Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Escaflowne: All you need is love, isn't it?

Chapter 75

Fanelia Castle

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Van lay staring up at his ceiling, just as he had each night for the past two weeks. This night, he hadn't been able to sleep even for a few minutes. His mind was consumed with thoughts of the young woman he so desperately loved. As daybreak began to chase away the darkness that covered the forest behind the castle, he slowly sat up on his bed. As he rose, his gaze shifted from the ceiling to the wall across from his bed. There hung a painting of his mother and father that had previously hung in their room. He stared at it for several long minutes, studying the images of his parents. The painting had been made long before he was born, during their first year of marriage. In it his father looks so young and handsome, many years older than Van, but still quite young. His mother looks so very beautiful and refined.

"Did you love mother so very much that you couldn't bare ever being apart from her father? Did she occupy every moment of your thoughts, both when you were awake and even when you were asleep? How can I manage to rule a kingdom when she is all I can think of? She fills my heart, my very soul. I thought I'd learned how to cope. I thought I could bare our separation, but I can't. Each day it just gets worse and worse. I wish she was here with me right now, but I know she has responsibilities back in her world. I'd hoped she would at least try to contact me, but she hasn't and I've been unable to contact her." Looking down at himself, he sighed. "I didn't even remember to change out of my clothes… again."

Slowly, he swung his feet off the bed and pulled his boots on, then walked out the door and down the hall.

Carefully, he opened the door to Hitomi's chambers. Van walked into the dark room and immediately made his way to the large bay window. Undoing the latch, he opened the windows all the way allowing the early morning sunlight to pour into the room. Looking out over his city he wondered, 'What did you feel each time you looked out this window Hitomi? Did it make you happy to be here? Did it make you miss your own world, your own city?'

He sighed, and turned around and walked over to the bed. Sitting on the side of it, he looked down at the vacant pillow and mattress. 'It seems like just yesterday Hitomi laid down to sleep here after returning to me the last time.' In his mind's eye he could picture her as if she lay motionless on the bed. As clear as day he saw her, her gentle, peaceful face resting on the pillow and her short sandy-colored hair framing her delicate features. He could see her small hands resting in his; her slender but strong body resting on its side; her ribs and torso rising and falling ever so slightly with every breath she took. Casting his eyes further down the length of the bed, he could see her long trim legs resting one upon the other with only a slight bend at the knees and her small, delicate looking feet. He smiled. "You have such cute little feet Hitomi."

Gradually, Van rose from the bed, walking around it as he headed toward the dresser. Running his hand across the top of it, he looked at the few items she left behind, strange looking items that he didn't recognize. He picked a small plastic oblong container with a translucent cover. Pulling the cover off, he looked at the clear gelatin-like substance that was inside. He held it under his nose and gave it a whiff.

"Hmm, smells nice." He ran his index finger over it. "Funny, it's firm yet soft at the same time." He looked at his finger seeing that a small amount of the substance had rubbed off on it. Rubbing his index finger against his thumb, he noticed how the moist substance seemed to evaporate almost instantly, leaving his finger and thumb feeling very dry. "Hmm." Placing the cover back on, he set it back on the dresser. He continued down the length of the dresser, then walked over toward Hitomi's small vanity. Pulling out the chair, he sat down and rested his elbows on it, laying his chin in his hands. He looked into the mirror as if waiting for a secretly stored image of Hitomi to reveal itself to him, but all he saw was his own reflection. Looking down, he spotted the girl's hairbrush along with a few other items, but his attention was focused on the brush. For some reason unknown even to him, he could not take his eyes off the object. Then it occurred to him. He reached down and picked up the brush. Holding it close he saw one, then another. With his other hand, he began to pull from between the bristles of the brush strands of Hitomi's fine, sandy-brown hair. In all, he found twenty-four. He held them in his hand as if he had just found the world's most valuable treasure. In the recesses of his mind, a memory returned to him. A memory from a long time ago when he was still but a child and his parents were still alive. For reasons he could not remember, his parents had to go away to a neighboring kingdom. The thought of being without his mother for a prolong length of time pained the young boy, but before they left, his mother gave him a small gift.

"Here Van." She carefully tied what looked like a small braided string around his wrist.

"What is this mother?" The young prince asked.

"This is a bracelet I made from strands of my hair. I'm giving this to you to remind you that no matter where I go, I'm always close to you." Then she gently raised his hand to his chest. "And close to your heart." She smiled.

The boy looked down at his mother's gift and smiled. Throwing his arms around her neck, he held her tight and said, "Thank you mother. I'll keep it always."

The image faded and the recollection of how the bracelet frayed and broke off many years ago reminded him that nothing lasts forever, but the feeling of warmth and comfort created by that memory told him what he should do now.

Slowly, he set the brush back down and began lining up the strands evenly across his hand. Once he had them all lined up, he rolled them together and tied them together at one end. Then he separated them in thirds and began braiding them together. It was slow, meticulous work, but after a little over two hours Van completed his task. He tied the end off, then tied the two ends together. Looking up from his handiwork, he glanced over the table and saw a very small pair of scissors. Picking them up, he snipped off the loose hair at the ends then set the scissors down and slid the ring he just made onto his middle finger. Looking at it brought a smile to his face for the first time since his true love returned to her home world. As he got up from the chair and took one last look around the room, he said. "I'll be waiting for you, Hitomi." Then he walked out the door. Just as he turned down the hall a maid came walking up.

"Yes, is there something you need?" The young king asked.

Bowing deeply, the young maid replied. "No, your Majesty. I am simply here to tend to the Lady Hitomi's room."

"Really? I don't recall giving such instructions." He questioned, though now that he thought about it, it seemed to make perfect sense.

"No your Majesty. Miss Merle instructed us to do so on a daily basis, so as to keep the room ready whenever the Lady Hitomi may return." She explained. "Does my Lord wish me to stop this practice?"

"No, no, not at all. Miss Merle did well in instructing you so. Please, go right ahead." He smiled, and then walked on by, certain that today was going to be a good day.

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AN: Sorry for the long delay in posting a new chapter. It would have been even longer, but in order to get something updated soon, I decided to return to my original format of keeping the chapters short so I could update more frequently. I have much more planned for the next chapter but that would have taken much longer to write and with as many requests as I've received asking for another update, I decided this approach was best. I hope you enjoyed this look into the heart of the king. And just in case you missed it, this takes place only two weeks after Hitomi left, so she is still in the middle of her summer track practices. If all goes well, I'll be posting another chapter in a day or two. It may be a bit longer than this one but not much.

As always, I want to thank everyone who took the time to review my last chapter. I felt I was taking a risk not having either Van or Hitomi in it but I felt as if it was a risk worth taking. From your reviews, I believe most of you agree with me. The duels will be revisited so plenty of action will be coming soon but not in the next chapter. The next chapter will pretty much pick up where this one leaves off.

Again, thank you for all your wonderful reviews. I love you all so very much. Thank you, thank you, thank you. ^_^

Oh, and I'd like to extend a very special thank you to my new beta-reader, Janice. Thank you so much Janice for all you help: your corrections, your suggestions, and your support. Thank you. ^_^

A. Amishi