Date. 08.08.2003
Time. 6.16 pm
Music. "Free" by Vast
Chapter 20
Copyright. Nope. Don't own Escaflowne or any of its characters. Damn.
Author's Notes. Don't have much to say for once. Let's get on with the story, shall we?
The Vision of Escaflowne. Parvulus de Crepuscid
Chapter 20. All Things
* * *
5 days later…
"Oy! Didn't you hear me?! I said OY!"
Kyia pointed a menacing ladle at the two servants sitting at one of the old wooden tables in her kitchen.
"Quit your gossiping and take these mugs out to the men!" she snapped. "They're actually *doing* some work, unlike you two."
The two girls bowed at her and obliged, hastily taking the tray of drinks from the countertop. But as Kyia went back to stirring her soup, she could still hear their excited giggles echoing down the halls as they spoke rapidly about something.
You'd think that with all the activities as of lately, they'd have a more solemn attitude, Kyia thought to herself. With the Queen's disappearance and retrieval and the attack on the palace. People are beginning to talk. I wonder what other rumors are spreading throughout the city.
She sighed loudly, wishing suddenly that her domain of the giant kitchen had windows. She wanted to see cheerful sunlight pouring in large squares of glass rather than barely seeing her own hand through the haze of smoke. It was a glorious day outside and she was the only one cooped up inside.
Correction: there were two others inside besides her.
As she stirred in her frustration, she heard a single person's set of footsteps walking down the hall. "It's not lunch yet!" she shouted, her back still turned to the entry way. "You'll have to tell your men they must wait for another hour!"
"Ky?"
"Oh my gods!" Kyia cried, recognizing the voice instantly. "Van!" She turned around, ladle still in hand, to see the young King looking at her strangely. "I'm so sorry! I thought you were one of the workers outside clearing out the airships!" She bowed quickly.
"Oh, no," Van replied softly. "It's alright." He paused, glancing around the kitchen. "Ummm… did Healer Kayla leave the recipe for the soup she wanted? I told her that I'd go bring it back to the Infirmary."
"Yes!" Kyia exclaimed, turning back to the pot she had been stirring. "It's just about done. Let me fetch you a couple of bowls and a tray." Still mixing with the ladle in one hand, she opened a cupboard overhead without looking and pulled out two simple wooden bowls. Van moved over closer to her and watched what she was doing.
As she laid them out and began to scoop the hot soup into each one, she looked up at Van. "How is she doing?" she asked quietly.
He sighed. "Better," he replied. "Kayla says that this resting state is just her body's way of regaining all the energy that she lost. She woke up last night for a little while, but soon fell back asleep. Kayla says that this soup with help her gain back strength."
"It should," Kyia smiled. "With all the herbs that Kayla listed, the Lady should be up and running around the palace in no time." She paused, letting the smile on her face slip away. "But how are *you* doing?"
Van studied her, but said nothing. "Honestly, I don't know what I feel at this point," he said finally.
Kyia patiently waited for him to elaborate, but she could tell he really did not want to talk to anyone. He simply wanted to return upstairs and bring his wife food.
She nodded at him and handed the tray. "Would you like something to drink, perhaps?"
He shook his head. "But when your assistants return, please send them out to the garden to ask our guests if they'd like anything."
"Sure thing, sire," Kyia said, watching him leave the room.
* * *
As he entered the courtyard outside, he heard the cheerful voices of men cleaning up the ship wreckage and clearing the rumble. There was still metal debris littered everywhere, but the crew had managed to remove the majority of it by using guymelefs, oxen and wagons.
Hopefully, this place will look homelike soon enough, he thought as he went into the building containing the Infirmary.
At least this building remain untouched when the Cassians attacked Fanelia less than a week before. Most of the palace was intact still, thanks to Dralion's "strategically placed" attacks.
But as he wandered down the corridor leading to the Infirmary, his mind lingered back to what Kyia asked him. How are *you* doing?
He had given her a honest answer, but he assumed that Kyia would like to know a little bit more than just that. He found her to be a good replacement listener in Celena's absences when he wanted to ask "women" questions. And she had turned out to be an excellent cook. Perhaps she did inherit her mother's gifts in culinary.
Kyia had been grateful for Van offering her a position in the kitchen ever since her father died. It was what her mother did before she passed on and Van knew how much something like this would mean to her.
But he couldn't describe in words exactly how he was feeling. Anger. Confusion. Happiness. Peace. Those were only a few of them, but there was so much more that he couldn't even begin to express.
Van had been so lost in his thoughts that he did not even realize he was in front of the doors leading to the Infirmary. He shifted the tray and balanced it to one arm, then used the other to push open the door.
The hospital wing was quite empty and Van thanked the gods for that. During the attacks, there weren't any casualties except for Palos, and very few people received minor injuries.
Healer Kayla was organizing herbs and medical ointments on her wheeling trolley, but pointed to the far right room.
"She's been wondering where you are," she said impassively.
"How long has she been awake?" Van whispered.
"About a half hour," she replied. "Make sure she eats all of her soup, then you can take her outside for a while. I'll have to check her out later on, but she should be able to return to her own room tonight. But remember: she's still weak, so don't over exhaust her."
Van nodded as he walked directly to the curtained room. With a sigh, he pulled back the white drapery.
Hitomi was sitting up in bed, her knees bent halfway up with a worn leather book settled in her lap. Van immediately recognized it as her journal that she had begun writing in shortly after Sellie's birth.
But Hitomi was not paying any attention to what she had once written. Her head faced the slightly open window, but as soon as Van took one step into the room, she turned and smiled at him.
"Hey," she said softly.
"Hey," he replied. He set the tray of bowls onto her bedside table and wheeled it closer to her. "How are you feeling?" he asked as he settled onto the side of the bed.
"Fine," she responded a little too quickly for Van's liking. "Alright, I'm a little tired."
"Ky made you some soup that should make you feel better," he informed her as he handed a bowl to her. She sipped from the side and jumped in bed.
"It's hot," she said. "I'll let it sit for awhile." She placed the bowl back on the tray.
"Kayla said that my fatigue is due to all the energy I used up back there to fix everything what Ashira did," she continued after an unsettling silence began to fill the room. "…and that this is my body's way of recuperating for someone in 'my position'."
Van nodded. "She said that you can get out of here in a little while. We'll go for a walk after your soup."
"Alright." She folded her hands in her lap nervously. "How is everyone? Sellie, Allen, Celena, Gaddes…"
"They're fine," Van answered. "They're down in the garden so I thought we'd stop on by there." He paused. "Sellie, however, suffered some of the same things that you did. Once we returned to Gaea, you were already unconscious. On our way up to the palace, Sellie collapsed from exhaustion. But after some rest, she was fine." He gestured to the next room. "She was right over there, and during the night, she'd sneak in here and spent the night with you."
"Mmmm…" Hitomi muttered as a grin formed on her face. "I had a dream that she was by my side. Kayla said that she'd come in here and find you asleep in that chair and Sellie would be in the bed."
"Yeah…" Van said uncomfortably. "Kayla also told me…" he paused to swallow. "…the diagnosis on your wing."
Hitomi's smile melted away from her face. "Oh."
"She tried the best that she could, but she's no expert of Draconian anatomy," he continued. "I tried to explain what occurred in the Temple, but after Ashira pulled Sellie away from me and put up the fire wall, I could only guess that you got burned by the fire or lava."
Hitomi suppressed her dread. "Yeah," she swallowed.
"Sellie confirmed it when she woke up and told me what all happened," he said. "But Kayla thinks that there's a possibility that it will never heal properly."
"Meaning that I won't get to fly anymore," she snorted.
"That's not exactly true," Van pointed out. "It just might mean that you won't be able to fly for awhile. Besides, the Power of Atlantis could fix it, right?"
"Yeah, right," Hitomi said halfheartedly as she folded her hands upon her journal. She already knew the answer to Van's hopefulness. The Power of Atlantis doesn't work like that.
Van leaned forward and gently covered his hand around hers. "At least you have your memories back," he said. "Sellie told me what happened after we were separated."
Hitomi looked into her husband's eyes, clearing her throat before telling him her next set of troubles.
"Van, there's something else that I must tell you," she said finally. "I know that when I grabbed Sellie's hand, there was some sort of connection between us… I could see things that were familiar and foreign to me. Somehow, she showed me images of my life… although I don't think she actually knew them or anything, and then *bang*… my memories of my life were returned." She paused. "But I still don't remember everything."
Seeing the look on Van's face made her hold up her hand to stop him from saying something at that moment. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I know who you are, who Sellie is, who all my friends are… but I see these images in my head and I don't recognize them. Nor do I recall some things that I know should be important."
"How do you mean?" Van asked softly.
"Little things… big things… things I know I should remember but I can't," she replied, growing a little frustrated. "I don't recall what Sellie's first word was… I don't remember anyone's birthdays…" She looked into Van's eyes. "I don't know when or where was the first time we made love."
She lowered her eyes to the book sitting on her lap. "I asked Kayla if she could someone to get me my journal that I keep in my room," she continued. "At least I could remember where I kept it or if I even had one. And I've been flipping through here and I've been reading even more passages that don't make any sense and… and…" she began to stumble over her words in aggravation.
Van moved onto the bed and pulled her into him, trying to hush her. "Shhhhh… its alright… its alright…"
She buried herself into his shoulder. "I'm so tired of all this, Van," she sniffed. "I want my life to return to normal."
He stroked her hair gently. "Maybe it will, love," he said softly. "The Power of Atlantis is contained… completely. Hopefully, all of our lives will get back on track. And we'll work on your memories. Perhaps it just takes time for them to return."
She leaned back and looked at him intently. "And I always thought I was the optimistic one," she observed, then added a deep sigh. "Van, this must have been such a difficult time for you. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
He scoffed. "It's not your fault."
"No, it is. I always thought that we'd tell Sellie about her heritage together. And then this happens and you had to take the blame all by yourself."
"Well, actually, it wasn't that bad," Van replied. "I thought she was very mature about it. Plus, I had some help."
"Oh, yes, this 'Dralion' guy?"
Guy? "Yeah, him, and a few others."
Hitomi squeezed his hand. "It was mostly you. I can feel it," she said. "Thank you."
"Well, don't go thanking me just yet," he smiled. "What do you say we eat some lunch, Healer … checks you out, and we get out of here… go for a walk? Go find Sellie?"
"Sounds like a plan," she agreed.
* * *
After their talk, the soup that Kyia had made had finally cooled down considerably. As Hitomi ate hungrily, Kayla performed some physical and psychological tests to make sure she was fit for leaving.
Van briefly returned to their room and picked out something that she could wear besides her infirmary gown. As he stumbled through one of the armoire, his fingers grazed upon an old and worn garment. Curiosity consuming him, he pulled it out to inspect it closer.
It was the same cloak that Gaea gave to Hitomi all those years ago when she "accidentally" returned. He had seen her wearing it a few times when Sellie was young, but she ceased to put it on since then.
He tossed it onto the bed, along with a light-colored linen Fanelian sundress that she liked to wear during the summer. When he arrived back at the Infirmary, Hitomi was having her wings examined by Kayla.
"Well," the Healer said after her inspection. "Your wing is looking a lot better than what was looked like last night, I can tell you that much. But it will definitely need a lot more time to heal than just one night. I'm going to release you, but I want you to come back daily so I can reapply the ointment and give you some meds."
"Alright," Hitomi said. Van handed her the clothes he brought down and she briskly walked behind the white curtain to change in a whirl of feathers.
"Sire," Kayla whispered as soon as the sheet grew still. "Are you sure about this?"
"'Course I am," he replied in the same low voice. "I think something like this is exactly what she needs. I just hope that she'll be happy."
"Why won't she?" she said in her undertone. "Just make sure that she is still calm and relaxed. She is still healing." She moved away from him as soon as she saw the curtains rustle and Hitomi step out.
"Ready?" Van asked.
"Yeah," she replied.
As they descended down the stairs and entered the outdoor courtyard, Van stopped her.
"Close your eyes," he requested.
Hitomi looked baffled by this odd command, but she succumbed nonetheless. "Alright."
He took her hand and led the way. "Now, no peeking," he teased.
"Van, this isn't going to be much of a surprise," she said. "I've walked this path thousands of times. We're headed for the gardens. I thought we were going to see Sellie."
"Just wait, you'll see," he replied.
As they walked, Van coaxed her playfully. He'd lead her around in circles and backtrack to try and throw her sense of direction. However, although she had remained truthful and kept her eyes shut, she still knew where they were going.
Finally, he stopped her again and dropped her hand. Hitomi felt his hands encircle her waist and push her gently forwards. "Are we almost there?" she laughed. "Can I look around?"
"Just positioning you so you can see it better," he replied. "Alright, now."
She slowly opened her eyes, and, at first she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. Van had taken her to the gazebo that he had given her years before, but there were many people surrounding the area. Hitomi had assumed that their friends had stayed, but this number seemed to be quite larger than the normal crew.
They had seemed to be engaged in conversation shortly before she had arrived and had now quieted down, giving their full awareness to her. As she scanned the familiar and unfamiliar faces, a few stood out that she recognized. A few that she thought she'd never see again.
"Oh my God," she breathed.
On the gazebo swing sat Sellie. Sitting next to her was Hitomi's mother.
Instantly, names went with faces. Mamoru, her brother, was standing with Dryden and Gaddes. Merle, Celena, and a woman that Hitomi didn't recognize had been entertaining the Twins and a human toddler. Yukari, Naoko, and Millerna were sitting on one of the marble benches while Allen, Amano, Rouen, and an unfamiliar teenager were grouped together behind them.
Sellie had already risen to her feet and walked over to where Hitomi stood agape. "Mom," she said happily.
Hitomi hugged her daughter tightly. "Sellie," she said dumbfounded. "How is this…? How did you do…?"
"C'mon," the young girl replied. "We'll tell you all about it."
Hitomi made her way to the gazebo, embracing her family and friends along the way. Mamoru had grown into a handsome young man and was now married to his high school sweetheart, Yoko. The toddler that was playing with the cat-girl twins was their daughter, Mizuru. Naoko, still single, was dressed in a fine business suit and told Hitomi about her line of work in the television industry. Yukari and Amano still lived in America with their son, Masuo, but traveled back to Japan frequently.
At last, she made it to her gazebo where her mother still sat.
"Mom," she whispered.
Midori had already risen to her feet and opened up her arms to her daughter for a hug. Hitomi, already teary-eyed, leapt into her arms and held her firmly.
"My God, Hitomi," her mother said. "You're still cutting your hair like a boy's?"
Hitomi couldn't help but laugh. It was just like her mother to scold her for her appearance, even after all these years. "How is this possible?" she asked loudly when she pulled back. "How did you all come here?"
"This was all Van's idea," Midori replied. "But I'm sure you'd like to hear the story."
"When we all returned to Gaea, you were already out of it," Celena began. "We landed back where Escaflowne is, so Van picked you up and took you to the Infirmary. Along the way, Sellie grabbed my hand and told me she felt faint as she collapsed. Allen managed to catch her in time before she hit the ground and carried her. Kayla examined you both immediately and told Van that it was just exhaustion.
"He ran outside and started yelling to the forest for Gaea to come out. As soon as she did, he started shouting at her to heal both of you. Gaea said that she did not have the strength to do so just yet, and that all you two needed was rest, so he needed to be patient. But then he proposed another idea."
"Five days ago, there was this huge anomaly in the sky that nobody could explain, not even those scientists in all those space programs," Yukari continued. "They said it looked like a mirror planet to Earth. They made some bull story to explain it, but Amano and I were a little skeptical. At that exact same time it appeared, there were all these earthquakes and storms all over the world at the same time. A lot of people thought it was the apocalypse. We figured it had something to do with you guys , so I called up your mom. We just happened to be visiting my parents in Kamakura, too.
"Mrs. Kanzaki knew, somehow, something was wrong with you. She could feel it or something. Then, the anomaly was gone and the storms stopped, but your mom still thought something was amiss. If we were able to see Gaea from Earth, why was there no contact from you? She told me to stay in touch just in case."
"Lord Van had talked with Gaea in private for a long length of time," Merle proceeded in adding to the epic story. "Finally, he told me and Sellie to stay with you until he came back, but he never told any of us where he was going. Allen said he spotted a pillar of light, so we could only guess."
"Dad was gone for an entire day, and when he came back, he had all these strangely dressed people with him," Sellie added. "He said that they were your family and friends from the Mystic -- I mean, Earth. Apparently, only he and I could understand them, but Gaea appeared and did… something, so that all of us could communicate with each other."
Hitomi listened to the story, but only a portion had made any meaning to her. Her eyes lingered on Van, who had hung back behind the crowd and let the others speak. Just thinking about what a miraculous thing he had done for her made her eyes well with tears.
"You did all this for me?" she asked when Sellie stopped.
Van shrugged his shoulders. "It was the first thing I thought of when Gaea admitted that the bond between our world and the Mystic Moon had not been closed. If you were not allowed to physically leave Gaea, then I was going to do everything in my power to bring your friends and family to…"
He was not able to finish his sentence, for Hitomi had run up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and brought him into a kiss. Gaddes let out a whoop as a few applauded. As they parted their lips, Kyia and a few servants brought out bottles of vino, water, and glasses for the guests.
"Perfect timing!" Dryden exclaimed as several people walked over to retrieve a drink. Van snuck his arms around Hitomi's waist and looked upon her beaming face.
"I don't know how I'm ever going to thank you, Van," she said softly.
"Well," he replied, grinning. "I have an idea, but it'll have to wait until you get your 'energy' back again."
"Van!" Hitomi cried, her face blushing slightly as she shoved him playfully. "My mother and your daughter are going to hear your 'illicit propositions'."
"I don't care. Besides, we have all the time in the world." He let his arms move up to Hitomi's and held her hand, bringing her over to the multitude.
"A toast!" Midori announced as she raised her glass. "To reunions!"
"To family, immediate and extended," Mamoru lifted his.
"To old friends," Hitomi nodded to Amano, Naoko and Yukari's direction.
"To new ones," Yukari replied, shifting her glance to Millerna.
"To children," Millerna voiced in, "Young--" raising her glass towards the Twins and Mizuru by Merle, "--and old," to Sellie, Rouen, and Masuo.
"To engagements," Allen added, looking directly at Celena and Gaddes. Hitomi couldn't help to show interest in that comment. It's about time, she thought.
"To the Mystic Moon," Dryden looked skywards.
"To Gaea," Naoko said.
"To new beginnings," Midori finished and brought the vino to her mouth as the others did the same.
New beginnings, indeed… thought Sellie as she drank water. She slipped her hand into Rouen's and squeezed.
* * *
The remainder of the day and evening went by extremely casually. Hitomi obeyed Kayla's orders and remained calm throughout the afternoon as Sellie, Rouen, and Masuo ran off by themselves, soon joined by Lupin and Darmen, and the Twins and Mizuru went down for naps. The group was moved indoors out of the sun into one of the day parlors.
Stories were discussed at great lengths about what everyone had done with their lives after Hitomi left but to her horror, secrets were brought to light about embarrassing accounts of the Kanzaki family.
"I couldn't take it anymore," Mamoru was saying during a recollection of a sleepover. "Not only Hitomi's giggling, but Yukari's as well? Give me a first-class ticket straight to Hell instead." He soon described how he had set up a series of pranks to get back at the girls.
"Ha! Don't forget how I got you back!" Hitomi retorted. "I bet all those creepy sounds from outside your door kept you up late at night."
"That was you?" Mamoru asked meekly, sending everyone in hysterics.
The crowd settled down and Yukari rose with a package wrapped in brown paper in her arms. "When we last saw Hitomi, she and Van told us the entire story of her first trip to Gaea," she said. "Which, unfortunately, Amano and I don't recall for some odd reason. Van apologized to me for being so rude to us and he explained how his world thinks that Earth is some sort of demon planet.
"Anyway, during all the hectic chaos that occurred the past few days with the 'anomaly' and all, Van arrived at Mrs. Kanzaki's and told us about his plan. I managed to go out to grab some things and on the way, I found this. I thought it would help any Gaean understand what Earth is really all about."
She handed the package to Hitomi and Van before sititng down quickly next to Amano. Hitomi pulled back the paper to reveal an enormous photography book simply entitled "The World." She flipped through some of the pages to look at the pictures and stopped at the section about Japan where someone had "accidentally" book-marked it.
"Oh my God," she inhaled. "Look, Sellie. This is where I'm from." She held it out for all to see. "Thank you, Yukari."
After a casual dinner had ended and an early evening's conversation had begun, Kayla demanded that Hitomi had to retire to her quarters for a full night's rest. Although she began to protest, she could feel the tiredness slowly overwhelming her. She surrendered and rose to head upstairs.
"Don't worry, Hitomi," Midori said when she saw the look of disappointment on her daughter's face. "I don't think that we all will be up much longer. Van has been more than a gracious host and gave us such beautiful guest rooms. So we'll just see you in the morning."
* * *
"Sellie, I have to ask," Rouen said. He fidgeted on her bed while she was changing her clothes in her adjoining bathroom. "What exactly did you mean when you flew away on Dralion to Fanelia? You know, what you said?"
After Kayla said that her mother should rest, the whole party began to leave moderately and head up to their rooms. Sellie had whispered to Rouen to come see her later on that night after everyone else had disappeared into their quarters.
Sellie had been contemplating on what she should say to Rouen about her spontaneous actions. Luckily, he had kept quiet, waiting patiently for her to bring up the subject. She had told him she loved him. It must had been driving him crazy while she was gone.
She emerged from her bathroom, her dark free-flowing hair spilling over an old linen shirt. "Rouen, you're my best friend, right?"
"Well, yeah," he replied casually.
"And you know I'd do anything for you?" she plopped down on the bed next to him. Lupin looked at them keenly from his makeshift bed in the corner. The wolf had been following Sellie relentlessly ever since she returned and his eyes had never lingered far from her.
"Of course. And I would do the same for you. That's what friends are for."
She lowered her head and began to fiddle with her hair. "These past few days have made me realize how precious and short our lives are," she said gravely. "It's made me realize how old I feel compared to how old I really am. I mean, a few days ago, Tarn was proposing a fixed marriage for me and his son! I thought it was such an absurd idea, but then it almost made sense to me."
"How so?" Rouen asked.
"Well, my father started his reign when he was fifteen years old," Sellie pointed out. "That's two years older than my age right now. With everything that has occurred lately makes me think that I've… grown up… and…"
"Whoa, slow down," he quickly moved his hand to cover hers warmly. "I think I know where this is headed." He breathed in deeply, then exhaled. "You know I love you, Sellie. And I'm thinking that you may return the feeling, though you've been trying to hide it as of lately."
"And then some," Sellie added.
"But you're acting like its time for you to choose who you want to spend the rest of your life with at this very moment," he went on. "You are only thirteen, Sellie, as you said. You have plenty of time to plan your future. Yes, you will be Queen of Fanelia at some point. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it will be tomorrow. And yes, I will be King of Asturia one day as well. But I am trying to enjoy the last part of my childhood, as you should do also.
"What I'm trying to say is slow down. You should still put a little more focus on your studies, but don't forget to have fun, too. And if you have feelings for me, then maybe we can move things slowly and…"
Sellie leaned over and kissed him before Rouen could finish his statement. His eyes opened widely in surprise at the chaste gesture and stared intently upon her as she pulled away from him.
"What was that?" he asked.
"Me returning the feeling," she replied with a grin spreading upon her face. "I know that we're still young. Let's just go on from here remaining friends and see where it takes us, alright? We have all the time in the world."
Rouen joined her in smiling. "Agreed." He stood up and moved towards the door.
"Rouen?"
"Hmmm?"
"I do love you."
He smiled again, though his back was turned to Sellie so she could not see it. "I know," he said. "Goodnight, Princess."
* * *
After Van had escorted Hitomi back to their room and made sure that she went straight to bed, he returned to the parlor they had spent most of the afternoon in to tend to their guests. Many of them had already finished off their last glasses of vino and were about to return to the guest room quarters. Dryden and Mamoru still seemed to be deep into intense conversation about economics and business.
Van slouched down into his favorite armchair right next to the fire and poured himself some vino. The cool fluid rushing down his throat was just what he needed to help him go to sleep.
"This was a noble thing that you did for my daughter, Van," Midori's voice said, startling him.
"Oh, Midori," he jumped slightly out of his seat. "I figured you had gone to bed along with everyone else."
"I'm about to. Will you walk me to my room?"
"Of course."
Van downed the remaining vino and set the glass down upon the table. He took his mother-in-law's hand and helped her to her feet. They said goodnight to the two men left in the parlor, but they were so into their discussion that Van didn't think they even noticed.
As they wandered down the hallway to the guest quarters, Midori did not let go of Van's hand. "Van, I know that you didn't tell me all what happened during these past few days," she began. "There was something more than just that incident, am I right?"
Van nodded. "We had a… run in… with someone from our past," he explained. "The same 'someone' that we had a problem with when Hitomi first returned to Gaea."
Midori's expression did not change. "And this 'someone'. Is it all over with this person?"
A beat. "Yes."
"Good."
They walked in silence until they reached the suite given to her. Before Midori entered her dimly lit bedroom, she turned around and kissed Van on the cheek. "You thought that bringing Hitomi's family and friends to her would be awkward. Why?"
"Well, I'm the man that took her away from you all. I'm the cause for her not being able to see her family and friends for years." He swallowed. "It's because of me that you haven't been able to see your granddaughter until now."
"Van, I don't hold you responsible at all," Midori said firmly. "Nor does my son or Hitomi's friends. It was *her* choice and I believe it was the right one. And as for my granddaughter… I believe that she is a beautiful girl and is growing into an even more beautiful young woman. The past few days with her have been wonderful, and I hope to spend even more time with her. And Hitomi."
Van nodded again. "I insist upon it."
"If the King insists upon it, then it must be carried out," Midori said with a smile. "Goodnight, Van."
"Goodnight, Midori."
As her door clicked shut, a large weight lifted from his shoulders. It had been his plan to bring the Kanzakis and Hitomi's friends that she left behind, but he wasn't sure what their reaction towards him would be. This just proved that there was no hidden hostility. He walked back to his bedroom, his heart a little bit lighter than it was earlier.
As he entered the area, he tiptoed inside as to not wake Hitomi. He could make her sleeping form curved towards his side of the bed, her shape lit by a full moon's light. He noticed that the picture book Yukari gave her was on the bedside table. He'd have to take a look at it later on.
He quickly removed his shirt and slid underneath the covers.
"Hey. I'm still awake," Hitomi said drowsily.
"Sorry. Did I disturb you?"
"No."
The silence of the night overtook them as Van settled into the large bed and faced Hitomi. She looked at him sleepily.
"Hitomi, has there been anytime that you regretted coming to Gaea?"
The question had been on his mind, but he hadn't intended on asking it. But now that it was out in the air, it might as well be answered.
"I remember that you asked me this before," she responded. "And the answer hasn't changed. No, I haven't." She brushed back his dark hair so she could look directly into his eyes. "If I hadn't come back to Gaea, this world would have been in trouble… we never would have had Sellie… and I never would have been happy or satisfied by anyone else but you."
Van stroked her cheek and kissed her softly on the forehead. Hitomi shifted her body so that he could hold her more comfortably in his arms. Memories of the previous week's events melted away as he lay contently holding the woman he loved.
"Tomorrow is another day," he whispered. "Let's just see what it brings."
* * *
Instead of releasing this chapter alone, I decided to write out the Epilogue as well. Go on to read the conclusion of Parvulus de Crepuscid.
Hitomi's brother's name has been changed to Mamoru, like what it was for the series. His wife, Yoko, is named for Yoko Kanno and their daughter Mizuru is named for the character in the Escaflowne video game (if you can get your hands on the 8th DVD, they have clips of her, but that's not who MY character is).
Sorry if this chapter and the following epilogue seem really condensed, but I needed to sum up what happens and I don't want to go on and on in full detail.
Chapter title comes from Gillian Anderson's directed episode of the X-Files "all things".
Time. 6.16 pm
Music. "Free" by Vast
Chapter 20
Copyright. Nope. Don't own Escaflowne or any of its characters. Damn.
Author's Notes. Don't have much to say for once. Let's get on with the story, shall we?
The Vision of Escaflowne. Parvulus de Crepuscid
Chapter 20. All Things
* * *
5 days later…
"Oy! Didn't you hear me?! I said OY!"
Kyia pointed a menacing ladle at the two servants sitting at one of the old wooden tables in her kitchen.
"Quit your gossiping and take these mugs out to the men!" she snapped. "They're actually *doing* some work, unlike you two."
The two girls bowed at her and obliged, hastily taking the tray of drinks from the countertop. But as Kyia went back to stirring her soup, she could still hear their excited giggles echoing down the halls as they spoke rapidly about something.
You'd think that with all the activities as of lately, they'd have a more solemn attitude, Kyia thought to herself. With the Queen's disappearance and retrieval and the attack on the palace. People are beginning to talk. I wonder what other rumors are spreading throughout the city.
She sighed loudly, wishing suddenly that her domain of the giant kitchen had windows. She wanted to see cheerful sunlight pouring in large squares of glass rather than barely seeing her own hand through the haze of smoke. It was a glorious day outside and she was the only one cooped up inside.
Correction: there were two others inside besides her.
As she stirred in her frustration, she heard a single person's set of footsteps walking down the hall. "It's not lunch yet!" she shouted, her back still turned to the entry way. "You'll have to tell your men they must wait for another hour!"
"Ky?"
"Oh my gods!" Kyia cried, recognizing the voice instantly. "Van!" She turned around, ladle still in hand, to see the young King looking at her strangely. "I'm so sorry! I thought you were one of the workers outside clearing out the airships!" She bowed quickly.
"Oh, no," Van replied softly. "It's alright." He paused, glancing around the kitchen. "Ummm… did Healer Kayla leave the recipe for the soup she wanted? I told her that I'd go bring it back to the Infirmary."
"Yes!" Kyia exclaimed, turning back to the pot she had been stirring. "It's just about done. Let me fetch you a couple of bowls and a tray." Still mixing with the ladle in one hand, she opened a cupboard overhead without looking and pulled out two simple wooden bowls. Van moved over closer to her and watched what she was doing.
As she laid them out and began to scoop the hot soup into each one, she looked up at Van. "How is she doing?" she asked quietly.
He sighed. "Better," he replied. "Kayla says that this resting state is just her body's way of regaining all the energy that she lost. She woke up last night for a little while, but soon fell back asleep. Kayla says that this soup with help her gain back strength."
"It should," Kyia smiled. "With all the herbs that Kayla listed, the Lady should be up and running around the palace in no time." She paused, letting the smile on her face slip away. "But how are *you* doing?"
Van studied her, but said nothing. "Honestly, I don't know what I feel at this point," he said finally.
Kyia patiently waited for him to elaborate, but she could tell he really did not want to talk to anyone. He simply wanted to return upstairs and bring his wife food.
She nodded at him and handed the tray. "Would you like something to drink, perhaps?"
He shook his head. "But when your assistants return, please send them out to the garden to ask our guests if they'd like anything."
"Sure thing, sire," Kyia said, watching him leave the room.
* * *
As he entered the courtyard outside, he heard the cheerful voices of men cleaning up the ship wreckage and clearing the rumble. There was still metal debris littered everywhere, but the crew had managed to remove the majority of it by using guymelefs, oxen and wagons.
Hopefully, this place will look homelike soon enough, he thought as he went into the building containing the Infirmary.
At least this building remain untouched when the Cassians attacked Fanelia less than a week before. Most of the palace was intact still, thanks to Dralion's "strategically placed" attacks.
But as he wandered down the corridor leading to the Infirmary, his mind lingered back to what Kyia asked him. How are *you* doing?
He had given her a honest answer, but he assumed that Kyia would like to know a little bit more than just that. He found her to be a good replacement listener in Celena's absences when he wanted to ask "women" questions. And she had turned out to be an excellent cook. Perhaps she did inherit her mother's gifts in culinary.
Kyia had been grateful for Van offering her a position in the kitchen ever since her father died. It was what her mother did before she passed on and Van knew how much something like this would mean to her.
But he couldn't describe in words exactly how he was feeling. Anger. Confusion. Happiness. Peace. Those were only a few of them, but there was so much more that he couldn't even begin to express.
Van had been so lost in his thoughts that he did not even realize he was in front of the doors leading to the Infirmary. He shifted the tray and balanced it to one arm, then used the other to push open the door.
The hospital wing was quite empty and Van thanked the gods for that. During the attacks, there weren't any casualties except for Palos, and very few people received minor injuries.
Healer Kayla was organizing herbs and medical ointments on her wheeling trolley, but pointed to the far right room.
"She's been wondering where you are," she said impassively.
"How long has she been awake?" Van whispered.
"About a half hour," she replied. "Make sure she eats all of her soup, then you can take her outside for a while. I'll have to check her out later on, but she should be able to return to her own room tonight. But remember: she's still weak, so don't over exhaust her."
Van nodded as he walked directly to the curtained room. With a sigh, he pulled back the white drapery.
Hitomi was sitting up in bed, her knees bent halfway up with a worn leather book settled in her lap. Van immediately recognized it as her journal that she had begun writing in shortly after Sellie's birth.
But Hitomi was not paying any attention to what she had once written. Her head faced the slightly open window, but as soon as Van took one step into the room, she turned and smiled at him.
"Hey," she said softly.
"Hey," he replied. He set the tray of bowls onto her bedside table and wheeled it closer to her. "How are you feeling?" he asked as he settled onto the side of the bed.
"Fine," she responded a little too quickly for Van's liking. "Alright, I'm a little tired."
"Ky made you some soup that should make you feel better," he informed her as he handed a bowl to her. She sipped from the side and jumped in bed.
"It's hot," she said. "I'll let it sit for awhile." She placed the bowl back on the tray.
"Kayla said that my fatigue is due to all the energy I used up back there to fix everything what Ashira did," she continued after an unsettling silence began to fill the room. "…and that this is my body's way of recuperating for someone in 'my position'."
Van nodded. "She said that you can get out of here in a little while. We'll go for a walk after your soup."
"Alright." She folded her hands in her lap nervously. "How is everyone? Sellie, Allen, Celena, Gaddes…"
"They're fine," Van answered. "They're down in the garden so I thought we'd stop on by there." He paused. "Sellie, however, suffered some of the same things that you did. Once we returned to Gaea, you were already unconscious. On our way up to the palace, Sellie collapsed from exhaustion. But after some rest, she was fine." He gestured to the next room. "She was right over there, and during the night, she'd sneak in here and spent the night with you."
"Mmmm…" Hitomi muttered as a grin formed on her face. "I had a dream that she was by my side. Kayla said that she'd come in here and find you asleep in that chair and Sellie would be in the bed."
"Yeah…" Van said uncomfortably. "Kayla also told me…" he paused to swallow. "…the diagnosis on your wing."
Hitomi's smile melted away from her face. "Oh."
"She tried the best that she could, but she's no expert of Draconian anatomy," he continued. "I tried to explain what occurred in the Temple, but after Ashira pulled Sellie away from me and put up the fire wall, I could only guess that you got burned by the fire or lava."
Hitomi suppressed her dread. "Yeah," she swallowed.
"Sellie confirmed it when she woke up and told me what all happened," he said. "But Kayla thinks that there's a possibility that it will never heal properly."
"Meaning that I won't get to fly anymore," she snorted.
"That's not exactly true," Van pointed out. "It just might mean that you won't be able to fly for awhile. Besides, the Power of Atlantis could fix it, right?"
"Yeah, right," Hitomi said halfheartedly as she folded her hands upon her journal. She already knew the answer to Van's hopefulness. The Power of Atlantis doesn't work like that.
Van leaned forward and gently covered his hand around hers. "At least you have your memories back," he said. "Sellie told me what happened after we were separated."
Hitomi looked into her husband's eyes, clearing her throat before telling him her next set of troubles.
"Van, there's something else that I must tell you," she said finally. "I know that when I grabbed Sellie's hand, there was some sort of connection between us… I could see things that were familiar and foreign to me. Somehow, she showed me images of my life… although I don't think she actually knew them or anything, and then *bang*… my memories of my life were returned." She paused. "But I still don't remember everything."
Seeing the look on Van's face made her hold up her hand to stop him from saying something at that moment. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I know who you are, who Sellie is, who all my friends are… but I see these images in my head and I don't recognize them. Nor do I recall some things that I know should be important."
"How do you mean?" Van asked softly.
"Little things… big things… things I know I should remember but I can't," she replied, growing a little frustrated. "I don't recall what Sellie's first word was… I don't remember anyone's birthdays…" She looked into Van's eyes. "I don't know when or where was the first time we made love."
She lowered her eyes to the book sitting on her lap. "I asked Kayla if she could someone to get me my journal that I keep in my room," she continued. "At least I could remember where I kept it or if I even had one. And I've been flipping through here and I've been reading even more passages that don't make any sense and… and…" she began to stumble over her words in aggravation.
Van moved onto the bed and pulled her into him, trying to hush her. "Shhhhh… its alright… its alright…"
She buried herself into his shoulder. "I'm so tired of all this, Van," she sniffed. "I want my life to return to normal."
He stroked her hair gently. "Maybe it will, love," he said softly. "The Power of Atlantis is contained… completely. Hopefully, all of our lives will get back on track. And we'll work on your memories. Perhaps it just takes time for them to return."
She leaned back and looked at him intently. "And I always thought I was the optimistic one," she observed, then added a deep sigh. "Van, this must have been such a difficult time for you. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
He scoffed. "It's not your fault."
"No, it is. I always thought that we'd tell Sellie about her heritage together. And then this happens and you had to take the blame all by yourself."
"Well, actually, it wasn't that bad," Van replied. "I thought she was very mature about it. Plus, I had some help."
"Oh, yes, this 'Dralion' guy?"
Guy? "Yeah, him, and a few others."
Hitomi squeezed his hand. "It was mostly you. I can feel it," she said. "Thank you."
"Well, don't go thanking me just yet," he smiled. "What do you say we eat some lunch, Healer … checks you out, and we get out of here… go for a walk? Go find Sellie?"
"Sounds like a plan," she agreed.
* * *
After their talk, the soup that Kyia had made had finally cooled down considerably. As Hitomi ate hungrily, Kayla performed some physical and psychological tests to make sure she was fit for leaving.
Van briefly returned to their room and picked out something that she could wear besides her infirmary gown. As he stumbled through one of the armoire, his fingers grazed upon an old and worn garment. Curiosity consuming him, he pulled it out to inspect it closer.
It was the same cloak that Gaea gave to Hitomi all those years ago when she "accidentally" returned. He had seen her wearing it a few times when Sellie was young, but she ceased to put it on since then.
He tossed it onto the bed, along with a light-colored linen Fanelian sundress that she liked to wear during the summer. When he arrived back at the Infirmary, Hitomi was having her wings examined by Kayla.
"Well," the Healer said after her inspection. "Your wing is looking a lot better than what was looked like last night, I can tell you that much. But it will definitely need a lot more time to heal than just one night. I'm going to release you, but I want you to come back daily so I can reapply the ointment and give you some meds."
"Alright," Hitomi said. Van handed her the clothes he brought down and she briskly walked behind the white curtain to change in a whirl of feathers.
"Sire," Kayla whispered as soon as the sheet grew still. "Are you sure about this?"
"'Course I am," he replied in the same low voice. "I think something like this is exactly what she needs. I just hope that she'll be happy."
"Why won't she?" she said in her undertone. "Just make sure that she is still calm and relaxed. She is still healing." She moved away from him as soon as she saw the curtains rustle and Hitomi step out.
"Ready?" Van asked.
"Yeah," she replied.
As they descended down the stairs and entered the outdoor courtyard, Van stopped her.
"Close your eyes," he requested.
Hitomi looked baffled by this odd command, but she succumbed nonetheless. "Alright."
He took her hand and led the way. "Now, no peeking," he teased.
"Van, this isn't going to be much of a surprise," she said. "I've walked this path thousands of times. We're headed for the gardens. I thought we were going to see Sellie."
"Just wait, you'll see," he replied.
As they walked, Van coaxed her playfully. He'd lead her around in circles and backtrack to try and throw her sense of direction. However, although she had remained truthful and kept her eyes shut, she still knew where they were going.
Finally, he stopped her again and dropped her hand. Hitomi felt his hands encircle her waist and push her gently forwards. "Are we almost there?" she laughed. "Can I look around?"
"Just positioning you so you can see it better," he replied. "Alright, now."
She slowly opened her eyes, and, at first she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. Van had taken her to the gazebo that he had given her years before, but there were many people surrounding the area. Hitomi had assumed that their friends had stayed, but this number seemed to be quite larger than the normal crew.
They had seemed to be engaged in conversation shortly before she had arrived and had now quieted down, giving their full awareness to her. As she scanned the familiar and unfamiliar faces, a few stood out that she recognized. A few that she thought she'd never see again.
"Oh my God," she breathed.
On the gazebo swing sat Sellie. Sitting next to her was Hitomi's mother.
Instantly, names went with faces. Mamoru, her brother, was standing with Dryden and Gaddes. Merle, Celena, and a woman that Hitomi didn't recognize had been entertaining the Twins and a human toddler. Yukari, Naoko, and Millerna were sitting on one of the marble benches while Allen, Amano, Rouen, and an unfamiliar teenager were grouped together behind them.
Sellie had already risen to her feet and walked over to where Hitomi stood agape. "Mom," she said happily.
Hitomi hugged her daughter tightly. "Sellie," she said dumbfounded. "How is this…? How did you do…?"
"C'mon," the young girl replied. "We'll tell you all about it."
Hitomi made her way to the gazebo, embracing her family and friends along the way. Mamoru had grown into a handsome young man and was now married to his high school sweetheart, Yoko. The toddler that was playing with the cat-girl twins was their daughter, Mizuru. Naoko, still single, was dressed in a fine business suit and told Hitomi about her line of work in the television industry. Yukari and Amano still lived in America with their son, Masuo, but traveled back to Japan frequently.
At last, she made it to her gazebo where her mother still sat.
"Mom," she whispered.
Midori had already risen to her feet and opened up her arms to her daughter for a hug. Hitomi, already teary-eyed, leapt into her arms and held her firmly.
"My God, Hitomi," her mother said. "You're still cutting your hair like a boy's?"
Hitomi couldn't help but laugh. It was just like her mother to scold her for her appearance, even after all these years. "How is this possible?" she asked loudly when she pulled back. "How did you all come here?"
"This was all Van's idea," Midori replied. "But I'm sure you'd like to hear the story."
"When we all returned to Gaea, you were already out of it," Celena began. "We landed back where Escaflowne is, so Van picked you up and took you to the Infirmary. Along the way, Sellie grabbed my hand and told me she felt faint as she collapsed. Allen managed to catch her in time before she hit the ground and carried her. Kayla examined you both immediately and told Van that it was just exhaustion.
"He ran outside and started yelling to the forest for Gaea to come out. As soon as she did, he started shouting at her to heal both of you. Gaea said that she did not have the strength to do so just yet, and that all you two needed was rest, so he needed to be patient. But then he proposed another idea."
"Five days ago, there was this huge anomaly in the sky that nobody could explain, not even those scientists in all those space programs," Yukari continued. "They said it looked like a mirror planet to Earth. They made some bull story to explain it, but Amano and I were a little skeptical. At that exact same time it appeared, there were all these earthquakes and storms all over the world at the same time. A lot of people thought it was the apocalypse. We figured it had something to do with you guys , so I called up your mom. We just happened to be visiting my parents in Kamakura, too.
"Mrs. Kanzaki knew, somehow, something was wrong with you. She could feel it or something. Then, the anomaly was gone and the storms stopped, but your mom still thought something was amiss. If we were able to see Gaea from Earth, why was there no contact from you? She told me to stay in touch just in case."
"Lord Van had talked with Gaea in private for a long length of time," Merle proceeded in adding to the epic story. "Finally, he told me and Sellie to stay with you until he came back, but he never told any of us where he was going. Allen said he spotted a pillar of light, so we could only guess."
"Dad was gone for an entire day, and when he came back, he had all these strangely dressed people with him," Sellie added. "He said that they were your family and friends from the Mystic -- I mean, Earth. Apparently, only he and I could understand them, but Gaea appeared and did… something, so that all of us could communicate with each other."
Hitomi listened to the story, but only a portion had made any meaning to her. Her eyes lingered on Van, who had hung back behind the crowd and let the others speak. Just thinking about what a miraculous thing he had done for her made her eyes well with tears.
"You did all this for me?" she asked when Sellie stopped.
Van shrugged his shoulders. "It was the first thing I thought of when Gaea admitted that the bond between our world and the Mystic Moon had not been closed. If you were not allowed to physically leave Gaea, then I was going to do everything in my power to bring your friends and family to…"
He was not able to finish his sentence, for Hitomi had run up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and brought him into a kiss. Gaddes let out a whoop as a few applauded. As they parted their lips, Kyia and a few servants brought out bottles of vino, water, and glasses for the guests.
"Perfect timing!" Dryden exclaimed as several people walked over to retrieve a drink. Van snuck his arms around Hitomi's waist and looked upon her beaming face.
"I don't know how I'm ever going to thank you, Van," she said softly.
"Well," he replied, grinning. "I have an idea, but it'll have to wait until you get your 'energy' back again."
"Van!" Hitomi cried, her face blushing slightly as she shoved him playfully. "My mother and your daughter are going to hear your 'illicit propositions'."
"I don't care. Besides, we have all the time in the world." He let his arms move up to Hitomi's and held her hand, bringing her over to the multitude.
"A toast!" Midori announced as she raised her glass. "To reunions!"
"To family, immediate and extended," Mamoru lifted his.
"To old friends," Hitomi nodded to Amano, Naoko and Yukari's direction.
"To new ones," Yukari replied, shifting her glance to Millerna.
"To children," Millerna voiced in, "Young--" raising her glass towards the Twins and Mizuru by Merle, "--and old," to Sellie, Rouen, and Masuo.
"To engagements," Allen added, looking directly at Celena and Gaddes. Hitomi couldn't help to show interest in that comment. It's about time, she thought.
"To the Mystic Moon," Dryden looked skywards.
"To Gaea," Naoko said.
"To new beginnings," Midori finished and brought the vino to her mouth as the others did the same.
New beginnings, indeed… thought Sellie as she drank water. She slipped her hand into Rouen's and squeezed.
* * *
The remainder of the day and evening went by extremely casually. Hitomi obeyed Kayla's orders and remained calm throughout the afternoon as Sellie, Rouen, and Masuo ran off by themselves, soon joined by Lupin and Darmen, and the Twins and Mizuru went down for naps. The group was moved indoors out of the sun into one of the day parlors.
Stories were discussed at great lengths about what everyone had done with their lives after Hitomi left but to her horror, secrets were brought to light about embarrassing accounts of the Kanzaki family.
"I couldn't take it anymore," Mamoru was saying during a recollection of a sleepover. "Not only Hitomi's giggling, but Yukari's as well? Give me a first-class ticket straight to Hell instead." He soon described how he had set up a series of pranks to get back at the girls.
"Ha! Don't forget how I got you back!" Hitomi retorted. "I bet all those creepy sounds from outside your door kept you up late at night."
"That was you?" Mamoru asked meekly, sending everyone in hysterics.
The crowd settled down and Yukari rose with a package wrapped in brown paper in her arms. "When we last saw Hitomi, she and Van told us the entire story of her first trip to Gaea," she said. "Which, unfortunately, Amano and I don't recall for some odd reason. Van apologized to me for being so rude to us and he explained how his world thinks that Earth is some sort of demon planet.
"Anyway, during all the hectic chaos that occurred the past few days with the 'anomaly' and all, Van arrived at Mrs. Kanzaki's and told us about his plan. I managed to go out to grab some things and on the way, I found this. I thought it would help any Gaean understand what Earth is really all about."
She handed the package to Hitomi and Van before sititng down quickly next to Amano. Hitomi pulled back the paper to reveal an enormous photography book simply entitled "The World." She flipped through some of the pages to look at the pictures and stopped at the section about Japan where someone had "accidentally" book-marked it.
"Oh my God," she inhaled. "Look, Sellie. This is where I'm from." She held it out for all to see. "Thank you, Yukari."
After a casual dinner had ended and an early evening's conversation had begun, Kayla demanded that Hitomi had to retire to her quarters for a full night's rest. Although she began to protest, she could feel the tiredness slowly overwhelming her. She surrendered and rose to head upstairs.
"Don't worry, Hitomi," Midori said when she saw the look of disappointment on her daughter's face. "I don't think that we all will be up much longer. Van has been more than a gracious host and gave us such beautiful guest rooms. So we'll just see you in the morning."
* * *
"Sellie, I have to ask," Rouen said. He fidgeted on her bed while she was changing her clothes in her adjoining bathroom. "What exactly did you mean when you flew away on Dralion to Fanelia? You know, what you said?"
After Kayla said that her mother should rest, the whole party began to leave moderately and head up to their rooms. Sellie had whispered to Rouen to come see her later on that night after everyone else had disappeared into their quarters.
Sellie had been contemplating on what she should say to Rouen about her spontaneous actions. Luckily, he had kept quiet, waiting patiently for her to bring up the subject. She had told him she loved him. It must had been driving him crazy while she was gone.
She emerged from her bathroom, her dark free-flowing hair spilling over an old linen shirt. "Rouen, you're my best friend, right?"
"Well, yeah," he replied casually.
"And you know I'd do anything for you?" she plopped down on the bed next to him. Lupin looked at them keenly from his makeshift bed in the corner. The wolf had been following Sellie relentlessly ever since she returned and his eyes had never lingered far from her.
"Of course. And I would do the same for you. That's what friends are for."
She lowered her head and began to fiddle with her hair. "These past few days have made me realize how precious and short our lives are," she said gravely. "It's made me realize how old I feel compared to how old I really am. I mean, a few days ago, Tarn was proposing a fixed marriage for me and his son! I thought it was such an absurd idea, but then it almost made sense to me."
"How so?" Rouen asked.
"Well, my father started his reign when he was fifteen years old," Sellie pointed out. "That's two years older than my age right now. With everything that has occurred lately makes me think that I've… grown up… and…"
"Whoa, slow down," he quickly moved his hand to cover hers warmly. "I think I know where this is headed." He breathed in deeply, then exhaled. "You know I love you, Sellie. And I'm thinking that you may return the feeling, though you've been trying to hide it as of lately."
"And then some," Sellie added.
"But you're acting like its time for you to choose who you want to spend the rest of your life with at this very moment," he went on. "You are only thirteen, Sellie, as you said. You have plenty of time to plan your future. Yes, you will be Queen of Fanelia at some point. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it will be tomorrow. And yes, I will be King of Asturia one day as well. But I am trying to enjoy the last part of my childhood, as you should do also.
"What I'm trying to say is slow down. You should still put a little more focus on your studies, but don't forget to have fun, too. And if you have feelings for me, then maybe we can move things slowly and…"
Sellie leaned over and kissed him before Rouen could finish his statement. His eyes opened widely in surprise at the chaste gesture and stared intently upon her as she pulled away from him.
"What was that?" he asked.
"Me returning the feeling," she replied with a grin spreading upon her face. "I know that we're still young. Let's just go on from here remaining friends and see where it takes us, alright? We have all the time in the world."
Rouen joined her in smiling. "Agreed." He stood up and moved towards the door.
"Rouen?"
"Hmmm?"
"I do love you."
He smiled again, though his back was turned to Sellie so she could not see it. "I know," he said. "Goodnight, Princess."
* * *
After Van had escorted Hitomi back to their room and made sure that she went straight to bed, he returned to the parlor they had spent most of the afternoon in to tend to their guests. Many of them had already finished off their last glasses of vino and were about to return to the guest room quarters. Dryden and Mamoru still seemed to be deep into intense conversation about economics and business.
Van slouched down into his favorite armchair right next to the fire and poured himself some vino. The cool fluid rushing down his throat was just what he needed to help him go to sleep.
"This was a noble thing that you did for my daughter, Van," Midori's voice said, startling him.
"Oh, Midori," he jumped slightly out of his seat. "I figured you had gone to bed along with everyone else."
"I'm about to. Will you walk me to my room?"
"Of course."
Van downed the remaining vino and set the glass down upon the table. He took his mother-in-law's hand and helped her to her feet. They said goodnight to the two men left in the parlor, but they were so into their discussion that Van didn't think they even noticed.
As they wandered down the hallway to the guest quarters, Midori did not let go of Van's hand. "Van, I know that you didn't tell me all what happened during these past few days," she began. "There was something more than just that incident, am I right?"
Van nodded. "We had a… run in… with someone from our past," he explained. "The same 'someone' that we had a problem with when Hitomi first returned to Gaea."
Midori's expression did not change. "And this 'someone'. Is it all over with this person?"
A beat. "Yes."
"Good."
They walked in silence until they reached the suite given to her. Before Midori entered her dimly lit bedroom, she turned around and kissed Van on the cheek. "You thought that bringing Hitomi's family and friends to her would be awkward. Why?"
"Well, I'm the man that took her away from you all. I'm the cause for her not being able to see her family and friends for years." He swallowed. "It's because of me that you haven't been able to see your granddaughter until now."
"Van, I don't hold you responsible at all," Midori said firmly. "Nor does my son or Hitomi's friends. It was *her* choice and I believe it was the right one. And as for my granddaughter… I believe that she is a beautiful girl and is growing into an even more beautiful young woman. The past few days with her have been wonderful, and I hope to spend even more time with her. And Hitomi."
Van nodded again. "I insist upon it."
"If the King insists upon it, then it must be carried out," Midori said with a smile. "Goodnight, Van."
"Goodnight, Midori."
As her door clicked shut, a large weight lifted from his shoulders. It had been his plan to bring the Kanzakis and Hitomi's friends that she left behind, but he wasn't sure what their reaction towards him would be. This just proved that there was no hidden hostility. He walked back to his bedroom, his heart a little bit lighter than it was earlier.
As he entered the area, he tiptoed inside as to not wake Hitomi. He could make her sleeping form curved towards his side of the bed, her shape lit by a full moon's light. He noticed that the picture book Yukari gave her was on the bedside table. He'd have to take a look at it later on.
He quickly removed his shirt and slid underneath the covers.
"Hey. I'm still awake," Hitomi said drowsily.
"Sorry. Did I disturb you?"
"No."
The silence of the night overtook them as Van settled into the large bed and faced Hitomi. She looked at him sleepily.
"Hitomi, has there been anytime that you regretted coming to Gaea?"
The question had been on his mind, but he hadn't intended on asking it. But now that it was out in the air, it might as well be answered.
"I remember that you asked me this before," she responded. "And the answer hasn't changed. No, I haven't." She brushed back his dark hair so she could look directly into his eyes. "If I hadn't come back to Gaea, this world would have been in trouble… we never would have had Sellie… and I never would have been happy or satisfied by anyone else but you."
Van stroked her cheek and kissed her softly on the forehead. Hitomi shifted her body so that he could hold her more comfortably in his arms. Memories of the previous week's events melted away as he lay contently holding the woman he loved.
"Tomorrow is another day," he whispered. "Let's just see what it brings."
* * *
Instead of releasing this chapter alone, I decided to write out the Epilogue as well. Go on to read the conclusion of Parvulus de Crepuscid.
Hitomi's brother's name has been changed to Mamoru, like what it was for the series. His wife, Yoko, is named for Yoko Kanno and their daughter Mizuru is named for the character in the Escaflowne video game (if you can get your hands on the 8th DVD, they have clips of her, but that's not who MY character is).
Sorry if this chapter and the following epilogue seem really condensed, but I needed to sum up what happens and I don't want to go on and on in full detail.
Chapter title comes from Gillian Anderson's directed episode of the X-Files "all things".
