Author's Ramblings:  This chapter is dedicated to Beeky, daisy31, Hikari, and anata no tomodachi.  ^-^  Thanks to all of you for reviewing!  I hope you enjoy this latest installment of "A Vision of Forever."

Disclaimer: Me no own.

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Chapter Four: Startling New Information

-In Van's (and Hitomi's) Bedchamber-

            Hitomi woke up to the songs of the Rufescenian—the Gaean equivalent of a hummingbird.  The memory of the previous night flooded her mind and her heart, and she recalled how Van asked her to marry him.  She sighed with utter contentment and snuggled into Van's chest.  His arms were still around her, loose enough for her to move around in, but tight enough so that she couldn't go anywhere.  Of course, she didn't want to go anywhere.

            But then it came.  A new vision.

VISION

            She was standing in a marketplace.  And not just any marketplace.  It was the Fanelian marketplace.

            "Van?  Are you here?" she called out.  None of the people in the marketplace seemed to hear her, and she didn't see Van anywhere.

            And then it happened.

            She heard the cries of agony as scorching fire filled the streets and skies of Fanelia.  "WHO IS DOING THIS?!?" she screamed.

            Maniacal laughter was her only answer.

            It couldn't be…Dilandau…could it?

            No, it wasn't Dilandau.  This shrill laugh was that of a woman.  Hitomi saw her too.  The woman was actually quite beautiful: she had long red hair tied in a braid, extending in length to the small of her back.  Her eyes looked liked they were red as well, but Hitomi couldn't really see them from where she was standing.

            The mysterious woman was shouting orders to muscular men, all whom had that same red hair.  The only difference was that their eyes were brown.

            There are so many of them! Hitomi thought.  She was so busy trying to count how many there were—thinking that this information might help if these Red Ones were to really attack Fanelia—that she didn't notice the woman climb into a guymelef with an invisibility cloak.  She didn't notice when the liquid metal solidified into a three-fingered claw, like the ones Zaibach had. 

And she didn't notice when it came hurtling straight for her.

All she saw were bloody feathers.  "VAN!!!!" she screamed.

END VISION

            And she bolted straight up in bed, and began crying.

            Her sobs awoke Van.  He immediately noticed that something was wrong.  She's crying!

            He sat up, and softly asked her, "Hitomi, what's wrong?  Why are you crying?"

            "I had another vision," she answered between sobs.  "It was really frightening."

            Van pulled her into his arms.  He lovingly stroked the back of her head, in an attempt to soothe her.  "What was it about?"

            "It was so horrible!  I saw Fanelia.  And then I saw a guymelef, one with an invisibility cloak.  Its pilot was a woman with long red hair.  And she was shouting orders to men with the same red hair.  And they were burning Fanelia!  And…."

            "And what?" Van asked.  I know I've seen a woman with long red hair before…

            Hitomi lifted her head from Van's chest.  Her teary green eyes met Van's concerned brownish red ones.  "And then I saw….  I saw…BLOODY FEATHERS!!!"  She burst into tears again.

            Van gasped.  Does…this mean…I'm going to…?  NO!!  I will not!  Not until I'm old and gray, not until I've lived a full life with Hitomi!  "Shh, don't cry, Hitomi," he said soothingly.  "I promise you, I won't leave you that soon.  I want to live a full life with you!"

            "Thank you," she mumbled into his chest.

            "You're welcome," he said as he kissed the top of her head.  "Now, I'm sure you're hungry, so let's go get some breakfast.  Okay?"

            "Okay," Hitomi agreed, as she lifted her head and smiled.  And the two walked to the Dining Room, hand in hand.

-Shortly after breakfast, in the Conference Hall-

            "So, you're saying that Fanelia might be attacked?" asked Chid, who was now wide-eyed.

            "Yes.  Hitomi had a vision about it," Van answered, his eyes dimming.  "It scared her too.  It made her cry…."

            "Is she okay?"

            "She's fine now."  Van smiled.

            "Did she see who it was that attacked?"  Chid's blue eyes held a concerned look.

            "Yes, she said she saw a woman.  A woman with long red hair, who was shouting orders at men with the same red hair."  Who IS this woman?  I KNOW I've seen her before…

            Chid looked panicked but before he could say anything, Van jumped the gun, shouting, "What?  Do you know who she is?  Tell me!"

            "You're never going to believe this," Chid responded cryptically.  "Well, maybe you will, actually.  That red-haired woman?  And her band of red-haired men?  They're…none other than…Princess Calis and her guards from Curanse…." Chid looked to the ground in disgust.

            "The Curansians?"  Van stared in shock.

            "I would venture to say so," answered a new voice, none other than Allen Schezar, Knight Caeli of Austuria.

"Allen?" Van and Chid chimed together.

            "Yes, your majesties."  Allen bowed.  "And I fear I come with bad news."

            "Bad news?" Chid asked.

            "Tell us!" Van ordered.

            "Palas, capital of Austuria, has been…destroyed."

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What events await our friends in Fanelia?  What are the Curansians up to?  Why is Princess Calis so demonic?  Find out in the next installment of "A Vision of Forever"!

…Okay, that was corny. ^-^¿   Let me know how this chapter made you feel.  Thank you for reading! ^-^