AN: *dances around* Even though Over My Head sucked arse I got over 100 reviews! *cries* Thank you all! *sniffs* ANYWHO, on with First Love! Hopefully I'll get lots of reviews for this too ^^;;

hitomi21: glad to! Thanks for the compliment *blushes*
SailorHope: Haha go VxH! XD
Dariel: Hehe, poor Hitomi... But for this chapter, it's poor Van! You'll see XD
Magicman/Smokegirl: Hehe, silly Smokegirl *ducks* And fluff will be coming! Next chapter I swear!
SabineballZ: Ahh! I'm going on! Going on! LOL
LOVE WITCH: Can't wait till you post that story ^_^ Nice talking to you on MSN!
MaboroshiTsuki: Gah you nut job! Haha, thanks for the idea! I credited you at the bottom *points at bottom AN* Keep writing you goose! XD
Enzeru no Yami: Haha, I know the idea's a bit old... Thanks, I didn't know I was refreshing ^^;;
Inda: Haha! Yeah! Go Hitomi! XD

Still Hitomi stayed in her own quarters, and although Van was slightly irritated by this, as well as insulted, he let the matter go. Strolling through the evening breeze in the gardens, his ears pricked up to the soft sound of singing. It was a sort of sad tune, and very simple. Van recognized the language as Atlantean, something that surprised him very much so. Very few could speak it, and Van's curiosity enticed him to find out who the singer was. He followed the voice as it slowly grew louder, when he saw none other than his queen standing on her balcony, singing. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders, and she was donning a white gown that shimmered lightly. She didn't notice him right away, and he took a second to allow a small smile to slide on his face.

"So she can fight and sing" he commented, loudly enough for her to hear. Hitomi stopped singing abruptly, and looked down at Van. Turning a rather bright red color, Hitomi was about to stride back into her room from embarrassment when he stopped her.

"Wait!" he called. Slowly pivoting on her heel, Hitomi turned back towards the balcony, and slowly approached the rail.

"Yes?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow slightly as she looked down at him.

"You can speak Atlantean?" he inquired eagerly. She slowly nodded, and he felt impressed despite himself. She's more than she seems... he realized. When he said no more, she was about to turn back inside, when once again he called out.

"Hitomi!" he yelled. She waited for him to continue. "I...I was wondering. I know you and I haven't exactly started off on the right foot. I assume that you have been wanting to claw at my throat just as often as I have yours. But we're married, and if we could have a decent relationship, with some sort of respect, don't you agree we could live a happier life?" he suggested up to her. Hitomi raised an eyebrow.

"What have I done to make you want to claw my throat?" she asked, her green eyes flickering slightly with a hint of interest.

"Well, to be honest, you've been quite the rebel" he told her with a slight grin, "And quite the brazen one. You don't have discipline and you don't listen--" he continued.

"You expect me to treat you respect and this it the way you treat me?" she demanded, turning to leave for good. He called her name, but still she walked towards the balcony doors. Growling in frustration, Van arched his back slightly, allowing angelic white wings to sprout from his shoulder blades, and he quickly flew up to the balcony just as Hitomi was turning the handle. Allowing his wings to retract, he grabbed her from behind and whirled her around. Their proximity was quite close, as she hadn't been on guard, she had fallen into him. Their noses were millimeters from touching, and Hitomi tried not to breathe in his scent. His eyes scared her slightly, full of irritation, rage, but underneath all of that, passion.

"See? You don't listen" he chided her. "I never meant all those things in a bad way, Queen Hitomi. I'd rather have you as my wife the way you are then some half wit twit." he added, softening slightly.

"You called me a fussy twit that night" she retorted indignantly, lifting her chin slightly, however never leaving his gaze.

"I didn't mean that part" grinned Van. "Well, in some ways, I did, but a man is lying if he says he doesn't want his wife to care for him, in a fussy manner or not." Hitomi was frozen, unsure of what to say. It would have been easier if he had just insulted her, but she was not use to him trying to amend his errors. They stood there in silence, Van's arms still around Hitomi, their faces dangerously close.

"Um" coughed Hitomi slightly. "I should... Be getting some sleep now" she trailed off. Van nodded and released her. Surprised that he was following her in, Hitomi turned to him. "Your Majesty?" she questioned, slightly confused, and an uncomfortable feeling crept on her. Van shook his head and smiled.

"You won't mind if I go through your room to mine" he remarked, and Hitomi was about to retort that she wasn't going to let him order her about when she noticed he was grinning casually, showing her he was teasing her.

"Um.... Alright then" she stuttered.

"Good night, Queen Hitomi" he laughed slightly.

"Good night" she replied hesitantly. "Van, wait" she called out. He stopped and looked at her. "How... How did you get up on the balcony?" she asked, curious. He merely smiled and kept walking. Frowning slightly, she shut the door gently. Taking a deep breath, she strode across the carpeted floor, closed the balcony doors shut and flopped onto her bed, confused about the previous events.

***

"I don't have the time for a ball!" Van yelled at his advisors, who had edged away slowly from Van's position at the head of the table.

"Your Majesty, Fanelia has not hosted a ball in ages, and you need to keep up your social standing" one of the advisors tried, shaking with fear.

"Was the ball at my wedding not enough?" Van demanded, running his hands through his raven black hair.

"King Van, if you would just grant us this favor..." one of the advisors started, when Van slammed his fist on the table and took a deep breath.

"Alright. Alright. This one favor I shall grant you. I at least owe it to you that you did not marry me off to some half brained narcissus" relented Van after a moment. The advisors looked at their King in shock, but knew it was wise to keep their mouths shut.

"We shall begin preparations immediately, Your Majesty. We suggest you spend time with your wife, as you will have to..." the advisors trailed off. Van shot them all a look that could kill. "...That is to say, during the ball you will have to.... Er... Dance with her more often" they added quickly, rigid with fear. Van nodded, and left the room without a further word.

***

Hitomi looked into her reflection in the full length mirror. The hand maids had finally left her alone, and she hated to admit it, but they had done a good job. Her hair was up, soft wisps of hair accenting her face. Her gown was crimson red, the traditional Fanelian color, and the bodice had an intricate black glass bead design in the pattern of roses. Turning slightly to the side, the skirt swished slightly, revealing fashionable under layers of black and scarlet. To Hitomi's protests, they had added a slight bit of color to her pink lips, and dotted her cheek bones with a cream that caused the light to catch on it. Slipping on white elbow length gloves, Hitomi sat down on her bed, careful not to muss her skirt.

Van sighed as he slipped on his white gloves, his red Fanelian jacket on. He wore similar black breeches to his wedding, however these breeches had a thin gold stripe running down the side. His hair was still wild and disheveled, no matter how much the hand maids had fussed over him his hair would not budge. Knocking curtly on the door to his wife's room, Van gasped when she greeted him.

"You....Look nice" he gulped, and she smiled at him.

"Your Majesty doesn't look too ill himself" she replied, linking her arm through his. They descended down the stairs, and finally made their way to the ballroom. A guard opened the door hurriedly for the King and Queen, and there was the sound of trumpets as the two made their way down the white marble stairs.

"His and Her Majesty, King Van and Queen Hitomi of Fanelia" came the announcer's voice. There was applause, and the crowd eventually turned back to socializing.

"Dryden" smiled Van broadly, greeting a man in blue royal attire, who was affectionately looking at who Hitomi supposed to be his wife. Van shook hands with Dryden, and took Dryden's wife's hand and kissed it.

"Always a pleasure to see you, Millerna" he said good naturedly, and Millerna smiled.

"And this must be the beautiful Queen Hitomi" Millerna realized, and Hitomi blushed. "I must say I do like the traditional Fanelian ball gown better than the Asturian one, Dryden" teased Millerna, impressed by Hitomi's dress. Millerna's own was stunning as well, it was a light lavender color, but instead of a black glass bead design on the bodice, there was a white design using silk thread.

"We can't all have what we want" chuckled Dryden, kissing Millerna lightly on the cheek. "So, Van's told us quite about you, Hitomi" he said comfortably. Van turned a slight red hue.

"I... Told them, rather, about your particularly impressive swordsmanship...." he coughed stiffly, and Hitomi merely smiled.

"Really?" she beamed, a faint blush creeping on her visage. "I'm quite fascinated by swords" she added.

"She's also capable of speaking Atlantean" Van added before he could stop himself. He made a mental note to sew his mouth shut later.

"Really?" asked Dryden, interest sparking in his eyes. "The only person I know who's capable of speaking that language is you, Van, with the addition of myself of course. You have quite the wife there." Hitomi blushed slightly.

"I'm quite fascinated by their history, I've always wanted to learn more about them..." she mused.

"You're welcome to visit us anytime to browse my library" smiled Dryden warmly, and Hitomi beamed back.

"We'll make it an occasion" she smiled, when a voice interrupted them.

"Would all the royal families make their way to the dance floor to commence the first dance?" The four made their way to the floor, and a traditional Fanelian song struck up.

Holding Hitomi's back rigidly and interlacing his gloved fingers with hers, they began to dance seamlessly with all the other Kings and Queens. Van's mind was else where, and he was thinking about how he could improve the villager's houses, while Hitomi was pondering about what she could find in Dryden's library. Then it hit her, she hadn't even bothered to look in the palace's library. Smiling at herself, as she had found herself another thing to occupy herself with during the tiresome days, Hitomi continued to move as one with her husband. Neither of the two was really paying attention to the other, and they were both rather thankful when the song ended. Van and Hitomi separated ways, and Hitomi found herself striking up a small conversation with Millerna.

"The dragon dance is about to start" beamed Millerna excitedly, motioning at the dance floor.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Hitomi, unaccustomed to old Fanelian rituals and traditions.

"The dragon dancers perform this dance once a year, to acknowledge the Ispano guymelef, Escaflowne, and it's greatness" whispered Millerna softly, looking fondly as the dancers set up the area. "Will you participate?" asked Millerna suddenly, eyes shining.

"I...I don't know how" admitted Hitomi, and Millerna merely waved her hand.

"It's easy. All the other Kings and Queens never do it, they're too stuck up" she giggled, and Hitomi nodded, grinning. "Everyone always looks at me oddly, I'm the only one who ever does it" Millerna pleaded. "Please? It's great fun!" Hitomi didn't need further coaxing, and the two women smiled broadly.

"Van will probably kill me for this" laughed Hitomi as they made their way to the center of the room as the rest of the royalties moved to the edges.

"It's better if you take off your shoes" whispered Millerna, as she tossed off her own shoes, and Hitomi followed suit.

"What on Gaea is she doing?" asked Van in a sharp whisper to Dryden, regarding Hitomi who was standing with Millerna among the other dancers.

"I guess Millerna persuaded her to take part in the dragon dance" smiled Dryden, a bemused expression on his face. It was quite a sight, about 50 dragon dancers, all donning black bodices with billowy red skirts, and two queens in the middle, all of them in the ready stance. A loud drumming noise started, and all dancers span to the right, then to the left, moving their arms in a circular motions. Van was about to run out to the middle of the floor to stop his wife, but Dryden stopped him.

"You know, ALL the royalties are -allowed- to be doing this, so let them be" Dryden laughed at Van's angry expression. "They're not doing anything wrong.... Technically." Van huffed indignantly, and crossed his arms, as more music began to start, growing faster and wilder. The skirts were turning and flashing, and many of the royalties in the crowd smiled in awe at the complex turning as the dancers weaved in and out of each other, stomping their feet occasionally, and Dryden looked affectionately at Millerna who was rolling her torso in a rather risqué fashion, mimicking the other dancers. Hitomi wasn't doing too bad of a job herself, Van grudgingly admitted to himself, and it was sort of nice to see her happy and laughing, flushed with life. With a final bang of the drum, all the dancers froze, and everyone erupted in applause. They all relaxed, and Millerna grabbed her shoes and flung herself into Dryden's arms, laughing with delight.

"That was the best dragon dance ever!" she giggled, brushing a few strands of stray blonde hair away from her face. Hitomi soon appeared by Millerna's side, face flushed slightly, hair falling out of it's place. With a huff of slight impatience, Hitomi lifted her hand, her brow creased slightly in concentration. Suddenly her expression brightened, and she pulled out a pin, allowing her hair to fall down. Several other single men in the crowd gawked at Hitomi, as the sheet of heavenly silk tumbled over her milky shoulders, and they smiled idiotically, reminiscing the way she had turned and rolled her body on the dance floor, gracefully, yet boldly. Van looked nonchalantly over the Queen's shoulder, and noticed his advisors mouthing for him to dance with her. Sighing, he fixed his gaze back on Hitomi, and extended his hand.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked, almost tiredly, and she nodded, accepting his hand. As the music struck up, a slight heat crept through Hitomi as Van pulled her body closer to his. They moved softly, slowly, as the lights seemed to dim around them. The night was no longer young, and soon people were no longer laughing, socializing, rather they were in their loved one's arms, relaxing, enjoying the atmosphere.

"I'm rather unhappy about your earlier behavior" stated Van, breaking the lulling daze Hitomi was in. Her senses sharpened slightly, the warm feeling disappearing like a candle in the wind.

"The dragon dance?" asked Hitomi, already sure that's what it was. Van nodded his head slightly.

"Well, I don't see what you have to be unhappy about, Your Majesty. Unless Millerna misinformed me, all the royals are permitted to participate in the dragon dance. You, yourself, have piloted the Ispano guymelef. I am surprised that you would look down upon the dance."

"I rather enjoy the dance, thank you very much, my Queen" articulated Van, "But seeing my wife dance among those lowly--" he continued, when he noticed she stiffened considerably in his hold.

"Lowly? Lowly dancers? I'm sorry, but I hold much more respect towards them then I do to you" she seethed into his ear. "And if I'm not mistaken, you help the villagers as often as you can. I actually was proud of you, instead of being too stuck up, you help your people, despite what your advisors tell you. But I suppose I was wrong because you scold me for dancing with them!"

The song ended, as if on cue, and Hitomi wrenched herself from Van's grip before he could react. Half thankful she hadn't caused a scene, he ran after her. He burst through the grand doors, and she was nowhere in sight. He searched the halls, and from a helpful servant's directions, made his way to the gardens. He had just stepped through an arc of lilies when he heard his wife's voice.

"Hitomi, are you alright?" came a male voice. Van stopped dead in his tracks, and peered cautiously at his wife and who he recognized as Allen Schezar.

"He's horrible! Just horrible!" he heard his wife yell. "I have had such a hard time getting used to this... This marriage! And finally, I have fun at the ball, dancing, and he gets angry at me!"

"Now, Hitomi... I'm sure King Van--" tried Allen, unsure of what to do or say.

"He's so cold hearted, Allen! He shows no warmth at all! A monster! How does he expect to produce an heir?" she cried. "I can put on a smile, it's not hard to do. I've tried to be pleasant. There was even times I thought that this might be able to turn out nicely. But I was wrong! He's nothing but... But...." he heard her trail off, sobbing. Van's heart shattered slightly. He felt dizzy, and took a deep breath. "Why must my life be like this? Why must I live with a man I hate?" she whispered.

Does she really think I'm a monster? That I'm cold hearted?
It's true you haven't been very nice to her, Van. She has a right to hate you.

Van recalled their wedding day. He hadn't smiled at her when she walked down the aisle, had merely put on a masked expression. Hadn't made her feel welcome. At the ball, he had danced with her once, and left her alone. Alone in a foreign country. He had never asked her how she was feeling. Not once. When they passed each other in the halls or seen each other in the garden, he had merely kept walking, not greeting her in any manner. He had snapped at her when she asked him to go to bed, worried about his well being. He had danced with her twice at this ball, not looking her in the eye once, and he had yelled at her for taking part in a Fanelian ceremony.

There was a hollow feeling in his chest, and a great wave of guilt washed over him. Hitomi looked up when she heard a noise, and saw noticed Van staring at her, brown eyes clouded with what she thought was hurt, but what was really apology and self loathing. He turned and left, sprinting away from the scene. Allen patted Hitomi gently on the back, and she involuntarily lifted her hand to where Van was standing before. Curling her fingers back in, and letting her arm drop back down on her lap, Hitomi sniffed, staring up at the two moons hanging up in the sky. Her words rang in her ears, and she instantly regretted them. True, she was angry at her husband for his manner, but she never thought once that she actually hated him. Shaking her head, and thanking Allen for a listening ear, Hitomi made her way back up to her quarters, and slipped into her satin nightgown, allowing sleep to wash away her troubles for the moment.

AN: Poor Van, even though he was a bit of an icecube XD But we all know that they will eventually fall in love ^_^ I swear *cowers from fluff lovers* Next chapter there will be fluff! I just can't have them make out randomly! Well, I -could- but then *cowers from tomatoes being thrown at her* Ahh! Next chapters coming! Gah! Tomorrow's my last day for exams, so then expect lots of updates ^_^ I just bought the Escaflowne DVD off Ebay, FINALLY. I've been living off my friend's copy for so long ^^;; Thanks to MaboroshiTsuki for the idea when I was stumped (the Van over hearing Hitomi yell about him) Go Anne! XD