... ~*~ ... Wanting to Forget, Wishing to Remember ... ~*~ ...
~By: Lauren~
-Chapter 16- "Breathing" The cathedral was filled with thousands of people as they filed in quickly, everybody adorn in their best outfits. People rushed inside and ran to get a seat while a few guards in the back readied to shut the gigantic doors, which were both littered with swirls of gold and silver while a few gems decorated it. Long stain glass windows allowed sunlight to filter into the church through the colorful scenes they depicted. In the front of the church the first few rows were filled up with the friends closest to the bride and groom. From the right corner going to the aisle sat Azumi next to Allen. Both held each other's hands tightly with their fingers intertwined. Only a few days ago the knight had asked Azumi to marry him and now the two were engaged, but they both said they wanted to wait a few months before the actual marriage ceremony.Next to them sat Merle and her husband. The cat-girl had married the love of her life, the cat-boy of her dreams, only three months ago. In fact, Merle had finally broke the news of her being pregnant recently. The two would have a tiny child in the future! Then there was Gaddess, his arm wrapped gently around his wife Celena, while Allen shot them both a slightly annoyed glare.
Next to the couple, and the pair to finish off the row, sat Hitomi's little brother, Mamoru and then sat Hitomi's mother.
Confused yet?
Dryden had discovered the secret of the two necklaces only four months ago. In that time, Merle and the cat boy, along with Gaddess and Celena, had both had a double wedding. A bit afterwards, Hitomi had returned home, testing out the necklaces and bringing Van along with her. When she returned, her mother was going frantic, for it seemed when Hitomi left to Gaea; time in her world had passed by just the same. It was odd and Hitomi wasn't quite sure why it was different but this thought had occurred to her. Maybe, time didn't pass the first trip she took to Gaea because when she was sent there, she didn't necessarily want to be there. And so, to make it appear that it had never happened, time hadn't passed on earth from when she had left. But this time, Hitomi had wanted to go to Gaea, and so time was equal on both places and from now on, whenever Hitomi traveled to either world, the time would match one another.
When she returned home, she had explained everything to her mother. Everything from the very beginning of her tale, starting on that fateful day by the track up until now, and the telling of this tale was filled with tear-felt hugs and sobs between a mother and a daughter. Of course, her mother had doubted her daughter's story a lot, but where had Hitomi disappeared to recently? Nobody had seen her for the longest time and then suddenly, she was back. Van then had walked into the room, introducing himself and confirming Hitomi's story. After a lot of talking and convincing, they had managed to get Ms. Kanzaki to visit Gaea using the two necklaces.
Believe me, seeing Merle nearly gave Hitomi's mother a heart attack and even though she was still having a hard time understanding and accepting everything, she knew one thing. Her daughter was safe and happy here and that was all that mattered to the woman. She had then returned home, leaving Hitomi behind with one of the necklaces while Van had given her his own necklace. She had then packed a few bags and told her friends she was going on vacation. She had taken Mamoru out of school, telling the boy his sister's story, a story he had always liked to believe when he heard it from her, yet couldn't because if he did, he knew his family would ridicule him and call him crazy too.
But, it wasn't so crazy now, was it?
The two had tested out the necklace and sure enough, when the light faded, they were in Hitomi's room, out on her balcony where she was standing. They had then stayed at the castle and traveled through some of Gaea within the last two months, curious to this new and strange world. They knew they would have to keep this place a secret and that was all right with them. Her mother approved of Van and Van got along with Mamoru as if they were brothers, which they would soon become. In fact, he had promised to teach Mamoru how to sword fight, although Ms. Kanzaki wasn't too sure she wanted him to learn it.
Hitomi was now down the aisle, standing next to Van bashfully while a hush settled throughout the great room. The girl was clad in a flowing gown that was a brilliant snow-white color. It was a silky material, which clung to her, showing off her figure. It billowed out slightly after her waist while the top part was off the shoulders. Thousands of sparkling jewels were sewn across the front, creating a pattern of blooming flowers while the sleeves ended in a cap like shape just over the tip of her shoulder, where it connected to her arm. Silk gloves had been pulled up to her mid-arm, their color matching that of her dress while a pair of delicate high heels were strapped tenderly across her tiny feet. Her honey hair had been left down but filled with a few curls here and there. White roses and silver ribbons had been tied into her hair, each placed a bit above her ears. She seemed to sparkle with every step or movement and the people watching could only take in a tiny gasp and look on at awe at their new, majestic queen.
Van took in a deep breath, holding it in as he tried to calm his frantically beating heart. She left him breathless….she was so utterly gorgeous and stunning…
He had no other words to describe it.
The king was clad in a pair of finely tailored, simple white pants. He had on a pair of shiny black shoes that Hitomi's mother had brought him while his handy sword was strapped to his side. His shirt was silk, matching the material of Hitomi's dress. Colored string that was glittering silver and pearly white string that stood out from the white of his shirt intertwined each other in swirls up the front and down his sleeves. It had silver string also that tied the open top of his shirt together, much like his old red shirt, except this one had long sleeves. The sleeves hung off of his arms loosely but came together at his wrist while his raven hair was brushed clean and neat.
Hitomi wanted to say that Van was down right sexy but she kept that comment to herself, settling on saying he looked very handsome. In front of them, the High Priest of Gaea coughed, drawing the attention to him.
After going through many ceremony steps and talking, the two reached the final part of their wedding. In fact, Hitomi had discovered Gaea's weddings were very close to the weddings on the Mystic Moon.
"Do you, Hitomi Kanzaki, take Van Fanel to be your wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" The priest's voice boomed.
"I do." Hitomi nodded, blushing as joy bubbled up from her chest.
"And do you, Van Fanel, take Hitomi Kanzaki to be your wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" He repeated.
"I do." A grin spread across Van's face as he pulled out a golden ring, which shimmered in the sunlight that penetrated through the glass windows of the church. Tenderly, he took Hitomi's hand, sliding the ring onto her finger while he stared into her jade eyes.
Hitomi pulled out a gold ring also, one that matched hers, and lovely slid it onto Van's finger, before the two turned back to the priest.
"I now pronounce you man and wife." He finished. "You may kiss the bride."
A huge cheer erupted throughout the church, leaving not one single corner silent while the couple pulled each other into a tight embrace and their lips locked together in a soundly kiss. Hitomi put all the love she felt in that one simple action. Van responded in kind, their kiss deepening by mutual understanding, growing to encompass their entire minds and wipe away all consciousness of the outside world; nothing existed for the two except one another. Her fingers had buried themselves in his surprisingly soft hair and his hands were holding her to him and it was pure bliss.
"Come on, break it up you two! There's a feast waiting for us and please don't break any more glasses this time!" Merle called, laughing as the couple pulled apart, their faces blushing tomato red. "And you, of all people, need to be present. It is your wedding feast, besides, you're the King and Queen now!"
~*~
Hitomi sat in 'their' room. After the delicious feast and a lot of dancing, when they had decided to retire to their rooms, she had discovered her things had been moved into Van's enormous room. She was now cuddling under the soft sheets, enjoying their comforting feel as she sunk into her pillow and let her aching feet rest. She was wearing a silk nightgown; one that wasn't too modest nor too revealing. After all, she knew what usually happened after weddings. Her heartbeat rushed at the thought as she blushed furiously, not sure if she was ready for this.
After a few silent minutes passed, Van walked out of their bathroom humming to himself quietly. Just looking at him made her blush darken, for he was clad only in a pair of cotton blue pajama pants that he had purchased when they had visited her mother, a pair he had taken pride in returning with after they had visited earth. His bronze muscles gleamed, for he had finished taking a shower only a few minutes ago, while his damp hair glistened in the pale moonlight. He smiled down at her when he caught her gazing at his chest, his lips breaking out into a smirk, a tiny smirk meant for only her. After shutting a few curtains and turning the lights off in the room, Van crawled into bed next to Hitomi.
Her breath hitched in her throat as she waited for what was to happen, memories flooding back, causing her to shudder while she prayed to anyone that this would not haunt her for the rest of her life. She wanted the past to stay in the past and let her live!
Van shifted, getting comfortable in the covers while he turned to Hitomi only to find he was facing her back. He smiled softly at her, even though he knew she wouldn't see it. He finally had the woman he loved. He was the happiest man in the world right now and he knew that that would last forever. Sure, they might have hard times in the future, but he knew they could handle it and work through it, whatever it may be. They would never be alone, whether they were in a crowd or not. Content, Van closed his eyes, ready to sleep.
All was silent.
And then he noticed it. The bed was shaking ever so lightly. Opening his eyes in worry, he studied Hitomi's back and then observed how she was trembling terribly.
"Hitomi? What's wrong?" Van's voice was a tender whisper, filled with genuine concern.
"I….I…" Hitomi stuttered, not turning to look at him, at a complete loss for words. She had thought he would surely… "I don't…I…"
A look of understanding crossed Van's face. "Shh…I'm sorry…I never thought…" He reached over, placing a warm hand on Hitomi's face, stroking it and her hair at the same time, until she turned to face him slowly. "It's all right. We don't have to do anything if you don't want to."
"I…" Hitomi choked out, finally letting her eyes settle on him. She smiled waveringly, trying to reassure him and hold back the tears that threatened to spill over. "But I…" Hitomi felt she could never lie to those brown-maroon eyes when they were looking at her as they were now, warm and sympathetic and totally and completely loving of her. Her. A regular girl who just happened to have traveled to Gaea. She thanked whoever was up in the sky for that, for if she hadn't been taken here, she wouldn't have found the love of her life. "I want to. It's just…"
"Memories?"
Hitomi nodded, almost ashamed.
"You don't have to go through with this. Are you sure…?" Van wrapped an arm around Hitomi's waist, pulling her back to meet his chest, putting his chin on her shoulder, while she clasped her hand over his. "You don't have to."
In response, Hitomi placed one hand on each side of his face. That sweet, wonderful face… "I want to."
He nodded, slowly turning his head so he could kiss her palm, understanding in his look. "We'll take it slowly, then. If you want to stop, at any time, just say so…Is that all right?"
Hitomi nodded, and he leaned in and kissed her deeply, the intense pureness of his feelings flooding her body with the contact. It was happiness, and love, in its truest form, something they'd never let go of. And he was there to lead her, to protect her, to help her through the memories that still managed to make themselves known, and she was with him and he was with her and it was right.
~*~
Hitomi was warm, the warmth coming from the person whose arm was wrapped firmly around her waist as she huddled close to his chest, listening to his steady, sleeping breath. It had been long dark when she'd awoken from one of the nicest sleeps she'd had in a long time, sure that everything had been a dream…a dream she never wanted to wake from for it had been so beautiful. But it hadn't been a dream- the full moon was shining through a balcony window that wasn't the same as the one in her old room, the bed sheets were a different material, and the greatest proof of all was the warm body beside her, holding her close in his sleep. It was perfect, everything was so right and there was no other way to describe it. Everything about it was totally, completely, perfect.
Hitomi smiled at his vulnerable face, so open in sleep, and reached
up to brush his messy hair out of his eyes, wondering how she could have been
so lucky that she found him. The moonlight painted a few silver stripes across
his face, making him all the more visible. He was so caring, so wonderful… he
was hers, forever. Now that they'd found each other, they'd never be apart.
Van stirred slightly and Hitomi withdrew her hand, satisfied to just watch his
eyes blink sleepily open, see his face as expressive as a little boy's as he
came out of the depth of dreams. He immediately focused on Hitomi, a smile
spreading over his entire face as he gathered her closer to him. "I'm so glad
you're not a dream…" He muttered.
Hitomi rested her head against his chest, laying one hand over the working
muscles there, wholly fulfilled. "Neither are you."
They both lay there together for a long moment, simply content with being with
each other, not having to talk or move to convey their feelings. A neat little
feeling in her heart made her think that heaven would pale in comparison to
being in his arms.
Everything was okay now. Once, she would have said that this was her happy ending. But, she had learnt that there where no happy ending because…
…nothing ever ended. Hitomi and Van were only beginning.
In a few days or so, they were both planning on returning to the Mystic Moon and staying there for a few weeks. Once there, they were going to have a tradition Mystic Moon wedding and invite Hitomi's relatives and friends.
From these people on Gaea, Hitomi had learnt so many things:
We can never truly ever understand one another. We can only try.
The bigger our hopes, the greater our failures can be.
Reality has no mercy.
But if there is a tomorrow, we will think again on those who matter to us.
That means you as well as me.
In hopes that we may all meet and fall in love with someone wonderful.
Then Hitomi knew she would have to break the wonderful news to her mother. It was something that would make her mother even happier than she already was. It would make Van very ecstatic and nervous at the same time and it would please his silly advisors.
Hitomi filled with joy as she rested her hand on her abdomen. She didn't know how she knew, but she just did.
She would be joining Merle in becoming a mother soon.
Hitomi smiled, sinking against Van as she closed her eyes. All her life, she had wanted to forget everything but then, she found herself wishing to remember, and now…she was just plain content…
-The End-
Author's Note: Ahh! It's over! I can't believe it! I've really dragged this story along, probably one of my shorter fics, but I'm still pleased with it. I thought I got everything wrapped up and when I started it, I never meant for it to be very long any ways. At least, not this long.
So what did everyone think? Like the whole story? Like the ending?
This
chapter was titled after the song "Breathing" by Lifehouse.
Well, to start off I'd like to thank EVERYBODY who read and reviewed this
story! It would have NEVER made it this far without you all! I really
appreciate all of your comments and thoughts; I read them all the moment they
are submitted. THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ AND REVIEW THIS STORY!! I
LOVE YOU ALL! I don't know what I'd do without you!
Hm...what else to say here? ^_^ I hope
you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it! *hugs* Thank you and
until next time- See you later!
