Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

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

Chapter 32

At the Palace in Palas

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As Van and Hitomi walked down the hallway toward her room, one arm around her waist to help support her weight and the other hand on her arm to provide extra balance, he looked at the inebriated form in his arms and smiled.

"I'm sorry Van. I didn't mean to get drunk. Really. This is so embarrassing." She said as she stumbled for the tenth time.

Almost loosing her this time, the king decided to take matters into his own hands, literally, as he scooped her up in his arms. "There we go." He smiled at her. "Don't worry about it Hitomi. I'm sure, no one noticed." He said as he continued down the hallway.

"Do you really think so?" She looked up at him with a hopeful stared. "No, you're just teasing me. Of course everyone knew I was drunk. It's so embarrassing." She buried her cheek into his chest.

"I must say, I've never seen anyone get so drunk from just one glass of wine." He admitted. "I'll have to remember to tell the servants to only serve you new wine from now on." He grinned.

"Mmm, knowing me, I'd probably get drunk from that as well. Better just make it water." She mumbled as she eyes flickered shut and her breathing grew heavy and regular.

Van smiled down at her as he stopped for just a moment, long enough to kiss her on the forehead. Then he proceeded to her room. Once in the room he set her down gently on her bed and slipped off her shoes. Looking at her sleeping peacefully he smiled once again when a thought occurred to him. "She can't be comfortable sleeping in that dress." He stepped forward, ready to undo the garment then hesitated. "No, probably not the best idea." He turned towards the door and thought. Then he walked out to the room next door. Knocking on the door, he said. "Merle, I need your help." But there was no response. Reaching for the door handle, he opened the door and stepped in only to find the room empty and the bed still made.

"That's odd. She left dinner early because she said she was tired and wanted to go to sleep." Not giving it any more thought, he walked back into Hitomi's room and pulled the servants cord.

A few minutes later, the teen's three handmaidens showed up. They bowed respectfully, the oldest one asking. "How may we be of service to you King Fanel?"

Gesturing toward the bed, Van said, "The Lady Hitomi has fallen asleep. Help her out of her dress and under the covers without waking her."

"Yes my Lord. Anything else." She asked.

"No that will be all. Thank you." He replied.

"It is our pleasure my Lord." She assured him bowing once again.

He nodded and left.

Quickly and skillfully, the three girls undid Hitomi's dress and slipped it off her then one of them retrieved a nightgown so they decided to remove the rest of her undergarments as well and place her in her nightgown. Afterward, two of them gently sat her up as the third pulled down the sheets. They laid her back down and pulled the sheets past her legs then covered her with them.

"Sleep well Ma'Lady." The three said in unison then they turned and left the room.

Van walked out onto the roof and toward the ledge overlooking the city.

Merle sat on the rooftop staring at the stars but looked down to see Van walking to the ledge when she heard his foot falls. 'I should leave. I don't think I can take anymore of those two together right now.' She started leaning forward in order to stand up when she noticed no one else was coming up on the roof. She waited a few minute before saying. "So where's Hitomi, Lord Van?"

Van turned around and looked at the rooftop. "Merle." He paused a moment before answering. "She was tired. She went to sleep."

'More like drunk I bet.' "I see." She said.

"What about you? I thought you were tired and were going to bed early?" Van asked.

"Hmm, yeah, well, I guess I wasn't as tired as I thought." She scratched the back of her head and grinned.

"I see." Van replied as he turned back to look out over the city.

After several minutes of silence, Merle let out a quiet sigh and jumped down from the rooftop. As she turned to walk down the stairs, she heard Lord Van call out to her. "Merle?"

She stopped as her ears perked up. "Yes Lord Van."

"Can I ask you a question?"

She spring over to him and took a seat on the guard wall. "Ask away Lord Van." She smiled.

"If I ask Hitomi to stay this time, do you think she will? If I ask her to be my queen, do you think she'd marry me?" He asked, never taking his eyes off the distant sea that lay on the other side of the city.

Merle's heart sank as she closed her eyes and did her best to fight back the tears. After not receiving an answer for several minutes, Van looked over at her. "Merle?"

Not wanting him to see her like this she turned her back to him and looked up at the stars. Then answered. "I told you before Lord Van. You love her and she loves you. She'd be crazy not to want to marry you. But I don't know if she'd be willing to do that right now."

"Why not?" He asked.

"Because people in her world do thinks differently. Millerna is about the same age as Hitomi, and she's already a queen but from what Hitomi told me before, she's still in school and won't finish school for a few more years. She seems to feel that this is still something very important for her to do." Merle explained.

"But if she stays here in Gaea, she won't have to worry about schooling." Van countered.

Merle paused a moment longer then went on. "Though I don't remember much about my family or my village, I do remember a saying I heard my father tell my older brother many times. He used to say, you can take the cat out of the forest but you can't take the forest out of the cat."

"Hmm." Van answered.

"Mmm, as much as she loves you and believe me Lord Van, she does love you. I don't know if she's ready to leave them behind, at least not yet. Perhaps in a few years, when she's finished school and is ready to leave her family and start life out on her own. Then maybe she'll be willing to come to Gaea permanently." She finished. "That is assuming you'll be willing to wait that long for her." She added, listening very carefully for his answer.

Without hesitation Van replied. "I'd wait all eternity for her if I had to."

Merle made no visible movement from what Van could see as she squeezed her eyes tightly shut trying to stop the stream of tears rolling down her face. She forced a fake yawn and stretched her arms out over her head. "I guess I must be getting tired now. Well, goodnight Lord Van. I hope you sleep well." She scooted off the wall and headed for the stairs taking care to only show Van her back. She was staring down at the floor as she walked so he didn't notice the person standing at the doorway until she was almost upon her. She gave a small gasp when she noticed her, and quickly bowed low. "Sorry my Queen. I was just going to bed now. Goodnight." And she walked past Millerna.

"Goodnight Merle, pleasant dreams." The queen replied. 'Though I doubt you'll be having any of those anytime soon.' She looked on sadly as the catgirl walked past.

Facing forward once more, she saw Van looking at her. She smiled and walked up to him.

"How long were you there?" He asked.

"Long enough to hear you say you plan to ask Hitomi to marry you." She answered.

"You know you really should give this roof a name. Perhaps, eavesdroppers paradise." He teased.

"Perhaps you're right." She teased back.

"So what do you think? Do you think she'll want to wait like Merle believes or will she accept my offer and be my bride?" He asked.

Millerna walked past Van and turned to lean against the low wall. "It's difficult to say. Matters of the heart are hard to judge and when it comes to Hitomi, it's even more so. She can be very impulsive at times but over all she is very well grounded. She doesn't seek her identity in others like I did but she does want to be loved. Just as we all do."

"That doesn't answer my question." Van pointed out.

Millerna gave a coy smile. "No, it doesn't. And the only way you'll truly get an answer to your question is if you ask her."

Van gave her a teasing glare. "Millerna, every the diplomat."

"It comes with the crown." She smiled back.

They remained silent for several minutes when a very serious expression crossed over Millerna's face. "Van, have you considered the consequences of marrying Hitomi?"

"Consequences?" Van looked over at her.

"Well, you are the most eligible monarch in Gaea. If you haven't already received offers of alliance through marriage, I'm sure you will soon. How will some of your prospective alleys respond if you choose to marry someone from another world who can bring you no political or economic gain?" She asked.

"Millerna, I'm surprised you of all people would suggest I marry for political gain." He responded angrily.

"That's not what I'm saying. I would never suggest such a thing. All I am saying is are you ready to handle the repercussions, and believe me there will be repercussions, if you do marry Hitomi." She clarified.

After considering her words, the king replied. "My father was in a similar position and chose to follow his heart and married a draconian, my mother. Am I any less a man than my father?"

Millerna smiled again. "Merle is right. Hitomi would be a fool not to want to marry you. And I don't believe her to be a fool." She stood up straight, stepped over to him and kissed Van on the cheek. "Goodnight King Van."

Van smiled back. "Goodnight Queen Millerna. Sleep well."

With that the queen headed down to her chambers. A few minutes later the king of Fanelia did the same.

~~~

It took Merle nearly two hours to cry herself to sleep and for the next three hours she slept peacefully until she started dreaming. It was an old dream, one she cherished and held onto fondly for many years. In her dream she was seventeen, past the age of progression. She was a woman now, strong and beautiful. In her dream she wore a long white gown and vale, and held in her hands a bouquet of white roses. She stood at the altar of the grand cathedral in Fanelia and beside her was Van in his finest dress armor. The bishop spoke words of union and commitment but she heard none of them. She was lost in her lover's eyes. She said the words she was supposed to say and performed the rituals that were required in a marriage but it was all a blur. The only words she heard clearly were his instructions to Van, "You may kiss your bride."

With that her king lifted her vale and leaned forward to press his lips to hers. She closed her eyes but this time it was different. In times past, she would swear she actually felt Van's lips press up against hers. When she was younger, sometimes the sensation was so strong that it woke her and she would slip out of her room and head to Van's room just to make sure he hadn't slipped out and actually kissed her during the night. To her inevitable disappointment, she always found him fast asleep. But this time she felt no such pressure on her lips and as she opened her eyes she found she was no longer standing next to her true love but instead was in the first pew watching Van kissing Hitomi who was now in the long white gown.

"NOOOO!!!" She screamed as she shot up right in her bed. It took her several minutes to get her breathing under control. 'Just a dream. That's all it was, just a dream.' "But for how much longer." She sank back into her bed and sighed. "Damn you Hitomi. Now you even invade my dreams." She pulled her pillow out from under her head and clutched it to her chest. "Why couldn't you let me have Lord Van for just a few more years? Why'd you have to steal his heart away so soon?" She sighed once again. "If I were past the age of progression, I might have stood a chance. I might have been able to compete against you for Lord Van's affections but now. He still sees me as a child." Her tears began falling again. "It's not fair. It's just not fair."

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AN: B_R my friend, this angst's for you. ^.^ I know, not much V/H in this one but in the overall scheme of things, Merle does play an important part. And the title of the story doesn't only refer to V/H's love for each other. Well, the voyage home starts in the next chapter. I hope to have it posted before the end of the week but we shall see. Hope you liked this chapter.

A. Amishi