Chapter Twenty-Three: Love Forgive Me

Van carried Hitomi in his arms out of the palace of Godeshen before Shin could regain consciousness. It felt good to be close to her again even though something in his heart still ached. When he finally saw the night sky filled with tiny stars he felt a bit of relief that they were finally out of that God-forsaken place. It was like he was stuffed into a small room for centuries and finally released into the wide-open world.

Van heard a sniffle coming from Hitomi direction and he looked down to see her eyes full of tears. She was crying but why? Had she been hurt more that Van knew about? "What is the matter Hitomi? Are you feeling ill? Do your wounds hurt?" Van asked in between breaths as he continued to run in the direction of the forest.

"I just feel really horrible for doing everything I did to you… If I only I figured out that Shin was…" Hitomi stopped as Van looked down at her with sorrowful eyes, as if he felt her pain or maybe it was the pain of bringing up what had happened before?

"It's all right Hitomi. You didn't know that Shin was lying to you. I forgive you Hitomi. I forgive you… because I love you" Van said but the last part was a faint whisper as if only meant for him to hear. Hitomi heard what he had said and that just made her feel like inflicting pain upon herself so that she wouldn't have to feel the way she felt now.

"Head to the west Van."

"What for?"

"That's where I hid Escaflowne."

"You mean you didn't give it to Shin?"

"No I couldn't. I knew in some way that he was lying about you. You were nothing he portrayed you as. You were very different than what he told me about you."

"You were always a clever one," Van said as he gave her a smile and started heading west. That smile made Hitomi feel a lot better. She was happy to see that his eyes were no longer full of sorrow and what she thought was resentment?

All Hitomi knew was that she liked being around Van. It made her feel safe, secure, happy, and lightheaded. The light-headedness Hitomi assumes was because she did truly - at one time or another - loved him as she does now. She loved him with all her heart and when she kissed Allen she felt nothing but emptiness. "I think I can walk on my own," Hitomi said as Van had to stop for the second time because he had to carry Hitomi. Van placed Hitomi ever-so-gently onto her feet.

"Are you sure you can walk with those wounds? I don't want you hurting yourself," Van said with much sympathy that Hitomi felt like crying again, but she put on a straight face. She did feel a little dizzy and her legs and arms hurt from the whip but she was determined to carry her own weight.

"I'm fine Van. It's just a little scratch. I feel fine now. Please don't worry about me Van," Hitomi said as she took a few steps to prove her point. A frown came over Van's face as he walked over to Hitomi who was trying her hardest to keep a positive attitude.

"I can't help but worry about you Hitomi. I was so afraid when they had taken you. It felt like my heart had be torn from my chest and while it was still beating I felt like I was slowly dieing," Van said as Hitomi's eyes slowly brimmed with tears. He stood in front of her to look at her with those same painful eyes that she couldn't stand to see anymore.

Hitomi threw her arms around his broad shoulders. As she stood there holding him she could feel his arm surrounding her waist pulling her closer to himself. She felt so warm and comfortable like nothing could hurt her anymore. "We should get going Van," Hitomi said as she moved away but Van didn't release his grip on her. He pulled her back into his arms and the sudden movement made Hitomi's heart flutter.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to hold you a bit longer," Van said as his arms slowly fell away from her body. Her body now felt cold from not being close to him. She hated having this distance in between them all the time. She wished she could stay in his arms forever. Hitomi felt a kind of déjà vu when he held her like they've done this before.

Godeshen Palace

"Damn that stupid bitch and her idiotic bastard of a boyfriend!" Shin yelled as he still felt the sting of his sword. Reed handed him a cold wet washcloth to sooth the burning. "How did the men do on the field with Allen?"

"Better then we hopped but he got away with the help of the Crusade," Reed said as he looked out the widow.

"You put the bug on the ship?"

"Yes it was successfully placed."

"Good then we start our all-out-war tomorrow. Tell the men that all their training will finally be put to a use," Shin said as he threw the useless cloth on the floor. "This is going to be bigger than all the World Wars put together."

Godeshen Western Forest

Van and Hitomi were nearing their destination as Hitomi felt like she was going to be sick. She could feel the blood still gushing from her wounds but she didn't want to worry Van but if she didn't tell him she would probably collapse and worry him even more. It was just a bit further; all she had to do was make it a few more meters then she could rest and tend to her wounds.

Van just looked at her for a moment and he could tell that her wounds hurt more than she would say to him. He moved beside her and put his arm around her waist as she placed her arm around his neck for support. He could tell she was weak because she was leaning heavily against him but they were coming closer to Escaflowne.

Hitomi directed him towards Escaflowne behind a large rock that was surrounded by many other rocks. Van put Hitomi down on one of the rocks as he went to go retrieve Escaflowne from behind the giant rock. Hitomi sat alone in the darkening forest only hearing crickets and scattering leaves as they tumbled against the ground. She could hear the river near by and that's when she decided to go to it and clean her wounds and make some sort of makeshift bandages.

The water was icy cold as she placed her hand in the water and drank it. She began to wash the blood from her arms and legs seeing the whip marks covering them. At least the bleeding had stopped Hitomi thought as she could feel the stinging cold air touch her abrasions. How could anyone be as cruel as to do this Hitomi thought, as she looked at herself full of cut and bruises.

Loud noises could be heard from beyond the rock formation, as Hitomi turned around to find out it was Van with Escaflowne in dragon form. She quickly wiped away some tears that had escaped from her swollen red eyes. "Come Hitomi. Lets go find the Red Dragon of the north," Van said as he held out his hand for her. Hitomi forced herself to smile as she got up and walked towards him even though she felt her legs protest all the way. She took his hand and he lifted her up on Escaflowne with ease.

"Van?" Hitomi asked in a small voice as he took off from the ground into the night sky. The wind blew threw her hair making her feel a little bit better as she took a deep breath in.

"What is it Hitomi?" Van asked in her calm, gentle voice as he stared off into the distance. Hitomi gazed at him as the stars were sparkling in the sky. The moonlight dance on his face making him truly look handsome as his face came to look at her then she snapped out of her trance and continued.

"I've always felt something between you and me."

"What do you mean?"

"Even though Shin had told me all the lies about you I couldn't believe them when I actually met you. I felt something deep inside that told me you were kind and loving. I felt something else too…"

"What did you feel?"

"Love…" Hitomi said again in her tiny voice, as Van's eyes grew wide. A smile came to settle on his face as his eyes moved away from hers. "We were in love before… I felt that love from you and from myself but I don't feel like I'm worthy of your love Van. I don't feel like I deserve you."

Van was silent after Hitomi said what she had said. It took him a moment to absorb what she was saying. He hated her to feel the way she did. His heart was broken but now it was mended by her. She made him feel loved and happy. He didn't want her to feel full of regret for what was in the past. He wanted to live for the future - if there was one. "Trust me Hitomi. I love you more than you could imagine. No matter what nothing could possibly stop me from loving you, ever. Loving you makes me feel like I can do anything I want and I want to be with you Hitomi."

Those words hit Hitomi unexpectedly as she sat there looking up into those sincere eyes that sparkled in the night. As she looked at him she felt her eyes waver, as she suddenly felt exhausted from the day. She had no say in whether she went to sleep or not because before she got to debate she was all ready fast asleep.

Van looked at Hitomi as she slept and felt himself want to curl up beside her and listen to her sleep. He could not do that because he was too determined to get to the north shore where the legendary Red Dragon is said to lye. He has heard many tails of the Red Dragon and how malicious it could be. It was said that the beast destroyed whole armies and villages in a matter of seconds. It was fast and clever then most dragons. The question was would Van be strong enough to slay the dragon? If an army couldn't beat the dragon what make him think that he could? Van didn't care that the odds were stacked against him. All that mattered was getting Hitomi's memories back and soon before the war started and the war would start sooner that Van would of thought…