
"I'd say," Yukari said. "You're acting like you're from space or something lately, Hitomi. What's up?"
"Now Yukari," Amano said, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind her, "that's Hitomi's business. If she doesn't want to say, she doesn't want to say."
Yukari pouted. "C'mon Hitomi. Don't listen to him. What's wrong?" Yukari frowned as Hitomi only continued staring, lost again.
Akiko stood up and whispered in Yukari's ear, "Maybe I should just try to talk to her alone, ok?"
"But I'M her best friend!" Yukari whined rather loudly. "Why can't I stay and talk to her alone?"
But Amano was already pushing Yukari away by her shoulders. "Come on Yukari, we'll get the picnic basket while they talk. We can have the picnic here, it does have a rather nice view." Yukari protested, but it didn't do much good and soon they were both out of earshot.
Akiko sat down again. "Now, Hitomi, what's going on with you?" she asked in a very concerned tone of voice. "I'm your friend and you know I'd do anything to help you out. Please tell me what's the matter."
Hitomi sighed, actually having heard every word that had been said to her since she was found. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she said simply, closing her eyes and leaning back on the bench.
"Try me," Akiko replied, smiling warmly at her. Hitomi couldn't help but smile back when she opened her eyes again.
"Alright, if you insist," she sighed and said together, and took a deep breath. "In high school for that little while you were gone, something very strange happened to me. I don't know if Yukari ever told you, but I disappeared for a length of time. I found myself in a world called Gaea, where I met many friends. I helped fight a war with many of them, and thanks to my pendant and a lot of wishful thinking we conquered the opposing force. After it was all over, I gave my pendant away and I was transported home. That was all 7 years ago."
"I was wondering what happened to that pendant," Akiko said thoughtfully. "So you miss this 'Gaea' place, do you?"
Hitomi smiled in spite of herself. "It's more than that," she said, turning towards Akiko. "I met a young king there. His name was Van, and – "
"Say no more," Akiko cried. "I can just tell by the look on your face!" Hitomi blushed hotly. "Well, how come you don't just go back for a visit or something?"
"I've tried," Hitomi said with sorrow in her voice. "Oh, how I've tried! What got me there in the first place was some kind of desire, but no matter how hard I try, I just can't go back. And the thing is, lately I can feel that there's something wrong. I don't know what it is, maybe it's keeping me from returning to Gaea, but I just want to go back and find out that everything's ok." She then added with a whisper, "I want to know if Van's ok."
Akiko put an arm around Hitomi's shoulders sympathetically, and they just sat there in silence for a moment. After a while, Akiko replied, "I've been there too."
Hitomi raised her head to stare Akiko in the face, shocked. "What?"
"I said I've been there too," she repeated. "Just after I moved away. I don't know what it was that brought me there, and I didn't stay longer than a day, but I've been there. I didn't meet anybody, but I saw someone, and I know I'd just love to return and see them again."
Hitomi felt as if her heart had just torn loose of its bearings and threatened to beat out of her chest. "You've been to Gaea?" she asked, still in a state of utter shock. Akiko nodded, smiling broadly. "Then maybe…maybe we both have enough will power to get us both there…" she thought out loud.
Akiko blinked, flicking a few strands of black hair out of her face. "How do you suppose we do that?" she asked.
Hitomi thought for a moment. Then something hit her like a rock in the back of her head. "Akiko, do you have anything, anything at all that resembles my old pendant?"
Akiko nodded in earnest. "Funny you should ask that Hitomi, because I was looking through my mother's jewelry box shortly after she passed away and I found this." She reached inside her shirt and, sure enough, there in Akiko's palm lay a perfect copy of Hitomi's pendant, her gift to Van. "I don't know why, but something just urged me to take it," she went on to say.
"Ok," Hitomi said, excited now at the prospect of going back to Gaea. "If we wish hard enough, it should work." Akiko grasped the pendant hard in her palm, and Hitomi grasped Akiko's hand in turn. They both wished with all their might to return to Gaea. 'I'm coming, Van…' Hitomi thought to herself. 'I'm coming.'
The sun rose behind the hills, slowly casting its gentle orange glow over the kingdom of Fanelia. The mystic moon, visible high in the sky, seemed to help the sun in welcoming this brand new day in Gaea. Indeed, it was to be a very beautiful day.
The sun's rays crept closer and closer to the royal palace, seeming to bring with it the awakening of the hustle and bustle of palace life. The earliest of the early were arising and soon the whole palace would be buzzing with people scurrying about, trying to finish their chores and prepare for the day ahead of them.
It had been 7 years since the Great War with the Zaibach Empire, 7 years since those marvelous adventures with the girl from the mystic moon, 7 years since she had disappeared just as quickly as she'd come. Fanelia had been quick to recover from the repercussions of the war, as news of the defeat spread like wildfire all over Gaea and back again, bringing Fanelia's citizens racing back to their homeland, eager to begin anew.
As the light of the sun crept even further, up the palace walls and shining into select windows on the east side of it, Merle awoke to the sound of the birds chirping their happy morning song. Stretching, she looked around from her perch on the roof and smiled to herself. Fanelia seemed to be blossoming in the morning light. Yawning, she roughly combed her claws through her bright pink hair, now long past her shoulders, and stood to greet the day. No sooner was she on her feet than she took off like a shot, scampering from rooftop to rooftop, not stopping even when she heard shouts of meddling servants below. She ignored them as she grasped the edge of one of the rooftops, swung herself down and inside an open window.
'Lord Van sure is going to be disappointed he missed the sunrise,' she thought to herself as she continued running in her cat-like way out the door of the room and down a familiar hallway. 'There's just no pleasing him lately. What does such a cute kitty like me have to do to make him lighten up?'
Merle rushed past a few servants carrying trays of dishes, knocking them down with a loud, "CRASH!" She grinned. 'Serves them right, nosy busybodies.'
She scampered around a corner, and skidded to a halt outside the large double doors that served as the only barrier to the room of Fanelia's king. Pressing her ear up against the door, Merle listened intently for sounds of the king stirring, and smirked when she heard none. She backed up for charging distance, preparing to body-check the door.
Merle burst into the room. "LORD VAN!!" she cried, leaping onto the huge canopy bed. "Lord Van, I- " But the bed was empty. Merle pouted. "Just like him to get up early and ruin my fun," she grumbled to herself as she took a cross-legged position on the bed. "I wonder where he is?"
Meanwhile, Van Fanel, the young king of Fanelia had also taken to the rooftops, being ever so careful to avoid Merle, watching her rocket over the shingles like the cat she was. He had then climbed from window to window, hoping not to be caught. He now sat on the roof, far back from the edge, and watched the sun in all its splendor as it made its ascent into the sky.
However, he did not marvel at the beauty of it all as Merle had for the few mere moments after she awoke. Van sat there, hugging his knees, surveying the land, his land, with a look of malice. He had grown much since the days of the war. He was no longer small in build, the reward that comes with daily sparring. His hair, though a tad longer than those days long past, was still just as black and untamed as ever, and his eyes were still the same deep brown, though they had lost the shine for life that they once held. He wore a pair of black trousers, tall leather boots and a shirt that resembled that which he wore in his journey days, only much bigger to fit his muscular frame.
He scowled at the landscape. It meant nothing to him. Not much of anything meant anything to him anymore. When Fanelia had first started to rebuild, which had taken off at a soaring pace, he thought that maybe, just maybe, he might get over what had happened those 7 years ago. But 7 years had just deepened the wound left upon him by the girl from the mystic moon as she had once again risen up into the sky in that pillar of light, taking her back home, far, far away.
Van clutched the pendant that hung from his neck. It just wasn't enough to comfort him anymore. At first, all he had to do was look at the pendant, its pink stone reflecting the light, and he'd have the courage to continue. For her. But as time wore on, and he found that she didn't return, perhaps couldn't return for some unknown reason, the pendant was no longer enough to keep him going. What was going on? Why hadn't she even returned to visit? Had she moved on?
And as if he hadn't had enough on his mind, his advisers were strongly "suggesting" that he find a queen. "A strong king needs a strong queen," one of their voices echoed in his head. "Yes, and if you don't choose one soon, you will not be able to produce an heir, your highness," another argued. "Who knows when a war might break out? If that should be, what would happen if you were lost to us?"
Van lowered his head in the morning light, resting his head on his knees. Small sobs shook his defined shoulders. "Oh Hitomi…"
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"Where did she go?" Yukari, Hitomi's best friend sighed in an exasperated voice, sitting in the shade of a huge tree.
"Your guess is as good as mine," replied Akiko Kunakida, both Hitomi and Yukari's friend from high school. She was very tall and slim, and had long, flowing black hair with light blue eyes, the color of ice. She had moved away after the first year of high school when her mother passed away and neither Yukari nor Hitomi had seen her since, until the very last year, when Akiko's father got a job transfer back home. They were all overjoyed to be reunited once again, the three of them. They had since become very close friends once more. She scanned the park with her hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun. "Maybe she went back to the pond? She's always going on about how she adores the scenery there."
"I suppose that'd be the first place to look," Amano, Yukari's boyfriend agreed. He helped Yukari to her feet as she slung her handbag over her shoulder. "That Hitomi, always lost in her thoughts…"
The four of them were at the park for a picnic that day. The sunshine practically screamed for summer activities, and the group never was prone to turn down a sunny day.
They had packed the lunch and left it in Amano's car while they walked, looking for a proper place to set it up. About halfway, Yukari noticed that Hitomi had gone missing.
Yukari complained to Akiko and Amano about how distracted Hitomi had been lately. "She gets these really weird, empty looks just out of the blue," she explained. "It creeps me out, seriously. It's like she's not really even there."
Meanwhile, Hitomi Kanzaki was staring at the water in the pond, watching the light dance across the surface, just as Akiko had guessed. She was in one of those states that Yukari had just described, thinking deeply about something long forgotten by her best friend and ex-crush.
'We can see each other any time we want,' echoed a distant voice. How she could only wish it were true. She had tried to go back, wished and hoped so hard to go back to Gaea, but it wouldn't work. There was something wrong, she could feel it, and she felt like there was nothing she could do. She felt so helpless. Helpless and lonesome.
After 7 years, the girl from the mystic moon had grown up considerably as well. She was now very well developed, and a bit taller than in high school. Her hair had grown out past her shoulders, the same sandy brown, which she now had braided. She wore a wrap skirt with dolphins in a blue theme on it, a white tank top and comfortable cork sandals. "Hitomi!" She blinked her green eyes as she heard her name being called, coming out of her trance.
"Hitomi, where have you been?" Yukari cried as she stopped by the bench Hitomi was sitting on, trying to catch her breath.
"I didn't think you guys would mind if I broke away for a little while," Hitomi replied, a tad bashful that she hadn't told them where she was going. "Sorry, I thought you'd know where I was."
"Well, main thing is you're safe, right?" Akiko said, walking up behind Yukari with Amano. She took a seat beside Hitomi. "You are alright, aren't you?"
Hitomi nodded in reply. "I've just got something on my mind lately," she said, staring at the water's reflective surface again.
"I'd say," Yukari said. "You're acting like you're from space or something lately, Hitomi. What's up?"
"Now Yukari," Amano said, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind her, "that's Hitomi's business. If she doesn't want to say, she doesn't want to say."
Yukari pouted. "C'mon Hitomi. Don't listen to him. What's wrong?" Yukari frowned as Hitomi only continued staring, lost again.
Akiko stood up and whispered in Yukari's ear, "Maybe I should just try to talk to her alone, ok?"
"But I'M her best friend!" Yukari whined rather loudly. "Why can't I stay and talk to her alone?"
But Amano was already pushing Yukari away by her shoulders. "Come on Yukari, we'll get the picnic basket while they talk. We can have the picnic here, it does have a rather nice view." Yukari protested, but it didn't do much good and soon they were both out of earshot.
Akiko sat down again. "Now, Hitomi, what's going on with you?" she asked in a very concerned tone of voice. "I'm your friend and you know I'd do anything to help you out. Please tell me what's the matter."
Hitomi sighed, actually having heard every word that had been said to her since she was found. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she said simply, closing her eyes and leaning back on the bench.
"Try me," Akiko replied, smiling warmly at her. Hitomi couldn't help but smile back when she opened her eyes again.
"Alright, if you insist," she sighed and said together, and took a deep breath. "In high school for that little while you were gone, something very strange happened to me. I don't know if Yukari ever told you, but I disappeared for a length of time. I found myself in a world called Gaea, where I met many friends. I helped fight a war with many of them, and thanks to my pendant and a lot of wishful thinking we conquered the opposing force. After it was all over, I gave my pendant away and I was transported home. That was all 7 years ago."
"I was wondering what happened to that pendant," Akiko said thoughtfully. "So you miss this 'Gaea' place, do you?"
Hitomi smiled in spite of herself. "It's more than that," she said, turning towards Akiko. "I met a young king there. His name was Van, and – "
"Say no more," Akiko cried. "I can just tell by the look on your face!" Hitomi blushed hotly. "Well, how come you don't just go back for a visit or something?"
"I've tried," Hitomi said with sorrow in her voice. "Oh, how I've tried! What got me there in the first place was some kind of desire, but no matter how hard I try, I just can't go back. And the thing is, lately I can feel that there's something wrong. I don't know what it is, maybe it's keeping me from returning to Gaea, but I just want to go back and find out that everything's ok." She then added with a whisper, "I want to know if Van's ok."
Akiko put an arm around Hitomi's shoulders sympathetically, and they just sat there in silence for a moment. After a while, Akiko replied, "I've been there too."
Hitomi raised her head to stare Akiko in the face, shocked. "What?"
"I said I've been there too," she repeated. "Just after I moved away. I don't know what it was that brought me there, and I didn't stay longer than a day, but I've been there. I didn't meet anybody, but I saw someone, and I know I'd just love to return and see them again."
Hitomi felt as if her heart had just torn loose of its bearings and threatened to beat out of her chest. "You've been to Gaea?" she asked, still in a state of utter shock. Akiko nodded, smiling broadly. "Then maybe…maybe we both have enough will power to get us both there…" she thought out loud.
Akiko blinked, flicking a few strands of black hair out of her face. "How do you suppose we do that?" she asked.
Hitomi thought for a moment. Then something hit her like a rock in the back of her head. "Akiko, do you have anything, anything at all that resembles my old pendant?"
Akiko nodded in earnest. "Funny you should ask that Hitomi, because I was looking through my mother's jewelry box shortly after she passed away and I found this." She reached inside her shirt and, sure enough, there in Akiko's palm lay a perfect copy of Hitomi's pendant, her gift to Van. "I don't know why, but something just urged me to take it," she went on to say.
"Ok," Hitomi said, excited now at the prospect of going back to Gaea. "If we wish hard enough, it should work." Akiko grasped the pendant hard in her palm, and Hitomi grasped Akiko's hand in turn. They both wished with all their might to return to Gaea. 'I'm coming, Van…' Hitomi thought to herself. 'I'm coming.'