Hey guys! Once again I'm going to thank my editors, readers and reviewers. I really appreciate the input. I'm sorry this took so long. Lol You can thank my friend for this chapter because she keeps on hinting at me to get it done! lol. I find I write these stories better under pressure so I will set a date for the next chapter to be done by. And that date is going to be… April 15th. Yay random date! Yay! I think this story may be just a little longer than I thought it would be. Oh well! Sorry it's just a tad shorter than usual. It just kinda worked out that way, because that's where it made the most sense to end the chapter. Alright, enough blabbin! Thanks!
Chapter 5
Cursing unhappily in his mind, Van followed the messenger closely. Carefully, he dodged the merry people who walked about the brightly lit halls. 'Could there have been a worse time for an emergency to spring up? Interrupted right in the middle of a proposal of marriage! This will be an incident to remember!' Mused Van in his mind angrily.
"What does this have to do with?" asked Van sombrely.
"Really your majesty, I have no idea. I was just sent to get you and told it was urgent. Please forgive me." Thoughtfully replied the messenger.
The walk continued in silence. After what seemed like forever, they made their arrival at the conference room. Van quaintly nodded at the messenger and walked inside.
Tapestries covered with gold hung all around the room. A large window was situated in the middle of the wall closest to the lake. From the window, a reflection of the lake was still visible. The window also looked out upon all of the lights from the parties that were going on at that very moment. In the middle of the room several Kings sat around a table, all of them looking anxious and worried.
"What's this all about?" demanded Van angrily. The other Kings in the room gazed at Van in awe, having never heard him speak so angrily. At the head of the table sat King Aston, and beside King Aston seated placidly, was Dryden.
Dryden looked his normal self, confident and arrogant. " Don't get so angry Van, sit down so we can start explaining the situation." After waiting for all of the apprehensive kings to sit and quiet down, King Aston began speaking.
"As all of you know, Zaibach was defeated three years ago to this very day. Soon after the war ended I placed spies at the ruins of Zaibach to make sure Zaibach didn't cause trouble again. I placed Dryden as the head of the Asturia secret service in Zaibach. He has been undercover as a merchant in Zaibach for the last several months, monitoring the goings on of Zaibach. Today, Dryden comes to us with some very troubling news. Dryden would you please continue."
"Thank you your majesty," replied Dryden as he used his index finger to push up the brim of his glasses, a book sat on his lap. Turning the pages of the book with one hand and occasionally rubbing his beard with the other, he waited a few seconds before beginning. Finally shutting the book and standing, he began speaking in an authoritative and well-informed voice.
" Good evening your majesties, I am deeply sorry about having to call you all here in the middle of a party like this, but this simply couldn't wait. As you all know, I have been carrying on my business in Zaibach. It is my great displeasure to inform you that the Zaibach army has been rebuilding its flanks at an alarming rate. There are now thousands upon thousands of Zaibach soldiers. I know for a fact that Zaibach is now armed with an upward of ten thousand guymelefs and it appears like they are preparing for war. " Several kings gasped and started talking amongst themselves. "Let's go on in and attack the greasy buggers before they have a chance to even attempt attacking us," one king said as another replied that they should have completely destroyed Zaibach while they had the chance.
"Gentlemen, Gentlemen," roared King Aston loudly. "There is still more that has to be said. Dryden,"
"Thank you once again your majesty. It has been estimated that New Zaibach received twenty to thirty five new guymelefs each day. Even more alarmingly, somehow it is also estimated that at least one hundred new foot soldiers join their military everyday. For how long this will last, no one knows. It seems that Zaibach soldiers have been attacking surrounding farming villages and towns, killing the villagers who don't agree to join their cause. The leader of the entire operation is a nobleman named Rygen. Not much is known about him except he is extremely rich and that he has a woman named Queen Nola serving beside him. Many attempts have been made by my very own men to infiltrate the fortress. So far every attempt we have made has failed, and the men who went on those missions haven't returned alive. So far we have not been able to determine the reason for the recent build- up of their military but it is best that we assume the worst, at least until they are able to explain their actions. For now we must decide on the best course of action. I think it would be wise to further build up our own militaries in case it becomes essential for us to band together and fight," said Dryden knowledgably as he once again sat down in his chair.
"So this is why this meeting has been called, to decide on a course of action," authoritatively spoke King Aston.
"I believe it would be unwise for us attack Zaibach immediately, especially being so unprepared," said a nasally voiced king.
"We should destroy them right now, before they have a chance to build up their army any more than it already is! We're running out of time!" cried a rowdy king who possessed a very deep voice.
"How has Zaibach been able to build up their army so fast?" questioned another king who came from a country rather close to Zaibach. "We knew that they were building up their military but we didn't think they were doing it so fast. If what you say is true, right now Zaibach has enough power to take over my country, like they did in the last war. We're a peaceful people that don't care much for war. We don't want to be taken over again. How can this be?"
"There are a couple answers. New technology. When Zaibach was destroyed not all of their technology was destroyed, in fact, quite a lot of it was still intact. Since most of their engineers never joined in fighting, most of them are still alive. When the war ended many people were left stranded and homeless. Their current leader united all of the stranded and homeless people together and promised them that he would rebuild Zaibach and make it the leader of the entire world. After Rygen took over, the country began to prosper. We've heard reports that say that Zaibach has taken over some technologically advanced countries that are quite distant from here. Besides that, neighbouring towns, cities and small countries have been wilfully joining Zaibach in an attempt to share in its newfound prosperity. More and more people come to join Zaibach everyday. For the most part, each person is wholeheartedly united under the one cause," explained Dryden.
Another one of the kings stood up and began to offer his opinion on the entire affair, but was found too intoxicated and unintelligible. In the end he was taken back to one of his rooms, and an official was brought to stand in his place.
The meeting lasted for roughly two hours. The only decision that had been made by the end of the meeting was that all of the countries needed to prepare for the possibility of imminent danger.
Van walked out of the meeting with a knot in his stomach. He had to stay a little longer to catch up with Dryden but as soon as he could get out, he did. Immediately he began to walk toward the ball, making the assumption that Hitomi had long ago left the garden. Hitomi had been right about the upcoming danger, she normally was.
When he reached the ballroom he quickly began glancing around the ballroom in search of Hitomi. A few noblewomen came up to him and began to talk to him but he instantaneously brushed aside. He only really needed to talk to one person at this moment. Seeing Allen and his wife dancing, he promptly walked up to them.
"Allen have you seen Hitomi?" asked Van calmly. Immediately Allen stopped dancing.
"No, I haven't seen Hitomi since you left with her two hours ago. You mean you haven't been with her all of this time?" Van promptly shook his head and became increasingly worried. Allen put his hand assuringly on Van's shoulder. "Maybe Hitomi just got tired and went back up to her room. All the same, I'll ask around and see if anyone has seen her lately. She's probably not too far," said Allen reassuringly. Van nodded his thanks and took Allen's suggestion.
Calmly Van walked to Hitomi's room and knocked loudly on the door. There was no answer.
"Excuse me, are you looking for the young Miss Hitomi?" asked an older looking maid coming out from another room. "Yes, have you seen her lately?" Questioned Van placidly.
"No, I'm sorry dear but she hasn't been in her room much all day. I'm afraid that last time she was in her room was a couple of hours ago when she got ready for the fireworks. She hasn't been back since." Thanking the maid, he walked stiffly away.
A sinking feeling began to take hold of him as he started desperately to search for Hitomi. He knew something was deeply wrong. He asked dozens and dozens of people if they had seen Hitomi. No one had. He sent servants out to search for her, to find her. Their tasks came up fruitless.
It was now in the very early hours of the morning and Hitomi still had not come back. Van was still awake, refusing to even consider the idea of sleep. Anger and anguish pulsed through his body as he paced restlessly about a small study. By this time he had sent out many search parties. Search parties ravished the countryside but there was still no luck finding Hitomi.
There with him was Allen Schezar, knight Caeli. Allen sat comfortably and calmly on a chair by the fire, sipping a hot drink. Contradictory to what it appeared, Allen himself was also worried about Hitomi.
"You should go to sleep Van, you look exhausted. I know you're worried about her but exhausting yourself until you're sick doesn't help anyone, especially not Hitomi," said Allen thoughtfully.
"Of course you can say that Allen Schezar!" said Van hostilely and contemptuously. "It's not your fault she's gone! If I hadn't left for that meeting, and stayed with her instead, then this wouldn't be happening! I shouldn't have gone to that meeting anyways, I was in the middle of a proposal! I wish I had just taken more precautions when she first told me about her vision… Then this wouldn't be happening! I shouldn't have listened to her when she passed out in the ballroom and told me that she hadn't had a vision. I knew she was lying. Now Hitomi's gone and it's my fault…" said Van hurriedly. The sound of hurt seeped through his voice. If he were younger, he may have cried but being much older and more mature, he knew better.
"You and I both know that's not true. Stop being so self- centred and start looking at the real issue, getting Hitomi back. It's obvious that something has happened to her, or else we would have found her by now. She has probably been kidnapped. Hitomi wouldn't leave for this long without telling anybody, especially you. She'd have brought someone with her. Even when she ran off to Fanelia to see Folken with you, she was not alone; she went with you. Now the problem is finding out who has her and what they want with her. You're a man, you're job is to get her back. She loves you. She's relying on you. Be strong. Even Dryden is doing his very best to try to locate her, and you know he has connections everywhere, among the honourable and dishonourable alike. We'll find her, I promise. Don't worry. She's strong; she'll be all right. Have faith in her because I know she has faith in you. As for me, I'm going to go back to my family who haven't seen me in a while and then I'm going to bed. I've had Milerna send for Merle for you. She'll be here as soon as possible," said Allen as he stood up, stretched and began to walk toward the door. Just as he reached to door, he was stopped by the sound of Vans voice.
"Allen," said Van as Allen turned to look at him. "Thanks." Allen nodded, "Just try to get some sleep, we'll worry about this more in the morning," stated Allen as he walked out the door and went back to his room.
Van sat up for a half an hour more before going back to his own room. To his surprise, he immediately fell asleep once his head hit the pillow. His sleep was disturbed. It would be a long while before he would be able to sleep soundly again.
The first thing Hitomi could hear when she came out of her sleep was the dull, repetitious sound of horse hooves hitting a dirt road. Beside her was a monotonous and hoarse kind of breathing. She was sore all over and she could not seem to remember why. Opening her eyes she saw that she was in a carriage of some sort. Attempting to get up, she realized that both her hands and her feet were bound. At the moment there was a gag in her mouth that prevented her from speaking.
"Don't try anything smart or you'll be in a lot more pain than ye are in right now," came a voice. Looking around, Hitomi finally found the source of the voice. There, beside her was a rather young, quite ordinary looking man of about the age of about twenty- five. He was dressed like a nobleman but his clothes were quite dirty. He had short red hair and a red beard. She just stared at him.
"If ya' promise not ta' scream I'll take the gag outta yer mouth," announced the red haired man. Hitomi nodded. A couple seconds later, while taking the gag out of her mouth he added, "not that it really matters anyways, only me and the driver can hear you."
"Wh… Where am I? Why am I here? Where are we going? Who are you?" asked Hitomi quickly. She looked around to see if she could find any other clues, but there was nothing in the carriage.
"Calm down. You better get comfy while ya can becuz you won't be comfy for long. We're in the middle of nowhere now. We're goin' ta meet the person who hired me to capture you in the first place. And I am your captor, otherwise called Rin," said Rin in what Hitomi found to be an alarmingly soothing voice.
"What happened? What does this guy who hired you want with me?" continued Hitomi in an alarmed voice. Surprisingly, Hitomi considered this guy to quite safe and relatively friendly. She did not understand why, but she was not afraid of this. Her gut feeling, which usually warned her of danger, said that he was not as bad as he seemed to be.
"Last night I kidnapped you while you were sittin' in a garden in Austuria. Then we put ya' in this carriage and now we're here. I don't know what they want with you, it's not my job to ask questions," replied Rin sombrely.
"Rin could you please untie me. I promise you that I will not try to run away." For the first time Hitomi looked directly into Rin's eyes. His eyes did not match his appearance. They were kind, caring green eyes that did not seem to suit a kidnapper.
Rin began to move closer to her and grab her restraints. "I really shouldn't be doin' this but fer' some reason I believe you," quickly he untied the restraints. "As soon as we reach the base in an hour or so you're gettin' tied up again." Hitomi nodded.
"What is the base?" asked Hitomi after a while.
"All of the Zaibach floating fortresses were destroyed three years ago. Shortly after th' destruction of Zaibach, th' people of Zaibach began to rebuild up their military. They discovered how t' make bigger n' better leviships, guymelefs n' floating fortresses. Besides that we've invaded some technically advanced foreign countries. To stay on the side of safety we're keepin' the floating fortresses away from the neighbourin' countries, so we don't alarm them. Right now we don't want to let Asturia, or any of th' other countries know that we're rebuilding our military. Even if there are invisibility cloaks on th' fortress we don't wanna take the risk. So we have certain pick up bases."
"Why do you people want war?" questioned Hitomi seriously and waited for a reply.
"There's a lot of money ta' be made from war. A lot' a people are ticked off, having their homes and livelihood destroyed in the war n' all. That war destroyed everything. People were left on th' streets ta starve to death. The people wanted revenge. Soon after, a still rich nobleman an' the daughter of a deceased general promised th' people liberation and revenge. At the same time they promised them peace, promised that they'd be th' capital of th' world. Promised they'd no longer starve. He promised ta free them. The cause is to make a completely united world where everyone works together as one, instead of many independent countries that are constantly squabbling. There would be no more need for wars. Of course, Zaibach would be the capital of this unified world," explained Rin helpfully.
"Making war to stop war. That makes no sense. Do you really think taking over all of the other countries and uniting them under a single power hungry dictator is going to help anyone else in the world besides Zaibach?" asked Hitomi hotly. To answer that, Rin just smiled. Not another word was spoken for a long time on that trip.
Hitomi did not say one word; she was too angry and frustrated. A war was never the answer to anything. "Violence begets more violence; didn't anyone know that? Why was everyone always so willing to go to war and yet not so willing to help out their neighbour? Why must war always be the answer?"
"A couple years ago Van had been so eager and willing to go to war too. 'To die for my country, to take revenge for my country,' is what he would say," thought Hitomi. "V…Van," said Hitomi. She was so absorbed in thinking that she had not noticed that she had said Van's name out loud. Rin gave her a strange look but said nothing.
In a rush, memories of the events of the previous night flooded Hitomi's mind. She had forgotten, being too busy with the present matters. "Van and I went to the Gaean peace celebration," recited Hitomi in her mind. "He was one of the people who spoke up in front of the big crowd. I was with Van all day, we met Allen – he has a wife. We didn't get to talk to each other at the banquet, and then we went to the fireworks. They were beautiful. Met Jerald; Milerna asked me to be her bridesmaid—I said yes. She asked me some weird questions. Van and I went to the ball, danced. I danced with Allen once. Had horrible vision…vision… When did I begin calling it that? Walked outside with Van. He was worried, then he… yes… he… asked me to marry him." At that remembrance she immediately started to blush.
"Van will be really worried about me," realized Hitomi soberly. "I bet he is searching for me right now. I wonder if he is doing okay. I hope he doesn't get hurt trying to come after me. Will he even be able come and save me? He has no idea where I am. I'm going to have to depend on myself for now. There is no saying whether Van will be able to rescue me or not. Certainly he will try. Will I ever even be able to see him again?" At that thought, Hitomi realized that there were tears rolling down her face.
"Don't worry, that's a strong one you have. He won't give up easily. He loves you more than anything. We won't kill him unless we really hav ta'. He's more useful to us alive than he is dead."
"How do you know that?" asked Hitomi who was suddenly startled. It was like as if he had just read her mind. How could he know exactly what she was thinking?
"I've seen that young lad of yours. I've been watchin' you two practically since ya first came to Gaea about a week or so ago. It's like you two are playin' cat and mouse you two is," Rin chuckled, "neither of ya hav any idea of what ur doin. Both worryin over the slightest things, not realizin' that there really is nothin' to worry about cuz the other is worryin' about the exact same thing. Young love's a very precious thing. And for that reason, Van must be kept alive. They can blackmail 'im into all sorts of stuff they can. He'll do it too, just to keep you alive. Any way ya look at it, he's at a disadvantage. If he comes to rescue you, they'll threaten to kill ya, if he follows their demands n' doesn't attempt to rescue ya, they'll have him in a tight spot they will. He'll just have to follow the demands of the New Zaibach Empire just to try to keep ya alive. Poor kid," sympathetically stated Rin.
"Fools! Do they really think they will be able bully Van around so easily? He won't go along with that. He would rather die than give into something as silly as that," stated Hitomi glibly.
"Are you really so sure?" asked Rin pensively. He was about to add something when the carriage halted.
"Are we at th' base?" shouted Rin.
"Ye, we're here. Ye' better prepare th' girl to board the leviship. Looks like they've bin waitn' for us a while," replied the driver.
Rin replaced the gag that had been placed in her mouth before, and retied her arms. This time he did not bind her legs. While he was doing this, Hitomi thought about what Rin had said. Would Van follow their demands in an attempt to keep her alive and safe? Would he really allow himself to be placed in a position like that? She had not thought so, and she was hoping he would not, but now a seed of doubt inhabited her mind. The very notion of Van allowing himself to be manipulated like that alarmed her greatly.
Shortly, Rin dragged her out of the carriage and into a large, empty grassy field. No one else was there, except for the shabby looking carriage driver and the horse. The wind was cold even though the sun was up high in the sky. Hitomi looked up at the sky. It seemed safe. Birds flew high above, squawking and crowing. Big puffy white clouds hovered above. Still something felt amiss.
At that very moment the leviship appeared out of nowhere in the sky and menacingly blocked out the sun.
Late, on the sixth day after Milerna had sent out for Merle, she arrived. Merle had been late getting to Palas because she had been late to receive the message. The messenger that had been sent out to fetch Merle had got caught in a severe storm.
As soon as Merle arrived at Palas, she ran off in search of Van. It did not take too long for her to find him. He was on the roof of the palace practicing his sword fighting skills. Sword stroke after sword stroke, Van jabbed at an invisible enemy. His face was unmarred by emotion; he was wearing an invisible mask.
Merle stood there for a few minutes watching Van in the moonlight. She did not say a word. She could see his invisible mask and the pain that it held behind it. He was handsome, smart and oh-so-stubborn. He looked so regal in the moonlight. It hurt Merle to see Van look so hurt. She knew every emotion and every mask that ever came to his face. She knew him well, for she too was in love with him. It was long ago, when Hitomi had first stepped foot on Gaea that she had first realized that Van would never love her the same way as he loved Hitomi. She had done everything in her power to prevent Van from falling in love with Hitomi but alas, to no avail. Realizing that Van would never be her own, Merle gave up her own happiness. Van's happiness was her own happiness, and she would do anything in her power to make Van happy.
After sulking for a few more moments Merle yelled out "Lord Van!" Immediately, Van sheathed his sword and Merle ran directly into his arms and hugged him. He began to pat her head gently. "Lord Van, she's okay, she'll be just fine, I just know it! She's strong! She'll be able to handle herself until we're able to rescue her. She's a tomboy after all."
"I have no idea of where she is or how to find her. I've had search teams looking all over for her. For the last couple of nights I've even secretly flown out of the castle and watched over the surrounding countryside. I've even landed a couple times when no one could see me and checked out campfires to see if she was there," said Van hopelessly.
"Van you should never use your wings, it dangerous," scolded Merle. At that very moment a very good idea came into her mind. She jumped out of Van's arms and began to hop up and down. "Van, I just came up with a really, really good idea!" Van stared at her intently and waited for her to speak. Merle stopped jumping and stood still while she balled her furry hands into fists.
"Do you remember when you were fighting the invisible enemy and you asked Hitomi to teach you how to locate them using the pendant?" He nodded, and a slight smile came to his face. He was catching onto her idea. "Why don't you use the pendant to locate Hitomi? I've seen Hitomi use it before to locate you. And I know you've used it before so why not give it a try? It can't hurt."
Merle watched intently as Van took the pendant off from around his neck. He held it out in front of him and closed his eyes. He pictured Hitomi in his mind and kept his mind focused on her. After he kept his stance for what felt like hours, he felt the pendant make a definite swing smoothly in his hand. He opened his eyes to find the pendant pointing north, the direction of Zaibach.
"Yay! I'm so happy Lord Van! You've found Hitomi!" announced Merle as she began to hop again.
At that very moment, a messenger came to see Van. This messenger was brown haired and did not wear any distinct livery. "King Van, I have a message for you," said the messenger who possessed an extremely deep voice.
"Who's it from?" asked Van.
"I can't say," the messenger handed it over a letter.
Reading the message carefully, Van's face went from an expression of success and happiness to one of seriousness and displeasure.
"What does it say Lord Van?"asked Merle curiously in her high-pitched voice.
"It says that Zaibach has Hitomi, and if I want her back I will have to comply with all their demands or she will die…"