Back to Fanelia
It had been three years since Hitomi left her mark in Gaea; in Van's heart, and now the young King of Fanelia needs her back in his life. They say a King is nothing without his Kingdom and Van Fanel is nothing without his Hitomi. One Shot.

Sitting in her bedroom, in darkness and solitude, Hitomi Kanzaki stared at the Tarot cards that rested on her bed in front of her. Images of a world that she had visited long ago kept flashing through her mind, tugging at her heartstrings. She could hear his voice clearly; see his features perfectly… feel his touch vividly. A single tear rolled down her left cheek and Hitomi squeezed her eyes shut.

Van, she thought longingly. It had been three years since she left Gaea and not for a single moment did she not think of the lush fields in Fanelia, the friendly civilians, the annoying but loveable Merle. Not for a single moment did she not recall the epic battle to destroy the Zaibach Empire, to bring Dornkirk to his knees. Not for a single moment did she not recall the times she aided Van in fighting the invisible Guymelef's to restore peace and serenity to Gaea.

More tears rolled down her cheeks. Her heart ached, her soul yearned, her entire being craved to be back in the world she left so long ago; to be back in the arms of the man that protected her under every circumstance.

"Hitomi!"

Wiping her tears, Hitomi quickly shoved the deck under her pillow and jumped out of her bed. "Yes Mom?"

"Yukari and Amano are at the door!"

Checking her face in the mirror for a quick second, Hitomi grabbed her sweater and bounded down the stairs to greet her two friends. The next day was her nineteenth birthday and Yukari and Amano wanted to spend the day with her. They, apparently, had many surprises up their sleeves and couldn't wait to show her. As much as she wanted to be excited, Hitomi wasn't. She had been quite sad for the past couple of weeks and the only person who knew why was her mother. She couldn't bear to see Hitomi in such sadness anymore…

But what was a mother to do?

Hitomi grabbed a hair tie and pulled her hair back into a high ponytail. Throughout the past years, she had grown her hair so that it brushed her hips… all because once upon a time Van had told her that…

"You'd look beautiful with long hair, Hitomi." Van murmured as they walked in tandem. The young girl from the Mystic Moon glanced over at him.

"You think so? I always keep it short because I do a lot of running."

Van looked at her. "I think so. You have nice hair; it'll look nice if it were long."

Hitomi considered it.

Her heart clenched as she could only think of how Van would react if he saw her now. Would he like her? Be appalled? Trying to clear her mind of sad thoughts, Hitomi closed her bedroom door behind her and walked down the steps.

.xx.

Leaning over his balcony, Van Fanel stared out at his Kingdom – a restored Fanelia. The citizens had flocked back after they learned that King Fanel had destroyed Emperor Dornkirk and brought Zaibach to their knees. The Kings of Asturia and Freid offered their support in restoring Fanelia to its prior beauty.

And so it was done.

Guymelef's were stationed at the walls that kept Fanelia safe, though it was unneeded. The threat was gone. Escaflowne sat on her throne, overlooking activities in her dormant state; King Fanel never wanted to activate Escaflowne ever again. Van heard children laughing and he looked down to see four or so children playing with a ball in the courtyard of his castle. A smile touched his lips; he remembered the times he played with his brother, Folken, in the courtyard.

But that was a lifetime ago.

Pushing himself off of the guardrail, Van turned around and began walking into the castle with his hands shoved in his pockets. He couldn't take it anymore—the sadness, the emptiness…

Being alone.

He needed her. Her presence, her aura…

Subconsciously, Van's grabbed the garnet pendant that was forever around his neck. It was the only connection he had with Hitomi and he refused to take it off. Unbeknownst to Van, his best friend and now-advisor Merle was watching him from the shadows. Her eyes softened and her heart hurt for her King.

You're nothing without her, Van. She thought sadly. Closing her eyes, Merle tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill for her friend. She hated seeing Van in such a mundane state, but there was nothing she could do. Only Van had the ability to go to the Mystic Moon and only he had the ability to bring Hitomi back.

I have to convince him. She thought as she turned into the shadow. I'll ask Allen to help me.

.xx.

"What's on the to-do list?" Hitomi asked as she pulled the collar of her sweater up to keep the cool hair from nipping at her neck. Yukari and Amano were holding hands – a couple for three long years. The two of them constantly invited Hitomi to go out with them and, despite the nagging feeling that she'd be a third-wheel, Hitomi joined them on occasions. They were, after all, her two best friends.

"Movies," Yukari stated first, "A new romantic comedy is out, and then food… and then!"

Dramatic pause. Amano rolled his eyes.

"And then we're taking you to the racetrack. You haven't run in ages and we figured if you complete one lap in seven seconds, we shall give you the ultimate surprise."

Hitomi eyed them suspiciously. "And what might that be? Are you gonna magically take me back to Gaea or something?"

Yukari snorted and linked her arm with Hitomi's. "Right, because we're epic swordsmen that kill dragons in a heartbeat. Our surprise is better than Gaea."

Raising her eyebrow, Hitomi allowed her friend to drag her off. "Right. This I have to see."

Yukari squealed and Amano shook his head, partially embarrassed with his girlfriend's reaction.

.xx.

"Dragons roam the lands around Fanelia frequently," Merle stated. "It'll be child's play to find one and grab its Drag-Energist."

Van raised his eyebrow. He was in his courtyard with his sword, practicing his swings. Allen was leaning against a tree watching the King of Fanelia speak to his advisor. Merle had approached him, asking for his help to convince Van to reactiviate the Escaflowne and go to the Mystic Moon. Though the Knight of Asturia was partially skeptical to the idea, he couldn't help but agree.

Van Fanel had been down in the dumps for a while and Allen, being his unofficial best friend, hated seeing him like that. Sure, Allen had feelings for Hitomi at some point in his life, but his feeling's paled in comparison to Van's. He had been in love with her for the past three years and nothing in the world was able to lessen his feelings for Hitomi.

It's like his feelings just kept on getting stronger. Allen thought. He heard Van lash out at Merle—

"Stop it!" He roared. "You know I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not?" Merle shrieked. "You KNOW you want to!"

"But I can't!"

"WHY NOT!"

"BECAUSE I CAN'T!"

Allen shook his head. Only because the two were childhood friends were they able to lash out and chew each other's heads off. Nobody else would have the courage to yell at the King like that. Pushing himself off of the tree, Allen approached the quarrelling duo.

"Van, Merle, stop." He commanded. The two whipped their heads over at Allen, glaring menacingly.

"You stay out of this." Van commanded. Allen rolled his eyes.

"I will not. Merle is right; you can try to bring Hitomi back."

"Hitomi," Van felt a shiver run up his spine as he said her name, "has probably moved on. I will not bother her in her world; it's been three years since we defeated the Zaibach and three years since she returned home. What makes you think she misses Gaea? Misses me?"

"Call it a gut feeling." Allen placed a hand on Van's shoulder. "Follow your heart." Allen flicked the pendant. "Your instinct."

Turning around, Allen walked away. Van's eyes widened and Merle stood there for a split second longer before turning around and walking away herself. Looking down, Van watched the swinging pendant. My instinct.

Slipping the pendant off, Van held it an arm's length in front of him and closed his eyes. Was his depression becoming so apparent that everybody could see it? Did his heart yearn for Hitomi that much that even Allen was telling him to go get her? Tightening his hold on the chain, Van brought an image of Hitomi into his mind—an image of what he perceived Hitomi to look like now.

Hitomi? He called out mentally. Hey… Hitomi…

The girl in his mind smiled at him. Van! It's so good to finally see you again!

Van's surrounding's disappeared. All he could do was picture standing across Hitomi in an open field, the pendant swinging between them. Are you doing alright? At home, I mean.

She smiled. I'm alright. Life goes on, doesn't it Van?

He nodded, sadly. It does. I wanted to ask you something, actually.

She tilted her head to the side. What is it?

His body tensed up, he felt a warm sensation in the pit of his stomach. It was something he only felt when he had a blood connection to the Escaflowne. The pendant kept swinging to the rhythm of one second between them; suspended in midair.

Do you want to come back? His voice broke. To Gaea… to me… forever?

Hitomi stared at him and his heart raced. He was begging the pendant to give him a sign of what to do—hoping that the girl he conjured up in his mind would agree. The seconds ticked and their eyes were locked; unblinking, unwavering. Van was holding his breath.

Hitomi? He whispered. At that moment the pendant swung forward towards Hitomi and her image shattered. Van felt his entire soul warm up and his eyes widened—he felt it. He felt the connection.

"Escaflowne," he whispered as he broke into a sprint towards his Guymelef's throne.

That was it.

That was the sign Van needed.

I'm bringing you home, Hitomi.

.xx.

"That movie sucked," Amano muttered over lunch. Hitomi and Yukari rolled their eyes as they stood up and stacked their garbage onto their trays. They had grabbed some fast food after the movie, with Hitomi only eating a salad because she was going to run right after. Yukari stood between Amano and Hitomi and looped her arms through theirs.

"You suck." Yukari muttered. "That was a cute movie."

Hitomi nodded in agreement.

The walk to the track field was filled with quarrelling; Amano was trying to convince that the movie sucked and Yukari telling him that he had bad taste in movies. Hitomi shook her head; would she and Van have had insignificant arguments like Yukari and Amano if they were together? Possibly, they did fight quite a lot when she was in Gaea.

They made it to the track field and Amano had given up and agreed that he had no taste in movies. Laughing, Hitomi took her place at the starting line and Amano started his stopwatch – déjà vu.

"SEVEN SECONDS, KANZAKI!" Amano roared.

Hitomi nodded and closed her eyes. If history is meant to repeat itself, please let Van appear during my run.

"READY!"

Hitomi straightened her leg.

"SET!"

She inhaled deeply.

"GO!"

.xx.

"ESCAFLOWNE IS AWAKE!" The Knights of Fanelia were in an uproar over the Ispano Guymelef. Van dodged people, leapt over hurdles, and pushed through massive doors to get to his Guymelef in time. His Dragon armour was awake without an Energist.

It only meant one thing.

"ESCA-" Van breathed as the mobile suit stood up all on its own, "FLOWNEEE!"

Immediately, Escaflowne transformed into its White Dragon form and with speed and agility, Van scaled his dragon to grab control of it. Pulling back the reigns, Van shot Escaflowne towards the roof; breaking it as he left the confinements of the castle. The knights blinked and stared at the broken ceiling…

"Boy, that's gonna take a while to fix."

.xx.

Hitomi broke into a sprint, her eyes concentrating on her destination. She heard Amano count over the roar of the wind and the blood pounding her ears.

"TWO!"

She breathed quickly as she continued to keep her steady pace. She hadn't run in forever and the sensation was exhilarating.

"FIVE!"

Her heart began racing as a bright light beamed from the sky to the middle of the track field.

Could it be?

Lightning struck. Her eyes widened.

It couldn't…

.xx.

Van guided Escaflowne towards the sky; towards the Mystic Moon. He had one target in mind; one destination…

"I'm coming," he murmured as he urged Escaflowne to go faster.

"Wait for me…" He felt the barrier of Gaea's atmosphere push him to remain within the limits of the planet. Van snarled; "HITOMIIIIII!"

.xx.

Amano and Yukari stood in shock as the lightning receded. Hitomi couldn't control her legs but she knew in her heart what to do—she saw it: Escaflowne, her knight in shining armour…

"Van," she breathed as she threw her arms at him.

Déjà vu.

Van's hands went around her waist and Escaflowne shot towards the sky…

Back to Fanelia.

.xx.

The Legend of Escaflowne tells of a story; of a girl who arrived from the Mystic Moon to destroy the vilest enemy that Gaea had ever seen, and restore peace to Fanelia. She had fallen in love with the King but returned to her own planet after the evil was destroyed. Three years after her departure, the King of Fanelia sought to bring her back, mounting his Dragon without an energist to power it and flying into the sky. He brought her back… and together, they ruled over the land of Fanelia – forever.

Hope you liked. The purpose of this one-shot was to get a feel of the Escaflowne fandom of writing—it is, and always will be, my ALL TIME favourite anime and only recently did I get my hands on the box set. Hopefully you guys liked it too and, in due time, I will begin writing avidly in this fandom!