Born Of The Moon
Chapter XVII
Final Chapter
I couldn't bear to watch either Van or Anastasia as I explained in full what had happed. It only seemed possible that Folken suffered from multiple personality disorder. One of the two was Folken Lacour De Fanel, a gentle, caring man who had failed during his inauguration to become king. The other was born from that failure, Strategos Folken. A cold, emotionless man who was still seeking and longing to slay the girl from the Mystic Moon, the destroyer of his empire. Merle was almost in tears, as was Anastasia. Van had a blank look on his face.
"I'm . . . I'm so incredibly sorry . . . that it had to come down to what it did, Van. I'll never forgive myself for knowing that you had to do that. I shouldn't have hesitated."
He didn't respond to that, but Anastasia out her hand over mine. "We understand that you did what you had to do, right Van?" he nodded. "So . . ." she said as the conversation trailed into nothing. "Does any of this mean that you'll be leaving us soon?"
Immediately as she said that, Yuhan's smiling face flashed through my mind. "Yes . . . I suppose it does. But I don't think that I'll be leaving Van with a broken heart this time. Not now that he's got such a wonderful person here with him."
I got up and stood before Van, who was still sitting with his head down. Tears again filled my eyes. It pained me to see him like this. "Van . . . I'm sorry . . ."
"Hitomi! Stop it! Stop apologizing! I've done worse you know? I've killed mass amounts of men in a single shot, this isn't as bad as you think!"
I stood there for a moment, completely shocked. Then anger retaliated. "This isn't as bad as I think? Not as bad?! Van, you just killed your own brother! I think that's a little worse than what could've happened!"
"If he had've killed you, I would've killed him just for that without a second thought! So you know, there was more sense in what I did when I did it as apposed to you apologizing over and over again. And don't think that--" His little speech was cut short as a hand came into contact with his cheek. I could only stare at Merle with astonishment. She grabbed us both by the collars of our shirts and spoke in a nerved tone.
"You two have no reason to be yelling at each other after what just happened. Grow up!!" With that, Merle left the room in a huff with Anastasia following her.
I sighed. "She's right."
"I know. But it sure felt good just to let it all out, didn't it?" He laughed slightly.
"Yeah, it did."
We took a moment of silence before we could find some words again.
"Van?" I whispered.
"Yeah?"
"We've been through a lot. Thanks for being there for me." These words were coming from as deep in my heart as they could. "Remember how earlier you said that you owed me many things for all my savings in the Destiny War?"
He smiled. "Yes."
"Consider us more than even now."
The bed was comfy . . . the temperature was fine . . . there wasn't any overly loud noises . . . I was dead tired . . . yet on the windowsill I sat.
"Can't sleep?" a sweet voice asked from across my room. The door was opened a crack and in the space was Anastasia.
"No, not a blink. Look Anastasia, I wanted--"
"Please, just Ann will do." she insisted.
"Alright. Ann, I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for creating such a ruckus upon my return. It just seems that when I come here, nothing good comes of it." I let my head rest against my knees. "And I somehow always manage to hurt Van. Last time, he lost his mentor and his entire city. This time he loses his only brother who he had just reclaimed. My reasons for coming back were selfish. I should've just stayed where I was. Disagree anytime."
She didn't object to what I had said, but her face held an emotionless look on it. "You did what you thought was right at the time. Just because fate didn't deal your cards the way you had hoped for doesn't mean what you did was all in vain. Maybe your purpose for coming back was for us to see that Folken was becoming unstable and was about to let loose. There's nothing you could've done otherwise. Am I right?"
I nodded quietly. "I guess so. I just wish things could've happened differently. I wish that Van didn't have to do what he did."
"I think we all do, but what has been done has been done. What's in the past should be put to rest, don't you think?"
I finally let my eyes meet hers, and what I saw inside of them shook me momentarily. I saw in their deep sapphire pools . . . a hint of emerald. The same shade as my grandmothers eyes. Her wisdom was somehow shining through Anastasia.
"Yes. I agree completely with that."
"Good." She smiled, standing up and walking over to me. "Van asked me to give this to you incase you left without him seeing you." She extended her arm out with her hand clasped shut with something inside of her palm. I reached out my hand to accept her gift. A gold chain and stone clinked as they fell into my hand, my heat instantly warming them both.
"But . . . I don't understand . . . I gave this to Van for him to keep. Why would he want to give it back?"
"I guess he'll have to answer that for you because I don't know." She embraced me suddenly, catching me a little off guard. "It's been so nice meeting you, Hitomi. I hope I can still speak with you somehow after you leave Gaea. It's almost like having a sister around here with you. Though we barely know each other!" She laughed in a sweet-toned voice. "I'm so very glad I got to meet you, but I'm almost certain you are homesick and restless to get back, am I wrong?"
I took a moment to think. "No. You are most certainly right. I'd like to talk to Van before I leave. Do you know where he is?"
She shook her head. "After he told me to give this to you, he took off into the forest. He refused to tell me where."
"Oh." I looked down at the pendant that was resting in my palm. I clenched my fist. "It's alright. I'll find him."
After I had grabbed the few of my belongings I still had, I decided to leave my sword next to Van's, which I found resting in his study. Anastasia had brought me there to give me one last thing. She told me she wasn't sure if Van would notice the certain book's absence, but if she had to she'd explain herself. It was a journal Van had kept during the times of the Destiny War and thereafter.
"I don't see any reason why he wouldn't let you read it in the first place and he hasn't written in it since your return, so . . ."
I rummaged through my duffel bag after Anastasia said her final goodbye to me. I knew I had brought it with me for a
cause, but I was unsure as to what that cause was; I knew now. Leaving in the place of Van's black journal, I rested my
navy journal with a silver feather on the cover.
Though my walk through the forest behind the great castle of Fanelia was a long one, I enjoyed it. Hearing all of the exotic wildlife thriving gave me some newfound energy. It also made me realize how materialistic people can be. Gaea doesn't have half as many luxuries as the Mystic Moon does and yet the people here still have the ability to be happy and joyous. And as always, at the same time vicious and cold-hearted.
If a person could be so shallow as to grieve after losing something materialistic, the harsh reality of Gaea would not be
suiting for them. To lose a family member- your last family member in existence- is too painful to even want to think
about. Losing anything materialistic afterwards seems like nothing but a scratch. An object can be replaced. It goes
differently for a human being.
And to know that it couldn't be avoided and that you would have to be the one who caused their heart to bleed . . . to cause
their hot blood to seep into each individual blade of grass beneath them . . . Shallow indeed.
"I knew you would find me eventually. I'm glad you thought to look for me here."
Even thought I heard his voice before I could see him, it didn't surprise me much. I knew I was close because I could vaguely sense his presence.
"When Anastasia told me you had gone into the forest without telling her where, I could only guess you had come here." The dull glow from him ivory wings led me to him. "How are you feeling?"
"Restless. It will pass. But other than that, just fine. How about yourself?"
I bowed my head. "Just homesick, if anything."
Van was seated on the stone stairs that touched the base of his fathers enormous tombstone. His wings were stretched out, his arms crossed at the wrists as they rested on his knees, and his eyes were closed.
"Van," I walked through the wire fence and sat down beside him. The two moons in the night sky shone down upon us,
casting an eerie glow. I held up the pink pendant and the stone caught some of the pale light. "Why did you ask Anastasia to
give this back to me?"
He opened his eyes to me. "It only seemed fitting in my mind that you gave this to me because you loved me. Because this stone is a strong symbol of your love, I just figured that you would like to give it to the man you spoke about earlier. He seems to hold a more special place in your heart than I originally thought. I also assumed you'd want it because it's your key to getting back home to the Mystic Moon. Incase you didn't find me."
I smiled and laughed quietly. "Thanks for your concern. I appreciate it."
We spent some time in silence after my thanks. It wasn't an awkward silence, anything but. In my mind, it was mostly because I knew this would probably be the last time I'd see Van in the flesh. No words were fitting to exactly what I was feeling now. Well, maybe a few.
"I'm going to miss you, Van. I'll always miss you, but I'll never break the promise I made to you before I left last time. I'll never forget you."
I could feel heat rising in my palm and I noticed the pendant had begun to glow. He looked at the stone sadly, and rose to stand with me. Embracing me, I felt his wings surround me in their feathery softness. I wrapped my arms around his neck and clung on tightly. I didn't want to think of this as our last real hug. Then, the all-too familiar column of pale light engulfed us both.
"I'll never forget you either, Hitomi. I'll visit you in your dream world as much as I can." he whispered.
"As will I."
I could feel myself becoming lighter and lighter and soon, my feet were being lifted from the ground. I tried not to let my grip around Van's neck loosen, and it seemed as though he had no intentions of letting go of my waist either seeing as he used his wings to keep with my rising pace. Taking the stronger initiative, I let my hands fall loosely around his neck. He took the hint and allowed his hands to relax around my waist. Looking into his eyes, I let out a small whimper and let my hands fall to his shoulders. "I won't forget."
As the light carried me higher, our hands were relieved from each others shoulders, to our elbows, then to our wrists, then finally our finger tips.
"Goodbye, Hitomi." He spoke softly as some tears fell from my eyes, landing gently on his cheeks.
"Sayonara, Van." I smiled.
As the warmth of the blue light left me, I found myself standing on the compressed dirt of the track field. The pendant was still hot in my hand but a cold breeze passed by and cooled it. It was long past dusk and the stars speckled the night sky, dazzling like billions of diamonds against black velvet. After my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I looked over the field to the rafters. There I saw a form sitting with their head in their hands. "Yuhan . . ." I whispered.
My shoes were silent in the grass as I made my way over to him. He didn't even seem to hear as I dropped my bag beside myself and knelt in front of him. "Yuhan?" I asked as I placed my hands on his knees. His head shot up with eyes unbelieving.
"It's . . . it's you . . . I don't believe it . . ." His hands were shaking as he cupped my face. "Are you really here . . . sitting right here with me?" His voice was so pained. It made me feel terrible.
"Yes . . . I'm here . . ."
I embraced him fiercely. I've given strong hugs before, but this one was too emotion struck for words. Not just on my part either. "Why were you so unbelieving?" I asked through sobs.
"It just seems like so long since you've left . . ." His hands were running through my hair over and over as out emotions ran higher. "You've been gone for close to two months. Yukari and Amano are leaving in two weeks for America. Your parents hate me . . ."
"Please," I said to stop him. "Don't tell me about the bad things. I just want to make sure as much as you do that we're really here together."
"We are."
I don't remember how long we sat on the rafters hugging each other. Time seemed to stand still.
We finally pulled away from our death-grip hug and I placed the pendant in his hand.
"What's this?" He asked as he held it up.
"It's a present I'd like you to have. The first man to hold me heart had it until he realized my heart belonged to another. He decided I should give it to that man."
Though his eyes had been solely fixed on the pendant, as I finished my sentence they slowly raised to mine.
"The man that holds your heart?"
My shoulders fell and my eyes closed. "I'm sorry it took distant separation for me to realize it."
I looked over his shoulder to see the track field once again. This time it didn't hurt me emotionally to glance over it.
"Come on." He said, handing me a ticket. "Let's go home."
If there was one thing I missed on Gaea, it was the food from the sushi bar. I was far past tired but my hunger outweighed the fatigue by the time we got back to Sendai. Yuhan spent the time in which I ate to tell me about what had been going on.
"So," I said as I drank my coffee after conversation had tapered off. "Why haven't you asked me about what happened on Gaea yet?"
My question seemed to catch him a little off guard, but the look on his face told me he already had an answer. "Because I
already know what happened. I saw practically everything in my dreams at night. I wasn't sure if I could believe them but
now that I've seen how quiet you've been . . . Would you consider this experience on Gaea more hurtful than the last?"
I paused. Then I paused some more. "N-no! Well . . . when I was there I was most certain it was worse, but after taking the
time to really think about it, the first time was worse. What, with all the war . . . the pain was more scattered before. It
didn't just hurt a few select people. It attacked everyone with a force."
I looked outside the window to my right. Seeing cars drive by and not men riding gallantly on horses was no big shock, but
I was unused to seeing it. Even a week and a few days on Gaea forces you to change your everyday expectations. From
where I sat in the restaurant, I could see one of the windows to my apartment. Yuhan smiled at me and took my hand,
leading me outside.
Literally collapsing into my own bed was the greatest feeling I'd had in a while. Just the touch of something so familiar, never mind Yuhan running his hands up and down my bare sides, was heart-sooting.
"Yuhan?" I asked, turning myself around to face him. The covers glided over my bare skin and ruffled around us as I moved, letting my shoulder to become exposed to the cold air outside of the blankets. "I've wanted to tell you something all night, but I've been trying to find the best words for it. Unfortunately nothing better than what I first thought of is coming to mind." I began to trace around the pendant on his chest. This resulted in a large grin being plastered on his face.
"Well, just say what you feel then."
"I think it was just made more than obvious what I feel, baka." I laughed. Taking in a deep breath and snuggling up against him, I kept the pendant around his neck clutched tightly in my palm.
"I . . . I just . . ." He kissed me lightly in and around the nape of my neck for a few moments. "Wanted to thank you." I finally finished.
"For what?"
"Just for . . . well . . ." I laughed into his chest. "I don't know exactly. I guess just for putting up with me for however long you did. I don't know how long you liked me before I was informed- I'm not about to ask. I suppose I just want to thank you for waiting. I just wish it hadn't of taken such an extremity on more than one occasion for me to realize it."
His hands came over the pendant along with mine. "You wish for too much for yourself. You say your friends have been able to move on from this, so you should be able to do the same as well."
"But it was my fault in the first place. Try to understand."
"No, Hitomi. I think it's you that doesn't understand. You think you control the fate of one world when you are only one person. The fate of a world isn't controlled by the sentiments of one person. It's a combination of what others did in that process as well. You didn't make the choices for Folken, he made them himself, therefore sealing his fate. Nothing that happened was your fault entirely."
Finally. "So you admit some was my doing?"
His eyes fell at me. "You needed to go back. You finished what you left undone. What happened now would've more than likely happened back then, right?"
I thought for a moment. "Possibly . . . but . . ."
"Hitomi, you worry too much. Sleep now, You deserve a peaceful sleep knowing now that you're safe here."
I laughed again. "With you, I suppose?"
He returned my laugh quietly. "Yes. I'll protect you from everything there is that could hurt you in this world. And any others. I vow to protect you from this day forth."
I raised an eyebrow. "Yuhan, I'm not a child. I can protect myself if you haven't noticed. Oh, and you know what?"
"Yes?"
"You talk too much. Go to sleep. You deserve it as much as I do."
Maybe what Yuhan said was true. That one person can't control the fate of one world, even if such had been stated in
prophesies of the past. It's a combination of the wills of all people. Even if one person has immense control over that power
and can manipulate it to their liking, people still have their own power to lie and deceive. There will always be those who
are rebellious and those who will go against their leaders. If the fate of one world could be given to just one single person, I
don't know why it would've been chosen to be given to me, of all people. Now I could just take heart in the fact that all of
the issues I had left on Gaea a couple of long years ago had finally been resolved. Van was now happy and we both
understand that even though we still love each other, we have developed stronger loves for a specific other on our separate
planets. Even though we may never see each other again, we can still be glad knowing that we will always be far yet so
very near in our hearts ~*~
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Guys I'm so sorry this took so long. I've been having a never-ending battle with fanfiction.net. It hasn't been working for a long time. I've had this chapter done for quite a while and I've been trying my best to post it. I'm sorry for making you all wait so long. I'm debating now whether or not to write a sequel acting as a prequel. Basically, it'll be two parts long, the first will be of Anastasia reflecting on the time in which she met Van, and the same for Hitomi and Yuhan. Just a note now, I don't see a suitable plot for a sequel that will be continuing this story but if anyone has an idea, feel free to e-mail me.
Once again, I'm sorry for making you all wait so long, I hope it was worth it and that everyone is satisfied with the ending
to this story. *sniff* cause this is it. There is no more. I appreciate anyone who takes the time to review. Good bye for now
and until I begin to write my next story.
~*Elemental Angel*~
*sniff* THAT'S ALL. There's no more. Trust me, I checked. Well, I hope you all enjoyed my little story and since I'd had a
prequel in mind, tab all your interests in a review please. Don't forget to state your utmost feelings, comments and opinions
on this story in there as well please.
Also regarding the prequel, all I've got in mind presently is wavering between how Van and Anastasia met and everything
surrounding that, the same with Hitomi and Yuhan. Your ideas could influence more!
A BIG HUGELY GINORMOUS *lol* Thank You goes out to all who reviewed this story. *sniff* Such an inspiration.
Happy New Year all.
~*Elemental Angel*~
