Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Back To Nowhere ❯ back again ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

chapter one: back again

Van woke up with a start.
"Hitomi," he said.
The dream felt so real.
"A star shall fall from the sky. . . a kingdom is at risk. . . A girl. . .the mystic moon. . . fates will be decided. . . as the wheel of fortune turns. . .events will repeat. . .Escaflowne shall rise again. . .and so shall the dead. . ." Van repeated to himself.
Wasn't that what Hitomi said in his dream? She was holding his hand and repeating those same words, over and over again. He didn't understand it at all. Nothing in the dream made sense. It was a cryptic message.
"Oh Hitomi," he said. "I wish you were here."
He held the pendant he wore. It was the only memory Hitomi left him, her grandmother's pendant. It was made of the same material as the Escaflowne energist.
Later on, after breakfast, he sat on his balcony, overlooking the kingdom.
They had done a great job of rebuilding Fanelia. It seemed now as though it had never even fallen during the Great War.
The Great War. The war against Zaibach. That was when he met the Girl from the Mystic Moon, Hitomi Kanzaki. That was also when he had fallen in love with her.
He wished that she had stayed with him, to be his queen. But he was the one who told her that she should go back where she came from.
Now, with her memory, he cannot find the right queen. No one else could do. He loved Hitomi still and wouldn't dare forget her. Why? Because memories were all he had left of her. Those and the pendant.
There was a knock on the door and he got up to open it.
"Merle," he said, letting the grown cat girl in.
"Lord Van," she said. "I heard you immediately resigned to your room after breakfast."

Merle had changed over the past six years. The once childish cat girl was now elegant and pretty known among young men all around Fanelia. Her rosy pink hair now fell halfway down her back and her purplish blue eyes were always smiling. She knew she was very beautiful. In fact, she looked like a prettier version of Narya and Aria, the catsisters devoted to Van's brother, Folken. But she also knew that how much beauty she may hold, in the eyes of Van, she will never be as pretty as Hitomi. She was now accustomed to the fact that Van will only love her as a sister.
She knew that faraway look that Van had on his face. It was the look he had whenever he was thinking about Hitomi.
"Thinking about her again, huh?" she said, looking down the balcony, which was where they had resigned themselves.
"I had a dream Merle," Van said, instead of saying yes or no. "I dreamt of Hitomi."
He repeated to her the exact same words that Hitomi had said in her dream.
"The dead? Rise? I don't think so," Merle said with a smile.
"But that was exactly what she said," Van said.
"Hitomi was always mysterious," Merle said. "The Girl from the Mystic Moon."
She silently slipped out of the room after a few minutes. She knew very well that Van wanted to be alone.

Van heard the door close behind Merle. He smiled. Merle had always been a good friend. In fact he would have gladly married her If not for Hitomi. He knew that he would be fooling himself if he married Merle.
Marriage. His Advisers had been pushing him into that for sometime now.
After the war, everyone knew that he had fallen in love with the Girl from the Mystic Moon and that he was still getting over her. Besides, he was still busy rebuilding Fanelia, so no one bugged him about marriage. But those excuses were quickly getting old.
Lately, his Advisers were getting very pushy. They had even set him up with some women.
There was Lady Mariel. She was a lovely lady. But she was much too sweet. And she was always following him around. After her, there was Princess Veruca from Gendar, a land far south. Now she was much too prim and proper for Van. The latest was Lady Karya. She reminded him a lot of Hitomi. She had her smile. She had her hair. At an angle, even the eyes were the same. But she didn't have the heart. Most times, she was a cold person. Van couldn't stand that.
So now, here he was, alone and aching for Hitomi.

* * * * *

Hitomi was looking out her window again. She was thinking about Van again. And of Gaea. And of all her friends there, Merle, Allen, Celena, Millerna, Dryden, Duke Chid, Gaddeth. . . How she wished that she could be there!
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a bright light appeared. Hitomi recognized the light. It was the light that she saw both times she went to Fanelia when she was fifteen.

* * * * *

At that same moment, Van was in the royal garden, wishing for Hitomi. Wishing to see her. He reached into his shirt and held the pendant. Maybe if he wished really hard. . .
Next thing he knew, there was a bright light in front of him and the next second, there was a girl.
"Hitomi?" he asked in awe. "Is that really you?"
"Van!"
They hugged each other. It was a really tight embrace. It was the same as the one they had before Hitomi left Gaea.
"I can't believe its really you!" Van exclaimed.
Hitomi had changed physically. Her body was now well developed and had grown taller.
"I like your hair," he said smiling.
Hitomi's hair, which used to be cut short and boyish now fell just below her shoulders.
Hitomi said nothing and just hugged him again.
"I love you," she whispered softly into his ears.
"I love you too," Van answered.

Everyone was surprised when he came back to the castle, hand in hand with a girl. Only those who really knew Hitomi recognized her. That Merle, Allen and even Celena, even though they haven't seen much of each other before. (Allen and Celena had helped rebuild Fanelia and were now living there even though Allen was still a Knight Caeli of Asturia.)
At first they were so shocked that they couldn't move. But Merle was the first one who came over and gave her a hug.
"Hitomi!" she exclaimed.
Hitomi guessed that if Merle was 5-6 years younger, she would have licked her face. But Merle was now a refined catwoman of nineteen and a simple hug was enough.
"I love her hair," Merle said, all smiles.

Hitomi was so happy to be back in Fanelia. She never realized how much she missed all of her friends in Gaea. It was just too bad that all her other friends weren't there. But messengers had been sent and she hoped that they would all be able to arrive by the next day.
All night long she had been smiling. Smiling like a lunatic. But she couldn't help her merriment. Especially since she knew, inside her, that it wasn't going to last that long. She didn't know how she knew, but she just simply did. She was here only because she needed to do something. When that was done, she was going back, whether she liked it or not.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in," she said softly.
It was Van. When she saw him, standing there, she knew exactly what she was going to do. The vision. . .
"Hitomi," Van said, taking her into his arms.
"Van, I need to tell you something. . ." Hitomi's voice trailed off.
"What is it my love?" Van asked, kissing her on her lips.
"Oh Van," she whispered, kissing him back.
She had tears in her eyes. She could tell him later. . .She had waited so long for this moment. It disgusted her now as she realized that the only man she had ever been with was Allen. She silently gave in to Van and his passion.
"I love you," she whispered.

Van silently got off the bed the next morning. He kissed Hitomi on her forehead.
"I love you," he said.
Hitomi rustled in her sheets and raised her head as if expecting a kiss.
Van smiled at her and kissed her on the lips. Hitomi relaxed again, with a smile.
*Even in sleep, she looks like an angel,* Van whispered to himself.

To be continued. . .