The long awaited third chapter has finally come out. I'm sorry that I haven't been keeping up with new chapters, but I do have an excuse. One of the most hellish things that God made man come up with; school! That's all I have to say about that. Well, I'm going to start writing the story now. Enjoy!

Raining in Heaven

Van pounded his fist on the marble table, angered at his council for being insolent bastards to his people. "I will not have my people dying, because of your idea of peace and prosperity!" His red eyes flashed fire, and then simmered down to sharpened steal, "what makes you think that I would agree to such a thing?" He ran a shaking hand through his hair, trying in vain to calm himself down.

A feeble old man stepped forward hesitantly, wringing his hands nervous, hoping that he could possibly put some rational thought into his young king's head; "Sire, we only want what's best for the kingdom, and your self. We only thought…"

Before the old man could finish, Van held his hand up, signaling that he had heard enough. "You only thought that I, King of Fanelia should start war with other countries, and become Zaibach's ally."

"We didn't mean…"

"I know you didn't mean anything!" He took a deep breath, and then closed his eyes, trying to hide the fatigue that hovered over him like a dark cloud. "This meeting is over gentlemen. Good day." Van walked away, his temper swirling all around him. He just didn't know what to think anymore.

The old man, who had addressed the king earlier, broke the silence between the other royal elders, "He will not listen, because he knows what Zaibach does. Nevertheless, he will become an ally to Zaibach, or else he will wished he had." He touched his chin thoughtfully, "The plan will proceed with or without him." He tucked his wrinkled hands into the arms of his robe, awaiting the approval from the rest of the council. Half-hearted murmurs of agreement answered the darkened council hall. The king of Fanelia wasn't important in the grand scheme of things; he was only a minor inconvenience.

Van stood on the balcony of the palace, staring at the capital of Fanelia, thinking of how it had once been a beautiful and peaceful place.  He needed a rest from the royal council; Gods, he needed a rest from life, but that was hard to do when you were king. Riots had been spreading throughout the kingdom, leaving many villages burned and some innocent bystanders dead. In the last year, more than half of the livestock had mysteriously died from a famine that had hit Fanelia without warning. As if life couldn't get worse, the advisor had to go and pull the wool over his eyes. If he couldn't trust his own advisors, whom could he trust?

Van sighed deeply, and tipped his head towards the sky. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a falling star whisking across the heavens. A small smile spread across his lips; hey, wishes were for the young and the old. He closed his eyes, leaned his hip more on the railing, while he crossed his arms across his chest, and wished for the first thing that came to his mind; "I wish that a miracle would come and save Fanelia." It was going to take a miracle to save Fanelia from itself. Too bad they stopped making those so-called miracles.

He needed a drink, and he needed one bad. But, where was he going to find a place open at this time of night? Van gazed over the top of the buildings, looking for any sign of life that might still be awake at the time of day. Finally, his eyes fell upon a small, ratty looking pub that appeared to be off the main road of the capital. It didn't look safe, but it was this, or nothing. His eyes lit up with a challenge, he could hold his own against a few drunken fools.

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Life in Fanelia never ceased to exist; even at night. Men of all ages would hover in groups at the bars, laughing and throwing their troubles away with a beer in one hand, and a rather large wench on their lap. Their wives never knew of what they did at night, and didn't seem to care, so long as they brought home food to their children's awaiting mouths. Since the days of Gaia, no women had ever stepped foot into a pub, unless she was there only to please the men. This had always been tradition, but Hitomi didn't much care for tradition. In fact, she sneered at tradition.

Hitomi sat watching the world move around her from underneath her hood, surveying the behavior of the men with an emotionless expression, and a cup of liquor in her hand. A bald-headed man sat near the bar sleeping, with his head lying heavily on the worn out wood, obviously too drunk to even keep up with his friends anymore. His off-key singing could be heard throughout the bar, but no one seemed to mind. They were much too busy getting pissed faced themselves.  Not even the dog that lay upon the ground, waiting for small scraps of food to fall to the floor, minded the noise that echoed off the low walls. She didn't much like the fact that this was the only place that was safe from spying eyes; it was either this bar, or the streets outside. As much as she loathed people, she decided that being outside when it was dark, wasn't the smartest thing to do. Besides, she needed a drink, and she needed one now.

She looked around her self, taking in the comfortable atmosphere that seemed to be hanging around the humid and smelly bar. One person in particular caught her gaze, he sat in the darkened corner, like her, doing nothing but smiling at the people before him. Hitomi narrowed her green eyes at him, 'it's him again, that stupid bastard that knocked me down.' She bared her teeth in a silent snarl; 'it seems that Fanelia is a small country after all.' A very small, and vicious smile broke across her face; 'maybe I'll go pay him a visit.'

Hitomi stood up from her table, kicked the chair away from under her, and stalked over the opposite corner. Her boots clicked on the hardwood floor, leaving yet more bruises to the aged wood. He never looked her way, never even glanced at the hooded figure that was headed his way, on a mission. She stopped a mere few inches away from him, before she pushed the hood of her cloak away from her face, revealing dark, emerald eyes, and messy blonde hair, "Is this seat taken?" She tapped the top of the chair impatiently, but didn't wait for a reply. Instead, she pulled the chair out and plopped herself into the scarred, old chair, and glared at him, daring him to contradict her.

Van shifted his head towards the voice that had just spoken to him, but he never expected to see an angel. There she was, sitting right across from him with a expression of contempt written all over her face. Her green cloak hung on her like a wheat sack, hiding everything from the naked eye. She was beautiful. A rather large smile broke across his handsome face, "Green eyes! I knew we'd meet again." He lifted his eyebrow, and gestured towards the seat she now sat in, "Have a seat."

Hitomi hissed through her front teeth, and saw nothing but red before her eyes, "Enough, Bastard!" She leaned back against the chair, and pouted as a small child would after having been scolded. He always seemed to make her feel irritated and mad, but a challenge was very appealing to her. Maybe that was why she tolerated him, instead of going and killing him out right.    

Trying to make amends with the little devil, Van put on a false smile, and laughed,  "Aw, you gave me a pet name. I didn't know you liked me that much, Green eyes."

Hitomi rolled her eyes towards the cracked ceiling, and whispered under her breath, "If you only knew."