Point of No Return 7/8

[Nightheart]

Sorry it took me so long to post it up here... I uh forgot that I was posting on this site once I had started posting on FFN so without further ado...

Van suddenly got a very chill feeling; he didn?t know how to describe it? If he had been raised on Earth he would have used the phrase ?like someone just walked over his grave.?

He had been sitting in his office, playing another rousing game of Stack the Scroll and listening with half an ear as three of his minor lords droned on about the opening ceremony of the festival tomorrow at high-sun, when he froze in place mid-reach, his body felt alternately hot then cold then pin-tingly all over? then a massive shudder raced uncontrollably up his spine followed shortly by another one, then a third. He clutched the pendant at his neck which was glowing like a miniature red beacon. Something was wrong, he didn?t know that it was or where it was taking place but he knew deep down in the center of his being that something was rotten in Fanelia.

?Lord Van?? inquired one of the Lords, his withered oak voice sounding vaguely concerned. As usual, Merle was all attention and at his side not even half a heartbeat later.

?Lord Van? Lord Van!? her eyes clouded over with worry as she tried to figure out what was wrong. The feeling passed and he shook his head to try to clear it wondering idly if this was what Hitomi felt every time she suffered one of her visionary attacks.

?I?m fine? Merle I?m fine,? he said a second later. He felt like he?d just woken up. ?It?s just? I suddenly felt?strange, that?s all.?

?Lord Van I told you that you need more rest and you shouldn?t skip meals like I know you do,? her voice sounded both worried and chiding. ?Here, you should get some rest now, these guys can handle all the details about the festival tomorrow, I?ll catch you up on the basics in the morning,? she said gently urging him to his feet, out the door and off to his bed? that in itself was unusual; King Van always argued with her and refused to go anywhere until his business had been attended to. He was feeling very out of sorts at the moment so Merle was able to have her way in this instance.

In bed and under the covers he closed his eyes but instead of darkness behind them, all he saw was light; a blinding, killing light.

* * *

Hitomi struggled up from the ditch under the trees, righting her bike as she did so.

<That was close!> she thought as she looked at the scorched crater that had its epicenter right at the point where she had been standing only a moment ago. If she hadn?t been swamped by her sudden premonition and dashed to the side of the path and the shelter of her trees with her bike she?d be a pile of smoking boots and ashes right now.

<For once, my visions are actually more of a help than a pain in the ass!> she thought. <But you know, I didn?t think lighting was so single-minded, if I didn?t know better I would swear that it had been aiming right at me. That?s silly! It?s just a coincidence that it hit the precise spot where I was standing, people get hit by lightning because they provide the shortest route to the ground not because of some intention by the lightning.> Still, she knew one thing for certain, there was no way she was going to try to continue her journey on this night! The storm was way too bad, and her brush with death served to heighten the already uneasy feelings she had about traveling alone at night through the mountains in a storm. She?d just use her powers to direct her to a safe place nearby.

Closing her eyes she concentrated on that mental image she had of her pendant, it circled slowly in the canvas of her mind as she envisioned feelings of warmth and safety out of the storm. Hell, right now she didn?t really care about the warmth, she just wanted the safety; she wanted out of this storm, someplace dry where should warm herself up a little? and she was really hungry now too.

The imaginary pendant bonged inside of her mind, pointing ahead and a little to the right. Around the curve of the path that had just been turned into a crater the trail straightened out for a ways and there was an offshoot that led away to the right. Through the trees Hitomi could just barely make out the yellow light of lamps or candles. There was a house just a little ways away! Hitomi pushed her bike out onto the path and sprinted through the mud and freezing rain for the lights ahead. Surely they wouldn?t turn her out into this storm, she?d be happy to even sleep in their barn if they had one. She was so cold!

* * *

Felicia sat in her chair by the fire working on some beaded edging for a jacket to sell in the market at the capitol this year while her husband Lobo smoothed away the knots on a carving he was making. Inu, their eldest son at fourteen years of age was writing a letter at the dinner table to a friend of his in the Fanelian capitol. Catra the eldest daughter at ten years was knitting a new sweater seated at a pillow on the hearth stones. The twins Canis and Lupe eight years old were finishing off the dishes from supper, while the two youngest in their family Felix and Kitten (#years old and 2 years old respectively) slept quietly in their cr?che. It was an utterly normal evening in their house and no one could have been more surprised than them to hear a pounding on their front door.

They all jumped in surprise and as one stared at the door, uncertain they had actually heard something until it came again followed by a young womans voice on the other side.

?Please! Let me in, I promise I?m not dangerous! I just need to get out of this storm!? Felicia was on her feet and at the door in an instant, unbarring the door and pulling it inward. There, framed by the doorway and briefly silhouetted by a flash of lightning, stood a young woman; hair cropped short, with wide eyes that dominated her face and clothes sticking to her. She was shivering uncontrollably and soaked to the skin.

?Good heavens child!? Felicia exclaimed when she took her in in a trice. ?How on Gaea??! Well nevermind, get inside before you catch your death!? The young woman was promptly seized by the wrist, the large bag she carried promptly plunked unceremoniously on the floor, and the girl herself shoved over in front of the fireplace.

?Catra, get the thick comforter from out of the chest in my room, oh and bring some towels, this poor girl is soaked to the skin. Inu, pour the remains from tonights dinner from the warming pot and into a bowl.? Felicia had a household and knew how to run it; her orders were obeyed on the level of instinct for her children.

Hitomi, of course, tried to protest.

?I?I don?t want to be any trouble, please don?t bother yourselves? I just wanted to get out of the storm and-?

?Hush, you?re no trouble at all, girl,? the tough matronly woman insisted.

?I don?t want to get your things wet,? she said hesitantly, gesturing to the fact that her wet clothes were dripping all over the lady?s nice clean floors.

?An excellent point,? Felicia said as she directed the dripping young woman to a nearby bedroom and ordered her to strip. Hitomi looked like she would have tried to protest again but theeldest daughter descended on her with thick caftan and pants with a sash and before Hitomi knew it her wet things were off, being replaced by the warm dry clothes and she was being led back over to the fireplace.

?There. Now eat,? she said motioning for her eldest son to hurry up with the food as the matronly cat-woman deftly threw the towels then the soft down comforter around the young woman?s shoulders the sides of her arms rubbed a couple of times for good measure.

?We certainly don?t get many visitors along this way,? Lobo said in his easy deep voice. ?The occasional traveling peddler or trader?s wagon, sometimes a trapper or two, but not many young women? and traveling alone at night in such conditions!?

Inu pressed a warm bowl of soup into her hands and she dug right in, obviously quite hungry while mumbling a string of apologies for being so rude as to eat so quickly in company. Inu grinned and replied

?That?s nothing, you should see the two pups when they eat!?

?Hey!? the two young Anubi yelped in protest and threatened to spring on him only to be admonished by a look from their mother, which included the eldest son. He grinned disarmingly and ruffled the tufts of fur on the two young boys heads. As she started in on her second bowl of soup the pace of her eating slowed enough for her to hold respectable conversation.

The first thing she did was bow and thank them profusely for the food and warm blankets and fire. They waved it off in favor of asking her name and how she had come to be traveling on a lonely and obscure mountain path in the middle of the night through a raging storm.

?My name is Hitomi Kanzaki and I-?

?Hitomi Kanzaki?!? Catra exclaimed, wide-eyed in shock. ?The Hitomi Kanzaki??

?I? Uh? Well I didn?t know I was a ?the? anything,? the girl replied, clearly out of sorts.

?Like the sorceress from the Mystic Moon? The one who traveled with His Majesty King Van and cast spells that could let him see invisible enemies, and resurrected the great suit Escaflowne and brought down the Emperor Dornkirk with a single magic blast?? Catra babbled, tail fluffed out in excitement and Hitomi vaguely wondered if it was a cat-thing to plant ones face directly in hers. Merle had done it on more than one occasion.

?Well, it didn?t happen quite? that is I?? Hitomi paused and took a deep breath. ?Well I suppose there?s no keeping it a secret. I am from the Mystic Moon and I did travel with Van while I was here.?

Felicia and Lobo?s eyes widened at her familiar use of their King?s first name without even a qualifying Lord or -sama.

?I don?t know what all you?ve heard about me, but I?m not really anything special. I?m just a normal girl? okay, a mostly normal girl; I do get these visions and I have this ability? well anyway, I?m no sorceress and I don?t have any magic spells, and the fall of Emperor Dornkirk was mostly his own fault.?

?You really are the girl from the Mystic Moon?? Felicia said, half in wonder, half disbelieving.

?We call it Earth,? Hitomi confirmed. Continuing she said

?That?s actually part of the reason I?m here. Do you know if this road leads to the Capitol of Fanelia? Is it far away? Can I get there in time??

?Well,? Lobo said after a moment of consideration. ?This road does lead to the capitol? ?smatter of fact, all of them do! As for getting there in time? well, in time for what??

?I have to make it to the capitol by noon tomorrow; it?s really important, a matter of life and death!? Her voice had a ring of urgency to it, that Lobo?s sensitive ears thought could be nothing less than truthful.

?On foot?? he queried, then shook his head sadly. ?There?s no way you?d be able to make it even by evening tomorrow. By horseback it might be possible; or if you like me and my family can give you a lift along in our wagon, but even we wont arrive until the next day. Of course, we?ll be heavily loaded with supplies and whatnot.?

?I don?t actually have a horse but you don?t need to worry about conveyance, I have my own way of traveling and it?s at least as fast as horseback if I want it to be? of course it would make things easier if it were all downhill.?

?I knew it!? Catra burst out, unable to contain it. ?I knew you had magic. How else could you travel that fast with no horse and without walking??

Hitomi apparently decided to let that one slide.

?It?s actually not really very far from here, the capitol that is,? Lobo said. ?Just travel until you get out of these small mountains that?s about half a day?s journey on foot, then you?ll come upon the forest patrolled by my cousin Ruhm and his friends it?s a nights journey from there.?

Hitomi gasped in recognition.

?Ruhm!?

?You know him do you?? Lobo said interestedly.

?I met him directly after I had landed here with Van,? Hitomi said. ?He let Van and me ride in the back of his wagon to the capitol. He called me little lady like I was his younger sister.?

?Sounds like him,? Lobo said. ?Glad to hear he?s doing alright or was at the start of the war, news travels slowly in this part of Fanelia. Well, news travels slowly in any part of Fanelia but we?re especially isolated.?

?I don?t know what I can possibly do to thank you for your help and kindness,? Hitomi said.

?Tell us a story,? Canis, one of the 8 year old dog-twins immediately piped up.

?Yeah, tell us a story,? he was immediately seconded by his brother.

?The real story about what happened during the war with Zaibach,? Catra qualified. ?All about your powers and Lord Van and Merle; all the versions we hear are so wonderful but I wanna hear it from someone who actually lived it.?

Hitomi blinked a few times in surprise then said

?I dunno? some of it?s kinda private?? she blushed. She wasn?t sure how she would feel about telling these inquisitive strangers all about how she?d had a crush on Allen and fallen in love with Van without knowing it. She wasn?t sure if Van would like it if she told about his beautiful wings. Maybe she could edit out some of the more fantastic bits, but then that might ruin the story. Oh well, she?d just tell it as best she could.

?It all began on a perfectly ordinary day for me on Earth; I had just started to read my tarot cards when I was swamped with a vision??

The ensuing tale took them late into the evening in telling; the twins dropped off in the middle of it (causing Hitomi to eel a little jealous of their state of slumber) but their parents and two elder siblings remained spellbound to the end when she told of how she had bid a reluctant goodbye to their king in the shadow of Escaflowne and blazed back to earth in the mysterious pillar of light.

?How is it that you?re here now?? Felicia asked once the story was done. ?And in such an urgent rush to get to the capitol??

?I guess you could say the story isn?t over with yet,? Hitomi said. She then went on to explain that she?d received a vision of Van?s assassination when he would make his speech of welcome at the celebration the next day, but had been prevented from warning him by a mysterious force that blocked her own powers to reach him. That left only coming here in person. She fudged out the little detail involving Atlantis and Van?s mother Varie and her inability to return to Earth, they really didn?t need to know that.

?I do have a favor to ask of you,? Hitomi concluded with as Felicia shooed her two eldest off to bed and made Hitomi a warm pallet by the fire. The girl from the Mystic Moon?s shivering had mostly stopped but the motherly Basteti wanted to ensure that she was kept warm throughout the night.

?Ask away,? Lobo said easily.

?I?ll travel a lot faster if I can travel lighter. If it wouldn?t be too much trouble for you, would you mind if I left my things with you to travel on your wagon and met you there in the city to retrieve it? I don?t have much to pay you with but I?d really appreciate it. I know I?ve been such a bother already.?

?Don?t be silly, it?s no trouble at all. We don?t get many visitors around these parts, so any one dropping gin with some news, especially with a marvelous tale like yours, is a welcome guest indeed,? Felicia assured her. ?Now get some rest, I?m sure you haven?t rested much while you?ve been on the road and you?ll probably want an early start in the morning.?

?Yes, and thank you,? Hitomi said, she pulled a yen-piece out of her pocket and gave it to the cat-woman as a gift. It wouldn?t be worth anything in money value here but it did have to commodity of being one-of-a-kind (unless yen-pieces appeared in gaea like CD?s did).

?Goodnight, Hitomi Kanzaki from the Mystic Moon.?

?Goodnight Felicia and Lobo Canem of Gaea.?

With that, Hitomi closed her eyes and knew no more. Not even visions could disturb her fatigue-deep slumber.

[Lara Winner]

She's not gonna make it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, you must hurry with this. No more forgetting about us okay? I love this fic and I'm still hoping for a happy ending but... Oh dear, I must know what happens!!!

[Kaili Charmer]

GEEZ!!! Took you long enough! You left me hangin more than the cliffhanger in the last chapter! ~whimper~ Meanie...
This is lookin great! I'm so apprehensive, hopefully you'll get the last chapter out soon? Like...in less than a month? Perhaps? Please?

[Nightheart]

My apologies everyone. You see, I have the entire fic finished and am working on a second installment, but with all of the other things I had going on including posting much of my new work on FFN I simply forgot that I had yet to post anything new here for a couple of weeks. If the next chapter isn't up by next thursday, please e-mail me and remind me and I'll post it friday! ^_^