Previously in Chapter 2:
As Hitomi's mind reeled back to the present, she realized that she was living proof that no matter what happens things have a way of working themselves out. After her parents initial separation they eventually got counseling and tried to rebuild their marriage. They consoled Mamoru to the point that it seems like he never drifted astray. And herself; she went on an adventure, faced the forces of evil, saved a planet, and married the man of her dreams. Although she would not see her parents the way she wanted to, she would always think of them, and Yukari and Amano as well. Things had turned out seemingly well for every one; and at that thought she smiled.
Chapter 3: Memories and Attraction?
Everything at the wedding reception was going well. Family and friends were dancing and soon she and Van would be able to retire for the evening. She couldn't wait, it would be the most memorable moment of her life. Even if she was still a virgin, she knew a lot more about pleasing a man than most of these females on Gaea did. Hitomi was thinking so much about Van she never heard anyone approach her.
"Tell me Your Majesty, are you so bored by tonight's events that you must distance yourself from everyone." She would know that voice anywhere, as she turned and greeted the Heavenly Knight of Cali, Allen Schezar.
"Allen, its been quite a while. How are you and Celena." Hitomi asked.
"She's doing fine. After everything that's happened I can't believe they were able to separate the two. But at least I don't have to worry about Celena turning into Dilandu. But let's not talk about that, we should be reminiscing on the fact that now since you and Van are married he will no longer sulk around the castle waiting for you to return."
Hitomi laughed, "Was it terrible Allen?"
"Was it? Van spent so much time moping around that Merle sought out my company half of the time because Van was no fun to be around anymore. But him getting married should calm the eager vultures for now."
"What do you mean?"
"Of course Van's advisors have been pressuring him to find a queen for Fanelia, but I think that they are satisfied that he chose such a lovely creature to become his wife."
"Allen." said Hitomi in a warning tone. "You are still the same flatterer. Anyway, I'm going to go and find Van."
"Of course, do enjoy the rest of your wedding day, Hitomi. I think that I should go and bother some unsuspecting female." Hitomi laughed and walked in the opposite direction of Allen.
Van saw Allen talking to Hitomi and wondered what it could be about. Whatever it was he wasn't distressing Hitomi so Van continued talking to Dryden about new discoveries and secure borders. It was actually a perfect distraction to keep his mind off of how bored he was with the party and how ready he was to end this night in Hitomi's arms. It was a crime the way they expected new husbands to dance, drink, socialize, and then still make love to their wives after the strenuous event of being nice from sunrise to way after sunset.
"Van? Van, did you hear what I said?"
As Van came out of his reverie he replied, "Honestly Dryden, no I didn't." Dryden knew exactly what was troubling Van.
"Van, you are allowed to retire early this evening, this is your wedding night." When Dryden said that Van looked at him, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Thanks, Dryden." With that said Van went off the bid goodnight to some of his guests and find his wife.
As Hitomi continued searching for Van, she spotted her parents. When saw her, they walked towards her.
"Mom, Dad, you haven't seen Van have you. No, not in the least." replied her mother. As Hitomi worried her lower lip, Mrs. Kanzaki noticed Yukari and two other women coming towards them.
"Hi, everyone. Mr. and Mrs. Kanzaki you remember Merle and this is Queen Millerna." Yakari said.
"Hello, everyone. It's a pleasure to meet the parents of Lady Hitomi. She has truly been an inspiration to us all." said Millerna.
"Well, we're glad to know that Hitomi will be surrounded by friends all the time." replied Mr. Kanzaki. While all of this was being said Merle was busy making arrangements for the Kanzaki's and Uchida's to stay the night.
Once that was done Merle replied, "I'm glad that all of you decided to stay the night. But I'm afraid we need to borrow Hitomi for a little while."
"Of course." Mrs. Kanzaki said. Completely understanding what the young Feline creature was trying to do. "But after everything is ready I would like to see Hitomi."
"Of course, Mrs. Kanzaki. Come on, Hitomi, we don't have a lot of time."
"I'm coming, well I guess I'll say goodnight then." Then Hitomi hugged her mom and dad and disappeared into the crowd with Merle, Yukari, and Millerna. Once they got near the stairs, Yukari asked them to wait up as she disappeared back into the sea of people. As she spotted the tall blonde she tried to get his attention but was failing miserably because of all the females surrounding him.
Allen noticed a very attractive female approaching. Since he didn't recognize her, he figured that she was Hitomi's friend. Allen loved women and knew most of them by face and reputation. But since she just looked odd, he assumed that he was right. As the ladies continued to surround him, some of them suggestively pressing their bodies against his hoping that he would accept their silent invitation, he tried to make his way towards the female.
As Yukari realized that he noticed her, she stood patiently waiting for him to get to her through the throng of women. When Allen finally broke through, he turned towards the women and said, "Ladies, please excuse me but a matter of importance has occurred and I must attend to it. Perhaps I will see some of you later on. But in the meantime I must go." With that said Allen turned around, grabbed Yukari's hand and brought it to his lips, then placed it in the crook of his arm and said, "Shall we get some fresh air?"
Yukari nodded her head while trying to get over the initial shock of what had just transpired. It seemed that Allen was just as eager to get away from those women, as she was to get his attention. Allen lead her towards the terrace entrance leading to the garden. Once they stepped outside the scent of many flowers greeted their noses and Yukari suddenly realized how stuffy it was in the overcrowded ballroom. After getting herself together, Allen spoke.
"Well, it seems like you were trying to get my attention and I congratulate you on a job well done."
"Well thank you for the salutations but I assure you do not get the wrong idea. My main reason for looking for you was to tell you to keep Van busy for the little bit, while we attend to Hitomi. Do you think that you can manage that?"
"So now it is time for the wedding festivities to begin. Of course, I will keep him occupied. But are you sure that's the only reason that you sought me out Lady…"
"My name is Yukari. And believe me, it is the only reason I even looked for you. That and the fact that I really don't know anyone else as close to Van as you are." Allen smirked at that comment and decided to peruse his options with this new female. She certainly was different with that red hair. Not to many people on Gaea have red hair.
While Allen studied Yukari's features she began to get irritated, it seemed like this man was constantly thinking about something perverted. But considering the mass of women who were drooling over him a moment ago, I guess its not entirely his fault that he is so conceited.
"Since Hitomi and Merle are waiting on me, I think I go back and join them." And with that said Yukari walked towards the base of the stairs where, she, Hitomi, Merle, and Millerna ascended the stairs towards Hitomi's chambers.
While Allen watched her walk away, he went to find Van and decided he was in need of a new distraction in his life. A distraction with nice breasts, a firm derriere and flaming hair.
"Hitomi, we'll be back shortly. Millerna will make sure that everything is being prepared for your bath, I'm going to get something from my room and Yukari will keep you company until we get back."
"Okay, just hurry up, you guys." said Hitomi and then Merle and Millerna closed the door on the way out.
"Do you think Hitomi's nervous? I certainly would be."
"That's to be expected." Millerna said.
"I know this is kind of personal, but…"
"Yes, I was nervous. More like petrified. I didn't know what to do or what to expect. Although my sister told me that I had nothing to fear and that things would be alright." Well, that was part of the truth. If only I could love Dryden, as much as he loves me. Sure I care for him, but things are different now. I couldn't imagine what would happen, if anyone found out that Dryden and I haven't even consummated our marriage yet. That chicken's blood only fooled the staff in the castle. It's just so hard to let anyone see that part of yourself. I don't think I'll ever get over that fear of letting Dryden see me naked.
By the time Millerna came back from her reverie they were in Merle's room. She had no idea how long they had been standing there.
When she looked around the room she noticed that Merle had made some changes. Instead of the usual Fanelian colors, Merle's room was decorated in soft hues of green and crème. It actually suited her. When Merle finally re-emerged from her walk-in closet she had a beautiful crème-colored nightgown. The nightgown itself had thin spaghetti straps that were made of tiny pink flowers that went around the V-cut neckline and around the edge at the bottom. The robe itself was extraordinarily beautiful and was made out of the same crème-colored material as the gown.
"Merle this gown is extremely beautiful. Where did you get it?"
"Actually the material is something that I've had ever since I first started liking dresses, but I never could think of an appropriate occasion to have the material made into a dress. So, when I found out about Van and Hitomi getting married, I decided that this would be a perfect gift to Hitomi. Kind of as a way to say no hard feelings after everything the both of us went through in the destiny's war and afterward's. It's kind of a way to help cement our relationship. I consider Van as a brother and hopefully Hitomi will consider me as a sister, especially since we will be living under the same roof now." Millerna merely smiled at Merle. She knew how hard it was to know that you couldn't have the man that you wanted. As Millerna walked over to Merle, she embraced her in a hug.
"You know what Merle, I think that Hitomi is going to love this gift."
"I'm glad."
"Anyway, I'll finish getting everything ready in the bathing room while you go and get Hitomi, okay?"
"Alright." said Merle as she wondered back towards Hitomi's room.
While Hitomi was in her new room, she took the time to look around while everyone was getting everything ready. Her room was decorated in a turquoise and white. In the main feature in the room was the beautiful mahogany colored bed with the posts near the end shaped like dragons while the headboard had intricate designs of flowers. The floor was carpeted and white. She had a beautiful dresser and armoire made of the same mahogany colored material along with an extremely large walk-in closet. There was also a balcony, and with the direction of the room and the area of the castle she was in, it probably overlooked the statue in the garden. The room was just magnificient.
As Yukari casually turned around the room she said, "Wow Hitomi, this room is gorgeous. You are so lucky. Not only are you married to a king, but you have servants to do everything for you, and you live in a castle. Not to mention that you're like a hero. Think about it, my best friend, saved a whole planet." Hitomi began laughing as Yukari continued to ramble. "Just think, a movie could be made if anyone on Earth ever knew. It would be called…The Mystic Seerer. Kind of catchy title, don't you think so?"
"Oh Yukari, only you would think of something that bizarre. Besides that, do you remember how hard it was for me to get you to even believe that I had been to an undiscovered planet and met kings and queens and saw dragons and cat people. Imagine you, by yourself, trying to convince the whole world. They would definitely place you in the nuthouse then." laughed Hitomi.
Yukari shrugged her shoulders and said, "Hey, it was worth a shot." Then Yukari turned towards Hitomi and said, "Are you excited about tonight? You finally get to do the nasty with Van. It must be so terribly romantic to lose one's virginity to one's husband. It's almost like one of those novels that Bianca used to read. Do you remember her?"
"Yeah, I do." replied Hitomi. "All of us used to be the best of friends, the three amigos."
"All for one."
"And one for all. I can't believe things happened the way that they did."
"Yeah, who knew that Bianca's dad would actually produce something for computer technology that would be worth millions."
"Yeah, after those first couple of weeks of her dad being recognized he was offered a higher paying job in the United States."
"And we never saw Bianca again. I wonder how she's doing, although nothing she ever does is going to compare to you becoming a queen."
"Kari, you really shouldn't say such things. Anyway, how's Amano. I'm surprised he didn't show."
"Oh, didn't I tell you. Of course we dated the end of junior high, but when we hit high school, Amano got accepted into this academy for information technology. You know he always was a techno-geek. We continued to date that one year of high school but our relationship struggled. It just seemed to be easier for us to focus on our school work without actually putting any time into our relationship. By the time December rolled around Amano and I were in rocky shape. We decided to take a little separation after the New Year holiday and by the time May rolled around we decided to call it quits."
"Oh Kari, why didn't you ever tell me. That must have been hard for you. You never even gave me a clue that you and Amano were having problems."
"Well at the time Hitomi, you were just getting everything back into perspective. Between your life here and your life on Gaea, I didn't want to burden you. Your mom and dad were trying to work out their problems, Mamoru was involved in a recreational activity, you were doing great in track and school, and you were involved with Van. I didn't want to put a damper on your happiness just because Amano and I were having a few turbulent bumps. Besides, after graduation, me and Amano knew that we would be better off as friends. Currently he is attending a university in Tokyo and seems to be doing fairly well I might add."
"Are you sure Kari, you and Amano seemed extremely close."
"It's fine, an open and shut case. So…forget about it okay. This is your night and no talk of past relationships is going to ruin it." Then Yukari hugged Hitomi and said, "I really and truly am happy for you Hitomi." As they pulled apart Merle appeared in the doorway.
"Hey Yukari, let's get Hitomi to the bathing chamber, then I'll go and get your mom."
"Alright Merle, lets get this bride spick and span for her husband." said Yukari as they ushered Hitomi down the hall towards the bathing chamber.