Discalimer: I don't own Escaflowne or any of the characters (So don't sue me, I have nothing! Nothing I tell you!).

Boo: This has been a long time coming and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I hope there are still a few of you out there who remember me. A big thanks to Nike for beta-reading this chapter and the following ones even though I know you have so much work to do. You're a star! Plus a big shout out and thanks to Rai who beta-read the past chapters and for not telling me how much I suck. ;)

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The next morning Hitomi woke with a start as she sat bolt upright in bed, covered in sweat, her neck throbbing. She had had another nightmare. The monster from before, chasing her through the black forest - the sequence the same as before. She came out of the forest running towards the figure that was Van only to be caught by the huge beast and, as she was turned over, she was shocked to see that it wasn't the monster on top of her anymore but actually Vincent, his hair wild like his eyes, which were yellow. Hitomi nearly didn't recognise him as he pinned her to the ground. He bared his long white canines at her and snarled. He brought his face close to hers so she could feel his hot breath on her face. He emitted a low growl and when he said his simple statement the voice was a mixture of human and animal.

"You. Belong. To. Me."

As he had said that, she had woken up.

Flinging a hand to the bandage - wincing as it seemed to burn - she sat up and wiped her brow with the back of her hand. She concentrated on trying to steady her breathing. When the burning in her neck seemed to have dulled down, and feeling a little calmer, she looked around the room. Hitomi noticed the door to the bathroom was slightly ajar and swung her legs from under the covers, placing them on the floor. Gingerly, she put her weight on them and slowly rose from the bed. She took a small step away from it, a little unsure of herself. Standing for a moment she felt satisfied and made her way over to the bathroom door. Hitomi placed her hand on the smooth handle and pushed it further open, pleased with her progress.

As she made her way into the room she took in all the fragrances around her. Someone had filled the room with lots of different bath oils and soaps, and their perfumes hung in the air. Hitomi smiled, feeling the tiles pleasantly cool under her bare feet as she sauntered over to the mirror hung over the sink. She gave a groan at the sight of her reflection: hair sticking up in every direction, plus the dark rings around her eyes contrasted sharply with the ghost-like complexion. Grabbing a brush she started immediately trying to tame her long hair while her thoughts drifted.

Going over in her mind the events of a few nights ago with Vincent, she puzzled over a few things. Well, she thought to herself, mostly everything about the 'man' had puzzled her. Saying that, he had by chance heard her voice and was going to have her as dinner, until he had seen her. Then he'd decided he was going to have a little fun instead.

"Creep." She said aloud.

Then his whole attitude seemed to change. Going from the scary predator to whining at her, saying that she "belonged to him." Scowling at the mirror, she felt annoyance at the ego of the man. As she got more irritated the brush in her hand and her hair were getting the brunt of it. The simple, gentle movements were getting quicker and she was now dragging it through her hair.

"'Belong' huh? I think you should maybe get over yourself Mr Wolf," she growled. She could hear his voice in her mind as she remembered his little speech about not being able to resist her scent, going on about 'chance'.

"Bastard." She said when she remembered him referring to Van as her "little king".

Suddenly she let out a little yelp as the brush got caught in her hair and she, not realising, yanked at it.

Dropping it, she placed her hands on the side of the sink and tried to calm herself down as the wound was beginning to burn again. Raising her eyes, she met her own in the mirror and gave a little snort, a smile playing on her lips.

"This is healthy Kanzaki, you're talking to someone who's not here, and now you're chatting with your reflection." She gave a little sigh as she ran her hand through her brushed hair. Standing back up she gave a little stretch and walked over to the bath, turning on the taps. Perched on the side of the large tub, she got lost in her memories of the evening before. Thinking about the kiss she and Van had shared, Hitomi could feel butterflies in her stomach. She played the whole scene over and over in slow motion, each time getting the same feeling. A big grin came over her face, as her big toe drew circles on the smooth tiled floor while she stared at the ceiling. Hitomi couldn't suppress a giggle escaping and as she poured some oil into the bath and slipped in, and she happily found she couldn't stop.

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When Hitomi heard a gentle knock on her bedroom door she was already changed and pulling her damp hair into a loose bun, letting stray strands fall about her face. Smoothing out the plain cream cotton dress she had put on she called for them to enter. As Van entered and made his way over towards her, she couldn't help the smile tugging at her lips.

"Good morning," smiled Van.

Hitomi held out her hand, which he took and brought her close. Embracing her, Van breathed in, taking in the faint remains of the perfume of the bath oils that still clung to Hitomi. Making an approving noise he kissed her on the cheek.

"Good morning," answered Hitomi, as she slid her arm around his waist. Before they had a chance to continue their activities from the night before they heard a cough coming from the door. Startled they separated quickly and turned to see who was at the door.

"Y-yes what is it?" Van asked the servant, his face completely flushed.

"Majesty, breakfast is served and your other guests asked if you would be joining them," said the man at the door.

"Can you tell them we will be down directly, please," ordered Van. As the older man turned around and walked away, they could both see that he was trying hard not to smile. This made Van blush a little more. Hitomi adored the little incidental things Van did that showed her his softer side. Pushing herself up on her toes she kissed him on the cheek. As he turned to look at her with a lop-sided smile on his face, he offered her his arm.

"Shall we go down to breakfast?" he asked.

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"Hey, you two! We were wondering were you had got to," exclaimed Millerna. When Hitomi sat down however, she looked at Allen and Dryden's faces, and they didn't seem to be all that puzzled.

"Sorry. Dryden and I tried to stop them from sending the servants to look for you, but they didn't seem to take the hint," Allen apologised from the side of his mouth to Hitomi.

"Don't worry about it." Hitomi whispered back, smiling.

As they started to chat and eat, Hitomi looked around them all, not really listening in particular to any conversation. The bite on her neck seemed to start to ache, and with it she could feel a burning sensation running thorough her body. Starting at her toes, it slowly crept up her legs. She shuffled in her seat uncomfortably, feeling suddenly very irritated. She gripped her legs as the burning spread to them. The room seem to get closer and the air heavier. She scrunched her hands into to balls as the wound burned and ached. Hitomi felt so hot in the room: her body was burning up, and with it she felt more and more agitated. She shuffled again and was surprised by a maid appearing by her side.

"My lady, is the food not to your liking? We can bring you something else if you would care for something different," the maid asked quietly, smiling.

"Oh no, no thanks. It's not the food, it's me, I'm really not all that hungry," Hitomi replied. Which was not strictly true. She was wanting, no, craving something, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. This was another thing that was vexing her.

"Are you sure? I can bring you something light. Like maybe toast with jam? Or scrambled eggs: they will fill you up," the maid said maternally. However Hitomi was not in the mood. The woman's voice was just like a droning in the background as the heat spread up to her arms. Grinding her teeth together as the back of her neck prickled, she refused again through gritted teeth. Not realising the tenuous thread that Hitomi was holding onto was about to snap, the maid continued, making a little speech about how Hitomi should be trying to keep her strength up. A veil of red seemed to drop over her vision as Hitomi stood up violently, sending her chair toppling backwards.

"I told you I don't want anything! No toast and for god's sake, NO scrambled eggs! I'm not hungry!" Hitomi ranted, her breath coming raggedly as she finished. Looking at the little woman trembling before her, Hitomi felt sick from the bottom of her stomach. The maid's eyes went wide with horror as she looked at Hitomi, mumbling incoherent words. The only one Hitomi understood was 'eyes'.

Turning on her heel, Hitomi quickly left the room, not registering her friends calling her name. The very blood in her veins seemed to be boiling as she sprinted up the stairs; the unbearable pain in her neck was getting too much and she wanted to get to her room. She wanted to be alone.

Turning the handle to her room she closed the door quickly, locking it and leaning her back against the cool wood. As Hitomi stayed there for a few moments, she could hear herself panting hard. But it wasn't because of the exertion of running up the stairs: it was more to do with the fact that she'd had used every ounce of her strength to control the urge of ripping the servant to pieces. This realisation scared her more than anything. A cold terror gripped her, turning into panic when she remembered the word the maid had uttered. Running over to the bathroom she yanked the door open and went quickly over to the mirror. What she saw there made the boiling blood turn to ice. Hitomi leaned closer to her reflection not wanting to believe what she saw there.

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I know this is short, sorry! Please reveiw 'cause I love it so (well my ego does ;P). Anyway I do hope you liked it, more to follow!