Chapter 10-
Betrayal
"You damn cat! Stay out until it's ready!" he shrieked, right before he went back in. Merle, with her usual spunk, stuck out her tongue and turned around. Her eyes bugged out when she saw that Hitomi had been there.
"Go ahead, make fun." she said, but she had a smile on her face. Laughing, Hitomi grabbed her and gave her a noogie. Merle squirmed out of her grasp and jumped on her. Hitomi almost fell over, but stayed up so the two could out to the dining room together. Hitomi tried to remind Merle that the chefs were busy people and didn't like to be disturbed. Merle agreed to act like a lady at supper.
Hitomi didn't realize that her way of being ladylike was to wash herself before meals. So she sat, mortified, at the dining table next to King Gendas as Merle proceeded to do so. Nobody seemed to mind though, probably since they were all used to her cat-like habits. She tucked her dress under herself as Van stood up to make a toast.
"Van, wait." Hitomi didn't mean to interrupt, but she had noticed that Faye wasn't there with them. Just then she entered the room. Her eyes were red around the edges, Hitomi noticed as she sat down.
"Faye?" Van asked, putting his hand on hers. She shook her head, trying to dismiss his concern.
"I smeared my make-up." she explained simply. "That's why my eyes are so red, I was trying to scrub it off." She smiled, trying to make light of it. Van nodded and stood up to make the toast. It was a Fanelian tradition to make a toast at every evening meal, so Hitomi stood up with everyone, raising her wine glass high. Merle of course was trying to raise it higher than everyone else.
"A toast-" Van began, but King Gendas interrupted him. "Excuse me, Van Fanel, but may we toast to my departure tonight? I've been away much too long and it's time I left for my country." Van nodded.
"Of course, King Gendas. A toast to your safe journey home." The group clinked their glasses together and sat down. As Merle ran away with her plate, Hitomi caught sight of Faye watching her father in disbelief. Did she expect that her father would stay with her forever? Hitomi took a sip of her wine as Van began conversation.
"So, you're leaving us? At what time?" he asked. Gendas replied that he was leaving tonight, right after their meal. Hitomi listened; that was an odd time to leave. Maybe there was something going on in Genduta tomorrow. She didn't know about Gaea's holidays or feasts. Soon, the topic began to drift and they talked about their countries' alliance.
"I don't know what Fanelia would have done if we didn't have the new wells. We were in pretty dire straights until then, but then, I suppose I have your daughter to thank as well." He turned to look at her, smiling, but Faye didn't seem to want to talk.
"Come on, Faye. What's the matter?" Hitomi asked her. Faye was busy cutting up the same piece of meat she had at the beginning of the meal. When Hitomi asked her what was the matter, Gendas looked at her angrily.
"It's none of your business, outsider." he snapped, surprising her. Faye looked up from her meal, glaring at her father.
"Father, there's no need for that." she said, her voice even. Gendas sat back in his chair, making it creak. Van had looked up as well. All eyes were on the King.
"I'm sorry. I think I'll leave now. Faye, I would like to see you before I leave." He stood up, scraping his chair across the floor roughly. Faye nodded stiffly, not looking at her father. The King bowed to them, and quickly took his leave. After he had left, Van questioned her.
"What's upsetting him?" he asked, but Faye only shook her head, not wanting to reply as she stirred her wine in her glass. Hitomi gazed at her for a long time, as if it would give her an answer. After she had cut up her meat for the hundredth time, Faye excused herself and left, most likely to meet with her father.
Much later, Hitomi, her stomach full, departed from the dining room. She had remembered that the gymnasium was a popular place for Van to escape to. Hitomi knew that swordsmanship was one of the few things Faye disliked about Van, so she knew that she would find Van alone there.
Stealthily, she opened the door and sure enough, he was there, with the lights dimmed, practising his skills.
"Van?" she said. He looked up at her and grinned.
"Hello, Hitomi. What brings you here?" he asked. Hitomi went along the side of the gym and sat on the bench.
"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to come here and watch." she said indifferently. He nodded, silently consenting. Hitomi watched as he continued, his sword becoming a blur through the air. His thrusts were very different from the ones he used to deliver a year ago. They seemed to reflect his new position in life, and his new skills reminded her of the graceful swordplay in fencing. Hitomi remembered the fencing classes she had taken over the last year.
"Van, would you like a partner, for fencing?" she asked all of a sudden. Van looked at her in surprise, and said, "Hitomi, I didn't know you could fence." As she climbed down, she explained that she had learned over the last year. Still, when she faced him, she could see the doubt on his face. They bowed, each holding their left arm up as they played, and Hitomi easily ducked under his unplanned thrusts, eventually pinning the sword to his chest. He smiled, admitting his defeat.
"Well, I've gotta say, there's more to you than meets the eye." Hitomi stood up straight, smoothing the wrinkles in her dress. "I didn't like fencing at first, but after awhile, I loved the feeling of holding a sword. Just like you." she added, as she sheathed the foil and put it away. He watched her as she passed him to go to the door.
"I'd better go; I'm bushed. Goodnight Van." She smiled at him as she left, closing the door quietly behind her. Van glanced outside, and noticed the sun was indeed setting. He sheathed his foil as well, knowing that Faye would be somwhere waiting for him. She had gone to see her father promptly after supper, and he had not seen her since then. It was strange, he thought, the way King Gendas had snapped at Hitomi for no reason. Also, when Van had offered to come with Faye after their meal, Gendas had insisted that they be alone. Van wondered where Faye was now. Perhaps she was getting herself ready for tonight. He left the room and went up upstairs, where she was sure to be waiting.
Hitomi undressed, letting her clothes fall to the floor before she picked them up and put them away. She slipped on a nightgown and crawled into bed, thinking about what to do for tomorrow. She didn't want the ladies at the group to be angry with her forever. She knew she should apologize, but she didn't want to. They were the ones who had been rude. How so though? They weren't gossiping about her, but she still didn't like it. She knew they wouldn't be mad for long; they were always hurting each other and the next day, they were all apologizing.
Just today, Mrs. Harram had come crying back to the group, declaring she would go mad if she stayed with her husband any longer. The group had welcomed her back with open arms, but Hitomi didn't feel like they would do the same for her. She didn't understand what it was like to have a husband, so she had no right to say those things to them. Hitomi sighed, turning over in her bed and preparing to go to sleep. Soon, she fell asleep.
In her dreams, she saw nothing. Darkness surrounded her, as in most of her dreams while she ran about looking for some sign of life. She closed her eyes, trying to think. When she opened them, she saw the hall near Van and Faye's room. Taking her steps quietly, Hitomi approached the door, which stood slightly ajar. She peeked inside, knowing that if this wasn't a dream, she would never in a million years do this.
She didn't see what she had expected. Instead, she saw Faye, laying in the bed, the covers drawn up to her chin. A man sat on the bed with her, but it was not Van. Who was it? she wondered, but she didn't want to go any closer lest she was discovered. So she waited where she was, intent on seeing what was going on rather than who he was.
The man took his arm from underneath his cloak, revealing a weapon of some kind. It was a dagger, a rather pretty one, encrusted with precious stones and other fine things. Hitomi listened closely, but could hear no words being exchanged between them, or at least any that she could hear. But as in most of her dreams, as well as visions, she knew what they were saying, although she didn't know how.
"Faye, I need you to do this. Didn't you always want your native country to prosper, as I do?" the man explained to her. Faye nodded, but Hitomi could clearly see that tears were filling her eyes. "Then take this dagger and kill him, if you love me." Faye took one of her hands from her blankets and, shaking, reached for the dagger. A cry escaped her lips and the hand that reached for the dagger flew to her face, covering her tears.
"Father, I can't! Please, don't make me do this!" she cried. "I want Genduta to be prosperous, but not like this! I love him, Father! Don't make me do this!" As she lay there sobbing, the man stood up, taking hold of her arm. She looked up at him, her eyes red, only to be struck across the face by the flat of his hand. Dropping her, she lay on the bed, her hand to her face as he leaned over her.
"You will do it, my dear daughter. If you don't, I'll come back and kill the both of you." He stood up, dropping the dagger beside her. Finally, he turned around to leave and Hitomi saw who it was. King Gendas marched toward the door and Hitomi backed away, terrified to be caught eavesdropping, especially after seeing what she had just seen. Taking a step backward, she tripped and fell in fright, covering her face with her hands, trembling. However, Gendas passed by the frightened Hitomi, and seemed to take no notice of her. When she gathered the courage to peek between her fingers, she saw that Gendas had left. Standing up, she ran into the Faye's room, discovering that she sat near her bed, her head buried in her arms. The dagger lay next to her.
Hitomi then turned around, and
the scene behind her had changed. It had gone completely dark, and she
could see the outline of a body, as a dagger struck it. Blood splattered
on the floor, across the victim's clothes, and onto her face. She could
not see the murderer at all. Hitomi stood there, touching her hand to her
cheek, gaping at the blood. She tried to cry out, to do something human,
but she could do nothing but watch...
Hitomi sat up in bed, gasping for breath. What was that, and who was the victim? Van? It had to be! They were discussing about murdering someone, and Faye had added that she had loved him! Would Faye do something as horrible as that? Would she actually kill Van? Van! Hitomi leapt out of bed, and fumbled for the doorknob, her haste making her clumsy. She ran into the hall, racing up to Van's room.
Van lay in bed, waiting for Faye to join him. She was taking a long time, and he was getting rather tired. His eyes had nearly closed in exhaustion when she came out, scantily clad in only her nightie. He snapped to attention when he saw her in that.
"Faye, you look beautiful." he said as she made her way to him. "Thank you." she replied. Her hair was undone, and it spilled down her shoulders like a bright waterfall. Quietly, she sat on his lap, wrapping the both of them under the covers. Tenderly, he kissed in the nape of her neck, pulling her in close to him. She slipped her arms around his waist, resting her head under his chin. The couple lay down on the bed, holding each other close. Faye gently kissed his lips, as she breathed deeply in his scent. Van gazed at her skin; it was soft, like a gently rolling hill, and the colour of peaches. He stroked her golden head as she silently undid the buttons of his undershirt. Van began to feel at ease with her, and his eyes slipped shut.
Just as she was starting to feel happy that he had begun, she realized he had stopped embracing her. When she opened her eyes, she saw that he had fallen asleep. Now was the time to do it, if any. Sitting up quietly so as not to wake him, Faye reached for the dagger she had hidden in her housecoat pocket. She unsheathed it without a sound, then raised it high in the air, the blade glimmering in the moonlight. As she did, she heard her father's voice urging her on.
"Faye, my daughter... do it." she remembered him say, after they had met later after supper. "Or I'll kill you both." She had pleaded with him, begging that Genduta was already great and that murdering Fanelia's King would do nothing but gain their country a reputation for treachery. But he had said that people need not know that it was any fault of their own. He declared that the blame would go to the outsider: Hitomi Kanzaki, as if that would avert the people's suspicions from Faye or himself. It was a miracle she had shown up, as if given to him by the gods to provide the blame for them. Faye had never suspected that her father had such corrupted thoughts in his head, and that she was just a part of them. She now knew, after he had explained the plan to her, that her father didn't care about her happiness when she had married Van, but he had just wanted to expand Genduta's empire. He was lucky in that, if anything happened to Van, Fanelia would go to the bride's father, as she was still too young to keep it.
Faye pondered these things as she raised the dagger high. Her hand trembled, as she gazed upon Van's face, innocent in slumber. She bit her lip hard to keep it from trembling, and so she wouldn't cry out. She loved him so much, but if she didn't kill him now, he would only die later at her father's hand, probably more brutally, and he would kill her too. There was nothing she could do, unless...
Without warning, Faye brought her raised arm down hard, through the air, but the dagger didn't hit Van. She flinched as the dagger pushed through to her heart, uttering a sick cry as she fell to the floor with a dull thud. Van sat up immediately in bed, glancing around the room. Faye wasn't next to him! In a rush, he got out of bed and saw her, Faye's crumpled form on the floor, a dagger through her chest.
"Faye!" he cried out, scooping her in his arms and holding her blood soaked body closely. "Faye! Can you hear me?" Tears began to fill his eyes as she opened her eyes slowly, gazing up in the ceiling.
"Van... I couldn't go through with it. I'm sorry, for even considering it." Just then, the door flew open and Van's head whipped in that direction. Hitomi stood there, breathing heavily as if she had been running hard.
Hitomi gazed at the dreadful sight that greeted her. Faye was covered in her own blood, cradled in Van's arms. Her vision had predicted this, but the victim was not Van, whom she had suspected it would be. In horror, her hands flew to her face, and she rushed over to the two crouched on the floor, clasping Faye's hand.
"Faye? What's happened?" she cried out. Faye choked, coughing up a tiny amount of blood. "H-Hitomi, I didn't w-want to let you take the bl-blame." she mumbled. Reaching out her hand, she tried to touch Van's face, gasping for air.
"Van, don't b-be angry with my f-father. Please t-try to keep peace between our c-countries. And Van...?" she whispered. "Yes, Faye?" she answered back, clasping her hand tightly.
"Thank you for tonight. I'll treasure it, and keep it dear in my heart. Despite all this, I really do love you. Don't ever think otherwise... okay?" Suddenly, her hand went limp, and Van and Hitomi both knew she was gone. Hitomi sank to her knees, her head bowed as she cried. Van stared into her vacant face, as he began to hyperventilate in his sudden, yet deep grief. Laying her body gently on the floor, with great effort, he wrenched the dagger from her chest and examined it. Hitomi took her face from her hands and looked at it as well. Van's eyes widened when he recognized the pattern of jewels.
"Hitomi! This dagger is from
Genduta! Could she have received it from-" he didn't finish, but rather
stood up, throwing the dagger to the floor. Clenching his fists, Van uttered
a threat in a low and dangerous tone, "King Gendas will pay for this. So
help me, I'll have his head!" Hitomi, her face wet with tears, looked upon
him from her place next to Faye's body, not understanding what had just
happened, but yet feeling afraid of what would happen next. The two figures,
silhouetted by the moonlight from the window, picked up the body and left
the room without a sound.
