Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ The Call ❯ Nine ( Chapter 9 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Dragon Dagger 
Anime/Manga: Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Mecha / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.15.2012 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.0K | Visits: 550 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Mecha / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.15.2012 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.0K | Visits: 550 | Status: Completed
Karis and Dero looked at each other as they heard her repeat the words that had been so common from Fanelia since the war. As they observed, they too found this to be true as despite appearances they were a couple that were still deeply in love with each other.
Nodding to Hitomi they conceded the point and the talks continued long into the night. The evening meal came and went and several sharp arguments were heard at the door of the conference chamber between Narine, who wanted to see her parents and the guards that were stationed to keep the meetings secured.
Before the night was over however, Van had set up quarters near Narine for the Chalons and informed them that there was to be a small dinner party the following night in their honor.
Thus informed everyone retired to their rooms. Everyone that is, except Van, he instead chose his vigil point in Hitomi's room stating that he rested better when he was able to see her than any night of sleep. Hitomi agreed to let him stay, if only because she knew that Van dreaded the nightmares that would plague him now.
Hitomi changed for bed and hugging Van close was reassured by his strong arms wrapping around her in their gentle embrace. "Good night Hitomi, rest well for I will watch over you."
Hitomi smiled sleepily and crawled into the bed and watched as Van settled in his chair for the night. As they found each other's hands in the dark Van silently vowed to himself that he would find a way to be with Hitomi, no matter how long it took.
The next morning dawned stormy as the castle stirred for the day. Hitomi and Van were doing her exercises in the main courtyard working on her strength, speed and balance. With this work out she was also working on her stamina, as she knew that each morning she was getting better little by little.
When they were on a roll Van would sometimes race her around the fountain pushing her to make herself faster, stronger and better at what she was doing. Hitomi responded to the unspoken challenge, as she knew that Van had kept up his own training while she had been away.
That morning they did not realize it, but they were being watched from one of the windows to the courtyard. The sight that greeted the prying eyes was one that surprised them, as they had not realized just how far Hitomi had come in her recovery.
The castle was busy and there were private meetings all day between Van and the parents of his fiance. Hitomi was left to her own devices and so she went back outside for some light stretching and a dip in the pool.
She hadn't told anyone where she was going but by this time she was such a familiar sight about the palace that she figured that someone would remember seeing her here and if someone asked for her she would be able to be found.
Her time in the pool was short lived though as she looked about underwater only to be shortly missed by a crossbow bolt. Scared that she was targeted again in the home that she was most familiar with other than her own she pulled the bolt out of the stones at the bottom of the pool and shot to the surface with it only to find another smaller crossbow pointed right at her with a shadowed figure at the other end.
The gestures were easy to read. 'Get out of the pool.' As she complied she put her towel on and stood unshaken before the man that held her life in his hands with that crossbow trained unerringly at her throat.
"What do you want with me?" She asked quietly her mind searching out for Van's desperately as she tried to keep her fear from choking her.
"Come with me." The crossbow was hidden beneath the robes now as they started to move towards the old wing where Merle's rooms had been located before Hitomi woke up. Now they were being prepared as guest rooms for the royalty that was due to arrive in a few weeks time for the wedding between Van and Narine.
In the meeting chambers Van was answering questions and working out proposals with Lady Chalon as Lord Dero watched and input his opinion when it was asked or needed from his long experience. All three noticed about the same time that the pendant that Van was wearing was glowing softly.
Van quietly pardoned himself and pushing back from the table he dropped his arms to his sides and relaxed as he closed his eyes to seek out the only one that could make the pendant glow like that.
Looking about with his mind and dowsing with the pendant as the focus on his search for Hitomi he noticed that she was still in the castle but in a different area. Looking about he noticed that she was not alone and that the air was filled with fear and tension.
Knowing Hitomi like he did he knew that if she were pushed past her fear or given another direction for it, she would act on that fear. His only hope was that she would not have to act before Van could get to her.
What he could not figure out was who could put that much fear into the woman that had seen so much on her life. "Van" The voice whispered across his mind.
"Hitomi. What is wrong?" Over time their bond had grown to where they could mind speak to a certain degree. It was an easily broken link, but they could still feel each other no matter the distance.
"I am being held. I am not certain why, be careful." The link was severed but he could tell that she was still in good health for the moment as he opened his eyes.
"I am sorry Lady Karis and Lord Dero, but Hitomi has been taken somewhere into the castle and is being held. I must find her." His serious eyes were severe in his remembered promise to protect Hitomi. Gaddes had heard the conversation between ruling lords and was ready to call out a full search of the castle.
Dero was about to object to Van's sudden decision to depart in the middle of the negotiations for a new wedding date when his wife stilled him. "Let him go. He has to do this, I fear that it would not bode well for all of us if that girl stays missing."
Van nodded his agreement to that statement his eyes promising death or worse to the one that harmed her. "My thanks for your understanding Lady Karis. I shall return as soon as I have made certain that Hitomi is safe from her captors."
Karis stood and dragged her husband off to another part of the castle without any other say in the matter as Van took off in the direction Hitomi had been felt in. The guard was small. Gaddes and Allen were the only ones that accompanied the young king on his quest to the far end of the castle to find her.
Hitomi smiled gently as she lost contact with Van. He knew she was missing and now she was certain that he was on his way to rescue her.
Her captor saw the smile and asked. "What is it about this situation that is so amusing?"
Hitomi shuddered a bit at the tone but held her head up as she answered certain that she was right. "I am smiling because the one person that loves me is coming to get me, and when he finds you, you are going to wish you hadn't taken me orders or no." Hitomi's eyes narrowed dangerously at her captor as she noticed the slight movement towards the crossbow still hidden under the cloak. "I wouldn't." She warned, her tone far rougher and more sibilant than anyone on Gaea had ever heard before from the normally excitable woman.
Her captor did a double take at the menace in her voice and the covered sneer could be felt across the room. "And what would you do if I did. You are not fast enough to stop me and I am certain that even if you were you wouldn't have the strength to best me in a fight before Van gets here. IF he is coming as you have predicted."
Hitomi's look of surprise turned to a hard look of determination as she crouched in a defensive posture that was unfamiliar to the cloaked one. "I said back off or so help me you will beg to have Van take you away when I get through with you." Her voice rose in volume as she spoke.
She was caught completely by surprise when the figure moved swiftly, too swiftly for her to counter and struck her to knock her out. "You were clever to think of challenging me to allow yourself a chance to get Van to this location. However, he will not come for you. Not with the meetings he is in right now."
"I wouldn't say that." A new voice came from the doorway.
Looking up from his position over Hitomi the cloaked figure saw Van, sword drawn and approaching with Allen and Gaddes following in flanking positions. "Impossible. Even at the volume she was shouting you could not have heard her."
"How I found Hitomi is my own secret. You have brought her harm and now you shall pay the price." Allen and Gaddes took to the front to apprehend the figure when it jumped to the windowsill behind him and made the leap backwards out into nothing.
"Not this time Van Fanel, perhaps another day!" As he disappeared.
Allen gestured to Hitomi on the floor and Van put his sword away as he knelt down beside her to check for more serious wounds. He found the crossbow bolt in the towel and noted the fletching before he handed it to Gaddes to keep for the time being. As he picked Hitomi up the difference in size from a year ago was made more apparent to Allen as he noticed that Van's shoulders had broadened some and he had put on a little more muscle to a slightly taller frame.
Not much had changed in the time but the little that did made Allen all the more aware of the time that had passed since Hitomi had last been here. She too had grown a little more but with her growth done she was a beautiful woman with a calmer countenance and a wiser outlook on the world.
Hitomi was not going to be awakened yet and Van nodded that they were ready to take Hitomi back to her room. She would awaken there and hopefully they would be able to put a few more pieces into the puzzle that now sat before them all.
Nodding to Hitomi they conceded the point and the talks continued long into the night. The evening meal came and went and several sharp arguments were heard at the door of the conference chamber between Narine, who wanted to see her parents and the guards that were stationed to keep the meetings secured.
Before the night was over however, Van had set up quarters near Narine for the Chalons and informed them that there was to be a small dinner party the following night in their honor.
Thus informed everyone retired to their rooms. Everyone that is, except Van, he instead chose his vigil point in Hitomi's room stating that he rested better when he was able to see her than any night of sleep. Hitomi agreed to let him stay, if only because she knew that Van dreaded the nightmares that would plague him now.
Hitomi changed for bed and hugging Van close was reassured by his strong arms wrapping around her in their gentle embrace. "Good night Hitomi, rest well for I will watch over you."
Hitomi smiled sleepily and crawled into the bed and watched as Van settled in his chair for the night. As they found each other's hands in the dark Van silently vowed to himself that he would find a way to be with Hitomi, no matter how long it took.
The next morning dawned stormy as the castle stirred for the day. Hitomi and Van were doing her exercises in the main courtyard working on her strength, speed and balance. With this work out she was also working on her stamina, as she knew that each morning she was getting better little by little.
When they were on a roll Van would sometimes race her around the fountain pushing her to make herself faster, stronger and better at what she was doing. Hitomi responded to the unspoken challenge, as she knew that Van had kept up his own training while she had been away.
That morning they did not realize it, but they were being watched from one of the windows to the courtyard. The sight that greeted the prying eyes was one that surprised them, as they had not realized just how far Hitomi had come in her recovery.
The castle was busy and there were private meetings all day between Van and the parents of his fiance. Hitomi was left to her own devices and so she went back outside for some light stretching and a dip in the pool.
She hadn't told anyone where she was going but by this time she was such a familiar sight about the palace that she figured that someone would remember seeing her here and if someone asked for her she would be able to be found.
Her time in the pool was short lived though as she looked about underwater only to be shortly missed by a crossbow bolt. Scared that she was targeted again in the home that she was most familiar with other than her own she pulled the bolt out of the stones at the bottom of the pool and shot to the surface with it only to find another smaller crossbow pointed right at her with a shadowed figure at the other end.
The gestures were easy to read. 'Get out of the pool.' As she complied she put her towel on and stood unshaken before the man that held her life in his hands with that crossbow trained unerringly at her throat.
"What do you want with me?" She asked quietly her mind searching out for Van's desperately as she tried to keep her fear from choking her.
"Come with me." The crossbow was hidden beneath the robes now as they started to move towards the old wing where Merle's rooms had been located before Hitomi woke up. Now they were being prepared as guest rooms for the royalty that was due to arrive in a few weeks time for the wedding between Van and Narine.
In the meeting chambers Van was answering questions and working out proposals with Lady Chalon as Lord Dero watched and input his opinion when it was asked or needed from his long experience. All three noticed about the same time that the pendant that Van was wearing was glowing softly.
Van quietly pardoned himself and pushing back from the table he dropped his arms to his sides and relaxed as he closed his eyes to seek out the only one that could make the pendant glow like that.
Looking about with his mind and dowsing with the pendant as the focus on his search for Hitomi he noticed that she was still in the castle but in a different area. Looking about he noticed that she was not alone and that the air was filled with fear and tension.
Knowing Hitomi like he did he knew that if she were pushed past her fear or given another direction for it, she would act on that fear. His only hope was that she would not have to act before Van could get to her.
What he could not figure out was who could put that much fear into the woman that had seen so much on her life. "Van" The voice whispered across his mind.
"Hitomi. What is wrong?" Over time their bond had grown to where they could mind speak to a certain degree. It was an easily broken link, but they could still feel each other no matter the distance.
"I am being held. I am not certain why, be careful." The link was severed but he could tell that she was still in good health for the moment as he opened his eyes.
"I am sorry Lady Karis and Lord Dero, but Hitomi has been taken somewhere into the castle and is being held. I must find her." His serious eyes were severe in his remembered promise to protect Hitomi. Gaddes had heard the conversation between ruling lords and was ready to call out a full search of the castle.
Dero was about to object to Van's sudden decision to depart in the middle of the negotiations for a new wedding date when his wife stilled him. "Let him go. He has to do this, I fear that it would not bode well for all of us if that girl stays missing."
Van nodded his agreement to that statement his eyes promising death or worse to the one that harmed her. "My thanks for your understanding Lady Karis. I shall return as soon as I have made certain that Hitomi is safe from her captors."
Karis stood and dragged her husband off to another part of the castle without any other say in the matter as Van took off in the direction Hitomi had been felt in. The guard was small. Gaddes and Allen were the only ones that accompanied the young king on his quest to the far end of the castle to find her.
Hitomi smiled gently as she lost contact with Van. He knew she was missing and now she was certain that he was on his way to rescue her.
Her captor saw the smile and asked. "What is it about this situation that is so amusing?"
Hitomi shuddered a bit at the tone but held her head up as she answered certain that she was right. "I am smiling because the one person that loves me is coming to get me, and when he finds you, you are going to wish you hadn't taken me orders or no." Hitomi's eyes narrowed dangerously at her captor as she noticed the slight movement towards the crossbow still hidden under the cloak. "I wouldn't." She warned, her tone far rougher and more sibilant than anyone on Gaea had ever heard before from the normally excitable woman.
Her captor did a double take at the menace in her voice and the covered sneer could be felt across the room. "And what would you do if I did. You are not fast enough to stop me and I am certain that even if you were you wouldn't have the strength to best me in a fight before Van gets here. IF he is coming as you have predicted."
Hitomi's look of surprise turned to a hard look of determination as she crouched in a defensive posture that was unfamiliar to the cloaked one. "I said back off or so help me you will beg to have Van take you away when I get through with you." Her voice rose in volume as she spoke.
She was caught completely by surprise when the figure moved swiftly, too swiftly for her to counter and struck her to knock her out. "You were clever to think of challenging me to allow yourself a chance to get Van to this location. However, he will not come for you. Not with the meetings he is in right now."
"I wouldn't say that." A new voice came from the doorway.
Looking up from his position over Hitomi the cloaked figure saw Van, sword drawn and approaching with Allen and Gaddes following in flanking positions. "Impossible. Even at the volume she was shouting you could not have heard her."
"How I found Hitomi is my own secret. You have brought her harm and now you shall pay the price." Allen and Gaddes took to the front to apprehend the figure when it jumped to the windowsill behind him and made the leap backwards out into nothing.
"Not this time Van Fanel, perhaps another day!" As he disappeared.
Allen gestured to Hitomi on the floor and Van put his sword away as he knelt down beside her to check for more serious wounds. He found the crossbow bolt in the towel and noted the fletching before he handed it to Gaddes to keep for the time being. As he picked Hitomi up the difference in size from a year ago was made more apparent to Allen as he noticed that Van's shoulders had broadened some and he had put on a little more muscle to a slightly taller frame.
Not much had changed in the time but the little that did made Allen all the more aware of the time that had passed since Hitomi had last been here. She too had grown a little more but with her growth done she was a beautiful woman with a calmer countenance and a wiser outlook on the world.
Hitomi was not going to be awakened yet and Van nodded that they were ready to take Hitomi back to her room. She would awaken there and hopefully they would be able to put a few more pieces into the puzzle that now sat before them all.