Tsunami: Problems are on the way. :)
Tsaba-Tvoc Phyrexian-General: I had to have Scott look at your name. I just couldn't make heads or tails of it. I have a habbit of switching letters around in words and everytime I thought I had your name Scott said I was wrong-again. Anyways- V/H has always been a favorite of mine. I'm happy you like it.
Macky: As usual- thank you for being a constant reviewer. Thank ya much.
steves-gurl: Thank you.
chibihitomi: I'm not sure yet about the wings. I've always dreamed of flying and of having angel wings. Little kids with wings would be the cutest, huh:)
kelsey: Van stunned forever wouldn't be a very helpfull Van when things pick up. :) It was just Van in love. The attack is coming. I promise. Other characters will be coming!
blackstarryday: I can be very girly and I love being called 'love'. So I figured Hitomi would like it as well. I just can't picture Van calling her 'baby' so I went with Love. ;)
QueenTatooine: It is quite the dream. And yes, every girl has had that same dream in one form or another. Your take on it was just how I had it in my head- Perfect.
Kogaijilynz: Thanks. I love costumes and the whole Ball was in the story just so I could put everyone in clothes they wouldn't normaly wear.
Inda: I haven't had time to read much online. Just ask QueenTatooine- I haven't read her lastest chapter yet. I will get to it. I will honestly try to get to it soon. Thanks for always reviewing. I love seeing names I know when I get reviews.
maeko14: The wedding is coming! I feel like there should be drums and excited shouts when I say that. Hehe. Everyone (incuding me) have been dying for this marriage.
mysisterisasquijum: I have almost memorized how to spell your name. lol. Yes, I know I'm a dork but it's always the last 's' that catches me. I always leave it out. I love plot lines and the little plot bunnies that keep you up at night because you want to make sure you have it all right inside your head before you start typing. My problem is that I will have it all going one way in my head and then I start typing and everything gets chucked out the window. I rarely keep entire chapter ideas. The Orbs and the Riders are the only things that have stayed the same since the idea first came to me-since the begining.
jossi-31: Hitomi is a swan and Van just matches her. He already has wings so it seemed stupid to give him fake ones. So yea, he gets to do the 'Prom thing' and just make sure they match.
Asavako: I'm glad. Cavities from a chapter is quite the acomplishment. I'm honored to have ruined your teeth. J/K! I hope your teath are fine. ;)
pure hope: I love how your reviews are in all caps. Thanks for the enthusiastic reviews.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Hitomi yawned and covered her mouth with a hand that still smelled like smoke.
The fire had caught them all off guard but thankfully no one had been hurt.
Shouts and running had awoken Van first and as he threw back the covers he woke Hitomi, yelling over the noise that the stables were on fire.
They had both run out in their night clothes to help the others get all of the horses out.
The heat had been overwhelming and the frightened cries of the horses had set Hitomi on the edge of a breakdown as they realized that not all the creatures would be saved.
Hitomi had just started tearing up when Van grabbed her by the shoulders and jogged her to the side of the stable.
"Break it!" he yelled poiting at the still whole wall. It was probably the only place they couldn't get to because of the flams by the exits and it was only place not yet swallowed by flames.
"How?" she had yelled back scared by the noise and the fear she could feel coving off the trapped horses.
"The same way you threw Kaitlyn with your mind. Just try, Hitomi!" his voice was panicked, the fear had risen to an undeniable point. It was almost too thick to breath through.
Hitomi braced herself and focused on the wall.
"Hiran is still in there." Van said into her ear and suddenly the wall exploded.
Confusion followed and Hitomi did her best to calm the horses and guards who had been fightening to save them.
"Thank you." Van whispered, "Without you we would have been digging for bodies come morning. Now we only have small burns to tend."
Hitomi nodded, her body aching from the mental force she had ripped from it in fear. She used too much energy and knew that at any moment she would faint.
"Van." she choked out before stubling forward into his arms.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"And to think I thought the day after the Ball would be dull." Merle said from her perch on the railing of Hitomi's balcony.
"It was dull." Tina sighed as she sipped the tea Hitomi had taken to drinking in the mornings, "It was the night that was full of commotion."
"Too true." Hitomi yawned again, "I need to be going." she added, setting her cup aside, "My mother is expecting me."
"Of course." Tina smiled, "Merle and I will fill you in on the start of rebuilding the stables."
"Yea." Merle snorted, rolling her eyes, "Because that's going to be sooooooooooo entertaining."
Hitomi left and headed for the Queen's rooms. She was excited to be seeing her mother again and even more excited that she would be bringing her mother back for the secret wedding that was only hours away.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The Kanzaki living room looked rather empty and when Hitomi searched the house she found it deserted.
Her mother knew she was coming and Hitomi figured she wouldn't be gone long. I mean really, who would miss their only daughter's wedding?
After checking out the food in the fridge Hitomi laid back on the couch and began flipping through the channels. It felt like ages since she had last seen a television let alone touched a remote belonging to one. It took her only a few minutes to realize that as it had always been- there was nothing to watch.
Ok, so maybe television wasn't on her list of things she missed from home.
Hitomi heard the key in the door and was on her feet and in a sprint in a heart beat.
Her mother was at the top of the 'miss list'.
Mrs. Kanzaki had one foot in the door before her daughter had her in a bear hug.
"I've missed you mamma!"
"I've missed you too." Mrs. Kanzaki smiled into her daughter's hair before pulling back to look her over, "Why do you smell like smoke- wood smoke?"
Hitomi heaved a sigh and plunged into the story about the night before, leaving out the part about her breaking down a solid wall with only her mind.
"All the horse lived. They have a few burns but Van says it could have been a lot worse."
"Sounds like you had quite the night." Mrs. Kanzaki looked her daughter over again, only this time she was looking for wounds.
"I'm ok. Just tired." HItomi smiled. It felt nice to have her mother worrying over her like she use to when Hitomi had been younger.
"Well, then I'm glad I wrote down a list of the local wedding shops so we wouldn't be driving around all day looking for the perfect dress for my daugter's big day."
Hitomi beamed, her face brightening a bit and chasing away the shadows that hung under her eyes, "Can we go now?"
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Van walked to the clearing and knelt before Escaflowne. Even to this day he could still hear it. True, it slept but even in our dreams we tend to mumble and groan. He hadn't been surprised when he first heard it to discover that Escaflowne was using Folken's voice. And why shouldn't it? Folken would have been it's pilot if he hadn't lost his arm all those years ago and then disapeared.
The gymelef speaking in a voice that belonged to a dead Fanelian Prince seemed fitting some how.
Van bowed his head and prayed for Hitomi's safety. It felt wrong for her to be so far away. There was an anxious, empty feeling in his chest. He had known that she was gone the instant she had left- he wasn't really sure how he had known. He had just felt.
And now he was worried.
Aidren had come to him with news he had dreaded getting yet knew was coming. The fire in the stables had been set by someone. If it had been done as a distraction no one knew what they had been distracted from and if it had been a ploy to get them all out in the open and in a confusion why had no attack come.
'The winds are changing.' Folken whispered, 'Guard your back.'
It had been one of the first lessons Folken had ever given Van on flying. When the wind shifted it could easily break a wing and the flyer had to always be aware of weather around him or her lest one of the winds take them by surprised.
'Guard your back.'
"Thank you, brother."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Hitomi frowned at herself in the mirror, unsure if she had made the right choice.
"You look lovely." her mother said from the bathroom doorway.
Hitomi smiled and looked down at the simple gown she was wearing. She hadn't wanted too much. The Royal wedding would be over the top enough for at least four other weddings. Simple was they way she had always wanted to go.
The gown was A-seam, clingy and tight at the top and flowing at the bottom. The back was open with a few criss crossing straps and pearls glittered here and there along the hem.
"I hope Van likes it." was the first thing to come out of her mouth. She blushed, feeling stupid. She knew that he would love whatever she chose and that the gown was for her and her alone- the only thing she could indulge in for her wedding.
"He will love it. Come, " Her mother held out her hand, "The sun is setting and you, my angel, are getting married."
Hitomi smiled in happiness, letting that sentence sink in before reaching out for her mum's hand.
In an instant they were no longer there at all. The Kanzaki house was empty except for the note left behind to keep anyone from panicking too much.
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
Van walked a step behind the local Bishop, his hands sweaty and his heart pounding. The man in front of him had been there for his birth and the birth of his brother. This man had been a friend to his father and an aide to his mother when she was in mourning.
And here was Van, leading the man to a secret place where he thought he was bestowing a ritual blessing. Van hated lying to the man but knew he had no choice. Once the blessing of Escaflowne was done Van would tell the man the real reason he was there.
Halfway through the blessing Van saw a flicker of white as his mind was gently nudged and caressed.
Hitomi was back.
The Fanelian Holy Man finished his rites and turned to bow to Van but stuttered to a stop when he saw Hitomi.
"I'm very sorry to have lied to you, John." Van bowed to the old man, "But we had no choice. Trouble is coming and without this marriage Fanelia will die when it reaches us. No one could know, not till this moment for fear that somehow that trouble would also hear. I beg your forgiveness, trusted friend of my father."
The old man looked taken aback but also a bit amused, "You are forgiven, my King. Now, let us begin."
Merle and Rosie stepped out of the shadows and came to stand to the side of Hitomi as she bowed to the Holy Man. Pennin moved forward and placed his hand on Van's shoulder for a moment before the King also bowed.
The night was clear and the Bishop, as he spoke the words of union knew that by doing this his life was now on the line. Whatever trouble the King had spoke of- the words had struck a cord in the old man's mind and he could see that the King was also thinking the same thing.
Once all of this was done and over with nothing would ever be the same again.
The Bishop would be dead within a week and the true threat would come, tearing and clawing at any and all loose ends. Every weakness would be exploited and tortured. The great Kingdom, so newly rebuilt would be attacked from within and the weak willed, weak minded would be the first to die.
With a wave of his jeweled hand the Bishop nodded to the King and the wedding was over.
A silence had fallen over the beautiful night and as Van kissed Hitomi he tried to push the darkness that was creeping ever closer to his new Queen and his people away with his will.
They would stand together and they would stand strong.
Van sqeezed Hitomi's hand as they all turned to walk back to the palace in the dark with their wedding party trailing behind.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
A/N: Surprisingly this was the easiest chapter to write! It's now 12:32 in the morning and it's now officially Monday but o well. It's done! Aren't you all a lucky bunch! Here I was thinking I wouldn't get this done till the middle of the week and it's done now- in one sitting! I don't even feel that tired right now. Ok, maybe I'm just a bit sleepy. PLEASE REVIEW!
Side note- I didn't add any details to the ceremony because a Fanelian wedding would be different from an Earth wedding and a Royal wedding will be different than a normal Fanelian wedding. There will be details about the Royal wedding when that chapter comes, so please don't hate me for the way I wrote this chapter. I actualy like how as the wedding is nearing an end we see what is coming to Fanelia. I know I must sound crazy when I say I like something I just wrote- but in all honesty I never really know how things are going to come out once I start typing.
(Shrugs) It all just happens. I hope you liked it.