Hurray! A new chapter already! Thanks everyone for reviewing so far, I'm really grateful and I'm so glad you like this story so far!
Anyway I use some songs in this chapter (Jpop to fit in with where Hitomi's from! Plus, I love that type of music anyway!) And so I picked some songs I thought were cool and put them in! Woo! Just a little creative thing I felt like doing ^^
Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne or the songs used in this chapter!
* * *
Van's head swam with thought as he walked easily out of the front Castle gate, nodding at a troop of soldiers who happened to bow suddenly at him as he passed. Adjusting his sword he stretched in the new morning's light.
"Van"
He turned to find Allen briskly striding toward him out of the gate, his blonde hair flying out behind him , caught in a breeze. Van smiled to himself, how Allen managed to look so well kept this early in the morning was a mystery to him. He waited as Allen caught up to him.
"Good morning your Majesty" Allen greeted with a bow
"Good morning Knight of Caeli" Van replied, "You wanted something?"
"Walk with me a while Van"
Allen walked down the hill to where the bustle of activity was beginning in the city of Fanelia for the new morning, bakers setting up their stock, shops opening shutters and setting up stalls, it was impossible to realise that so much produce had come from a country razed to the ground not so long ago.
Van smiled as he caught up to Allen, his people were survivors, and he admired them so much for their spirit and good will. He'd hardly had to make judgements in any disputes ever since he had formally (meaning taken residence in his country after the war) settled in his role as King of Fanelia. It seemed his people settled their own arguments peacefully.
"So Allen" Van said, taking the opportunity to ask him straight out "Did Hitomi tell you what I think she told you?"
"It depends what you think you know and what I know that I know and whether it's the same as what you know and whether Hitomi knows you know what I know so maybe you should tell me what you know"
Van stared "What?"
Allen grinned "Never mind, go on your Majesty"
"Well it's about her...stomach?"
"Yes" Allen replied slowly "What about it?"
"It's bigger. And she said that she told you about it before me because she thought~"
"Then you do know what I know" Allen brushed his hair away from his eyes and said "That's good, I don't like being the in-betweener in a relationship between a man and a woman"
"In-betweener?"
"Nothing" Allen smiled "Anyway, so now we both know about Hitomi. What I want to know is, if her stomach's abnormally large at this stage, will the baby come early? And what happens if it does?"
"Hitomi seems to think that these...things want Draconians" Van said lowly, casting his eyes around the street, which was getting busier by the minute
"What?" Allen's eyes widened and he also scanned the street "Well, whatever they want we'll have to talk about this somewhere less open"
"Agreed" Van nodded, he sighed, "I'm glad we both know Allen. I was going crazy over what she might have told you and I would be going crazy if I did know and no one else"
"Fatherhood getting you down?" Allen asked kindly
"No" Van shrugged "It's just...frustrating at the moment. And you can hardly call this a normal pregnancy. Has any Gaean ever produced offspring with a person from the Mystic Moon?"
"Never mind a Gaean Van" Allen reminded him "A girl from the Mystic Moon who could see the future and have visions AND a Draconian? We have no idea what might happen. And from the events of late I'm surprised news of this pregnancy isn't in Freid by now"
Van snorted "The only people who know are you, me, Hitomi, her brother and Merle"
"Merle?"
"Yeah, let's just say that Hitomi's brother needs to keep his voice down"
Allen suppressed a smile and said, "Well, if you say so, I happen to find him quite an interesting child. He says you're to teach him swordplay?"
Van nodded "I might have made that suggestion. Would you care to assist me Knight of Caeli?"
"Two pupils of the master swordsman Balgus? I believe we can make this boy a master of the sword yet" Allen replied grinning, "Shall we go and get this new student up?"
"What a good idea"
* * *
Hitomi looked at herself in the mirror once Van had left, she'd returned to her room that was actually his and sat down on the bed, facing the full length mirror once again. From the front, from the side, from the back even. There was no way to hide it.
Hitomi bit her lip hard.
It was bigger again.
The bump was bigger. At this rate she'd need to get a doctor to give her some advice on delivering the thing. The child, she corrected herself. Having wings is not unfortunate. She wrapper her hands around her stomach and smiled, she was holding something truly special, and it was hers and Van's. It made her feel not only connected to the baby but to Van as well.
It was a nice feeling.
But what wasn't a nice feeling was the one that happened to her when those things came around. She was sure now that it was them that made the baby grow, as if the baby wanted to get out quickly to run away from. It hurt so much, her eyes blurred as she remembered the pain.
She couldn't stand it if she miscarried, not now, even less than two weeks after she actually knew she was pregnant, she felt so attached to this new life form growing in her.
She noticed that her duffel bag was just inside the door, Mamoru must have put it there some time Hitomi reasoned. She was glad to see the bag, because, she thought, if a bag could survive everything they had gone through in one piece then surely Hitomi could do the same. It was funny if you thought about it how that bag had managed to follow her around Gaea.
Rummaging through the contents of the bag (Hitomi discovered there had been quite a lot in it the day Mamoru and her had fled their home) she pulled out her discman and a pile of CD's in one of those holder files that you can put them in to make them more portable without carrying the cases around.
Picking up a random one she placed it in the player and placed the earphones in her ears and began to listen:
'Why is it so
If within this expanse
It is the more beautiful things that break most easily
Rescue me
If you are to change into a spirit
Take me away with you
Unsure of what is to come
I let out a voice while crying
'Please don't leave me here all alone'
Life is too short and
You are truly gone and
I want you to embrace me again
You were the only angel
The wind blows and I don sorrow
Like feathers and am sent flying away
Air and stars
To a land so pure and unknown to anyone
Where only such fleeting things gather
An indescribable world, a blue and clear light
Everything is delicate like glitter and
What is truly precious
Is unrecognised by anyone and
Is small if taken in the hand and
Is lost and then fades away
Why is it so
If within this expanse
It is the more beautiful things that break most easily
Rescue me
If you are to change into a spirit
Take me away with you
I don sorrow
Like feathers and am sent flying away
Air and stars
To a land so pure and unknown to anyone
Where only such fleeting things gather'
Ah. She'd picked up a Maaya Sakamoto CD. It was strange, Hitomi had always found an attraction to this singers voice and she had no idea why. But she loved this song, it was so sad and beautiful. She loved Maaya's voice. It was soothing. In a minute or two of listening Hitomi began to sing along to her headphones, not caring if anyone heard, she just lay back on the bed, closed her eyes and sang, no matter how badly.
Slightly scary song though.
Hitomi opened her eyes as the song ended and found Van staring at her, with an odd look on his face. She pushed herself up, embarrassed, flinging off the earphones with a cry of "What?"
Van shook his head "I just came to get some practise clothes" he said sweeping to a chest of drawers "Allen and I are going to give your brother his first sword lesson"
"Oh" said Hitomi, beet red
"And I heard you singing"
"Oh" Hitomi said again, "Sorry, I didn't realise I was that loud. You should have shaken me or something"
Van looked up at her "Why would I want to do that? You have a lovely singing voice"
Hitomi blushed even brighter and said, flustered "Van you don't need to say that to make me happy, I know I'm bad at singing"
Van cocked an eyebrow "Why would I lie? If I say you're good then you're good Hitomi"
Hitomi scratched her head "Right..."
"So" Van said, his head in the drawer
"So?" Hitomi asked
"Sing it again"
"What?"
"That song"
"What song?"
"The one you were just singing" Van said straightening up with some fresh clothes
Hitomi stared at him "Why?"
Van sighed, "I just wanted to hear it properly" he began to pull his shirt off
Hitomi blushed and turned away, facing the wall as he changed "Maybe I will, someday. Not now, I'm too embarrassed. But I will. Ask me again" she waited until she was sure he had changed and then looked back at him "I'm a little shy"
Van shrugged "Well, alright but you better sing it for me one day" he threw her a smile that made her knees wobbly and said "See you later, let's just hope we don't kill your little brother"
* * *
"We're starting now?" Mamoru covered his mouth as a wide yawn broke free
"Yes" Allen replied stiffly across the area they were standing in, just outside the palace, it was near to the stables and was where they had been directed to when they had asked for a practise court
"But it's still early" Mamoru protested, wiping a sleepy eye with the hand that wasn't full of the wooden practise sword
He couldn't work out why his training had to start so early in the morning, one minute he had been sleeping snugly in bed and the next Allen had tossed him out onto the floor and handed him some clothes telling him to change. Mamoru hadn't really asked questions because at the time he'd thought they had been under attack but as soon as they'd gotten outside and Allen had handed him a sword Mamoru had thought...well, he had just thought 'why?'.
The clothes Allen had given him were similar to Allen's own, a white shirt (a little large), blue breeches and Mamoru's own trainers completed the look. Allen had mentioned airily that Celena had decided Mamoru had to fit in and had taken up some of Allen's own uniform for him.
Mamoru was a little awed that such a famous knight, or so he was told, and his family were showing him such consideration. He'd always thought that a knight would be proud and, well, a little stuck up. But although Allen was proud he wasn't the least bit stuck up and treated his men like his family and he and his troop had taken in Mamoru while Hitomi had disappeared with Van.
Anyway, Allen had given him some cloth pads to tie onto his knees, forearms and elbows 'just in case'. Mamoru didn't know what it was supposed to be just in case of but Mamoru gulped just to think about it. He wanted to learn how to use a sword, since what other weapons were there in this strangely medieval world? He wanted to learn how to use a sword but not if it was going to be dangerous.
"Night or day is of no consequence to a Knight of Caeli" Allen recited, cross-armed and holding a wooden practise sword
"But I'm not a Knight of Caeli, what is a Caeli?" Mamoru protested "And why aren't we using real swords?"
"You want to get your fingers chopped off?"
"No"
"Well then" Allen sighed, it was going to be a long session
Van jogged up a moment later, trailing his own practise sword and changed into older clothes, Allen smiled as the same old red shirt and breeches were revealed to be the 'training' clothes van had gone for.
"Let's go" Van said, pulling his training sword into position
Allen and Mamoru stared at him, "Van" Allen began "We're not going to start like that, do you really think Mamoru could stand up to you in a fight when this is the first time he's ever held a sword?"
Van shrugged "Depends on how he wants to learn"
"How did you start learning?" Allen asked, he looked at Mamoru "Right, we'll be teaching you the basics first, basic handling of your sword and taking care of your equipment. Then we'll move onto the basic defence routines along with history of the sword"
Mamoru stared "So when do we get to start fighting?"
Allen sighed, "Swordplay is not all about combat. We will begin how every student begins. This is how I began"
Van thought for a moment "I guess it makes more sense to start like that than actually fighting, but I was sure I just leapt into the field of play"
"If you had Balgus as a master then I'm sure you did not" Allen replied, "Now, Mamoru can you name all parts of your weapon with their proper names?"
* * *
Hitomi moved through the wooden hallways of the castle, heading for the stairs, aware of the hammering and noises of the castle's building areas and also very aware they were giving her a headache.
The song was rolling around in her head, she kept thinking over the lyrics and wondering what had made her sing them out loud, she'd never been one for singing on the Earth, she was too embarrassed. Here it seemed that if no one knew you...well, maybe not everyone knew you, it was ok to sing because it didn't matter who heard you.
It did if it was Van, Hitomi smiled, how embarrassing, caught by Van. It was strange, although they were connected on such a deep level (at least she felt like they were) it was still embarrassing to both of them to do simple things like sit next to each other or, well, sing in front of each other. She'd never even heard Van sing a note. Well they were still teenagers no matter what they'd been through.
She needed clothes, first priority, her ones from Earth, apart from the tracksuit, weren't cutting it now she was lugging a child around. And if it kept growing like this she was going to burst. Not a nice thought. But WHY was it growing, sure it was getting on five months now but it was more like six months at this size, she could see it and put her hand on it and...she was sure she had felt it kick.
Hitomi guessed those things were doing something to her, she examined a burn that was visible on her skin, peeking out from her sleeve. The skin was ugly but not as bad as it had been, the salve that had been provided was doing something for it after all.
Hearing voices in a room, the bustle of chatter that Hitomi recognised as that of coming from young women, Hitomi knocked and pulled open a door. Inside the room, a plain dining room, two girls a few years older than Hitomi peered at her inspecting the new arrival, stopping their work of folding what looked like dust sheets.
"Yes?" one asked, not unkindly
"I'm looking for some people who work here, would you know where to find some?" Hitomi asked, she didn't want to offend people she'd only just met
One of the girls, quite short, shorter than Hitomi, but with fiery red hair and what looked like a short temper in her said brightly "Well that would mean us"
"Oh" Hitomi said, relaxing
"What do you need?" the other girl asked, taller and darker than the first
"Some clothes" Hitomi said, glad that the door was hiding her belly "Please, mine don't seem to fit properly anymore and I need to find some ones no ones using..."
The tall girl broke out into a huge smile and said "Growth spurt?"
"Well...sort of" Hitomi replied, feeling her cheeks warm up
"Happened to me all the time when I was your age" came the easy reply, the girl finished folding the sheet she was holding and picked up her pile, "We'll show you to the seamstresses down in the city. Unfortunately this half built place had less than a quarter of the staff it had in the old days"
"Those old days were less than a year ago," the red head snorted good naturedly
"Yes well, all the more reason to go to the city for a good seamstress. My sister in fact is the top seamstress in Fanelia" the girl continued, obviously glad at having the chance to stop working for a moment "But her shop got razed to the ground of course so she's having to import from Asturia"
"Asturia?" the red head gasped, finishing her pile of sheets also "Who has the money to buy those now?"
"Well she's obviously waiting for the banquet season"
"Banquet season, pah! There won't be one of those for a few years yet, not until we're back on our feet good and proper and the traders come in"
"Yes, well, this girl can have a look can't she?"
They looked at Hitomi expectantly, who was still peering around the door, and waited for a response. Hitomi shook her head, she'd been trying to follow the conversation between the two.
"I don't have any money..." she got out finally
The girls laughed and the tall one said "Don't worry about that, we can just get you measured! You don't even have to pay for that"
"Measured?"
"As in your size, waits? Hip? Bust? You know, haven't you been fitted for clothes before?"
"Well..."
The two girls looked astounded that someone hadn't been fitted for clothes and immediately, with sheets in hand, bustled to the door and opened it fully with laughs and good-natured humour.
Hitomi tried to stop them seeing her stomach as they came out into the hallway but it was too late. The two girls stopped and stared while Hitomi broke into another blush. It seemed to be her day of embarrassments.
The red head blinked and said "Oh" in a sort of knowing way and then ploughed on with "And I thought you were being paranoid when you said you were bursting from your clothes"
The taller one made a sort of cooing noise and then went "How many months due are you?"
"Five...Four...I'm not sure, somewhere around then" Hitomi stammered
The girls nodded in a sort of motherly way.
"Lucky girl" the tall one said enviously "I've been married almost a year and I'm still not pregnant"
"You're married?" Hitomi squeaked before she could stop herself, these girls were only a little older than her
"She is" the red head guffawed "And I'm engaged"
Hitomi stared at these two young girls and wondered why she had been so bothered about showing her the bump, she'd learnt of the marriage of Millerna and Dryden and from the story of Allen and Marlene that girls married young on Gaea and it wasn't uncommon for them to have children in their late teens and early twenties. It was obviously not as conspicuous as she's thought, she'd just need to guard the fact of the father's identity.
She sighed, at least she wouldn't stand out that much now. Hitomi thought back to her history textbooks that girls married even younger than she did in olden times and since Gaea seemed to have an uncanny relation with a style of Medieval Earth it seemed common sense that they'd marry and have children young, to secure a family would continue and, in the case of a royal family, to secure an heir.
"Let's get going, we want you off your feet as soon as possible" the tall girl said "It won't do for a girl at your stage to be on her feet for a long period of time. No wonder you need a refitting of clothes"
The red head smiled and took Hitomi's arm in one and balancing the sheet on the other "My name's Lissa and this bean pole here is Annabelle, we work here as we said. What's your name pregnant woman?"
"Hitomi"
"Well then Hitomi" Annabelle said brightly "It's nice to meet someone who seems to be in a healthy pregnancy after all the misfortune Fanelia has seen. Let's go get you fitted for a new wardrobe then shall we? I'm sure your husband will be glad to pay"
Hitomi started and said loudly "I'm not married"
The hand let go of her arm and the two girls stood away and regarded her carefully.
"Not married?" Annabelle said slowly
Hitomi bit her lip and shook her head, placing her hands on her stomach protectively.
"You mean he just...well...knocked you up and left you to it?" Lissa said incredulously
"Act~"
Lissa frowned and said "That scumbag, don't even try and make excuses for him! It just goes to show that even in this day there are still poor excuses for men around"
Annabelle nodded "What a low life to do that to such a pretty thing like you Hitomi" she took one arm as Lissa took the other "Don't worry we'll look after you and if we see that 'father' of that poor baby you tell us and we'll give him what for, leaving you on your own like that! No wonder you don't have any money, what a horrible person"
And so they went, pulling Hitomi with them, ignoring her excuses for the father, who in their opinion didn't deserve a girl like Hitomi. And Hitomi couldn't explain as the two girls went on a rampage about dishonourable men and how the father was obviously from a neighbouring country and they had fun making up dramatic stories about what they thought Hitomi's past was, not actually asking what it was.
Hitomi didn't mind all that much, it was nice to have someone take charge of her for once and to take her shopping. And these stories they were telling each other about what had supposedly 'happened' to Hitomi were actually pretty entertaining. So she offered little resistance to these two new personalities that had entered her radar of consciousness.
* * *
Mamoru fell to his knees and struggled to get feeling into his hands. Allen and Van had made him hold the sword in one position for nearly an hour and the joints in his fingers were screaming for movement.
"Well, I don't think you'll forget the names of a sword's pieces in a hurray" Allen smiled, reaching down to pull Mamoru to his feet
"Did you do this when you were training?" Mamoru asked
"Yes and with Balgus it was even worse" Allen replied, rubbing Mamoru's hands between his with a fatherly gruffness to help him move them again "Balgus was one of the three master swordsmen of Gaea, so you can imagine what it was like trying to compete with him and even work under the reputation"
"For you" Van said, from his position of leaning on a fence a little way away "In Asturia I'm not surprised the reputation held so much, here in Fanelia it didn't matter so much because only a few citizens had ever left our Borders. I think he was more lenient on me because no one expected him to make THAT much of a swordsman out of me, I was...a...bit of a pacifist let's say"
"I can't imagine you being a pacifist Van" Allen said carefully and picked up Mamoru's fallen training sword along with his own "But then, the rite of passage to become King in Fanelia I hear will change a man"
Van knew exactly what Allen meant even if Mamoru had no idea, the reminder of Folken and Van's brief but rather bloody plunge into warfare couldn't be forgotten because of their importance in what was now rapidly becoming the history of Fanelia and of Gaea itself.
"I'm hungry"
Allen and Van looked at Mamoru who was standing holding his stomach in a rather confused way. And they remembered that none of them had eaten since the night before and were consequently hungry, as anyone would be.
"Let's go find something to eat" Van said and rubbed his burn, hidden beneath his riding gloves, absently.
* * *
Wow, not much happened in this chapter, huh? I was sort of setting up the next few chapters with this one ^^ So don't be too bored ok? I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please read, review and be happy!
Anyway I use some songs in this chapter (Jpop to fit in with where Hitomi's from! Plus, I love that type of music anyway!) And so I picked some songs I thought were cool and put them in! Woo! Just a little creative thing I felt like doing ^^
Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne or the songs used in this chapter!
* * *
Van's head swam with thought as he walked easily out of the front Castle gate, nodding at a troop of soldiers who happened to bow suddenly at him as he passed. Adjusting his sword he stretched in the new morning's light.
"Van"
He turned to find Allen briskly striding toward him out of the gate, his blonde hair flying out behind him , caught in a breeze. Van smiled to himself, how Allen managed to look so well kept this early in the morning was a mystery to him. He waited as Allen caught up to him.
"Good morning your Majesty" Allen greeted with a bow
"Good morning Knight of Caeli" Van replied, "You wanted something?"
"Walk with me a while Van"
Allen walked down the hill to where the bustle of activity was beginning in the city of Fanelia for the new morning, bakers setting up their stock, shops opening shutters and setting up stalls, it was impossible to realise that so much produce had come from a country razed to the ground not so long ago.
Van smiled as he caught up to Allen, his people were survivors, and he admired them so much for their spirit and good will. He'd hardly had to make judgements in any disputes ever since he had formally (meaning taken residence in his country after the war) settled in his role as King of Fanelia. It seemed his people settled their own arguments peacefully.
"So Allen" Van said, taking the opportunity to ask him straight out "Did Hitomi tell you what I think she told you?"
"It depends what you think you know and what I know that I know and whether it's the same as what you know and whether Hitomi knows you know what I know so maybe you should tell me what you know"
Van stared "What?"
Allen grinned "Never mind, go on your Majesty"
"Well it's about her...stomach?"
"Yes" Allen replied slowly "What about it?"
"It's bigger. And she said that she told you about it before me because she thought~"
"Then you do know what I know" Allen brushed his hair away from his eyes and said "That's good, I don't like being the in-betweener in a relationship between a man and a woman"
"In-betweener?"
"Nothing" Allen smiled "Anyway, so now we both know about Hitomi. What I want to know is, if her stomach's abnormally large at this stage, will the baby come early? And what happens if it does?"
"Hitomi seems to think that these...things want Draconians" Van said lowly, casting his eyes around the street, which was getting busier by the minute
"What?" Allen's eyes widened and he also scanned the street "Well, whatever they want we'll have to talk about this somewhere less open"
"Agreed" Van nodded, he sighed, "I'm glad we both know Allen. I was going crazy over what she might have told you and I would be going crazy if I did know and no one else"
"Fatherhood getting you down?" Allen asked kindly
"No" Van shrugged "It's just...frustrating at the moment. And you can hardly call this a normal pregnancy. Has any Gaean ever produced offspring with a person from the Mystic Moon?"
"Never mind a Gaean Van" Allen reminded him "A girl from the Mystic Moon who could see the future and have visions AND a Draconian? We have no idea what might happen. And from the events of late I'm surprised news of this pregnancy isn't in Freid by now"
Van snorted "The only people who know are you, me, Hitomi, her brother and Merle"
"Merle?"
"Yeah, let's just say that Hitomi's brother needs to keep his voice down"
Allen suppressed a smile and said, "Well, if you say so, I happen to find him quite an interesting child. He says you're to teach him swordplay?"
Van nodded "I might have made that suggestion. Would you care to assist me Knight of Caeli?"
"Two pupils of the master swordsman Balgus? I believe we can make this boy a master of the sword yet" Allen replied grinning, "Shall we go and get this new student up?"
"What a good idea"
* * *
Hitomi looked at herself in the mirror once Van had left, she'd returned to her room that was actually his and sat down on the bed, facing the full length mirror once again. From the front, from the side, from the back even. There was no way to hide it.
Hitomi bit her lip hard.
It was bigger again.
The bump was bigger. At this rate she'd need to get a doctor to give her some advice on delivering the thing. The child, she corrected herself. Having wings is not unfortunate. She wrapper her hands around her stomach and smiled, she was holding something truly special, and it was hers and Van's. It made her feel not only connected to the baby but to Van as well.
It was a nice feeling.
But what wasn't a nice feeling was the one that happened to her when those things came around. She was sure now that it was them that made the baby grow, as if the baby wanted to get out quickly to run away from. It hurt so much, her eyes blurred as she remembered the pain.
She couldn't stand it if she miscarried, not now, even less than two weeks after she actually knew she was pregnant, she felt so attached to this new life form growing in her.
She noticed that her duffel bag was just inside the door, Mamoru must have put it there some time Hitomi reasoned. She was glad to see the bag, because, she thought, if a bag could survive everything they had gone through in one piece then surely Hitomi could do the same. It was funny if you thought about it how that bag had managed to follow her around Gaea.
Rummaging through the contents of the bag (Hitomi discovered there had been quite a lot in it the day Mamoru and her had fled their home) she pulled out her discman and a pile of CD's in one of those holder files that you can put them in to make them more portable without carrying the cases around.
Picking up a random one she placed it in the player and placed the earphones in her ears and began to listen:
'Why is it so
If within this expanse
It is the more beautiful things that break most easily
Rescue me
If you are to change into a spirit
Take me away with you
Unsure of what is to come
I let out a voice while crying
'Please don't leave me here all alone'
Life is too short and
You are truly gone and
I want you to embrace me again
You were the only angel
The wind blows and I don sorrow
Like feathers and am sent flying away
Air and stars
To a land so pure and unknown to anyone
Where only such fleeting things gather
An indescribable world, a blue and clear light
Everything is delicate like glitter and
What is truly precious
Is unrecognised by anyone and
Is small if taken in the hand and
Is lost and then fades away
Why is it so
If within this expanse
It is the more beautiful things that break most easily
Rescue me
If you are to change into a spirit
Take me away with you
I don sorrow
Like feathers and am sent flying away
Air and stars
To a land so pure and unknown to anyone
Where only such fleeting things gather'
Ah. She'd picked up a Maaya Sakamoto CD. It was strange, Hitomi had always found an attraction to this singers voice and she had no idea why. But she loved this song, it was so sad and beautiful. She loved Maaya's voice. It was soothing. In a minute or two of listening Hitomi began to sing along to her headphones, not caring if anyone heard, she just lay back on the bed, closed her eyes and sang, no matter how badly.
Slightly scary song though.
Hitomi opened her eyes as the song ended and found Van staring at her, with an odd look on his face. She pushed herself up, embarrassed, flinging off the earphones with a cry of "What?"
Van shook his head "I just came to get some practise clothes" he said sweeping to a chest of drawers "Allen and I are going to give your brother his first sword lesson"
"Oh" said Hitomi, beet red
"And I heard you singing"
"Oh" Hitomi said again, "Sorry, I didn't realise I was that loud. You should have shaken me or something"
Van looked up at her "Why would I want to do that? You have a lovely singing voice"
Hitomi blushed even brighter and said, flustered "Van you don't need to say that to make me happy, I know I'm bad at singing"
Van cocked an eyebrow "Why would I lie? If I say you're good then you're good Hitomi"
Hitomi scratched her head "Right..."
"So" Van said, his head in the drawer
"So?" Hitomi asked
"Sing it again"
"What?"
"That song"
"What song?"
"The one you were just singing" Van said straightening up with some fresh clothes
Hitomi stared at him "Why?"
Van sighed, "I just wanted to hear it properly" he began to pull his shirt off
Hitomi blushed and turned away, facing the wall as he changed "Maybe I will, someday. Not now, I'm too embarrassed. But I will. Ask me again" she waited until she was sure he had changed and then looked back at him "I'm a little shy"
Van shrugged "Well, alright but you better sing it for me one day" he threw her a smile that made her knees wobbly and said "See you later, let's just hope we don't kill your little brother"
* * *
"We're starting now?" Mamoru covered his mouth as a wide yawn broke free
"Yes" Allen replied stiffly across the area they were standing in, just outside the palace, it was near to the stables and was where they had been directed to when they had asked for a practise court
"But it's still early" Mamoru protested, wiping a sleepy eye with the hand that wasn't full of the wooden practise sword
He couldn't work out why his training had to start so early in the morning, one minute he had been sleeping snugly in bed and the next Allen had tossed him out onto the floor and handed him some clothes telling him to change. Mamoru hadn't really asked questions because at the time he'd thought they had been under attack but as soon as they'd gotten outside and Allen had handed him a sword Mamoru had thought...well, he had just thought 'why?'.
The clothes Allen had given him were similar to Allen's own, a white shirt (a little large), blue breeches and Mamoru's own trainers completed the look. Allen had mentioned airily that Celena had decided Mamoru had to fit in and had taken up some of Allen's own uniform for him.
Mamoru was a little awed that such a famous knight, or so he was told, and his family were showing him such consideration. He'd always thought that a knight would be proud and, well, a little stuck up. But although Allen was proud he wasn't the least bit stuck up and treated his men like his family and he and his troop had taken in Mamoru while Hitomi had disappeared with Van.
Anyway, Allen had given him some cloth pads to tie onto his knees, forearms and elbows 'just in case'. Mamoru didn't know what it was supposed to be just in case of but Mamoru gulped just to think about it. He wanted to learn how to use a sword, since what other weapons were there in this strangely medieval world? He wanted to learn how to use a sword but not if it was going to be dangerous.
"Night or day is of no consequence to a Knight of Caeli" Allen recited, cross-armed and holding a wooden practise sword
"But I'm not a Knight of Caeli, what is a Caeli?" Mamoru protested "And why aren't we using real swords?"
"You want to get your fingers chopped off?"
"No"
"Well then" Allen sighed, it was going to be a long session
Van jogged up a moment later, trailing his own practise sword and changed into older clothes, Allen smiled as the same old red shirt and breeches were revealed to be the 'training' clothes van had gone for.
"Let's go" Van said, pulling his training sword into position
Allen and Mamoru stared at him, "Van" Allen began "We're not going to start like that, do you really think Mamoru could stand up to you in a fight when this is the first time he's ever held a sword?"
Van shrugged "Depends on how he wants to learn"
"How did you start learning?" Allen asked, he looked at Mamoru "Right, we'll be teaching you the basics first, basic handling of your sword and taking care of your equipment. Then we'll move onto the basic defence routines along with history of the sword"
Mamoru stared "So when do we get to start fighting?"
Allen sighed, "Swordplay is not all about combat. We will begin how every student begins. This is how I began"
Van thought for a moment "I guess it makes more sense to start like that than actually fighting, but I was sure I just leapt into the field of play"
"If you had Balgus as a master then I'm sure you did not" Allen replied, "Now, Mamoru can you name all parts of your weapon with their proper names?"
* * *
Hitomi moved through the wooden hallways of the castle, heading for the stairs, aware of the hammering and noises of the castle's building areas and also very aware they were giving her a headache.
The song was rolling around in her head, she kept thinking over the lyrics and wondering what had made her sing them out loud, she'd never been one for singing on the Earth, she was too embarrassed. Here it seemed that if no one knew you...well, maybe not everyone knew you, it was ok to sing because it didn't matter who heard you.
It did if it was Van, Hitomi smiled, how embarrassing, caught by Van. It was strange, although they were connected on such a deep level (at least she felt like they were) it was still embarrassing to both of them to do simple things like sit next to each other or, well, sing in front of each other. She'd never even heard Van sing a note. Well they were still teenagers no matter what they'd been through.
She needed clothes, first priority, her ones from Earth, apart from the tracksuit, weren't cutting it now she was lugging a child around. And if it kept growing like this she was going to burst. Not a nice thought. But WHY was it growing, sure it was getting on five months now but it was more like six months at this size, she could see it and put her hand on it and...she was sure she had felt it kick.
Hitomi guessed those things were doing something to her, she examined a burn that was visible on her skin, peeking out from her sleeve. The skin was ugly but not as bad as it had been, the salve that had been provided was doing something for it after all.
Hearing voices in a room, the bustle of chatter that Hitomi recognised as that of coming from young women, Hitomi knocked and pulled open a door. Inside the room, a plain dining room, two girls a few years older than Hitomi peered at her inspecting the new arrival, stopping their work of folding what looked like dust sheets.
"Yes?" one asked, not unkindly
"I'm looking for some people who work here, would you know where to find some?" Hitomi asked, she didn't want to offend people she'd only just met
One of the girls, quite short, shorter than Hitomi, but with fiery red hair and what looked like a short temper in her said brightly "Well that would mean us"
"Oh" Hitomi said, relaxing
"What do you need?" the other girl asked, taller and darker than the first
"Some clothes" Hitomi said, glad that the door was hiding her belly "Please, mine don't seem to fit properly anymore and I need to find some ones no ones using..."
The tall girl broke out into a huge smile and said "Growth spurt?"
"Well...sort of" Hitomi replied, feeling her cheeks warm up
"Happened to me all the time when I was your age" came the easy reply, the girl finished folding the sheet she was holding and picked up her pile, "We'll show you to the seamstresses down in the city. Unfortunately this half built place had less than a quarter of the staff it had in the old days"
"Those old days were less than a year ago," the red head snorted good naturedly
"Yes well, all the more reason to go to the city for a good seamstress. My sister in fact is the top seamstress in Fanelia" the girl continued, obviously glad at having the chance to stop working for a moment "But her shop got razed to the ground of course so she's having to import from Asturia"
"Asturia?" the red head gasped, finishing her pile of sheets also "Who has the money to buy those now?"
"Well she's obviously waiting for the banquet season"
"Banquet season, pah! There won't be one of those for a few years yet, not until we're back on our feet good and proper and the traders come in"
"Yes, well, this girl can have a look can't she?"
They looked at Hitomi expectantly, who was still peering around the door, and waited for a response. Hitomi shook her head, she'd been trying to follow the conversation between the two.
"I don't have any money..." she got out finally
The girls laughed and the tall one said "Don't worry about that, we can just get you measured! You don't even have to pay for that"
"Measured?"
"As in your size, waits? Hip? Bust? You know, haven't you been fitted for clothes before?"
"Well..."
The two girls looked astounded that someone hadn't been fitted for clothes and immediately, with sheets in hand, bustled to the door and opened it fully with laughs and good-natured humour.
Hitomi tried to stop them seeing her stomach as they came out into the hallway but it was too late. The two girls stopped and stared while Hitomi broke into another blush. It seemed to be her day of embarrassments.
The red head blinked and said "Oh" in a sort of knowing way and then ploughed on with "And I thought you were being paranoid when you said you were bursting from your clothes"
The taller one made a sort of cooing noise and then went "How many months due are you?"
"Five...Four...I'm not sure, somewhere around then" Hitomi stammered
The girls nodded in a sort of motherly way.
"Lucky girl" the tall one said enviously "I've been married almost a year and I'm still not pregnant"
"You're married?" Hitomi squeaked before she could stop herself, these girls were only a little older than her
"She is" the red head guffawed "And I'm engaged"
Hitomi stared at these two young girls and wondered why she had been so bothered about showing her the bump, she'd learnt of the marriage of Millerna and Dryden and from the story of Allen and Marlene that girls married young on Gaea and it wasn't uncommon for them to have children in their late teens and early twenties. It was obviously not as conspicuous as she's thought, she'd just need to guard the fact of the father's identity.
She sighed, at least she wouldn't stand out that much now. Hitomi thought back to her history textbooks that girls married even younger than she did in olden times and since Gaea seemed to have an uncanny relation with a style of Medieval Earth it seemed common sense that they'd marry and have children young, to secure a family would continue and, in the case of a royal family, to secure an heir.
"Let's get going, we want you off your feet as soon as possible" the tall girl said "It won't do for a girl at your stage to be on her feet for a long period of time. No wonder you need a refitting of clothes"
The red head smiled and took Hitomi's arm in one and balancing the sheet on the other "My name's Lissa and this bean pole here is Annabelle, we work here as we said. What's your name pregnant woman?"
"Hitomi"
"Well then Hitomi" Annabelle said brightly "It's nice to meet someone who seems to be in a healthy pregnancy after all the misfortune Fanelia has seen. Let's go get you fitted for a new wardrobe then shall we? I'm sure your husband will be glad to pay"
Hitomi started and said loudly "I'm not married"
The hand let go of her arm and the two girls stood away and regarded her carefully.
"Not married?" Annabelle said slowly
Hitomi bit her lip and shook her head, placing her hands on her stomach protectively.
"You mean he just...well...knocked you up and left you to it?" Lissa said incredulously
"Act~"
Lissa frowned and said "That scumbag, don't even try and make excuses for him! It just goes to show that even in this day there are still poor excuses for men around"
Annabelle nodded "What a low life to do that to such a pretty thing like you Hitomi" she took one arm as Lissa took the other "Don't worry we'll look after you and if we see that 'father' of that poor baby you tell us and we'll give him what for, leaving you on your own like that! No wonder you don't have any money, what a horrible person"
And so they went, pulling Hitomi with them, ignoring her excuses for the father, who in their opinion didn't deserve a girl like Hitomi. And Hitomi couldn't explain as the two girls went on a rampage about dishonourable men and how the father was obviously from a neighbouring country and they had fun making up dramatic stories about what they thought Hitomi's past was, not actually asking what it was.
Hitomi didn't mind all that much, it was nice to have someone take charge of her for once and to take her shopping. And these stories they were telling each other about what had supposedly 'happened' to Hitomi were actually pretty entertaining. So she offered little resistance to these two new personalities that had entered her radar of consciousness.
* * *
Mamoru fell to his knees and struggled to get feeling into his hands. Allen and Van had made him hold the sword in one position for nearly an hour and the joints in his fingers were screaming for movement.
"Well, I don't think you'll forget the names of a sword's pieces in a hurray" Allen smiled, reaching down to pull Mamoru to his feet
"Did you do this when you were training?" Mamoru asked
"Yes and with Balgus it was even worse" Allen replied, rubbing Mamoru's hands between his with a fatherly gruffness to help him move them again "Balgus was one of the three master swordsmen of Gaea, so you can imagine what it was like trying to compete with him and even work under the reputation"
"For you" Van said, from his position of leaning on a fence a little way away "In Asturia I'm not surprised the reputation held so much, here in Fanelia it didn't matter so much because only a few citizens had ever left our Borders. I think he was more lenient on me because no one expected him to make THAT much of a swordsman out of me, I was...a...bit of a pacifist let's say"
"I can't imagine you being a pacifist Van" Allen said carefully and picked up Mamoru's fallen training sword along with his own "But then, the rite of passage to become King in Fanelia I hear will change a man"
Van knew exactly what Allen meant even if Mamoru had no idea, the reminder of Folken and Van's brief but rather bloody plunge into warfare couldn't be forgotten because of their importance in what was now rapidly becoming the history of Fanelia and of Gaea itself.
"I'm hungry"
Allen and Van looked at Mamoru who was standing holding his stomach in a rather confused way. And they remembered that none of them had eaten since the night before and were consequently hungry, as anyone would be.
"Let's go find something to eat" Van said and rubbed his burn, hidden beneath his riding gloves, absently.
* * *
Wow, not much happened in this chapter, huh? I was sort of setting up the next few chapters with this one ^^ So don't be too bored ok? I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please read, review and be happy!