Disclaimer: Not mine

I am terribly sorry for taking so long, but I do have an excuse. What I held back last chapter, way back in February was that I had been getting sick. We thought it was a stomach flu-I specialise in virology, and some animal viruses can be passed to humans, so I had to have a lot of tests done. Let's just say I wasn't sick, but there was something up with me. It turns out I was pregnant.

I apparently inherited my morning-sickness from my mother, which meant that I spent a lot of my time in the hopsitpal, receiving fluids. After my morning sickness was gone, I got truly sick and was sent to the hospital again...

Then let me tell you that having a baby on the way means a lot of work. We had family and friends from all over visiting, had to get everything ready for the baby's arrival, not to mention that carrying a child is not all roses and sugar and whatever people say about it. Having a kid in your stomach that kicks and burps and sits on your bladder and messes with your hormones and gives you odd cravings and makes you grow several sizes is annoying, especially when you're proud of your size 2.

But it's worth it.

Anyway, on September Twenty-Fifth, 2003 at 12:08a.m., I gave birth to Eric Alexander. So. I finally got released from the birth center and was at home, in bed, when I finally booted up my laptop after weeks of absence and came across the folder where this is housed and realised that it has been months since I last updated. Therefore I decided to update this chapter, which unfortunately has been finished since about the time I posted Chapter 6... And you guys, after finally checking my e-mail after a long time-I have another e-mail account that's for work and friends and family-this e-mail is only for stories-I was floored that I had I think it was 123 reviews. So thanks a lot. Really. There's a really annoying thing call Post-Natal Depression...and it sucks. Seeing all my reviews really made my day, though I started to cry and my husband, who was busy with Eric, almost dropped him to see what was wrong with me. Which is in one way sweet-on the other hand he almost dropped my baby. But anyway, you guys are wonderful and I'll try not to take so long for the next chapter. The thing is, before I was busy with my husband, friends, family and work. Now add in a new born...and things become really unpredictable.

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Chapter 7: Sisterly Advice

What was his problem? First he went and hid in his room, and then he comes out and totally ignored her. All it seemed he was interested in was fighting. Training and fighting, which did him a lot of good. If he really wanted anything from her, he should at least talk to her. When they had first met, and weren't friends yet, he had at least said `leave me alone' or snorted, or did something to give her the impression that he acknowledged her presence. But lately... She threw the stone, not even trying to skip it.

She threw another stone. If only throwing stones was like throwing problems. She'd throw all her problems, all her worries, all her hesitations and all her troubles away. Into a pond, where only the gold-fish would find them. Or maybe, she should just throw Van into the pond. That'd solve most of her problems. The thought of a soaking Van sitting in the small pond brought a smile to her lips, and as she concentrated on the image, she started to laugh.

It felt good to laugh. It seemed as if she hadn't laughed in the longest time. The entire time on Gaea, it was always from one place to the next. It was annoying, and hard for her. She tried to fit in, but in a land where you knew no one, the customs and the fashions were very different, and you were a key part in a war that involved many different countries, there hadn't been time to have fun.

In Asturia, at the marketplace, she might have laughed, but she didn't recall it. And since then...she had no time to. They had come to Fried and had alerted the Duke of Zaibach's threat. He had just arrived from journeying abroad, and was very thankful for the information. They had captured a Zaibach soldier, and were trying to make him talk. She wasn't really sure what had happened to the soldier; he was in the dungeons, and she tried to avoid them.

She was sure that Gaea was a beautiful world, when not in war. She loved how it looked, the palaces with the different flora and fauna. It was so mystical; a land where magic existed, an ancient race of winged-people almost to extinction, with only Van and his brother as the last. Van...

He brought such a feeling to her, one that spread throughout her body, intoxicating her with its heat and desire. She had such a desire to take him and do the most daring and shocking things to him. Things that would cause her mother to gasp, and cover her eyes and ears. Morwenna Kanzaki was very nice and understanding, but she was a bit old-fashioned. "You should smile more often." A voice suddenly said, behind her.

Hitomi whirled around. A woman dressed in riding pants and a frilly pink shirt, Princess Millerna, stood next to her. Her blond curls trailed down her back, held back by a ribbon. Her lilac eyes were bright, and her circlet hung in the centre of her forehead. Millerna was beautiful, Hitomi admitted. And she was smart- training to be a doctor. At eighteen, she should be starting college on Earth, not engaged to be married, and learning how to needlepoint, or whatever it was that Princesses learned to do. But Hitomi pushed those thoughts away. "Oh, hello, Millerna."

"Really, smile more often. It brightens up your face and gives you a natural and innocent beauty." Millerna reached down and picked up a rock. She skipped it expertly, letting it skip ten times before it sank. At Hitomi's surprised look, she elaborated. "As a child, my family would always go to a summer palace. Marlene taught me to skip, when I was eight."

"I was never good at skipping." Hitomi said, looking down. "I could do it a few times, but never more than five, and I only reached five once." Millerna studied the girl's profile, noting the crease in her brow. Though she did not know Hitomi very well, she had the aspiration to get to know her better, and she already considered her a friend.

"You've been a bit under the last few days. Is something wrong?" She lifted a hand, smoothing the younger girl's bangs at of the way. "Come, let's sit and talk. And tell me why you have such short hair, when longer hair would suit you better." She led her over to a bench in a grove of orange flowers. "These are called Ransen."

Hitomi smelled the flowers, feeling silkiness of the petals. "They're beautiful." She whispered. They were beautiful, and she wished that such things were found on Earth. Gaea was so different, but in ways, better. There was hardly any pollution, or worry about the ozone layer. Things were natural. And it seemed out of a story book- a fact she still couldn't believe.

She sighed, inhaling deeply, remembering Millerna's earlier question. She turned towards her, smile a bit for pretense. "I used to have long hair, but when I was little I didn't always necessarily wish to keep on keeping it in order. Then, when I started track at thirteen, shorter hair was just easier to have. So I cut it once and for all..." She shook her head. "My hair, it usually grows quickly in my family. I had to cut it practically every week. And now it hasn't grown a centimetre for months. Kind of odd..."

"Well, I think you should grow it longer. I can understand why you cut it, but long hair really would suit you better." Millerna smiled hesitantly. "I once wanted to cut my hair, but I was never allowed to. `A Princess should never have hair shorter than her shoulders, unless she has a very good reason.' My reason was because I wanted to look different. Therefore, I wasn't allowed."

Hitomi studied the girl. It was almost as if she had found an older sister in her, a girl that she could spill her secrets to. It was amazing how they had started off as rivals, rivals for Allen's attention. Hitomi shook her head, amazed how much she herself had changed while she was here. She had been a good student, excelled in track, sung soprano in the school choir, fought with her brother, got along fine with her mother, was respectful to her father, and was fairly ordinary. What made her different was her tarot readings and her visions. Her visions she rarely received, and her tarot readings, which were just a game.

On Gaea, every thing had changed. Her brother, who taunted her, was not there to tease her when a situation was rough, bringing her to see the humour of it. Her mother, who was always there to console her, was on another planet, and couldn't give her any words of hope. And her father, who she always had looked up to as a presence, which even though rarely seen, was still someone to put trust in, and get her out of a hard situation. Yukari was not there to cheer her own, Amano was not there to impress.

And then she realised that even though the normal pillars she had to lean on weren't there, she had constructed new ones. Ones that had even more meanings than the first. For instance, Millerna. Though their first impressions had been rocky, Millerna was turning out to be someone she could trust, someone who was always there to listen. Allen took over Amano's roll, as their almost identical appearance dictated. And Chid was there to cheer her on, someone who looked up to her. Merle was Matt, annoying, but someone who could still turn out to be a good friend, given time. And Van, Van was her father. Not literally, she thought, blushing at the implications, but he was the person whose trust and respect meant the most to her. And it didn't help that she was falling in love with Van.

Falling in love with Van. The words felt odd in her mind, but she knew them to be true. There was no other word for how she felt. How her day seemed to brighten when she was around him, how a strange heat flowed through her as she thought of him. She loved him. She admitted it. And now- "Hitomi?"

Hitomi tore herself away from her thoughts. "Yes?" Millerna was watching her with concern. Oh wonderful, I forgot I wasn't alone... She faced Millerna, who looked at her right back. In the eyes. As if she wanted to say something important.

"You shouldn't be losing sleep over him." Whatever she had been expecting Millerna to say hadn't been that. Hitomi gaped at the older girl. What did she mean? Losing sleep over Van? Or Allen? How much did Millerna know? Her heart beat wildly in her chest. Did Millerna still think she was in love with Allen? Or did Millerna think she was in love with Van? And- "Van that is. By the way, what is going on between you?"

Hitomi could do nothing other than blink. Her thoughts incoherent, she blinked a few times, hoping that her mouth hadn't dropped open. Millerna was a lot more perceptive than she realised, and she felt like laughing to herself at the absurdity of her being without any sense of intelligence just because she was a princess. Finally regaining the power of speech, Hitomi shook her head. "Nothing. Actually, Van is ignoring me. And I've been having dreams at night, not visions, per se, but just dreams. That's probably what's keeping me awake."

And in one sense, that was true. Yes, she was having odd dreams, and they were in part keeping her up. But it was also the worry over Van that was keeping her awake at night, worrying. Not to mention part of her odd dreams were about Van, strange dreams about sharing a bed with him, or doing other acts. But she would never admit that. Even to Millerna.

Millerna shrugged, turning away. "I see." Her answer was strangely distant, unlike how she had been a few moments ago. Silence reigned upon them for a few moments. Hitomi watched the water, Millerna watched the trees. And then the silence broke. "Chid is Allen's child." Millerna suddenly spoke up.

Again Millerna had managed to make Hitomi speechless. Hitomi gaped at her. Why had Millerna brought that up? And how did she even know? "I-I know." Which was true. She had been playing with her tarot cards, though one really couldn't play with them. Chid had come upon her, and had asked her to read his cards. Although she had had a sense of foreboding she had done it anyway, and had found out the truth.

She had been close to going up to Allen and yelling at him for hours- how he could hide such a thing. But then she remembered a few things. One, Allen might not know himself. Two, Marlene was dead, and Chid was growing up as a prince. There was no better place for him. Three, the Duke of Fried was a wonderful father to Chid, why should Allen take that away. And four, Allen shouldn't mean anything to her anymore. At least, not in the 'he's been sleeping with someone else' sense.

It had been a bucket of cold water poured on her head to realize that, but she had. She accepted it. And she hadn't told Chid. There was no reason to ruin a six year-old's life by telling him his mother had been unfaithful to her husband, and that though Marlene did love the Duke when she died, she hadn't before. The games of court and society should not be played on such a young boy.

"What does that make you feel about Allen? I know Marlene loved him, and he loved her. But does he still love her? And Chid. I- I have never felt so helpless." Millerna continued, facing the trees. It was amazing to see Millerna so unconfident. The young woman was always confident. She stood up to the Duke who, when they had first arrived in Fried, had not wished to accept Allen. She had convinced the Duke to not just take Zaibach's word, and throw them into a dungeon. They had never spent anytime in a dungeon, and Millerna was to thank for that. Yet here she was so insecure.

Then Hitomi was hit with something. Millerna had followed after Allen. She was convinced that she wanted him, not this Dryden. And now Millerna was learning that it was impossible to run away from your problems. If Millerna hadn't fallen so in love with Allen, to spite her betrothal, she would have taken the news in stride. You can't run away from your problems, my dear. Sometimes you just have to stand and hit them face on. Athena had always said that. And Hitomi had just now realized how right she was.

"Do you really love Allen? Or are you just using him for not having to marry Dryden?" Hitomi spoke up quickly, before she could change her mind. The question hung in the air; Millerna not answering it. She let Millerna think. A silent breeze swept through the garden as Millerna thought. And then Hitomi continued. It was impossibly hard for her to admit what she was going to say. And she knew that once she said it, she could not hide any longer. But in a way she was glad it was Millerna she was confessing this to. Not someone else. Only Millerna would know what she was going to say.

"I'm in love with Van. And I realized that when I first met Allen. At first, I wanted to be with Allen. He was- is the twin of my crush-umm, the boy who I thought I liked on the Mystic Moon. And I also looked up to this boy, and used him as someone I had to impress. But having Allen hid my thoughts from my true feelings. And it wasn't until recently that I admitted I didn't feel anything for Allen, except friendship. And it also took me awhile to admit I felt something more for Van.

"What I'm saying is this: you're running away from your engagement, and using Allen as someone to hide behind. Don't. That's not fair to you, to Allen, or to Dryden. And though I've never met Dryden, you should give him a chance. A small chance, but a chance nonetheless. And then you can sort out your feelings. Only then can you find out if you really love Dryden, or Allen, or someone else entirely." And there Hitomi got up, leaving the Princess on the bench, and went to find a certain raven-haired, annoying King, who she needed to talk to, before she lost her nerve. It was amazing how when advising someone else, you got the most advice.

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-Madrilène, the Fourth of October.