I know it took long, but I wanted to put a bit from everyone in this chapter. Of course, that doesn't mean I made it.
I'm sorry if there are some letters missing, my keyboard's gone crazy and doesn't accept some letters from the first try. I have to press the button like an idiot for it to work.
I will try to update next chapter soon, but can't make any promisses. Not like they are necessary...hehe...
A cry of a single wolf caught Van's attention. It was calling for him for some reason, and Van went co see why. He ran through the forest near the windmill where Escaflowne was hidden till he came to a small clearing where a wolf-man waited.
"You called for me. Why?" Van asked recognizing him to be from Ruhm's pack.
"You are needed in Fanelia. It is very important that you come, and come alone." The wolf-man turned to leave "Don't worry, the war will end eventually, and than the people will restore Fanelia to it's former glory."
Van didn't say anything; he just went the same way back to the windmill and activated the guymelef from Ispano. He took of towards the ruins of his kingdom not knowing what expects him there, or the reason Ruhm called him. Only thing he knew is that his old friend wouldn't call for him if there weren't a good reason for it.
Hitomi slowly lifted her head from the surface it was on and right away groaned when a sharp pain in her back reminded her she was at a desk when she fell asleep. Ignoring the pain she sat straight and observed the papers in front of her. In a short time she made to sketch something that actually had a shape of a female guymelef, and was actually quite proud of it. Now it was only necessary for her sketches to pass the inspection that was announced for today. That is why she worked on them till late in the night and fall asleep in such an unpleasant position in a first place.
"Ready Hitomi?" an Ispano maker startled her walking in the room unnoticed.
"Yes. As ready as I can be." She answered and picked up all the papers "I only hope they will like it, and I won't have to do it again."
Hitomi followed him in a large meeting room. It felt like she was in school again and her exam is about to be examined by an entire professors committee. She sat on one the head of the table closer to the door and placed the sketches on the table. She watched them observe her work and mumble something among themselves, a sound that made her drowsy till she gave up to sleep.
"Leave me alone Merle! I don't want to talk about it so I would appreciate if you would stop wasting my time with questions I have no attention to answer!" Van was sitting next to the window on Crusade "You can say whatever you want, that won't change the face Hitomi is gone and it's all my fault! I haven't listened to her warnings and look what happened! I lost her!"
"He's fighting for Hitomi!" the scene changed after those words and Hitomi saw Millerna snapped on Allen "Did you honestly think you're the only one who cares for the girl and want her to be safe Allen? And in her own confusion she didn't see Van feelings either, but still she gave away her freedom for him."
"Hitomi? No sleep now." A voice and slightly pushing woke her up "We understand you tired, but need you awake."
"I'm sorry." She said blushing "It won't happen again."
"Good. You need monitor the making." It took her few seconds to process the words and when the meaning of them finally sat a wide grin spread on Hitomi's face. Her design was accepted. Even better; it was accepted in the first try, she won't have to do it again.
"Did you let Van know why you needed to meet him here?" Folken asked the wolf-man that stood on the small square surrounded with ruins of ones beautiful kingdom of Fanelia.
"No." Ruhm answered honestly "If I did he wouldn't have come."
"He would." Folken corrected his old friend "He would have come cause this would be his chance to kill me."
"There is possibility he'll try to do it. Actually I'm sure he'll try it." Ruhm said like it was most normal thing for one brother to try to kill the other.
"Why don't you ask him?" Folken joked "There he is."
Four pairs of eyes watched as the white dragon flied over the spot where his friend and his brother waited. He landed Escaflowne few feet away and right away pulled out his sword.
"I can't believe you could sink even lower, but you did. You tricked Ruhm to get me here in your little trap." Van wasn't this angry in a long time "Well know I don't intend to go down without a fight!"
"No problem." Female voice said and Van watched as two leopard-women jumped on his right.
"If you want a fight, we'll give you a fight." the second one said confirming her twins words.
"Stand back." Folken said calmly and they both stopped their attempt to hurt Van.
Young king turned back to his long lost brother "What do you want Folken? Play with me before you kill me?"
"I do not want to see your death Van. Why don't you understand that?" Folken sighed, he knew it would be a hard job getting Van to trust him again after everything "But I do want to see Dornkirk lying in the poll of his blood."
Van watched his brother with disbelief clearly seen on his face "Why should I believe you?!"
"Lower your sword Van." Folken said calmly "Lower it before the dragons come and I will explain everything you wish to know."
But Van didn't comply; he lifted his sword and got ready to attack when the leopard-twins stepped in front of Folken in attempt to protect him; with their own lives if necessary.
Seeing that Van froze… 'They are protecting him… just like… like she protected me… with her own life…'
A loud clang of a fallen sword echoed through the empty streets. Van's eyes watched the sword lying down on the ground in front of his feet, he observed the tool that reminded him who he was but at the same him it reminded him on the one he wasn't able to protect.
"They would risk their owl lives for you…" Van said quietly, but Folken heard him never the less.
"Just as Hitomi would for you… did for you…" Folken said back.
Van jerked on the mention of her name and looked at his brother with hate "Why do you care what she did?! Isn't it good that she's gone for Zeibach cause now I'm blind?"
"She was the one who opened my eyes brother." Folken was calm, and that angered Van "I wanted to help Dornkirk in making of a perfect world, but a world where one life is willingly traded for another… that is already the perfection I sought."
Before Van managed to call Folken a liar Rohm's calm voice interrupted him "Did she know about your heritage?"
"Yes… she… Hitomi said I was her guardian angel." Van said lowering his head once more, but this time for another purpose.
But it was useless, Folken noticed it "Your blushing, so it must mean something good." Van lifted his head to oppose Folken, but a wide smile on his brother's face made him forget what he wanted to say.
"Angels are mentioned in religious books on the Mystic Moon. They are send from the God to guard and lead people. Angels… they…" Van took a deep breath "They represent everything good on the world…" Van trailed of after hearing Folken laugh.
"She seems to be the best thing that even happened to you Van, and I am truly sorry she is no longer by your side."
As much as vVan wanted not to believe his traitorous brother the way he said he was sorry leave Van no other option but to trust him. About the matter of Hitomi, that is. Van was still not sure if he should trust Folken that he suddenly had a change of heart about the issue of Dornkirk's plan to create a perfect world. He simply had a problem believing a man who destroyed his own homeland in the name of a monster.
A white dragon was approaching Palas followed by three guymelefs. That raised panic not only among guards but among crew of Crusade as well. But no one raised larger alert than Merle.
She stood between princess Millerna and Dryden and was biting her nail watching the guymelefs flying closer. At the same time Allen was in Scherazade waiting for orders in the case of attack. But it seemed that the three Zeibach guymelefs flied with Van, not after him cause they could have attack him if they wanted already.
Landing close to Crusade on the landing field Van jumped down from Escaflowne that was still in dragon form when he was knocked down by a large ball of fur. Before he managed to get Merle off of him so he could breath Van already found himself being licked; again.
"Is there something we should know Van?" Millerna asked walking closer as Van was getting up from the ground.
He turned just as Folken walked from behind of Escaflowne followed by Nariya and Eriya. Van saw an amusement on his brother's face as people around them gasped. Who ever they were expecting, it wasn't Dornkirk's Strategos.
"I… we should assemble the council…" Millerna mumbled shocked at the sight of two brothers standing next to each other "Yeah… we should do that…"