A/N: Here's the revisement for the next chapter, a combined form of chapters 2 and 3, hope you like it! Please review! Thanks! ^_^
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Chapter 2: In Love's Embrace
Van laid on his back on his king-sized bed. He traced his finger along the royal Fanelian emblem and smiled at its familiarity. It had always been a part of his life, and it was a comfort to him that it never changed, it was always there, if only everything could be that way. He heard a loud meow and didn't even have to look up to know who it was.
"Come on in Merle!"
Merle scampered in with her usual smile and meow. "Oh Lord Van! What's wrong? Are you thinking about her again?"
"Whatever do you mean?" Van tried to play innocent, but it was no use, he was betrayed by the sad expression on his face.
'Oh Lord Van, how could you let her go? Look what it has done to you.' Merle sadly thought to herself, pitying her childhood friend.
Suddenly, Van's pendant began to glow brightly.
'Hitomi?' He wondered.
He missed her so, he didn't want to get his hopes up, but he couldn't resist the urge to investigate.
"Merle prepare Hitomi's room!" He had hoped she would return, and had had them build a bedroom for her across the hall from his. He gazed out the window and saw the familiar pillar of blue light descending from above.
'Could it be her?' He wasn't going to let his doubts get to him and he ran out the door.
"Bring her back Lord Van!" Merle called encouragingly to Van. She had missed Van; he hadn't been the same since she had left. Merle knew she had no chance with him, so she would welcome Hitomi's return and Van's smiling face.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Van ran through the labyrinth of gardens, he was breathless and he sat down against a statue. There were many new monuments; one was of his mother Varie, a life-sized model of her. Van had ordered their construction once the war was over. He had also built a similar statue of Folken, his father, Balgus, and of course one of him and Hitomi. That was the statue he was sitting against now. It showed Van holding the beautiful Hitomi by the waist as she clutched her pendant. She had a big smile on her face and so did Van. He hoped he could show her this statue if it was indeed she who had returned. Off in the distance, beyond the castle walls, he could see the village where his people dwelled. Before his own home was repaired, he had made sure that the people had somewhere to stay. The castle was unfit to stay in because it was in danger of collapsing, so Van often slept alongside the common workers, under the stars. His council and samurai disapproved, of course, it was not proper for Fanelia's king to lie out in the open with a bunch of peasants and without any sort of protection, but Van ignored them, doing what he wished.
He panted for breath, so he could begin his search. Van was surprised when he heard similar heavy breathing close by. Then he heard a thud as whatever or whoever had been breathing fell facedown on the stone path. He looked around to the other side of the statue. All color was gone from his face when he saw Hitomi lying there, with blood dripping down her forehead. She looked as beautiful as ever, despite the situation, he couldn't help smiling at the angel that had captured his heart. He quickly forgot his happiness and picked up the silent form of Hitomi, and wrapped his beautiful white wings around her still form and ran as quickly as he could towards the castle. When he reached an entrance, he quickly rang the bell and a few servants quickly raced to the scene.
"This girl needs medical attention right now! Get a healer! And be quick about it!" The servants crashed into each other as they rushed to perform the tasks their lord wished.
"Hold on Hitomi, Please, hold on!" Van whispered to her as he kissed her softly on the cheek.
"V-V-Van?" Van was surprised to hear the groggy inquiry from the girl in his arms.
"Hitomi! Can you hear me? Hitomi?!" Van urgently called out to her, trying to bring her back into the world of the living. He got no reply. He felt her pulse, it was very weak.
'Oh Hitomi, don't die, I need you.' Silent tears crept down his face, and trailed down to mix with Hitomi's crimson blood.
Merle emerged from Hitomi's room which she had just finished preparing. It looked beautiful, if she did say so herself, although it had taken a great deal of work, it was an accomplishment she could be proud of. Now if only Hitomi was here, everything would be perfect. She turned the corner and was shocked to see Lord Van weeping over an unconscious form of his love, Hitomi.
"What happened Lord Van?" Merle squeaked as she pounced on top of Hitomi, knocking him away.
"IS SHE DEAD?! OH LORD VAN!"
"I don't know Merle, I just heard a thud, and then I found her lying in the gardens." His eyes brimmed with tears. One of those tears trickled down his cheek and dripped on her lovely face and her eyes slowly opened. Those bright emerald eyes he had fallen in love with so many years ago. Those lovely eyes looked up at him lovingly, and he smiled widely, before they closed again.
"WAKE UP YOU STUPID GIRL! WAKE UP!" Merle shrieked at the girl, slapping her repeatedly across the face until her pale cheeks were as red as her oozing blood.
"HOW ARE YOU EVER GOING TO MARRY LORD VAN IF YOU DON'T WAKE UP?!?!?!?!?!" She picked the girl up by the collar and shook her roughly, Hitomi was in complete disarray at this point, but STILL hadn't decided to remain awake.
"STOP MERLE!" Van commanded the catgirl, before any further harm was inflicted on poor Hitomi.
"Yes Lord Van." Merle replied in a subdued tone before brushing Hitomi off and lying her once again on the floor.
"And what's this about me marrying Hitomi?" He eyed her and was tempted to chuckle when she turned bright red.
"Well I... BUT LORD VAN, YOU MAKE THE CUTEST COUPLE!" Merle whined, jumping from one foot to the other, no doubt in a hyper state.
"Merle, give her some time. If I want to marry her, I'll ask her when I'm ready." He picked the girl up and carried her to her room, she seemed unaware that she had been severely beaten up and still had a calm smile on her face.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'IF'?! I WILL NOT REST LORD VAN UNTIL I'M BAWLING MY EYES OUT WHEN THE TWO OF YOU ARE STROLLING DOWN THE AISLE!" Merle springed after her Lord, following him into the HOPEFULLY future-queen's chambers.
After Hitomi rested on the bed, warmed under the thick covers, Van commented, "She's really something, isn't she?"
"Yeah, that girl's got spunk, I'll give her that. IMAGINE, traveling all this way, JUST to see YOU, Lord Van. She left everyone on the Mystic Moon behind, just so she could be with you. IT'S SOOOOOOOOOO ROMANTIC!" Merle was in one of her matchmaker moods and she started humming a love song and dancing around the room. Van sighed, that was Merle all right. One minute she was biting his head off over the smallest thing, the next minute she was planning his love life. That's who she was, as unpredictable as summer rain, and Van hoped she'd never change.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next morning...
Hitomi's eyes fluttered open and she looked around. This WASN'T her bedroom, and she WASN'T in her bed. She was lying in a four-poster, covered by an extremely thick quilt with a peculiar emblem embroidered on it and resting on fluffy white pillows.
'It looks like something out of a book. Amazing...' Studying the emblem more carefully, she realized what it was.
'It's Fanelia's seal! That can only mean one thing...'
She pushed a strand of hair out from in front of her eyes and smiled at the sleeping form in the chair beside her bed, no surprise evident on her face. 'It's Van!' She excitedly cried out in her head, cheering inwardly. Then, she noticed he had been holding her hand, all through the night.
"Hitomi... Don't go... I need you..." The raven-haired king mumbled in his sleep.
Hitomi blushed and held his warm hand, never wanting to let go.
"Never fear, I won't leave you. Never again." She hugged him tightly, once again falling asleep in his loving embrace.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
1 week later...
Hitomi wandered through the lovely gardens, she did not recognize most of the flowers, but they were beautiful none-the-less. Picking a blood-red rose, she sniffed it daintily, taking in its fragrant scent that reminded her so much of home. Gaining Van's permission, she had planted a small cherry tree by the crystal-blue lake where Van and Folken had played as boys. She hummed a tune she had heard before, but wasn't sure when or where. (A/N: No Need for Promises) She stood looking at the statue of herself and Van. It was lovely, and so lifelike. If she didn't know who she was, she'd swear that was her. The face was perfectly chiseled, and Van's gravity defying hair had been sculpted perfectly. She reached out to feel the stone pendant, drawing comfort from it since Van possessed her own.
'Van truly is my guardian angel, if he hadn't gone after me I'd be lying dead in these gardens. Although I'm sure, there are worse places to cease living. If I had to die, I'd say this would probably be the prettiest place I could choose. But that's not important, I want to live.' Her head wound had only partially healed, but she looked as beautiful as ever.
She felt the presence of someone behind her; at first she feared it was Dilandau, returned from death to do her in, or some other Zaibach assassin. Staying on Gaea had made her lose her innocence; she could no longer be the naïve 15-year-old who only worried about boys, track, and getting good grades. That sort of thing just didn't matter anymore, and she wondered why it ever had. Reflecting on it, Hitomi realized how stupid she had been. She now knew that love, friendship, loyalty, and courage were what really counted.
The girl turned around and saw her lover's handsome face looking at her with absolute adoration. She ran into his arms, and he hugged her tightly, consoling her in the only way her knew how. She in return, clung to him tighter, muttering words of affection that he couldn't quite interpret.
"Oh Van, I missed you so much..." Hitomi sobbed into his shoulder.
"I thought I'd never see you again..."
"I've made a stupid mistake, and I'm here to correct it, that is, if you'll forgive me..." She looked at him pleadingly through tear-filled eyes.
"You wouldn't believe the trouble I've had since you're departure. My council and the samurai have attempted to marry me off more times than I can count, but something has held me back from accepting any of the betrothals. It was after you left that I realized what I had lost." Van's dark brown eyes clouded with sadness, but shone brightly again when he looked into her dazzling emerald ones. "Now you've finally returned, and I'll never let you go."
Hitomi felt guilty all of a sudden when she heard Van's last statement.
'I can't stay here, my mom and brother are probably really worried about me. My mom is probably crying as we speak.' Hitomi didn't want to make her visit a sad occasion so she chose not to tell Van that her stay here would be a temporary one. She hadn't smiled for so long, but when she looked into his eyes, her eyes lit up and her radiant smile returned.
'I don't understand though, I'm so confused. What was holding him back from marrying any of those girls? Does... Does Van actually care for me?'
"Well, you better go with Merle for the time Hitomi. There is a big ball tonight in your honor, and you two probably want some time to catch up on things. And you know Merle, she'll have a million suggestions on what you should wear. So, I'll go train while you two squabble for a couple of hours." With a quick peck on her cheek, he walked back into the castle.
Hitomi's hand reached up to her cheek in disbelief.
'Did Van just KISS ME?! Hard as a rock, emotionless, King of Fanelia?! Why does my life never make any sense?'
'But he's so kind, so trusting. How can I lead him on like this?' Hitomi thought to herself. But when she thought it through, she knew he wouldn't speak to her if she told him she had to return, return to the Mystic Moon, just like she had before. So she ran off to find Merle and tried to not give it another thought.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Van was in his armor, slashing at opponents that only he could see. His sword glimmered in the dim light as he charged at his invisible foe. Ever since Balgus had left, there was no one to train him, so he trained himself. Many samurai had attempted to resume his teachings, but none of them could compare to the late sword-master of Gaea, they had all been quickly dismissed and now Van ran his own training program. Then he thought about the ball's guest list, 'What if Hitomi still loves Allen? What will I do if they kissed again.' The image of Hitomi and Allen kissing on the bridge flashed through his mind, making him visibly shudder. It had been so painful to see that, he preferred not to dwell on it. If he really thought about it, he knew he would kill his friend if he tried anything, but he knew logically he might cause a war with Asturia if he killed one of their best knights over a love affair.
'No, that won't happen, she seems to still like me. Allen will probably bring his most recent lady along. Hitomi hasn't even mentioned Allen yet. I still have a chance with her, but I might have to do something to distract him.' He thought about bribing a beautiful woman to dance with Allen, but he decided to only do that if it was absolutely necessary.
'Oh well, no use worrying about it now,' he convinced himself. With that closing thought, he went back to his training.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hitomi walked down the hallway towards her room.
'Oh Van, I wish I could understand how you feel, because I love you.'
She opened the solid oak door and was surprised when the catgirl, Merle, pounced on top of her licking her face.
"OH HITOMI! IT'S SO GREAT TO HAVE YOU BACK!" Merle excitedly squealed.
"GET OFF MERLE!" Yelled Hitomi, she still wasn't used to Merle's far-too-friendly greetings.
"Well, I presume Lord Van told you about the big ball tonight, so c'mon, we've gotta get you an outfit!" Merle exclaimed in excitement as she dragged Hitomi towards the wardrobe.
"So how about his one?" she asked, pulling out a blue dress from the immense selection before them.
"Too revealing," Hitomi commented, noting the extremely low bust-line as Merle continued to pull out dresses.
"Too flashy!"
"Too long!"
"Too short!"
"I don't look good in red!"
"Too heavy!"
"Too light!"
Merle was about to strangle the girl, when Hitomi replied, "PERFECT!"
Merle looked down at the dress she was holding. It was a lovely, dark green dress. With emeralds stitched in along the belt and collar. It showed off Hitomi's figure, but wasn't too revealing. It was about ankle-length and Merle agreed it was a beautiful dress. As she looked up from the dress to Hitomi, she noticed how it perfectly matched her eyes. Knowing she would look stunning in it, she nodded her head in approval and smiled.
'Van won't be able to resist her in this dress,' the matchmaker smirked to herself, 'Unless he's gone blind recently.'
She pulled out some white dress shoes from the bottom of the wardrobe, placed them at the foot of the four-poster, and sent the dress to be washed and pressed for tonight. Then, she led Hitomi out the door.
"It's so great to see you again Hitomi!"
"You and Lord Van have a lot of catching up to do!" Merle grinned as Hitomi's cheeks turned a bright crimson.
"Come on Merle, I don't even know if Van still likes me. He might just consider me a friend, I'm sure he has a million princesses lined up in the streets just to get a look at him." She commented with a loud sigh.
"No way Hitomi! He's rejected every engagement since you left! All he does is talk about how great you are and look out his window sighing, like Gaea just came crashing down! Lord Van ISN'T a player like Allen Hitomi, DON'T forget that!" Merle replied hotly as she stuck up for Van.
Hitomi felt bad after saying that, but how could she tell Merle how she felt about Van. For all she knew, Merle was still after him.
"So, what's happened since I left?" Hitomi quickly changed the subject.
"Not much, you've only been gone a few weeks. Besides Lord Van moping and sitting at his window, nothing's been going on except a bunch a boring meetings and treaties." Merle truthfully told her.
"So tell me, did you get any new boyfriends when you returned to the Mystic Moon?" Merle asked, speaking directly into her face.
Hitomi looked at her feet and honestly said, "No, Van's my one true..." she was about to say "love." When trumpets sounded calling them to the front of the castle.
"SIR ALLEN, KING DRYDEN, QUEEN MILLERNA, AND DUKE CHID APPROACHETH." The trumpeter announced loudly.
"WOW! TIME SURE DOES FLY!" Merle exclaimed as she and Hitomi ran towards the arriving guests. They saw Van emerge as well from another exit.
Suddenly, Allen jumped down from his horse and tightly hugged Hitomi exclaiming, "HITOMI! IT'S SO GREAT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!"
As Hitomi was crushed in his embrace, Van glared at the two of them.
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A/N: Was that a good revisement? I hope it was, I can change anything you peeps don't like, yes, I know I'm delaying their kiss, but I just feel like it, I can retrieve the old chapters if you insist, but I like the new ones I'm working on better. Review! Thanks! Ja matta ne! ^_^
~Trunks Gal~
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Chapter 2: In Love's Embrace
Van laid on his back on his king-sized bed. He traced his finger along the royal Fanelian emblem and smiled at its familiarity. It had always been a part of his life, and it was a comfort to him that it never changed, it was always there, if only everything could be that way. He heard a loud meow and didn't even have to look up to know who it was.
"Come on in Merle!"
Merle scampered in with her usual smile and meow. "Oh Lord Van! What's wrong? Are you thinking about her again?"
"Whatever do you mean?" Van tried to play innocent, but it was no use, he was betrayed by the sad expression on his face.
'Oh Lord Van, how could you let her go? Look what it has done to you.' Merle sadly thought to herself, pitying her childhood friend.
Suddenly, Van's pendant began to glow brightly.
'Hitomi?' He wondered.
He missed her so, he didn't want to get his hopes up, but he couldn't resist the urge to investigate.
"Merle prepare Hitomi's room!" He had hoped she would return, and had had them build a bedroom for her across the hall from his. He gazed out the window and saw the familiar pillar of blue light descending from above.
'Could it be her?' He wasn't going to let his doubts get to him and he ran out the door.
"Bring her back Lord Van!" Merle called encouragingly to Van. She had missed Van; he hadn't been the same since she had left. Merle knew she had no chance with him, so she would welcome Hitomi's return and Van's smiling face.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Van ran through the labyrinth of gardens, he was breathless and he sat down against a statue. There were many new monuments; one was of his mother Varie, a life-sized model of her. Van had ordered their construction once the war was over. He had also built a similar statue of Folken, his father, Balgus, and of course one of him and Hitomi. That was the statue he was sitting against now. It showed Van holding the beautiful Hitomi by the waist as she clutched her pendant. She had a big smile on her face and so did Van. He hoped he could show her this statue if it was indeed she who had returned. Off in the distance, beyond the castle walls, he could see the village where his people dwelled. Before his own home was repaired, he had made sure that the people had somewhere to stay. The castle was unfit to stay in because it was in danger of collapsing, so Van often slept alongside the common workers, under the stars. His council and samurai disapproved, of course, it was not proper for Fanelia's king to lie out in the open with a bunch of peasants and without any sort of protection, but Van ignored them, doing what he wished.
He panted for breath, so he could begin his search. Van was surprised when he heard similar heavy breathing close by. Then he heard a thud as whatever or whoever had been breathing fell facedown on the stone path. He looked around to the other side of the statue. All color was gone from his face when he saw Hitomi lying there, with blood dripping down her forehead. She looked as beautiful as ever, despite the situation, he couldn't help smiling at the angel that had captured his heart. He quickly forgot his happiness and picked up the silent form of Hitomi, and wrapped his beautiful white wings around her still form and ran as quickly as he could towards the castle. When he reached an entrance, he quickly rang the bell and a few servants quickly raced to the scene.
"This girl needs medical attention right now! Get a healer! And be quick about it!" The servants crashed into each other as they rushed to perform the tasks their lord wished.
"Hold on Hitomi, Please, hold on!" Van whispered to her as he kissed her softly on the cheek.
"V-V-Van?" Van was surprised to hear the groggy inquiry from the girl in his arms.
"Hitomi! Can you hear me? Hitomi?!" Van urgently called out to her, trying to bring her back into the world of the living. He got no reply. He felt her pulse, it was very weak.
'Oh Hitomi, don't die, I need you.' Silent tears crept down his face, and trailed down to mix with Hitomi's crimson blood.
Merle emerged from Hitomi's room which she had just finished preparing. It looked beautiful, if she did say so herself, although it had taken a great deal of work, it was an accomplishment she could be proud of. Now if only Hitomi was here, everything would be perfect. She turned the corner and was shocked to see Lord Van weeping over an unconscious form of his love, Hitomi.
"What happened Lord Van?" Merle squeaked as she pounced on top of Hitomi, knocking him away.
"IS SHE DEAD?! OH LORD VAN!"
"I don't know Merle, I just heard a thud, and then I found her lying in the gardens." His eyes brimmed with tears. One of those tears trickled down his cheek and dripped on her lovely face and her eyes slowly opened. Those bright emerald eyes he had fallen in love with so many years ago. Those lovely eyes looked up at him lovingly, and he smiled widely, before they closed again.
"WAKE UP YOU STUPID GIRL! WAKE UP!" Merle shrieked at the girl, slapping her repeatedly across the face until her pale cheeks were as red as her oozing blood.
"HOW ARE YOU EVER GOING TO MARRY LORD VAN IF YOU DON'T WAKE UP?!?!?!?!?!" She picked the girl up by the collar and shook her roughly, Hitomi was in complete disarray at this point, but STILL hadn't decided to remain awake.
"STOP MERLE!" Van commanded the catgirl, before any further harm was inflicted on poor Hitomi.
"Yes Lord Van." Merle replied in a subdued tone before brushing Hitomi off and lying her once again on the floor.
"And what's this about me marrying Hitomi?" He eyed her and was tempted to chuckle when she turned bright red.
"Well I... BUT LORD VAN, YOU MAKE THE CUTEST COUPLE!" Merle whined, jumping from one foot to the other, no doubt in a hyper state.
"Merle, give her some time. If I want to marry her, I'll ask her when I'm ready." He picked the girl up and carried her to her room, she seemed unaware that she had been severely beaten up and still had a calm smile on her face.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'IF'?! I WILL NOT REST LORD VAN UNTIL I'M BAWLING MY EYES OUT WHEN THE TWO OF YOU ARE STROLLING DOWN THE AISLE!" Merle springed after her Lord, following him into the HOPEFULLY future-queen's chambers.
After Hitomi rested on the bed, warmed under the thick covers, Van commented, "She's really something, isn't she?"
"Yeah, that girl's got spunk, I'll give her that. IMAGINE, traveling all this way, JUST to see YOU, Lord Van. She left everyone on the Mystic Moon behind, just so she could be with you. IT'S SOOOOOOOOOO ROMANTIC!" Merle was in one of her matchmaker moods and she started humming a love song and dancing around the room. Van sighed, that was Merle all right. One minute she was biting his head off over the smallest thing, the next minute she was planning his love life. That's who she was, as unpredictable as summer rain, and Van hoped she'd never change.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next morning...
Hitomi's eyes fluttered open and she looked around. This WASN'T her bedroom, and she WASN'T in her bed. She was lying in a four-poster, covered by an extremely thick quilt with a peculiar emblem embroidered on it and resting on fluffy white pillows.
'It looks like something out of a book. Amazing...' Studying the emblem more carefully, she realized what it was.
'It's Fanelia's seal! That can only mean one thing...'
She pushed a strand of hair out from in front of her eyes and smiled at the sleeping form in the chair beside her bed, no surprise evident on her face. 'It's Van!' She excitedly cried out in her head, cheering inwardly. Then, she noticed he had been holding her hand, all through the night.
"Hitomi... Don't go... I need you..." The raven-haired king mumbled in his sleep.
Hitomi blushed and held his warm hand, never wanting to let go.
"Never fear, I won't leave you. Never again." She hugged him tightly, once again falling asleep in his loving embrace.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
1 week later...
Hitomi wandered through the lovely gardens, she did not recognize most of the flowers, but they were beautiful none-the-less. Picking a blood-red rose, she sniffed it daintily, taking in its fragrant scent that reminded her so much of home. Gaining Van's permission, she had planted a small cherry tree by the crystal-blue lake where Van and Folken had played as boys. She hummed a tune she had heard before, but wasn't sure when or where. (A/N: No Need for Promises) She stood looking at the statue of herself and Van. It was lovely, and so lifelike. If she didn't know who she was, she'd swear that was her. The face was perfectly chiseled, and Van's gravity defying hair had been sculpted perfectly. She reached out to feel the stone pendant, drawing comfort from it since Van possessed her own.
'Van truly is my guardian angel, if he hadn't gone after me I'd be lying dead in these gardens. Although I'm sure, there are worse places to cease living. If I had to die, I'd say this would probably be the prettiest place I could choose. But that's not important, I want to live.' Her head wound had only partially healed, but she looked as beautiful as ever.
She felt the presence of someone behind her; at first she feared it was Dilandau, returned from death to do her in, or some other Zaibach assassin. Staying on Gaea had made her lose her innocence; she could no longer be the naïve 15-year-old who only worried about boys, track, and getting good grades. That sort of thing just didn't matter anymore, and she wondered why it ever had. Reflecting on it, Hitomi realized how stupid she had been. She now knew that love, friendship, loyalty, and courage were what really counted.
The girl turned around and saw her lover's handsome face looking at her with absolute adoration. She ran into his arms, and he hugged her tightly, consoling her in the only way her knew how. She in return, clung to him tighter, muttering words of affection that he couldn't quite interpret.
"Oh Van, I missed you so much..." Hitomi sobbed into his shoulder.
"I thought I'd never see you again..."
"I've made a stupid mistake, and I'm here to correct it, that is, if you'll forgive me..." She looked at him pleadingly through tear-filled eyes.
"You wouldn't believe the trouble I've had since you're departure. My council and the samurai have attempted to marry me off more times than I can count, but something has held me back from accepting any of the betrothals. It was after you left that I realized what I had lost." Van's dark brown eyes clouded with sadness, but shone brightly again when he looked into her dazzling emerald ones. "Now you've finally returned, and I'll never let you go."
Hitomi felt guilty all of a sudden when she heard Van's last statement.
'I can't stay here, my mom and brother are probably really worried about me. My mom is probably crying as we speak.' Hitomi didn't want to make her visit a sad occasion so she chose not to tell Van that her stay here would be a temporary one. She hadn't smiled for so long, but when she looked into his eyes, her eyes lit up and her radiant smile returned.
'I don't understand though, I'm so confused. What was holding him back from marrying any of those girls? Does... Does Van actually care for me?'
"Well, you better go with Merle for the time Hitomi. There is a big ball tonight in your honor, and you two probably want some time to catch up on things. And you know Merle, she'll have a million suggestions on what you should wear. So, I'll go train while you two squabble for a couple of hours." With a quick peck on her cheek, he walked back into the castle.
Hitomi's hand reached up to her cheek in disbelief.
'Did Van just KISS ME?! Hard as a rock, emotionless, King of Fanelia?! Why does my life never make any sense?'
'But he's so kind, so trusting. How can I lead him on like this?' Hitomi thought to herself. But when she thought it through, she knew he wouldn't speak to her if she told him she had to return, return to the Mystic Moon, just like she had before. So she ran off to find Merle and tried to not give it another thought.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Van was in his armor, slashing at opponents that only he could see. His sword glimmered in the dim light as he charged at his invisible foe. Ever since Balgus had left, there was no one to train him, so he trained himself. Many samurai had attempted to resume his teachings, but none of them could compare to the late sword-master of Gaea, they had all been quickly dismissed and now Van ran his own training program. Then he thought about the ball's guest list, 'What if Hitomi still loves Allen? What will I do if they kissed again.' The image of Hitomi and Allen kissing on the bridge flashed through his mind, making him visibly shudder. It had been so painful to see that, he preferred not to dwell on it. If he really thought about it, he knew he would kill his friend if he tried anything, but he knew logically he might cause a war with Asturia if he killed one of their best knights over a love affair.
'No, that won't happen, she seems to still like me. Allen will probably bring his most recent lady along. Hitomi hasn't even mentioned Allen yet. I still have a chance with her, but I might have to do something to distract him.' He thought about bribing a beautiful woman to dance with Allen, but he decided to only do that if it was absolutely necessary.
'Oh well, no use worrying about it now,' he convinced himself. With that closing thought, he went back to his training.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hitomi walked down the hallway towards her room.
'Oh Van, I wish I could understand how you feel, because I love you.'
She opened the solid oak door and was surprised when the catgirl, Merle, pounced on top of her licking her face.
"OH HITOMI! IT'S SO GREAT TO HAVE YOU BACK!" Merle excitedly squealed.
"GET OFF MERLE!" Yelled Hitomi, she still wasn't used to Merle's far-too-friendly greetings.
"Well, I presume Lord Van told you about the big ball tonight, so c'mon, we've gotta get you an outfit!" Merle exclaimed in excitement as she dragged Hitomi towards the wardrobe.
"So how about his one?" she asked, pulling out a blue dress from the immense selection before them.
"Too revealing," Hitomi commented, noting the extremely low bust-line as Merle continued to pull out dresses.
"Too flashy!"
"Too long!"
"Too short!"
"I don't look good in red!"
"Too heavy!"
"Too light!"
Merle was about to strangle the girl, when Hitomi replied, "PERFECT!"
Merle looked down at the dress she was holding. It was a lovely, dark green dress. With emeralds stitched in along the belt and collar. It showed off Hitomi's figure, but wasn't too revealing. It was about ankle-length and Merle agreed it was a beautiful dress. As she looked up from the dress to Hitomi, she noticed how it perfectly matched her eyes. Knowing she would look stunning in it, she nodded her head in approval and smiled.
'Van won't be able to resist her in this dress,' the matchmaker smirked to herself, 'Unless he's gone blind recently.'
She pulled out some white dress shoes from the bottom of the wardrobe, placed them at the foot of the four-poster, and sent the dress to be washed and pressed for tonight. Then, she led Hitomi out the door.
"It's so great to see you again Hitomi!"
"You and Lord Van have a lot of catching up to do!" Merle grinned as Hitomi's cheeks turned a bright crimson.
"Come on Merle, I don't even know if Van still likes me. He might just consider me a friend, I'm sure he has a million princesses lined up in the streets just to get a look at him." She commented with a loud sigh.
"No way Hitomi! He's rejected every engagement since you left! All he does is talk about how great you are and look out his window sighing, like Gaea just came crashing down! Lord Van ISN'T a player like Allen Hitomi, DON'T forget that!" Merle replied hotly as she stuck up for Van.
Hitomi felt bad after saying that, but how could she tell Merle how she felt about Van. For all she knew, Merle was still after him.
"So, what's happened since I left?" Hitomi quickly changed the subject.
"Not much, you've only been gone a few weeks. Besides Lord Van moping and sitting at his window, nothing's been going on except a bunch a boring meetings and treaties." Merle truthfully told her.
"So tell me, did you get any new boyfriends when you returned to the Mystic Moon?" Merle asked, speaking directly into her face.
Hitomi looked at her feet and honestly said, "No, Van's my one true..." she was about to say "love." When trumpets sounded calling them to the front of the castle.
"SIR ALLEN, KING DRYDEN, QUEEN MILLERNA, AND DUKE CHID APPROACHETH." The trumpeter announced loudly.
"WOW! TIME SURE DOES FLY!" Merle exclaimed as she and Hitomi ran towards the arriving guests. They saw Van emerge as well from another exit.
Suddenly, Allen jumped down from his horse and tightly hugged Hitomi exclaiming, "HITOMI! IT'S SO GREAT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!"
As Hitomi was crushed in his embrace, Van glared at the two of them.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Was that a good revisement? I hope it was, I can change anything you peeps don't like, yes, I know I'm delaying their kiss, but I just feel like it, I can retrieve the old chapters if you insist, but I like the new ones I'm working on better. Review! Thanks! Ja matta ne! ^_^
~Trunks Gal~