Disclaimer: I do not own The Vision of Escaflowne, nor will I ever. It is the sole property of Studio Sunrise and anyone else who participated in its creation. I own only my own characters, the inhabitants of Nya'tory. Anyone who dares to sue me shall find themselves running from my lair with their tail end smoking.

~~*****~~

Chapter 3: Departure

Hitomi shivered and hugged her light jacket close to her. Her knees clacked together, and her teeth chattered noisily. Damn, I forgot how cold it is in the mountains, she thought. Has it really been that long since I've been here? A sad smile curled at the corners of her mouth. She stared longingly at the sky, grateful for the bright light provided by the Earth hanging in the sky. With a sigh, she went back to scanning her surroundings, and trudged forward slowly, kicking up bits of dry grass.

~Stay where you are, Hitomi. I'll find you.~

Hitomi's feet locked to the ground, and her entire body froze instantly; even her teeth stopped chattering. Her head swiveled around, and she pulled her coat tighter around her body. ~Van? Van, is that you? Where are you, Van?~

An enormous shadow passed overhead, and she looked up. Her eyes widened and a gasp escaped her lips, as a dark figure dived towards her, landing a few feet away. Hitomi rubbed her eyes, and stared. Staring back at her, dark red eyes sparkling in the moonlight, was the one person she had been waiting all these months to see:

Van Slanzar de Fanel.

Without words, she hurled herself at him, nearly knocking him backwards as she collided with his bare chest. She buried her face in his shoulder, inhaling deeply; the scent of a lush, green field filled her nostrils, and she sighed in content. She felt strong arms wrap firmly around her midsection, and heard a soft rustle of feathers as great white wings circled around her like a halo.

"Hitomi…" Hearing his voice in person, and not in their minds, was like drinking sweet syrup. Looking up, Hitomi found herself drowning in those dazzling orbs. She lifted one hand and brushed a finger along his jawline, pausing when she reached the corner of his mouth. He smiled warmly at her, and she felt her heart melt into liquid.

"Van…I missed you so much," she murmured, leaning her head on his chest.

She felt the rumble of his voice in his chest as he whispered softly, "I missed you, too…Hitomi."

~*~

Kirra sat silently in a corner of the room, her back against the rough stone wall. In the next room, the queen and the soothsayer were talking in hushed voices with the queen's advisors about what to do; they had sent the children out earlier with the claim that there was no need for young ears to hear this conversation. But Kirra was not taking any of it; were she a normal child, she would not be in the royal palace in the first place; she would be on the streets, at the mercy of the townspeople.

She glanced out of the corner of her eye at Muniya. The bird-girl intrigued her. No matter what, she seemed to opt for silence; and when she spoke, her voice was so soft that, even standing a foot away, it was a strain to hear her. She kept her head bowed most of the time, hiding her amber orbs from view, and kept her wings folded, as though to make herself as small and feeble-looking as possible. How had this shy bird become one of the Seven?

Next, she focused on Nyoka. Which reptile he was remained a mystery. For that matter, everything about him was a mystery. His eyes held no emotion, and seemed to stare right through whatever was in front in him. It was almost frightening.

"Damn, he picked the best of times to return." Urufu's low, growled muttering caught Kirra's attention, and she turned away from Muniya and Nyoka. The wolf-boy was tracing patterns in the stone with one claw, his head resting in the palm of his hand. He closed his eyes and sighed wearily, before leaning back and stretching out his legs. "Why now, of all times? Damn it…"

"He's probably aware that Gaea is weak, and that this would be the best time to ambush them. Especially since one of his targets is busy seeing to the rebuilding of his country," Aurelia answered. Her floppy, creamy-red ears folded back slightly, and her nose twitched. "At least he's not going after two planets at once."

Kirra exhaled loudly, and both canines turned to look at her. "I don't even know how in hell's name he can expect to conquer Earth," she said, folding her arms. "The planet is highly advanced in weaponry. Gaea's Guymelefs are nothing compared to Earth's nuclear weapons and atomic bombs. Not only that, but magic won't do anything on Earth. Most Earthlings don't believe in the existence of magic. And, to top it off, he's not human; he's a beast-man. He might fit in on Gaea, but he's going to have one hell of a time disguising himself without looking too suspicious on Earth. Unless he's capable of shapeshifting into a human, that is."

"He is not." Four pairs of eyes turned to Muniya, who was gazing silently at them all. She had pitched her voice so it was still soft, but loud enough that they could hear her without having to stick their ears at her mouth. "Nor can he transform into a adequately-sized beast; he would be too big. He must think that, once he conquers Gaea, he can use their people as pawns to do his bidding on Earth. Why else do you think he is only going after one world at a time?"

Urufu's eyes widened as realization dawned. "I never thought of that…" he murmured, staring at the floor space between his feet.

"Well, if you didn't think about it, Adibah probably did," Kirra said, gaining confidence with each word. Normally, she avoided talking this much. But she was frustrated. Why did the queen insist on delaying them by conferencing with her councillors? Wouldn't sending the children to Gaea as soon as possible be the obvious answer? She let out some of her frustration in a low, exasperated sigh.

~*~

Hitomi slowly opened her eyes and blinked to clear her blurry vision. She found herself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling, and immediately bolted upright, before remembering where she was. With a sigh of pleasure, she fell back onto the bed and closed her eyes, as her mind replayed the events of the previous night. After their embrace, she had admitted to Van that she was feeling tired, and he had suggested that she go to bed, and they talk more in the morning.

Well, it's morning now, the brunette thought, hopping gaily out of bed. A light breeze fluttered in through the window, drawing her attention to the rising sun. She grimaced. Since when have I woken up this early since leaving Gaea? She flung her jacket over her shoulder, put on her sneakers, and opened the door to her guest room. A dim light from the hallway filtered into the room, adding to the pinkish light soaring in through the window. She peered around the edge of her door before stepping out into the hallway, closing the door gently behind her.

Cursing herself for not paying attention to where she had been going last night, when Van had been leading her to the guest room, she wandered hopelessly through the corridor, wincing every time her foot hit a squeaky spot in the wooden floorboards. The last thing she wanted to to arouse the entire palace, especially if she was the first one awake.

She tiptoed down the staircase, still clueless as to where she was in the castle. She paused when she reached the bottom of the stairwell, trying her best to visualize of map of the royal palace in her head. Her concentration was broken by a loud, joyous cry:

"Hitomi!"

Before she had time to react, a orange and pink ball slammed into her chest, knocking her into the wall. Catching her breath, Hitomi glanced down at an all-too-familiar head of curly pink hair and felt a small smile spread on her face.

"Hitomi, when did you get here?" Merle looked up at her with wide, sparkling blue eyes, and grinned broadly, baring tiny fangs. "Why didn't you come to say hello?" Still latched on to Hitomi's waist, she began to bounce up and down. Hitomi winced in discomfort and tried to pry Merle's arms off of her, without success. Still grinning, Merle unattached herself from Hitomi's midsection and bounced around the girl in circles. "When did you get here, Hitomi?" she repeated.

"Last night, really late," Hitomi replied, constantly turning her head so she could see the cat-girl. "Really, really late. I guess Van didn't want to wake anyone up." She sighed and gave up trying to look the cat-girl in the face; she was getting dizzy. "I didn't think anyone would be up this early," she added.

Merle stopped bouncing and stood on her tiptoes so as to stare Hitomi in the eye. "Van-sama is awake," she said, as though that were an adequate answer.

"Oh, umm…"

"Good morning, Hitomi," a voice said warmly. Hitomi looked up. Leaning against the wall, one hand stuffed in his pocket, was the king of Fanelia. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes," Hitomi answered immediately, just as Merle pounced on Van with a loud, "Van-sama!" With a grunt, the boy was knocked to the ground, with no chance to move before Merle starting licking his face immensely. Hitomi could not help but laugh, as she watched him twist and turn in futile attempts to get his childhood friend off of him. Finally, Merle jumped away and scampered noisily down the hallway.

Van stood up, wiping the cat saliva off his face with the back of his gloved hand. He grimaced, and Hitomi nearly doubled over in laughter. He stared at her, blinking in puzzlement. "What's so funny?"

Hitomi managed to calm down a bit, and leaned back against the wall. "I'm sorry, but it was the way you looked. She had quite a hold on you," she giggled. Van smiled and moved to stand beside her. He gently stroked her cheek with one hand—not the hand that he had used to wipe his face—and brushed some of her hair out of her eyes. Her laughter halted, as she turned to stare at him. The softness in his eyes melted her heart into a river of hot liquid.

"It's so good to have you back," he said softly, caressing her cheek with his finger. He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek, before resuming his caresses. "You have no idea how much I missed you."

Hitomi smiled. "If you missed me as much as I missed you, then I probably have an idea," she said. She grabbed the hand that was caressing her cheek and placed it at his side. Wrapping her arms tightly around the boy's neck, she pulled his head down and pressed her lips to his.

Van tensed, then slowly sank into the kiss, his eyelids fluttering shut. His idle hands moved to circle her waist, pulling her closer to him. When her fingers tangled themselves in his unruly black hair, pulling roughly, he hardly noticed. He was enchanted by the feeling of her soft, warm lips against his own; by the taste of her warm, sweet breath. One hand left her waist to press against the small of her back, pulling her even closer. In response, her grip on his neck tightened, bringing his head down further.

After what seemed like an eternity, though it was an eternity that was all too short, they slowly broke apart, never taking their eyes off each other. Hitomi's cheeks were flushed, and she smiled brightly at the young king. Van, in return, stroked her cheek with his finger and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"I love you, Hitomi."

"I love you, too, Van."

~*~

Adibah stepped out of the conference room, the queen on her heels. The five beast-children looked up at her, and she smiled wanly.

"My children, come. If there is anyone you wish to say goodbye to, I'm sorry to say that you have little time. The moment of your departure draws near."

~*~

To Be Continued…

~*~

Medatsu: Thank you for reviewing again! ^_^ And I know you said I was the pro. *is still blushing* I was responding to your review, and thanking you. (Aw, I'm not that much of a pro. *fiddles thumbs*)

What happened to all the other readers? *gets teary-eyed* Is it the summary?

Next chapter, coming soon!