Quite a lot happens in this chapter, but does it go to fast? Please tell! Thank you for all the reviews so far! Sorry this chapter took so long. I have no excuse. I'm a bad girl.

See you everyone!

Love From Juliet Riddle

1 Chapter 5- The bite of the snake

Hitomi's fears proved to be right- Mrs. Hateonly's lessons were awful. She criticised the way Hitomi walked, talked, acted and looked. She was showered with insults almost every single time she saw Mrs. Hateonly. As time went by, Hitomi's fear and dislike for the woman steadily increased, uniting the two girls. Maria was almost as close to her as Yukari had been. On one particulary bad lesson with Mrs. Hateonly, Hitomi snapped. She'd been learning to serve tea the 'proper' way and spilt some onto the table cloth, getting the usual scornful remark from Mrs. Hateonly.

"You stupid girl! What is wrong with you, you disgusting, bad- mannered…peasant. You're worse than Maria. At least she just about knows how to behave! why do I have to teach something like you? You're nothing but a hussy!" Mrs. Hateonly spat at Hitomi. That was it. Her patience, strained so much from the tormentings of Mrs. Hateonly, was squashed completely by her anger. "You bitch!" Hitomi exclaimed. Mrs. Hateonly jerked back, as though she'd been slapped. "What?!" She shrieked. Hitomi stood up, almost knocking the cups off the table. "I've had enough of it! The only bad mannered person around here is you! What's the point of this anyway? I don't need go to finishing school! This is utterly pointless and stupid! Stuff this, I'm going home!" Hitomi fled to her room.

She slammed the door shut to her room and ran to her bed. She sat down breathing heavily. The door to her bathroom opened and Maria came out. "I thought I heard someone come in! You're a bit early, aren't you." She looked at Hitomi's face. "Oh! Hitomi! What's the matter?" Maria sat next to her, and put an arm around her, in an attempt to comfort her. "What happened?" She said softly. "Mrs. Hateonly…" Hitomi sniffed. "Oh, The Witch. What did she do?"

Hitomi took a deep breath, and felt a sob rise. "She…she called me a hussy. She said…she said nasty things about the both of us. And I…Oh Maria, I've just made it worse. She'll never forgive me, and she'll take it out on you!" Hitomi screwed her face up in an effort not to cry and leaned her head onto Maria's shoulder. Maria was the only one she had left now. Everyone she loved- her family, Van, Yukari…they'd all been taken away from her, and losing Maria would be too much to bear. "It can't be that bad…" Maria murmured. "Yes it is. I called her a bitch. I told her she was bad mannered and that I was going home."

"Wow!" Maria exclaimed. "You put The Witch back in 'er place! I wish I'd been there!" She began to laugh. Hitomi laughed as well, but the laughs turned into sobs and she was crying. Maria held her rocking her back and forth. "Shhhhh." She whispered. "We'll be okay. Shhhh. Don't cry, Hitomi." Hitomi lifted her head. "It's not just that!" She cried. "I lost them, I lost them! I lost all of them…" Maria held her tight, while Hitomi sobbed and shouted and cursed. For the first time, Hitomi realised that she had truly lost Van, that she couldn't help Yukari, and her parents were on another planet. Would she see any of them ever again?

When she finished crying, the two girls sat in the middle of the bed, and Hitomi, her head on Maria's shoulder, told Maria everything. "Van was the one. You know, the person who you're meant to spend the rest of your life with? That was him. But then, when I went to see him, I found out he was getting married…the coward hadn't even bothered to tell me."

"Oh, Hitomi, that's terrible."

"That's not all. When I came back, Dilandau had taken possesion of Yukari's body, my best friend. She's as good as dead now. I've gone along with everything that Dilandau has said, so he won't kill her, but what can I do? I have no idea how to help her. She's gone." Saying the words out loud made them more real. A huge wave of despair engulfed Hitomi. "Hitomi, you could save her. Reach out to her."

"What do you mean, Maria?"

"When you next see Dilandau, see past his face. See Yukari. Your powers will make it easier for you. When you see her, pull her back, reach out to her mentally, and concentrate on how much you care, and she will come back, but if she isn't strong enough to expel Dilandau from her body, you can only call her back for a little while. But it's dangerous, Hitomi. You shouldn't do it."

"Maria, how do you know about this?" Maria smiled. "My grandmother was a Spirit Healer. I inherited the knowledge and a bit of the talent, though I could never be as good as she was." Hitomi felt a flicker of hope in her heart. "So…there is a way. I don't care how dangerous it is. If there is a chance to save her, I will."

"Hitomi!" Maria shook her by the shoulders, looking into her eyes. "If you use your powers to help her, you might get sucked in! Your soul would leave your body, and you'd lie dormant and powerless in Yarkari's body, just like her. Only a Spirit Healer has the strength to repel the forces of an evil spirit, and they're dying out. You can't do it! It's madness!"

"Is it madness to help someone you love?" Hitomi's face was set with determination. "Hitomi, if you get caught, there'll be no one to save you. Do you understand what I'm saying? If you fail, both you and Yukari are lost."

"You'll save me. After all, you're part Spirit Healer, aren't you?"

"Hitomi!!! Never going to happen! Besides, when are you going to have a chance to see Dilandau?"

"I…"

There was a knock at the door. "Come in!" Hitomi called. The door opened, and Mrs. Hateonly stood in front of them, scowling. Maria shot up from the bed, and muttering her excuses, fled to the bathrom to "dust the bathtub".

"Yes?" Hitomi asked coolly, deliberately treating her like a servant. Hitomi could tell by the flush of Mrs. Hateonly's cheeks that she'd guessed what Hitomi was doing. "I've come to inform you that you will be having lunch with Lord Dilandau tommorrow. You wil be on your best behaviour. I want Lord Dilandau to have only good things to say about you. Is that clear?"

Hitomi's heart skipped a beat. This was it. Tommorrow was her chance to save Yukari! They'd be able to go back to the Mystic Moon and pretend none of this had ever happened, just like she'd said she would. She could one again become a normal everyday teenager, with a normal, everyday life."I said, is that clear?" Mrs. Hateonly's nasty voice snapped Hitomi's thoughts. "Huh? Oh yes, that's fine. Best behaviour. Will do. You can go now," Hitomi said distractedly, sending her away with a wave of her hand. Mrs. Hateonly looked furious, but left without a word. "Maria!" Hitomi yelled, running to the bathroom and throwing the door open. Maria looked up from the floor, where she had been sitting. "Hitomi! Is she gone?"

"Maria! Dilandau's coming to see me tommorrow! This is it! My chance to save Yukari!" Hitomi cried excitedly. This was a sign; Hitomi felt her heart dance with hope, and she was almost happy.

Maria stood up with an expression of panic on her face. "Hitomi! Didn't you listen to a word I said before? You'll be killed! It's far too dangerous and if you fail, I won't be able to save you because I'm not strong enough!" Hitomi looked at her friend, worry stirring inside her. She put a hand on Maria's shoulder. "Don't worry, Maria. I won't fail. You won't have to be a hero, I promise."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Remember what I taught you," Mrs. Hateonly hissed, as she reached for the door knob. Hitomi could just make out Dilandau's figure behind the net curtains. Mrs. Hateonly opened the door and pushed her onto the balcony. She stepped reluctantly forward. Dilandau was leaning over the balcony, gazing at the large Ziabach town. "Beautiful place, isn't it?" He asked without looking at her. Hitomi frowned, slightly put off by the fact that he hadn't greeted her. "I prefer Fanelia," She said boldly. He laughed softly. "Well, you would," He straightened up, never taking his eyes off the view. "After all, home is where the heart is." He glanced at her quickly, and noticing the distance she was keeping, said: "Don't worry, I won't bite," He turned to face her and looked her up and down. He took in all the changes- how graceful she looked, how delicate her face was, and how the dress complimented her pretty green eyes. "Then again, maybe I will," He muttered. Hitomi scowled. "What do you want?" Hitomi asked rudely. "I take it you didn't come here just to ask me how I am." Dilandau looked at her, his eyebrows raised. His gaze made Hitomi nervous and she felt vunerable. She shifted her gaze and glanced at the Ziabach town. "You're right. That really is some view you got there," She walked past him and pretended to admire the town. He stood next to her, and for a few moments they said nothing. "You know, I'm not here to take you away. I came here to see how you were, as strange as that may seem."

"Why? What's it to you?"

Dilandau's flashing eyes fixed on hers, full of anger. Now! This was it! See past the face… Hitomi stared back, and imagined Yukari infront of her. Slowly, Yukari's face began to appear, hovering around Dilandau's face like fog. She could feel Yukari's presence. She reached out to her…

Everything was dark. Hitomi was alone. She felt a surge of panic. Had Dilandau defeated her? Already?

"Yukari!" She shouted. "Yukari! Where are you?"

"Hitomi?…" A distant voice called out of the darkness. It sounded frail and weak. But it was Yukari. That's all that mattered. "Yukari!" Hitomi cried, searching in all directions for her best friend's face. "Yukari! Come to me!" Hitomi desperately searched for her friend's presence, but couldn't feel anything. "Yukari!… Yukari! Where are you? Tell me! Speak to me Yukari! I can find you…" Hitomi suddenly felt very alone. What if she were stuck here in this darkness forever?

"Hitomi…I'm lost, I can't find my way…help me, Hitomi! Help!" Yukari's voice was scared and tearful. It hurt Hitomi's heart to hear it. "Yukari! You mustn't be afraid! Reach out to me…follow my voice…Yukari? Is that you?" Hitomi heard something coming towards her. "Yukari?" A face loomed into view. It was evil and full of hatered. Dilandau. He'd found her. Hitomi screamed.

"Hitomi! Hitomi! What's happened?" Yukari shouted.

"Stay back!" Hitomi screamed at Dilandau, but he kept on advancing, his blood coloured eyes lusting for death. "Clever little witch, aren't you?" He hissed. "Lets see just how clever you really are…" She felt his hands close around her neck. She froze, terror seizing her body. Her wide green eyes stared uo into his red ones, and what she saw in them was worse than the hands around her neck. She saw death and a terrible lust for it- not just to kill, but to die. Another emotion, one she couldn't name burned in his eyes along with the death. It was very different but at the same time was similar to his blood-lust. Some how, it made him look slightly more human. He was wild. 'He's insane,' She thought.

She closed her eyes as the hands tightened. "Oh, Von," She whispered. Was she really going to die like this, alone, in the dark, slowly choking in the hands of a madman? No! She was going to live. She was going to survive. She wouldn't die like this. She refused.

Hitomi brought her knee up in between his legs, loosening his grip enough for her to aim another kick at his stomach. This sent him reeling backwards, the wind forced out of him. Her arms might be weak, but her legs were strong and muscled from her running. She wanted to leave. She couldn't win this battle. Not yet, any way. She focused on leaving this terrible No Man's Land. She felt her self rise up back into consiousness… "Hitomi!" Yukari's voice called her though the haze of dreaming and awaking. Hitomi felt a tug of desperation. Shecouldn't leave Yukari behind, but she had to go. She had no choice. "Yukari! I'm sorry! Keep fighting!" Hitomi called. But it was to late. She was no longer in Yukari/ Dilandau's mind, but on the blacony, with an unconsciousness Dilandau. One thing was for sure- she didn't want to be there when he woke up.

Sorry the chapter is short, I'll try and make the other chapters longer. I've got a case of 'Accute Writer's Blockitius' so I'm sorry if I take even longer putting the next chaper up.

Bye! J.R