A Wish of Snow
Chapter Three: "Empty"
Summary: Sometimes the snow brings bitterness and cold; sometimes it brings love and warmth. For Hitomi, it brings both. Van/Hitomi Romance
Author's Notes: Hope the delay's not too bad folks, but here's chapter three. Don't hate me for the Thamos/Hitomi stuff; it's a crucial part of the plot. Hopefully anything that happens with Hitomi's relationship(s) will make sense. Also, as promised, you'll find more of Van in this chapter. Yay! Please read and review! (Thank you to those who have already reviewed, I hope you enjoy!)
Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne.
"Evening Ms. Marietta. This is the lady Hitomi." Gregor said politely.
"Oh is it?" Marietta glared down at the girl. "Now, listen Hitomi. We don't take formalities in this kitchen. Except that you call me Ma'am. That's the way it is. Take it or get out." Marietta looked solemnly at Gregor. "What are you still doin' here? You've got matters to take care of, right?"
"Yes, Ma'am." Gregor winked at Hitomi. "You'll be fine."
"Now, I suppose you want something to eat dearie?" Marietta asked sweetly, glancing at the slim wrist in her grasp.
"Huh?" The shorter woman didn't wait for an answer. She merely dragged Hitomi into the warm glow of the kitchen.
vvvvvvvvvv
The kitchen was enormous and full of chatting women. Most of them surrounded two large fireplaces that filled the space with warmth and light. The walls were stone, but cleanly scrubbed, an indication of the cleanliness of the Marietta's ward. The larger woman hauled Hitomi past several bubbling pots to a small table next to a much smaller corner fireplace. "Have a seat, dearie, I'll fix you something right up." Marietta smiled and turned away disappearing into the mass of women by the large fire.
After a few minutes of watching the bustling kitchen at work, Hitomi felt almost comfortable. Here it was unlike anywhere else she'd been in Zaibach; here it was warm and welcoming, full of happy chatter and sweet smells. She took a deep breath and leaned back. Something small bobbed at her neckline. "Oh." Hitomi reached back and unclasped her pendant. With a frown, she held it out before her and closed her eyes. "Please," she whispered, "if he is alive, show me where Van is."
She waited.
Nothing happened.
It was just: empty.
Suddenly, someone prodded her shoulder with a stubby finger. "Hitomi?"
"Wha-" Hitomi felt her focus drain away as she opened her eyes to see Marietta staring right at her. She blinked hard; then lost her balance and tumbled backwards.
The kitchen stilled for a moment. "Hitomi? You've got to stop doing that dear, in all my days, I've never seen one girl fall so much in a short time."
"Sorry Ms. Marietta-" Hitomi absently stroked the back of her hair into place.
Marietta coughed. And then she scowled.
"Oops, I mean, sorry Ma'am." She scrambled to her feet and hurriedly sat down at the table again.
"That's better. Now eat up." Marietta was back to her sweet self again. "You look half starved to death, so I made you a full plate."
"Thank you."
"Don't hold up on account of me. Dig in."
Hitomi picked up a fork and finally noticed all of the food in front of her. There was probably enough to feed three men. Her eyes widened as she remembered just how hungry she was. Maybe there was just enough to feed one Hitomi.
"Oh and Hitomi?" Marietta started, "If you need anything, ask Beth. Here she is." She waved to a smaller brunette woman with green eyes. The young kitchen maid smiled and walked over.
"Yes Ma'am?" The woman asked.
"See to it that Hitomi here gets anything she needs."
"Yes Ma'am."
"Hitomi, Beth. Beth, Hitomi." Marietta waved her hands in a brief introduction.
"Ma'am! We need your help over here. Audrey's got the stew all wrong!" a voice yelled across the kitchen.
Marietta huffed. "It's almost dinner time; leave it to those frills to screw it up. I've got to go dear, just ask Beth for anything." Reapplying her scowl, she stomped away muttering.
"Is she always like that?" Hitomi asked, almost to herself.
"No." Beth smiled. "Some days, she's worse."
Hitomi stared for a second before she started giggling.
"Don't worry about her. She's generally nice-"
They could hear the older woman yelling a few choice words over top of the kitchen noise. Beth cringed slightly. "Unless you mess up dinner."
The hustle and bustle of the room returned to normal volume.
"Go ahead and eat before it gets cold, Hitomi, right?" Beth pointed to her untouched plate.
"Oh, yes. Food, right!" Hitomi started her feeding frenzy while Beth laughed.
vvvvvvvvvv
Thamos looked at himself in the mirror critically. He smiled. He had always been proud of his appearance. Despite being a little on the pale side, Thamos had to admit, he looked good. His black hair fell smoothly to his shoulders, a few carefully placed strands across his brow. His face was neat and clean, no scars or abrasions marred it. Snapping his cloak over his thin, toned chest, Thamos whirled around once. "Now, one final piece to set in place." Grinning, he left his room and headed for the machine room.
Immediately, he was met by Gregor. "Ah, Gregor. How is our guest?"
"I sent her to Marietta to eat, sir."
"Oh?"
"She was hungry, sir." Gregor said.
"Fine, fine. Marietta is perfectly trustworthy." Thamos waved a hand in dismissal. "Please bring the sorcerers to me."
"Yes, sir." He saluted and marched towards a metal door next to the machine.
"Lord Thamos?" Evard slipped out of the shadows.
"Evard, you have a talent for speaking when you are not spoken to." Thamos frowned. "What is it?"
"Are you certain it is a good idea for the lady to fraternize with those kitchen girls?"
"Your point, Evard?" Thamos gave him a cold stare and he flinched.
"My, point, my lord, is that the girls may spread unwanted information to the lady."
"They know nothing of the machine and its purposes; they are harmless." he replied coolly.
"But they do know of you sir." Evard whispered.
"And?"
"Well, my lord, they may tell the girl of your personality and-"
Thamos waved a hand. "Enough. If I see that it is a problem, I will deal with it personally. Leave me. All of you."
Slithering back, Evard disappeared from view. Rawn and the other guards fanned out of the room in groups through small scattered doors. Thamos held a hand to his forehead. "I hate it when he's right. I'll have to do something about that. Those girls may tell her more than I'd like them too."
It was a few minutes before six cloaked men silently appeared in the machine room. "Is it ready?" Thamos asked softly. The men surrounded him and one approached his side.
"Yes, Lord Thamos." said one of the cloaked figures.
"With this you are assured success." called another.
"There will be no calling the Draconian."
"You guarantee this?" Thamos smiled.
"If this seal should break, then she is more powerful than we could contain."
"I don't like the sound of that." He grimaced. "Is there another way?"
"You have forbade us to use those methods, however-"
"That's enough. I'll take it." He held out a hand to the man next to him.
"Our payment, Lord Thamos?" a deeper voice echoed from the closer man.
"Yes, yes, here it is." Thamos reached into his robes and procured a rolled up piece of parchment. "The resting place of the dragon armor is marked clearly."
"Excellent." A pasty, gnarled hand reached out and grabbed the parchment eagerly. In Thamos' hand a shiny blue object glistened softly.
The sorcerers vanished.
"Gregor?" Thamos called loudly.
"Yes, sir?" The older man rushed out of a nearby corridor.
"Please send the lady Hitomi to me. I have a present for her."
Gregor eyed his commander warily. "Yes sir." He turned on his heels.
vvvvvvvvvv
Hitomi smiled at Beth and waved her goodbye before closing the door to the kitchen behind her. "Now, should I just walk back?" She stared down the two long hallways with their myriads of openings and doors. "I'd never find my way back that way."
She turned around and around, trying to remember which hallway she'd walked down. Giving up on that hope, Hitomi turned left and started walking. It all looked the same. Stone hallways with tapestries hung on the walls here and there. Everything was big pillars and dark corners lit up only by wall braziers. It was pretty gloomy.
"I don't even know how to call for Gregor." she sighed. "And I haven't seen another person yet." She rubbed her shoulders. Outside of the kitchen, the damp air was chilling her, despite the long sleeves.
"My lady. There you are." a familiar voice sounded through the hall.
Within moments, Gregor was striding towards Hitomi from a passage to her left. "I was beginning to think you'd gotten lost." He smiled.
"I was just heading back to my room." she started.
"Which, by the way, is in the other direction." Gregor interrupted.
"Oh."
"Come on then. Lord Thamos has asked to see you."
"Do I have to?" Hitomi frowned and looked at the floor.
"I am afraid so, but don't worry, he won't do anything to harm you." Gregor held out an arm and Hitomi slowly latched on.
"Gregor, would you tell me why you work for him?"
"Well, I work for Lord Thamos because I owe him a great debt."
"Oh." Hitomi felt incredibly awkward. It seemed like everyone in Gaea owed another their life. Naria and Eria worked for Folken because they owed him their lives, Merle was a similar case with Van- Maybe that was just the way things worked here.
"Do you mind if I ask you what your debt is?" Hitomi tried softly. "If you don't want to tell me-"
"It happened during the war." Gregor started, "Being a soldier is not always easy. My family, my Reena and our daughter Sophitia lived near the front lines. I am not proud of myself, but I hid from battle that day. Thamos was sent to my house to find me." He stopped for a moment, eyes distant, face set. "That was the day that our enemy used their new weapon. They blew up most of our army and a great deal of our countryside."
Hitomi blanched. She remembered the horrific battlefields of Gaea and of her walk with the dead, searching for Van amongst them. She shivered. "I don't want to do that again."
"What? My lady? Is something wrong?" Gregor broke from his reverie to face the worried girl.
"No, no. It's nothing!" Hitomi flailed her free arm and smiled. "You were saying?"
"Oh yes. Well," Gregor's cleared his throat quickly. "Thamos used his magic to protect my family. He saved us."
"Well, that's wonderful! How old is Sophitia now?" Hitomi tried cheerfully. Gregor still looked sad.
"She would have been 16 next moon."
Hitomi felt her heart stop for a split second. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. You didn't kill her." He sped up their pace. "We're nearly there. Come on."
vvvvvvvvvv
As the sun set in Fanelia over a snowy countryside, its young king gazed out from his balcony with fierce eyes. He ran a hand through his messy, jet black hair and sighed. Raising a hand to his chest, Van grasped the charm around his neck. It was a pink pendant, the only physical remnant of the Earth girl's time on Gaea. The orb was cold, empty. "Where is she?" he asked no one in particular. "Why can't I see her?" He pounded his other hand against the stone rail.
"Lord Van?"
He dropped the pendant, but continued staring over the balcony. "Yes, Merle?"
The cat girl padded gently into the king's bedroom, cautious of discarded weapons and dirty laundry. "You miss her Lord Van."
It wasn't a question; it was a statement of fact. "Yes. I do." he replied, eyes sliding closed. "But I can't even see her anymore."
"What happened?" Merle crawled onto the balcony rail and started pacing back and forth.
"I have always been able to see her with this." Van carefully unhooked the necklace and let it rest in his palm. "In the last two years, I haven't been able to see her at all. I don't know what to do- Merle?"
The cat girl grabbed him into a hug. "Lord Van. Please don't hurt anymore."
"What if I can't see her because she doesn't care anymore? What if she's dead?"
"Hitomi's not dead!" Merle hissed, arching herself back up to the rail. "Don't you ever say that!"
"How am I supposed to do that when today I get this feeling that she's near, that our connection is there again, only to have it vanish into emptiness?" Van shouted, gripping the pendant tighter.
"Lord Van."
His rage disappeared in an instant. "Funny thing is; I can't forget her." He leaned forward, arms braced against the rail. "No matter how many suitors the council brings me or whatever troubles Fanelia has, I can't forget her."
"It's because-" Merle started gently.
"I know why. And I'm going to find out what that feeling was today. If she's on Gaea, I won't rest until I find her." He stood up straight, almost as if he was going to leap from the balcony.
"No, Lord Van!" Merle grabbed his arm when his shirt was halfway over his head. "You can't go look for her now." Her voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "There's too much here in Fanelia now, and you don't even know she's on this planet."
"Merle, let me go."
"I can't. I don't want you to go get killed!" Merle's voice shook.
Van lowered his arms.
"Lord Van?" Merle straightened and jumped down to the floor. "Give me a month. If she's on Gaea, I'll find her."
"Merle." Van stared down at the striking woman next to him. She had grown up a lot in the last few years. It was hard to believe that just a short time ago she was following him everywhere, playing silly tricks on guards. Now she stared at him with bold eyes. Her childishness may have faded away, but her stubborn streak was bright as ever.
"Please Lord Van? A month?" she pleaded.
He nodded. "Be careful."
"I promise." Merle furrowed her brows in determination. "I'll find her." She bounded out of the room on all fours, skidding as she turned the corner.
"If you can't find her, I'll have to accept that she's gone." Van tucked the pendant back under his shirt and began the long walk to the dining room alone.
vvvvvvvvvv
"Lady Hitomi." Thamos bowed slightly as the girl entered the plush room.
Hitomi stared anxiously around the room, eyeing the large, soft chairs and overall warm feeling that reminded her of the kitchen. "Hello."
"Gregor, if you would, please wait outside the door, we won't be long." Thamos dismissed his general. "Now." he said, as the door closed. "Are you feeling better?"
"Huh? Oh, I suppose so." she replied evenly.
"Hitomi, if I may."
She nodded.
"I asked to meet with you because I want you to understand something." He smiled and motioned to a chair. Hitomi slowly seated herself. "You are free to do as you please here. I won't force you to do anything. I apologize for the way we met earlier, but it could not be helped."
"I don't see how being put in a cage could be misinterpreted." Hitomi tried to mimic Marietta's scowl.
"Forgive me." Thamos pulled back his hood and Hitomi took an obvious breath. "I didn't want you to run away. We had heard of your great power and were afraid."
"You were afraid of me?"
"Yes, very. But clearly, we were mistaken. You are a charming young lady." he added sweetly.
"I'm not charming-"
"Listen, Hitomi. No doubt, Gregor has told you about the severe storms?"
"Yes." she nodded.
"While you are stranded here, you are free to do as you wish. This place is yours to explore. If you need anything at all, you can ask Gregor or myself." He moved nearer.
"Can messages be sent out?" she tried nervously.
"I am afraid not in these conditions. But as soon as the storm season ends, I will see to it that any messages reach their destination, personally."
Hitomi felt her hope fading, but at least if she was stuck here, the people were being nice. "Okay, thank you."
"Hitomi? I have something for you. It's a sort of, token of apology for earlier." Thamos pulled a small pouch from his pocket. "Please take it."
She delicately opened the pouch and lifted from it a thin silver thread with a charm hanging from it. It was a necklace. "It's beautiful." The cool blue triangle glistened in the torchlight. It was almost like her other pendant. "Lord Thamos-"
"Please, just call me Thamos."
"Thamos. I think I'd like to go to bed."
"Certainly. Gregor?" On cue, Gregor opened the door and saluted.
"Yes my lord?"
"Please escort Hitomi back to her room and make sure that no one disturbs her."
"Yes sir. Come along my lady."
Latching onto his arm, Hitomi let herself be led away.
"Goodnight Hitomi, pleasant dreams." Thamos called out behind her.
vvvvvvvvvv
A/N: Well, the chapters are getting a little bit longer, normally I write about 9-12pg ones, but I wanted to keep this one a little shorter so that I can update more often. Oh well. We'll see how that goes…Anyhow, what did you think? I finally got Van and Merle into the story! And did you notice? Van still has the pendant; the one Hitomi's got is a fake! So from now on we're following three different plotlines ok? Hitomi in Zaibach/ Van in Fanelia/ and Merle traveling to find Hitomi. Cool. Please review, I love those things!
Maybe I'll do some art of the updated chars/ new ones…let me know if there's interest!
