Note: It has been months since I released a new chapter! I apologize for taking so long. I had practically given up on the story until yesterday when I read it and decided to continue it with at least one new chapter. I would like to mention that I changed the time frame between Hitomi's attack and her chance meeting with Van in the market place to one year instead of two. I would also like to mention that Hitomi was not raped in chapter two. I received a review a long time ago asking if she had been, but she wasn't. The men grabbed her so that they could get a clear, easy shot at her head, and after the blow one of them spotted Enila, so they fled leaving Hitomi behind. I should've written that into the story, but I didn't think of it at the time.

Lapse in Time

Chapter 6: Vision of the Past

Enila always had a strange laugh. It started as a small chuckle, and then exploded into booming laughter with closed eyes and reddened cheeks. Ranna wouldn't be surprised if his Majesty's sleep had been ended by her mother's abrupt change in spirits. The young woman hadn't even tried to be funny when she told her mother about the night before and the King's staring eyes.

Honestly! She thought, exasperated. What is so hilarious about that? She knew from then on that she would not share her feelings with her mother.

Hoping to escape her Enila's childish behavior, Ranna placed several food items from the array of breakfast dishes on the table onto a tray and walked to the guestroom where Van was staying. Ranna gently placed the tray on the ground and gently knocked on the door. It had not been fully closed, so the moment her knuckles touched the old wood the door creaked open, showing the young King asleep on his bed. The soft, white blanket had slipped down to his waist, revealing his bare back, and Ranna realized-with embarrassment-that Fanelia's King preferred to sleep without a stitch of clothing on his tanned body. After starring at him for a few moments, Ranna closed the door and proceeded to knock on the door and call out his name.

"Your Highness? Lord Van? Are you awake?" she asked. There was a quiet grumbling as the boy king stirred.

"Yes, I'm awake." he replied, annoyed that his dreams had been interrupted. "What is it?"

"I have your breakfast, if you're hungry," the young woman said as she picked up the tray. She could hear him treading across the floor while he reached for his clothing. When the door finally opened, Ranna shoved the food tray into Van's hands and turned to leave when his words cut her off.

"Stay a minute," he said, immediately regretting that the words had escaped his lips.

"Why?" Ranna inquired, raising her eyebrows in question.

"Because I…wanted to apologize for what I said…"

"Really Your Majesty, it wasn't that big of a deal." Ranna insisted. Van's lips curved downward in a frown.

"You appeared to be distressed. I was wondering why."

With hesitation Ranna stepped past the threshold, walked over to the window where the wooden chair stood, and sat down. Van followed, sitting himself on the bed and placing the tray beside him.

"Around a year ago, I had an accident-well, that's what mother tells me at least. I was taking a walk, apparently, and I tripped and hit my head on a rock. I completely lost my memories. I don't remember what my life before then was like." Ranna stopped for a moment to clear her throat, then continued. "Everyday I learn a little bit more about my past, and everyday my life makes a little more sense. When you called me 'Hitomi' it confused me. It made me question my identity, my whole life. Who was Hitomi anyway?"

Van's face was covered with a pained expression. His head hung low on his shoulder's; it appeared to Ranna that whoever Hitomi was, she was gone and her memory hurt the King terribly. "I'll explain later."

Ranna stood up, and with a final "Enjoy your breakfast", she left the room and closed the door behind her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When Ranna came back to the kitchen, she found her mother sitting on her usual chair knitting some kind of scarf. The summer had become autumn very quickly, a thought that depressed the young woman. Autumn meant winter, and winter meant endless days of cold.

"It is going to be a lovely day," said Enila, her eyes not leaving her work. "You should invite His Majesty to come with you on a horse ride. I want him to enjoy himself during his stay." Ranna looked at her mother with a confused expression.

"Just why is he here mother? And for how long?" she questioned.

"He said that it was a long story and he couldn't explain. Something to do with politics. Ha! Everything has to do with politics." The older woman admired her handiwork for a moment before continuing with her explanation. "He's going to be here for about a week and a half-until his advisor comes to…retrieve him. I want you to make sure that he is treated properly. He is our King after all." She made sure to emphasize the last two lines with a louder tone and eye contact. Her young daughter knew that there was no use in arguing, so she turned on her heels and stomped her way back to the guest room, growling lightly in her throat.

I just can't win with that woman!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Now that he had privacy and his mind was fully awake, Van began to straighten out the tan pants and long sleeved white shirt he had thrown on haphazardly. He tied a chocolate brown vest over top, and put on his boots, making sure that there was still a small knife in the left one. As he brushed his unruly black mop he eyed his sword but decided to leave it lying on the floor. Once he decided that he was presentable, the King placed his hand on the door handle and opened it. There, standing on the other side with her hand in a knocking fist, was Ranna. She seemed to be very irritated.

"Would you like to come on a horse ride with me?" she said, almost spitting as she talked. Van stood there, somewhat intimidated by her mood.

"Er…sure, it sounds great," he replied while thinking What's gotten into her?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"And this," Ranna explained, "is where I had my accident." Van looked upon the large stone with anger.

I don't care how she lost her memory. Hitomi has lived a year of lies, and it has to stop! "What a terrible thing it must be, to lose your memory and to not know what really happened during your life." the King said coldly. Ranna stared at him, obviously baffled by his tone.

The pair were riding across the beautiful Fanelian countryside on the same two horses that Ranna and her mother had used to ride to the marketplace so long ago. Learning to ride a horse again had not been easy for Ranna-it felt as if she had never been on a horse in her entire life. The thought almost scarred her. What if she wasn't really who she thought she was?

"Look," Van said suddenly, breaking the young woman's thoughts. "I think we're coming close to Arzas. They were in a small clearing now, and to Ranna, it seemed so familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

"I don't think I've been here before," she said softly.

Oh yes you have, Van thought bitterly.

And suddenly there was only blackness. Ranna was no longer sitting on her horse; now she was standing. But what was she standing on? There was nothing. Nothing except a white light that seemed to appear out of no where. And then there were figures, bathed in a column of light, slowly rising from the ground. The pictures from the scene in the water fountain played again but now in her mind: a swinging pendant, the Fanelian crest, the mystic moon, and a strange figure, silhouetted by light, with beautiful wings…

There ya go! Chapter 6. Now just pray that I find the inspiration to write chapter 7! Oh, and a quick note. Sorry to everyone who went to read chapter 6 and found out that it wasn't there. Apparently ff.net didn't make the changes. Errrrgh. ~T.G