Hey, sorry for the slightly late chapter, things were a tad busy and hectic last month. Lots of weekend trips and projects to finish. But I'm basically done now, so hopefully the next chapter will be both longer and on time. But no guarantees.

chamer - i am slowly going through my old chapters and editing them, and hopefully getting rid of the spelling and grammar mistakes. But it's going slowly. I'm glad that you liked the tattoo joke. XD

Arienhod - I really enjoy writing about the 'guys' so they will not be disappearing anytime soon as well as Dryden.

ChiKa YuMe - Thank you I'm glad that you've enjoyed it so far.

serenityrain2233 - Thanks, and this is only the beginning of what's to come for her. XP

TheEndlessSnow - Thank you. I hope that this is just as good.

trekker4life - Dryden is going to be a lot of fun. He's got about ten years of pent up teasing to unleash on everyone. " Never piss off a Draconian" - too bad that there are some who are eager to take up the challenge and see how far they can push him.

oh! and you will find out who paid the page this chapter!

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Chapter 44: Arrival

They were rounding the crest of the last hill that lay before the capital. Mamoru yawned…it was early in the morning. Van and Hitomi had accepted Rhum's invitation to stay the night and leave with the caravan in the morning. Mamoru didn't know that the caravan would be leaving before dawn, so there he sat at sunrise on a giant ox.

Looking across to his two companions, Mamoru smiled to himself. Hitomi woke up only an hour ago. The best part was that Van hadn't even tried to wake her up three hours earlier. He merely picked her up and carried her onto the beast. But now, an expecting look came across her face that was mirrored in Van's eyes. The look was familiar, but Mamoru couldn't quite place it.

Then they came within sight of the city.

He wasn't prepared for the sight. It was breath-taking. The pleasant orange light of the early sun warmed everything it touched…glinting off unseen things. The houses were houses. He couldn't really see them in detail yet, but the houses looked like they were fashioned somewhere between western style and traditional Japanese.

He could almost hear the grin on his sister's face, so he turned to her. She was leaning against Van, and he had his arm around her shoulders. "Welcome to Fanelia, little brother," Hitomi crowed. The light in their eyes was even more pronounced than before, and Mamoru finally placed the look. It was the same look his parents had when he or Hitomi had made them proud for one thing or another.

They slowly made their way to the gate, and through the city. The few people who were setting up their booths, or just to get an early start to the day, all waved and called greetings to them as they passed and both Van and Hitomi waved back.

When they reached the market district, they had to dismount the giant creature, and continue on to the castle on the horses that were brought. The big black horse that stood a head above all the other horses nearly bit a chunk out of Mamoru's arm when he walked in front of the beast. But thankfully, Van was already mounted and held the stallion back, apparently very practiced with the horse's antics.

So they rode up to the castle. Mamoru found that he was very glad that they'd accepted to ride with the wolf-people because he discovered that he wasn't a horse man at all. He never seemed to find the rhythm of the horse he was given and felt each and every jarring step that the beast took, much unlike his sister, he discovered. She looked like she had been riding her entire life, and enjoyed it.

Luckily, they only rode to the front entrance of the castle, where pages took the horses over to the stables…wherever they were. Mamoru noticed the kids playing some sort of 'rock, paper, scissors' game to see who had to take the King's horse.

Inside was simply organized chaos. Maids and servants were talking in rapid speech, and going off to clean something, or organize another, or running down to the kitchen to give the cooks another list of possible foods for the feasts. However, the worst part about all the running around was none of the big decisions could be made with out...

"Lord Van! Lady Hitomi! You're back," called an older male with grey hair, and would be considered on the 'plump' side. With him was a taller guy with long brown hair, long robes, and creatures that looked half cat, half human, all of whom looked like they were waiting for them.

'Great, first wolf people, now cats!' thought Mamoru.

"Councilor Orden," Van said, nodding to the plump man. "May I introduce you all to Dr. Mamoru Kanzaki, brother to Lady Hitomi."

"Welcome to Fanelia, young Sir," Orden replied formally, bowing quickly to Mamoru. "But your highness, the councilors need to speak with you right away." And with that, the older man ushered the young King away. Mamoru gave his sister a look, to which she just shrugged, and led him over to where the others were still standing.

"Mamoru, this is Merle," she said, indicating the female, pink-haired cat thing. "She's Van's adoptive sister. And this is her husband, Jack," she added, gesturing to the male Cat person to the right of Merle, "…and their two sons, Kain, and Damasu," who were hiding behind their mother's skirts. "And Dryden Fassa. Everyone, I'd like to introduce my brother, Mamoru." For a moment, there was an awkward silence as everyone sized up the new guy. To Merle, he looked much the same as Hitomi had on her first day on Gaea…wide-eyed, bewildered, and yet confident. "He's been made an honorary friend of the Arzas wolf pack," Hitomi added.

"A doctor, huh?" Dryden asked, pushing his glasses up. "I have a feeling that Millerna will love to compare notes with you once she arrives for the festivities." Then he turned to Hitomi and bowed slightly. "But I'm afraid that I have a few errands that must be accomplished before the big day."

Hitomi frowned. "Didn't you just get there?"

Dryden grinned at her. "Well, that's what I want people to think... I've been back since Queen Millerna's coronation."

"Really?"

"Afraid so." He leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I wouldn't have missed that for anything on this world."

"Then why didn't I see you there?"

"I didn't want to seem like I'm after the thrown." He shrugged. "Well, I must be off. I'll be back in plenty of time, don't you worry." He started walking, and called over his shoulder, waving a hand, "It's not every day that my two favorite war heroes finally get married."

His clerk was waiting at the large doors, "Master? What errand are you talking about?" he whispered to Dryden.

And just as quietly so no one else could hear him, Dryden answered, "There's a page in the Asturian Palace who deserves a bonus."

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Mamoru's attention was drawn to the two little cat boys when they continued to stare at him. One of them tugged on his mother's skirt and said in a loud whisper, "Mum, that guy looks weird."

She laughed, "Of course he does, hun. He's from the Mystic Moon, and everyone from that place looks weird."

"Hey!" Hitomi shot.

"Okay, you've met him. Time to go to you're lessons," Jack said.

"Awe, Dad!" the two whined.

"You heard him, off with you," Merle told them, giving them both a gentle nudge. The two boys sighed, and started to walk to their class, ears down, and tails dragging on the ground. "Hey now," Merle called after them. They turned together, perking up. "Where are my hugs?" Grins spread across their faces, and they raced back, almost tackling Merle in a big hug, and then dashing off to class.

Merle turned back to Hitomi and Mamoru, to say something, but was interrupted by a maid, "Lady Hitomi! The seamstresses require your presence right away!" A sour look spread across Hitomi's face, while a huge grin spread across Merle's face. "They need you for the fittings of your gowns."

Hitomi sighed, and silently pleaded with Merle as she caught the plural in the sentence. "We're different sizes," the pink-haired woman pointed out.

"Yeah. I know," Hitomi sighed. "Can you do me a favor and show Mamoru around, as I'm sure that this will take all day?"

"Of course."

"Thank you so much, Merle. Hopefully I'll see you guys at dinner." She started to go towards the hall that the seamstresses were located, but turned mid-stride. "Oh! And Merle, please be gentle with him... he breaks easily."

Mamoru watched as a mischievous grin was set in place of the good-natured one. This, for some reason, made him feel like he has just been thrown into a frying pan.

Jack looked at his wife and smiled, "Well, Derek and I have to go back to our duties. Will you be all right by yourself?"

"I'll be fine," she told him, stretching up on her tiptoes, to give him a quick peck. "If I can handle the two creatures that we call our sons, I'm sure I can handle just about anything."

"Have fun."

"Oh I will." And with that, Derek and Jack walked off in another direction, leaving Mamoru and Merle together. "So, where would you like to go first?"