Return to My Heart

Keetra: I'm gonna try to keep this short. 5 chapters at most, I swear. Cuz that probably as long as my inspiration is gonna last. ;;;; Five long chapters, hopefully.

This is my first Escaflowne fic!!! Well, the first one I've actually written. I've had ideas of others that I dismissed as old and used plot lines. But I sticking with this one. I basically took the best parts from the others and mixed it in this one. So, we'll see if it works, and if it turns out as good as I planned it to be. Please review! I love reviews. I love criticism as long as it's honest. And flames better have a damned good reason for being there, or they get fed to my pet dragon. . On with the fic!!

Disclaimer: I own three Escaflowne DVDs!!!! They're mine!!!! Sadly, the characters within and the basic idea are somebody else's. But the idea in this fic is mine!!! All mine!! And they will not steal it from me!!! sets up defensive positions around her idea

Chapter One: Of death and dying…

The wooden door slides open, revealing a man with an expression so sad, it brings an air of gloom to those who had been watching that very door for the past hour or so. The man raises his head and addresses those before him.

"I'm afraid the King's health is worse than I had first expected. I'm sorry. There is nothing I can do." His voice is monotone and his dark eyes focus on noone in the room, meeting no eye contact.

"What do you mean there's nothing you can do?" Milerna asks, voicing everyone's hidden wonder.

"Explain yourself!" Allen demands, his eyes boring into the man before him as though he could look into his heart and see a different truth then the one told to him. But there was none to be found, even if he could.

The doctor's next words confirm this as the man's head bows down in respective shame.

"The king of Fanelia has a disease I have never seen before. He has a high fever and is delirious to everything around him. Every remedy I have tried has been rejected by his body in one form or another. " He pauses and looks at the faces that are still watching him. "There is nothing more I can do but tell you this. Our king will eventually be overtaken by the illness within him, and will fall into a deep sleep from with there is no other path… besides death, that is."

Unable to restrain herself any longer, Merle leaves the stunned group and barges into the door the doctor exited. There on the bed, lies Van, King of Fanelia, with heavy blankets tucked up all the way under his chin and a thick cloth soaked in ice cold water folded and draped on his forehead. She leaps over to his side and looks at her friend since childhood as his breathing escapes from his body in ragged gasps and drops of sweat drip down the side of his face like hundreds of tears.

"Van-sama." She mutters sadly, her gaze suddenly sifts to his arm falls off the bed and exposes a hand clenched tight in a fist. Merle takes it gently, and as she lifts the blanket to place it back at his side, she sees Hitomi's pendant clenched tightly within his sweaty palm.

Hitomi. What would you do if you were here? Van-sama tried to hide his feeling from everybody, but he didn't have to. But now Van-sama is going to die, and we won't have a king. Hitomi, Van-sama would wake up to see you. She thinks to herself, sadly, her gaze fixed on the pendant.

As if in slow motion, Van's fingers slowly loosen their grip on the pendant and it falls to the floor, rolling next to her foot.

"Hm? Van-sama dropped it." She leans down and picks the pendant up, still staring within the jewel with a sad, far-away look in her eyes. She holds it delicately, as though if she were to touch it the wrong way, it would shatter within her paws. "Van-sama would never let anyone else even touch this. He would always wear it. He said it made him feel as though she was still right there beside him, guiding him."

"Hitomi…" Van's faint voice is heard by Merle's sensitive ears.

"Van-sama!" she says hopefully, turning her gaze back to him. But if anything, his condition has taken a turn for the worse.

His breathing is now even harsher, as though every breath is a large struggle that gets increasingly harder with every inhale. With every exhale, he calls Hitomi's name, it's sound level getting increasingly higher every time he says it. It eventually becomes loud enough to attract the attention of the people outside, who come running in while Merle stands there, staring at Van in shock.

The doctor walks over and taking a syringe from a nearby table, he injects it into Van's exposed arm. Van's cries become increasingly weaker and his breathing becomes slower and deeper as he drifts to sleep.

After a few minutes of breathless silence, Gaddes asks the question noone had dared ask yet.

"How long does he have?"

The doctor takes Van's hand and gently guides it back under the covers, not even looking back at them as he answers.

"Two months, maybe three. And that's only if he's lucky."

Japan, Earth (Aka: The Mystic Moon):

Hitomi stares blankly at the teacher from her desk near the back of the classroom. The teacher has been trying for the past hour or so to show how easy it is to find the length of the hypotenuse of a triangle given only the measurement of two of the angles. With how hot the temperature was in the classroom, the teacher stood no chance. Nearly every student had their heads folded in their arms on their desk, and it took all of Hitomi's strength to resist joining them.

She looked up at the clock conveniently placed above the teacher's head.

Thirty seconds till class ends. I can last that long, right? She thinks to herself as she starts to countdown the seconds remaining. Her inner voice continues to get louder, like the crowd counting down until New Year's until finally, Five… Four… Three… Two… One…

Right on cue with her count, the bell signaling lunch sounds its call throughout the school.

Yes!! It takes all her will power to not say this out loud. There are a few others whose will power failed them and their exclamations are answered with a sharp glare from the teacher. AS she walks out the door to the classroom, she says a silent thanks to the stars for her strength.

Instead of heading to the cafeteria, she heads out a door, leading to a small courtyard with a small tree at the far end, where she has been eating lunch at since spring began. It was her favorite spot and very few people ate out here, so it was peaceful and quiet. Someplace she could eat in peace and not be bothered. Or so she thought…

Four shadows land on her as she takes her sushi out of her bag. Without moving her head, she glances up, not surprised at the owners of the shadows. Especially on in particular.

"Well, well. If it aint our little fortune teller. Tell me, did the stars tell you I was going to talk to you today? Oh, that's right, you don't tell fortunes anymore, do you? I guess that would explain why nobody talks to you anymore since Amano and Yukari left for England. Who could have known that the all popular seer of the future would turn out to be the least popular girl in school?" she starts laughing maniacally and her friends join her a half beat later.

Now everyone at the courtyard was looking in their direction. Hitomi could feel their eyes staring at her without looking around.

"Get lost, Vilarya." She says in a monotone voice.

Vilarya is one of the lead cheerleaders on the school's cheerleading team, and had been bugging Hitomi ever since she had refused to do a reading for her. Vilarya had been trying to get everyone to believe that Hitomi was a fake, but noone would believe her. So when Hitomi gave up doing reading for anybody when she got back from Gaea, Vilarya suddenly became very popular and nobody except Yukari and Amano talked to her. Then they moved to England, leaving her without a friend, and noone to defend her against Vilarya's rants.

"Oh, listen to the bitch trying to be popular again. 'Get lost'? Who's gonna make me? You? What are you gonna do, wave the death card in my face and say 'You're in mortal doom unless you leave me alone!'? You're so pathetic. The sight of you just sickens me." She spits at Hitomi's feet.

Hitomi again tests her willpower to ignore Vilarya and takes a bite into her sushi. But this only makes her madder. Vilarya reaches forward and grabs Hitomi's hair and yanks Hitomi to her feet, making her sushi fall to the ground.

"Don't you ignore me, bitch." She gives Hitomi's head a jerk and Hitomi forces back the tears. "I have half a mind to slap you senseless." Vilarya raises her hand as though to slap her. Hitomi cringes, waiting for the blow.

Van! She thinks in her mind, calling out to him. Van! Help me!!

"That's enough, Vilarya." A voice nearby says, drawing everyone's gaze in that direction.

Hitomi looks over, thinking it might be Van. But it isn't. It's Michio, another senior and the best at pretty much every sport he played. Well toned and well tanned, every guy at school was jealous of him and every girl wanted to date him. Well, not every girl. Hitomi always felt uneasy around him. There was something about him that she just did not trust. And as he walked closer to them, that feeling welled up inside her once more.

"Mi-Michio. I- uh." Vilarya releases her grip on Hitomi's hair, and stares adoringly at Michio, a faint blush rising on her cheeks as a result of embarrassment and a crush.

"Get out of here, Vilarya. You know if you get in a fight, you're off the cheerleading squad. I don't stand for people who break the rules." He says, his muscular arms crossed and his dark brown eyes boring into Vilarya's in a look of intolerance.

But to Hitomi, he looks like a teacher looking disapprovingly at his student for not living up to his expectations.

Vilarya and her friends take off, sending glares back at Hitomi. "This aint over, Kanzaki." Vilarya growls at her before she leaves.

Hitomi ignores Michio as she picks up the ruined sushi off the ground. Good thing that's not all I had for lunch. She thinks to herself.

"Aren't you even gonna thank me?" Michio asks, still in that disapproving tone.

Oh great. I forgot he was still here. She thinks, not looking at him. "Thank you for what? I didn't need your help."

"Yeah whatever. How about as your thank you, you go to a movie with me this Saturday? I already have the tickets." He says, holding them up for her to see, while flashing her his most charming smile.

Hitomi gives him a look of disgust. "Sorry, already have plans." She says, taking another package of food from her bag to eat.

"Your loss." He shrugs and walks away.

I'm sure I can live with it. Hitomi thinks to his retreating back as she eats the rest of her lunch.

After she finishes, she takes out a sheet of paper like she does every day and writes.

Van,

Yet another boring day of math today. Sometimes I think the school wants to kill us with how hot they keep the classrooms. How do they expect us to think when it's so hot, never mind learn?

Vilarya bothered me yet again at the beginning of lunch. She's getting to be such a pain. What does she want from me, to bow down to her and worship her as a god? Well, she aint getting that. But I must say, she's really starting to get on my nerves. If it goes much farther, I might have to turn her in for harassment.

Michio butted in and got rid of her. yet another pain in the butt. He looks a lot like you actually, he even has that same bored look you had when I first met you, as if he's sick of the world around him. If it wasn't for the fact that he's so annoying, I might actually feel sorry for him. He asked me to go to a movie with him. As if I'd want to go ANYWHERE with him. But why me? Every other girl in the school wants a date with him, and he's got to ask me. What a loser. My heart's only for you Van. I can't wait to see you again. I keep wanting to go back to Gaea, to see how you've rebuilt Fanelia, but most of all to see you. I have no reason to stay here. The only reason I do is because I don't want mom to worry. She wants me to go to a good college so I'm doing my best. The teacher's say if my grades stay the way they are, I have a good chance at getting into one of the best colleges in the area. It's like school is the only reason I live anymore since Amano-sempai and Yukari moved away.

The bell rang ending the lunch period so Hitomi folded up the note and carried it to her locker, where she put it until after school, where she would finish it at home. While she gets her book for the next class, a pair of eyes watch her from around the corner.

I wonder what you were writing, Kanzaki. Well, we'll soon find out wont we? Yours isn't the first locker I've gotten away with getting into and it won't be the last. Vilarya waits there until Hitomi turns the corner and the bell rings for the next class. As soon as the hall clears out, she walks over to Hitomi's locker and gives it a swift kick in a certain spot. The locker flies open, but she catches it before it bangs into the next locker. And people always complain about having cheap lockers. She comments going through Hitomi's stuff. It doesn't take her long to find the note and open it up. Well, well, well. Looks like Kanzaki has a secret crush. Before she can read any further, she hears a teacher coming down the hall, stuffs the note in her pocket and heads off to class.

After school, same day:

Where could it be? I know I put it in here? Hitomi asks herself as she frantically looks through her locker for Van's note. But no matter how much she looks, all she accomplishes is making her locker even more messy (if that was even possible). After 5 minutes of searching, she gives up and walks out to the front of the school. Get a grip, Hitomi. You can just write it again when you get home. No big deal. With these thoughts, she almost runs smack dab into Vilarya, who had been waiting for her outside.

"Well, hello Kanzaki." She says, holding the note Hitomi had been looking for in her hand. " 'Oh Van, my heart's only for you!' " she mocks in a high-pitched voice. "I'm hurt, Kanzaki. Why didn't you tell anyone you had a crush? So, where this Van of Gaea? And where is it?" Vilarya skims farther down the note. "Hah, look at this, says here Michio asked you to see a movie with him. In your dreams. Why would he ask a nobody like you on a date? It would only bring down his reputation."

"Th-That was in my locker!!" Hitomi blurts out in surprise.

"Tsk, tsk tsk. Maybe you should keep a better eye on your stuff, Kanzaki. I found this outside your locker, just lying on the floor waiting for me to pick it up and read about your little lover. So, who is he?" By this time a large crowd had gathered around and was watching them. "If he likes you, then he must be some loser. Or maybe your just imagining him. So, have you done a reading on your new love life? Or are you afraid your precious stars will tell you he's meant for me instead?"

Hitomi's face turns dark red. "Give it back, Vilarya."

" 'Give it back Vilarya.' God, you sound so pathetic. If you want it so bad, why don't you come and take it from me? Cuz it looks like Michio isn't gonna save your ass this time, nor your lousy-ass crush who lives in your imaginary world of Gaea. Figures someone like you would have to make up their crushes instead of having real ones."

Hitomi's fist flew at Vilarya's face before she knew what she was doing. The sound of her fist connecting perfectly with Vilarya's eye stunned everyone for a couple seconds when a teacher happened to walk into the crowd and se Vilarya lying on the ground, complaining to the world that she was attacked.

Both of them were brought to the office. Vilarya, her parents having a lot of money and a lot of influence in the school, was given detention. Hitomi was not so lucky. She was given a week's suspension, and was told she'd be expelled if she was caught fighting with another student.

Hitomi walked home, in complete saddened shock. She couldn't believe she had done that. Any chance she had of going to a good college were shot now that she was suspended. She spent the whole trip home, wondering how she was going to tell her mother.

As it turns out, she didn't have to. The school called her mom after they sent her home, which turned out to be both a good and bad thing. Good: she didn't have to break the news to her. Bad: Her mom was still very pissed. After a whole ten minutes of raised words Hitomi entered her room in tears. She collapsed on her bed and sobbed her sorrows into her pillow.

After she had calmed down a bit, she walked over to her desk to where her tarot cards sat in a perfect stack on its surface. She takes them silently into her hands and begins to shuffle them. After a few shuffles, she places the deck down and turns over the first card. It was the Ace of Serpents. The card she chose to represent Van. She had been drawing that card a lot lately, but she guessed it was because he was more in her thoughts now. She missed him now, more than ever and had been writing letters to him during lunch in case if she ever got the chance to give them to him. She put them in the same bag she had brought with her last time she went to Gaea. She was still on the track team (well, maybe not after today.) but her heart wasn't as into it since Amano and Yukari left. The only thing left in her heart now was Van, and she hugged the card representing him to her heart, never wanting to let it go. But something seemed to want her to flip over the next card, as if it would reveal something she desperately needed to know. She sadly put the Ace of Serpents down on the desk and flipped over the next card, revealing the Devil.

The Devil Card. Illness and tragedy.

The eyes of the devil cards turn toward her and she is thrown into a vision. The devil card leads her through a shaft of blue light and she finds her self in Van's room, looking upon the same sight Merle had seen earlier.

"Van-sama!!" Merle's voice causes her vision to jump to a small room where Merle is curled into a ball, crying and clutching Hitomi's pendant. "Hitomi. Come back and help Van-sama. Onegai. Come back. Hitomi." She breaks out into tears as Hitomi's vision comes to an end.

Van. I have to go to him. She picks up her cards and stuffs them in her bag then stands with it in her hand. He eyes close and she begins to wish, somehow knowing it would work. Onegai, I have to go to him. Please, I have to go to Van.

The blue light forms around her and she is lifted into the sky.

Keetra: And I think I'll stop there for a cliffhanger. What'd ya people think? Hopefully I didn't make Hitomi too out of character. ;;; please review and tell me what I can do to make it better and stuff like that. Arigatou-gosaimasu! bows