All you need is Love, Isn't it? Chapter 100, an escaflowne fanfic

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

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

Chapter 100

From Ruhm's porch Hitomi watched the early morning mist slowly burn away with the approaching sun.

"Its so beautiful here," she whispered with a smile, shivering suddenly.

"You'll catch a death of cold child." Dorha draped a heavy blanket over the girl's shoulders.

"Thank you so much, for everything." Hitomi smiled up at her.

"Nonsense; as far as I'm concerned, Van is family and that means you're family too." The stout woman gently ran her hand over the girl's back to help her warm up.

Hitomi smiled sadly. "Thank you. I just hope I'm worthy of it. I've made a mess of so many things."

"Child, Van loves you." Dorha smiled. "And you love him?"

"With all my heart."

"That's all that really matters. Everything else will work itself out, you'll see."

Hitomi smiled, feeling a bit more hopeful than she had in days.

"Now, come inside. Breakfast is almost ready."

Hitomi nodded and followed her inside.

(000)

Van cleared the forest and saw a Basram ship anchored about a hundred cubits off shore. Dismounting, Van reached into his saddlebag and pulled out an energist. He walked up to the shoreline and held it high over his head. A few seconds later, the stone began to glow brightly, suddenly, a flash of light shot high into the air.

A few moments later, a flare shot up from the ship and one of its boats was lowered to the water.

Van lowered the energist and covered it with a dark cloth. Slowly, the light faded until it returned to its natural green hue. He walked over to his horse and placed it back in the saddlebag. "Ready to go for a swim boy?" He patted the beast, and then began removing its saddle.

Several minutes later the boat pulled up on shore and two soldiers jumped out. "King Van?"

"I am." He held up his sheathed sword, and drew out the blade, just enough for the soldiers to see the royal crest.

They went down on one knee. "Your Majesty." Upon rising, the senior officer informed the king. "The Prime Minister awaits you aboard his ship, if you'll come with us?" He gestured to the boat.

"Will you be able to get my horse on board?" the king asked.

"Yes, my Lord. That shouldn't be a problem."

The two soldiers loaded Van's things aboard the boat, and pushed it back into the water.

"Come ! Come here boy!" Van called out. The stallion walked up to the shoreline and turned from side to side, then stepped away.

"Come on???! It's all right!"

Bobbing his head up and down several times, the horse slowly walked up to the water once again and cautiously stepped in.

The soldiers waited till the horse drew near to the boat, then they started rowing towards the ship. Van kept a hand near the water to coax his horse on.

"That's a good boy."

A few minutes later, they pulled up next to the ship. A sailor, holding one end of a net, jumped into the water and quickly swam under the horse, then he scurried up a rope ladder, which hung from the side of the ship, and connected the two ends to a rope and pulley. Van waited till his steed was safely aboard before boarding the ship himself.

"Lord Van! It's good to see you again." Minister Vallentii offered his king a hand up.

"Sir Vallentii, you're in good spirits." Van gave is minister a firm handshake.

"I have reason to be." The Minister of State gestured towards the captain's quarters. "Things could not have gone better for us if we had planned it all out ourselves. The Prime Minister is this way."

Entering the captain's quarters that were serving as the Prime Minister's quarters, the Fanelia Minister of State announced his king's arrival. "Prime Minister, allow me to introduce to you, King Van Fanel."

The tall, lean, middle-aged man, who had been in the process of pouring himself a drink, set the glass down and walked up the young king and bowed. "Your Majesty, it is a great pleasure to finally meet the true hero of the Great War."

Van returned the gesture. "The pleasure is all mine, Prime Minister."

"Please, gentleman, have a seat." He gestured towards the chairs in front of the large table in the middle of the room. "May I offer you a drink?" He grabbed two more glasses and began to pour.

"Thank you, Prime Minister Falco," Van acknowledged.

The Prime Minister handed each man a glass. "Come Van, we are both leaders of men, of countries. No reason to stand on formality. Just call me Wallace. May I call you Van?"

"By all means." Van took a drink. "Hmm, this tastes familiar." He took another drink. "Rice wine, from Cesario."

The Prime Minister smiled. "Your Minister Beckett introduced me to it. I must say; it has become my drink of choice." He sat across from the young king.

Van took one last drink then set the glass down on the table. "To be honest, I was more then a little surprised, and pleased, to receive word that you wanted to meet so soon after Sir Beckett's duel with General Dowfin. I hope this is a sign of future relations between our two countries."

"I hope so as well, Van, but we mustn't be too hasty. The fact that this meeting needed to be held in secret is an indication that Basram still needs time to recover from the loss of one of its heroes, mad as he was." The tall man took another drink. "Still, things are moving in the right direction. The truth of the General's intentions has swayed public opinion faster than even I anticipated. For this reason, I felt the time was right for us to meet, face to face."

Van nodded.

The Prime Minister continued, "Vallentii informed me that you are considering utilizing the approach developed by the Asturian engineers. From what my engineers tell me, it is a sound approach. The only problem is raising the water high enough at the entry point of the aqueduct. I believe we've come up with a solution to this problem." Falco rose and walked to the back of the room, placing his hands upon a long tarp covered object. "My engineers call it an elevation screw." He pulled the tarp off.

Van and his minister rose and walked over to inspect the device.

"This is just a scaled down model of course," the Prime Minister elaborated. "The actual working model would need to be about four to five times this size. A third of the screw would be immersed in water and as it turns, the water will rise within this portion of the screw cavity. Of course the devise needs to be incased in a cylinder and in order to get a sufficient flow of water, you'll need approximately five rows of twenty screws, at least. A single drag-energist should be sufficient to power all the screws."

"Amazing," Van's minister whispered.

Falco smiled, then looked towards the young king. "Well Van, what do you think?"

"How quickly can we get some in order to test?" He ran his hand over the device.

The Prime Minister grinned. "We have five, full size, on board along with the cylinder housing and the motor needed to power it. You'll need to supply the energist."

Van turned to face the Prime Minister. "And the cost?"

Again, Falco smiled. "Let's consider this payment for services rendered, but if you find this solution to your problem acceptable, then I'm sure terms that will prove acceptable to both our countries can be reached by our trade ministers."

Van nodded and extended his hand. "I'm sure you're right Wallace, and I hope this will be the start of a long and prosperous relationship between our peoples."

Accepting the king's hand in friendship, the Prime Minister replied, "I'm sure it will, Van. I'm sure it will."

(000)

Hitomi sat up against the trunk of the large tree in the middle of the village square with a pillow under her knee and her arm secured to her side. Around her were dozens of children listening intently as she shared with them fairytales from her youth.

"And that's how they became the twelve symbols of the zodiac, on the Mystic Moon of course." She smiled.

The children clapped and laughed. "Another one! Another one! Please tell us another story! Please! Please!"

Dorha stood up from the side and clapped her hands to get their attention. "Now children, Lady Hitomi needs her rest. She needs to get well so she can return to the castle."

"Aaaahhh! Just one more, please! Pleeease!"

"Well, maybe just one more." Hitomi smiled, stopping Dorha's protest before it could pass her lips.

The wife of the Wolfen leader sighed but smiled. "All right, just one more, but then you children need to go off and do your chores."

"Okay, okay." They clapped and focused their attention on the girl from the Mystic Moon.

Hitomi smiled, then thoughtfully tapped her chin, trying to come up with another story to tell. "Well, on the Mystic Moon, there is a large and wondrous land called China, where all the animals from the zodiac live. In the land of China, there is a Great Wall which stretches for hundreds and hundreds, even thousands of meters… ah, cubits, I mean." Hitomi smiled sheepishly. "Remember I told you about the rat, from the zodiac. Now the rat is a very smart creature, and very demanding as well. He is a perfectionist and always wants the very best for himself and his family. Well, this story took place many, many years ago. Now in that time, the leader of the rat clan was Prince Yuki and his wife was named Tohru and they made their home like all the really smart rats, in the Great Wall. Now Yuki and Tohru were very much in love and born from the fruit of their love was a daughter, they named Kagura. Because of their great love for each other and for their daughter, Kagura became a very beautiful and well-mannered girl who grew into an even more beautiful and elegant young lady.

"So the day came when Yuki decided it was time for his daughter to get married. Back in those days, the parents of a young lady would choose a husband for their daughter. So Yuki and Tohru went about trying to find a suitable husband for their precious girl. 'Who would make the best husband for our daughter?' Yuki asked. 'It has to be someone very special for our daughter, for she is the most beautiful, and elegant lady in all the land.' Tohru replied. 'Yes, so the one we pick must be the very best for our daughter,' Yuki agreed.

"Yuki and Tohru thought and thought, and finally Tohru said, 'We should ask the sun to marry our daughter. The sun warms all the world and makes the plants grow. Surely, the sun is the best choice for our daughter.' 'Yes. The sun is the very best.' Yuki agreed, so the two went out into the field to speak with the sun. 'Mister Sun, please, will you speak with us?' Yuki asked. 'Yes Mister Rat,' the sun replied." Hitomi said forcing her voice as deep as she could. The children laughed. This brought a smile to the emerald-eyed girl's face. "Standing up tall on his back legs, Yuki spoke, "Mister Sun our daughter, Kagura, is of marrying age, and is the most beautiful and elegant young woman in all the land. She deserves the best husband available. Would you be willing to marry our precious daughter, since you are the best choice in all the land?'

"The sun blushed from the complement. 'You honor me, Mister Rat and I would be more than happy to marry your daughter, but I am not the best in all the land. You see, no matter how brightly I shine, the clouds are able to block my light. Clouds bring much needed shade to the land and are able to drink up the waters from the seas without its salt and bring that water to the land. No, I am not the best choice for your daughter; Mister Cloud is the best choice by far.' Yuki and Tohru thought it over and agree, 'Yes, Mister Cloud would be the best choice for a husband for our daughter.' So they thanked the sun and went up onto the highest mountain to speak with Mister Cloud."

Hitomi used her good arm to show the rats climbing the side of an imaginary mountain. Several of the children laughed and clapped. 'Mister Cloud! Mister Cloud, our daughter Kagura is of marrying age, and is the most beautiful and elegant young woman in all the land. She deserves the best husband available. Would you marry our precious daughter, since you are the best choice in all the land?'

"The giant cloud which moved slowly by the mountain answered, 'You honor me Mister Rat, and I would be more than happy to marry your daughter, but I am not the best in all the land. You see, while I bring shade and rain to the land, it is the wind that moves me. I cannot decide for myself where to go. Only the wind is able to do so. So you see, I am not the best choice for your daughter, Mister Wind is the best choice by far.'

"Yuki and Tohru thought it over and agreed, 'Yes, Mister Wind would be the best choice for a husband for our daughter.' So they thanked the cloud and went up the tallest tree, making sure to hold on tight so Mister Wind wouldn't blow them off." Hitomi rocked side to side, and the children and even their parents, who had started to gather behind them, laughed. "Mister Wind! Mister Wind, our daughter Kagura is of marrying age, and is the most beautiful and elegant young woman in all the land. She deserves the best husband available. Would you marry our precious daughter, since you are the best choice in all the land?' Mister Wind blew hard for a second then calmed to a gentle breeze. 'You honor me Mister Rat, and I would be happy to marry your daughter, but I am not the best in all the land. For no matter how hard I blow, I cannot blow down the Great Wall. Hard as I try, and I have tried, I cannot move the Wall even one small bit. The Wall stands firm and strong always, in sun, in the rain, in the wind. No, I am not the best, by far the Wall is the best.' Yuki and Tohru both agreed, 'Yes, the Wall is the best. That is why we made our home there.' So they thanked the wind and went to talk to the Great Wall.

Hitomi held her arm up at a ninety-degree angle and balled her hand into a fist. "Now the Great Wall was the strong, silent type." She made a long face and stared at her arm, then glanced at the children who began to laugh. She smiled and went on. 'Mister Wall, our daughter Kagura is of marrying age, and is the most beautiful and elegant young woman in all the land. She deserves the best husband available. Would you marry our precious daughter, since you are the best choice in all the land?' Then they waited, because the Great Wall never rushed to an answer." Hitomi looked up at her arm, which she still held up, and waited. One by one, each child giggled as their storyteller sat quietly staring at her arm. Their light giggles slowly turned into collective laughter that eventually died down. When it grew quiet again, Hitomi went on. 'Well, I am honored by your offer, Mister Rat, but I am not the best in the land. You rats are far better than me. While it is true, I stand unmoving for thousands of cubits, you rats tunnel under me, and even dig out homes in my very stones. I am defenseless against you. You rats are by far the best in all the land.' Hitomi lowered her arm.

"Yuki and Tohru looked at each other in shock and wonder. 'The Great Wall is right, we rats are the best above all, but then who among we rats should marry our precious daughter?' As the two walked home, they saw Kagura out fetching water from the well, and Kyo, their neighbor who was Kagura's childhood friend, by her side, helping her with the pail. Tohru turned to her husband and said, 'Look at them Yuki. See how they look at each other, just like we did when we were young. See how caring and kind Kyo is to our daughter and how gentle and sweet Kagura is in return.' Yuki nodded, 'Yes, perhaps Kagura has already chosen the best for herself.' So Yuki and Tuhro asked Kyo if he would take their daughter's hand in marriage and he happily agreed, and in a simple ceremony, on top of the Great Wall with the sun, the clouds and the wind as their witnesses, Kagura and Kyo were married and lived happily ever after."

Everyone clapped and cheered. Slowly, one by one, the children cried out, "Another one! Another one!" Hitomi laughed and smiled happily.

The parents coaxed the children up and herded them home.

With her three children at her side, Dohra helped Hitomi to her feet while her eldest son handed the girl from the Mystic Moon the cane Ruhm had made for her. "Here you are Lady Hitomi." He smiled.

"Thank you Rahm." She took the cane and smiled.

"Where did you learn so many great stories?" Dohra's youngest daughter, Zohria, who was only four asked.

"From my mother and grand-mother, my grand-mother mostly."

Dharma, who was seven, picked up the pillow and forced her way between Hitomi and her older brother, giving him a light nudge and an innocent smile when he snarled at her. Smiling up at their houseguest she said, "I think the last one was my favorite. Kagura must have been really beautiful, and really sweet and special for her parents to go to all that trouble to find her the best husband they could find."

"Yeah," Rahm agreed, sarcastically. "Beautiful… for a rat." He snickered.

"At least she wasn't ugly like you," Dharma shot back, clutching the pillow tightly.

"You're the ugly one. Ugly," he shouted at his sister.

"I am not, you are!" she retaliated.

"Ugly!"

"You're ugly!"

"Ugly!"

"Enough!" Dohra raised her voice. "Rahm, behave yourself. You're the oldest, act like it."

The boy lowered his head. "Yes mamma."

Dharma stuck her tongue out at her brother in triumph, but her apparent victory was short lived.

"Dharma, do you think Princess Kagura would act like that?" her mother asked.

The seven-year old lowered her head and answered sheepishly. "No mamma."

Hitomi gave a concerned look over to their mother, who responded with a wink and a smile. The emerald-eyed girl smiled in return as they made their way home.

(000)

Later that night, Hitomi lay sleeplessly in bed, her eyes gazing out the window at the stars. 'I wonder if Van is looking up at the stars tonight?' Her stomach grumbled. "Huh, that roast was so heavy. Maybe a glass of milk will help settle my stomach?" Gingerly she eased herself out of bed and grabbed her robe.

While the wolvens tended to keep later hours then she did, she still didn't want do disturb anyone with the clacking of the cane, so she pressed her hand against the wall for support and walked slowly towards the kitchen.

Though they had the additional bedroom, it was tradition among the wolven clan for the children to share a room until they reached maturity and were ready to be on their own. As Hitomi came close to the children's room she could hear Dohra putting them to bed.

"Will Lady Hitomi be with us much longer, mamma?"

"Not much longer, her leg is healing nicely and Lord Van will be missing her if she does not return soon."

"Oh," the two girls sighed sadly.

"You like Lady Hitomi?"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah! She's nice, and she tells really nice stories."

"Stories we've never heard before."

"Well, she is from the Mystic Moon. So I guess there are lots of stories from there we've never heard before. What about you Rahm, do you like Lady Hitomi?"

"Well… yeah… I mean…"

"He thinks Lady Hitomi is pretty."

"Rahm is in love with Lady Hitomi."

"Rahm's in love, Rahm's in love."

Hitomi blushed.

"Shut up!"

"All right that's enough. Rahm, don't yell at your sisters. Dharma, Zohria, don't tease your brother."

"Yes mamma."

"Mother, what do you think that last story Lady Hitomi told was really about? I mean, the rats didn't really talk to the sun and the wind and the clouds, did they?"

"Of course they did. Lady Hitomi wouldn't lie to us."

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm sure Lady Hitomi didn't lie, but… well, you see, there are stories that are called fairytales. These are stories meant to teach a lesson about life and sometimes to do that the stories are made more fantastic then real life."

"So Lady Hitomi lied?"

"No, I'm sure she told the story the way she heard it from her mother and grand-mother."

"So what was that story trying to teach?"

"Well… I think, maybe it was trying to show how sometimes we think other things and other places are better than what we already have, but when you consider all things carefully, often the best place you can be is right where you are."

"Like here in Arzas?"

"Yes Rahm, like here in Arzas. Some may think going someplace like Fanelia Castle or even to other countries like Asturia or Cesario might be better than here, but here in Arzas we have bountiful fields, lush forests, plenty of fresh water, and all the people we love and who love us. What more could anyone want in life?"

"I love it here in Arzas, mamma. I'm never going to leave."

"I'm glad Zohria."

"Now, bedtime."

Hitomi continued down the hall.

Sitting at the kitchen table Hitomi stared at her glass of milk, her thoughts far from her upset stomach.

"Couldn't sleep?" Dohra walked in the room.

Hitomi sighed and shook her head.

"If you're hungry I can make you something." She headed towards the cupboard.

"No, that's all right. Actually my stomach is just a little upset. That's why I woke up." Hitomi slowly running her hand up and down the side of the glass.

Dohra smiled and turned to sit across from her guest. "I suppose foxan roast takes a little getting used to."

Hitomi blushed, "Sorry."

"No need to apologize." She studied the young teen's expression. "But there's something else troubling you, isn't there?"

"Well, …" Hitomi looked away. "I overheard you talking with the children and your explanation of the story I told."

"Oh?" Dohra's smile faded just a bit. "Was I close in my interpretation?"

"Well… I guess so. I mean, when I told the story I really wasn't thinking of the meaning behind it, though thinking back now, I guess that is what my grandmother said it was about, not truly appreciating what you have until it is pointed out to you by others." Hitomi looked over at Dohra and looked away. "But… well, the way you related it to what's happening here in the village…"

"Yes?"

"Well… I wasn't trying to say anything about that, one way or the other." She paused. "And… well, to tell you the truth, I don't really see what's so wrong about letting people decide for themselves where they want to live." Hitomi looked up for a moment, but seeing Dohra's serious expression, she immediately cast her eyes down. "I'm sorry, I know this is none of my business."

"On the contrary, if you are to be our queen some day, it is very much your business."

Hitomi looked up again, and by the dim candlelight, could tell that while Dohra's expression was serious, it was not one of anger. The stout woman smiled softly at her. "Hitomi, ours is a simple way of life. We tend to our fields and we sheer our sheep, but we supply a valuable service to the kingdom. Without our goods Fanelia would be much less self-sufficient, and without our young people to insure the next generation, the existence of not only our village and clan falls into doubt but the future of Fanelia as a whole becomes clouded. Is it better to put an entire kingdom at jeopardy for the whims of an impetuous generation?"

Hitomi shifted her gaze back and forth from her glass of goat's milk and her hostess but said nothing.

"Is this what led to your injuries?" Dohra asked softly. "Did you and Van get in a fight over the bridge?"

The teen looked up abruptly. "No! I mean it wasn't a fight. Van would never hurt me. But…." She lowered her head. "We argued and I ran away. He tried to stop me. He tried to apologize but I wouldn't listen and I ran off a cliff.

Dohra nodded her understanding. "Lord Van is in a very difficult position. On the one hand, the faster our goods can get to market in Fanelia Castle the better it is for all of Fanelia. On the other hand, if we lose too many of our people to the lure of the big city our ability to produce these goods goes way down. There is no easy solution and however Lord Van chooses to solve this dilemma I'm sure there will be people left unhappy by his decision. But that is the responsibility of a king. To make the hard choices and deal with the consequences."

"And what is the responsibility of a queen?" Hitomi whispered under her breath.

Dohra considered the question for a moment. "Well… you may not want to hear this but it's not to give advice. A king already has ministers and advisors to do that. No, rather it is to provide him quiet support and a place where he can get away from the affairs of state for a time. And if you see that his advisors are not doing their job, then gently, casually pose a question or two. Make him think about things in a way he may never have considered before. By doing this a queen demonstrates true wisdom."

"But what if I'm not able to do that?" The shorthaired girl's eyes pleaded for an answer.

Dohra smiled, "My dear, I know of no queen who has ever achieved true wisdom of this manner, but it is something that they all must strive for. Whether you achieve it is not up to you to decide but rather for the generations that follow."

Hitomi sat back in the chair and sighed.

The wife of the wolven clan leader watched the youth intently as the girl pondered her words. After several minutes she asked, "How is your stomach feeling now?"

Hitomi's eyes widened slightly from the unexpected question. She looked down at herself before answering. "Better, I guess it wasn't the roast that made it upset in the first place." She stared at the glass.

"I'll take care of it, don't you worry." The woman smiled.

The girl gave a nod, then gingerly rose to her feet using her good hand for support on the table.

"Where is your cane?"

"I left it in the room. I didn't want to make too much noise this late at night."

"Here…" Dohra stood up. "Let me help you."

"That's okay, I can manage." Hitomi assured her as she limped her way towards her room. "By the way…"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you. I'll do my best to learn how to be wise." Hitomi smiled.

"I know you will child. I know you will." Dohra watched with a concerned eye as Hitomi made her way down the hall to her bedroom, then she turned and picked up the glass, depositing its contents in the dog's bowl and washing it in the basin.

Hitomi lay down carefully, sighing from the effort. She stared out the window, up at the stars and smiled, "Van, I'll do my best to make myself into a good queen, a wise queen, someday. But now, I have my own Kyo to marry.

(To be Continued)

AN: Sorry for the incredibly long delay. I needed to do some research into Japanese folktales and… well, to be honest I started watching Fruits Basket and absolutely fell in love with it. Only seen the first 12 episodes so far, but what I've seen I've really, really enjoyed. So I took the folktale and modified it with the characters from FB, except they are all rats in Hitomi's story and I added the part about the wall being the Great Wall of China. Seemed to fit since the zodiac is the Chinese Zodiac. It took a fair amount of searching in order to find a story that would also work with the dilemma at Arzas.

Another area of research was the Archimedes screw. Archimedes was a Roman born in Syracuse, Sicily in 287 BC and was educated in Alexandria, Egypt, dying in Syracuse between 212 and 211 BC. He was called the Father of integral calculus and the Father of mathematical physics. While the more advanced forms of pumping water existed during the renaissance, which is the era Gaea is most often compared to, using the Archimedes screw seemed like a better, cleaner fit.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and found it worth the wait. I'd like to take a moment to thank my new beta-reader, CrimsonH. While I wish I could still work with Janice, I haven't heard from her in so long, I just didn't know what else to do. CrimsonH, thanks so much for all your hard work on this chapter. And Janice, I hope I hear from you soon.

A. Amishi