Title: Blessed
Author: Tevrah
Email: kmw852@yahoo.com
Hey! Okay, I know it took me forever to update, but like I warned you in the first chapter, I'll have to update this story whenever I can! I'm glad that you guys like it so much!! It gives me this warm fuzzy feeling inside! ^_^ Hehe! Anyway, on with the chapter!!
***
Chapter Two: Three Years LaterQueen Hitomi Iris av Fanel of Fanelia awoke to find two dark green orbs staring at her. She blinked. The orbs blinked. She blinked again. The orbs blinked again. She closed her eyes and turned to her other side, placing her back to the orbs. She smiled when she heard a giggle. A weight suddenly fell on her and she groaned. She opened one eye to find a cherub face framed by ebony hair staring at her. She opened both eyes and stared at her son from where he was laying on top of her.
"Get up, Mama!"
"Why?" Hitomi asked with a smile. "I want to sleep."
"But the sun is up in the sky, and Papa says that when the sun is like that then it's time to get up!" her son answered.
Hitomi groaned playfully. "All right, all right!" she exclaimed dramatically. "I'll get up!"
"Yay!" her son cheered.
Aidan Lamour te Fanel, three years old, dark green eyes, ebony black locks of hair, and arrogant to boot. Hitomi smiled as she watched her son crawl off of her onto the other side of the bed. "Where's Nana Boa?" she asked.
Aidan bit his lip and Hitomi knew right then that he had given to old woman the slip again. "What did you do to her this time?" Hitomi questioned her son.
"I didn't do nothing, Mama," Aidan said in his childish voice. "She said that I couldn't see you, so I came to find you when she wasn't looking."
Hitomi smiled lovingly at him and smoothed his hair back from his face. "You still shouldn't have left without telling her. Nana Boa is going to have the entire castle in an uproar again."
Aidan lowered his face. "I'm sorry, Mama."
"Do you know what time it is?" Hitomi said. She wiggled her fingers. "Tickle time!" Aidan squealed with laughter when Hitomi lowered her hands, tickling him. "Now," Hitomi said a few minutes later, "do you promise that you won't run away from Nana Boa again?"
He nodded. Hitomi sat up and picked him up and sat him on his feet on the floor. "Now go and apologize to Nana Boa," she ordered. "And do it properly."
Aidan dragged his feet, but did as he was told. He turned back at when he got to the door. "Are you gonna get up, Mama?" he asked.
Hitomi nodded.
He smiled, and then ran out the door. Hitomi smiled and shook her head.
That little imp was her heartbeat.
***
Van Slanzar de Fanel, King of Fanelia, was in the middle of a counsel meeting when the counsel room doors burst open and a hysterical plump woman came rushing in. Nana Boa. That could only mean one thing. He silently groaned.
Aidan, he thought, what did you do now?
"Oh, Sire," Nana Boa cried. "I turned my back for one second, and when I turned back around he was gone! He's been kidnapped, I just know he has!"
"Calm yourself, Boann," Van ordered. "I'm sure that Aidan is perfectly all right."
As if on cue, the doors opened once more to let Aidan pass through. As soon as he saw his father, he broke out into a run and threw himself in Van's arms.
"Papa!"
Van hugged his son close and then settled him on his lap. "Aidan," he began, "did you run away from your Nana again?"
Aidan lowered his head and nodded. "Yes, Papa."
"What have I told you about running away from her?" Van questioned.
"That I could get hurt, so I should stay with her 'til I'm older," Aidan answered.
"That's right," Van replied. "So why did you run away?"
"I'm afraid that would be my fault," a soft voice said.
Van looked up to find his wife entering the room. He found himself staring at her as he always did. She had to be the most beautiful creature on Gaea. Her long honey blond hair was tied up with a few curls falling around her face. Her dress was a pale yellow color that matched her hair. They had been married for three years, but every time Van saw his wife she still managed to take his breath away.
Hitomi bowed to her husband in respect. "Aidan came looking for me, Milord," Hitomi continued with a small smile gracing her lips. "He informed me that when the sun rose it was time to get out of bed."
Van nodded to her then turned his attention back to his son sitting on his lap. "What do say to Boann for causing her needless worry?"
Aidan slid off of Van's lap and stood in front of Nana Boa with his hands clasped behind his back and his head bowed. He looked every bit contrite. "I'm sorry I ran away without telling you where I was going and made you worry about me," he said.
Nana Boa patted him on the head. "There, there," she said. "Everything is all right now, my little prince." She picked him up and held him to her bosom. Bowing to her king and queen, she carried Aidan out of the hall telling him what they were going to do today.
Hitomi waited until they had left then she bowed to her husband and said, "Good day, Milord."
Van bowed his head at her. "Good day." He watched as Hitomi glided out of the room.
"Shall we continue, Sire?"
Van's attention snapped back to his counsel members and nodded. "Finish what you were saying, Jon."
There were five members on Van's counsel. They were Jon, Tyiou, Ryuf, Bartoy, and Dylen. Jon was the Captain of the Guard and a close friend of Van's. He had blond hair and blue eyes and was very handsome. Many of the city's eligible women would make an excuse to see him as much as possible.
Tyiou was an old general. He had long gray hair in a ponytail and matching gray eyes that could pierce anyone into telling the truth. He had served Fanelia a long time and Van was glad for his counsel.
Ryuf was a young man with brown hair and sea-green eyes. He had a scare that ran from his forehead to his neck that he had gotten when he was a young boy. He had trained with Van when they were growing up, but mainly kept to himself. He was a great advisor, though, and was wonderful with keeping up with the account of the castle's treasury.
Bartoy was the youngest of the counsel members. He was only eighteen, but he had proved at the early age of twelve that he could see things from every option before he would decide on what was to be done about a certain problem.
Dylen was the last member of the counsel. He had black hair and brown eyes. He was Bartoy's uncle and had taken care of the boy sense he was six years old. Dylen was a unique investigator. He could find out information about other countries, trading, and so on. Van valued the information Dylen gave and used it well.
"They struck again," Jon said in a low voice filled with anger.
Van's head snapped up. "Was anyone injured?" he asked.
Jon shook his head. "No, thank the gods. A small farm on the outskirts of the city was destroyed, but the family was visiting a cousin in Asturia."
Van sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"These rebels must be stopped!" Jon slammed a fist onto the table. "They've been actively burning city for weeks now! We have to do something!"
"Calm yourself, Jon," Van ordered. "We will do something, but until we find out who is behind these attacks, our hands are tied, like it or not." He turned to the other men at the table. "What do we know of these rebels so far?"
"We know that they call themselves the Dragons," Dylen answered. "They started burning parts of the city around five weeks ago, and no one has any idea why."
"Actually," Bartoy said slowly, "I have a theory. I believe that they are trying to cleanse the city."
"Explain," Van ordered.
"Well, sire," Bartoy said, "when a body is unclean, it is burned. I believe that these rebels think that the city is unclean and therefore they are burning it so that it can grow again as they think it should be.
We know that they call themselves the Dragons. That name means something to them. The symbol of Fanelia is a dragon because the first Fanelians had pure dragon blood flowing in their veins. Perhaps these rebels are trying to rid Fanelia of what they believe to be impure bloodlines."
The table was silent as everyone thought over what Bartoy had explained. Could that really be it, Van thought to himself. Could these rebels be determined to burn the entire city and its people until there was nothing left except ashes? Van prayed to the gods that that wasn't so.
"Dylen," Van started.
"I will find out as much as I can from the city," Dylen said. "I will have a report in the morning."
Van nodded. "Very good. As for the rest of you, I want all of your ears and eyes open for any possibility of a next attack."
Everyone nodded.
"Meeting adjourned."
Everyone filed out of the room. Van went to stand by the windows and looked out into the gardens. A motion caught his attention and he saw his wife bend down and smell of some new flowers in bloom.
He studied everything about her. The way the sunlight reflected off of her hair and made it shine like a bright halo. Her face was content and she closed her eyes as she brought the newly picked flower up to her face and smelled its fragrance. Van swallowed, then sighed.
'Twas the truth he was married to an angel.
Van watched as Hitomi's face rose and lit up. A moment later, Aidan came running at her, fully dressed now with a gasping Nana Boa running behind him. Van smiled and a chuckle slipped out. Aidan always did find a way to escape from Nana Boa to find his mother and father.
Van's heart skipped a beat as he watched Hitomi and Aidan hug. Van wished that he could join them, that he could wrap his arms around both of them and forget about the troubles surrounding him. But he quickly pushed that thought away and turned from the window. He was king. He had responsibilities to the people to always be a king. There was no time for him to have fun and play.
Though it didn't keep him from wishing it.
***
In a hidden part of the castle, where hardly any light was visible except for a small lit candle on a rotted table was a man sitting on a stool. His sword was propped up and he sharpened it with repeated strokes from a metal block in his hands.
Soon, he thought to himself, soon Fanelia will be cleansed of its tainted king and the rightful rulers will rise.
Soon…
Okay, okay, this is so small, isn't it?! Ohh, sorry, really I am, but I just wanted to explain what the main 'conflict'—other than Van and Hitomi falling in love—would be. And I also wanted to introduce Aidan! (And for any of you who are thinking it—and I know some of you are—Dilandau isn't the one burning the city. He's not even in this story! Sorry!
Now, here are some personal review responses:
Laka—Thanks…I think. ^_^ I try to make my disclaimers to be eye-catchers. Guess I succeeded, huh? ^_^ Thanks for the review!
Beautiful Angel Goddess—I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for the review!
Niffer—I'm glad you like how I started the story. I though that people might get confused by that. Guess not, though. ^_^ Hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
Inda—I'll write as much in the story as I can, but I can't go all the way because my parents would kill me!
SaineballZ—I know the ending was sad, but it'll get better, I promise!
Veela-Paula—I don't have a muse…I do have a ghost, though! His name is Alfred. He doesn't talk all that much. ^_^
Big-Mop-in-shorts—I love writing my stories and I'm glad that you love reading them, too!
Kaurin—you know, I'm sure you have read Kanzakia somewhere before. As a matter of fact, I think I've seen it, too. But it just seemed to go with the story, so I put it in there. And I was aiming for trying to make the beginning like a movie! I'm glad that you took it that way! And I'm working on "Coming Home"! I promise!
Daisy31—I'm glad you like it so far! And I'm working on my other fics, too! Promise!
Arcadian Gold—You're the first one who's commented about not knowing who the girl was! I promise that all will be revealed in the end!
Fireangel621—I'm not real fond of cherries, but I LOVE sugar! It makes my hyper! ^_^
Feathers of Snow (Honeypot)—I'm glad you liked it so far! Thanks for the review!
Fanny-chan2—I'm glad you like this story and "Coming Home"! I'm working on them! Promise!
Snow blossoms--*giggles* Joe Cool! Hehe! I'm glad you like my story, though! Thanks for the review!
Dreamboat Annie—I hope the empty feeling is gone now! ^_^ Thanks for the review!
Athar-Luna—Wow! I'm glad you liked it all that much! ^_^ Thanks for the review!
Jes—I'm glad you liked the first chapter! I know the ending was a bit weird, but it had to end like that so I could introduce their son! ^_^ Hope you liked this chapter too!
Sunprincesskate--*blushes* That had to be the most wonderful review I've ever gotten!! ^_^ You are so SWEET! Thanks a lot! You made me want to write a lot more! (Hope that made sense!) Thanks again and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!! ^_^
I hope you guys like what I've done with this story so far. And because it was so short, here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna give you a preview of a story that I'm working on! I won't post it for a while because I want to finish it first, but here's a teaser!
Title: Love Forbidden
Teaser Summary: (A/U) Once, two lovers vowed to be together always and to love one another forever. Yet fear soon drove them apart. Now fate must reunite the two in a time of war that holds no place for love…
So it begins…
The princess Hitomi Iris av Kanzaki stared up at the great expanse of the night sky. Her long honey blond hair shifted slightly by the breeze flowing through her open window and she sighed, resting her chin on her raised fist. Her brilliant emerald green eyes were filled with sadness and loneliness, and her heart was heavy. Life was so unfair! Because of the traditions of long ago, she was condemned to live a lonely life.
Her hand reached up to absentmindedly play with the ice pink teardrop pendant dangling around her neck. It was all she had left of her mother. Tishka, Queen of Kanzakia, had died when Hitomi was only six years old and the pain was still there. It never went away. Her mother had been the only person that had loved her as a child, and Hitomi had loved her very much. Losing her had been extremely hard.
Hitomi closed her eyes and let her memories rush past her mind's eye. Unlike most who lose a parent at a young age, Hitomi's memories were clear. She could remember everything about her mother. She had been very beautiful with long, curly honey blond hair that matched Hitomi's own, and brown eyes. She was always very loving toward Hitomi, but she had been sad, too.
Hitomi blamed it all on her father. He had never loved her mother. Hitomi didn't believe he could love anyone but his power. He had always been and would always be cold and uncaring. He enforced the Kanzakian laws with an iron fist that left no room for disobedience. He followed the laws of ancient Kanzakia. They were strict to a point, and mainly pertained to female royal family members.
A princess could never show her face to anyone but her husband on their wedding night, or related male members of her family. From the time she reached the age of five until the day she married, a princess had to wear something that covered every inch of her body. It was a disgrace worthy of death if a woman were to be seen.
Another law was that a princess could never speak to a man unless he was her husband or father or brother. Kanzakia was one of the strictest kingdoms on Gaea.
Hitomi sighed again and smoothed her hair away from her face. She had turned sixteen two days ago and soon her father would begin taking proposals for her hand in marriage. Of course he would choose the highest bidder. She would have been surprised if he didn't. In two years she would be sent away to another country and would never be able to return to Kanzakia again.
In truth Hitomi wasn't sure she would miss much of her birth country. The only thing she knew she would miss was her secret friend, Yukari Uchida. Hitomi smiled when she thought of the fiery redhead. They had met when they were only three years old, but an instant bond had been formed between them. Hitomi's mother had known about them being friends and had kept it a secret. If Hitomi's father had ever found out about their friendship, Hitomi was sure that Yukari and her family would have been killed.
Hitomi quickly shoved the horrendous thought to the back of her mind. He had never and would never find out and that's all that mattered. Hitomi would personally make sure of it.
A shooting star caught her emerald eyes as it shot across the sky. Grasping her pendant tightly, Hitomi closed her eyes and made a wish. I wish…I wish that my fate wasn't already set in stone. I wish that my future would be mine to decide where I go and with whom. I wish I could find someone to love, and to have him love me in return.
Hitomi shook her head of such foolish thoughts. She stood up and slipped into bed, turning her back on the stars that she had found so interesting a moment before. I am a fool, she thought to herself, to think that such wishes are granted. Then with a heavy heart, she drifted to sleep.
The stars watched as the sleeping princess kept her back to them, warding them off. They twinkled even brighter, as if laughing at her, telling her that they knew something she did not. But she did not see them, nor did she see how the other stars shot across the sky in a silent promise that Hitomi's life was about to change.
So, what do you think? I really hope that it as good as I want it to be!! I'll try to finish it while working on some other new stories and the stories that I have posted right now! Well, C-ya later!!
P.S. Don't forget to review! ^_~