Amoro Revidi

Title: Less the Mystery [Part Nine]
Series: Vision of Escaflowne
Rating: PG-13
A/N: Part 9... did everyone die off that was reviewing or did the last part suck that badly? Oh well, either way, the story goes on, and the plot continues...

***

    “What the hell just happened?” Van growls out at Tristan. He raises his hands to stave off the blame. “What was that in there?” he shakes the lanky young man to emphasize his intent.

    “I do not know, Arik has never been taken to fits of delusion when she’s awake, why should I know anything about her fevered dreams now?”

    “That was more than just fevered dreams, and you damn well know it,” Van growls. “If Hitomi’s hurt…”

    Merle coughs quietly, drawing the two young men’s attention towards her. “Hitomi will be fine,” she says evenly.

    Van drops Tristan and he stumbles a moment before regaining his balance. “The only thing I can think of is that she was reliving a nightmare… maybe remembering when her back was wounded so badly.”

    Merle’s ears prick forward and she takes a step closer to the Priest, “When was that?” she asks in a politely intrigued voice.

    “Yes,” Van says, voice deep, “tell us.”

    Tristan’s glance, for once, turns cold as he looks at the King of Fanelia and he glances back at the door of the room. “Is there somewhere else we can discuss this?” he asks. “I’d really rather she not relapse again.”

***

    Hitomi sits up slowly, glancing around bewildered. Across the room she sees Arik lying with the cover drawn down from her body by the healers. Carefully, Hitomi slips from bed and crosses to the other woman’s bed, gently drawing the blanket up to cover her exposed torso, covered only in the bandages.

    Arik’s face spreads into a serene smile and she leans back more comfortably into the pillow. Hitomi smiles softly and gets to her feet, heading towards the door to look for Van, Merle, and Tristan.

***

    “She’s been my bodyguard since I was twelve.”

    Van’s arms are folded across his chest as he leans against the table in his study. Merle, seated on the corner of the smaller research table, files her nails while watching the High Priest intently from under pink bangs. “Go on,” Van says, voice quiet.

    “It was only a year ago that the troubles started in Ispano.”

    A knock comes to the door and Van glares at it before saying, “Come in.”

    “Your Highness,” the messenger says, bowing deeply at the waist and then again to Merle, “Lady Merle,” and he finally offers a brisk nod to Tristan before continuing, “the advisors are ready to go over the final preparations for Your Highness’s and the Lady Hitomi’s journey to Asturia next week.”

    Van nods, only half interested in the trip. “Tell them I’ll stop by to look them over after lunch.” The messenger nods, bows, and excuses himself.

    “I don’t mean to be a bother, but… did you say lunch?”

    Crimson eyes turn to regard Tristan inquiringly. “Yes, I did.”

    “In all the commotion we missed lunch,” Tristan explains placatingly.

    “I’ll have some brought to you. Now, as you were saying…”

***

    Hitomi, having found no trace of anyone of note, returns to her chambers and lies down. It’s so boring when I can’t find anyone, she thinks to herself, drawing her hand across her forehead to block some of the sunlight from her eyes. I can’t imagine ever spending my entire life like this… alone in a castle while Van goes to and from meetings and deals with policy. I think I’d go stir crazy if I only saw him at meals and at… a slight blush rises to her cheeks… and at night.

    With a self-deprecating grunt, she rolls over onto her side so that the sun comes in over her shoulder. Where did that thought come from? she chides herself. When did I start thinking about Van like that?

    A small voice in the back of her mind says, From the moment you met him.

    “Ridiculous,” Hitomi sighs, eyes drooping downwards. She lets them close and pulls the blanket from the foot of her bed up and around herself.

***

    “Millerna?” Dryden calls into his wife’s chambers. Their shared bedroom linked the royal suite, and off to each side they had their own bit of personal space. It suited the two of them, but Dryden sometimes felt unwelcome in his wife’s chambers, even though she never barred him entrance.

    “Yes, Dryden?” she replies, standing straight and tall as her lady in waiting ties the bodice of her dress and then steps back, arranging the skirts. The fitting had to happen before the largest quantity of guests arrived because it was a matter of showing her best before the people.

    “Have you seen Exeter?” he asks, glancing around the chamber from the ornate doorway. “It seems our son has taken a pen chance to hiding as his mother used to.”

    Millerna blushes slightly at the little reminder of her actions earlier on in the marriage. When she had been afraid of being too intimate with her husband she had taken up hiding in places he normally wouldn’t venture. Dryden was always very careful about approaching her when it happened, checking all the places that he normally would go to in his search for her before going to the most obvious place to search her out.

    She always saw it as a simple token of his love for her - that he would give her the time to prepare herself for the inevitable - and that was better, in her eyes, than any gold or jewel she’d ever been given. “Exeter, your father’s looking for you,” she says aloud into the rooms as Dryden crosses to stand next to her, offering a hand to help her down from the small footstool she had been standing on.

    The young boy giggles and the chair near the bureau moves out to reveal him as he crawls up and comes over, launching himself at his father, who picks him up and tosses him into the air, catching him easily before smiling thankfully at Millerna.

    “Thank you,” he says, kissing her cheeks kindly, “I’d never have found him.” Dryden glances around uneasily and then pats Exeter’s bottom reprovingly as he carries him out the door.

    “Dryden…” Millerna starts, but her husband only smiles and waves as he heads off into his own duties. She sighs, and glances to her lady in waiting to come forward and settle the crown upon her head so that she can take in the full effect of the outfit.

    As she looks herself over in the full length mirror two things replay in her mind.

    Dryden’s words, things she had thought long forgotten, as he returned the wedding ring to her and left the castle. So beautiful… even a goddess would be jealous… And another thing he had said after their wedding night, Ah… do not worry, darling, two will play at the same game, and we are the same, he drew a hand over her shoulder and smoothed it down her side, whether you know it or not.

    Perhaps he had thought she was sleeping, curled up against his side as the moonlight filtered in through the window, or that she was trying her best to do so, but she had really only been holding her breath, afraid of what else he might have had in store for her.

    But there had been no more that evening. He let his arm curl around her back, drawing her close to him, and laid down, staring at her face, wild hair aglow with the silvery light of the two moons. She always liked to remember that look on his face, as she peaked from beneath her lashes at him, fighting the urge to blush. His eyes were kind and his smile gentle, though it was obvious that he was not tired in the least he merely kissed her on the forehead and settled down to sleep.

    Afterwards she had dismissed it as simply more of his romantic lyrics, but now she begins to wonder. Staring into the mirror she takes in the sight of herself as she has changed since the time, years ago, when they had been married.

    Slightly taller, though the shoes accounted for much of that, broader of breast and hip, due to the bearing and feeding of Exeter, but still with the same trim waist and neck, pale blond hair falling down to cover her eyes somewhat as her lady in waiting holds it as it will be pinned when she is wearing the gown for the courtiers.

    … two will play at the same game…

    Dryden, did you have a meaning to that I missed because I underestimated you? she thinks to herself, glancing straight into her own eyes in the mirror. I’m certainly the more timid of us in the bedroom, but…

    A sudden thought causes her to smile.

    Oh, how precious. The playboy afraid of a woman? She holds up a hand to touch the mirror gently on her reflection’s cheek and smiles broader, more feline like, It seems I have misunderstood him again.

    “Well, that will suffice, thank you,” Millerna says, bowing her head as the crown is removed and stepping back up onto the stool. “I’ll change out of this now.”

    Two can play at this game, Dryden. You’ve brought me out of one shell… I think it’s high time I brought you out of one too.

    “M’lady?” the lady in waiting asks quietly.

    “I’m going to go and attend to some business I have with the king, I’ll take the gray gown from the closet,” she says, holding her arms out as the maid nods, curtsies and moves about her task.

***

    After returning with Tristan to the room Arik was in, and seeing to their meal being called up, Van had headed straight to Hitomi’s room. Merle, somewhat disturbed, had gone to the library, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

    He pulls open the outer chamber door and one of the maids assigned to attend Hitomi makes a startled noise and curtsies deeply. “Y-your Highness, I wasn’t aware that you would be…”

    “Relax,” he says in a calm voice. “I’ve come to check in on the Lady Hitomi,” he smiles inwardly at the use of that title with her name and asks, “Is she about?”

    “Oh, yes, Majesty, she’s taking a bit of a nap, it seems. Would you like me to wake her?” the maid asks brightly.

    “She’s decent, is she not?” he asks, pondering.

    “Yes, Majesty, she is,” the maid responds uncertainly.

    “Then it won’t be a problem for me to go in and wake her myself, do you think?” The maid, somewhat startled at the thought, shakes her head.

    “I don’t see why there should be one, Majesty, morally it’s all right, since the Lady is your good friend and she is decently attired.”

    “Then I’ll just show myself back, if you don’t mind,” he says, moving to the inner door and opening it quietly. As he makes his way back to the bedroom, a still silence comes upon his ears, as though the entire area was holding its breath to give her surcease of distractions to her sleep.

    He closes the final door behind him very slowly, taking in the picturesque view of her, back to the window, light filtering down over her face and catching the golden tints in her hair, light coverlet drawn up over her haphazardly. A slow smile comes to his face as he looks at her, memorizing the scene for future reference.

    She’s so… perfect… he thinks to himself, and finds his eyes drawn down to the silhouette of her body under the thin cover before he looks away, slightly disturbed with himself. She’s been through a lot. She’s been hurt… is hurting… and this is what you find yourself confronted with? You are not going to hurt her by trying to love her, you are not going to cause Hitomi any more grief than she’s already had of you and Gaea and… life.

    Cautiously he steps forward, sitting down on the bed carefully and placing his hand on her brow, brushing back a few locks of sandy golden hair from her temple. “Hitomi,” he whispers, fingers lingering on her cheek.

    “Mmm?” she murmurs, turning her face to press her cheek into his hand.

    Shocked, he remains still for a moment before repeating softly, “Hitomi?”

    “Van,” she whispers in response, eyelids fluttering and a pleased smile spreading across her lips. She opens her mouth to say more but he presses his fingers to her lips gently. To his surprise, her lips gently place a kiss on his fingers.

    He draws back, hand slipping down to touch her shoulder and shake her slightly. “Hitomi,” he tries again.

    An unintelligible, ‘wha?’ escapes her mouth as she yawns herself awake, eyes opening to regard him querulously. “Van?” her voice is startled.

    He smiles, in what he hopes is a reassuring and appealing look, and her face lights up in happiness. She sits up, checking her gown as she does so to be sure it is closed properly, and draws her knees up on the bed.

    “This is a pleasant surprise,” she says, winking. “To what do I owe this honor?”

    Confused by the nature of her response to his sudden appearance in her chambers, Van stutters a moment before saying, “I came to tell you that lunch would be ready soon…”

    “That’s all?” Hitomi asks, not so much displeased as amused.

    “That and… I wanted to see you,” he replies, looking down and away slightly. She blushes slightly and leans forward a little, kissing his cheek.

    “That’s sweet of you, Van,” she says, leaning closer to him a little, closing her eyes in expectation.

    For a moment, Van panics, looking around, expecting an audience of some sort, but no, the door remains shut securely, as are the windows. With a contented sigh, Van leans his face forward and meets Hitomi’s lips in a shallow kiss.

***

    Sneaking down into the armory once again, Merle carries with her a small dagger, concealed in the folds of her skirts, nodding to the guards outside the door and implying that she is going to practice and needs to use one of the swords kept within. The guards nod her inward and she goes quickly and quietly to the locked chest where Arik’s weapon is concealed, making a swift motion of her claws and opening the chest.

    Drawing the dagger from her clothes she holds it up next to the sword, a depressed sigh escaping her before she can help it.

    It is as I thought.

    She turns the dagger to bear the gemstone buried in the hilt and checks the sword’s as well. An exact match, stone for stone, marking for marking.

    Closing the lid to the chest and grabbing a broadsword, she closes the lock, nodding to the guards and heading out to the training grounds.

    The only problem is, none of those have been forged in almost a hundred years. So how did you get a hold of one, Arik?

    With an annoyed swish of her tail and an angry flick of her ear, she steps out into the practice area, selecting a dummy not being used by the other soldiers and samurai on the field. Saluting her ‘foe’, she lunges forward, making a swift chopping motion with the sword as she hammers out her own logic of the situation.

***

    Blushing, she pulls back. “Van, isn’t it time for lunch?”

    The Fanelian King nods, one hand moving to his lips before he stands and moves slightly away. Hitomi pulls back the small cover and allows him to help her to her feet after she puts on the short boots she had shed upon getting into bed.

    “How did speaking with Tristan go?” Hitomi asks as Van tucks her hand under his arm and leads her from the room.

    “Quite informative, actually,” Van replies, nodding to the maid on their way out. She beams and Van rolls his eyes as the door is shut quietly behind them.

    “Oh really?”

    “Yes, I learned quite a bit about he and Arik,” the two of them round a corner and come to the balcony dining room where he pulls a seat out for her.

    Looking around, Hitomi smiles at the pleasant surprise of seclusion as Van pushes the seat under the table for her. “In all the commotion I believe everyone else has already eaten,” he says a little sheepishly. “I hope you don’t mind?”

    With a smile, Hitomi shakes her head. “Not at all, Van,” she says in response. “I’m glad… to be able to spend some time with you.”

    He pauses amidst sitting down and looks over at her. “It does feel like the last two days have measured eternities, doesn’t it?”

    Hitomi nods, making an affirmative noise in her throat at that idea. Servants enter bearing plates and he falls silent. She looks at him for a long moment before turning away. As the servants leave earshot he adds, “And… I’m glad to see you as well.”