Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Thief of Hearts ❯ Honour? In a Thief? ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2 ~ Honour? In a Thief?

(Hitomi's Dream)

"Mommy, can I go play out in the garden?" a skinny girl of five asked an older woman.

"Sure honey. Are you finished with your daily lessons?"

"Yes. Why do I have to start at such an early age? Other kids, they go to school later on, don't they?" the girl asked with shining green orbs.

"Yes, but all of this is going to be yours one day. You have to start early. Come on, let's go play house." The older woman said, as she let the slide off her lap.

The young Hitomi took one look upon the setting land, so beautifully outlined by the red setting sun. It was beautifully breathtaking. She then focused on the fine lines of her mother's face. Hitomi leaned in for a peck.

"I love you mommy." She said sweetly.

The older woman laughed. "I love you too Hitomi. Come on…." Mamoru was interrupted by a shrieking sound in the distance. Immediately, giant robots appeared behind them. The castle burst into flames. Mamoru picked up Hitomi, and she began running.

"What's going on mommy?" Hitomi screamed frightened.

"Hitomi, I want you to know I love you, and that one day, one day you'll claim back your birthright, but for now, for now honey you must go. And you must hide. The bad people are here." She said between tear-streaked cheeks.

"What bad men?" the little girl asked.

"The same that killed your father." By this time, Mamoru and Hitomi were in the forest. She whistled loudly, and a man came out of the bushes in a rush. "Hiroki, take her. And protect her." The woman pleaded.

"My… ~Hitomi couldn't hear that word~ you must come with us." The soldier insisted.

"No, my place is here. With my husband. Hurry, or you won't make it out alive. They've probably have the city surrounded. Don't let anyone hurt her, please." She said, as she grasped the soldier's hands.

The young Hitomi watched everything confused, as her mother gave her one last goodbye kiss.

"'Tomi, look here. This, this will help you unlock your legacy." And she pointed to Hitomi's weird lightning shaped scar. It's a pattern to the key. Come back here when you're older, and unlock it. Remember, I love you, and we'll always watch over you." She gave her daughter one last kiss, and she motioned the soldier to leave.

"Please, you must come with me, your daughter…"

"My daughter will do fine without me. You wouldn't get out of the city if I was with you. We both know who my husband was. Htiomi's a survivor. Go now."

The soldier saluted. "Good bye…. Mamoru."

"Just go Hiroki."

The little girl watched as her mother grew smaller and smaller. Suddenly, one of the big giants was behind her. Hitomi heard a scream, and then she saw her mother no more.

(end of dream)

Hitomi jumped out of bed, her short sandy hair drenched in cold sweat. She noticed it was morning, and she also noticed a fresh bandage on her left arm.

"Mom…" Hitomi whispered. She didn't know what that dream meant. It had been years since she had dreamed of her mother. Actually, she hadn't dreamt of Mamoru ever since she had been six. Her adoptive father had punished her when she called out for that woman in the middle of the night. Ever since then, Hitomi's dreams had been suppressed. "What was that odd dream. Did that happen? Was that how my mother died?" Hitomi whispered.

"Was that how who died?" she heard a voice coming from the doorframe.

Hitomi looked up, and she saw standing in the doorway, a tall slender cat-girl. She was wearing an orange dress, and her face was surrounded by beautiful shoulder-length pink hair. Hitomi noticed how the cat's cerulean eyes were settled on her.

"Hey there." She managed a weak smile, as she tried to get out of bed.

"Hey, hey, don't try to get up. You've been pretty badly injured. You have to stay in bed. Doctor's orders!" the cat jumped to stop Hitomi from swinging from the bed.

"I don't believe in doctors." Hitomi answered gruffly. She took a look around the room, and noticed it was the same one as last night. Did that mean that she spent the night in the king's bed? If so, why wasn't he here? And why didn't he remove her from his room and throw her in the dungeons as he had threatened. Hitomi's hands went to her head, as to banish the spiliting migraine lurking there. "Oww." She grunted.

"I told you not to stand up. Here, let me help you back on the bed." The cat-girl gently, but firmly, tucked Hitomi in bed. She propped her back against the fluffy pillows.

"I don't need your help." Hitomi insisted. However, she didn't resist when the cat tucked her between warm quilts.

"Of course you don't. Now be quiet and eat your medicine." She ordered.

"I'm sorry. I don't take medicine." Hitomi told her.

"You know what? You're the most stubborn girl I've ever met. You haven't even been awake five minutes, and you oppose every advice meant to help you get better!" the cat screamed at her.

"That's me alright." Hitomi agreed.

"Now you're going to sit in that bed, and you're going to take that medicine, you hear me?" the cat yelled.

"Yessir!" Hitomi said promptly, as she saluted with her right hand.

"And cut out that smart-ass crap. You're not scaring me. I deal with the pompous jerks in this palace day in and day out." The girl told her.

Hitomi glared at her. Who did the cat think she was? Queen of the place?

"Well, no not exactly queen. But I'm the woman running this whole place, and you better smarten up. Lord Van was very generous letting you sleep your fevers in his bed. You should be grateful for that." She said from the other room.

"All hail the mighty and fair king." Hitomi said sarcastically.

"Ah shut up and eat your food." The girl said bringing in a tray with some poached eggs, a glass of milk, and some toast.

Hitomi took the food, realising she was indeed quite hungry. She took a small sip of the milk, and felt how her migraine went away.

"What kind of milk is this?" she asked, looking appreciatively at the half-full glass.

"Lizard milk. It's quite tasty, doncha think?" the cat asked her.

~!Pbftttt!~

"Blech, lizard milk. YOU FED ME LIZZARD MILK???" Hitomi asked bolting out of the bed, and wiping her mouth.

The cat was looking at her with an amused face. After a few more seconds, she burst out laughing, and she was laughing more, and more, until finally she was on the floor clutching her stomach and tears were falling down her cheeks. "Oh, you should have seen your face. Oh god, it was one of those precious moments." She continued laughing.

Hitomi waited until she was done, to chew her out. "HOW COULD YOU DO THAT! YOU MADE ME WASTE PERFECTLY GOOD MILK!"

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. I can't believe you'd think we'd feed you lizard milk. After all, this is the Fanelian castle, not some forsaken household in the backcountry!" the cat told her. "By the way, I'm Merle, what's your name."

"Hitomi. I would say it's a pleasure to meet you Merle if you weren't such a brat." Hitomi said sourly. With her stomach full, she attempted another try to get out of bed.

"Sorry Hitomi." Merle said, still grinning. "Hey, didn't I tell you to stay in bed?"

"And didn't I tell you I don't listen to doctor's orders?" Hitomi bit back.

"Those weren't doctor's orders. That was just friendly advice." Merle said.

"Well, you're not my friend, so I don't listen to you." Hitomi said, as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"And why not?" Merle asked coming up to her.

"I don't know you. I don't make friends with strangers."

"Hmpf."

Hitomi stood up, and for the first time since waking up, she noticed that her clothes were gone. She was wearing a transparent nightgown, and her pants, shirt and cloak were nowhere in sight.

"What did you do with my clothes?" Hitomi asked.

"We sent them out to be washed. They should be back soon." Merle answered casually.

"Why did you do that?" Hitomi asked.

"Please! We couldn't have you dirtying the castle with your rags. After all, you were sleeping in Lord Van's bed." Merle told her.

Hitomi carefully examined her injured arm. "Thank you for bandaging it." she said.

"Don't thank me. It was Lord Van. He took care of you, even before waking up the palace announcing the break in."

"Uh-oh…" Hitomi muttered. "Umm… I'd like my clothes now." She said.

"Ok, I'll got get them." Merle ran out of the room, on all four feet, leaving Hitomi to stare out the window.

She walked to the balcony, and opened the door, letting in the fresh air of the morning. She inhaled, and let herself fall on the bed.

"Well Hitomi, what are you going to do now? How are you going to explain to the king what you were doing in his palace?" she spoke out loud. "Hmm… that smell, that field smell… so refreshing. But back to the issue. What am I going to do? They won't let me walk out the door. I've got a lot of explaining to do… how do I get out of here?" Hitomi asked. She sat on the bed, her head on her hands. Suddenly, an idea hit her. "That's it!" she exclaimed.

"Here's your clothes!" Merle said, and threw her the freshly washed pants and shirt and cloak.

"Thank you, could you let me change now?" Hitomi asked.

"Sure. I'll be right outside if you need anything." Merle told her.

Hitomi quickly put on her clothes, and opened the balcony door. "Darn these clothes are stiff." She thought. Hitomi looked down. "Not too high. About three stories. Shouldn't be hard to climb down on…" she said, and quickly jumped off the ledge.

The wall was very fit for climbing, with holes carved into the limestone, almost if made for that purpose. To a person of normal health, the descent would have been swift. However, Hitomi wasn't functioning at her peak that day, and the descent was slow and painful, her injured arm throbbing as she inched down. "Careful Hitomi, you've done this tons of times. You can do it. Just don't look down, and place the foot carefully, you've got the anchor…aaaaiiii!" Hitomi screamed as her foot slipped off the limestone, and she found herself plummeting to her death off the castle wall. She helplessly tried to grab on to something, anything, but nothing was there. Just when she thought she was going to meet her doom, Hitomi's foot became trapped into a tangle of lichens slowly growing on the castle wall. She was now dangling by one foot, a meter above the ground, her cloak covering her vision. She fretted, trying to free herself from the mess of clothes she was in, but nothing seemed to work, and Hitomi found herself even more tangled in the cloak and the lichens.

"Oh great. I hope someone will come along and free me for this. I really wasn't meant to be a bat." She muttered under her breath.

"Lady Hitomi, how is it that you and I always meet in the most interesting situations?" she heard an amused voice below her.

Hitomi tried to see her "savior" without success. When she finally gave up, he heard a muffled voice say.

"Would you please get me down from here?"

"Hmm… what are you willing to offer for your freedom?" he asked amused.

"Just get me down, and we'll negotiate afterwards!" Hitomi exclaimed. Whoever that was, he better hurry.

"No, I'd like to negotiate now. So, what are you willing to give me in exchange for your way out of this mess?" he asked.

Hitomi snorted. That fool was toying with her. She knew what she'd give him. A piece of her mind and then some.

"Just get me down!" she begged, and began fretting. In a flash, the frail lichens that were holing her suspended snapped, and Hitomi found herself falling for a second time. Only this time, she landed in the arms of the stranger below.

"There, you didn't really need my help now, did you?" he asked, looking down at her with twinkling chocolate eyes.

"Let me go you insufferable jerk!" she said as she wriggled herself free from his strong arms.

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere Hitomi Kanzaki. We're not quite done with you." He said grabbing her arm.

"Oww, oww you jerk! That's my wounded arm!"

"Sorry." Van Fanel told her, loosening his squeeze, while making a grab for her other shoulder. "Now, you're going to accompany me back into my castle, where we're going to have a talk." He said firmly.

"No we're not. I'm through with you. Let me go." Hitomi yelled.

"I don't think so. First I want to know who you are, and what you were doing in my room last night." Van said holding her close.

"I already told you who I am. As for what I was doing in your room, that's for me to know only. I want to leave now!" Hitomi said, trying to escape Van's hold.

"You're not going anywhere. You're coming with me and that's that. Now, let's go!" Van said, beginning to drag Hitomi in the direction of the castle.

"No. We're even. I saved your life, you saved mine. Now I walk away, and you let me go. It's as easy as that." Hitomi argued, her eyes thundering with rage.

"For you it is, but not for me. Someone's trying to kill me, and you missy, you're the reason the killer got away. Now it's your duty to tell me what you know. Beginning with how you got into my castle in the first place."

"No, I don't have to tell you anything. I don't know much more than you do. I'm going to leave now, and you're not going to stop me." Hitomi said, her voice quavering with anger.

"Oh yeah, where are you going to go? My guards won't let you past the gates. You're trapped Kanzaki, if that's who you are in the first place!" Van said, staring her down with his icy eyes.

In an instant, Hitomi turned away and began running away. Her only chance was if she made it by the garden wall. However, during the fall, her wound had reopened, and Hitomi could feel the hot blood ooze down her shirt. She could feel her power weakening with every step, yet she kept on running. Thieves were killed in the city, and she had no intention of hanging. Making it past that wall was her only chance. It was now in her sight, but Hitomi's powers were failing. She took another step, then collapsed to the ground. She tried to stand up, but she couldn't, her breath came in ragged sobs of furry. "It's not fair! It's not fair!"

Van saw the girl collapse, and ran to her aid. He could see her body shake, under the immense stress. He had to admit. Were it not for her wound, he would not have beaten her to the wall. She was a very good runner, and only her wound had stopped her from escaping out of his life. Van couldn't help but feel guilty when he saw her congested face. She had gotten that wound because of him. She had fought the assassin to save his life. She did deserve credit, and if it was her freedom she wanted, then she would get it. But wasn't she the one to mess up his plans in the first place? What if this was some perfectly orchestrated plot? Van knew he couldn't take any chances. He knew Fanelia had many enemies. Many ruthless kings wanted to take the power from him. Van needed to make sure this wasn't such an attempt. His life, and the good of his country depended on him finding out what REALLY happened that night.

"Come on, there's no where to run. Come back to the castle, and I promise nothing will happen to you." He gently said as he kneeled down beside her.

"Promises…. ~pant~…. Are ~pant~ … nothing ~pant~ … but…. A usless waste… of your breath. There's no such thing as a promise one can keep." She said, as she fell to the ground, her strength failing her.

"Come on, let me take you back and fix you up. And this time, I'm staying with you until you wake up." Van told her sternly. "What a strange girl. Such twisted perception. Who is she really?" Van wondered as he carried her towards the castle.

She only managed a weak chuckle, before going limp in his arms.

"That smell… that refreshing field smell…" was Hitomi's last thought as she fell into unconsciousness once again.

To be continued……

A/N: Ok, so that sucked. Sue me... heheh, i hope it wasn't TOOO bad.... ehhe... i haven't seen Hitomi escape through a window in any fics.... so yeah.. hehe, not a very good chapter. i might improve it later. thanks for all of your wonderful replies. please don't hesitate to make comments.... yes, comments… my profile was screwed and i didn't accept anonymous reviews, but now i fixed it. to those that read it, but couldn't leave a comment, please do, i hope the problem is fixed... sorry... not my fault.... heheh, but please please comment!!!!! *sniff* i'm thining u guys here dunt like this story.....