Learning to Love, Chapter 14, Memories Lost, Memories Found
A/N: I'm trying to keep the chapters coming, and I'm very glad that everyone liked my last chapter! Thanks to all who reviewed!
The first sensation that Hitomi felt was complete bliss. She felt like she didn't have a care in the world when she stepped into the fire. Everything was dark and she had a tingling feeling all over her skin. Hitomi closed her eyes and reveled in the satisfying feeling. When she opened her eyes again, Hitomi was no longer standing in the fire, but in an open field full of beautiful roses. Hitomi heard giggling and laughter. She walked forward and began to see two people lying in the grass. One was a man and the other was a woman. The man was very handsome. He had green eyes and brown hair. The woman had long dark hair and brown eyes. They were talking and laughing. The man was lying on the ground with one hand behind his head and the other hand across the woman who was lying on his chest.
"Mother wishes for me to have an escort every time that I leave the village. I had to sneak away just to be able to come and see you," the man said.
"She just wants you to be safe," the woman raised her head and looked at the man. "Can you blame her?" she asked, smiling.
"Not really," the man smirked. "I am quite a catch after all."
The woman laughed. "And quite full of yourself." She leaned down and kissed the man lightly.
"Temptress," the man accused softly. The woman chuckled and brushed her lips against his. When she began to pull away again, the man cupped her neck with the hand that was behind his head and pulled her back toward him. He kissed her passionately. He rolled her to where she was on the ground and continued kissing her. The woman wrapped her arms around his neck. The man pulled back. "Marry me," he whispered softly to her.
"When?" the woman asked.
The man smiled. "Now." He bent down and kissed the woman again.
The scene changed to where Hitomi guessed it was four or five years later. The man and woman were in the same field as before. They had their arms around each other.
"Mommy, Daddy," a child's voice rang out.
"Whatever she says, I didn't do anything!" another child's voice rang out.
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Kids," the man said in a warning tone of voice. The woman giggled quietly. The man looked at her with a lopsided grin and sighed. The man and woman sat up and looked for the two arguing children. They came toward them. One of the children, who was a girl with sandy blonde hair and green eyes, was soaked. The other child was a boy with the same features as his sister, but had brown eyes and didn't look too happy. Hitomi gasped. It was her and her brother when they were each five years old.
"Hitomi Nyla Kanzaki," the woman exclaimed. "You're soaked!"
"Collin pushed me into the lake," five year old Hitomi claimed.
"Did not!" the young Collin exclaimed. "She slipped on a rock."
"Only because you pushed me!" Hitomi countered.
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Children!" their mother exclaimed. "What are we going to do with you two?"
"Well, Sasha, if you were to ask me," their father said, "I would say that Hitomi needs a change of clothes, and then we need to find out the real story."
Sasha raised her eyebrows up and looked at him. "Is that so?" she asked him. "Well, I'm glad that I married someone with brains, Talik."
Talik smiled at her. "I know," he said.
Sasha shook her head. "Impossible! I believe it would be you that our children receive all of their wild ideas."
Talik smirked. "Perhaps," he replied nonchalantly.
Before Sasha could respond, Talik raised his hand to Hitomi's head and pressed his palm down gently. Hitomi glowed a bright green and when the light faded, she was in a different change of clothes and was dry. "All right now," he said to his children. "Who's going to tell me the truth?"
"She slipped," Collin supplied.
"I did not!" Hitomi replied. "You pushed me!"
Collin rolled his eyes. "Girls," he muttered.
Hitomi made a move to tackle him, but Sasha grabbed her waist and sat her down on the ground beside her. "Hitomi it isn't proper for you to tackle your brother, and Collin, you shouldn't say such things."
"He would tackle me," Hitomi replied. "I don't see why I can't tackle him."
"And girls are so whinny," Collin said to his mother.
"That's enough both of you," their mother chided them. "Now what happened for Hitomi to become so wet-"
A loud thunder sounded and the ground began to quake. The sky began to become dark. Hitomi and Collin got closer to their mother and father.
"Mommy," Hitomi whimpered. Sasha held her and Collin close.
"Talik," Sasha said over the strong and loud wind that was blowing around them, "what's happening?"
Talik helped them off the ground and all of them stood up. "Take the children and go!" he shouted over the wind.
"No," Sasha said. "I'm not leaving you."
Talik put his hands on her shoulders. "You have to get the children to safety, now go!" His hands dropped back to his side. Sasha was beginning to cry.
"No," she whispered. A bright column of light appeared behind her and the children. She turned to look at it, but turned back. Talik kissed her passionately like the first time that Hitomi saw them in the same field.
"I love you," he whispered in her ear. Then he bent down in front of his children and gathered them in a hug with an arm around each of them. "Take care of each other," he said to them. "Promise?"
The two children nodded their heads. "It'll be all right Daddy," Hitomi said quietly. "I know it."
Talik smiled sadly at her and Collin, then gave them another hug. He stood up and looked at his wife. Before he could say anything, though, he was thrown to the ground a few feet away by an invisible force. Sasha quickly guided the children to the awaiting light and ushered them in. "I love you," she called. "Remember your promises." Then the light rose in the sky and was gone. Sasha then turned around and covered her husband's body with her own as they disappeared and the meadow returned to normal as if nothing had happened.
The scene changed once again and Hitomi found herself in a dark cell. She heard moaning and turned her head. There was her father on the floor of the cell and was in pain. He didn't have any cuts or bruises on him but was still somehow in pain. His skin began to turn odd colors, and he turned his back to her. Hitomi walked over to him and knelt down in front of him. She reached out her hands to touch him, but knew that he wouldn't be able to feel it and kept her hands a foot above him. He moaned again and turned back toward her. Suddenly he opened his eyes and Hitomi gave out a startled cry. His eyes were strait slits. They were the same eyes that haunted Hitomi's dreams. Hitomi's father was her enemy.
The scene shifted again to a spaced room with dim lights. Hitomi saw her mother standing in the room looking around. Suddenly the doors opened and Hitomi's changed father and another creature walked in the room. Sasha put a hand to her throat and a tear ran down her face. "Talik?" she whispered.
Her father wasn't the one that answered. It was the creature beside him. "Hello, my dear," it hissed. Hitomi gasped. It was the creature that was in her first vision.
A young girl of the age sixteen was sitting down at the vanity brushing her hair. She was smiling and humming a strange tune. She had long honey colored hair that went down to her waist. She had on a long plain dress that went down to her ankles. It was a light blue. When she finished brushing her hair, she put it up in a bun similar to the one Hitomi had hers in. Then she went outside on her balcony and watched the people hurrying around the village below. Hitomi realized with a start that the village was the place that she saw in her vision when she touched the Goluff. The young woman turned around suddenly and Hitomi saw huge dark green eyes like hers. Hitomi also noticed that the woman was wearing a silver teardrop pendant around her neck. Hitomi followed the girl's line of vision and saw a huge man in the shadows.
"Good evening, princess," the man hissed. Hitomi recognized the voice. It was the creature in her vision.
"What do you want, Terian?" the princess asked boldly.
"Why, princess, you have such hatred in your voice."
"You tried to kill my family, Terian. That should be reason enough to hate you."
"Now, now, princess. You were taught better than to hold a grudge. I'm sure that your mother would be very upset with you and your behavior."
"What do you want from me?" the princess asked.
"Why, just a little something. You won't even miss it." He looked down at the pendant around her neck.
The princess covered it with her hand. "Never," she declared.
"Very well, princess, have it your way, but you will regret your decision. I guarantee it."
"Guards!" the princess shouted.
The creature laughed. "You shall not be protected forever, Princess Nyla. There will come a time when you will see me again, and then you will cry out in anguish and pain for defiling me."
The guards rushed through the door and the creature dissolved into smoke.
Hitomi continued to listen to the creature as he spoke. "I must thank you for attending, my dear," he said.
"Attending what?" Sasha asked angrily.
"Why your death of course," the creature replied. He then turned to Talik. "Kill her," he ordered.
Talik began to move toward his wife. Sasha didn't move. He grabbed her by the throat and pulled her off the floor. She still didn't move or struggle at all. Her sight began to become unfocused, but before she died, she needed to say something very important to her husband. "I love you, Talik," she managed in a painful whisper. Something flashed in his eyes and he dropped her to the ground.
"What!" Terian bellowed. "Kill her! Kill her now!"
Talik put his hands to his head and roared. "NO!" He walked to where Terian was and grabbed him by the throat. Then he squeezed his fingers together and Terian died. Talik let his body drop to the floor and walked back to where Sasha was. She got up and held a hand to her bruised throat. Talik just stood there in front of her. Then Sasha threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. "Talik," she whispered. He slowly wrapped his arms around her like he was afraid to. Sasha lifted her head and put her hands on his face. "I thought you were dead," she said. "I was so afraid I had lost you."
"Sa-sha," Talik said. He blinked hard a few times like he was trying to get his vision to come into focus and then looked at her again. "Sasha," he said with his voice back. He held her close then let her go like he had been burned. He turned away. "Don't look at me," he said painfully.
Sasha placed her hand on his arm and turned him around. He still refused to look her in the eye. She lifted his chin with her fingers and forced him to look at her. "I love you," she said. "And I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you no matter what," she declared. She raised her head and kissed him soundly on the mouth. Then she looked at him. Talik just looked at her then he lowered his head and kissed her like she had kissed him.
Suddenly the scene changed and Hitomi was in the valley that she was in when the Goddess Qurin visited her. "Do you see now?" a male voice asked her.
Hitomi turned around and saw a red oval like the green one the forest Goddess. Hitomi wiped the tears that had been falling down her cheeks and asked, "See what? That my father and mother are my enemies?"
"No," the Fire God replied. "Do you see that you must restore our world from this evil and your heart?"
"But how can I fight my own mother and father?" Hitomi cried. "I can't do it."
"Then all is lost," the fire god replied. "There is no other to fight them and all of Geia is doomed if you will not."
"But I can't kill my parents," Hitomi said painfully. "I just can't."
"You must do what you know is right," the fire god said to her. "Do what your heart allows."
"Why did you show me all that?" Hitomi asked, silent tears rolling down her cheeks. The scenes of her forgotten childhood was still coming in and out of her mind. "Why don't I remember any of it?"
"Your memory was erased," he replied. "It was best for your own safety and destiny. You had to know what you were fighting against before you received your answer."
"What answer?" Hitomi asked. Then she remembered something that she hadn't thought of since she was ten years old.
Hitomi's Grandmother and she were exercising before their training session that morning. "Grandmother," Hitomi said.
"Yes, Hitomi?" her grandmother replied.
"I had a dream last night that I was flying and I was surrounded by angels. Then one of the angels began to fall. I caught him before he fell and helped him to be able to fly again. He looked at me and said, 'Live your gift.' Then I woke up," Hitomi said. "What did he mean live my gift?"
Hitomi's Grandmother smiled and looked at her. Then she put her hand on her cheek gently. "One day you will know what your gift is, and I have no doubt that you will be able to live it to the fullest," she said.
"Grandmother," Hitomi said, annoyed. "That isn't an answer."
Her grandmother only laughed.
"I don't understand, though," Hitomi said. "What is my gift?"
"Life," the fire god replied. "Life is your gift."
Then Hitomi began to feel the same tingling that she felt when she had entered the fire and closed her eyes.
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Van stood on a cliff looking out to the Mystic Moon and its child. He sighed. He wouldn't be able to take this for very much longer. He had to know how his wife was. It had been three hours since Van had pulled Hitomi out of the fire. They hadn't been able to wake her since, and she was in their quarters with Merle and Hitomi's Grandmother. Once in a while Hitomi would cry out or would have tears rolling down her cheeks. Van had never felt so helpless as he did then or now. He sighed again and rubbed a hand down his face.
"They kicked you out, huh?" a voice said from behind him.
Van turned around and found Collin leaning against a tree. "Yes," Van replied. "They did. They said I needed a break."
Collin chuckled. "Yeah, thought so."
Silence came between them. "Is Hitomi happy?" Collin suddenly asked.
Van looked at him. "Yes, she is."
"Do you love her?" Collin asked.
"Yes," Van replied. "More than life itself."
"Does she love you?" Collin asked.
"Yes. Why are you asking me all of this?" Van questioned him.
"When Hitomi left the village, I was mad at her," he replied quietly. "She and Grandmother are all I have left in the world, and I didn't want to lose either one of them. I thought she was crazy going off to marry a man that she didn't even know because a woman that she only met once wanted her to. I just didn't know what else to be other than mad. For all we knew you could have abused her or worse. I didn't want her to get hurt. We're twins, but I still feel like I'm the older brother, and I guess my 'brother alarm' went off when she told me about the arranged marriage. I was just trying to protect her I guess, but I only ended up hurting her by being mad at her when she left. I only wanted to make sure that she was happy with you."
"So that's why you looked at me the way you did in the camp," Van said.
"Yeah, I was surprised, I suppose," Collin replied. He got up from leaning against the tree and held out his hand.
Van clasped his forearm and Collin did the same to him. "Speaking of sisters," Van said, tightening his grip on Collin's arm. "What is it exactly between you and Merle?"
Collin laughed nervously.
"Van," a voice called out. Van looked past Collin and was surprised to find Hitomi emerging from some trees. He quickly dropped his grip on Collin and went up to Hitomi. He grabbed her in his arms and held her close. Hitomi buried her head in his neck.
"Are you all right?" Van asked her with concern and relief.
Hitomi only nodded her head. Van leaned down and kissed her. He then pulled back and looked at her. "What happened to you?" he whispered.
Hitomi looked down.
"Hitomi!" someone yelled. Merle and Hitomi's Grandmother emerged from the shadows. "There you are!" Merle said. "Why did you run off like that? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" she demanded.
"I'm sorry, Merle," Hitomi said. "I just needed to see Van."
Van wrapped his arms around her and chuckled. "Well, that's a relief."
A throat cleared behind them. They turned around and found Collin grinning sheepishly. "I don't mean to break this up or anything, but what happened back there, Hitomi?" he asked.
Hitomi became serious. Before she could answer, though, her grandmother came up and said, "Let us handle this in a proper manner."
Everyone heard a crackling noise behind them and turned around. There was a fire burning brightly on the cliff. They looked at Hitomi's grandmother, but she only looked back at them and then moved toward the fire. She sat down with her legs cris-crossed and placed her hands on her knees, as if she had all the time in the world. Van looked down at Hitomi and cocked an eyebrow. Hitomi just shrugged. Van and Hitomi moved over to the fire and sat down. Van leaned against a large rock that was there and Hitomi leaned into his chest. Van wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. Merle sat down on the right of them and Collin sat down on the left of them. Hitomi's grandmother looked at her and said, "It is time for you to tell your tale."
Hitomi took a deep breath and said, "I know who the creature is." Everyone was silent. "He's my father."
Merle gasped and Van tightened his arms around Hitomi. After a moment of silence, Hitomi hesitantly looked over at her brother. He was staring at the fire.
"Collin-" she began.
"Our parents are dead, Hitomi," Collin said sharply. He looked up at her. "Our father died before we were born and our mother died giving birth to us. You know that."
"I also know what I saw, Collin," Hitomi said defensibly. "I saw what happened. I can even remember where we lived, our mother's rose garden, our father's love of building things, and how you look exactly like him. I remember all of that. I even remember how we got separated from our parents."
"Then how come I can't remember, Hitomi?" Collin said angrily. "Well?"
"Don't worry you will," Hitomi answered back quietly. "and when you do, I pray to the gods that you don't get stuck with the fate that I did." A tear slipped down her face. Van gently wiped it away with his knuckles. His arms wrapped around her even more tightly as Hitomi turned to his chest and grabbed a handful of his shirt. Collin got up and began to walk away.
"Do fight what is inevitable to begin with," their grandmother said to Collin's retreating form. Collin stopped for a moment and turned slightly toward her. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but turned around and continued walking. After a moment, Merle got up and went after him.
"I apologize for any misgivings that my deceitfulness has caused you, Hitomi," she said.
"Your real name is Nyla, isn't it?" Hitomi asked abruptly.
"Yes," Nyla whispered.
"And you are the heir to the Ronisian throne, aren't you?" Hitomi asked.
"Yes," Nyla whispered once again.
"How did Grandfather die?" Hitomi demanded. She turned toward her grandmother. "How?"
"Your grandfather died by being ambushed on his way to the Mystic Valley. He was trying to get rid of an object, but the people we were trying to evade killed him and stole the box from him," Nyla replied sadly. "He did not even know we were going to have a child."
"My grandfather died protecting his family," Hitomi said. She put her hand in the pocket of her dress and pulled out the little box that she had gotten form the marketplace in Fanelia. She tossed it to her grandmother, who caught it with ease. Her grandmother looked at the box in her hand, then looked back at Hitomi with a haunted look in her eyes. "He died throwing that little box into the sea, keeping it away from the enemies that could hurt the people that he loved." But, somehow, Hitomi knew that her Grandmother had seen all of that the moment that her hand came in contact with the box.
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Collin was sitting on a rock looking up at the Mystic Moon and its child when Merle came up behind him. She sat down beside him. "Why are you so mad with Hitomi?" she asked him.
Collin was silent.
Merle rolled her eyes. "Just what is your problem, anyway?"
Collin still was silent.
"Fine," Merle answered. She got off the rock and made her way back into the trees. Collin's voice stopped her.
"I see them," he said quietly. "I've always saw them, even when I was little. When I was about seven, I fell and hit my head. Ever since then I would see little patches of a life I knew, but would never have again. I thought it was just my imagination because I knew that it Hitomi didn't see it, then it couldn't be real."
Merle came back and stood beside him. "So now that Hitomi sees them, you know that their real?"
"Yeah," Collin answered quietly.
"So what are you so mad about?" she asked. "If I had the chance to meet my parents again, or even see them in dreams, I would be at least a little satisfied."
"That's just the thing," Collin said, turning to look at her. "I've found them to only loose them again."
"What are you talking about?" Merle asked. "I don't understand."
Collin grabbed Merle by the shoulders and brought her closer to his face. "It's them or us," he whispered. "And if given the choice, I choose us."
Merle gasped. His eyes were the darkest brown she had ever seen. A piece of hair had fallen across his left eye, and Merle reached up and gently put it back in its place. Collin put a hand on the back of Merle's neck and gently pulled her to him. His lips touched hers, and Merle offered no resistance.
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Van and Hitomi sat in the same spot that they had been in since Nyla had excused herself an hour ago. The fire had since died down some, but a little glow still remained.
"I have to fight them," Hitomi declared. "I don't have a choice."
"I know," Van replied. "But I won't let you fight alone, and I won't let you get hurt."
Hitomi turned to him and smiled. "I know you won't," she said. She brushed her lips against his. When she began to pull away, Van pulled her back and kissed her more passionatly. When they pulled apart, Van noticed a pained look in Hitomi's eyes.
"What is it, Hitomi?" he asked her gently. "What's wrong?"
"I hate to ask this Van," Hitomi said. "But-- but we may need the Escaflowne." She looked at Van. "But if you think that there is another way-" she said quickly.
Van placed his fingers on her lips to silence her. "I don't think that there is another way," he said quietly. "I will call the Escaflowne to help protect Geia," he looked at her with love in his eyes, "and you." He kissed her gently and stood up. He helped Hitomi stand up. A rustle from the woods alerted them that someone was there. Van and Hitomi turned to see Collin and Merle emerge from the trees holding hands. Collin smiled at Hitomi slightly in question. Hitomi smiled back to let him know everything was all right between them.
"We're coming, too," Collin said for both he and Merle.
"Well," Van said, looking at Collin. "Looks like we'll get to finish our conversation after all."
Collin grinned. "Looks like," he said lightly, squeezing Merle's hand.
Another figure came out of the shadows and stood beside Collin and Merle. "I shall accompany His Majesty, as well," it said.
"That would be most appreciative, Balgus," Van replied.
Balgus bowed, but said nothing.
Van squeezed Hitomi's hand, then went to the edge of the cliff. He drew his sword and held it up. The moonlight made the sword glow. "Escaflowne," Van called into the night. "Come to me."
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The wind blew around the shrine in Fanelia until it found what it was looking for. The great Escaflowne still stood in all of its might. The wind swirled around it, carrying a voice.
Escaflowne, the wind said, come to me.
The wind suddenly ceased and all was quiet. Then the great Escaflowne's eyes and heart began to glow.
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Talik watched with great interest as the Escaflowne came to life. The mirror that he was looking into helped him see in great detail.
Sasha walked into the room and bowed. "My Lord?" she asked.
"It is time, my love," Talik replied.
Sasha smiled cruelly. "So it begins."