Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.
Escaflowne: All you need is Love, Isn't it?
Chapter 18
At the Royal Palace in Palas, the capital of Asturia
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In the great hall, over 6,000 kings, rulers, nobles and other assorted honored guests mingled about enjoying cocktails and hors d'oeuvres as they waited for the arrival of the Queen.
Van and his minister of trade took the opportunity to speak with some of their neighboring rulers regarding his kingdom's new entry into the world trade market. Satisfied they had made some headway, he retrieved a glass of wine and began looking around to find Hitomi and Merle. Merle was carrying on a lively conversation with Prince Chid and Celena Schezar, but he saw no sign of Hitomi.
Approaching the trio, Van greeted the boy ruler. "Prince Chid, it is an honor and a pleasure to see you again." Bowing respectfully.
The boy prince bowed back, "The honor is all my King Van."
"King Van," the sister of the Knight of Heaven curtseyed humbly. "It is so good to see you again. I'm sorry we were unable to meet before now."
Bowing politely to the young teen, Van smiled. "As am I. But it is good to see you now. How has your training gone?"
"It is tedious at times but well worth it." She replied.
"Training?" Merle asked, grabbing hold of her king's arm.
"Celena is in training to be a lady of the court." The king explained.
"But I thought Allen said…" Merle started to say.
"I've managed to keep my training a secret from my brother so far. I wish to surprise him in two months when my training is complete and I've passed my test." She explained.
"Test?" Merle squeaked.
"A lady of the court of Asturia must demonstrate proper refinement and palace etiquette before she can truly be called a Lady." Celena explained further.
"Sounds like a big hassle for nothing to me." Merle teased, narrowing her eyes slightly.
"Merle," Van said, causing the catgirl to straighten up and go wide-eyed instantly.
"Yes Lord Van?" She smiled nervously.
"Have you seen Hitomi? I can't seem to find her." He asked, looking around once more.
"Hitomi is here?" Chid asked enthusiastically.
"Yes, she arrived about two weeks ago." The young king informed the boy prince.
"No Lord Van, I haven't seen her in awhile." His young companion told him.
"Hitomi? That's the girl from the Mystic Moon, correct?" Allen's sister asked.
"Yes, she is." Van answered. "You did meet her before she left, didn't you?"
"Yes, but only once and very briefly. I was hoping to be able to see her again. I had no idea she would be here for Queen Millerna's coronation." The young teen smiled.
Suddenly, Van spotted the girl from the Mystic Moon as she walked toward them with a happy smile on her face. Van couldn't help but smile back. Following the direction of his gaze, Chid and Celena both turned and saw her approach as well.
"Prince Chid," She said enthusiastically, "It's so wonderful to see you again," as she bowed.
The boy prince reached out and took her hand. "Hitomi, I'm so glad you came back to Gaea. I've missed you so very much." The boy smiled then turned toward the other young teen, "You remember Allen Schezar's sister, don't you?" He gestured.
"Celena," Hitomi extended her hand in greeting. "How have you been? You look even more beautiful than the last time I saw you."
"I'm fine. You look absolutely wonderful." Taking Hitomi's hand delicately into hers.
Merle rolled her eyes as the two teens continued to flatter each other then she spotted the object in Hitomi's hand. "Hey, Hitomi, what do you have there?" She asked.
"Oh?" The teen looked down at her left hand, at the disk-shaped object covered in a simple cloth and tied with a white ribbon. "This? It's just a little something I was planning on giving to Millerna."
"A gift?" Van asked.
"Yeah, well everyone here has such extravagant gifts for her and I didn't bring anything but I thought… well, I thought she might like this." She looked down at the object then back up to the people around her. "Kind of silly, isn't it?" She began to blush.
"Not at all." I'm sure the Queen will appreciate receiving an item from the Mystic Moon as a gift." Van assured her.
"I hope so." Hitomi grinned with a bit of trepidation in her voice.
"But the gift presentation will not take place till later this evening." The king informed her, extended his hand to take the item from her. "Here, let me give this to one of the servants and they will give it to you when it is time for you to present it to her."
"Oh, Okay." Hitomi handed the item over to him. He quickly turned and got the attention of a servant who was serving cocktails. He explained the situation to the man who nodded his understanding and took the object, securing it under his coat.
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AN: So very sorry for taking so long to post this next chapter. Didn't exactly have writer's block but rather I've been conflicted over how much detail I wanted to go into these next three chapters. Also, I'm working on my Eva/Dual story and my OLS story that I've started posting. But that is just an excuse. I hope to get a couple more chapters posted before the weekend is out. My birthday is on Easter so hopefully I get to do what I like and spend at least part of the day writing Sunday. ^_^
Again, thank you so much for all the wonderful feedback, I really appreciate everyone taking the time to review my work. It really means a lot to me. Thanks again.
A. Amishi
PS: Only 27 more days till ACEN'03!!! ^_^