A/N: Okay, Chapter three. Go Azure! Scholarly crap is a pain. I harbor a
great dislike for school at the moment. anywhoo. I'm going to go ahead and
get this chapter started, and then after I write Three pages I'll go do my
homework and study for all the quizzes/tests/ excruciating crap I have to
teal with tomorrow. Arg.
Last little rant- my sis' comp has this really cool programming thing/ image maker. I made a layout for a happy website, but since my sister is a comp hog. I'm not allowed to play. AAAAAHHHH! It was a really really cool layout, too. As soon as I get it finished in six weeks or so (*more info, see bio) I'll give everyone the URL, so that you can come see what a genius I wish I am. Ahem. ONWARD!
Disclaimer: I have captured Orlando Bloom and he now lives in my closet. I don't own Escaflowne, but I do own Legolas' sexy elf ass (soon to be a fic ^^) and a "F" in Geography. Arg.
THREE
"Well well well, what have we here?" Van groggily awoke to see a man standing over Hitomi, who was sitting on the ground next to him. "Who in Gaia would posses beauty such as yours?"
"Uhng?" asked Van, groggily sitting up and looking to Hitomi, who was sitting with a straight back. The first thing he noticed was the anger brimming in her eyes. The second thing was that the strange man had her sword.
"I didn't know it was a tradition of the knights to rape a defenseless woman found unconscious in a forest," said Hitomi coolly, glaring at the stranger, who was so masked in shadow that Van couldn't make out the stranger's facial features.
"You weren't defenseless. And we're not going to rape you," said the man, "as long as you tell us your name and business."
"Very well, Mister Schezar," said Hitomi with a sigh. "I am Kanzaki Hitomi, queen of Fanelia. This is Van Fanel, my guest from the mystic moon."
"Fanel, huh? Mystic moon?"
"Odd coincidence." Hitomi was tight lipped with suppressed fury.
"Very well, Kanzaki. I will lead you to the base, but you may not have your sword, or your Guymelef." Van knew that Hitomi would start a fight over this, so quickly grabbed her upper arm before she could so something brash- like hit the knight-dude over the head with her bony fist.
"Cool it. The sooner we get out of this creepy forest, the better," he whispered to her. Reluctantly, she dropped her fist.
"Fine," she spat out, following the retreating stranger through the brush. They walked in silence- Hitomi several feet behind "Schezar" man and Van just behind Hitomi.
"Hey, Hitomi?" Van asked the queen, poking her in the small of her back.
"What?" she asked as she slowed down enough so that she and Van were walking side by side.
"Well, you see. who the hell is this guy? I don't trust him." Hitomi heaved a great sigh, obviously considering how to answer.
"His name is Allen Schezar. He is one of the great knights of Gaia. He is. was. the second best swordsman in the country. Superior to him and him only was Balgus. But, Balgus." Hitomi stopped. Van wasn't sure, but her voice sounded slightly more choked when she spoke again.
"It is no concern of yours. We are only trying to get you back to where you belong. You do not need to worry about Allen." Van wondered at how she used his name with almost. familiarity, but shrugged it off.
"Uh, hey, Hitomi? One other thing? Could you get me sword lessons from someone so that you don't have to watch over me like an infant? I don't want to be more of a burden than I already am." Van let his sentence fall, looking hopefully at Hitomi, who was focused straight ahead.
"Very well. I detest those who make no effort to defend themselves. I will see if our host will be so kind as to teach you how to play with death." At this, the conversation was apparently over, and Hitomi walked ahead once more, following the shadowy outline of the knight.
"Woah, PMS," Van muttered to himself, but followed Hitomi none the less. He didn't want to be stuck in the forest for one more minute- hell, he wanted to go home, though he was beginning to feel that he would be on Gaia for longer than he wanted. Much longer.
.:*:.~.:*:.~.:*:.
"Shit!" Van yelled at nearly the top of his lungs, staring around at the odd shaped fortress. "It looks like one of those old-and-dead pyramids that they made us study! Except.. It's white and has windows." said Van, gawking with his mouth hanging unattractively open. Unattractively, at least, to Hitomi. sort of.
"Shut up, don't stare, close your trap. Don't you have any manners?" she asked him glaring daggers at him while elbowing him violently in the ribcage.
"Ouch. No," he said, still gawking around but shutting his mouth. Hitomi resisted the urge to giggle at his complete and utter astonishment. It was only a simple fortress, after all, but maybe on the mystic moon they didn't have such things. Hitomi didn't know- the only time she had been there she was concentrating more on keeping the dragon from biting everyone's heads off than the surroundings.
"Well, come on, you two," said the knight. It was still dark out, but the sun was beginning to rise, exposing the white of the pyramid and the gold in the knight's hair. Hitomi glared darkly at Schezar, but did as he commanded. He had her Guymelef. He had her sword. She was weak, helpless. It was pathetic- she had only her clothes and a small dagger in her boot, which would do her no good. She had her wings, too, but. her face burned with shame at the thought of flying away. Her wings were tacky, ugly, crude. They were evil, mockingly white, a symbol of the sin that she bore as a descendent of the draconians, and proved that she did not deserve the title of queen. She was a dreg as a draconian- disgusting. Filth. Subconsciously, she tightened the black corset she wore over her emerald tunic tighter- in the hopes of squashing the magical, powerful wings that laid just below the surface of her skin. Van walked alongside her, gawking around at the city they were entering. Hitomi continued to tighten her corset, until she was sure she would suffocate. If she couldn't breathe, she couldn't sprout wings. But she continued to tighten it, little by little, lacing it up tightly in the front.
"Woah," said Van, finally noticing what she was doing. "You know, I had to study corsets once. I failed, but it did really really nasty things to the interior of peoples bodies. And you're gonna have a nasy inside too if you keep tightening that thing," he said. Hitomi glared at him, and knotted the corset.
"I will be fine," she said, managing not to gasp for air. "I only wish to make myself presentable."
"Yeah, sure, whatever, but just to tell you, you'd better not suffocate yourself because if you do, I won't be able to get home. Plus, I'll dry out your corpse and let merle use it for a scratching post, and that wouldn't be much fun. Even if you were dead." Illogical conclusion, as usual. Hitomi was beginning to expect this sort of random statement from Van, whose mind was apparently slightly twisted. Hitomi thought for a moment, trying to imagine what would be inside: fireworks, naked girls and a cow, maybe. She didn't know, and didn't really care. Well, not much, anyway.
"Fine," Hitomi gasped out. "No suffocating." But as soon as Van looked away, she tightened it more. No breathing, no wings, she chanted to herself over and over again. She was finally satisfied when she could barely breathe from walking. Van looked at her once again as they made their way to the fortress, still following the knight that Hitomi detested.
"Um, Hitomi?"
"What?" she wheezed.
"Just to let you know, you're turning a funny shade of blue," he said. Hitomi nodded once, toying slightly with the end of her braid that fell over her shoulder. Remember, no breathing, no wings. "You're destroying a whole buncha brain cells," he continued, poking her in the back. "Plus, your tunic is bagging out really, really weird. It looks almost like you have little stubs sticking out of the back of your shirt.
"What?" Hitomi immediately loosened the corset, sweet air rushing into her lungs. Maybe suffocating herself wasn't the right way after all. She subconsciously felt the tips of her shoulder blades- no wing stubs. Good.
"Milady?" asked Allen from ahead. "We are at the fortress." Sure enough, they were standing in front of the large, pyramid-like building. He opened the door and stood back for Hitomi to pass through, then walked in after her. From the resounding thud behind her, it sounded as though Van had walked straight into the door.
"Van you idiot," Hitomi muttered, turning around and opening the door. Van fell inwards, toppling over onto the young queen.
"Um, Van? Could you get off me?" Hitomi asked, trying to hold Van up and keep from toppling over herself at the same time.
"Yukari, I don't want to go to English," he muttered dazedly, passing out.
"It's probably just a minor concussion," said Allen, leaving Hitomi to deal with the boy from the mystic moon. Unhappily, she dragged the boy down the dim corridor, up three flights of stairs, down two more corridors, up another flight of stairs.
"Allen, where the hell are these rooms?" Hitomi asked grumpily. The boy was not as light as he looked, and Hitomi was just about ready to cut off all his limbs to make him lighter.
"Your room is here. The Mystic Moon boy's room is adjacent from yours. You are expected at dinner tomorrow evening to relate your tale to us. If you need anything, ring the bell. Since your country has burned, it is our duty to take care of you. Good day." Hitomi glowered at the back of the retreating, prissy knight.
"Might as well be a girl," she muttered angrily, kicking open the door to Van's room. She threw him onto his bed and sat down next to him, wishing Allen had at least been kind enough to give her her sword back so that she might have something to do- even if it was to see how many spots of light she could make on the wall with the reflective surface of the blade. But Hitomi didn't have her sword, so she would have to be content to sit and watch the foolish boy sleep. She sat and stared at him- first trying to imagine what he would look like with Allen's hair, or in Merle's dress, but soon found herself contended with just watching his chest rise and fall as he slept. Hitomi wasn't sure if the boy had passed out from exhaustion- they had been walking for almost six hours before they left the forest- or from slamming into the door. Probably a combination of both, but it really didn't matter. The only point was that he was asleep now, and unable to irritate her with his mindless babble. Plus, he actually looked sort of cute when he was asleep.
'No, no no! I didn't just think that!' Hitomi glared at the boy, trying to feel the same contempt she had felt for him when she had first met him, but nothing came- except a warm, fuzzy spark.
"I am a warrior," Hitomi mumbled to herself. "I do not feel warm, fuzzy sparks." But she couldn't help but smile as a strand of Van's hair fell into his sleeping face. She watched it wave around in the breeze created from his steady breathing, and then finally smoothed it out of his face.
"Arg, what's happening to me?" Hitomi growled to herself, staring out the window at the rising sun. In no time at all, she was lost to dreams of raven-haired boys as the first rays of sun shot through the window and landed gently on the faces of the sleeping companions.
.:*:.~.:*:.~.:*:.
Hitomi stirred slowly, snippets of memories from the previous day flashing across her mind. Fire, invisible guymelefs, woods, Allen, Van. Then it occurred to her that someone was shaking her arm and calling her name.
"Lady Hitomiiiiii, wake up already!" It was Merle, who was yowling and hopping up and down, but apparently pleased that she had managed to find the queen after the burning of Fanelia.
"Ssh, Merle," said Hitomi, finally coming to. "What do you want?"
"I missed you!" Merle glomped Hitomi, and the young queen delicately pried the cat girl off of her. "And I'm bored." Hitomi face faulted off of her chair onto the floor, twitching slightly.
"So you woke me up?" Hitomi asked furiously, glaring at the cat-girl.
"Yeah. Van won't wake up. Heavy sleeper." Hitomi got up and peered over the edge of the bed at the still-sleeping boy.
"Van." Hitomi whispered softly in a singsong voice, nudging him on the arm. "Vaaannn.."
"Umph.. Use firaga on the moogle and you'll get through to macalania." he mumbled in his sleep.
"Vann, wake up."
"No, mom, I'll do my homework in a minute." Hitomi snickered. This was amusing.
"Vann."
"tickle me elmos are scary.."
"Do you want food?"
"Food?!?!?!?" both Hitomi and Merle doubled over, snickering as Van sat straight up, looking about wildly. He spotted the two girls rolling around on the floor in laughter.
"What's so funny?" he asked crossly, smoothing his hair and straightening out his odd shirt.
"You. were... talking.." Merle giggled, "in your- hee hee- sleep. Van glared at Merle, and then smiled, sweat dropping and scratching the back of his head.
"Uh, yeah. Yukari told me that I have the tendency to do that."
"Who's Yukari?" Hitomi asked, regaining her composure. "Your girlfriend? Your sister?"
"My best friend. We blow things up together and sometimes I get knocked out and start mumbling," said Van, super sweat dropping ."So, what about food?" Hitomi thought for a moment.
"Hummm. entertain Merle while I go get food," said Hitomi, suddenly turning and running out of the room.
"Oh no you don't!" yelled Van, diving off of the bed and catching Hitomi by the ankle. "You're not leaving me with her!"
"Lady Hitomiiiiii, can I come with you?" called Merle at the same time.
"Shut it, both of you!" Yelled Hitomi in exasperation. They both 'shut it' at once.
"Merle, would you like to get the food? Our guest can't go by himself and I am not going anywhere with all three of you. New smells, new sights." said Hitomi to the cat girl.
"What do you take me for. a dog?" Merle asked, licking her arm daintily. "I'll go, but don't yell at me when they kick me out of the kitchen for being a 'pet' and not a 'human.'" With this, Merle turned, swishing her tail regally, and left the room.
"That cat," said Van after some period of time, "is absolutely, positively, one hundred and fifty nine percent mentally insane." Hitomi cracked a small smile at this- yes, Merle did fit that description. Then, Hitomi realized that Van was still clutching her ankle- the exact same position he had been in when Merle left.
"PERVERT!!!" yelled Hitomi, bashing Van violently on the head. "Let go of my ankle!"
"Ouch, jeez, I'm sorry," said Van, standing up. "I kinda forgot."
"Yeah, right, because you were too busy staring at my butt," snapped Hitomi. Van looked as though he were about to say, 'but you have a very nice butt, your highness,' but refrained from doing so. Just as well, because earlier Hitomi had stowed a spare dagger down her shirt, hee hee. Van plopped down on the bed (still rubbing his slightly sore head,) and looked at Hitomi.
"Sit," he said, indicating to the spot next to him. Hitomi wondered if he was about to try something- he didn't seem like the type but you never could know. Hitomi remained where she was.
"Sit," said Van again, giving Hitomi a weird look. "You look like you slept in a chair."
"That's because I DID sleep in a chair. I was making sure that you didn't wake up and start doing something to make the queen of Fanelia a laughing stock." Actually, that was only part of the truth. It was actually slightly enjoyable to watch him sleep, in cute, angelic innocence. no, no it wasn't. Laughing stock. Right. Laughing stock. Van gave her a sly look, as if he were reading her mind.
"You were watching me sleep, weren't you?" he asked. Hitomi shook her head, repressing a creeping blush. "Aha! The tin man DOES have a heart!" Then, Hitomi had an idea.
"Actually, no, I was listening to you tell me about your sex life back home," she said with an evil smile. Van went pale.
"I- what- me say- Kari?" he stuttered unintelligibly.
"Oh, yes, all your dreams and sick fantasies," Hitomi said airily.
"WHAT?" yelled Van, turning red. Hitomi snickered, and then laughed all out. Van gaped at her for a minute, and then glared.
"You tricked me," he said, crossing his arms over his chest huffily. "You tricked me! Why I oughta." Van grabbed a pillow and began beating the laughing queen over the head with it.
"No, stop," she giggled, reaching for a pillow herself. The two commenced in a pillow fight, shouting the occasional "take that!" at each other, beating each other senselessly and letting silken feathers fly. Merle came in, carrying a tray of food and looking pleased with herself.
"Heyy, I got you foo. what are you DOING?"
"Pillow fight," laughed Hitomi as she bashed Van over the head. Merle looked at all the feathers.
"Oh. Well, I saw the feathers and.. What are you fighting over?"
"No idea," came the muffled laughter of Van, because Hitomi had just whacked him in the face with a pillow the moment before. Laughing, Van and Hitomi climbed off of the feather strewn bed and made their way over to the table where Merle had set down the food. Still giggling slightly and smiling between bites, they began to eat, forgetting, even if momentarily, the danger that awaited them in the near future.
A/N: Yaay! Here's chapter 3, with my two "bestest buddies" sitting next to me yakking away senselessly. Yeah. Anywhoo. THANKS AND REPLIES:
Pink Cherry Blossom: ^___^ I'm glad you like it. As you can see, I took your suggestion and gave Van something to do with his time: Sword lessons! I didn't take it as a flame, I'm really glad you mentioned that .; Also, I'm giving him those "freaky sci-fi premonitions" because our dear Hitomi would be lunch meat without them, heh heh!!!
esca chick: thank you! I'm glad you think it's a good idea ^^ and I'll update as much as possible.
Dariel: yaaay!!! *hug hug* you're getting to be one of my favorite reviewers! And yes, Van is a pain. The idea for Merle's little "teething problem" I got from my cat, who can be very pissy and likes to bite everyone and everything that he sees. Like I said before, I'll update as much as I can.
Aeka-himme: I'm glad you liked it hee hee!
Mirakai no tenshi neko-jin: ^_^^_^ otay
Final A/N: AAAAAHHHH!!!!! GOMEN GOMEN GOMEN *bow bow* I finished this chapter yesterday but I didn't have a chance to upload it.. I'll try and upload every Sunday from now on, okay?
~Azure
Last little rant- my sis' comp has this really cool programming thing/ image maker. I made a layout for a happy website, but since my sister is a comp hog. I'm not allowed to play. AAAAAHHHH! It was a really really cool layout, too. As soon as I get it finished in six weeks or so (*more info, see bio) I'll give everyone the URL, so that you can come see what a genius I wish I am. Ahem. ONWARD!
Disclaimer: I have captured Orlando Bloom and he now lives in my closet. I don't own Escaflowne, but I do own Legolas' sexy elf ass (soon to be a fic ^^) and a "F" in Geography. Arg.
THREE
"Well well well, what have we here?" Van groggily awoke to see a man standing over Hitomi, who was sitting on the ground next to him. "Who in Gaia would posses beauty such as yours?"
"Uhng?" asked Van, groggily sitting up and looking to Hitomi, who was sitting with a straight back. The first thing he noticed was the anger brimming in her eyes. The second thing was that the strange man had her sword.
"I didn't know it was a tradition of the knights to rape a defenseless woman found unconscious in a forest," said Hitomi coolly, glaring at the stranger, who was so masked in shadow that Van couldn't make out the stranger's facial features.
"You weren't defenseless. And we're not going to rape you," said the man, "as long as you tell us your name and business."
"Very well, Mister Schezar," said Hitomi with a sigh. "I am Kanzaki Hitomi, queen of Fanelia. This is Van Fanel, my guest from the mystic moon."
"Fanel, huh? Mystic moon?"
"Odd coincidence." Hitomi was tight lipped with suppressed fury.
"Very well, Kanzaki. I will lead you to the base, but you may not have your sword, or your Guymelef." Van knew that Hitomi would start a fight over this, so quickly grabbed her upper arm before she could so something brash- like hit the knight-dude over the head with her bony fist.
"Cool it. The sooner we get out of this creepy forest, the better," he whispered to her. Reluctantly, she dropped her fist.
"Fine," she spat out, following the retreating stranger through the brush. They walked in silence- Hitomi several feet behind "Schezar" man and Van just behind Hitomi.
"Hey, Hitomi?" Van asked the queen, poking her in the small of her back.
"What?" she asked as she slowed down enough so that she and Van were walking side by side.
"Well, you see. who the hell is this guy? I don't trust him." Hitomi heaved a great sigh, obviously considering how to answer.
"His name is Allen Schezar. He is one of the great knights of Gaia. He is. was. the second best swordsman in the country. Superior to him and him only was Balgus. But, Balgus." Hitomi stopped. Van wasn't sure, but her voice sounded slightly more choked when she spoke again.
"It is no concern of yours. We are only trying to get you back to where you belong. You do not need to worry about Allen." Van wondered at how she used his name with almost. familiarity, but shrugged it off.
"Uh, hey, Hitomi? One other thing? Could you get me sword lessons from someone so that you don't have to watch over me like an infant? I don't want to be more of a burden than I already am." Van let his sentence fall, looking hopefully at Hitomi, who was focused straight ahead.
"Very well. I detest those who make no effort to defend themselves. I will see if our host will be so kind as to teach you how to play with death." At this, the conversation was apparently over, and Hitomi walked ahead once more, following the shadowy outline of the knight.
"Woah, PMS," Van muttered to himself, but followed Hitomi none the less. He didn't want to be stuck in the forest for one more minute- hell, he wanted to go home, though he was beginning to feel that he would be on Gaia for longer than he wanted. Much longer.
.:*:.~.:*:.~.:*:.
"Shit!" Van yelled at nearly the top of his lungs, staring around at the odd shaped fortress. "It looks like one of those old-and-dead pyramids that they made us study! Except.. It's white and has windows." said Van, gawking with his mouth hanging unattractively open. Unattractively, at least, to Hitomi. sort of.
"Shut up, don't stare, close your trap. Don't you have any manners?" she asked him glaring daggers at him while elbowing him violently in the ribcage.
"Ouch. No," he said, still gawking around but shutting his mouth. Hitomi resisted the urge to giggle at his complete and utter astonishment. It was only a simple fortress, after all, but maybe on the mystic moon they didn't have such things. Hitomi didn't know- the only time she had been there she was concentrating more on keeping the dragon from biting everyone's heads off than the surroundings.
"Well, come on, you two," said the knight. It was still dark out, but the sun was beginning to rise, exposing the white of the pyramid and the gold in the knight's hair. Hitomi glared darkly at Schezar, but did as he commanded. He had her Guymelef. He had her sword. She was weak, helpless. It was pathetic- she had only her clothes and a small dagger in her boot, which would do her no good. She had her wings, too, but. her face burned with shame at the thought of flying away. Her wings were tacky, ugly, crude. They were evil, mockingly white, a symbol of the sin that she bore as a descendent of the draconians, and proved that she did not deserve the title of queen. She was a dreg as a draconian- disgusting. Filth. Subconsciously, she tightened the black corset she wore over her emerald tunic tighter- in the hopes of squashing the magical, powerful wings that laid just below the surface of her skin. Van walked alongside her, gawking around at the city they were entering. Hitomi continued to tighten her corset, until she was sure she would suffocate. If she couldn't breathe, she couldn't sprout wings. But she continued to tighten it, little by little, lacing it up tightly in the front.
"Woah," said Van, finally noticing what she was doing. "You know, I had to study corsets once. I failed, but it did really really nasty things to the interior of peoples bodies. And you're gonna have a nasy inside too if you keep tightening that thing," he said. Hitomi glared at him, and knotted the corset.
"I will be fine," she said, managing not to gasp for air. "I only wish to make myself presentable."
"Yeah, sure, whatever, but just to tell you, you'd better not suffocate yourself because if you do, I won't be able to get home. Plus, I'll dry out your corpse and let merle use it for a scratching post, and that wouldn't be much fun. Even if you were dead." Illogical conclusion, as usual. Hitomi was beginning to expect this sort of random statement from Van, whose mind was apparently slightly twisted. Hitomi thought for a moment, trying to imagine what would be inside: fireworks, naked girls and a cow, maybe. She didn't know, and didn't really care. Well, not much, anyway.
"Fine," Hitomi gasped out. "No suffocating." But as soon as Van looked away, she tightened it more. No breathing, no wings, she chanted to herself over and over again. She was finally satisfied when she could barely breathe from walking. Van looked at her once again as they made their way to the fortress, still following the knight that Hitomi detested.
"Um, Hitomi?"
"What?" she wheezed.
"Just to let you know, you're turning a funny shade of blue," he said. Hitomi nodded once, toying slightly with the end of her braid that fell over her shoulder. Remember, no breathing, no wings. "You're destroying a whole buncha brain cells," he continued, poking her in the back. "Plus, your tunic is bagging out really, really weird. It looks almost like you have little stubs sticking out of the back of your shirt.
"What?" Hitomi immediately loosened the corset, sweet air rushing into her lungs. Maybe suffocating herself wasn't the right way after all. She subconsciously felt the tips of her shoulder blades- no wing stubs. Good.
"Milady?" asked Allen from ahead. "We are at the fortress." Sure enough, they were standing in front of the large, pyramid-like building. He opened the door and stood back for Hitomi to pass through, then walked in after her. From the resounding thud behind her, it sounded as though Van had walked straight into the door.
"Van you idiot," Hitomi muttered, turning around and opening the door. Van fell inwards, toppling over onto the young queen.
"Um, Van? Could you get off me?" Hitomi asked, trying to hold Van up and keep from toppling over herself at the same time.
"Yukari, I don't want to go to English," he muttered dazedly, passing out.
"It's probably just a minor concussion," said Allen, leaving Hitomi to deal with the boy from the mystic moon. Unhappily, she dragged the boy down the dim corridor, up three flights of stairs, down two more corridors, up another flight of stairs.
"Allen, where the hell are these rooms?" Hitomi asked grumpily. The boy was not as light as he looked, and Hitomi was just about ready to cut off all his limbs to make him lighter.
"Your room is here. The Mystic Moon boy's room is adjacent from yours. You are expected at dinner tomorrow evening to relate your tale to us. If you need anything, ring the bell. Since your country has burned, it is our duty to take care of you. Good day." Hitomi glowered at the back of the retreating, prissy knight.
"Might as well be a girl," she muttered angrily, kicking open the door to Van's room. She threw him onto his bed and sat down next to him, wishing Allen had at least been kind enough to give her her sword back so that she might have something to do- even if it was to see how many spots of light she could make on the wall with the reflective surface of the blade. But Hitomi didn't have her sword, so she would have to be content to sit and watch the foolish boy sleep. She sat and stared at him- first trying to imagine what he would look like with Allen's hair, or in Merle's dress, but soon found herself contended with just watching his chest rise and fall as he slept. Hitomi wasn't sure if the boy had passed out from exhaustion- they had been walking for almost six hours before they left the forest- or from slamming into the door. Probably a combination of both, but it really didn't matter. The only point was that he was asleep now, and unable to irritate her with his mindless babble. Plus, he actually looked sort of cute when he was asleep.
'No, no no! I didn't just think that!' Hitomi glared at the boy, trying to feel the same contempt she had felt for him when she had first met him, but nothing came- except a warm, fuzzy spark.
"I am a warrior," Hitomi mumbled to herself. "I do not feel warm, fuzzy sparks." But she couldn't help but smile as a strand of Van's hair fell into his sleeping face. She watched it wave around in the breeze created from his steady breathing, and then finally smoothed it out of his face.
"Arg, what's happening to me?" Hitomi growled to herself, staring out the window at the rising sun. In no time at all, she was lost to dreams of raven-haired boys as the first rays of sun shot through the window and landed gently on the faces of the sleeping companions.
.:*:.~.:*:.~.:*:.
Hitomi stirred slowly, snippets of memories from the previous day flashing across her mind. Fire, invisible guymelefs, woods, Allen, Van. Then it occurred to her that someone was shaking her arm and calling her name.
"Lady Hitomiiiiii, wake up already!" It was Merle, who was yowling and hopping up and down, but apparently pleased that she had managed to find the queen after the burning of Fanelia.
"Ssh, Merle," said Hitomi, finally coming to. "What do you want?"
"I missed you!" Merle glomped Hitomi, and the young queen delicately pried the cat girl off of her. "And I'm bored." Hitomi face faulted off of her chair onto the floor, twitching slightly.
"So you woke me up?" Hitomi asked furiously, glaring at the cat-girl.
"Yeah. Van won't wake up. Heavy sleeper." Hitomi got up and peered over the edge of the bed at the still-sleeping boy.
"Van." Hitomi whispered softly in a singsong voice, nudging him on the arm. "Vaaannn.."
"Umph.. Use firaga on the moogle and you'll get through to macalania." he mumbled in his sleep.
"Vann, wake up."
"No, mom, I'll do my homework in a minute." Hitomi snickered. This was amusing.
"Vann."
"tickle me elmos are scary.."
"Do you want food?"
"Food?!?!?!?" both Hitomi and Merle doubled over, snickering as Van sat straight up, looking about wildly. He spotted the two girls rolling around on the floor in laughter.
"What's so funny?" he asked crossly, smoothing his hair and straightening out his odd shirt.
"You. were... talking.." Merle giggled, "in your- hee hee- sleep. Van glared at Merle, and then smiled, sweat dropping and scratching the back of his head.
"Uh, yeah. Yukari told me that I have the tendency to do that."
"Who's Yukari?" Hitomi asked, regaining her composure. "Your girlfriend? Your sister?"
"My best friend. We blow things up together and sometimes I get knocked out and start mumbling," said Van, super sweat dropping ."So, what about food?" Hitomi thought for a moment.
"Hummm. entertain Merle while I go get food," said Hitomi, suddenly turning and running out of the room.
"Oh no you don't!" yelled Van, diving off of the bed and catching Hitomi by the ankle. "You're not leaving me with her!"
"Lady Hitomiiiiii, can I come with you?" called Merle at the same time.
"Shut it, both of you!" Yelled Hitomi in exasperation. They both 'shut it' at once.
"Merle, would you like to get the food? Our guest can't go by himself and I am not going anywhere with all three of you. New smells, new sights." said Hitomi to the cat girl.
"What do you take me for. a dog?" Merle asked, licking her arm daintily. "I'll go, but don't yell at me when they kick me out of the kitchen for being a 'pet' and not a 'human.'" With this, Merle turned, swishing her tail regally, and left the room.
"That cat," said Van after some period of time, "is absolutely, positively, one hundred and fifty nine percent mentally insane." Hitomi cracked a small smile at this- yes, Merle did fit that description. Then, Hitomi realized that Van was still clutching her ankle- the exact same position he had been in when Merle left.
"PERVERT!!!" yelled Hitomi, bashing Van violently on the head. "Let go of my ankle!"
"Ouch, jeez, I'm sorry," said Van, standing up. "I kinda forgot."
"Yeah, right, because you were too busy staring at my butt," snapped Hitomi. Van looked as though he were about to say, 'but you have a very nice butt, your highness,' but refrained from doing so. Just as well, because earlier Hitomi had stowed a spare dagger down her shirt, hee hee. Van plopped down on the bed (still rubbing his slightly sore head,) and looked at Hitomi.
"Sit," he said, indicating to the spot next to him. Hitomi wondered if he was about to try something- he didn't seem like the type but you never could know. Hitomi remained where she was.
"Sit," said Van again, giving Hitomi a weird look. "You look like you slept in a chair."
"That's because I DID sleep in a chair. I was making sure that you didn't wake up and start doing something to make the queen of Fanelia a laughing stock." Actually, that was only part of the truth. It was actually slightly enjoyable to watch him sleep, in cute, angelic innocence. no, no it wasn't. Laughing stock. Right. Laughing stock. Van gave her a sly look, as if he were reading her mind.
"You were watching me sleep, weren't you?" he asked. Hitomi shook her head, repressing a creeping blush. "Aha! The tin man DOES have a heart!" Then, Hitomi had an idea.
"Actually, no, I was listening to you tell me about your sex life back home," she said with an evil smile. Van went pale.
"I- what- me say- Kari?" he stuttered unintelligibly.
"Oh, yes, all your dreams and sick fantasies," Hitomi said airily.
"WHAT?" yelled Van, turning red. Hitomi snickered, and then laughed all out. Van gaped at her for a minute, and then glared.
"You tricked me," he said, crossing his arms over his chest huffily. "You tricked me! Why I oughta." Van grabbed a pillow and began beating the laughing queen over the head with it.
"No, stop," she giggled, reaching for a pillow herself. The two commenced in a pillow fight, shouting the occasional "take that!" at each other, beating each other senselessly and letting silken feathers fly. Merle came in, carrying a tray of food and looking pleased with herself.
"Heyy, I got you foo. what are you DOING?"
"Pillow fight," laughed Hitomi as she bashed Van over the head. Merle looked at all the feathers.
"Oh. Well, I saw the feathers and.. What are you fighting over?"
"No idea," came the muffled laughter of Van, because Hitomi had just whacked him in the face with a pillow the moment before. Laughing, Van and Hitomi climbed off of the feather strewn bed and made their way over to the table where Merle had set down the food. Still giggling slightly and smiling between bites, they began to eat, forgetting, even if momentarily, the danger that awaited them in the near future.
A/N: Yaay! Here's chapter 3, with my two "bestest buddies" sitting next to me yakking away senselessly. Yeah. Anywhoo. THANKS AND REPLIES:
Pink Cherry Blossom: ^___^ I'm glad you like it. As you can see, I took your suggestion and gave Van something to do with his time: Sword lessons! I didn't take it as a flame, I'm really glad you mentioned that .; Also, I'm giving him those "freaky sci-fi premonitions" because our dear Hitomi would be lunch meat without them, heh heh!!!
esca chick: thank you! I'm glad you think it's a good idea ^^ and I'll update as much as possible.
Dariel: yaaay!!! *hug hug* you're getting to be one of my favorite reviewers! And yes, Van is a pain. The idea for Merle's little "teething problem" I got from my cat, who can be very pissy and likes to bite everyone and everything that he sees. Like I said before, I'll update as much as I can.
Aeka-himme: I'm glad you liked it hee hee!
Mirakai no tenshi neko-jin: ^_^^_^ otay
Final A/N: AAAAAHHHH!!!!! GOMEN GOMEN GOMEN *bow bow* I finished this chapter yesterday but I didn't have a chance to upload it.. I'll try and upload every Sunday from now on, okay?
~Azure
