Title: All For Love
Author: Tevrah
Email: writergirl852@yahoo.com
A/N: Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews! I really appreciate them! Enjoy!
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Chapter SevenAllen clenched his jaw tightly. He slowly digested the news that had been sent to him. So they thought they could keep her from him, did they? They thought that by marrying her off to one of their kind, he would give up searching for her? Their ignorance would be amusing if he weren't so angry. No one, absolutely no one, took what belonged to him. He would find them, those inferior beings, and he would crush them, slowly.
He jaw relaxed. What did it matter if they were becoming thorns in his side? They would die one way or another. And by the time he was finished with them, they would be begging for mercy. They couldn't keep her from him. She belonged to him. He owned her, and he would have her as his wife, no matter what it took. If she did or didn't agree didn't matter. He made the only decisions, and he had decided long ago that she would be his.
And those who had dared to defy him would pay.
They would pay dearly.
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Hitomi's eyes popped open. She jerked up and groaned. Blackness danced in her eyes, making her head feel like it had been split into. She fell back onto something hard. She kept her eyes closed and inhaled the scent of the hardness beneath her. It smelled like…Van. Her eyes popped open again.
She slowly rose until she was in a seating position and then looked beside her. Van was sprawled out on the ground. He messy raven locks covered his eyes and she had an insane urge to smooth them away. She got to her knees and looked at him, really looked.
He was gorgeous. She was stunned. She hadn't really taken time to notice his features, probably because she had been too preoccupied about trying to get out of marrying him, but he was finely built. His muscles were noticeable under his shirt and his pants. He looked to be very hard, and for some reason that comforted her. He had a god's face. It was finely chiseled and the most noticeable thing about him was his lips. They were perfect.
Hitomi drew back just as she was about to touch him. Dear Jesa, what had gotten into her? So what, he was handsome. Big deal. In a certain sense Allen was handsome as well. She shuddered. Even thinking about Allen scared her.
To take her mind off of both of the men, she looked at her surroundings. They appeared to be in the middle of a clearing in a forest. The trees were large, like sentinels standing guard. She couldn't make out much. It was quite dark, but she could see a bit of moonlight shining through the trees, and a few stars in the night sky.
She stood up slowly, testing her own strength. She felt as though she had been asleep for a thousand years. She stretched and groaned as each and every muscle in her body protested. She started to walk around in a circle to make her feet and legs cooperate. When she felt a bit better than before she looked at Van again. Kneeling down beside him, she bit her lip. Should she wake him? Well, of course she should, but how? She didn't want to make him angry. Jesa only knew what would happen then.
She gently shook him. Nothing happened. She shook him harder. Still nothing. She shook him one more time. Still, nothing happened. She sighed in frustration. He slept like a rock. His wayward raven locks distracted her again. Just to get them out of her mind, she gently moved them off of his forehead.
Then the oddest thing happened.
One minute she had been kneeling beside him and the next she was on the ground and her wrists were pinned above her. Van's body was draped over hers.
"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded.
She quit struggling long enough to answer him. "I was trying to wake you up, but you sleep like the dead."
He suddenly grinned, looking everything like the rascal he was.
"Just what is so funny?" she demanded, glaring at him.
"You," was all she got.
Van stared at her with amusement. If looks could kill, he'd probably be dead by now. She was a sight to be sure. Her hair was spread out behind her like a golden blanket and her eyes were the most beautiful green he had ever seen. He suddenly couldn't resist. He leaned down and kissed her.
Hitomi gasped in surprise and felt his tongue slip into her mouth. At first she tried to resist him, but soon found out that she didn't want him to stop. Her arms were released from his hold and found their way around his neck. Their tongues danced back and forth in her mouth until she began to shiver from a feeling that she couldn't explain. All she knew was that she didn't want it to stop.
Van made himself pull back. Things were going too fast. He was pretty sure that she didn't even know what was happening to her. He looked down at her and was arrogantly pleased to see that she still had her eyes closed and had a bemused expression on her face. Then he made the mistake of looking at her lips and suddenly wanted to kiss her again. Her lips were rosy from being kissed and he knew he was the reason. He caught himself as he was leaning down to kiss her again and shook his head. What was the matter with him?
Hitomi snapped back to reality when she noticed Van's frown. She could feel her face heating up and lowered her eyes. "Get off of me," she ordered.
He stayed where he was.
"Get off of me," she said again, only more forcefully.
"Well, I would," Van said. She could hear the amusement in his voice. "But you will have to let go of me first."
Hitomi realized that her arms were still wrapped around his neck and she quickly dropped them to her sides. He rolled off of her and stood up. She did the same. Van was surveying their surroundings.
"Do you know where we are?" Van asked.
Hitomi shook her head. "No. I was kind of hoping you did."
"Well, we're no where near Tokishim, that's for sure," he answered.
Hitomi bit her lip and looked around. The night seemed to be getting darker and darker. It was unnerving her a bit. She turned to Van. "What do we do now?"
"Gather some wood and start a fire first of all," he answered. "The flames won't harm the forest if we start the fire in this clearing."
"Then what?" Hitomi asked.
"Then we try to find out where we are. If there's a town close by, then I'll be able to see how far we are from Tokishim and we'll start back that way." He began moving around and picking up sticks and placing them in a pile in the center of the clearing. Hitomi did the same. Soon they had a fire blazing. They sat around the makeshift fire in silence.
"What happened back at the church?" Van suddenly said.
Hitomi shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't know. Something just happened to me."
"You don't know?" Van asked skeptically.
"Look," Hitomi said, "all I know is that one second we were about to fry to death, and the next here we are, alive and warm."
"I felt a burst of energy from you the moment before we disappeared," he said. "Do you know what it was from?"
Hitomi shook her head. Then she sighed. "I don't know what happened. Nothing like that has ever happened to me before."
Van didn't say anything, just stared into the fire. Hitomi's stomach rumbled. She didn't say anything though. She felt like she hadn't eaten in forever. But she would die before she complained.
Van's thoughts were interrupted by a growling sound. His hand subconsciously went to his sword before he understood the source of the noise. Hitomi was hungry. She was holding her stomach, as if that would make it stop growling and was staring at the fire intently. He relaxed and sighed. He knew that she wouldn't say anything to him, so it was up to him. He stood up. "I'm hungry," he said, looking at her. "What about you?"
She didn't look at him and shrugged.
He shook his head in exasperation. She was a trying woman. "Come on," he said. "Let's go see what we can find."
He doused the fire, then led the way through the trees. A small ray of moonlight lighted up the ground. He knew he couldn't catch any meat because he didn't have any hunting tools, but he was hoping they could find some berries or a fruit bush.
They found something better.
Van lifted a branch out of their walking way and ended up stepping into a patch of paradise. Hitomi gasped in surprise. It was a magnificent clearing with a lake in the very center of it. The sound of running water was faint as it glided gently of the rocks. The Mystic Moon and its child were shining brightly on the water, lighting it up, and making it look magical. A weeping willow tree was by the lake's edge, its long leaf tips lying in the water. Other large trees stood scattered around the clearing, almost as if they were standing guard.
Hitomi did a complete circle, taking the beauty of the magical place all in. "Beautiful…" she breathed.
Van didn't say anything, just continued staring at the surroundings. Finally, he jerked out of his stupor. He walked toward the lake and squatted down at its edge. Scooping up a handful of the surprisingly warm water, he splashed it on his face. It dripped off of his throat and fell back into the water. He felt Hitomi walk up beside him.
"Should you be doing that?" she whispered.
"Doing what?" he asked.
"Disturbing the water."
Van grinned. "I don't think the water minds if we disturb it."
Hitomi sighed. "It's so beautiful here, like heaven." She was suddenly distracted when Van got up and removed his shirt. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.
He didn't answer her and dove into the water. He popped back up a moment later. He motioned to her. "Come on in," he said. "The water isn't cold."
Hitomi shook her head and took a step back.
"Come on," he said again. "You can keep your clothes on if you want."
She took another step back and mumbled something under her breath.
"What?" he asked. What in the world was wrong with her?
She sighed and said louder, "I can't swim."
"You can't swim?" he repeated.
She nodded while staring at the water warily.
He sighed. "Look, I don't know about you, but my clothes smell like smoke and so do I. Let your clothes air out and come into the water. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."
He watched as she made her decision. She finally nodded her head. He turned away as she began peeling her shirt and pants off, allowing her some privacy. A moment later he heard her whisper that she was ready. He turned around and his breath locked in his throat. She was beautiful. The only thing she had on was an old cream white chemise that clung to her body. Her skin was a porcelain color, and the moonlight made her body look as if it glowed.
She sat at the water's edge and slowly slipped into the water. He reached out for her and she went into his arms. He could feel her curves pressed against his body and closed his eyes.
"Van?" Hitomi whispered worriedly.
He looked down at her and found her face turned up to him. Her arms were wrapped around his neck tightly. "Don't be afraid," he whispered. "I won't let go."
Hitomi nodded and loosened her grip. Van kept one hand around her waist, while he scooped up water with the other and washed her arms. Dark marks on her upper arms caught his attention. He ran his thumb over them gently. "I'm sorry," he said softly.
"It's all right," Hitomi whispered, but she didn't look at him.
He shook his head. "No," he said. "It isn't all right. No one has the right to hurt anyone else. I'll never hurt you again, Hitomi. I swear. Never."
Hitomi raised her eyes to his and stared at him. Then she nodded. Nothing else was needed to be said. She had accepted his apology and his promise. She watched him as he continued to wash her arms and let out a small smile.
Maybe being married wasn't so bad after all.
Hitomi sat beside the lake, the new fire blazing beside her, and ate the fish in her hands. She couldn't believe that Van had managed to six fish by just using his sword, but he had. She had watched him make a new fire, then watched as he had waded out into the water with only his sword. Moments later, he had speared a fish.
After he had caught enough, he had skinned them and found sticks to put in them so that they could roast them over the fire. They had turned out wonderfully. They had to watch for bones of course, but it was food, real food, and Hitomi didn't believe she had ever tasted anything as good.
She finished the fish and put the stick beside her with the other two she had cleaned off. She lay back against the rock, but quickly jerked back up. Her hair was still wet. She sighed and held it up by the fire. Having long hair was such a bother. She suddenly had an idea. Grabbing Van's knife, that had been cleaned after he had skinned the fish, she brought it to her throat.
"What do you think you're doing?" Van demanded, watching her from the other side of the fire.
Her hair fell to the ground. It now hung to just at her shoulders. She shook her head and smiled. Her head felt so much lighter. She looked at Van. "What do you think?" she asked.
Van looked at her like she was crazy. "Why did you do that for?"
She shrugged. "I just felt like it. Having so much hair is a bother at times. And it's hot."
She put the knife back where she got it from and ran her fingers through her hair. This was a lot better. Now it would hopefully dry faster. She leaned back against the bolder behind her and shifted into a comfortable position. She watched Van as he took a piece of paper out of his coat pocket and unfolded it. He studied it intently.
"Van," Hitomi spoke up quietly.
He grunted in response.
She wasn't deterred. "I want to thank you for helping me to feel something that I haven't felt in a very long time."
He didn't even look at her. "What's that?" he asked absentmindedly.
"Safe."
She had whispered her answer, but it had still reached him across the fire. He looked at her and saw that her eyes were closed and she was leaning against the rock behind her. His chest tightened at how vulnerable she looked. He rolled the paper up and went over to her. He kneeled down in front of her and smoothed some hair away from her cheek. She opened her eyes and looked at him.
"You're my wife now, Hitomi," Van said quietly. "I'll always protect you. No one will ever take you from me, not the emperor, not hell, and not heaven. You belong with me. Forever. Say it Hitomi."
"Forever," she whispered.
Van began to nod, but was stopped short. Hitomi did something that no one else had done in a long time. She hugged him. And even more surprisingly, he hugged her back. A streak of possessiveness ran through him and he hugged her even more tightly. She was his.
And he would never let her go.
Sometime later, as the fire was slowly dying down, Van sat beside Hitomi leaning back against the boulder behind them. Hitomi was sleeping with her head on his shoulder. Van breathed in her scent. She smelled like a garden full of fresh flowers in bloom. He kept getting distracted from what he was doing by her scent. He made himself concentrate on what the task that he was trying to accomplish.
The map that Ruhm had given him was spread out in his hands, but he couldn't make sense of it. There were all sorts of odd writing on it and pictures of places he had never seen.
"Van?" Hitomi whispered sleepily. She shifted positions so that she could see the map better. "What's that?"
Van sighed. "It's supposed to be a map to the mythical 'Mystic Valley'," he answered. "But I think it's a fake. I can't make sense of these words or pictures."
Hitomi squinted at the map. One pictured was only an squiggly line and circles by the line. "ekal," she read. "What does ekal mean?"
"I don't know," Van said. He studied the map some more turning it upside down. Then he sighed and began folding the map to put away.
"Wait!" Hitomi exclaimed. "Unfold it."
Van did so and watched as Hitomi straightened up from his shoulder. She looked to be wide-awake now. "What is it?" he asked.
"Look at it," she ordered. "It says 'ekal fo slegna'." She was getting more and more excited.
"That doesn't make any sense, Hitomi," Van said patiently. What was she getting so worked up over?
"Really look at it Van," she said. "It's backwards!"
He still didn't get it. "Huh?"
"The words, they're backwards," she explained. "Instead of 'ekal fo slegna', it's supposed to say 'lake of angels'." She ran her fingers over the squiggly line and circles. "And Van…" she breathed. She scrambled and stared at the lake. She turned back to Van with sparkles in her eyes. "We're here! We're at the lake of angels!"
Van stood up and intently looked at the map, then he looked at where they were. He only managed to say three words:
"I'll be damned."
What did you guys think? I hope you liked it! I'll try to get to personal thank-yous in the next chapter! C-ya! Tevrah ^_^
P.S. Don't forget to review! ^_^