Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ To Us Disguised ❯ To Us Disguised ( Chapter 1 )

To Us Disguised

"Hitomi?"

The girl from the Mystic Moon - Earth, she kept calling it - looked up from her book.

"Yeah, Van?"

The Fanelian king was quiet a moment, just looking at Hitomi. Then he asked, "What's an angel?"

Hitomi blinked. "What?" she replied, cocking her head to one side. "An angel? Well, they're… they're angels," she said, as if it should be obvious.

Van sighed, and sat down next to her.

"Yes, Hitomi, but what are they? What's an angel? Is it like an Atlantean or Draconian? Are they… are they good? Or are they evil?"

"Evil? Angels - being evil? Where on earth did you get that idea?" Hitomi wondered, closing her book and turning to fully face the young man seated beside her. Van flushed slightly, and let his eyes slide away from hers.

"Well… no one on Gaia likes Atlanteans - they almost destroyed Gaea. And Draconians… well, we're cursed."

Hitomi's lips pursed at the reminder of Van's 'cursed' heritage (personally, she thought the whole idea was quite ridiculous, thank-you-very-much, because really, how could such a brave and kind young man be evil; the very idea was mind-boggling).

"You're not cursed," she groused, holding up her hand when Van glanced up at her. "We've had this argument before. We're not having it again." Van smiled slightly at her, and Hitomi grinned in response.

"So?" Van prompted, "What's an angel, then?"

Hitomi pursed her lips again, this time in thought, and Van watched as the green of her eyes seemed to deepen, her gaze stretching far beyond whatever was in front of them.

"An angel, huh?" Hitomi said softly, leaning back against the low wall of the garden they were in and letting her hands fall to rest in her lap. "Well, there's lots of different ways to say what an angel is, but really, they're just…" Here Hitomi broke off with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest and she gnawed lightly on her bottom lip.

"Hitomi?" Van asked.

"See, angels are kind of hard to define," Hitomi said, sighing. "They really are a lot of things. Messengers, and warriors, and saviors, and healers; they guide us, and protect us, and sometimes they even lead us on journeys." Silence fell over the two of them a moment, both staring off into different directions. So when Hitomi suddenly giggled, Van was a little startled, and he turned to stare at the young woman, his dark eyes wide.

"What…?"

"Nothing," Hitomi said, still giggling. "It's just, when I think about it, you really are like an angel!"

"What?" Van was thoroughly confused now.

"No, no, listen to me! See, angels are warriors, right? So are you! And angels save people, and heal them - you've saved a whole world, and helped heal it - not to mention, you've saved me, too!" Hitomi was smiling widely now, ticking off points on her fingers. "Angels guide us and lead us on journeys - you helped me find my way around Gaea. And they protect us, just like you've protected me," Hitomi said, her voice growing soft at the end of her sentence. A gentle smile curved her lips and softened her eyes, leaving them with a quiet glow that made Van want to flush again as Hitomi turned to look at him.

"You're like my very own personal guardian angel," Hitomi whispered shyly, a light pink flush dusting her cheeks.

"Yeah?" Van said, flushing now.

Van really kind of liked the thought of being Hitomi's angel. He really liked that idea.

For a moment or two, the two sat in silence, darting glances at the other when they thought they weren't looking.

"Y'know… I think I kind of like that idea," Van said softly, slowly placing his hand over Hitomi's where it had fallen. His heart jumped when her fingers intertwined with his own and gently squeezed.

"I like that idea, too," Hitomi said, smiling. She let her head fall slowly to one side, resting on Van's shoulder. He shifted slightly, releasing her hand to wrap his arm around behind her and hold her close to him.

"It's a good idea," he said lightly, resting his cheek on Hitomi's head. "I think I like being an angel better than being a Draconian."

"I like them both," Hitomi said staunchly. "Besides, sometimes the best angels don't look like what we expect."

"What do you mean?"

" 'All God's angels come to us disguised,' " Hitomi said softly.

"What does that mean?" Van asked, lifting his head to blink down at the young woman in his arms.

"It's a quote from James Russell Lowell - someone from Earth. The Mystic Moon," Hitomi said, forestalling the next question she could see in Van's eyes. "In any case, it means that not all angel are what we expect - blinding light, beautiful looks, flowing robes and glowing white wings. Sometimes… sometimes angels look just like the rest of us - or like the people we would never think could be so good."

Sometimes, they look just like you.

"Come to us disguised, huh?" Van said, letting his cheek rest on the crown of Hitomi's head again.

"Uh-huh."

"So what do you do when you find one?"

"Well… if you're really lucky, you get to keep them," Hitomi said, knowing that her cheeks were bright red as she spoke.

"Oh really?" Van said, and Hitomi could hear him grinning. "We get to keep the angels we find?"

"Uh-huh."

"Lucky us, then."

Hitomi nodded in agreement. "Lucky indeed," she murmured, sinking closer to Van and his warmth. "My very own guardian angel." Her voice was getting softer, her words beginning to slur together - the warmth of the day, and of Van's body was beginning to lull her to sleep.

Van smiled as he recognized the signs, and gently began to shift Hitomi into his lap, where it would be more comfortable for both of them. He smiled down at the young woman in his arms. He never would have guessed at the beginning just how much of an angel she would be - guiding him, healing him, protecting him… saving him. Still smiling, Van pressed a light kiss to the top of Hitomi's head.

"My very own guardian angel," he murmured, repeating Hitomi's words. He let himself relax then, content to sleep in the garden of the newly rebuilt Fanelian castle, with his very own angel.

END