Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne
A/N Okay this chapter has battle scenes and I hope they are okay and not too violent but I had to try please tell me what you think. I know Van hates violence in the series but he has to fight here so he does. Oh and angelwarriar you had to go and point out my little coupling!!! ^^ Oh well yes like Kel said Merle and King Relim are going to get together I'm not sure how yet but if anyone has any one is just dieing to see them come together in a certain way let me know. Enjoy.
BOOM!!!!
The crack echoed throughout the hall. Van licked his lips tasting the sweat dripping down his face. Now he knew why foot soldiers hated battle so much, it was beyond tiring. Another resounding boom echoed throughout the hall followed by the soft snip of wood splitting. Van brandished his two short swords in front of him. The advancing guards obviously weren't learning their lessons. Van stepped over the latest challenger and stood waiting for the guards.
Screaming wildly the guards rushed him. Van slid his left foot back a little reinforcing his position and clung to his newly acquired weapons. His sword hung loosely at his hips, he didn't want to use it just yet so after using some arrows he had taken he was now wielding the two short swords he had retrieved from the wall. Luckily for him the hall was lined with weaponry. He would have to thank King Erant for the decorations later.
The door burst into splinters sending a powerfully irritating ringing in his ears. Recently freed Telan soldiers filled the halls.
"Back behind me!" Van hollered, "I have these guys!"
The soldiers nodded and sprinted off behind Van. Turning back just in time Van winced at the sudden pull in his upper arms. He fended off the soldiers at both sides but the blades were sliding toward the hilts and soon the soldiers would have the advantage. Grunting Van shoved them off his swords and with a quick jerk of his wrist released his left short sword.
The weapon flew straight into the gecko's stomach, Van frowned as the gecko gasped and slid to the ground. Spinning just in time Van blocked the other soldiers attack. It wasn't that easy to perform any form of swordplay with a short sword but he was managing. As best he good he defended himself. Parry. Dodge. Block. Dodge.
Van was getting irritated, Hitomi was still in this castle somewhere and Perlis was doing who knows what. So anger flaring Van moved to offense. The clash intensified as steel screeched against steel. The guard's eyes widened as Van struck again and again, he was relentless. 'Be patient Fanel' Van scolded himself
The guard was putting up a good fight and Van was hoping his patience wouldn't go unrewarded. Van lunged at the man's left side and hit the wall spinning to face him again. The soldier grunted as the blood slid down his waist. Smirking Van stepped forward and moved to cut his chest but was blocked.
Again his sword flew forward aiming for his neck this time. The solider was getting weary blocking Van's attacks. He was being careful not to leave any openings and he could tell it was enraging the king.
"What's the matter King" the gecko mocked "Worried for your love?" he teased again blocking another jab.
The rubies were now a blaze and Van withdrew his patience.
Van started his fury of attacks and the gecko began to regret his words. Blow after blow came down upon the gecko's head and it was all the soldier could do to block. But the soldier made a fatal mistake and assumed Van was aiming his next blow to its regular position above his head.
The gecko smirked raising his sword a second to early believing he was gaining an advantage. That was until he felt the cold metal rip his scaly stomach.
"As a matter of fact I am and you're in the way" Van growled
His Kingdom had been thrown into havoc because of his persistent will not to fight, he'd be cursed if it was going to kill Hitomi.
Releasing the sword hilt Van shoved the soldier to the ground to find more soldiers lining the entrance again. Growling in frustration Van quickly scanned the walls. Leaping upwards he grabbed a spear and sent the primitive weapon spiraling down the hall.
'One down'
The gecko dropped with a squeal and Van swiftly unsheathed his sword.
'Hold on Hitomi I'm coming'
Van ran down the hall his trusted Fanelian sword covering his left side. Gaining distance Van leapt up and brought the sword in front just as he began his decent to the ground. Another soldier fell with a squeak and Van quickly pulled the sword to the right and sent another body slumping to the floor, minus it's head. Jerking the sword back to the left Van blocked the soldiers attack and then ran him through. He didn't have time to fight with these fools. He was suddenly longing for Escaflowne, this foot combat was gruesome and tiring yet invigorating all the same. Running through the now open hall entrance Van made a sharp turn right and followed his conscious down the hall. The pendant adorning his neck was glowing a bright pink and Van felt relieved that he was getting closer.
Van sheathed his sword and grabbed a large sturdy staff from the wall. He could hear the shuffling nearing him, and again two slimy soldiers appeared around the corner. Van clamped both hands around the staff and steadied his position. The soldiers laughed at him and drew their swords. Running at him Van frowned again, would these guys ever learn?
Spinning the staff in his hand caused the gecko soldiers to stop abruptly a few feet in front of him. They were easily distracted by the dangerous spinning and didn't notice that Van had taken a few steps forward. Swiftly he jerked the staff to the right and brought the hard round tip down on the soldier's wrist. A loud snapping followed the collision causing the soldier to drop his weapon. Van quickly spun to break the others wrist. The soldiers cried out in pain as their weapons clattered to the guard. Van took a few large steps and brought the staff vertical as he positioned himself between the two. Slanting the staff to his left he rapidly brought the staff up to his neck level and then straightened it out.
Two painful snaps bounced off the walls as the soldiers slumped to the ground, necks snapped. Van grunted in disgust and unsheathed his sword again dropping the staff.
The tiny thought sat in solitude, feverish though it was. She could hear battling closing in on the room and she was watching Perlis casually sit and sharpen his sword. The thought had decided to be brave about it and watch the on goings instead of hiding. Perlis was easily distracted and the strand of hope was regaining energy.
The pendant started spouting lines of streaming pink light. The light was spinning when it suddenly burst into blinding white. Van covered his eyes waiting for the light to die down.
The strand of hope jumped inside Hitomi's mind at the enormous boost of strength. Smiling to itself the thought stood up and began its painful and cumbersome work ahead.
It was time to fight back.
Hitomi let out a deafening scream of pure agony. "NO!!!!"
Van's head snapped up in surprise. "Hitomi??" he yelled
This was the right room he concluded and raising his sword he brought all his anger and fury down on the helpless mass of wood sending splinters everywhere.
"Hitomi!!!" he roared kicking the remaining door.
Perlis was up and actually looked frantic. Hitomi was digging her nails into her hair and was proceeding to scream her head off. "LET GO!!!" she screeched
Perlis jerked his head to the right when he saw Van barge into the room sword drawn.
Perlis just growled, this wasn't going as he planned. That pathetic light had somehow restored all of Hitomi's energy and the last remaining thought was beating him back slowly gaining control.
"You heard the lady!!" Van roared "Leave her be"
Perlis smirked and turned to face Van. "Or you'll what?" he challenged tossing the dirty rag he had been polishing his sword with to the side.
"Slit your throat," Van countered slowly raising the sword in front of him.
"Try lover boy" Perlis taunted slanting his own sword to cover his chest.
Van narrowed his eyes and ignoring all common sense he lunged forward. The large screech slid over the walls and sent a stinging shout of pain into the opponent's eardrums. Perlis began shaking as he held off an enraged Van. Ignoring all rational thoughts again Van flipped up into the air and behind Perlis fully intent on killing him. Perlis turned just in time to block another deadly blow. Van backed up a few steps to give himself room and began his fury of attacks. Each hiss of steel sent sparks flying when the swords met.
The darkness was slowly parting like the sunlight breaking the night's barrier. Slowly self-control was seeping into the shackles of Perlis's control and sending them into fits of fire. Hitomi was easily gaining control due to the fact that Perlis was carefully fending for his life.
Hitomi shook the pain away as the darkness slithered into ashes and disappeared. Giving a halfhearted smile Hitomi rubbed her temples hoping to relieve some of the agony. The sudden screech of the sharp edge of a sword grinding down the side of another caught her ears and Hitomi grit her teeth in pain. Slowly raising her head Hitomi reeled back at the sight Van's shirt was ripped and tattered. And again he looked livid. The sweat was only hindering his eyesight and his muscles angrily flexed as he continued on his offense.
Perlis was obviously getting tired and Van was almost disappointed that he would be taken so quickly. Van jumped forward for another hearty blow and met Perlis half way. The metals grinded into each other surely digging dents as the men pushed with all their might to overpower the other. Van's mind raged, he wouldn't lose to him again.
So Van carefully pushed more weight on his right arm so as not to be noticed. Perlis's sword was drooping to his right centimeter by centimeter without his attention. Van judged it to be just about level with his mid chest and that seemed like a weak enough spot. When he twisted Perlis's elbow wouldn't be able to withstand the pull and his arm would give leaving him open.
Before the evil lord knew what happened Van stepped back a little throwing Perlis off balance and just as fast Van threw all his weight down on the sword at the same time flipping over Perlis's bent arm. Perlis blinked as his elbow gave into the pressure and before he could blink Van flicked his wrist and sent the sword sprawling to the other end of the room.
The nefarious King was defenseless and most likely about to have his head severed from his body. However one didn't become a nefarious lord without learning a little magic here and there, dark as it was. Grinning like a fool Perlis as fast as the wind itself brought his hand in front of him and a black ball melted into view. Van didn't have time to react before darkness hit him.
"Hitomi!!!"
King Relim quickly bit feathers off the arrows here and there. Merle was totally confused at his actions but didn't question as the young monarch set all three in the resting place on his bow. He closed his right eye and focused on the oncoming targets. Merle was nervously jerking her head from Relim to the gecko soldiers.
"Um hey there your majesty…" Merle babbled something about speeding up his process.
Relim ignored her jittering and let his fingers disappear from the string. Three arrows cut through the air and pierced each guard in the heart. Merle gasped as the soldiers fell to the ground and Relim yanked out three more arrows. Biting off various feathers from the tips again Merle shut her mouth this time. Smiling Relim released the arrows and took down another couple of geckos. They were growing and he couldn't keep this up all day besides arrows might come in handy later on. So he slipped his bow around his shoulder and drew his sword.
"Merle do you?…" He couldn't finish, actually the proper term for that was he didn't dare finish. Merle cast him a deathly glance and jutted her claws forth from inside her paws. Roughly she drew forth her own sword the Fanelian crest embedded in the hilt.
"Van-Sama taught me a thing or two"
Relim just nodded and turned back to the advancing soldiers.
"How about on three?" Relim casually suggested trying to lighten the mood.
"Three" Merle growled and the two charged into the mass of soldiers.
King Erant raged in the heat of battle King Otis shoved against his back. The two were surrounded but relatively safe with each other guarding the others back. Unfortunately no one had expected King Perlis to have as many soldiers as he did and all forces were currently outside desperately clashing in the ferocity of battle. Relim and Merle had gone upstairs to look for Hitomi and Erant and Otis had taken the bottom half including the dungeons. At the sight of the castle Van had disappeared and everyone assumed they wound find Hitomi being carried down the halls resting in her lovers arms shortly. However Erant and Otis had turned to head for the dungeons when these "kind gentlemen" had felt the need to escort them. Rather ambush them.
"This is getting old friend!!" Otis cried out to Erant
Erant and Otis had been allies since they were crowned King at the ripe ages of 8. Like Van they knew the heavy burden of leadership at a young age. Otis and Erant had spent much time together as children and even as Kings they would go out of their ways to spend time together sparring and talking. Erant would have retreated to Rastine but the country by the seas was to the west and Perlis had driven Erant and his men to the east. So Erant took refuge with his other most trusted ally, Fanelia.
"What say you we end the charade!!??" Erant called out
Otis smirked wiping his chocolate hair from his view, goldish blue specks pierced through the circle.
"Where is the Lady Hitomi?!" he demanded
"Why with our Lord Perlis upstairs" the cocky guard smirked
"Thanks" Erant laughed at the arrogant geckos and with a quick motion four geckos were down clutching the daggers sinking into their necks or guts.
Another 5 went down as Otis pulled out his arrows and began releasing the deadly spears.
When they had cleared out the group the two old friends dashed up the stairs in record time. Nodding they broke off to find Relim and Merle.
Van scrambled through the darkness calling out for Hitomi. An irritated moan came from his right and Van turned digging through the pitch black to find it. His foot rammed into someone's rib and he didn't movie, he wasn't sure if it was Perlis or Hitomi yet. Cautiously bending down the pendant started pulsating a faint pink hue. Van's heart raced at the sight this must be Hitomi. Picking up the figure he felt delicate fingers clutch to his shredded tunic.
"Van…." She murmered
"I'm right here Hitomi let's get you out of here"
Somewhere in the Telan Forests…..
"Curse that dragon anyway!!! And his witch too!! I'll have that stone yet!" Perlis fumed as he marched off into the forests.
Gaia was still open to him, Telan wasn't the only kingdom easily forced into control. Smirking he sauntered off through the trees his insane giggle soon spread into a sadistic laughter as he gasped for breath here and there venturing off to his next victim. Westin and the desert people were a nice target and seeing as how their King and a majority of the army had fled to aid their close ally the kingdom was a jewel sitting in the open. Westin was a perfect kingdom.
His crazed laugh ricocheted off the forest floors and scattered throughout the empty air. Animals hid in their homes and birds spread their wings and took flight to warn others of the approaching danger.
Relim reclaimed his sword from the gecko's stomach. The last "dirt bag" fell to the floor in a heap of the thick scarlet liquid. Relim inhaled the much-needed air and thrust his sword point into the brick floor his chest heaving. Merle wasn't much different except for of course the agitated twitching tail sweeping the floor behind the Queen.
"I hate…….geckos" Merle finally gasped out
Relim gave a hearty laugh and tugged his sword from the ground returning it to his sheath.
"Come on let's go find Van" Relim smiled at the irritated look on Merle as they marched over the geckos and down the hall.
Otis bolted down the hall and froze at the end. He had turned to face the new entrance to his right and smiled.
"Erant I found em!!!" he hollered back down the way he had come.
Hopefully Erant hadn't gone too far and would here the call. Otis jumped over the fallen soldiers and made a left at the end of that hall only to find another hall full of deceased gecko soldiers.
Otis let out a low whistle, "They had their work cut out for them"
Following the trail of fallen soldiers Otis finally saw two figures disappearing around another corner.
"Hey! MERLE!! RELIM!!" Otis called after them
Otis saw the remaining end of Merle's tail freeze and slide up against the wall followed by her bronze fur covered ears and two ocean blue gems. They blinked a few times then Merle produced the rest of herself and smiled at her friend.
"OTIS!!" she gleefully yelled
Otis was about to respond when someone grasped his shoulder dragging him towards the ground.
"Whoa!" Otis yelled trying to regain his balance.
"Hey *gasp* there *gasp* Merle" Erant managed to slip the words out in between his heavy panting.
Otis laughed, "Out of shape?"
This caused Erant to glare at his friend, "Pardon me if I spend more time taking care of my kingdom instead of fooling around in town" Erant smirked
"Watch it!!" Otis steamed and pulled his shoulder forward marching towards Relim and Merle.
"Have you guys seen Van?" Relim questioned
"Soldiers said he was up here" Otis replied
"Erant did you find your wife?" Merle questioned
"My General caught me at the other side of the castle just now and said my wife was perfectly safe"
Merle let out a deep sigh "Good now let's go find Van and Hitomi!" with that she pounced back in the direction she and Relim were headed a few minutes ago.
"Where does she get all that energy?" Erant whined
"I have no idea" Relim said groaning to himself and racing after the cat Queen
"I'm taking a vacation when this is done!" Otis screamed to himself
"I'm going too!" Erant added following his friends down the hall.
Van was just turning the corner when he heard a deep voice echo off the walls, actually he heard several voices.
"I'm taking a vacation when this is done!!"
"I'm going too!!!
"Just look for them and stop complaining!!" Van immediately recognized his sister's voice and was relieved that she was okay.
Making a left he smiled to see Relim, Merle, Otis, and Erant all running down the hall opening doors and closing them.
"Down here!" Van called
"Van-Sama!!! Is Hitomi okay?!?!" Merle's frantic voice burst his ears at least before she did.
Merle pounced on her brother sending him to the floor Hitomi and all. Hitomi gave a weak moan and Merle jumped back apologizing. Van just smiled and struggled to his feet just as the fellow kings arrived.
"Is the lady okay?" Relim questioned truly concerned
"Fine, just a little tired" Van assured
"Where's Perlis?" Otis growled
Van's smiled faded to a frown "He disappeared, I heard the window crash. I think he went to the forests."
"We'll send men to go fi-.."
Erant was cut off by a high-pitched yell migrating their ways.
"THERE ALL DEAD SO LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" the woman screeched
"Your majesty I'm afraid I just can't, now come with me and we'll wait for his majesty outside"
"I'm warning you John! Don't think I can't get you away!"
"Your majesty" the general pleaded
Unfortunately, for the General, following his request was a knee. The woman planted her knee straight into his groin and took off down the hall. Everyone turned to watch as she came sprinting around the corner. The Generals painful cry followed her and the woman began running faster when she saw the group.
Long golden hair was folding into a braid reaching about the middle of her back. She was wearing tan leather pants with knee high chocolate boots. Her blue tunic clung to her skin and the long sleeves were rolled back to her elbows. She had dark ocean jewels for eyes and her expression at present was relieved though she looked as if she'd been through quite a tussle. The golden locks were frizzy and her tunic was ripped here and there.
The woman plowed into Erant and wrapped her arms around his waist practically squeezing all the air out of him.
"Genevieve!" Erant smiled kissing the top of his wife's head
" Erant you're alright!!!" the woman sobbed into his shoulder
Erant quietly rocked the angel in his arms whispering comforts in her ears. Finally after she had calmed down General Yotsu came stumbling around the corner.
Erant winced at the sight of his General and friend, "John I'm sorry" Erant apologized for his wife
"Well I'm not!! He wouldn't let me come find you!!" Genevieve angrily glared at the General
"He was doing his job, please forgive her John" The General merely nodded still in pain
"I'm glad to see you're well majesty" he grunted
"John send men into the forests to look for Perlis he seems to have escaped"
"At once" John said making his way back around the corner
"Maybe we'd better get downstairs"
"Wait!" Genevieve's stern voice froze the company "Erant my lady's in waiting they're gone, Perlis took them before he threw us all in the dungeons and I can't find them" Genevieve looked worried
Not only were Catalina and Danielle her lady's in waiting they were her long time friends.
"Alright we'll find them don't worry" Erant comforted slipping his fingers around his wife's and leading her down the hall.
"I'm sure they escaped" Relim offered falling into step behind Erant.
As luck would have it something finally turned in favor of the Kingdoms. When the group made their way to the courtyard Genevieve was relieved to find Catalina and Danielle bustling around tending to wounds here and there.
Night settled in and campfires popped into view everywhere. Tents had been set up and wounded were still being tended too. No one had the nerve to spend the night in the castle that day. Tomorrow it would be cleaned out and repairs on the town would begin, luckily the damage to houses and market booths were minimal and wouldn't take more than a day.
Genevieve refused to let go of her husband and Erant could only smile as he settled down by the fire, his wife asleep on his lap. Otis was checking the damage done to his army and thankfully only reported 4 deaths. That was still too many for anyone's liking but it was better than 20.
Relim too had lost very little and reported 3 dead with 2 seriously injured. Asturian soldiers had lost 5 and Van's General reported 2 dead and 4 seriously injured. Telan had only lost 2. The count for the slaughter of geckos was far greater than anyone wished to count that night so it was left a mystery.
Erant carried his wife to her tent and stayed until she fell asleep so he could slip back to the fire.
Hitomi lay in a tent just behind Van, sleeping, she'd been out of it for a while. Van was supposed to be paying attention to the group meeting but he couldn't concentrate. The new Republic of Zaibach and Freid had arrived accompanying Allen, Basram not far behind. The three new armies were happy to see the fighting over but petrified to find Perlis roaming the lands of Gaia.
The new king of Basram, King Howard, still looked skeptical of Van and wasn't warming up to him being alive. King Richard of the new Republic of Zaibach looked as if he couldn't care less. He had shaken Van's hand and smacked him on the back thanking him for his efforts and telling him it was great to see the monarch still with them. General Sakuma leading the armies of Asturia apologized to Merle and Van and was currently involved in the discussion.
General Johnson representing Freid was leaning back watching the men throw ideas back and forth, he looked as interested as Van. Van leaned forward towards the huge fire burning in the middle to catch the tail end of Allen's words.
"-roaming Gaia?!" he seemed outraged
"I didn't say that!!" King Howard defended
"Well then what was that supposed to mean!?" Relim chimed in
"Can you guys lower your voices people are sleeping" Erant harshly whispered throwing warning glances to each of the men
The angry roars faded to raging whispers.
"I simply meant that there's nothing we can do about it" Howard repeated
"And like I said before" Allen whispered, "You just want to leave him roaming Gaia?"
"Okay men let's think about this," Richard finally took his turn and spoke up, "We can't afford to bend our resources to go after the wacko because it will leave our kingdoms unguarded, example: now. But we have to find him, right? So stop your squabbling every country will take at least 20 men and we'll create a tiny search party."
Everyone seemed to chew on that idea before General Sakuma spoke up, "What if we find another huge army like the one today?"
Van was about to roll his eyes and walk away when General Johnson growled and heaved his body forward. "I do believe you have massacred almost the entire gecko population here today gentlemen. The geckos are, rather were, the only group of animal people not at peace or looking for revenge outside of our countries. The rest are peaceful farmers or living in countries like Fanelia. I doubt we will run into another huge army. However he could hire assassins, but I think between us all we could take care of that. Now stop this arguing and let's get some sleep." General Johnson stood and dusted off his tunic "Goodnight Gentlemen"
Van smirked and stood as well, "I think I'm going for a walk goodnight everyone"
Slowly the group dispersed and retired to their tents. Allen and Merle were soon the only ones sitting around the fire. Allen had checked up on Hitomi and scrounged up some food for Merle.
"Wait till the advisors here this one" Merle smiled biting into her bread
Allen laughed and took a swig of the wine he'd brought along.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world"
The wind teased the leaves into dancing for the night sky while herds of wild antelope galloped past the resting figure. Once again nature was admiring the brave draconian. This one King had seen too much for such an innocent age and that was again saddening. So the naturally concerned nature did the only thing it could for the young king. It brought for it's earth born wonders and entertained him. The soft wind rose in temperature to a warm almost caressing blanket as its hands tugged at the raven hair. Rabbits and deer let their fear subside and went to join the monarch in the small clearing.
Van lay sprawled on top of the tender grass and let the easy tempered light from the moon skim his face. Owls fluttered to nearby branches and let out their nighttime call, hoping to relax the young king.
Van sighed and let the day's stress flow from his body. It was just another one of those days. Bleeding, fighting, lying, sympathy, arguing, all of it was enough to make one sick. So Van just relished in nature's beauty and let the soft calls of the helpful animals calm his nerves. Van slipped his sword off next to his hip and closed his eyes intent on resting. Sure it wasn't the smartest move in the world but he wanted peace and quiet and back at camp was not going to give him that.
Allen and Merle were watching Hitomi and she would probably sleep through the night anyways. So checking the surroundings over one more time he stretched his arms behind his head and leaned back against his "pillow" and drifted off to sleep.
The thick liquid crawled over her ankles and up to her arms. It was a terrifying feeling, Hitomi felt trapped. She felt as if she were sinking with no one to help. The image of Van and Perlis played over and over in her mind like a broken record. The horror wouldn't stop and Hitomi screamed for it all to go away.
Hitomi blinked once the sound of metal died out and she let up her screaming. It was pitch black. She couldn't even see her hands as her delicate fingers skimmed over her face. The sickening feeling of losing control once again fled over her senses and Hitomi spun in the darkness to see Perlis disappearing into the trees. Hitomi shivered at his insane laugh and closed her eyes from him.
Hoping that the scenes would just disappear and leave her alone she opened her eyes. Emeralds blinked a few times as little grains of sand stung the glass orbs. Covering her eyes Hitomi looked to see hundreds of dunes rolling over one another. Sand covered everything in sight. And Hitomi knew something wasn't right as the shadow crept over the webs of her mind. Turning around she saw Perlis dragging his poor form over the mountains of sand. She didn't know where he was heading just as long as it was far from civilization and this looked like the best place.
Smiling in relief she felt the visionary world slip away. Hitomi turned to walk in the opposite direction of the wandering Perlis and felt sleep clutch her body. Slowly her eyelids dropped and she fell to the sand as darkness painted the vision. Perlis struggled over the dune Hitomi had been standing on minutes before and rolled down the hot mountain. Struggling to stand he grinned at the large oasis kingdom before him.
Westin.
Hitomi sat up and felt the quilt slip from her chest to puddle at her waist. She had been changed into a plain blue dress.
'Most likely Merle' Hitomi thought as she looked down at the attire
Hitomi stood up in the small tent and immediately felt her knees buckle. Her vision spun for a while and Hitomi leaned forward onto her stomach waiting for the tent to become one again. After there was only one exit and not three Hitomi slowly stood and pushed apart the leather flaps.
She was instantly greeted with a wave of heat, looking up she saw Merle and Allen talking and eating, occasionally laughing.
Merle's ear's twitched when Hitomi let the flaps fly back to their resting position. Suddenly Merle dropped her bread and hopped over the log to Hitomi. The cat queen squeezed Hitomi breathless and wouldn't let go.
"I'm glad to see you too" Hitomi smiled squeezing Merle back
"Oh we were so worried!! What did that scum do to you!?" Merle demanded releasing Hitomi from the death grip and sending her claws up in a fury.
"It's okay Merle it's over now"
"Actually," Allen said coming up beside Merle "Perlis got away" he growled
Hitomi froze on the spot and the trees began to swirl again. Green melted to brown and Hitomi felt the fear seize her heart. Sure she hadn't remembered much but she was sure Van had killed Perlis when everything had gone dark.
"Where's Van" her voice was cracking as she struggled for balance "I want to see Van" she stated
"He went for a walk a couple of hours ago, he hasn't come back yet. He probably figured you would sleep all night and wanted to rest out in the forest for the night." Merle comforted
Hitomi's eyes still shone with fear, "Which way did he go"
"Northwest" Allen confessed
Merle elbowed the knight and made a grab for Hitomi as she rushed by. Allen grabbed Merle and pulled her back to the fire.
"She'll be fine" Allen assured
"He's still roaming Gaia I don't like it" Merle hissed
"She'll find Van don't worry I have the unsettling feeling Perlis is far away from here."
"Why is that unsettling?" Merle questioned
"Because wherever he's going, they aren't there" Allen gestured to the soldiers settling in for the night.
Van stirred in his sleep as the wind violently tugged at his shirt, beckoning him to wake. The owls cried out madly and the rabbits had retreated into hiding. Sitting up Van quickly grabbed his sword and stood to defend himself. The bushes ruffled and a figure burst through the lush forest gasping for breath. He couldn't make out the figure at first but as the person advance Van made out a light blue dress.
Resheathing his sword he figured Merle had come to get him. But then it dawned on him the dress wasn't short, Merle didn't like being trapped in those long flowing gowns. Her tail cramped up. So he stood waiting for the figure to approach. The person waited until their breathing had regained its normal pace and then Van saw Hitomi step out of the shadows.
She smiled at Van's surprised expression and ran forward straight into his awaiting arms. Van laughed to himself for shear delight while rocking Hitomi in his arms. The rabbits reappeared and the wind ceased it's incessant tugging. The owls slowed their calls and the clearing was once again peaceful.
Van finally lifted Hitomi's chin to face her. Blood red rubies met dark green emeralds. A tiny crystal droplet slid down Hitomi's pale skin. Van took his thumb and gently brushed away the escaping tear.
"Don't cry, it's okay" he whispered against her ear.
Hitomi grabbed bunches of his tunic and clenched down on the cloth holding on for dear life it seemed.
"He's gone," Van reassured "I won't let him take you again, I promise"
Hitomi nodded into Van's shoulder and hugged him tighter. Van tipped Hitomi back and slid his right arm under her knees. Picking her up he carefully settled down on the ground bringing his angel with him. Hitomi simply clung to him refusing to let go of his shirt. Van settled her in his lap and continued whispering comforting words into her ear until Hitomi's grip loosened and she moved her hands to the front of the red tunic.
"I love you Van" she confessed once again
"And I you Hitomi" Van whispered kissing the top of her head
Hitomi shivered and Van pulled her closer, she still felt vulnerable and Van could sense it. She was unnerved sitting in the clearing. So Van did the only thing he could think of. He gently lowered her to the grass and stood up. Hitomi began to protest but Van put his finger to her lips.
"Hold on love"
Van could feel her fear and it saddened him that Perlis had caused her to be this jumpy. Pulling off his shirt Van sucked in a deep breath and let the wings shoot from his back. Hitomi gasped at the sight as tiny feathers floated from the magnificent wings tapping her in the face. She just couldn't get used to the sight, it amazed her every time. Van sat back down next to his love and pulled her into his arms once again. This time he took his large wings and wrapped them around Hitomi creating a little cove. Van felt Hitomi's muscles relax as she leaned back into him in the safety of his wings.
"Don't leave me" she pleaded
"Wouldn't dream of it" Van replied with a smile
"Don't ever leave me" she corrected herself
Van could tell she wasn't quite convinced even if he had proposed on the spot. So he did the next best thing he could think of.
He quietly slid his gloves off and took his rough fingers and caressed her soft cheek. He felt the heat rise in Hitomi's face, she was blushing and it was simply enchanting. Gently he turned her face to his own.
"I love you Hitomi, and I'm not leaving you" with that said he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers.
Hitomi shuddered, but this was a different shudder entirely. Hitomi shifted in Van's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. Smiling she closed her eyes and leaned into her angel.
Van relished in the soft touch of Hitomi's lips caressing his own. She brushed up against his lips again and again, Van was sure he would never get enough. Finally he caught her lips and held them to his own. Hitomi opened her mouth a little and Van let his tongue sneak its way in.
Hitomi melted against Van and his kiss. The whole experience was too much for words and suddenly she found that it wasn't so cold outside. In fact it was getting hot and Hitomi smiled at the feel of Van's own blush.
Eventually Van broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers.
"We should head back to camp" his voice a little huskier than usual
"They'll be worried" Hitomi continued
There was silence. Hitomi didn't move, Van didn't move. They both just sat in each other's arms enjoying the comfort.
"What's a couple more minutes?" Van asked with a smile
"Not much" Hitomi added and leaned up against his mouth again
Van brought his wings in closer letting the feathers gently rub Hitomi's arms. They certainly deserved a few minutes after a day like this one.
Merle smiled. They certainly did.
With a happy twitch of her tail Merle bounced off back to camp.
A/N Sorry it took me a while to update but there it is! Hope everyone likes it.
Sailor Hope
A/N Okay this chapter has battle scenes and I hope they are okay and not too violent but I had to try please tell me what you think. I know Van hates violence in the series but he has to fight here so he does. Oh and angelwarriar you had to go and point out my little coupling!!! ^^ Oh well yes like Kel said Merle and King Relim are going to get together I'm not sure how yet but if anyone has any one is just dieing to see them come together in a certain way let me know. Enjoy.
BOOM!!!!
The crack echoed throughout the hall. Van licked his lips tasting the sweat dripping down his face. Now he knew why foot soldiers hated battle so much, it was beyond tiring. Another resounding boom echoed throughout the hall followed by the soft snip of wood splitting. Van brandished his two short swords in front of him. The advancing guards obviously weren't learning their lessons. Van stepped over the latest challenger and stood waiting for the guards.
Screaming wildly the guards rushed him. Van slid his left foot back a little reinforcing his position and clung to his newly acquired weapons. His sword hung loosely at his hips, he didn't want to use it just yet so after using some arrows he had taken he was now wielding the two short swords he had retrieved from the wall. Luckily for him the hall was lined with weaponry. He would have to thank King Erant for the decorations later.
The door burst into splinters sending a powerfully irritating ringing in his ears. Recently freed Telan soldiers filled the halls.
"Back behind me!" Van hollered, "I have these guys!"
The soldiers nodded and sprinted off behind Van. Turning back just in time Van winced at the sudden pull in his upper arms. He fended off the soldiers at both sides but the blades were sliding toward the hilts and soon the soldiers would have the advantage. Grunting Van shoved them off his swords and with a quick jerk of his wrist released his left short sword.
The weapon flew straight into the gecko's stomach, Van frowned as the gecko gasped and slid to the ground. Spinning just in time Van blocked the other soldiers attack. It wasn't that easy to perform any form of swordplay with a short sword but he was managing. As best he good he defended himself. Parry. Dodge. Block. Dodge.
Van was getting irritated, Hitomi was still in this castle somewhere and Perlis was doing who knows what. So anger flaring Van moved to offense. The clash intensified as steel screeched against steel. The guard's eyes widened as Van struck again and again, he was relentless. 'Be patient Fanel' Van scolded himself
The guard was putting up a good fight and Van was hoping his patience wouldn't go unrewarded. Van lunged at the man's left side and hit the wall spinning to face him again. The soldier grunted as the blood slid down his waist. Smirking Van stepped forward and moved to cut his chest but was blocked.
Again his sword flew forward aiming for his neck this time. The solider was getting weary blocking Van's attacks. He was being careful not to leave any openings and he could tell it was enraging the king.
"What's the matter King" the gecko mocked "Worried for your love?" he teased again blocking another jab.
The rubies were now a blaze and Van withdrew his patience.
Van started his fury of attacks and the gecko began to regret his words. Blow after blow came down upon the gecko's head and it was all the soldier could do to block. But the soldier made a fatal mistake and assumed Van was aiming his next blow to its regular position above his head.
The gecko smirked raising his sword a second to early believing he was gaining an advantage. That was until he felt the cold metal rip his scaly stomach.
"As a matter of fact I am and you're in the way" Van growled
His Kingdom had been thrown into havoc because of his persistent will not to fight, he'd be cursed if it was going to kill Hitomi.
Releasing the sword hilt Van shoved the soldier to the ground to find more soldiers lining the entrance again. Growling in frustration Van quickly scanned the walls. Leaping upwards he grabbed a spear and sent the primitive weapon spiraling down the hall.
'One down'
The gecko dropped with a squeal and Van swiftly unsheathed his sword.
'Hold on Hitomi I'm coming'
Van ran down the hall his trusted Fanelian sword covering his left side. Gaining distance Van leapt up and brought the sword in front just as he began his decent to the ground. Another soldier fell with a squeak and Van quickly pulled the sword to the right and sent another body slumping to the floor, minus it's head. Jerking the sword back to the left Van blocked the soldiers attack and then ran him through. He didn't have time to fight with these fools. He was suddenly longing for Escaflowne, this foot combat was gruesome and tiring yet invigorating all the same. Running through the now open hall entrance Van made a sharp turn right and followed his conscious down the hall. The pendant adorning his neck was glowing a bright pink and Van felt relieved that he was getting closer.
Van sheathed his sword and grabbed a large sturdy staff from the wall. He could hear the shuffling nearing him, and again two slimy soldiers appeared around the corner. Van clamped both hands around the staff and steadied his position. The soldiers laughed at him and drew their swords. Running at him Van frowned again, would these guys ever learn?
Spinning the staff in his hand caused the gecko soldiers to stop abruptly a few feet in front of him. They were easily distracted by the dangerous spinning and didn't notice that Van had taken a few steps forward. Swiftly he jerked the staff to the right and brought the hard round tip down on the soldier's wrist. A loud snapping followed the collision causing the soldier to drop his weapon. Van quickly spun to break the others wrist. The soldiers cried out in pain as their weapons clattered to the guard. Van took a few large steps and brought the staff vertical as he positioned himself between the two. Slanting the staff to his left he rapidly brought the staff up to his neck level and then straightened it out.
Two painful snaps bounced off the walls as the soldiers slumped to the ground, necks snapped. Van grunted in disgust and unsheathed his sword again dropping the staff.
The tiny thought sat in solitude, feverish though it was. She could hear battling closing in on the room and she was watching Perlis casually sit and sharpen his sword. The thought had decided to be brave about it and watch the on goings instead of hiding. Perlis was easily distracted and the strand of hope was regaining energy.
The pendant started spouting lines of streaming pink light. The light was spinning when it suddenly burst into blinding white. Van covered his eyes waiting for the light to die down.
The strand of hope jumped inside Hitomi's mind at the enormous boost of strength. Smiling to itself the thought stood up and began its painful and cumbersome work ahead.
It was time to fight back.
Hitomi let out a deafening scream of pure agony. "NO!!!!"
Van's head snapped up in surprise. "Hitomi??" he yelled
This was the right room he concluded and raising his sword he brought all his anger and fury down on the helpless mass of wood sending splinters everywhere.
"Hitomi!!!" he roared kicking the remaining door.
Perlis was up and actually looked frantic. Hitomi was digging her nails into her hair and was proceeding to scream her head off. "LET GO!!!" she screeched
Perlis jerked his head to the right when he saw Van barge into the room sword drawn.
Perlis just growled, this wasn't going as he planned. That pathetic light had somehow restored all of Hitomi's energy and the last remaining thought was beating him back slowly gaining control.
"You heard the lady!!" Van roared "Leave her be"
Perlis smirked and turned to face Van. "Or you'll what?" he challenged tossing the dirty rag he had been polishing his sword with to the side.
"Slit your throat," Van countered slowly raising the sword in front of him.
"Try lover boy" Perlis taunted slanting his own sword to cover his chest.
Van narrowed his eyes and ignoring all common sense he lunged forward. The large screech slid over the walls and sent a stinging shout of pain into the opponent's eardrums. Perlis began shaking as he held off an enraged Van. Ignoring all rational thoughts again Van flipped up into the air and behind Perlis fully intent on killing him. Perlis turned just in time to block another deadly blow. Van backed up a few steps to give himself room and began his fury of attacks. Each hiss of steel sent sparks flying when the swords met.
The darkness was slowly parting like the sunlight breaking the night's barrier. Slowly self-control was seeping into the shackles of Perlis's control and sending them into fits of fire. Hitomi was easily gaining control due to the fact that Perlis was carefully fending for his life.
Hitomi shook the pain away as the darkness slithered into ashes and disappeared. Giving a halfhearted smile Hitomi rubbed her temples hoping to relieve some of the agony. The sudden screech of the sharp edge of a sword grinding down the side of another caught her ears and Hitomi grit her teeth in pain. Slowly raising her head Hitomi reeled back at the sight Van's shirt was ripped and tattered. And again he looked livid. The sweat was only hindering his eyesight and his muscles angrily flexed as he continued on his offense.
Perlis was obviously getting tired and Van was almost disappointed that he would be taken so quickly. Van jumped forward for another hearty blow and met Perlis half way. The metals grinded into each other surely digging dents as the men pushed with all their might to overpower the other. Van's mind raged, he wouldn't lose to him again.
So Van carefully pushed more weight on his right arm so as not to be noticed. Perlis's sword was drooping to his right centimeter by centimeter without his attention. Van judged it to be just about level with his mid chest and that seemed like a weak enough spot. When he twisted Perlis's elbow wouldn't be able to withstand the pull and his arm would give leaving him open.
Before the evil lord knew what happened Van stepped back a little throwing Perlis off balance and just as fast Van threw all his weight down on the sword at the same time flipping over Perlis's bent arm. Perlis blinked as his elbow gave into the pressure and before he could blink Van flicked his wrist and sent the sword sprawling to the other end of the room.
The nefarious King was defenseless and most likely about to have his head severed from his body. However one didn't become a nefarious lord without learning a little magic here and there, dark as it was. Grinning like a fool Perlis as fast as the wind itself brought his hand in front of him and a black ball melted into view. Van didn't have time to react before darkness hit him.
"Hitomi!!!"
King Relim quickly bit feathers off the arrows here and there. Merle was totally confused at his actions but didn't question as the young monarch set all three in the resting place on his bow. He closed his right eye and focused on the oncoming targets. Merle was nervously jerking her head from Relim to the gecko soldiers.
"Um hey there your majesty…" Merle babbled something about speeding up his process.
Relim ignored her jittering and let his fingers disappear from the string. Three arrows cut through the air and pierced each guard in the heart. Merle gasped as the soldiers fell to the ground and Relim yanked out three more arrows. Biting off various feathers from the tips again Merle shut her mouth this time. Smiling Relim released the arrows and took down another couple of geckos. They were growing and he couldn't keep this up all day besides arrows might come in handy later on. So he slipped his bow around his shoulder and drew his sword.
"Merle do you?…" He couldn't finish, actually the proper term for that was he didn't dare finish. Merle cast him a deathly glance and jutted her claws forth from inside her paws. Roughly she drew forth her own sword the Fanelian crest embedded in the hilt.
"Van-Sama taught me a thing or two"
Relim just nodded and turned back to the advancing soldiers.
"How about on three?" Relim casually suggested trying to lighten the mood.
"Three" Merle growled and the two charged into the mass of soldiers.
King Erant raged in the heat of battle King Otis shoved against his back. The two were surrounded but relatively safe with each other guarding the others back. Unfortunately no one had expected King Perlis to have as many soldiers as he did and all forces were currently outside desperately clashing in the ferocity of battle. Relim and Merle had gone upstairs to look for Hitomi and Erant and Otis had taken the bottom half including the dungeons. At the sight of the castle Van had disappeared and everyone assumed they wound find Hitomi being carried down the halls resting in her lovers arms shortly. However Erant and Otis had turned to head for the dungeons when these "kind gentlemen" had felt the need to escort them. Rather ambush them.
"This is getting old friend!!" Otis cried out to Erant
Erant and Otis had been allies since they were crowned King at the ripe ages of 8. Like Van they knew the heavy burden of leadership at a young age. Otis and Erant had spent much time together as children and even as Kings they would go out of their ways to spend time together sparring and talking. Erant would have retreated to Rastine but the country by the seas was to the west and Perlis had driven Erant and his men to the east. So Erant took refuge with his other most trusted ally, Fanelia.
"What say you we end the charade!!??" Erant called out
Otis smirked wiping his chocolate hair from his view, goldish blue specks pierced through the circle.
"Where is the Lady Hitomi?!" he demanded
"Why with our Lord Perlis upstairs" the cocky guard smirked
"Thanks" Erant laughed at the arrogant geckos and with a quick motion four geckos were down clutching the daggers sinking into their necks or guts.
Another 5 went down as Otis pulled out his arrows and began releasing the deadly spears.
When they had cleared out the group the two old friends dashed up the stairs in record time. Nodding they broke off to find Relim and Merle.
Van scrambled through the darkness calling out for Hitomi. An irritated moan came from his right and Van turned digging through the pitch black to find it. His foot rammed into someone's rib and he didn't movie, he wasn't sure if it was Perlis or Hitomi yet. Cautiously bending down the pendant started pulsating a faint pink hue. Van's heart raced at the sight this must be Hitomi. Picking up the figure he felt delicate fingers clutch to his shredded tunic.
"Van…." She murmered
"I'm right here Hitomi let's get you out of here"
Somewhere in the Telan Forests…..
"Curse that dragon anyway!!! And his witch too!! I'll have that stone yet!" Perlis fumed as he marched off into the forests.
Gaia was still open to him, Telan wasn't the only kingdom easily forced into control. Smirking he sauntered off through the trees his insane giggle soon spread into a sadistic laughter as he gasped for breath here and there venturing off to his next victim. Westin and the desert people were a nice target and seeing as how their King and a majority of the army had fled to aid their close ally the kingdom was a jewel sitting in the open. Westin was a perfect kingdom.
His crazed laugh ricocheted off the forest floors and scattered throughout the empty air. Animals hid in their homes and birds spread their wings and took flight to warn others of the approaching danger.
Relim reclaimed his sword from the gecko's stomach. The last "dirt bag" fell to the floor in a heap of the thick scarlet liquid. Relim inhaled the much-needed air and thrust his sword point into the brick floor his chest heaving. Merle wasn't much different except for of course the agitated twitching tail sweeping the floor behind the Queen.
"I hate…….geckos" Merle finally gasped out
Relim gave a hearty laugh and tugged his sword from the ground returning it to his sheath.
"Come on let's go find Van" Relim smiled at the irritated look on Merle as they marched over the geckos and down the hall.
Otis bolted down the hall and froze at the end. He had turned to face the new entrance to his right and smiled.
"Erant I found em!!!" he hollered back down the way he had come.
Hopefully Erant hadn't gone too far and would here the call. Otis jumped over the fallen soldiers and made a left at the end of that hall only to find another hall full of deceased gecko soldiers.
Otis let out a low whistle, "They had their work cut out for them"
Following the trail of fallen soldiers Otis finally saw two figures disappearing around another corner.
"Hey! MERLE!! RELIM!!" Otis called after them
Otis saw the remaining end of Merle's tail freeze and slide up against the wall followed by her bronze fur covered ears and two ocean blue gems. They blinked a few times then Merle produced the rest of herself and smiled at her friend.
"OTIS!!" she gleefully yelled
Otis was about to respond when someone grasped his shoulder dragging him towards the ground.
"Whoa!" Otis yelled trying to regain his balance.
"Hey *gasp* there *gasp* Merle" Erant managed to slip the words out in between his heavy panting.
Otis laughed, "Out of shape?"
This caused Erant to glare at his friend, "Pardon me if I spend more time taking care of my kingdom instead of fooling around in town" Erant smirked
"Watch it!!" Otis steamed and pulled his shoulder forward marching towards Relim and Merle.
"Have you guys seen Van?" Relim questioned
"Soldiers said he was up here" Otis replied
"Erant did you find your wife?" Merle questioned
"My General caught me at the other side of the castle just now and said my wife was perfectly safe"
Merle let out a deep sigh "Good now let's go find Van and Hitomi!" with that she pounced back in the direction she and Relim were headed a few minutes ago.
"Where does she get all that energy?" Erant whined
"I have no idea" Relim said groaning to himself and racing after the cat Queen
"I'm taking a vacation when this is done!" Otis screamed to himself
"I'm going too!" Erant added following his friends down the hall.
Van was just turning the corner when he heard a deep voice echo off the walls, actually he heard several voices.
"I'm taking a vacation when this is done!!"
"I'm going too!!!
"Just look for them and stop complaining!!" Van immediately recognized his sister's voice and was relieved that she was okay.
Making a left he smiled to see Relim, Merle, Otis, and Erant all running down the hall opening doors and closing them.
"Down here!" Van called
"Van-Sama!!! Is Hitomi okay?!?!" Merle's frantic voice burst his ears at least before she did.
Merle pounced on her brother sending him to the floor Hitomi and all. Hitomi gave a weak moan and Merle jumped back apologizing. Van just smiled and struggled to his feet just as the fellow kings arrived.
"Is the lady okay?" Relim questioned truly concerned
"Fine, just a little tired" Van assured
"Where's Perlis?" Otis growled
Van's smiled faded to a frown "He disappeared, I heard the window crash. I think he went to the forests."
"We'll send men to go fi-.."
Erant was cut off by a high-pitched yell migrating their ways.
"THERE ALL DEAD SO LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" the woman screeched
"Your majesty I'm afraid I just can't, now come with me and we'll wait for his majesty outside"
"I'm warning you John! Don't think I can't get you away!"
"Your majesty" the general pleaded
Unfortunately, for the General, following his request was a knee. The woman planted her knee straight into his groin and took off down the hall. Everyone turned to watch as she came sprinting around the corner. The Generals painful cry followed her and the woman began running faster when she saw the group.
Long golden hair was folding into a braid reaching about the middle of her back. She was wearing tan leather pants with knee high chocolate boots. Her blue tunic clung to her skin and the long sleeves were rolled back to her elbows. She had dark ocean jewels for eyes and her expression at present was relieved though she looked as if she'd been through quite a tussle. The golden locks were frizzy and her tunic was ripped here and there.
The woman plowed into Erant and wrapped her arms around his waist practically squeezing all the air out of him.
"Genevieve!" Erant smiled kissing the top of his wife's head
" Erant you're alright!!!" the woman sobbed into his shoulder
Erant quietly rocked the angel in his arms whispering comforts in her ears. Finally after she had calmed down General Yotsu came stumbling around the corner.
Erant winced at the sight of his General and friend, "John I'm sorry" Erant apologized for his wife
"Well I'm not!! He wouldn't let me come find you!!" Genevieve angrily glared at the General
"He was doing his job, please forgive her John" The General merely nodded still in pain
"I'm glad to see you're well majesty" he grunted
"John send men into the forests to look for Perlis he seems to have escaped"
"At once" John said making his way back around the corner
"Maybe we'd better get downstairs"
"Wait!" Genevieve's stern voice froze the company "Erant my lady's in waiting they're gone, Perlis took them before he threw us all in the dungeons and I can't find them" Genevieve looked worried
Not only were Catalina and Danielle her lady's in waiting they were her long time friends.
"Alright we'll find them don't worry" Erant comforted slipping his fingers around his wife's and leading her down the hall.
"I'm sure they escaped" Relim offered falling into step behind Erant.
As luck would have it something finally turned in favor of the Kingdoms. When the group made their way to the courtyard Genevieve was relieved to find Catalina and Danielle bustling around tending to wounds here and there.
Night settled in and campfires popped into view everywhere. Tents had been set up and wounded were still being tended too. No one had the nerve to spend the night in the castle that day. Tomorrow it would be cleaned out and repairs on the town would begin, luckily the damage to houses and market booths were minimal and wouldn't take more than a day.
Genevieve refused to let go of her husband and Erant could only smile as he settled down by the fire, his wife asleep on his lap. Otis was checking the damage done to his army and thankfully only reported 4 deaths. That was still too many for anyone's liking but it was better than 20.
Relim too had lost very little and reported 3 dead with 2 seriously injured. Asturian soldiers had lost 5 and Van's General reported 2 dead and 4 seriously injured. Telan had only lost 2. The count for the slaughter of geckos was far greater than anyone wished to count that night so it was left a mystery.
Erant carried his wife to her tent and stayed until she fell asleep so he could slip back to the fire.
Hitomi lay in a tent just behind Van, sleeping, she'd been out of it for a while. Van was supposed to be paying attention to the group meeting but he couldn't concentrate. The new Republic of Zaibach and Freid had arrived accompanying Allen, Basram not far behind. The three new armies were happy to see the fighting over but petrified to find Perlis roaming the lands of Gaia.
The new king of Basram, King Howard, still looked skeptical of Van and wasn't warming up to him being alive. King Richard of the new Republic of Zaibach looked as if he couldn't care less. He had shaken Van's hand and smacked him on the back thanking him for his efforts and telling him it was great to see the monarch still with them. General Sakuma leading the armies of Asturia apologized to Merle and Van and was currently involved in the discussion.
General Johnson representing Freid was leaning back watching the men throw ideas back and forth, he looked as interested as Van. Van leaned forward towards the huge fire burning in the middle to catch the tail end of Allen's words.
"-roaming Gaia?!" he seemed outraged
"I didn't say that!!" King Howard defended
"Well then what was that supposed to mean!?" Relim chimed in
"Can you guys lower your voices people are sleeping" Erant harshly whispered throwing warning glances to each of the men
The angry roars faded to raging whispers.
"I simply meant that there's nothing we can do about it" Howard repeated
"And like I said before" Allen whispered, "You just want to leave him roaming Gaia?"
"Okay men let's think about this," Richard finally took his turn and spoke up, "We can't afford to bend our resources to go after the wacko because it will leave our kingdoms unguarded, example: now. But we have to find him, right? So stop your squabbling every country will take at least 20 men and we'll create a tiny search party."
Everyone seemed to chew on that idea before General Sakuma spoke up, "What if we find another huge army like the one today?"
Van was about to roll his eyes and walk away when General Johnson growled and heaved his body forward. "I do believe you have massacred almost the entire gecko population here today gentlemen. The geckos are, rather were, the only group of animal people not at peace or looking for revenge outside of our countries. The rest are peaceful farmers or living in countries like Fanelia. I doubt we will run into another huge army. However he could hire assassins, but I think between us all we could take care of that. Now stop this arguing and let's get some sleep." General Johnson stood and dusted off his tunic "Goodnight Gentlemen"
Van smirked and stood as well, "I think I'm going for a walk goodnight everyone"
Slowly the group dispersed and retired to their tents. Allen and Merle were soon the only ones sitting around the fire. Allen had checked up on Hitomi and scrounged up some food for Merle.
"Wait till the advisors here this one" Merle smiled biting into her bread
Allen laughed and took a swig of the wine he'd brought along.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world"
The wind teased the leaves into dancing for the night sky while herds of wild antelope galloped past the resting figure. Once again nature was admiring the brave draconian. This one King had seen too much for such an innocent age and that was again saddening. So the naturally concerned nature did the only thing it could for the young king. It brought for it's earth born wonders and entertained him. The soft wind rose in temperature to a warm almost caressing blanket as its hands tugged at the raven hair. Rabbits and deer let their fear subside and went to join the monarch in the small clearing.
Van lay sprawled on top of the tender grass and let the easy tempered light from the moon skim his face. Owls fluttered to nearby branches and let out their nighttime call, hoping to relax the young king.
Van sighed and let the day's stress flow from his body. It was just another one of those days. Bleeding, fighting, lying, sympathy, arguing, all of it was enough to make one sick. So Van just relished in nature's beauty and let the soft calls of the helpful animals calm his nerves. Van slipped his sword off next to his hip and closed his eyes intent on resting. Sure it wasn't the smartest move in the world but he wanted peace and quiet and back at camp was not going to give him that.
Allen and Merle were watching Hitomi and she would probably sleep through the night anyways. So checking the surroundings over one more time he stretched his arms behind his head and leaned back against his "pillow" and drifted off to sleep.
The thick liquid crawled over her ankles and up to her arms. It was a terrifying feeling, Hitomi felt trapped. She felt as if she were sinking with no one to help. The image of Van and Perlis played over and over in her mind like a broken record. The horror wouldn't stop and Hitomi screamed for it all to go away.
Hitomi blinked once the sound of metal died out and she let up her screaming. It was pitch black. She couldn't even see her hands as her delicate fingers skimmed over her face. The sickening feeling of losing control once again fled over her senses and Hitomi spun in the darkness to see Perlis disappearing into the trees. Hitomi shivered at his insane laugh and closed her eyes from him.
Hoping that the scenes would just disappear and leave her alone she opened her eyes. Emeralds blinked a few times as little grains of sand stung the glass orbs. Covering her eyes Hitomi looked to see hundreds of dunes rolling over one another. Sand covered everything in sight. And Hitomi knew something wasn't right as the shadow crept over the webs of her mind. Turning around she saw Perlis dragging his poor form over the mountains of sand. She didn't know where he was heading just as long as it was far from civilization and this looked like the best place.
Smiling in relief she felt the visionary world slip away. Hitomi turned to walk in the opposite direction of the wandering Perlis and felt sleep clutch her body. Slowly her eyelids dropped and she fell to the sand as darkness painted the vision. Perlis struggled over the dune Hitomi had been standing on minutes before and rolled down the hot mountain. Struggling to stand he grinned at the large oasis kingdom before him.
Westin.
Hitomi sat up and felt the quilt slip from her chest to puddle at her waist. She had been changed into a plain blue dress.
'Most likely Merle' Hitomi thought as she looked down at the attire
Hitomi stood up in the small tent and immediately felt her knees buckle. Her vision spun for a while and Hitomi leaned forward onto her stomach waiting for the tent to become one again. After there was only one exit and not three Hitomi slowly stood and pushed apart the leather flaps.
She was instantly greeted with a wave of heat, looking up she saw Merle and Allen talking and eating, occasionally laughing.
Merle's ear's twitched when Hitomi let the flaps fly back to their resting position. Suddenly Merle dropped her bread and hopped over the log to Hitomi. The cat queen squeezed Hitomi breathless and wouldn't let go.
"I'm glad to see you too" Hitomi smiled squeezing Merle back
"Oh we were so worried!! What did that scum do to you!?" Merle demanded releasing Hitomi from the death grip and sending her claws up in a fury.
"It's okay Merle it's over now"
"Actually," Allen said coming up beside Merle "Perlis got away" he growled
Hitomi froze on the spot and the trees began to swirl again. Green melted to brown and Hitomi felt the fear seize her heart. Sure she hadn't remembered much but she was sure Van had killed Perlis when everything had gone dark.
"Where's Van" her voice was cracking as she struggled for balance "I want to see Van" she stated
"He went for a walk a couple of hours ago, he hasn't come back yet. He probably figured you would sleep all night and wanted to rest out in the forest for the night." Merle comforted
Hitomi's eyes still shone with fear, "Which way did he go"
"Northwest" Allen confessed
Merle elbowed the knight and made a grab for Hitomi as she rushed by. Allen grabbed Merle and pulled her back to the fire.
"She'll be fine" Allen assured
"He's still roaming Gaia I don't like it" Merle hissed
"She'll find Van don't worry I have the unsettling feeling Perlis is far away from here."
"Why is that unsettling?" Merle questioned
"Because wherever he's going, they aren't there" Allen gestured to the soldiers settling in for the night.
Van stirred in his sleep as the wind violently tugged at his shirt, beckoning him to wake. The owls cried out madly and the rabbits had retreated into hiding. Sitting up Van quickly grabbed his sword and stood to defend himself. The bushes ruffled and a figure burst through the lush forest gasping for breath. He couldn't make out the figure at first but as the person advance Van made out a light blue dress.
Resheathing his sword he figured Merle had come to get him. But then it dawned on him the dress wasn't short, Merle didn't like being trapped in those long flowing gowns. Her tail cramped up. So he stood waiting for the figure to approach. The person waited until their breathing had regained its normal pace and then Van saw Hitomi step out of the shadows.
She smiled at Van's surprised expression and ran forward straight into his awaiting arms. Van laughed to himself for shear delight while rocking Hitomi in his arms. The rabbits reappeared and the wind ceased it's incessant tugging. The owls slowed their calls and the clearing was once again peaceful.
Van finally lifted Hitomi's chin to face her. Blood red rubies met dark green emeralds. A tiny crystal droplet slid down Hitomi's pale skin. Van took his thumb and gently brushed away the escaping tear.
"Don't cry, it's okay" he whispered against her ear.
Hitomi grabbed bunches of his tunic and clenched down on the cloth holding on for dear life it seemed.
"He's gone," Van reassured "I won't let him take you again, I promise"
Hitomi nodded into Van's shoulder and hugged him tighter. Van tipped Hitomi back and slid his right arm under her knees. Picking her up he carefully settled down on the ground bringing his angel with him. Hitomi simply clung to him refusing to let go of his shirt. Van settled her in his lap and continued whispering comforting words into her ear until Hitomi's grip loosened and she moved her hands to the front of the red tunic.
"I love you Van" she confessed once again
"And I you Hitomi" Van whispered kissing the top of her head
Hitomi shivered and Van pulled her closer, she still felt vulnerable and Van could sense it. She was unnerved sitting in the clearing. So Van did the only thing he could think of. He gently lowered her to the grass and stood up. Hitomi began to protest but Van put his finger to her lips.
"Hold on love"
Van could feel her fear and it saddened him that Perlis had caused her to be this jumpy. Pulling off his shirt Van sucked in a deep breath and let the wings shoot from his back. Hitomi gasped at the sight as tiny feathers floated from the magnificent wings tapping her in the face. She just couldn't get used to the sight, it amazed her every time. Van sat back down next to his love and pulled her into his arms once again. This time he took his large wings and wrapped them around Hitomi creating a little cove. Van felt Hitomi's muscles relax as she leaned back into him in the safety of his wings.
"Don't leave me" she pleaded
"Wouldn't dream of it" Van replied with a smile
"Don't ever leave me" she corrected herself
Van could tell she wasn't quite convinced even if he had proposed on the spot. So he did the next best thing he could think of.
He quietly slid his gloves off and took his rough fingers and caressed her soft cheek. He felt the heat rise in Hitomi's face, she was blushing and it was simply enchanting. Gently he turned her face to his own.
"I love you Hitomi, and I'm not leaving you" with that said he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers.
Hitomi shuddered, but this was a different shudder entirely. Hitomi shifted in Van's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. Smiling she closed her eyes and leaned into her angel.
Van relished in the soft touch of Hitomi's lips caressing his own. She brushed up against his lips again and again, Van was sure he would never get enough. Finally he caught her lips and held them to his own. Hitomi opened her mouth a little and Van let his tongue sneak its way in.
Hitomi melted against Van and his kiss. The whole experience was too much for words and suddenly she found that it wasn't so cold outside. In fact it was getting hot and Hitomi smiled at the feel of Van's own blush.
Eventually Van broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers.
"We should head back to camp" his voice a little huskier than usual
"They'll be worried" Hitomi continued
There was silence. Hitomi didn't move, Van didn't move. They both just sat in each other's arms enjoying the comfort.
"What's a couple more minutes?" Van asked with a smile
"Not much" Hitomi added and leaned up against his mouth again
Van brought his wings in closer letting the feathers gently rub Hitomi's arms. They certainly deserved a few minutes after a day like this one.
Merle smiled. They certainly did.
With a happy twitch of her tail Merle bounced off back to camp.
A/N Sorry it took me a while to update but there it is! Hope everyone likes it.
Sailor Hope
