To all who reviewed: THANK YOU! I'm SO SO SO SO SO sorry! I've been really depressed lately …I've had a school overload…and I've lost my writing spirit! (is sad) But, for my fans (YOU GUYS!) I want to continue! So, enjoy!
Chapter Fourteen
"Sire! Sire!" An attendant called from his post, closing his telescope and waving over Allen. The blonde haired man ran over quickly. "What is it?"
"Look! Over there!" The man handed Allen the telescope and pointed in the general direction of the disturbance. Focusing in, Allen spotted a dark chariot…many chariots…approaching the fort. It took him a while to recognize the country flag but when he did, he feared it.
"Who is it?"
Allen closed the portable telescope and with a stern voice, he replied, "The Yoshidarians…and I do not believe that they are here on friendly terms. Get arms ready." He quickly strode out of the room, shifting through the bodies of his army men who were getting ready and walked into his castle.
Millerna's head popped out of Yuki's room. "Honey? What's going on?" She had heard the commotion of the soldiers.
He sighed. "Come quickly and get Yuki out of bed…I think we are preparing for war."
Allen walked past his wife and child to the chambers where he kept his guymelf. It's been a long time…
"Princess, where do these flowers go?" A servant asked, holding up the white lilies. Shina pointed to the altar.
"They go around the canopy…"
"Yes, m'lady."
The preparations for the wedding were in full swing. The servants of the Fanelian castle were currently setting up the garden with flowers and sitting arrangements. The chefs were planning for the feast and the advisors were out sending out invitations to other kings and queens in the neighbouring area that knew King Van or Princess Shina.
Everything was coming together.
And the wedding was only a day away.
Everything is looking perfect…Shina smiled, admiring her decorating skills. She had already had a fitting for her dress and it was just beautiful. It was a crisp, white colour with tiny diamonds along the bottom. Considering the other dresses they had seen, hers was the simplest. I doubt I'll get good use out of it…
"My Lord! Please come out! You need to approve—"
"—Alright…I'm coming…" Came the voices from the entranceway. The future groom was being pulled out of the castle by one of his attendants. Turning her head, Shina noticed that Van had an unhappy look on his face and that Merle and Hitomi had followed him.
He squinted in the bright light as he came out. Barely looking at the arrangement, he gave a quick answer. "It looks fine." Van was about to turn around and reenter the castle, but Shina picked up her dress and ran to catch him.
"My king, please…I'd like to show you around…" She said, slightly out of breath.
Van looked at her with a bored expression on his face. "I'd rather drive nails in my skull…I'm not one to care about this kind of thing. Just…keep doing what you're doing…"
"Yeah! Besides, we have more important things to do, don't we Van?" Merle added. Shina gave her a glare that went unnoticed by everyone but Hitomi.
That face…She thought. Van said that in one of my visions that I saw a figure…Her face is so…familiar…It had been a few days ago since Van had told her of every vision that she had told him before she got this selective amnesia. They had been working on some solutions and explanations to them and they had gotten pretty far, her, Merle and Van.
They had to stay out of sight from everyone. Van locked all three of them in the bathroom once to escape getting his wedding garments fitted. It was hard, but they managed to stay together and work most of the time.
He had told her everything…even a vision that was—well, for lack of a better word—embarrassing for Van to even repeat. The vision that was tough to swallow was the one of her death. She went hysterical on Merle and Van at that point. But, that doesn't matter now…As long as I have these things down on paper, I can work with them…Hitomi told herself. She also told herself not to forget Shina's face.
And her angry eyes…
"YOU SEE! I TOLD YOU!" Merle shouted, pointing a clawed finger at Hitomi and Van after Hitomi told them of her suspicions of Shina. "I TOLD you guys that she was no good!"
"Merle, please…" Hitomi tried to keep the conversation quiet. Shina was just a few doors down from them. They had returned from the gardens after being forced to look at the altar and all the other stuff everyone but Van had planned. It seemed that they were always in her room…working non-stop. The days had flown by and they were still unsure as to who would be doing this…and why. They had some good points but they could be easily contradicted. This is so frustrating…
Van continued to tell Merle to keep quiet. The princess was trying on her dress in her guest room…but tomorrow night, by custom, she would share Van's room.
That was also tough to swallow.
Everything that was happening was too fast for Hitomi. Without her visions and only having the parts that Van knew about—that were not enough—she was lost. There were probably crucial details she was missing. She figured that this is what that someone—
Shina
—wanted. They must know her power and want that to be taken away from her so she could not stop them. But, they forget that I have Van…Hitomi thought. However, her trust in her friend was dwindling.
He'd been acting strange again.
Staying too quiet…being overly aggressive at times…Van was totally out of character again. The only times she had seen him normal or close to it was after his battle practice…
Hitomi knew why he was acting strange. The amnesia may have taken away her visions, but not her thoughts. Van was possessed by something—
Someone
—that was making him act this way…and he was fighting back against whatever power was trying to control him.
Shina
Please Van; be strong…Keep fighting this thing…Hitomi looked at him as Merle continued to rant. I need you…
"Merle! SHH!" Van put a finger to his lips and finally getting through to her. "Shina can probably hear you!"
"I don't care! I want her out! We have our evidence!" Maybe NOW the stupid wedding will be cancelled!
"Yeah, but no proof…No one's gonna believe in what I saw…I'm just the girl that's complicating the wedding, remember? They're just gonna think that I'm trying to wreck things." Hitomi replied.
"I'd hate to put the damper on things, but it's true Merle…" Van confirmed sadly. His head was down and his arms were on top of his legs making his whole body lean towards the ground. I am going to be married tomorrow…and we've still haven't gotten far enough…
Merle sat on Van's other side to pat his back. "Oh…Van…"
Hitomi looked straight ahead, trying to get her thoughts together. There is always some sort of death going on in each of the visions…That must mean that something along the lines of a battle will occur…Falling and reaching are there too...Grabbing for answers? Holding on to life? Falling into death? And the pendant! In each of the visions, as I've told Van, the pendant is always there…still pink. Yet, the background is always black. Darkness? Evil? …Eyes are also a big thing in the visions; specifically blue.
Shina does have blue eyes and definitely has the power to start a war…so does that advisor—the one in charge of military matters…and so does Allen. But, Allen does not have powers to make someone possessed…and neither does Shina…Or do they? This IS a different universe…Maybe they've hired witches… Hitomi grumbled and huffed aloud. She looked at her pad of paper and jotted down a few more points.
But, even if they COULD get witches to make this stuff happen…what is their reason? Allen has nothing to gain…Austria and Fanelia are allies. Taking over either country would screw up that treaty that Millerna was talking about…Shina doesn't really either. After all, by marriage, she'd get the land anyway…
Hitomi looked at her pendant…looked at the pink colour and the light that it reflected from the window. What else does Van have that other people might want? Her eyes focused on the pink light it was illuminating and suddenly, the answer came to her. It was so quick that she gasped. Standing up, she turned to both of them and shouted it in the quietness of the room.
"ESCAFLOWNE!"
Merle gave her the weirdest look. "What are you talking about?"
"Esca—Van's guymelf! It's probably what the people want!"
"What?" She asked again.
"You think so?" Van asked, looking up.
"Yes! It's a logical answer! That's the one thing that no one else has!" Hitomi tried to explain and was talking so quickly Van had a hard time keeping up. "Look, if a war were to break out over land wouldn't make any sense! The people behind this would not go through all this stuff! It has to be more important that that! And what's more important than Escaflowne?"
"But, Hitomi…" He started.
"What, Van?"
"…We've been through this…Even if the person was after Escaflowne, they'd need an energist and my blood. And even then it might not work…"
"Van! Van! Don't you see?" Hitomi's mind was firing out solutions faster than her mouth could keep up. She knew the limitations of Escaflowne, but… "What if…What if we aren't dealing with any normal human being? I mean; something that can make me forget my visions must be one powerful thing, right?"
"Yeah—" Van stood in front of Hitomi to debate, but was interrupted.
"—And—And you even said that—that when I had my visions of the blue eye I said that the thing there…something wasn't right…You told me that, Van!" Hitomi almost screamed. "Gaea is different! You guys have magic and things that do not exist on Earth…Maybe the thing behind this is a sorceress of sorts!" Hitomi continued to ramble on.
"Hitomi! Hiotmi!" Van interrupted, wanting to get his two cents in before she continued. "Why would this thing WANT Escaflowne? It's been dormant for years now!"
Hitomi looked at Van and noticed that his eyes were slightly cloudy. Fight Van! "Gaea may have magic, but its people are like Earth's people…It wants the power of Escaflowne. The power of destruction, Van…"
His eyes opened in realization and the whole room went silent. "Hitomi—"
The next words out of his mouth were not heard as a knock on the door interrupted him. The three of them exchanged glances as they figured that whoever was behind the door had heard them. Oh no…
Van walked as casually as he could towards the door and motioned for the two women to get out of sight. Merle and Hitomi jumped behind the bed, away from the visitor's view but they were still in view of the door.
He turned the knob and Shina's face greeted his.
Oh no…
"Hello, Lord Van." She addressed politely. That's when Van noticed that she was in her wedding dress. His eyes traveled from Shina's eyes down and then back up and before he could stop it, a compliment ran through his head. She looks beautiful…A faint glow of red went to his cheeks but it went away quickly as Van wanted to take back the thought. "Yes?" He managed to say.
Shina smiled and shifted on her feet. "I was wondering if you liked my dress…" She motioned her hand to display her dress and smiled again.
From where Hitomi was kneeling behind the bed, she gasped.
Shina's smile, from the innocent curl of her lips, became twisted and menacing as if it was a trick with the light. Her eyes became tight in a frown and there was an overall evilness to her face… Her face…It's changed…
Merle was quick to put a furry hand on Hitomi's mouth to prevent the noise from traveling.
Van looked at her and chuckled in a child-like manner. "Hey, you know that I'm not supposed to see you in your dress before the wedding…" He rolled his eyes. "It's bad luck…"
Shina laughed. "Oh, Van! Stop believing in everything that you hear!"
Hitomi picked up on what could be a double meaning—
You have no right to know
—as she continued to watch Shina's face change from human to…to…she couldn't even describe it… But apparently, Merle could not see it. She kept staring at Shina with the same expression as when she first came in. Merle can't see Shina's face…Why me?
"Shina…" Van paused. "Uh…I'm just really superstitious and I don't want to see you in that until the big day. You wouldn't want something to go wrong, would you?" He added false enthusiasm to 'big day' and smiled at her when he was finished. Now please, GO AWAY!
"Of course I don't want things to go wrong, silly…" Shina smiled at Van. "I'm planning the whole thing…"
"What a surprise…" Van mumbled. "Something else I'm not part of…"
And she continued to smile at him.
"Anyway, I'm kinda in the middle of something, so if you don't mind, I have to get going." Van tried to bring this conversation to a close so that Hitomi and him could work on something.
"What is it?" Shina asked.
"None of your concern…" Van backed away from the door to close it, but Shina interrupted him yet again.
"You didn't answer my question."
"Huh?"
"I asked you if you thought my dress was nice…You never gave me an answer…" She giggled.
"Oh…If I tell you what I think, will you leave me alone until tomorrow?" Van bargained, trying to get rid of her.
Shina thought for a moment. You won't have enough time my King…By tomorrow, you will be mine and there is nothing you can do about it… "Oh, alright. Deal. Now, tell me what you think!" She posed for him with her dress and waited for his response.
Her blue eyes stared into his and she watched as they got slightly cloudy. Tell me what I want to hear, my love…tell me what they don't…
Van's mouth was suddenly dry. Swallowing loudly, he stared at her body. He felt his insides turn into a big knot for some reason and that he felt sort of detached from the situation…Like he wasn't really there. The feeling was gone as his voice finally returned to him. He responded, "I think you look beautiful"
You like it, don't you?
"Really?" Shinas smiled again.
Yes…
"Yes…"
And with another smile on her face, she left Van alone
He shut the door quietly and turned his head to where Merle and Hitomi were kneeling behind his bed. With sad eyes, he looked at them, feeling as if he had let them down by saying that to her. Merle's blue eyes were open in shock as where Hitomi's green ones.
The cat was sad, shocked and angry all at the same time to what Van had said to Shina. How could he say THAT to her? She's up to no good! Van, how could you be more stupid?
On the other hand, Hitomi's eyes were opened for a different reason. All the time where she was watching Shina's face, it would flash between human and the other face…But at the end, just before she left…
…the other face stayed.
And the pendant was shining brightly.
It no longer shifted from one to the other. It was stuck. Wrinkled skin was moved from the twisted smile and the piercing, frowning eyes. Her hair hung dead on her shoulders as well. It was if Shina's entire body had changed and it was stuck in its other form—in Hitomi's eyes anyway.
And just before it left…
The creature smiled.
"Lord Van…" Merle whined. "I'm…I'm really tired now. Can we go now? The sun set HOURS ago…" She complained loudly in the still darkness in the room. They were still fussing over the Shina issue and Hitomi's new idea with Escaflowne. Although the cat wanted to help and figure all this stuff out, there was only so much she could do without any sleep.
Van sighed tiredly. "Yeah…it is late…" In a few more hours, the sun will rise again…and I'll be wed…Oh gods…He stood from chair he was sitting on and stretched. His neck was cramped from the constant bending over his writing desk so he rubbed it.
Hitomi looked up from the sheet they were writing ideas down, startled. "What? No! Van, we need to figure this out!"
"Hitomi!" Merle whined again. "I'm tired! We can't think if we don't get rest!"
"Well, I'm gonna stay up. You can go if you want." She said defiantly, returning her gaze to the paper.
Merle growled in her throat. "Hitomi!"
Van put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't bother. She won't leave…Go get some sleep. We'll manage…"
The cat looked up with sad eyes. Her annoyance with Hitomi about the visions disappeared. "Alright…" As Merle opened the door to leave, she whispered, "Good night you two…"
The door closed silently behind her and Hitomi sighed in frustration. She had yet to tell anyone about the strangeness in Shina's face, but the three of them had written down all possible ideas. Including strong ones about Shina.
"Hitomi?" Van sat down again and pulled the chair closer to the table. The scraping noise filled the room and once it had quieted, he leaned forward, head in folded arms and looked her in the eyes. "I'm sorry we couldn't figure this out…"
"Van…" She mumbled. "Don't be sorry…Whatever he or she or it is planning hasn't happened yet, so there's still time…Except tomorrow…"
"…Don't remind me…" Van cut in as Hitomi trailed off. She smiled a little.
"Van, what are we going to do?"
He ruffled his hair and sighed. "Sleep. We need sleep."
"I know, but…" Hitomi started to interject, but realized that she had no points to back herself up. We can't keep writing for the entire night…that'd be insane. Merle was right…we DO need sleep…
"But what?" Van chided, knowing that she had come to the conclusion that they did need rest.
She shook her head. "Nothing…"
"Alright then, it's settled." Van took the oil-burning lamp that was helping them write off the table. "I'll talk you to your room and tuck you in!" He smiled. Genuinely.
But her room was near Shina's.
And right then, she remembered her face…
Suddenly, she did not want to be in the same area with that…thing… Van noticed Hitomi's change in body language. "What's wrong?"
Say it! Say what you saw! You need to work with him! Hitomi lowered her head and spoke softly, just in case someone would hear. "When Shina came in to show you her dress…I…"
Van instantly sat down again, placing the lamp back on the table and picking up a pencil. "What? What did you see?"
It was funny how instantly Van thought she had a vision. She almost laughed.
Almost.
He knows me too well… "I…Shina's face…It was different…"
Van's mouth went dry. "Different how?" The darkness in the room was suddenly getting to him. "Come on, Hitomi…Tell me…"
"It was like…What I saw…It's like the face that we see everyday is a mask. I saw what was underneath it…"
Van stared at her. Maybe Shina IS some sort of magician…"What did it look like?"
Hitomi snatched the paper from him and began to draw what she could remember. Unlike the rest of her visions, this one was still clear in her mind. She furiously marked every nick, wrinkle and crevice on Shina's 'face', hoping not to miss any details.
Van watched her intently as she sketched. Even when she was partially done, his stomach got that same knot feeling again. It's a monster…
She handed him the paper. "And its eyes were bright blue…Like, almost glowing. They did start to glow when you complimented her on her dress…" Hitomi said the last part softer.
He held the picture in his hands. He breathed out a loud gush of air, shakily. "You sure you saw this?"
Hitomi nodded.
"Gods…" Van mumbled, hands starting to shake. "Is this what we're dealing with? Some doppelganger sorceress?"
"I don't think she's a doppelganger…Maybe just something in disguise…"
Van placed both the picture and his head on the table. He groaned. He tried to keep his eyes opened, but sleep was so overpowering this night. The feeling of this sleepiness never came of as odd to him at this time…even though, usually, he could stay up until forever if he wanted.
Just tonight…he felt so tired. "Hitomi…I can't stay up…If you want to go to bed, I suggest I take you now…Or else, you won't have a guide back…"
"No! Van! Please…Just a little longer…" Hitomi noticed the strain in his voice, and stopped fighting the sleep issue. "…No…We do need sleep…"
"Oh…Okay…" He mumbled tiredly, getting up slowly and grabbing the oil lamp again. Waving her towards him, Hitomi noticed his movements were so sluggish. "C'mon…let's go…"
"Van…" Hitomi stood up and walked up to him. "Could I…?"
He gave her a confused-tired look. "Could you what?"
"Could I stay…?"
"What, Hitomi?"
"—Sleep with you tonight?" She blurted. A blush crept to her cheeks after she realized how bad that sounded. "I—I mean—What I mean is, could I stay with you? I don't want to go back to my room…"
"Alright Hitomi…You can stay…But why don't you want to sleep in your own room?" Van asked, smirking. He knew what she meant the first time she asked, but it was fun to watch her face get all embarrassed.
"I'm afraid of the monsters in the closet…" Hitomi finished, not meeting his gaze. Under her closed eyelids, she kept seeing the thing she saw—
The creature
—earlier on that day.
"Okay…okay…" Van tired eyes started to droop further but he managed to pick up the meaning of Hitomi's statement. "C'mon…" He placed the oil lamp on the table beside the bed and moved the far side of the bed. Van motioned to her tiredly to take up the other side. "If you want to change out of your clothes…I'm not looking…I can give you one of my shirts to wear…" He offered, with a yawn and grabbing the said shirt from the ground.
Hitomi quickly changed once Van's eyes were closed. The shirt he had given her was long enough, so she removed her shirt and pants but kept her bra, underwear and socks on. "Do you want me to blow out the flame?" She asked, making reference to the lamp after she changed.
"Yeah…If you don't mind…" He mumbled. Van turned over to watch her to see if she did it properly. Darkness fell in the room and all Van could see was Hitomi's body outlined by the light of the moon. She's shaking… "Hitomi…?"
He moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her trembling form. "Van…I'm scared…I don't want this thing to win…We still don't know and I haven't had any visions since then to help us…I'm so scared…I don't want anyone to get hurt…"
Van hugged her tighter. "Hitomi…We can't get scared. We need to be strong to fight this thing, okay? Even if we're up against some monster in disguise who likes magic, we will fight this! No matter what! Okay?"
Hitomi fought of tears of anger and frustration. "…Okay…"
"We've fought bigger things before…Against fate. We can do this. I promise you."
Hitomi's insides turned. Something in the pit of her stomach told her that there was some falseness in his statement. But, she agreed anyway. "Okay…"
"Good…" Van put his head on the crook of her shoulder and let sleep take him. "Goodnight, Hitomi."
"Goodnight…" Hitomi felt Van's breath slow to a sleeping pace, but her eyes scanned the room for a bit more. Looking in the shadows for anything…anyone…
Because she knew the moment she closed her eyes…
The creature would continue to smile.
A messenger was spotted, in the early morning, running towards the castle in Austrian colours. "Sire!" A watchman called to his superior, "There is someone coming! The man is in the attire from Austria!"
The older man reached for his own telescope for a better view. Even though they could see the man running because of the dust clouds he kicked up, the man needed to be sure it was friend and not foe.
He recognized the Austrian colours immediately and on closer inspection, he noticed dark patches and scratches all over the messenger's uniform. That must be…blood! "Quick! Open the doors!"
Just as the other watchmen opened them, the Austrian reached them and was out of breath. "Young sir! What brings you to Fanelia and why are your clothes soiled in…blood?" One of the watchmen said.
"My…My friends…" The Austrain replied in sort breaths. Straightening up, he continued. "King Allen sent me…I came as quick as I could…There is war upon—upon us back at the castle…The Yoshidarians are attacking!"
"Call for the militia!" The superior called over his solider to his men. He turned his attention back to the messenger. "How well are you holding up, young sir?"
The messenger shook his head. "Not well…"
The other man opened his eyes in surprise. They WILL need reinforcements! "How much time to we have?"
He repeated the same motion with his head. "…Not long…"
WAY-OH!
Wow. I really liked the ending on this one. But, I know…It was sorta a filler…I needed to make this chapter the start of the climax. It probably sucked big time with all the time lapses, but I needed to have this one to get things rolling.
Do you know how many rewrites of this chapter I did? Like three major ones. The first one I rewrote everything…The second I changed what I wrote again (not all, but some) and the third I changed the ending…Wow…
Anyway, now Hitomi is getting things together and is freaking out! WORD.
This site screwed up my italics and bolds again...so some things may not be in thoughts etc. Sorry about that...
Once again, I'm REALLY SORRY about not updating...School has been killing me and I just lost my inspiration.
(sigh) Hope you enjoyed it anyway…
PLEASE REVIEW!