Author's Notes: I just got my schedule for my outdoor track/soccer season, and it's not looking good for you guys. In fact, there are two weeks where I have three soccer games and two track meets in one week. If I have any semblance left of the thing called free time, I'll be sleeping. I know, sleep is overrated, but I'll be catching as much of it as possible. I'm going to attempt to squeeze another update in between this month and next, but after that, you guys we'll be lucky if you see another one before June. I just thought I would give all my readers a head start on not holding your breaths. For those of you who don't read my author's notes, well, here's to waiting. Good luck with that.

Oh, and I'm switching to Van's POV.

Drifting Destiny: Chapter 10

Let's see, I've told her we're engaged, I've taken care of Merle, I've nursed Hitomi back to health, I've kept Allen away from here, and I was about to have a delightful evening with Hitomi in the gardens. I've fuflfilled all my life's goals for the moment and would be wholly content if not for my older brother. Must he always get in my way of happiness? He was the oldest and thus would become king when he was older. Later, he nearly died and forced me into the position of king.

I was almost alright with this until he attempted time after time to take my Hitomi from me. I told myself a long time ago I would rid myself of my possessive nature in my thoughts, but I have yet to do so. I think it has something to do with everyone leaving me. Father left me when he died of illness, mother left me when she died of heartsickness, and Folken left me for a dragon slaying. I admit I have conflicting reasons to show anger at my brother, but I have my reasoning as does the rest of the world.

I am not calling forth my brother from this cliff because I love him like a brother anymore. I am calling him to aid me in helping Hitomi back to health. I can feel her losing strength even from this distance, and her pendant weighs heavily on her chest. She has not yet recovered from Zaibach's taunting nature, and I will do anything in my power to protect her. I have the strength to heal, but I don't know if I can overcome my fate to cause pain to others. I want to isolate myself from the world, but Hitomi won't let me.

I let the wind rip through my hair as I discard my shirt. I feel the stab of water as the waves break on the shore below me. I feel my skin itch as my wings prepare to burst from my back. Unlike Hitomi, I am accustomed to the pain, and I can almost fade it to nothing. The white feathers burst from my back, and the wind pulls at me from the ground. I hold steady as I ready myself for the slightest change in wind. The smallest flutter could break my concentration away from the task at hand.

I can feel the silver beads of energy within me before I can see them with my mind. Unlike Hitomi, I have a very limited sense of where my energies lie and when I can use them. I find my center is a mass of silver light streams, and I pick a few of them away from my center. Reaching out onto the wind, I throw my energies wildly I'm broadcasting my signature energies Using a few more strands of myself, I search for my brother's energies as well. I feel more of my energy draining, but I must continue.

The soft silver of his energy is laced in black, and I know he can feel me. He's trying to tell me something, but I can't hold on. He got my message, and I now I must recede back into my own body. My energy is trying to replenish itself, but I used too much of it. I make one last attempt to throw myself out to Hitomi, but I'm too weak. Consciousness is leaving me suddenly, and my wings drift back into my back. Feathers float away on the wind, and I can only hope one of them flies to Hitomi.

Cold floors feel rough against my skin. I breathe harshly, and my ribs burn as they bite into my skin. I scratch at the surface, and ropes chafe into my skin. Bitter laughter floats to my ears, and I groan. My voice is scratchy, and my tongue is grainy in my mouth. "Whose there?" I try to say, but it comes out as a mere whisper. Zaibach would love the look of the fallen king now. My muscles tense as someone walks closer to my imprisonment, and the ropes bite into my skin more. How long can I endure torture this time?

"You don not know us, young Draconian, but we have always known you," a cold voice says above. My eyelids feel heavy, but I force them open. My teeth grit against the harsh light, and I force myself to continue to search for the unusual voice. Iron clad boots are the first things to meet my gaze. Laces and multiple buckles encase the rough leather. Black pants fold into cuffs above the boots, and a cloak touches the floor. My eyes adjust to the light as I look into the face of my capturer.

"K'alin. Blood traitor," I spat out without thinking. My foolhardiness has an extremely bad habit of catching up to me. I think I'm cursed. The man grabbed me by the collar and pulled me up to face him. I choked, and he manhandled me across the room. This was one of those times I'm glad I was never pampered royalty. The other atlanteans must be mocking me now. "What would you ask of me? There is nothing I can give you," I growled as I glared back at him defiantly. We wouldn't intrude on my pride.

"I want what any K'alin wants, my lord," he mocked me. Why must they always mock people when they're down? "I want to see the last of the draconians gone from this world. To rid this world of you would be to breathe the fresh air again. Unfortunately for me, there's a price on your head, and we can't decide whether you would be more useful to us alive or dead." Great, I get to sit here while they decide if I should be a bargaining chip or be a bid for death. This is just bloody fantastic.

I don't remember much about the K'alins. Mother assured me when I was young they were almost as extinct as we were. There couldn't be more than ten of them left in the world, and they were all out for the draconian's blood. They, like us, were descended from the Atlanteans, but unlike us, they still desired power. They also knew how to hide themselves better than the draconians and so became less extinct than we are. They had wings of blood red nature, but their signature was their silver eyes.

"Our fate used to be to serve you; however, Dornkirk freed us from our supposed Destiny the moment he tried to revive the Atlanteans' dream. Now, he will embrace our own instincts to destroy all Draconians," he paused as if he were listening to some other voice. Hitomi got that strange look in her eyes whenever she was speaking to ghosts trying to warn her of something. Whatever ghost he was listening to, he seemed to disagree with what it was saying. I should encourage the voice; it might be trying to save me.

"You know, I might be some distant relative of yours. Would you ever want to destroy one of the few remaining member of your family? What should I call you anyway?" I must have said the wrong thing. A flash of silver and his eyes took on a red haze. We went to grab at me once more, and I threw myself against the far wall. I was right in assuming he didn't have the patience to search for the key as he grabbed at the bars to my cell instead. The rust bit into his hands, but he didn't seem to notice.

"You are not worthy enough to speak my name, Van de Fanel," he spoke as the rust bit further into his hands. "You were the ones who destroyed the great power of Atlantis and plunged any last hope we had of living in prosperity. We are once again shunned to the world, and there are not enough of us to retake Gaea as our own. All we need to gather power once more is the blood and feathers of a draconian. Every last feather is needed for the ritual, but it suffice. Why might we want you alive then?"

His bored tone forced me to nod. Human curiosity got the better of me, and who was I to resist? If I was going to die, I'd like to know why I was going to die. I held onto thoughts of Hitomi as I forced myself not to look grim. "There are thousands of Zaibach rebels out there who still wish for the same thing Dornkirk did. Their human will was strong enough to bypass both yours and that dreaded fortune teller's from the Mystic Moon. They are willing to pay anything to have your heads rolling before the people of Gaea."

"And I guess they'll look to you as their leaders," I ask sarcastically. When he grins and nods, I supress the urge to berate him for his idiocy. It seems as though as long as I'm dead, he'll gain power. I hope he truly believes that. I think I'm going to be cynical and live just to spite him. He's going to be sorely disappointed when Hitomi and Folken find me here. Folken will notice first because I sent my energy to him, but Hitomi will catch on eventually. I think I've become bitter after my long age of fighting.

He leaves with a mocking bow, and I don't respond to his antics. Instead, I force myself to relax. The bonds around me loosen, and I work at untying the bonds around my hands. They are too tight for me to untie, so I glance around for any protruding rock. A sharp ledge catches my eye, and I edge my way over to it. I tried for about half an hour it seemed to reach the sharp savior, but my muscles gave out beneath me. I cursed myself for using so much energy to summon Folken as I fight against the sleep behind my eyes.

Curse the fates for their ability to pick and choose what they interfere in. Hitomi, I believe in you. Please, you must find me. Only you have the power to sway our destinies. If I don't make it out of here, I just want you to know that I love you Hitomi. If we must conquer our futures to be together once more, I will do anything just to see you smile once more. I would give my life to see you fly beneath my wings once more or to see you fight to keep me out of battle. I only find it amusing to have fought so hard only to give in to exhaustion.

I turned against my destiny once more as I once again attempted to cut the bonds away from me.

Thirty miles away, Hitomi kissed the pearly white feather as she picked up her pendant to draw the courage she needed to find him. He was out there, waiting for her, and all she needed was to find the strength.

Notes: It may seem shorter than usual, but I can assure you it's 2001 words long. Yes, that's generally the average that I write my chapters at. Happy reading! Ja ne –Insane Pineapple from Naboo

Responses:

Saraneth the Binder: I'm really curious as to how you came up with that theory. No, the thought never even crossed my mind, but I'd be delighted to hear what you think.

Inu and kag fan till death: Why thank you. Say, how are the inuyasha fanfictions looking these days? I haven't checked in a really long time.

Lebijou: I'm happy you think so. I also hope I'm getting Van's thoughts across well too. Not too many people would have portrayed him as sarcastic to his enemies…

Moon-Angel-Eyes: Well, I'm not sure I met your deadline, but I did try. Really, I did. Van has got to be the cutest anime character there is, and with puppy dog eyes? How anyone could resist him is beyond me.

Anime fan: I've got someone hooked? Wahoo! I'll try to keep it a healthy addiction for you.

Redroses: This story is opposite to what I usually write. I can't write humor easily, so I hope you're enjoying my sad attempts at it!

Jossi-31: Meh, soon in my world is whenever I have free time. Of course, free time is a notion I don't have a concept of anymore.

Leneia: Of course, of course. I do so like thanking my reviewers though. It makes them see how make I appreciate their thoughts on my works. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

Macky: Thank you much. There's only one story I haven't finished yet (and will be left unfinished), but that's a cowritten ficlet. I don't consider that to be my fault either.

The lady winged knight: I had someone rolling on the floor! Yes! My purpose in life has now been fulfilled. I'll go back to writing humor soon enough. This is more of a …transition…chapter. Consider it a climbing point.