Born Of The Moon
Chapter XI
Meeting Similarities
"Hitomi . . ."
My sighs and moans were barely heard. Someone was calling for me.
"Yuhan . . . ?" I asked, insecure about the reply I would receive. I was weak in this place. I couldn't tell exactly where I was but wherever it was, I couldn't find the strength in me to move.
"Hitomi . . ."
I was floating in darkness once again. This seemed to be a reoccurring thing lately. It was beginning to anger me. That, and the fact that every time my voice was spoken, it was a different voice. The first time had been Yuhan, the second, Folken . . .
"Hitomi?"
"V-Van?" I was certain now that I was out of my dream world and coming to my senses. Thank the lords for that. I opened my lazy eyes to a dark room, and to see Van sitting over me with a blood-covered cloth in hand. I groaned at the sight of it and looked away. He noticed this.
"Hitomi, it's alright. Your arm will heal and the wound is closing as we speak. You needn't worry." I could feel something burning on my arm, and I turned to see it was some form of medication. The stinging sensation subsided quickly and I saw that the wound now looked merely raw. I grimaced. Then I finally met Van's gazing eyes. Those eyes spoke wonders to me, and I could see that he had barely changed since the last time I had seen him. On the inside, that is. I could tell his hair was slightly longer than before, and his form had toned up quite a bit. He had grown into a hansom man and a mighty looking king and warrior. However, inside his eyes, I could still see the soul of the spirited, thick-sculled teenage boy whom I met those few years passed.
"Van." I reached my one functioning arm up to gesture for a hug. He accepted it, though still unsure of my sentiments towards him. "Thank you." I whispered.
"For what?" he asked.
"For being who you are."
I drew away from the embrace and sat myself up. "And I'm also sorry for all those things I said to you yesterday. It was uncalled for and completely rude. I . . . I acted too quickly without thinking."
He smiled at me, taking my hands in his own. "I accept your apology. In fact, I didn't blame you for a second for what you said. It was my fault for not telling you. I had no right to keep it from you."
I was forced to let out a gasp of air suddenly, for my wound wasn't fully closed and it had begun to sting at my sudden movement. Van decided to close it off from air entirely for now. He wrapped it up perfectly in a while bandage. "Is it too tight?"
"No, not at all." I sighed, being able to bend my arm slightly now and not have to face as much pain. I noticed under his wine-colored shirt, a golden chain. I went to pull it up but he backed away a little. I raised an eyebrow at him and continued. As I pulled up on the chain, I found my pink pendant to be attached to it still. "Well," I laughed. "At least you didn't lose it."
I looked over my bandage once again. He had done this to me. Folken.
"Has Folken come to the city yet?" I asked Van, not knowing if it was proper to ask him or not.
"No word has come yet, so I'm guessing he hasn't."
"Van! I-" The brown haired woman I had seen in my visions before had just come storming into the room, but once she caught sight of me she went totally mute. "I was just informed that Lord Folken came to the castle gates earlier, but he had no intention of entering the city once he was told that the Lady Hitomi was here."
Van nodded his head at the woman. "Thank you, Ann."
She walked over to me and knelt down beside my bed, just as Van was. She had a large smile on her face and her blue eyes shone with admiration. I paused my thoughts. What? For me?
"It's an honor to finally meet you, Miss Hitomi. Van has told me never-ending stories about all the times you and he spent together here on Gaea. It so wonderful to hear that our savior has returned to the land." Her head fell down before me. I was almost speechless. Van was just smiling away at me.
"I . . . I thank you."
Her hand shot up to her mouth instantly. "Please! Forgive me my rudeness!" She stood and bowed down. "I am Anastasia De Fanel, Queen of Fanelia."
Now it was my turn to smile at him. "You seem to have chosen a very kind and beautiful wife, Van."
He stood beside her now. "I met her while on business in Asturia. My advisors tried to make me choose a wife of royal blood, but I refused."
"If you will excuse me." She said to us. "I must be on my way to check up on the Lady Merle."
Without another word, she was out the door. There was an awkward silence between Van and myself, but he decided to break it.
"You wouldn't believe . . ." He started, but didn't finish until I coaxed him to. "How much she resembles you. Not in the physical manner, but personality wise. It's unbelievable. She reminds me of you so much, that was why I couldn't bear to let her go. It was almost like having you around here again." He refused to make eye contact with me now.
"It honors me to hear you say that." I turned his chin so that he would be facing me. "King Van Slanzar De Fanel. So what was wrong with Merle?"
Van sighed. "She was roaming the forest yesterday when some men ambushed her and she fell down a small hill. She wasn't badly hurt but enough to be bed stricken for a day. She recovering well though. I'm sure she'll be in to see you soon."
As I began to look around, I noticed that my head was starting to feel light and my vision was becoming spotted with tiny flecks of light. I raised a hand to my face and closed my eyes. "My head doesn't even feel like it's attached to my neck."
His sigh this time was one of recognition. "Your wound lost a lot of blood. You haven't slept nearly long enough to recover all your strength. Rest now. I'll be back with some food and cold water later, alright?"
I nodded and laid back down. When I opened my eyes to watch Van leave, all I saw above me was Folken. I screamed and jumped off the other side of the bed and Van came running up to me. "Hitomi?! What's the matter? What happened?" I opened my eyes this time to see that Folken wasn't in the room, it had just been my imagination. My breathing was more broken now as I sat myself up, Van aiding me. "What did you see?"
"I saw . . ." I took in a deep breath and laid myself back down. "Nothing. Just . . . shadows."
He rested the back of his hand on my cheek and smiled. "Alright. I'll be back later to check on you."
Van left the room and I started to let my thoughts wander. The truth was I didn't want to fall asleep, and usually when this feeling of being unsettled was in me, I never slept. Unfortunately, because of my loss of blood, it was becoming harder and harder for me to think and keep myself conscious. I didn't want to fall asleep because of my fear of dreaming again. I didn't want to see Folken in my dreams, nor did I want to think about it at the current time. I just wanted a dreamless and peaceful sleep. I wished for fate to leave me alone.
It was a good two hours later when Van returned to my room to wake me up.
"Hitomi? Are you okay?" I heard his distant voice say as he nudged my shoulder. I opened my eyes slowly, scared of what I might see. Thank the gods it was Van. "I'm fine, why?"
"You were moaning and tossing in your sleep. Did you have a bad dream?" He had a cold cloth in hand and I took it from him, placing it on my burning forehead. I thought for a moment and realized that I had no memory of dreaming. I always remembered if I had dreamed, even if I didn't remember exactly what it was. I had no recollection of any dreams.
"N-no. I didn't dream at all." My energy had returned somewhat to me now and I felt good enough to walk around. I saw the sad look on Van's face and wondered what could've been wrong. I figured what I said next would cheer him up. "Van, I'd like to talk with your wife. She seems really nice."
I could tell that he wanted to let his jaw drop at my words, but he held himself back from doing so. I laughed, and he escorted me to her room.
It was also a dark room, I noticed when we entered. Over by the single window, I saw Anastasia and a grown Merle.
"Hitomi! They didn't lie, it really is you!" Merle sat up on her bed but I could still see that she lacked the energy to do much more. Her arms extended to me and I embraced her.
"It's so good to see you, Merle!" I looked her over. Her hair was a little longer and flowing now. It wasn't as chunky as I remember. It now had an almost silk look to it. Her tufts of fur were almost gone, showing her growing maturity. Her eyes seemed to hold more wisdom in them now as well.
"I'm sure you've already met Ann?" Merle gestured towards the blue-eyed girl.
I nodded, smiling as best I could. "I actually came to speak with her, but having you here makes no difference either."
Anastasia seemed surprised by the overall way I was acting. I could understand why though. She probably had the thought in mind that I would hate her because she married Van and not me. Well, I was going to prove that wrong. I had the most off-the-wall question that was probably going to throw her off so bad . . .
"So tell me, was your wedding beautiful?"
"Uhm . . ." I could see the questioning in her eyes and a blush crept up to her face as she broke eye contact with me. God, was I making her nervous? Then a smile made its way onto her features. "It was beautiful. Everything I had imagined it to be and much more."
"Were there roses?" I asked. At my wedding, I had always hoped for a certain color of rose.
"Yes. Red and white ones to be exact. It was like a dream."
This was too scary. Just as Van had said, she was so much like me! But, she was looking at me now like I was hiding something. Her eyes were narrowed in my direction.
"Would you care to take a walk with me around the castle? I'm sure you haven't seen all of it yet, and I've been told that you haven't returned since the Destiny War. The castle has undergone many changes since then."
I agreed and we left Merle to sleep.
"The truth is I hadn't even seen the entire castle during my last visit either. I was escorted to a room in the east end, and after that there was Van's coronation ceremony. Then . . ." I couldn't find it in myself to finish my phrase.
"I understand. It must've been a horrible sight to see."
There was an awkward silence shared between us. She decided to break it.
"I want to thank you, Hitomi."
"For what?"
Her eyes fell to the floor as she began to speak her reason. "Because . . . I was expecting you to, well, hate me. I could tell that you and Van had a very strong bond. I didn't want to break it so I kept my distance from him for a long time." She took this moment to sigh, but I urged her to continue. "It was one day when I was visiting Allen and his younger sister Selena, that I met Van for the second time. The first had been on business. My family had known Allen's before I was even born so we had become good friends over the years. I was a messenger for King Aston for a short time and that was how I met Van the first time."
We sat down in a large room I could only recognize as the dinning hall. It was beautifully decorated all around with a gold wire border with many designs; too many to describe. The centerpiece was a marvelous chandelier with what could only be diamonds decorating it. It had to of held more than 30 candles in it. The reason Anastasia had stopped her story was more than likely because of my gaping jaw. I recovered from the sight, apologized, and pressed her to continue.
"It was Blue, 14th moon. We were getting some of the worst rain, hail and thunderstorms I've seen in my entire life. Even some of the elders spoke of the intensity to me. When I arrived in Fanelia I could barely see where I was going so I dismounted my horse and led him step by step with me. It took me a good half an hour to find my way to the castle and when I got inside, I passed out from fatigue. When I awoke, I saw Van sitting across the room from me, sleeping. I thought to myself, he stayed here? To watch over me? I couldn't believe it at first. A king was worried about me? It seemed like one big joke. Because of the weather and my becoming ill from the cold, I was granted a week long stay by King Aston. Van grew on me and it was so very hard to say goodbye."
"I know all too well what that feels like." I interrupted her.
"I can understand that. So then, about a week and a half later, Van had made the long journey to Palas. I was overjoyed to see him, but I didn't let that show in front of King Aston. It surprised me one night that Van pulled him aside and spoke with him in private. The next day, I found that he had asked to take me back to Fanelia with him, and I think you can tell how things progressed from there. It's like fairytale to me now. I can't believe I'm a Queen for one thing."
She finally lifted her eyes back up to face mine. "And I can't believe that you don't hate me for marrying Van. I thought you'd be resentful towards me and never speak to me. I was nervous earlier when I first met you. Now I know why Van loved you so much. He still does too. You're a wonderful person from what I can see."
She was probably set off by the look I was giving her.
"Did I say something to upset you?"
"Oh, no!" I laughed. It's just that . . . Van said you're so much like me, it scares him. I can see what he means now."
A servant appeared and offered us some wine. We both accepted. I wasn't planning on getting drunk for the third time on Gaea but the offer was all too tempting right now.
~*~
Sorry for the dull content in this chapter. After writing chapter 10, for some reason it took a lot of time just to get this chapter out of me. Well, here it is in all it's glory. As you can see, it's actually quite lengthy paragraph wise.
I want to thank all my reviewers! You know who you all are, you're keeping me going with this. It'll pick back up soon, I promise. I'd also still like to hear any predictions you may have! You never know, it could change something I have planned in the plot already!
Also just a couple of notes
First, to anyone who's confused beyond belief right now, good! You're supposed to be! Complain all you like ^^
Second, to Aya the White Dragon, Sora's Folktale is an awesome song, and at some parts I happen to agree with you.
Third, To Ai-Chan. Your reviews make me laugh every time I read them Keep it up ^^
Fourth, to everyone else who's threatening me with death if I do not continue, I won't as long as you guys don't stop reviewing!
Fifth; To the author Ex-Angel, you had better post the next chapter of *Love Run Deep* very soon. Like, as in now.
Sixth; Enter Anastasia. Yes people, this will be the first fic that I've seen where Van doesn't have a psycho bitch wife that's out to get Hitomi, or that he doesn't want to be married to! It's a miracle! So I had to develop her character somewhat. Maybe I'll write a mini-sequel about Van meeting her . . . O.o.....ideas.....
I think that's all! *rolls eyes* is anyone still reading these...lol. Till next time!
