AN: Hi everyone! It's me, no I haven't died. I felt so bad about not updating, I decided to answer some mail, but I might have left someone out…if I did, thanks for reviewing anyway!!!
Neithan02: *runs away* DON'T KICK ME!!! PLEASE!!! I'm RUNNING- I mean WRITING as fast as I can…
Dreamboat Annie: Sorry to leave you in suspense, but it's SO MUCH FUN!!!!!! Waka waka waka!!!!! Yes, I know Van was being mean to Hitomi, but he can't help it, he's trying not too…but…it's about to get a lot worse…*hint hint*…Well, I know this chapter took a lot longer than I hoped but…oh well, just read. Enjoy!!!!
Gtkvan: Question. Who's Maleficent? Oh, and in future chapters, you are gonna really hate Calypso. And…go easy on Van?...NEVER…I'M GOING TO MAKE BOTH VAN AND HITOMI SUFFER!!!!!!!! Muahahahahaha……..well I better shut up before I give something away. Thanks for reviewing. Every bit helps!!!
Dilandau-is-My-Boyfriend: LOL…Enjoy your dinner and I hope you're still not sick. I'll be looking forwards for your hp fic. Hope your doing well. Enjoy this next chapter…heh heh…I'm evil…
Dark faerie2: Why do I keep people in suspense? Because it's fun!!!!!!! DUH!!!!!!!
Kaurin: I don't know what glomp means either. It sounds something like jumping on something and then they fall to the floor…Glomp…whatever…as for Hitomi, she's not completely clueless, but that'll be revealed in future chapters…Oh, I wrote that Japanese thing a long time ago. Currently, I'm taking Japanese as my foreign language, so…if YOU need any help, you can ask me!...and I don't mind long reviews, in fact, I love them. They make me feel special that someone took their time to talk to me *sighs happily* …oh my name? Well, I don't know if you follow the show Yu-Gi-oh but that's where my name comes from. Just in case you don't follow Yu-Gi-oh, here's how my name works: The main character (Yugi) has an accessory hanging from his neck, in the shape of an upside-down pyramid called the "Millennium Puzzle" ,so, it's Yugi's Millennium Puzzle… Yugis M Puzzle…Yugismpuzzle!!! Ha ha!!!! I really like this name. this name is also my e-mail address, but I may have to change it cause I'm getting too much junk mail…well, that's it, I think I've blabbed on long enough, so, I'll just let you read the story… :P Thanks for Reviewing…*glomps you*…LOL….
Inda: Hee hee….yeah, Calypso is quite the…booger…sorry but she's gonna have to stick around a while longer. Thanks for reading *grins* SHE LOVES MY STORY!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!
Sean Montgomery: Yay, someone else likes my story. No, I don't mind the late review. I love ALL reviews…I'm that desperate. Oh…who died…Sirius Black…*sob*…I really liked him…I was depressed after reading that book for weeks, and I still don't have the heart to read it again, although some really funny stuff happened with Fred and George…but if you want to find out what, either read the book, or REVIEW AGAIN!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA……and then I'll tell you what happened!!!!! Deal?! : P
Disclaimer: Oh, I was writing a letter to my "MOST DEVOTED READER" and I got really hyper and wrote this, and it was her idea to use it as a disclaimer, so, here it is!!!!
She asked me something about why I was leaving everyone in suspense in my stories, and I replied:
As for my suspense stuff....heh heh heh.......you ain't seen nothin' yet..... I'm gonna be soooooo evil later on in the story.....ya wanna know what's gonna happen.... I'll give you a hint......... I'm going to kill *Hitomi, Van, Merle, Calypso, Phoebe, and Celina dash in and cover Yugismpuzzle's mouth * .....mhhmhmhhmhhmmh......in one of the upcoming chapters.... *group sigh*
Hitomi: that was close
Calypso: Yeah, you almost gave away the ending. Are you nuts?!
Van: Wait a minute...who is the one who's gonna die?
Hitomi, Calypso, Phoebe, Celina: *sigh*
Merle: Don't you remember Lord Van???!!!!
*Merle whispers into Van's ear*
*Van's eyes go wide*
Van: OOOOOOOooooo.....she IS evil.... *to Yugismpuzzle*, tell me, is your life's mission to get everyone to love your stories and then spend their lives hunting you down for killing ...'you know who' ...*winks*
Yugismpuzzle: Um...no, but it's gonna be great, and....I just LOVE being evil!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA...........
Hitomi: Uh oh...who gave her the pixy sticks?
Celina: *eyes grow wide* PIXI STIKS!!!! I LOVE PIXI STIKS!!!!! GIMMI ONE!!!
Merle: no, are you crazy?! We've already got one demented member among us; we don't need two....uh oh....
*Celina has turned into Dilandau*
Dilandau: *pulls out flamethrower* GIVE ME THE PIXI STIKS AND NOBODY GETS HURT!!!!!!!!!!!
Everyone: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh *runs away*
Dilandau: hey, come back here!!!!!!! *chases everyone with flame thrower*
Yugismpuzzle: *sigh* Well, that was interesting.....any who, I just want to say that…uh oh…
*everyone runs past the computer, Dilandau is burning everything in sight*
Yugismpuzzle: Okay, I've had enough…time to put the flame thrower away…*snaps fingers*
*Dilandau turns into a kitty Dilandau*
Dilandau: Awww man!!!!! *run's away, tail swinging back and fourth*
*smoke from fire lifts away. A message is burned into the wall*
…SHE DOESN'T OWN ESCAFLOWNE…DON'T BOTHER ASKING…
Chapter fourteen: Betrayed By Those You Love
The next morning, Celina got ready early so she would have plenty of time to look for Hitomi. She had looked for her the previous evening, but she didn't know where she was. Later that night, she met up with Merle who said that she and Hitomi had been in the village all day and didn't return to the castle till dinner time. Celina had then left to go searching for Hitomi, but still couldn't find her. Therefore, Celina had decided to look for Hitomi in the morning.
Once again, she wasn't having any luck as to finding Hitomi's whereabouts. Now standing in the middle of the castle courtyard, Celina sighed in frustration. No matter how long she searched, she always seemed to just miss Hitomi.
"You're very funny to watch, did you know?" came a highly amused voice from behind her.
Celina whirled around to see Merle looking up at her, smiling. "How long have you been following me?"
"Just long enough to watch you circle the entire castle grounds." Merle said with a laugh. "Ya lookin' for Hitomi?"
"You know very well I'm looking for her. Why didn't you just come out and tell me where she is? You do know where she is, don't you? You wouldn't be smiling like that if you didn't."
Merle's grin, if possible, got even larger. "She's at the lake."
"Thank you."
Celina and Merle began walking towards the lake, which was a little less than a mile away.
"So, are you going to tell her what Dilandau said?"
"I haven't decided yet. I don't want to say anything about it until I know for sure that Calypso isn't entirely honest. The last thing I need to do is spread a false rumor."
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Merle mumbled. "But still, if Dilandau is right, I don't want Hitomi to walk around and be unaware."
"But if we tell Hitomi, she'll no doubt run off to tell Lord Van."
"Good."
"Not good." Celina said firmly. "If our information is false, Lord Van might end up doing something he'll regret. He might even do something to damage the alliance between Circe and Fanelia. And if that happens, Fanelia will once again be at war."
"Oh, I see…" Merle looked a little downtrodden. "Sorry…"
Celina smiled at the cat-girl. "No need to apologize, you're just trying to help."
"So, how are we going to find out if our hunch is real?"
"I don't know. I guess we'll just have to keep our eyes and ears open."
"Oh." Merle sighed, a little disappointed. "I see…"
Celina looked down at the cat-girl. "What's wrong?"
"I'm worried about Lord Van. I didn't see him at all yesterday and I still couldn't find him today and…well, I'm worried that Calypso did something to him with her magic. I mean, it's not like him to miss breakfast twice in a row. He's just been acting strange ever since…well you know."
"Yeah, I know. But keep in mind, you're assuming that Dilandau was telling the truth that night…"
"I know it's the truth! That woman is not normal!"
"Hmm…" Celina nodded.
Merle had a point. Celina doubted that Dilandau had been lying, but she didn't know for sure. She had thought that she would have been able to sense if he would lie, but she didn't even know that he had unsheathed her sword. The bottom line was they were not certain of anything. All they had was a hunch…but if the hunch was wrong, the consequences had the potential to destroy the entire land. This was dangerous information they were tainting with.
The two girls, consumed in their own thoughts, didn't speak until they reached the lake.
"There she is!" Merle pointed to the east corner of the lake where Hitomi was walking. She strolled along the lake shore, occasionally picking up stones and tossing them into the water.
"Hitomi!" Merle yelled.
Hitomi turned and saw Celina and Merle coming over the hill, walking towards her. "Hey Merle!" Hitomi waved back. Celina and Merle jogged up to Hitomi. Their feet clunked as they stepped on the rocks.
"You know, Hitomi, you're a very hard person to find." Celina laughed.
Hitomi smiled. "Sorry, I just needed some time to think by myself."
"Did we interrupt you?" Merle asked innocently.
"No," Hitomi said with a wave of her hand. "That's alright."
Hitomi resumed walking along the shore as Celina and Merle joined her.
"So, what's bugging you?" Celina asked while winking at Merle.
Hitomi shook her head. "It's probably nothing."
"Come on, what is it?"
Hitomi shrugged her shoulders, not wanted to make a big deal out of it. "Van just said something weird last night."
"Oh, you found Lord Van? What'd he say?" Merle asked excitedly.
Hitomi bit her lip. "Well, basically, he told me to leave him alone."
Celina and Merle exchanged a look before Merle spoke again. "That's it? That's what's worrying you?"
Hitomi stared at the ground. "Well…no. It wasn't what he said, it was…how he said it." She shook her head. "I don't know what I'm talking about. It's not a big deal. He was probably just a little irritated and I caught him at the wrong moment." She said, more to herself than to the two girls next to her.
Hitomi's eyes gazed all over the ground until they focused on a particular rock. She bent down and picked it up. She ran her fingers over the smooth flat surface and smiled. "Have you guys ever skipped rocks before?"
Merle shook her head but Celina nodded and smiled. "I used to do it all the time when I was little. My brother and I would go down to the river and see who could skip the most…"
Merle laughed. "Which one of you skipped the mos-" Merle's smile faded when she looked at Celina's face. Luckily, Hitomi's back was turned, otherwise, she would have seen the frightened look on Celina's face and the way her eyes flashed from dark blue to crimson spontaneously. Celina's fists were clenched and her face was mingled with the expression of amusement, fear, and effort.
Merle whispered, "Celina, what's happening?"
Instantly, Celina's head jerked around towards the hill they had come from, but her face returned to normal, her eyes still as blue as the lake before them. "She's coming."
Hitomi turned around. "Who's coming?" Hitomi fallowed Celina's gaze towards the south hill. A moment later, two figures immerged, and sure enough, one of them was…
"Calypso." Merle grumbled.
Hitomi squinted her eyes. "You're right, it is her. Celina, how did you know she was coming?"
"Just a guess, I guess." Celina offered.
Hitomi shrugged and turned back to the two figures. Merle used this opportunity to cast Celina a questioning stare. Celina answered with a single whispered word.
"Dilandau."
Merle gasped. 'Dilandau wasn't lying. He can sense Calypso's aura.'
"Van is with her…" Hitomi muttered quietly, but Merle and Celina heard. They also heard a tint of sorrow in her voice, but they didn't point it out. Sure enough, when they looked back up at the figures, the second one was clearly identified as Van. The two of them had their arms locked with each other and Van was escorting Calypso.
Slowly, the three women walked towards the approaching couple. Celina noticed that Hitomi became tense and hesitant once she realized that Van was coming down the hill. Obviously she didn't suspect Calypso of any foul play yet she was worried about seeing Van. Her behavior was abnormal.
'Something else happened last night between her and Van that she's not telling us…'
Once the two groups came within speaking distance of each other, the three women curtsied, however Hitomi did awkwardly. When they rose back up, Calypso flashed a dazzling smile at the three of them yet Van's face remained emotionless. Calypso's gaze lingered on Hitomi for a moment before she tightened her grip on Van's arm and leaned her body into him slightly. As Hitomi saw this, she held her breath a little longer than necessary and she felt like she had swallowed a boulder.
"I…um…" Hitomi stuttered, a little unsure of what to say. "Um…Lord Van, may I speak to you for a moment?"
Merle looked at Hitomi. 'Since when did Hitomi call him Lord Van?'
"Yes, you may." He said simply.
He didn't move. Hitomi grew even more nervous. "In private, please." She asked, a little more stern this time, trying to boost her confidence.
Van turned his head to look in Calypso's eyes. They lingered for a moment before Calypso nodded and released his arm. Van walked through and past Celina and Merle as Hitomi followed him from behind.
Calypso's smile still remained on her lips. 'This should be interesting…'
Celina and Merle kept their backs to Calypso and instead watched Hitomi and Van walk a fair distance away and then stop, face each other, and start talking.
Van crossed his arms. "What's this about?"
"I wanted to talk to you about last night."
"Alright."
Hitomi swallowed. He wasn't making this easy on her, so instead of easing into the subject, Hitomi came right out and said it. "Van, you're acting strange. What is wrong with you?"
Van scowled. "What did I tell you about addressing me informally?"
"See? That's what I mean. This isn't you! You've never cared about what I called you!"
"Things change!" Van snapped.
"Not like this!" Already, the conversation was turning into a shouting match. "Ever since you married Calypso, you've been different."
Poor Van, trapped within his own mind, could do nothing to help the situation. All he could do was watch as Calypso forced him to break Hitomi's heart as she pleaded with him. Soon, this treatment was going to drive Van insane.
'Stop ruining my life! Leave Hitomi alone! Calypso, do you hear me? Leave Hitomi alone!' Van yelled mentally.
Suddenly, everything around Van went black and he realized he was standing alone in a black room.
'Am I free?'
"Of course not."
Van whirled around and saw Calypso standing several feet away from him. Impulsively, Van ran towards Calypso, in hopes of strangling the woman. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him, but he never got closer to her, yet she remained standing there, smiling. Eventually, Van got the hint that he wouldn't be able to reach her and he stopped running. Instead, he pulled a dagger out of his boot and threw it at Calypso's head, but the moment it left his hand, it vanished.
Calypso let out a laugh as Van scowled.
'Where are we?!' Van demanded.
"We're still at the lake, remember?" she said with a grin. Van began to get the feeling that her grin would haunt him forever. "Look." She raised her arm and pointed behind Van. He turned around and he saw himself arguing and yelling at Hitomi. "We're inside your mind. I just thought you'd enjoy the show better if you could walk around…well, so to speak…have fun."
'Calypso!' But when Van turned back around, she was gone. Now, he could only watch helplessly as the possessed Van continued to shout at Hitomi. 'No…Hitomi…'
"How can you not see it? The Van I knew before this marriage is night and day compared to you."
Van uncrossed his arms and pointed in Hitomi's face. "You dare to judge me? I am king of this country and…"
Hitomi interrupted. "Do you hear what you're saying?! I'm trying to tell you-"
SLAP
'No!'
Van's hand flew before Hitomi could finish her sentence. The force of the blow spun Hitomi around and knocked her to the ground. She put her hand on her cheek where it stung and looked up at Van with astonishment. He pointed his finger at her and glared.
"Don't ever interrupt me again or you will suffer the consequences."
'Look what she's making me do…even if I somehow get free of Calypso's spell, Hitomi will never forgive me.'
In his mind's eye, he replayed the last image he saw of Hitomi. She was looking up at him with hurt, pain, astonishment, and what's worse, betrayal. He had betrayed her. He promised to take care of her, to protect her, no matter what. But he couldn't even protect her from himself.
'I've already lost her…'
Van turned his heal and walked back towards Calypso without another glance in Hitomi's direction. Meanwhile, Celina and Merle stared wide eyed at Van as he strolled past them without even looking at them. Merle took a deep breath, as if she was going to tell him off, but Celina grabbed her arm and whispered, "Not now!"
Van extended his arm to his bride and she accepted it. The two of them walked away, back the way they came. Merle and Celina stared as Calypso turned her head and shot a triumphant smile at them. Celina scowled before dashing away towards Hitomi. Merle stood there for a moment, watching the couple walk away, but keeping her eyes locked with Calypso's.
"I'm on to you." She mumbled before running after Celina.
However, Calypso somehow heard what Merle had said. 'I think it's time to get rid of them…they're becoming intrusive.' She frowned.
The trapped Van suddenly saw Calypso re-materialize in his mind. Van was just about to scream at her but she raised her hand for his silence and a black hand immerged from the ground and gagged Van so he couldn't speak. When he tried to pull it off, another arm appeared and tied his arms and legs together. He lost his balance and fell to the floor. After struggling for a few moments, he stopped and growled at Calypso.
"You're friends are becoming a nuisance, and I think your cat friend is starting to realize who I am, and no doubt she'll warn your precious seeress and Shezare's sister." She paused and allowed her words to sink their affect on Van. Sure enough, his eyes grew wide with dread and he began struggling against his bindings and screaming incoherently behind the gag. "Sorry Van, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to get rid of them. After all, I can't have them messing with my plans." Calypso chuckled. "I'll be sure to tell Hitomi you said hi, okay? Enjoy the show."
And with that, she vanished once again, and the bindings vanished as well. Van jumped back up to his feet and ran to the spot Calypso had been standing.
'Calypso, come back here! I'll rip your throat out! Calypso! Do you hear me? Stop this right now!'
Van dropped to his knees and bashed his fist against the cold hard ground again, and again, and again, until he wore himself out and his knuckles started to bleed. His arms shook as he used them to support himself. His breath came in short, wheezing gasps. His eyes were wide, almost as if he were seeing something unreal. Watching his life literally pass before him, unable to do anything to change it, was driving him mad.
'This can't…be happening…Hitomi…'
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
"Hitomi!" Merle yelled as she ran up to the fallen girl. Celina knelt down next to Hitomi and tried to snap her out of the trance she was in. Her eyes were wide, swollen red, and brimmed with tears that threatened to fall. Her cheeks were flushed despite her effort to cover her face with her hand. In truth, the stinging of her cheek was not excruciatingly painful, but the person who delivered the blow hurt her deeper than any physical wound could. She stared ahead, ignoring the comments made by Celina and Merle, as Van and Calypso disappeared over the hill. Over and over again, she played in her head the look on Van's face before he walked away.
'…it was like he didn't even know me…'
"Hitomi!" Merle yelled, again. This time she caught Hitomi's attention. The cat girl flopped down next to Hitomi with a sad expression on her face. "Are you okay?" she asked delicately. Hitomi's eyes finally met with Merle's and froze for a moment. Merle watched as Hitomi's eyes began to fill. She began to shake her head slowly and then violently before choking.
"No, I'm not okay!"
Hitomi buried her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. Merle wrapped her furry arms around her, trying to comfort her. After only a minute, Hitomi managed to gain control of her crying, and stopped. She wiped her face with the back of her hand and finally looked up at Celina, who was kneeling in front of her.
"Sorry." She mumbled.
"It's not you who should be sorry, it's Van! He had no reason to do that!" Merle blurted out before Celina could stop her.
Celina sighed. 'That girl has no self control…but still, she's right. In all these past years, I've never seen Van loose his temper like that. It was too fast to only happen in a matter of seconds, although the two of them were yelling pretty loud…something else must have contributed to the fight…'
"Hitomi, what happened last night between you and Van?"
Hitomi looked down, took a deep breath, and told them everything. Every little detail. By the time she was finished, both Merle and Celina's faces were in deep frowns.
Merle was the first to comment. "That's strange. That doesn't sound like him, but then again, that show he just put on doesn't sound like him either."
Hitomi nodded in agreement. "He's been acting strange, and that's what I just now told him, before he…lost his temper."
Celina looked down at the grass and pondered. "It doesn't make sense."
"Of course it doesn't." said Hitomi, as if it were already obvious.
Celina shook her head. "No, I mean, Merle and I were expecting something strange to happen, just not with Van."
Hitomi looked confused. "I don't understand."
Celina looked at Merle, silently asking permission. She nodded and Celina began to explain. "Merle and I were expecting something to happen regarding Calypso." Hitomi frowned, looked at Merle and then Celina again, and shrugged her shoulders before Celina continued. "Hitomi, we suspect that Calypso is not all she seems to be. We think she's hiding something big."
"Extremely big." In piped Merle.
"Magically big, if you get my meaning."
Hitomi's eyes grew wide as she began to understand a little of what they were hinting towards. "Magically!? But how…why? What does she want?"
Celina shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "We don't know that yet, but whatever it is, it can't be good if she's hiding it."
Hitomi looked stunned, and for a moment, she even forgot about Van. "How did you find out? Did you see her do something?"
Celina shot Merle a nervous glance. Merle merely shrugged and said, "You might as well tell her."
"Tell me what?"
Celina took a deep breath. "The other night, we spoke with Dilandau…"
"What!? Dilandau?! You set him loose? Celina, that's dangerous!"
Celina raised her arms in the air in defense. "I know, but just hear me out. When I first saw Calypso, that day when we arrived from Asturia, I felt something. Well, actually, Dilandau felt something. Apparently Calypso has a magical aura that surrounds her, very similar to Van's."
"Oh." Suddenly the seriousness of the problem became apparent.
"Yeah, but it gets worse. The other women from Circe that came with Calypso, they all have the same aura around them too. Which means…?" Celina gestured for Hitomi to finish, just making sure she understood what was going on.
Sure enough, "That means that this is no accident. They're here for a reason. But why?"
Good, she was now up to speed, but she had just asked the question that had been nagging at them ever since they found out their information. "We don't know, yet, but we needed to tell you."
Hitomi's eyes shifted downward. "But that doesn't explain…Van."
"True, he may be a separate issue, but still, we have to find a way to warn him. Not today though. I think we should wait till he cools down a bit."
Hitomi nodded and tried to accept this more optimistic view. Celina stood up and offered Hitomi a hand. She took it and pulled herself up.
In an effort to lighten the mood, Merle offered a suggestion. "Let's go back to the castle and get some food!"
The three of them smiled and made their way back to the castle.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
'Attention everyone, our plans may have been discovered. Find Allen Shezare's sister, the young cat girl, and the seeress. Get rid of them immediately.'
'Understood.'
'As you wish.'
'Yes mam.'
'Affirmative.'
'Right away Majesty.'
…
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
The three women wandered the hallways of the palace, heading for the kitchens since breakfast had long past and lunch wasn't due for another two hours. The three of them walked in a line, passing doors, windows, and draperies, not even paying attention to the spectacular artistry. Hitomi normally would have noticed if she hadn't had other things on her mind. Eventually, they passed a woman servant who was dusting a tapestry. The woman looked up at Hitomi and immediately stopped cleaning. She gave a short curtsey before addressing her.
"Lady Hitomi, the Circe ambassadors have been looking for you."
"Me?" Hitomi responded, wearily.
"Yes, well, actually, they're looking for all three of you."
Merle and Celina looked at each other, aghast. 'They must be onto us!'
Hitomi's eyes grew wide for a moment before returning to normal. She bowed her head slightly, as was the custom, to the maid. "Thank you for telling me."
The woman smiled, unaware of the terror she had just inflicted, and continued on with her cleaning.
Hitomi looked back at Merle and Celina, gave them a nod with her head, signaling them to continue walking. They proceeded down the corridor till they reached a corner. The three of them dashed into it and whispered franticly to each other.
"They must have realized we found out about their secret."
"This is all my fault." Mumbled Merle.
Celina looked down at the cat girl. "Why, what happened?"
"When she was walking away, I mumbled something. I didn't think she heard me, but I guess I was wrong. I gave us away."
Celina sighed. 'She doesn't realize how loud she really talks…'
"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now. What we need to do is find Van and speak to him alone. It can't wait till tomorrow."
Hitomi began to protest but Celina raised a hand to silence her. "We'll all talk to him. You won't be alone this time. But we need to make sure that he's alone. I don't want Calypso breathing down our necks."
"Agreed."
"Come on then, let's go find Van."
All three of them looked around to make sure no one was looking at them before the continued to casually walk down the stone hallways. Hitomi couldn't help but want to walk as silently as possible, almost fearing one of the Circe ambassadors to pop out from the walls and reprimand her. Celina's books clunked with each step she took, despite her efforts to muffle them. Merle's feet even padded along no matter what she did with them. All of them were self-conscious.
Soon, the three pairs of footsteps fell into line so when they walked, the noises occurred at the same moment. For a while, they only heard the thump, thump, thump of their foot steps when suddenly a new sound reached their ears.
Thump…Thump…Clunk…Thump…
Some one else…
Thump…Thump…Clunk….Thump….
Someone else was walking…
Merle took a quick glance behind her and saw a woman in a familiar silver gown. The dress was all she needed to see before turning back around and yelling, "They found us! Run!"
Merle dashed forward, brushing her shoulders between Celina and Hitomi. The other two girls didn't even look back. They looked at Merle's retreating form and sprinted to catch up. Their eyes were wide as they ran as fast as their legs would carry them. Soon they caught up to Merle and dashed around a corner. Merle skidded slightly, Hitomi touched her hand to the floor as she turned, and Celina pushed off the opposite wall and continued to run down another dark corridor.
They ran for their lives although they couldn't hear any footsteps behind them. Their breath came in quick raspy gasps as they fought to continue their impossible pace.
Merle ran around another corner and Hitomi and Celina followed. Suddenly all three of them skidded to a halt.
There was a wall.
It was a dead end. They whirled around to go in another direction, only to see the woman in the silver gown blocking their only means of escape.
They were trapped…
AN: Ha, I finished. I'm so glad I got this chapter done. This is where everything gets interesting. And you know what…I want to be more evil than usual. I'm going to give you a hint of an upcoming chapter. All right…here it is…
Calypso smiled with a demon look glinting in her eye. Van stared at her, blankly, waiting for his next order. Calypso glanced down at the cowering form of Hitomi before locking eyes with Van.
"Kill her…"
hahahahahahha, aren't I evil…but that's all the taste test you're gonna get for now. If you wanna find out what really happens, stay tunned for future chapters.
See ya,
Oh, and don't forget to review!!!!