Lady Knight

"There's someone watching us." Dilandau said softly, just under his breath. Mentally he was already cursing the loss of his warrior skills. He knew there were people watching, he just had no idea from where.

Chapter 5: Politics

Hitomi tightened her hold on Ben's shoulder, keeping her son close, and angling her body slightly in front of his. "Where?" She breathed to Dilandau, her green eyes widening in fear.

"Right here." A voice hissed, as a lithe form dropped out from the tree before them. "Don't make a move; you are entirely surrounded by archers." A second form dropped down from the tree, slender and cat-like. Altogether too cat-like to Hitomi's eyes.

The second cat-person moved very suddenly into the light, ears and tail twitching. Wide eyes and tawny skin moved beneath a swishing wave of pink hair. "Hitomi?" The cat-woman asked with surprise evident in her still high-pitched voice. "Is that… you?"

"Merle?" Hitomi replied with equal astonishment. The cat-woman looked little like the Merle she had once known. Wild short hair had been tamed into a long sleek ponytail, and the roundness of a child's face and body had thinned to that of a slim woman. Hitomi blinked, supposing that she had changed equally much, rounding out into a woman's curves, especially after Ben's birth; the beginnings of laugh lines around her eyes. She glanced for a moment at Dilandau, suddenly feeling a little old and unbeautiful before Merle, who still seemed to have the body of a supermodel.

Dilandau was staring at the cat-woman, just as she had feared. It took Hitomi a moment to register that he was glaring at both cat-people with suspicion. "Dilandau," She murmured, "it's alright." His eyes turned to meet hers, blazing quietly but still acquiescing to her judgment.

"Hitomi!" The cat-woman replied again, leaping forward now to pull Hitomi into a warm embrace. "It's been so long!" Hitomi winced briefly, Merle's voice was still just as high as it had always been. "You've missed so much! How could you stay away so long?" She scolded. Her blue eyes suddenly turned to Ben as she bent to look him in the eyes. Her nose twitching slightly, she looked from Ben to Hitomi and back again. "And who's this?" she prompted, cocking her head just slightly to the left.

"My name's Ben." The young boy announced, shyly thrusting out a hand to shake Merle's slender hand.

Awkwardly Merle returned the handshake. She stood with a bemused smile on her face. "Isn't he awfully dignified?" She said teasingly to Hitomi, "He must get it from his father?" She directed her gaze to Dilandau.

There was a long moment when Merle's eyes met Dilandau's. From his clothes, Dilandau could have been any man from the Mystic Moon, but Hitomi had only ever known one person with eyes like Dilandau's. Merle shrieked.

The male cat-person who had until now been watching the exchange with mild amusement, waiting patiently for an explanation, suddenly fell into a fighting stance. Hitomi's eyes widened. It didn't seem fair, she found herself thinking faintly. Celena had requested their presence, and here they were, for no other reason than the goodness of their hearts…

Dilandau's laughter interrupted her thoughts. It was a broad laugh, miles from the maniacal laughter he had been prone to the last time he had been on Gaea, during that terrible war. It was a laughter that spoke of hot chocolate and movie nights, love and the quiet devotion of marriage; it was the laugh of a father and a husband, and perhaps even more amazingly than all that, of a calm, contented man. Even the trademark smirk of his had softened and warmed since he had belonged to Gaea. "I'm guessing an explanation is in order then?" He said finally, his eyes sparkling warmly, a hearth fire in his eyes rather than a fire storm.

The two cat-people stared at the man, this strange incarnation. Their gazes passed over Hitomi and Ben, recognizing both Hitomi and Dilandau in the boy. Their eyes met, and a collective sigh went through the both of them. "I would say that would be a good place to begin." The cat-man stated simply.

Hitomi leaned back in her chair, a simple, yet well-carved affair. She could hear Ben's delighted shouts and laughter floating into the simple home from outside, mixing with the higher-pitched laughter of the cat-children belonging to the village they were currently in the midst of.

"So, let me get this straight," Rufio, the cat-man from earlier said softly, "You did such a good job at reforming him, you married him?"

Hitomi shared a wry smile with Dilandau. "I wouldn't put it quite like that." Hitomi replied. "Really, Dilandau reformed himself." She smiled at Merle and her husband. "I married him because I fell in love with him." She leaned back, relaxing in the warmth of the fire the four adults sat in front of.

Merle shook her head in amazement, suspicion still evident in her eyes. "You know," she began softly, the edge of a growl in her voice, "There was a time I would have clawed your eyes out for hurting Van the way you did. But the state he was in then would be nothing compared to how he would react if he had known you ended up with Dilandau." She lifted her eyes to meet Hitomi's. "You would be better off pretending that you weren't married at all."

Hitomi's mouth fell open slightly. "You mean," she began, her voice strained and sharp, "He doesn't know?" Beside her, Dilandau's eyes sparked like burning coals, the reflected flames of the fire dancing in them.

Hitomi was certain it was only the sudden pounding of hooves that kept Dilandau from citing at least a few choice words for the situation. Ben came running into the small house, his green eyes wide, and his teddy bear clutched loosely in one hand. "Mommy?" He said softly. "There's peoples on horses." He looked very solemn for a moment. "They got swords."

"Woah," a gruff voice cried outside. There was a halt in the hoof beats, replaced by the snorts and snuffles of tired horses. "I'll never understand how you two get the horses to stop without talking to them." The gruff voice commented.

"Years of practice," another man's voice cut in, clear and commanding, though with the dignity of some age behind it.

"And being a knight kinda helps." A softer voice added jovially, feminine but tough.

Hitomi and Dilandau rose from their seats by the fire to stare out into the darkening evening. Three figures were busy dismounting, tying their horses and setting up buckets of water while the children of the village crowded around them. "We figured we should send for them," Merle said next to Hitomi's ear, "Seeing as how it was Celena who summoned you after all." Hitomi turned a grateful smile to Merle, even as the words hit her.

"Celena!" Dilandau's voice leapt into the evening air as he rushed from Hitomi side to pull Celena into a ferocious hug. "It's been too long." He cried, practically lifting her from the ground she stood on her.

"Dilly!" Celena's voice was suddenly years younger as she returned the embrace. "I knew you'd come!" Eventually extricating herself from his hug, she pulled in one of the male figures beside her. "It's probably about time you met my husband, Theron." She smiled up at the taller man, his blue eyes shining down at her for a moment before turning to Dilandau.

"It's wonderful to finally meet you." Theron replied warmly, grasping Dilandau's hand in a rough handshake. "I've heard far too much about you." His eyes sparkled teasingly, and Hitomi recognized his voice as the gruff one they had heard from within the house.

Stepping out into the yard, Hitomi blinked at the third figure. "Mommy," Ben said softly, tugging on her jeans, "That's a knight, isn't it? Just like in your stories." Hitomi nodded slowly, a smile slowly spreading across her face. She stepped up to the tall figure.

"Actually Ben," she replied softly, attracting the attention from the industrious figure tending to the tall white stallion behind him. "This is the knight in my stories, if I'm not mistaken." The figure stiffened and turned, his longish hair, shorter than Hitomi remembered it having been, swishing. "Hello Allen," she said softly, "It's been a long time."

"Hitomi." The knight replied, bowing his head slightly. "It's good to see you again." Ever the gentleman, he reached for her hand and drew his lips across it gently. "You're as beautiful as ever." His gaze turned down towards Ben, who stared up at the man in wonder. "And hello to you young sir." He stared hard at the boy for a long moment. "You have your mother's eyes," he said finally, "But I can certainly see your father in you." A statement that earned him a smile from both Ben and Hitomi.

"So I see Celena at least told someone." Hitomi murmured. The grave look she received from Allen worried her, prompting her to think that perhaps things were going to get worse from here.

Dilandau found himself liking Theron, and nodded appreciably at Celena's choice. Theron was as good a man as he could have hoped for her, a match as well suited for her as Hitomi was for him. Which reminded him, Hitomi wasn't beside him. A momentary frown crossed his lips as he watched the third member of Celena's party brush a kiss across his wife's hand.

"And of course you remember Allen?" Celena prompted softly, noticing the direction of Dilandau's gaze.

"Rather a difficult person to forget." Dilandau replied, a trace of sarcasm in his voice.

A smirk spread across Theron's face. "He can be a little insufferable at times." He murmured in a low tone. Catching Dilandau's eye, he continued. "I generally just remind myself that when everything is said and done, Allen is a country knight while Celena is a lady of the court and a knight." Dilandau felt a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He would definitely get along just fine with his new brother-in-law.

"So Allen Schezar," Dilandau said, suddenly appearing beside his wife. "What is it you're telling my wife to make her look so concerned?"

"I think it's probably less of a joke than you'd like to think," Hitomi replied, chewing on her lip slightly. Dilandau let his smirk fall away from his lips. Hitomi only ever chewed on her bottom lip like that when she was trying to plan the most difficult of negotiation tactics. "He has no sons."

Dilandau stared at Hitomi for a long moment, registering that "he" was likely Fanel, but uncertain as to why this tidbit of information was so grave. He decided to risk looking like an idiot. "So?" he asked, a puzzled tone in his voice.

Hitomi was giving him that look again. The one that said quite bluntly: "Darling, you are as ignorant as a rock about politics, but I'll still love you forever."

"Do you not remember anything I told you about Fanelian politics before we left home?" She murmured softly.

He looked at her blankly. "Not the details?" He replied hopefully. "I thought you were just thinking out loud to yourself like when you were planning that theoretical summit meeting last year."

Hitomi sighed softly, a whisper of a smile brushing over her lips. "It's important that you know this stuff too, dummy." She shook her head fondly at him. "Fanelia is run only by kings. A daughter cannot inherit the throne." Her expression grim, Hitomi continued. "Dilandau," she said softly, "We don't just have to deal with the fact that Van doesn't know you and I are married, we have to deal with the fact that we have a son, and he does not."

"You're also neglecting to mention that Sarita is an airhead when it comes to politics." Celena added. She sighed softly. "There are legitimate reasons I failed to mention to Van exactly what the two of you were up to on Earth."

"But Lord Van loves Queen Sarita," Merle interrupted, slinking softly into the conversation, an anxious look spread across her features. She looked from Celena to Allen, "Doesn't he?"

Celena closed her mouth gently, guilt written across her features. "I think," Theron began softly, his earthy voice easing the tension in the air, even as he placed a comforting hand on Celena's shoulder, "Celena is merely pointing out that sometimes things are more complicated than they seem. Sometimes love is not simple, and relationships even less so, particularly among royalty."

Dilandau gazed at Celena and Theron. "You mean to say," he said softly, "That Van regrets having lost Hitomi?"

"Even if that's not the case," Allen replied, "He will undoubtedly resent you for what you have. Especially since in his eyes you are still the blood-thirsty warrior you once were."

Dilandau laughed hollowly. "Oh, if only." He murmured bitterly. "I can barely even use a sword properly these days." He felt Hitomi wrap a comforting arm behind his back, just as Ben reached up to pull at his hand, holding it gravely in his chubby hands.

There was a long silence from the other adults, however. "You… what?" Celena whispered softly, horror straining her voice. "You mean," she murmured tremulously, "We'll actually have to rely on politics to solve this?" Every eye turned to Hitomi. Suddenly Dilandau found it was his turn to wrap an arm around Hitomi's waist, particularly as she swooned.