Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.
Escaflowne: All you need is Love, Isn't it?
Chapter 19
At the Royal Palace in Palas, the capital of Asturia
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After Queen Millerna's arrival, the rulers and representatives of each kingdom in Gaea, except the Zaibach Empire, formed a line and greeted the new Queen formally. Afterward, everyone was ushered into the large dinning hall. Hitomi was amazed at the efficiency with which the palace staff served everyone, insuring that everyone had their fill of food and drink. After dinner and many toasts to the new Queen, everyone was ushered back into the great hall for music and entertainment. Various folk dancers from the different regions of Asturia entertained all with their traditional dance and costumes.
As the entertainment continued, all those that brought gifts for the Queen were instructed to send a representative to retrieve the items and to assemble in a line to make the presentation as orderly as possible. Shortly there after, the entertainment came to an end and one of the Queen's ministers read off a list the names of those presenting gifts. As a name and title was read, that individual would approach the Queen and bow respectfully then gesture to the entranceway for their gift to be brought in, if it could, if not, they would simply hand a scroll to one of the Knights and explain the nature of the gift.
Gifts ranged from hundreds of head of cattle, to fine works of art: paintings, sculptures and tapestries, treasures of gold and silver, and even energists. Hitomi stood next to Van as he waited his turn. Seeing the different gifts being presented she clutched her simple gift close to her chest and sighed. 'This was silly of my. This is nothing compared to any of the other gifts she is receiving. I'll be lucky if I'm not laughed out of here. I should just leave now and head back to my room.' She stared at the nearest exit, the one she used earlier to go to her room and get the gift.
Slowly she started to take a step in that direction when a voice said, "Going somewhere?"
She turned to see Van looking at her with a pleasant smile on his face. Seeing him like this, she couldn't help but feel foolish for wanting to leave. "I…just…" she turned away.
"Don't worry Hitomi. What ever you give her, I'm sure Millerna will love it. The fact that it came from you will be reason enough for her to love it, regardless of what it is." He reassured her.
"Okay." She smiled back.
Just then the minister announced, "King Van Fanel of Fanelia."
He gave the teen a wink and approached the throne to present his gift.
"Your Majesty, in honor of this joyous occasion Fanelia offers that which she is most famous for." He gestured to his attendant at the back of the wall who came into the wall wheeling a small tree in a wheel-barrel. Murmuring and some soft laughter could be heard but the king remained as confident as ever.
With the tree next to him, he proceeded to explain. "Fanelia is known for its many lush forests and towering trees. None more majestic than the Fanelus tree, the tree from which our kingdom derives its name. In no other kingdom in Gaea grows a taller, stronger, more beautiful tree. In addition, the timbers of the Fanelus are known world round as the sturdiest, most durable in the land. In fact, after the Zaibach attack, when the debris of the capital was cleared, many large Fanelus timbers remained undamaged and intact. What we offer you on this glorious day is a part of Fanelia. This tree is only one of one hundred saplings we bring to you. Each ready to be planted and in time will grow large and strong, and will multiply. Let this strong tree represent the strong bond between our two kingdoms Queen Millerna." With that he bowed down on one knee to the approving applause of all in attendance. Slowly the king rose.
Millerna rose from her throne, "King Van would you please approach us."
When the king stopped three feet from the queen, she extended her hand to him which he took, bowed once more and kissed it. Upon rising, the queen curtseyed pressing his hand to her forehead. When she rose, she said. "Thank you King Van Fanel of Fanelia. Your gift brings great joy to my heart. Forever shall our two kingdoms so be bound in friendship." She then stepped forward and kissed him on each cheek. With all of the larger kingdoms having presented their gifts already, and none of them receiving this type of reception from the Queen, murmuring started once again. Murmuring that only served to make an already nervous teenage girl from the Mystic Moon, that much more ill at ease.
Expecting to go after Van, Hitomi was somewhat surprised to hear someone else's name called next. Then another, and another, before long, it became apparent to her that she was most likely going to be the last person to present the Queen with a gift.
As time passed, she grew tenser as beautiful and elaborate gifts were presented to Her Majesty. Finally after what felt like an eternity, the minister called out, "Lady Hitomi Kanzaki from … the Mystic Moon."
The murmuring increased instantly as she walked toward Millerna's throne, clutching her simple gift to her chest. Stopping at the series of steps that lead up to the throne, as everyone else did, she curtseyed and began to speak with a trembling voice.
"Your Majesty, while I have no great riches or works of art to present to you. I do have this simple gift that I hope Your Majesty will enjoy."
She walked up the steps to the throne and extended her hands out to hand it to Millerna. "For you, Your Majesty." She took a few steps back after handing it to her and knelt down on the floor.
"Thank you Hitomi." Millerna smiled. Slowly she undid the ribbon and unfolded the cloth to reveal a round black case with a shoulder strap. She stared at it for a moment, not sure what it was or what to say.
"That's just the carrying case. The actual item is inside." Hitomi explained.
Nodded her understanding, Millerna undid the zipper exposing Hitomi's CD player and headphones. Again, the Queen looked at her with questioning eyes.
This time Hitomi stood up and walked over to her. "It's a CD player. It plays music." She reached down and pulled out the headphones. Placing one in Millerna's right ear then the other in her left. "You hear the music through the headphones and…" She pressed the button to open up the player revealing the disk inside. "You place the disk in here and close it. Then you press the start button and … " She took a step back and waited.
A moment later, Millerna's eyes grew wide as her head was filled with orchestral music. "Where is that coming from?" She asked.
"From the CD player Your Majesty." Hitomi explained.
The Queen reached up and pulled out one of the headphones from her ear, causing the music to stop on that side. Carefully, she placed it back in and the music continued. Smiling broadly, she looked up at Hitomi. "What a wonderful devise. With a device like this We can listen to music whenever We wish."
"Yes Your Majesty. That is exactly right." Hitomi smiled and bowed.
"Thank you Hitomi. Of all the gifts We have received this day, we cannot think of any other gift We will gain more pleasure from and use more often." She rose once again and embraced her friend.
"Your welcome, Your Majesty." She bowed her head once again before walking off to the side as the other had.
The gift presentation over, the music started up again as the attendees mingled and danced.
Finding Hitomi standing by herself Van walked up to her and said. "See, I told you. You had nothing to worry about."
"I guess you were right." She smiled.
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AN: Again, I'd like to apologize for taking so long to update. And to thank you for your patience. What I was trying to convey in this chapter was the importance of this event and how it contrasts with Van's coronation in the series. Fanelia, being a small, minor kingdom had no foreign dignitaries present but Asturia is a large and important kingdom. Once, many if not all other kingdoms in Gaea would like to keep in their favor. Also, since I mentioned Van's gift to Millerna in an earlier chapter, I wanted to make sure I mentioned what it was. Hope you liked it. ^_^
Coming up soon will be a tournament of swordsmanship which will also be a tribute to Utena. You'll see. As for Merle's brush with death. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about that. It's still a few chapters away.
Again, thank you for all the wonderful words of encouragement, they really mean a lot to me. ^_^
A. Amishi
PS: Just 27 more days till ACEN'03!!! ^_^