Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.
Escaflowne: All you need is Love, Isn't it?
Chapter 21
At the Royal Palace in Palas, the capital of Asturia
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Hitomi sat quietly in her seat in the section of the stadium reserved for foreign dignitaries, along with Merle and Sir Charson. She yawned and rubbed her bloodshot eyes.
"Are you alright Lady Hitomi?" The minister asked.
"Hmm?" She looked over to him with eyes filled with sadness.
"Did you not sleep well last night?" He asked
"No." She turned away. "No I didn't."
'Last night, last night was the worst night of my life. It was like a bad dream, no a nightmare. A nightmare I couldn't wake myself up from.'
~~~
"No! It's not true! You're lying!" Hitomi screamed.
"I wish it were a lie. But it's not. … I'm sorry Hitomi, I'm sorry." Merle buried her face in the mattress and cried.
"But he told me, he told me nothing was going on between them. He said it was all just a rumor. Why would he lie to me? He wouldn't. Van wouldn't lie to me, do you hear me. He wouldn't." She began to weep, "he wouldn't, he wouldn't…he wouldn't" She repeated over and over as she hugged her knees close to her chest.
"Oh Hitomi." Merle crawled over to her and tried to pull her friend into a comforting embrace but Hitomi pushed her away.
"No, you're lying! You're jealous of Van and me! You want Van all to yourself! That's why you've made up this lie! I hate you Merle! I hate you!" With that, the fifteen year-old girl threw herself face down on the bed and cried unchecked.
As her eyes welled up in tears again, the young catgirl hung her head remorsefully. "I'm sorry Hitomi, I'm so sorry." With that she ran out of her friend's room and into her own where she spent the night doing the same thing her friend was doing. Neither one got a wink of sleep that night.
~~~
Merle sat next to Hitomi with her hands folded on her lap. She stared down at the floor in front of her feet lost in grief.
The girl from the Mystic Moon looked over at the little catgirl and despite the sense of anger she felt toward the younger girl; she couldn't help but have her heart go out to her. Slowly, gently, she placed her hand atop her friend's. The young catgirl looked up at her with eyes filled with anguish and tears. Seeing the gentle look of forgiveness in her friend's face, the catgirl pressed her face against the friend's arm and wept silently.
Hitomi engulfed her friend with her other arm and laid her cheek atop her head, whispering softly, "It's okay Merle. Everything will be okay."
"How?" She whispered back.
"I don't know, but maybe it just wasn't meant to be… for either of us." Hitomi answered sadly.
While still comforting her friend, the teen's gaze happened upon the Royal Box where Millerna and other members of the royal family would be seated during the tournament. Currently it was empty but the curtain that concealed the area behind the seats was just slightly ajar and from the angle she was sitting, she could make out Millerna standing a few feet behind the curtain, talking with someone. She seemed to be in good spirits with a smile on her face and laughing occasionally.
'How could you Millerna? Wasn't it bad enough we were once rivals over Allen's affections, now shall we be rivals for Van's affections as well?' She thought mournfully.
Suddenly the person the Queen was speaking with stepped forward and came into view. "Van." She whispered.
"Where?" Merle asked looking up at her.
"Behind the curtain of the royal box." She told her.
The catgirl set her gaze in that direction and saw what her friend saw, the King of Fanelia and the Queen of Asturia engaged in a very friendly conversation. Or at least that was how it seemed to them.
"I can't take this anymore. I'm going back to the palace." Hitomi stood up and started heading for the exit.
"Lady Hitomi!" Sir Charson called out. "Where are you going?"
"Back to the palace." She answered.
"But Lord Van is expecting you to be here." He added.
"I think perhaps Lord Van expects too much." She replied then turned to leave as the minister gasped in shock.
"Wait Hitomi! I'll go with you." Merle got up and followed her friend.
The two girls walked down the wide corridor with their eyes downcast. Both were startled when they ran into the chest of a man walking in the opposite direction.
"Hitomi, Merle, where are you headed? The tournament is just about to start."
"Van"
"Lord Van"
They both stared at him for a moment, his happy expression revealing no sense of guilt or shame over his clandestine encounter with the Queen of Asturia.
"I've got to go." Hitomi finally answered as she walked past him.
"Me too." Merle added as she followed suit.
"Go? Go where?" He turned to follow them.
"Back to the palace." The older girl replied.
"Did you forget something? Tell me what it is and I'll send one of my servants to retrieve it for you." The king informed her.
"No, I didn't forget anything. I just have to go." She said without stopping.
Losing patience quickly, Van reached out and grabbed the teen's arm to get her to stop. "Hitomi, will you talk to me. What's wrong?"
"Take your hands off me!" She yelled as she pulled her arm free but came to a stop nonetheless.
Gasping at her outburst, Van questioned. "What's come over you?"
Turning her gaze to the side she asked. "Tell me Van. Do you love her?"
Puzzlement crossed the king's face. "Love who? Hitomi, what are you talking about?"
Rage flared up in the young teen as she lashed out, the palm of her hand connecting to the side of the king's face. "Don't mock me!" She screamed then turned and ran away.
The king's eyes grew wide in shock as the girl's hand made contact with his face. Stunned to immobility, he simply stared after her as she ran toward the exit.
"How could you Lord Van? How could you?" Merle yelled at him as she turned and ran after her friend.
Still in shock, his mind was a cloud of questions when suddenly he realized. "Merle, it was you on the roof top last night. Merle, what did you do?" Van took a step in their direction when a voice came from behind.
"Lord Van, the tournament is about to begin." Sir Charson called out.
The king turned toward is minister. "I need to go to the palace for a moment, I'll be right back."
"Your Majesty, we are guests here in Asturia, how will it look if the King of Fanelia is not present during the opening ceremony to honor the Queen?"
Van paused for a moment as he considered his minister's words. "You're right. Let's go." He turned and walked with his minister back to their seats."
"If you wish My Lord, I can send someone to retrieve Lady Hitomi and Miss Merle." The minister added.
The king considered this for a moment then answered, "No, that won't be necessary. I think they just need a little time to calm down is all." 'At least I hope that is all they need.'
~~~~~~~~~~
AN: Breakaway Republic, you asked for angst, here's your angst; to everyone else, sorry. But not to worry, it won't last too long. At least I hope not. And I do intend to make the pay off worth it. Originally, I was planning on resolving this misunderstanding here in this chapter but this felt right.
Again, thanks for your support and your well wishes on my birthday. I really appreciate it. ^_^
A. Amishi
PS: Just 24 more days till ACEN'03!!! ^_^