The Nightmare

"Hitomi!" Van's scream echoed through the dark empty halls. He sat up slowly in bed, trying carefully not to wake up the sleeping girl that lay beside him. His body was covered in hot, sticky, sweat and he felt like he was about to have a heart attack. Van kissed Hitomi's forehead before getting up from their bed. He silently left her room and made his way towards the castles roof. As Van walked through the dark empty hallways, his mind was plagued with the terrifying images from his nightmare. In his dream, Van had seen Hitomi brutally stab herself, over and over again. But he could never reach her before she dealt the last blow to her bludgeoned body. Van remembered cradling her head in his arms, tears slowly slid down her face as she muttered the words 'I love you'. Than he felt her body go limp, and all of the life drained from her celery coloured eyes. Van shivered at the thought of how she looked, lifeless and end empty.

He'd began having those dreams ever since the night he'd brought Hitomi back. Van knew he had done the right thing in returning her to Gaia, and of course he didn't regret it, so why was he plagued by these horrendous nightmares?

The night he had gone to retrieve Hitomi, Van had seen one of the most frightening sights in his life. Hitomi holding that damned knife to her heart, just about ready to end her life. Maybe witnessing that terrible scene was the reason behind these nightmares.

Although Van would never admit it, a part of himself almost hated Hitomi. That part of him despised her for what she had almost done, yet loved her all the same. He was rather confused by her actions. From another persons perspective, they could have percieved her decision as foolished. She was after all, destroying herself for a person who had probably forgotten all about her. Van knew that was not what she was doing. But how could he possibly know that? Van and Hitomi had barely touched the subject. He did want to though, badly. Only, everytime he saw her, she seemed so fragile, almost as if she would shatter at the slightest prodding. A voice in his head whispered that she would never be the same, and maybe she would try again to hurt herself.

Disgusted by his own thoughts, Van pushed them out of his head. Van groaned as he sat down on the castle roof. The future of Fanelia, was another subject that worried Van. His chocolate-red eyes were filled with frustration, as he stared at the bright stars. One of the nearby kingdoms, the land of Acadia, had been gathering special arms, intending on bringing Fanelia to it's knees. Apparently their plan had been underway for a year. Fanelia was generally a peaceful country but the Acadian king, Frederick Darius, was far from anything of the sort. Van had met the man when he was younger. Darius had come to the castle with two other men, who's names he could not remember, but knew were from the Acadian kingdom as well. From what Van could remember from that night was that, Darius barged into the castle demanding to speak with his father, Goau. As the king of Fanelia, Goau was required to treat everyone with respect, but Van could easily tell that his father had a great dislike of Darius. Van was curious as to why Darius was there, but his father had him escorted out of the main hall by one of the servants. The servant brought him up to his mothers room, and lightly knocked on her door. Slowly Van's mother, Varie, opened the door. Van leaped into his mothers arms, and could sense her smiling, which in turn made him smile. Van let go of his mother and walked over to her bed, and softly sat down. Varie bid the servant goodnight, and shut the door. She walked over to the, and began slowly stroking Van's spiky black hair. "I heard a loud noise coming from the main hall, what is going on." Van explained the presensce of the Acadian king. He watched as the expression of his mothers face change from peaceful to that of anger. The the door was roughly thrown open. Van jumped in fear and cringed behind his mother. Darius was standing at the door. His green eyes,the colour of poison, were filled with raging desire and lust, his hands wre clenched into fists, his thick dark brown hair was pulled into a braid and thrown over his shoulder. He was a bit pudgy, but it didn't show through the long black robe he was wearing. Darius kept staring at Varie, as if he was going to devour every last bit of her. Van did not like the way he was looking at her. "Get out." Varie whispered with a tinge of disgust in her voice. Van had never heard her use that tone of voice. Darius didn't budge from his spot, but he shifted his gaze to Van. Lust and desire dissapeared from his eyes and were replaced by malice and hate. Van felt his mothers arms tighten around him. In that second, Van knew that this man was not to be trusted. Then one of his men came and muttered something in his ear. So with one last look at Varie, Darius left.

A couple of minutes after Darius left, Varie let out a sigh of relief. "Sleep here tonight, Van." She kissed his forehead and walked towards the door. "Mommy, where are you going?" Varie stopped at the door and said she was going to check up on his father. As Van crawled under the covers of his mothers bed, he said 'I love you' to her. Varie smiled and shut the door quietly.

Van had never asked about Darius, because he never wanted anything to do with him. There was something about the way he looked at his mother, that disgusted him.

Van was persistent in trying to remain at peace with Acadia. He was to meet with Darius in a few weeks. Maybe than he would knock some sense into him. Van was going to make sure that Escaflowne was not going to be woken from it's deep slumber anytime soon.

Van's expression softened as he began reminising about his mother. He remembered her beautiful midnight hair, and her pale sking. He remembered how they used to run and play in the forests. He was miserable when she hadn't returned from searching for his older brother, Folken. But at least he still had Merle to comfort him.

The thought of Merle brought a smile to his lips. Van knew that he had promised her that would take care of everything that was needed to be done for the wedding, but with everything that been going on with the Acadians, he just didn't have time. He was very greatful when Hitomi had volunteered to help. A faint blush crept onto his face as he thought about their own wedding. The ring he had given to her had once belonged to his grandmother, Goau gave it to him when he was a child. Goau told him to give it to someone that always be here, with him. At the time, Van thought that would be easy. Than his father had die, and his mother and brother had both dissapeared within hours of eachother. Van thought he was destined to lead a life of solitude. But than he met Hitomi, and she was a cool, refreshing breeze to his humid atmosphere. But than after her failed suicide attempt, he was no longer certain if he should give her the ring, but after seeing her reaction to his marriage proposal, he knew that he had done the right thing. And just to be sure, he made her promise never to leave. 'She wouldn't leave...would she?'

Van decided to leave the castle, as his mind drifted back to his nightmare. He thought a walk in the in the brisk night air would clear his mind. 'I don't think I would forgive her if she tried again'. He glanced back at Hitomi's balcony before disappearing into the cool night air.