A/N: Hooray! Chapter eight! Goooo me! *dances around and cheers* I'm happy. O_O I'm also wearing a denim skirt, which is a first, LoL. Nah, it's only laundry day, and the weather is beautiful outside. Sixty-three degrees!!! Feels great compared to the twenty it was yesterday. We got snow. In Texas. That shows that nothing is impossible- only improbable. But, yes. The things I do for you, my dear reviewers. I have begun staying up until, like, 2 am just to get another chapter written. But, then again, I might do that because I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!! Right, on to the tale of troubles.

Disclaimer: . ha! I wish.

EIGHT

Hitomi sighed and pushed the last of Allen's luggage aboard the airship. Just how much stuff did the guy need? Plus, there was the addition of Millerna insisting that Hitomi be more ladylike, despite the fact that she was fighting against the most powerful nation in Gaia. The insistent princess had packed Hitomi no less than thirty different dresses, twenty pairs of shoes, three pairs of pants, three tunics and a single belt. The young queen sighed in frustration as she shoved Allen's last large trunk of who-knows-what into the cargo space.

"Where are we going again?" asked Van, magically popping up out of nowhere and nearly scaring Hitomi to death.

"Freid," said the young queen, letting go of her sword. Van nodded, pulled his odd cap over his eyes, shoved his hands into his pocket and sauntered off. Hitomi sighed again, and pushed a strand of semi- colored hair out of her eyes. The knight Allen had magically appeared in Palas with his airship and crew, wooed the princess and offered the king his services- namely, shipping Hitomi and Van all around the world. Hitomi was almost sure that there were ulterior motives, but was too lazy to figure anything out. She had other things on her mind- like how to kill the prissy blonde knight if he came anywhere near her. And, also, how to ignore Van, even though her heart slammed violently against her rib cage. After Hitomi had addressed the king, begging help against Zaibach, Van had been tailing her around constantly. And of course, she was cold and distant, and acted as though the entire experience in the woods had never happened. And, frustratingly enough, Van completely ignored this behavior, acting as if it were perfectly normal. The idiot. He was clueless as to Hitomi's feminine emotions- first asking what was wrong, then shrugging off her angry huffs, and third, tailing her around like a lost puppy. Maybe he was feeling insecure. If he didn't leave Hitomi alone, though, she'd give him insecure. Ha ha.

"Hitomiiiiii," called Merle, dashing up the ramp and tackling her surrogate older sister.

"Ouch, Merle, get off, you're strangling me," Hitomi gasped, trying to pry the little cat girl off her neck. Merle, however, was insistent.

"Lady Hitoooommmiiiiiiii, where are we going?" Merle had shown up not long after Van and Hitomi, and had taken to tackling the queen at odd moments.

"Freid," said Van, helping Hitomi pry Merle off. The queen stood up, the cat sliding off of her, and walked away.

"Don't I at least get a thank you?" Van asked.

"No," called Hitomi over her shoulder, stomping away in search of a good place to hide from Allen, Van, and Merle.

"What'dja do to her, huh?" Hitomi heard Merle ask Van in a growl.

"Wha? I dunno!" yelled Van. There was a distinct ripping noise, and "shit! Merle, that hurt! Those were my only blue jeans!"

"Your problem," replied Merle. Hitomi smiled, shaking her head, and continued inside the airship, walking briskly, hoping Van wouldn't notice her tactic. Hitomi was lucky- he was too busy arguing with Merle. But Hitomi felt and arm come around her shoulders, and stiffened.

"Hello, your highness," said a smooth voice near her ear. Allen.

"Let go of me," said Hitomi coldly. Where was Van when she actually needed him?

"Why?" asked Allen, though he loosened his grip on Hitomi's shoulders.

"Because I have about a thousand different ways to kill you if you don't," said Hitomi with a growl.

"Ah, you wouldn't do that, my little tulip," said Allen, making Hitomi nearly gag. "Because, you see, my dear, you need me."

"I don't need you, or anyone," Hitomi said insistently. Allen stopped and spun Hitomi around to face him.

"You need me, queen, whether you like it or not. I'm your transportation around the world. You couldn't get too far in that guymelef- you'd eventually exhaust yourself. And, you need me," Allen said, running a finger under Hitomi's jaw, "in body and support." Allen then leant in and tried to kiss Hitomi, but was met by a slap.

"I am not yours, Allen. I never will be. I belong to nobody, I need nobody," she said angrily, stomping off down the corridor.

"You need me, Kanzaki," Allen called. "In body and soul. You'll see," Allen said, grinning to himself. "You'll see." And cackling to himself, Allen made his way down a side corridor into the dark.

.:*:.~.:*:.~.:*:.

Van stopped dead in his tracks. He had been boarding the airship, chasing after Hitomi and running from Merle at the same time, when he has seen Allen come up behind her, put his arm around his shoulders, then spin Hitomi around and make an attempt at kissing her. He had been slapped, Hitomi had stomped away, but Van had heard the low mutterings of Allen, and instantly known that Hitomi was in trouble.

"Hitomi! Wait up!" Van suddenly called, jerking out of his thoughts and chasing after the queen. "Are you alright?" he asked her. She spun about to face him, her eyes bright and red with unshed tears, anger radiating from her.

"Do I look alright?" she snapped angrily. Van was taken slightly aback, but after several years of dealing with a PMSing Yukari, knew that Hitomi was just being overly emotional and difficult.

"No, you don't. Do you want to talk?" he asked her, putting on his best 'compassionate friend' voice. It had worked millions of times with Yukari, but apparently, not with Hitomi.

"No. Just leave me alone, Van," she sniffed, stomping away.

"What'd I do?" asked Van in disbelief, looking after Hitomi and hitching his magic track bag up on his shoulder. Now he was almost positive he had some something, due to Hitomi's distant behavior.

"Girls. Can't live with them," he grumbled, and then cracked a vampire grin. "Can't live without them, either. What the hell." Van took off down the hallway after Hitomi, again, and then dashed in front of her, walking backwards so that he was facing her.

"Look, if it's really bugging you that much, just hit something," said Van, holding his arms out. Hitomi gave a snort, her eyes still bright with unshed tears.

"Don't you ever give up?" she asked, swiping madly at her eyes with the back of her gauntlet hand.

"No," said Van. "If it'll make you feel any better, hit me." Van held his arms out wide, wondering if this tactic would work. Hitomi glared at him, and then punched him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

"Shit, Hitomi, You really pack a punch," said Van, doubling over slightly and putting both hands on his 'abs of steel' as he had always called them. Hitomi maneuvered around Van and stomped away.

"Ah, I'll talk to her later," Van said, slowly straightening out and carefully removing his hands from his abdomen. Carefully, though, he followed the sound of Hitomi's footsteps, thinking she would lead him either to her quarters, or to the bridge. To her quarters, of course. Van memorized which door it was, and then set off down the hallway in search of the bridge.

"Stupid Airship. Like a maze," Van muttered, realizing that he was only going in circles. "Pah!"

"Lady Hitomiiiiiiii," Van heard. He turned the corner and wound up in the same corridor as Hitomi's room, and spotted Merle banging against the queen's door.

"Go away," yelled Hitomi. "Nobody would look upon the face of a weakling!" Dammit, that weakling crap again? Van sighed in exasperation. She was impossible. Just.. Uuuuuurgh! Van had decided that this was it. Hitomi was more stubborn than even his mother, and could sometimes be twice as bitchy.

"Move it," growled Van, shoving Merle out of the way. She looked affronted, but refrained from attacking Van. Van looked Merle over, and then snatched a pin out of her vibrant pink curls.

"Hey!" she said.

"Shut up," said Van, kneeling in front of the doorknob, shoving the hairpin in, and listening to the tumblers. He jiggled the pin in the lock, and waited for the telltale click that eventually came.

"How'd you to that?" Merle asked as the door magically swung open.

"Magic from the Mystic Moon," replied Van, tossing her the pin.

"Magic?" asked Merle, confused. Van walked into the room, and looked at Hitomi, who was sitting on a chair and glaring out the window.

"How did you get in here? Just, leave me alone," she snarled, pulling a book out of a nearby bookcase and chunking it at Van's head. Van nimbly dodged it, and made his way forward, moving out of the way of flying objects.

"Eep!" Merle said as a vase crashed against the wall near her head, and she was out of the room in a flash, closing the door behind her.

"What's your problem, Hitomi?" Van asked. Somehow, this seemed vaguely familiar.

"I already told you what my problem is," Hitomi huffed, throwing "The Encyclopedia of Austarian Hair Gel" at Van. He hopped aside, and continued forward.

"Is the entire Allen situation your problem? You're not weak, Hitomi. You're one of the strongest people I've met, if not the strongest."

"Easy for you to say," she growled, this time throwing "The Encyclopedia of Hair Care" at Van. He dodged this, too, and was hit smack in the face with "You and Your Underwear." Van peeled it off his face and showed it to Hitomi.

"Allen has weird taste in books," he said. Hitomi smiled, laughed a bit, choked, and threw another book at Van. He dodged this, too, and reached Hitomi's chair. She let the book she was going to smash Van over the head with fall to the floor as he put his hands on the arms of the chair and lowered his face towards hers.

"Get out of my face," Hitomi growled.

"Not until you get over yourself and tell me what is up your ass," Van said in reply. Maybe not the toughest statement, but still. Hitomi looked to the side, her eyes dulling.

"I can't tell you," she said quietly, her anger slowly ebbing.

"Don't you trust me?" Van asked her, imploring her to answer with his gaze. She turned her eyes back to him, which were now more angry than sad. On instance and without a moment's thought, Van lowered his face to hers and kissed her gently on the lips. A single tear rolled down Hitomi's cheek, and she lunged at him, burying her face in his chest.

"My people are all dead, my country is destroyed. I have a mad knight trying to do me every chance he gets, and I don't know hoe I'm going to get through any of this," Hitomi cried, lunging forward and clinging to Van's chest. "My parents are dead, Van. They were dead for most of my life. Ten years ago, after my father died, my brother Folken went to complete the rite of dragon slaying. Do you know what happened to him, Van? He fled. He died a coward. My mother wasted away, pining for him and my father. I was five, Van, when my family died. Five! And I had to begin making choices for my country at the age of seven. I was hardened by politics at nine, but was not strong enough to complete the rite of dragon slaying for six more years. But I had to grow up the second my mother died," Hitomi cried. "And here I am, sobbing like a weakling. I'm a queen, a warrior, and I'm not supposed to cry. I'm a failure. I wasn't able to protect Fanelia, and I won't be able to protect you. I don't even know where to begin, Van, on exterminating Zaibach, and I'm equally hopeless on how to get you back to the mystic moon." Hitomi sobbed harder, and was unable to speak. She clung to the fabric of his shirt, and Van wrapped his arms protectively around her, like he had done before after she confessed about Allen. He considered spewing out some corny fact about girls being highly emotional that he had been forced to learn in sex ed, but heavily decided against it and instead chose to rock her softly back and forth, whispering comforting things to her and rub her back. After a while, Hitomi's sobs subsided, and she looked up at Van with watery eyes. Van smiled down at her, and her eyes turned cold.

"You can leave now," she said. When Van didn't move, she slapped him with all her might, causing him to stumble backwards and put a hand to his cheek. "Get out," she growled, pushing him out of the room and slamming the door behind him.

"Shit! What the hell happened?" Van asked, clutching his red cheek and staggering off down the hall.

.:*:.~.:*:.~.:*:.

Hours Later found Hitomi sitting in the same chair, still fuming. How dare he? How dare he just take advantage of her like that? She had made a mistake, a possibly fatal error. She had shown her weak side. She, Hitomi Kanzaki, Fanelian War queen, would show no weaknesses. Anyone who saw her weaknesses must be killed. And there were only two, aside from her surrogate sister, who had ever seen her in a state of disarray: Van and Allen. They had to be punished, and Hitomi had to never, ever slip up again. She would become stronger- yes, that was it. She would defeat Zaibach alone. She would destroy anything and everything in the way of her goal. Hitomi smiled grimly to herself, but was exhausted by the venting of emotions. She plopped down on the poofy bed, pausing only briefly to look out the window at the landscape moving far below, and fell into an exhausted sleep.

Several hours later, Hitomi awoke to the violent shaking of the ship, and large explosions coupled with yelling. She sat up, still in her normal attire, buckled on her sword and hopped out of bed and ran into the hall- where there were people dashing around, frenzied. Hitomi made her way to the bridge, where Allen was fighting desperately to keep the ship in control.

"What's going on?" she asked, alert.

"Zaibach attack," responded Allen, for once not showing any sexual interest in her. Hitomi gripped the hilt of her sword.

"You mustn't go out, lady Hitomi," said Allen.

"I don't care. There are innocent people on this ship. They're after me," said Hitomi. "I'm going to lure them away.

"You can't!" cried Merle, looking up from a bucket where she had been emptying her stomach.

"I can, and I will," said Hitomi, turning on her heel and striding out of the room. 'A bit melodramatic, but it has to be done,' thought Hitomi to herself.

"Hitomi!" Van called, jogging after her, Hitomi wasn't really in the mood to deal with him at that exact moment, but she turned to face him any way.

"Yes?"

.:*:.~.:*:.~.:*:.

Van was taken aback by the cold in her eyes. This was a completely different Hitomi than the hysterical girl he had confronted only hours earlier. Van took a deep breath.

"I'm coming with you."

"You aren't," said Hitomi, putting one hand on her waist and letting the other dangle next to the hilt of her sword. "You'll get us both killed."

"Please, Hitomi. I can sense the invisible enemy," pleaded Van. "They're after both of us, these Zaibach idiots. If I come with you the air ship will be spared." Hitomi snorted.

"More like your precious princess," she said, and turned and walked away again. Van stared after her, and the cogs in his head would have been turning had the situation not been so serious. He grabbed her upper arm.

"I'm coming with you, like it or not," Van insisted.

"No, you're not," said Hitomi. "I refuse to bring you in Escaflowne. It's far too dangerous."

"Dangerous my ass!" yelled Van. But it was too late- Hitomi had stormed away. Van tried to follow her, but found that the frenzy of panicky crew held him back.

"Hitomi!" he yelled, but it was too late. He had lost her. "Damn," he cursed to himself. "If she gets captured by Zaibach.." Van didn't care to finish that sentience, partially due to the fact that it was dreadful, and also because he had just gotten an idea. A very good idea, too. Without any hesitation whatsoever, Van dashed off towards the storage room for the guymelefs. If Hitomi wouldn't take him along, he'd go after her himself. He pushed through the halls with new purpose, making his way to the docking bay. He saw Hitomi boarding Escaflowne, and smiled to himself, walking up to one of the large guymelefs standing around, completely dormant.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" yelled Hitomi through the cabin of Escaflowne as Van boarded one of the random guymelefs.

"I'm coming with you, like it or not!" yelled Van, hopping rather clumsily into the pilot's seat.

"The hell you aren't?" Hitomi yelled. Van merely closed the visor, and then looked around at the many mechanical.,. things.. Surrounding him, and gulped. He had always been slightly chlosterophobic, and this certainly wasn't helping.

"How do you work this thing?" Van asked, causing Escaflowne to reach up and slap itself in the head.

"Okay, mister stubborn," yelled Hitomi, showing up how much Van had really rubbed off on her. "I'm going to take you with me, but don't blame me when you're falling fifty thousand feet down burnt to a crisp.

"Yes!" yelled Van, hopping out of the cockpit of the other guymelef and clambering up onto Escaflowne's shoulder.

"Hang on," yelled Hitomi grumpily, zooming out of the docking station and allowing Escaflowne to begin to free fall.

"HOLY SHIT!" Wailed Van as they plummeted towards the ground. But then came the clanking of mechanic, and instead of squeezing Escaflowne's head to death, Van was clinging to Hitomi.

"This'll be a rough ride, Van," yelled Hitomi over the wind as the guymelefs previously attacking Allen's ship zoomed after them.

"Shit shit shit shit shit," muttered Van repeatedly over his breath as Escaflowne was forced to turn loops in midair to avoid certain death.

"We're going to have to outrun them," yelled Hitomi again. Van could only just nod- he was feeling rather sick from the intoxicating, sickening roller coaster-imitation ride. But it was worde- thousands of times worse. Van loved roller coasters, but absolutely hated this.

"I'm going to die," he whispered to himself, and passed out. Escaflowne cut through the air like a blade, quickly outrunning it's pursuers. Hitomi found it awkward and hard to drive with Van's bulk against her, and quickly hauled him forward so that he was sitting just in front of her, leaning against her arm, as she flew through the air. After what seemed like an eternity, she managed to lose the last Zaibach pursuer. Exhausted and sick from the insane loops, Escaflowne sunk to the ground, carefully lowering it's passengers to the ground with a mother's tenderness as Hitomi passed out onto the bench behind her.

.:*:.~.:*:.~.:*:.

"Dryden!" shrieked a tall brunette, dashing into said merchant's office. She doubled over, puffing, her hands on her knees. She had just run the length of the whole damn castle, and was going to get some answers.

"Yes, Cinderella?" Dryden asked his sister, taking in her angry cheeks. Her brown hair was held high in a thick ponytail that fell past her knees, the end curling out ever so slightly. She was wearing a tight, sleeveless black turtleneck shirt and baggy beige pants, and was glaring daggers at her older sibling.

"You sold the mermaid? You sold our mermaid- which I paid half for?" she practically wailed. "How could you?"

"All life is precious. She needed to be free," said Dryden.

"The hell!" shouted Cinderella, slamming her hand onto her brother's desk. He peered over the rims of his glasses at her, rubbing the stubble on his chin. "The only reason I agreed to help you buy her in the first place was because you said you wouldn't let her go! Now she's just going to get recaptured and sold again to some idiot with high testosterone levels.."

"Please, calm down Ells," Dryden said, using his pet name for his sister. Cinderella only glared at her brother. She took several deep breaths, her chest rising and falling below the tight elastic bands of her shirt, and she tried again.

"When daddy finds out what you did," she said, "he won't hesitate in letting me shred you limb from limb."

"What ever you say, beloved sibling," replied Dryden with a smile. Cinderella glared at him through slitted eyes, and then scowled.

"And shave, dammit! When was the last time I saw you without stubble?" she snapped, and turned and marched from the room, the heels of her large black combat boots doing nothing to mute the loud stomping. Cinderella stormed down the hallway, and purple waves of fury seemed to radiate from her head. Her bangs were in her eyes, making it almost impossible to see the deadly sparkle in them. Many servants gave the girl a wide berth, and Cinderella in turn ignored them. She made her way to the barracks, where she strapped on some light armor over her arms and chest, grabbed a sword, and went out to train.

"Sir," said a quaking soldier. Cinderella whirled to face him.

"What?" she snapped.

"We- we were instructed to alert you to any Zaibach activity, sir." The soldier quailed under Cinderella's angry glare.

"And???" she asked, her dark lined eyes frightening the poor soldier half to death.

"We- we just recently received a transcript from the Crusade, sir, alerting us to a Zaibach attack, sir."

"Damn," cursed Cinderella, snatching the transcript form the terrified soldier's shaking hand. "Dismissed," she barked, and the soldier was apparently trying not to dash away as he headed to the barracks. Cinderella's eyes scanned the transcript, and she cursed in the most unladylike language on Gaia. Had Hitomi been present, she would have been greatly impressed. But Cinderella had never met the queen of Fanelia, and had no way of knowing this. Instead, all she knew was that her friends were in grave peril. So, without bothering to remove her armor or let go of her sword, she stomped back into the castle, back through the long corridors, and kicked open the doors to her brother's office once more.

"Hello sister," he said, acting pleasantly surprised. "What have you come to scream at me about now?" Cinderella snarled at her brother, because today was not really the best of days for her, and flung down the transcript instead. Dryden picked it up and read through the paper, lines of worry creasing his forehead.

"Zaibach attack.... .. Two missing. ship greatly damaged.." He muttered, reading random words out loud. "Millerna.. Millerna? My fiancée was on board?" Dryden asked, looking up at his sister, apparently surprised.

"Yes, Dryden. Our fiancées were on board," said Cinderella, putting special emphasis on the word 'our.' Cinderella and Dryden's father, who the siblings both agreed was most likely mentally ill, had engaged both to rich blonde idiots- Dryden to the bimbo princess Millerna and Cinderella to Allen, the most destetable man in Gaia. "They'll undoubtedly be stopping here for repairs. SO, brother, what do you suppose we do," she asked, fidgeting with her gloves. Cinderella twined her mother's wedding ring around her finger, a nervous habit that many of the locals found incredibly sexy. Dryden just thought it was annoying.

"Repair their ship, of course," replied Dryden, reaching forward and prying his nervous sister's hands apart. "So, my younger sibling-"

"Don't call me that," snapped Cinderella. "We're twins. I'm only a few minutes younger than you."

"But you're younger all the same," replied Dryden with a small smirk. "So, my dear TWIN, are you up to an adventure?" he asked. The expression on Cinderella's face changed from anger, to confusion, to comprehension, to an evil grin.

"Hell yes," she said cracking her knuckles and gripping her sword happily. "I've always wanted to dice a Zaibach soldier in two."

.:*:.~.:*:.~.:*:.

Hitomi awoke to something heavy, warm, but slightly comfortable on her chest. She lazily cracked open her eyes, and it took all her willpower to not scream out. Van was laying.. Passed out. on top of her.

"Yech," said Hitomi, her performance fooling even herself. She carefully slid out from under Van since the bench was only so large, and sat on the edge of the guymelef, hate and jealousy coursing through her veins. Before she could stop herself, she began to speak.

"Van.."

"I hate heights."

"Van, what do you think of the princess Millerna?" Van shifted slightly, his words muffled.

"Bimbo. slut. not my type," he muttered. Almost instantly, Hitomi's anger and jealousy vanished- but some still remained.

"Van... Van, wake up," Hitomi said, deciding that her behavior was irrational.. Milking things out of Van while he was sleeping.

"Mmph... wings.. I can see an angel." Van muttered. Hitomi drew in her breath and checked behind her. No wings. The psycho boy must have just been having a very odd dream. Or maybe a vision. Whatever it was, Van was quickly jerked out of sleep. His eyes went wide and his body tensed up.

"Hitomi, you should run," he said. Hitomi shook her head.

"What? No, Van, we're safe from Zaibach."

"Run dammit!" screamed Van, pushing Hitomi off of the guymelef. She landed rather hard on her rear end, and glared up at the alarmed Van. "Hitomi, you have to move. They're coming.." He said. Hitomi shook her head, but Van's behavior was unnerving. But then, there it was. The buzzing sound that she could never, ever forget. The mechanical, whirring, clicking sound embedded in her bones. There was a guymelef coming. Hitomi would have jumped up at that very moment and dashed away, had not she been so paralyzed in fear. As it was, she was quickly snatched up by an invisible hand.

"Van!" she yelled down, looking for the boy from earth. But she could see him nowhere, and supposed that he must have hidden safely away from the guymelefs. Hitomi slouched down in the hand of the guymelef that became visible when they entered the air. Van was wrong. She was weak. But instead of crying, as any normal girl would have been prone to do in a situation such as this, Hitomi stored her anger in the back of her mind, ready to unleash when the best opportunity arose. Until then, she would just have to comply with the wishes of the Zaibach empire. Comply, but scheme all the same..

.:*:.~.:*:.~.:*:.

Dilandau quickly hid his tickle me Elmo behind his back as Ruby came stomping into the room.

"Dilandau, what on earth are you doing?" she asked him, taking in his groom's attire.

"N-nothing," he squeaked as Ruby squinted at him.

"There is cake on your face, you're wearing cologne and a tux. And finally, your guymelef has a "Just Married" sign tied to the back. Would you care to explain this to me?" Ruby asked in a patronizing tone. Dilandau shifted his weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably, and his worst fears were confirmed.

"You were cheating on me!" yelled Ruby. She then saw the Elmo behind his back. "Give me that," she said, snatching the doll away.

"A bride's dress?" she asked in disbelief. "You were trying to marry a Doll?" she shrieked, and then threw the Elmo out the window and stomped out of the room in an overly emotional show of desperate need for attention. And, of course, Dilandau had no choice but to follow her. Ruby, not the Elmo, that is.

.:*:.~.:*:.~.:*:.

A/N: Well? What do all you wonderful, wonderful reviewers think? I love you all so much- I was in such a bad mood today but your reviews made me grin all happy and big-like. I love getting reviews, and here are my many, many thanks to everybody!

esca chick: actually, Ruby asked me to put her in the story, so, yeah. And, yes, she is a bit of a comic relief, but more of a counterpart to Dilandau (she also helps everything he does seem much, much more insane, LoL!) Did you like this chapter? I hope you did, since I had to throw it together in no time flat.. *fretting* Okay, well, I can't wait to get your review!

CinderellaxVan: please refrain from kicking my ass to Mexico. I don't like spicy food, which is really very sad. Off topic. I hope you liked Dryden's sister. I full well intend for her and Van to have an.. Ahm.. Relationship to make Hitomi jealous, like Hitomi and Allen did in the series, LoL! And as much I'd love to make a perverted, Horny, blah blah blah clone of Van, I'm afraid that I can't due to the fact that it is along the line of the "flying cow" thing. And as for Allen's idiotic thingy.. That'll be next chapter. But I don't grant any more wishes until you update "For Love". Good fic, that is. So, yesssss. And maybe after you do that I'll write a special Van/Cinderella fic just for you! And do you know why??? . that's funny, I don't know, either!

Fireangel: yes, yes, Allen is yours, I promise! And I'm glad that you're glad that. bah! Screw it! Just, thanks for the review. I hope this update was soon enough.

Dariel: *does a happy dance* Did you like the tickle me Elmo thing? It fit perfectly into the entire Dilandau-is-insane scenario. Don't worry, the Elmo will come back. More fun. And as for Folken going to clown school.. *snicker* That's a very good idea. Wish I thought of it. SO, here come the dragon slayers in the next chapter with Folken in a straightjacket and clown nose? Uh oh.. And, also, Millerna is NOT one of my favorite characters so I'm going to try to have minimal bimbo time. Blah. But there's many, many troubles ahead for our favorite couple.. *snicker snicker* HAHAHAHAHAHA! O___o no more tea for me.

Aeka-himme: dude! I want a van plushie! Whered'ja get it???? And, the Millerna thing.. Don't ask. Do you have any 'wishes' for the rest of the story? Remember, no flying cows, but anything else is probably good. I write most stuff that is suggested and can fit into the story line.. (( what story line?????))

Feye Morgan: thine wish art granted! Is this update soon enough for you? And no, those horny idiots didn't know Hitomi wasn't a queen, so, blah. And the credit for the galoshes idea goes to my evil younger sibling, who thought it up for me. She has an odd galoshes fetish.. Arg. But, yeah. Anywhoo.. O_o;;;

FINAL A/N: Okay, my next update will probably be Wednesday-ish, and Friday morning is the latest I'm taking requests. So, hurry up and send me a hug. But don't choke me. *glares in Dariel's direction* yes, yes, yes. Review. I love reviews. They make me happy and break my writer's block (which I get A LOT.) So, review! Send me happy stuff, or even just email me with random comments or even just to say hello, Hell, I don't care. But I love hearing from you guys. My sister had to duck tape my mouth shut earlier because I was smiling so much from you guys.. LOL. But, yes. Review and I write faster.. Well. Unless I get caught. Expect next chapter by midnight on Wednesday(central time)! Hopefully I'll be able to upload it, because Fanfiction.net's mood swings are even worse than mine. and that's saying something. But remember, I love you all and will do all in my power to update. I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! Especially the people that review. Okay, enough rambling. I've got go work on chapter 9...

~Azure