Ratings/Warnings: Rating is PG.
Summary: The goddess of spring Hitomi has always led only the most luxurious life atop the mountain of Atlantis... until the day she receives a proposal of marriage from the dismal keeper of the underworld Van. Hitomi is convinced her life is over, but what if Van is not the cold-hearted person she thinks he is?
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Persephone: Chapter 9
by Katrina Kadabra
"Hitomi! You're back!" The goddess of beauty waved to Hitomi as she
and her husband pulled up to the gates of Atlantis. Hitomi couldn't believe
how the two weeks had just flown by. And every day, Van seemed to grow
warmer to her, as if he was showing a genuine love for her. It almost made
Hitomi forget the dreariness of the situation she found herself in. Perhaps
something deep within her wanted to forget. Or perhaps, even, the situation
was not as dreary as she thought it those months ago when she first arrived.
"So, how was he?" Millerna asked as Hitomi handed her nephew over to
her.
"He was very good," Van admitted. While he and Millerna discussed the visit, Hitomi decided to take a bit of a stroll around Atlantis. After all, she still did miss this place. That and she could use the time to think. Van had been so kind and loving to her over the past two weeks, it really made her begin to reshape her feelings and attitude towards him as well. Maybe she really could see herself being his wife. But could Hitomi really give up her dream to be an Atlantian goddess again? Despite any newfound feelings for Van, it wasn't the easiest thing to do. But at least the air of Atlantis help refresh her thoughts. It was only afterwards that Hitomi began to regret her need for her little walk.
"Hitomi?" Allen's voice anxiously when the underworld goddess turned a corner. Hitomi gasped; she hadn't meant to run into Allen. Now she wished she would have just stayed with Millerna and Van. "You promised you'd tell me who you loved when you returned," Allen reminded her, as if she needed it. "What is your answer?" Hitomi sadly shook her head.
"I can't answer that," she said hopelessly. "Allen, I just can't." Allen's face fell with disappointment.
"That isn't fair, Hitomi," he said. He reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders, an action that made Hitomi jump a bit, but she didn't refuse it either. "If you love Van more than me, then my best wishes to you both. But if you don't love him, then why won't you let me into your life? I've given my heart to you, and you won't even respond to it."
"Allen..." Hitomi sighed. She gazed longingly into Allen's eyes, so kind and full of passion for her. She wanted to love him, wanted to be a goddess of the spring once again. Yet her heart would not allow her to leave Van. Why?
"Hitomi," Allen replied. Apparently his heart refused to let her go as well. "Hitomi, I love you." With that, he pulled Hitomi in towards her and pressed his lips against hers. For a moment, Hitomi wanted to pull away, but then she felt the warmth of Allen's lips, his skin so vibrant and full of life, not like Van's whose touch was so deathly cold. Why couldn't he be Allen? Why couldn't Van be this dashing Gaian hero who swept her off her feet?
"Hitomi?" Hitomi's blood van cold as she heard her husband's voice call out to her. "Hitomi, where are you?" Hitomi tried to pull away in time, but it was too late. She glanced over to see Van standing there, heart broken at the sight of his wife in the arms of another. But sorrow quickly turned to anger, as he grabbed Hitomi by the wrist, dragging her back towards his chariot.
"A little rough there, aren't you?" Allen asked. Van shot a look of fury to his nephew's eyes.
"You'll pay for this Allen," he muttered, and turned to leave with Hitomi.
* * * * *
Hitomi lay in her room, the tears falling uncontrollably. What had she done? Van was finally starting to open up to her, and she had completely betrayed him. Even if Allen was the aggressor, as a wife, Hitomi had failed her husband. Maybe she didn't deserve to be with either man.
"Hitomi?" Hitomi quickly sat up and dried her eyes as she heard a light knocking on her bedroom door. Van.
"Yes?" Hitomi answered nervously, unsure of how he was going to react.
"Don't be afraid, I'm not angry," Van assured her. "I just want to talk. Will you come see me after dinner?" There was a long pause before Hitomi finally answered,
"Yes, I will."
* * * * *
After dinner, Hitomi met with Van as she had promised. For a long time, the two just stood in silence, both paying much more attention to the ground at her feet than each other. Hitomi waited for Van to speak first, she only assumed he would. But the more they stood there, the more Hitomi suspected that, in fact, he brought her out here to speak her mind. She might as well do it with honesty.
"Van..." she began.
"I know Allen was pushing you," he said. "I know you wouldn't have done anything like that on your own. But I can't help but feel that maybe... maybe I was pushing you too." Hitomi sighed. It was as if Van was reading completely into her thoughts. She wished she could read his just as well.
"Tell me, Van," she said, playing with the sash around her waist. "Do you love me?" Van looked at Hitomi in shock, as if to contemplate how she could ask such a question.
"Of course I do," he said. "More than anything."
"Then why did you kidnap me that day?" Hitomi asked. Van sighed.
"I wanted you, and I knew that if I confessed my love, you'd turn away from me."
"Would I have, Van?" she asked. "If you had approached me open and honestly, if you had showed yourself to me when we first met the way I see you now...?" Hitomi threw up her arms. She knew what she wanted to say, but it was coming out all wrong. She didn't want to be accusing, especially since she was the one who had been unfaithful. But still...
"If you want to know, I did have some feelings for Allen," she said. "I was enticed by his good looks at first, I guess. And the fact that he came from the upper world, where I desired to be. But as we talked, I found him to be a bit shallow, my heart didn't yearn for him like I hoped it would. But there was one thing. He was honest with me, he confessed his love outright, and then waited for me. I think that's what I saw in him." Hitomi could tell her talk of Allen was getting Van increasingly angry. But somehow, it did not come through in his words.
"Do you love him?" Van asked quietly.
Hitomi shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted. "I don't know who I love."
