Love Across Time: Hidden Royalty

Chapter 6: Fire's Royal Family Returns

Disclaimer: I do not own Magic Knights Rayearth, just my story plot.

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Hikaru was dreaming of her shrine, and in her mind she looked around it. Coming into the center room she saw a man standing there. 'Who is he?' Her heart and mind told her that she knew this man very well. 'I have never seen him before,' she told herself, 'He is very handsome though.' She frowned slightly as he stood looking over her sword and armor. 'I wouldn't touch anything, Rayearth would easily have you for lunch.' The man pulled out a necklace, which he kissed and placed on her sword. 'That necklace?' Hikaru blinked and she suddenly found herself awake. No longer looking at her shrine, she was looking at her family's garden.

"Who?" she quietly asked the vegetation.

"Who what?" Hikaru jumped slightly at the sound of her eldest brother's voice.

"You startled me!" she chided as she stood up to greet him.

"Sorry," smiled Satoru. "Dinner is ready so, I came out to get you." Hikaru nodded and fell into step beside him. A few minutes passed and then he stopped and turned to her. "Hikaru, what were you thinking about out in the garden?"

Hikaru let a smile cross her lips at her brother's question. Ever since their father and mother died, Satoru had taken over the roles of both. Because of this, he was the only one of her older brothers that she felt she could talk to about really anything, and he wouldn't get weird on her. He was always looking out for their small family.

"Nothing really," she said as they continued to walk, "It was so comfortable out side that I fell asleep. I had a really strange dream though."

"Dream?" asked Satoru.

"Uh huh," said Hikaru absently.

"Was there a beautiful woman talking to you?"

Hikaru raised an eyebrow at her brother, "N-No. Why?" Hikaru was surprised at her brothers reaction, for the first time, that she could remember, pink was staining his cheeks.

"No reason. Come on let's go eat," said Satoru hurriedly.

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Hikaru lay silently on her bed, thinking about Cephiro. A year had passed since she had last seen that land. Now she was fifteen. She wanted to go back to see the land which she and her companions, who's name she could not remember, had fought for. She wanted to meet the people there. On her first visit she had only meet Cephiro's enemies, and aside from short glimpses of village people, they had meet no one else. Well, she had met Clef; he was the Master Mage who had given them their mission and magic. That was very brief. They had seen Presea just as briefly to get Escudo and to receive their swords. The rest of their first trip was full of fighting and after "wining" they had returned home.

On the second trip they had stayed with the Rune gods and met the foreign countries trying to take over the pillar system of Cephiro.

'Well, we don't have to worry about the pillar system any more,' thought Hikaru happily, 'I ended that when I became the pillar.' She smiled proudly as she curled up comfortably and fell asleep.

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"Hikaru."

Hikaru looked about her, as she looked for the voice that called to her, all she saw was a heavy mist.

"Hikaru."

Hikaru squinted hard into the swirling clouds and moved slowly in the direction of the voice that called to her again. The white mist began to melt away, as a yellow light began to shine through. As the mist slipped away Hikaru found herself standing in a rose garden. The rose bushes were all in bloom, with blossoms of every shade of red, orange, pink and some were even glowing like hot embers. In the middle of all the colorful flowers, was a gazebo and a young woman sat inside. She wore a long white dress, with a red silk sash. Her long black hair had highlights of maroon streaking through it.

Hikaru ran to the woman, surprised that she had no reservations about going to her. She had, had this dream before but the woman never said anything. As she jumped up the stairs, the woman looked up at her and smiled.

"Hikaru!" she cried pulling her into her arms. As she pulled back the young woman spoke, "Hikaru you must come home. Vulcana needs its royal family back. I miss you and your brothers. I also miss not being with Satoru all the time. You no longer need to stay on earth. Please come home."

Everything disappeared and Hikaru saw scenes of a beautiful planet that looked like earth, but held very distinctive differences. The dirt of the planet was a red-brown and the beaches were covered in red sand that gave the ocean a reddish tint. Also, volcanoes marked the main cities of the planet, with a large one with a great city hugging its base, marking the capital. Hikaru knew that the volcanoes were not like earth volcanoes that poured out lava. At their worst these volcanoes simply bubbled and glowed. Then the scenes and the planet both disappeared, and she was left in the white mist again.

"Hikaru Shidou it is time to go back to your planet. Your true home, which you have never seen, but that desperately needs you and your family back."

"Rayearth?" whispered Hikaru as she opened her eyes.

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Hikaru sat quietly eating her breakfast, trying to figure out how to break the news to her brothers that they needed to find a way back to a strange planet that they apparently ruled.

"Is something wrong Hikaru?" asked Satoru looking at her curiously.

'Well it's now or never,' thought Hikaru pushing her food away from her. "Actually there is something I must speak with you guys about," once she had each of her brothers attention she continued. "About…well actually, exactly a year ago I started to have a strange dream that repeated itself every night. A voice was calling out to me, a voice I knew, but did not know. I was always surrounded by mist and it ended when I saw a figure of a woman. Six months ago it changed, it started the same but the mist would melt away and I would find myself in a beautiful rose garden. It looked like it was on fire because, of all the brilliant orange, red and pink rose blossoms. Some roes even glowed like hot embers. Then I would see the woman and she would hug me. Then I would see scenes of a planet. Last night the dream changed again. This time as the woman hugged me she spoke. She told me it was time for me to come home. That she missed me, Masaru and Kakeru. She told me, she missed being with Satoru. She said we needed to come home. Then I saw the scenes of the planet again. The woman called the planet Vulcana. Then I was in the mist again, and Rayearth told me it was time for us to return. That the planet needed us." Hikaru looked up at her brother's not sure what to expect.

"Hikaru…I've had the same dream. It has played out just as you have described," said Kakeru a little awe struck.

"So have I," said Masaru frowning slightly. "Who do think that woman is?"

"Her name is Tomoyo. She is the Queen of Vulcana. She rules in place of her husband."

Hikaru and her brothers turned toward Satoru, who was calmly drinking his coffee.

"How do you know that?" asked Kakeru.

Satoru finished his cup of coffee before he answered, "Tomoyo is my wife."

After a momentary chaos, Satoru settled his family down, and they talked about what they were going to do. Everyone agreed that they wanted to go to Vulcana. Each felt a pull to the planet. Satoru wanted to leave right away but, Masaru, in a rare showing of maturity, said they first had to sell their home and belongings. Then they had to pretend to be moving to America. That way they could disappear without alarming anyone.

"But how will we get to Vulcana?" asked Hikaru.

"I know how," smiled Satoru, "When the time comes, I will show you."

"If you knew how to get there, how come none of us have gone back?" asked Masaru.

"Who says none of us have?" said Satoru smiling.

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At the end of two weeks, Hikaru stood in her family's garden with her brothers. They had sold their house and school to a family friend. They had taken a cab to the airport, and stayed in a hotel until night had fallen. Quietly checking out, Satoru teleported them back to their house, and here they were now.

Making a circle, Satoru spoke. "I Satoru, King of Vulcana, command that the way be made clear for us to travel back to you. Our wish is to go home."

Suddenly, ruby pendent necklaces appeared around the boy's necks. They were in the shape of a wolf, and a strange symbol was carved on its' side.

"Our crests," said Satoru as a portal appeared in the middle of the circle. "Hikaru where is yours? You can't go through the portal without it. The pendants give us magic so the portal will let us through."

"I didn't get one." Hikaru whispered started to feel frightened.

"We won't go without you," said Masaru firmly.

"But, I can't go through. I have no magic in me. You should go though," she said trying not to cry.

"Wait!" cried out Kakeru, "Hikaru, you told us that you were a Magic Knight. You had magic then, call on your magic. It must answer you." Hikaru nodded and closed her eyes.

"Rayearth!" she shouted and in a burst of light she was wearing her armor. She looked curiously at the mirror medallion that hung around her neck. She soon forgot it though as the siblings held each other's hands and entered the portal to Vulcana.

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In a blink of an eye they were standing in a beautiful room, and the woman Hikaru had seen in her dreams was standing there. She immediately went to Satoru and kissed him. She smiled happily at Masaru and Kakeru and hugged Hikaru tightly.

"Welcome little princess. I have waited a long time to meet you. I am Tomoyo, Satoru's wife. Please think of me as your big sister." Hikaru smiled up at her, and hugged her back. The two walked out arm in arm, with the boys trailing not far behind.

"I am excited to finally meet you too," said Hikaru, "I am happy to have you as a sister."

Tomoyo lead her to a large room, which she told Hikaru was to be hers. Hikaru's eyes grew wide as she looked around.

"Hikaru there is someone who has been anxious to see you," said Tomoyo drawing her attention to the door of the room.

"Rayearth!" Hikaru shouted as the Rune god entered. This Rayearth however looked different than he had before. He was in the shape of the wolf she had seen before, but he was smaller, only coming to just above her hip.

"Hikaru you should know, Rayearth looks different to you because here on Vulcana, he plays a different role and a good amount of his power is trapped in Cephiro. Here he is your faithful bodyguard, and you must not go anywhere without him."

Hikaru nodded to Tomoyo showing she understood. "Don't worry he is still very powerful, and we will find a way to get his complete powers back." Tomoyo than left to show the boys their rooms, and told Hikaru that the wardrobes had clothes ready for her to change into.

"You don't want to stay in your armor, do you? I'll be back to show you around, once the boys are settled." Tomoyo said before leaving.

"All right," smiled Hikaru turning to her wardrobe. 'Now to find something to wear,' she thought.

A/N: Sorry this took longer than I thought. I was really sick for a few days so I didn't finish as soon as I wanted. The next chapter will be up in a week or so.