Hey,

So i'm back, with the edited version of the chapter. And all that i'll say is that now everyone's on Gaea who's supposed to be, things will start to pick up plot wise.

Arienhod - well reciently i have been trying to make my chapters as long as possible.

The Winggoddess - Thanks and now that all that's over and done with i'll be able to write again

serenityrain2233 - thanks

sousie - i am now XD

Lovelessheart18 - we shall see... might depend on how much he bugs her.

darkangel - yeah, only problem will be keeping the battery charged.

Lady Anaia - thank you very much and i hope that the rest will be just s good, if not better.

OXOXOXOXOXO

Chapter 43: Games and Councilors

The two girls started down the hall in search of Van, who had been whisked away hours ago into a meeting of some sort, when a page came jogging towards them. "Excuse me, Lady Hitomi, Lady Merle," he said while bowing, "But the King and his councilors would like to see you both in the East Study."

"Must be serious," Merle murmured to Hitomi, "They only use the East Study when neighboring royalty come to visit or when they don't want to be overheard."

At the study, they saw two guards out side the doors. The one on the right opened the door for the two, and once inside, they saw all the council members with Van seated at the head of the table with an empty chair beside him.

Merle led the way and stood at her usual place behind Van's chair. "King Van, Lady Hitomi," Orden formally started. "For these past few days we, the council, have been discussing and making plans for both the recently announced wedding, and the celebration festival. And we have come to an unanimous decision to postpone the wedding."

"What?" snapped Merle, the first to react. A small ping of panic ran through Hitomi…postpone the wedding with the baby on the way? They were already starting to pushing it. With the original plan, she would be close to the first month by the wedding. And they couldn't afford anyone to doubt the parentage of the child.

"What is your reasoning behind this decision?" Van asked coolly, leaning forward in his chair.

"Well, you see My Lord..." piped in one of the other councilors, "Even if we had sent messengers with the wonderful news out as soon as the two of you touched down on Fanelian soil to our allies, most of the letters would not reach the countries monarchs before the wedding would take place."

"So it simply cannot be done," chimed another.

"And begging your pardon, Milady. But how are we, the council, or the people going to know if you are capable of co-ruling a country on a planet that you do not know the customs of?" Orden continued.

"HA!" snorted Merle. "You think that any of the princesses that you had lined up would know any different? I would bet you that none of them have ever been in a council meeting. Not to mention that knowing which fork to use first can be learned quickly, no matter what background some one has."

"That may be so, but it still cannot be done."

"And why is that?" Merle shrieked, stepping between the chairs of the two being discussed as if they were not in the room. "The people are happy! They can't wait for this wedding! So don't you dare take this away from them!" She slammed her fist on the table to exaggerate her point, making everyone in the room jump.

"But don't you think that this is all too sudden?" pleaded Orden.

"Well," said a smooth voice from one of the shadows by a window. The sun shining directly in the window had hidden the person perfectly, until he had drawn attention to himself. "If you ask me, this wedding has been a long time coming."

Hitomi's eyes widened as the owner of the familiar voice stepped out into proper view, "Dryden?"

He looked almost exactly the same way he had the last time Hitomi had seen him. He wore the same style robes, draping off his shoulders to the floor that he left open to reveal a grey vest over a white shirt, white pants, and a colored belt. His hair was down so it was difficult to tell if it had grown over the years or not. He pushed his round, tinted glasses up his nose, only to have them promptly fall back to where they were originally. "Hello there, Hitomi. It's good to see you back." He then turned to the councilors. "Ever since I met the two, I started to wonder when the wedding was going to be."

This revelation of course triggered one of Hitomi's blushes. 'He could tell since then?'

"So saying that this is sudden, and maybe a little rash is, in fact, quite the opposite for those who have known the couple.

"Heck, if it was me, I'd have married the girl already! ...She be willing of course." He gave Hitomi a goofy grin that she thought was supposed to be alluring. This caused her to blush more, and take interest in her folded hands on her lap. "Just think how romantic it would be to elope on the Mystic Moon." He waggled his eyebrows at the couple, causing the deepest shade of red to blossom from Hitomi, and a touch of pink on Van's cheeks.

Dryden was about to change the subject, but caught the quick glance between the lovers, and for a second Dryden almost thought that he had just imagined it. What gave them away was the guilty look that flashed across Hitomi's face. He laughed, "You did! Didn't you!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Van growled between his teeth. A natural warning to most people, but this only made the merchant laugh harder, and close the distance between him and the table.

Dryden thumped Van playfully on the shoulder, saying, "I didn't think that you had it in you." Van only glared at his so-called friend. "Now, we should assume that King Van, and the Lady Hitomi here, would have made their marriage official, and consummated. Don't want her to have the chance to disappear on us again, now do we?"

"That may be so, and is also not really our concern... but I do not see why we must hurry with the wedding ceremony. It will only make it look like we have something to cover up," Orden sneered.

"Ah. But what if you do?" Dryden countered. "As I'm sure you know, it only takes one night. And I'm equally sure that none of you will want to have the heir's parentage questioned or come before the wedding."

"Then I suppose that we should call one of the generals in and ask them to read her aura. Then we will know if we need to have a rushed wedding," Orden countered. Hitomi wanted to disappear through the floor boards at that moment. Van wasn't helping at all, letting them go on like that.

"General Sora and the other three generals have left on a mission," Van interrupted. He reached over and took one of Hitomi's hand. "And besides, we already know that we are with child."

Everyone on the room stared at the couple, and if Hitomi had felt like disappearing through the floor board before, now she just wanted to completely vanish. "So the wedding will take place in ten days. It will be a private wedding, to which we invite the people of Faneila, and our close friends. If need be, we will have another ceremony in a cycle's time and invite our ally's. If there are questions raised about the haste, tell them that we fear the war that is approaching, and I will not risk the ruling blood line."

"But Sire, how are we to know-"

"Are you questioning my word?" Van retorted.

It was right then that it hit Hitomi that Van was a King…that his word was law, and was to be followed as such. And she was to become his queen, and share this power. It was exciting, and completely terrifying.

"Now is that all?" Van asked, trying to get to the end of the long council meeting.

"We received a messenger from the village of Arzas, saying that they found stranger who arrived by a pillar of light, about half a day before you arrived. The stranger goes by the name of Mamoru Kanzaki," Merle reported quickly, knowing that everyone was starting to crave for his or her own bed.

Van sighed, and looked at Hitomi. "Frank's contacted me and said that my brother is missing. It's probably him," she said softly.

He nodded. "Prepare my two horses and two guards. We shall depart an hour after the morning meal. Dismissed."

OXOXOXO

"Guys, I miss Hitomiiiiiiiii," whined the figure draped over the arm of the couch, in a attempt to give himself a blood rush.

"Well, whining about it isn't going to bring her back," warned another figure seated in a chair staring at the large plasma T.V.

"What if I whined harder?"

"That would probably make sure that she never comes back," said a third figure, who looked over at his whining friend from watching the cell phone on the coffee table.

"You're so mean to me, Frank," pouted the first figure.

"You make it too easy, Kurisu," Frank admitted, feeling the teasing coming from the years of hatred and fighting that existed in another time and place, but still lingered as the friendly bantering that they all shared.

Everyone who had seen Hitomi off was there, except their Sensei, who had a beginner's class to teach. It was rare to have everyone gathered like this, though it didn't surprise Frank, as it was even more rare to have found the one person that they had dedicated their lives to find and protect, only to have her disappear to a place where they could not follow. And to top it all off, have the only living relative who's blood line was as important as hers vanish, but where to they were soon to find out. He sighed; the atmosphere in the room was stifling. He looked over to the T.V. that no one was really watching. It was actually on a channel that predicted the weather 24/7, and the big letters M U T E were blaring from a corner.

They were all waiting for the call.

Silence continued for a time, only quick glances from the T.V. to the phone and back again were the only movements. Then Kurisu once again broke the silence with a sigh, and sat up. "It seems almost like yesterday when she first come to our group to go B.A.S.E. jumping."

Tsurra snorted, "And do you also remember how much of a jerk you were to her?"

Kurisu shrugged, "You know as well as everyone that I don't like to get attached to the short-lives."

"And how quick you were to dismiss any possibilities," Miruton added.

Kurisu shrugged again, "So what if I'm a pessimist? And I thought that we'd never find her... Besides she has a Brother."

"Tsurra, why did you invite Hitomi to go with you?" Joy asked, never having heard the whole story.

Tsurra smiled, remembering, "There was just something about her that day when I found her on the roof at school...

"You do know that most people try to kill themselves before the exams, not after... Unless you did poorly?"

It was the last day, all exams were marked, and the scores posted. Tsurra knew that the girl in front of her had done exceedingly well... so seeing Hitomi Kanzaki leaning over the edge of the school's perimeter fence that prevented students from falling off was a strange sight.

The blond laughed, eyes still closed. "No, I did well..." but she didn't move from the position.

"Then what are you trying to do? I'm pretty sure your friend Yukari would have a fit if she found you like this."

"Yukari knows where I am, and what I'm doing..."

"What are you doing?"

The other girl opened her eyes, and got down from the fence, and looked up at the sky for a moment. Tsurra recognized this look. Hitomi had that look on her face many times throughout the year... ever since she returned from her long absence, which, of course, the whole school had different speculations about. But everyone agreed that she wasn't the same afterward.

"I was pretending that I was flying..." Hitomi said, blushing, almost like she had confessed a dark secret.

That made the Tsurra smile. "Well, there are other ways to feel like that. For instance sky diving..."

The blond shook her head, "Too expensive," and she wrinkled her nose at the thought.

"Well..." she hesitated... why was she reaching out to this girl? True, last night one of the others had logged on the private site that they used as a means of talking to each other when they were too busy, or to young to travel to talk face to face with each other. And the person had posted Kanzaki's name as the next one to look into. But didn't this girl have a brother? Therefore, couldn't be their One... but Tsurra didn't know this girl all that well... maybe her brother was adopted?

What the hell…why not? There was no rule that said she couldn't make friends with the 'Short-lives'. "There is a cheaper way. It's called B.A.S.E. jumping, where instead of a plane, you use Buildings, Antennas, Spans, like bridges, and Earth." Hitomi looked at her with wide eyes, "A few of my friends and I are going out next weekend to the mountains. I have an extra set if you want to join us?"

Tsurra could see the hesitation on the girl's face, and watched as a reckless grin spread across her face, and then shyness at the invite.

"Can I?"

The next weekend, a small group were waiting for the last two of the jumping group to arrive. Kurisu was leaning against his shiny new car that his parents had just bought him for no reason. "Why the hell did you invite that Short-life, to come with us?" he complained. "Didn't you know that she has a flesh and blood brother so she can't possibly be Her."

Tsurra just rolled her eyes, having had dealt with this guy for centuries. "I don't know," she confessed. "But there's just something about her... And besides, we're allowed to make friends."

"It's only going to hurt you in the end…to watch another friend die."

"Well, I'd rather have friends and have fond memories of them, than being a safe, stuck up, crabby know-it-all jerk."

"Hey, guys... she's here. So shut it," Maketu warned.

Then the phone rang on the coffee table, bringing everyone back to the present. Frank reached for it, and everyone visibly stiffened. If it was Hitomi calling, then there would be three possibilities. One, he wasn't there and they'd have to search for him on Earth... where then they would protect him, as he was their last line of the ancient blood that they were sworn to protect. Or two, he was there, relatively safe, or at least found, and will be safe under his sister's watch and her new husband's, and hopefully they would be able to send Mamoru back to Earth. But it wouldn't be that horrible if the boy stayed on the other planet. And the third and most stressful would be that he was not found, and lost on the distant planet.

"Hello?" Frank answered, voice composed like nothing was wrong in the world. Everyone waited. "So you have him?" The tension left the room with those words. "He's been what?" he exclaimed, laughter evident in his voice. "Here, let me put you on speaker... O.K."

"Hey everyone," came Hitomi's voice from the small device.

"HELLO DARLING!" Kurisu shouted over the other's small 'hi's'

"Yeah, he's here... and he's been teaching some of the locals how to play Black Jack." Everyone could tell that she was not amused. "Not even a day here, and he's already gotten himself into debt." They all heard a faint "HEY" in the background. "And it appears that he wants to stay here," Hitomi continued, "But if you guys want him back I'll gladly try and send him back."

They all looked at each other, and decided right then. "No, you keep him," Frank told her. "It would make us feel better knowing a doctor is there to keep you from over-doing it."

They heard her sigh. "Would you feel even better knowing that Van has lined up twelve guards for my protection?"

"Immensely."

Another sigh, "You're all taking this way too far." They laughed at her. "Any way, I'm gonna turn the cell off, so I can keep the battery as long as possible... And I guess that I'll call if something comes up or when Mamoru is going back."

"Hey, Hitomi," Joy cut in before the blond could hang up.

"Yeah?"

"Have you had a chance to unpack the bag we sent with you?"

"... Not quite, why?"

The little girl laughed. "We packed a lot into it." Everyone in the room smiled at the words.

"When I get back to the castle I'll see right to it," Hitomi promised. "Well... bye everyone."

"Bye, Hitomi."

Click.

Hitomi looked over at her brother, who was actually winning back the money he borrowed. Truth be told he had lost it when the villagers were teaching him how to play one of their card games. "Well looks like I'm stuck with you," she told him.

"Cool," Mamoru chimed, she raised an eyebrow. "So when do we leave?"

"I have to go talk to Van."

" 'Kay, I'll be right here." She rolled her eyes, and left the small hut. Once out side, she was followed by one of the guards that they had brought along, Sir Derek, who still had that smirk on his face from that morning's practice where he had won against her.

She ignored him.

OXOXOXO

"M-my L-lord," stumbled a messenger. The figure, whom the messenger addressed, could only think of the fumbling man, or rather boy, as a pawn. "T-the generals w-wish to know y-your next orders?"

"Do they now." The words purred past slightly amused lips.

"T-they want to k-know if they are t-t-to prepare for an attack d-during the-the wedding."

The figure's eyes narrowed. "Tell the idiots that they may prepare for an attack, only if they wish to die." The messenger's eyes widened at the venom that was laced through the words. "The Dragon has been trained as a warrior, fought as a warrior, and will protect his bitch like a warrior." There was silence. "Meaning, he will put every fucking guard he possess on alert, not to mention that most of the Caeli Knights will be there. So it will be pointless to attack during the time leading up to the wedding and suicide during the ceremony.

"...No, he's not that much of a fool to let history repeat itself so easily. So you may tell the fools who consider themselves my generals that they shall prepare to capture the mark on her way home, after the wedding."

The messenger bowed quickly, and practically ran out the door to deliver his message.

'I'm surrounded by idiots...' a cynical smile spread across the figure's lips, 'But not for much longer. I will free you from that weakling's body. You will join me...Dilandau.'

OXOXOXO

p.s.

I haven't been getting any emails from at all, which really sucks as i have to check everyday to see if any of the stories i'm reading have been updated. So please bare with me... review responses will probably be limited to chapter postings.