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"Thank you, Princess." Van said quietly. "For
the lunch."
"Not a problem, Van." Millerna returned with
a smile. "Although you and Hitomi didn't seem to eat much. I guess if I
was in either of your situations, I wouldn't have either."
"What do you mean?" Hitomi asked, cocking a brow.
"My, look at the time," Millerna said, suddenly
standing. "I suppose I should show you two your rooms.." she paused, grinning.
"...Or will you be sharing one?"
Sharing... that was the choice that entered
their minds. They both turned red at the thought. "Separate." they said
in unison, as if asking such a question had been ridiculous.
"..And this is your room, Van." the princess said,
opening the door. "It's conveniently across the hall from Hitomi's."
she added, putting a subtle emphasis on conveniently.
"Thank you." Van said quickly.
"Well, I wish I could stay and chat for a little
while longer, but I have a previous engagement. If you would like, Allen
should be here any minute. I told him beforehand of your arrival and he
seemed pleased." Millerna waved her hand as she walked out the door.
The young king stepped over to the window, to
look out at the beautiful display below. "Would you like to see the Asturian
garden, Hitomi?" he asked softly. "It may be the last time you see it."
"Van..." she whispered, saddening at the thought.
"Sure."
The Asturian garden was one of the most well-known
collection of plants and flowers in Gaia. People came from miles around
simply to wander in its breath-taking beauty. Despite the time that she
had spent in the country, Hitomi had never seen it, and was only too happy
to be sharing the sight of it with someone who she loved deeply yet secretly.
As she and Van walked aimlessly through the scent and sight, Van had to
resist entwining his fingers with Hitomi's, for fear that if she rejected
him it would disrupt the care that they had for each other.
"It's so amazing here," Hitomi breathed. "But
unfortunately, I'm not a Gaian florist. I don't any of the names of these
flowers except for..." she pointed at some flowers that were bloodred with
thorns on the stem. "...those ones. They look just like roses."
"They are roses." Van said with a smirk.
"How interesting that the names would be the same on your world and mine."
She pointed to a couple of other flowers that
looked similar to earth's plants, but the only one that turned out to be
the same was the daisy. Making sure no one was looking, Van plucked one
of the white flowers and put it in his love's hair as she blushed furiously.
They sat down on one of the stone benches.
you are so beautiful, Hitomi... more beautiful
than all the flowers in this garden. He looked away.
"I apologize, Hitomi. I had no idea that Dryden
would be out of the country today."
"That's perfectly alright." Hitomi smiled. "I
was kind of hoping for one last day with you anyway." her eyes widened.
Had she just said that aloud?
Van blushed. "I was, too." he admitted. He felt
little beads of perspiration beginning to appear on his forehead. It was
now or never. "Hitomi.... the truth is, I--"
"So there you are!" came a deep voice. A man
with shiny blond hair and a young woman about Hitomi's age appeared at
the other end of the garden, quickly approaching the two. He was grinning
as he paused a few feet away from them. "Oh dear, did I come at an inopportune
moment? Sorry. I'll leave you two alone now."
Van shot him a "don't start" look and he chuckled.
"It's good to see you again Hitomi. And you,
Van." Allen said. Hitomi stood and he embraced her. The young king felt
a pang of jealousy stab at his heart.
"I suppose I should introduce you." from behind
Allen came the young woman, her light blonde hair cut fairly short and
her blue-eyed face transforming into a greeting smile. "This is Celena,
my sister. Celena, this is Hitomi and Van."
His sister nodded. "I remember them well."
~
Hitomi gaped. "Allen? You found your little sister?"
she was so happy for him that she gave Celena a big hug.
"Yes. In the most unusual place, too." he muttered.
He noticed the flicker of knowing that passed through Van's eyes.
"How are you, Van?" Celena asked carefully, noticing
his slight regard of contempt towards her.
"Fine." he said hurriedly.
"I won't bite you, you know." the blonde girl
said softly. "I'm sorry for burning down Fanelia. I know that I...he
caused you a lot of pain."
Hitomi looked bewildered. "What?" her eyes darted
from the woman to Van to Allen, all of which were looking solemn. "Okay,
I'm feeling left out. What's going on?"
"She retained her memories?" Van asked Allen,
his eyes never straying from Celena, almost fearing that if he looked away
she would slit his throat.
"Yes. A few days after the Destiny War's end,
she started to remember."
The raven-haired boy nodded.
Hitomi was starting to feel slightly green from
the way Van was looking at Celena. Was there something going on between
them that she didn't know about? "Um, can someone please explain to me
what is going on?"
Allen closed his eyes and nodded to his sister.
"We can trust Hitomi." he said.
"Alright." Celena broke Van's gaze and turned
to Hitomi. "You probably don't really know me by this name, or by this
face. The one you're more familiar with is..." she paused. "Dilandau."
"What?"
Celena explained about her past after
the kidnapping, about how they altered her fate to transform her into Dilandau.
When she was done, Hitomi was left looking a little pale. "I see." she
managed to get out.
Allen's sister shrugged. "I don't usually tell
people about my other side because usually they fear me when I do. Dilandau
was a monster... and I carry none of his traits anymore. People have no
reason to be afraid of me because according to the healer, he's not coming
back."
~
Hitomi smiled and said something more, which
Allen didn't catch. He was too busy watching the interaction between Van
and Hitomi. It was clear that these two were not yet 'together' and he
silently groaned in exasperation. How long will it take them to admit
their feelings? he wondered. It's probably because they're
afraid of being rejected by the other. he sighed. He and Hitomi would
talk later.
"So, will you be staying long?" Celena asked
the other two.
"Another day." Van answered quietly. "Hitomi
will be leaving tomorrow, and so will I. There's no point in my staying
if she's gone."
An uneasy silence fell. Did I just hear right?
If so, am I interpretting it right? He just wants to be here because of
me?
"Van." Celena said with a warm smile that, in
Hitomi's eyes, was maybe a little bit too warm. "Why don't we take
a walk over to where the piece from the Vione was recovered, hmm?"
Allen shot his sister a nasty look, not liking
the flirtatious manner that she had suddenly taken on. She started to drag
Van away, linking arms with him.
"Wait--" the young king said, looking longingly
back at Hitomi. "I can stay he--" but he was cut off. Celena pulled him
away.
Hitomi plopped down on the bench with a hmph
and Allen sat next to her.
"I apologize, Hitomi." the knight said sincerely.
"My sister isn't usually like this. But don't worry--" he ut a comforting
hand on her shoulder. "Van won't cheat on you."
"Not you, too!" Hitomi groaned, moving away from
the bench. "Everywhere I go, everyone always talks about Van and me as
though we're married or something, but we're not!"
"He loves you. You know that. I have no doubt
that Merle has told you that, and I wouldn't be surprised if Van himself
had said it."
"He hasn't."
"So maybe you should tell him."
Allen suggested lightly, watching as Hitomi paced back and forth. "If you
love him and it also works the other way around, then what are you afraid
of? Certainly not rejection."
"What makes you so sure that I'm in love with
Van?" Hitomi asked, stopping her stride.
"I can see it in your eyes." He answered simply.
"The way you look at him, the way you smile a little more when he's around.
And as for Van, well... he's always loved you. If you need proof of that,
then just think of when you were sent back to the Mystic Moon. It was Van
who took the Escaflowne and flew to you, simply because he wanted to see
you again. If that's not a sign of love, then I don't know what is."
"I do love him." Hitomi admitted.
"And he loves you. Take my advice, Hitomi," the
blond man said, standing. "Tell him how you feel before it's too late.
Before you go back home. Otherwise... you're going to regret it." he patted
her lightly on the shoulder and brushed past her, but then stopped. "What
we once had, Hitomi," he said in a low voice. "Is nothing compared to what
you and Van share."
"Allen..." the girl from the Mystic Moon said
softly.
"It's alright, don't worry. I'm not affected
at all." he flashed her a grin. "If anything, I encourage this. It's something
that should have happened from the very beginning. We'll see each other
before you leave," he called before walking away.
Hitomi watched him leave with a new surge of
hope springing up inside her. She toyed with her pendant for a bit, remembering
that she had to give it back to Van before she left. Then, she reached
into her uniform's jacket and pulled out some wrinkled paper and a pen.
She began to write in her 'diary'. She hadn't written anything down yet,
not since a few days before her arrival here. She had a lot to write down.
In her mind, it seemed as though the most prominent incident (besides the
music-less dance, of course) was what took place in the carriage. She had
fully intended to kiss him then... and hey, hadn't he been leaning
in as well? Hitomi could vaguely recall something of the sort occuring.
The notion made her heart race and she scribbled down events that had happened.
She didn't know how long
she sat there, but all she knew was that a few minutes away from completing
her entry, it began to rain.
"It's just spitting." Hitomi said, trying to
reassure herself. But suddenly, the friendly little droplets turned into
buckets of rain. "I'd better get inside." she ran towards the castle, using
her diary to protect herself from the water.
She arrived in the guestroom mostly soaking except
for her head, which had remained pretty dry, thanks to her notes. She laid
the diary sheets down on her bed, disappointed by the fact that the rain
had smudged most of the words. I'll have to re-write it later.
"Miss Hitomi?" came a voice at her door.
"Yes?" she returned.
"Princess Millerna has invited you to dinner
with the Allen Schezar, his sister, Van Fanel, king of Fanelia, and herself.
Will you be attending?"
"Oh, yes of course! Thank you." Dinner? Is
it already that late?
"Princess Millerna also adds that it is
somewhat of a formal occasion. Do you have a dress or should I find you
one?"
"Oh, no thank you." Hitomi called through the
door. She had a dress alright. There was that cute green one that Merle
had given her. According to the little catgirl, it had caused Van's eyes
to bulge. The sandy-haired girl giggled at the thought. She slipped out
of her soaking uniform and hung it over a chair to dry. She pulled on the
dress and brushed her hair in order to look as best as possible. She had
figured out that this meal would probably be her last evening one on Gaia,
and the term "Last Supper" suddenly sprang to mind. She opened the door
and walked out, deciding that before she went down to dinner she would
make a quick stop at the restroom. She took a quick turn in the hallway
and disappeared from view.
A few moments later, Van, dressed in formal attire
that had been loaned to him, arrived at Hitomi's door to escort her down
to dinner. Her door was ajar [actually, her door was adoor :P] so
he walked in.
"Hitomi?" he whispered. No answer. It wasn't
an especially large room, and it was clear that Hitomi wasn't there. He
was about to leave when he spotted something on her bed. Was it a note
of some kind? Van, being the type of person who never listened to the saying,
"curiousity killed the cat" decided to see what it was.
There were several sheets of lined paper, set
one on top of the other. They were mostly blurred ink, but at the top of
the last one, Van could vague make out "-itom-'s di-ry" he gasped, dropping
the papers onto the bed again. He shouldn't be reading this! However, friends'
voices began to swarm around his head. She loves you, (Lord) Van, she's
just too afraid to tell you, maybe you should be the first one, you're
afraid of rejection? You shouldn't be, she loves you too, if only you could
make yourself believe that...
He frowned and picked up the pages again. He
decided the latest one would be the best one, as the most important incident
involving him that he could remember was when Hitomi seemed to lean in
to a possible kiss in the carriage.
Unfortunately, the page was mostly blurry blue.
However, some words and phrases he could make out.
We saw Allen today. ---t feels like age-
since I last saw -im. The next few phrases were mostly blurry, although
Van managed to catch a -elena that he assumed was "Celena".
-hey left Alle- and I alone. The t-o of us began a conver-----.
It was ----- ---. ---------------- Al-en told me that he loves me. I admit-ed
that I love him to-. I lo-e him SO much. ---conversation over, he said
that we-- see eac- other again befo-e I leave. I -------------------------------------
Van was shaking as he slowly placed the
paper back on the bed. He had no desire to try and decypher anything else,
the message was already perfectly clear. So, Merle was wrong. Hitomi
does love Allen. He felt a tear form but he brushed it away.
Taking a deep breath and trying to regain his composure, Van made his way
down to the dinner table.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
A/N: *ducks more rotten vegetables that are being thrown at her head*
Well *dodge* I told you that *dodge* there were going to be obstacles.
*double dodge* What, you think that the stone in the road was.. "obstacle-ous"?
*dodge dodge* Na-uh. And for your information, Van misenterpretted the
letter. The ink blotches were very convenient, ne? Looking at the letter
that Van read and then look at the convo between Allen and Hitomi. You
fill in the blanks.
One more thing: I'm going to be away for the next week or so,
so you know what that means: no fic-y. That's why there are two chapters
today instead of just one. So please, REVIEW!