AN: Gyah I'm rusty... Well, hopefully you'll understand what went on in terms of the killing in the prologue by reading this chapter... Normally I do review replies but I'm lazy and rusty so.... I'll probably do it next chappy *hides* SORRY!!!!!!!! n___n;;;; *drunk too much iced coffee so apologizes for badness of chappy*
Of A Dream | Chapter 1
"And so the Iyana tribe achieved the power of switching bodies," droned on Hitomi's tutor as she splashed her bare feet in the cool water of the marble fountain, her tomboyish hair shining brilliantly in the afternoon sun.
"That'd be so weird," Hitomi mused to herself, "Standing there and all of a sudden being somewhere else."
"Quite a deadly power," Dryden continued after nodding in silent agreement, "Often they would lure warriors to kill them, and as the men struck they'd switch bodies with another."
"That's awful," Hitomi commented bluntly, looking up from her toes as she drew circles with them on the surface on the water. "But couldn't they wipe out everyone? I mean they could get one of their own to pretend to stab their friend but switch it with an enemy."
"To an extent, you're right," Dryden sighed grimly, "But there's a balance that needs to be preserved, and thank the gods that they step in when it gets out of hand. Once the Iyana tribe did such a thing. By Escaflowne, it was a gigantic slaughter. Eventually something struck them, some sort of fatal disease, wiping most of them out centuries ago. The last one recorded to die was on Lover's Cliff, finished by a Knight Caeli."
"The Knight Caeli," Hitomi echoed, a sly smile spreading on her features as she lolled her head back slightly, a girlish giggle escaping her lips much to her mortification.
"I take it someone has warmed up to a certain one?" Dryden teased lightly, shutting the book silently as he got the feeling Lady Hitomi would no longer pay attention.
"I do not have feelings for Allen!" Hitomi stuttered, her cheeks flaming red as the cool water did nothing to calm the heat rising to her face.
"Go play in the fields or something," Dryden laughed, smiling fondly at his student, "Your lesson is over."
* * *
As light hues of blue and pink shone down onto the stone floor of the empty church through the glorious stained glass windows, Hitomi walked past the front altar, past the several floating candles into the open grave yard. Fingering the lavender lilies in her hands, she kneeled down in front of a statue of a young warrior reaching out to what seemed to be a young maiden and breathed in the clean scent of the air. After years of weathering and war, most of the maiden had eroded away, while the warrior remained perfectly intact except for a slight crumbling near the legs and torso.
After setting the frail flowers down, and bowing her head, Hitomi remained silent, her eyes shut for a few minutes, the only sound the fluttering leaves and the wind. Rising up again, she bowed once more respectfully, then stood, her lips parting in awe as they always did, at the whole magical feeling of the statue. And, of course, the memories that it brought back.
Oh, the memories.
This statue had been one of Hitomi's sanctuaries as a child, one of the places where she could usually count on being alone, not disturbed. Being raised in the eyes of the court was completely different then what most people pictured it to be like. It wasn't close to the glamorous dresses and posh food that most villagers often bitterly gossiped about. She had remembered when she was a child, all those days alone, the harsh words of the court if she displayed any improper behaviour. Whether it be a stray thread on her gown, a scratch on her arm, an accidental hiccup, it was always looked down upon. Her father hadn't thought too much about her behaviour, never chided her for it should it be something small. And the other men… They'd usually laugh, perhaps snicker, make a snide comment. But that was all. The women of the court, however….
They were much, much different.
One day, Hitomi had dropped a rhinestone brooch she had been playing with, the thin, cheap pin breaking from the momentum. One woman raised her arm to slap her… But a boy, the stable boy maybe, she couldn't remember, ran out and stopped the cold hearted wench, only to get the brunt of the attack. Her father had yelled at the woman, the woman waving her arms frantically and pointing at Hitomi as if she were dirt. The court was always oblivious of emotions and feelings, and in a way Hitomi supposed that she ought to toughen up. But it hurt sometimes, and in this instance she needed to get away, she'd make sure no one was following her and run to the statue.
Running out of the room, Hitomi wandered onto the barren field, seeking seclusion in the space between the warrior and the maiden as she wept.
"Are you alright?" came the surprisingly deep voice of the boy who had helped her, his eyes blinking curiously at Hitomi as she curled into a ball, the statue shielding her from the rain beginning to fall.
"…Yes," she replied meekly, and nodding, the boy bent down slightly.
"Mind if I join you?" he asked, getting soaked as the cold drops ran down him.
"Actually, I'd like to be alone," Hitomi whispered, and nodding slowly, the boy stood to leave as Hitomi added beseechingly, "Please don't tell anyone I'm here."
"I won't," he promised, and holding out his pinky finger, Hitomi locked hers with his and they shook, a sort of understanding passing through them. The boy started to pull away, but Hitomi didn't let go.
"Actually, could you keep me company?" she asked, slightly embarrassed, and the boy's lips turned up slightly.
"Alright."
As the minutes flew by, the boy had eventually wrapped his cloak around both of them, Hitomi trapped in the nook of his arm.
Sinking to the soft earth, her gaze falling on the lilies she had placed down, Hitomi leaned back and sighed deeply, shutting her green eyes as she allowed the afternoon sun to hit her, basking in the solitude of the place.
"Where are you going?" she asked a week later, the first time she had seen the boy since that day. Her hair was being casually tousled by the wind, her dress billowing as he mounted his stallion.
"Away," the boy replied quietly, squinting at the orange yellow horizon.
"Oh," Hitomi said, keeping her tone normal, "Well have a safe journey."
"I'll try," the boy smiled, and Hitomi wrung a bit of her dress in her hands nervously.
"Please don't forget me," Hitomi added urgently, her cheeks flaming, "You… You're my only friend," she admitted, feeling slightly pathetic.
"I promise you," he replied, and leaning down slightly, he held out his pinky.
"Friends," Hitomi said as they shook, and he nodded, about to flick his reins. "What's your name?" she asked as his horse began to walk, half wishing he'd take her with him.
"If we meet again, I'll tell you," he called as the horse began to break into a trot, then a canter, Hitomi coughing as the hooves of the black horse kicked dust up.
"I'm so tired of being here," Hitomi sang as her reverie was ended by the howling of the wind, "Suppressed by all of my childish fears. And if you have to leave, I wish that you would just leave… Because your presence still lingers here and it won't leave me alone," she continued, standing and going on her tippy toes. Gingerly, she extended her hand to touch the warriors face, something familiar ringing inside her. Perhaps she had spent too much time in this place.
"Hard to leave such a pretty girl all alone without at least greeting her," came a warm voice, and Hitomi whirled around to meet the sunny face of Allen Schezar.
"Allen! This is a very private place to me," Hitomi shouted, outraged.
"A thousand apologies," replied Allen with a smile, bowing grandly, "…My Lady," he added after a thought.
"So close to forgiving you," Hitomi snickered after softening slightly, "Until you called me Lady".
"Ah, curse my mouth for it's blasphemous words," Allen mock lamented, "How shall such a beauty of the day forgive such a small, and shallow knight such as I," Allen smiled as he went on one knee, peeking up at her with his blue eyes.
"Perhaps escorting a lady out of here," Hitomi replied playfully, and offering his arm to her, they began to walk away.
"That is a nice statue you were looking at," Allen commented sincerely as his boots sounded against the cold stone floors of the church as the floating candles flickered at them.
"I like to visit it a lot," Hitomi beamed, and Allen nodded.
"I think," he mused, "It's a good place to make wishes. Not selfish wishes, but I think in such a simple place of beauty, that's when the gods can hear you best." Smiling, a faint color rising to her cheeks, Hitomi nodded in reply.
"I'll be heading back to Asturia tonight," Allen informed casually, and Hitomi wasn't surprised. She had gotten used to his sudden exits.
"Well, have a safe trip."
"I'll try."
* * *
As Allen dropped Hitomi off in her quarters, Hitomi noticed out of her peripheral vision her father watching them as he was walking down the hall perpendicular to theirs. Straightening her posture, and sweeping into a graceful curtsey, Allen's eyes twinkled as he caught on after a delayed moment.
"An honor to escort you back to your quarters," Allen said courteously, "I bade you farewell."
"Thank you, kind Knight, may the Gods smile down on you," she smiled, her green eyes flickering impishly. As they both straightened up, Hitomi turned to open the door to her room, after catching a wink from her father.
Shutting the door quietly, Hitomi leaned against the solid door for a moment, looking at her bed calmly, breathing in and out. Then after a moment, she screamed in delight and bounced onto the comfy mattress, wrapping her sheets around her as she couldn't rid the smile on her face.
"He's so wonderful," she squealed, and rolling over, she shimmied across her feather mattress to reach for her feather pen and a notebook. As she opened the pages of the book, she took out her bookmark as she continued where she left off, her careful script flowing carelessly across the faint lines in the book.
Trying her best to phrase everything poetically, Hitomi bit the tip of the feather for a moment, pausing to think when a sudden surge of pain crept up her spine, the pen dropping out of her hand, the metal tip hitting the ground a tiny noise. To Hitomi however, it was like five million swords dropping, and her shoulders hunched together as she winced, her vision blurring.
"We'll be together forever," whispered a young man, his maroon eyes full of emotion. Hitomi looked around and noticed it was a barren field, and as she noticed the young man looking right through her, she had a feeling that he couldn't see or hear her. The young woman in front of him on the black horse leaned back, her head resting on his shoulder, she sighed.
"And I'll love you forever, Van," she replied softly, and Hitomi could make out the young man's arm strengthening his grip on the woman's waist, as if he'd never let her go. Strangely, the whole scene had a sort of bittersweet, almost sad feeling to it.
"My angel…" he choked as the woman turned her head and softly planted a kiss on his lips. Hitomi gasped as they parted, the woman's face at a good angle for Hitomi to clearly see her features.
She looked exactly like her.
But how?
How could she…. Her eyes… Exactly the same….
As Hitomi took a step back, her head growing drowsy, she grabbed her temples and started a hacking cough, her throat stinging as the quiet noises of the scene intensified to a blaring buzz. Her knees filling up with jelly, something solid and sharp hit the back of her head, and the last thing she felt was crumpling to the ground.
* * *
"Hitomi, darling, wake up," came a chirpy voice, and Hitomi groaned groggily as she rolled over in her bed.
"Merle?" she groaned as she could make out a blur of pink hair, "Ugh…. My head. I had the weirdest dream."
"About what?" Merle asked curiously, forgetting about her professional duties for a moment.
"Well there was this," Hitomi began eagerly, but suddenly stopped, holding her temples. "I…. I forgot. It was so clear a moment ago… I guess it must have slipped my mind," she muttered, and frowning slightly, Merle nodded.
"Well, you have a guest, and your father has thrown a last minute ball and wants you to get ready."
"A ball?" Hitomi whined, flopping back into her pillow.
"Cheer up, it can't be that bad," Merle chided as she tore Hitomi's blankets off and pushed her off the bed impishly.
"But they're such stuck up people," Hitomi grumbled, her lip jutting out childishly. "And they're mean," she added, her voice catching slightly.
"Cheer up, Lady Hitomi, you're eighteen, you should be able to handle a few moronic imbeciles," Merle snorted, taking her feather duster from her apron and busying herself by dusting Hitomi's bed frame. Merle's sharp blue eyes softened as she knew Hitomi was coming from. Being a cat woman wasn't easy. She was lucky Lord Kanzaki had hired her, and she was eternally grateful he treated her like his other servants; firmly but kindly. Her ears pricking slightly, Merle coughed and met Hitomi's off cast eyes.
"Just… If you must, blank your face, when needed to be warm for greeting someone, just add a spark to your eyes. Speak slowly when responding. Treat them like they're a bunch of losers," Merle added with a snicker, and Hitomi smiled slightly.
"But father always makes me dance with a boy," Hitomi replied, bouncing on her mattress slightly, "They're always so talkative, they won't shut up!"
"Ooh, a BOY," Merle mock squealed, "Cooties! By gods, the horror!"
"Shut up," Hitomi laughed, slightly embarrassed, and Merle smiled.
"Just go," she insisted, and Hitomi sighed.
"It's not like I have a choice you know," she muttered, and getting up she followed Merle to try on her gown.
* * *
"Well? What do you think?" Hitomi asked as she glanced nervously at her gown.
"You've never looking more stunning," Merle replied sincerely, curtseying just to annoy her. Sheets of pale ice tumbled down from her hips to the floor, sapphire chiffon peeking through the translucent layers. A tight fitting cobalt blue bodice hugged her torso, tiny blue glass beads sewn in to form vertical lines of baby breath. Her off the shoulder straps were made of the same semi translucent material as the first layer of her skirt was, and swishing around to reveal matching petticoats, Hitomi smiled slightly waving her fingers in her white silk elbow gloves. Extensions had been added to her hair, which had been swept back, the ends of her hair in large glamorous curls. After much arguing and screaming, the hand maids had finally managed to hold Hitomi still long enough to glue devastatingly long, thick eye lashes over her own, applying a colored gloss to her lips, and brushing her naturally rosy cheeks with a white based shimmer. And after all that, it was like Hitomi was blossomed and they had brought out her dazzling beauty, like a flower opening up to inviting rays of sunshine.
"I feel like a cow," Hitomi grunted, breaking the Cinderella like moment, regarding her long eyelashes. Snorting in laughter, Merle pushed Hitomi out the door.
"The escort your father assigned you should be waiting near the painting of your grandfather," she called out, and Hitomi snorted.
"You mean the talkative, obnoxious pig by father assigned me," Hitomi muttered as she rounded the corner, then down the stairs. As she continued down the hall, she paused for a moment and took a breath, bracing herself before entering the area in which her doom would be. A boy, or man, as he was tall, stood facing away from her, arms clasped behind his back respectfully.
"Allen!"
* * *
"Smart man, are you ready for the ball?" came a female voice, and Dryden turned from his book to look up at large violet eyes.
Large, impatient, violet eyes.
"Why yes, princess," Dryden smiled, "And in no way am I smart man. I have so much to learn," he added humbly. It was odd, his usual wry and cocky personality seemed to wash down slightly when she was around.
"Well you're either a smart man or your student is stupid," Millerna replied abrasively, "Because you're only five years older then her and you excel her and many other's intelligence by far."
"Well I'll take that as a compliment," Dryden smirked, and after hesitating, Millerna accepted his arm, smoothing her light green gown with her free hand as they strode out of his study.
* * *
"Oh, Hitomi," Allen smiled, surprised, "Have you seen Princess Eries of Asturia anywhere?"
"Uh…No," Hitomi replied after hesitating slightly, "I thought you had to leave for Asturia tonight."
"I did," Allen nodded, "But we bumped into one of Lord Kanzaki's old friends, war hero, and escorted him to meet him. Lord Kanzaki insisted we stay for the ball he decided to throw, so we did," Allen shrugged.
"Oh," was all Hitomi said. "So… Are you escorting Princess Eries to the ball?" she asked, slightly deflated. Allen nodded.
"Apparently she's very intelligent," he smiled, Hitomi's heart sinking further, "But very uptight." Her heart rose again. After all, unless in a relationship, the court would decide your escort. She still had a chance with him.
"Do you know who my escort is?" she asked curiously, and Allen shrugged.
"Well, I'm sure he'll be here soon," he winked, "Who would want to lost a precious moment at the ball when they have someone as lovely as you for a partner."
Hitomi blushed profusely, and tried to think of a reply when Allen suddenly looked over her shoulder.
"Princess Eries," he greeted warmly, and taking the blonde's gloved hand, he kissed her knuckles softly. Eries curtseyed formally, her skirt of her lavender gown brushing the carpet perfectly. Normally Hitomi could never achieve that sweeping affect, which is why, she smiled, that Merle ordered for a floor length gown.
"If I find out who your escort is I'll tell him you're here," Allen smiled, and offering Princess Eries his arm, she accepted it and they walked off, leaving Hitomi alone.
* * *
"Allen!" Millerna called out as he was announced with her sister, and leaving Dryden by a marble pillar she smiled, giddy like a school girl.
"Princess Millerna," Allen nodded, "It's an honor to see you," he added smoothly.
"Oh Allen, don't call me Princess," Millerna smiled.
"It is respectful and your proper title, sister," Eries interrupted, her gaze not on Millerna but at the front table.
"Not for close friends and family, sister," Millerna replied coolly, and Eries merely kept her gaze at the front. "Please save a dance for me later," Millerna smiled, and Allen nodded.
"But of course," he replied, "Who are you with, by the way?"
"Dryden Fasaa," Millerna said grumpily, "I think he's the tutor of the daughter of Lord Kanzaki."
"When we dance, he should dance with Eries," Allen grinned, "Eries is also a very intelligent woman, but of course, you would know that being her sister."
"Yes, I would," Millerna replied nonchalantly, a slight ice flickering to her eyes as she remembered always being upstaged by her sister in terms of their lessons. But in terms of grace and beauty, Millerna had always won, and that was all you needed in the court, Millerna nodded firmly to herself.
"Well, I guess you should return to Dryden," Allen coughed slightly, and after registering his comment, Millerna nodded quickly.
"Uh, yes, you're right," she replied slightly disappointed, "Well, remember that dance," she added with a sunny smile.
"I will," Allen nodded, and she left, leaving a light cloud of floral perfume.
* * *
Glancing at the large gilded clock on the wall, Hitomi leaned against the wall as she exhaled. Her escort was twenty minutes late. Lolling her head back, she tapped her foot on the carpet impatiently.
Thirty minutes….
Forty minutes…..
Letting out a frustrated noise, Hitomi straightened up. If she didn't go in now, her father would think she skipped the ball, and would be disappointed. About to leave the area, she heard a voice call out.
"Lady Hitomi!"
Turning around, she met a handsome young man, wearing white gloves, black breeches, and a navy blue royal coat. A few medals were on it, and Hitomi wondered how he got them so young.
"I apologize for my tardiness," he bowed, and after staring at him blankly, Hitomi quickly remembered and swept into a offhanded curtsey.
"It's alright," Hitomi replied, though it wasn't really, and as she accepted his arm, she felt something familiar, something comfortable from long ago. "What's your name?" she asked, trying to place him in her mind.
"Van," he replied, looking straight ahead with his maroon eyes, "Van Fanel".
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