A/N: Finally, an update. Took me long enough, huh. By the way, in case you don't already know, I've started another story. There's only one chapter so far, but read it and tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: Me no own. And I'm too lazy to write a funny disclaimer.

Chapter Nine: A New Plan

It's funny how time seems to slow down when you're in a hurry. Van was soaring through the night sky to where the beam of light had landed so fast, that he would have seemed like a white blur had anyone actually saw him. Focusing all his energy on flying faster, Van didn't notice that the air behind him was swamped with feathers. With each beat of his wings, even more feathers flew into the air. Only one though was on his mind.

'I've got to find Hitomi.'

Although it seemed like hours, Van reached his destination in only a few minutes. He searched the ground below him until he finally found what he was looking for. In the field, he could see Hitomi running towards him, waving her arms in the air, calling out his name.

"Hitomi!"

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Hitomi could feel her body soaring through the air, a blinding light all around her. When her feet suddenly hit the ground, she lost her balance and fell to her knees. Once the light disappeared, she realized that she was in a completely different place altogether. She was standing in the middle of a grassy field with a few trees and a dirt road. She couldn't see much because it appeared to be night time, but when she looked back up at the sky and saw the Earth suspended in mid-air, her suspicions were confirmed.

"I did it." Hitomi whispered, "I made it. I'm on Gaea!" Hitomi threw down her track bag and jumped and whooped and hollered, tears of joy swelling up in her eyes. Had anyone seen her doing this, they would have thought she was insane. After a few minutes, after she calmed herself, she took a closer look at her surroundings to try and figure out where on Gaea she was. It didn't take long for her to find out. Out in the distance was an all too familiar castle, brightly lit and highly decorated, for a party it seemed.

"I'm in Fanelia!"

Hitomi simply stood there, staring intently at the castle, never blinking for fear of not being able to open her eyes again. After a while her vision began to get foggy, and she could have sworn she saw a white cloud coming towards her. She finally blinked and sighed when the world around her stayed the same, even the cloud.

"Wait a minute…is that?" Hitomi squinted her eyes, trying to make out the object. Soon she realized that it wasn't a cloud that was coming towards her, it was Van. Behind him was a trail of feathers, flying through the air rapids created by each beat of his wings. Hitomi's heart jumped for joy and she turned around, grabbed her track bag, and threw it over her shoulder. Running as fast as she could, she waved her arms and screamed, trying to get his attention.

"Van! I'm over here! Van!" grinning like a madman, Hitomi put on a burst of speed when she saw him look right at her and call her name. Once again, time was playing tricks on the both of them. No matter how hard she tried, Hitomi couldn't seem to move faster. Every beat of her heart, every step, every breath she took seemed to echo all around her.

'Why am I moving so slowly?'

As her footsteps pounded against the long grass, nesting birds were startled by her sudden presence, but before they could fly away, Hitomi had already passed them. By the time the birds were in flight, Hitomi was long gone. All awhile, she never took her eyes off of Van. 

'He's moving so fast. Why can't I go any faster?'

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Princess, no…wait, Queen Calypso re-entered the ball room, in search for her mother.

'She's not going to like this.'

Picking up the front of her dress, she descended the staircase that lead to the dance floor. From the left and the right, she received bows and curtsies from nearby ladies and gentlemen. In return, she gave them each a slight nod to acknowledge their presence, and then they returned to whatever they were doing. Calypso paused once she reached the bottom of the stair case and surveyed the room. It didn't take her long to find her mother, but something else caught her attention. The cat girl, Merle, was dancing happily with a man who appeared to be a Fanelian soldier. Calypso sighed in disgust.

'This country is so twisted. Humans and animals living together? It's disgusting. I should have put a stronger spell on that councilor. He didn't hurt that girl nearly enough.'

Calypso's heart burned with anger when ever she saw a flash of Merle's smile.

'I'll deal with you two later…'

Calypso made her way to the left hand corner of the room where her mother was talking to a number of Fanelian nobles.

'She's already making connections. Never a wasted moment.'

When she was only a few feet away, Calypso caught her mother's eye, sensing the need that her daughter wanted to speak to her, the queen of Cyrce excused herself and joined her daughter.

Calypso gave a small curtsy. "Good evening mother. Care to join me outside for a moment."

Slightly raising an eyebrow, the queen nodded. "Of course."

The two of them walked side by side towards the balcony door. Once they were outside, Calypso shut the door behind them so no one could listen in on their conversation.

"Surly you wouldn't pull me away from those people over silly matters. What happened?"

Getting right to the point, Calypso responded in a serious tone. "The seeress from the Mystic Moon has returned to Gaea."

"What?! How can this be?"

"I'm not sure, yet"

"Does King Van know about it?"

"Yes. I saw him fly towards a beam of light. Surly he will bring the seeress to the castle."

"Damn it. You were supposed to be keeping an eye on him."

Calypso bowed her head in submission. "I apologize."

"It's no matter. We'll have to think quickly. You may be married to Van but the seeress may still be able to reach him. And that could make quite a few bumps in the road for us. We need to find a way to separate them."

"I have a suggestion mother."

The queen raised her brow. "Let me hear it."

"I don't think merely separating them will be enough. Somehow, they will find a way to be together. Instead, what if we made the seeress believe that Van didn't love her? I can use my magic to control him."

"You are already going to be using quite a bet of magic on him. Trying to suppress feelings of love is a very difficult task, even for us Sirens. Are you sure you can handle it?"  

"Yes. I can do this."

The Queen stared at her daughter, a look of determination on her face. Finally, she sighed and gave in. "Alright. We will proceed with our plan."

"Thank You. I promise, I won't let you down."

The Queen merely nodded at her daughter. "I am returning to Cyrce in the morning. Send word when your first task is complete."

"Yes, mother."

And with a slight nod to her daughter, they both returned to the party inside.

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'What are those two up too?'

Phoebe watched Queen Calypso and her mother walk onto the balcony and shut the glass door.

'Whatever it is, it must be serious of Calypso is worried about people overbearing their conversation. Lucky for me, I don't have to listen to find out what they are saying…'

Following the movement of their mouths, Phoebe began reading the two royals lips.

…"The seeress from the Mystic Moon has returned to Gaea."…

At this, Phoebe's heart gave a huge leap. 'She's returned? There may be hope for us yet.'

But as soon as she read the rest of the conversation, her once leaping heart now burned with anger.

'I don't know how I'm going to prevent this.'

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As the distance between Van and Hitomi got smaller, time started to resume its normal pace. When the distance was only about ten feet, Hitomi leapt into Van's outstretched arms as the momentum of his wings carried them both into the sky. The two of them just clung to each other, afraid to let go, love radiating from each other.

"Van, I missed you so much."

"I missed you too…"

Van's wings carried the two of them back onto solid ground, and the two of them finally removed their vice-grip. However, they were still holding each other's hands. Van was the first to speak up.

"How did you get here? You didn't have the pendant."

Hitomi smiled. "The last time I saw you, you left this behind." She gestured to the feather that was hanging around her neck. "I heard your voice coming through it."

Van's eyes widened in surprise. "That' what happened with the pendent! That's how I found out you were in trouble. I heard your voice coming though the pendent. You were crying for help."

"I hear your voice too. You kept apologizing. Why?" Van's features suddenly turned grim. Soon after, so did Hitomi's. "What happened? What's wrong?"

Van took a step away from Hitomi, removing her hands from his. 'What if she hates me?' Van couldn't bring himself to look into her eyes. He felt too ashamed.

"Hitomi I…"

"It's ok Van. You can tell me."

"I…I got married. But please, let me explain!"

"You…got married?" Hitomi's heart was breaking with every second. It took all the strength she had not to run away and start crying. But Van had an "explanation", and she was going to hear him out. She nodded to let him know that she was listening.

"The country Cyrce threatened to declare war on Fanelia if I didn't agree on a marriage alliance with them. I had no choice but to accept. I couldn't risk putting the people in another war. Please believe me, Hitomi. I had no choice. I love you. I don't want to lose you." Van looked directly into Hitomi's eyes to see a look of pure shock on her face. She still seemed to be taking it all in. for a long time, she didn't respond, she just stood there, staring into nothingness. So Van made the first move. He took a step forward and cradled Hitomi in his arms, and whispered in her ear, "I love you. Please forgive me."

Hitomi half wanted to slap him and then demand that he was only joking, but she knew in her heart that he wasn't. And Van wasn't a liar. He did love her. She wouldn't have heard his cry and felt his sorrow unless it was genuine.

Hitomi raised her arms and returned Van's embrace, making him tighten his hold on her.

"I believe you." Hitomi whispered. Van let out an audible sigh. "I love you too…but what are we going to do? If you're married, what's going to happen to us?"

"I don't know. But we'll figure it out…together."

A/N: *sniff* Isn't that sweet? *blows nose* I love this chapter. Now, tell me what you think! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!! By the way, the next chapter may take a while, cause I'm not sure what I want to happen next, but I'm also writing another story that's going to have a lot more humor in it. Read it and tell me what you think! JA NE!

P.S.

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