Summary: With Aquaria's threat eminent in Hitomi's mind, there is now another reunion to be made, but it may not be as joyous as her prior ones have been...
Author's Notes: I have to make mention that I'm not really a big fan of Van(read as: I hate him with a fiery passion that consumes my very soul XD), and therefore I don't really have the means to present him in a good light...again, please no flames. ^^;;
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"There must be something we can do!" Hitomi exclaimed, pacing nervously before the fireplace in the modest living room, thoughts absorbed in Dilandau's inexplicable return and the frightening apparition of the devil woman she had seen in her mind, whom she had not yet mentioned.
"There's nothing," Celena said quietly, curled up in a chair in the corner of the room, looking scared and desolate. Hitomi felt sympathy for her - after all, the last time she had seen Dilandau was when she had been looking in a mirror...
"Surely there's a way to explain all this...Hitomi, could it have been a false vision?" Allen questioned, not entirely certain what to think.
"No," Hitomi replied with a shake of her head, "No, I'm certain it was real. And Celena has seen him as well...but there was something else, someone else I saw who I've never seen before...she frightened me..." Both Allen and Celena looked to Hitomi at this, curious, but at the same time apprehensive. "She wasn't like anything I've ever seen...pale as ivory, but with the brightest green eyes imaginable...and giant looming wings behind her! She frightened me so badly..."
"A demon?" Celena asked timidly, seeming to shrink slightly into the chair.
Allen crooked an eyebrow slightly, loosely connecting the demon Hitomi was describing to Dilandau's sudden reappearance. "Could she be behind all this?"
"I don't know," Hitomi said, sitting down as if to collect herself better, "I don't think I even want to know...if she is what she appears to be, especially with Dilandau in her service, I'm sure it's nothing less than the total control of Gaea she's interested in...we can't do this alone!"
There was a moment of silence as Allen instantly realized what she meant by this. No, they wouldn't be able to do it alone...but going for help could only mean one thing. "You mean for us to go to Fanelia for help..."
Hitomi was slightly surprised by how dark Allen's tone was when he spoke those words, but she turned to face him with an imploring look nonetheless. "We have to...we have friends in Fanelia, who we can easily muster to fight. Van will be willing to help..."
His expression seemed to turn from something dark into a sort of defeat, and he sighed lightly, realizing she was right. "Then we must go now...if all you've seen is going to come to pass, we've no time to spare." She nodded and stood, giving him a grateful smile that he returned, though only half-heartedly.
Allen had his own reasons for not wanting anything to do with Fanelia...or rather, its king. How he had thrown around that word "love" so carelessly, as though it meant nothing to him. How once he had taken the throne of Fanelia, he forgot its meaning entirely, choosing to spend his nights with women of the city whose names he barely knew, each believing they had his heart, his whispered words of "love." And how Allen hated him for toying with Hitomi's heart in this same manner, for she had grown to care for him.
And if not for that, the boy had become something of a tyrant. Many times, relations between Asturia and Fanelia had been at risk or compromised because of his uneasiness at peacetime. It had seemed that after Hitomi had gone back to the Mystic Moon, his underlying bloodlust that he had kept so well under wraps flared up, causing him to want to warmonger. Being unable to under certain treaties that had been signed when his father had still been king, capital punishment had "inexplicably" risen in the country. Beheadings, hangings, these were almost commonplace occurrences in these days. Fanelia had become known as the Bloodlands, under the rule of the savage King Van.
"Allen?" The voice of his younger sister came gently, shaking him from his thoughts. She had stood as well, and walked over to look up into his eyes closer. "You won't leave me, will you?"
She seemed so young and innocent right then, Allen couldn't help but smile slightly. "Of course not, Celena," he spoke softly, "You can come with us." This seemed to ease the younger girl's cares, and she smiled as well. A wave of horror broke over him as he thought suddenly of the consequences of this...one false move by any of them, and they could possibly find themselves on the chopping block. He could only hope that Van would remember his old friendships, and somehow, maybe become something of the man he had used to be. "I'll send word for Gaddeth," he continued, looking to Hitomi now, "It's a three-day ride to Fanelia from here; I'm afraid the Crusade has been out of service for some time. We'll go by horseback."
~~
Gaddeth had come swiftly when he was called for, bringing with him another of his finest stallions as well as his own. Hitomi and Celena, not knowing how to ride, each rode on the saddle of one of the men - Hitomi on Allen's saddle, and Celena on Gaddeth's. Gaddeth had cracked a joke that he promised not to feel up Allen's little sister, which broke the tension slightly and gave them a good laugh(though Celena had blushed rather deeply from it).
Before Hitomi knew it, they were off, riding swiftly over the plains. She held onto Allen's waist to keep herself still, but couldn't deny that she enjoyed being this close to him...
~Not now,~ her mind scolded her, ~You have more important things to think about.~
~~
The three nights it would take to ride by horse from Asturia to Fanelia had passed, and Hitomi began to see the familiar skyline coming into view. A wave of anxiety passed over her as they came closer, now both wondering why Allen had subtly refused to speak of Van, as well as how Van would react to seeing her again. Did he still have feelings for her? Had he forgotten her completely? What had he done that made Allen so uneasy to even hear his name? There was only one way to find out, she figured.
Allen had equally grown silent, and Hitomi couldn't figure out if it was from a growing anxiety, or perhaps a growing anger. Trying to comfort him, she wrapped her arms more fully around his waist, hugging him from behind. She felt him take in a breath, and his muscles relaxed slightly as he released it, making her smile.
Word had been sent ahead of their arrival, and at the gates to the capital city, several soldiers stood around their King, who had come out to greet them.
Allen and Gaddeth dismounted from their steeds, and helped Hitomi and Celena down as well. Allen was the first to walk forward, forcing himself to keep an amiable expression on his face.
"King Van," Allen spoke evenly, giving a polite bow to him.
"Allen," Van responded with a nod, seeming almost amused at the bow, "What brings you to this great country with so little notice?"
"I come with a request for aid," the blond-haired man answered, glancing slightly to his side as he knew Hitomi was behind him.
Van's gaze was drawn in that direction and his crimson eyes came to rest on Hitomi. He crooked an eyebrow, and took a step forward, looking at her curiously. "And who are you?" he asked in such a tone that one would realize he did vaguely recognize her.
"Van," Hitomi said, smiling as she walked forward, "It's me...Hitomi!"
"Hitomi?" Van's expression changed into something akin to wonder, making him almost seem innocent. "Is it really you? After all this time?"
"It's me," she confirmed happily, closing the distance to give her old friend a hug. Surely Allen was mistaken, she thought, whatever Van had done couldn't be so bad...
~~
Van had taken the group into the castle with a grand entrance, making sure that the attendants of the palace knew that they were to be treated as royalty. Hitomi explained to him her vision; the demon woman and Dilandau together, though she wasn't sure what it meant, she felt that they would need to be ready for something terrible.
"I'll have the soldiers on guard," the king said with a nod, a spark of excitement in his eyes, as though he was glad for the opportunity to be back in action. "In the meantime, you're free to enjoy the castle. Your rooms have been prepared."
"Thank you so much, Van," Hitomi said with a genuine smile, glad that he had agreed to help, and was being so kind to them. Her gaze was pulled to the window then, the golds and reds of sunset now faded to the inky indigo of the night, and she laughed a bit at this. "It's later than I thought it was...maybe we should get some rest."
"By all means," Van said with a nod, "Rest well, my friends."
Allen, Celena, and Gaddeth started walking down the hall, and just as Hitomi was about to follow them, she felt a hand lightly on her arm, holding her back. With a bit of surprise, she turned back to face the king. "Is something wrong, Van?"
"You've become so beautiful, Hitomi," he said softly, something flickering in his eyes that she couldn't quite make out, but she grew a bit nervous from it.
"Th-thank you," she stammered a bit, though smiled slightly through her mild discomfort.
"I don't think I ever stopped loving you," he continued, voice lowered almost to a whisper, pulling her closer to him and leaning down, pressing his lips to hers.
She was too shocked to move, or even think. But after a moment, she made a soft sound of protest and pulled away, shaking her head, leaving him with a quizzical expression. "I can't..." she murmured, unconsciously wiping her lips with the back of her hand.
"You can't what?" Van asked, an eyebrow raising once again.
Hitomi took in a breath, regretting how painful the words might be for him to hear. But she had to lay it out for him, for his own sake. "I can't love you. I'm sorry, Van...you're a wonderful friend to me, but I just can't love you. I'm sorry..."
A moment of silence passed, and something almost like anger flickered across his features before he eased, smiling lightly. "It's all right," he spoke with a wave of his hand as if to brush it off, "No hard feelings, I understand."
"This won't...hurt our friendship, will it?"
"Never, Hitomi."
~~
In the shadows from further down the hall, Allen felt something inside him twist and break as Van kissed Hitomi. Unable to bear the sight, he turned away and kept walking until he reached his temporary room in the great palace.
---
Author's Notes: I have to make mention that I'm not really a big fan of Van(read as: I hate him with a fiery passion that consumes my very soul XD), and therefore I don't really have the means to present him in a good light...again, please no flames. ^^;;
---
"There must be something we can do!" Hitomi exclaimed, pacing nervously before the fireplace in the modest living room, thoughts absorbed in Dilandau's inexplicable return and the frightening apparition of the devil woman she had seen in her mind, whom she had not yet mentioned.
"There's nothing," Celena said quietly, curled up in a chair in the corner of the room, looking scared and desolate. Hitomi felt sympathy for her - after all, the last time she had seen Dilandau was when she had been looking in a mirror...
"Surely there's a way to explain all this...Hitomi, could it have been a false vision?" Allen questioned, not entirely certain what to think.
"No," Hitomi replied with a shake of her head, "No, I'm certain it was real. And Celena has seen him as well...but there was something else, someone else I saw who I've never seen before...she frightened me..." Both Allen and Celena looked to Hitomi at this, curious, but at the same time apprehensive. "She wasn't like anything I've ever seen...pale as ivory, but with the brightest green eyes imaginable...and giant looming wings behind her! She frightened me so badly..."
"A demon?" Celena asked timidly, seeming to shrink slightly into the chair.
Allen crooked an eyebrow slightly, loosely connecting the demon Hitomi was describing to Dilandau's sudden reappearance. "Could she be behind all this?"
"I don't know," Hitomi said, sitting down as if to collect herself better, "I don't think I even want to know...if she is what she appears to be, especially with Dilandau in her service, I'm sure it's nothing less than the total control of Gaea she's interested in...we can't do this alone!"
There was a moment of silence as Allen instantly realized what she meant by this. No, they wouldn't be able to do it alone...but going for help could only mean one thing. "You mean for us to go to Fanelia for help..."
Hitomi was slightly surprised by how dark Allen's tone was when he spoke those words, but she turned to face him with an imploring look nonetheless. "We have to...we have friends in Fanelia, who we can easily muster to fight. Van will be willing to help..."
His expression seemed to turn from something dark into a sort of defeat, and he sighed lightly, realizing she was right. "Then we must go now...if all you've seen is going to come to pass, we've no time to spare." She nodded and stood, giving him a grateful smile that he returned, though only half-heartedly.
Allen had his own reasons for not wanting anything to do with Fanelia...or rather, its king. How he had thrown around that word "love" so carelessly, as though it meant nothing to him. How once he had taken the throne of Fanelia, he forgot its meaning entirely, choosing to spend his nights with women of the city whose names he barely knew, each believing they had his heart, his whispered words of "love." And how Allen hated him for toying with Hitomi's heart in this same manner, for she had grown to care for him.
And if not for that, the boy had become something of a tyrant. Many times, relations between Asturia and Fanelia had been at risk or compromised because of his uneasiness at peacetime. It had seemed that after Hitomi had gone back to the Mystic Moon, his underlying bloodlust that he had kept so well under wraps flared up, causing him to want to warmonger. Being unable to under certain treaties that had been signed when his father had still been king, capital punishment had "inexplicably" risen in the country. Beheadings, hangings, these were almost commonplace occurrences in these days. Fanelia had become known as the Bloodlands, under the rule of the savage King Van.
"Allen?" The voice of his younger sister came gently, shaking him from his thoughts. She had stood as well, and walked over to look up into his eyes closer. "You won't leave me, will you?"
She seemed so young and innocent right then, Allen couldn't help but smile slightly. "Of course not, Celena," he spoke softly, "You can come with us." This seemed to ease the younger girl's cares, and she smiled as well. A wave of horror broke over him as he thought suddenly of the consequences of this...one false move by any of them, and they could possibly find themselves on the chopping block. He could only hope that Van would remember his old friendships, and somehow, maybe become something of the man he had used to be. "I'll send word for Gaddeth," he continued, looking to Hitomi now, "It's a three-day ride to Fanelia from here; I'm afraid the Crusade has been out of service for some time. We'll go by horseback."
~~
Gaddeth had come swiftly when he was called for, bringing with him another of his finest stallions as well as his own. Hitomi and Celena, not knowing how to ride, each rode on the saddle of one of the men - Hitomi on Allen's saddle, and Celena on Gaddeth's. Gaddeth had cracked a joke that he promised not to feel up Allen's little sister, which broke the tension slightly and gave them a good laugh(though Celena had blushed rather deeply from it).
Before Hitomi knew it, they were off, riding swiftly over the plains. She held onto Allen's waist to keep herself still, but couldn't deny that she enjoyed being this close to him...
~Not now,~ her mind scolded her, ~You have more important things to think about.~
~~
The three nights it would take to ride by horse from Asturia to Fanelia had passed, and Hitomi began to see the familiar skyline coming into view. A wave of anxiety passed over her as they came closer, now both wondering why Allen had subtly refused to speak of Van, as well as how Van would react to seeing her again. Did he still have feelings for her? Had he forgotten her completely? What had he done that made Allen so uneasy to even hear his name? There was only one way to find out, she figured.
Allen had equally grown silent, and Hitomi couldn't figure out if it was from a growing anxiety, or perhaps a growing anger. Trying to comfort him, she wrapped her arms more fully around his waist, hugging him from behind. She felt him take in a breath, and his muscles relaxed slightly as he released it, making her smile.
Word had been sent ahead of their arrival, and at the gates to the capital city, several soldiers stood around their King, who had come out to greet them.
Allen and Gaddeth dismounted from their steeds, and helped Hitomi and Celena down as well. Allen was the first to walk forward, forcing himself to keep an amiable expression on his face.
"King Van," Allen spoke evenly, giving a polite bow to him.
"Allen," Van responded with a nod, seeming almost amused at the bow, "What brings you to this great country with so little notice?"
"I come with a request for aid," the blond-haired man answered, glancing slightly to his side as he knew Hitomi was behind him.
Van's gaze was drawn in that direction and his crimson eyes came to rest on Hitomi. He crooked an eyebrow, and took a step forward, looking at her curiously. "And who are you?" he asked in such a tone that one would realize he did vaguely recognize her.
"Van," Hitomi said, smiling as she walked forward, "It's me...Hitomi!"
"Hitomi?" Van's expression changed into something akin to wonder, making him almost seem innocent. "Is it really you? After all this time?"
"It's me," she confirmed happily, closing the distance to give her old friend a hug. Surely Allen was mistaken, she thought, whatever Van had done couldn't be so bad...
~~
Van had taken the group into the castle with a grand entrance, making sure that the attendants of the palace knew that they were to be treated as royalty. Hitomi explained to him her vision; the demon woman and Dilandau together, though she wasn't sure what it meant, she felt that they would need to be ready for something terrible.
"I'll have the soldiers on guard," the king said with a nod, a spark of excitement in his eyes, as though he was glad for the opportunity to be back in action. "In the meantime, you're free to enjoy the castle. Your rooms have been prepared."
"Thank you so much, Van," Hitomi said with a genuine smile, glad that he had agreed to help, and was being so kind to them. Her gaze was pulled to the window then, the golds and reds of sunset now faded to the inky indigo of the night, and she laughed a bit at this. "It's later than I thought it was...maybe we should get some rest."
"By all means," Van said with a nod, "Rest well, my friends."
Allen, Celena, and Gaddeth started walking down the hall, and just as Hitomi was about to follow them, she felt a hand lightly on her arm, holding her back. With a bit of surprise, she turned back to face the king. "Is something wrong, Van?"
"You've become so beautiful, Hitomi," he said softly, something flickering in his eyes that she couldn't quite make out, but she grew a bit nervous from it.
"Th-thank you," she stammered a bit, though smiled slightly through her mild discomfort.
"I don't think I ever stopped loving you," he continued, voice lowered almost to a whisper, pulling her closer to him and leaning down, pressing his lips to hers.
She was too shocked to move, or even think. But after a moment, she made a soft sound of protest and pulled away, shaking her head, leaving him with a quizzical expression. "I can't..." she murmured, unconsciously wiping her lips with the back of her hand.
"You can't what?" Van asked, an eyebrow raising once again.
Hitomi took in a breath, regretting how painful the words might be for him to hear. But she had to lay it out for him, for his own sake. "I can't love you. I'm sorry, Van...you're a wonderful friend to me, but I just can't love you. I'm sorry..."
A moment of silence passed, and something almost like anger flickered across his features before he eased, smiling lightly. "It's all right," he spoke with a wave of his hand as if to brush it off, "No hard feelings, I understand."
"This won't...hurt our friendship, will it?"
"Never, Hitomi."
~~
In the shadows from further down the hall, Allen felt something inside him twist and break as Van kissed Hitomi. Unable to bear the sight, he turned away and kept walking until he reached his temporary room in the great palace.
---