Learning to Love, Chapter 13, Dancing Fire
Authors Note: I will be trying my best to keep the chapters coming and long!
The four horses and their riders were all in a straight line slowly making their way down a winding, narrow path. Van was in front, then Hitomi, then Merle, then Balgus. The path had been that narrow for close to two and a half hours. No one had uttered a word during that time, trying to concentrate on keeping their horse from falling to the ground and taking its rider with it. Suddenly, the path opened up to a large open valley with beautiful flowers of all kinds and colors and with a simmering lake that went down at least a good fifty foot, and a beautiful mini-waterfall. All of the riders pulled their horses to a stop to admire the luscious valley.
"Why don't we stop here and rest for a bit, Van?" asked Merle.
"Good idea," Van replied. "We'll rest for half an hour."
They all got off of their horses and let them graze in the grass. Balgus tended to the horses needs while everyone else wandered around. Merle and Hitomi went to look at the flowers, and Van went to the lake and dipped his hands in. He splashed the water on his face and let it drip off. He wearily rubbed his hand down his face. He heard Merle laughing and looked up. She and Balgus were around the horses and she and Balgus were talking to one another. Where was Hitomi? Van looked around and saw Hitomi standing on one of the rocks beside the waterfall. She was stretching out her hand to be able to touch the shimmering water falling down. Van smiled and made his way over to her. He got behind her and reached out his hand beside hers. His was a little longer than hers and was able to touch the water. Hitomi let out a shriek and lost her balance, falling into the water. Van bent down on his knee to look for her in the water. In only a few seconds, Hitomi was breaking the surface of the water. Van looked over her to see if she was okay. When he saw the she was, he began to chuckle. Hitomi glared up at him.
"And just what is so funny, Van Fanel?" she asked him. "You scared me to death!"
Van just continued to chuckle.
"Oh," Hitomi said, frustrated. Then she got an idea. She put a pained look on her face and put her left hand to her right arm.
Van stopped chuckling immediately and grew serious. "Hitomi?" he asked with concern. When she didn't answer, he slid off of the rock and into the water in front of her.
Hitomi smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Gotcha," she said.
Van smirked. "Well, milady, it seems so you do," Van said, wrapping his arms around her waist. "The question is, what are you going to do with me?"
Hitomi put her lips by his ear and whispered, "Everything." She drew back to where she was directly in front of him. Their noses were touching.
"Sounds good," Van whispered. He put his lips on top of hers and kissed her slowly. Hitomi put her fingers in his hair as Van ran his hand down her leg.
"Uhum," Someone cleared their throat very loudly.
Van and Hitomi pulled apart. They looked over to find a smiling Merle.
"Yes, Merle?" Van asked, still holding Hitomi.
"Balgus and I are going to catch some fish for dinner and you two are scaring them all away by being in the water," she said to them, still smiling.
Van sighed. "All right, Merle," he said. "We'll be out in a minute."
"Take your time," Merle said. "I'll go and lay out a change of clothes for you." She turned around and left with her tail wagging. She got back to where she and Balgus had set up camp and was still smiling. She got a change of clothes out for Van and Hitomi.
"Something wrong, Lady Merle?" Balgus said, noticing that she was laying out the clothes.
"No, Balgus," Merle replied. "But we might want to give the two love birds a few minutes."
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Later that night, after the group had eaten and washed up as best they could, Merle and Balgus lied down. Van was leaning back against a tree with his knee pulled up to his chest. His eyes were closed. He felt someone putting a blanket on top of him, then gentle fingers moved a lock of hair off of his forehead. He reached up and grabbed her hand. He opened his eyes and saw Hitomi crouched in front of him. She had changed into a dark green dress that had wide straps on her shoulder with a little ruffle that covered an inch of her arm. Her hair was down and flowed in the smooth breeze. Van pulled slightly on her arm. Hitomi went to her knees in front of him. He kissed her palm. He cupped the back of her neck with his other hand and kissed her gently. She placed her hands on his chest and sunk into the kiss. He placed his hands on her waist, and moved his thumbs up and down. He gently laid her down on the ground and ran his hand up her side. She placed her hands on his waist. When they broke the kiss, Van looked down at her and ran his fingers down her cheek.
"I love you, Hitomi," Van whispered to her softly.
"I love you, too, Van," Hitomi whispered back.
They kissed again. Then Van wrapped Hitomi in his arms and put the blanket on top of them. Soon their breathing became slow and they drifted off asleep in each others arms.
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Around midnight Hitomi woke up. She looked around and realized that she wasn't in the valley anymore. She was in her old room in Ronise. She jumped up out of her bed and looked around. Everything was as she left it. She walked to her window and looked out. She gasped. She was looking out of the window in the castle that she saw when she touched the Goluff. Everything was burned to the ground. She turned back around and saw that she was in the castle of the creature. She saw the creature, but it was with a woman. They were holding each other. Suddenly, the doors burst open and in walked Dilandau. The woman and creature turned around. The woman looked familiar, but Hitomi couldn't place her.
"So sorry to interrupt," Dilandau said with a smirk.
"What do you want?" the woman asked angrily.
Dilandau grew serious and looked at the creature. "They will be passing near my fort soon. Requesting permission to pick them up."
The creature thought a moment. "Very well," the creature replied. "But make sure that they meet her little friend."
"Good," Dilandau said with an evil smile. He turned and walked away.
The woman turned back to the creature. "Is there a certain reason that you had to enlist that fool?"
The creature smiled down at her. "He will make a great experiment to see just how strong the two of them are together, and what they will do for each other."
"Well," the woman said, tracing her finger down his cheek. "If they don't kill him, may I, great one?"
The creature grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Anything you want, my love." He lowered his head and kissed her.
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"Hitomi!" Van called out urgently. "Hitomi, wake up!"
Suddenly Hitomi's eyes opened. She saw Van above her. He was fighting a Goluff. Hitomi sat up. Van ran his sword through the Goluff and it fell to the ground. Two more took its place. Hitomi jumped up and began to fight beside Van. She kicked the Goluff in the head two times, then she hit him under his chin. It fell to the ground just as Van's did with a hole in its middle. He looked at her.
"Are you all right?" he asked her.
"Yes," Hitomi answered. "I'm fine."
Suddenly, the lead Goluff let out a cry to alert everyone's attention. Hitomi and Van looked at him. In his hands was a frightened Merle with a knife to her neck. Van and Balgus dropped their swords. Goluffs tied their hands behind their backs. Then one came to Hitomi. It looked at her.
"Golen tal," it said to her in its native language. Hitomi understood him.
"Yuk toe," Hitomi repled to him. The Goluff grabbed her left hand and looked at her wedding ring. Then he took her face between its strong hands and looked at her eyes.
"Vel qut, Vel qut," he repeated over and over. He then walked away, leaving her hands untied.
"Hitomi?" Van said.
She looked at him. "He asked me if I was the Dragon's mate. I told him that I was and he said 'He see, he see.'"
"What does he mean Dragon's mate?" Van asked her.
"Your wife, I suppose," Hitomi replied. "That's how I took it. I hope that I was right."
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The Goluffs led the group to the other side of the valley. There were tents lined up everywhere. They led them to one tent and opened the flap. There was three poles in there. On one of the poles there was someone tied up. He had sandy blonde hair, just like Hitomi. When all of them were inside the tent, the man raised his head up. Hitomi gasped.
"Collin?" she said. She ran to him and took his face between her hands. "Collin, what happened to you?"
"Hey, Hitomi," the man said weakly. All of them could tell that he was sick. "Decided to finally come and see me, huh?" He began to cough.
Hitomi put her hand on his forehead. He had a fever. She looked at the Goluff that was tying Van to a post. "He needs a doctor," she said to him. The Goluff cocked his head at her. Hitomi sighed. "Ber tol ac muo," she said in their tongue. Another Goluff came behind Hitomi and grabbed her arm. He twisted it above her head. Hitomi let out a small cry.
"Hey!" Van said to him. "Let her go!" he shouted to it.
The Goluff looked over at Van and hissed, but he let go of Hitomi and pushed her down beside Van.
"Are you all right?" Van asked her.
She looked at him. "I'm fine," she said, flexing her arm and wrist.
After the Goluffs left, Hitomi looked around. She was surprised to find that she was the only one not tied to a post. Van was tied beside her, Merle was tied by Collin, and Balgus was tied to a post of his own. Suddenly, the flap to the tent opened again and a shadow fell on them. Hitomi looked up and gasped. It was the man from her visions. She looked over at Van and saw pure anger and hatred on his face.
"Well, well, well," said Dilandau, "what have we here?"
Van just looked at him with narrowed eyes. Dilandau's eyes flickered to Hitomi, who was sitting next to Van. He smirked. "So you must be the one that stole the Dragon's heart." He looked her over. "And such a pretty little thing."
Hitomi looked away. She didn't like the way that he was looking at her. Suddenly, Hitomi was jerked to her feet by Dilandau's steel grip. She could hear Van struggling against his ropes. He forced her head up and looked at her. Hitomi involuntarily shuddered. Dilandau smirked. Hitomi narrowed her eyes and squared her shoulders. He wasn't going to get the best of her.
"My brother needs medical attention. I have a medical kit in my green bag that I'm sure you confiscated when you kidnaped us. He also needs food and water," she said defiantly to his face.
Dilandau laughed. It sounded like ice to Hitomi and the others. "Well, if I were to get that, there would be a price for it." He looked at Hitomi with a suggestive look. Hitomi turned her head away. Dilandau laughed again. He turned her around where her back was in his chest. "Come now," he said, his lips next to her ear. "That's not too hard of a price, and you might even like it." He licked her cheek. Hitomi let out a small cry.
"Dilandau!" Van shouted. "If you touch her, you're a dead man," he growled out.
Dilandau laughed again. "I'll be sending in the things that you ordered, beautiful," he said to Hitomi. "Then I'll be back to get my payment." He pushed Hitomi down to the ground and walked out. Hitomi raised her hand to her cheek and stared at the ground. Then she wiped her hand across her cheek, and then her hand on her dress.
"Hitomi?" Van asked softly. "Are you all right?"
Hitomi looked up at him. She crawled over to him and sat down beside him. She laid her head down on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
"Hitomi?" Van asked again. "Please say something."
Before she could, the flap opened and a Goluff walked in with Hitomi's green bag and some food and water. It threw her bag on the floor and laid the food and water down beside it. Hitomi looked at the things, then got up and began to tend to her brother. She untied his hands and laid him down on the floor. When she finished doctoring him an hour later, a Goluff came back inside. He grabbed the food and water from the floor and left. Hitomi rummaged in her bag and found what she was looking for. She picked up a small, but sharp knife. She hid it in her hand where the Goluff couldn't see her. A moment later the Goluff came back inside. He grabbed Hitomi's bag and threw it aside. Then he grabbed Hitomi's arm and picked her up. Hitomi kicked him in the leg and the Goluff let her go with a cry. Hitomi landed beside Van. She went to him and placed one hand on his cheek and the other one with the knife in his tied up hands. She bent down and kissed him. When she came up, she brought her other hand that had held the knife and ran her fingers down his cheek.
"I love you," she whispered for only him to hear. A tear slid down her cheek.
"I love you, too," Van whispered back. "I'll find you."
She ran her fingers across his lips gently. "I know."
Van kissed her fingers as another Goluff came inside and picked Hitomi up. He held her arm in a steel grip and led her outside into the dark night. As soon as Hitomi was out of his sight, Van began to work with the knife she had slipped to him to cut his ropes. He was out of his ropes in a few moments and he got up. He went over to Merle and cut her ropes, then he went to Balgus and untied him.
"What's the plan, your majesty?" Balgus asked Van quietly.
"Well, first," Van said just as quiet, "I'm going to find out which tent they took Hitomi to, then we're going to get out of here. See if you can find our horses and things, and you and Merle get Collin on a horse. I'll get Hitomi and meet you at the edge of the forest."
Van snuck up to the door and grabbed the Goluff standing guard. He wrapped his arm around his neck and threw him inside the tent. "Where did they take Hitomi?" Van asked him. The Goluff didn't answer him. Van sighed, frustrated.
"Bem cer," a weak voice said. Everyone looked over to find Collin with his eyes open and looking at the Goluff.
"Vom wqu," the Goluff replied.
Van looked back at Collin. "He said that he needed a little more persuasion," Collin replied with a weak smile. Van understood what he meant. He turned toward the Goluff and punched him in the face twice. When he was fixing to do it again, Collin spoke up once more. "Bem cer," he said with a little more strength. Merle was helping him into a sitting position. He was leaning against her.
The Goluff's nose was bleeding. It raised its hand up and wiped the blood away. "All right, my sister's husband, give him some more help," Collin said to Van.
Van gave him a slight grin at the name he called him since he didn't know his real name. He turned back to the Goluff and raised his fist again. The Goluff quickly answered. "Jem tyu lodp," he said.
"He said that Hitomi was in the very last tent on the right," Collin said. Merle helped him stand up, and let him lean against her. He looked at her. "You're pretty," he said.
Merle blushed and looked away. She looked at Van, still holding the Goluff. "What are you going to do with him?" she asked Van.
Van looked back at the creature in his hands. He punched him again and rendered him unconscious. He then tied him to the post.
"Okay," Merle said. "That'll work."
Collin grinned at her. "Am I dead?" he asked her.
Merle looked at him. "Of course not," she said. "What makes you say a thing like that?"
"Because you're frisky and beautiful," he said to her. "You have to be an angel."
Merle rolled her eyes, but blushed all the same. Van would have laughed if he weren't so worried about getting to Hitomi. "All right," Van said. "Balgus find our horses and belongings. Hitomi and I will meet you at the forest's edge," he ordered.
Collin was looking at him strangely. Van would have to ask him about that later. He looked out the tent flap and saw that there was no one outside. He stepped outside and waited until Merle, Collin, and Balgus were on their way before he began to make his way down the row of tents. When he was a tent away from the one the Goluff told him Hitomi was in, he heard a scream. He rushed forward and stepped inside the tent. Hitomi was lying on the floor with a ripped strap on her dress and a bruise on her arm. Dilandau was on top of her, his shirt off, and holding her hands above her head. Van filled with rage and rushed toward Dilandau. He pulled him off of Hitomi and threw him across the room. Dilandau quickly recovered and rushed toward Van. Van sidestepped him and Dilandau ran past him. Dilandau picked up a sword and once more rushed toward Van. Before he got to him, a sword apperared in the air. Van quickly grabbed it, blocked Dilandau's attack, did a quick turn, came back around, and pushed the sword forward. His sword went straight through Dilandau's stomach and threw his back. He looked up at Van. Van pushed the sword in harder and twisted it. He then withdrew the sword and watched as Dilandau fell to the ground. Van threw the sword on the floor and rushed to Hitomi. He bent down on bended knee beside her and drew her in his arms. She was shaking. He picked her up and held her close to his chest. He went out the tent and headed for the forest. The others came into view. He was twenty feet away when he heard a loud and sharp screech. Soon other screeches followed. Van got to a horse and put Hitomi on it. He settled in behind her and motioned for the horse to go with a 'ha.' They all began to make their way into the forest. Merle and Collin were up front. Merle was in front, guiding the horse, and Collin was behind her, holding onto her waist. Balgus was behind them, and Van and Hitomi were last. Suddenly, a Goluff came out of no where and slashed Van and Hitomi's horse with its dagger. The horse reared up, and Van bearly managed to keep himself and Hitomi on the horse. The horse came back down on all four of its legs and took off with the Goluff in hot pursuit. An knife whizzed past Van and Hitomi and landed itself in the Goluff's chest. Balgus got another knife and threw it toward another Goluff past them. There was a bridge up ahead. It was very flimsy, but their only choice of escaping the Goluffs. They quickly made their way across it. When Van crossed all the way to the other side, Balgus threw him something. It was his sword. Van nodded his head in thanks and withdrew his sword. He sliced the ropes in two easy strokes. The bridge fell to the bank of the other side. They all turned and continued on their way. The Goluff's shrill cries followed them for a long time.
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Merle was sitting upright with heavy wieght pressing into her back. It had been two hours since sunrise, and four hours since they had escaped from the Goluffs. Collin leaned more on her back. "Comfortable?" Merle asked sarcastically.
"Um hum," Collin muttered, rubbing his cheek against her neck. "Very," his breath was warm on her shoulder.
Merle cleared her throat. She heard Collin chuckle softly. "How much farther to Ronise?" she asked him.
"Just a little more," Collin answered.
"How did you get captured?" Merle asked.
"Well, I had a vision saying that Hitomi was in trouble, so I left the village at night and came out here. I guess you know the rest," he said. "I got captured and had been there for a week until you guys came there."
"Oh," Merle replied.
Silence settled upon them.
"How much farther did you say it was?" Merle asked him again.
"Don't worry," Collin replied. "You'll know."
"How are you healing so quickly?" Merle asked.
Collin grinned. "Hitomi has many gifts."
"Boy, don't I know," Merle muttered.
"Huh?" Collin asked.
"Nothing," Merle replied.
They began to hear soft crying behind them and knew it was Hitomi. The realization was just settling in. Van began to softly whisper gentle words to soothe her. Soon the crying stopped.
"I wish there was something I could do to help Hitomi," Merle said.
"I think her husband is the only one who can help her right now," he replied.
"Van," Merle said.
"What?" Collin asked.
"That's his name. Van," Merle said.
"Oh," Collin said. After a moment, "They really love each other, don't they?"
"Yes," Merle said, smiling. "They really do."
"Good," Collin said. He reached out and touched a tree as they went by it.
"What was that for?" Merle asked him.
"You'll see," was his reply.
All of a sudden, everything became black and Merle felt like she was falling. She began to panic.
"Shh," Collin said softly in her ear. "It's all right. Just close your eyes and relax."
Merle did as she was told, but grabbed his hand tightly. He squeezed it, and that let her relax a little bit. Then she felt totally calm. She knew Collin was doing something to her to help her calm down.
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Van was going to draw his sword, but Hitomi put her hand on his.
"It's all right," she said softly. "It'll be over in just a bit."
Van grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She did the same. Van tightened his arms around her. Earlier he had wrapped a blanket that he had found in the bag on his saddle around her. She had leaned back in his chest and had been in that position ever since. Even when she had cried.
All of a sudden the blackness was invaded by sunlight and they were all sitting on their horses in front of a tiny village. There were huts around everywhere. The tallest tree at the end of all the rows of huts had a hut in its branches. Latters rose up around it and in the neighboring branches to allow what Van guessed to be an entrance to the 'treehut.' People were walking around the wide stretch that was in between the two rows of huts. A shout sounded out in the crowd and everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the new arrivals. Everyone dismounted their horses. Collin walked forward. Some children ran toward him and Collin got down on bended knee and hugged each one of them, laughing. Van saw Merle smile. Suddenly, a little girl looked past Collin and spotted them.
"Hitomi?" she cried. She ran forward and Hitomi bent down and hugged her. She stood up and brought the child with her. Van guessed that the little girl was no more than four years old, at the most. The little girl had a death grip on Hitomi's neck. When she raised her head up, she noticed Van standing there. He placed his hand on Hitomi's back. "Who's that?" the little girl whispered to Hitomi.
Hitomi looked at Van. "Van this is Arissa. Arissa this is Van," Hitomi said making the introductions.
"Hi," Van said with a smile.
The little girl smiled a shy smile, ducked her head. "Hi," she said quietly.
Van placed his finger under Arissa's chin and pulled up. "There," he said to her. "That's better." He tapped his finger on her nose. She wiggled her nose and giggled. Soon all the children were around them. The alduts were surrounding them as well. The noise all quieted as the crowd parted. A woman with light hair stepped out of the crowd and stood in front of Hitomi. They looked at each other.
Hitomi threw her arms around the woman's neck. "I've missed you, Grandmother," she said to her.
The woman wrapped her arms around Hitomi. "I've missed you, too, my little flower," she replied.
Hitomi drew back and had tears in her eyes.
"Now, none of that," her Grandmother said, wiping her tears. "You're liable to get everyone else started, too." Everyone laughed, including Hitomi. Her Grandmother looked past her. "Who are your traveling companions?" she asked Hitomi.
"This is my dear, dear friend Balgus," Hitomi said laying a hand on Balgus's arm. He bowed to the crowd. Her Grandmother nodded her head. "This is my sister-in-law and best friend, Merle," she said grabbing Merle's hand and squeezing it. Merle smiled at everyone. "And this," Hitomi said, taking Van's hand in hers, "is my husband, Van." Van bowed to everyone. Hitomi's Grandmother looked into his eyes. Van stood still. Suddenly, she smiled.
"May I be the first to welcome you to Ronise," she said to all of the new arrivals. Cheers broke out among the crowd.
"Grandmother," Hitomi said quietly. "We must speak with you."
"Soon," her grandmother replied, placing her fingers on Hitomi's cheek. Then louder for everyone to hear, "But first, you must get cleaned up and rest. We will have an intu tonight for all of you to welcome the old and the new." Everyone cheered at that. "Come," her Grandmother said. "We will provide you with quarters to change and rest."
Everyone began to walk away and allowed the new arrivals to follow Hitomi's grandmother.
"What exactly is an intu?" Van heard Merle ask Collin.
"It's just like one of your kind of parties but a lot more fun," he replied.
They were all shown to their quarters. They were all side by side. It was Merle, then Balgus, then Van and Hitomi. In their quarters, Van sat down on the bed and watched as Hitomi lied the blanket around her on a chair and then started moving around, inspecting the room. Hitomi caught him looking at her.
"What?" she asked him.
Van smiled at her. She walked over to him and stood in front of him. "Just what are you smiling about?" she teased him.
He grabbed her hand and tugged. She landed on the bed and Van hovered over her. "You," he whispered to her.
Hitomi linked her arms around his neck and smiled. Van leaned down and kissed her. His hand ran over her bare shoulder. He looked at it and fingered the broken strap. Hitomi lifted his head with her fingers and kissed him again. She rolled over to where she was on top of him. She brushed her lips against his and pulled down her other strap.
Van grinned at her. "I love you."
Hitomi grinned back at him. "I know."
Van cupped her neck and brought her lips down to meet his.
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Later that night, the people of Ronise were gathering in the middle of all of their huts. A huge fire was lit and their was food and strawstacks everywhere. Van was leaning against one of those strawstacks looking at the fire. A shadow came in front of him, and he looked up. There was Hitomi with her hair flowing down her back and a silver dress on with sparkles flowing down the skirt. Merle had on a similar one on, but it was red. Van reached up and grabbed Hitomi's hand and pulled her down. She landed between his legs and positioned herself so that she was leaning in his chest. Some men stood up and started dancing around the fire to upbeat music. They were very fast on their feet.
"What's this?" Van asked Hitomi.
"This dance is called the Yuter. It stands for the thankfulness of fire. Some men get up and dance around the fire. Then they go out and pick a girl to dance with them," she replied.
The men began to go to strawstacks and asked women to dance with them. Collin came over to their strawstack and reached his hand out to Merle, who was sitting next to them. "May I have this dance?" he asked her.
Merle looked over at Van. He smiled and motioned for her to go if she wanted to. Merle smiled back at him and took Collin's hand. They moved toward the fire, and Collin began to teach Merle how to do the dance. Soon, everyone sat down, and Merle sat beside Collin.
"Now what?" she asked Collin.
"Now, a girl must make fire dance," he replied.
"What?" Merle asked confused.
"You'll see," he said.
"Where have I heard that before?" she muttered under her breath.
Collin grinned at her.
Everyone was quiet around the fire. Suddenly, Hitomi's Grandmother spoke up. "Hitomi will do it," she said.
"But Grandmother-" Hitomi objected.
"You can do it, Hitomi," Collin said. "You've done it before."
Everyone began to cheer and say Hitomi's name. Hitomi looked up at Van. He shrugged his shoulders and smiled at her. Hitomi sighed, frustrated. He was no help.
"Go on, Hitomi," her grandmother said.
Hitomi got up. She stood before the fire, and all the noise stopped. She took a deep breath and stuck her hand into the fire. Van began to get up, but her grandmother stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her. She was watching Hitomi just like everyone else. Hitomi withdrew her hand and was holding fire. Then she did the same with the other hand. With fire burning in her hands, Hitomi began to move her feet. She danced around the fire pit with complex moves and holding her hands above her head. Then she brought her hands down and slowly began to bring them together. She clapped them closed. The fire disappeared from her hand. Suddenly, the fire in the pit took human form. Hitomi smiled and bowed. The fire bowed. Then Hitomi began to dance around, and the fire danced around with her, copying all of her moves. The fire flew into the air, circled Hitomi, then went back to the pit and became a fire once more. Hitomi stopped dancing. Everyone cheered. Then four girls got up and began to dance. Hitomi joined them, dancing to the music. Then the girls did what the boys had done; they went to the strawstacks and picked boys to dance with them. Hitomi stood in front of Van.
"Dance with me," she said smiling.
"I don't know how," he replied.
"Come on," she said, taking his hands in hers and pulling him to his feet. "I'll teach you." She took him out to the fire and began to dance around. Van stood there. "You have to feel the music to know how to move your feet. Listen closely."
Van did as he was told, and his feet began to move. He looked up at Hitomi. "That's it!" she cried. She grabbed his hands and began to dance with him. Van laughed. Collin was right. This party was a lot more fun than the ones he was used to.
On the next dance, Van and Hitomi sat down. Then on the one after that, two girls took Hitomi by the arms and placed her in front of the fire. They all began to dance around. Hitomi was twirling around when the fire caught her eye. She stopped dancing and walked up to its very edge. There were voices calling out to her, begging her to save them. Hitomi began to breathe faster and barely heard Van and the others calling out her name. With her mind overflowing with agonized voices, Hitomi stepped into the fire...
Hope this was long enough and ended right! PLEASE REVIEW!!! I'm also so very sorry for any words spelled wrong. I don't have time to correct all of them!