Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

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

Chapter 46

Hitomi's Chambers in the Palace in Fanelia

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Van sat at the edge of the bed as Hitomi put the items in her bag, away. A faint smile crossed his face as he watched her take out one article of clothing after another. 'She's planning on staying for some time.' This thought warmed his heart as he took pleasure in just watching her sort things away. Each time she came back to the bag next to him, she smiled at him before retrieving another item. And each time he smiled back. As the number of items in the bag began to dwindle, Van stole a look over to it and eyed some of its contents. Seeing a strange looking package, he pulled it out of the bag.

"What are these?" He asked.

Hitomi turned and answered. "Those are called batteries. They are what give the CD player I gave Millerna for her coronation its power. I need to send those to her along with the new CDs I bought for her."

Setting the package back in the bag, he replied. "I'll be sure they get sent to her when our next ship leaves for Asturia in a week."

As he set the package in the bag his hand hit another item. This was a mid-sized box that appeared sealed still. Picking it up he looked it over several times. "What is in here?" He asked.

Having put the last pair of her socks away, she stood and turned to walk toward him when she saw what he had in his hands. "Don't look at that!" She screamed as she ran over to him and snatched the box from his hands.

"What's wrong?" Van responded in shock. "Is something wrong?"

"It-it's nothing." She turned beet-red with embarrassment. "It's just, these are feminine products. You shouldn't be looking at them." She turned away; too embarrassed to face him.

"Oh." 'Feminine products?' "Well, you must be tired. I'll leave you to rest and be back to get you in about an hour for breakfast. Alright?" He got off the bed and started walking for the door.

Quickly she placed the box in the top draw of the dresser, then ran over to him. "Please, don't go. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. Please don't leave."

Smiling at her, the king slowly raised his hand to her cheek. "I'm not angry Hitomi. You didn't upset me in anyway. I just thought you'd like some rest is all."

"Well, I would but… "

"What is it?"

"I can still hardly believe I'm actually here. I don't want to lay down by myself and find this was all just a dream when I wake." She replied sadly.

"Very well. I'll stay with you." He reassured her.

"Good." She said happily as leaned forward, rested her hands on his shoulders, lifted herself up on her toes and kissed him gently on the lips then she gave him a broad smile and darted back over to the bed as she quickly finished putting the rest of her things away.

Folding the empty duffel bag, she stuck it in the back of the bottom drawer and sighed with relief. "That's it." Then she smiled and walked around to the window-side of the bed where Van was sitting, watching her finish.

"You brought a lot of things this time." The king observed with a smile.

"Mmm," Hitomi sat on the bed and started taking off her socks and shoes. "I brought plenty of workout gear so I can train while I'm over here. Even Yukari thinks I'm good enough to make the first team squad if I train hard enough."

"Oh," A hint of disappointment crossed his face but he quickly recovered and moved the chair closer to the bed. "Well then, we'll just have to make sure you train very hard." He smiled.

Smiling back, the girl from the Mystic Moon laid on her side, resting her head on the pillow and smiled at the man she loved. She reached out with her right hand and Van took it into his. "I just need a little rest and I'll be fine." She said with sleepy eyes.

"Rest now. I'll be right here when you wake up." He promised.

Still smiling, her eyes slowly closed, as she whispered. "I love you Van."

"I love you Hitomi." He replied softly as she drifted off to sleep. Bending over, he kissed her hand and made slow circles over the back of it with his thumb. "I love you more than life itself."

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AN: Sorry for the shorter then usual chapter, but I need to work on some of my other fics but I didn't want to leave all of you high and dry for days. Thanks for all the wonderful comments for my last chapter. I'm glad you all liked it. You're words of encouragement are in inspiration to me.

You know, when I started this story, I thought, okay either I'll be writing this for the better part of the year or for just about a week depending on the responses I receive. With the last chapter, the number of reviews has passed 200. I am overwhelmed. I thank each and every one of you for taking the time to comment on my story. A fellow OLS ff writer said, after I observed that OLS seems to be a dried up source of readership for ff writers, that my Escaflowne fans have spoiled me with all their reviews. I guess he's probably correct but if this is how it feels to be spoiled. I'm loving every minute of it. ^____^

Thank you all.

A. Amishi