Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Heart of the Dragon ❯ Islands of Paradise ( Chapter 25 )

They had no idea how many hours they had been flying, they were too caught up in each other to notice or care. Hitomi pointed out a whale that came to the surface and breathed air, letting out a spray of water. Van was totally fascinated, for he had never seen anything like it before.

She showed him dolphins, which they flew down lower to get a closer look at. Hitomi actually reached out to touch one and grazed its dark gray back. Van freaked, expecting the creature to eat her. She explained to him how majestic and wonderful they were, and they didn’t hurt people.

They were still jumping up and twisting in the air, still following them. Hitomi took Van's hand that she was holding onto and forced him to reach down and touch one. He smiled when he felt the smooth wet skin, almost squeaky feeling.

Unfortunately, the wonderful creatures left soon after, diving back down deep into their home. Hitomi and Van still stayed flying above the water, drifting apart to twirl around and laugh.

They were having a grand old time when Hitomi just all of a sudden halted their play, coming to a complete stop.

Van flew ahead of her a ways before he noticed she was gone from his side. He came back over to her and took her up into his arms to kiss her. She pointed behind him and he gave her a confused look, turning around.

It was an island, a tropical one from the looks of it. Hitomi got all excited and took off at an incredible speed, forcing Van to struggle to catch up. She was still ahead of him when she got there and landed on the white beach, almost completely clean of any driftwood or debris of any sort.

She folded back her wings and bent down to touch the sand. She grabbed a handful and it filtered through her fingers, falling back down onto the beach.

Van had just came back after her and he landed on the sand, almost falling over, not used to the sinking in feeling. Hitomi giggled while he got used to it, his arms spread out to balance himself.

"I had no idea Gaea had islands, let alone tropical ones," Hitomi said and walked up to Van, bending back over to get another handful of sand. She ordered Van to hold out his hands and she poured it into his cupped hands. He smiled at the grainy hot feeling.

"I didn’t know either. I wonder if anyone knows about this island. I mean, I'm sure we have islands other places, for I wouldn’t know the word and I do. I think that Asturia has a few smaller ones, but not tropical."

"Did you ever touch sand before?" Hitomi asked, the smile still on her face.

"No."

Hitomi started slipping of her shoes and socks, much to the wonderment of Van. She shoved the socks into her shoes so they wouldn’t get any sand in them and she dug her feet into the warm sand. "I never thought I would have my feet in sand again since I came here."

She started walking to the shoreline and let the surf water came up to her feet and wash over her lower legs. She jumped and laughed, for she had been expecting it to be freezing, like the water at Fanelia. Instead, it was warm, and the most beautiful light blue color, just like at the tropical islands of earth.

Van was amused by her actions. She looked to be immensely enjoying herself, so he slipped off his leather boots and joined her. He had never felt sand on his hands, let alone on his bare feet. He followed her as she ran down the long beach, her feet splashing in the water and spraying up into the air. He smiled when he saw her small footprints imbedded into the wet sand.

Hitomi ran back to him and grabbed a hold of his hand, tugging him along with her. "Come on, Van! Try to have some fun!!"

Van smiled and they started running, water spraying all over the place and getting them soaking wet. They ended up running until they realized they had run the whole way around it. The beach surrounded the whole thing, there wasn’t even a cliff! All it did was raise up higher in the middle, sort of like a smaller mountain. Tropical trees of all sorts covered it, and she could here all the noises of all the exotic animals. She sat down into the sand along with Van, their wings still folded back.

"Isn't it wonderful here?" Hitomi asked Van, a small smile on her face in her happiness.

Van nodded and took hold of her hand again. "Yes, although it is really hot. I never thought I would feel a place so hot in my life."

"On Earth, there are places much more beautiful than this, and hotter. I only saw them in pictures and on TV, but they looked amazing. Hey, could this be our own little island, that only royalty knows about or something?"

Van laughed. "I guess it could only be royalty, considering that our family are the only ones that can reach here."

Hitomi smiled and looked out into the ocean. The blue color was just so astonishing. "Van, our children will have wings, right?"

"More than likely. We are both Draconian's and have wings, so they probably will too."

"Good."

Van shook his head. "Why is that good? They will just be discriminated and hated, just like I am and you will be if they find out."

"Van, I will hit you as hard as I can if you ever say that again. You know more than anyone how much Fanelia loves you, how much Gaea loves you!!"

Van shrugged. "They are probably just faking it to hide their hatred of our kind. And Hitomi, not everyone in Fanelia loves me, or you for that matter. Haven't you ever seen the looks I get when I walk out in the city?"

"No," she whispered. She hadn't known that at all.

"Did you know that before you came, how many times people have tried to kill me? The only reason why they weren't successful was because of my skills! And now because I have an heir, they won't have any reason to hold back! Oh, how wonderful! They're going to try to kill Ryu also, just because he is Draconian too! Just wait until our son discovers it, Hitomi. Just wait."

Tears gathered in Hitomi's eyes. "Are you serious, Van? They are going to try to kill our babies?"

Van immediately regretted his words. He gathered her up into his arms to try to sooth her. "Hitomi, don’t worry about it now, alright? We'll deal with it when it happens. For now, the kingdom doesn’t know that you have wings, and probably thinks that Ryu and Malaika won't either. If we're lucky, maybe our children won't ever find out."

Hitomi pulled back. "Why not, Van? Why wouldn’t you want them to know about such a treasure? As soon as they are old enough to understand something like this, I will tell them. They deserve to know."

Van looked away. He was still confused and upset over this topic, and wondering if their children should ever know something like this if it could cost them their lives. Both Hitomi and himself were too stubborn on this subject to agree on anything. "Lets not talk about this anymore, ok?"

Hitomi sighed and shrugged. She didn’t want to get into an all out argument with Van when they were having such a wonderful day. "Alright," she muttered, which caused Van to smile.

"We should be getting back. We have to travel to the villages today, and find out if those unknown guymelefs did anything," Van said and stood, bringing her with him. They had sand sticking all over their damp clothes. Hitomi went to the water and started washing herself off. Van did the same thing, and soon they were soaking wet again, but had no more sand on themselves.

"Oh, great. We left our shoes over in the sand," Hitomi said and got out of the water to go get them. She handed Van his and held onto hers as she washed her feet back off. She raised her right foot out of the water and flung the water off, causing droplets to fly every which way. Van laughed when he saw her hopping on one foot and trying to pull on her sock, meanwhile still holding onto her shoes.

"Ok, I'm sick of this," Hitomi said and unfurled her wings. Van smiled when she flew up just above him to put her shoes on, kicking off the rest of the water on her feet. When she was done with her spectacle, Van met up with her and they flew back towards Fanelia and Gaea, back to their problems.

 ******************

They got back to Fanelia in the late afternoon. They made sure that they didn’t show anyone their wings and went to the field first so no one would see Hitomi. If it had been Van, it wouldn’t have really mattered, but it did with Hitomi, for they didn’t know yet.

They walked hand in hand back to the palace, where everyone was ecstatic to see them, wondering where they had been for all those hours. Van just waved them away and ordered the horses and men readied for departure. He prayed his annoying generals wouldn’t insist on coming.

Hitomi felt grimy and disgusting, so she went straight to the bathing room. Van told her he would come with her in a few minutes, but he had to do something real quick before he did. Hitomi was nervous about the whole idea, considering her husband's appetites when it involved her no longer pregnant person. She still had five weeks to heal herself, and she definitely needed them. She was still adjusting to not being pregnant anymore. She felt off-balance a lot, and her moods changes that Van had hoped and prayed were gone, were still there. She remembered how astounded he had been when she'd had a very bad day, and her mood fluctuations had been horrible. Van had nearly been crying, thinking that her mood swings would have been gone since she was no longer pregnant, but they weren't. He particularly hated them since she took them out on him, which made her smile even now. Poor Van, she made him suffer too much. But afterwards, he thought they were funny, and even had a laugh with her.

She smiled again. She loved that man too much. She went to their room and got a pile of light and comfortable clothes out, on orders of both Millerna and Nara. She wasn’t allowed to wear silk or satin yet, nor anything that would bind her into a stiff stick like a corset. She was only allowed one petticoat and a chemise, and they had to be a light fabric.

She took out a recently made light blue gown that she hadn't worn yet. She thought it was lovely, and couldn’t wait to wear it. She got a sad look on her face when she remembered she was going to have to wear a riding habit since they were going on horseback, not in carriage. Oh well, she would bring it anyhow, considering it would take about a week to go everywhere, and they had to bring clothes and things with them.

"Wait a second," she said. Van had just walked in and was heading for the bathing room when she said this. He stopped and cocked an eyebrow at her.

"What about our children???" Hitomi asked.

"Hitomi," Van said as he walked into the bathing room, "we can't bring them with us. It's too dangerous and you know it. They will stay here."

Hitomi ripped out a pile of her clothes and threw them on the carpet. She stalked in after him and stomped her foot, which made Van smile as he lifted his shirt over his head. "Who's gonna feed them, hmmm???"

"A wet nurse. Don’t worry. I got it all figured out. And anyhow, you will get a break."

Hitomi threw her hands up in the air. "Whatever, your highness."

Van was just smiling at her, which infuriated her further. "Well, dear, you can take one all by yourself, without my much longed-for company. So ha!"

Van got such a disappointed look on his face that Hitomi couldn’t help but give him her victory smile. She stuck her tongue out at him and walked back into their room. She heard a splash of water and looked back to the half closed door. Who was she kidding? She wanted to be in there more than he wanted her in there!! She started taking off her shoes and socks, throwing them haphazardly about the room. She took off her shirt and stood in her very tight sports bra and shorts. She walked back to the door and opened it again, leaning against the doorway.

Van was sitting on of the marble steps and was staring off into space. He turned his head when he saw her, his face brightening immediately. The first thing he said was, "Isn't that thing your wearing a little too tight?" he pointed to her sports bra to show her what he was talking about.

"Very. I had this thing before I...before I actually got something!! And damn you, pregnancy didn’t help to get them any smaller either!!!"

Van started laughing so hard that he fell in to the water and ended up choking on it. He was still laughing and trying to breathe at the same time, which Hitomi thought was hysterical. She could imagine how hard it was for him to breathe, so she made him stop instantly by taking off her sports bra. She threw it at his head and it flew right over his head. He was staring so hard that he hadn't even noticed it. She rolled her eyes and took off the rest of her clothes. She knew she was torturing him more than necessary, but she couldn’t help it. She stepped onto the marble stairs and slipped into the water. It felt so relaxing and soothing that she closed her eyes. Van was still quiet, but she could tell that he was debating whether or not to go over to her or stay where he was.

She decided for him and swam over. He was standing, but she had to tread water to stay afloat. He hesitantly put his arms around her so she wouldn’t have to tire her legs. He kept enough space between them so they weren't touching anywhere but arms. "Van, if you want me to get out, I will," Hitomi said.

Van shook his head, swallowing hard. He had to learn to control himself sometime, and he might as well start now. He smiled when he remembered her birthday was only a few days away. She probably was thinking that he had forgot, which was the farthest thing from the truth.

"I'm fine," he lied and pushed them over to the side where she could stand. He handed her a bar of soap to wash with and grabbed his own. They were both washing their hair with Van starting to relax, when there was a knock on the bedroom door. Van ignored it, hoping that no one would walk in when the bathing room door was wide open and they could see in. He dunked himself under the water to wash off his hair and when he came up, he heard the bedroom door open. He dropped the soap quickly and hauled Hitomi up to him so no one would see her naked and covered in soap. They both lowered themselves into the water for better protection and Hitomi wrapped her arms around his back and rested her cheek on his shoulder, anything to get closer and seal herself to his body so no one could see anything.

Van, unfortunately, was completely affected by this and he started shaking. Hitomi saw him grit his teeth and squeeze his eyes shut. She tried to pull away some, but he wouldn’t let her. They could hear someone moving about in the room and they started calling their names. It was Allen and Merle.

Hitomi relaxed, but Van's body was just getting stiffer and stiffer. "Van," Hitomi whispered, "maybe you should just tell them to go away."

Van opened his eyes and she smiled by how hard he was trying to show her that he wasn’t affected by her body pushed up against his. She moved her hands down his back and he jumped, growling at her to stop. She wanted to giggle, but Van yelled, "Get the hell out of here!!" Van knew that Allen would walk right in, even after he had yelled that, for he was just that sort of person. He braced himself for it and hid his face in Hitomi neck; he didn’t want Allen to see his face. Hitomi could deal with this.

"Why, what do we have here?" Allen asked, leaning against the doorway. Hitomi was glaring at him, nearly shooting daggers with her gaze. Merle was hiding behind her husband, but was peaking around him.

"Allen, come on, I can't believe you are doing this. Let's leave before you embarrass Van further," Merle begged. Allen was still smiling when he walked away, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

Embarrass Van further? Hitomi thought. Why him and not her? Or both?! "Are you alright, Van?"

He was quiet, didn’t move a muscle. He shook his head no and she smiled, bringing her hands up his back to twine about his shoulders. Now that Merle and Allen were gone, he started trembling uncontrollably. He had been straining to hold them back when they had been there, but now he just let them loose. Hitomi was confused at why he was just holding her there like that, just making himself suffer, but she realized suddenly that he was trying to calm and control himself. His grip around her was tight, almost painful, but she didn’t say anything.

She didn’t know how long they were there, but Van's trembling started to get weaker and weaker, until Van himself just slumped against her. She was momentarily taken aback at how exhausted he seemed, for he was half asleep against her, his arms wrapped loosely around her waist.

Considering that the stairs were only a foot or so away, she sat down on one and drew Van closer, which she now believed was asleep. Silly man, he knew he had been pushing it with him barely getting four hours of sleep. And now they had to travel all over the place? Wonderful.

Hitomi placed Van's head on her lap and started dribbling hot water over his chest, which seemed so enticing that Hitomi couldn’t help but have her hands all over it. Van had fallen asleep, and currently was mumbling something in his sleep, something about crima-claws. She soothed his troubled brow with her fingertips and he relaxed instantly, sighing in contentment at her loving touch. She remembered past nights like this, except worse. Van's dreams seemed to be restless and getting scarier, for she was constantly finding herself waking in the middle of the night to find him tossing and turning right next to her.

She guessed they hadn't been lying there for long, and it was all too soon when he opened his eyes, only to find his cheek pressed up against her once again flat belly. He jerked back as if scalded and stared at her like he didn’t know her. When he recognized her and his sleep-shrouded mind became clear, he sighed and dropped back into her lap. Hitomi giggled and started smoothing back the hair from his forehead, which was almost dry now. "Van, are you alright?"

Van felt oddly drained of all energy and power. He didn’t want to move, just wanted to sleep. He stared up at her, not even noticing she was very naked and he was all over her lap. He yawned and didn’t even bother with covering his mouth. "I just feel tired. Thank you for the comfortable pillow."

Hitomi smiled at him. "You're welcome. Just don’t get too tired, we have to leave today, and I'm sure that people are wondering where we are and what we are doing."

Van moaned and tried to hide his face in her stomach, all it did was tickle her and soon she shoved him off her lap, causing him to fall into the water with a resounding splash. She was still laughing when he came back up. "Oh, Van," she gasped, still laughing and trying to hold it in, "that tickled so much!!"

Van grumbled some non-heated curse words at her and raised his hand only to realize it was all wrinkly from the water and staying in so long. He smiled and started climbing out of the pool, a trail of water after him. He glanced back to see Hitomi staring pointedly at him, held in awe at his body. Van just ended up laughing and picked up a towel, wrapping it around himself.

He walked back into his room to see a tray of food on the bed for both him and his wife. Merle and Allen must have brought it. He heard a splash of water and guessed his wife was getting out. He knew he shouldn’t do it, but he couldn’t help himself. He walked back over to the door and watched her climb out of the pool, so graceful and beautiful. She grabbed a fluffy white towel and started drying herself off, running it down her arms, her breasts and stomach...and lower.... Van snapped out of it and almost ran away from the door. He started shoving food into his mouth to occupy his salacious mind.

Hitomi came in with the towel wrapped around her and dug through the piles of dresses and underthings she had thrown about for a riding habit. She found a dark green one, simple, no frills, nothing uncomfortable. She could tell Van was purposefully turned away from her so he wouldn’t see her get dressed and she made a funny face at his back. Almost as if he had sensed she was doing it, he turned around and caught her in the act. He grinned and started laughing at the messed up and horribly scary look he saw on her face. She stuck her tongue out at him and promptly dropped the towel. He immediately averted his eyes and Hitomi started getting dressed. After tugging on a soft chemise, she pulled out a pair of stockings and garters to fasten at her thighs. She went to the bed to pull on all of her leg equipment.

Van knew she was trying to torture him, and she was succeeding very well. Her long legs were just a curvy distraction to his already jumbled mind, not to mention the way the chemise molded over her body like a second skin. He couldn’t believe one single woman could do this to him. He pulled his shirt over his head and walked back into the bathing room to get to the nursery. He needed to see his children. They, at least, wouldn’t distract him so.

 ******************

Hitomi and Van departed from the palace a little while afterwards, both depressed for they were leaving their babies all to a woman they hardly knew. Van made sure that they had everything packed and ready in the carriages his generals were going to be in. He snorted, still not believing that men would rather go in a carriage than on a horse.

Van led Knight and Adara over to his angelic wife, who was dressed in some simple but very becoming riding habit of dark green, and a large brimmed green hat with a jaunty little green feather to curl around her cheek. She was so beautiful that it momentarily took his breath away.

Hitomi glanced over at Van and a small smile appeared on her face when she realized he had been staring at her. He swallowed and looked down, handing her the reins of Adara. Her brow puckered slightly, wondering when Van had gotten shy of staring at her. It was a normal occurrence after all.

Van was still pissed off that his generals had absolutely insisted his wife use a sidesaddle. He wanted to hit them so hard that they would fly through the air and collide with a very solid wall.

He walked to the side Hitomi was standing and he smiled at her, trying to reassure her that it was alright, even when he didn’t think it was. He thought riding bare back was safer than these things.

Hitomi lifted her gown until it reached mid-calf and slipped her black booted heel into Van's awaiting hands. He pushed her up into the saddle and she sat there stiffly, while Van made so many adjustments it made her head whirl. When she was seated comfortably, Van mounted his horse, promising to stay by her at all times, just in case she was about to fall off or something. Hitomi didn’t feel like she was going to fall off, but she didn’t disagree with him either. She wanted him next to her anyhow.

After saying goodbye to Allen and Merle, who were pretty much in charge while they were gone for the generals were with them, they started off. It would take about three hours to get to the first so-called village. They were going to stay the night, for it was already getting late.

Hitomi was actually surprised how serenely she could sit in this thing, and sit straight, too. She hoped that she wouldn’t get too uncomfortable, for she was still recovering from giving birth, and shouldn’t have even been thinking of riding a horse.

She wanted to kill herself an hour later. She was in so much pain, that it was hard to keep her face straight. Every time Van asked her if she was alright, she nodded and smiled, not letting herself show that she was actually in some of the most dreadful pain she had ever been in. She had thought she was perfectly fine and her healing had been almost done, but she had been dead wrong. How was she going to stand? How was she going to get off?!

Van knew something was wrong with her, but for some reason, her stubborn pride wasn’t telling him. He wanted to take a break for her, but she continued to say she was fine. But he knew she was lying. Every time he asked her, she would smile at him, but he could see the dark shadow of pain in her eyes. Why was she doing this to herself?

Finally, when she had tears of pain in her eyes and they fell over, she begged Van to stop. The entourage came to a halt and Van immediately jumped down from his horse, coming over to take his wife off Adara. She fell into his arms and Van carried her back over to Knight while she sobbed on his shoulder, her arms wrapped around his neck almost for dear life.

"Do you want me to set you down?" Van asked her. She started crying harder at the mention of standing and Van held her closer.

"No, please don’t let me go. I can't stand," Hitomi whispered brokenly, trying to hold back her tears of shame and suffering.

"Hitomi, why did you do this if it hurts so bad? I already talked to you about this. I said if you need to get off, just tell me. I'll carry you in front of me," Van said, remounting his horse and arranging her into as much as an at ease position he could get her into. He ordered one of his men to tie Adara to the back of one of the carriages, and his man complied, leading the snorting and pawing horse away.

Hitomi just sighed and kept her eyes closed, not wanting to see the looks Van's samurai were probably giving her. Sickened, pitying, shocked, repelled. It would tear at her heart, especially for how much his men seemed to adore her.

Van wanted to read her thoughts, but for the first time, he thought it was invading her privacy. He click clicked his horse to start, and the others followed. They were inside a circle, being protected by a ring of men. Van felt like he was weak because he was being so sheltered by his men, but he couldn’t take the chance with Hitomi.

They got there an hour and a half later, Hitomi asleep as peacefully as she could be riding on a horse on her husband's lap. Van had to blink a few times to get a grasp on his reeling mind. How had they accomplished so much, and without any of his help?

Already there were houses fabricated, more buildings of unknown origin presently being erected, and a horde of people of all ages running and buzzing around. Van was confounded by it all.

The generals and advisors spilled out of the two carriages and looked nonplussed, just like his majesty, who was apparently holding his queen in a very improper way. General Dunwe looked outraged that Van could hold their queen like that, and in front of so many people, people he was going to meet with sooner or later. General Eagan had a happy smile on his face, but he was still shocked. The rest were just gapping at the scene before them, not noticing their highnesses or not bothering to care.

An older looking man with dark gray hair and an old wise face with deep inset wrinkles came over to Van and the woman he was holding. He walked straight and tall, and he made Van smile. Hitomi was starting to stir in his arms, and he wanted to find a room for her as soon as possible so she could rest and heal. He doubted she would be able to walk.

The man stood in front of Van, and Van, unable to shake his hand, said, "I'm sorry that I can't shake your hand, sir. As you can see, I am holding my wife. She...had an accident. She can't walk."

The man nodded and replied in a deep educated voice as he bowed, "It is alright your majesty, I completely understand. I wish her highness a fast recovery from her wound. But, enough of this chit chat, I shall show you to your lodgings. I am sorry that it isn't exactly what you are used to, for we have only been building for three months."

"That’s fine. I will take whatever is available. I thank you for doing this on such short notice, and I beg pardon if we have taken someone else's housing," Van said, following the man as he pushed through the crowd and ordered people out of the way. The man waved away Van's apology and continued walking.

They arrived at a rather large and surprisingly very well built residence. Van had been expecting some sort of hut or something, he didn’t know why. The man opened the door and Van continued following him up a flight of stairs, at which the man stopped at a door and opened it. Van was more than surprised to see how accommodating and nice it was, for there was almost everything he had in his old room, except not as fancy or expensive. Van walked over to the bed and laid his wife on top of the heavy blue blankets. It didn’t have any curtains or canopy, just had a head board. It was nonetheless very soft and comfortable looking.

Van walked back over to the man and shook his hand, smiling. "I am Samar uth Mondar, and I am grateful that you have arrived, your highness. We have been in need of funds, and protection. The young men we have are being used for their strength to build, and the only protection we really have are the dogs running around. I will call my daughter and wife for you to meet, so they can help you if the need arises. We are sorry we don’t have proper servants, but as I said, every able bodied person is being used."

Van let go of the man's firm grasp and nodded, giving the man a small bow out of respect. He couldn’t help but like this man. He would consider making this man the town elder. He certainly seemed wise enough to do it easily. "Thank you, but I can handle this perfectly fine. Believe me, my wife and I have been in far worse places, and can definitely live without this sort of luxury, especially servants. I think I am going to stay with my wife for a while, and see if she is alright when she wakes."

Samar nodded. "Until then, your majesty, I will show your generals and advisors their rooms. They will be residing in this building also, for this is our largest and most luxurious building we have. I will send my wife or daughter later when and if you want to have the meeting."

Van shook the man's again and Samar bowed, walking out of the door. Van sighed and walked over to the bed and sat down next to his now-awake wife. He took hold of her hand and squeezed. "Are you alright?"

Hitomi checked her body and smiled, noticing how the pain wasn’t as bad as it had been. "I guess I can deal with it. Who was that?"

"A man named Samar. He is really nice for an elder man, and a smart and strong one too. I'm thinking of naming him the village elder. You will meet him later, when we have the council and all. He said he would send his wife or daughter later, so don’t worry if you need a servant to help you or anything."

Hitomi smiled and sat up, stretching languidly. "Are you hungry?" Hitomi asked suddenly, hearing her belly growl. Van laughed when he heard the noise, and he stood, walking over to the door and opening it. He blinked when he saw a young pretty woman with her hand raised, ready to knock. Her black loose hair tumbled down her back in glossy waves, and her prefect oval face nearly glowed with pleasure at the sight of him. She brought her hand back down to her side and blushed, curtsying. "Um, your highness, I am Alaineah, my father just sent me to ask if you would like some food."

"Yes, thank you. Would you—"

Van was interrupted by a short, very beautiful woman that he could only guess was Samar's wife. She was really young for a man of Samar's age, she only looked about thirty-five or younger. The woman had a sweet air about her and Van wondered if the whole family was as good people as Samar seemed.

Alaineah moved out of the way so her mother could talk to the dashing king of Fanelia. Just looking at him made her pulse flutter. She could have stared at him for the rest of her life.

Jeana curtsied and Van took her outstretched hand, placing a kiss on her wrist. The woman blushed furiously at this and she curtsied again, saying, "My husband has sent me to ask if her highness needs anything, and my daughter for food. Is there anything else you wish?"

Van glanced over to the young woman, who was staring at him with such longing and hunger that he felt an embarrassed blush rising on his cheeks. "Um, no. Thank you for everything." Van turned back into the room and asked Hitomi if she needed anything. Hitomi pondered for a second and then said, "No, I'm fine, just food."

Van thanked the women again and they sped off, getting the food ready. He went back into the room, closing the door. He sat back down on the bed and Hitomi glared at him. "Was that girl giving you a more than suspicious stare?"

Van tried not to smile at the jealousy in her voice. His Hitomi? Jealous? He decided he needed to explore this. Upon the grin the appeared on his face and the shrug on his shoulders, Hitomi gasped and took a pillow on the bed, hitting him with it as hard as she could. By then he was laughing so hard that she just had to keep attacking him with it. Van took hold of his own pillow and whacked his wife with it hard. She screeched at him and jumped on him, hitting him as hard as she could with her pillow. He was laughing so hard that he could barely get in any well placed hits, and Hitomi just continued attacking him. Finally, when he couldn’t breathe, he took it out of her hands and pinned her arms to her sides. While she struggled to get out of his hold, he regained his breath.

"Oh, God, Hitomi, you make me laugh so hard," Van said, trying not to laugh anymore. Hitomi growled at him and plopped back down on the bed, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting. Van chuckled and stood to get away from anymore of her attacks. He was rescued by a knock and he opened the door, receiving a large tray of food from Alinaeah. He thanked her and closed the door before she could say anything, almost afraid of her blatant infatuation. He set the tray down on the bed and Hitomi promptly started shoving food in her mouth.

"I don’t know how you manage to stay so trim," Van muttered to himself. Hitomi heard it and smiled.

"Between you and the twins, I'm sure all of you will help me use it up."

"They way those little pigs grunt when their nursing, they'll consume it all for themselves."

"Now don’t be jealous," Hitomi cajoled sweetly. "You'll have as many chances to gain my attention as you could possible want after my two months are up."

Van leaned forward and kissed her lips lightly. "Promise?"

Her eyes glowed back at him, conveying such a vow to be duly sworn to.

After they were done eating, Hitomi begged to leave, considering she didn’t want to sit around. She already missed Merle, and she wanted to explore for something to do. Van looked nervous about her leaving and being all by herself, but he smiled suddenly, telling her to be careful and stay close to the village. Hitomi gave him a big grateful smile, walking outside with a light white shawl around her shoulders and dressed in her light blue gown that she had wanted to wear earlier. She felt beautiful, and she felt like showing off her rare confidence.

Walking away from the town, she disappeared into the darkening woods.

 ******************

Van smiled when he saw Hitomi come back to the town an hour or so later, just walking around and checking out the construction, which she seemed fascinated by.

The meeting had just adorned, but wasn’t finished. They still had many more hours to pour into this new village, which wasn’t going to be a village much longer if the people kept coming. Reports from the other two villages revealed the same, and they were only about two hours away from each other. He wanted this business to be done as soon as possible, for he wanted to see his twins. He already missed them to death.

Hitomi walked back into the housing area that she was staying in and got a better look of the inside, before retreating to her own room with Van. She was in an exploring mood lately.

Van was standing at a large window which overlooked the town. He didn’t seem to notice her. He looked to be in intense concentration. So, instead of bothering his kingly intellect which he was silently indulging himself with right now, she sat down and enjoyed her second favorite pastime: watching him. She wasn’t going to say what her favorite was.

Van started chewing on his lower lip as he thought about Fanelia overall. He still owed Asturia and Freid tons of money that they had loaned him for the reconstruction, but giving it back wasn’t going to be a problem at all. He wasn’t worried about money, he was just wondering about what Fanelia would be like after a few years. If anything, this once poor and small country was expanding to extreme power, getting up there with Asturia and Freid, if not past them.

He turned his thoughts back to the meeting, remembering Samar. He had suggested a strong solid rock wall built around the village, if not all of them. Van had agreed that this was very necessary. He smiled, wondering if his coffers were going to be emptied by the end of the war because of everything he was spending money on.

Which brought him to another concern. Hitomi's birthday. He hoped he wasn’t spoiling his beautiful wife, although he wanted to more than anything. God only knew that she spoiled him when she got the chance, he thought with a big evil grin. He hoped she would like the garter he had gotten for her a while ago, the one he had never gotten a chance to give to her. He had other presents, like her fixed earrings and necklace that had gotten ruined from her little adventure in the forest. They looked brand new, unlike how they had looked after she had come home.

"Van."

Van spun around, surprised to hear someone call his name. He got a soft smile on his face when he saw Hitomi sitting on a cushioned chair. He sat down next to her, gathering her close. "What were you doing?"

"Oh, nothing."

Van gave her a skeptical look and she giggled. "I was watching you."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Since when do you watch me? I thought I was the only one who ever stared."

She smiled warmly. "You have no idea."

Van started playing with the soft hair by her ear and leaned closer so he could inhale the scent she was wearing today. She smelled like trees and the wind. An odd combination, but wonderful nonetheless.

"Did I ever tell you that I love you?" Van asked suddenly.

Hitomi looked surprised. "Of course, silly. You tell me whenever you get the chance, although, you haven't said anything for a day or so."

"Well, your husband does, so don’t worry."

Hitomi was going to kiss him, but unfortunately they were interrupted. It was the generals. Van hid the sneer that came up to his face automatically by burying his face in her hair. He sighed when they started the famous clearing of the throats to get his attention. Didn’t they know they weren't allowed to watch royal affection? It seemed like they did when he did care, and didn’t when he didn't care either. "Yes?" Van muttered through his wife's hair.

"Um, your highness, we were wondering when you wanted to leave for the next village," General Dunwe said, wringing his hands, knowing that his highness should stop, that or they should leave. But they did neither.

Van took his face out of the haven of her hair. "What? We are at least staying here overnight! It's already dark, I don’t think it would be very safe for anyone to be traveling at this time."

General Eagan nodded, completely agreeing. The other men didn’t seem to agree with him or his highness, but a voice spoke that broke no argument. "His highness clearly said no, so leave us alone and go seek out your rooms or do something useful while we have a chance to enjoy ourselves. Why don’t you? Surely you would like to have fun sometime also?"

The generals stared at the queen like she had just grown two horns out of her head. She had a pleasant smile on her face, but her eyes shot daggers. They bowed and nodded, leaving their majesties.

Van was quite agape at what had just happened. "It's not fair how they listen to you and not me," he whined.

"Of course they listen to me. I am the queen."

Van frowned over a smile that was threatening to come up to the surface. "And what am I? A farm boy of no account?"

Hitomi snorted. "Surely that is more majestic than what you are. A farm boy would be considered above a king compared to a rat."

Van's face looked shocked before he laughed. "A rat? That’s what you think I am?"

"Would a pig suit you better? Or dog, or randy goat, or—"

Van was laughing too hard to hear what else she had to say. "Hitomi, sometimes I wonder about you."

Hitomi yawned suddenly and tried to hide it. She was getting too tired to keep her eyes reasonably opened, and Van noticed this. "Ah, so my...some kind of animal wife is tired now??"

Hitomi giggled over another yawn. Van stood, picking her up and carrying her to their bed. He was tired himself, but he still had a few hours to stay awake and watch over her himself before he could let his body rest. They would leave tomorrow afternoon if nothing got in the way in the meantime. Until then, sleep was necessary and would be issued to the needy, like his wife and himself.

 ******************

It was the next morning when Hitomi felt it. She was walking through the halls of the building they were residing in for the time being, and she felt the back of her neck tingle. She turned around a corner and waited. Nothing came.

She sighed, starting back down the hall again. Her imagination was acting up, especially with all the worries she had. But whatever she did, the feeling would not go away. She went around another corner and opened a door, going inside silently, closing the door until it was opened only a crack. She wanted to yell in frustration, for no one seemed to be following her, but she felt it. She hadn’t heard anything, but she had gotten the feeling someone was watching her.

She started to get scared after a while, the insecurity of being alone and without a chaperone making her unsafe and vulnerable. She started back to their room, searching for her husband. Van would protect her, she thought with a smile.

When she opened the door to their room, she heard hushed voices inside. She tensed, wondering who and what would dare to go in there beside her husband and herself.

She pressed her ear up against the door, trying to hear better. It didn’t help any. She placed her hand on the knob, turning slowly. The door opened a tiny crack and she could see Van's back, and a pile of hair held up by a small black bow. The black ribbon only accentuated the person's even more pure ink black hair. From what she could tell, it was a woman.

They were still talking quietly, and she still couldn’t hear. Van turned slightly, exposing his side, and the woman. Hitomi gasped. She was beautiful, just the kind of woman Van would like.

She was wearing all black, her short leather skirt emphasizing her slender and curvy legs. She had leg-hugging soft leather boots that laced up the side and went mid-calf. She had some sort of leather bra thing going on, Hitomi had no idea what to call it. She had a long deadly sword at her side, the hilt carved into a silver dragon. The scabbard was black also, but at the ends had silver metal to keep it together. She looked like some sort of slayer or assassin.

At the moment she had her head bowed and she was staring at the floor, her left hand resting on her sword. Van started pacing, something that he hadn't done for a while. He was nervous; he only did that when he was.

Alhana watched him with admiration, and not bothering to hide it. He seemed like he couldn’t make his mind up about her question, one that she had asked many times. She watched his graceful movements, surprised at them for he was a man.

Van glanced over at her and sighed. "Fine, come to me later."

Hitomi felt horror go through her. No, no, it wasn’t what it seemed. It couldn’t be. She stepped out of the portal and started running back down the hall, closing the door before anyone came and opened it. She got to the corner and leaned against it, trying not to hyperventilate. Her hand clutched at her chest and she gasped for air, trying to clam down. She fell to the floor and became extremely dizzy, her world spinning and dipping. Her head lolled back and she collapsed into the welcoming darkness.

Van distinctly heard a loud thud out in the hall, and he walked out, reaching for his sword. When he realized he didn’t have one on, he ran back into his room and grabbed it. He walked back down the hallway and found his wife lying in a heap on the floor, her hand still desperately clutched at her chest. He didn’t at first react and his mind didn’t register what was happening. When he snapped out of it, he was shoved out of the way, a horde of men rushing over his wife. His generals started yelling and cursing him, wondering why he hadn't done anything to help her, and wondering if he had been the one who had done this to her. They all picked her up gently and carried her into the room, Van following after them, swearing at himself.

Alhana stayed far behind, watching carefully and wondering if the queen was alright. When she decided she had just passed out and heard his men start talking to her, she left, walking outside and waiting in the doorway.

 ******************

Hitomi was stuck all by herself in the carriage. She hated everyone at that moment, even people she didn’t know. Upon Van's order, one that seemed no one would dare step in about, she was shoved in the carriage with nothing to do.

Van and the generals still didn’t know what was wrong with her, and they wouldn’t leave her alone. She wasn’t feeling particularly nice or queenly at the moment, she just wanted to home and cuddle her babies. She missed them.

When the group arrived to the next village, Hitomi was immediately ushered into a room at which she was locked in and told to rest. She felt tears come to her eyes, wondering if this was going to last long, and if she was going to be isolated for the rest of her life.

She let the tears spill over. She let all her grief and anger burst forth, things that she had been holding in pour out of her. She missed her dad, her brother. But most of all she missed Yukari and Amano. The vision she'd had still bothered her, and she had the distinct feeling that her best friend wasn’t going to be alive much longer. She longed to tell her, but there was no way. She wanted to go back to Earth just for a while, just to visit again. She had thought that her undying love for Van would disintegrate everything that she had held dear on earth and help her exchange her life to Gaea's. It had in a way, but Earth was her home no matter what she really thought.

She sniffed and wiped her tears away. She was sitting on the floor with her arms wrapped around herself. She had never felt so alone and by herself.

Van...what was she to think? Who was that woman? Should she ask? She should. She knew she should, especially before she made any rash decisions.

Her object of her thoughts walked into the room then, and she scrambled up, smiling and hiding her tears. He didn’t seem to notice, in fact he just walked right past her and flung himself on the bed. He looked tired, and in the next moment, he was asleep.

Hitomi wanted to yell at him and force him to wake up, but he had looked exhausted. It wouldn’t surprise her if he started snoring or something. She gave him one last look before she walked right out of the room. She could and would take care of herself. She didn’t need anyone else to help her do anything.

When she had walked out of the simple building, she realized she didn’t know where to go or what to do. This town was as foreign to her as Australia on Earth. She lifted her long skirts above her ankles so she wouldn’t be dragging them in the dirt and mud and started off. It was late, the sun had set and the Mystic Moon was visible behind its partner in the sky. It glowed a magnificent blue and green, illuminating the land.

She moved down the muddy street, still not knowing where she was going. It was silent, no one was around. She saw the buildings that were erected already had trash and other forms of disgusting waste in-between them. The enormous tents that surrounded the town were lit with lanterns and candles, for the people who were awake.

As she walked closer to the buildings, she heard a familiar noise. It got louder as she approached it, whatever it was. It sounded like wailing, a person crying. No, it was more than one person. It sounded like several people. A funeral? She shook her head. It was too late for that.

She walked to an alley between two buildings, and she was more than reluctant to go down it. The filth was thick, and she didn’t want to walk over and through it. But whatever was crying needed her, she could just feel it.

She went down it, crawling over the abhorrent things, whatever they were. She saw a large pile of rags, or what looked like three large bundles huddled together. Remembering Varie, she had the feeling they were people. Hungry little kids? Or just hungry people in general? She didn’t care, she would help them anyhow.

Hitomi wasn’t hesitant to walk up to the small gathering of people. "Hello? Do you need help? Are you hungry?"

The crying ceased and the three shaking bodies shuddered to a stop. A veil of rags was pushed back on all three bodies to reveal women. They were thin, young, probably of her age or less, but it was hard to tell through the grime and dirt. One stood and wobbled, almost falling down before she leaned against a wall, breathing hard. Hitomi watched her, a soft look on her face, telling them she was trying to help.

"Yes?" the woman asked, her voice sweet and smooth. Hitomi smiled at her.

"I don’t know if you know what I look like, but I am the queen of Fanelia. I want to help you. Are you hungry?"

The woman stared at her. The other two stood along with her, not saying anything. Finally, one said, "Help? Why would you want to help castoffs? Go back to your kind."

Hitomi frowned slightly. "I don’t know what you went through, but I am offering help. Why would you turn it down? I want to help you. If you come back with me, I will get you cleaned up, a room to stay in, and some food. Please, I hate to see people suffer." She didn’t add that she wanted to see Seibu and Dilandau suffer.

"Food?" one whispered, her eyes glittering and tears coming to her eyes. "Would you really feed all of us?"

Hitomi held out her hand, not caring how dirty these people were. Dirt could be washed off. The littlest one, the one who had just spoke, automatically put her hand in hers. She couldn’t be any older than fifteen. Hitomi felt shame and rage that someone had thrown these women out. "Follow me. I promise I will take care of you. No one will ever hurt you again."

The girl looked back at the other two, who were clinging onto each other. Hitomi urged them silently with her eyes, although she didn’t think they could see her that well.

"Please, Myna, I'm so hungry. You heard her. She said food. And clean. A room. All in one sentence. You know you want it. Please," the girl begged, reaching out her hand to pull her along. The woman was a little hesitant, but at the smile on Hitomi's face, she grabbed the other one's hand and they all started out of the alley.

Hitomi felt triumphant, but only on a small level. What had caused those women to be living like that? And how long had they been as street urchins?

She walked in through the front door, only to find everyone asleep. Hitomi was grateful, for she doubted that the people would welcome what they would call street rats into their home.

Hitomi led them as a linked chain to a room where everyone took a bath. It wasn’t the marble pool that Van and her had at the palace, they were just old large wooden tubs.

"Alright, now, I must warn you about something. You have to be quiet. Other than that, have all the fun you want. I'm going to go get you some food, and see if I can get you girls some rooms. But shhhhh," Hitomi whispered, letting go of the girl's hand she was holding on to.

"Um, what is you name?" one of them asked, the one she thought was Myna.

"My name is Hitomi. I am so happy that I found you, don’t worry about anything. Like I said, I will make sure nothing happens to you girls."

Myna smiled. She introduced the other two girls. She pulled forth the littlest one. "This is Stephanie, but we call her Steph. She tugged the other one next to her and said, "This is my sister Cerynise. And I am Myna."

Hitomi gave a slight curtsy, and the girls smiled. "Thank you for telling me your beautiful names. Now, I will let you get cleaned up, take your time, and I will get you some clothes and food. But remember to be quiet," Hitomi said with a big smile. The other girls giggled and Hitomi left, closing the door and locking it just in case. It wasn’t that she was scared they would leave or something, she just wanted to make sure no one would walk in on them, although she doubted that would happen in the middle of the night.

Hitomi went to the kitchens and dug out a huge pile of food. It wasn’t very luxurious, but it was food, and that was probably all that mattered to those girls.

She started chewing on her lip, wondering how she was going to get into her room and get clothes without waking Van. He was tired, but that didn’t determine if he was in a deep sleep or not. What if he woke up? What would she say?

She started walking up the stairs and got to their room. She opened the door and crept in. So far so good. Van was still sprawled all over the bed, making her smile. She walked to one of her many luggage bags piled in the corner and picked up one of the bigger ones. She opened it, but it clicked when it did. She jumped and held still, praying Van wouldn’t wake. He didn’t. She sorted through her gowns to find three. The girls had all pretty much looked the same size, but she wasn’t their size, especially in the chest area. She smiled at the thought.

She dug out three dresses, three chemises, and six stockings. Everything they basically needed for now. She walked out of the room, closing the door. Mission accomplished, she thought to herself with an evil grin.

She went back down the stairs to hear the girls through the door saying, "Hurry up, Steph, you wanted food. Dry off faster than that! We are already done!!"

Hitomi knocked before she unlocked it and went in. The women were standing by each other and smiling, wrapped in towels. Hitomi had to admit how much better they looked clean, even though she still couldn’t see them very well. "I got you some clothes, do you know how to get into them?"

They all three nodded and Hitomi handed them out. "I will be right back, I'm going to go get your food."

Their faces brightened even more and Hitomi smiled some more. All this simple stuff was making them happy. It made her feel good that she was helping people, her people.