Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Piece of Her Wings ~Untouched~ ❯ Paradise of Fools ( Chapter 9 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

By: sadamex

Chapter Nine:
Paradise of Fools

Excerpts from Book I of The Atlantean Gospels, as transliterated by Sir Leon Schezar, worldly scholar, traveler, and renowned historian:

Long, long ago, before any man stood up and reached forth the bounty of the earth, before any creature came out from the shadows and gave their cry of freedom, before any leaf had sprouted from its mother soil, there were only the heavens and the earth.

It was a bleak, lonely place. The heavens were a mere blue veil atop a barren brown land. It was very much like a painter's canvas—plain and empty, waiting for the artist's hand to give it life, give it color, give it its endless possibilities.

Nobody knew when the first angel was made. They just suddenly filled that great expanse of sky above the awaiting landscape. Scores and scores of the winged creatures cried out in joy of their creation. After they had sung and praised to their hearts' content, they waited patiently for The Master to show them their purpose.

And then, it began. The colors soon burst out from one end to the other. Sparkling seas which mirrored the sky's blue serenity rushed in and rushed out until they knew where their ends would meet. Fresh hues of green dotted the bleak desert as trees, shrubs, and carpets of grass sprouted where the waters would not dare rush in. And then, as if a thousand stars which shone with every color of the rainbow suddenly scattered themselves above the earth, the creatures and plants of all sizes, all walks of life, all manner and color, were created to claim their homes.

And in that instant, the earth was a bleak place no more. It was thriving and teeming with new life.

And so the angels cheered and sang and praised to their hearts' content once more, for this was truly such a wondrous thing to behold. And after they were finished they stayed silent just admiring the beautiful masterpiece The Master had created.

And then, man was crafted.

He was made into something different. He had the intelligence and understanding the other creatures did not. He had the power of speech to make him known. He had the power to command and master all the other creatures in this earth. He had all the doors open to him—all the limitless possibilities available with his own free will.

And the angels were in awe at this curious new creature The Master had wrought so differently. They marveled at the first man who was given the ownership of this jewel of a planet.

And then, another one was crafted; more beauteous, more genteel, more fragile. The creature known as woman had entered the earth at last.

And while they were marveling still, The Master had now told them their reason; the purpose of their creation. They were created to carry out the multitude of tasks that would benefit the humans. Some were given responsibility over the stars, while some were given responsibility over the other worlds in the known and unknown universe. Some were given responsibility over the seas, while some where given responsibility over the elements. And then, there were those who were given the responsibility to watch over humans. Everyone had a purpose; not a single one was without meaning. They were just the same as the heavens, the earth, the seas, the lands, plants and animals. Everything was created for man and his mate, woman.

It was sound logic. Before you receive something special, something important—like a family heirloom, or a revered guest, or a new baby, all the things that one special thing should ever need must be put into place first. Rooms will be cleaned and furnished, chairs will be cushioned, beautiful chests will be brought out, sheets and new clothes will be pressed. Everything will be prepared before the coming of this important someone into the world—and that was mankind.

And so the angels cheered and sang once more for now knowing their purpose of meaning. And when The Master left them to move on with His task, they went to their posts and dominions and lowered their heads and fixed their eyes upon the fascinating race that had started to fill the land. And thus began the angels with their eternal task of guarding, protecting, and guiding the humans.

But some angels were bound to lose their way.

When the humans flourished and had scattered throughout the lands, distinguishing themselves from each other by color, appearance and tongue, some of the angels noticed that the daughters of man were truly beautiful creatures, marvelous beings to have and hold. And so, being eternally damned for leaving their posts, these fallen angels came down to earth, assumed human forms, and took the daughters of man to be their wives.

A sacrilege of the first magnitude, this blasphemous act of the union of two very different races resulted in chaos. Mutated offspring were born, such as giants, half-humans, and all the other creatures forever banished for their appearance. And these outcasts sought homes deep into the forest, where they lived in unison with the beasts of prey; and in the oceans, where they adapted by growing fishlike tails and gills along the sides of their necks. And they were very seldom seen, for they are hunted and killed by those humans who were their ultimate mothers.

And so, having erred in their ways, the angels found themselves to be forever bound to the earth, banished eternal from paradise. And in despair they sought out the world in search of a place to call their own, only to find that such a place does not exist.

And these fallen angels came together and wept, thinking that they will not find a place for them to exist. Until one of them raised his head as if seized by a mighty hand, a great design forming in his mind. And he shared it with his brothers, and soon they all raised their heads in agreement.

And so it was that they decided to create themselves a new world, a new land that was such as paradise, a place where they would return to someday. And with all their strength and power they unified their minds and willed the formulated landscape to be.

And from that day on, there was another world that existed between the plane of fantasy and reality, between the ultimate heavens and the earth: Gaea, the paradise of fools.

- - -

Hitomi flew well into the night. Her wings flapped into a rhythmic beat that reverberated through the silent winds. She was often amazed to see the power behind the gentle-looking wings. She was unsteady at times and her balance was still a little tipsy, but the moment she saw the dotted brown and green landscape retreat rapidly to be replaced by an endless blue ocean, Hitomi felt an extra rush of adrenaline that made her want to go even faster.

There's an ecstasy in flying that Hitomi couldn't describe. A few wing beats would be enough to glide easily into long distances, coupled with the rising warm columns of air that the cool night breeze have lifted from the sea, make it seem like an effortless way to fly. Once she learned the secret of finding those air currents and locking her wings as the warm column ascended her higher and higher, Hitomi felt the overpowering surge of exhilaration so intense that she had not noticed she'd gone so far up there were spots before her eyes.

And then there were moments of absolute peace and serenity. There is a sense of absolute freedom when you're gliding all alone across the glassy, glistening ocean. It was as if there were two skies in the universe, and they have engulfed you into one endless chasm—you look down below and see a million sparkles in that molten-silver ocean, and you look above and see a million stars in that velvet sky. It was this feeling of being alone in that cosmos that helped Hitomi heal in ways she could not even imagine. A lot of things that have unfolded before her had been painful, and this time of blessed loneliness have been helping her to move on.

Move on to the future.

Hitomi craned her neck and stretched her arms and legs. She had been flying for hours nonstop, fearing that if she did, her inner strength would crumble and she would turn back and return home to her Aunt Sora. The nurturing priestess had told her that she had to make a choice that would set the future into course, and she blandly thought if not choosing to choose could also be considered a choice. Would avoiding the two destinies put to motion a yet another third destiny? A few more minutes later and Hitomi's head started to hurt, and so she decided to stop worrying about things that did not happen anyway.

She rubbed her arms and face. Flying through the endless blue with the cool salty sea breeze rushing past her have rendered her body numb frozen. Hitomi suddenly realized that she was getting tired. There hadn't been a column of warm air she could ride on for miles. She remembered that she hadn't fully utilized her wings before, and so they must be lacking endurance due to the lack of exercise.

Her wing beats softened noticeably; her flight dropped dangerously low. Her shoulders slackened and her feet limped, cutting across the white foam as her toes touched the surface of the water. She just didn't have the energy, that's all, but that was still an unsafe predicament to be in since there was no stretch of land to be seen anywhere.

Until Hitomi looked up.

Seeing that Gaea, that paradise, was only just a few mere flaps away gave Hitomi newfound strength. Ignoring the sharp burning sensation she could feel from her back, she arched her body forward and thrust herself back into the winds. From high above her, sparkling clear water cascaded from the several lakes and ponds situated inside that floating land to join their mother ocean below, the sound of which was very soothing—like laughter in the rain. As Hitomi neared one of those high waterfalls, a rising warm air current caught her wings and she was lifted up and high above the ocean in no time.

As the honey-haired girl spiraled upwards, she saw the edges of the horizon tainted with the faintest of gold. She concluded that within two or three hours' time, a new day would arrive.

At last, Hitomi flew above the island itself, giving her its full splendor and beauty. Dark greens dotted the forests encircling two or three lakes, while a softer shade of green stretched out as far as grass was permitted to grow. Whole vales of wildflowers were scattered about the landscape, giving it a look of a very soothing patchwork quilt from the view above. But the best and most striking of all was the tall and slender towers of the magnificent white marble palace that was built upon a small sloping hill. Even in the darkness of night, the slender spires gleamed with unearthly beauty that would put even the purest of pearls to shame.

So many memories were calling out to Hitomi as her eyelids grew heavy. She fluttered downwards, the very tips of her wings quivering as if whisking the winds. Her balance still unstable, she had a little trouble landing but was quite alright because of the soft grass that cushioned her feet.

“I am home,” she murmured sleepily, collapsing into a heap on the grassy floor.

As Hitomi lay fast asleep, the crimson pendant began to shimmer, growing warm against her breast.

In a spacious room quite a ways from where Hitomi landed a pair of tired eyes opened abruptly as the Ancient Angel sat bolt upright. The minute Hitomi's feet touched the sacred grounds of Gaea, his dreams came into a grinding halt, along with a sense of apprehension and foreboding encounter that would soon come to pass.

The Ancient Angel turned his head to his side and let his eyes rest upon the edges of Folken's blue journal. “And so it nears the end,” he murmured wearily.

- - -

The sweet morning sunshine had filled the new day, painting everything it touched with liquid gold. Hitomi slowly fluttered her lashes open, oddly refreshed from with only a few hours' sleep. She yawned and stretched, taking out the kinks in her back. When the mist of sleep had been lifted from her head, she looked around her to see her environs.

She was on Gaea, that she could remember. She remembered flying over it and finally collapsing from exhaustion. Disbelief and excitement rushing all at once, she stood up and decided to have a look around paradise.

Hitomi brushed the grass from her skirt as she walked barefooted. The forest around her was not too dense to be called primeval, or was it too sparse to be considered a grove or woods. Giant trees with names she did not know towered above her, shedding years like rain falling from its countless leaves. Shafts of sunbeam burst through the canopy, illuminating each corner with a mellow, diffused glow. The wind would sigh as she passed by, smelling sweet to her nostrils. Hitomi stopped for a while to close her eyes and inhaled deeply. The fragrant scent of berries and sun-dried bark filled her whole body.

As she walked on with growing awe in each step, Hitomi couldn't help but to notice the differences Gaea had with the earth below. The trees and the grass were greener, and the sky above her was of a deeper shade of blue. Come to think of it, she had just noticed how incredibly sharp and vivid her senses are. The colors all around her were blazing; her ears could hear the song of a grasshopper far away. Even her touch—the soft pink fingertips—seem to be intensified a hundredfold. She could feel the velvety textures and waxy surfaces of each new petal and leaf. It was as if all this time, she had been living with one eye closed, and now that she had finally arrived, her other eye had been opened, intensifying her every perception.

When she came to grips with her discovery, Hitomi wasted no time in exploiting it. She would memorize a swallow's song as it soared among the clouds. She would follow the bird's trail, every delicate wing feather clearly visible to her. Then she would sample some of Gaea's fruits, feeling the soft, smooth texture of its skin. She could taste the sweetness and tartness melding in her mouth, devouring her tongue as her teeth seared their way through the crisp grain. The experience was so intense that she had to close her eyes often to relieve her of the overflowing sensations coursing through her body. This heightened awareness would sometimes leave her trembling; shivering down to the last feather.

Hitomi was resting beside a small sparkling pool in a shallow valley near the open fields. The wind was blowing softly, tickling her skin while the sun glowed demurely above. It was the kind of day when the sun was not too bright and would not cast shadows even though there were no clouds up in the sky. She had washed her face and even drank some of the sweet tasting water, the individual minerals known to her taste even though they have been blended perfectly into the clear elixir. Now she was just relaxing, the soft and moist ground cradling her as she viewed the capital; Gaea's marble palace.

From where she sat, she could see the individual marble blocks cut precisely to fit each other. The structure was about twenty stories tall, with the central main building adjoined with formal viaducts to either wing buildings. The adjacent structures were curved inward, embracing a magnificent formal rose garden which was overlooked by the spacious main building's top floor balcony. The columns and marble floors were all lined in shimmering gold, as well as the towering slender spires behind the capital. The entire palace was built upon a long sloping hill near the edge of the floating island, where it seemed to look upon all creation and smile down on the most beautiful city in the world.

Hitomi also saw the angels. Dark-haired, fair-haired, flaming red-haired, all manner of size and appearance. The angels went about their daily ways quietly, as if they have been doing this from time immemorial. Some angels flew to their watchtowers; some busied themselves to the gardens. The young ones would join the elders in their ministerial classes, their voices droning liltingly like bees in search of honey. Some angels carried books or scrolls with them, while some polished the rusty swords and armors drying out into the sun. To them, it must have been the same old story day in and day out, but to the earth girl Hitomi, it was the most fascinating thing she had ever seen.

And then a few moments later, the intricately ornate massive golden gates opened, and hundreds of the winged creatures flew off towards their assigned sentries below.

Hitomi stood up and gasped at the sight. It was exactly like what she saw back then over that cliff on top of the mountain on the night she ran away.

But why aren't there any women? She thought. She then decided to investigate a little further—she would walk up to the manor and ask them about it.

She had been standing for almost twenty minutes in the same spot, hoping someone would notice her and ask her what she was doing there in the middle of a busy rose garden, but nobody even glanced at her! They all just continued on their tasks, working silently and diligently. Hitomi fidgeted. How does one talk to an angel, anyway? Do you tap them on the shoulder and wave “hello” in front of their faces? Or do you have to bow and curtsy gracefully and address them as “my lords”? Or perhaps you really don't talk to them, that you must not even look at them eye to eye? Or maybe you should...

“My lady?” he asked for the third time. He had been poring over a map of wind directions and weather patterns, finding out which set of winds were traveling which way during this time of year. He had been quite distracted by this woman who just stood in the middle of the garden with nothing to do except to block out his sunlight, so he decided to ask her if she needed help (and to move her someplace else, if possible).

Hitomi had been so immersed in her own musings that she failed to notice the tall brown-haired angel who had just talked to her—thrice. Her face was so serious that her finger went tapping on her chin in thought. She kept mumbling half-phrases and disagreeing in frustration that the angel watched her with some amusement.

Smiling, he tapped her shoulder from behind, and she jumped with a surprised squeak and spun around. The chestnut-haired angel grinned and waved enthusiastically at her. “You should have done this sooner. Hello!”

Hitomi's jaw dropped, closed, and dropped open again, her eyes wide.

The angel flicked her chin close with his finger. “The correct response, I believe, would be `hi',” he whispered.

The sandy-haired female blushed with embarrassment that she could compete with the roses in bloom around her. “I-I'm sorry,” she stuttered, looking down at the floor. “I d-didn't mean to disturb you, b-but...”

Chuckling, he lifted her face to meet his gaze. “I said, the correct response, I believe, would be `hi'.”

A weak smile slowly began to take shape. “Hi,” she meekly squeaked.

“There, now. That wasn't so hard to do, was it?” he beamed.

Hitomi smiled nervously and shook her head.

His face twisted in feigned mortification. “Am I that intimidating?” he choked.

“No,” Hitomi laughed, finally at ease.

The angel gave her an easy smile. “That's better. A minute ago you looked so tightly coiled, I was afraid that you'd burst and stain my exquisitely boring white tunic.”

She giggled girlishly. She liked this one. “I didn't know how to approach an angel,” she confessed.

He waved his hand dismissively. “As long as you don't grab our attention by punching us in the nose, you'd be fine.”

“So I can grab your attention by elbowing you in the stomach?”

He pretended to think about it. “Yes, you can, actually.”

She laughed merrily, her entire body shaking.

“Although I personally prefer the shoulder-tapping approach—less painful,” he grinned as he offered her his arm. “May I, my lady? On the accord that you shall not acquaint your elbow with my stomach, of course,” he added.

Hitomi laughed at this and took his arm. The angel began strolling her away from the gardens, and when Hitomi looked back, she saw the discarded maps sitting haphazardly all over the bench where he was sitting. She turned to him and asked with a worried voice. “What about those things you were working with? Aren't you going to be in trouble for wasting your time on me?”

He put on a transparent hurt look. “My lady, in all my life I've been dipping my nose into those musty old pieces of parchment. Am I not permitted just once to look at something else that's not so old... cold... and has lots of mold?”

Hitomi laughed once again, shaking her head in defeat. “I only fear that you would get into trouble with this, sir,” she said.

“Nonsense,” he scoffed. “If my work was that important, do you really think I'd go working in the gardens?”

She sighed. “As long as my lord says that everything's fine...” she trailed off suggestively.

He grinned back as to answer her.

The winged female laughed softly as she put a fond hand on his arm. There was something so infectious about her companion that she couldn't help but laugh or chuckle or smile herself when he did so. “If you don't mind me saying, you're not exactly the kind of angel that I had in mind.”

The corners of his lips twitched. “Either that's an embarrassingly splendiferous compliment, or an embarrassingly absurd insult.”

“Well,” Hitomi began. “The last few angels I've met were too … formal.”

“Full of `thees', `thous' and `forasmuches'?”

“Exactly,” she grinned.

“Ah, dear lady,” he exclaimed in an annoyingly grand voice as he puffed up his chest. “An it pleaseth thee. Shouldst thy be in my most humble company, shall I provide thee and divulge unto thee the fullness of this most irritating language; e'en as the sun is my eternal witness and the wind my aide, yea, I shall lavish thee to thy heart's content till thou canst not stand any more.”

“No more! No more!” Hitomi burst, her shoulders shaking. “That was so bad. I never thought you could say all of those in just one sentence.”

“Two, I think,” he mused, reverting to his normal tone of voice. “You should listen to the speeches the barons in here have been giving. You'd probably think they don't even breathe anymore. I'm pretty sure that if a strong gust of wind had been blowing when they were talking, the echoes of their speech would have reached the end of the universe by now.”

Hitomi had a very hard time muffling her giggles.

“I never really did like archaic speech. All those `ests' and `eths' thend to thie up my thongue.”

Hitomi and the brown-haired angel hit it off almost immediately. They left the gardens and strolled in and out of the castle as the tall immortal toured her around the citadel. Hitomi soon found out that he was more human than angel. He was funny, accommodating, down-to-earth, and had that easy-going attitude that she had always admired in people. And above that, he was a gentleman; always offering her his arm or hand whenever they encountered rough terrain, or shielding her from the midday sun with his wings. Soon the day wore on, and she and the angel were friends.

“And then, and then,” he snickered breathlessly as the two of them sat among a field of wildflowers, the setting sun acting as their background. “The young widow said to him, `Sir! What did you do to me? I only wanted you to give body to my hair!'” he chortled. “And do you know what the witchdoctor said?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“He said, `Ooh... I heard it the other way around...'” the angel took a deep breath before both of them doubled over in laughter, clutching their sides in pain.

“That was terrible!” Hitomi gasped.

“Yeah, a terribly good joke!”

“Ugh! That's even lamer than the punch line!”

Then they threw their heads back and laughed some more.

And that was how Hitomi spent her first day in paradise. She was all smiles and laughter as she toured her new home with her new friend. She had missed the sound of her own laughter. She realized that it has been a long time since she had been so carefree. She thought of the days she spent on the earth down below. She thought of Millerna, and Allen. She thought about Naria, Eriya, Merle, Amano and Yukari, and her Aunt Sora. She felt that time had been too unkind for her, taking away her every precious memory a little too early.

“You miss the world below, don't you?” he suddenly asked, making the honey-haired girl come out of her thoughts.

She smiled weakly. “A little homesick, yes...” she admitted. “There were times of almost unbearable grief and loss, but home is still home, isn't it?”

The man nodded. “It's no Gaea by any stretch of the imagination, but you can't help but to fall in love with it.” He chuckled. “Sometimes I get the urge to fly down there again to have a look at what's going on.”

Hitomi looked up to him. “You've seen the world below?”

“Mm-hmm,” he nodded. “Back when I was still a guardian. I was assigned to protect a farmer's daughter. That was why I knew so much about weather patterns. When your livelihood relies on the bounty of rain or sunshine, you have to study it rather meticulously. And that is why I was reassigned to this job.”

“What kind of job is it?”

“Basically I'm like a rainmaker. I plot storm patterns and wind directions and snow levels. I have to direct which part of the world gets this super strong thunderstorm, and which part would get a teeny drizzle. It's all about balance. I have to keep things nice and equal,” he explained.

“I see,” Hitomi replied, finally understanding why he was studying a map when she saw him this morning. “But why were you reassigned?” she asked again.

He shrugged. “I fell in love.”

She blinked. “With what? The world below? That doesn't seem like a very bad thing.”

“No, with my human,” he replied softly, eyes faraway. “It came to the point when I had to see her everyday, every hour, every minute. I was like an angel possessed.” He chuckled softly. “Come to think of it, I was possessed. With love.”

Hitomi frowned sadly. “Aren't angels permitted to love?” she asked.

The chocolate-haired angel looked down at her. “There are many kinds of love, my lady,” he said. “But mortal love isn't suited for angels. Didn't you notice that there are no females here? We do not need mates; we have no purpose for them.” He looked away. “But I guess some things just happen...”

An uneasy silence came upon the two of them. Hitomi had her head bowed as she gazed at her hands feeling the grass; while her friend had his head titled slightly upwards as he looked someplace far away.

“Who was she?” she asked softly after a few minutes. “The girl—your human, I mean?”

He didn't reply for the longest time. Hitomi thought that what she just asked was too personal and that he wasn't ready to answer it just yet. Fearing that she might have jeopardized their friendship, she was about to retract when the angel murmured simply.

“Millerna.”

- - -

The sandy-haired female's head shot up after she heard him say a very familiar name. “Millerna?” she echoed, eyes wide.

The brown-haired angel nodded, a soft yet sad smile on his lips. “She was a loveable child... perky, sunny, quite spirited and headstrong. I would get exhausted making sure she doesn't fall off horses or drowning in the sea,” he laughed softly at the memory. “I have seen her become from a tiny baby to a beautiful lady.”

Hitomi turned her head to him. “So... you've guarded her since she was a baby?”

“No, even before that,” he answered. “I've protected her even before she took shape in her mother's womb.”

She lowered her head back down again. Was he talking about the same person she knew? Who knows how many mothers have named their daughters Millerna.

She fidgeted a bit. “And then... what happened?” she asked slowly.

The angel shrugged with a chuckle. “I honestly don't know. I don't know when the love began. Back then, I didn't even know that that was love. The only thing I knew was that I needed to see her constantly, always be by her side.”

He shifted his position by bringing up one knee and resting an arm onto it. He had a solemn look on his face. “I would never forget that day... the day when she cried,” he mumbled.

Hitomi sat still for a while, silently urging him to continue.

The tall creature hung his head low. “I got so careless... I was so obsessed with her that I failed to take notice that her other sister went missing.”

Hitomi's body went rigid. If she had any doubts about who he was talking about before, she was finally rid of them.

“I've seen her cry a million times over broken dolls and lost pets and scraped knees, but when she found out that her sister was gone, she...” he sighed as if conveying the things no words could ever express. “Those eyes... those eyes that were so full of life... they just... went dead.”

A flash of sadness passed through her jade orbs. She had seen those eyes before; she had felt the vast emptiness within them. She laid a sympathetic hand on his leg, a gesture which spoke volumes.

“And that was when I lost the will to continue,” he said, laughing softly to himself. “I came back here and decided to confess. Naturally the elders knew of the situation when I got back here. I was banished from the world below as my punishment.”

The sun was barely visible on the horizon by then, staining the last few wisps of clouds with soft shades of orange and salmon. The early night wind greeted the friends as it passed, ruffling the leaves on the trees and beckoning the grass and flowers to dance. A long, almost comfortable silence passed between them; both wanting to say more and say nothing more at the same time.

It was Hitomi who shattered the silence. “She also named me Marlene,” she whispered.

A loud gasp was heard. She could feel him turning sharply to face her, and his eyes were wide and disbelieving.

Her eyes were trained to the faint feathery clouds that were whisking away to the ends of the known universe. She bowed her head, deliberately shielding her gaze from his. When she spoke, her voice was slow, clear and subdued. “There was a time in my life when everything was a blur. I couldn't remember anything, much less feel anything. I didn't know if I was dead; I didn't know if I was alive. The only thing that I knew was that I was who I was, and that at that particular place and time, I existed.

“And then someone had found me. I did not know who it was, but I could feel his presence even in my sleep. Slowly he nursed me back to my health while I was still drifting inside that nothingness. Time meant nothing in the realm of dreams, so I cannot say for sure how long I was asleep. Sometimes it was dark, and sometimes it was light. That was all I knew, and I was content.

“Soon after I regained consciousness, and my savior made feeble attempts to tap into my memory. Consciousness was what I had regained, but the identity that I lost was still yet to be found.”

Hitomi stopped for a while, shifting to a more comfortable position. “He was the one who brought me to Millerna. She lived all alone inside a fairly large hut by the sea. She was ecstatic to have me, and she treated me like her very own sister.” She finally looked at him. “She also named me Marlene... like the one that she lost.”

The angel gaped at her for a while, not being able to say anything. Then he let out a breath that he had been unconsciously holding. “I see,” he said simply. “I wouldn't have imagined... it's a small world, isn't it?” he grinned.

Hitomi smiled weakly and nodded.

He grew silent. “So... how... how is she?” he asked with some difficulty.

The sandy-haired female glanced up at his eyes. Even after all these years, she could still see and feel the love he had for her sister. How could she possibly tell him and break his heart?

She looked away. “My lord, she... Millerna must be betrothed by now.”

Silence. Silence for what seemed like an eternity.

Suddenly he laughed good-naturedly. “Well, good for her! I was wondering what was keeping her. I was worried that no one would want to marry such a feisty lady. I honestly feel sorry for the unlucky chap she managed to catch. Having to deal with her tantrums... mood swings... fickle-mindedness... seriously, I believe that not a single man could stan—”

“My lord...” Hitomi whispered sadly.

He stopped laughing and looked at her intently, a warm smile on his lips. “Do not feel sorry for me. I knew what the consequences of my actions were, and I whole-heartedly accepted them. I fell in love with the wrong person, that was just it. She and I were never meant to be, and no matter how I fight it, Fate is simply too powerful to defy. I knew right from the start that a spirit and a mortal cannot be. Her destiny moves forward, and so does mine. This is the path that I have chosen. Don't feel sorry for me, Hitomi.”

Somehow, Hitomi wasn't surprised that he knew her. “But you still love her,” she pointed out.

“Of course I do,” he replied without a second thought. “And I will carry this burden with me until the heavens turn to ash. Frankly, I believe I wouldn't be what I am now without it. Before, I lived—no, I existed—solely for her approval, and in some ways, I probably still do. Even if we are worlds apart, I am grateful to have a piece of her in me—even if it's just this thorn. It is this curse that makes me part human, Hitomi; it is what makes me whole.”

The honey-haired female's eyes widened slightly, her breath caught in her chest. After hearing this one angel's brave and solid belief about his own existence, the sorrow and pity that were in her eyes were rapidly replaced by something else—awe. She felt that she could never match his certainty. Here was an angel living with boundless love for someone he knew would never be returned back to him, and yet he is still alive, and he is still loving her. Hitomi was a little more than ashamed of herself for how she handled her own tragedy.

“Your majesty, I finally found you at last!” huffed the profusely sweating pot-bellied elder angel. “Where were you all morning?” he demanded testily.

“Oh, here, there, everywhere,” he replied breezily. He didn't seem to mind the vein popping on the poor messenger's cheek. “Come now, my lord, you wouldn't actually leave a poor lady like her all alone all day now, would you? I just offered her a tour of the citadel and whatever hospitality I could manage.”

“'Your majesty'?” Hitomi whispered to him.

“It's a formality. Nothing more but an extension of all those `thees' and `thous'. Learn to ignore it,” he muttered back.

“T-tour, your majesty?” the elder spluttered, his face glowing red. He was so steamed up Hitomi was sure his head's about to burst. She stifled a laugh. “What about your duties?”

“You told me you were just a rainmaker,” Hitomi said accusingly.

“Just a rainmaker!” the portly angel blurted.

“I am,” the grinning brown-haired angel whined reassuringly. “He's just overreacting.”

“Overreacting!” he almost shouted, and Hitomi could swear she could actually see plumes of smoke wafting through his ears. “Sir! The very fate of the whole world is hanging upon your fingertips!”

The young angel looked at Hitomi and spread his hands expressively. “See?”

Hitomi couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

The reddened elder looked indignant. “My lady! I'll have you know that this is no laughing matter! If the world doesn't get an equal balance of sun and water, the whole ecosystem will—”

“Yeah, yeah, cap it, you old butterball,” interjected Hitomi's friend. “Once it rained nonstop for forty days and forty nights, and then there was that drought which lasted for three and a half years. So what becomes of your balance, then?” He turned to Hitomi while patting the angel's protruding belly. “Hitomi, this old fuddy-duddy shall escort you to the Ancient's court, and if he even so much as looks at you in any way that you don't like... talk to me, and I'll arrange it so that a couple of thunderstorms shall play lullabies in his room for the next ten years or so, alright?” he grinned while the messenger spluttered.

The lady tried her best to stifle a laugh, so all that managed to escape was a smirk. “Thank you, your majesty,” she curtsied then crinkled her nose as she straightened afterwards. “You wouldn't mind sharing your name, would you? I wouldn't want to elbow a friend in the stomach every time I want to catch his attention.” She tilted her head to one side. “Although I could continue calling you `your majesty', if you like.”

He laughed loudly as he waved a hand while disappearing down the vale. “Call me Dryden.”

- - -

The sandy-haired female was walking a few steps behind the balding, overweight angel. Once he had calmed down and wiped the sweat from his face he bowed deeply to her in apology, introducing himself as lord Atesca. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Atesca politely asked Hitomi to follow him as he led her into the palace and along its labyrinthine halls and passages.

Lord Atesca was a short stocky fellow with sparse graying hair sticking out from the sides of his head. He wore a small lavender-and-blue beret which was cocked lopsidedly to hide the fact that his younger days had been long gone—like his hair. His skin was reddish and smooth, and Hitomi noticed that he sweats a lot; mopping his face and neck with a thick, wooly towel. Hitomi was aware of the fact that she was quite tall, but Atesca only reached up to her chest. Even though she towered over him and his hands and feet stuck out outside his white tunic and blue cloak rather awkwardly, he had this commanding presence about him that made it look like he was five times as big.

The sun had been long gone by the time they made it to the seventh floor studies, making the cold stone walls and marble floors seem even colder. The torches were lit, spilling out blazing red and yellow light over the shadows. Atesca was puffing quite a bit as they ascended the spiraling staircase, stopping every so often to catch his breath and wipe his face.

“Are you alright, my lord?” Hitomi asked. “We could stop by and rest; you seem awfully tired.”

“No, no, dear lady,” Atesca shook his head, dabbing at his forehead. “I must get you to the Master at once. Do not mind me, I am perfectly alright.”

They reached the Elder's study at last. Two heavily-armed guards stood at either side of the ornate door, saluting as Atesca and Hitomi came into view.

“Lord Atesca,” rumbled the guard by way of greeting. “What brings thou to hither place at this most unseemly of hours?”

The portly angel stuffed his towel in his sash. “I hath summons by His Holy to come to hither place and escort the lady Hitomi as she and the Master hath much to discuss with one another and divulge unto one another about matters that require utmost care and privacy, seeing as it is quite delicate and o'erwhelming that of which the things which art to be revealèd must not reach unfriendly ears and therefore must be done in unseemly secrecy.” Hitomi couldn't believe anyone could cram so many words in just one sentence. Dryden was right.

The guard nodded knowingly and opened the heavy doors. Standing in the middle of the doorway, he rapped the butt of his long spear smartly on the marble floor twice and announced in a booming voice, “My lord Atesca and the lady Hitomi!”

The guard then moved aside and stood straight like he was before, signaling they can now enter. With a short nod from Atesca who strode purposefully into the hall, Hitomi followed suit, her eyes all over the place.

A lanky young man was standing in front of an aged angel sitting behind a smooth, coffee-colored study table. The boy had in his hand one long roll of parchment—so long that the other end of which fell to the floor—in which where listed his report about the day's newborn animals and those who were killed, hunted, or died of natural causes. The aged angel had his hands clasped atop the table as he leaned forward and listened absently to the younger angel's report. His eyes lit up when he saw her approaching and he held one hand up to stop the young boy's droning voice.

“Most Holy, I present unto thee the lady Hitomi,” Atesca announced grandly, bowing floridly.

Hitomi felt everything but grand as two hundred or so eyes fixed themselves on her. If only the lord Atesca had told her that the hall would be so busy! She mentally inspected herself and cringed. She had on a light blue gown with green trimming, with sleeves that showed her rounded shoulders and mid-back bare to let her wings through. Her long train of a skirt which stopped—thankfully—below her ankles, barely brushing the floor, concealed her choice of footwear—or lack thereof. It was an old dress Yukari lent her after they bathed, seeing as her singed skirt and ripped blouse would not do. She wasn't altogether unacceptable, but Hitomi wished she had been given the chance to at least prepare herself.

The Ancient Angel smiled kindly at her as the whole hall was engulfed in an ear-splitting silence. What was worse than having a throng of people whispering things about you? A throng of people saying absolutely nothing about things they should be whispering about.

The silver-haired elder glanced at the silence around him. “Are there no gentlemen in this place as to not offer the lady a chair to rest upon?” he asked amusedly.

About twenty or so scuffling feet rushed forth to offer her whatever seating implement was handy, but they were beaten by a tall, lean young man with thick brown hair and kind green eyes. “T-Thank you,” Hitomi managed to squeak, bowing awkwardly.

“It is my pleasure, my lady,” he replied softly.

The Elder smiled and gestured to the young angel who had retreated back to his side. “Caleb, my seneschal,” he said by way of introduction. Then he cleared his throat loudly. “My lord Atesca,” he called to attention the portly elder standing politely on one side of the hall. “Wouldst thou be so kind as to lift upon me this burden of hearing the most involvèd of reports?”

Atesca bowed. “Of course, Most Holy.”

“I thank thee,” he said simply. “Prithee, take everyone yonder further with thee—methinks the lady and I have much to discuss alone.”

Once again Atesca bowed, ushering the lanky boy and the rest of the courtiers outside. As the last of the angels exited, Caleb stepped down from the dais where the Elder's table stood and bowed lightly to his master. “I shall see what the kitchens have to offer; her ladyship must be tired and hungry from her trip.” And with a nod from the Elder, Caleb turned around and left the hall quietly, shutting the door firmly behind him.

The silver-haired angel smiled wryly. “He thinks of everything.” After a while he fixed his eyes on the slightly trembling and nervous lady sitting before him with her hands clutching a good handful of skirt. “Well met, lady Hitomi,” he said kindly, inclining his head. “I am the Elder angel Dornkirk.”

Her head tilted upwards at this, for the name had a peculiar familiarity unto it that she couldn't quite put a finger on. She reached into her mind trying to pinpoint that familiarity, but all she could come up with were snippets of hazy conversations lost long ago. She must have felt as frustrated as a lost bird looking for her nest, because her brows knitted themselves in a fashion that made Dornkirk lean forward so as to look at her more closely.

“I am sure that there are hundreds of questions inside that mind of yours,” the aged Elder rumbled. “But I'm afraid I cannot answer them for now.” Hitomi fidgeted slightly in protest, but the Elder was fast talking again. “Just for the time being,” he assured her. “We will tend to your questions once we have tended to you and your needs.” Just then, Caleb had returned from the kitchens, the spacious hall echoing with the sound of latches being opened. He held in his hands a silver tray with a small ceramic teapot, an even smaller ceramic teacup, a plate of sweetmeats, and a plate of colorful, flower-shaped sweet-rice cakes.

He stood just about Hitomi, waiting for the other angel of lesser years behind him to fetch a low end table for him to place the food and drink onto. Hitomi was about to reach forth for the teapot but Caleb was quick enough to pour the steaming, rich amber liquid into her tiny cup.

The indispensable seneschal bowed briefly and returned to his master's side. The old man nodded towards her. “Like your food, for instance,” he quoted. Then he frowned. “But surely that will not do. Caleb, doesn't the kitchen have anything more substantial?” he asked, twisting his head over his shoulders.

The brown-haired assistant apologized. “My apologies, but the helpers and the cook have been long asleep when I got there, and that was the best that I could provide.” He blinked. “I could wake them up, if my Master wishes it.”

Hitomi piped up at this point. “No, no, I'm fine, really!” she assured, making a point by sipping extendedly into her tea.

“Nonsense,” Dornkirk scoffed, waving his hand flippantly. “Those things would not have satisfied me even if I was half the size you are. Why, you're shivering from hunger!”

And indeed it was true; Hitomi was shivering. Though if it was from hunger, she wasn't sure.

The Ancient Angel turned his head to his seneschal once again, his long silvery hair and beard tumbling all over each other. “Caleb, my boy, wake up the cook and tell him to prepare a hot meal for the lady. In the meantime he's cooking, you may accompany lady Hitomi towards her quarters.” He turned to smile at her as Caleb bowed politely to him. “I shall see you in the morning, my child.”

The startled girl opened her mouth to say something, but the Elder's seneschal was already at her side bowing once again. “The night wears on, dear lady,” he said softly. “It'd be best for you to retire and rest early. I shall send for the tea along with your meals to your room for this evening.”

Poor Hitomi looked at him helplessly. She had so many questions she wanted to ask and felt so little time left that she was sorely disappointed about not having a chance to talk with the Elder Dornkirk tonight. But with the Master and Caleb pinning her as two male wolves closing in on a helpless fawn, Hitomi realized there was nothing she could do and sighed submissively.

The Ancient Angel let his shoulders drop as he leaned back on his high-backed chair. A weary sigh escaped from his lips as soon as the faint echoes of the human girl Hitomi and his seneschal Caleb's footsteps have stopped clicking onto the marble floor. He had managed to put off Hitomi for one night by making much of a show, and he wondered for how long he would have to keep doing it until it was all over.

Until I find a way to gain advantage over her, he thought darkly.

“But how...” he groaned, rubbing one bony hand over his eyes. And it was this one thought which kept him awake for the remainder of that evening.

- - -

Hitomi's quarters, as it turned out, wasn't anywhere near the Elder's court. It wasn't even near the castle. And the fair-haired lady found out about it as she and Caleb made their way through the damp and dark forest in the dead of night.

“A-Are we getting any closer?” she asked, masking the edge in her voice. Apparently her heightened senses did nothing to help her in the dark, as her feet seemed bent on finding every rock, root, and rut on the dirt road. Hitomi's disposition turned sourer with each passing minute. Personally, she would be better off sleeping in the middle of the thorn-riddled rose bushes. She can't find anything pleasurable in doing this. The mosquitoes seemed very happy to see her, but the idea didn't lighten her mood, either.

“Just a little bit further,” he replied politely.

Hitomi pouted behind his back and trudged along. If he wasn't so polite, I'd have run amok hours ago, she thought. Then again, if we have to continue doing this for the rest of this evening, I might just ignore his politeness and run amok anyway.

It was until they reached a sharp bend in the forest when Hitomi caught sight of her home. It was a fairly modest house made of fine white marble so precious, it glowed a luminescent white in the forest. Hitomi's breath caught in her throat and all her dark thoughts evaporated instantly. The house was breathtaking to say the least; it was as if its builder had put a piece of his soul in every brick and wood and marble he had placed to build such a magnificent abode. How could something so beautiful been waiting for her for all these years?

Caleb led her through the overgrown rosebushes walling the perimeter of the garden and held open the front door for her. The honey-haired female stepped inside, anticipating her bare feet to be ankle-deep in accumulated dust, but was surprised when she found the whole house to be spotless.

“The servants shall bring your meals, my lady,” Caleb bowed at the rapt Hitomi. “I hope this humble dwelling place shall be adequate for your tastes.”

“Oh, it's more than adequate!” she gushed, wheeling around. “This—” she flung her arms around. “—is magnificent! I don't know how to thank you,” she said, eyes dancing as she traced the candle lights.

Caleb smiled warmly. “It is the least we can do,” he answered, excused himself, and left quietly.

Hitomi wandered through the house, taking in the alien-looking but surprisingly comfortable furniture and feeling oddly at peace. She soon found out that the entire house had no corners; even the roof was rounded. And the breeze was continually rushing through, cooling the entire place. There were five rooms—a small living room, a dining room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a single bedroom with a huge four-poster bed, the only furniture that she was familiar with. The entire structure was large enough to house three people, and seeing that she was alone in that wonderful place made her almost feel the house's loneliness seeping through its smooth white-cream walls. Actually, the whole experience reminded Hitomi a lot about Millerna; all alone in her home, when in the past it used to accommodate three people.

When the meals came, Hitomi thanked the servant boy who had delivered her dinner and retired to the dining room. The gracious cook had prepared a hearty bean soup for her, along with thick slices of rich dark bread and a glass of milk. After she had cleaned the dishes in the kitchen where a small waterfall trickled down one wall, she took the tray of tea and sweets and entered the bedroom.

There was a nightgown that was folded neatly over the soft mattress—with sleeves of gauzy white silk and a skirt of light blue satin. A light, cream-colored gossamer veil of whispery silk hung about the posters, giving the bed a soft, peaceful look. A curiously-constructed bedside table of twisted dark chocolate roots held her tray as she temporarily forgot her tiredness and dressed.

Hitomi wandered about the largest of all the rooms. The faintest scent of roses and lilac floated about the shadows as the moonlight streamed through the wide windows. Hitomi could sense her presence in this whole house from years before; she could feel it in every sight, smell and touch. This place was an integral part of her past, but even though she tried to remember, there was a stronger, more ancient and deeper kind of magic which prevented her from doing so.

As she was being claimed by the realm of dreams, Hitomi conceded that time will present itself along with the rest of her memories. A small smile tugging at her lips, the honey-haired female sighed and drifted to sleep, finally at peace now that her life was every bit as close to perfect.

In her dreamy state, the pendant on her chest grew hot and glowed an angry blood red, begging to disagree.

- - -

The morning dawned bright and early the following day. So early, in fact, that a certain winged female with messy gold hair had rolled in her bed in a feeble attempt to block the cheery sunlight peeking through the windows. She even went so far as to growl at the blazing star and cover her head with her pillow, but it was like telling water not to run downhill; the new day's warmth had clung to her like a second skin.

Sighing, Hitomi sat up her bed and stretched. In actuality, she wasn't a late riser, since farmers habitually rise early. In fact, she was wide awake hours before the sun showed up, but she was perfectly content with just snuggling the pillows and drifting into a light doze every hour or so. When dawn finally came knocking on the windows, she wasn't satisfied with her intimacy with her fluffy pillows yet, so she went a bit childish and got angry at the unoffending sun.

Stretching out her arms as she stood up, the sunshiny girl made her way to the whitewashed bathroom, where she scooped up water from a basin and washed her face. Not bothering to comb her hair, she went back to the bedroom and out into the kitchen for a glass of water.

“Now there's a sight you don't get to see everyday.”

Hitomi stopped dead in her tracks at the sound of the cool, languid voice behind her. She turned around to see a grinning Dryden sitting behind the kitchen table where her breakfast was laid out on a tray waiting for her.

“Eek!” the flushed girl squealed, frantically making herself presentable as her fingers combed her messy tumble of already-messy hair and buttoning her half-buttoned sleeping dress.

“My, my, my, the lady is embarrassed!” Dryden laughed good-naturedly, which earned him a nasty look from the lady mentioned. She pouted angrily at him; it was true that she was embarrassed. Making a final tug at her now properly-buttoned dress, Hitomi put her hands on her hips and scowled at her irrepressibly grinning friend.

“What are you doing here, Dryden?” she spat acidly.

The said angel put his hand theatrically over where his heart was supposed to be. “Thou wound me, milady!” he exclaimed dramatically, which now earned him a crack of a smile and a playful punch on the arm from the lady. “Ow,” he said, massaging the offended appendage. “Now you've really wounded me.”

Shaking her head, Hitomi took the tray of food and proceeded to the dining room. “Would you care to join me, Dryden?” she asked pleasantly, her mood lifting up.

He bowed grandly at her request. “I thought you'd never ask. What on Gaea were you dreaming about? It took you about... forever and six days to wake up. I'm starving.”

Hitomi laughed as she placed two plates and everything else on the table. Peculiar thing it was, that passed onto her mind; that every item in the house came in pairs. She'd never noticed it before.

“Well, if you must know,” Hitomi began, ladling soup into her bowl. “I didn't have a dream last night. It was kind of unusual though, since it's the first time that it's happened.”

“Maybe you've forgotten about it,” Dryden replied while dropping two sugar cubes into his coffee. “I've read about it somewhere that most of the dreams we remember are only half of what we have dreamt about. Most of it's lost elsewhere.”

“Not to me, it isn't,” she replied confidently. “I've always dreamt of something, and I've always remembered it very clearly.”

They ate their breakfast quietly; Hitomi with her soup and bread and Dryden with his coffee and eggs. Hitomi had been thinking—like she always did when she was silent—about who could have been here sharing the house with her. Since everything came in sets of two, except the bed, she concluded that there had to be someone living with her. Some other human, perhaps? No, that was impossible; humans were prohibited from entering paradise. So it was another angel. But who? A lady friend? But Dryden had assured her that there are no females in Gaea. So a male angel had been sharing the house with her? Her brows knitted as the possibilities whirled in her head. Could it be Ontrose or Kamion? No, they were fairly new to their jobs. Could it be Folken? She mentally shook her head, munching harder than usual. The Prince practically roasted her the last time they met!

So who could it be? She thought. He had to be a close friend for her to be able to live with him. Could it be Dryden? She pictured a life with him—dining with him, talking with him, even sharing a bed with him. She glanced up at him and blushed at the idea. That didn't seem right, somehow.

“Alright,” Dryden said while putting his cup down. He had been observing Hitomi as she ate. She looked exactly like how he saw her when she came into Gaea—deep in brooding. He chuckled silently. She had the same serious expression on her face yesterday morning. “I'm going to have to make you talk before you start brooding about something dangerous.”

“I'm not brooding about something dangerous,” she mumbled absently, spreading butter on a piece of toast.

“See? It's working already.” Dryden stood. “So what do you want to do today? We could tour the towers behind the capital,” he offered.

The lady stood up and started clearing the plates away. “Give a minute to get dressed, Dryden; I don't want the others to ogle at me like you just did.”

Dryden barked a laugh and waited in the living room.

Hitomi washed the dishes and cleaned herself up, surprised to see clothes of her size in the dresser in the bedroom. She now wore a loose-fitting tunic and skirt that matched, and a pair of slippers to cover her feet. She hadn't really decided on what to do today; her mind was still wrapped up in the mystery of the house's other occupant.

She found Dryden standing over a section of the smooth wall of the living room, poking a slender knife through it. “Did you know that there's no mortar to hold this house together?” he said as he glanced over his shoulder. Hitomi blinked quietly and walked to his side. Dryden gently widened the fissure he had cut into the wall. “Mortise and tenon. And tightly packed, too. It must have taken years to build this house.”

“Dryden,” Hitomi said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Would you tell me everything you know about this house? I feel as if... as if this place is—was—important to me.”

The angel with brown hair looked at her over his shoulder for a while, not saying anything. After some time he took back his knife and put it in his tunic's pocket. He looked at her squarely. “It was. During your stay in Gaea years before, this was where you hid in seclusion for almost two weeks.”

Hitomi stared at him breathlessly. In her memory, she could confirm that she had, in fact, come to live here in Gaea. She felt its awareness calling out to her even when she was still known as Marlene. It was that same voice which led her into the path she was taking now, and now that she and paradise had been reunited, Hitomi felt that Gaea still had secrets to tell her.

“When you came here,” Dryden began, producing a pair of small glasses from his other pocket. “The stars in the heavens have whispered continuously. They started murmuring about a rumor that a human have penetrated the gates of paradise.” He looked at her. “That was you.”

She blinked. “But how did I do it? I mean...” she looked around. “Enter paradise. How did I do it? I always thought humans cannot enter Gaea.”

“They can, if they have permission,” he said, looking at her meaningfully.

The honey-haired female gazed at him helplessly.

Dryden slowly walked to her and put both his hands on her shoulders. “Hitomi, I want to help you. But please understand that higher magic is at work here. I can only do so much for you. You have to do something yourself in order for you to overcome it.”

Her lips tipped downwards. “Dryden, I don't understand what you're saying.”

“Think, Hitomi, think,” he said insistently, squeezing her shoulders. “Or better yet, feel. Feel beyond the beauty and perfection you have in your life here. Don't you feel something else? Something important? Something... missing?”

Her frown deepened in confusion.

Dryden was about to say something more but the sound of footsteps from the rosebushes outside alerted him. He looked startled, Hitomi noticed. He stood up straight, backing at a respectful distance away from her just in time for the front door to open and let in a softly smiling Caleb.

“Lady Hitomi,” he bowed. He turned to Dryden and bowed also. “Lord Dryden.”

Dryden nodded slightly to him. Obviously, Dryden's remark about his position in the castle was a bit understated; if Hitomi would weigh the amount of respect the others were giving him. “I would have been off after I have delivered her breakfast, but the lady offered and I couldn't refuse.” Hitomi sent a questioning look his way, but he stubbornly avoided her gaze.

“That is perfectly understandable, your majesty,” the seneschal said.

Dryden adjusted his glasses. “Well, I'd be better off, then.” He walked to the door and opened it. Halfway through, he turned around and bowed to Hitomi. “Until we meet, my lady,” he said in a practiced tone of voice which made Hitomi annoyed. She was about to tell him that but when she met his gaze when he straightened slowly, she found her mouth unable to move.

His eyes were piercing; as if commanding her to understand what was going on.

He turned around and nodded to Caleb as he exited through the door.

All of a sudden, Hitomi had the sudden inexplicable urge to rush after him. “Dryden!” she called out.

The brown-haired angel turned in his steps and just looked at her silently.

She struggled to say all the words which would not spill out of her mouth. “Would you care to join me for dinner?” she asked.

For the longest time, Dryden stood standing perfectly still, like a bronze statue of an angel. He had that fathomless expression in his face, and Hitomi had just noticed how old he really looked. And then after a long while, he bowed slightly to her and smiled blandly. “I wouldn't miss it for anything, Hitomi.”

And with that, Dryden left the house, his light boots making crunching noises as they trekked over the leaves, without so much as a glance behind his shoulders.

- - -

The breeze was light and smelled of sweet dusty perfume as Hitomi wound her way through the spiraling rose gardens. Caleb had informed her of the Ancient's whereabouts and had left her on her own upon the lady's insistence; insisting that she would not get lost and that he should really get back to his tasks. The day was absolutely perfect, but something Dryden had said made Hitomi feel a little downcast.

Feel beyond the beauty and perfection you have in your life here. Don't you feel something else? Something important? Something... missing?

Like an old gesture she used to do back home, she put a hand over her chest and felt the succession of heartbeats. Am I missing something else? Am I missing someone important?

It was too bad that hearts were not created with their own tongues to speak.

“My child,” the Ancient Angel called out to her, which made Hitomi's jade eyes look up. “Why are you alone without an escort? Come sit beside me, child,” Dornkirk said gently as he patted the empty space on the wooden bench to his right.

Hitomi meekly obeyed, not saying anything.

It was again the Elder who broke the long silence. “How is your life here so far, child?” he asked softly.

“It is more than enough,” she replied softly. “Everything is just absolutely perfect. Of course, I never would have expected less from paradise…”

Dornkirk smiled. “We couldn't have offered you anything less, dear child.” He sat silent for a moment. At length he cleared his throat and murmured gravely, “For I know that you have suffered a great deal when you were still down below.”

Hitomi felt an enormous wave of self-pity that she seemed to weigh thrice as she was, and that her feet were pulling her down with it. She nodded and said nothing at the last statement the Ancient Angel said. Scenarios flitted across her thoughts as she remembered the blurry past of her life.

Dornkirk put down the cup of tea he was sipping and stared broodingly at the puffy white clouds drifting to the other side of the universe. “Life is a very strange thing. It is given to you; yet it is not yours to keep. You wake up from deep slumber and walk into the olden world with no knowledge of anything, and yet as you grow old seeking for that knowledge, the more you learn that you know nothing. It is an endless paradox; a balance of good and bad, life and death, black or white. You either stand up and live on your own, or let another entity guide you. You can either walk straight to what you think is right, or drift apart as your destiny dictates and both ending up on absolutely the same place.”

Hitomi squared her shoulders and took in a deep, deep breath. “My Lord,” she said softly. “What is my destiny?”

The Ancient Angel stared silently at the sky for quite a while. After a time, he answered her softly. “That is something that only you can know, dear child.”

Hitomi lowered her head in somber sadness. “But one thing is for certain,” Dornkirk added shortly. “Your place is here in paradise.”

She took in another deep breath. “Somebody once taught me…” she began, and a vivid image of her Aunt Sora appeared inside her thoughts. “That our destiny is not contained into one straight path towards the end. She said that we constantly alter our fates with the things that we do; with the choices that we make.”

The ancient Angel's back stiffened when he heard this, but he did not dare show it.

Hitomi continued talking. “She was the one who told me... that there is a choice I have to make upon reaching paradise. A choice that would decide the destiny of the two destinies that are contesting each other.” She looked at him imploringly. “What is the choice that I have to make?”

He had been dreading this question ever since she set foot on Gaea, and made all efforts to steer her away from it just long enough for him to make sure she chose the right choice. But it couldn't be helped now.

He sighed for a short while. “The choice is between this world and the one below, child,” he replied, with which she gave him a puzzled look. “You have to choose which one of the worlds would cease and continue to exist; Earth or Gaea”

- - -

Late that night, when Hitomi lay on her bed, she stayed wide awake deep in thought about the gravity that suddenly befell upon her shoulders. The end of the world or the end of paradise. If Hitomi had been given the option between making the choice and throwing herself down the ravine on top of the mountain back home, she would have gladly ran off the cliff without so much as a second thought. How could she decide on something so huge in its entirety?

She turned to her side. She remembered the words of her Aunt Sora two days before. You are an unstable entity hovering between heaven and earth; a mistake that was made on purpose to inflict the imbalance upon the soul and the flesh.

An imbalance? Something in this universe has made an imbalance upon life and death?

You are an angel, though you are mortal. You are a human, though you have wings.

Was she was the born representation of that imbalance... the imbalance of mortality and immortality?

You were born to correct the imbalance, Girl of Destiny, and you were given a very special power, and a very important task: the task to choose.

Hitomi turned again in her bed, facing directly the ceiling. She rested the back of one hand on her forehead and pursed her lips. It was then that she finally understood her fate. It was her destiny to be. Fate created her so the universe could move forward… away from the imperfection that has kept this world from evolving.

But why her?

Hitomi remembered what the priestess had answered back then. Everything happens for a reason, Hitomi... everything has a purpose. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Her Aunt Sora had answers for everything. And then the smile turned into a sad one. If she will choose to end the decaying world below, she would never be with her Aunt Sora again.

Closing her eyes, Hitomi tried her best to calm her nerves as she willed herself to sleep. Whatever the reason or the purpose was, it would reveal itself tomorrow; on the day that she would make her decision.

Although Hitomi wished herself to, she did not dream that night, either.

- - -

Somewhere within the confines of his citadel, the Ancient Angel was having trouble sleeping himself.

He tossed and turned in his bed, weary and anxious of the events the next day would ensue. Will she choose to be with Gaea? Will she choose to be a mortal once more? Questions as senseless and as mundane kept cropping up in his thoughts even when he was finally drifting to the edge of dreams. It grew so irritatingly insistent at one point that he decided to get up and take a walk around the castle.

He was staring out into the perfect blissfulness of the night when a young angel came stumbling out of the corners and stopped when he saw him.

The young copper-haired lad limped towards him and started visibly. “M-My Lord!” he exclaimed, bowing deeply. “I am f-fortunate to c-come upon thee this here evening.”

Dornkirk turned with some difficulty and acknowledged the boy's presence with a small nod.

“I hath been wanting to have an audience with thee, Most Ancient,” he continued, voice shaking but at least his words were now straight. “But thou hath been so busy with affairs and matters of state that it could not hath been possible until this most unseemly hour.”

The Ancient Angel thought it rude even for his standing if he would continue ignoring the boy. “And what is it that thou wanted to tell me?” he asked blandly.

The young angel bowed again. “My Lord, I was the one who last saw the Prince when He was bound, and I carry His parting words to thee.”

Almost as intense as electricity flowing through his veins, the Elder jolted himself completely awake when he heard this. “What?” He shouted, surprising and scaring the poor boy. “Why didn't you come to me earlier?” he demanded, dropping the customary archaic speech.

The boy's face paled. “B-But my Lo-Lord,” he trembled, his eyes darted from one place to another. “Th-Thou seemed so busy that I h-hath no chance of having an audience with thee…”

“You should have informed the guards that you are bearing Folken's message and demanded you be given audience or they will be given punishment!”

“Y-Yes my Lord, but—”

“Nevermind! What is it that my son wanted to tell me?” he demanded irritably.

The angel gulped down hard and looked at his feet. “While I was sealing the chains, he wounded my left leg with his magic, and the wound had not healed properly until about three days ago,” he explained softly. “Back then, when he was finally exhausted from struggling against the legions, he murmured something that he instructed me to be passed on to his Highness.”

Dornkirk held his breath.

The young angel looked up and let his eyes meet his master's, though for only a split-second. “It was just a few words, and it sounded so trivial that I did not think it held that much importance.” The Elder was beginning to lose his patience when the boy suddenly said, “He said unto me, Most Holy, `The blood will never cease to seek out its master.'”

Dornkirk blinked a couple of times, his expression unreadable. “The blood!”

The copper-haired lad nodded, shifting his weight from his bad leg to the other. “Yes, my Lord. `The blood will never cease to seek out its master.' At once I thought it so trivial that I asked him to expound on it a bit further, but he had already drifted into eternal sleep…” his voice trailed off.

He did not even finish his story. The Ancient Angel was nowhere to be found.

- - -

The dawn inevitably came upon Gaea just as Hitomi was brushing away the last strands of sleep from her eyes. She stared absently as the world transformed itself from the pale, grayish color to a ruddy gold as the divine blazing star rose slowly to its place among the heavens. Such a beautiful day, Hitomi thought. Such a beautiful morning for the day that would come to an end.

She walked into the kitchen, staring at the untouched food from last night's dinner. Whatever promise Dryden made with her, he never returned to her house that night. She sighed and ate her breakfast quietly, her mind oddly calm even though her spirit was almost howling out in turbulence.

She had asked Dornkirk to give her some space and time for her to be able to ponder her decision carefully. He granted, but not before leaving her a warning.

“Be advised that the more time you choose to ignore and delay it, the harder and more painful the choice will be.”

Hitomi had originally intended to have a talk with Dryden, but Caleb informed her that his Highness Dryden was busy that morning. So she was left to her own devices for the rest of the morning, until at sundown, when she promised the Ancient Angel that she would give her answer.

“Earth or Gaea… mortality or immortality…” she murmured against the wind.

She was standing on the edge of paradise, feeling the brisk wind brush against her. She had been wandering aimlessly for almost three hours, weighing the choice that has already formed in her mind. She would choose Gaea, she would choose paradise. As she looked around and saw the perfection all around her, how could she not choose to let this magnificent world exist? Besides, a lot of her friends and families gave up their lives just to make sure she reached her destination. She would not fail them.

As she pondered at her thoughts, Hitomi glanced up and saw the forming faint wisps of angry blue clouds on the horizon. Even though she knew the choice she was about to make, the heavens must have been sharing the storm brewing in her heart. She sighed, shaking her head. When she opened her eyes, the evergreen orbs fell upon life as it was on the world below.

She could see them, as clear as if she was standing there amongst them. The smoking, char-black land of what was of Merle and the twins' village. She could see the remnants of their straw huts and the communal hut where the congregation took place. Up further she could she the valley where Merle had been slain by the red-eyed demon Dilandau, though the grassy floor had been washed by the rain.

Everywhere she looked, she could see destruction and decay. The earth was manifesting all the years of abuse her kind had treated upon it. What was once green was now a pallid brown, and the landscape was like one long stretch of lifeless desert. What was once blue where the rivers and seas were was now a dirty, horrible gray mess. The world was dying, Hitomi knew, and it would take everyone else in its hopelessness.

As she traced her eyes along the horizon, she saw the neat village of her home. She eagerly set out for the village temple, where her Aunt Sora was. And not far away from there was the small house of Amano and Yukari, where from the window in their bedroom, she could see them playing a little tickling game with their daughter, Megumi.

She swiveled her head elsewhere, and she saw the forest where she had met the cat-girl, right below the cliff where she first caught a glimpse of her angel, Ontrose. Tears automatically came springing back at the memory of their sacrifice. If there is justice in this life, Hitomi thought, it is not in this world.

She was about to turn away from the painful memories when a short movement caught her eye. It was a column of pale smoke rising from the forest on the other side of the cliff. As she strained her eyes to see, she could clearly make out two people placing two pieces of incense sticks in front of a large gravestone.

Her eyes widened. The names of the people stuck out in her mind just as two pieces of golden wheat stuck out in a burned black field.

It was Millerna and Allen.

Breathlessly, she leaned closer to the edge, eager to see how two of the most central people in her life were. Millerna was kneeling and praying over the gravestone, and Allen stood beside her, with their backs toward Hitomi that she could not see their faces. Instead, Hitomi squinted her eyes and traced the chiseled letters onto the gravestone, and her eyes widened considerably when she read them.

It was a gravestone for both Marlenes!

She let out a breath she had been unconsciously holding. She knew that at some point they would surely find the marker she made for Millerna's sister, but she did not expect them to include her in the blessing.

To the one Marlene
Who gently came one day
And silently left one night.
May you find your peace.

To the one Marlene
Who gently came one day
And silently left one night.
May you find your true self.

An overwhelming peace and sadness swept over her just as Millerna stood up after she had finished praying. The smile and happiness in her face was more than enough to make Hitomi believe that there was justice in this world after all. And if that wasn't enough, when Allen turned and they walked away so that Hitomi could see them, her eyes brimmed and eventually spilled with tears of happiness.

Millerna was gently stroking her belly, which was slightly bulging with the weight of a new life forming inside of her

- - -

The sun was setting on the fairytale world of Gaea. Hitomi was sitting drenched to the bone by the bank of a wide river which flowed right to the edge of Gaea and cascade into a waterfall down to the oceans below. She had decided on a whim to take a dip—fully clothed in her blouse and tunic—to clear her head. A small smile was tugging at her lips at her own feeling of contentment with how things worked out for her loved ones. If only she could say the same thing about herself. Now that she had caught another glimpse at earth, the more uncertain she became of her decision.

Even though the world itself was dying, the people inhabiting it were still thriving. Even though the world itself was about to end, the people living in it were just about to start their story. Amano, Yukari, and even Allen and Millerna had just recently begun another chapter in their lives, and have just begun enjoying the rewards destiny had given them. What would happen if Hitomi chose to stay in Gaea? Will she be held responsible for ending the stories of her loved ones and their new families?

As she sat there, feeling the cold kiss of the wind on her wet skin, the more troubled and anxious she became. In comparison, Gaea was perfect, filled with happiness and fulfillment. But to whom? Only to those who are in it. They do not share their delight with the world below. Unlike the earth, where everything and everyone is connected even in the most obscure, bizarre way. Everyone shares in someone's glory, and everyone shares in someone's misfortune in one way or another. But in paradise, it was as if everything in it feels so detached, so devoid of emotion, even the angels look like faceless drones to her.

But that was where her confusion lay. Is she willing to subject the new world to pain and suffering? For Hitomi was sure that if she chose the earth, there would be endless suffering like what she had experienced.

She pinched her eyes shut. She wanted to get herself away from those memories. And here in paradise, she knew she could be free.

The pendant glowed a warm pink.

“Dear child,” an aged voice said behind her.

Hitomi turned her head and saw the Elder Dornkirk standing behind her, holding a massive sword that was sheathed in a gold scabbard dotted with rubies. “Art thou ready?”

The formality of the question required Hitomi to be formal herself, no matter how wet she was. She stood up and faced him. “Yes,” she replied, though deep down inside she knew that was not true.

Dornkirk nodded gravely. “Know this once, Girl of Destiny, that in this place, once a choice was made, it can never be unmade.”

Hitomi swallowed and nodded.

At this, the Elder seemed to relax a bit. “You are wet,” he said, more to comment than to reprimand. His eyes fell innocently upon the glowing stone on her breastbone, and a sparkle of interest glimmered in his eyes. “What a beautiful piece of jewelry. I believe I have never seen anything like it.”

Hitomi looked down on the gemstone peeping coyly above the collar of her tunic as well. Normally she kept the pendant under her clothes for she liked the feeling of its warm face on her bare skin, but she guessed that it had floated out from her tunic when she was swimming in the river. “I've had it even before what I could remember,” she replied.

“Such a beautiful jewel… even more beautiful than the purest of rubies! I say, child, you wouldn't mind showing it to me for a while, would you?”

Hitomi was puzzled by his request, but it seemed innocent enough that she nodded and undid the latch of the necklace on her nape.

She held out her hand to Dornkirk, the jewel swinging like a pendulum beneath her stretched hand.

As Dornkirk was about to eagerly seize it, the crimson jewel burst a glow of angry red.

A stone as big as a peach pit flew from somewhere and hit Hitomi's hand, causing her to let go of the necklace as it fell with a small plop into the eddying waters of the river. She let out a small yelp from surprise, and the Elder spun around with a startled oath. A lone angel was standing on a high hill a few feet away from them, his brown hair flowing like ocean waves in the stormy wind.

It was Dryden. “Hitomi! Don't let him take the pendant away from you!” he shouted urgently.

Hitomi was shocked and confused.

Dornkirk's face contorted into an emotion of anger that Hitomi had never seen before. “Dryden!” he thundered. “What are you saying? Do you know what you are doing?” As he was saying these, Caleb and a score of guards have found their way towards Dryden.

“I know perfectly well what I am doing. In fact, I should have done this a long time ago.” A guard had reached him and hit his head with the butt of his sword that he fell to his knees, groaning.

“Dryden!” Hitomi shouted.

“Get the necklace, Hitomi! Don't ever lose sight of it! It will lead you to where you should be!” Dryden shouted at her while his hands were being bound by ropes which burned the flesh.

Hitomi was so confused of what to do but she searched the waters for the pendant, finding that the Elder had discarded the sword and was doing the same thing. A faint glimmer of red light caught the corner of her eye and she found that the jewel was drifting in the current toward the waterfall on the edge of the lake.

Both Dornkirk and Hitomi dashed for it.

Dornkirk was huge. Even though he was old, one stride of his legs was about three times as Hitomi's. He was ahead of her and she was aghast to see him bend down with a triumphant cry to pick up the red jewel.

Just then, a single bolt of lightning stuck the Elder's hand, and the jewel fell again.

And that was why storm clouds have gathered over the eternally sunny paradise. It was there so that it could strike the Ancient Angel at this particular place and time.

The Elder was unharmed, but his eyes were wide with shock as he turned to face the Prince of the Elements angrily.

Dryden's answering grin was as vicious as it was reckless. “It was because of him that I was able to have a second shot of life in Gaea. I owe Hitomi my life and beyond.”

Dornkirk's face creased into the deadliest expression Hitomi had ever seen, and the sky darkened as he strode towards the kneeling angel who had summoned the storm that morning. The Elder's right hand was positioned like a claw, and in it he was holding a gathering ball of pure energy.

In all this confusion, the neglected pendant was about to fall down along the waterfall but Hitomi caught it just in time. Not a moment too soon that she had latched it back on her neck, the stormy clouds surrounding Gaea parted, revealing to her a small, windswept island off the coast of the great ocean. The sun shone directly on the island, and the pendant grew heavy as it dipped downwards and burst into an intense blue light which suffused her entirely.

“Look, Hitomi,” Dryden whispered. “Look at your destiny.”

And Hitomi saw. She saw a young man with messy raven hair and caramel skin tying a small boat on the wharf. His calloused hands were expertly tying the knots which would keep the boat from drifting away. As he looped and tugged and pulled at the thick rope, his lean muscles rippled on his bare arm and chest, and even though he was lean and not overly muscular, she could feel the strength that was deceitfully hidden within him.

All at once he stopped, as if someone called out his name. Hitomi felt her heart skip a beat. Slowly, he turned his face upwards to the sky, and his soft, melancholy wine-colored eyes gazed directly to the heavens, to the floating world he could not see.

To Hitomi.

Everything around her fell into silence. Tears fell one after another from her eyes. She was clutching the glowing pendant on her chest. Hitomi trembled all over as all of the angels watched her with apprehension and shaken faces.

It was then she remembered everything.

“Van,” she whispered.

Tsuzuku

“But you still love her,” she pointed out.

“Of course I do,” he replied without a second thought. “And I will carry this burden with me until the heavens turn to ash. Frankly, I believe I wouldn't be what I am now without it. Before, I lived—no, I existed—solely for her approval, and in some ways, I probably still do. Even if we are worlds apart, I am grateful to have a piece of her in me—even if it's just this thorn. It is this curse that makes me part human, Hitomi; it is what makes me whole.”

Footnotes:

Okay, I won't give myself any excuses; I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter, that's why it came out so late. The middle part was lacking something that would tie it with the intensity in the end. I knew where I was going, I just didn't know where to get there. But, thanks for all those who helped, I finally got there. I hope you guys like this chapter and it didn't bore you.

Before I forget, this chapter is dedicated to my dog, Honey, who was such a dear that she refused to stay off my lap while I was typing the last parts of this so I would not drift to sleep. I love you, sweetness, I'll make you a special dinner one of these nights.

The next chapter will probably be the most important chapter in the whole story, and, yeah, I just pressured myself. Gee. Anyway, the next chapter will notbe the last, but we are almost at the end. Hang in there!

Thank you!

Sadame X
Defy your destiny.