To Locke: Yeah, I know the love part in the last chapter
was
lame, now that I re-read it, but I was writing too fast. BUT- what happened
in that chapter will have something to do with the end, so I can't really
change it.
Chapter 16-
Conflicting Emotions
There was a great deal of tension in the monastery for the next few days. The monks often stood apart from Van; however, he didn't care in that moment. He was thinking about King Gendas and all he had done. He had been informed, by Hitomi, who had finally told him of the vision she had had in Fanelia before Faye died.
"So you see, your original suspicions of Gendas were right, Van." she explained. "I saw it. In my vision, I saw him giving the dagger to her. Gendas only wants your kingdom, and he got it through his own daughter's death. I'm sorry, Van." He had reacted with shock, taking hold of her shoulders and demanding, "Hitomi! Why didn't you tell me before?" She had only shook her head and apologized again.
"I've been such a fool." he said bitterly. "I have to go back to Fanelia. I can't let that man have my kingdom." Hitomi smiled, happy to see his old spark back. The two of them walked, holding hands now, for they weren't afraid anymore to show their affection, to the abbot's office. The monks watched and whispered amongst themselves, even if they were supposed to be keeping silent.
"First, he murders Yourach and now he takes a woman." one of them said with scorn, despite that the abbot had explained to them that he had only been protecting the girl, and in addition, Yourach was not a monk, but a soldier from Genduta, sent to assassinate him. Still, they felt hardened toward him. Hitomi glanced around and became worried for Van's reputation here.
"Van, they're all talking about you. Are you all right?" she asked. He nodded. "I'm fine with it. It's only their opinion of me, and I can't change that." Hitomi squeezed his hand, feeling proud of him for some reason. They reached the office soon and Van knocked on the door. The old man answered and quickly ushered them inside. They sat down in front of his desk as he began to explain.
"I'm sorry that no one understands,
Van." he started, "But I can't say anything else to sway their opinions.
The only thing
I can suggest is that you leave. They would never accept
you now." Van nodded in agreement.
"That is just what I was planning to do, Abbot. However, I'm not going to another monastery. I'm going back to Fanelia to take my place as ruler there." The abbot smiled, standing up. "I'm glad you have thought this through. Why have you changed your mind?" Van closed his eyes, and smiled. "I have Hitomi to thank for that." The old man looked over at Hitomi, who was blushing to the roots at his praise. He smiled back at him.
"I hope that you will be happy together." the abbot said. This comment made Van pull one of his embarrassed looks as he stood up, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, I guess we'd better get going. Hitomi?" She nodded, standing up. The abbot embraced both of them, and they left him, smiling, behind.
Still, despite his faith in himself, Hitomi felt tense about his returning to Fanelia and confronting Gendas again. Would the villagers in Fanelia forgive their king for almost giving them up to a foreign ruler? Would they be able to convince Gendas to leave the throne without causing conflict? These and many more questions floated through her mind as they gathered their things and prepared to leave. The monks, although they were indifferent to Van's situation, helped them on their way, and even managed to wave goodbye to the departing couple.
The journey back was not far, but Van realized that in every journey he took since Faye's death, Hitomi had always been there. He still could not believe how loyal she was to him, it seemed almost unnatural, especially after all that had happened. Before long, since they rode silently and swiftly, Fanelia came into view over the horizon. It looked the same as he had left it. As he approached the gates, the guards on duty stared in disbelief for awhile, and then suddenly began whooping for joy.
"King Van! You're back! Does this mean..." he trailed off, but it wasn't necessary to continue, because Van nodded as he dismounted from his horse. "Yes. I could never leave you all, not after all you've made me into, even to this very day." He turned his head to the ground, to hide the tear he had suddenly shed. The guards gathered him in an embrace, as Hitomi looked on from her horse, smiling at their little show of affection. But what she didn't know was that she too would receive some sort of welcome back as well, and it wasn't gentle. The pounding of running feet was heard from nearby and Hitomi, Van, and the guards all looked up as Merle raced up and, leaping to a phenomenal height, knocked Hitomi off her horse.
"Hitomi! Hitomi! Yay, you're back!" she hugged the fallen Hitomi close. Hitomi only sighed. Why, did it seem, was Merle hanging onto her now? Before she had always clung to Van, but now was different. Better to be accepted than ignored, maybe. When she could finally get to her feet, Hitomi saw that Van and the guards were laughing. She managed a laugh as well, thinking that Merle was the one who should be laughed at, not her.
Finally, when they had composed themselves, they entered Fanelia. Van asked if anything had happened while he was gone. "Yes, actually." One guard began, "Most of the time, Gendas was in Genduta, conducting even Fanelia's business from there. It was very strange..." Van glared at the ground. So, no one in Fanelia even knew about the attempted assassination. That was probably how Gendas wanted it. He started to feel enraged, but he could not show it, or tell anyone in Fanelia about it. He would avoid war with Genduta at all costs. He would compensate the King for the loss of his daughter to the best of his ability, and things would slowly and eventually go back to normal. This was what he must do, although his feelings differed from these actions he hoped to carry out. There was nothing he would have enjoyed more than killing that man, but as a king, he had to show more maturity and wisdom than that.
When Van arrived back to his manor, and turned around, he saw that a crowd of Fanelians had gathered there. They were either whispering among each other or talking direct. Van held up his hand for silence and they quieted down. "Fanelia, I have returned. It is thanks to your faith in me that I have come back. I will write a message to the King of Genduta, telling him of my decision. For now, there will celebration in Fanelia!" At his words, a deafening cheer rose in the crowd at his words as the people dispersed to make plans for it. Van invited some of his lords to come in with him. He still did not know the proper way to write a formal letter without accidentally saying something insulting; even if he really wanted to at this moment, and toward the man who would receive it.
Hitomi trailed along, still feeling a little out of place among the nobility; even Merle had left her behind, to find a dress for the party. Hitomi began to feel excited. This would be so fun, and maybe they could invite the others to come too! She ran up to Van, whispering in his ear, "Is it all right if we invite Millerna, Dryden, and Allen to come? And Princess Eries, and Selena too? It would be so great to all get together again." Van smiled and whispered back, "Okay, you go ahead." Hitomi ran off to her room and sat down, preparing to write to them all. It was just lucky that she had learned to write the Gaean language during her time in Asturia. She had always known how to speak it, but she had never known how beautiful its characters could be.
As she gathered her parchment and ink, she paused, the feather to her chin. Would she need to be formal? After all, they were royalty; well, at least some of them. She figured no, since she would never speak that way with them. As she wrote down their names, she paused yet again. Would Dryden even be there? He might be trading in some far-off country right now for all she knew. To solve this problem, she wrote down, snickering to herself:
Dear Millerna, Allen, Eries, Selena, and Dryden(if you're there),
You are cordially invited...
She stopped. Was that too formal? She shook her head, laughing to herself, and continued writing:
...to come to Fanelia for
a get-together tomorrow night in honour of Van's return home. Just bring
yourselves and we'll do the rest. I'll explain myself more when you arrive.
Sincerely,
Hitomi Kanzaki
She read it over. It seemed like such a short, silly letter, but how else could she put it? Shrugging, she went outside and handed it to a messenger, who bowed and quickly left. It was only morning, but she couldn't help thinking that they wouldn't be in time for the celebration, or maybe they wouldn't have time or something like that. She pondered over this as she selected a hand-made dress from one of Fanelia's shops; a soft blue colour to match her light brown hair. It was formal and casual all in one; snug yet flexible to allow movement in case there might be dancing. Shivers ran up her back as she imagined herself in the large manor hall, accepting an offer of dance from Van. Imagining what he may wear that night, something so formal, almost made her laugh aloud. She put on her dress, opening up the window to look at how the people were preparing for the party. Fanelia seemed to be a place of both celebration and of mourning, but it always pulled through when times promised to be good.
Hitomi went downstairs and found Merle scurrying around with a dress in her arms. She smiled; Merle seemed to have grown up so quickly. She no longer clung to Van like she used to, and although she was still concerned over his welfare, she never meddled. The dress she held was a pine green colour; it would look nice on her. Suddenly, Hitomi shook her head. She was staring, and besides, Merle had left.
Hitomi continued out, exiting
the manor to join in the merriment. She was surprised at how fast the people
could whip together a party. The celebration would begin tonight. Hopefully
Van would finish his letter by then and join her. Hitomi looked up at the
window of the room where Van was supposed to be hard at work writing his
letter. Turning her head toward Fanelia's streets, she left to check out
the stores.
Van flexed his fingers as his ink, quill, and parchment were placed in front of him by a handmaiden. Van nodded to her and she quietly bowed, leaving the room. His lords gathered around him, offering advice on how to begin the letter. Van closed his eyes, trying to let their suggestions sink into his mind.
One of his lords, Frestic, suggested that Van be especially formal to the king of Genduta; perhaps the man would be disappointed that he was not being compensated enough for his daughter. Van smothered a bitter laugh at that suggestion; he knew that Gendas didn't give a damn about his daughter. However, he tried to put his personal thoughts aside as he reached for the quill on his right. The lords gathered to see what he wrote, reminding him to keep his grammar correct, and not to make any misspellings. The voices all floated through his head, until he just could not concentrate any more.
"All right, gentlemen!" he cried out in exasperation, rising to his feet. "I'm going to write this letter in private. And I don't care if it has all the words spelled wrong; he's an intelligent man, he'll get through it!" The lords, unable to respond to Van's outburst in a constructive way, quickly filed out of the room to leave the young king in peace. Van sighed, sinking into his chair and grasping his quill tightly in his hand. He began to write, trying to think of what he himself would say if he were right in front of the man. He began by addressing the loss of his daughter, but also bringing to attention his wish that they should not go to war over lack of compensation. Van declared he would give something else substantial that may satisfy him, rather than Fanelia.
He read over his letter and, feeling pleased with how it turned out, stood up to have it delivered right then. As he handed the letter, closed with Fanelia's seal, into a waiting messenger's hands. The same messenger held another letter; Van figured it must be the letter Hitomi had written. He smiled to himself; the two messages that were being delivered, and by the same person, were probably very different from each other. However, they both declared greetings of peace, and that was all that was needed at this time. Van left his room, heading toward the main hall. He nodded to several people, all who were preparing for the party. Some people still gave him looks of pity, but smiled for the sake of the moment; if their King could manage a smile, surely they could too.
Van wondered about his relationship with Hitomi. Everyone knew her, unlike the men at the monastery, and would not be bitter toward the two of them. However, to get married not two months after the death of his first wife seemed rather hasty and selfish of him. Van hoped that Hitomi wouldn't mind waiting until he had properly mourned for Faye. After all they had been through, Van was sure she would not. Was Hitomi even thinking of spending their lives together, as he was? No, he thought to himself. I'm not going to think about that, at least not during the party.
Soon Van noticed that he was travelling down to the town square, where fiddlers were setting up for the night. The festivities would be both inside and outside. Van would make sure that he would spend time at both of them. He felt excitement rise in his chest as he began anticipating the arrival of his friends from Asturia in the days to come. They won't miss a single bit of the fun, he declared. This was what a party was all about, and Van wanted to continue as long as possible. He began to busy himself by helping to set up the tables and decorations.
"Lord Van! How are you doing?" came a voice to his left. He glanced over his shoulder, catching sight of Merle behind him. "Hi, Merle. What are you up to?" She threw some confetti up in the air, some of it landing in Van's dark hair. Shaking it out, he smiled.
"I've never seen you so happy, Merle." he said to her. Merle smiled back, shifting her basket of celebratory items to her left arm, grasping Van's arm. "I've never seen you this happy before." she said slyly. He started in surprise at her duplication of his own words. "Why Merle?" he asked. "There are plenty of times where I've been happy, and they were more important than just a party." he stated. Merle looked up in his face, the sly touch of her voice spread to her face clearly in her smile. "You never helped with the decorations at your own wedding, Lord Van." Van looked away from her, causing Merle to suddenly jump away, covering her mouth as if she had said something dirty.
"I'm sorry, Lord Van!! Oh my god, I didn't mean to say that!" she said, looking cautiously up into his face, her paws covering her own. A hand softly fell upon her shoulder. "It's all right, Merle. Don't let it ruin our party." With that, he set up the last table and left, losing himself in the crowd. Merle watched him leave, somehow knowing that he would not be as cheerful tonight.
Van trekked through the streets aimlessly, searching for something to do. He stopped in front of a gift shop, which sold music boxes, embroidery, and other homemade products. What would a woman like to have? The question suddenly popped into his mind. As if in a daze, he entered the shop, the bells sounding above as he did. The shopkeeper, startled that the King would come into a shop like hers, quickly approached him.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked politely, watching as he scanned the environment quickly. After he had done this, he looked down at her, trying to plan what he would say.
"I'd like to buy a..." What would Hitomi like? Then an idea hit him. "A- a corsage. Made of real flowers, if you please." The shopkeeper shook her head.
"We don't use real flowers for our corsages, I'm sorry." Van thanked her and made a move to leave when the lady stopped him. "But I do have this." She ran into her storage room and after a few minutes, came out carrying something.
"I began making this today. It's not finished, but I usually put the flowers on at this point, but if you use real flowers, then..." She carefully placed the unfinished corsage in his hand. "...you can add what you wish." Van gazed at the corsage and raised his head to meet her eyes.
"Thank you, it's perfect. How much?" he asked.
"Since it's not finished, just half-price." Van took out some silver coins and paid the woman, nodding in her direction as he left. Placing the gift in his shirt pocket, he found himself breaking into a run, out of Fanelia. His hair whipped about his face in the wind that had suddenly picked up. The fields came into view as he rapidly approached them. Van reached the edge of the woods just as the sun was setting. It was perfect. The flowers he wanted to collect opened to their fullest around this time, as if trying to absorb the day's last bit of sunlight. They turn an orangish colour at this time. Often they were called the 'magic flowers', hard to find and to grow in captivity. But Van had always come across them in his childhood, and it would be easy for him to find them.
Sure enough, the 'magic flowers'
stood there, glowing as red as the sun. Almost hesitantly, he picked one
of them and placed it delicately through the opening in the corsage. Smiling
at his handiwork, Van left for Fanelia. There would be other flowers added
to this one, but he would make sure that this one stood out best.
