A/N Here's chapter 1. Sorry bout the crappy spelling and prologue. Thanks for the reviews. Hope you like this! Plz R/R Any suggestions are gladly welcome. I susually use them in my fics
Chapter 1
The trip to the Mystic Moon was now only about one week away. Hitomi sat in the study thinking about it. She wasn't really sure if she wanted her daughter to go anymore. She had a bad feeling about something. It was like something was trying to tell her that it was not a place for Shara. Eventually, she made the thoughts go away. This had happened now a few times. She would sit alone and think. Then she would try to think of reasons why she shouldn't take Shara to see her grandparents. She would eventually come to the conclusion that nothing was wrong. In her heart, Hitomi knew that Shara deserved a chance to meat her grandparents. Hitomi also wanted to see them. She and Van had found a way to be able to send letters through lightening storms to Hitomi's family. She would write to them constantly but, never got the chance to visit. Now after years of writing letters back and forth and showing pictures to one another, Hitomi would be reunited with her family for a short time. It made her happy. She often wondered about them. She wondered if the Mystic Moon had changed much. She wasn't sure if she wanted it to.
All of a sudden, Van came in to the study, disrupting Hitomi's thoughts. He walked up to her and snaked his arms around her waste.
"What ya doing?"
"I am sitting here, thinking of the trip."
"Still feeling like it is the wrong thing to do?"
"Yes but I can't figure out why that is."
"Hmmm, maybe it's just jitters or something. How's Shara taking it?"
"She hasn't really said. I don't think she is too enthused."
"She will be when she meats your parents. They were sweet people and plus, they raised a good girl like you right? She's bound to love them."
'I hope so Van. She's growing up so fast. I feel like I am loosing her."
"No no, you just worry too much. Lets go get some supper. I am sure that it is almost ready. It will make you feel better. We can talk to her there."
Van and Hitomi walked arm and arm in to the large dining room. They sat at their usual table, right at the front of the room. Van sat at one end, Hitomi at the other. Shara sat beside her mother. Then the advisers sat on the other side of the table. There were two of them. Van and Hitomi liked having a small table. They didn't want to have to shout down the table to talk to one another and it also gave them more of a sense of family. Hitomi liked that. Van also liked it to. As a child, things were slightly different. There use to be a large table and lots of people sitting at it. He would have to stand up and walk down to talk to his parents when he needed to. It made him feel sort of left out from them. He and Hitomi didn't want Shara to get that feeling.
Shara walked in to the large dining room and sat at the table with her parents. She hated eating lunch in front of a lot of people but as a princess, there was nothing she could do about it. Hitomi decided to start a conversation.
"So, how was your day at school?"
"Boring as usual. I wish that I could go to a normal public school with everyone else. Most of the kids at my school are snobby and too graceful for my liking."
"Now now, don't talk like that. You have friends there."
"Yes only Allen's daughter Angel."
Allen had married a beautiful woman named Marissa near the time of Van and Hitomi's engagement. They had all remained good friends over the years. Shara and Angel grew up together.
"Well then, not everyone there acts snobby now do they?"
"No but you don't understand. Some of the other girls talk about Angel and I. They all say we are not graceful enough and that we have to grow up more. They go on about the fact that I am a princess and don't act like it. It's not my problem that I like to get dirty and it doesn't bother me if I rip a dress or something."
Hitomi looked at her daughter with understanding eyes. When she first came to Gaea, it was hard for her to be graceful to. She knew what it was like to be a normal girl and, she tried to give Shara that same sence of feeling. She could only semi do this though. She knew that Shara had to concentrate on being a great princess. Someday, she would have to marry and the more graceful, the better. Hitomi wanted her daughter to find a great husband. She just hoped that somehow, she would marry out of love. She doubted it though. She would have to marry by her eighteenth birthday and, Shara was surely not near ready to fall in love.
"Shara, I understand how you feel. IT was hard for me to come from the Mystic Moon and learn all this princess stuff really quickly. You really have to though. You want to marry someday and have a great husband right?"
"I donno mom. I just want to be free. I want to live life to the fullest. I hate being pulled down."
Van couldn't help but smile. He could remember the days when he felt the same way. Now, everything was so much more difficult.
"Daddy, do I have to run the country? Can't someone else come along and do all of this gracefulness stuff?"
"No sweetie, this is your job. When you grow up a little more, you will want this. You will understand what you have to do."
"I hope so. I really care about Fanelia, it's just that I want to be able to have fun to."
Van and Hitomi both sighed in unison. They understood her but she thought that they didn't. Hitomi decided to talk to Shara about the trip.
"Are you excited about next week?"
"I donno mom, I am kind of nervous. What if they don't like me. What if they say that because they never seen me that I couldn't be their grand daughter?"
"Oh Shara, you worry way too much. They will love you."
"What do you think daddy?"
"I agree completely with your mother. I know you are nervous but this really deserves a chance. You have to promise me something though."
"What is it?"
"No showing your wings to anyone. This is not a safe place to be doing that. There are people who may try to capture you and hurt you because you are different. In some senses, The Mystic Moon is a little more crewel than Gaea. They don't take differences very well."
"You guys have to stop worrying, I won't show my wings. The only way I would would be if I had to defend myself."
Hitomi smiled at her daughter.
"You are a good girl Shara. Now how much homework do you have to do tonight?"
"I have quite a bit. I hope you aren't going to make me take it all to The Mystic Moon are you?"
"No dear, this is strictly a vacation."
"That's good. I am glad of that."
Shara excused herself from the table to go and work on her studies, leaving Van, Hitomi and the advisers to themselves at the table. The advisers had been listening to the whole conversation that Van and Hitomi had with their daughter.
"Van, Hitomi, I think you guys should seriously start being a little more hard on her. She's almost twelve. She is very mannerly yes but you see, she has to start taking things much seriously."
Van was becoming angry. Yes they could advise him on how to run a country but they had no right to advise him on how to take care of his daughter.
"Look, she's my daughter. I don't want her to have to live a boring child HUD. She at least deserves that much. Running a country is strenuous and, Shara doesn't need to get in to that yet. She still has Hitomi and I to do the work."
"Yes sir, but what happens when you two pass on. You never know what could happen. Then your precious little girl wouldn't even have any idea of how to run this place. I think that you two should increase her studies after she comes home. Give her some extra princess eddicate classes."
Hitomi wasn't sure what to say. She understood both sides of the argument. She didn't want to hear it so she decided to stop the conversation right there.
"How about we wait until we get back from the Mystic Moon to discuss all of this. We already have a lot on our plates as it is. Van still has to go to the peace talks while I am away. He doesn't need anything distracting him from that right?"
"You are right lady Hitomi. I guess we never really thought of it that way."
"Exactly. Now if you all would excuse me, I think I will go and take a walk in the gardens. Would you like to come Van?"
"Yes, lets go."
The advisers rose from their seats and, bowed to Van and Hitomi.
Outside in the gardens, Van and Hitomi sat by a fountain talking.
"Van, you know what?"
"What's that?"
"This is my favorite part of the castle. It clears my head. Shara is so stubborn you notice that?"
"Yes I do. She's just like you."
Hitomi poked him playfully. He grabbed her by the waste and began to tickle her franticly. She told him to stop between loud giggles. Shara watched from a distant point. Then she decided to go and see her parents.
"You guys look so cute. Love must be wonderful."
Hitomi blushed. Van let go of her and smiled at his daughter.
"Yes shara, love is beautiful. Just like your mother."
"awwww, daddy, were you always a charmer?"
"To be honest, no I wasn't."
Shara giggled. Hitomi had an idea brewing in her head.
"Shara, who do you think is more stubborn, me or your father?"
"Both of you. You always never give in. You guys always find away to prove the advisers wrong."
Van and Hitomi laughed with their daughter. They loved moments like this. Moments where there was no one around and they could just spend time with her. Spend time like a normal family would.
"Shara, I think you should be going back to your room now. You have studies to finish up. I will come help you if you would like. Daddy has some work to do so I don't mind."
"Fine fine, rune something fun."
"Oh come on now, you will get a break from all this princess stuff in a week. Then you can be as normal and like the other girls as you want."
"Yay! Lets go finish my stupid studies then!"
Van and Hitomi shared a quick kiss before leaving one another. Hitomi and Shara walked to Shara's room and spent a lot of the night working on her studies. Van sat there for a few more minutes. He was so lucky. He was so happy to have a wonderful wife like Hitomi and a beautiful little girl like Shara. He would miss them when they went on their trip but in his heart, he felt it was only right. He thought of his parents and how he wished that Shara could have met them. He knew that his mother would have been really proud of him and really proud of Hitomi to. She would have loved Shara. His dad would have given him a pat on the back and, probably spoiled his little grand daughter. Van was very modest in his older age but, he was proud of himself. He felt that he was doing a great Job running his country and taking care of his wife and little girl. He hoped that nothing ever happened to the only three things he had left.
