Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.
Escaflowne: All you need is Love, Isn't it?
Chapter 34
Third day at sea
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Hitomi stood along the starboard side of the Lady Vari searching for the twin moons of Gaea. While the seas had been calm the past three days, the skies had been overcast so she hadn't been able to track the course of the moons. This, along with Merle's refusal to talk to her had the teen from the Mystic Moon a little on edge. The last thing she wanted was to hurt her friend's feelings and the last thing he wanted to have happen to her friend was anything that would endanger her life. She had already failed on the first and she was determined to see that the second didn't happen as well. But the skies were not cooperating. She could not tell if the storm she had previously predicted was days or perhaps only hours away.
'Without the moons to use as a reference, I have no idea when the storm will arrive.' She sighed in frustration.
"Thirsty?" A familiar voice asked.
Turning she saw Van smiled down at her holding a glass of water. "Thank you." She accepted the glass and took a sip.
"Still trying to find the moons?" He inquired.
She just nodded and looked out over the horizon once again. "How is Merle doing?"
"Well, I finally got her to eat something today." He admitted. "I never thought getting Merle to eat could be such a choir."
"It's all my fault. I promised to keep my feelings for you in check out in public and what do I do? I kiss you in front of thousands of people, not to mention Merle. Some friend I am."
"Don't do this to yourself Hitomi." Van told her. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"But I promised…" She tried to reason.
Grabbing her by the shoulders, he turned the girl to make her face him. "Do you love me?"
She gasped. "Of course I do Van. You know I love you."
"And I love you Hitomi. What happened between us was inevitable. There was nothing you could do to prevent it. It was going to happen sooner or later." He pulled her into an embrace. "Merle is just going to have to learn how to except it. She already said she has but she's just been fooling herself. It won't be easy for her but I know Merle. She'll get through it."
Lifting he head to look into Van's eyes, she responded. "How can you be so harsh? Don't you care what happens to Merle?"
"Of course I care. Merle and I have been together for nearly as long as I can remember." He told her. "But I'm not about to hide my feelings for you, not for Merle's sake, not for anyone's sake."
Hitomi rested the side of her face on his chest and closed her eyes. "I suppose you're right. I just feel like I've betrayed my friendship with her is all."
"You did what you could for as long as you could. No one can ask more."
Smiling to herself, she tightened her hold on him. "When did you become so very wise my King?"
Van smiled, kissed to top of her head and rested his cheek upon it. "Comes with the title."
They stood there in silence for several minutes before Van spoke. "There they are."
"What?" She whispered.
"The moons of Gaea." He clarified.
Hitomi spun around in his arms to see what he was looking at. Sure enough, the clouds cleared just enough to make the two moons of Gaea visible low along the horizon. "Oh my god… it's coming. It's coming any minute now." Turning to face the king once again, she spoke with the utmost urgency. "It's coming! We've got to get the ships ready for the storm now!"
"Are you sure?" He looked up at the sky and at the calm waters. "Perhaps we missed the storm already."
"No Van. Trust me, its coming. It may be too late already." She warned, her eyes pleading for his trust.
Looking into her eyes, he knew from experience not to question her any further. "Very well, go down below. I'll warn the captain and have him notify the other ships as well."
She nodded her agreement and she started heading down to her quarters, two decks below. Van ran up to the quarterdeck to warn the ship's master.
"Storm?" The captain looked all about. "I'm afraid your Majesty must be suffering from nightmares. These seas are as calm as newborn baby calf. There hasn't been a storm in these waters in…" The captain's words dead in his mouth as a strong warm wind blew across the ship. "Maybe you're right your Majesty." Turning to his first officer he commanded. "Number One, send a message to the other ships. Tell them to batten down the hatches and prepare for a storm."
"Captain?" The first-mate give his commander a questioning stare.
"A White Squall is coming." Explained the captain then yelled out to the rest of his men. "Batten down the hatches, secure the rigging; we're in for a real blow boys."
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AN: Well, I didn't end up working on the bedroom. Instead we worked on the front and back yard. I hate gardening. But what the taskmaster (I mean my wife) wants she gets. ^_^ BBQ wasn't bad. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and for those of you in the states, like me, I hope you had an enjoyable Memorial Day. Updates may be coming a little slow for a while but I promise to do at least one per week. I'll try to do more but I've got a lot on my plate right now, including editing a few stories that I'll be adding to my website soon.
As always, thank you for your comments and words of encouragement. I hope you enjoy these next few chapters.
A. Amishi