A/N: Nevermind. I'm sure you just want to read on. R&R!
"NO!" Hitomi felt the denial ripped from her throat.
The light slowly disappeared and Hitomi lay on the cold ground in shock, hugging her knees to her chest, sobbing.
SO CLOSE! The fullness of Van in her mind was gone, like he had been drained out of her. She felt like someone had taken half of her heart on ripped it away. He was gone. He was gone! She felt like an empty vessel. All alone.
She was too deep in despair to notice the tiny flicker of flame of Van's presence.
An endless black hole had consumed her and all her last and feint reserves of hope. What was the use of fighting anymore? He was gone. He was gone!
She wished, prayed, hoped, for it to end, for peaceful forgetful oblivion. He was gone. She was so aware, too aware, how could she survive without Van? He was gone. She couldn't hear him! Why couldn't she hear/feel him?
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Yukari stood speechless as Amano burst through the door and a came to a screeching stop behind her, with Darien following eagerly behind him.
"Wha-what happened here?" he asked as he surveyed the pitifully weeping Hitomi, who was making horrible low groaning animalistic sounds and Yukari who was in shock.
Amano reached out to catch Yukari as she dropped in a dead faint. Everyone in coffeehouse was scrambling to see what the light and the scream was. The employee's were going crazy. Now would be a good time to leave.
He glanced back at Darien. Darien had a mad smile on his face as he watched Hitomi sob. Sick triumph gleamed in his eyes. Amano shook his head vigorously. He was imagining things. He had to get Yukari to wake up so that he could carry Hitomi. Amano was worried about Yukari, naturally, but she looked like she could recover. Hitomi…she was almost …feral.
Yukari eyelids flickered and she stirred in his arms. Then her eyes flew open. She surveyed the scene bemusedly, then---
"Hitomi!" she gasped out.
"Can you walk?" Amano asked, talking quickly before Yukari could get more worked up. "We need to get out of here." Yukari nodded and took a few shaky steps towards Hitomi.
"Hitomi?"
"She'll be fine, Yukari. We just need to get her out of here." replied Amano to Yukari's unstated question. Darien remained silent, continuing to stare at the trembling form on the ground.
Amano strode over to Hitomi and picked her up still sobbing. Hitomi was too far-gone to care. She just stayed in her little ball shaking uncontrollably, like she had given up.
"Amano, …." Yukari faltered and decided that she would not tell Amano what had happened without Hitomi. Besides, she wasn't even sure she knew what had just happened.
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Van's roar of fury echoed terribly in the stone room. The audience chamber reflected back the howl of rage till it clashed with itself in an all out war.
Allen Shazar, Heavenly Knight of Asturia, flinched and his sister, Selena; once Ziabach elite forces leader Dillandua, paled. The village leader and representatives from Forum froze and looked at the young Fanalian king as if he were mad. He sounded like he was.
If that wasn't enough to mortify and astonish everybody in the room, Van's fists clenched, his back arched and his shirt was ripped to shreds. HUGE Draconian wings tore out from his shoulder blades. All of a sudden room was filled with glowing feathers and ethereal light.
Before anyone realized it, Van's sword was out and flashing, on guard for an opponent. That was something to worry about. Van's reputation with his sword was lethal. All of Van's fury that was reflected in his red amber eyes was caged into one word.
"DILLANDUA!" Van took into the air. Massive wings powerfully beat the air in a maelstrom of power. Every single speck in the room trembled and shook in awe.
So this was a draconian about to venge his wrath. No wonder they were considered demons. The room seemed to be filled with a silent, but deafening whirlwind that's vortex spun around the infuriated draconian. Van suddenly paled.
"HITOMI!" Van cried in anguish as he dropped his sword as if someone had slapped him. The sword fell the 15 feet to the cold stone floor with a clatter. He ripped something from around his neck. Allen recognized Hitomi's pendent with a jolt. How had he gotten that?
"What the- Van, what do you think you are doing?" Allen yelled, suddenly regaining movement as if slapped. Van didn't seem to hear him. His eyes were closed in intense concentration and the pendent was leaking out light.
There was a blinding flash and a deafening roar. Van's eyes snapped open and he jumped foreword as if to catch someone. They saw for the briefest moment the outline of someone wasn't there.
Van stiffened in shock, his midnight black hair wild around his face. For one moment he was suspended in midair 15 feet above the throne room floor, then he plummeted headfirst, as if in slow motion, to the ground where he crashed and lay limp.
"Van!" Allen yelled as he ran to where Van lay, unmoving. Even in unconsciousness, Allen could see the tears that soaked Van's face and red tunic. His wings, which were a stark proud reminder of his heritage, slowly shrank into nothing.
Selena crumpled and put her head on her knees. Did he say Dillandua? Oh no, oh no. He couldn't have meant her.
Someone had called for a healer. An older brunette woman with bright eyes came running into the huge chamber of frozen, shocked people. A Catgirl came running after her crying; 'Lord Van!' over and over, but the woman turned and threw Merle out of the room.
She quickly scanned the room and found the unconscious king. The healer ran over to him and fell to her knees beside him. Blue light formed in her hands and she quickly sent it flowing over Lord Van.
When the blue light touched him, the woman gasped and drew back with a look of fear on her face, but quickly regained her composure. Minuets later Van, wingless, shirtless, and swordless sat up with his head in his hands.
"I—thank you, Lady. You're Aronic, the healer," said a slightly absent-minded Van in recognition and respect to the tiniest woman he had ever seen. She couldn't have been much taller than a ghealn, almost as tall as Merle when she was 13. He, himself, had never seen the legendary healer, but her reputation proceeded her. It was rumored that she was the only one who could produce Cry'tan, a strange healing light. Allen had said something about being approached by the reputed woman and her asking to accompany him on his ambassador trip to Fanalia.
"Your Majesty, I have no idea what you were trying to do, but I would suggest that you desist!" Aronic scolded in a tone that said she wasn't suggesting anything. Van gave her a weak little grin. Not many people spoke like that to the ruler of such an influential country. This Lady obviously was not afraid to speak her mind.
The after affects from the healing were keeping him from realizing why he was on the hard stone floor of the Audience room with a headache.
"And, King, the girl on the other side of your mind is a wreck, you almost killed her!" Lady Aronic rebuked. Van's eyes snapped open wide as he stared and Allen's mouth fell open.
"What?" Allen whirled to look at Van
"Hitomi!" Van cried, as the blood abruptly drained from his face. He focused quickly on Healer Aronic, "How did you…is she all right?"
"Of course she isn't all right!" the healer snapped. " You almost killed her! And what was that you were doing with her? When I healed you, I saw a strange world with massive structures and an ocean, 3 people in strange clothing, and," she yelped, "There was no Mystic Moon in the sky!"
The king in Van surfaced, recognizing dangerous talk when he heard it. Van had to know what this woman knew, anything could be turned against Fanalia's peace as a weapon. He glared at the soldiers, discreetly hidden, but still surrounding the Audience room and barked, "Out!"
" Village Leader Kearron, would you please accept our apologies and hospitality for one more day? Good." Van addressed the representative he had been in conference with. "The captain of the guard will show you to your rooms. Lady Aronic, Allen, Selena, come with me." Van strode out of the great hall.
"Now that," Allen said following in Van's wake, "is a king!"
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Hope you guys like it! I can't wait to get the next chapter up! I'll see you there, even sooner if you review!