Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
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TaiYama Week, Prompt 1: First impressions
It seems that this is some kind of medieval AU... -.-
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The first time I saw him, I thought he was a woman. Of course, he was wearing a layered, green dress, so it's not like I would have thought anything different. Anyway, we were at the Count's midsummer party and, for some reason, he really caught my eye. It may have been his blond hair—a rare trait in these parts—that was short in the front, but long at the back. Or the way he looked so uncomfortable—I would be, too, if I had to wear a dress in public—as if trying to blend into the wall. Or his eyes—the deepest blue I had ever seen—that never left the floor. Whatever it was, I had gone over and asked him to dance.
At first, he had been shocked and hesitated. My heart had sunk at the thought of him saying 'no.' However, his gaze had met mine and he had nodded. I took his hand and led him to the ballroom floor, where we danced for almost an hour.
Then, just like that, he had been torn away from me; the Count, himself, had called out a single name—a command: "Yamato." And the blond beauty had left abruptly, never looking back.
Why am I bringing this up now, in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the market place? Well, my friends, he's right in front of me. Yes, the very same blond beauty that I met two weeks ago. The same blond beauty that I thought I would never see again. The same blond beauty that was now standing before me as a man. The very same one. I could tell from the shock in his deep blue eyes; it was the same shocked look that he had had when I asked him to dance.
Well, fuck.
He clearly recognised me, too. Though his reaction to our re-encounter was almost the exact opposite of mine: he tried to run.
I caught his wrist just as he was turning away from me, "Yamato!" Subconsciously, I used the same command that the Count had. His face showed even more shock at me knowing his name. Then, however, fear took over and his eyes flickered from side to side, as if looking for something. I let him search in peace, never loosening my hold on his wrist. Those lapis orbs found my chocolate ones again, and he tugged me away from the main street and into a narrow, deserted alley.
"What?" His voice was deep and had a musical quality to it. It really was no wonder that he hadn't said anything at the party. "What?" He repeated and I realised that I was completely stumped by that question. I didn't know what I wanted from him, or why I had stopped him.
His eyes narrowed dangerously, but that made them more fascinating, in my opinion.
"Haven't you caused enough trouble already?" He asked, harsher than before.
"What?" I looked at him, baffled. "What did I do?"
He gave me an exasperated look, "At the party." At my raised eyebrows, he rolled his eyes, checked the alley entrance, and pulled up one side of his beige tunic. My eyes widened at the mark on his side: it was the Count's emblem. The light fabric of the tunic fell back down, blocking the symbol from my sight. "He branded me." Yamato stated, face neutral. The statement was unnecessary, though, since I could tell. "He wants everyone, especially you, to know that I belong to him."
My eyes widened at him. "You're his concubine!" I practically yelled.
His eyes flew to the alley entrance again, before returning to me, narrowed, "Say that a bit louder next time, why don't you?"
At least I had the decency to look sheepish, "Sorry, I was just a bit surprised, that's all."
He crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at the ground on his right. "Yeah, well..." He trailed off, clearly unsure of how to continue.
I studied his face, eyes, and posture. He was sad. It didn't show much on the outside, but I could read it in his eyes. He was no happier with his fate than I was.
Courage and resolve had always been my best traits and I put them both to use now. "I'll take you away from him." His head snapped up, eyes wide. "I'll take you away from this town. I'll take you wherever, as long as it's not back to the Count's castle. I won't let him hurt you anymore."
A stunned silence followed my statement. Then he burst out laughing. I just stood there, confused.
He calmed down after a minute, wiping at his eyes. "Right." Then his look hardened. "Do you honestly think that I haven't tried escaping? He always finds me. Once, I made it all the way past the walls and into the forest, but he still found me. He always finds me."
Another silence followed, broken by Yamato turning away from me. "It's pointless."
"Wait." I grabbed his wrist again, but his back was still to me. "I promise it will be different this time. I will keep you safe."
His demeanour changed to one of defeat. My heart soared; he was willing to leave this town with me. We could escape together, start our lives somewhere else, live happily ever after!
All these happy thoughts left me, though, as he turned around and I met his saddened eyes. He gave a small, sad smile, shaking his head. "It's too late; you've already broken that promise."
I was stunned for a second, before realisation fell upon me in the form of the Count's guards. They came rushing into the alley and tore Yamato away from my grasp, pulling him back towards his prison, leaving me standing in the darkening alley. He cast a last, lingering look my way, before they pulled him around the corner.
Then it hit me: he had been trying to escape. He had not been let out of the castle—he had escaped. And I had blocked his path.
My knees gave out and I fell to the ground, pounding away at the dirt. I didn't even realise that I was crying, until the ground became slightly wet, making the dirt stick to my knuckles. I stopped then, just sitting there, numb to all around me.
I don't even know why I was so adamant about making him mine. There was just something about him. The moment I saw him, I knew. And I know he knew, too; for why else would he have agreed to dance when he knew he wasn't allowed?
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A/N: Don't ask me why it turned out so depressing... I might continue it for tomorrow's prompt, or then I'll write separate fics for each prompt and continue some of them later.