Dreams and Visions: Chapter 11
By mercy_angel_09
Rating PG-13
Disclaimers: I don't own Escaflowne and I'm certainly not making any money off of this venture, so it'd be sort of pointless to sue me. (Besides, I'm a poor college student; you'd lose more money than you'd gain.) The creative geniuses behind EscaFlowne are Hajime Yatate and Shoji Kawamori, Sunrise, Bandai, and I'm sure a few other companies that I'm forgetting or have no idea about.
~*~
Hitomi was rocking gently in a chair, murmuring softly to herself.
"Mom, if you don't get a grip, you're not going to be able to walk straight."
Hitomi glanced at Hikari before adverting her eyes to the window. "I know, I know, but I can't believe that I'm actually going though with this! I mean I can but I'm so nervous. And it's just Van. But it's not just Van. He's the one I've loved for so long and now we're getting married, and the fact that we have a seventeen year old daughter-"
"Whoa, slow down there Mom," Hikari said, producing a paper bag from her gown. "Breathe in, breathe out, and let's try this again."
Hitomi took a few deep breaths before attempting to talk again. "I love Van so much, and I never thought that I would marry him, but now I am. And I'm terrified."
Hikari chuckled. "Mom, this is what you've always wanted. And now you're finally getting it. Don't worry and just relax."
"I wish I could."
"Mom, just keep this is mind. Dreams do come true."
Hitomi looked up at Hikari and grinned. "I know that. But sometimes it's just hard to believe. Never did I dream of marrying your father-" Hitomi chuckled nervously when she saw the look on Hikari's face. "Okay, I dreamed of marrying Van, but I never thought that you'd be here."
"I know, the unexpected child. It happens more than you think Mom. But relax, you're going to marry your king and live happily ever after, and determine exactly what you want for my future. And my wedding, and my kids, and my-"
"I get the point you smart aleck."
"Come on Mom. If we don't get a move on, we're going to be late to your own wedding."
Hitomi looked at the clock and gasped. "Oh no!" She stood up and bolted from the room.
Hikari sighed and rolled her eyes. "As if twenty-one years wasn't long enough," she groaned. "Twenty-one seconds is a drop in the bucket."
~*~
Hitomi swallowed the lump in her throat as she peaked down the aisle. "I can't do this," she whispered hoarsely.
"Sure you can!"
"Agh!"
"Dryden!" Millerna barked. "We spent hours getting her to look perfect and what do you do? You spoil it in about ten seconds!"
Dryden blushed guiltily as Millerna stood over him, fuming furiously. "Aw, come on, the kid's a bundle of nerves. She needs to loosen up."
"Mom'll be fine," Hikari drawled. "Are you ready Kaiden? Kaiden? Heeeelllllooooooo? Kaiden, is anyone home Kaiden?"
"Uh?"
Hikari placed her face in her palm and groaned. "The man's an idiot."
"What? Sorry, I didn't sleep well."
"I can tell."
"Will you stop bickering?" Millerna asked. "At least long enough to make it though this wedding?"
Kaiden and Hikari exchanged nervous glances at the rather murderous look in Millerna's eyes. "Yes ma'am," they automatically replied.
Millerna smiled before going back to adjusting Celena and Eliana's skirts. All of the bridesmaids wore similar dresses with a sleeveless, pale blue bodice and a white skirt made of thin silk that consisted of four layers. They all wore elbow gloves and their hair was decorated with flowers.
Hikari sat down and promptly started to nervously fiddle with her bouquet. Kaiden noticed that she wasn't her usual sassy self and decided that he should talk to her. "Hey, everything will be fine."
"Easy for you to say," Hikari muttered.
"Not really," Kaiden answered. "But then again you wouldn't understand."
"I guess I wouldn't," Hikari said, bouncing her legs in anticipation.
"Then again, maybe you will," Kaiden said gently.
Hikari glanced up at him, her expression confused.
"Because we're the heirs, the pressure's on us to take over the countries. So obviously we're next in line for the wedding march."
"You know, you're actually right about something."
"It's kind of frightening, isn't it?"
"Oh yeah."
"Hey, will you two stop b-s-ing and get over here? Gaddes and Eliana have already started their walk!" Millerna hissed. "And it's your turn!"
Hikari stood up, taking in large breaths of fresh air. Kaiden offered her his arm, and with linked arms the pair walked down the aisle behind Gaddes and Eliana. Allen and Celena followed them, followed by Millerna and Dryden. Once everyone was situated at the alter, the Wedding March started.
Hitomi bit her lip as she took the first step. She looked down the aisle, which seemed impossibly long, at Van's smiling face. The smile made her heart beat quicken its pace, and for a split second Hitomi thought that she was going to have a heart attack. But she regained her composure and started the longest walk of her life.
After what felt like an eternity to Van and not nearly long enough to Hitomi, she reached the alter. Van took her hand and gently guided her to her position in front of the priest. After an excruciatingly long pause, the priest gave the okay to the guests to be seated.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony. Marriage, that dream within a dream, achieved with love, true love is what brings us here today.
"The love that these two share is pure and genuine, and so strong that it spanned across the heavens to each other. Do you have the rings?"
Millerna and Dryden produced a pair of identical gold wedding bands, each with a feather engraved on the top.
"Van, please recite your vows."
Van took a deep breath as he gazed lovingly into Hitomi's green eyes. "Hitomi, from the day we first met, I knew that we were destined to be together. Perhaps I didn't realize it at first, but after a while you became so much apart of me, that I couldn't stand to be away from with you." Merle's tail frizzed. "You are the most important person to me, and I cannot imagine a world with out you."
"Please repeat after me. I, Van Fanel-"
"I, Van Fanel-"
"Do promise to love and cherish-"
"Do promise to love and cherish-"
"This woman, Hitomi Kanzaki-"
"This woman, Hitomi Kanzaki-"
"Through sickness and in health-"
"Through sickness and in health-"
"Through good times and bad-"
"Through good times and bad-"
"For richer or poorer-"
"For richer or poorer-"
"Till death do we part."
"Till death do we part."
"Hitomi, please recite your vows."
"Van, I've waited so long for this. At first it seemed impossible, but then I realized that you would always be in my heart. I consider it a miracle that we are able to marry, and I hope that we'll never have to be apart for as long as we live." She beamed at Van, who was smiling at her.
"Please repeat after me. I, Hitomi Kanzaki-"
"I, Hitomi Kanzaki-"
"Do promise to love and cherish-"
"Do promise to love and cherish-"
"This man, Van Fanel-"
"This man, Van Fanel-"
"Through sickness and in health-"
"Through sickness and in health-"
"Through good times and bad-"
"Through good times and bad-"
"For richer or poorer-"
"For richer or poorer-"
"Till death do we part."
"Till death do we part."
"If anyone in this room has any reason why these two should not be joined in holy matrimony, please speak now or forever hold your peace."
Merle went to say something, but a hand quickly covered her mouth. She glared up the arm at Chid who was shaking his head disapprovingly.
The priest smiled. "Then with the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."
Van and Hitomi were oblivious to the cheers and claps that accompanied the kiss; all they knew was that they would be together for the rest of their lives.
~*~
YAY!! Hitomi and Van are married! ^^ It's what every fan has wanted since the first episode. But that leaves several things to be finished. Like the love triangle between Kaiden, Hikari and Chid, Hitomi and her parents, and of course Merle's learning to get along without Van as her one and only! R&R.
Mercy_angel_09
