Destiny's Pawns ~~~Chapter 21~~~

[Hitomi Lei]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TWO MONTHS LATER~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"Folken, don't go running off tonight. Stay in the nursery with Keiko." Libra said as she leaned down to kiss her son on the forehead.

"But Mommy!! I want to see Uncle Chid dance!! I want to go to his birthday." Folken folded hid little arms and glared at his mother. He looked so much like Van at that moment Libra almost smiled.

"Folken, this is for grown-ups. We'll all celebrate with Chid tomorrow. The twins will be here then, and all your other Aunts and Uncles." Libra patted her son?s silken teal hair as she walked to the door. Dressed all in black, she had traded her grey hood for one of fine black silk. Her only jewelry was a pendent colored a strange purple-black hue. At the door she turned and waved at Keiko and her young son. When the door clicked into place Libra took a deep breath. All emotion drained from her face as she made sure the sword on her hip was latched properly.

Ren stepped out of the room next to Libra?s; she was dressed in the robes of an adviser. The robe itself was long and white, with a fine golden material at the neck, sleeves and him. Hidden in folds of the robe was a sword incase trouble was to come.

"Are you ready?" Libra asked her calmly.

"Yes, I am, but are you Lady?" Ren looked at the woman in front of her. Libra's eyes were cold and her expression blank. She had changed so much from the idealistic Hitomi Ren had known.

"What do you mean? Of course I'm ready." Libra's voice was icy as she turned toward the stairway that would take her into the ballroom. Ren followed unfazed by her tone.

"You know what Chid said. He will be looking for this "Grey Lady" You'll not be ably to get around meeting him this time."

Libra stopped but didn't turn around. "He will not see me unless I want him to" Then she calmly continued down the stairs.


~~~~~<@ @>~~~~~


Folken watched Keiko pull a book out of her bag.

"Go play with your toys Folken, I'm going to read." She didn't even glance up as she said this. Folken was about to refuse, then he thought of something,
?Auntie Ren told mom that Keiko couldn?t hear a ?melf if it came within 2 feet of her when she?s reading...If I wait for just a minute she wouldn?t be paying an more attention to me.?
So Folken went to his toy corner. Soon Keiko began to laugh at something in the book. Folken rolled his eyes. "Girls" Quietly, he began to creep toward the door. It opened without a sound and soon he was free. Folken almost wished he had been caught. That escape had been too easy.


~~~~~<@ @>~~~~~~


Van sighed in frustration as the man in front of him gave the news.

"Well, King Fanel it looks like it could take an hour or two to get your airship back in order." The man had tried, he really had, but Van was already late for Chid's party.

"Look, don't worry. I'm going on ahead. Just bring it to the palace when you?re done.? The man looked surprised. He had expected the King to be angry. Van ignored the airship mechanic as he slipped into the forest and removed his light blue shirt. It?s silvery accents caught in the moonlight. He folded it and let his wings gently come out of hiding. Van glanced into the sky to find his bearings. Taking off from where he was presently standing would be a bad idea with all the low hanging branches. Van walked a little farther until he was in a small clearing. Then with great flaps of his wings, Van flew toward the capital of Freid.


~~~~~<@ @>~~~~~


Libra watched as Chid tried to get Ren to dance. She just kept shaking her head, but Libra noticed that she wasn't fighting him too much. Libra knew that Chid felt more than friendship for Ren, but Ren still wasn?t sure. She sighed again and played with a lock of hair. Van wasn't here yet so her spot in the shadows was safe. Few glanced her way longer than a moment. Libra wondered if Folken was giving Keiko any trouble. Probably...she just hoped the girl hadn't brought a book with her, or Folken was as good as gone. Maybe she should check...Libra's eyes found Chid and Ren in the crowd. They were dancing in perfect rhythm, despite the looks they were receiving. It was almost as if they could read the mind of the other. She hated to slip away when it was clear that Ren wouldn?t be noticing anything but Chid for a while. Libra felt a chill crawl up her spine. She rubbed her gloved hands up and down her arms, the room had suddenly became cold to her. She had the unmistakable feeling of a vision coming, but none came. Only the picture of Folken swam before her eyes. Folken.... She must go check on Folken....


~~~~~<@ @>~~~~~


Folken stopped to rest. After climbing so many stairs that he had lost count, he finally had gotten to the top of the tower. Folken wasn't sure why he had come to the tower, he really wanted to see the dancing, but something was drawing him.
He looked around the room; it was dark and large with a window covering one wall. Folken could see the Mystic Moon glowing brightly. He stared into its brightness, wondering about the story his mother had told him the night before. The story had been about the adventures of a young girl who had traveled from that place to Gaea. He had wondered if she had ever came back to marry her prince, but his mother had told him that that story would have to wait. Folken found an old piece of wood lying on the floor under the large window. He picked it up and pretended he was the gallant young king defending his lady against lots of bad guys.


~~~~~<@ @>~~~~~~


Libra knew before she got to the door that Folken was gone. Even as she pushed open the door she was trying to since his presence in the palace.

"Keiko, he's gone! He's not here!" the young girl jumped up and shut her book guiltily.

"But he's playing right there! Playing...." her voice faded off as she saw that the corner was empty.

"Go get Ren. Tell her Folken is missing but not to panic." Keiko nodded as Libra started to look for her son.


~~~~~<@ @>~~~~~~


Van saw the palace come into view. H planed to land in the tower where no one would see him redress. Van quietly flew in and glanced around in the gloom. The shadows were too thick, and he was in too big a hurt to notice the towers lone occupant. He was about to pull on his shirt when....

"Hey, your an angel!!" Van saw the little boy for the first time. He was around three with light teal hair and purple eyes.

"What did you say?" he asked the boy, surprised that one so young would be up here in the dark.

"My Mommy said that my daddy was an angel. She said he couldn't be with us because he was busy. Are you my daddy?" Folken looked up at Van with innocent eyes. Van stepped closer so he could look at the young child.

"What?s your name, son?" Van asked.

"FOLEKN!" a voice called from the stairs, the small boy's eyes got big.

"I think you've been found, huh?" Van asked.

"Yep. I got to go, Ren's gonna get me!" That name pulled at Van's memory. Where had he heard it before?

A half-cat walked sternly into the room. She never looked at Van as she picked up the boy.

"Thank you, Your Majesty for finding the child, now why don't you join the party? I know the King has been watching for you." Van remembered suddenly where he knew her. A memory of Hitomi, the last night they where together, and this girl coming to get her flashed in his mind.

"Wait, who is his mother?" Ren just looked at the King.

Folken spoke up, "My name is Folken Asago de Tashii. My mommy's name is Libra---"

"Did you find him--" a voice spoke from the gloom of the stairs.

"Mommy!" Folken yelled. Van was shocked. It was her voice.

"Lady,? Ren spoke in soft warning as she turned toward the figure coming up the stairs. Lady Tashii entered the room looking drawn. Sometime during her quest for Folken the black hood had slid from its place over her head. IT now rested in a soft pool at her shoulders.

Van whispered the one name he thought he would never utter.

"Hitomi...."



End of chapter.





A/N
Ahhhhh....Fate!!! Now the beginning of the end is near!!! Many thanks to Goldberry and Kmf for the reviews! I?m glad you guys like this...


Okay on another note...I have wanted to know for quite some time if turning Hitomi into a protector/freedom fighter/ swords woman seemed too OOC? I mean, I felt that it was possible when I wrote this?but now a year latter?I?m having doubt? So?umm?could someone tell me if I was wrong or not?