Chapter 5: Here Comes the Bride
"Where do you think you're going, Hitomi? Mind telling me?"
Hitomi froze. She knew by that instant who owned that brooding voice. Cautiously, she turned around and hid her duffel bag behind her back in a futile gesture of not exposing her plan.
"Van! What are you doing here at this time of the night?" Hitomi asked, feigning innocence, and at the same time faintly ignoring his inquiry.
"Where are you going at this time of the night?" He mocked in sarcasm.
"Well...Uhmm... I'm going to the school track field. Practice..." She uttered the only feasible explanation that came into mind, hoping with all her might that Van would believe her. After all, she had been in the track team all her high school life and there was a competition due in the coming month. Van knew that.
"Is that so, huh? Tell me the truth, Hitomi." Van's brows were still knitted in a frown.
"That's the truth. Why are you here, anyway?" She snapped back.
"Your brother told me he heard you talking to Dilandau on the phone, reminding him to pick you up at 12 on the dot. What did that mean?" He probed.
Hitomi gasped. 'That brat, I'll get him for this,' she mumbled curtly.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing. Dilandau is going to pick me up because I asked him to accompany me while I practice. "
"Forget about Dilandau. I'm going with you instead, and don't you dare say otherwise." Van said in the firm tone he always used when trying to reprimand Hitomi. "Besides, I've something to give you," he mumbled almost shyly, but Hitomi failed to notice.
"Alright! But I have to call Dilly first,"Hitomi insisted. When she saw the disapproval on Van's face, she added harshly, "No call; no going with me!"
"Okay. Five minutes." Van agreed reluctantly.
Hitomi swished forth her duffel bag from behind her and quickly fumbled inside for her cell phone. When she was able to find it in a matter of minutes, she pressed the memory button and held it between her cheek and her right ear. All the while, Van watched her actions with growing irritability.
Hitomi stomped her foot impatiently as the phone kept ringing. When Dilandau finally picked up, she demanded, "Where are you?" She turned to her back for Van not to hear their conversation.
"Hitomi, is that you?" Dilandau asked, his voice laced with sleepiness.
"Yes. Who did you expect? We're supposed to meet at 12 midnight here at my place, remember?" she reminded.
"I'm here outside your gate, Tomi. I've been waiting for like an eternity, you know?" Dilandau answered in annoyance.
"Oh. I'm sorry." Hitomi shamefully muttered an apology.
"What's keeping you?"
"A problem just came up while I was on my way out. Van's here, Dilly," she said in a worried tone.
"Van? What's he doing there?"
"Apparently, my little spoiled brat of a brother informed him that he heard us talking about meeting up here. Now Van wants to go with me. I said to him I was just going to the school track field to practice."
"What if we just abandon the plan, Hitomi?" Dilandau suggested.
"Dilly! We can't!" Hitomi fiercely objected.
"Well, maybe we can do it some other time then. I'm really sleepy."
"If we can't do it now, we can never do it. The wedding is only a week away. I can't get married to Van, Dilandau." Helplessness and anxiety were in Hitomi's voice as she spoke the words.
"What good will running away do, Hitomi?"
"I just found out this morning that I'm pregnant." Hitomi was choking back the tears that had started welling up in her eyes. She was waiting for Dilly's answer when someone rudely grabbed the phone from her hand.
"You can go to hell for all I care, Dilandau! Go home and never bother us again!" Van shouted, wild anger visible on his face.
Hitomi was in shock- concerned that Van had heard her last words. When she regained her composure and figured he hadn't, she snatched back the phone from him and eyed him angrily. "Dilly, don't listen to Van. Wait for me, I'm coming out."
"What are you doing?" Van's angry gaze fastened on Hitomi's face. Hitomi secretly flinched from his ominous expression, but she willed herself to stand brave against him.
"To tell you frankly and honestly, I'm running away. And there's nothing you can do to stop me." She held her head high.
"Oh yeah? Well, then try me." Van said with gritted teeth.
Hitomi's eyes moved swiftly, measuring the distance between where she was standing and the front gate. She could easily make a run for it. 'I'm not the school's best runner for nothing,' she thought.
But before she could do anything, Van reached for her and held her arms so tight, it hurt.
"Don't even think about it." Van's grim face forbade a coming disaster.
"Let me go." Hitomi struggled to break free, but to no avail. "I said, let me go, Van!" Hitomi kicked his leg and caught Van by surprise. When he did loosen his grip, Hitomi hurriedly pushed him away with a fierceness that made Van almost stumble to the ground. She quickly ran past him. When she was finally out of the gate, she recognized Dilandau's car on the other side of the street, and made her way toward it. The door to the passenger's side swung open and she immediately tucked herself in. Dilandau ignited the engine, shoved at the clutch, and stepped on the gearshift as soon as Hitomi was inside the car.
Hitomi looked back and saw something that triggered a guilty feeling inside her. Something she hoped she never saw.
With the aid of the light coming from the lamp post, she saw the defeated look on Van's face before Dilandau's red jaguar stormed in full speed.
Van was left standing in the middle of the street, with only the thick black smoke that billowed from Dilandau's car swirling up in the air.
"You will regret this, Hitomi. You will."
"Do you honestly believe this is the best way to deal with the matter, Hitomi?" Dilandau asked the girl sitting beside him. They ended up obscurely in the school track field after almost an hour of driving, with really no direction to go.
"I really don't know." Hitomi whispered.
"You told me you're pregnant. And I was likely to think that Van's the father, because you and I both know that we didn't go far beyond brushing our lips and holding hands. Now, tell me after all the things you revealed to me about this 'accident' between you and Van, why in heaven's name do you want to run away, Hitomi? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? Van should be the one running away, not you," the albino queried. He couldn't see the reasoning behind Hitomi's actions.
Hitomi remained silent with her eyes cast downwards, feeling rotten as she thought of the way she had treated Van. The only thing he wanted was to save her reputation and her family's pride. All the while, she had only been thinking about herself and her nonsensical objection over this marriage. She hadn't even bothered to ask what Van felt; whether he truly wanted to marry her or if he was feeling trapped out of responsibility.
In return for his self-sacrifice and kindness, she had just abandoned him and their upcoming wedding with not much of a reason. She was young to be getting married and getting pregnant, yes; only seventeen. However, she wasn't the only girl who had this kind of experience in their teenage life. She was even luckier compared to the others, because the man who had gotten her pregnant was willing to marry her. She didn't love him, no. It may be a ridiculous idea at the moment but who knows, someday she might learn to love him- after all, Van was handsome, likeable, kind, thoughtful, responsible, and...loving? Maybe. She could go on and on, enumerating his traits, but the most important thing was that he was her best friend. She had known him since time immemorial and the same went with him. Maybe that would be reason enough for them to try and get their marriage work out... at least for the sake of the baby.
The baby. The life that was growing inside her. She was having mixed emotions about being mother and all - scared, terrified, happy, excited. She knew now, before the baby was even born, that she and Van would be good parents to their child.
Hitomi was seeing everything now from a different perspective, as if some hard rock had suddenly been hammered against her head. She realized that everything may not be as bad as she thought things would turn out to be. She had thought then that she was marrying Van for all the wrong reasons, but now, those reasons might be all the right ones she has.
"Maybe I made a mistake, Dilandau. I shouldn't have done this."
Dilandau snapped his head back to Hitomi when he heard the words she had spoken. He recognized the silent apology and regret underlying her tone.
"Please take me back home," she pleaded.
The car pulled to a stop right in front of the Kanzaki's house.
"Will you be alright?" he asked concernedly.
"Yes. I hope so. Please come to my wedding, Dilly. I really want you to be there."
"Sure, I'll come. Just make sure Van won't throw me out of the church, "he said with a grin.
Hitomi smiled and gave Dilandau a peck on the cheek. "Thank you." She opened the passenger door and got out. She waved a goodbye and Dilandau's car again stormed through the street.
Hitomi took a deep breath and walked toward the gate.
"What made you change your mind, Hitomi?"
Hitomi almost jumped out of fear when she turned around and came face to face with Van. 'All the while, he was waiting here for me?' she thought.
"Van, you're still here?"
"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, Hitomi. I wasn't waiting for you to come back. I did some thinking, that's why," Van said quietly.
Hitomi didn't know where the sudden tinge of disappointment came from when he mentioned that he hadn't waited for her, but she pushed it out of her mind. "What were you thinking, then?"
"I was thinking maybe you're right. Maybe getting married with each other isn't really the best option we should make." Van's eyes pierced Hitomi's face.
"What?" Hitomi asked in surprise.
"You heard me right. I will tell Mom first thing in the morning to cancel the wedding. You're free to do whatever you want. After all, that's why you ran away, right? You didn't want this marriage. Oh, I'm sorry, not want- you loathe this marriage. Well, so do I!" He said sardonically. "So not to make this any harder for the both of us, let's call off the wedding." Van's stony expression didn't change a bit.
"Van, I'm pregnant," Hitomi said in an unprecedented manner.
"You're what?" Van seemed to have choked in shock.
"I'm pregnant. Have you gone deaf?"
"Don't kid me, Hitomi." His voice was still doubtful. He looked at her for a long time, as if to make sure she wasn't just bluffing. God, her revelation just turned his world upside down. He was going to be a father!
"Who said I'm kidding?"
"Why did you come back in the first place? Didn't you just run away with that scum bag, Dilandau?" Van still couldn't shake off the anger that came flooding with the memory of that scene just a while ago- Hitomi running away from him, and meeting the love of her life, while he stood paralyzed and helpless.
"Well, am I not entitled to get a little fickle-minded sometimes? I'm pregnant. Maybe it's the hormones." Hitomi reasoned.
"So, in that case, the wedding will..."
"I will marry you, Van, even just for the sake of the baby."
"Just for the sake of the baby...You don't have to worry. I understand that, crystal clear," Van said sarcastically, starting to walk off the street.
Then, as if he remembered something, he turned around, "I forgot. Here, catch." He threw, in Hitomi's direction, a certain small box. After seeing Hitomi caught it, he continued walking, and didn't bother to look at her reaction when she opened it and saw a glimmering diamond ring inside.
"Van..." Hitomi couldn't find any other words to say.
A week later...
The whole church was silent as everyone watched, with awe and admiration, the bride walk down the aisle toward the altar and the waiting groom. She was young, yet her beauty was eminent in every way possible. Draped in a simple, soft, strapless, ivory-white gown that hugged her torso and flared down from her small waist, extending to the floor, Hitomi was an utterly amazing sight to behold. A crown of white lilies was on her hair, holding the long silky veil covering her face. This was accompanied with matching elbow-length gloves that made her look like a princess. A splendid pearl choker lay against her throat, complementing her gown perfectly. She was holding a bouquet of white tulips in her hand, adding to the overall enchanting effect of her beauty.
At the far end beside the altar was Van, who was undeniably handsome in his three-piece white tuxedo suit. Though he wasn't a bit concerned by how he looked and the way girls around him secretly drooled over his appearance. He was busy watching his bride, caught off-guard by her serene beauty and her luminous green eyes.
'She's beautiful. The most beautiful bride I've ever seen. And she's marrying me,' he thought and felt himself grow impatient for the ceremony to end.
As the bride finally reached the groom, Hitomi's father handed her over to Van, whom she noticed was wearing a serious look on his face; she could barely read what was running in his mind. Van took her hand and led her to the altar.
The wedding vows of Van Slanzar Fanel and Hitomi Iris Kanzaki finally began.
A/n: Hello minna! Sorry for the delay of this chapter. Hope you all like it anyhow. Thanks for those who reviewed the past chapters. You guys really inspired me.
Dedications:
Maboroshi Tsuki:as always, I love reading your reviews. Thank you very much! About your question, no I haven't seen yet the drama but I would love to
Esca-lover:Yay! You reviewed my fic! I'm so happy blushes thank you! You and Anne (MT) are really one of those writers whom I really admired. And I'm so glad that you found time to read and review my story.
Kisakino Ookami: Thank you for always reading and reviewing my fics.
snow blossoms: Thanks a lot! Continue with your first fic, it's really good.
elenasun:thank you! I hope you'll also like this chappie.
hitomi-chan: whew! I'm glad you like my story.
Avelyn Lauren: here is the new chappie. I hope you will like this though. ;
Niffer: Thank you for the compliment blushes .
And to Silver Goddess1, banryuu and reader, thank you so much for reading! I hope you guys won't stop giving me your thoughts about this story, your comments really do help me a lot!
Disclaimer: Don't own Escaflowne