So here's chapter 5 for you all.
As always, any feedback you give would be appreciated but not expected.
Things may pick up a bit now though it's still a bit of a slow burner honestly so for anyone who's stuck with me so far, thank you so much.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy it x
Chapter 5
She looked at the grave with sorrowful eyes, with her hands clasped behind her back. She was stewing over the days events already. She was taller now, her curves more prominent but she still wore the same style dress along with her nail file, despite her hair now reaching her waist even when it was plaited as it was. Merle had been pleased to come home and permanently after spending 6 months in Ruhm's village, learning to fight and defend. Now she wished she could re-do her first conversation with Van. She'd barely been back a full day and already they had had an argument. She hadn't wanted to start her visit this badly but she couldn't let her anger go just yet, not when she was still re-living it in her head.
She had run into the throne room, high on her excitement as she spotted him standing at the steps to the throne with a warm and welcome smile on his face.
"LORD VAN!" she called out, running on all fours over to him before launching herself at him. Like always he caught her easily and swung her around with a chuckle at her behaviour.
"Merle," he muttered softly, "You need to come home more often."
"But then you wouldn't miss me as much," she teased as she pulled back to look at his face with a smirk.
"I also wouldn't worry as much that someone will steal my little sister from me," he joked back.
She couldn't be more thrilled by the welcome. It had been so long since she seen him so at peace with himself and so joyful in general.
"You're more cheerful," she commented, "What have I missed?"
They sat on the steps to the throne for the next 2 hours, catching up on what they had both missed in each other lives whilst they had been apart. She told him of her training and the things she'd learnt whilst he told her about him and Celena, the meeting and how their friends were. They were both feeling the high that came from just seeing each other until Merle could no longer hold her curiosity, turning the mood serious.
"What about Hitomi?" she asked, "I mean, in all the last connection you had to her only broke 4 weeks ago."
"I love Hitomi," Van answered sadly at first, "But it's not the same anymore. I can't keep holding on when I have no guarantee she'll come back to me. I need to move on and I love Celena."
"4 weeks and you're in love?" she asked sceptically, sounding harsher than she meant to.
"I don't know if I would say in love but we've both been moving towards this for the last year. It'll come with time and Celena and I have already talked this through. Do you really think so little of me?"
"I just think you're moving a little quick," she admitted, hurt he'd ask that question when she'd only ever had his best interest at heart, "What are you going to do if Hitomi comes back before you get married? Or after? What are you going to do if she does come back and she held out for you despite all of this?"
"Tell her I choose Celena and the reasons. She'll understand," he stated confidently.
"And what if she comes back because of these 'Soldiers of Fortune'? What then?" she asked angrily, not sure why Van seemed to be so disconnected from his previous feelings to Hitomi.
"I don't understand what you're angry about. If she comes back because of them, I know she'll do what she can to help us," he argued.
"You think Hitomi will understand if you break her heart and then ask her to help you all fight another war? Sure that's just great."
"We'll need her help to win. Her abilities are un-paralleled. She'd be our best chance of winning without too much damage to our countries," he growled out.
"You make her sound like a weapon," she fired back standing up, "She's our friend."
"Then as our friend she'll be happy to help us again," he shouted.
"You're as bad as every self-centred guy out there Lord Van!"
She ran out leaving him to call her name, avoiding him and using her training to hide herself from him finding her.
She sighed as she plopped down on the ground. She knew she couldn't ignore it forever but she couldn't forgive how he made Hitomi sound like a weapon. Like she wasn't worth more thought. That she'd be so forgiving he moved on so quickly and was so quick to pick Celena to be his wife. She liked Celena and was good for Van. She could see the change in him over the years from the girl but it was the way Van was acting now that upset and angered her.
"Merle, you okay?"
She turned to see Celena behind her. She just shook her head and looked back to the grave from her seat on the floor. She expected to be left alone like she usually was, knowing Van had told everyone to give her time to cool off before trying to speak to her. She hadn't expected Celena to sit down next to her without worrying about the state of her own clothes.
"Want to talk about it?" Celena asked softly.
"It's stupid," Merle muttered.
"It's not stupid if you're upset by it."
"It's just," she started, "I don't understand Lord Van anymore. You and Van work well together and you've been really good for him but this is all moving a bit fast even for Royals. He makes Hitomi sound like a tool of war after saying she'd be so understanding. If I was her, I'd be furious and wouldn't want to help."
"So would I. But I'm glad I'm not the only who thinks they're making her sound like a weapon," Celena stated calmly.
"He's acting like that around you too?"
"They all do. I don't think they realise it."
"It's not right," Merle ranted, "She's our friend. She may have helped us but she didn't have to. It wasn't even her war to fight."
"And you lost your temper at him?"
"Yeah," she answered grumpily.
"You know, you've both had a chance to calm down now. Why don't you try explaining it to him calmly? You might not feel so guilty then."
"I should, shouldn't I?"
"Yes but you can always blame me for pushing you to do it if you want," Celena teased as they both stood up.
"You're a lot like Hitomi," Merle mused, "You both meddle but thank you. I think I needed that."
"Anytime."
Merle walked away with a smile on her face, feeling better and knowing exactly where to find Van. She hadn't lied, Celena was a lot like Hitomi but she was a lot calmer. Hitomi would at least have ranted with her. She missed that sometimes.
He sat on the roof, looking out at Fanelia. It was well into the afternoon now and he was too guilt ridden over giving up looking for Merle so easily. He'd been replaying their argument over and over again. Once he'd calmed down, even he had heard how he sounded when talking about Hitomi. Merle was right. When had it become so natural for him to speak about her like that. Like she was a tool and wouldn't get angry.
Even if he wasn't holding on for her anymore, she was still their friend. But that wasn't only problem. He still had to figure out how to apologise to Merle.
"Thought I might find you here."
He turned and found Merle standing behind him with a smile on her face. He was confused that she wasn't angry at him still. She moved to sit next to him without saying a word apart from the muttering her of her name.
"You always come up here when you're upset," she mused.
"Merle I'm sorry…"
"I know. But don't make Hitomi sound like a weapon. I'm sure she would understand eventually but she'd going to be hurt at first. If I was her I wouldn't be able to forgive so easily for moving on so quickly once you no longer had a tie to her."
"I know. I didn't even notice I was doing it," he muttered.
"Don't be surprised if you at least get a slap," she teased.
"I remember how they felt. They sting more than your claws," he joked back.
They were quiet for a while as they watched the people below.
"So what will you do if Hitomi does come back?" she asked uneasily.
"Apologise and explain it properly. She'll be upset either way but I can't fault her for that."
"No you can't. But I'll only let her slap you once Lord Van."
"Do you think I'm making the right choice Merle?" he asked with a sigh.
"Yeah," she answered holding onto his arm, "Besides I like Celena. Anyone else and I'll be sharpening my claws to use on you."
"Understood," he chuckled.
Earth
She walked through the door with a heavy sigh, glad to be home at last. It had already been a hectic day and they were barely past the lunch hours. She would definitely need a nap in front of the tv today. It's not like she had plans or anyone to see anyway. She yawned as she wondered into the kitchen to make herself something to eat, her late night hadn't helped either.
After the bulk of information was out of the way, she was able to think it over clearly. She was able to ask questions to get a better understanding. Her dad couldn't remember the name of his sister but she had come to terms quickly with the fact that she would be considered a Queen if she had lived on Gaea. She got more details on the attack of what would have been her kingdom. She'd laughed outright at the army's name. But her dad was happy enough knowing her anger was not directed at him, even if he was actually named Draco on Gaea not Yato as she knew it. A mistake her grandfather had made.
They'd actually sat in the lounge watching the Disney movie of Atlantis, mocking the theories until she'd fallen asleep. Her dad had carried her up to bed. Her dream last night was odd though. It had started as a nightmare of the incident again but before she was forced to witness it again, it changed. Surrounded by darkness, someone told her that they were waiting for her to find them. She'd woken up but she at least understood what it meant.
Before she could think any further on it, they were thrown into their busy morning. They'd barely eaten breakfast when the charity arrived for all the boxes of her brother and mothers belongings. They'd only kept 1 box of her brothers clothes, just in case they needed them for whatever reason. Other than that and the keepsakes they'd separated out, everything had been taken. As soon as they were gone, daughter and father quickly scrambled to get out the door to the airport. On the way they'd chatted about the house, more specifically Hitomi moving into the biggest room of the house and decorating it how she wanted to since he had moved into the guest room. He'd made jokes the whole way so that she'd be forced to think about it and make a complete plan.
It wasn't until he was checked in at the airport that their mood mellowed and turned sombre. However, she'd been more at ease than when she'd first been told he was leaving. She was given the normal house rules and was given a bank card to pay for food or anything she needed. She was also told to email if she needed to so they could arrange video calls at times to suit both of them. He looked more worried than she did by the time he was done.
She chuckled to herself as she cleaned up her snack, heading to the lounge and laying out on the sofa as she tried to find a mindless program to watch. She thought about where she'd stopped off on the way home. She'd gone to the spot where she'd first been taken to Gaea. Her mind had replayed everything she'd gone through leaving her angry. She wasn't happy about any of this.
"Hitomi?"
She sat bolt upright in time to see Varie appear by the window. She'd managed to calm down by the time she had got home but now her patience was being tested. She'd always been taught to think things through patiently. Honestly she'd had enough of it and everything toying with her.
"Leave me alone," she growled.
"I can't Hitomi. You alone have the power to change fate and…"
"You think you can keep coming back to see if my answer changes? Like I can keep being dragged back to Gaea to fix their problems for them? My dad told me I'm the next Queen of Atorantisu but that does not mean you're entitled to keep fucking around with my life," she shouted.
Varie looked shocked and confused at the admission from Hitomi but she recovered quickly enough to go back to her calm façade.
"I admit we failed in knowing what was happening but we need you to guide Gaea back to a peaceful future," she stated softly.
"Do you even know what's happening now?"
"No but…"
"IF I got back, I will do what I need to, to get rid of whatever threat you think is coming," she growled as she left herself losing consciousness, "but after that I will leave Gaea to fall apart and I will enjoy watching every second of it."
She got the sentence out, before she finally gave into the darkness, her body slumping over itself. Varie looked at the girl sadly, before moving over to lay her out properly and brushing the hair out of her face.
"I'm sorry Hitomi, I hope you can forgive me one day."
She was surrounded by darkness again, wondering where this dream was leading her. She was still angry from Varie's impromptu visit but something was telling her this wasn't a dream. She was beginning to think it was a vision when she heard footsteps. Briefly she wondered if it was Van adding fuel to her anger, until they came into view slowly.
"It's been a long time Hitomi," they said as their identity was finally revealed.
"Dilandau," she whispered fearfully.
"Unforgettable aren't I?"
So that's it for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.
For anyone who's a beyblade fan, I'm releasing a new story in a few weeks alongside Return to Gaea.
As always, any feedback is great feedback, but it's not expected.
I'll be uploading the next chapter on 21st August.
Until next time xx