DISCLAIMER: I don't own MKR, CLAMP does. Am just one crazy fan. And all of these stuff I had written or will write is a product of my imagination and my imagination only....Yada...yada...Don't sue me.

DESTINED TO BE

Chapter 2

Hikaru slowly opened her eyes and looked around her. "…Hope I didn't wake you up, m' lady," said the maid, who was placing a breakfast tray on the small table beside her.

"Marilyn isn't it…? No you didn't wake me up. I wasn't aware you were here until I heard you speak. What time is it?"

"It's quarter past eight, m'lady."

"I must have overslept…"

"Master 'ad ordered us to bring your breakfast 'ere, m'lady... was talkin' 'bout m'lady bein' exhausted from the long journey. The li'l miss was quite disappointed that m'lady wasn't able to join 'em at the dining room though…"

"Poor Mira…Oh Marilyn, do prepare the hot water for my bath, will you?"

"Aye, I will, m'lady."

After finishing her breakfast and having her bath, Hikaru decided to explore her new house. She figured she would be living here for quite a while and it would naturally be necessary to know exactly where to go. She was surprised as soon as she left her room, however, to find the young Mira crouched beside her door. "Why Mira…What are you doing here?"

The young girl then stood up, smoothed her rumpled skirt, and smiled broadly at her. "I was waiting for you!"

"Waiting for me?"

"Yes! I volunteered to give you a quick tour of the mansion today and Uncle agreed. Isn't it lovely?"

"That was very sweet of you Mira."

"Oh I really wanted to do it, Auntie! I am very glad to have you living with us now. I was getting pretty lonely. Come!" And with that, Mira took Hikaru's hand and led her down the corridor.

* * *

The tour ended an hour before lunchtime. Mira had been a good hostess, stating the mansion's history and of how it got its name, Zephyr's Loft, with not only full knowledge of the subject but also with great enthusiasm on her task.

"Indeed this house is quite large!" Hikaru told her young companion.

"Uh-huh…Oh there's Uncle's study! He specifically told me to bring you there after we finish our tour." Mira said, almost dragging Hikaru towards the door.

"But shouldn't we knock the…" Hikaru said, but it was too late. Mira had already burst into the room, dragging Hikaru with her.

"My goodness, Lantis! Haven't you taught your niece some manners?!"

"Oh for God's sake, Primera, she's only a child! Come Mira…Did you miss Uncle Eagle?"

Inside the study were Lantis and two more individuals---one was a beautiful lady with blue hair and elfin face, and the other was a handsome silver-haired man with light-brown eyes, with whom Mira obviously was very close. The young girl ran towards the man, and gave him a kiss on both cheeks.

"And who is she?" said the woman, her eyes glaring at Hikaru.

"Forgive us for the intrusion," Hikaru then turned to Mira and said, "Maybe we should see your uncle later on…" Mira was too busy sticking her tongue out at the blue-haired lady though, to consider Hikaru's suggestion.

"That is not necessary," Lantis, who had been quiet all the while, finally said. "This is…"

"Eagle Vision, my lady. I am very honored to meet such a beauty…" the silver-haired gentleman said, who walked towards Hikaru and kissed her hand. "And this is my sister, Lady Primera."

"Lady Primera Vision, daughter of Duke Gregory Vision."

"Both are very close friends of mine since childhood," Lantis explained. "And this is my ward, Lady Hikaru Shidou."

"I am very pleased to meet you both," Hikaru said, at the same time, giving a graceful curtsey.

"Your ward Lantis? Why…she's probably as old as I am! And besides, when did this mansion become an orphanage?" Primera said, who continued on glaring at Hikaru.

"That is enough, Primera…" Eagle spoke in a very stern tone. "Ah! What time is it? I promised Father we'd be back before lunch. Come Sister…you know how Father hates waiting."

"But brother! I thought we…"

"We are going home," Eagle said. "Lantis, forgive me, I know I have already agreed on your offer of joining you for lunch but I just remembered my promise to Father. Goodbye Lantis...Lady Hikaru…Mira. I shall visit again tomorrow, my friend, that is, if you permit it…"

"Whatever suits you," Lantis replied.

"It was really nice meeting you Lady Hikaru," Eagle told her, again kissing her hand.

* * *

"Why did we have to leave so early? I thought we both decided that we are going to have our lunch at Zephyr's Loft today," Primera told her brother, obviously disappointed.

"I had opted to leave before you totally embarrass us both!"

"What?!"

"You had been acting rudely to Lady Hikaru, which you should not have done since we are Lantis' guests."

"Don't tell me you fancy Lantis' current keep?"

"Keep?! Your jealousy had gone too far sister! How dare you insult our friend by saying that he keeps a whore in his house!"

"All right, I am sorry. But you will not make me start liking her!"

"Listen to me…Lady Hikaru is a decent young lady whose father was a close friend of the late Earl Solville. At least act civil with her for Lantis' sake."

"That I would not do. And you cannot make me."

"You are just jealous because as long as she is in the mansion, Lady Hikaru will unofficially be the mistress of Zephyr's Loft…a title you are so intent on getting!"

"What you say might be true. Haven't you seen how Mira looks up to her already? For this I already consider her as a threat. Lantis totally adores his difficult niece…he might consider taking Lady Hikaru to be his wife to please the child."

Eagle then laughed out loud. "I would never understand why you are so obsessed in becoming Lantis' wife."

"You can say whatever you want to say, my dear brother. But I want Lantis to be my husband and no one else! I will be Lady Primera Solville!"

* * *

Lunch had been delicious as usual, thanks to Lantis' brilliant cook. Mira hurriedly went back to the nursery to get ready for her lessons, leaving Lantis and Hikaru behind. "How was the tour?" Lantis asked.

"Oh it was lovely. Mira had been a good hostess."

"I am glad you enjoyed it. I am also glad that my niece had taken a liking to you. Mira is very picky when it comes to liking people…Such a beautiful day today to go riding."

"I agree…"

"Well then I've been thinking of riding a little bit later this afternoon. You can join me if you want."

"That would be very nice!"

"Well then, I will meet you at 3 o'clock at the stables. I figured Mira had told you where it is."

"Yes…"

"Until then, Hikaru."

* * *

Hikaru found Lantis inside the stable, petting a black horse on its head and feeding it straight from his own hands. "Did I make you wait too long?" she asked.

"Actually, you did not. I purposely went here earlier."

"Is he your favorite?"

"You could say that…Lightning Strike is half-wild though, I am the only one who can handle him." Spotting a mare with reddish-brown skin at the corner of the stable, Hikaru quickly approached it. "That one is Flame. You can ride her if you want."

"She is very lovely."

"Yes she is. I figured you'd like her so I bought her."

"You don't mean…"

"It's a gift. She is yours."

"But I could not possibly accept…"

"You could…and you would. Now come…"

* * *

"Do you still fence?" she suddenly heard Lantis ask.

"Why?"

"Nothing…I am just curious…To tell you honestly, I had been wondering how a man of such a prominent family would had let his only daughter learn fencing…and even taught her himself."

"I made every nanny he hired gave up on me…and pestered him about teaching me everyday."

"Honestly?"

"Well that and well…you see he had loved my mother dearly, and before she passed away, he promised he would personally take care of all of us…especially me. He did that in his own way and not knowing how to raise a girl, he unconsciously raised me as somewhat his son. He never remarried, and I never had a female influence until the time my father thought I was ready to have a female companion. I was thirteen then. Lady Caldina stayed with me until a few months after I was introduced to society."

There was silence between them for a while, until Lantis finally said, "You miss him don't you?"

"Yes…him and my brothers. There had been a time…I wished I had died with them."

Lantis just nodded. He understood how she had felt…

I might start posting this fic a lil bit slower than usual…and no, it's not that I had been flamed (snickers)…I had asked bishounen_lovah to proofread my work somewhat so it might take time ne? Anyways…I'll post the next chappie and the edited ones…as soon as I can. Oh btw…this is obviously an AU fic so…*edited*

BOOBOO: thanks love…BE NICE and I love you.

LADY OF GENESIS: Thanks…and well making Primera married to Lantis would probably frustrate lotsa ppl ne? Including me of course…hehehe…And I'll continue…What makes you think I won't?

PSEUDONYM SYLPHMUSE: Introducing Lady Primera Vision! J

GODDESSLD: Thanks!

ANGELSTARHIKARU: Thanks for putting me on your list!

MEL: Thanks a lot fer the compliments…

LILIA: Here's another chappie for you.

SCRYBE: This is obviously an anime/manga based AU fanfiction so I think there is no crime on what I did. Anime/manga tend to have messed history up more than I had (not to mention mess up lots of literary classics that would have made the original authors rise from their graves)…and much more fanfics who had done worse too. I have done this because I have targeted my readers as anime/manga lovers who have an open mind for these kind of stuff…

I am not writing a book nor am I going to submit this to some professor. I know my English professor would not appreciate this one…unless of course he/she likes anime.

I haven't claimed and I am not claiming that I am a literary genius… I admit that I have erred in some parts of my fic (most of the times grammatical ones)…but not ALL of it. I am uploading my fic so that I would learn more and improve my writing style. Besides, how can I practice if I don't write and not let others read it?

And man, if a 7 year old could write with a plot like that...I'd be really really really in awe with the kid…I mean…wouldn't you?

As for watching my "gramer" and how I "asumably" made errors in every "sentance"…Well at least I got most of my spelling right :P I should be given credit for that at least ;) And also, if I could remember it right, my grammar teacher told me about exceptions on the grammatical rules you had been talking about…and sometimes I had felt that I had used those switchings with those exceptions in mind.

If you think my fic is "a pain to read" then don't read it. Doing that would save you time and also effort in reading such an eyesore and of course typing such a long review…Instead, I suggest you write your own fic that would satisfy your grammatical error-free taste…And man, you did waste a lot for such a low-caliber fanfiction (Right guys?). Tata!:P