Dreams and Visions

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.

~*~

            Kaiden could have been knocked over with a feather when he saw Chid carry Hikari away from the ballroom.  Biting his lower lip, he sat down on the nearest chair and held back his tears.

            "Hey there you."

            He looked up at his mother, blinking back tears.

            "My little boy is upset."  While this statement was only partially true (Kaiden was at least six inches taller than Millerna), he wasn't about to admit it.

            "Do you want to talk about it?"

            "Not really."

            "Kaiden, you can't hide your feeling forever.  Come on, we're going for walk."  Millerna grabbed his hand and led him out into the gardens where Chid and Hikari had been only moments before.  "You're in love."

            "I am not."

            "Denial.  Always the first sign."

            "Mother."

            "That's correct.  And because I'm your mother, I think that I should know these things.  You might find this shocking, but talking about your problems actually helps."

            Kaiden sighed.  He had no idea where to start.  "Okay, now where to start."

            "How about the way she makes you feel?"

            "I guess that's a good of place as any.  Mom, she's incredible.  I never thought that I could feel towards another person, but she makes my insides turn inside out.  Mom, what does real love feel like?"

            Millerna cocked her head to one side and thought for a moment.  "Kaiden, you know how you put your arms out and spin around and around until you fell down when you were younger?"

            "Yes."

            "Love is like that.  You spin around so fast that if you don't keep your eye on something still, you'll become dizzy and fall down.  Falling down is part of falling in and out of love, but once you find the one, the dizziness fades and you're always happy.  Is that how Hikari makes you feel?" Millerna asked him.

            "Mom, she makes me feel different.  Before I met her I didn't care for anyone but myself, but since she arrived all I've wanted to do is be a better person.  She makes me realize that each individual person is unique and special.  I finally realized that there's more to life than just being king.  I would give up the Asturian throne to be with her," he admitted.

            Millerna placed her hand on his shoulder.  "Then why are you telling me?  You should be telling her how you feel."

            "I would, but I think I saw her and Chid disappear."

            "Really?  You're cousin is right over there.  But I can't find Hikari anywhere.  Go ask him," Millerna urged, turning and pushing her son in the direction of the Duke of Freid.

            Kaiden walked over to Chid, not quite how to phrase the question he so direly wanted the answer to.  "Uh Chid?"

            Chid turned and faced his cousin.  "Oh, Kaiden!  Enjoying yourself?"

            "Yes, erm, thank you.  Have you seen Hikari?  I think that she said that she owed me one more dance," Kaiden lied.  Hikari had actually told him that she was going to get a breath of fresh air before going to bed, but he wasn't sure if she had actually made it to her bedroom.

            "Oh, I took her up to bed.  The poor child was exhausted after today.  You can ask her about that dance tomorrow morning," Chid replied.

            "Okay, thanks anyway," Kaiden said, forcing him self to smile.  Once Chid had wandered over to Hitomi and Van, his face sank.

            "Don't give up so easily," Millerna said casually as she walked by.  "If you give up on love, then your life isn't worth living."

            Kaiden looked up at his cousin and the newly wed pair and nodded.  "If Van and Hitomi were able to be married, then why can't I at least tell Hikari how I feel?"

            Millerna smiled happily as her son kissed her good night and headed up to his room, ready to face Hikari in the morning.

~*~

            Hitomi and Van surveyed the mess in the ballroom and knew that their wedding and the reception had been a success.

            "You can always measure the success of the party by the mess," Hitomi said, kicking a wad of streamers.  "If there's no mess, then the party wasn't attended."

            "Are you sure?" Van asked.

            "As sure as the moon and the Mystic Moon hang in the sky," Hitomi answered, leaning over to kiss her husband.

            "I say we head up to bed and crash," Van suggested, grabbing Hitomi around the waist.  "It's been a long day."

            "Are you saying that you want to sleep on our wedding night?" Hitomi asked, completely surprised.

            "Hitomi, we've been up since dawn preparing for all of this.  I know that you want to sleep just as much as I do," Van answered, kissing the tip of her nose.

            "Oh gods you're perfect," Hitomi sighed as she and Van trudged up to their bedroom.

~*~

Sorry, to all of you lemon fans.  I do have my own limits ya know.  They're married for crying out loud!  You should be able to imagine the rest on your own! 

=^.^=  I just want to thank all of the readers (I never imagined 15 reviews when I first posted), even the few of you who think that you're being obnoxious or annoying or whatever.  I promise, you're not.  I really enjoy reading what you guys have to say about all of this.  (Of course I'm pretty sure that my fanbase is mainly female at the moment.)  I do welcome all comments and whatnot.  It takes a lot to truly bug me, so keep reviewing. 

And while I'm not officially taking a vote on couplings for Hikari, I'm interested in what you guys think about them.  (So far the popular combo is Hikari x Kaiden.)  Hey, there's an idea!  While I'm pretty sure on how I want to end this, you can help me decide for sure!  Let me know whom you think that Hikari should end up with!  Interactive fic writing.  Now there's a new idea.

Keep readin' and reviewin'.  I love to hear from you.

Mercy_angel_09