Three hours later, Merle lazily strutted into
the king's bedchambers. She noticed his absence, and concluded that the
meeting with the Council must have taken longer than anticipated. She didn't
mind. She would wait.
It wasn't long before the raven-haired boy came
in, looking beat from the meeting. He noticed Merle and smiled slightly.
"Please tell me you have good news."
he said wearily, removing his boots as he sat down beside her.
"I have good and bad news."
"Bad news first."
"Well, you were more than right: Hitomi isn't
exactly happy with you right now."
"Did you find out why?"
"That's the good news. Apparently, you stated
that you would never forget her because of all the stuff she did for Fanelia."
Van looked perplexed. "Yes, but what's wrong
with that?"
Merle resisted the urge to thwap him. "Well,
think about it, Lord Van! She hopes that you'll say you'll remember her
for who she is, for all the good times you had together. She doesn't want
to hear 'I'll remember what you did for Fanelia' as the only reason you'll
remember her."
Again, the young king looked a bit puzzled.
"How long is it going to take you to accept the
fact that she likes you??" the catgirl demanded. Van didn't answer the
question.
"I have to apologize to Hitomi." he concluded.
He rose to find her.
"She's sleeping. And under these circumstances,
I doubt that she'd be pleased to wake up to you."
Van took this into consideration and decided
to tell her in the morning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
However, she wasn't there when he knocked on the
door. In fact, for the next two weeks Van barely saw her. Although he tried
to apologize many times, it was useless. She would turn away and busy herself
in the reconstruction of Fanelia.
"Hitomi, can you just stop for one moment, please?"
Van requested about one week after Merle had explained to him why she was
mad.
"Why should I stop, your Highness,"
Hitomi returned icily. "After all, you want to remember me by the way I
helped in Fanelia, don't you?" with that, she had turned away from him.
Van had kept his ground, awestruck. She was taking
this far more seriously than he thought. Van wondered, for the first time,
if Merle had been right.
Three days remained until Van and Hitomi would
leave for Asturia to take the green-eyed girl back to the Mystic Moon.
The approaching days only caused more misery for the two teens. Hitomi
wondered why Van hadn't apologized. She considered the possibility that
he didn't care for her anymore, if he ever had at all.
"You're not working today?" came a small voice.
Hitomi looked up from the window that she had
been gazing out. "Oh, Merle. No, I'm not feeling well."
"I can understand that." the cat replied. "If
I were in your shoes, I would feel sick. He hasn't apologized yet, has
he?"
Hitomi shook her head sadly. "It's as if he doesn't
care. I know you told him why I was angry..."
"Was?"
The sandy-haired girl smiled weakly. "I'm going
to find him to talk to him... I've been such a jerk."
Merle jumped up on the windowsill. "Are you going
to the festival?"
"Festival?"
"Yeah, you know. The one that's taking place
on your last night in Fanelia."
"I didn't know about it," Hitomi confessed.
"Well now you do. You are going,
aren't you? You're the guest of honor. The celebration is for
you, after all."
"Why...?"
"For everything you've done for Gaia and Fanelia.
To wish you a happy life back on the Mystic Moon." Merle paused for a moment.
"There's a dance and everything, and Lord Van is going to be there."
"Van..."
"Maybe it's the perfect time to make amends,"
the catgirl offered lightly. "It's outside, so it'll be dimly lit. You
know, a perfect 'romantic' mood."
Hitomi's face brightened. "You may have something
there." her eyes darkened. "But for the full effect of my apology to him,
I'll have to resume my 'cold' act , won't I?"
Merle nodded. "You can make it up to him on the
night of the festival. Don't worry, I'll find some alone time for you two.
The sandy-haired girl smiled. "You really believe
he loves me."
"I know he does."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For the next 3 days, Hitomi had to withstand
avoiding Van entirely, lest her feelings for him overcome her and she blurt
out her apology right away, ruining the planned romantic moment. If everything
went according to what Merle had concocted in that sneaky mind of hers,
Hitomi knew she would probably find herself confessing to Van before she
left for Earth. The very thought put a slight spring in her step as she
walked through Fanelia's streets, offering a hand to anyone who might need
it.
On the morning of the festival, Hitomi woke up
early. She stretched and looked out her window. Her eyes sparkled at the
wonderment of the decorations that had begun to be set up. There were flowers
and ribbons that had begun to be set out, and although there wasn't much,
Hitomi could tell that it would be amazing tonight.
She sighed in contentment as she pulled on her
track outfit, which she had dubbed as her working clothes. She pulled open
the door to her room and was surprised to find a pink-haired 13 year old
standing at her doorway.
"Where are you going?" the catgirl asked.
"To help, of course. The daily routine."
"Oh no you don't." Merle slowly pushed Hitomi
back into her room and followed, closing the door behind her.
Hitomi looked perplexed.
"You're not going to help out on your last day
here." Merle informed her.
"Then what am I supposed to do, miss Kitty-Cat?"
"I'm going to teach you how to dance. You don't
want to look like a klutz when you're dancing with Lord Van, do you? You'd
shame him!"
The girl from the Mystic Moon wrinkled her nose.
"Fine." she gave in. "I wouldn't want to embarrass your dear king in front
of all his subjects."
"Good. Now, come on." Merle positioned Hitomi
right in front of her. "Obviously you're going to play the woman's part,
you don't want to end up dancing with Lord Van as if you were another guy.
"Now, to start, we bow. But in your case, you
curtsy." the teenagers bowed and curtsied and resumed their positions.
"Then, you go like this..." Merle raised her
paw to meet Hitomi's hand, and continued to show her the ways to dance
like a Fanelian.
"This is too confusing!" wailed Hitomi, plopping
onto the bed, exhausted, after many hours practice.
"I don't find it confusing." the
catgirl said, sitting on the windowsill.
"You've been in Fanelia your whole life; you've
had time to observe people."
"Anyone can do the dance. It's really not that
hard. I think you've got it by now, anyway. Do you want to give it one
last go?"
Hitomi groaned in exasperation and the catgirl
took that as a yes. She grabbed the other girl's hand, hoisting her to
her feet. They began to dance.
"And One and two and 3 and four and one and two
and three and four," Merle said aloud, leading the sandy-brown haired girl
through the steps. "And one and two and thr---"
A loud cough came from the doorway of Hitomi's
room, and immediately, the women pulled out of the dance. "I'm sorry, am
I interrupting something?" the 14 year old catguy asked with a chuckle.
"Oh, hi Kayulo." Merle greeted, blushing a little
at the sight of him.
"You wound me, Merle." Kayulo said, faking a
hurt tone of voice. "I thought you had eyes only for me."
"I'm sorry..." the catgirl grinned, playing along.
She latched onto Hitomi's arm. "But she's the only
one for me."
Hitomi shook the pink-haired girl off, somewhat
repulsed. She shoved Merle to Kayulo. "You can have her," she said, sticking
out her tongue.
"Great. All set for our little outing?" the catguy
asked the blue eyed girl.
"You bet!"
"Where are you going?" asked Hitomi.
"Um.. to get something at the market." Merle
replied hastily. "We'll be back before the festival, don't worry." in the
meantime, work on those dance moves." she waltzed out hanging onto Kayulo's
arm.
Hitomi let out a heavy sigh and faced the mirror.
She began to practice the dance.
Merle returned just as the sun began to set, with
a package in her arms. She set it down on Hitomi's bed.
"Have you practiced?" she asked in a motherly
tone.
"Yes," Hitomi answered. "And I think I've finally
gotten it."
"Let's see." Merle got up and rehearsed the dance
with the sandy-haired girl, quite surprised indeed to find that she was
telling the truth. She sat down next to the parcel.
"What are you going to wear to the festival?"
"I was thinking about my uniform skirt with the
white blouse." Hitomi answered nonchalantly.
The catgirl clicked her tongue. "That won't do."
she informed her friend.
"I have nothing else."
"You do now." she handed the brown package to
the 15 year old. Slowly, Hitomi opened it and gasped.
"Oh Merle! It's gorgeous!" she pulled out the
long emerald dress. There were little golden leaf designs all over it,
and a frilly scoop neck, similar to the one she still had from Asturia.
The skirt part of the dress was a darker green, and it fell to her knees.
"Try it on," Merle instructed. "I hope it fits."
Hitomi changed behind a little screen wall and
came out to look at the full-length mirror. The dress, [as it is
in most VH fanfics :P] was absolutely perfect. It emphasized Hitomi's
best features, including bringing out the color of her eyes.
"It really looks good on you." the catgirl said.
"Lord Van will love it on you."
"Merle..." Hitomi whispered. "I can't accept
this gift, it's too much."
"It was nothing. It's... it's your goodbye present."
she was surprised to find her eyes grow hot with tears. "I never thought
I'd say this, but I'm going to miss you. You've become like a sister to
me..."
Hitomi felt her eyes begin to water as well.
If months ago, someone had told her that she would end up missing the little
catgirl, she would have laughed. But now.. they had grown so close. She
leaned over and gave Merle a reassuring hug. "I'll miss you, too. I'll
miss our conversations and your strange little matchmaking attempts." she
pulled out of the hug. "But I'm sure we'll meet again someday."
Merle smiled, wiping the tears away. "I should
go check on Lord Van. It won't work out if he's not there."
"What do you mean, you're not going??" Merle nearly
screamed.
"What's the point, Merle? Hitomi hates me, and
the celebration is for her. My being there will only cause trouble." Van
said mournfully.
"Please, Lord Van. She's really not that mad
at you anymore."
"I'm not going."
"BAKA!" Merle snarled, and slapped him. Her eyes
widened in disbelief. She had just slapped the one person who she adored
most in the world. Van's head was still facing the position that she had
slapped it to. "Lord Van, I..."
Slowly Van's gloved hand went to his cheek and
he turned to look at Merle, stunned. Merle began to cry.
"I'm so sorry, Lord Van. I just got carried away...
Hitomi leaves tomorrow. This is your last chance to tell her how you feel.
If you don't, you'll regret it, and I don't want you to be unhappy. Please,
Lord Van!" Merle looked up at him with her watery blue eyes. Van drew her
into an embrace and stroked her hair.
"Don't cry, Merle." he soothed. "It's okay, I
forgive you for slapping me." he pulled away. "But I'm still not going."
Merle sighed in defeat. "You can always change
your mind, Van." she said as she left the room sadly.
"How do I look?" Merle asked, twirling so that
Hitomi could get the full effect of the dress.
"Great." she smiled warmly. "Kayulo won't be
able to take his eyes off you."
The catgirl blushed. "Well, enough chit-chat."
she said hurriedly. "Let's go already!" she grabbed Hitomi's hand and began
dragging her out the room to the hallway.
"Do I really have to do this? I shouldn't be
getting all this attention..."
"Quiet. You're going to the festival to see Lord
Van." she lied. She hadn't told Hitomi that the raven-haired teen would
not be attending. She didn't want to upset the poor girl on her last night
in Gaia.
The outside world buzzed with activities. The
decorations were elaborate and beautiful, and everyone was dressed for
the festivities. As Merle had warned, it was dimly lit, giving Fanelia
a warm, romantic aura. People laughed and held hands in the streets, skipping
along in all the excitement. Walking through the streets with Merle, Hitomi
really got a look at how much things had improved. It would take another
long while until the reconstruction was finished, but the people of Fanelia
were good workers.
"Miss, would you like a flower?" came a deep
voice. A beastman was holding a little box filled with gorgeous roses.
"No thank you, sir. I'm afraid I have no money
on me." she smiled apologetically.
"For the seeress of the Mystic Moon, it's free."
he handed her a rose and walked off.
"Thank you!" she called to him.
"Here, let me see that." Merle said, taking the
rose. She cut off half of the stem with her claw and reached up to tuck
the flower in Hitomi's hair, held in place by her ear.
"There we go." the catgirl beamed. Hitomi thanked
her. "The dance doesn't start until about 9, so we have a while yet to
wait. Do you want to check out some games in the meantime?"
Hitomi nodded. It was her last night here, may
as well have some fun. She hoped to see Van soon. The fact that she had
blown him off so much over something so trivial had really begun to tear
her up inside.
They headed for the first game they saw, a beanbag
toss. Hitomi was recognized as the seeress and the owner of the stand allowed
her and Merle to play for free. The girl from the Mystic Moon wasn't especially
good at games that required accuracy, but wasn't surprised when Merle won
a little stuffed creature (that looked very much like a purple dinosaur
to Hitomi).
"Yipee!" Merle let out a cry of victory, holding
up the little dinosaur. "I won I won I won!!" she turned to Hitomi excitedly.
"But now I'm hungry. Let's eat!"
The two young women made their way over to the
"town square" where an immense table of food had been set out. This was
not the usual breakfast of fruit, bread and the occasional piece of meat
that Hitomi had experienced for the past month. This was a banquet. There
were salads and vegetables, fruits, cheese, wine, large loaves of bread,
and at the very center of it all was the most looming roast that Hitomi
had ever seen. Judging from the edibles set out, she guessed that Fanelia's
cooks had returned recently.
Immediately, Merle grabbed a plate and began
to pile food on it. When it was at the point where it was almost too heavy
to carry, she stopped and sat down against a house. Hitomi put on her plate
a few vegetables and a piece of the roast which one of the cooks was only
too happy to slice for her. She sat down next to Merle and dug in.
"Thith ith delithith!" she said, her mouth full.
Merle had crammed too much in to answer.
Their dinner was over in about 15 minutes, and
Merle lay on the ground, holding her stomach.
"I ate too much," she stated, letting her tongue
hang out. "I can't move."
"Well, I hope you learned a valuable lesson from
this experience."
"I hope I'll be okay for the dance..." she murmured.
"You have one hour to get better. Just don't
eat anymore and you should be fine."
"My my my, " came a voice. "Looks as if there's
one kitten here who had too much to eat."
"Aren't you observant, Kayulo." Merle said sarcastically.
"What are you doing here?"
"I was just taking a walk around the festival."
he bowed to Hitomi. "Thank you for all you have done here, m'lady." he
turned back to Merle. "I'm going to continue my walking, it's such a beautiful
night. I'd ask you to join me, but you seem ill."
"Suddenly, I'm feeling better!" the catgirl declared,
jumping to her feet. "Let's go!" she hesitated. "You'll be alright alone,
won't you Hitomi?"
"I know my way around. I'll manage just fine.
But I'm worried about leaving you two alone."
The cats turned red. Merle opened her mouth to
protest put Kayulo brought a finger to her lips to shush her. He was taking
this one.
"M'Lady, if I were you, I would not be concerned
about Merle and me. I would be far more concerned about you and Fanelia's
king being alone. Oh wait! I recall a little 'bird' telling me that some
'alone' time would be arranged for you and Master
Van. Merle, perhaps we should stay with her to make sure that she and our
King do not get into trouble, hmm?"
The catgirl giggled a "Bye, 'Tomi!" and began
to walk off with her crush.
"Wait, Miss Hitomi.." Kayulo scurried back to
her side. "Pay attention to hooded shadows... running into one may be beneficial--"
"Come on, let's go already," Merle said, gripping
the catguy's arm and dragging him away, leaving Hitomi with a dumbfounded
look on her face.
Bored. Hitomi thought to
herself. It had not been very long since she had been left alone, but there
really was not much to do. She had already tried most of the games. It
was close to the Dance, but Van had not yet made his appearance. She began
to wonder if he was coming at all. As she walked through the streets thinking
of him, she barely noticed the figure in her path who was walking in the
opposite direction. Her head in the clouds, she managed to smack right
into him. He stumbled and fell to the ground.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Hitomi exclaimed, rushing
over to help him up. "Are you okay?"
The figure looked up and nodded, his identity
hidden by a large hood. Seeing who it was who had knocked him over, he
scrambled to his feet. He bowed and quickly strode off.
)Pay attention to hooded shadows... running into one may be beneficial)
"He certainly seemed to
be in a hurry." she commented. Something glistened on the ground, catching
her eye. She bent down to pick it up. It was a little magenta globe with
a golden point, tied to a thin gold chain. My pendant, Hitomi
realized. She held the item in her hand and looked in the direction that
the hooded stranger had left for. Van?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
A/N: Originally, this was planned to be only one chapter. However,
when I looked at the length and realized, "Oh dear, it's longer than my
longest chapter (chapter 17) of my Sailor Mystic Moon fanfic, I decided
it could stand to be cut in half. Please read and review!