Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Though Time and Space Separate Us... ❯ The Arrangement ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Van sat at the long table as the gentlemen made their way into the spacious room. The conference was about to begin and Van had made sure he was the first one there. He didn't like to be late, it screwed up his schedule. Not that he wanted to be there. The annual meeting of the royals of Gaea was almost like a tradition among them. They conducted business in a formal way and reported their advancements and anything that needed improvement to their equals. Van, King of Fanelia, had prepared a list of Fanelia's improvements over the past year and things they could use help in. Rebuilding your country was no easy task, especially after it had been destroyed two years earlier by the Zaibach Empire. Van had gone into hiding for awhile, helping to fight in the war with his magnificent suit of armour, Escaflowne. It had always been a thrilling feeling to get into the giant guymelef, with all that power in his limbs, his very being felt increased while he was inside it.

But he had never used Escaflowne, not since Hitomi had left. Hitomi, the girl from the Mystic Moon, who had changed his life drastically ever since she first appeared in front of him on that strange planet. Van wondered how she was doing. At first, he watched over her all the time, and she told him she was all right, but for the last few months, he could not see her at all, not even in his dreams. The path to the Mystic Moon had been blocked off. Van knew that only he could see Hitomi because he had her pendant, but he had never had reason to see her. Fanelia was being rebuilt, and he had to see to it that Fanelia was put back into trade, so his people planted wheat, corn, and other cash crops to make a profit. King Van had no surplus of money and his people were starving. He bought food for them, but he knew that his stored away money would not last long.

Over the last year, a blight had wiped out the corn crop for that year, and he lost over a million in that investment. At Allen Schezar's insistence, Asturia lent some money to him, but Van didn't want to rely on charity for any length of time. Independence was a big part of his life and he would strive to that ideal for Fanelia as well. So Van worked. Thanks to his unyielding diligence, not only had Fanelia been rebuilt, but he had also established a potato crop to keep Fanelia's people from starvation, as well as the cash crops he had planned earlier becoming a success in this new season. Fanelia was a thriving trading centre, with its ceramic works, weaponry, crops, and various crafts in demand all over Gaea. Van smiled thinking about it; his father would be proud of Fanelia now. Although not yet eighteen, he had earned the respect of neighbouring countries and a special place in his peoples' hearts.

However, nothing was perfect. It never was. Van knew that, despite the steady decline in poverty in Fanelia, that his people's quality of living was not up to standards. That was what he had to report at the conference. The royals took their seat as Van shuffled his speech notes in his trembling hands. This was his first conference, and he was not sure how to act. Although a king, he had been raised loving the outdoors, practising sword techniques, and being among the people of Fanelia, so he was unsure whether or not he would behave accordingly. All the kings entering the room either had brides or brides-to-be. Van looked away as they came in, arm in arm, smiling at each other. Being the youngest king there, he did not have a wife.

'I can't marry.' he thought. 'Hitomi would-' I can't think about her.

"Van Fanel?" a voice came into Van's thoughts. He sat up straight, stammering, "Y-yes?"

"What is your opinion on Asturia's new king?" The voice belonged to Gendas, King of Genduta, overseer of the conference. Van shook his head, preparing his speech, when he realized the answer would not be on it. He put his papers away, trying to answer as if from general knowledge.

"King Dryden? Well, as a personal friend of his, I-"

"You cannot accept him as King of Asturia on personal preference!" Gendas scolded. "If you must know, I think he was wrong for the position. As you see, he is not even present for our annual conference, even though it is in his own country." He gestured around the large table, and sure enough, Dryden was not there.

"Perhaps he still expects his aging father-in-law to conduct business." Laughter rose in the crowd at this comment. Van did not laugh, but he smiled weakly so as not to look stupid.

Just then, the grand doors swung open wide, blowing Van's papers out of his hand. The startled occupants looked toward the door as a young woman, dressed in a fine blue silk, her blond hair about her shoulders, stepped inside.

"Princess Millerna?!" Gendas said in disbelief.

"I am here to act as stand-in for King Dryden. You may treat me as you would him." Millerna walked over to the chair reserved for Dryden, sitting herself down importantly next to Van, winking as she did.

"If you insist, Princess Millerna. Although if that's the case, we won't think very highly of you." Snickers once again ran through the crowd. Millerna scowled, but said nothing.

"And now Fanelia." Gendas announced. At the mention of his country's name, Van started violently, dropping his papers. He bent down to get them, bumping his head underneath the table. He retrieved them, but when he stood up to speak about Fanelia's financial state, they were laughing at him.

Smiling to encourage them, he read aloud, "Fanelia has come a long way in the last year. Since the war, Fanelia has been reconstructed and become a major trade centre. However, despite our trading, our standard of living is among the lowest on Gaea. I ask Genduta," he nodded in Gendas' direction, "being a desert state, to teach us how to dig our own wells for clean water, and Asturia," he glanced at Millerna, who looked at him with determination to do what he asked, "we ask for assistance in unemployment, as your country has the lowest rate of it on Gaea."
"We will be only too happy to help you, Fanelia." Gendas assured him.
"Asturia as well." Millerna nodded.
"Thank you all." Van sat down with a sigh as the conference continued.

When they were adjourned, Van escaped from the large crowd of well-mannered people to gaze out on the balcony. The conferences, Millerna told him, were always held in Palas because it had a sea port, making it an ideal spot that was easy to reach from everywhere on Gaea. Van tugged at his tie. He hated these uncomfortable clothes he had to wear, but it was necessary if he wanted any respect. It wasn't enough that he had singled-handedly saved his people from starvation and established Fanelia once again as a prosperous country to earn some respect. It was quite an accomplishment, everyone had told him. However, Van wanted to do more. He didn't want to stop in making Fanelia greater. This conference sure helped a great deal. Now he knew what to do about Fanelia's water problem and unemployment. Now what? Those were the biggest problems that he had. Other than that, he knew of nothing more to do. He sighed.

"Van?" He jumped. No one knew he was here, or at least he thought. Turning around, he saw Millerna standing there. She looked unfamiliar in her new dress. Then again, he must look that way too, in his formal garb.

"Yes?" Van smiled. Millerna looked up at him. She marched over to his side and looked at him closely.

"Are you sure your problems have been solved? Will Genduta and Asturia's skills help Fanelia?" she demanded. Van nodded. "Of course they will. Why do you ask?" Millerna looked around, as if searching for another question to ask.

"Will it make you happy?" she asked finally. Van looked at her in surprise.

"Of course!" he answered again. "Anything that benefits my people will make me happy!" She didn't seem to believe him, he could tell in her impatient stares.

"Even a king takes time to himself." she said.

"What do you mean?!" he asked.

"We're- Allen, Dryden, Merle, and I- we're all worried about you, Van. You seem to be throwing yourself into your responsibilities too heavily." she explained, "You're young yet. What you've already done is amazing. Don't rush, you have plenty of time to do great things. My own father-"

"It's not too much!" Van yelled, surprising Millerna. "What would I be doing otherwise if I wasn't planning for Fanelia's future?!" He was sure that she could not have an answer to that; however, she gave one.

"You could be spending time with your loved ones." she said, staring at the ground, her hands folded on top of each other. Van, unable to find an answer to that, turned his back to her.

"We all miss you. Even Merle does, and you can see her every day. You just seem so distant. Ever since Hitomi left..." At the mention of Hitomi's name, Van blinked hard. Thinking about her was too painful and, in his current situation, he did not want any pain.

"It wasn't Hitomi." he said shortly. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand; it ached from the long day of bending over his notes. Millerna walked up to him and stopped at his side.

"It was." she said. He turned to her quickly. She wore a expression that was mixed between impatience and pity.

"Don't look at me like that." Van warned. "I don't care- she told me she's all right, what more do I need to know?"

"You need to know..." Millerna started, "That she still loves you." Van started to speak, but decided against it. She had been gone for a year, she probably had her own life now with a new man in her life, perhaps even children of her own.

"I need to be alone." he said finally, sinking into his chair. Millerna nodded, departing for the door. Just before she left, she gave a final offer. "If you still want to visit, we'll all be there." He nodded, and, hesitantly, she left.

Hitomi. He did, sometimes, really wonder how she was. He still wondered. For some reason, he couldn't get in touch with her anymore. Although he had the pendant, he still could not go to the Mystic Moon to watch over her. But it didn't matter anyway. He was too busy governing over Fanelia to watch over some girl on the Mystic Moon, who had told him she was okay anyway. He was worried over nothing. Hitomi was fine. He had more important things to worry about.

Van stood up, shielding his eyes from the setting sun under the horizon. He breathed in deeply the sea air that Asturia was famous for. It was clouding over though. Van squinted at the mysterious cloud covering the sun. How could it cloud over so quickly? He was not used to Asturia's weather, maybe there were always storms like this. He let the wind ruffle his hair that he had stubbornly tried to comb back for the occasion. There was no use in holding back anything that happened by itself. Was that what he was doing? Holding back his own feelings? He knew man couldn't live alone.

He wasn't alone. He had many friends in the form of his people in Fanelia. However, there was no one that he felt close to. He didn't want to admit it, but he was lonely. He could never show his feelings to anyone, so he could never have a companion for life.

Finally, the discomfort he felt in his formal garments got to him. He went back into his room to get changed. Why do I get dressed for these meetings? Dryden never does. Dryden. Where was he anyway? If Millerna had to come to the conference in his place, then he must have had some other urgent business of his own. Van wondered if it had anything to do with the day he asked to borrow Escaflowne's energist. He had only assumed that Dryden liked to examine mysterious objects so...

Van grabbed his sword, as he struggled to get on his red shirt. He decided he would blow off his pent-up energy by practising with his sword. Attaching the scabbard to his belt, he made his way to the guest home's gym. It was empty, but he didn't mind, it would give him more room to move around. Van sidestepped on the mat, pointing his sword, blade up, and jabbed it forward in a fencing fashion. Then he got more aggressive, swinging it upward, and downward, imagining he was hitting a target. He felt edgy from sitting all day; this moving around felt good for his limbs. He swung in a semi- shaped circle, just for good measure. He smiled. Nothing made him feel better than using a sword in his hands.

Just then, a knock came on his door. He quickly sheathed his sword.

"Come in." Van said. The door opened slowly and he looked over at his guest. A young girl stood there.

"Good evening, King Van." she greeted him warmly.

"Princess Faye? I didn't know you had accompanied your father here." he smiled. She was the youngest daughter of King Gendas, around his own age. Her clothing showed that she was a desert-bred girl; she was dressed in a loose tank top over her see-through white blouse, which reached down to her waist. Her skirt was long, flowing at the back, and opened at the from around her lower thigh. Upon her feet she wore tan leather sandals that had many straps, which wound around her leg up to her knees.

"King Van. You wouldn't have any time to speak with my father, would you?" she asked.

"I wouldn't mind. Lucky for him, he has such a polite messenger, or else I wouldn't." Van walked past her, not noticing that she was blushing to the roots. Faye led him to the chamber that the King and his daughter were staying in. It was very luxurious, with constant reminders of their desert homeland, such as silk carpets, several of the king's turbans, and the curtains that hung from their beds.

Van felt a little uncomfortable, as anyone would when exposed to a new culture. Faye stood off to the side, her hands folded tightly in front of her. After an awkward moment, Gendas entered the room through the curtained door on the other side of the room. Upon seeing Van, he smiled.

"Ah, Van Fanel. How are you?" he held out his hand, a friendly gesture that Van accepted gratefully. He got to the point right away. "I understand you already have a partnership with Asturia. You are also in dire need of an alliance between our two countries, are you not?" Van nodded.

"For the good of the people of Fanelia and Genduta, sir." he replied. "I propose we sign a legal document between us and-" Gendas held up his hand.

"Yes, a contract would be an excellent idea." he agreed, "but the signers of the contract will be you... and my daughter." Van glanced at Faye, who had her head held down, but there was an embarrassed smile on her face.

"Do you mean... m-marriage contract?" Van hesitated, looking back at the king. He nodded.

"How about it, Van Fanel?" Van stood, his hands shaking. When it came to forming an alliance, he could always agree to something; usually a product that Fanelia produced in abundance but, to give himself away in marriage?

"How does Princess Faye herself feel about this arrangement?" Van asked. Gendas laughed and nodded to his daughter. Promptly, she walked over to him and put her arms around Van's neck, laying a kiss on his lips. Van flinched slightly at the unexpectedness of her behaviour, but gradually, he kissed her back, putting his arms around her waist. When she let go of him, she stared at him, her hand to her lips, as if she couldn't believe her what she had done. Van could not believe how good it had felt; he almost wanted to grab her again and kiss her, but he restrained himself.

From far away, they heard Gendas' hearty laugh. "That seals the contract, I guess. The wedding will be at your earliest convenience, Van Fanel." Van, still a little amazed at the usually sweet and conservative Princess Faye becoming so passionate, nodded. He bowed to the king and princess, and quickly took his leave of them.

Once outside in the hallway, Van leaned against the cold marble wall. Outside the window he was standing next to, it was raining hard, and every few minutes he could hear thunder angrily protesting. Van touched his lips as he looked up toward the ceiling. Letting his hand fall to his side, he clenched it into a fist as tears streamed down his face, which had been long dried with time.

"Hitomi, I'm sorry..." he whispered.