Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Escaflowne: All you need is Love, Isn't it?

Chapter 13

Aboard the Lady Vari, 11th day at sea

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Merle sat alone on top of a pile of neatly wound ropes, eating her dinner. She had spent most of the last two days alone. She sighed quietly as she thought of how she arrived at this point.

'Oh Lord Van, why won't you even talk to me? Why won't you even look at me? … I know why. It's all Hitomi's fault. If she hadn't hit me… No, that's not true. … It's all my fault. Why did I do that? It was just a kiss, but why did it bother me so much? I know you love Hitomi more than me. I've already accepted that. Then why did I get so anxious when you almost kissed her?'

She sighed again.

'Hitomi, I'm so sorry. I almost killed you and that last dig. That was just wrong. I need to tell her this. I need to set things right between her and me. But… but, I'm no good a apologizing. Maybe if we just don't speak for a few days, maybe she'll just forget about it and things can go back to the way they were before.'

Oblivious to what was going on around her, Merle was roused from her muse by a gentle voice.

"Mind if I sit here?"

"Ugh, oh Hitomi. No, not at all." She gulped after replying and stared intently at her food.

The girl from the Mystic Moon sat down on another roll of ropes that were next to the ones the catgirl was sitting on. She to spent the next few minutes staring intently at her meal.

Unable to take the silence any longer Merle spoke first. "Not eating down below today?"

"No." Hitomi responded calmly. "After being at sea for eleven days, the crew is starting to smell rather pungent." She looked over at Merle and saw the catgirl didn't understand. "They stink."

Merle's eyes went wide. "I know! All this water all around, you'd think those guys would take the time to bathe once in awhile."

"You'd think." Hitomi replied as the two girls enjoyed a mild laugh. Slowly the laughter faded, replaced once again by uncomfortable silence.

Tentatively, Hitomi spoke. "Merle," the catgirl looked up at her. "I just wanted to apologize for hitting you… and for yelling at you yesterday. You were right. You did save my life when you grabbed me. I'm sorry." The teen kept her gaze down on her food the whole time.

Merle smiled at first then her lips began to quiver and her eyes began to water up. "I'm sorry Hitomi. You were right. If I hadn't frightened you and Lord Van by screaming in your ears like I did, you wouldn't have needed saving. You were right when you called me a brat. I am one." She hung her head in shame.

Hitomi gasped, not expecting to hear an apology from the young feline, this response took her totally off guard. Looking at her now, she saw the genuine sadness and regret expressed by the younger girl and her heart went out to her. "No Merle, you're not a brat. You're… you're just a young girl in love, that's all. You can't help how you feel. I know you said you've learned to accept our feelings for each other but it still can't be easy seeing us act on those feelings."

Trying her best to blink away her tears, the catgirl nodded in agreement.

"Tell you what." Hitomi continued. "I'll do my best to make sure I don't overtly express my feelings for Lord Van when we're in public or when I know you're around. Okay?"

Merle nodded once again with a faint smile on her face. "Thanks Hitomi. Thanks for understanding."

"Hey, we girls got to stick together, right?" The teen declared.

"Right!" The catgirl grinned.

"I mean we can't be going to war with each other over some guy." She continued.

"Right!"

"Even if he is a king, and incredibly handsome, and caring, and …" She rambled

"Hitomi, I think you're defeating your own argument." The catgirl interrupted her.

"Oh, hehe, sorry." The teen blushed and scratched the back of her head. "Got a little carried away I guess."

"I guess." Merle replied as she went back to eating her food.

"May I join you ladies?" A familiar voice said from behind.

They both turned to see Van walking toward them.

"Lord Van!" Merle's face lit up with excitement as the young king sat on the floor in front of them.

"Of course Lord Van." Replied Hitomi, smiling brightly at him.

He smiled back at both of them as he set his mug down beside him and started picking at his food with his fork.

"Not eating down below today, Your Majesty?" Hitomi asked.

"No." He took a mouthful of food and washed it down with some ale. "I thought the fresh sea air might help my appetite."

"Can't stand the smell either, can you Lord Van?" Merle asked.

After a short pause, Van replied. "No, I can't." They shared a light chuckle and continued eating.

Finishing her food before anyone else, Merle got up and announced her plans to get seconds. Once she was down below, Van got up off the floor and sat down on the pile of ropes next to Hitomi. "I see you two are back on speaking terms again." He smiled.

"Mmm hmm, I told you Merle and I get along. It, it just gets a little difficult sometimes." The teen replied.

"Difficult?" He raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Come now Your Majesty. Don't play coy. You know you have two women in love with you. Seeing us about to kiss was just more than Merle could handle at this time, that's all. But we talked it out and everything's okay now." She smiled.

"I'm glad to hear that." He leaned toward her.

"What are you doing?" She asked as she leaned away from him.

Looking a little shocked by her reaction, he replied. "I thought we'd pick up where we left off yesterday."

"Don't be so presumptuous. That moment was special, and is now past. Besides, I promised Merle not to kiss you in public or when she was around." She clarified.

Van looked up and down the ship. "But we are alone and Merle's not here right now."

"But she'll be back any second. I don't want a repeat of earlier, do you?" She caressed his cheek with the back of her fingers for a moment before placing her hand on his shoulder and gently pushing him back to a proper sitting position.

Catching a glimpse of Merle coming through the door leading to the lower decks. "No, I suppose not." He said, as he went back to eating his food.

Having seen him look over her shoulder, the teen turned her head about to see the catgirl bounding her way back to them. 'Good going Hitomi, you finally did something right on this trip.' She smiled to herself and went back to her meal.

Merle was about to sit where Van had been on the floor earlier but the king quickly got up. "Merle, sit here." He gestured to where she was sitting before.

"That's okay Lord Van, I don't mind sitting on the floor." She assured him.

"Really, that's alright. I'm done with my meal. I need to go talk to the captain about getting his men to bathe. I can't stand another day of this." He began to walk away.

"But Lord Van, you've only eaten half your food." She informed him.

Looking at his plate, he acknowledged. "You're right. Would you like it?" He held his plate toward her.

"Sure!" Merle immediately started scooping his plate's contents onto hers.

"Would you like some Hitomi?" Van asked.

"No, I've got plenty." She smiled.

Once Merle was done he excused himself and walked back below deck.

The catgirl quickly sat back down on the ropes and devoured her food.

Shaking her head in amazement, the girl from the Mystic Moon asked, "Where on earth do you put all that?"

Looking up from her plate the catgirl considered the question for a second then replied. "We're not on earth." Then she went back to eating.

Shaking her head once more, Hitomi followed suit, eating the rest of her meal.

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AN: Well, this was supposed to be a very short chapter but dialogue takes time and space. ^_^ Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out and sorry for future delays but I have an OLS story I will be posting on FF.net very soon as well as an Eva story. So my writing time will be cut into thirds. But its either this or I never get any stories out. Again, thanks for the reviews. It's great to know people are reading and enjoying my work. Just to let everyone know, critical comments are always welcome too. I hope to have a couple more chapters posted by the end of the week.

Thanks for all your comments and support. ^_^

A. Amishi

PS: Only 38 more days till ACEN'03! ^_^