Disclaimer: I do not own The Vision of Escaflowne or any other anime in which has any relation. If I did, we would first and foremost re-write the ending of Escaflowne, then head onto re-writing Fushigi Yuugi where Miaka is hated by all who lay eyes on her… dodges thrown objects

Chapter 5

Normally one would consider waking up a natural beginning. After all, when one woke up it was the start of a brand new day. The day would end in the innate cycle of one falling back asleep, only to start back again when the time would come for them to awake. It's a natural occurrence in which has followed many since as far back as they could remember.

For Hitomi, waking up was what she always had feared most.

Within five years, Hitomi had nightly visions of the aberrant planet in which stole her heart. With the start of a new day, with the beginning of the cycle, Hitomi only woke up more and more disappointed. From the moment her senses returned to when she first opened her emerald green eyes, Hitomi always knew something was wrong, that where ever she was wasn't right.

But this morning was one of the few different. When Hitomi opened her eyes, instead of first hearing the blaring buzz of her electric alarm clock, the only sound audible was the melodic echo of the morning bird singing as it prepared for the day ahead. Rather than hearing the rush of running water from Yukari's daily shower, she heard the whisper of the breeze blowing against the trees. And for the first time since she returned from that 'trip' during her junior year of high school, everything just felt right.

Hitomi managed to open her eyes, absorbing the entire scene before her. The sun shined brilliantly through the open window, allowing the spring air to fill her nostrils. Untainted with the pollution that lingered in the modern sky of Japan, the breeze that entered the room was that wonderful blend of purity and tranquility. Hitomi smiled.

More contented than one would suspect, Hitomi smiled as she leaned farther back into the warmth which surrounded her. For once everything just felt perfectly right. She wasn't getting ready for track, nor was she cramming for a test. Hitomi had awakened to the sight of Gaea, her exotic planet where the earth and moon hung in the sky. The fact that she had woken on Gaea meant her fears were over. It wasn't a dream; Hitomi really was on Gaea.

However, her state of absolute blissful peace was interrupted. As Hitomi sighed with contentment, her serenity was ruined by the slight movement of the two arms which encompassed her, bringing her only that much closer to whatever lay behind her.

Hitomi now felt the blood run to her face as the steady flow of breath crossed her ear. Turning slightly to look behind her, the tense blonde was stopped in her tracks as she felt something rubbing against her neck. Nervous chills ran up her spine as Hitomi now realized the exact position she was entirely in. Every muscle in her body tensed as she remembered exactly where she was. Here Hitomi was, not only waking up her first morning in Gaea, but waking up in the bed of the King of Fanelia.

She relaxed, however, at the last memory she had from the night before. "I'll always be right here." Hitomi managed to turn around in his arms, managing to face the sleeping king. A smile crossed her face as she managed to lean her head against shoulder, accepting her new position rather than fighting it. He really is here…

Closing her eyes, Hitomi began to relax in her new position. She opened her eyes again to gaze up at his serene face. The King of Fanelia slept rather peacefully considering his current position. His black locks carelessly fell over his closed eyelids. A smile had crossed his face setting Hitomi at a sense of peace. If she couldn't get free herself from his sleepy embrace, Hitomi would just have to make the best of it, so she closed her eyes in an attempt to fall back asleep.

As Hitomi lay there, she entirely realized what was going on. Here she was, sleeping in the Van's bed, with his hands delicately placed around her waist. And for some strange odd reason, she wasn't fighting it. In fact, just knowing his strong arms locked securely around her gave her an unexplained sense of security and peace.

Of course her sense of peace wouldn't last forever. After she had lain there a few minutes, she heard the soft sound of footsteps trailing across the bedroom floor. Cold chills went down her spine, forcing the blonde to tense up. With her slight movement seemed to trigger something in his sleep, as Van's face suddenly became troubled.

The footsteps seemed to come closer, and Hitomi closed her eyes tighter. She realized the predicament she was in. Van's grip grew tighter as his dream became worse. "No…" he whispered quietly to whoever was inside of his dream. "Stop… Hitomi…"

That caused Hitomi's eyes to fly open and stare at the sleeping king with obscure confusion. Whoever was walking by stopped abruptly. Hitomi took the chance to look up at the intruder only to lock eyes with a certain mischievous smirk from the one of the two people in the entire stoned castle that would never let either of them live down this once in a lifetime coincidence.

"Dryden!"

"Looks like you were busy last night," Dryden said with a scary grin. Hitomi's heart almost stopped. What part of she was still in her puffy marshmallow chemise did the ignorant merchant not entirely understand.

As much as it destroyed her to wake Van up in such an occasion, Hitomi elbowed the raven haired king in the wise attempt to awake him from his slumber with a jump. "This is not what it looks like," she quickly explained, finally yanking Van's arms off of her waist.

The merchant pushed up his glasses as he said whimsically, "Suuuure it's not."

Van finally gained the ability to think rationally. "What the hell was that for Hitomi?" he asked nonchalantly as everything had not entirely registered. "Hito…Hitomi? Why are you in my room?" Van burst out, apparently not remembering the whole night before. His eyes locked with Dryden. "And what the hell are you doing in here?"

Dryden laughed. "I was in here for the more innocent matters," he quickly explained, showing the white envelope he held in his hand. "You on the other hand I could question, King Van…"Van raised his eyebrow in uncertainty. Dryden decided to help a little bit in returning his memory. Wrapping his arms around himself he smiled while screaming. "No, stop Hitomi!" Hitomi had jumped completely on top of the covers, examining the portrait of Fanelia's forest with extreme interest, a red tint slightly covering her cheeks.

And that's when he connected the pieces together. The scream, the rescue, the argument, the dream—all the events from the night before were replaying in his head. Van's expression dropped as his face turned red with humiliation. Hitomi turned to look at him, a look of pleading clearly portrayed in her eyes. Van took it as permission to eliminate the threat at all means possible, which with his rational thinking was only 'kill him'.

Dryden noticed the King moving towards his sword which lay next to his bed. The merchant smiled as he tucked the white envelope he had carried in his pocket as he quickly made his way towards the door. "I'll see you love birds at breakfast!" he cheerily said before slamming the door shut behind him before the King made it half way there.

A long quiet passed between the two of them. Hitomi took to her new task of personally examining every particle of dust which lay in the room, while Van highly admired the hilt of his sword.

Van realized however that this eerie silence wasn't getting them anywhere. Van swallowed his pride and looked at Hitomi. "What happened?"

Shaking her head, Hitomi managed to squeak out "Nothing…"

"When Dryden gains a smile like that, it's obvious that it's nothing," Van rationalized. Hitomi still wasn't budging. "I know I said something, but I doubt that was the exact way I said them."

Hitomi nodded. "Yeah, you said that… as well as did a few different things…"

"Like…?"

Van knew he wasn't going to get a straight forward answer. He sighed as he sat back down on the bed next to Hitomi. The blonde quickly jumped as he leaned forward, his breath lingering over her ear. "THAT! You were doing that!"

He looked at her with a confused look. "Well, that and a few other things…" Van looked at her hard as if for her to continue. Hitomi knew she wasn't going to be let out of the room to change if she didn't answer, so she sighed. "…like, I don't know—breathing on my ear, nuzzling my neck, holding me by my waist…"

Hitomi's face grew bright red, as did Van's when she answered. Hitomi had now moved a few feet away from Van, and fell onto her back in the plush crimson comforter. Van looked at her curiously as she puffed out of frustration.

"I haven't even spent a full day back in Gaea and now I'm going to be murdered!"

Van laughed, managing to break the uncomfortable atmosphere. "You forget who you're talking to. They can't kill you without my permission—I'm the King of Fanelia."

Hitomi sighed as she looked at the ceiling. "The guards can't, but that doesn't say anything about Merle…"

After finding herself a decent dress for the day, Hitomi managed to make her way to the dining hall. Upon her entrance into the sun lit room, Hitomi was greeted with the wonderful glaring daggers from a certain pink haired cat-girl, and a roguish grin from the sly merchant next to her. At the head of the table, Van held his head in his hands. Hitomi wearily took the seat the waiter had appointed her to sit at next to Van. As she sat down, Hitomi could feel the burning glower aimed in her direction from Merle.

With that soon came Dryden's impish laugh, which caused Hitomi and Van to sigh at the exact same time. As the waiter brought in their breakfast, Hitomi tried to occupy herself with the sight of bright yellow eggs and crispy fried bacon.

All through breakfast, the four managed to keep their silence. Van found that he had lost his appetite as he continually played with his food, while Hitomi's plate seemed to occupy her full attention. Dryden didn't even touch his rations while staring with obvious humor at the two. Merle on the other hand, managed to finish both her food and drink with plenty of time to stare down Hitomi.

After a good thirty minutes of silence, Hitomi sighed. "Van! Make Merle stop."

"Stop what?" the cat girl hissed, continually throwing snake eyes in the blonde's direction. "Why should I stop when you're the one who slept with the King." Dryden finally burst into laughter. The Asturian merchant didn't think anyone in the room would so bluntly state it.

Hitomi's face grew red. "I DIDN'T!"

"Then why the hell did this guy come downstairs screaming you two did?"

"Cause he's a weirdo!"

"Maybe he's a weirdo, but he's an honest guy!"

"Since when are merchant's honest?"

Dryden sighed. "They do realize I'm here, right?" he whispered to the highly embarrassed king. Van shook his head.

"I honestly don't think they do…"

The two jumped to a start as Hitomi and Merle slammed their hands on the table, an untamable fire burning between the two of them. Dryden managed to catch the plates that threatened to fall off, while Van finally stood up. "Sit down!" he demanded in his authoritative voice. His threatening tone Hitomi immediately jumped while Merle just took a step back. Both, however, managed to sit down quietly at the exact same time. Van allowed a few seconds of silence to linger before he spoke again.

Hitomi looked at Van confused. The Van she knew from five years ago wouldn't have spoke with such authority, especially at Merle. But then again, in the five years Hitomi had been gone, Van had to grow into a King, having authority over all of Fanelia.

He turned an icy glare on Merle and Dryden. "Nothing happened—I repeat, NOTHING. At a certain someone's," his glare turned directly to Dryden, "midnight entrance, Hitomi was without a room and there wasn't another made. Yes she stayed in my room, but that was all, nothing more." Merle curled her brown tail around her and looked at the floor as she listened to Van's lecture. Dryden on the other hand, tried to look solemn, but managed to keep an all knowing grin.

Satisfied with their silence, Van managed to sit back down. As much as it bothered him to have his friends still have to obey every word he said, being a King did have it's certain advantages.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Hitomi decided that it didn't belong among a group of friends. "If it's okay to ask," she said looking up from her now empty plate, "what were you even doing in Van's bedroom so early in the morning?"

The merchant laughed. "Well, you see I've decided it was time I packed up this little…um… research visit..." he slowly explained. As if he was trying to avoid the discussion all together, Dryden's eyes continued to glance around the room as if he held the explanation he needed.

But before he could finish, a solider made his way into the room. Van's immediate attention diverted from the stammering merchant to the rather large warrior. Garnered in extravagant armor, the man knelt before his king. Van looked at him curiously. "General Raulin," Van greeted, signaling for the man to stand up. "I didn't expect you to join us for breakfast General or else I would have forced Fassa here out of the dining room earlier."

The General laughed. "No, I'm actually here this morning on business, your Majesty."

Hitomi took another look at this General Raulin. He seemed that of a generally jolly character, but his brown eyes seemed to over analyze everything. From the moment he stood up, the general took a few glances around the room, his eyes lingering on Hitomi in a very uncomfortable manner. The blonde shifted her position after his attention turned back to the King.

"What's going on?"

"Asturia," he said in a single breath. Van rose his eyebrow, making the man clarify himself. "Our northern base spotted a royal carriage crossing the border about 2 days ago." Dryden sunk into his chair.

Van noted that as he continued to talk to Raulin, "If they were spotted up there 2 days ago, they've been on their way here for about a week," he contemplated, "and without word, no less."

Raulin shook his head. "No, we received word 4 days back that the Princess Millerna was coming to visit." Although that explained Dryden's behavior, it sparked Van's interest a little bit.

"4 days ago and I didn't receive word?"

Dryden sat up. "Well Van, we couldn't exactly tell you while you were on the Mystic Moon getting Hitomi here."

Van looked at the merchant with confusion. Hitomi realized immediately what Dryden meant. Time seemed to pass at awkward speeds between the two worlds. While Hitomi spent months away from home, it was just a week to those who noted her missing. When Allen's father came back after years of searching for her grandmother, it was only a few moments between their meetings. Yet, the exact same amount of time passed between Hitomi's visits, in both Earth and Gaean standards.

"Exactly how long was he gone?" Hitomi asked Raulin. The general counted on his hands.

"About a week, I'd guess."

Van looked at Hitomi in confusion, thinking that she'd have an answer. After all she was the 'Seer from the Mystic Moon'. "I was only on the Mystic Moon for a few hours," he explained to the General.

"Time seems to pass differently," she obviously explained, not truthfully having the answer Van wanted. He quickly glanced over to her before looking curiously at Dryden.

"Do you have any idea as to why Millerna wants to visit now?" he asked curiously, filing the oddity of time travel in the back of his mind. "I pretty much know that's the reason you want to leave..."

Dryden smiled mischievously. "Well, you guessed right, but as to why she's coming, I wish I knew…"

Van sighed as he gave up interrogating the merchant, but he turned to another matter. "I'm not going to bore you again with how I feel about it…" the king said. Keeping everyone else in the dark with his statement, Dryden knew precisely what he was talking about. However, a scholar at heart, what everyone else told Dryden just wasn't enough. No matter how many times, and from how many people he heard it.

The merchant's ship momentarily blocked the midday sun as he flew over the castle. Hitomi leaned against the stone railing of the balcony to her new bedroom as she watched the Asturian Merchant Ship fly away. Hours before, Dryden left the dining hall with a hug, leaving to a place Hitomi didn't really know or honestly care. Dryden was a big boy, a good seven years older than her. He could take care of himself.

Hitomi sighed as she watched the beautiful landscape before her. Although Fanelia was a bustling city, it wasn't like looking down on Yokohama, or even Tokyo. The people went about their daily lives without a care in the world. They went to the bazaar to buy their supper, while the children played in the streets without fear. How could Yukari not fall in love with a world which was so peaceful?

A light knock on the door, and Hitomi managed to rouse herself from her comfortable position. "Come in Van," she said loud enough for her voice to carry across the gigantic room.

With the sound of the creaking door, Hitomi turned her attention back to the bustling city below. Hitomi immediately knew who was at the door as there were only three people that would bother her. One would be Merle, but the cat girl didn't exactly knock, more like she ran in. The other would be the red haired maid from before; whom she soon learned was named Sophie. When Sophie would enter, she would knock twice before opening the door, Hitomi's consent or not.

And then there was Van's knock. He knocked a few times, quietly yet loud enough to be heard. And unlike the other two, he always waited his place outside before either Hitomi opened the door herself, or called for him to come on in. Only after one day, she knew it was absurd to know stuff like their different knocks, but she also forgot that she spent months on end with Merle and Van. It was only a matter of deduction to figure Sophie's pattern.

Van stepped inside the room. "Hey, Merle wants to know what co…" his voice trailed off slightly as he looked around and observed the room. His crimson eyes laid sight to a familiar shadow coming from the balcony window. "Hitomi!"

Two strong hands pulled Hitomi from her resting position, spinning her around on her heels. Shocked beyond common thought, the blonde looked at him confused. Her emerald eyes were that of surprise, and also were that of her words.

"VAN!" she screamed, throwing Van's arms off of her. She stumbled back into the room sitting down roughly on her bed. "What the hell was that for?" she questioned, her peaceful afternoon disrupted.

The raven haired King looked away from her annoyed gaze. He quickly turned around and closed the glass doors to the balcony. Hitomi immediately realized that he was ignoring her, which only left her that much more mad.

Hitomi stood up abruptly, facing Van as he turned around. He purposely avoided her gaze.

"You don't need to be on the balcony," he bluntly stated.

Batting her eyelashes in disbelief was her only reply. What the hell was that supposed to mean? In all of her entire life, Hitomi hadn't ever heard such a thing said to her. Last time she checked, Hitomi thought she was a pretty grounded woman, knowing what she should and shouldn't do.

"Excuse me?" she questioned when she gained stable thought once again.

Van turned and looked her in the eye. "It's dangerous out there by yourself," he said sharply, making Hitomi jump slightly. Then he recognized what entirely passed through his mouth-- more importantly how harshly he said it. "…I me—I mean, what if… what if you happened to fall over the railing, no one would have been able to save you."

The look he received was not exactly the one he wanted. The bright emerald pools reflected back her emotions of uncertainty with the questions she knew wouldn't be answered laying in them.

And that's when Hitomi saw it; the dark varnish to his crimson gaze. The harsh siren of alert ran while as she saw a diminutive resolve in his eyes. The slight sign that he wasn't telling her everything, that there was more to his actions than she realized possible. Van knew more than he was letting on.

"Hitomi! There you are," a deafening voice said, bringing Hitomi back to her senses. She turned around to see Merle stomping into the room. "I finally found a dress that should fit you tomorrow—at least until the tailor comes."

Hitomi honestly had no idea what she was talking about. A few minutes ago, maybe- just maybe, she may have remembered. But with everything running through her head, the only thing she managed to do was stare back at the cat girl with a baffled expression. And that didn't satisfy Merle.

"Come on," she said, dragging Hitomi to her feet. Hitomi managed to throw a smile on as she followed Merle out of room.

Van stood there in silence. His gaze fixated on the doorway in which Hitomi left without a moment to spare. He didn't know whether to act like it never happened, or to explain the entire situation to her. Either one within themselves were bound to end in failure.

He slowly walked over to the four post bed, where he sat. He stared out at the city featured with the balcony's view. A bustling city in which everyone was at peace. Mothers made their way around the bazaar without a care in the world. Children played in the streets knowing full well they were safe from the world's harms.

What was with him? In a country full of peace, how could he manage to flip out over something so trivial as looking out the window? Hitomi wouldn't understand his position. As a matter of fact, no one could. He tore his sight away from the peaceful setting as he placed his head in his hands.

"I'm so stupid…"

Wow… it was annoying to write that last section. I kept stopping and writing, and stopping. But I managed to make it to 4,000 words! Barely… OO Well, don't expect the updates to be near as frequent as they were as my RP site, Engi Roleplay (engiroleplay./index.cgi) should be picking back up in activity, and I've promised to spend more time with them as I've been divided by my fan fic and World of Warcraft! TTTT On a lighter note though, next chapter is the return of two more of our favorite characters!! (says while unpacking rifles to shoot them down with)I shall refrain from bashing Allen, I promise.

TehDono is out!