Chapter 2

Josceline awoke the first time to a women bending over him, the strong smell of herbs and medicine filling his nostrils, his shoulder and wrists stinging from something cold and wet being applied to them. She was smiling kindly at him, and he barely heard her mutter for him to go back to sleep. He did so willingly.

The second time he awoke, he was feeling more revived. But more importantly, more restless. And as he began to remembered the occurrences of the last few days, he realized why. Pulling himself to a sitting position, he scrambled to get out of bed, looking around the small room he was in for his shirt which had been removed. The sharp pain in his ribs caused him to hiss and look down. His chest was bandages as were his wrists and upper arms.

"I wouldn't move if I were you." He looked sharply to the side, reaching instinctively for his daggers only to find them gone.

Griffin sat watching him from a worn chair in the corner, his eyes squinted to see through the dusty room. He was dressed in worn out and faded clothes, a torn brown cloak across his lap. He wasn't smiling like he normally would.

"Griffin." Josceline turned his body to see him better, but the pain became unbearable and he stopped short.

Without a word, the cat boy stood up from his spot and came over, placing a hand on his shoulder and pressing him back against the bed slowly.

"Where are we?" Josceline let himself be pushed down, feeling the relief as he body touched against the sheets below him.

"A cottage outside the capital."

Josceline's eyes widened. "What are we waiting here for then? We have to get word to Fanalia about that man."

Griffin was already shaking his head as the guard spoke. "The Celestials are guarding all the roads. Every single exit out of the country."

"Even the forest?"

Griffin nodded. "They would kill us if they saw us. Just like they nearly killed you." A very hateful look came to his face now, all signs of the old cat boy disappearing. "They left you to die you know. In the woods. Luckily Corilith found you in time."

Josceline felt as if a heavy blow at hit him in the chest. "They're serving that man."

"He is a male ruler... and technically, he still is the king. He never actually lost the throne. The first ruler, Sahra imprisoned him in the tomb. And since she was married to him... just took over."

"I know the story." He added, feeling irritated.

"Then you should know that there isn't much we can do about it." Corilith entered the room, holding a basket of bandages and herbs to her chest. She was dressed just as commonly as Griffin, wearing a pheasants dress, her hair done back in a braid. She still walked with the elegance and grace of a powerful, female mage. "I'm sorry, Josceline." She added as she sat the basket down at his feet. "It's a waiting game, as of now."

"Can't you do something about it?" He was shouting, he knew it, but he couldn't control himself any longer.

"Damis is far more powerful then I ever hope to be... and he is immortal." She bowed her head. "Hitomi is the only one who can do something about it..."

"Hitomi is being held captive." He glared.

"He believes she is his wife. In a way, she is."

He shook his head and brought a hand to his ear, as if in pain. "We can't just sit here. We can at least get Hitomi out."

"If we get to Fanalia, I have a plan that could work." They both turned to Griffin who was watching them with his arms crossed against his chest, his tail flicking in irritation. "I know a way in." Josceline opened his mouth to speak, but Griffin cut him off. "We can't do it on our own."

Josceline turned, looking miserable out the window. "We'll just have to fight our way out of this country than."

"Not necessary." They both turned to Corilith. "I can't talk using magic... but we can use magic in another way." She smiled slightly.

oooooooooooooooo

It had a few days now since Hitomi had any human contact. She had tried many times to maybe escape from her balcony, or run down the hallways. But there were Celestials posted out her door and in the garden outside. Her escape wouldn't go unnoticed and she would be caught within a matter of seconds. Now that she's seen just how fast the Celestial Gates work, she was slightly afraid of them. All her time with Josceline and she had no idea how much power they had. She could feel it from them, yes... but she never saw it in action until now.

Josceline... she was worried about him. When she got over the grief of her father and her throne being taken from her she thought of him. What had his own brotherhood done with him? It was the ultimate betrayal... and Josceline held so much respect towards his kind until this moment.

She paced her room, every once in a while going to the washroom to throw up the meals she got passed to her through the doorway from shaken maids. They had no choice but to be there either.

And where was Griffin? And the mages? Why were they not there? Deep in the back of her mind she knew they couldn't do much about the situation had they been there... but it would still be comforting to know if they were safe. How had all of this happened during the little time she was in Fanalia with Van.

Frustrated and nauseated, she threw herself onto her bed and refused to move for hours. But eventually the usurper came to the room looking for her.

He walked with the air of complete arrogance, his long legs creeping along the stone floors towards the bed as she sat up, glaring furiously at him. He was so pale... it made her sick.

"Have you come to your senses yet?" He sat on the edge of her bed while she inched away from him, not turning her gaze away even as he lifted a skinny hand to caress her cheek. "So weak and powerless since I've last seen you."

"I'm not Sahra." She spoke it now with such a finality that it startled even her.

He sat back now, surveying her with a sadistic smile. "You are fooling yourself. Time might have passed, but you are still my queen." He shook his head as if she were a small child.

"I am not your Queen." She moved to get up off the bed, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her down again, nearly in his lap. She tried to squirm away quickly, but held her in place, laughing low into her ear.

"And as my queen, you have certain duties to me." Her eyes widened, and she trashed against him, hitting her palms against his chest and shoulders.

He laughed again, and let go of her wrists, causing her to stumbled backwards and hit the stone floor hard on her hip. She lay there, breathing hard, this time not meeting his gaze. She watched as his boots came into her view than left towards the door.

When she heard him open the door, she looked up again. He was watching her, a smirk on his face. "I'll come tonight for you. You know what will happen if you refuse." He left the room then, closing the door behind him. The sound of the lock sliding into place was the thing that brought her back to reality.

She cried. Long and hard. She did know what would happen if she didn't. And the loss of her mother and brother hardly seemed a fair trade for her dignity.

oooooooooooo

Josceline looked at his new self in the puddle of water at his feet. His brown hair was now black, and his eyes were no longer their silvery grey, but a blue colour. The marks on his arms and upper body were gone, only bare tanned skin showed under the shirt he wore now. He didn't have to hid his daggers anymore, instead he had hid a plain dagger he bought from a farmer in one of his worn boots, and a crossbow he kept wrapped in fabric in his saddlebag. He pulled his shabby pony along with him, stepping into the muddy water as he trudged along the border of La Vallex. The potion that would allow him to keep this form was in a flask in his coat pocket which was slung over the ponies hind quarters.

Griffin was walking ahead of him, no longer with a cat's tail swishing behind him. He looked perfectly human. His skin no longer cream and beige colours, but a light tan. His black hair was now a dusty brown, and his eyes were a hazelnut colour. He was dressed in that same clothes he was wearing in the cottage. The worn dirty cloak swirling around him in the slight breeze and cold air.

Corilith was behind him. Her hair now short and black, her eyes black to match. Her skin was naturally looking dark as well. She was pulling a pony of her own, holding up the hems of her dirtied long dress as she walked through the puddles. Her boots soaked through from the muddy waters on the path. She smiled at Josceline when he turned to look at her.

They had already got past the Celestial Gates on duty and were very close to passing into Fanalia's borders. They had claimed to be victims of the flooding in the north. They had moved to the capital, and upon finding no work or place to stay they could afford, decided to move on to Fanalia were there was always opportunities for work.

ooooooooooooo

Van was pacing back and forth in his bedroom, running hands through his hair well staring at the wood floor as he walked, his steps echoing through the room which suddenly seemed very empty.

"Van, your making me nervous doing that." Merle tried to add a playful tone into her voice, but the pain was obvious. She was seated on the very edge of his bed, watching him as he moved across the floor in front of her.

"I'll stop when I hear something from Hitomi." He peered sharply at her, his eyes blazing. From sadness or anger she wasn't sure. All in all, she shrank away from it, her cat ears drooping.

"I'm sure you will..." She wasn't even sure if she believed herself.

Hitomi left suddenly a few days ago, and they hadn't heard any news of her safe arrival in her own country. Usually they heard something from her by now. And when Van sent a messenger to the castle, the returned with a message from Hitomi saying she was busy with things and 'forgotten to write back'. The writing had looked like Hitomi's... but he knew it wasn't.

Her father wasn't up north helping flood victims. One of his advisors had told him that much that morning.

Van was ready to make his own trip to La Vallex and see what was going on.

"Why did she leave again?"

He didn't stop pacing as he spoke. "Something about a problem with merchants." He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know why she would need to go home for that. If her father was at the castle, which I assume is where he was, he would have taken care of it easily."

"If it has to do with merchants, wouldn't Dryden know something about it?" She watched as he suddenly stopped and looked out his window, realization dawning on his face, then without another word, he hurried towards the desk in the corner, pulling a drawer open so fast it nearly came out of its slot. He brought out an ink bottle, pen and paper and sat down to write.

Merle smiled slightly and walked over to the desk, looking out the window as she waited while Van wrote. But something in the courtyard caught her eyes. "Lord Van." She hadn't called him that for years, but it slipped at this moment.

Noticing this, he looked up in surprise, the pen poised over the paper, his eyebrows raised. But noticing where she was looking, he hurried to her side, placing a hand on the window as trying to get out of the room. Merle unlatched the window causing him to fall forward slightly.

A commotion was going on in the courtyard. A group of pheasants were persistently trying to get past the guards. Their angry voices carrying up towards their window.

"What's going on?" Merle called down to them due to Van's sudden quietness.

A guard turned to look up at the window, blocking his face from the sun with a hand. "Lady Merle." The whole group looked up at them now. "These people claim their friends of yours."

A black haired male pushed past one of the guards, almost too easily, taking the bigger man by surprise. "King Van, It's about Hitomi."

Than a brown haired boy pushed up next to him, putting hands around his mouth as he called up to them. "Merle! Let us in, it's important."

At the mention of Hitomi's name, Van was already out of the room and down the hallway, leaving Merle to stand and stare down at the young man calling up to her. His voice was familiar... but it couldn't be. "Griffin?"

He nodded vigorously at her, than turned his attention to somewhere below her. Van was rushing out of the castle, stopping in front of the black haired man.

"What about Hitomi. Who are you?" He controlled his voice, but inside he was feeling extremely frantic. He watched a women with black hair shift behind them, holding onto the reins of two shabby ponies, soothing one by rubbing their noses.

"King Van." The women moved forward now, passing the reins of the brown haired boy. "May we come in?"

He nodded, not entirely trusting of the group, but wanting to know what was going on.

Merle met them at the door. She was staring animatedly at the brown haired boy, then suddenly ran to him, giving him a tight hug. Van stared at the pair. "Wha-"

"This is Griffin." Merle didn't look at him when she spoke, only watched her boyfriend, touching his newly changed skin and hair.

"We have to talk right away." Griffin took her hands away, holding them gently in his hands.

oooooooooooo

They went to one of the dens to talk. Van taking a seat in a large chair, motioning for the strange group to sit as well, Merle taking a seat on the armchair of the seat that the changed Griffin was sitting in.

"You're Griffin?" Van shifted, watching the boy sitting to his left. "But you-"

The women spoke up. "That is my doing, Your Majesty. The effects will wear off soon." She was watching him with a strange look on her face. "I'm Corilith, and this..." She motioned to the young man standing near her. His head was bowed. "This is Josceline." Her voice was gently, quiet as she said this. She knew what Van's reaction would be.

"Josceline..." He stared at the man claiming to be the Celestial, his brain working fast. His heart was pounding. "Where is Hitomi. Your not suppose to leave her alone."

He sighed, a shaky sigh as he forced himself to look up at the king. "That's why we're here."

Van visibly paled. "What happened."

"The prince is dead." Corilith spoke up. "The Queen is being held captive in the castle." Van began to rise but she made a motion for him to sit down. He didn't, but hovered over his seat, watching her. Merle was making small worried noises from her spot. "We're planning on getting her out."

Van couldn't sit still any longer. He stood completely, staring at her, not able to believe what she was telling him. "Hitomi is being held captive? By who!"

"A past enemy of hers."

"What?" His mind raced. Dilandau? Some other person from Zaibach? He felt sick.

"Of her past self..." She didn't take her gaze from him. "He is still technically King of La Vallex..."

"Hitomi isn't actually that women." He sounded near hysterics, and Merle stood up to usher him to his seat. Soon, anger would replace it.

"No... but I have reason to believe he doesn't know that." She cocked her head to the side. "He is immortal, and was locked in that tomb for decades... he doesn't have a right concept of time anymore."

Van stared at her. "He thinks he's still married to her?"

She nodded. "I'm afraid so."

"I'm going to kill-" He stood and made his way quickly to the door. He was almost there when Josceline stepped in his way. "Move, Josceline."

He shook his head. "I can't."

Van shoved the guard backwards, causing him to take a few steps back. But he stood tall again, not moving.

"Van." Both Merle and Griffin stood and spoke at the same time, but Griffin spoke first.

"I know a way in."

Van turned to him now, anger on his face as Josceline visibly relaxed behind him. Josceline liked the king, and didn't want to have any sort of confrontation with him.

"How?"

oooooooooooooooo

Hitomi lay in her bed, the blankets huddled around her as she stared blankly at the wall. She hadn't moved from that spot all morning. She wanted to get up. She wanted to go and take a bath to wash away her suddenly very dirty feeling body, but she couldn't muster up the nerve. If she moved, she may realize just what she'd done.

She did it to save her family... That's what she kept having to tell herself.

She had cried herself out. Even all the rage in her seemed to have boiled out of her in vapours. There was nothing left it felt.

He had left early in the morning, as if she weren't good enough for him.

She didn't care. She never wanted to see him again.

But low and behold... she needed to be sick. But it took all her energy to pull herself out of bed.

She was walking out of the bathroom when someone knocked on the door. Before she could tell the person to enter (she knew it wasn't Damis, he wouldn't knock), the door opened and a timid looking women walked in. Hitomi stopped and watched her as she walked towards her, bowing quickly from the centre of the room.

"Yes?" She asked, unsure, but holding herself up for her own dignity. If she still had some left.

"Lord Damis sent me..." Her voice was a whisper, and Hitomi noticed with some satisfaction that this women didn't call the man 'His Majesty' or 'King'.

"What for?" She moved over to the bed, but did not sit down. All the while watching this small, mousy women.

"I'm a healer, Your Majesty... He believes there is something wrong with you..." She trailed off, unsure.

Hitomi felt her heart speed up. Gods... he couldn't know... She placed a hand instinctively to her stomach. "There isn't anything wrong with me."

"I need to check..." Her eyes were frightened... and Hitomi gave in, sitting down at the edge of her bed.

"I don't want you to get in trouble." She sighed. "Go ahead."

oooooooooooooooo

AN: Oh dear... poor Hitomi.

I go into more detail with Van and her's dirty deeds... but not with her and Damis'... he's creepy... and it wouldn't be pretty...

Don't worry... it's Van to the rescue! And Josceline... and Griffin... and Corilith. -nods-

Reviews please!