Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Mark of a Goddess ❯ Serpent's Tongue ( Chapter 16 )

Chapter Sixteen

Serpent's Tongue

 

Folken carried Hitomi down to Van's convertible himself. She thought he was in too much pain to do something like that, but he told her that the song he sang made his pain go away.

“If I wasn't The Sorcerer and able to convince my body that I don't feel any pain with my song, I would already be dead. Right now, I don't feel anything, so I'll carry you. It's okay,” he said, taking her boyish body in his arms and lifting her high. “Let me take care of you this once. Besides, I don't want you walking since you're so sore. You can try to deny it all you want, Hitomi, but I know you're not well. You've hardly taken your hands off your gut since the fight. Also, if you walk out to your car alone, a Dragon Slayer might see you and think you'd be fun to play with. We don't want that,” he said saucily, almost like he had a sense of humour.

Hitomi protested, because of how awkward it felt to have Folken carry her, but it made no difference what she said. Folken wouldn't let her walk.

Hitomi felt embarrassed as they met several staggering Dragon Slayers on the stairs and in the hallways of the stadium. When they reached the main entrance, Folken called for Dallet, and he walked with them with a flashlight out to the car.

Folken set Hitomi on her feet beside the car as she fumbled with her keys and opened the door. Folken put his arm under hers and eased her into the drivers' seat without saying a word. Hitomi started the car and waited for the engine to heat up.

“Dallet,” Folken said. “You can go back in now. I'm sure I can find the door without any trouble.”

Dallet nodded, flicked off his flashlight, and disappeared.

“Listen, Hitomi,” Folken said, crouching beside her so they were eye level. He looked gentle and controlled again. “I don't want you to think that I don't appreciate what you're trying to do. It's nice that you're trying to make peace between Van and me. I just don't think it's possible. Van means what he says, and I'm ...”

“Tired of running away from a punishment you're sure you deserve?” she finished for him.

“It's okay, Hitomi. You don't have to fight for me. You're still a little goddess, and I'm sure not all of your abilities have been discovered yet. Someday, you'll understand why I …” He stopped speaking and shook his head painfully. “Never mind. It's not important.”

“Tell me,” Hitomi urged.

“Look, Hitomi,” Folken said acting as though he hadn't heard her. Then he took a tight grip on Hitomi's left arm - her tattooed arm. His motion completely distracted her from what he was about to say. His touch always left her bewildered. “I stole something from you, and because you've shown me such kindness, I want to return it. It was wrong of me to take it, but I thought you would never be able to consider me if you were always reminded of Van.”

Hitomi's eyes pricked with deep emotion and her eyelashes were soon laced in tears. He was giving her tattoo back!

Then he smiled at her and said gently. “It was never really gone. I just made it disappear for awhile.”

“Thank-you,” Hitomi breathed; her breath and his making smoky clouds of vapor in the cold of the winter night.

And with their breath so mingling, Folken said, “Let's never meet again …”

Hitomi reached out to put her arms around him. His leather jacket was stiff and hard with cold, so that hugging him was uncomfortable, but she didn't want to let go. The true meaning of his words was not lost on her. They were never to meet again because he didn't want her to stand up for him anymore. He was giving her his permission to side with Van. He didn't want her to be caught fraternizing with the enemy, and he didn't want to run away anymore.

Folken was such a hard person to understand. One minute he was kindhearted and earnest. The next he was the minion of the most evil Tarot user alive. The contrasts in his character confused her. He was definitely a dangerous man, but just now, after he had honestly shared something of himself with her, she felt that maybe the two of them weren't so different. Maybe they both started off the same. She just had someone good to guide her.

Folken seemed surprised at Hitomi's willingness to embrace him, because it sounded like he choked when her arms came around him. Then he chuckled and brought her into a tucked hug. “Maybe you are my baby sister.”

Hitomi smiled, although she still felt sick to her stomach. He knew just how to say things. His words made her feel very special and little, like she had finally been let into Van's family. It was so unexpected that Van's mafia boss brother was the one to welcome her instead of his aunt.

At this very moment, both Hitomi and Folken flinched at an earsplitting sound coming from the other end of the parking lot.

“FOLKEN!”

It was none other than the real Dragon, and he was yelling his head off. Hitomi saw him rushing toward them between two long rows of parked cars. He'd either escaped or Belinda had let him out. Whichever one was true, he had definitely arrived.

“Van!” Hitomi tried to call when she saw him, but her chest was too constricted, and her voice too weak to reach him.

Folken straightened his back and walked away from Van. He said that he didn't want to run away from Van anymore, but he was clearly walking away. Was it to put some space between them for a fight, or was he going to disappear into the stadium? Hitomi looked at his retreating back and she knew that she didn't understand. She guessed Folken wanted to see if Van would let him go.

Van gave Hitomi one enraged look before he rushed past her and stood behind Folken. He planting his two feet firmly in the snow and he yelled at his brother, “Folken! Turn around and face me!”

It was the exact Van Hitomi had worked so hard to hold back while she fought Folken.

“Van,” Hitomi called again, lurching out of the car, but Folken was right. She was far more injured than she'd let herself believe. She couldn't even stand up straight and she fell face first into the snow. “Van!”

Van didn't even turn to look at her, but instead repeated his challenge to Folken. “Come fight me!” he bellowed over the snow.

Folken didn't turn all the way around, but just enough for his voice to reach Van. “Hitomi is injured. Are you just going to leave her there in the snow? Is that all she's worth to you?”

Hitomi might have imagined it, but she thought she could feel Van's heart as it skipped a beat.

Then there wasn't a sound in the air except the crunching of Folken's footfalls on the crisp snow as he headed back toward the stadium.

Van stood in the parking lot, looking crestfallen and pissed off at the same time. Folken had just told Van the proper way he should be behaving and Van despised being told what the correct thing was by a person like Folken - Hitomi could feel it.

Hitomi had to get to him. She felt as though Folken had given her his permission to side with Van, as much as she hated to get it. She didn't want Folken to give up. She had to get to Van and calm him, but she could hardly raise her head. She tried calling to him again, but her voice was weak, “Van.”

His head whipped around like it was triggered by a rip cord. Then he steadily came towards Hitomi and putting his bare hand to her cheek, said in the tightest voice, “Hitomi, what you've done tonight … is serious.” He picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the passenger side of the car. Then he opened the door and sat her inside - without the least bit of tenderness in his motion. But he managed to ask her how hurt she was. She explained that she had been punched in the face and kicked in the stomach. Van nodded his head and shut the car door behind him.

Just then, Allen came running up. Apparently, they had driven together. Allen asked Van what had happened.

“We're going back to the mansion,” Van said. “Hitomi has already blown our chances. She's hurt, so I think we should go back.”

Allen was angry and he acted like it, but Van wouldn't let him take it out on Hitomi. Allen said he didn't want to hurt her, he just wanted to hear a full explanation and say some choice words to her about the trick she pulled, but Van wouldn't allow it.

“That's my job,” Van said, putting his hand on Allen's shoulder and telling him that they'd talk back at the mansion.

Hitomi put a hand to her mouth. She had never heard Allen so angry. Allen was always the gallant hero type, and he didn't say mean things to women - even when he rejected them or broke their hearts. He just wasn't that sort of guy, but when she heard him speaking just now, it sounded like he wasn't going to spare Hitomi.

Then Van got behind the wheel and put the car in reverse, but he didn't say a word. Hitomi watched Allen's blonde head as he headed back towards the truck and got inside.

Once they were out of the parking lot, Van started. “So, you have perfected the whole feminine wile thing. Good for you,” he said. His voice was like acid. “Just to make things clear, you have five minutes to explain why you locked Allen and me up, and what happened here at the stadium. I'd love to give you more time than that, but right now I'd beat the hell out of you if you weren't my wife - a feeling I never thought I'd experience towards you, so you'd better talk quickly. Go.”

Hitomi put her fingers to her temples and related the feelings she had about why Van shouldn't be allowed to kill Folken. Then she talked about how she decided to go to the stadium herself in order to change into Folken to talk him about turning himself in to the police.

“Oh? And how did that go?” Van asked poisonously, while he dangerously changed lanes.

“Van! You're going to kill us!” Hitomi gasped as she reached for her seatbelt.

“I'll drive however I want,” he said, pressing down on the gas petal even harder.

Hitomi clicked her seatbelt into place. “We're going to get pulled over!”

“Time's a-wasting!” Van reminded her tauntingly as he ran a red light.

“I changed into Folken!” she admitted. “But I couldn't stay in his body. He was hurt. He didn't properly heal after his wings split through his back. I don't know if they split out recently or if it was an old wound. I don't know, but I couldn't stand to be him. I was in too much pain, so I transformed into you and fought him in the stadium.”

“You did what?” Van spat. “And lost? How could you lose?”

“I didn't want to fight him. I wanted to convince him that you wanted to forgive him, but I couldn't convince him. You were so angry inside me and I couldn't figure out what to say to him that would make him listen to me. So, I got hurt.”

“You know what you've done, Hitomi! You've taken my chance to have a fair fight with Folken and thrown it away. I don't want to kill Folken in his sleep, or slip a poison into his cup, or shoot him with a rifle from a hundred meters - I want to fight him fist to face and beat the hell out of him! On my own! Damn you, Hitomi! Damn you!”

Hitomi closed her eyes tightly. Her speech had ripped her lip open afresh and it stung. She licked her lips and swallowed the blood. She couldn't answer Van for a second, so she just tasted her blood, and tried to think of what to say to him. Maybe it was best not to say anything just now.

“So, tell me Hitomi, what were you thinking?”

Hitomi hesitated before she answered. “I was thinking that there had to be something that you didn't know about the deaths of your parents, and once you knew it, you would want to make up with him. I thought that it would somehow turn out not to be Folken's fault.”

“And Folken told you what happened?” Van asked. “Is there something I'm missing?”

“He said he thought the gun wasn't loaded,” Hitomi mumbled.

“Oh? And did he try to evoke your pity with that old line? I've heard that too, but you don't understand - it doesn't matter if he thought the gun was empty. His desire to kill our parents was so strong that he didn't feel the kick on the weapon when he fired at my dad. He was so blood thirsty that he didn't feel the kick. Do you know what that means, Hitomi? Have you ever fired a gun in your life? You can't miss the kick. It's really strong. For a little girl like you it would throw your arm completely off target. You wouldn't be able to fire two shots in a row like that. So, either he shot two shots off at once in a murderous rage or he re-aimed and shot my mother on purpose,” Van stopped. Through his set teeth he went on, “You see, I don't believe his story that he didn't feel the kick. He was a fifteen year-old kid. I believe that his arm was thrown off course and he re-aimed … And that's why he's a bastard!”

Hitomi gulped. Van's perspective made as much sense now as Folken's had made back at the stadium. Hitomi stared out the window wondered if Folken had somehow tricked her into believing that there was a part of him that was good. She was so confused.

“I'm sorry, Van!” she found herself crying. “Why didn't you tell me this story yourself? Why didn't you tell me about Leon Schezar? Why didn't you tell me that Allen had double reason to go after the Dragon Slayers and the Zaibach Group? I feel like you've left me in the dark so much!”

“Leon Schezar?” Van questioned, sounding puzzled. “Does it matter? It's not up to me to tell Allen's stories. If he didn't tell you, then there's no reason for me to explain. It's none of my business.”

“Fine! I'll understand that, but still - why didn't you tell me the story of Folken and your parents?”

“Argh! Hitomi!” Van flashed in utter frustration. “Can't you understand that I don't want to talk about it? It hurts me and makes me vulnerable to talk about what happened. Can't you understand that I work so hard to be strong, reliable, and everything else, so you that you'll feel secure with me? How will it go over if I crumble in your arms about old wounds? You've given up your family and most specifically - your father - to be with me. I have to be the one man in your life and I have to be strong enough to protect you when I'm doing all this crap - fighting the Dragon Slayers. I told Allen that it was okay for you to be around us while we did all these dangerous, compromising things because you were strong enough to take care of yourself even when I wasn't around, but is that really true? You may be a goddess, but I can't deny my feelings, and my feelings tell me that I have to stay close to you and keep you safe like you're a jewel. I don't know what it is about you, Hitomi, but I see your delicate profile and feel the small bones in your wrist when I touch you and … bloody hell! I can't leave you alone. You say you're a goddess and that you're indestructible, and I think that there's no way in hell that's true, not when I know that I would allow my body to be ripped to pieces in exchange for your safety.”

Hitomi held her tongue. She never knew what to say when Van got intense, and she wasn't sure if she'd ever seen him like this before.

Van took a deep breath and kept speaking, “And that's not just lip service. I let Folken and Dornkirk bleed me for months because I believed it would keep you safe. If you love me, I can't understand why you're siding with Folken and refusing my protection. Tonight, I can't stand to look at you.”

Hitomi knew she was going to hurt Van when she handcuffed him to the bed, but she had no idea that the pain was going to run so deep. “It wasn't just for Folken,” Hitomi shouted quickly. “I thought that I wouldn't be able to live with you if you became a murderer.”

“Whatever,” he dismissed. “It seems to me that you've thought a lot about Folken since he started putting the moves on you. You make me crazy. You friggin' don't understand me, Hitomi! There is no one else in my life, except you. I hate to labour over the obvious, but I have no parents. I have no siblings. Balgus, my substitute father, has been gone for years and the hold that Flo would have on me, if I allowed it, is definitely too controlling. You know that she wanted to choose my wife for me. Ridiculous! And you wondered why I fought so hard for Allen's friendship. Well, this is the reason. I haven't got many people in my life, but my relationship with Allen is nothing compared to us.”

“I'm sorry,” Hitomi said, fluttering. She didn't know how to answer him.

“I'm trying to tell you that you mean everything to me, and that not only have you ruined my chance to fight with Folken tonight, but you've nearly burned my heart out of my chest. I have been so worried about what might happen to you since you went on your own,” Van said, taking his right hand off of the gear shift and putting it behind Hitomi's neck. “That, and I simply don't believe you when you and Dryden say that you're immortal.” Van abruptly let go of her and put his hand on the steering wheel, leaving her alone.

Hitomi bit her lip. “It's a lie, Van!” she hastily confessed.

“What?”

“Dryden told me later that he didn't think that I would be immortal until I stopped bleeding - only then would I have achieved `the goddess'. Do you see my lip, Van? I still bleed. I'm not immortal yet.”

Van inhaled sharply. “It's good to know that my instincts aren't totally off, but at the same time - you went to go reason with Folken when you knew that he could have killed you? What the hell is wrong with you?” Van burst, yelling again.

“You can say whatever you want, Van. I promised that I would listen to all of it without complaining, so you can yell as long and as hard as you want to, but I want you to understand one thing about me. I have to live forever, and I'll probably never be able to have children.” There, she dropped her bomb. Now she crossed her arms and waited for Van to answer her.

Silence.

“I couldn't stand to be without you too,” she said softly.

Silence.

She waited.

Silence.

“Well, talk to me Van. Tell me what you think. Talk!” Hitomi cried.

When he finally answered he sounded calm for the first time since he found her in the Dragon Slayer parking lot. “I'm sorry, Hitomi. I already knew.”

Hitomi didn't know what to think of that. “Dryden told me that he wouldn't tell you.”

“He didn't,” Van said steadily.

“Then how?”

Van didn't answer her but slowed the car down and unrolled the window. Van had never sped so recklessly before and Hitomi was shocked when she recognized the steel bars just on the other side of the windshield. They were back at Dryden's mansion already.

Van spoke to the guard on the intercom and the gate swung open. As they drove up the driveway, Hitomi saw that the valet was in the process of parking another vehicle. It wasn't Allen's truck. Whose car was it?

Van followed the valet to the garage and parked his own car himself. “Can you walk?” he asked her in a matter-of-fact voice.

“We'll see,” she said, putting her hand on the car door handle.

“Wait,” Van said, stopping her action. “We're not finished this argument.” Then he got out of the car.

Hitomi opened the door and straightened her body. She was trying to act natural, but her body was still really sore. She was beginning to question if Folken had broken her ribs. That man had a strong kick.

Van came around the back of the car and put her arm over his shoulder. “Now, I'm sorry that Folken beat the crap out of you. I won't make you walk alone, even though you seriously screwed up.”

Hitomi looked at Van. She knew that he'd be mad, but this whole situation had brought a part of his personality to light that she hadn't known existed. It was like meeting another Van.

The valet came up to Hitomi and Van and said cheerfully, “Good evening. You've heard the news, eh?”

“What news?” Van asked, while Hitomi found her footing.

The young man smiled, “Master Fassa is back.”

“Dryden's back?” Hitomi gasped.

“That must mean …” Van said cautiously, “that he's brought The Sun God with him.”