Kirei and Rallin
were duelling, sparring with each other for lack of anything else
to do. One might've thought it odd though, that although their
match was indeed equal, and their techniques made the fight
fierce, if you did not actually LOOK into the practice area, it
would sound as if nothing was happening. Of course, the sharp
clang of the swords hitting each other was also a hint.
After a few
minutes, the simultaneously paused. There was no real need to
continue, it would continue being a draw, as their skills were
nearly equal despite completely different training. They grown up
together, and had grown apart. But they still understood each
other as soldiers, and that was more than anything could say.
"What do
think? Should we continue?"
"No point
to it Fanel, we know each other's attack abilities and
technique."
"Yet there
is nothing else to do, no one else to spar with."
Another voice
echoed into the room where they were practicing. "I will
spar with you. We can trade off. Who is first?"
Kirei shrugged
in agreement, and Rallin nodded. "I will," said Rallin
carefully, "but be warned Schezar - I don't hold back, even
against allies."
"Whoever
said I wanted you to?" Allen smirked. "Let us
begin."
With a yell of
challenge, the fight began.
***
A few hours
later, Van went silently into the room where he and Hitomi were
staying. She was crying, and the sight of her so sad and
distraught wrenched his heart. He made his way over to her,
quietly, and sat beside her on the bed, taking his gloves off and
running a hand through her hair.
"Tell me
what's wrong?" Van asked softly, brushing away the tears
that stained her face. He gently tilted her face up so that he
could look into her eyes. "Hitomi, what happened back there?
What did my mother and brother say to you?"
She shook her
head, looking down even as he pulled her closer to him. "I
can't tell you," she whispered, "I can't make you
worry, I can't make you sad..."
Van smiled. She
had a loyalty to the feelings of her loved ones... it was
amazing. She wouldn't burden anyone if she could help
it. "Don't worry about me Hitomi, just tell me. I want you
to feel better."
"But..."
"Don't
worry," he repeated, hugging her close to him, "As long
you feel better."
She took a
breath, and nodded. Laying her head on his chest, she paused as
she began to gather everything in her mind.
***
The duel was
still going on. And consequently, had attracted a crowd. The
whole chain of events had started when Celena Schezar left to
find her brother (Allen, who had disappeared over an hour ago),
and had encountered Chid and his advisors on her search. And so
the chain continues, they passed Millerna and Dryden's temporary
study and they decided to come along as well.
Meanwhile, in
the practice room, trainees for both Freid's and Asturia's armies
(where they all were were the annual training grounds) had
amassed, amazed to see such skill and swordsmanship in their
arena.
Of course this
made the event much louder than it had been when it was Kirei and
Rallin, but neither of the three cared. Kirei was watching with
careful eyes at the duel. He himself had never fought Allen
Schezar, but according to rumour (and his cousin) he was one of
the best swordsmen on Gaea.
He remembered a
past conversation concerning the knight.
:: Flashback
::
He and Van
were duelling, as Lady Hitomi was asleep and there was no one and
nothing else with which to do something.
His cousin
parried the blow easily, pushing the sword away. Kirei in turn,
tried to strike, but Van swung and easily disarmed him.
"Good fight, cousin." he said, smiling.
"Yet
you still beat me with what seems a lack of effort. Five years
younger than myself and a better swordsman. What taught
you?"
"The
war," Van replied, walking over to one of the walls in the
room to sake a cloth and sharpening stone to clean and sharpen
his sword. "And Schezar."
"The
Caeli Knight of Asturia?" Kirei quirked an eyebrow. He had seen
Van duel with him before, and although at first they had been
equally matched, it was clear that the King of Fanelia had more
advanced skills than the older night.
"Yes."
Van brought the stone along the edge of the blade. "When I
first met him, I was a soldier who rushed into battles. He was
always able to disarm me. And then at the end of the war... I
came close to killing him."
"How
so?" Kirei knew that they had been allies during the war,
but he did not know the whole of the story. His cousin did
have a temper, although only a year after Kirei had 'met' him, he
kept in check.
Van blushed
slightly. "Over Celena. And Hitomi." He continued to
sharpen the blade, running the stone over once more on each edge
then putting it down and picking up the cloth.
"Lady
Celena? Why would she be an enemy?"
"Do you
remember me telling you about Dilandau Albatou?" Kirei
nodded, and Van continued, "Celena was him. A fate
alteration. I was close to killing him/her, when Allen stepped
in. The battle began, and by that point our skills were evenly
matched. And then Hitomi... she was in Zaibach, but could see.
Us battling, she tried to get me to stop, but being the fool I
was at the time, I mistook it for protecting Allen and attacked
him further. Just before I delivered the blow that would kill him
I heard her..."
Kirei was
tempted to ask more questions but his cousin's last comment
stopped it. "Since then he has not been able to disarm me.
And as for Hitomi... what she said is between us."
"But..."
"That's
all you need to know for now, cousin."
:: End
Flashback ::
Kirei continue
to watch. His turn would come up, whenever one of the two decided
to forfeit - or won.
***
"Are you
ready to tell me now?" Van said softly, still holding Hitomi
close, one of his hands absentmindedly stroking her hair.
She nodded.
"When you left, Varie told me to stay for a moment. That she
had to tell me something about the gateway." Hitomi took in
a shaky breath. "About the after-effects, besides Gaea's
peace."
Van had a
sinking feeling that whatever Hitomi was about to say would
affect their being together. Or that it already had. But even so,
Van knew in his heart he would do anything to keep Hitomi with
him. "You can tell me, Hitomi."
She whispered
the next part so softly that Van had to bend his head to hers to
hear it. What he heard nearly made his heart stop. "If I
open the gateway... I lose everything in my world. I close the
link."
After that... he
could only hold her in silence.
***
Allen Schezar
was beginning to tire, and he knew it. So far in the match,
neither he nor Rallin had really gained an advantage, each man's
strengths and weaknesses being used to their opponent's
advantage. Certainly, Allen had speed and technique, but his
greatest weakness was that you could always tell what his next
move would be. He had grace, but he could not hide his movements.
One of the greatest swordsmen in Gaea? Maybe. But stealthy when
it came to duelling? No.
But Khristos on
the other hand, and come to think of it, the Fanels, had that
ability. It was what made Van such a formidable opponent all
those years ago. From being the rash king that would go headfirst
into battle and not think of the aftermath, but by the time Van
Fanel had turned sixteen years, Allen could not disarm him. At
first it had been easy to read his moves. But as the Fanelian
king matured, so did his skills. He had grace, speed, and skill.
And above all, stealth. His cousin too, seemed to have that.
And so did
Rallin. With a silent charge, he went forward, quick as a blink,
and held the tip of his blade at the knight's throat, the hilt
blocking Allen from retaliating. Allen was surprised. He had not
been expecting that. He yielded. There was no way he could escape
that.
***
They stayed
silent for a moment. Van moved to brush a stray strand of
Hitomi's golden-brown hair, and doing so, said for softly, said,
"Why must the gateway close the path between our
worlds?"
"Foreign
influences are the source of conflict here on Gaea. Like
Dornkirk. Gaea's first Great War mightn't have happened if he
hadn't come. The Dragonslayers would not have happened."
Hitomi paused. "I'll miss my family, surely. I was worried
about my intentions in life, if coming here was the choice that
would make me happy."
"Hitomi..."
"Please
Van, let me say this. I need to. I was lonely before I was with
you again, a place inside my heart missing, no matter how much my
family might miss me, or I might miss them, I know what I need to
make me happy."
"Hitomi..."
Van said softly, holding her closer, "then what is
that?"
"It's you
Van Fanel," she said softly. "Only you. My wish was to
be with you. I love you too much to sacrifice everything just for
my sake."
Van was stunned.
She loved him. Loved him. His dearest and greatest wish had come
true. And as if sensing that now was the right time for
it, he decided to do it. "Hitomi," he said slowly,
"I love you so much as well. I want you to stay by
my side, through this war, and anything else that might
happen." Van moved off the bed to kneel in front of her.
"Hitomi Kanzaki," he said again, the love shining
brightly inside the ruby depths of his eyes, "will you grant
my wish, and honour me and all Gaea by becoming my partner in
life? Will you stay by my side... and become my Queen and my
wife?"
Dear
Readers,
I know,
I know, I'm mean. ^_~. But oh well! I got it in, didn't I? I'm
addicted to cliffhangers, I admit it, I love writing them, and I
love reading them. Of course, I wasn't even planning on Van
asking Hitomi in this chapter, but my mind (and my fingers) kept
typing, so here we are!
Okay,
Allen-lovers, I'm SORRY for not keeping him as the best swordsman
on Gaea, but, (1) At the end of the series, Van COULD'VE defeated
him, (2) Over the years everyone's skills had to improve and
Van's went further than Allen's, and (3) I like Van and Kirei and
Rallin a whole lot more. I suppose I don't like Allen since the
ENTIRE series he was a player and Hitomi was infatuated with him
and that justs make me shudder.
I don't
really think my fluff paragraphs are that good, but this IS a
romance (well, it's supposed to be!) so I'll leave them be. For
those who wonder how I get chapters out this fast (is it fast?)
it's because the ideas or concepts get stuck in my head, and I
dream what they would look like, which is WHY this fic is called
"Dreams of Destiny". On that note, it's called Dreams
of Destiny, (1) because Destiny is what starts this conflict, and
(2) because it's how a lot of this story came to be. In my
dreams. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter (and please don't
kick me because I didn't put Hitomi's answer in)!
Angelic1090
04.20.2001
Read and Review!!! (I haven't been getting that many lately...
-_-)