"And remember, that time when I thought
Hitomi was a handmaiden?" Millerna's voice droned on. "I asked her to carry
Allen's bags, simply because I was judging her by the clothes she wore.
Who would have guessed that we would turn out to be such good friends?"
she smiled at Hitomi, and the girl in the green dress smiled back.
The maid at the door had been slightly incorrect.
Millerna, Hitomi, Van, Allen, and Celena were not the only ones at the
"Last Supper". A few members of the Crusade were there, along with Princess
Eries. The Mole Man had also snuck in, stealing Pyle's seat when the Crew
member had excused himself for other matters.
Currently, the people at the table were
describing their first encounters with Hitomi, as she was the guest of
honor.
The Mole Man was up next. "I remember my
first meeting with Hitomi. The little lady was wearing a pretty stone and
it caught my eye so I went after it- "
"-Which is where I came in." Allen said
mock-gallantly. "That was my first encounter with Hitomi… saving her from
an attacker. Of course, when I asked if she was alright, she referred to
me as someone else and passed out." A light chuckle wove through the table
and Allen nudged Hitomi playfully.
As the memories continued, Van grew more
and more solemn. His thoughts were stuck on what he had read… Hitomi's
confession about who her heart belonged to: the blond knight in shining
armor.
The young king glanced at the interaction
between Hitomi and Allen. Nothing was really happening, just a few smiles
(that, in truth, were directed at everyone at the table), but at the moment,
Van was so torn that something as simple as Hitomi asking Allen to pass
the salt seemed, in his eyes, as though she was whispering "I love you,"
to the knight Caeli.
"..of course, that's when my brother stepped
in and kissed Hitomi to ward me off. It worked well, I must admit, as I
was thoroughly disgusted. I doubt, however, that Hitomi was." Celena finished
her say and glanced over at Hitomi, who was turning slightly rosy-cheeked
at the memory. Van's eyes darkened. He had remembered that little incident,
alright. That was when he had felt his first pang of jealousy towards Allen.
At the time, he wondered why the hell he had felt like that, scoffing at
the notion that he might feel something for the girl with the funny hair
and clothes. But it seemed he had no reason to laugh at the tiny twang
that pinched his heart at the sight of her being kissed--on the cheek,
at that--because in truth, he had fallen head over heels with Hitomi. He
had just been too denying of his heart and also, more importantly, too
afraid to tell her.
But now it was too late.
Van was jerked out of Memory Lane when
he felt all eyes on him. He realized that it must be his turn to say something.
But, he didn't let one word go. He just sat silently, his gaze locked onto
the flaming candle in the center of the table.
"Looks like lover-boy is tongue-tied."
Reeden chortled, but stopped abruptly when he realized that no one was
laughing with him.
"Van…" Hitomi broke the silence. "Do you
have any memories of our first encounter?"
He raised his head and her eyes met his.
"You called me pig-headed," he said softly, evenly. "And then you slapped
me." He stood up suddenly and excused himself.
Everyone watched, mystified, as he left
the room, a little storm cloud hovering over his head. Then their heads
turned to Hitomi, to see what she was intending to do about it.
"I don't understand…" he voice quavered.
"That memory never bothered him before…" she felt Allen's hand on her shoulder.
"Go after him, Hitomi." He suggested. "If
anyone can cheer him up, it's you."
"Having a pretty girl in your room will
cheer any guy up," Reeden cracked, but Celena shot him a mean look and
he immediately shut up.
"Dammit!" Van threw his fist against the
wall in anguish. He jerked it back at the intense pain, falling to his
knees like someone who has just been defeated. He continued to stay in
that position on the floor, shaking.
A gentle knock on the door broke through
his anger for a moment.
"Van?" came the voice that he had fallen
in love with. He got to his feet and opened the door.
"Hitomi." He stated flatly.
"What's wrong?" she asked gently.
"Nothing." He didn't know why he bother
to deny that something was bothering him, he could see it in her eyes that
she already know something was up.
"Liar. Please tell me. Maybe I can help."
Van smirked coldly at the irony.
"What so funny? Don't play games with me."
She begged.
He stared at her icily. "Go to bed, Hitomi.
You leave tomorrow, and you wouldn't want to be late in going home, would
you? This conversation is over, I'm going to sleep."
"You can't go around pretending nothing
bothers you." She growled lowly.
"Watch me." He countered, slamming the
door shut.
Hitomi was stunned. His words hit her like
a punch in the nose and she recoiled as though she had actually been hit.
"Damn your stubborn side, Van Fanel!!"
she shouted, unaware of the tears that had begun to streak down her face.
She burst into her room, closing the door behind her with great force.
Eventually, she fell asleep.
The sun was what woke Hitomi Kanzaki up
the next morning, shining its brilliant rays on the sleeping girl. She
groaned and considered covering her head with a pillow but the idea soon
vanished as she remembered that today was the day. She hoisted herself
out of bed, smoothing the green dress that she hadn't bothered changing
out of the night before. Hastily, she pulled the garment over her head,
then tugged on her brown uniform skirt and buttoned up white blouse that
went with it. She left the room, glancing at Van's door. It was still tightly
closed, indicating that he was not yet up.
She bounded down the stairs, taking two
at a time, to the dining room. Allen, dressed rather casually, was the
only person there. Breakfast had been set out, however.
Hitomi rook a seat across from him and
poured himself some juice. She sipped it slightly and felt Allen's crystal-blue
eyes upon her.
"What?" she asked.
"How did things go with Van last night?
When you didn't come back down I considered checking on you. I decided
against it, lest I interrupt an important moment between you and the king
of Fanelia."
Hitomi lowered her glass and for the first time
Allen noticed the bags under her eyes.
"That bad, was it?"
She slumped back in her chair. "When I tried
to talk to him, he slammed the door in my face. All I asked was 'What's
the matter, Van?'. Allen, what did I do wrong?"
The knight Caeli frowned. "You didn't do anything
wrong, but he--" he stopped mid-sentence, his eyes focusing on something
behind the sandy-brown haired girl. "Good morning, Van." he greeted cheerily,
while at the same time noting the bags under the young king's eyes. "Sleep
well?"
Van didn't reply. His face was set in a stubborn
way, a manner which Allen recognized instantly as being the same one that
the boy bore on his face during their first encounter. Somewhere along
the lines, Van's pride had been damaged, and something had toyed with the
most valuable part of him... his heart.
The raven-haired lad took a seat at the end of
the table. A servant was soon hovering over him, offering juice and other
breakfast foods. Van shook his head to dismiss him. "I'm not hungry, thank
you."
A long silence entered the room after those 5
little words had been uttered. Van continued his stern appearance and Hitomi
was casting furtive glances at him, exchanging concerned looks with the
man who sat across from her. At last, Allen asked: "What troubles you,
my friend?"
'Friend'? Van thought to himself.
Friends don't take away each other's heart's desire. You know
what I feel for Hitomi, Allen. He opened his mouth to reply,
but was cut short by a gentle cough. Millerna, clad in her princess's gown,
her gloved hands clasped in front of her, took two dainty steps into the
room.
"I have just been informed that Dryden has returned,
and is waiting in Folken's laboratory." she said quietly, carefully. She
looked to the green eyed girl. "Hitomi, it's time."