Chapter 2: The Queen Prays for the Princess's Demise


The days that past floated by like the clouds that crawled across the sky. Inevitably, the days became cold, the sky grew dark and bled like broken hearts. Impmon curled deep within the soft blankets on the living room couch, fire breathing life into the room as the air became warm with the hot blaze. School didn't stop for the rain however, and Ai and Mako were nowhere in the home, the house felt calm and quiet without the youths. Too quiet. Imp never liked the quiet, it made him feel like death was settling in, the freezing breath of frost only smothered by the thick heat of something amazing, and the damn quiet, so fucking quiet!

"UGH!" The purple scoffed pulling the big red blanket around his shoulders as he sat within the rest of said blanket. He looked around for their 'mom' as he enjoyed the idea of having a real mother watching over him, yet she wasn't watching him at the moment. Where was she? "Mom?"

No response.

"Momma?" his voice sounded so quiet and pitiful like a beaten child left to rot, yet it still elicited a response.

"Yes, sweetie?" her voice filtered from the kitchen entryway, the smell of vanilla and hot chocolate scented the air making the purple's little black nose crinkle in pure delight, and Imp couldn't help running his small magenta tongue across his white lips. His little fangs poking out of his mouth ready to chew on whatever the woman was making, he sauntered into the kitchen to find her making some sweet caramel cookies, hot chocolate, and his favorite; little vanilla cream cakes.

Blanket still tightly pulled around him he bounced into the bar stool chair to the island counter, leaning forward his red gloved hand dipping into the bowl of what was vanilla cream where he managed a glob of the sweet dairy that had yet to be removed from the emptied bowl. Sticking the appendage into his mouth, he eagerly licked away the sweet white cream, muffling the soft groan of delight at the dairy. Yet like any rational being the feeling of fabric of any kind didn't feel at all grand in someone's mouth, and it drove him away from sucking on his own gloved finger for an hour.

Restraining himself from getting more he busied himself with watching mom cook. She would turn on a dime, her long brown hair swaying and spinning as she did, her hazel eyes would cast him a glance every now and then; smiling, and continuing on with what she was doing. She was a lean woman with just the right curves in all the right places, she was only 39, but she looked and said she always felt 25, he believed her too much to ever question why. At some point the oven went off and the cookies were pulled from the heated confines of the metal box before being placed on the counter to cool.

She untied the waist apron from her hips, folding it once, then placed it on the counter as well; she grabbed the other stool adjacent to Impmon's seat on the island. Moving it so she could sit parallel to him grabbing two mugs filled with hot chocolate and positioned one in front of him and taking the other in her hands. She sipped it like she did her tea when she had it, in a very feminine manner that encroached an elegant style about it. Impmon did the same, however he used two hands nested comfortably around the ceramic cup, the crimson blanket tucked into the crooks of his elbows as he sipped the warm liquid in his multicolored mug. They sat in a comfortable silent for a few more moments, before nursing a simple conversation about the usual.

"What have you been doing lately?"

"How have you and the kids handled lately?"

"Are we doing anything this weekend?"

"When do you think the rain will stop?"

The random topics that so delicately rolled off the tongue took a turn for the worst, when she asked a question Impmon would have never thought she caught onto, never.

"When are you going to tell that Guilmon fella how you feel?" he nearly spat his hot chocolate all over the cookie in his hand; how did she know, when did she find out, how does she know who Guilmon is? He was screaming in his head the simple question made his response more of a blood rush than a vocal reaction. His face went from its normal pale white to as red as the mentioned lizard's scales, he coughed several times into his fist, once he placed the mug down.

"H-How-*cough*-How did you f-find out *cough* about Guilmon?!" he nearly fouled his own tongue on the speech, the red on his face never receded. He was utterly mortified about it, having his own mother find out about his stupid crush over some idiot lizard.

"Sweetie, when I wake up the kids, I will sometimes try and wake you too." She got up and grabbed his mug before pivoting on her left leg over to the stove, "You never wake up, too lost in whatever you're dreaming about," she was ladling more hot chocolate from the caldron that was on low heat. "Yet sometimes you mumble in your sleep, just simple little things, but they always have his name in them." She swiveled on her hip back over placing the mug in front of him once more, and retrieving her seat. "Stuff like; "Not now Guilmon, 5 more minutes," or "Guil, that tickles let me sleep," sometimes even just a hum of "Guilmon." But you apparently dream a lot about this Guilmon fella. That and Jeri will sometimes mention him and a boy named Takato when she watches Mako and Ai." She said with an evil little smile, before taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

If his embarrassment wasn't clear already, the completely blush soaked, dumbfound look that was pretty much tattooed to his face was a sure fire indication. He was beyond mortified, it was horrifying he talked in his sleep, who knew what the kids heard from him, but that his own mother who he loved to death just like he loved Ai and Mako, knows he felt these feelings for someone so unlike Impmon. Fuck.

"Don't worry this is between you and me, until you're ready to say something about it." She tried to comfort him with that information, a warm motherly smile gracing the beautiful form of her face. He couldn't help relaxing a little at her, she always treated him like a teenage son struggling to come out of the closet. She took her time, she spoke softly, she never pushed or shoved, she was patient and she'd wait till he was ready to talk about it on his own terms. However, she never needed to wait long with him.

Impmon talked and talked, poured his heart out about everything; from going to the park to just see him, to staying out and sneaking a kiss, from having little daydreams about him, to a diluted version of his rated 18+ dreams. Course the extreme amount of red that rose higher up his face, the little stutters in his voice, and his fidgeting; he probably gave himself away. However she didn't say a word, not one since he began, she just sat and listened. She just listened, her face never changing, until the very end.

When he was done she stayed silent, the silence that seemed to have a choke hold on him, it was thick like chain links interlocked around one another, it left like the air was getting colder and colder with every second and the mushing sound of soggy rubber on hard wood floors muffled his ears, his heart felt constricted as she leaned in with a smile. "You truly do have a perfect sense of timing."

"What-"

"MOM, WE'RE HOME!"

"Impmon, where are you?!"

"Hi sweeties, how was school?"

"Fine, I got an A on my math test. What did you do?"

"Impmon, are you cold? Cause you're basically cocooned in that blanket."

"Hey Imp!"

"Impmon, are you Ok?"

The world felt like a New York subway station, everything was moving so fast and so loud. A blurry mass of colors melding together into flashing lights of neon poke-a-dots. He didn't even move and his head was pounding from just stirring his eyes in the directions of the voices, snapping back into their original position of staring in front of him. His heart was pumping so fast in the last minute that he was getting light headed, he felt a headache coming on and none of the strength to fight it. A warm hand felt his purple forehead, a little tug on his left side of the blanket wrapped around him. He knew it was probably Mako trying to elicit a response from him, and their mother's hand on his head, but didn't try to move at any of it.

"Headache?" A simple hum was all he could muster, a single chuckle was all he heard from her. "I'll get you some medication, in the meantime, kids, why don't you go get changed and play some games. Me and Impmon would like to finish talking please." The pair nodded and walked off a little on edge about their best friend, but keen on getting into some warmer clothes. They knew Impmon and mom tended to get headaches now and then, but never truly knew why since they were so young; Mako was only 8 and Ai was just turning 11, they knew little to nothing about what a headache was other than eating ice cream too fast and even, then it only lasted maybe 20 seconds.

Impmon tried to lift his mug, barely able to reach his lips before his arms which felt like twigs lifting a sandbag, burst with his normal strength again as the slightly cold liquid filled his belly making his skin feel warm, and his belly fill a bit. His head felt heavy with blood again as his heart contracted and pumped slow and steady, and then the painful sound of thunder roll over head making the intense pain of his skull cracking and shattering across a concrete floor. Thankfully, mother was there to save his pounding brain matter with two circular, grotesquely colored, brown-red pills that looked like ugly M&M's. The mismatched letters that could only say some shitty brand name printed in black news lettering that made it look even less appetizing.

Taking the horrid looking pills in his gloved fingers he forced them into his mouth before swallowing the last of his chilled hot chocolate. After sitting in silence for a few minutes, his head slowly stopped throbbing as the low rumble of electricity cracked through the sky once more in a blinding flash.

"You OK?" she asked.

"Yeah." Was his tiny response, pulling the thick scarlet fabric tight around him once more.

"Good, now," She slipped into her seat again, "lets continue where we left off shall we."


And the conversation rolled on and on never once bothered by the weather raging outside. Never once noticing time pass so fast, and before they knew it, the storm had stopped and clouds opened and closed a full moon and pearl dusted stars. After quickly pulling some dinner out to make for the four of them, and Ai and Mako took their baths, it was time for bed.

"Who wants a story?" she announced to the children, Impmon now sitting on the open windowsill. Still wrapped in his blanket, a content smile on his face as the two youths cheered "I do, I do!" at their mother.

"Alright, alright," she pulled out a rather thick silver book, with fancy French flower designs and red calligraphy writing on the cover. "Once upon a time, in the dark lands of Katrum (Kate-rum), lived a furious dragon in a majestic castle of obsidian and gold…"

She spelled out the tale as Impmon very quietly skipped out the window onto the tree just outside blanket still in toe as he continued down to the large thick branch with an old swing. Effortlessly he bounced down onto the seat, shocked at how it managed to stay dry under the foliage of the cherry tree. "And it roared a furious roar filled with regret and passion." She carried on mystifying the youths, he just sat staring at the patch of black velvet and pearl dust framed by the thick grey smog of the cloud, knocking his legs back and forth, lightly moving forward and back. "Many knights had tried to free the princess from the dragon's castle, but none had succeeded in the task." Just her voice made everything seem so quiet, so peaceful, the ever painful quiet.

Only to be broken by the shouts of teenagers.

"Growlmon! Where are you!?" Takato hollered from the distance.

"Ditching Dino, come out, come out wherever you are!" Terriermon saying in his ever snarky tone, as the group continued to hunt for the dragon. "Growler!" Henry's calls seemed less worried then the rest as he seemed quite tired and on the verge of falling asleep.

"Where is he? There's almost no place for a 2 story lizard to hide." Rika exclaimed to the boys, Renamon, like always, was nowhere to be seen. From the sound of it all Guilmon was stuck as Growlmon again and was on the loose, for what reason; only lizard knew. The four were wondering up Impmon's street. Course he didn't care, he didn't know anything about where the crimson was. He'd just say he didn't know and they'd continue on.

"Impmon?" Takato said, the purple just rolled his eyes from the sky to the human, not bothering to turn his head away from the sky. "What are you doing he- never mind, have you seen Growlmon anywhere, we been looking for him since three." Imp honestly just kept staring at him for a few seconds blinking every now and then.

"Why would I know where he is?" Was all he responded with, before returning his green irises to the sky huffing a bit at the clouds covering the sky again.

The four didn't respond as they just continued on like he said, sharing slightly worried looks. They finished up the street before turning left, toward the bus station by the little ice cream shop run by some foreign Russian people. He glanced at them disappearing behind another house, he sighed heavily, a puff of hot air becoming crystalized in seconds. He could still hear his mother reading on, he could picture Ai mesmerized by the words, and Mako imagining the whole thing; they were so innocent and neither knew this was only a soft copy their mother was giving them. He found that old book in a library and snuck it out without another word, course their mother didn't know that. He'd read it beginning to end and, she just happened to find it under the couch. Truth be told it was a romantic novel, a very, VERY romantic novel. It straddled the line of romance and pornographic writing! Why she read it to them, he didn't know and didn't want to know.

"A heavy burst of hot air rushed over the princess's neck," Hot air, a new feeling in the cool night, ran down Impmon's neck, causing his purple fur to stand on end and his skin to goose bump. Spinning around in the seat of the swing readying to fight something, blanket twirling with the action, but only succeeded in blushing a bright red as his little nose was pressed to a wide red and black marked snout. Two big gold eyes stared at him, a big dopey smile spread across his face making his strange (duck? Horn?) Honk sound.

"AHHH!" Impmon response was more of intense confusion more than fear. He slid back gripping the ropes of the swing as it moved forward, only getting caught on the backs of his knees rather than come out from under him completely. One long white black tipped claw came up behind over the blanket pulling Imp back on to the swing once more. "What the hell you over grown iguana? Why, I should skin you alive and use you as a rug! You big red skyscraper!"

"The dragon said nothing as the princess, angrily, questioned his every motive." the purple continued his verbal assault upon the massive lizard, whom sat patiently. His tail swishing back and forth, just waiting for the other. "Why the hell are you here anyway? Isn't a hero supposed to hang out with their friends, instead of the enemy?" Impmon was blushing profusely, he slowly breathed in and out trying to gain composure and breathe from his tangent. Growl hummed again, his claws extended again placing the large expanse of his paw on the ground behind the smaller.

"Impmon's not enemy." The words sent shock waves of chocking confusion and anxiety through the smaller.

"The dragon leaned in and placing his wide snout on her head breathing in the scent," the crimson leaned down, snout nuzzling the crook of one long purple ear. Tongue just barely peeking out to giving the appendage a slight dampness before the cold night air flushed away the warmth and chilled the skin beneath the fur. Blushing even more Imp squirmed around pulling the blanket tighter and rubbing his thighs together, nose scrunching up and emerald eyes screwed shut. The larger stopped at one point moving his nose over to the top of the purple's head breathing in deep taking in the soft scent of vanilla and chocolate.

"He exhaled a hot gust of steam from his nose." A warm fog of steam clouded Imp as his cheeks grew hotter snuggling into the red blanket, feeling the hard claws of the other pry and pull at the thick fabric in the fashion of trying to move his claws under it. Imp squeaked a little when he felt the flat triangle barb(s) on the end of his tail be pinched and squeezed.

"Growlmon!?" Takato shouted from the end of the street.

The group of teens had circled back around from the bus station to the end of the street they left through not five minutes ago and were coming back again. Growlmon raised on his back legs and readied himself to start sprinting, but before he did he laid one simple kiss on the others blushing cheek. Thundering booms filled the night as the dragon ran off to who knows where in the opposite direction of his partner and friends.

"GROWLMON! WAIT!"

"COME BACK HERE!"

"AFTER THE MOVING FLAMTHROWER!"

"Really Terrier." Henry complained as they ran after the dragon, none paying any mind to Impmon blushing and bothered on the swing, staring off in the direction of the lizard and the teens. After they were all out of his visuals he gave a heavy sign. He sat in a blushing fit trying to calm down, chuckling to himself as he heard his mother tell the kids it was time for bed and the pair whine and groan. Regaining enough composure, he bounded up the cherry tree and through the window just as the two were tucked away in the sheets.

Mom wished them a goodnight and nudged Impmon out the door as she turned the lights off. And guiding the slightly confused digimon to the bathroom, pointing out and cleaning up the long streaks of dragon saliva off his ear. Blushing and mortified a little as she told him about him about being heard and how she managed to cover up his shouts as a dog barking and distracted everything else from the kids with the story. He thanked her when she finished rubbing a damp washcloth over the saliva marks, bringing him back to the kid's room, both shockingly asleep already. She tucked him in too and said they'd talk about it tomorrow, tossing the red blanket over the three.

Imp snuggled himself into the pillow, looking out the window the moon pealing back the clouds to watch them through the transparent glass. Sleep pulled at him as he stared at the white circle half covered by the cherry tree. The last thing he saw was the silhouette of a familiar fox's leg standing on of the branches.

Renamon jumped from her perch hidden in the shadows on top of the house next door and into the cherry tree, watching in the dark Impmon falling asleep. She was furious, no she didn't have a thing for the dragon, but he was her friend, almost a brother, a very, very annoying brother, but a brother. And damn it all to hell was she going to let some self-absorbed purple half pint get away with it.

The Queen has seen the Princess capture in the tower, and the dragon's lust for his prisoner. She has seen the Princess falter, but the Queen just wants her on fire. The Queen wants the dragon back in his cage and the Princess on fire. The kingdom wants a Knight and they'll get it weather the Princess survives or not.

But in the end, no matter how many times the kingdom crumbles,

The game will play on even as, The Queen Prays for the Princess' Demise