Hello! I'm so sorry for the humongous delay of this chapter! And now, I apologise immensely for the last chapter I posted. I was on a crazy mood, and I do not assure you I got out of it already so if you find any more crazy situations, forgive please!

Well, I've finished one of my stories, "The three elements", and I think that now I'll be able to update this one faster. (I hope! :p)

I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thank you all very much for your patience.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters, but I one the ones I've created.

"…" - Dialogue

«…» - Thoughts

'…' - Whispers, or words with double meaning

(…) - Author notes

# Italic # - Flashback

@£@£@£@£@£@ - Scene change

To fulfil your destiny

*By: NightAngel*

Chapter 9: "A puppet in my hands."

The sun was high up in the sky and it was clean of clouds. It was a wonderful day, or so it seemed …

In the deep maze of halls and doors of Asturia's royal Palace, a single person remained. All the members of the royal family had participated on a picnic, celebrating the beautiful shiny day but not this one.

This person was a woman with long blonde hair that reached the end of her spine. Her once beautiful and cheerful blue eyes saw now only sadness and horror, so vague they were now.

Not even her beautiful baby-blue dress made her seem more than a zombie. Yes because that was exactly what she looked like, now!

Three months ago things were very different, but she did not remember that, in fact, she did only remember what others wanted her to. Each time someone mention her wedding day, her childhood days, her crush for Allen, she would simply change the subject, for she did not remember any of that. She though that her family was selfish and rude when they insisted in something she disagreed of.

She walked through the infinite walls of her Palace. Hers, yes because she was the Queen. Queen Mirana Aston to be more precise.

After walking for a couple of minutes, she stopped in front of what seemed like a simple wall, with nothing special. But looks can deceive.

The princess placed her hand over the stone that was above the one that had the family's symbol in it, and the stones started moving, regrouping so that they formed a passage for her. (Just like when Hagrid showed Harry the passage to Diagon Alley, in the first movie.) As soon as the princess had came in, hundreds of torches lightened up to guide her, and the stones came back to their normal positions.

Mirana followed the path, going down the stairs, that were in spiral way. (How do you call it? I don't know!)

She went down for almost ten minutes, and when she finally reached the end of it, she saw two wooden doors in front. The doors opened for her and she walked in. There she found a big room, similar to a throne room, only darker. The few light were from several torches on the walls, but that did not make such a good job, seeing as the room was far too big for the amount of fire produced.

The Queen walked up to the middle of the room, and kneeled on the floor, looking down.

"Welcome back, Mirana-san!" - a cold voice said. A torch that until now had been extinguished, soon lighted up, revealing a person, seating on what looked like a throne. A man, on his forties, with jet-black hair and green eyes, covered in a grey hood from neck to toe, stood right there, in front of the Queen. - "Have you made what I asked you to?" - Mirana nodded her head. - "Good child! Now we have to wait for a while! We need to wait for them to attack us first, then we will look the innocent ones, and they will be guilty. And after that, I'll take control!" - he paused for a minute and than continued. - "Go now, and do not do anything for now! I'll call you soon! Go!" - Mirana got up and walked back to the doors. They once again opened for her and she climbed up the same stairs, like if she was nothing more than a puppet in his hands. (Ah! I wanted so much to make him give us one of those evil laughs! But its always the same thing, and I wanted to be different.)

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Van, Hitomi, Lethia, Nino and of course, Mitra were invited to spend the rest of the trip on board of Dryden's ship. And they accepted.

To each one of them was assigned a room. Lethia and Nino went to get a nap. While Van and Hitomi went to get something to eat.

When they arrived the kitchen, Van reached for the fridge. They found bread and some stuff they could use to make a big juicy sandwich. They also took off some orange and apple juice, for each of them.

"This looks delicious!" - Van said, licking his lips, when Hitomi finished preparing their sandwiches.

"You're just saying that because you have not eaten for hours!" - she said laughing a little.

"I'm sure that everything prepared by you is delicious!" - he gave the first bite and soon others followed. Hitomi just laughed while watching him eat. She ate a lot slower, trying not to laugh while doing so.

"Van!" - Hitomi asked quietly, when they had both finished it. He looked up at her and saw her worried eyes staring right to his. - "We need to talk!"

"Aren't we already?" - he asked, while finishing his juice.

"Privately!" - she added. He nodded and they both got up from the table and walked down the halls, into Hitomi's room.

Hitomi opened the door and walked in, he did the same, and she locked the door behind them. Van sat on the edge of her bed, for there was no chair or other place where he could seat. Hitomi sat right next to him. - "I'm all hears!" - he said mockingly, but he saw her face and soon stopped.

"I've been having these weird dreams! Almost like visions, but different at the same time!"

"Go on!" - he encouraged her.

"The first one I had the day before my return. In it, I saw you a little older, holding a child in your arms, and …" - Van smiled, thinking that she was with him and the child was hers too, but it vanished soon enough. - "Lumia was your wife!" - she finished and saw shook in his face. But it was soon replaced for a big grin

"Nonsense Hitomi! Lumia and I are only friends, I would never marry her!" -he reassured her, but his smiled did not make her feel better.

"That was what I thought when I arrived, but … she told me you two were meant to be together, and that I was here only to try and prove her that Destiny can be changed! If I fail, you will marry Lumia, very soon!"

"Who said that?"

"I don't know! I've only heard her in my dreams! She said to me that I should search for the country who has the best sorcerers, and the only who could win with this war! She also said that Asturia and Fanelia were not those countries. That's why I need your help! Do you now which country was she referring to?" - she asked with pleading eyes.

"The only country matching your description is Bas'ram, but they would never take this upon us! After all, what could they win with it?"

"I do not know! She also said that Mirana was under a spell, and that we should first of all, try to remove the spell from her, before the war begins."

"Well that is useful information! As soon as I get to Fanelia I'll send by best men on that task! But I still don't understand who would be doing this!" - they both went silent, thinking on the matter for a while, that before they were interrupted by something quite interesting.

Muffled sounds were heard from the room next door. At first, they could not understand what it was, and they both stared at the wall on their right, expecting the unexpected.

"Do you know who is in the room next to yours?" - Van asked coyly.

"Mitra!" - she did not need to say anything more, because they got their answer before they could even make the question.

'Oh Dryden! Yes …' - they heard quite clearly. They stared at one another for a couple of seconds, and than exploded with laughs. They hanged on to one another, and rolled on the bed. In some way, to avoid listening to the couple next door, but also because they though it was the funniest thing they had heard for weeks.

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Asturia's Palace:

When Mirana finally arrived her private chambers, she opened the door, expecting to find no one. But she found someone.

"Mirana, were have you been! I was worried!" - she simply ignored her husband and walked up to her bed, sitting down. - "Mirana, talk to me! Please!" - he begged, but she did not answer, and laid down instead. He sighed defeated. His wife had been like this for the past three weeks, and no one knew why. He was starting to loose hope.

Hector was his name, he was a tall man, twenty-eight years old. Brown hair and amazing yellow eyes that had fascinated his wife at first sight. He loved her very much, and that was why he had sent Allen to contact King Van, so that he could help them, because everyone knew that Fanelia had the best sorcerers in Gaea.

He watched as his wife closed her vague eyes and drifted off to dreamland. He sighed once gain, and then laid down next to her, hugging her from behind and singing a beautiful melody for her.

What he did not see was that she smiled in her sleep, since he had began to sing.

SHORT! I know, and I'm so sorry! I'll try my best to put another chapter next week, but I can't promise it! And I'll try to make it bigger too.

I hope you liked this chapter, and at least it wasn't as crazy as the last one, right?

Tell me what you think, by emailing me, or leave it in your review. Because I command you to leave a review. PLEASE!

Thank you for Reading and Reviewing.

Bye

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{Ana Nunes}