Chapter Three
"Van! Van!" Hitomi shouted as she ran in pitch blackness. "VAN!" It seemed as if she had ran for miles. She suddenly collapsed onto the strange glass floor.
"Van, where are you?" she muttered under her breath. At that moment, a light illuminated Van's figure. He was walking at a steady pace away from her. Hope was sparked inside of Hitomi and she jumped up and resumed her chase. However, no matter how long or fast she ran, he was always just out of her reach. Out of no where, he stopped and turned around to face her.
"Help me!" he choked out. Hitomi's heart raced.
"Help me!" he said more urgently. Hitomi stared wide eyed at Van. His gaze suddenly turned cold and his beautiful white wings turned a sickly black. Then, she felt the ground beneath her tremble then shatter. She fell into the endless night while she stared in shock at Van who was flying away, leaving her to plummet to her death.
"VAAAANNNNNN!" she screamed as she fell.
Her eyes sprang open as she gasped for breath. "Was that a vision? Or a nightmare?" she asked herself. She never knew for sure but how could she ignore it? She couldn't do that, for Van's sake. She sat up and let the covers fall around her as she wiped cold sweat from her forehead.
"Miss Hitomi!" she heard her maid call. "Lord Van would like to take you out to the city today. The Carriage will depart in 30 minutes."
She jumped up, all her worries from before were extinguished as she grabbed the lilac dress, hauled it over her head and brushed her hair. She made sure she looked perfect before arriving to meet Van. She couldn't wait. She walked out into the large front gates into the fresh morning air. She smiled from ear to ear when she saw Van, in his red shirt and tan pants, waiting for her, with a single red rose from the garden.
"This way." He motioned towards the beautiful carriage and white horses. "We must get on our way." He said and handed her a flower. Hitomi blushed. "A rose for a rose." Van said and made Hitomi's face redden even more.
Meanwhile:
Yukari was waken by a knock at her door. "Go Away!" she shouted, threw a pillow at the door and rolled over." Just as she dozed off again, the knock sounded again. She grumbled and crawled out of bed. She was having the greatest dream about Allan. She shook her head. "It's not fair." she protested. She pulled open the door and stared sleepy eyed at the floor.
"Whatta yah want?" She said in a pissed tone of voice.
"Sorry to disturb you." Allan commented. "I'll come back later."
Yukari blinked a few times and looked up to see Allan standing in from of her. As he turned to walk away, Yukari took hold of his arm.
"Don't go." she said. Allan smiled. "I'll be waiting for you then." he said and closed the door so that she could get changed.
Yukari practically flew to her dresser and looked into the mirror.
"I LOOK LIKE SHIT!" she shouted and frantically began to brush her hair. Embarrassment burned her cheeks as she thought of letting Allan see her in this condition. "He must think that I'm a dirt bag." she mumbled.
She hauled on the dress up her hips but got tangled up in it and fell with a loud thud on the wood floor. Allan perked a brow and wondered what all the trouble was but he knew better than to ask. Then, she stumbled out of her room, stood up and took a deep breath. "Ok, let's go." Allan chuckled. "What ever you wish." was his reply. "I thought that we would have breakfast in the gardens."
"Sounds great." Yukari said dreamily and followed him out of the castle.
~*~
"Oh Van!" Hitomi exclaimed and ran up to a small shop. In the window were beautiful necklaces with gem stones and some of the most beautiful dresses that she had seen. "Why don't we look around?" she asked. Van nodded and followed her through the glass doors, carrying about half a dozen bags.
She looked with sparkling eyes at the variety of necklaces, ear rings and dresses.
"Hey, look at this one!" she exclaimed. It looks like the same stone as my pendant!" Van looked startled suddenly and looked away.
"See Van!" she said happily and took out her pendant.
"How did you get that!?" Van asked in wonder.
"Well, when I returned to Earth, I found it on my desk. I guess that it just showed up, returned to me." she figured and shrugged.
" I looked for that everywhere!" Van said in awe. " I was so worried that I had lost it."
Hitomi smiled. "Why don't we go back to the castle and get something to eat?" Van asked.
"Sounds great." She agreed. The two headed back to the carriage, talking happily.
When they pulled up, Hitomi went into the castle to change into a new shorter skirt that ended around the knees that Van had gotten her. She hurriedly pulled it on and returned. The maids had prepared a picnic lunch for the two. The new white dress almost shone in the in the summer light. Her pendant perfectly set off the ensemble and perfectly matched the deep pink on the sleeves.
"Come on, I know the perfect place to go." He said smiling.
~*~
"Yukari, you look so pretty." Allan commented. She blushed and look up at Allan.
"You're not so bad yourself." she replied. She was now kind of happy that she got sucked into this world. She smiled when she noticed Allan watching her eat.
"Yukari, how do you and Hitomi know each other." he asked.
"Well, we were both on the track team and in the same school. We just met and things just clicked. Just like me and you, don't you think?" Yukari knew it was a risk but she never knew how long she had in this world so she thought what the heck.
"I know exactly what you mean." Allan replied and leaned into her. She did the same and soon their lips touched.
"Wow! This place is beautiful." she exclaimed as she smelled the flowers around her. "Can I look around? I want to explore. It's so different from the busy city." Van nodded his consent and Hitomi took off while he set up the picnic.
A noise caught Hitomi's ear as she was picking some white flowers. It was coming over the hedge. She peeped through the branches and gasped at the sighed. Yukari was in Allan's arms, talking softly while she blushed. A red light went off in Hitomi. "This isn't right." she said to herself. " Something about this just don't seem right." she finished as s picture of Millerna fixated itself in her mind. She decided to ignore it and returned to where Van had set up the picnic. As soon as she reached the clearing her jaw dropped at the sight. There was Merle, sitting next to Van, where she was sitting only moments earlier, nuzzling her cheek against his. Van patted her head and smiled. Hitomi was filled with rage as she stiffly walked up and sat on the other side of Van. She glared at the cat and receive a smirk for a reply.
"I thought I'd join you. It is so boring in the castle all alone for lunch." she purred and still maintained her hold on Van.
"Well, we only have a dinner for two people here." Hitomi said cooly, trying to suppress her anger towards the girl.
"But I promise I won't eat a lot and I just wanted some company anyway." Merle countered.
"But you eat more than anyone I know!" Hitomi shot back. It became evident to Van now that the two were arguing.
"Come on now. Must you argue every time that you are together? There is plenty for all of us and I can just go and get more if need be." Hitomi's cheeks grew red from irritation. Merle had ruined the moment yet again. She looked over at merle who was happily picking through the basket. She noticed she was being watched and she stuck her tongue out at Hitomi. "Why that little..." Hitomi fumed.
Lunch seemed to last forever but when it had finally finished, Hitomi had picked up the basket and proposed that they return to the castle. Van agreed and stood up and brushed off his pants. Merle sprang up and grabbed hold of Van's arm. "She is unreal!" Hitomi shouted at herself. "Why can't she just keep her cat nose out of other people's business?"
"Did you say something?" Van asked
"No." Hitomi huffed and remained silent for the rest of the way to the castle.
~*~
On her way to her chambers later that day, she ran into Yukari. She was drenched form head to toe.
"What happened to you!?" Hitomi asked and removed some kind of plant from her hair. She smiled sheepishly "I kinda fell into the pond. Allan is so great. We had such a great time!" Yukari exclaimed.
"Glad you had a good time." Hitomi muttered.
"What happened?"
"That god damn merle interrupted again!" Hitomi said, fists clenched.
"That's too bad." Yukari said, pity in her voice.
'Well, I'm going to take a nap. If you see Van will you tell him?"
"Sure" Yukari said sympathetically, knowing that her friend just wanted some time to cool down.
"Hitomi flopped down on her bed. She had been there for a few days already and every time she was alone with Van, Merle always interrupted. Then she smiled. "Well, I can't really blame her. She does love him too." she said to herself and felt immediately ashamed of her harsh feelings towards the cat girl as she imagined herself in Merle's position. A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.
"Yah?" Hitomi replied.
"It's me. Can I come in?" Van asked from the other side of the door.
"Ok." she said and smiled as the door creaked open and Van walked in. He walked over to her bed side and sat down next to her. He looked at her with concerned eyes.
"Are you ok? Yukari told me that you were tired and you didn't seem the same when you were at lunch."
"I'm ok, at least now." Van looked at her confused but never questioned her response.
"Van?" Hitomi asked.
"Yes?"
"Well, now that Fanalia is practically rebuilt, shouldn't you be concerned more in the politics?" Hitomi asked cautiously but Van just smiled.
"Well, I know everything that is going on in terms of the economy, politics and all that. I attend meetings a few times a month but it is true that it don't sound like much. It's just that I have a lot of people that watch these things. They only call me if it is urgent." He explained.
"Oh." Hitomi said and then smiled.
"Are you sure that your ok?" Van asked again.
"Yes, I'm fine." she assured him.
"That's great."He said quietly and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. Her cheeks turned a light pink as he gazed into her eyes. His eyes were filled with warmth and love for the girl from the Mystic Moon. Van took her hands into his. Just this simple physical contact send her heart racing. They began to lean into each other, their eyes slowly drifted shut.
"This is it!" Hitomi thought. "No Merle to interrupt. Just me and....."
At that moment, his lips brushed hers. As she went to return the light kiss, the window behind her was shattered and tiny shards of glass rained down upon them. Van hurriedly covered Hitomi's body with his to protect her form the glass. Before either of them knew what was happening, someone struck Van in the back of the head and he passed out. Hitomi was gaged and then heaved over another person's shoulders. She struggled against the unknown attackers but couldn't get free. She was tossed int a carriage and her wrists and feet were bound. At that moment the door was slammed shut and only seconds later, she felt the carriage move.
Disturbed by the commotion, Merle along with two of the castle guards rushed into the room. Merle caught sight of Van, knocked out on the bed. She ran to his side and gently shook him.
"Lord Van! Lord Van, are you ok? Van please answer me!" Merle urged. He stirred and groaned and put a hand on the back of his hand. At that moment, they were joined by Yukari, Allan and Millerna. They looked around in disbelief.
"Ah, Where's Hitomi?" Yukari asked worried. His eyes shot open and he raced to the window and looked down the road as rain began to pour from the heavens. It was too late, they were out of sight.
AN: Well, I was told this was a bit of a cliffhanger so I did the next chapter so you wouldn't be waiting okies? ^_^ Ja Ne! and enjoy.
"Van! Van!" Hitomi shouted as she ran in pitch blackness. "VAN!" It seemed as if she had ran for miles. She suddenly collapsed onto the strange glass floor.
"Van, where are you?" she muttered under her breath. At that moment, a light illuminated Van's figure. He was walking at a steady pace away from her. Hope was sparked inside of Hitomi and she jumped up and resumed her chase. However, no matter how long or fast she ran, he was always just out of her reach. Out of no where, he stopped and turned around to face her.
"Help me!" he choked out. Hitomi's heart raced.
"Help me!" he said more urgently. Hitomi stared wide eyed at Van. His gaze suddenly turned cold and his beautiful white wings turned a sickly black. Then, she felt the ground beneath her tremble then shatter. She fell into the endless night while she stared in shock at Van who was flying away, leaving her to plummet to her death.
"VAAAANNNNNN!" she screamed as she fell.
Her eyes sprang open as she gasped for breath. "Was that a vision? Or a nightmare?" she asked herself. She never knew for sure but how could she ignore it? She couldn't do that, for Van's sake. She sat up and let the covers fall around her as she wiped cold sweat from her forehead.
"Miss Hitomi!" she heard her maid call. "Lord Van would like to take you out to the city today. The Carriage will depart in 30 minutes."
She jumped up, all her worries from before were extinguished as she grabbed the lilac dress, hauled it over her head and brushed her hair. She made sure she looked perfect before arriving to meet Van. She couldn't wait. She walked out into the large front gates into the fresh morning air. She smiled from ear to ear when she saw Van, in his red shirt and tan pants, waiting for her, with a single red rose from the garden.
"This way." He motioned towards the beautiful carriage and white horses. "We must get on our way." He said and handed her a flower. Hitomi blushed. "A rose for a rose." Van said and made Hitomi's face redden even more.
Meanwhile:
Yukari was waken by a knock at her door. "Go Away!" she shouted, threw a pillow at the door and rolled over." Just as she dozed off again, the knock sounded again. She grumbled and crawled out of bed. She was having the greatest dream about Allan. She shook her head. "It's not fair." she protested. She pulled open the door and stared sleepy eyed at the floor.
"Whatta yah want?" She said in a pissed tone of voice.
"Sorry to disturb you." Allan commented. "I'll come back later."
Yukari blinked a few times and looked up to see Allan standing in from of her. As he turned to walk away, Yukari took hold of his arm.
"Don't go." she said. Allan smiled. "I'll be waiting for you then." he said and closed the door so that she could get changed.
Yukari practically flew to her dresser and looked into the mirror.
"I LOOK LIKE SHIT!" she shouted and frantically began to brush her hair. Embarrassment burned her cheeks as she thought of letting Allan see her in this condition. "He must think that I'm a dirt bag." she mumbled.
She hauled on the dress up her hips but got tangled up in it and fell with a loud thud on the wood floor. Allan perked a brow and wondered what all the trouble was but he knew better than to ask. Then, she stumbled out of her room, stood up and took a deep breath. "Ok, let's go." Allan chuckled. "What ever you wish." was his reply. "I thought that we would have breakfast in the gardens."
"Sounds great." Yukari said dreamily and followed him out of the castle.
~*~
"Oh Van!" Hitomi exclaimed and ran up to a small shop. In the window were beautiful necklaces with gem stones and some of the most beautiful dresses that she had seen. "Why don't we look around?" she asked. Van nodded and followed her through the glass doors, carrying about half a dozen bags.
She looked with sparkling eyes at the variety of necklaces, ear rings and dresses.
"Hey, look at this one!" she exclaimed. It looks like the same stone as my pendant!" Van looked startled suddenly and looked away.
"See Van!" she said happily and took out her pendant.
"How did you get that!?" Van asked in wonder.
"Well, when I returned to Earth, I found it on my desk. I guess that it just showed up, returned to me." she figured and shrugged.
" I looked for that everywhere!" Van said in awe. " I was so worried that I had lost it."
Hitomi smiled. "Why don't we go back to the castle and get something to eat?" Van asked.
"Sounds great." She agreed. The two headed back to the carriage, talking happily.
When they pulled up, Hitomi went into the castle to change into a new shorter skirt that ended around the knees that Van had gotten her. She hurriedly pulled it on and returned. The maids had prepared a picnic lunch for the two. The new white dress almost shone in the in the summer light. Her pendant perfectly set off the ensemble and perfectly matched the deep pink on the sleeves.
"Come on, I know the perfect place to go." He said smiling.
~*~
"Yukari, you look so pretty." Allan commented. She blushed and look up at Allan.
"You're not so bad yourself." she replied. She was now kind of happy that she got sucked into this world. She smiled when she noticed Allan watching her eat.
"Yukari, how do you and Hitomi know each other." he asked.
"Well, we were both on the track team and in the same school. We just met and things just clicked. Just like me and you, don't you think?" Yukari knew it was a risk but she never knew how long she had in this world so she thought what the heck.
"I know exactly what you mean." Allan replied and leaned into her. She did the same and soon their lips touched.
"Wow! This place is beautiful." she exclaimed as she smelled the flowers around her. "Can I look around? I want to explore. It's so different from the busy city." Van nodded his consent and Hitomi took off while he set up the picnic.
A noise caught Hitomi's ear as she was picking some white flowers. It was coming over the hedge. She peeped through the branches and gasped at the sighed. Yukari was in Allan's arms, talking softly while she blushed. A red light went off in Hitomi. "This isn't right." she said to herself. " Something about this just don't seem right." she finished as s picture of Millerna fixated itself in her mind. She decided to ignore it and returned to where Van had set up the picnic. As soon as she reached the clearing her jaw dropped at the sight. There was Merle, sitting next to Van, where she was sitting only moments earlier, nuzzling her cheek against his. Van patted her head and smiled. Hitomi was filled with rage as she stiffly walked up and sat on the other side of Van. She glared at the cat and receive a smirk for a reply.
"I thought I'd join you. It is so boring in the castle all alone for lunch." she purred and still maintained her hold on Van.
"Well, we only have a dinner for two people here." Hitomi said cooly, trying to suppress her anger towards the girl.
"But I promise I won't eat a lot and I just wanted some company anyway." Merle countered.
"But you eat more than anyone I know!" Hitomi shot back. It became evident to Van now that the two were arguing.
"Come on now. Must you argue every time that you are together? There is plenty for all of us and I can just go and get more if need be." Hitomi's cheeks grew red from irritation. Merle had ruined the moment yet again. She looked over at merle who was happily picking through the basket. She noticed she was being watched and she stuck her tongue out at Hitomi. "Why that little..." Hitomi fumed.
Lunch seemed to last forever but when it had finally finished, Hitomi had picked up the basket and proposed that they return to the castle. Van agreed and stood up and brushed off his pants. Merle sprang up and grabbed hold of Van's arm. "She is unreal!" Hitomi shouted at herself. "Why can't she just keep her cat nose out of other people's business?"
"Did you say something?" Van asked
"No." Hitomi huffed and remained silent for the rest of the way to the castle.
~*~
On her way to her chambers later that day, she ran into Yukari. She was drenched form head to toe.
"What happened to you!?" Hitomi asked and removed some kind of plant from her hair. She smiled sheepishly "I kinda fell into the pond. Allan is so great. We had such a great time!" Yukari exclaimed.
"Glad you had a good time." Hitomi muttered.
"What happened?"
"That god damn merle interrupted again!" Hitomi said, fists clenched.
"That's too bad." Yukari said, pity in her voice.
'Well, I'm going to take a nap. If you see Van will you tell him?"
"Sure" Yukari said sympathetically, knowing that her friend just wanted some time to cool down.
"Hitomi flopped down on her bed. She had been there for a few days already and every time she was alone with Van, Merle always interrupted. Then she smiled. "Well, I can't really blame her. She does love him too." she said to herself and felt immediately ashamed of her harsh feelings towards the cat girl as she imagined herself in Merle's position. A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.
"Yah?" Hitomi replied.
"It's me. Can I come in?" Van asked from the other side of the door.
"Ok." she said and smiled as the door creaked open and Van walked in. He walked over to her bed side and sat down next to her. He looked at her with concerned eyes.
"Are you ok? Yukari told me that you were tired and you didn't seem the same when you were at lunch."
"I'm ok, at least now." Van looked at her confused but never questioned her response.
"Van?" Hitomi asked.
"Yes?"
"Well, now that Fanalia is practically rebuilt, shouldn't you be concerned more in the politics?" Hitomi asked cautiously but Van just smiled.
"Well, I know everything that is going on in terms of the economy, politics and all that. I attend meetings a few times a month but it is true that it don't sound like much. It's just that I have a lot of people that watch these things. They only call me if it is urgent." He explained.
"Oh." Hitomi said and then smiled.
"Are you sure that your ok?" Van asked again.
"Yes, I'm fine." she assured him.
"That's great."He said quietly and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. Her cheeks turned a light pink as he gazed into her eyes. His eyes were filled with warmth and love for the girl from the Mystic Moon. Van took her hands into his. Just this simple physical contact send her heart racing. They began to lean into each other, their eyes slowly drifted shut.
"This is it!" Hitomi thought. "No Merle to interrupt. Just me and....."
At that moment, his lips brushed hers. As she went to return the light kiss, the window behind her was shattered and tiny shards of glass rained down upon them. Van hurriedly covered Hitomi's body with his to protect her form the glass. Before either of them knew what was happening, someone struck Van in the back of the head and he passed out. Hitomi was gaged and then heaved over another person's shoulders. She struggled against the unknown attackers but couldn't get free. She was tossed int a carriage and her wrists and feet were bound. At that moment the door was slammed shut and only seconds later, she felt the carriage move.
Disturbed by the commotion, Merle along with two of the castle guards rushed into the room. Merle caught sight of Van, knocked out on the bed. She ran to his side and gently shook him.
"Lord Van! Lord Van, are you ok? Van please answer me!" Merle urged. He stirred and groaned and put a hand on the back of his hand. At that moment, they were joined by Yukari, Allan and Millerna. They looked around in disbelief.
"Ah, Where's Hitomi?" Yukari asked worried. His eyes shot open and he raced to the window and looked down the road as rain began to pour from the heavens. It was too late, they were out of sight.
AN: Well, I was told this was a bit of a cliffhanger so I did the next chapter so you wouldn't be waiting okies? ^_^ Ja Ne! and enjoy.