A/n: Gomen, gomen, gomen minna. I know I haven't updated this story for
more than two weeks now. But it's because my hands are full. I've been
spending my summer break engaging in activities of some sort here and there
(i.e been attending yoga class, badminton practice, etc.). Plus, author's
block is not a rarity in my case. So please forgive my slight negligence
(~_~;). I hope this chapter would make up for it though. m(_ _)m
Btw, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Kisakino Ookami, Little Devil2, aradow, hitomi21, Inda, Avelyn Lauren, Lady Luna, ReddAlice, Aya Miaka, cthj, diovs, and swtgurl122501. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews guys!
Disclaimer: Don't own Escaflowne but how I wish... (=_=)
~*Chapter 8: Ill-fated Feelings*~
"Baka! Jerk! Stupid! Despicable---loathsome creature!"
Words of disdain flowed out incessantly of Hitomi's lips as she stood there in the balcony of the room she had occupied the night before. Tears had long since stopped filling her eyes though the streaks they made a while ago were still visible in her pale face. She was grateful no one was around as she passed the palace grounds crying and sprinting like hell away from the garden and into the privacy of this place.
She wanted to go home.
She wanted to go away.
Away from here. Away from Van. Away from all the conflicting emotions he had brought upon her.
He shouldn't bother her a bit. It's obscure; he was merely a stranger for goodness' sake. No, she shouldn't care about him one way or another.
But she did. And how she hated herself for that.
Little by little, she could feel herself being drawn to him as if she was being pulled in by a giant whirlpool; she was slowly drowning and she could not escape. If she really wanted to escape. It caused her to wonder how in so short a time he had affected her in so many ways like an invincible bond had been there all this time, forged between them without her knowledge; such a strong connection beyond reason and words possible.
By now she should have been married to Kenji, someone whom she knew very well; already a happy and contented wife waiting for her husband in their new home. No conflicts, no doubts, no confusion at all.
'You're such a liar Hitomi! A fake and a liar!' Her conscience tugged at her. 'Had you not wanted to run away just before your wedding? Wishing with all your might that somehow you could escape a marriage you could have regretted for the rest of your life? Hadn't you?'
Hitomi winced, a feeling of rottenness started to lodge inside her. "Why am I like this? Always trying to run away. I feel so terrible..."
Absentmindedly, she wrapped her arms around her as a strong wind blew in her direction, and as though to find the answer to her question, she looked up only to find the twin orbs hovering and shining brightly in the early evening sky.
"The earth?..... How come?" she muttered to herself, her eyes transfixed at the sky above her; a strange feeling that she had experienced this sense of bewilderment before overtook her. 'Déjà vu,' she thought.
But quickly and unexpectedly, replacing that odd feeling, images and voices began to flash through her mind. A kind of instinct or latent character trait was struggling to keep her focus, but panic was starting to quake through her as the flashes continued on a dizzying spiral.
... A track field, a dragon, a boy holding a sword. "Get away! A land dragon's coming...I slew the dragon, if you want a reward then come to my castle..."
... Yukari and Amano. "Hitomi! What's going on?"
.... A teenage girl with a short hair. "I was scared! Really scared!" "The least you could do is say "thanks" all right! I shouldn't have saved you!"
... Pillar of light, forest, a wolf guy. "The Mystic Moon is a lot brighter than usual lately... That blue moon up there, where he said you came from..."
The flashes continued whirling, speeding faster and faster. Then suddenly stopped and all went still with nothing left but a black void.
Hitomi lay on the ground, unconscious.
~*****~
Van stood still in the garden after Hitomi had run away. He wanted to chase after her to apologize for what just happened and try to explain. Explain to her that he was just angry, hurt and frightened of her going back to the Mystic Moon again.
But he couldn't. He just couldn't bring himself.
He knew he blew it again. Just after he had promised to himself that he would make her remember and love him, he did something to scare her away. All because of plain stupidity and stubbornness. With that in mind, he sighed heavily and slumped down again on the ground.
'Good work Van. What a perfect way to win a lady's heart.' He thought sarcastically. 'Now she hates me. And there's no stopping her from going back to her world.' Van mentally wanted to smack himself. He had never intended to yell at her with his harsh words or bend her to his will like one of his servants or to terrify her away. But he had done all those, thanks to his 'high and mighty' self. If only he was more level-headed and less of his rude attitude; had he been able to get a better hold of his feelings, then he wouldn't have angered her and they wouldn't have argued.
Still, if he hadn't done what he did...he also wouldn't have the chance to finally touch her lips with his own...
Much as he was willing to accept, a tiny part of him almost hidden and overshadowed by his guilt and self-reproach was rejoicing in the kiss that they've shared. In that single moment, he was able to reach her somehow. He had reached that girl inside her... the Hitomi he had known from so long ago and had come to love.love with all that he was, and all that he has become. In that single moment the barrier caused by her forgotten memory had been broken. And again, the love he has for her overwhelmed him more than anything.
Almost imperceptibly, Van pulled himself up. His feet started taking steps toward the palace as a new found determination surged through him...
He still wouldn't let her go back to the Mystic Moon, nor would he renege on his promise to help her regain her memory and eventually make her fall for him. But this time he will do it HER way. By using his instincts and taking one step at a time. For he also realized one thing; forcing her or trying to bend her to his will would only lead him nowhere. He understood that now. Even before, Hitomi was as stubborn and hard-headed as he was. All he needed to do is trust himself and trust her.
'You might even hate me more for doing this Hitomi. But I will never give up on you. Not ever.'
~*****~
Back In the Palace
As Merle was about to turn a corner to find Van, her reflexes screeched into a halt just before she nearly collided against a broad and muscular chest. Instinctively, she instantly knew who it was.
"Merle! Why are you in such a hurry?" Van asked in surprise.
"I was just about to look for you. Dryden and Millerna are here, also Allen, Gaddes and Celena. Not to mention the two brats, Agatha and Aria. They've just arrived. They said they want to speak with you." Merle explained in ragged breath, still couldn't wear off the shock by their near collision.
"Where are they?"
"They're waiting in the council room."
"I'll meet them then." Van said, walking past her.
But Merle immediately caught his arm. "Wait, Lord Van. Where's Hitomi?"
"I haven't seen her." Van whispered, his raven hair shadowing his eyes as he spoke.
"I thought you're spending time with each other? What happened?" Merle asked in a worried tone. By the distant look on Van's face, she could tell that something bad happened between the two.
Van pulled his arm. "Merle, please spare me the inquiry. I have to meet with our guests. I don't want them to wait for long. Just do me a favor. Look for Hitomi and make sure she's alright."
"Lord Van..." Merle could say nothing more. She just stared at his back as Van started to walk away.
~*****~
"Dryden, are you sure about this?" Millerna asked her husband across the table, breaking the gloomy silence. A silence that descended upon the four corners of the room since they were left alone minutes after Millerna had requested a handmaiden to bring her exhausted princesses, Agatha and Aria in one of the guest's chambers and Gaddes had also accompanied his wife Celena, to have some needed rest from their tiring travel from Asturia.
Dryden, Millerna and Allen were sitting on the large round table in the middle of the spacious, heavily oak-paneled council room. All three of them seemed to be lost in their own thoughts to even notice the excellent Fanelian crest carved on the wall directly facing the door, or the miniature wooden dragon set at one corner. Their faces were mirroring one and the same expression--- a look of distraught and deep anxiety.
"Millerna, you've asked that question for the hundredth time since this morning. Stop worrying, my queen. I know we can deal with this matter," Dryden answered in his direst of tones, hoping against hope that they could really face the foreboding immensity of the impending doom that would soon be laid before them.
"King Dryden's right, Queen Millerna. There's got to be a way," Allen agreed reassuringly.
"How could you tell me to stop worrying when Hitomi isn't here to help us? When Gaea's fate depends solely on her and she's in the Mystic Moon completely unaware of everything bad that is to happen to our world?" Millerna slammed her hand against the table, the loud sound reverberating throughout the room.
"What's going on?" Van asked incredulously as he caught sight of what Millerna did as he was about to enter the room. He had never seen her in such an agonizing and unprecedented situation before.
All gazes turned toward Van as he made his way and took his usual seat at the table.
"We are facing one big problem Van. A very ghastly problem," Dryden answered anxiously.
"What are you talking about Dryden? Would you mind elaborating further on that?" Van questioned in puzzlement.
Dryden turned to his old book on the table and quickly scanned the pages until he found what he was looking for. "Here, in this book, it was prophesied that on the first phase of the New Moon on this Year of the Red Coral Southeast, unknown darkness and destruction would soon fall upon Gaea. An ancient power, the said Atlantian curse, would be unleashed and bring forth an unfathomable havoc and doom to the very corners of this world."
Van was shocked. "What kind of ancient power? Was it another empire like Zaibach?"
"That wasn't written in the book Van," Dryden replied gravely.
"What are our chances Dryden?"
"A divining power from the Mystic Moon, the seeress who was said to be the protector of Gaea is the only one who could prevent everything from happening."
"She's our sole hope," Allen added.
"Hitomi...But what does she have to do?"
"She needs to gather all the four crystals of life before everything was set into place."
"Four crystals of life?" Van furrowed his brow.
"The four elemental forces Van---- water, land, air and fire. But these crystals are scattered across the vast plains of Gaea. And we have no idea where and how we could get them. Worse, time is running out. The first phase of the New Moon will be seven days from now. Hitomi has only a week to locate and gather them all."
"Much worse than that is the fact that Hitomi is in the Mystic Moon. How in Gaea could we get her here and ask her if it would be alright for her to save our lives once again?" Millerna was almost on the edge of breaking into tears; her voice cracking.
"There's another catch Van, one major setback..."Dryden hesitated.
Van's brows again flickered into a tight knot. "What is it?"
"Hitomi would need to sacrifice her life..."
Allen and Millerna sharply snapped their gazes at Dryden; their expressions were flabbergasted for he had kept this rather most important piece of information from them.
Van stared at him as if he hadn't heard the words right.
~*****~
Three figures clad in black cloaks were standing before the ruins of Dornkirk's fortress in the barren part of Zaibach. The brilliance of the twin moons reflected the embodied evilness unhidden in their faces.
"Such a waste," One of the figures commented.
"All our hard work gone to nothing." The other one added.
The third one, who seemed to be the leader, spoke with a smirk tugged at the side of his mouth. "But this wouldn't stop us. We will continue and forge on ahead, bearing Dornkirk's pursuit of unraveling the secrets of the ancients... of Atlantis. And we have just the perfect plan...."
~******~
What do u think about this one minna? Please review!!!! f^_^;
Btw, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Kisakino Ookami, Little Devil2, aradow, hitomi21, Inda, Avelyn Lauren, Lady Luna, ReddAlice, Aya Miaka, cthj, diovs, and swtgurl122501. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews guys!
Disclaimer: Don't own Escaflowne but how I wish... (=_=)
~*Chapter 8: Ill-fated Feelings*~
"Baka! Jerk! Stupid! Despicable---loathsome creature!"
Words of disdain flowed out incessantly of Hitomi's lips as she stood there in the balcony of the room she had occupied the night before. Tears had long since stopped filling her eyes though the streaks they made a while ago were still visible in her pale face. She was grateful no one was around as she passed the palace grounds crying and sprinting like hell away from the garden and into the privacy of this place.
She wanted to go home.
She wanted to go away.
Away from here. Away from Van. Away from all the conflicting emotions he had brought upon her.
He shouldn't bother her a bit. It's obscure; he was merely a stranger for goodness' sake. No, she shouldn't care about him one way or another.
But she did. And how she hated herself for that.
Little by little, she could feel herself being drawn to him as if she was being pulled in by a giant whirlpool; she was slowly drowning and she could not escape. If she really wanted to escape. It caused her to wonder how in so short a time he had affected her in so many ways like an invincible bond had been there all this time, forged between them without her knowledge; such a strong connection beyond reason and words possible.
By now she should have been married to Kenji, someone whom she knew very well; already a happy and contented wife waiting for her husband in their new home. No conflicts, no doubts, no confusion at all.
'You're such a liar Hitomi! A fake and a liar!' Her conscience tugged at her. 'Had you not wanted to run away just before your wedding? Wishing with all your might that somehow you could escape a marriage you could have regretted for the rest of your life? Hadn't you?'
Hitomi winced, a feeling of rottenness started to lodge inside her. "Why am I like this? Always trying to run away. I feel so terrible..."
Absentmindedly, she wrapped her arms around her as a strong wind blew in her direction, and as though to find the answer to her question, she looked up only to find the twin orbs hovering and shining brightly in the early evening sky.
"The earth?..... How come?" she muttered to herself, her eyes transfixed at the sky above her; a strange feeling that she had experienced this sense of bewilderment before overtook her. 'Déjà vu,' she thought.
But quickly and unexpectedly, replacing that odd feeling, images and voices began to flash through her mind. A kind of instinct or latent character trait was struggling to keep her focus, but panic was starting to quake through her as the flashes continued on a dizzying spiral.
... A track field, a dragon, a boy holding a sword. "Get away! A land dragon's coming...I slew the dragon, if you want a reward then come to my castle..."
... Yukari and Amano. "Hitomi! What's going on?"
.... A teenage girl with a short hair. "I was scared! Really scared!" "The least you could do is say "thanks" all right! I shouldn't have saved you!"
... Pillar of light, forest, a wolf guy. "The Mystic Moon is a lot brighter than usual lately... That blue moon up there, where he said you came from..."
The flashes continued whirling, speeding faster and faster. Then suddenly stopped and all went still with nothing left but a black void.
Hitomi lay on the ground, unconscious.
~*****~
Van stood still in the garden after Hitomi had run away. He wanted to chase after her to apologize for what just happened and try to explain. Explain to her that he was just angry, hurt and frightened of her going back to the Mystic Moon again.
But he couldn't. He just couldn't bring himself.
He knew he blew it again. Just after he had promised to himself that he would make her remember and love him, he did something to scare her away. All because of plain stupidity and stubbornness. With that in mind, he sighed heavily and slumped down again on the ground.
'Good work Van. What a perfect way to win a lady's heart.' He thought sarcastically. 'Now she hates me. And there's no stopping her from going back to her world.' Van mentally wanted to smack himself. He had never intended to yell at her with his harsh words or bend her to his will like one of his servants or to terrify her away. But he had done all those, thanks to his 'high and mighty' self. If only he was more level-headed and less of his rude attitude; had he been able to get a better hold of his feelings, then he wouldn't have angered her and they wouldn't have argued.
Still, if he hadn't done what he did...he also wouldn't have the chance to finally touch her lips with his own...
Much as he was willing to accept, a tiny part of him almost hidden and overshadowed by his guilt and self-reproach was rejoicing in the kiss that they've shared. In that single moment, he was able to reach her somehow. He had reached that girl inside her... the Hitomi he had known from so long ago and had come to love.love with all that he was, and all that he has become. In that single moment the barrier caused by her forgotten memory had been broken. And again, the love he has for her overwhelmed him more than anything.
Almost imperceptibly, Van pulled himself up. His feet started taking steps toward the palace as a new found determination surged through him...
He still wouldn't let her go back to the Mystic Moon, nor would he renege on his promise to help her regain her memory and eventually make her fall for him. But this time he will do it HER way. By using his instincts and taking one step at a time. For he also realized one thing; forcing her or trying to bend her to his will would only lead him nowhere. He understood that now. Even before, Hitomi was as stubborn and hard-headed as he was. All he needed to do is trust himself and trust her.
'You might even hate me more for doing this Hitomi. But I will never give up on you. Not ever.'
~*****~
Back In the Palace
As Merle was about to turn a corner to find Van, her reflexes screeched into a halt just before she nearly collided against a broad and muscular chest. Instinctively, she instantly knew who it was.
"Merle! Why are you in such a hurry?" Van asked in surprise.
"I was just about to look for you. Dryden and Millerna are here, also Allen, Gaddes and Celena. Not to mention the two brats, Agatha and Aria. They've just arrived. They said they want to speak with you." Merle explained in ragged breath, still couldn't wear off the shock by their near collision.
"Where are they?"
"They're waiting in the council room."
"I'll meet them then." Van said, walking past her.
But Merle immediately caught his arm. "Wait, Lord Van. Where's Hitomi?"
"I haven't seen her." Van whispered, his raven hair shadowing his eyes as he spoke.
"I thought you're spending time with each other? What happened?" Merle asked in a worried tone. By the distant look on Van's face, she could tell that something bad happened between the two.
Van pulled his arm. "Merle, please spare me the inquiry. I have to meet with our guests. I don't want them to wait for long. Just do me a favor. Look for Hitomi and make sure she's alright."
"Lord Van..." Merle could say nothing more. She just stared at his back as Van started to walk away.
~*****~
"Dryden, are you sure about this?" Millerna asked her husband across the table, breaking the gloomy silence. A silence that descended upon the four corners of the room since they were left alone minutes after Millerna had requested a handmaiden to bring her exhausted princesses, Agatha and Aria in one of the guest's chambers and Gaddes had also accompanied his wife Celena, to have some needed rest from their tiring travel from Asturia.
Dryden, Millerna and Allen were sitting on the large round table in the middle of the spacious, heavily oak-paneled council room. All three of them seemed to be lost in their own thoughts to even notice the excellent Fanelian crest carved on the wall directly facing the door, or the miniature wooden dragon set at one corner. Their faces were mirroring one and the same expression--- a look of distraught and deep anxiety.
"Millerna, you've asked that question for the hundredth time since this morning. Stop worrying, my queen. I know we can deal with this matter," Dryden answered in his direst of tones, hoping against hope that they could really face the foreboding immensity of the impending doom that would soon be laid before them.
"King Dryden's right, Queen Millerna. There's got to be a way," Allen agreed reassuringly.
"How could you tell me to stop worrying when Hitomi isn't here to help us? When Gaea's fate depends solely on her and she's in the Mystic Moon completely unaware of everything bad that is to happen to our world?" Millerna slammed her hand against the table, the loud sound reverberating throughout the room.
"What's going on?" Van asked incredulously as he caught sight of what Millerna did as he was about to enter the room. He had never seen her in such an agonizing and unprecedented situation before.
All gazes turned toward Van as he made his way and took his usual seat at the table.
"We are facing one big problem Van. A very ghastly problem," Dryden answered anxiously.
"What are you talking about Dryden? Would you mind elaborating further on that?" Van questioned in puzzlement.
Dryden turned to his old book on the table and quickly scanned the pages until he found what he was looking for. "Here, in this book, it was prophesied that on the first phase of the New Moon on this Year of the Red Coral Southeast, unknown darkness and destruction would soon fall upon Gaea. An ancient power, the said Atlantian curse, would be unleashed and bring forth an unfathomable havoc and doom to the very corners of this world."
Van was shocked. "What kind of ancient power? Was it another empire like Zaibach?"
"That wasn't written in the book Van," Dryden replied gravely.
"What are our chances Dryden?"
"A divining power from the Mystic Moon, the seeress who was said to be the protector of Gaea is the only one who could prevent everything from happening."
"She's our sole hope," Allen added.
"Hitomi...But what does she have to do?"
"She needs to gather all the four crystals of life before everything was set into place."
"Four crystals of life?" Van furrowed his brow.
"The four elemental forces Van---- water, land, air and fire. But these crystals are scattered across the vast plains of Gaea. And we have no idea where and how we could get them. Worse, time is running out. The first phase of the New Moon will be seven days from now. Hitomi has only a week to locate and gather them all."
"Much worse than that is the fact that Hitomi is in the Mystic Moon. How in Gaea could we get her here and ask her if it would be alright for her to save our lives once again?" Millerna was almost on the edge of breaking into tears; her voice cracking.
"There's another catch Van, one major setback..."Dryden hesitated.
Van's brows again flickered into a tight knot. "What is it?"
"Hitomi would need to sacrifice her life..."
Allen and Millerna sharply snapped their gazes at Dryden; their expressions were flabbergasted for he had kept this rather most important piece of information from them.
Van stared at him as if he hadn't heard the words right.
~*****~
Three figures clad in black cloaks were standing before the ruins of Dornkirk's fortress in the barren part of Zaibach. The brilliance of the twin moons reflected the embodied evilness unhidden in their faces.
"Such a waste," One of the figures commented.
"All our hard work gone to nothing." The other one added.
The third one, who seemed to be the leader, spoke with a smirk tugged at the side of his mouth. "But this wouldn't stop us. We will continue and forge on ahead, bearing Dornkirk's pursuit of unraveling the secrets of the ancients... of Atlantis. And we have just the perfect plan...."
~******~
What do u think about this one minna? Please review!!!! f^_^;