Hey everyone! It's time for the third chapter! I'm just so happy at the reviews I've gotten. Thank you, everyone, for all the praise and encouragement. :D It's what keeps me doing what I do – writing! Well, I apologize for the long update time...I was incredibly busy with projects and homework. Strange how once you get back to school, the homework gets piled on you like crazy. -- I know it's been...about a month? And I'm SO SO SORRY!!

Thank you, to the listed reviewers who reviewed:

egwene105

Inda

Hearts of Eternity

kmmgirly

youjibaracuda

chibihitomi

rOsExPeTaLz

LaVeNdErSaKuRa

Dancing In The Rain

Spirit0

Lady Paine

shioan!

And now, on to the story! (Note: Yes, I know Allen's a bit OOC but hey, just think of it this way – people can change quite a lot in three years. And in this case, Allen...had way too much free time. o.Ox)

Chapter Three

Hitomi was in a daze the entire time she was being led back to her room. Van had kissed her hand right before he had departed, and now her thoughts were in a jumble. Could this mean...? No...it couldn't have. After all, she'd seen guys do that with their female friends as an exaggerated joke. They would fall in bouts of laughter, them and their friends, and it would mean nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

But her other side kept asking, "What if...what if..." As in, "What if he really did love me? What if he didn't? What if I assumed he did and made a fool of myself? What if I hurt his feelings by pretending it meant nothing? What if..."

Hitomi reached her room, and immediately fell back on her bed. This was all so confusing. The only way she could make sure was by asking, and heavens no, she couldn't possibly ask Van. Too embarrassing. She could be wrong, and he'd get strange ideas about her.

Merle? Uh...no. Hitomi wasn't even sure if Merle still had feelings for Van. But by the looks of it, Merle probably didn't...but one couldn't be too careful...

Allen? Out of the question. NEXT!

Dryden? No, it'd feel strange talking to another guy about it. She needed a woman's opinion.

Millerna? ............What if she told Allen? But she's married to Dryden and she might consult Dryden...ARGHHH!!!

She grabbed her pillow and buried her head into it, grumbling her many frustrations into the soft cloth that covered it. Her head touched something silky and soft, and she looked up momentarily to see what it was.

Her eyes met a bouquet of red roses, thorns cut, and tied with a silky white cloth. Wondering why she didn't notice it before, she picked it up, and searched it, looking for a card or note of any kind. When none was found, she groaned. So someone did like her. But who? She hated guessing games.

Could've it been Van? Was the first thought that flew into her mind. After his display back there, she had immediately come up with his name first. But the knowledge that he was King of Fanelia quickly squashed that suspicion. How could royalty be with commoners? It was the same in ever story she had read; the prince falls in love with the commoner, and they could never be together, so they either commit suicide, or they marry another. It was that simple. Hitomi hated being so stereotypic, but that's the way she saw it in her own eyes.

And besides...VAN? That was like falling in love with her best friend. Yes, she knew that back then, she was only fifteen...she didn't know any better. She was too young to understand...what love really was. All its pleasures...and its hear-breaking pain. Are you sure? Her heart kept asking. What if...what if...? Her heart kept asking so many what-ifs and Hitomi quickly squashed them down again.

Hitomi knew of no other gentleman who could ever be infatuated with her. I mean, I'm just so plain compared to the elegant and beautiful women of the noble houses of Fanelia. Hitomi thought with a sinking heart. The roses could've been a mistake. Someone must have delivered it to the wrong room.

Hitomi turned towards the door and began towards it, ready to ask the servants to deliver it to the next room over, when her foot crunched on something below her. She picked it up, and found that it was a card, with her name inscribed on the front. She flipped it over and read,

My emotions remain unspoken, but they will not be soon enough. But for now, take these roses as a sign of my affection for you.

I love you.

There was no signature, or any indication of who the sender could've been. She stuck some of the flowers in a vase that had some springs of a plant with mini white flowers at the tips (A/N: I don't know what those are called...sorry. It's the little white flowers that come in store-bought bouquets of roses.), and walked outside with the rest.

She proceeded to the gardens – Merle had given her a map of the palace, thankfully – and upon seeing the nearest gardener, she hurried over and inquired whether he may know the identity of the sender.

The man just smiled and said, "He asked us not to reveal his name. But just so you know, I know for a fact that this man cares deeply for you."

No matter how much she begged and ranted, the gardener would not give in. Assuming the other were the same, she returned to the palace, quite disappointed. The dinner bells rang, and Hitomi returned to her room to place the rest of the flowers in the vase, before departing for the dining hall.

By the time she got there, the dishes we just being laid out, and Hitomi quickly slid into her seat. Van nodded, and after he took the first bite, everyone else willingly dug in to the food laid before them. Hitomi ate in silence, her thoughts filled with questions. Her eyes scanned the faces at the table carefully, coming at last to rest on Van. If he noticed her gaze, he didn't show it, for his attention was focused elsewhere.

After a long while of brooding and picking at her food instead, Hitomi still had no idea of who it could be. She had been staring down at her plate, absentmindedly picking her food around when she looked up and saw Merle's questioning eyes resting upon her.

"Something wrong?" Merle asked. "You've been quiet this whole dinner." By now everyone's eyes rested on her, waiting for an answer. Hitomi shook her head, knowing that Merle would come after her and pry the answer out of her, one way or another.

Apparently satisfied with her answer –or so she thought- Merle returned to eating, as did the other members of the table. Van looked at Hitomi with concerned eyes, but Hitomi pretended not to see them, and excused herself from the table, a million questions still pounding in her head.

A few minutes later, as Hitomi was lying on her bed, in her room, staring at the canopy cover above her, the door burst open, and Merle stomped in. Hitomi sat straight up, and regarded her with distracted eyes.

"What?" Hitomi mumbled. Merle shut the door, and jumped across from Hitomi, at the foot of the bed.

"SPILL!" She demanded.

Hitomi opened her mouth, ready to say, "I don't know what you're talking about", but the determined look in Merle's eyes made her consider otherwise. She knew Merle well enough to know that she would pry and pry, and Hitomi would cave sooner or later. Might as well save herself the trouble...

Hitomi simply gestured to the roses in the vase across her room. "Someone sent me those and I can't figure out who."

Merle stared at her with incredulous eyes. "That's IT?" Merle scoffed and shook her head. "All that weird silence and worrying all just because of those?!"

"Do you know who sent them then?" Hitomi asked, poking Merle in the shoulder insistently. "Tell me."

"I thought it would be obvious!! And besides, it's not my place to tell." Merle swatted her poking finger away, crossed her arms, and refused to look at her.

"If I answer right will you tell me?" Hitomi enquired. She took Merle's silence as an affirmative, and continued.

"Is it Van?" Hitomi asked hesitantly. Merle turned her gaze towards her, and nodded slightly.

"Now, see, was it really that hard?" Merle asked. Hitomi blinked and fell back on the bed.

"I am so confused...why did he send them, Merle?" Hitomi asked. "Does this mean..."

"Not my place to say," was the flat reply.

Hitomi groaned. For every answer she got she came up with a million more questions, and Hitomi was almost at her limits.

"He loves me, he loves me not..." Hitomi mumbled, as she took a daisy that was by her nightstand, and began to pluck its petals, one by one like the familiar childhood game she used to play. The petals fell away, and Merle watched as the daisy was stripped, eyes following the slowly drifting petals until they hit the ground. At last, Hitomi came upon the last petal.

"He loves me..."

Merle shrugged, and left the room, leaving Hitomi to stare at the daisy with all but one petal. Did he? Or was this all just in her head?

Van paced back and forth in his study, running a hand through his unruly black hair. He had sent Hitomi those flowers, but...what if she still loved Allen? What if she liked some other guy back home on the Mystic Moon? What if she thought of Van only as a friend? What if...

Van was bombarded with what-ifs as well. He was so confused. Van wasn't sure about the best way to tell Hitomi that he loved her. He knew that he did! Van found himself thinking of her every single day...but what if he mistaken this for sibling-like affection?

With a growl, he shook his head, and tried to clear his head of all the what-ifs. He knew enough to know that those would get him nowhere. He sat down in his chair behind the desk, and folded his hands, staring down at the ebony desk before him. He wish he knew the answers...

Van's head snapped up as the door opened, and Merle walked in. She leaned over the desk and gave him a hug.

"Hey Van! What's up?" Merle plopped herself down on the couch next to the desk, and watched him carefully, her tail swaying gently back and forth.

"Confused." Van replied simply, and leaned back in his chair, raising his arms to rest his head on them. "Whoever invented love, made this simply baffling." Van frowned, and turned towards Merle. "You know, I don't even know if I'm in love. I feel something but I just can't figure it out."

Merle cocked her head to one side and grinned. "You of all people...you know, Hitomi found your roses. And, she figured out who sent them, smart girl."

Van smiled slightly. "You helped her out didn't you?"

"Of course!" Merle laughed. "Otherwise she'd be wandering around looking for more answers for questions that didn't exist. You saw her at dinnertime. She was so confused that I had to help her out. Didn't take much though...I think she suspected it."

Van nodded. "Tell me...how does one know that they're in love?"

"Simple," Merle said. "You put their happiness before yours, in any situation, whether they love you back, or not. And, when you're apart, your heart feels empty, like it's missing something." She patted Van reassuringly on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it! It'll all become clear soon enough."

With that said, Merle walked out of the room. 'At least this will give them something to think about...' she thought. She knew they needed a push, or else they would never admit their feelings. She turned the corner and almost walked into Millerna, who dropped the laundry out of surprise.

"Oh! I'm sorry Merle!" Millerna said, picking the scattered clothes up. Merle bent to help her pick it up. When they were finished, they both stood up, and an awkward silence settled between them.

"So, how is Van and Hitomi? Have they realized...?" Millerna started.

"Ah...so you know too?" Merle asked in slight surprise.

"Well it doesn't take a genius to figure it out! I've seen the way they look at each other. They haven't said anything, or they haven't realized that they love each other. It's kind of sweet...everyone knows that they're in love, except the lovers themselves! Young love...almost makes me wish I weren't married." Both girls giggled. "Of course," Millerna said, "I'll never forget how confusing love was when I was younger. I'd give anything not to go back there. I almost ended up with Allen!"

Merle nodded. "Yes, and I used to like Van remember? I'd almost forgotten, that ever since the war, I've begun to see Van so differently. I see everyone so differently, actually. I used to think you were a snobby, perfect, and prim princess who'd never had a day of work in her life!" Merle laughed nervously.

"Really? I thought you were some lovesick spoiled kitten chasing after Van!" Millerna giggled. "But I'm glad I got to know you better! I guess the war had a big influence on us, didn't it?"

Both girls were silent for a while, as they reminisced. Finally, Millerna said, "Ah! I have to wash these again. I'll see you later okay? And remember, love is something that they have to figure out by themselves. No more matchmaking!" Millerna winked and shook her finger at Merle. She then turned and left the way she had come.

"Sure. See you later!" Merle called. She yawned, and walked back to her room. This had been a good progress. It wasn't matchmaking – it was the push they needed, no – the push they wanted.

Hitomi walked out onto her balcony, staring up at the Mystic Moon. She was already in her nightgown, but she couldn't sleep. Propping her head up with her hands, she gazed across the gardens, and down upon the newly built Fanelia. Merle had promised to take her shopping tomorrow, and Hitomi was looking forward to seeing all the work that had been done since she was gone.

Part of her wished that she could see it with Van, but he was probably busy tomorrow. The other part was still wondering about his feelings for her. She knew that she couldn't depend on the daisy as a fortune-teller, and she didn't do readings for people anymore, much less herself. But still...

Hitomi wanted to know what true love felt like. Not the storybook descriptions, or the passionate love scenes in teen novels, but the love that she could share with the one she truly cared about. Not only did she want to be loved, but she wanted to find someone who would love her for who she was...not for her looks, money, friends, social status...none of that mattered to her. Just as long as that special one could be happy...

That would be all her happiness in the world.

Trouble is, she was still figuring out who was her Mr. Right.

She turned and walked into her room, not bothering to close the balcony doors. The gentle breeze was refreshing, and it had calmed her thoughts almost instantly. Hitomi slid between the cool sheets, and snuggled deep into the covers, and fell into a deep sleep almost instantly.

After she fell asleep, a figure with outstretched wings landed quietly on her balcony. The curtains fluttered around him as he stepped through the door, and stopped by her bedside, his folded wings' tips sweeping across the floor gently.

Van reached out for her, stopping short inches before her face. How badly he wanted to touch her skin, just once! But he couldn't. He knew it was wrong – he couldn't have her. Not yet.

Leaving yet another bouquet of flowers – lilies this time – and anonymous card, he kissed her forehead gently, praying she would not wake, and walked back out the balcony door. This was all he would allow himself to have.

Casting on final look at the sleeping Hitomi, he flew off into the night.

Yepp...I hope that's not too bad. Once again, my sincerest apologies that the update took so long, and I hope that the next update will be considerably faster.

Until the next chapter,

Kyoko