blackstarryday: You have been officialy added to my list of minions. Thanks for the great review. I will keep in mind your skills with a spork. :) :) The only thing I can picture though is Van getting ready to go into battle and realizing that the warrior next to him is holding a spork instead of a sword. The look on his face would be priceless:) :)
Bianca: There are many things that will be revealed soon enough. (I feel like Yoda saying that. lol ) :) Thanks for the review.
ann: Why the sniffles? You have a busy life- it's ok that you didn't review. I'm just glad that you looked me up as soon as you had time. :)
kogaijilynz: Thanks for the review!
Tai-dye: My Hitomi is a mix of the two just without the movie Hitomi's depression. I liked the worry prone yet determined Hitomi from the series and the Hitomi from the movie was calmer and I just kinda combined them to make a not so dramatic version of Hitomi. Of course her powers in my story are from the movie in a way- that whole scene with Hitomi throwing Kaitlyn back was inspired by Van and Dilly's fight.
mizz Tasuki: Christopher isn't bad! I promise! He's just the silent yet brilliant soldier. He will come into to play more in later chapters.
maeko14: Thank you for reviewing every chapter you missed. I hate it when I get a review for the more recent chapter and the person tells me how much they liked the last five chapters. It just kinda irks me. Thanks again:)
QueenTatooine: I really hated how Van's mum just sorta wasn't in his life any more in the series and I thought it'd be nice for him to have a good bye and the reasoning behind it all. I mean, what mother could just leave her youngest son alone without worries nagging at her mind. I had to let Varie have a say. I'm still trying to figure out the riders. Oo I know what I think I want them to be but if I use the idea I have there will be so many twists and turns that I, as the writer, may get very lost in the plot and get writer's block.
Goddess-Hitomi: Bows Thank you. Thank you. I'm glad you liked it so much. Van does make a cute child, huh? The wedding is coming! Not in this chapter but probably the next one.
Macky: Thank you. ;)
steves-girl: Thanks.
Asavako: Thanks! I love writing this. It'll be quite a while before it's even close to ending. I mean, theres so many ideas in my head that I still need to put into this. I'm just happy you all keep coming back for more. I'm honored.
brezzybrez: I always update. :) I love writing. Finding the time to write is the only hard part now-a-days. Two jobs are really wearing me out lately. And my friend Chris just offered me another job! I had to say no. Three jobs is just way too many.
chibihitomi: O! Hun, I didn't mean to make anyone cry. Scott usualy says things and then runs because he's very tickle ish and I'm not. So my way of getting back at him is to usualy pin him and tickle him untill he's laughing so hard he can barely breathe. :) :) So yea, sometimes I kick him and other times I tickle him. It's really very fun. :)
mysisterisasquijum: Yay Plot!
pure hope: Thanks.
shadow glider: O, believe me- I am SO accident prone. I can tip over when I'm standing still. I just loose my balance and tip. I also trip over things that aren't there and last week I hit myself with my own mop handle at work. I have a bruise from it! Scott has learned to catch me quite easily. Thanks to him I have less bruises than normal. :)
Inda: You are the first. :) More is coming.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Merle sat back watching as Van was once again arguing with the council.
They didn't know about the wedding. If they had their heads would have exploded from the thought of their King doing something without their knowing.
They really were very full of themselves. Well, at least the older councilors were. The younger ones seemed to be more bussiness minded and not intent on medling in Van's life.
No, today was not about the wedding that was just three days away. Today was about taxes and trades.
Hitomi sat on the Cat girl's left poised like a queen. Merle didn't think Hitomi knew that she was doing it but her straight back, folded hands and unreadable eyes made the council nervous. They were use to Van's out bursts and temper letting them know just what he was thinking. It was the future Queen's thoughtfull face and silence that worried them.
Their future Queen could have been planning to behead them all and they never would have known. Hitomi looked lost in thought, not like she was worried about the trades routes but like she was thinking about how nice the day had been.
Van finaly turned away from Albert's frowning face to look at Hitomi who was sitting just to the right of him, "What do you think?" he asked quietly, his temper cooling as he looked at Hitomi's calm face.
"I think that trade with the southern kingdoms would bring in more food and cattle." Hitomi said, glancing around the room, "You all have said in one way or another that the south was a valuable source of trade. This arguing over something you all agree on just for the sake of arguing is pointless. Van has been defending the southern trade route and you all just suddenly think it's a bad idea." Hitomi looked up at Van, "I believe that the council should be examined. Those not fit to be here because of personal reason's should not be here."
Van smiled slowly. He had known for awhile that the council was trying to see how far they could play and push him. It had become a type of game. Hitomi was bring an end to it.
"My thought exactly." Van locked eyes with Albert, "The time for change is approaching quickly, gentlemen. Make sure you know where you stand."
OOOOOOOOOOOO
Hitomi leaned back against the stone wall. Her mind was far from Fanelia and the cool breeze that played in her hair.
In three days she would be married, but no one could know. She couldn't talk to Tina and her sisters about her nerves and excitement. She had only Merle and Rosie- not that they were less excited about it than the others would have been. It was just the fact that they knew they had to act the same as always. They three couldn't disappear for hours on end to talk about dresses and flowers.
In truth there wouldn't be any flowers and the dress would be whatever she could find on Earth durring her day back.
Her sigh caught Christopher's attention. He, Van and Aidren had been discussing the guard towers Van was thinking of building. The younge Lord, now Knight turned to look at Hitomi just as she raised her head to look at him.
"I'm going inside. Will you please inform Van where I am ?" she asked, looking both tired and sad.
Christopher glanced over to see the King in deep conversation with the door guard, "Of course, My Lady."
For some reason Hitomi just couldn't stand to be outside in the sun any more. She wanted to be in her room with curtains closed and a pillow hugged to her chest. It had been quite awhile since she had spent much time in the Queen's rooms. She was hoping that time alone would improve her mood.
This sudden sadness had come on so quickly that she had almost burst into tears right there next to Christopher.
Sure that this sadness wasn't from keeping her wedding a secret Hitomi hoped to have enough time to sort through her thoughts and find out where these feelings were coming from. It wasn't like her to have mood swings like this, at least not without her period to blame it on.
Her room was dim and cozy. Just the way she liked it and Hitomi was soon curled up in her bed. Back in Japan Hitomi use to always go to her room to think. She was hoping that this would work for her now.
With a thought Hitomi found that Van was still outside. The tightness in her chest at the thought of Van clued her into part of what was bothering her. She realized she had been worrying about what was to come in the furture. The riders had been on her mind- so had the wedding. There was a lot of pressure put on the wedding and it being a secret. It just felt like every thing was waiting for the wedding to happen before the big problems would be thrown their way.
Hitomi wasn't stupid enough to think that if the wedding didn't happen then the problems wouldn't come. Even if that was the case she didn't think she could do that. She wanted to marry Van, be his wife and have his kids. The fact that she would also be a queen and have to make choises that effected many lives bothered her a bit but Van believed she could do it.
Stretching back on her pillows Hitomi thought about Varie. Van's mother had to go through a lot to be the wife of the man she loved. A few strangers and a secret wedding wouldn't have bothered Varie. Hitomi wouldn't let it worry her...too much.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Van found Cailas sitting outside the Queen's door. The man sat with one knee up, a dagger balanced on an out stretched finger.
"She's been asleep for a while." Cailas gave Van a small smile from his spot on the floor.
"Why are you here acting guard?" Van asked, concerned.
"The Lady asked me to." Cailas grinned, "You should have seen my face. I'm possitive I turned as white as snow."
"But she wasn't suppose to know that you and your brother have been guarding her." Van was annoyed and amused at the same time.
"She just opened the door as I was walking past, checking the hallway and asked me to sit here." Cailas looked amused as well, "She said she felt me there- felt us there many times."
Van slapped his hand to his forhead and groaned, "Of course! After awhile she got use to the way you two felt and knew that you weren't just regular guards."
"She certainly surprised me." Cailas nodded to the door and Van nodded as well.
"Thank you, Cailas."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
It was already evening and the day had given way to an early dusk. Van crept slowly over to the Queen's bed and looked down at Hitomi who was asleep on top of the blankets with a pillow hugged to her chest.
"Wake up, my love." Van said quietly, a smile playing on his lips, "It is time for us to dress for the Ball."
Hitomi groaned in her sleep before rolling over and looking up at Van, "How long have I been asleep?"
Her voice was sleepy and Van smiled as she rubbed at her eyes.
"Only an hour or two." he said and watched as her head snapped up.
"But that means we have only 30 minutes to get ready!" she scrambled out of bed and walked right over to the closet that Van hadn't bothered to close and through the opened passage into their shared room.
Hitomi's white and silver dress was laid out across the bed next to Van's matching suit.
"Tina and Merle will be here in a few minutes to help you with your hair." Van smiled, "My job is to get you securely into that dress."
Hitomi laughed, "Then they have the easy job. That dress weighs a ton and has a million buttons!"
Van just smiled and pointed at the changing screen that was set up along one wall. Hitomi laughed and ran behind it to change into the under clothes that went with the ten ton dress.
When she reappeared it was Van's turn to laugh. Hitomi was trying to lace up the back of her shift on her own.
"Greater women than you have failed at such a task."
"And how would you know?"
"Merle has told me." Van grinned and Hitomi turned to let him do up the back.
There was a knock on the door and before either of them could yell for another minute Merle had thrown open the door and walked in with Tina on her heel.
"I hope you don't plan to go like that." Merle asked, wrinkling her nose.
Tina laughed and ran a hand over her blue gown. She looked amazing. Hitomi's guess was that she was some type of Geae bird that ressembled a peacock.
Merle was dressed in pale pinks with little pearls in her hair.
"What are you dressed as?" Hitomi asked Merle as Tina took over her lacing up.
"I am a Gilnen Fish. They are lovely and rather tastey." Merle grinned.
"I take your leave, Ladies." Van announced, chuckling as he picked up his own costume, "I will see you all in the ball room."
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
With the dress on and her hair pulled back with tiny white feathers resting in her hair just above her circlet Hitomi felt like a fairy tale princess.
Her laugh caught the two leaning over her off guard and Merle frowned at her, "Don't move, Hitomi."
"Sorry." Hitomi muttered. The fact was, in a way she was a fairy tale princess.
She arrived in an unknown world, helped to fight a war and fell in love with a King. And now she was marrying him in just a few days.
"Ok." Tina beamed as she straightened up, "You are ready to take the King's breath away."
Hitomi blushed as she leaned forward to look at the pink on her cheeks and lips. Merle had found what she called Star Dust in town not a week ago and had put it on Hitomi's eye lids. The silver glitter caught the light, making her eyes look bright and greener than ever.
"You really are ready." Merle smiled as she stepped back to let Hitomi stand.
"Thank you both." Hitomi smiled, "I think it's time we go."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Van's breath caught in his throat and the room went silent as the door opened. Hitomi entered, the candle light playing off the gold circlet and silver on her gown. She was a vision- one that Van almost didn't believe he was seeing.
The thing that caught his attention were the small white wings on her back. Van knew that Hitomi would be wearing what she called angel wings. She had described them to him but seeing them on her back made Van think of Hitomi's look into the future at their children.
Would they have wings? He made a note to ask her later.
Van couldn't take his eyes off of his future wife for more than a moment at a time. She was lovely. Van was at a loss as to how to word what he wanted to say to her. Words just kept escaping him so finally he settled with the simple truth.
"In two nights we will be married and I will become the luckiest man alive on any world." Van leaned forward to capture her lips.
Hitomi's mind swirled as Van's words sank in. No matter what was on it's way to face them they would be fine. She knew it.
Hitomi smiled up at Van, "No, my love. I am the lucky one."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
A/N: Things will start picking up in the next chapter! Review!