A/N: again, sorry for the long wait! I know this is going to sound like an excuse but it's the truth damnit! I've been working waaaaaaaaay more hours than I've wanted to at work. People quit before replacements could be hired. It's been crazyness! But thank you for being patient yet again with me.

Now my reviewer-shout-outs! Thank you Shizuka-naTenshi, aan, Macky, tear-drowned-angel, serenityrain2233 and Kathya

Shizuka-naTenshi: I've thought about a love triangle but I seem to be lacking a third party on Gaea for that. And Allen is just too old to be hitting on any young girls. That'd just be a bit pervy….lol!
Serenityrain2233: I didn't purposely pick sailor moon names. I was stuck for names so I was going though a name database and those happened to be there. They sounded right for the roles. Taiki turns into Tai-chan, which sounded just too cute

Chapter 9: Uncovering

Hikari could feel her heart begin to race. What was going on? She asked herself. The bush rustled a bit and Cadel tightened his grip on his sword, ready to strike. "I ask you again, show yourself or I will-" Before he could finish speaking Emily, his youngest sister, jumped out and threw herself onto Cadel.

Cadel breathed a sigh of relief. "Emily…" he growled and clenched his fist.

"Did I scaaaaare youuuu?" She asked and looked up at her brother, fluttering her eyelashes in an innocent manner. "I'm berry sorry if I dids!" Cadell shook his head and knelt down to her level.

"You almost had me scared. Almost." He smiled and rubbed her head. She huffed and put her hands on her hips.

"Dang it!" she shouted and began to walk away. Cadel stood up and chuckled a bit.

"Sorry for worrying you." He said as he turned to face Hikari. "Emily is a little mischievous." Hikari had relaxed her muscles and let her heart return to a normal pace. Cadel looked up at the sky and took notice of the positions of the sun and two moons. "We should probably head inside. Dinner will be ready soon…"

Hikari looked at him dumbfounded. "You could tell that just by looking at the sky?"

"Yup." He replied and offered her a hand to help her up. "It'll be dusk in a couple hours and my mother always begins dinner before then." Hikari straightened the skirt of her dress and checked for any dirt. Cadel held out his arm and smiled. "Shall we?" he asked and waited for her to respond.

Hikari smiled softly and linked arms with him. This is all so surreal…she thought to herself. It has to be one very bizarre dream. She glanced up at Cadel and couldn't help but blush a bit. Never in her life did she ever imagine she'd be in a place like Gaea, in a castle no less, and befriending royalty.

Hitomi couldn't help but feel nervous as she walked with Van to meet his wife. What kind of woman would she be? What did she look like? Did she know of Van's little secret? She held back a laugh; of course she probably knows…his children seem to any ways… She looked down at her rings on her fingers and played with them. She needed to distract herself.

Van paused for a moment before opening the door to the garden behind the castle. A woman dressed in a light blue, sleeveless robe peered over her shoulder. She smiled gently at Van before standing up. Irisa peeked out from behind a tree. She feared that her older brother had come to tease and torment her more.

Hitomi tilted her head slightly to the side as she tried to figure out whom this woman looked like. She had a very pale complexion, striking blue eyes and wavy blonde hair. It annoyed Hitomi to no end that she couldn't think of who this woman reminded her of.

"Hitomi, I'd like you to meet the mother of my children and my wife, Celena." Hitomi's eyes went wide. She looked at him, wondering if she had misheard him.

"I've heard many stories about you." Celena said with her gentle smile. "My brother always spoke so fondly of you."

"You-your brother?" Hitomi stammered.

"Yes," Celena said, "Allen Schezar." Hitomi's jaw hung open. She was absolutely speechless.

Dinner in the Asturian palace was anything but quiet. Marla gossiped with her mother about the latest scandal among Asturia's aristocrats. They tried to get Julianne to join in on their fun. She however didn't enjoy such things as gossip.

Emily hardly touched her food throughout dinner. She was too afraid to eat anything on the plate before her. Dillen, her other brother, teased her by insisting that what her food was something more fowl and disgusting than what it really was.

Hikari contained her laughter and simply smiled. Dillen and Emily acted much like her own siblings back home. They even appeared to look around the same age as them. Her smile slowly faded as a realization hit her. What if she was stuck on this planet? She'd never see Taiki or Ayumi again.

Millerna noticed the saddened expression on Hikari's face. "Hikari," She said in her cheerful tone to grab the young teen's attention, "So how has Hitomi, your mother, been all these years?" Millerna figured that Hikari was feeling left out in the conversation.

"She's been good I suppose…" She shifted in her seat and felt awkward. She wished she could have elaborated but she had no idea what else to say. "Ummmm…she's married and had two other kids with my step-father."

"Step-Father?" Marla repeated. "What's that?"

Hikari looked at Marla dumbfounded. "He's not my father. Mom met him when I was little. I think maybe when I was four."

"Oh…so then what about your father. What's he like?" Hikari couldn't believe Marla was actually asking her these questions.

"I don't know. I've never met him. My mother never really talked about him. All I know is he got her knocked up when she was still in high school."

"Oh that's terrible!" Millerna exclaimed. "What sort of man could do such a thing? Hitomi was such a lovely person. She certainly didn't deserve that." Dryden nearly choked on his food. Millerna shot him a deadly glare. He could still recall all the times Millerna had ranted about how Hitomi ruined her chances at ever being with her knight in shinning armor.

"You don't even know his name?" Cadel asked. Hikari shook her head. Her eyes slowly drifted down to the pendant around her neck. It was the only thing, other than her flesh and blood, that connected her to him.

Hitomi laid back on her bed and stared up at the canopy above her. Her thoughts were so jumbled. She hadn't felt so mental exhausted in such a long time. A smile pulled at her lips as she realized the last time she had felt that way was when she had come to Gaea the first time.

"You still shocked?" a voice spoke, breaking the silent air in the room. Hitomi jolted upright and looked in every direction.

"Who's-"

"Still jumpy are we?" From the windowsill a woman jumped into the room. When the figure stepped into the light Hitomi breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't just any woman; it wasn't exactly a woman at all.

"My Merle, you really have grown up." She said as she looked over the matured cat woman. Her long, thick, pink hair was tied back loosely. A few strands strayed from the ponytail to frame her face. She no longer donned her trademark short dress. She had traded that in long ago for something more respectful. She wore a longer, fitted, simple gown made of some animal hide.

"Sorry I couldn't greet you earlier with Lord Van. I got tied up taking care of some little rascals." She grinned and took a seat on the bed next to Hitomi. "So wow, you've really grown up yourself. What brings you back to Gaea?"

"My daughter."

"Daughter?"

"Yes, she has found her way here…I was so certain she'd end up here in Fanelia if she ever did manage to come to Gaea." Merle raised a curious brow.

"And why were you so certain about that? Just because it happened to you twice?" Hitomi stood up and walked over to the open window. She breathed in the crisp night air before attempting to explain the situation.

"Merle…you see, the last time I was here…Van and myself did something and Hikari is the result of that." Merle's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe her ears. She leapt up and grabbed Hitomi by the shoulders, turning her around to face herself.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU AND LORD VAN WERE DOING!" Hitomi squinted her eyes as Merle shouted in disbelief. "Oh my god…this is bad…"

"What? How?" Hitomi asked, feeling very confused.

"If anyone else knew about Hikari…" Merle bit her lip and turned away. "Well, I hate to say it but Hikari may not be able to return to your home with you." Hitomi's eyes went wide.

"Merle!"

Merle looked over her shoulder and gestured for Hitomi to sit back down. "You might want to keep it down." She warned. "If Lord Van is her father as you say, then she is the rightful heir to the Fanelian throne." Hitomi's mouth opened but no words came out. "Have you told anyone else about her?"

"Just Van, but why is she the…"

"According to the old texts and laws, the first born of the reigning King or Queen is to be the heir. Even if it is out of wedlock." Merle explained, calmly, and in a more quite tone.

"Well she can't stay here. She can't…"

"That's up to her to decide." Merle pointed out. Hitomi just looked in disbelief. She brought a hand to her head as a whirlwind of thoughts spun round and round in her mind. She was still trying to process the fact that Van had married Allen's younger sister. Now with the new information that Merle had given her, she felt as if her head might just explode from an information overload. "I guess I'm not too surprised that Lord Van didn't tell you about that…"

Morning seemed to come much too quickly for Hikari. She was in the middle of a deep and peaceful sleep when Marla awoke her. She opened the curtains to the large glass windows, allowing the blinding morning sun to shine in. "Good morning!" Marla exclaimed all too cheerfully. "Looks like today is going to be another beautiful day."

Hikari groaned and rolled over, hiding her head under her pillow to block out the sun. How the hell can she be so…chipper?

Marla sat down on the bed and pulled the pillow away. "Come on sleepy head! We haven't a moment to waste!"

"Five more minutes…." Hikari groan and pulled the blankets over her head.

Marla stood up, her hands planted firmly on her hips. "Don't take that tone with me. I have many things planned for today. So you're getting up now." Marla proceeded to yank away the blankets and drag Hikari out of bed. She managed to get Hikari as far as taking yet another bath. But that was as far as Hikari was going to let Marla get. Marla laid out the new outfit she had picked out for Hikari to wear. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Marla asked when Hikari just stood, clutching onto her bathrobe tightly.

"Well, I'm a bit…ummm…." She bit her lip and purposely looked a bit embarrassed.

"Oh, you want some privacy. I understand. I'll just be outside your room waiting." Marla said and made her way out. When the door closed, she hurried over to it and locked the door. Where are my clothes? Hikari wondered and looked around the room. Her eyes brightened with delight as she spotted them folded neatly on the dresser.

She dressed herself in a hurry. Never had she been so happy to be wearing her school uniform. She headed for the door but stopped quickly. "Crap…" she breathed. She remembered that Marla would be out there waiting for her. But hope was not lost for Hikari. She made her way out onto the balcony and looked for a way out. She looked down and decided quickly that it was going to be an option. She may have been desperate to get out, but jumping into the river cannel was worth it.

An idea quickly came to mind as she spotted a ledge that lead off from the balcony. She didn't think twice before climbing onto it and slowly making her way to the next balcony. She felt a great sense of relief when she made it to the next balcony.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise." Hikari nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of the familiar voice. "I just wish every morning I could wake up to find a lovely young creature on my balcony waiting for me." Cadel said as he walked out onto the balcony to meet with Hikari

"I was just trying to escape from your sister Marla." She explained quickly. "She wanted to dress me up again." Cadel let out a chuckle.

"Well you needn't worry about Marla. She's fairly harmless and an easy push over." He reassured her and headed back into his room. He was midway through dressing himself when he had heard someone on his balcony. He picked up the loose, white blouse lying on his bed and finished dressing himself. Hikari could feel her cheeks being to heat up and blush. Cadel most certainly had an exquisite body. He was not an eyesore in anyway.

Julianne made her way to the city's grand coliseum to train her skills in the art of the sword. She had told her mother she was heading down to the bazaar, escorted of course, to perhaps find a new outfit. She knew if her mother knew what she was really doing, she would have sent her away to the convent to be taught how to be a proper young lady. The first time Julianne had been caught training with the palace guards, her mother nearly packed her things and sent her off.

According to her mother, the sword is a tool of men; women have no use for it. Julianne couldn't control herself however. Holding a sword felt natural and right to her. She felt free almost. It was an outlet for her frustrations.

When Julianne was certain no one had seen her enter the coliseum, she removed the heavy, hooded, purple cloak. She made sure all her armor was taut. When she was certain everything was in place and perfect, she made her way to the battleground where the Knights of Cali were already training. They all knew who she was but respected her request to not treat her as Princess Julianne Marie Aston-Fassa.

She unsheathed her sword and gripped the hilt tightly as she made her way over to the training knights.