Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Heart of the Dragon ❯ Power ( Chapter 26 )

Chapter Twenty Six: Power

 

It was the next morning when Hitomi realized she had fallen asleep out in the middle of the hall, protecting the door that her girls were sleeping in. They had stayed up most of the night, talking. Hitomi had discovered so many amazing things; things she realized had made her so angry she had felt violent.

 

Those poor girls. Steph was only fourteen, and pregnant. All of them were except for Cerynise. She had been pregnant, but had lost her child.

 

Hitomi had been so shocked to see the rounded appearance of their waistlines that she had stared. The girls had been shy and reluctant to tell her their stories, but in the end they had.

 

All of them were from a poor family, a family that had sold them for money. Hitomi wondered if that was even legal in Fanelia.

 

The young women had been sold to a brothel, and against their will. They had been working for less than three months when all of them had ended up pregnant. Cerynise, from what Hitomi had learned, had been beaten by the mistress of the brothel, just to rid her of the child. It had worked, in fact, Cerynise had almost died. The other two girls, Myna and Steph, had gone against their mistress's orders and had gotten a doctor, causing them to be thrown out with less than the clothes on their backs.

 

Hitomi felt outraged that someone could be so cruel. How could a woman throw those poor pregnant girls out by their ears and in the middle of winter?

 

She yawned and stretched, wondering what she should do. Was Van going to let her bring home three girls, two of them pregnant?

 

She smiled, remembering how funny it had been when Van had complained of pregnant hormonal females walking around the palace throwing up and every other thing. She stood up and opened the door the girls were staying in, wondering if they were still sleeping. They were, so she closed the door, walking away. She wanted to see Van, just to check on him and make sure everything was alright. She also needed to ask him about that woman.

 

When she got there, she discovered he was gone. There was a letter sitting on the bed. She picked it up and read it.

 

Hitomi, I don't know where you were last night, but I hope you are alright. I'm at a meeting right now, don't worry. I love you.

 

Hitomi smiled and sat down on the bed, clutching the letter to her chest. She was daydreaming her head off when the door opened and Van stepped in.

 

"Hitomi?" Van said with a smile. She sat up and looked a little hesitant before she jumped up and ran into his arms. He held her close and whispered in her ear, "Is something wrong?"

 

Hitomi shook her head and blinked, suddenly remembering something. She was twenty today. She was no longer a teenager. She felt sad, considering half her life she had been one, and now she wasn't. So much had happened to her in her teenage years, and now they were gone forever. She swallowed her sadness when she suddenly felt Van lifting up her gown. She was too shocked to do anything but not move, and when she felt Van slip something lacy up her leg, she jumped.

 

"Happy birthday," Van whispered in her ear and dropped the hem of her gown. He pulled away and gave his wife a lazy smile, at which she jerked her gown back up and looked at what he had put on her. When she saw it, she gasped and promptly let go of her gown when she saw it because of shock. She looked back up at him, her hand over her heart. When she got over the shock and amazement, she gingerly lifted her gown back up, giving the garter a longer look.

 

The band was only an inch or so wide, but it had two rows of the tiniest diamonds encrusted around the whole thing. It was all white, maybe with a hint of blue in it. She let her gown go and jumped back into her husband's arms, squealing her happiness and jumping in his embrace. "Oh, Van!! It's so beautiful!! But you shouldn't have! It looks like it cost a lot, I know it did. You shouldn't spoil me like this...I can't even repay you..." Hitomi said, sad now. Her jumping ceased and she pulled back in his arms. She dropped her arms and automatically started playing with her wedding band, which she had found she was doing a lot more lately.

 

"Hitomi, you don't have to pay me back. You should know that. Just you being here, just you being alive is all that matters. Now come here, I'm not done with you," Van said, a wicked smile on his face.

 

Hitomi cocked her head to the side.

 

"Close your eyes."

 

She gave him a suspicious smile but complied. She felt something cold go around her neck, but it immediately heated and turned warm from the warmth of her skin. She smiled when Van asked her to hold out her hand. She did; she felt something that was familiar, but she couldn't place it.

 

"You can open you eyes. Don't be too surprised," he chuckled, amused by it all.

 

She opened her eyes and fingered the necklace at her throat, remembering now since she had seen the earrings in her hands. "You got them fixed! Oh, thank you, Van!" She hopped right back into his arms, nearly knocking him down. He was trying not to laugh, but she silenced him by covering his mouth with hers. He wrapped his arms around her tighter, sighing into her mouth. He missed kissing her.

 

Hitomi had him pushed up against the door, and when Van suddenly felt his back being pounded through the door, he searched blindly for a lock to keep the people away so he could play with his wife a little longer.

 

Unfortunately, he never got the chance, and he let go of his wife just long enough to say, "Let them walk in and embarrass themselves. I want to see them turn so red they will pass out." Hitomi blushed and he bent down again, giving her a kiss that fair took her breath away.

 

The door opened, and the generals stood in the passageway. They all gasped when they saw their majesties standing in the middle of the room, kissing. It was more than a kiss, if anyone wanted general Dunwe's opinion. Van's hands were wandering upward, until his fingers grazed her breast. They were nearly sealed together, leaning against each other for support. The general's were just so surprised that they had no idea they were staring and not immediately closing the door.

 

Van was trying not to laugh, he could tell his wife was ready to moan, but that wasn't why he was ready to laugh. His generals were still standing there, and he didn't know why. Did they want to see what he would dare to do in front of them? He let go of his wife's lips and traveled down the column of her neck, purposefully trying to make her moan. Her hands were gripping onto his hair and almost pushing him down, but he wasn't done with her neck. He let his tongue caress the pounding beat and when he heard her moan, he started inching her gown upward. The men were still standing there. Now Van was starting to get pissed off, and he wanted to kill them.

 

He jerked her gown up so suddenly it didn't just make Hitomi jump, it made the generals jump, also causing the door to slam shut. He let her gown drop and stepped away from her.

 

Hitomi had to sit down. She had to or she would fall. There didn't seem to be anything close enough, so she just plopped onto the ground. Van smiled and apologized, immediately getting his wife's acceptance. "It's alright, Van. I just wasn't um, ready for that, or expecting it."

 

Van helped her up and brought her over to the bed and said, "I hope I didn't scare you by yanking your gown up like that, but those men just wouldn't leave. I guess I shocked them enough to get them to leave."

 

Hitomi smiled at him and he kissed her wrist, his eyes glittering. Hitomi smacked his hand back playfully, glancing at him shyly, her eyes down but a grin on her lips. Van found this amusing, and asked, "So do you like your presents? I might have more for you later, but that's not a promise."

 

Hitomi lifted her eyes, a mischievous glint in them, but Van didn't notice. "I loved them, Van. I just wish that I had gotten more."

 

Van blinked at her a few times, the smile falling off his face. Hitomi continued to play with the ring on her finger, trying not to smile.

 

"Oh."

 

Hitomi didn't think she could hold back anymore, so she just gave up. She burst out with, "I can't believe you fell for that old trick, Van!!!"

 

He gave her an annoyed look, but she could see how he was trying to fool her. It wasn't going to work. She leaned forward and locked her arms around his neck, making them fall back on the bed, Van on top of her. She gave him a wicked smile and asked, "I bet you can't wait until I'm healed."

 

A grin crept up on his lips and he gave her a quick kiss before he said, "You have no idea. I'm going to keep us locked in the same room all day long, no interruptions."

 

Hitomi's eyes darkened, visualizing it as she licked her lips. "What are we going to do?"

 

Van pretended he didn't just see that, nor heard that. He gently pushed her off him, walking across the room before he did something he would regret. "Oh, by the way, who are those women downstairs in that room?"

 

Hitomi hadn't expected that. He didn't sound mad, so she just confessed. "I, um, I found them last night, they were living in an alley, they were really hungry and poor, they didn't have any money. And two of them are pregnant. I hope...I hope that your not mad at me, Van, dear, honey, darling, sweetheart, precious, my love—"

 

Van laughed. "I'm not mad, Hitomi. You should know that by now I don't get mad at you for doing good things. Oh, let me guess. You are going to bring them back and start some female, poor homeless thing, aren't you?"

 

Hitomi tried to look innocent, but it didn't succeed very well. "You aren't mad at me like you said right?"

 

Van walked back over to her and took her hand, leading her over to the door and down the hallway. "Why don't you introduce them to me? Since they are going to end up living in our home."

 

Hitomi started wringing her hands. "I, uh, don't know yet. They might be scared of you, or they might not want to live with us. Maybe they want to stay here."

 

Van gave her a look that said 'shut up and just open the door'. Hitomi smiled and cracked it open, wondering if they were going to be awake yet.

 

She saw Cerynise awake and lying in bed. The other two were still sleeping. She hadn't noticed her yet. She must be in another world, Hitomi thought. She turned back to Van, whispering, "Only one is awake, the other two are sleeping. You know how pregnant women like to sleep."

 

Van looked for a window so he could see the position of the sun, but there wasn't any near. "It's past eleven, that's all I know. Maybe you could go wake them up...???"

 

"Uhhhh...." Hitomi walked back in to the room loud enough that Myna shot up in bed, her hair a wild array of tangles and knots, much like how hers normally was. Cerynise was glancing at her warily, and the little one, Steph, was still coming out of it. "I'm sorry girls, but I just wanted you to meet my husband. He seems very determined to see some other girls beside myself," she added through the door, hearing a chuckle.

 

Myna leaned over to shake Steph awake in a hurry. All of them were fluttering about and gasping, wondering what they looked like. Hitomi thought it was funny. "It's alright, girls, believe me, Van is very used to seeing a woman in a mess in the morning. You should see my hair," she giggled. The girls smiled and calmed, all sitting on one bed and huddling around each other, drawing the blankets up to their chins.

 

"Van, I suppose you can come in. But don't be shocked," Hitomi said loudly, waiting for Van to walk in.

 

He did just that, a smile on his face. He didn't seem at all surprised at the young women's appearance, which just made the women wary. Van was very gentle with them, didn't make any sudden movements, and was kind and sweet, trying to make them feel safe. They introduced each other, but Van didn't kiss their wrists, he just shook their hands.

 

After Van and Hitomi spent some time with them, they seemed to relax and get the idea they were safe and that everything would be alright now.

 

When Van and Hitomi left, they went back to their room to talk. It was then that Hitomi realized she had a big problem, and she left a minute to go find out what was wrong. Van was confused, but let her leave.

 

Hitomi strode down the hall to an empty room. When she checked herself, she realized that she was quite overflowing, and that the whole front of her gown was becoming soaked. She hadn't known this would happen, all she noticed was that she was painfully full, it almost hurt. She didn't know what to do. She tried to clean herself up, but it wasn't working very well, considering how much of her breast milk was leaking out. She silently cursed herself for being a woman, and everything they have to go through. She sighed, walking back to her room. When she went back in, she tried to figure out what she would say to Van.

 

She didn't even have to say anything, for Van pointed out the obvious as soon as she walked in. "Why is the front of your gown so wet?"

 

Hitomi chewed on her bottom lip and started wringing her hands. "I uh, I kind of have a problem, Van. I think I have to go back to the palace, like, um, right now."

 

Van stared at her, confused even more. "Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?"

 

Hitomi just blurted it out. "I guess that because I haven't been feeding the twins that I um, started making too much um, well...you know, and because it didn't have anywhere to go, I just started overflowing. I have to feed them or this won't stop."

 

At first Van didn't understand, but when he did, a smile slowly immerged on his face, getting wider and wider.

 

Hitomi started tapping her foot, her arms crossed over her chest. When he didn't say anything, she finally said, "Well? Are you going to let me go back so I can feed them?! You know, this isn't very comfortable either!! It's starting to hurt!!!"

 

Van was trying not to laugh. "Alright, I suppose you can go back. But make sure you bring those girls with you. I don't want to be stuck with more hormonal women!!" He couldn't help it; he just started laughing. Hitomi's face turned red, whether from anger or what, he didn't know.

 

"When can I leave? Now?! I can't wait to get away from your infernal hide!!"

 

Van sobered up, although he still had a smile on his face. "Ok, you can leave whenever you wish. However, be warned, I'm not coming with you, I still have work to do. Are you sure you can live without me?"

 

Hitomi gave him an exaggerated curtsy, saying, "Oh, my lord, I do not wish to leave your magnificent presence, it is just a matter of urgency. Please forgive me." She even gave him an innocent smile.

 

Van patted her cheek, going along. "Alright, my dearest. You have permission to leave my exalted presence."

 

Hitomi walked out of the room to tell the girls, muttering something under her breath about exalted her butt.

 

 

 ******************

 

 

He stalked out of the room, waiting for his wife to meet him in the hall. He was waiting for more men, and needed them. His army was enormous, but it was never enough.

 

Seibu smiled when she saw her husband, his hand covering the hilt of his sword at his hip. He looked agitated.

 

"Dilandau? Is something wrong?" she asked, coming over to his side. He gave her a quick glance before he went back to whatever he had been staring at. It was meant to anger her, but it didn't work. Especially when she held out his son and he smiled, taking him away from her. It always worked.

 

"So, I take it you want me to make some more raiding spells and get more men?"

 

Dilandau gave her that agitated look again, but it was wiped off his face when his son gurgled. He was totally fascinated by the sounds the child made.

 

"Fine, let me go get my sorcerer's book. How many men do you want? By the way, if you haven't noticed, we are running short of supplies, and some of the men are going hungry. If they aren't kept fed, they will lose confidence in you." She waved her hand in his direction as she walked away to get her book.

 

He was still mumbling something about women and how annoying they were when they weren't needed. She was used to this, so she didn't take it seriously.

 

Dilandau, now used to her beyond weird and odd chants and the mystifying and magical things that happened when she did them, gave the child over to an Angelslayer that just happened to be close by. He ordered her to leave, not wanting his son in any danger. One time, the force of her power had flung him off the floor and into a wall, causing him to be knocked out for a good two hours. He rubbed his head, remembering the pain he had felt afterwards.

 

Seibu, as if knowing what he was thinking, just smiled. "Do you ever get scared of my strength and energy that I put in these spells? I could have killed you easily. I need to learn to control this."

 

Dilandau snorted and took the book from her, even more annoyed. She flipped through it as he held the large tome for her. When she found the right page, she read a few lines and then read it again. "So, about five hundred men this time? We can't keep taking in a lot like we were earlier, we weren't prepared."

 

Dilandau just sighed, not caring. All he wanted was more men to kill Van with. That's all that mattered to him. What mattered to Seibu was the power of Atlantis, something that she had been trying all her life to get. All she had to do now was acquire the power, which was so extreme in its limits, he thought it impossible to obtain, and decipher the Atlantian language. It was so hard, she hadn't even gotten a forth of it done. She was just abiding her time, something that he hated since he didn't have any tolerance at all.

 

He watched as she closed her eyes. This was one of the things that creeped him out more than anything, that and the part after this.

 

He saw her eyes start to glow red underneath her lids, a bright light that was almost blinding. It got brighter and more illuminating as she concentrated harder. The room started to shake, almost like an earthquake was occurring. Wind started to blow, things being whipped around and tossed about in a whirlwind that surrounded them now. The trembling increased, and the winds shrieked as it howled past them. His evil smile appeared. This was just the beginning.

 

Her eyes shot open, two large red glowing orbs that seemed to charge the air with power. He was amazed as he was every time as small bolts of blood red energy starting curling around her form. They only lasted a few seconds, but were replaced with new ones as the old ones disappeared. The familiar sounds of electricity buzzed through the air. Then she started chanting, her voice sounding ethereal, almost like an echo, loud and the most astonishing thing he had ever heard.

 

"Cek sayu oay proyetor mo homitan son laf de magnitoan...hoit fort de son magnitoan!!" she screamed, lifting her hands into the air, letting the book go and him taking the weight.

 

She brought her hands closer together, almost struggling. Bolts of sheer power ran along the length of her arms, red and foreboding. Her nails seemed to grow longer, more wicked and sharp as a dark red, almost black ball of electric charge formed between her hands. Her nails seemed to curl around it as it got bigger, forcing her hands apart as its power grew.

 

He spun around, watching as white streaks flashed around them, drawing into a sphere. Her ball of energy grew larger, and her arms seemed like they were struggling to hold it up. The twists and curls of red energy that flamed about her got more intense, more blazing. He felt his hair start to stand on end as the power got stronger, the ball almost the size of a car. The white flashes started coming closer, being drawn to the orb almost like a magnet. He could see her body shaking and trembling. The force must be too powerful for her still, he thought. She was still recovering from giving birth and barely had half her strength back.

 

All of a sudden, the streaks of white pounded into the enormous red ball of energy between her palms, that was now the size of two large cars. Her eyes were glowing a mad red, her hair whipping around her head as the wind seemed to grow and beat down harder on them. He knew that if he didn't hold onto something soon, he would be flung away.

 

In a few seconds the white bolts disappeared into the giant red glowing orb, causing it to shoot up through the roof of the hall, but not destroying it. It went straight through it.

 

Seibu collapsed to the ground, her body trembling uncontrollably from the power she had just released, power she didn't have. Dilandau dropped down next to her, but he didn't touch her, knowing better. The first time he had done it, he had been electrocuted, and flung against the wall, again. He waited until the small sparks still roaming over her body dissipated and all together disappeared. He still waited a moment, knowing that there was still power going through her. Another lesson he had learned as he had been smashed into the wall once more. Don't touch her even if it seems her power had died off.

 

Her shaking started to calm, signaling his time to touch her. Her eyes were no longer glowing red, but the wind was still blowing, making their hair waft around softly. He picked her up, momentarily startled when he felt himself still be shocked by electricity. It didn't really hurt, but it still gave him a tingle. It would last for a few hours if he remembered correctly.

 

"Seibu, are you alright?"

 

She swallowed, her hands gripping at his arms as he carried her back to their room. He laid her gently down upon the bed, covering her as soon as he did. He repeated his question, and she opened her eyes. Her normal purple eyes were red, but not glowing. That would disappear along with her electrical charges within a few hours. "I...I'm fine. Just...so tired. So weak...." She went limp, signifying that she had fallen asleep.

 

He kissed her forehead lightly, not daring to press too hard and have his lips scalded or something. Another lesson he had learned when he had been thrown to the floor. He was just grateful it hadn't been the wall. He didn't know how much more his head could take.

 

He walked out of the room, waiting for his 'zombie' men to come to him. They could come from anywhere, Asturia, Freid, even Fanelia. Anywhere at all, as long as they had even a touch of evil in them, something that had them longing for more. It should take only a few hours for the first ones to start arriving, but could last days. It didn't matter. He just wanted more men.

 

 

 ******************

 

 

Hitomi arrived at the palace later that day, the three women in tow. She had gotten to know them much better, and she already felt a special bond between them all.

 

As the carriage pulled up the white stone driveway, the women leaned out the windows, gawking at the scene. Stephanie was the first person to jump out and exclaiming how wonderful everything was, especially now that winter was over and spring was just starting. The next two women, Cerynise and Myna, scrambled out themselves to get a look.

 

Hitomi smiled and laughed with them, amazed at how excited they were at just looking at the palace. They had never seen Fanelia's capital, and when Hitomi started walking inside, they immediately followed.

 

Merle heard the voices of several women, and wondered at it. Allen was currently away inspecting some minor fire at a house before he supervised the repair of the stables. She stepped down the grand staircase gracefully, her right hand holding up her gown and the other supporting Aleta. She smiled happily when she saw Hitomi glide into the hall, followed by three more unknown women. Hitomi went up to her and gave her a small hug before demanding to take Aleta and coo at her. Merle handed her over reluctantly, although she wanted a chance to inspect the newcomers.

 

The women stood in the doorway, their hands clasped in front of them. Merle walked over to them slowly, her eyes almost piercing them with her study of their person. When she stepped before them, she reached out a hand, getting ready to stroke her cheek and concentrate on them some more. Just to scare them out of their wits, she extend her wicked claws and scratched her cheek with her forefinger. Her nails were at least two inches long, and sharper than a knife. Poor Stephanie looked terrified; thinking the beautiful cat woman was going to eat them. She had seen animal people before, but not so much in abundance as she had in Fanelia.

 

Merle gave them a goodhearted smile and retracted her claws, holding out her hand to shake theirs. Cerynise was the first person to shake her hand, fascinated at the strength that seemed to radiate about the cat woman. She had noticed it in Hitomi too, but at a much more extreme level. She was confusing herself. She stopped thinking and just smiled while the cat woman shook her sister's hand and then Steph's.

 

"Oh, by the way," Merle said as Hitomi walked back over with Aleta to hand her over, "I'm Merle, you can call me Merle."

 

The women smiled as they introduced themselves also. Hitomi was about to ask where Allen was when he appeared in the doorway. He blinked when he saw her, wondering where she had come from.

 

"Hitomi? What are you doing here?"

 

"I...uh, I had to solve a problem, one that I should be fixing right now. Oh, before I leave, did anything happen to Fanelia while I was away?"

 

Allen smiled. Hitomi's queenly duties to the rescue. "Not much, just a small fire to one of the houses. It can be easily repaired."

 

"Oh, no! Was anyone hurt? Do the people need somewhere to stay? They can come here—"

 

"No, Hitomi, they are fine. It was just the roof, it was an accident. It's already being repaired, thanks to me," he added with a hint of bragging in his voice. "By the way, I have to be off to the stables. I'm going to oversee the rest of the rebuilding when that man started that fire. Until then, ladies." He bowed to all five of them, giving Merle a quick kiss on her lips and a small caress to the head nestled against her before he left out the front double doors. Merle was staring dreamily after him, the women were gaping also, trying to comprehend if that was the most beautiful man they had ever saw or if it was his highness of Fanelia. Which brought up another question. Why was this man doing the work when Van should be?

 

"Well, girls, I have to go feed my twins. If you want—"

 

"Twins?!" Cerynise squealed. "Oh, can we come!!? We have to! We have to see these precious things that I don't believe his highness sired. Please? Oh, please???!" she begged, her hands clasped in front of her.

 

Hitomi smiled, laughing. "It's fine with me. Just be quiet. I haven't seen my babies for a few days, and I'm in a craving. I'm going to want to hog them all."

 

The women followed after her in single file while she went straight for the nursery. Hitomi excused Vera when she saw her standing beside the bassinet with her baby girl Malaika in it. She smiled, picking her up and cradling her before she went to get her son, Ryu. She had missed them so much. She couldn't wait to hog them all to herself, and Van wouldn't be here begging for them also. She smiled to herself, loving the thought.