okay, i just finished this chapter ^_^ thanks for being so patient. enjoy!
dislaimer: i do not own digimon....dammit....
Falling from Grace
Chapter 9
Two hours had passed, yet Takuya was reluctant to wake Zoe up. She looked so peaceful in her slumber, and he did not want to disturb her, especially after the horrifying news about her father.
"I'll just wait a bit longer," he whispered to himself.
His dark eyes kept scanning to the shaded window, where there was a small opening for him to see outside. So far there was nothing out of the ordinary, yet he was no less paranoid. A pistol was on the bed beside his leg, ready to be fired if he needed it.
Just then, Zoe moaned and shifted in sleep. She was pressed up against Takuya, her head resting near his hip.
"Oh, shit." Takuya tried to keep himself preoccupied, doing whatever he could to concentrate on something else.
Ami sat up in the next bed, yawning slightly. "Hey, if you want, I can take over now."
Takuya shook his head. "Nah, go back to sleep. I'll be okay for at least another hour or so."
The raven-haired girl glanced at Zoe. "I can see why you don't want to wake her, but she'll be pissed if you don't."
"I know, but I can't bring myself to do it," Takuya said with a sigh. "As I said, I'll wait an hour and see how it goes."
Ami shrugged. "Alright. But if you feel yourself falling asleep, wake me or Kouji up."
Takuya smirked. "Wow, first time I think you've said his name."
"Yeah, well. I don't feel like getting shot at friggen midnight. I'll go back to calling him a moron in the morning." With that, she rolled onto her side and fell back asleep.
The brunette's eyes felt heavy, but he refused to let himself fall asleep.
"Stay awake," he softly muttered to himself. "Stay awake for another fucking hour...."
Zoe shifted again, only this time she woke up. She groggily looked up to see a figure sitting beside her. Surprised, she bolted up with terrified green eyes.
"Shhh, it's me." Takuya put his hand on her shoulder. "Calm down."
The blond sighed in relief. "Oh, it's only you. For a minute I thought it was....well, you know."
Takuya chuckled. "No, I'd kill him before he comes within five hundred feet of you."
"What are you doing in here?" Zoe asked.
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Takuya said sheepishly, pretending to examine his gun.
"Thanks. By the way, what time is it?" She glanced at the clock on the cable box, then frowned. "Hey, you were supposed to wake me up like ten minutes ago."
Takuya ran his fingers through his hair. "Look, I didn't want to disturb you. Not after what happened. So if you wanna kick me in the butt, go ahead."
"No, it's alright," Zoe replied. "But go to sleep. I'll wake Ami in two hours when her shift begins."
"You know you don't have to," Takuya told her, dropping his pistol back onto the bed.
Zoe shook her head, her eyes cast down. "No, I do. So shut up and get some sleep. Can't have one of my body guards passing out while he's driving."
Takuya snorted. "Hey, I could be worse."
"Get to bed," the blond said. "Before I shoot you with your own damn gun."
"Alright, I'm going, I'm going," he muttered. "Don't hesitate to wake me if you need something."
She watched as he made his way into the other bedroom, keeping the adjoining door open. When he was gone, she sighed and glanced out the window. By the looks of it, there was nothing suspicious.
Zoe looked down on the bed and realized that Takuya had left his pistol on the covers. Instead of returning it to him right away, she decided to pick it up. She slowly spun it in her hands, feeling the cold metal against her warm skin. The weight of it felt good in her hands, and she could almost picture herself shooting Reuben with it....
Meanwhile
"Akira! Akira, get your ass in here, right now!"
The sleepy guard stumbled into the room, tiredly rubbing his eyes. "Yes, Your Highness?"
Reuben was pacing around, a stack of papers in his hands. "I want part of my army to go around and pass these out."
"What are they?" Akira took the papers from him, his eyes quickly skimming over them.
"My new laws, of course." Reuben smirked. "I would like everyone in the town to receive one and sign at the bottom. Their signature will ensure that they will be loyal to me. If anyone shows even a hint of reluctance, shoot them. You don't necessarily have to kill them, as I'm sure the first shot will be their wake-up call. However, if they continue to show disobedience, kill them."
Akira looked surprised, but immediately composed himself. "Uh, do you want these to be passed out right now? At this hour?"
"I don't care what time it is. Send some of the guards out to pass these out as soon as possible. Hopefully the maggots we call citizens will get the point across and know that I'm serious about everything," Reuben growled. "Now go!"
"Yes, sir." Akira bowed, then hurried off.
Reuben sank down into his throne, a satisfied grin on his face. "They'll be eating out of the palm of my hand soon enough. Especially after I start to cut supplies and fuel down."
He heard several guards rushing out of the kingdom, all armed with pistols and contracts.
Well, better get some sleep, he thought to himself. I'll need my energy in the morning when I start my reign of terror. The past day has been a walk in the park for them. The real hell is about to begin.
Back at the motel
Two hours had passed. So far nothing strange had happened during the night.
Zoe walked over to Ami's bed and nudged the sleeping girl awake. Ami rolled over, then groggily sat up.
"My shift?" She asked, brushing her hair out of her face.
"Yeah, but if you need more time to sleep, I can cover-"
Ami interrupted her. "Nope. I'm alright. Get some sleep, and I'll wake Kouji up in two hours. Once his shift ends, start packing up again."
Zoe nodded, climbing into her own bed. "Takuya left his gun and I've been holding onto it. I'm sure he won't mind if you hang onto it to."
"I'm actually all set on that department." Ami picked up the machine gun that had been on the floor next to her bed.
"Well, night." The blond flopped down, pulling the covers around herself tightly.
"Night," Ami replied.
After several minutes of tossing and turning, Zoe eventually found herself in comfortable position. Her memories came flowing back as if they had just happened yesterday, and they embedded themselves into her dreams.
Thirteen years ago
Five year-old Zoe was walking through the palace's garden, admiring the lush flower beds. The king trailed behind her, an amused smile on his face as he watched her run through the grass.
"Wow, daddy! You're so lucky that you have so many flowers!" Zoe said excitedly.
"They're yours too, you know," he replied.
Zoe picked up a pink rose. "Yeah, I guess. Daddy, do you think I'll do a good job being queen someday?"
Malcolm chuckled, ruffling her blond hair. "I know you will."
"I dunno. I don't think I would do a good job."
"What makes you say that?" He asked, slightly surprised.
"Well, Uncle Reuben said that I'm too young to understand how to rule a castle," Zoe said. "This flower's really pretty."
Malcolm's eyes narrowed. "Well, you're too young now. But you'll learn as time goes by."
The little girl looked up at him with her big green eyes. "How come Uncle Reuben isn't going to be king? He seems to know what to do better than I do."
"Well, if I got sick or something, he would fill in for me," Malcolm tried to explain.
"No! You're a king, so you can't get sick. I think that you'll be king forever," she said happily.
"Nothing lasts forever, Zoe. You'll see," he told her, running his fingers through his hair, similar to his daughter's color.
Zoe stared at the flower and smiled. "I think I'm going to give this to Ami when she gets back with her mommy and daddy. When are they coming back?"
"They should be back tomorrow," Malcolm said. "In the meantime, you can put that flower in a cup of water."
Reuben walked up to them, seeming to be coming out of nowhere. "Malcolm, the servants wanted to ask you a question. Something about furniture?"
"Oh, alright. Zoe, you can keep playing in the garden. I'll be back in a few minutes." With that, the king made his way back inside.
Zoe sighed. "If I ever become queen, I'm going to let the servants do what they want."
Reuben raised an eyebrow incredulously. "Why on earth would you do that? That's why there are here. To serve our every needs."
"Yeah, but they should get more play time. And I can learn how to do things all by myself," she said.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Zoe nodded, a smile on her face. "Yup. Daddy said that I'll learn someday, just like I'll learn how to be a good queen."
Reuben's eyes darkened, though Zoe didn't notice. "Yes, I'm sure."
"Well, I'm gonna go put this flower in a cup of water for Ami. Bye Uncle Reuben!"
Although she had not seen this as a child, in her dream she could see Reuben's hands angrily clench into fists.
alright, thats the end of chapter 9. there wont be a ton of flashbacks, but there'll be a few every so often to clear things up. stay tuned for chapter 10, coming soon. and i dont know if i made zoe seem too smart to be a five year-old, but i think i did a decent job of it. its been forever since i was five and i dont hang around many kids, so i kinda just winged it. well, see ya until next time ^_^
