Author: Tevrah
Email: writergirl852@yahoo.com
A/N: You guys are so great! I just want to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed and been reviewing! It's what makes me want to keep writing! I'll get to personal thank yous sometime, but for now, I'm concentrating on just writing the story!
***
Chapter Four
Hitomi tried to take deep breaths as Millerna escorted her down the hallway. She had only woken up a few hours ago, but Millerna said that it was very important that she speak with the other Abaharaki as soon as possible. And not one to delay something she wanted over with, Hitomi told her that she would do it today. She didn't count on being so nervous, though.
It was a given that she should be a little apprehensive, considering the fact that she was basically going into the lion's den. There was no telling what the Abaharaki would do to her for information or something of the sort. After all, she had spent the last twelve years of her life in their enemy's castle. So why not believe that she was in league with him?
And besides that, she was a bit uncomfortable in the pants and shirt that Millerna had dressed her in. She had never worn pants before, and it felt a bit odd.
The silence was getting to her. Hitomi cleared her throat. "You son is very nice," she commented.
Millerna smiled. At least one of them wasn't nervous. "Thank you," Millerna said. "Dryden and I have tried to raise him to know the difference between right and wrong, but it's just so hard in these times."
"Dryden is your husband?" Hitomi asked.
"Yes," Millerna said. "We've been married for three years now."
Hitomi's brows came together in confusion. Chid was six or seven. Did that mean… Hitomi stayed silent. She didn't ask what she was thinking.
"Go ahead," Millerna urged gently. "You can ask."
Hitomi blushed and shook her head. "That's your business, not mine."
Millerna laughed softly. "Chid is my nephew. I adopted him when he was born. Then when Dryden and I got married, Dryden adopted him, too."
"Your sister was his mother?" Hitomi asked.
Millerna's eyes became soft in memory. "Yes," she answered quietly. "Marlene gave birth to Chid."
"What happened to her?" Hitomi asked quietly.
"She died in childbirth," Millerna said, then shook her head. "I promised her that I would take care of Chid, and I have."
"I'm sorry," Hitomi whispered.
Millerna didn't say anything.
"Millerna?" Hitomi said hesitantly. "May I ask you a question about Chid?"
Millerna nodded her head.
Chid's eyes flashed through Hitomi's mind. "Who-who was Chid's birth father?"
Millerna looked at Hitomi. "I think you know the answer to that," she said in reply.
"But how?" Hitomi asked.
"About seven years ago the Abaharaki were in Torushina, and we were ambushed," Millerna said quietly. "Marlene was kidnapped while the rest of us were left to die or flee. We found Marlene three weeks later. Allen had raped her, and then left her for dead in a wasteland. A band of Abaharaki had found her and brought her back to us. She was never the same."
"I'm so sorry," Hitomi said.
Millerna managed a small smile for her. "Not to worry," was all she said.
The next minute Millerna stopped in front of a metal door. She knocked three times. Hitomi's face began to get pale. What would happen to her?
"Don't worry," Millerna said. She was trying to keep from laughing. What did Hitomi think they would do? Eat her? "Everything is going to be fine."
Hitomi nodded faintly. The door opened and a big man with long brown hair tied behind his back motioned them in. Hitomi saw he and Millerna give one another a smile. Then his gaze turned to her. Hitomi gulped. The man motioned her in, and then grinned at Millerna. She in turn gave him a warning gaze, telling him not to scare the poor girl.
Dryden continued grinning. This was going to be fun. He shut the door behind Millerna and turned back to Hitomi. She looked so scared, that he immediately took pity on her. Looked like there would be no scaring her in this meeting. He would make sure of it. He grabbed her elbow and led her to a crate, motioning for her to sit down. Then he turned to the other occupants of the room.
There were ten of them this time. They were basically the ones in charge of the Abaharaki. There was Koji, Toru, Ryuan, Van, Shinichiro, Takashi, Yoshii, Jurota, Hiroki, and Hajime. They were all staring at Hitomi, who was staring at her clenched hands in her lap.
Dryden cleared his throat. "Now that everyone is here, it's time to begin." He looked at Hitomi. "We're just going to ask you a few questions, all right?"
Hitomi took a deep breath and forced herself to look up. Looking Dryden straight in the eye, she nodded.
"Good," Dryden said. He was impressed. She went from a trembling little mouse, to a confident cat in no time. "How long have you lived in the castle?"
"Twelve years," she answered.
"How old are you?" came Toru's deep voice.
"Sixteen."
"Why were you there?" Van asked.
Hitomi turned to look at him. There was something familiar about him, like she had seen him before. "I was put there when I was a child."
She had gone around his question. Van tried to rein in his patience. "That doesn't answer my question," he said.
"Well, I'm sorry," Hitomi answered, looking him in the eye.
Van's right eyebrow came up. She didn't sound sorry at all. "Answer the question," he commanded.
"I did," Hitomi said stubbornly. Who did he think he was, ordering her about? She may be a captive, but she was still a person, and there was no way that she was going to just stand by and let him take that tone of voice with her.
Van could feel his temper on the brink. Didn't Millerna explain to this stupid girl where she was? She didn't have any rights here. She was a prisoner of war.
Before he could say anything he would probably later regret, Shinichiro spoke up in his raspy voice. "You needn't be afraid here, child," he said, staring at her. "You're among friends."
Hitomi turned to him. There was an eerie feeling of remembrance coming from him. "Do you know me?" she asked him quietly.
He smiled. "No," he said, "but I knew your grandmother. You look exactly like her, right down to your skin color. She was always pale looking, like you. But your eyes are what gave you away to me. Looking into your eyes is like looking into your grandmothers all over again." His gaze softened. "You don't need to hide here, child. We won't condemn or hurt you. We'll only try to help you."
Hitomi lowered her gaze in indecision. Should she tell them about herself? What if they still kill her? Or what if they send her back to Allen and he finds out about her? She took a deep breath. She needed to trust someone, and she guessed this was about as good as it would get. She raised her head, making her decision.
"Where do you want me to start?"
***
"So he made you watch?" Millerna exclaimed an hour later.
Hitomi had just finished telling them about her mother's death, save the promises she had made. It had taken an hour with everyone interrupting with questions. She nodded in answer to Millerna's question. "Yes," she said. "He wanted me to remember what happened to those who weren't wanted by him."
"So your mother was a seer?" Dryden asked quietly.
Hitomi looked at him. "Yes," she answered. "She was."
"So that would make you a seer, too, right?" Yoshii questioned.
Hitomi nodded. "Yes, I am," she admitted.
"How have you managed to keep it a secret for so long?" Takashi asked in astonishment.
"To tell you the truth," Hitomi said, "I don't really know. I just gradually developed my powers. It seemed as though each day I would get stronger and stronger."
"And you never told anyone about your powers?" Toru asked.
Hitomi shook her head. "Oh, no. If anyone had ever found out, I would have been killed. I know it sounds cowardly, but sometimes it's better to remain silent and wait for the right moment to attack, than to attack straight out in the open."
Everyone became silent in their own thoughts.
"You know," Millerna said suddenly with a smile, "when I was changing your clothes, I made some rather odd discoveries. Care to elaborate?"
Hitomi grinned sheepishly and shrugged. "I didn't know what else to take. I knew I was going to need some money, I just didn't know how much."
"You had it in a safe place, that's for sure," Millerna said with a grin.
Hitomi smiled, but said nothing.
Millerna took out a piece of cloth and unwrapped it, revealing Hitomi's pendant. Everyone seemed to come to attention. "I'm only a draconian, but even I can feel the immense power coming off of this stone. What is it?"
Hitomi reached for it and cradled it close to her heart. "I found it in my mother's ashes," she whispered. "Thank you for returning it."
"What happened when you made it to the castle?" Ryuan asked, getting back to their discussion. The pendant could wait. After all, it was only a piece of jewelry with some magic in it, probably from its owner.
"It took two weeks to get to the castle," Hitomi said. "When we arrived, the village wasn't as big as it is now, that much I remember. As soon as we were in the doors, I was sent to my assigned room and bathed and washed."
"If you were kidnapped from your home, why didn't you try to escape?" Koji asked with unveiled contempt.
Hitomi turned her gaze to him. This man was frightening. His eyes were filled with hate. She withheld a shudder. "I did try. When I was eight, I tried to run away, but Gaddess, the second in command found me and carried me back to my room. He never told on me." Gaddess had always been kind to her.
"Why are we even wasting our time on her?" Koji exploded suddenly. "Us playing diplomat to Allen's whore was probably some big scheme to bring us down to begin with."
"No!" Hitomi said. "I'm not his whore! I can't stand for him to look at me, much less to touch me. I'm not apart of some scheme to hurt you." She looked at everyone in the room. "Please believe me." Her gaze found Van's. He stared at her intently, and then nodded his head. Hitomi felt relieved. For some reason, she felt as though she had just won a great victory by gaining his approval.
"Why were you engaged to him?" Van asked.
"I didn't want to be. Honest," she said. "But when he wants something, he gets it, and for some reason he wants me. I don't know why, maybe because he's seen me grow up or something."
Van nodded. "And the reason you were in the village was because you were running away?"
Hitomi nodded. "Yes. But when I saw that foul man was going to hit Chid, I couldn't let him. He's only a child." She grew quiet.
"I'll do it," Van suddenly said quietly. "I'll complete my bond."
"Are you sure, Van?" Dryden asked. When a draconian married, it was for life.
Van nodded. "Yes."
Dryden nodded, satisfied. "Good. We'll do it as soon as possible."
"Do what?" Millerna asked. What on Gaea were these men thinking of now?
"Not to worry, love," Dryden reassured his wife. "Everything has already been decided."
"What has been decided?" she demanded.
"We've decided that Hitomi will stay with us," Dryden said with a smile in Hitomi's direction.
"But-but I can't!" she objected.
"Why not?" Van challenged quietly.
She turned to him. "Because Allen won't stop until he's found me. He won't stop looking for me. Ever."
"We're aware of that," Van countered.
Hitomi opened her mouth to say something, but Van's gaze stopped her. She closed her mouth and looked away.
"Then it's decided," Dryden said happily. "The wedding will take place in two days. By then we'll have made it to Tokishim."
Hitomi's eyes widened. Wedding? What wedding? "Is someone getting married?" she asked.
Van looked her up and down, from head to foot. "What do you think?"
"W-who?" she asked shakily. It couldn't be what she was thinking, it just couldn't.
Van smirked. "Guess."
"No," she whispered.
"Afraid so," Van said.
"But-but I don't even know your last name!" Hitomi exclaimed, saying the first thing that crossed her mind.
Van's eyebrows rose. "Fanel." Then he turned to Dryden. "Will everyone be attending?"
"No," Dryden shook his head. "It would be better if only the two of you go. That way it can be taken care of quietly and you can talk to our contacts all at the same time."
Van nodded. "Okay."
"Stop it, both of you!" Millerna chided.
They turned toward her. "What?" Dryden asked. "What did we do?"
Millerna rolled her eyes and groaned. Men! The insensitive clouts! She walked over to the rapidly paling Hitomi and helped her stand. "Come on," Millerna said. "I'll take you back to your room."
Hitomi wouldn't move. She turned toward Millerna. "They don't mean it, do they?" she asked. "They can't make me, can they?"
"It's all right," Millerna soothed. "Unlike your previous fiancée, Van only has your best interests at heart."
"No!" Hitomi exploded. "Everyone wants me to marry someone, and I just want to be left alone! Why can't you people just leave me alone!" She came off of the crate and stalked over to where Van was leaning against the wall. "You can't make me do this!" she declared. "I won't do it! I'm not marrying anyone! Not you, or Allen, or anyone else!" She poked her finger in his chest. "I mean it!"
Van grabbed her small balled up hand and jerked her toward him. She fell into his chest. Leaning down, he kissed her solidly. She gasped in surprise and his tongue slipped in. When he pulled back, her eyes were wide. Then suddenly, she fell forward in a dead faint.
Van caught her with ease, and then looked up. "She isn't going to faint every time something happens, is she?"
Well, what do you guys think? I thought the fainting scene would be a humorous way to end this chapter! And they kissed! Well, Van kissed Hitomi, but you get the drift!
And if you've noticed, Van may be a little out of character, as well as Hitomi, but I wanted Van to be arrogant, and Hitomi to have a temper/girly side to her as well. Do ya get what I mean?
Well, I gotta go now, but please don't forget to review! Love ya, Tevrah! ^_^