i have nothing interesting to say, so here is the next chapter

disclaimer: i do not own digimon blah blah blah

Falling from Grace

Chapter 10

"Hey, time to get up."

Zoe groaned, rolling over in her bed. Was it morning already?

Takuya was taking the time to make sure each of his guns were fully loaded. "Kouji and Ami are already up, but we decided to give you a few extra minutes."

"Stop with the special treatment," Zoe said as she slowly got up. "It makes me feel even worse about everything."

"Oh, it's no big deal. Just hurry up and get dressed. We'll be leaving in about ten minutes."

Zoe glanced at the clock, seeing that it was exactly six a.m. She gathered her clothing, then made her way into the bathroom.

"Kouji, you almost set?" Takuya shrugged his coat on.

"Yeah, just gimme a sec," Kouji muttered. "I'm having trouble opening this damn thing...."

Ami saw Kouji struggling to get the chamber in his pistol to open, in an attempt to fully load it.

"Oh, give me that." She grabbed it from him, then in one quick movement, she had successfullly opened it. "Here ya go, you big strong man."

Kouji turned red with embarrassment. "I loosened it for you in the first place."

Ami snorted. "Yeah right. You just don't wanna admit to the fact that a chick did better than you."

"Nuh-uh!" He shot back.

"Shut up!" Takuya hissed. "Seems like that's all I ever say to you guys. Shut the fuck up."

Kouji and Ami glared at each other, but both remained silent as they finished packing. Zoe emerged from the bathroom, pulling on a coat.

"I'm all set," she said.

"Good. Let's check out and get going. We should be in Oakwood by tomorrow afternoon, so just one more long-ass day of traveling," Takuya told them. "I don't know if we'll be lucky enough to come across another motel, but we'll see what happens."

"Ask George," Ami suggested. "He might know."

Takuya grabbed both of the room keys, then opened one of the doors. "Yeah, we'll see. Let's go."

The four of them walked down the carpeted hallway, nervously looking around in their paranoia. A moment later, they arrived at the main lobby where George was sitting behind the counter with a dour expression on his face.

"Morning," he said. "Did you guys sleep okay?"

"Yeah, we did." Takuya set the two sets of keys on the counter. "Something wrong?"

George cast a sympathetic glance at Zoe, then looked down.

"We heard," Zoe said tiredly.

"I'm really sorry for your loss." George pulled his glasses off and began to wipe them with a cloth. "He was a great ruler."

Zoe gave him a weak smile. "Thank you."

Takuya took her hand, squeezing it softly. "We better get going now. The sooner the better. Thanks for all your help, George."

George nodded. "My pleasure. Come back anytime."

"Oh, wait." Ami turned to him. "We won't get to the next town until tomorrow. Do you know if there are any other motels or inns along the way?"

The man thought for a moment, then shook his head. "None that I can remember, really. I know that there is this one kinda far away, but that was closed over a decade ago. Sorry guys."

"Well, thanks anyway," Ami said.

They made their way out of the building, cautiously looking around to make sure no one had shown up. The area looked just as deserted as it had been the night before. Although it was still somewhat dark out, the sun was gradually making its way up the horizon.

Takuya yawned, pulling his helmet on. Zoe followed suit, as did the others. Seconds later, they were speeding down the dreary road in pursuit of Oakwood.

"Can't wait till we get there," Ami said with a sigh. "Getting sick and tired of traveling nonstop."

"Yeah, no kidding," Kouji mused.

Takuya glanced back over his shoulder to the blond. "You get enough sleep?"

"Plenty. Did you?" She asked.

"Enough," he replied, increasing his speed. "I'm tempted to just go over a hundred miles per hour...."

Zoe's eyes narrowed. "Don't you dare. One of two things will happen. One, I'll lose my grip on you and go flying off, only to land on my head and break my neck. Or two, you'll lose control and slam into a tree, thus killing us both."

Takuya chuckled. "Well, the first one won't happen if you hold on tight enough."

"If it was any tighter, your oxygen would be cut off," she growled.

"Don't worry. We're not gonna crash. In all my years riding one of these things, I've never crashed," Takuya said.

"Well, there was that one time," Kouji chimed in.

Takuya smiled at the memory. "Oh, yeah. Good times."

"What?!" Zoe wrapped her arms around his waist even tighter, burying her face between his shoulder blades.

"Aw, you scared the poor girl," Ami said, shaking her head. "I don't think that now's a good time to traumatize her."

"Ya think?!" Zoe groaned. "Now, I'm no wimp. But no offense, Takuya, but you seem crazy enough to do something stupid."

Takuya glanced back at her again and grinned. "What, like this?"

With that, the front tire escalated off the ground in a wheelie. Zoe screamed, clinging onto the brunette for dear life. Ami and Kouji burst out laughing, shaking their heads at Takuya's stupid antics.

"Well, if she wasn't traumatized before, she is now," Ami said.

"Yeah, no shit," Kouji replied.

Meanwhile

Reuben rolled over in his bed, the same bed that had belonged to his brother. Sweat beaded on his brow and trickled down his forehead, dampening the pillow. It was not anxiety, but excitement.

Calm down, he chastised himself. Rest for a few more hours, then get up and go through the contracts. Most of them should be back soon anyway, so you can look through them to see how many people decided that their lives were worth more than their freedom.

"Get some fucking sleep," he muttered to himself.

But how can I sleep, knowing that the little bitch is still out there somewhere? I won't have a peaceful slumber until I know that she's good and dead. Same with those damn bounty hunters.

"Patience," he quietly said aloud. "Her time will come."

But when? The sooner the better, he thought. Damn incompetent armies.....They have already disappointed me with their carelessness. For their sakes, they better not screw up again.

"Fuck...." He wiped his forehead with the back of his callused hand.

Sighing, he glanced over to the nightstand beside the bed. On top of it was a framed photograph of Malcolm and a smiling three year-old Zoe. Besides that was another picture, this one of Malcolm and his late wife, Selene. Reuben knocked them off the stand in disgust, hearing the glass covering the pictures shatter as they hit the floor.

Looking at the photographs made his blood boil, especially the one with Malcolm and Selene. Seeing the gorgeous woman with his brother made him hate the dead king even more. How could she have chosen Malcolm over him? As much as he hated to admit it, Zoe resembled her mother. While she had inherited her father's golden hair as oppose to her mother's luscious chestnut color, she was almost a spitting image of Selene. Right from the emerald eyes to the fair porcelein skin.

Zoe could not remember Selene, as she had died shortly after giving birth to her daughter. However, Zoe would constantly tell him how her mother was looking down at her from Heaven, keeping a watchful eye on her.

"She won't let anything happen to me," she had cheerfully told him one day.

Reuben had looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Kid, she's not watching over you. Once someone dies, that's it."

Zoe's eyes had teared up. "No, you're wrong, Uncle Reuben. She is too keeping an eye on me. That's what Daddy told me."

"Well, your daddy is a liar. That's what people tell kids to shut them up, especially little brats like you."

"I hate you!" With that, the little girl had run off to her father.

Reuben groaned and rolled over. "Little bitch....."

As he lay there, his hands clenched into tight fists. All his life, he had been stuck in his older brother's shadow. Malcolm had been the one in line for the throne. Malcolm had been the one with the beautiful wife. Even when Selene had bore a daughter instead of a son, the little brat was still going to be next in line for the throne. That is, only if she would marry someday.

Why shouldn't things been going his way for once? Sure, Malcolm had given him the highest ranking of all the guards, rewarding him with the same treatment he was receiving. But Reuben wanted to be king, dammit! One way or another, he had wanted prove his brother that he would someday rule over the kingdom. And he had.

So far things were going his way. Except, of course, the princess. The pathetic decoy they had tried to use to throw him off had already been killed and disposed of. They really did underestimate his intelligence, and for that he loathed his deceased brother even more.

As long as his armies didn't screw up along the way, he should be safe. It angered him that the bounty hunters had not been found yet, for that gave them time to recruit reinforcements. And that, he could not allow.

With one last aggraved groan, he shifted again and rolled onto his stomach. In a few hours, he would be sending the town to their knees in defeat.

okay, im done with yet another chapter. so you know a little more about zoe's past, and now you know why there's no queen around. but damn, reuben's an asshole, i wouldnt pick him either. -_-; let me know how you liked the chapter. byez