The Vision of Escaflowne 2

Chapter 3

He gripped onto her hand tighter with both of his. She had been asleep for a few days and he had hardly left her side.  He was thankful to Merle who gave orders to the maids to make Hitomi comfortable.  The maids had cleaned the blood stains of his floor and replaced the sheets on his bed.

Van looked down at her hand and he gently lifted it into his own.  She wore a nightgown belonging to Merle, her hair had been brushed and she had been cleaned.  To look at Hitomi now, she looked so peaceful.  Laying on his bed and tucked into the sheets of silk and blankets of fur, no one would have known that she was very ill.  When he had brought her home to Faneila, no one thought she was going to make it through that night because of the blood that she had lost, not even him. That night he had prayed and prayed, begging the souls of his mother, father and brother to save her, to But yet she had proven everyone to be wrong and seemed to be getting a little stronger each day.

He brought her hand up to his month and gently kissed her knuckles.  She meant so much to him and again he nearly lost her, only this time it would have truly been forever. He didn’t need the healer to tell him that if he had not found her when he did then she would have bled to death and died on the floor that he found her on.  He no longer believed in coincidences. It must have been fate.  The perfect timing of both situations which led to her life being spared.

The image of her lying in a heap on the floor and surrounded by her own blood surfaced his mind once more and he found himself upset.  Because he thought that she was happy on the mystic moon, he always thought that she was okay; it never ever crossed his mind that she could have been just as alone as he was. Or that she was just as unhappy.  He had always imaged she had moved on.  And yet here they were now. Both had been alone and in pain.  He knew what had happened.  It was clear what she had been trying to do to herself.  The very thought of it made him sick to the bone.

A knock came to the door and as he turned his head around Merle's faced peered in.

"Can I come in Lord Van?" She said quietly.

"Sure Merle." He turned his gaze back towards Hitomi. Merle took a few steps into the room and rested her hand upon the end of the bed.

"You should get some rest Lord Van, why don't you go next door and lie down and I'll stay with her?"

"I'd rather stay with her Merle."

"But I would tell you straight anyway if anything happened. You need some rest Lord Van."

"Don't worry about me Merle, I'll be okay" He said while glancing up at her.

She made her way around the bed to sit at the bottom.

"Hmm...how is she anyway?"

He smiled slightly.

"Shes doing a bit better." He said while stoking her hand. Merle stretched her arm over and placed it on his while giving him a smile.

"I'm glad Lord Van." And with that she got up and left him alone with Hitomi in the room.

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"And then I flew to Donkirks layer and when I saw you I took you into my arms and brought you back to Fanelia. If I had known what I know now, I wouldn't have let you leave me Hitomi." He gently smiled at her peaceful face. She looked so beautiful laying there on his bed.

"I don't intend to make that mistake again of letting you go. I can't live without you, you mean everything to mean Hitomi. Please wake up for me, please wake up." He gently stroked her hair back from her face in a soothing manner.

"I need to see you looking at me again, I need you to open your eyes Hitomi. Please don’t let this be it.." Looking at her face again he saw no movement. His head hung in defeat, resting it on his hands which were around hers. Then he felt it! as small as ever, he could feel a small movement in between his hands and as he looked up in surprise he saw her starring in her sleep as she began to wake up. His hands gripped hers tighter as he softly encouraged her to awake.

"Come on Hitomi,"

Then he heard a soft mumbling and as he leaned closer to her month he could just make out his name escaping from her lips.

"It's okay Hitomi, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere I promise."

She began to stir more and soon he found himself staring into a pair of emerald green eyes. The ones that he had loved for so many years.

"Van..."