A/N: I wrote this out of pure boredom. I generally don't like sap, but after watching the end of Esca again (and crying, again) I felt compelled to write something about it. This isn't really a continuation, it's more of an "in between the scenes" thing, in its own little way.

Disclaimer: I don't own Esca, don't sue me. I'm writing this for fun, not because I disrespect the writer of Escaflowne *rolls her eyes at the article she read in the forum, which was completely demeaning to us fanfic writers*

"I brought you your dinner!" Merle called from the streets of Fanelia, where everyone was participating in the big re-building.
"Thank you very much," said a worker, wiping the sweat off his brow.
It had been only a few hours since Hitomi and Van had escaped from Dornkirk's Fortress, but they had made it back to Fanelia, the original townspeople following, eager to help out with reconstructing their home.
Behind the Fanelian castle was a beautiful forest. Amidst the many trees were Van and Hitomi, and the Escaflowne. Van was kneeling in front of the small graveyard dedicated to his mother, father, and brother. The young king said a few words to his brother as Hitomi stood a few feet away, watching him with sympathy. Van turned to the Escaflowne, which knelt in a ceremonial position, shaded by the protecting trees that surrounded it. The raven-haired boy jumped up onto its knee and reached his hand into the energist crystal, taking out the energist. The crystal glowed for a second and then dimmed.
Van jumped down from his guymelef. "Thank you, Escaflowne." he said. He walked up to Hitomi. "Escaflowne should be kept asleep." he explained.
"What happens now?" she asked him quietly.
"My brother wished for a world, for a Gaia, in peace. I want to see what that world is like." he told her.
"And I want to see that with you." said Hitomi, care in her voice. "Or can I? The truth is, I love it here. I love Fanelia."
"If you want to, it'd be more than fine with me." Van smiled. "Hey, you know something? We can see each other any time we like. All we have to do is picture each other in our minds." he spoke gently, and you can hear in his voice the love he had for this girl.
"Van..." her voice wavered, her eyes watered. A single tear fell down her cheek. She held out her hand, with the pendant in it. "Here," she said, and he put his hand underneath hers to take the necklace. "I'll never forget you," she promised, and at this point, Van took her hand in his and pulled her into his tight embrace, never wanting to let go of her. After a moment, Hitomi put her own arms around him. "I'll never forget you, not even when I'm old." she promised, dampening his shirt as she rested her head on his shoulder, crying. Van tightened his hold on her, bringing his head closer to hers.
Around the forest, the spirits of old friends watched the lovers say their goodbyes. Balgas, Duke Freid and Marlene, Van's mother and father, watching their son with pride, and Folken, in the way he looked when he was still in Fanelia, before he joined up with Zaibach, his arms wrapped around Naria and Eriya.
The couple was still holding onto each other, but Van raised his arm, the one with the energist in it. Hitomi looked up curiously, not letting go. Suddenly, the spirits of a few Draconians surrounded them, and the familiar pillar of light appeared. Slowly Hitomi was lifted upwards, still somewhat grasping onto the man she loved. But then, she was pulled away from him. Through tears as she ascended, she shouted down to him, "I'll never forget!"
"Hitomi," Van said with a loving smile. Inside, he was going through the most vile form of torture--losing the one he loved--but he doesn't show it, he faced it with all the bravery he could muster.
Throughout Gaia, Hitomi's friends and encounters watched as she headed towards home after the many months. After a few moments, the light disappeared.
"She's gone." Van breathed, realization really sinking in. And I never told her how I felt. He looked at his palm, the one containing the special gift that Hitomi had left in his possession. Carefully, the young king draped it around his neck, the feel of the tiny globe burning him as he felt the memories of the girl from the Mystic Moon hit him mercilessly. He felt a tear forming at the base of his eye, but he flicked it away quickly. Kings don't cry. Giving one last look at the spot where his true love had last stood, he headed out of the forest.
That was when he heard the scream.
"VAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" the boy in red recognized it instantly as being Hitomi, but where was she? He looked to the sky and saw her, plummeting towards her death.

A/N: should I continue? As I said before, this is just for fun. It's unlike my other Fanfic (Sailor Mystic Moon), which I intend to finish, like it or not, I want to know if I should continue this or quit right now. Please review or criticize or flame or whatever.
~~The recap of the ending of the last ep was taken directly from my site (err, okay, so I haven't exactly finished or uploaded the summary for ep 22, but..). The only changes is the tense that is used (I use present tense in all my episode summaries) and a few sentences are added as a reminder of what happened.