From: Leviathan Cross  [email protected]
Date: Fri Oct 13, 2000 12:56pm
Subject: FIC: Of Heaven & Hell part 5/?


Hey everyone,

    Here's part 5 of Heaven & Hell, all the parts so far are posted at 
fanfiction.net, I hope you like the next part, there's a bit of symbolism in 
it. Anyway on with the fic...

***********************************
Tears welded up in her eyes.  She had to do something, Van needed her. 
Hitomi cursed helplessly knowing she couldn't transport back to Gaea without 
her pendant.

She held her deck of tarot cards tightly in her hands her favorite card 
sitting face up on the top of the pile.

"Please God... I need your help... please," she whispered into the night, a 
single tear escaping from her brown lashes and splashing dead center on 'The 
Lovers'.

Suddenly a bright blue light surrounded Hitomi and she felt herself floating 
upwards...

*****************************

<< Light slowly seeped its way into her vision and she squeezed her eyes 
tighter, refusing to get it up. Suddenly a high-pitched voice also intruded 
her slumber.

"Uteri? Uteri, wake up!"

The twelve-year-old girl groaned and rolled onto her side trying to ignore 
the voice.

"Uteri, I'm hungry, and you promised that we would get something to eat," 
the voice persisted.

Sighing in defeat the girl opened her eyes giving the eight-year-old girl 
above her a ruby glare. " You're right Ella, just give me a minute and we'll 
go and find something to eat," she replied as she sat up from the pile of 
leaves that had served as her bed that night.

" All right!" Ella cheered her strawberry blonde curls bounced as jumped in 
excitement.

Uteri groaned again, 'This is going to be a long day.'

All of the sudden they were in Fanelia's market place.  People rushed by the 
two girls almost oblivious to their presence. " Alright Ella remember what I 
said."

The little girl sighed irritably repeating what she had been taught. " No 
stealing."

" That's right, now stay close to me and don't wander off," Uteri reminded 
her companion, who sometimes seemed more like a little sister.  Like 
herself, Ella had been abandoned by her parents when she was very young.

But unlike Uteri she had someone who would look out for her and protect her. 
  Uteri's heart ached with the unbidden reminder of her abandonment.  She 
often wondered what had caused her parents to be so repulsed that they would 
just dump her on the street when she was six.  But there was no time for 
'what ifs' and 'whys', the two girls had been scraping by with one loaf of 
bread all month, it was time to get some more food.

Out of the blue came a panicked cry, Uteri whipped her head around to notice 
Ella wasn't by her side.

The younger girl was being held by the arm by a young man in his early 
twenties or late teens, in a uniform.  Grasped in Ella's hand was a 
beautiful red apple. She cried out trying to kick the young soldier holding 
her in a futile attempt to escape.

Uteri's face hardened, she had told Ella that stealing was wrong and would 
only land her in trouble. But a wave of protectiveness washed over her 
making her forget her anger, her only purpose now was to get the younger 
girl out of harms way.

"Hey, leave her alone!" she shouted running up to soldier grabbing on to his 
shoulder.  The young man, startled dropped the squirming child and withdrew 
his sword and turned sharply to his unknown assailant

Suddenly there was a sharp burning pain in her chest, pain like she had 
never felt before, Uteri's breath was caught in her throat making it almost 
impossible to breathe.  She looked up to the young soldier who stared 
horrified at her chest.  She followed his gaze down to her chest... there 
embedded up to its hilt was the guard's sword, his hand still gripping the 
end.

The soldier seemed to snap back into reality and quickly withdrew the blade 
from the girl; he looked like he may be sick realizing just where his sword 
had run her through... her heart. Without the weapon to hold her up Uteri 
fell to her knees before collapsing on to her side.

Ella screamed in fright before taking off down the dark alley.

" What's going on here?" a gruff voice boomed before softening at what he 
saw.  "... Oh dear God..."

Uteri now had trouble focusing on the four faces around her, all of them 
were just blurs. But she no longer cared; Ella had abandoned her just when 
she needed her the most... just like her parents. Tears welled up in the 
twelve year olds eyes as she accepted that no one really cared.  But 
suddenly the small gentle voice of a young boy gave her a glimmer of hope.

" Balgus do something, she's hurt!"

The girl turned to the voice and cursed inwardly that she couldn't make out 
the boy's face, but his eyes were in complete focus, they were a bright 
maroon colour and glistened with concern.

" Don't worry we will," the one named Balgus assured the boy before turning 
to the other soldier that had just arrived with him.

He whispered to the younger man in hush tones but Uteri could here what they 
were saying.

"He shouldn't have seen this..."

"What do you want us to do?" the soldier replied.

"I'll lead him away, you take the body and leave it in the forest, it will 
be gone by morning and we can forget that this ever happened.  Make sure no 
one sees you."

'No please! I'm not dead, please don't leave me!' Uteri's mind screamed but 
was unable to show the men around her that.

The last thing she saw before darkness claimed her was the pair of blazing 
maroon eyes as they struggled to get a glance at the wounded girl before 
being lead away.

"You're going to help her right?" the boy asked.

"Of course we will," the older man lied.

Tears streamed down her cheeks unnoticed by those around her as she felt 
herself being lifted and carried away.

'Please,' her mind pleaded, 'Don't leave me alone.'>>

Uteri awoke with a start.  To her right was Thaysis a slightly worried look 
was on his face; she doubted it was for her though.

"Um... I'm sorry to disturb you Captain...but Lord Folken has been restored 
and is now awake... would you like to see him now?" the young man's voice 
quivered nervously.

The woman blinked a couple of times trying to wash away the images of the 
dream. She clutched at her chest as the pain from the dream lingered.  She 
looked down to her hand slightly worried by the feeling there.

Her chest hadn't hurt like this since the operation.  She felt every tick of 
the machine that now acted as her heart.  She forced back the tears that 
threatened to form and then did the unthinkable.

" Uh, yes... thank you..."

She then got up and purposely glided past him.

'What ever that dream was, it sure shook her up,' he thought silently 
thanking whatever might be out there for not having her rip off his head.
****************************
TBC...

~Leviathan~