Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

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

Chapter 86

Fanelia Castle

Van sat at the dining table in the terrace atop the castle, enjoying a light breakfast under the early morning Fanelia sky. With nothing on his agenda for the morning, the young king took his time while waiting for his dining companion to join him.

With the formal celebration of the Dragon Festival over, the more informal weeklong celebration had already gotten underway in the streets of the city and in the plaza. This was the part of the festival Van enjoyed the most, for it allowed him the opportunity to mix and mingle with his people and to share in their joy during the celebration. He especially enjoyed watching Merle. No one knew how to have fun during the festival as much as his young friend. The memory of Merle's antics at last year's festival, which had taken place just weeks before his coronation and the destruction of Fanelia, brought a smile to the young king's face.

Several minutes later, Merle came prancing out onto the terrace and leapt into her seat. "Good morning, Lord Van!" She smiled widely as she quickly got to work piling food onto her plate.

Van laughed silently as he reached for the pitcher of juice and filled her goblet. "Morning, Merle. I'm glad to see you so energetic this morning." He smiled back.

"Why wouldn't I be, Lord Van?" she asked with food in her mouth. "I'm always like this in the morning."

"Normally, yes, but after all the wine you drank last night, I half expected you to be laid up in bed with a hangover." He laughed.

"Oh, Lord Van, I didn't drink that much. Besides, I couldn't get a hangover even if I wanted to." She took a big drink from her goblet, then shoveled more food in her mouth.

Remembering the nature of her people, he let the topic go, choosing instead to serve himself a small helping of fruit salad.

"Eating light today, Lord Van?" Merle asked.

He nodded, choosing to wait until he finished what he had in his mouth before elaborating. A moment later he said, "I'm not all that hungry after all the food from the festival yesterday."

The catgirl laughed. "Eating all that food just makes me that much hungrier." She grinned.

"Yes, I see that." Van stared at her plate, then back up to her.

As Merle finished off her first serving of food, she took a long drink of her juice and wiped her mouth and chin with her napkin, then smiled up at her king.

Van smiled back.

Before she served herself more, a thought crossed her mind and she blushed slightly as she asked, "Oh, Lord Van?"

"Yes, Merle?" He looked up.

"Did you have one of the maids undress me last night?" she asked timidly.

Van responded quickly, "No, I did it myself. Don't worry, I had Sophia take your dress down to be cleaned. You should have it back by tomorrow."

Shifting her gaze to her empty plate, she continued, "Sssoo… y-you saw me… naked, that is?"

Placing another slice of fruit in his mouth, he nodded, causing the catgirl to blush a deep reddish-orange. Looking to reassure his young friend Van added, "It's okay, Merle. It's not like I haven't seen you naked before. Don't you remember? We used to bath together."

"Well… sure, Lord Van, but that was a long time ago," she countered.

Van smiled. "Don't worry, you haven't changed much since then."

A look of intense sadness crossed the catgirl's face. "I haven't?"

"Well…" Van pondered his response to best cheer up his long time friend. "You have gotten taller," he assured her, then reached out and ruffled her hair as he laughed mildly.

The young feline stared at her plate a moment longer before slowly sliding off her seat. "Excuse me, Lord Van," she said softly as she turned to leave.

"You're not done, are you, Merle? You haven't even had seconds yet." A look of amused confusion played across his face.

"I guess I wasn't as hungry as I thought I was." She gave him a weak smile, then exited the patio.

"Hmm… strange," Van whispered. 'Could I have upset her?' he considered, but before he could continue the thought, Sir Charson, his Minister of Trade, approached.

"Lord Van, I apologies for interrupting your morning meal, but a unique opportunity has arisen. If you have a moment, I can explain in detail," the minister said.

Looking back at the entryway once again, the young king considered his options. 'I'm sure she's fine. She'll feel better after we go to the festivities later. Perhaps I'll ask her what's troubling her. Sir Charson wouldn't be here now if this were not a matter of importance to my kingdom.' He gestured to the chair to his left. "Sit, Sir Charson, tell me of this opportunity you speak of."

Merle walked casually down the hall, smiling and greeting people as they passed. She skipped down the stairs to the floor where her chambers were and headed towards them. The closer she got, the faster she walked, until she finally broke out into a run. Reaching her room, she rushed in and locked the door behind her, then ran to her bed and threw herself upon it, weeping.

"You said I was beautiful last night, Lord Van," she whispered into her pillow, "but you still think I look like a child." Her sobs grew more intense. "And you're right. Why can't I be fifteen already? Why can't I be at the age of progression? Oh why? Why?"

AN: Sorry I took so long for such a short chapter, but I had to do some research of my own story in order to maintain consistency. I'm in the process now of creating a glossary listing all the characters, places, things, and events that occur so I don't have to search the entire story again.

I hope you liked it, and I have some very good news. Hitomi will be returning very soon. The next chapter will be her final race of the Fall season. Will her love for Van see her through the championship tournament? After that will be her final preparations for returning to Gaea and then….

Meanwhile, I'm still doing research on aqueducts and other man-made water diversions. If anyone has any real insight on these things, please share them with me. I could use all the help I can get. =P Just email me at

As always, thank you all so much for reading and reviewing my story. And a great big thank you to Janice for beta-reading my story and doing such a great job of it. Thank you all.

A. Amishi