Hitomi holds out her pendant, guiding Escaflowne to more Zaibach guymelefs.  Escaflowne efficiently destroys all of them with blasts from its sword.  Apparently these are just hypothetical images conjured up by the Sorcerers, who are lecturing Folken
General 1: "The Dragon's power is incredible.  Folken, did you know of this?  Did you know the Dragon would be Zaibach's greatest obstacle to the unification of Gaea?  Did you know of this?!"
Now there's an unnerving image of a whole army of Escaflownes, marching on Zaibach
General 1: "According to His Excellency, Dornkirk's Fate Predictor, a force of Dragon's will invade Zaibach."
Now all the Escaflownes shoot laser beams out of the green things on their shoulders and destroy all of Zaibach's floating fortresses
Dornkirk: "Indeed.  As the gravity between the girl from the Mystic Moon and the Dragon increases, our own future is drawn into chaos.  To prevent that future from coming to be, we must separate those two elements."
General 2: "Separation won't be enough, Your Excellency."
General 3: "He's right.  With our forces' potential..."
General 1: "...it will be easy to destroy Escaflowne."
Adelphos: "Your Excellency, please order us to move out."
Folken: "There's no need for that."
Everyone looks at Folken
Folken: "Instead of stirring up the situation, I believe working a different kind of gravity on the girl from the Mystic Moon will be sufficient for our purposes."
Dornkirk: "A different kind?"
Folken: "Yes.  It involves the attraction between a man and woman.  Namely..."
Yeah, we know what he's talking about.  But it's funny to hear him talking about it so calculatingly (and it only gets worse)

In Asturia, everyone has found each other again.  The Crusade crew is downing drinks in a tavern, with the others sitting around
Hitomi: "Three weeks after escaping Zaibach, we finally returned to Asturia.  The people of the Crusade seemed to have hoped for the same thing, and we were all able to meet again."
And Merle's back to her good ol' Van-glomping

In the morning, everyone meets at the palace
Hitomi: "Marriage?!  You and Millerna... are getting married..."
Dryden: "She must've recognized my virtue.  Is that strange?  I think being king suits me.  If we combine the might of Asturia and my economic power, Zaibach won't be able to invade.  Power isn't the only factor in war.  You're got to use this."
He's indicating his head
Van: "They're not the kind of people who'll buy into such ideas.  Their purpose is to destroy Gaea.  Even if you become the King of Asturia..."
Dryden: "That's pretty harsh."
Eries: "They were engaged to begin with.  It's only natural for Dryden to succeed the Asturia family."
She walks over to Allen
Eries: "Especially, to forgive you of your sin..."
Van: "Sin?"
Eries: "Allen's betrayal of this country, and your actions against our ally, Zaibach."
Hitomi: "But..."
Eries: "Moreover, since Millerna left, Father has been ill in bed."
And man, does he look sick.  Bleh
Eries: "Because you took Millerna..."
Hitomi: "Eries..."
Millerna: "Sister..."
Everyone looks.  Yup, it really is Millerna
Millerna: "Would you mind cutting off your speech?"
Eries: "Millerna!"
Hitomi: "Millerna..."
Yes, it's Millerna.  Get on with it :P  Millerna walks up to Allen, and they grin at each other.  Allen kneels and kisses her hand
Allen: "Congratulations on your marriage, Princess Millerna."

Later
Millerna: "What do you think of this dress?"
She's in her room with Hitomi, making wedding arrangements
Millerna: "I wonder if the one with more frills looks better on you."
Hitomi: "No, it's not about the dress."
Millerna: "About the marriage, right?"
There is a pause, as the sun goes behind a cloud
Millerna: "It'll be all right.  He's rich, smart, and handsome.  I'm sure Dryden will make me happy."
Hitomi flashes back to episode 6, when Millerna first shows up, riding her horse
~Millerna~: "Allen!"
Hitomi: "You're lying!"
Millerna drops her dress
Hitomi: "Everyone's acting so mature!  You're deceiving yourself and getting married!  Aren't you being unfair to Dryden?"
Hitomi has a thought of Allen, and almost reconsiders what she's saying, but stands firm
Hitomi: "Don't give up on Allen!  If you do, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"
However, she has that second thought again...
Hitomi: "If Dryden and Millerna get married, Allen will...  What am I thinking?"
Millerna: "You sound so childish."
Hitomi: "I'm sorry."
Millerna: "Can you do a reading of my future?"
Hitomi: "Future...?"
Millerna: "I don't know if this is right or not.  I'm confused when I look at your face."
Hitomi: "Millerna..."
Millerna: "So, I want you to predict my future."
Hitomi: "Right now... I... I don't have my tarot cards with me, so maybe later, okay?"
She runs out of the room, leaving Millerna alone, sitting on the windowsill.  Hitomi runs through the courtyard
Hitomi: "Man, I'm really a jerk."
She stops by the fountain and sits on the steps
Hitomi: "I was relieved about Millerna's marriage and said something that doesn't reflect me feelings like 'Don't give up.'  Then I ran away.  How terrible."
Well, here comes someone to lighten the mood
Van: "Hitomi.  What's wrong?"
Hitomi: "Van."

Back in Zaibach, the Sorcerers are messing with stuff again
Sorcerer 1: "Fate level increasing."
Sorcerer 2: "Move a Terma to Norte."
Sorcerer 1: "Five hundred to chaos critical point."
Folken comes wandering in.  Meanwhile, Dorkirk's whining like usual
Dornkirk: "No!  At this rate, the Dragon and the girl from the Mystic Moon will come even closer."
Folken: "Don't worry.  The Dragon is not brave enough to cross the line."
Dornkirk: "The line, you said?"
Folken: "Yes."

Sheep and a windmill!  Don Quixote cometh!  Er, nevermind.  Van is storing Escaflowne in a windmill, and he and Hitomi are hanging out there
Van: "Disgusted with yourself...?"
Hitomi: "I'm a terrible jerk, playing innocent and meddling in her matters. I'm so foolish."
Van tosses her a gourd.  He indicates one of his own.  It's snack time.  Hitomi breaks the top off and sucks the juice through a straw, immediately gagging on it ^_^*
Hitomi: "It's sour!  What is this?"
Van: "It's a Piscuss.  It gives you vitality, doesn't it?"
He doesn't seem to mind the taste of his
Hitomi: "Yuck!"
Later, Van is mending Escaflowne's sword
Van: "When you look gloomy, you're drawn into misfortune.  It's not like you to look to depressed."
Since when?!
Hitomi: "He's encouraging me."
Van: "Hitomi..."
Hitomi: "Hm?"
Van: "... From now on, I want you to stay with me."
Hitomi drops her gourd

Meanwhile, in Zaibach, meters and monitors are measuring all of this
Sorcerer 1: "Density, increasing."
Sorcerer 2: "Fate prediction, critical.  Chaos is unavoidable."
Folken doesn't seem to care.  And Dornkirk still isn't impressed
Dornkirk: "I can't see.  I can't see the most important part."
Maybe if you got that telescope out of your eye?

Back at the windmill, to reiterate what just happened...
Van: "Hitomi... from now on, I want you to stay with me."
Hitomi: "Van... what did you...?"
Van: "I said, I want you to stay with me."
Is this finally a confession?  Will these two finally get somewhere?
Van: "I want you...!"
Okay, Vanny-boy, that's going a bit far all at once...
Van: "Your... your..."
Hitomi: "No..."
Van: "... I need your power!"
Ha ha!  Gotta love Hitomi's face.  Shot down, as usual :P

And, back at Zaibach, the snoops rejoice
Sorcerer 1: "The level is decreasing."

And Van's still being the clueless male
Van: "Let's defeat Zaibach together.  I need your power of Atlantis to defeat them.  You might be able to bring forth and incredible power from Escaflowne.  So, help me.  Please."
Hitomi looks pretty ticked at him and stands up to face him.  The birds fly from the windmill in fright.

Later, Hitomi is in town, standing on a bridge.  She absently throws a rock into the water
Hitomi: "Idiot."

And, back at the windmill, Van has gone back to mending his sword.  And he seems to have acquired a red mark on his cheek ^_^*.  Can't say he didn't have it coming

Sorcerer 1: "Check complete.  No problems."
Sorcerer 2: "Fate density stable."
Dornkirk: "That was too close.  Folken, how is the operation going?"
Folken: "It's ready, sir."
Note that the Leopard sisters are with him.  This can't bode well ^_^*

Meanwhile, Allen is standing in a graveyard, paying respects to his father
Allen: "Father..."
Eries: "How unusual... to see you in a place like this, since you don't pray to God."
They stand in silence a moment as the wind blows.  Allen then begins to leave
Eries: "About Millerna...  Please restrain yourself.  She's finally receiving good fortune."
Allen: "I'm relieved to hear that.  If you're saying it, then it must be true.  Dryden is a good man.  If this marriage was only to fulfill his ambition to become king, I'd have slain him."
Eries: "Allen..."
Allen snatches a flower petal floating on the wind
Allen: "This was my mother's favorite flower.  I believe the meaning of this flower is 'dear, unforgettable person.'"
Eries has laid those flowers on a grave.  Whose it is, I'm not quite sure (maybe Marlene's)
Allen: "Thank you, Princess Eries."
He lets the flower petal float off on the wind

And them ol' Zaibach dudes are still making their funky plans
Folken: "The power of the Fate Redirector is still insufficient.  However, I believe it is possible to change the human mind, since it's weak."
Dornkirk: "Human mind...?"
Folken: "Yes.  Work the external gravity, called love, on the girl from the Mystic Moon to change the vector of her heart to someone other than the Dragon."
Maybe her heart's an eigenvector!  (Calculus flashbacks begin haunting Patches)
Folken: "Fortunately, I've obtained some elements from them."
Meaning he found some strands of hair in the cages they were in during the last episode
Folken: "With the Fate Redirector and these materials, I believe it can be done easily."
He turns to the Leopard sisters
Folken: "I need one of you to play my partner to do so."
Oh, I'm sure they're really going to object to that -_-
Naria: "Yes, Lord Folken, we know that."
Eriya: "Naria, no complaints, okay?"
She holds up a coin
Naria: "Fine."
Eriya: "Let's see whose luck is stronger."
She flips the coin

Back in town, it's started to rain.  Hitomi is caught outside, since she really has nowhere to go after the fight with Van

Van and Merle are back at the windmill
Merle: "A shower..."
Van looks worriedly at the sky

It thunders, and Hitomi flinches.  The overhang she's under isn't offering much protection from the weather
Hitomi: "It's not stopping."
She turns and notices a pair of lovers kissing under a blanket.  She blushes and averts her eyes (public displays of affection are somewhat uncommon in Japan).  Hitomi then runs off

And Allen is out there somewhere, too

Sorcerer 1: "Thirty to activation of the Fate Accelerator."
Folken: "Listen, Eriya, we'll play Allen Schezar and Hitomi Kanzaki."
Aww, they're playing pretend... :P
Eriya: "Yes, Lord Folken, I mean, Allen."
Folken: "Good."
Naria is standing in the background, and flips the coin again in an irritated fashion
Sorcerer 1: "Ten to activation."
Folken: "The stage is set, and the actors are here.  Now is the time to move the vector of their harts. ... Redirect fate."
The Sorcerers all work their machines and all repeat "Redirect fate" a half dozen times, and I really don't feel like writing all of it out.  You get the idea.  The platform that Folken and Eriya are on is flooded with and eerie light, and the the darn cool BGM track "Chain" begins playing
Folken: "Hitomi."
Eriya: "Allen."
They hold hands, and Dornkirk's big globe thingy lights up
Dornkirk: "Turning... turning... The wheel of fate is turning.  And everything begins."
Folken: "Strengthen your feelings."
Eriya: "Allen."

Allen is walking through town in the rain.  He thinks of Millerna
~Millerna~: "Allen!"
And he's just standing in the rain, looking kinda pathetic

Sorcerer 1: "Elemental particles of fate accelerating."

Hitomi: "Where am I?"
She's out in the middle of nowhere in a rainstorm, that's where she is
Hitomi: "Geez, I can't see anything.  I should hurry back."
Hitomi, didn't anyone ever tell you not to stand under a tree in a storm?  A different kind of "pillar of light" might get you
Hitomi: "To where?  To whom?  Do I have a place to go back to?"

It thunders again.  Van runs out of the windmill
Merle: "Lord Van, where are you going?"
Van: "To find Hitomi!"
Merle: "Leave her alone!  You'll catch a cold!"

Meanwhile, Hitomi is walking aimlessly
Hitomi: "What am I doing?  I got used to this kind of life before I knew it... fell in love with someone of this world.  What am I doing in a place like this?"
She ends up on a wooded bridge inside town
Hitomi: "Amano..."
She looks up, and who happens to be coming up the other side of the bridge?  I'll give you a hint: His hair is its own character :P
Hitomi: "Allen..."

The music goes spiffy, and there's steam coming from the machines
Sorcerer 1: "Target value cleared."
Dornkirk: "Now, let me see the power of the fate that attracts."
Folken and Eriya are standing together, superimposed with a shot of Allen and Hitomi together

Allen puts a hand on Hitomi's shoulder.  She's rather surprised by this move

Folken and Eriya embrace
Folken: "Hitomi..."

And it appears that Allen has embraced Hitomi as well
Allen: "I wonder why I feel relieved when you're near."
Hitomi: "It's warm.  He smells like Amano..."
Ah, he's a sweaty track boy!  :P  Hitomi suddenly thinks of Millerna and pushes away

The light on the platform fades
Sorcerer: "Elemental particle density decreased."
Folken: "Get rid of your worldly thoughts, Eriya.  Think of me... With all your strength."
Eriya: "Lord Folken, I..."
Folken: "It may be difficult, but please think of me."
Eriya: "Lord Folken...."
The light comes back, and everything's working again

Allen: "Why?"
Hitomi: "Sorry, but... I know... because I know how Millerna feels!"
Allen: "I can see only you."
Darn him and his weak mind!  Voodoo science strikes again
Allen: "Hitomi, you're the only one."
Hitomi: "Such a..."

Sorcerer 1: "The Fate Accelerator's elemental particles have reached critical.  Combining the materials."

Allen holds Hitomi again

Folken: "Hitomi."
Eriya: "Allen."

Folken lowers his face to Eriya, as Allen does the same to Hitomi.  There are a few shots back and forth between the two couples.  Nope, they're not backing out of this one this time.  Hitomi tenses up and closes her eyes.  Both couples kiss 

Dornkirk's machine flares to life.  Now he's impressed
Dornkirk: "Wonderful!  A fate has begun.  A new fate has..."
He starts laughing, and it stops raining

The sun peeks through the clouds, as Allen and Hitomi are still locked in a kiss on the bridge.  And, what would make this scene even better?  Why, here comes Mr. Bad Timing himself!  Yeah, Van's still out looking for Hitomi.  He turns the corner and looks around.  He finally looks up and sees the two on the bridge.  Ouch.