Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Thief of Hearts ❯ Emerald Eyed Thief ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter 1 ~ Emerald Eyed Thief

The dark figure walked through the early morning crowd. The capital city of Fanelia was all decorated with flags and banners, decreeing the coronation of their new king. Seventeen year-old Van Fanel was to be crowned the king of the country in the afternoon. The whole city was heavily partying. Taverns, bars and shops were full of happy Fanelians, eating drinking and laughing. The figure pulled the hood of the cloak over its face. In the multi-colored crowd, the black of the cloak stood out like a signal of warning.

"It's a mighty fine day for looting." The figure whispered under its breath.

Just then, the figure and a tall cat-man collided. The figure grunted annoyed.

"Watch where you're going girlie." The man said gruffly.

"Whatever kitty cat." She mumbled.

"What did you say?" the man asked utterly annoyed.

"Nothing, sir." She whispered humbly and lowered her head. The man looked down at her victoriously, not even feeling her fingers slowly undoing his money pouch and emptying it.

He moved on, as if nothing had happened.

"Sucker…" the girl laughed and continued traversing the crowd. You could see by her slender frame, that she was in her teens. Probably no older than seventeen. Under her cloak, an experienced eye could see the faint shadow of a crossbow. She wore a pair of brown leather pants, and a tight green shirt. On her feet, the mere observer saw a pair of nicely crafted brown boots, perfectly fit for her small feet. The girl walked through the crowd slowly relieving the people she bumped into, of their money. "All for a good cause." She muttered as she emptied most of the money in the orphanage's Donation Box. She slowly walked into a coffee shop.

"Hey Nadya." She called out to a busy cat-woman working at the bar.

"Hitomi, there you are, I was looking for you." The elder cat said with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, I had a little business to take care of." Hitomi said cryptically.

"Was that so important that you couldn't come give me a hand? You knew very well today was probably the most busy day of the year." The cat woman scolded.

"Sorry Nad. I was doing a little charity work for the orphans." The girl smiled, refusing to reveal her face.

"Are you up to your old habits again?" Nadya stopped working and came towards the girl.

"What are you implying?" Hitomi asked slightly amused. Ever since she moved to Fanelia two years ago, Nadya had been begging her to get rid of her "sinful" ways. Hitomi had stopped for a while, but the thrill and adventure always kept on calling her back. It wasn't like she was keeping all the money for herself. Ever since Hitomi had moved to Fanelia's capital, the city's orphanage had been blessing and unknown benefactor.

"One day, your stealing will get you in trouble." Nadya said wisely.

Hitomi chuckled. "Please, I'm helping those children in any way I can. It's not like 'King Van' cares about those orphans. He's a pampered royal. He doesn't know what it feels like to have no one." She said bitterly.

"Hitomi! I am appalled. King Van's a good king. I'm sure many things will improve in Fanelia now that he is given full authority." Nadya said firmly.

Hitomi only scoffed. "Sure, ever since King Goau and Queen Varie died nothing's been going right in Fanelia. He probably poisoned them to get the power."

~!SLAP!~

"Oww… what was that for?" Hitomi asked clutching her blistered cheek.

"That's for not having more faith in your king." Nadya said, her green cat-like eyes flaring with anger.

"First of all, I'm not Fanelian. Second of all, I was only joking. You don't need to take it so hard Nad." Hitomi said, still rubbing her now red cheek.

"I don't care if you're Fanelian or not. I won't allow you to talk like that under this roof." The cat said sourly.

"Sorry."

"Come on, I've got lots of customers. Come help me, and take that ragged old thing off." Nadya ordered.

"I'll help you, but the cloak stays." Hitomi said.

~~~~

Van Fanel was sitting in his room, looking outside at the city. His city. It had now been two years since his parents had died, and two years of having to listen to his stupid regent. It was now time to take the ruling of his country in his own hands. He didn't like how things had degraded through his kingdom, and he planned on making many changes in the months to come. First on his agenda was getting rid of the old regent. That old crow still hung around, waiting for a chance to grab some power. Van sat down, and passed a hand though his unruly raven hair. Slowly, he walked to his dresser, and took out the ceremonial armor he was supposed to wear. Piece by piece he strapped on the armor.

"This is for you dad, and this is for you mom. I hope you're happy among the gods." He thought.

"Lord Van, hurry!" Merle walked into his room.

"Merle, as a future monarch I must have poise, and I must keep others waiting. Now let go of me." Van said sternly, as the unglued the cat-woman from his arm.

"Lord Van, it's your coronation, you don't want to miss it." she scolded.

Van glared at his younger pink-haired companion. Over the years, Merle had turned into a teenage cat. She had gained a tall slender form, and her pink hair only grew longer and richer. He smiled, thinking how many heads she must have turned in her peach dress. Merle was all he had left, and he was grateful for that. First thing he'd do would be give her a position of more prestige. Maybe adopt her as his sister…

"Mhm…" Van agreed absent-mindedly.

"Come on, now that you put on your armor… let's go." Merle said and impulsively pushed him out the door.

"That's enough Merle." Van said firmly. It wasn't enough that he was nervous. She had to add to that. Sometimes, just sometimes, Merle went too far. He was grateful she was at least there though.

They walked through the halls of the palace silently, not wanting to disturb the ghosts of the castle.

The coronation took place outside, in front of all his subjects. The day was warm and Van was boiling in his armor, as he kneeled in front of the Elder to receive the symbol of his power -the sword of Fanelia.

"And do you swear loyalty, honor and respect to your people?" the old man asked. He was wearing a long black robe, and his gray eyes were set on Van's chocolate ones like a hawk's on a mouse's.

"I do." Van whispered hoarsely.

"Then I hereby decree you king of Fanelia. Your majesty." He said, and gave him the sword, bowing.

Van took the precious weapon and turned around, a solemn look decorating his face.

"Rise." He told the elder. The man rose. "I, Van Slanzar de Fanel, promise to do all I can to protect Fanelia and its people." Van said, and attached the sword's sheath to his waist.

"Yeah right…liar." Hitomi said as she walked through the crowd gathering a bit of money. She stopped to listen the young man's bold words. She looked up, her emerald eyes shining from the darkness of her cloak, and for a moment, it was like he was looking straight at her. Like he could see to the bottom of her soul. It was something Hitomi had never felt before. His words came to her like a dream, and the moment was shattered, leaving her a bit dizzy, and confused. There was something about him. Something she couldn't make out. "It's nothing. He didn't even see you. You're imagining it." she told herself.

Hitomi continued to "work" the crowd. When she felt she had enough, she went back to Nadya's shop, not forgetting to stop by the orphanage, to make her daily "donations".

"Are you ready to go?" the cat asked her, when the small bell on the door announced Hitomi's entrance.

"Where are we going?" Hitomi asked.

"Well, if you would have took the time to learn Fanelian customs, instead of spending your time robbing people, you would have known that the common folk are allowed in the gardens for the coronation party. I plan on attending. Are you coming?" Nadya asked Hitomi.

The girl just shrugged, and followed her cat-companion.

"Oh, and you're going to behave yourself when you're with me. I have a good reputation in this city." Nadya told her firmly.

"Anything for you Nad." Hitomi smiled.

When she had first come to Fanelia, two years before, Nadya was the first person she had met. The merchant that employed her "services" suddenly decided to start a clean life, and wanted to rid himself of Hitomi. On the night when she was supposed to receive her "payment", Hitomi went to meet her employer, yet he only injured her and left her dying in a back alley of the city. Lucky for Hitomi, Nadya had found her and nursed her wounds. Ever since then, Hitomi had helped the cat around the shop, though never sharing much of her past. She was conscious that if not for the cat-woman, she would not have made it past her 16th summer. That was the reason Hitomi stayed in Fanelia. One of the reasons anyway. Seeing as how she was an orphan, and had nowhere to go, she might as well stay where she was. Most people knew of the green eyed girl who suddenly appeared in Nadya's shop, though none of them knew of her interesting occupation. Generally, people didn't know what to think when they were around Hitomi. She was always polite and quiet. Some of them found themselves missing money afterwards, but they never attributed that to the gentle skinny girl living with the most honest woman in town.

"Yeah, so you better not steal anything." Nadya said point an accusatory finger in Hitomi's face.

"Don't worry, I won't!" she put her hands up in retreat.

Nadya smiled. "That's my girl, you know Hitomi, before I met you, I had the dullest life ever. Ever since you came into my life, it's been very interesting."

"Thank you Nad, I'm glad you found me when you did." Hitomi confessed.

"You never told me what happened." The cat hinted.

"Oh, I see, you're bored again and you're hunting for information." Hitomi smiled knowingly. Somehow Nadya had maneuvered Hitomi into saying much about her past.

"Well, you can't blame a cat for trying." Nadya laughed as she wobbled beside the young woman. "Ah, my aching bones…" she trailed off.

"Well, I worked for him, but instead of paying me, he decided to just stab me and let me die. He figured it was safer that way. And this guy was a friend of my adoptive father." Hitomi scowled, remembering the horrid man who "sold her off" at fifteen.

"Well, now you have me." The cat said.

"Yes, here's a present for you." Hitomi said, giving Nadya a bag filled with gold coins.

"Where did you get this from?" Nadya asked incredulously. The girl had not even moved from her side, yet she now produced a fat bag of money.

"Oh, some fat baron was waltzing by. I decided he needed to make a donation. Don't worry. I left him enough to spend on his liquor." Hitomi laughed.

"You promised!" Nadya mumbled.

"I'll stop now. It's just that he had so much money, I couldn't resist." Hitomi told the woman.

"Well, I don't care what you do with it. I won't have it." she said and placed the bag back in Hitomi's hands.

"Nad, please I did it for you. This way you can hire yourself someone to help you in the shop. Please." Hitomi insisted.

"No, I don't need any help, and plus I've got you haven't I?"

"Nadya, please. I might not always be around, and you're not as young as you were. This will be enough to hire yourself someone trustworthy." Hitomi insisted.

"No. I refuse to take it. It's not honestly earned." The cat hardheadedly stuck to her point.

"Yes it's hard earned. I've spent two years in the wretched dungeons of my father's castle learning to pilfer like this so I could hopefully see the light of day. I had to give up my life's dream of becoming a businesswoman in order to become this creature of the night. Don't tell me it's not hard earned. I paid for all this money I'm taking now with my childhood and my dreams." Hitomi said hotly. "Nadya, please take it." she then added quietly. "I want you to have it."

The cat-woman shot Hitomi a side-glance. "I never knew…" she thought and finally accepted the bag of money.

~~~~

Later that night, Hitomi was quietly admiring the exquisite beauty of the Fanelian gardens. The two moons were gloriously lending their silver light, to further beautify the coronation party of King Van, and adding a further mystery to the Fanelian castle. Hitomi aimlessly walked around, admiring the sheer beauty of the place.

"This place is a little corner of heaven. I've long forgotten such majestic beauty. This, this is something to fight for. This is all that will remain, long after the people will have gone. I wish, I wish I could see more of this beauty, but I know, that it is not possible. I have to carry the weight of my life on my shoulders and my shoulders alone. It's not anyone's concern. It's best if I just fade away, like always, cast from the night, belonging to the night, never to anyone else." Hitomi thought. She longingly looked at the castle. Common folk weren't allowed to enjoy the party of royalty. Instead, they were given the unique opportunity to see the gardens. "I'll never get this close to a castle before, why don't I just go in. I'm not going to steal anything. I'll just look around." Hitomi continued thinking, as she stared at the solid building of limestone. "Well why not. It's a challenge."

With her mind set, the young woman marched towards the castle. Most people had already gone home, and the guards were either sleeping or drunk. It wouldn't be any trouble to sneak though the back doors. All Hitomi wanted to do was take a look at the castle. And then go home.

The dark cloaked figure slowly crept passed the sleeping guards, as she entered the castle.

Once inside, Hitomi couldn't believe her eyes. She found herself in a huge marble corridor, with doors on either side. Small torches lighted the way, and statues stood at attention on both sides of the huge hall. A set of tired footsteps echoed lazily on the marble, and Hitomi quickly faded into a shadowy niche. Who knew what the penalty for invading the castle was? She stood still and held her breath as the guard passed by whistling a slow song.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Hitomi quietly opened one of the doors and looked inside. What she saw was a pantry filled with flour, apples and other fruits as well as cooking materials. She shut the door disappointed. It was not what she hoped to see. Quickly, before the guard could return, Hitomi climbed a narrow stairway, that took he to the second level of the castle. There, the corridors were just as big, only the floors were carpeted with rich wool carpets.

"Hmm… these must be the sleeping quarters." Hitomi thought. With the echo of her footsteps swallowed by the thick carpets, Hitomi moved about much faster. She opened a few doors, and stumbled upon a few dining rooms, a closed garden, and a few sleeping fat lords with their sleazy wives.

"Oh god, I think I'm lost!" Hitomi muttered under her breath, as she made a left, hoping to find some sort of exit. However, she entered another hall, where she saw two guards walking away while chatting. Quickly, Hitomi opened the door to her right, and stepped in. She found herself in a dimly lit anti-chamber. Holding her breath, Hitomi took another step, and bumped into a chair. "Shit." She muttered under her breath. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, Hitomi recognized an opening that took her to another chamber. She slowly walked into the other room. It was bigger than the anti-chamber; it was actually a bedroom. Hitomi looked around, and saw a huge four post bed in the middle of the room, right near the window. On the adjacent wall, she saw a huge dresser, and right beside the opening, she saw a desk. On the desk was a nicely decorated sword. Hitomi slowly stepped inside, curious to see the sleeping figure on the bed. However, the corner of her eye caught the gleaming sword on the desk. Carefully, Hitomi stepped in. She took note not to touch the clothes scattered on the floor. Quietly, she walked to the desk, and unsheathed the sword. The bold symbol struck her eye.

"No, no way, it can't be." She whispered, taking a step back. "I've stumbled into King Van's bedroom." She let out a dry chuckle.

The figure in the bed stirred, but did not wake. "Hmm… I heard that he's a good soldier. He must be really tired not to feel my presence in here." She thought.

Still holding the sword, Hitomi walked towards Van's bed. From between the ivory sheets, she saw the unruly black strands of hair belonging to the king. Hitomi was fascinated by the young man. She had never seen a sleeping person, and King Van looked so peaceful when he slept. Like an angel. She smiled, and began raising her hand, trying to remove some of the strands of hair, to see his face better. She stopped, when the king stirred, and turned face up, as if he were looking at her though his sealed eyelids. With the rays of the moon brushing past his face, Hitomi didn't know what she was looking at. Was it his soul? Or just his sleeping figure. She had to admit, he looked very handsome, yet so innocent asleep. Van stirred, mumbling some undecipherable words.

*~*~*~*~*~*

(Van's dream)

The figure came towards him, covered by the black cloak. He smiled and ran towards her, but he felt immense sadness irradiate from her. In a whisk of the wind she was gone, and all he was left with was the glow of her emerald eyes, and the smell of her wonderful sandy hair.

"No, please Hitomi come back!" he yelled.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Hitomi gasped in shock, as she retreated to the shadows. Was she dreaming? Or did she hear the king mutter her name amongst a whole line of desperate words. She didn't know why, but her heart went out to the poor lad. There he was all alone, battling the demons of his dreams. Hitomi knew that in life you could run, but when you went to bed at night, you'd still have to face the demons in your mind. She could feel the anguish in his voice as he called after that woman, or after whomever he called. She almost wanted to wake him up, and to tell him it was all a dream, but she wasn't sure she could make up a legible explanation about how she got there in the first place. She retreated to the shadows, thinking of a way to leave the palace unseen.

As Hitomi was thinking up a plan, she kept on watching the sleeping king. After a few more tosses and turns, he had settled into an exhausted sleep. It was then that she saw the shadow on the balcony. At first, Hitomi thought it was nothing, but then the door from the balcony to the room opened, and she saw another person dressed all in black enter the room. She kept quiet, as she observed the intruder.

"Ah, King Van Fanel, you'll hold the record for the shortest ruler ever to rule the rich land of Fanelia." The voice muttered menacingly. Slowly, the stranger unsheathed his sword, and prepared to strike the king.

"No!" Hitomi screamed as she bolted out of her seat, and with Van's sword, she blocked the deadly blow. "What do you think you're doing you murderer?" she yelled. With a force unknown to her, she raised the sword and, like many times before prepared to apply the final blow. However, the stranger was very skilled, and blocked her blow. He then pushed Hitomi backwards and charged. Hitomi rolled on the carpet, and ended up in the back of her attacker. She then hit him with all her worth, cutting his left arm. Hot blood gushed out and spilt on the carpet. The man swore, and turned around, the deadly edge of his sword aiming straight for Hitomi's neck. Just then, a dagger sliced the air, diverting the sword's dooming path. With a fierce cry, and ignoring the aching pain in her arm, Hitomi charged again, cutting the man's right arm. In a flash, he was gone, jumping off the balcony into the soft mossy earth of the garden. Hitomi stood in the middle of the room, catching her breath. Van's sword fell to the floor with a muffled thump, as Hitomi collapsed to her knees. She then grabbed her left hand, where she felt the hot blood trickle between her fingers.

"Who in the devil's name are you?" Van asked though drowsy eyes, yet still maintaining his royal authority.

"Who I am is not important your majesty. I shall be going now." Hitomi said quickly and got to her feet, still clinging to her left arm.

"Like hell you will. Who are you, and what are you doing in this room?" he asked annoyed.

Hitomi turned around, and faced Van, her green eyes thundering, and her cloak slicing the air.

"Listen you conceited little jerk. I just busted my butt trying to save your skin. I do think I deserve some sort of apology. If it weren't for me you'd be sleeping in a box for the rest of your life." she bit back, her eyes flaring with anger. She was right when she called him an idiot. This was to be Fanelia's future king? Ha, he was a joke. A mere puppet in the eyes of the council.

Van gasped, as he looked at her shining green eyes, and short sandy hair. She was the girl from his dream. Or at least the eyes and the hair fit perfectly. He walked closer, dominating her with his height.

"Listen girl, I don't care what you did. You had no right to be here. And just so you know, you ruined my plans. I felt him creep up on me, and was going to jab the dagger in his throat. But now I've lost him because of you. Now tell me who you are, or else I'll have you thrown in the dungeons." He said in a dangerously low voice. No matter how beautiful she was, she had managed to get in his room undetected. Before he thanked her, he wanted to be sure of her loyalty. To his surprise, he heard a bitter laugh escape her throat.

"Your stupid dungeons don't scare me. I've seen worse. Heck, I've been in worse. My name is Hitomi Kanzaki your majesty." She said, and bowed. However, the loss of blood was great, and Hitomi felt herself swoon over to one side.

Van gasped, as he heard the girl's first name. What kind of joke was this? He saw her bow, and then swoon over, and he dived to catch her in his arms. He cradled her close, as he noticed her bloodied hand.

"By the gods girl, you're hurt!" Van exclaimed, as he saw more warm blood gush out of Hitomi's cut.

"Give the man a prize, he's figured it out!" she managed to say sarcastically, as she faded into oblivion.

"Hitomi!" Van yelled. He cradled her in his arms, picked her up, and put her on his bed. He then ripped a piece of silk from his bed sheets and tied it around her wound.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note

Hey you guys, I'm back, with another fic. This is AU. Hehe, but u already know that. Ok, well, onto the stuff. It's a Van/Hitomi romance, heh, that was not so hard to figure out… ok, I dunt know where I'm going with this, but I've decided to change Hitomi's character around a little bit. She'll be more mysterious, and a bit more cynical, but she'll still be hitomi. U know, kind, compassionate. Only she won't be like. "Oh, I've had a bad vision" every three seconds. Now, just so you know… even though I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I know that I've got something special planned for hitomi's background. So she's a thief. But she's also had education. Just so you know, they're 17 here, because… well… I'm gonna decide if it'll be a bit LIME… maybe… I dunt know yet… it all depends on what you guys want me to do. And no I won't do hentai. But yeah. Ok, in gaea, let's say that they're adults at 17. So that's when van got coronated. Now there's a bad guy… dunno who it is yet… but it's AU, so I'll find someone. For the dilly lovers, there will be NO celena in this fic. Or actually if there will be a celena, she won't have anything to do with dilly. She'll just be allen's sister. Hmm.. what else. tell me if u like it so far. Yes, there shall be fluff, and heh, it'll b more mysterious in term of characters. Oh, and just so you know, in this fic, Folken is NOT Van's brother. Please don't hesitate to review. I wanta know if this is a good idea and all. It's my first AU, so please forgive me. Oh yeah, if u guys review, and I write more (which I shall cuz I dunt like leaving things unfinished, but if evil teachers give evil homework than that equals trouble) you'll get to find out how hitomi discovers about her sightseeing, and how she gets the pendant. Lol, she won't steal the pendant. Eheh, she only steals money and like gold things… lol… eheh will she help van now?? Or will she just walk out of his life? (I think we all know the answer to that….)