-Zaibach
Van woke up from sunlight touching his face. He began thinking about the meeting he had with Zaibach later today. He sighed and closed his eyes. He had a feeling that this was going to be a very long day.
"You could get wrinkles doing that," a soft voice said.
Van looked down and smiled. There, in his arms, was an angel. In the three months since Van had shared his secret with Hitomi, they had become like true husband and wife. They were always seen together, and they were always holding hands or in one another's arms.
"Really?" he asked her, smiling.
"Really," she replied, smiling at him as well.
"Well then," Van said, gently removing a piece of Hitomi's hair from her face and placing it behind her ear, "I'll have to work on that."
He cupped her cheek and bent his head. Before her could reach Hitomi's lips, a loud knock sounded at the bedroom door. Hitomi giggled at the look on Van's face.
"Yes?" Van asked, annoyed.
"Milord," it was a guard, "the Emperor of Zaibach has just arrived. He is being shown to a room."
Hitomi saw that Van's face began to have a blank look on it. She wondered why he would do that every time someone would speak of Zaibach.
"I'll be out soon," Van said with anger in his voice.
"Yes, Milord," the guard said and left. The couple could hear his footsteps echoing down the hall as he went.
Van got up and went to the washroom. He took a quick bath and stepped back into his room. He quickly got dressed in a black royal shirt with the Fanelian crest on it outlined in red and black pants. He put on his black knee-high boots. He turned around and found Hitomi fully dressed in a long white gown that had a dark green sash around the middle. The sleeves went all the way down and covered her hands. Her hair was in a bun. She was sitting on the edge of their bed with his sword in her hands. She was running her hands up and down the sheath. Van walked over and sat down beside her. He put his hands over hers and removed the sword from her grasp. He laid the sword to the side and turned back to Hitomi. She threw herself in his arms. He held her tight.
"What's wrong?" he asked her after a moment of silence.
"I want to come to this meeting," Hitomi said in a strong determined voice. She brought her head up and looked him straight in the eyes. Van saw that she had determination in her eyes. He sighed.
"We've already discussed this, Hitomi," he said to her. "I don't want you to go to into this one." Since they had become like true husband and wife, Van said that if she wanted to, that Hitomi could come to the meetings. Hitomi had smiled and agreed.
"But, Van-" Hitomi began to argue.
"Please, Hitomi," Van said pleadingly, "Don't argue with me on this. Just trust me. Please?"
Hitomi sighed in defeat and looked down to the floor. Van lifted her face with his fingers. He smiled in relief and said, "Thank you, Hitomi."
"Van," Hitomi said, looking at him with a puzzled look, "why do you get angry whenever someone mentions Zaibach for?"
Van looked at his wife and said, "Someday, when we have time and I can bring myself to do it, I will tell you."
Hitomi slightly smiled and nodded her head. Van smiled down at her and kissed her on the lips. He hated to let her go, but Van had to get to the counsel room. He wanted to get this meeting over with.
As if reading his mind, Hitomi said, "You should get going. You are the king after all."
Van made his face into a fake pout. "Do I have to?" he whined.
Hitomi laughed. She got off the bed and brought him with her. She kissed him on the lips one more time and shooed him out of the room. Van smiled and walked down the hall to the counsel room. When he reached the doors, he paused and his smile faded. With a deep breath, he opened the doors and walked into the room.
((((()))))
Hitomi waited until she was sure that Van was out of sight and she slipped out of their room. She wanted some answers, and she knew exactly who to get them from. She made her way to the second branch of the North wing of the castle. When she came to the door of Merle's room, she raised her hand to knock. Just as she was about to, Merle opened the door and gasped.
She placed her hand over her heart. "Hitomi Kanzaki Fanel!" she accused. "You scared the mess out of me."
Hitomi smiled. "Sorry, Merle," she said to her sister-in-law.
Merle smiled back at her and said, "Well, what did you want before you tried to give me a heart-attack?"
Hitomi's smile faded and she said, "I want to know why Van refuses to let us into this counsel meeting."
Merle sighed and said, "That's what I thought you would want."
"Please, Merle," Hitomi pleaded, "I need to know."
"All right, Hitomi," Merle said grimly, "but if Van ever finds out about this, he is going to have my hide."
Hitomi smiled again. "I'll take the blame. Besides, I thought that you would be leaping at the chance to take me to the market to look at the new bakers shop and merchant's clothes."
Merle laughed and looped her arm through Hitomi's. "If you put it that way, then let's go!"
Hitomi couldn't help but laugh.
((((()))))
Meanwhile, in the counsel meeting, Van was having a time trying to get the counsel members to be quiet. They were all arguing about what should be decided on the treaty that Zaibach was trying to form with Fanelia. At that moment, Van couldn't take anymore of the bickering and straightened up in his chair.
"Silence!" he commanded. Everyone in the room got quiet. Van sighed. "You are all trying to get what you think would be best to be put on this treaty. I say that it isn't our choice. The people of both countries deserve to know what they would be getting into if we made this pact. I want to know what the people of Fanelia have to say about this. Does anyone know?"
No one gave an answer. No one knew the answer. Van knew that they didn't know. He was only trying to make them see their mistakes. That they were assuming that the people would generally like whatever they decided, but Van knew differently. When Fanelia was burned to the ground those three years ago, the people decided to build a new city at the end of the Great War. Van had worked with them and got to know what kind of people that they were. He knew that they would want a say-so in this, and he agreed that they should have one as well.
"Very well, then," Van said firmly, "I want to know what they say about it." He turned to Chaseten, the Zaibach ruler. "Until that time, you shall stay at the castle as our guest."
Chaseten nodded his head. Van didn't like this man. He didn't like him since he first saw him. Instead of smiling, he would smirk, and instead of putting what he thought into the meeting, he would just sit and look at what Van would do. It unnerved Van, having him watching him all of the time. Now Van was doubly glad that he had told Hitomi to forget this meeting.
((((()))))
Hitomi and Merle sat down at an outside table beside the new bakers shop. They had just spent four hours in the marketplace. They spent one hour buying silks and another hour looking in antique shops and window-shopping. Then they spent the last two hours going around and talking to people. They had also stopped by the orphan's home and played with them. They were wore out and decided to stop by the new bakers shop and get something to drink. They were sitting there talking when Hitomi said, "Merle, will you tell me now what Van holds against Zaibach?"
Merle looked at her sister-in-law for a moment and said, "All right, Hitomi, I'll tell you." Merle sighed and began her story. "When the Great War began, no one really paid much attention to it. They all said that Zaibach was a nothing little country with nothing little things. They weren't good enough to start a war. Everyone soon found out, though, that they were wrong. The War actually started when Lord Van was 14 years old. Zaibach didn't really do anything until Lord Van was 15 and named King."
Merle stopped, but Hitomi didn't interrupt her. A tear slid down Merle's face as she remembered the day that Zaibach attacked Fanelia. Hitomi wanted to stop Merle's pain and was about to tell her to forget that she had ever asked her, but Merle continued before she could get a word out of her mouth.
"They attacked Fanelia and burned it to the ground. They didn't spare anyone that got in their way. Most of the people got out of the city before anything terrible happened, but their home was ruined. It left a scar in everyone's heart, especially Lord Vans. He became cold and angry. He hated Zaibach for what they had done to our people. He wanted to destroy them. So that's how he met Allen, Eries, Millerna, Dryden, Christina, Aston, Gaddis, and Celena. They all lived in Asturia. At that time, Allen and Eries weren't married and neither were Gaddis and Celena. They all got married in the middle of the War. Anyways, Asturia had a grand army and Lord Van became what I guess you could call a solider, but he was more. The war was deeper for him than anyone. Sometime during the middle of the War, Lord Van was kidnapped, and that's when he met a man, no a monster. He hated Lord Van as much as Lord Van hated Zaibach. His name was Dilandau. He was insane. He kept calling Lord Van 'Dragon' instead of Van. Not only that, but why Lord Van was there in Zaibach's floating castle, he learned that Lord Folken was still alive. After Allen and the men of the Crusade rescued Lord Van, he became silent. He didn't talk to anyone. I think it was because he was confused about things. He didn't know what he was fighting against anymore. He was fighting Zaibach, but in doing so, he was also fighting his own brother. He couldn't kill his own brother. So during the end of the War he got some of his sense back and managed to convert Folken back to the good side. But, unfortunately, it was too late for Lord Folken. He sacrificed himself in order to save Geia. No one really knows what happened to Dilandau; he disappeared at the end of the War. I hope that I never see him again, though."
Hitomi slowly nodded her head, as if she were digesting this new information. "So he still harbors feelings against Zaibach for all of the things that they did to Fanelia and to Geia."
Merle nodded her head and took a sip of her drink.
Hitomi's eyebrows dipped down on her face as she looked at Merle and asked, "So why won't he let us into the counsel meeting?"
Merle grinned sheepishly at her, "I sort of asked to be left out of this one." Then her grin became mischievous. "Besides, I knew that he would make you stay out, and I wanted to go shopping."
The two women laughed.
"But why doesn't Van let me into the meeting? I didn't even know about the Great War all that much when it happened. My family and I were underground the entire time," Hitomi asked with a puzzled expression on her face.
Merle smiled softly. "He doesn't want you to get involved with Zaibach in any way possible. Not if he can prevent it. He loves you to much to see you troubled by something so horrible in his eyes."
Hitomi nodded in understanding. They women finished off their drinks and picked up their belongings. They began to head back to the castle to get ready for dinner. Little did they know that dinner wouldn't be the only surprise for the night.
((((()))))
Hitomi and Merle parted ways at the door that led to Merle's room. Their hands were free because some of the maids had insisted to carry their bags to their rooms for them. When Merle went inside her room, Hitomi decided to go to the roof and watch the sunset. When she got up there, she was surprised to find Van practicing fencing. He moved with such grace that Hitomi was entrapped with watching him in no time. As if he sensed her eyes upon him, Van stopped and turned toward her. Hitomi stepped up to him and smiled. He smiled back. He sheathed his sword and moved toward her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He bent down and barely touched his lips with hers. Then he laid his lips upon her soft feathery ones. Hitomi put her fingers in his hair and he tightened his hold on her. When they parted from one another's lips, they were gasping for breath. Van kept his arms wrapped around her waist and buried his face in her neck.
"How was your day?" he whispered in her ear.
Hitomi drew back and looked at him. "Informative," she said quietly.
He looked down at her, "Oh really?" he asked.
Hitomi got out of his embrace and walked to the edge of the roof. She wrapped her arms around her waist, as if she felt an imaginary wind seep into the air around her. Van walked over to her and placed his arms on her shoulders and turned her around to face him.
"What is it?" he asked her gently.
"Oh, Van," Hitomi cried out suddenly, "why didn't you tell me?"
Van eyebrows dipped down in his face. "Tell you what?" He placed his hands on her arms and gently shook her. "Hitomi, please, tell me what it is."
Hitomi got out of his embrace and ran to their room. She fell on their bed and cried herself to sleep.
((((()))))
Van watched as Hitomi ran down the steps of the old passageway that led back into the castle. He was confused and concerned. He didn't know what was wrong with Hitomi. He began to go down the stairs to follow her. He made it to their room and found Hitomi on their bed sound asleep. He brushed some hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. He got a quilt from the end of the bed and gently laid it upon her sleeping figure. He brushed his lips against hers. He went out of the room with one last look at her and made his way down the hall. He stopped in front of his sister's door and knocked. A moment later, Merle opened the door. She took one look at Van's concerned face and let him in.
A while later, Van walked back down to his and Hitomi's room. He needed to talk to Hitomi. He knew that he should have told her sooner about Zaibach, but he just didn't know how. When he got to their room, he walked in and found a still sleeping Hitomi. Van sighed. He couldn't bring himself to wake her, either. It was close to dinnertime and Van decided to go ahead and get dressed. When he was finished, he looked one last time at Hitomi and walked down the hall.
((((()))))
When Hitomi woke up, she looked around and remembered what had happened. She sighed and massaged her head. She had a giant headache. She stepped outside to the balcony to get some fresh air. After a moment she saw what time it was by the position of the sun. It was just about time for dinner. She quickly got a bath and dressed. She wore her hair in a tight bun at the top of her head. She wore a dress that was green and matched her eyes. It had pointed sleeves that went to her palms. The dress ended at her feet. She slipped into some green shoes that she didn't even know that she had, but they matched her dress. When she was content with what she saw in the mirror, she made her way to the dinning hall. The guards opened the two doors for her and she walked inside. Everyone stood up when they saw who had entered the room. Hitomi smiled at everyone and sat to the right beside Van. The emperor of Zaibach sat on his left and directly in front of Hitomi. She looked at him and nodded.
"It is an honor to finally meet you, your Majesty," the man said to her. Hitomi looked into his eyes and saw a look that she couldn't quiet place, yet it unnerved her. She managed to nod to him again. Hitomi felt Van grab her hand under the table. She looked at him. She saw the concern in his eyes and smiled at him. He squeezed at her hand. Hitomi had a feeling that he had had a talk with Merle when she was asleep. She squeezed his hand to let him know that it was all right. He smiled in relief.
Sometime later, Hitomi got a prickly feeling in her stomach and looked up. She found Chaseten staring at her again. He kept staring at her with an intense look in his eyes that scared Hitomi. Finally she couldn't take it anymore. She stood up. Everyone else stood up with her. She turned to Van and said to him, "I'm still a little tired."
Van nodded and took her hand once again. He squeezed it and said, "Go to bed."
Hitomi smiled at him and squeezed his hand in return. Then she turned to everyone else at the dinner table and excused herself. She made sure that she didn't meet Chaseten's eyes, though.
Halfway to her room, Hitomi was thrown into a vision. She saw blood and heard screams. Then she saw a goblet with the symbol of a dragon on it fall to the ground and shatter. She knew that the vision took place in the dinning room because everyone drunk out of glass goblets with the dragon symbol on it. She ran the rest of the way to her and Van's room. She knew what she had to do in order to save everyone. She ran to a large chest at the end of the bed in their room. She quickly opened the lid and began throwing things across the room. At the very bottom were the only things that she was allowed to bring with her from her home. The first thing was a set of daggers. She picked them up to get the feel of them again. They were completely silver with green emeralds on the hilt of each one. They had a silver spiral on the top of the hilts to ensure that you had a good, firm hold on the dagger. The second thing in the chest was a dark green suit. It was made from a tough sturdy cloth that made it look as if it were new no matter how many times you wore it. She hastily changed into it. It hung tightly to her small figure. She pulled her hair into a tight ponytail. Then she grabbed some rope that she had gotten from the weapons room and mad her way to the roof. As she did, it began to rain. That wasn't a good sign. It meant that someone was going to get killed. Hitomi looked over the edge of the roof and saw five Goluffs crawling up the side of the castle wall. Goluffs were half human and half snake. They had a mans body, but they could crawl on walls and they could camouflage themselves with anything. Hitomi sighed. They weren't going to be easy to beat. Goluffs were known for their assassination skills. Hitomi tied one end of the rope to a column on the roof and then tied the other end on her waist. She sent a short prayer up to the wind god, Molug, and took a flying leap off the roof…
A/N: Okay, I know that this chapter took me a VERY long time to do, but I have been VERY busy. Sorry, guys!! I hope to at least get a chapter out every week and a half or two weeks. I hope that I did a good cliffhanger as well. I've not really done those in this story. Please review if you liked this chapter!!! Gotta go!!! Angelwarriar
P.S. I will explain about the gods of Geia in the next chapter or so. They will be important in this story.