Dragon Lady
: *gasps* Finally! It seems like its taken me forever to get this next chapter out.Ken
: It has.Dragon Lady
: ^^;;;; Gomen! I didn't mean to wait on it so long. I've just been really lethargic lately.Ken
: No kidding.Dragon Lady
: ^^;;; Sorry!Ken
: Whatever. Just as long as its up now and you're working on this story again.Dragon Lady
: Okay….well…I suppose I should make my little rant here short so that you all can get on to the story you've been forced to wait on…But what fun would that be? ^_~Ken
: o.ODragon Lady
: ^^; Just kidding! I'll let you go. Most of you are probably skipping this anyway, so whatever.Ken
: Dragon Lady doesn't own Digimon or The 10th Kingdom.Dragon Lady
: And I got to see my first few episodes of Gundam Wing on Friday! Isn't that just so exciting? ^_^ *laughs* Just thought I'd share that fascinating fact that I know you would all just die without knowing. ^^;Ken
: Riiiiiiiight.Dragon Lady
: Go. Enjoy. Read. Review?????~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The 10th Kingdom
Adapted By: DigimonDragonLady
Ken looked around the bar. He'd never seen so many middle-aged farmers who all had the same look. Their wives were not just pleasingly plump like some of the younger women of the village, but verging on fat. And there were certainly enough shepherdesses and milkmaids to go about.
They were informed by the bartender, Barbara Peep, that the Judge would be in for his dinner at exactly eight o'clock. So Ken and Osamu settled down to their own dinner. Ken noticed a man at a nearby table reading a newspaper; it was the first paper Ken had seen since coming through the mirror, called The Fourth Kingdom Gazette.
The man looked up, apparently sensing Ken's interest. "They're saying the Trolls have claimed the whole of the southwest region," he commented to them.
Oh, dear, Ken thought. He wondered how much of that was connected to them.
"I wouldn't know about that," Ken said politely.
"We're not very political," Osamu agreed.
The couple at the next table didn't seem to notice the brush-off. "I heard the Queen escaped," the farmer's wife said, "and she's behind it all, and they're talking about an all out war between the Nine Kingdoms."
"Where's Yamato, I say?" the farmer shouted. "If he's not careful he's going to loose his kingdom!"
Ken tried not to look at the golden dog, but his brother put his hand on Prince Yamato's head sympathetically. He had that guilty look again.
* * *
Damn. That had just gone all wrong. Ken growled under his breath. Things looked impossible now. They were never going home. They were never going to be able to leave. That judge wouldn't give them the mirror back. He wouldn't even let them buy it from him.
Ken groaned. Why did things like this only happen to him?
He looked around for Daisuke, in case he had any ideas that might help them. The wolf wasn't looking at all well, but he had left the barn anyway and joined them in the bar. He'd eaten much more than Ken and Osamu had in just minutes of being in there. He'd gone through racks of lamb like a sheering machine, and the bones littered his plate.
Of course, Ken really couldn't blame him. The Peeps grew the best foods and raised the best lamb out of the entire village, and were very proud of it. It was very good food. And just plain too. Ken could see why all the older women were so heavy and everyone had such a healthy glow.
But on looking for Daisuke he found that he was no longer sitting where Ken had last seen him. Ken cast about anxiously -- he'd been so sick -- and finally he saw him watching a pair of yodeling milkmaids.
He rolled his eyes, shaking his head, and started toward him, intent on hauling him back to the barn to rest.
Hikari Peep, the buxom shepherdess who had approached Daisuke that morning brushed against him. Ken stopped walking, his eyes narrowing slightly as he watched the scene. He clenched a fist. H didn't like how he felt when other people got too close to Daisuke.
But he also didn't like this Peep girl. She was too forward, and she was too interested in Daisuke.
"You're new here, aren't you?" Hikari said as she touched Daisuke's arm. She handed him a jar of candy. "I can't get this lid undone. Could you help me, Mr…"
Daisuke swallowed, apparently unable to answer. His gaze met Ken's for just a moment. He wasn't going to help him out of this one.
Another buxom Peep girl sidled up to the pair. Didn't they ever get strange men in this town? They were all acting like Daisuke was fresh meat. Ken's frown deepened.
"What is your name?" the second girl asked.
"Uh, Daisuke," the wolf-man stammered, then cleared his throat. "Daisuke Motomiya."
Ken crossed his arms and leaned against a nearby table, watching and trying to swallow the anger that was building inside of him. These girls -- women actually -- were pressing every possible body part against Daisuke.
"It's my eighteenth birthday today," Hikari said. "Bet you don't know what's going to happen to me tonight?"
Ken's eyes widened at what the shepherdess was implying. If he'd talked like that at eighteen, his brother would have put him in a cage and thrown away the key.
Hikari paused and ran a hand along Daisuke's back. Ken nearly went over to her and threw her aside. What was wrong with her anyway? He'd never acted like that over some guy.
Daisuke moved out of her reach. He seemed almost embarrassed. "I should get going now," he stumbled a little in his haste to back away.
Suddenly, two big-chested young men grabbed Daisuke by the arms and slammed him against a wall. Ken put a hand over his mouth, but it was only to cover a smile. Daisuke deserved a bit of shoving around after that obvious bit of flirting.
"No outsiders mess with Peep girls, you understand?" one of the big guys said.
"What are you doing around here, anyway, Mr. Motomiya?" the second asked with narrowed eyes.
"Why don't we take him out back and ask him properly," the first suggested.
Ken felt the smile leave his face. They were going to do some serious damage if he didn't step in now. The men had Daisuke by the arms and were going to drag him outside. For all the flirting he'd done, he didn't deserve to be beaten to a bloody pulp.
Unless it was by Ken.
Ken walked up to them, and put a hand on Daisuke's shoulder. "Excuse me, but what do you think you're doing with my husband?" he asked.
"Your husband?" The big guy sounded surprised.
"That's right," Ken answered. "He's not feeling at all well tonight. That's why we need to be going now. Good night."
He took Daisuke's arm and led him to the door. Ken's grip was harder than he'd planned. He wanted to bruise him, he really did.
"Oh, Ken," Daisuke said. "When you said I was your husband --"
"I only said it to get you out of trouble," Ken snapped, interrupting him quickly. "So don't go getting any ideas."
He glanced around for Osamu and saw his brother playing darts with several of the older men of the village. Well, he couldn't get in too much trouble doing that.
He shoved Daisuke through the front door and followed him into the cool night.
The moon was full and beautiful, a solid oval against the darkness of the sky. It filled the streets with almost as much light as day and cast eerie silver shadows between the buildings.
Daisuke shook himself free of Ken's grasp, and he tried to catch him again. Whatever this sickness was, it was making him act very strangely.
"I feel so alive!" Daisuke exclaimed and raised his arms skyward. "I can see everything for miles around. Look at the moon, Ken. Doesn't it just make you want to howl, its so beautiful?"
"Not really, no," Ken answered dryly.
Daisuke grabbed a nearby fence post and leaned against it. Something about his face was different -- harsher, narrower. He looked dangerous, just as he had when they had first met. Ken was intrigued and more than a little bit frightened.
"My mother was obsessed with the moon," Daisuke said. "She used to drag us all out to watch it when we were cubs. The moon makes me hungry for everything."
Ken felt a shiver of fear go down his spine. Daisuke was staring at the moon the way he had stared at the yodeling milkmaids.
Ken took his arm and firmly pried him away from the fence post. "Time for bed," he said softly, and this time he managed to get Daisuke into the barn.
* * *
Osamu pulled Prince out of the bar, along with the last of the patrons. The ale had been good as the food, maybe better, and had certainly affected his dart playing. Osamu wished the Judge would listen to him, but the man was bent on not discussing work when he was out of court.
Osamu gazed down the empty streets. "You want to go walkies?" Osamu asked Prince Yamato.
The golden dog, of course, didn't move. His face was permanently locked in a look of determination mixed with just a hint of anger.
"Don't you look at me like that," Osamu told him as they started down the street. "You can't blame me. This kind of thing must happen all the time in your world. I mean, you were a dog when I met you."
He got to the wishing well. The village idiot was peering down its sides.
"Ever hopeful?" Osamu asked.
"Oh, yes," the idiot replied. "Your dog reminds me of somebody, you know."
Osamu had no response to that. He simply shook his head and continued walking.
The full moon cast a beautiful silver light over the entire town. The place actually looked magical. The cool air was clearing his head and making him relax. All those adventures had tied both his stomach and his back up in knots. He was relieved to have just a bit of time to himself before he returned to Ken and Daisuke.
Osamu reached the village limits and was just about to turn back when he saw an old wooden sign that read: PEEP FARM. KEEP OUT.
He peered across the fence. Across the field was a forbidding farmhouse. It wasn't pleasant looking at all, not like the other buildings around. Osamu thought that odd in and of itself, especially considering what wonderful food the Peeps grew.
But what was odder was the procession of Peeps walking from the house to the barn, holding lanterns, but keeping their light carefully shaded from the road.
"Wait here." Osamu patted Prince on the head and climbed over the fence. Then he carefully crept across the field toward the barn.
It didn't take him long to get there. The barn was poorly built, and there were cracks separating the boards. Osamu peered through one of them.
The barn was lit like the middle of the day. All of the adult Peeps were gathered there, and all of them were holding baskets filled with produce. Only this produce was nothing like the magnificent food he'd seen at the Baa-Bar. This was the kind of stuff he'd seen grown in window-box gardens in Manhattan -- wretched thin carrots, spindly potatoes, dull, worm-eaten tomatoes.
Osamu felt his stomach turn. One of the older Peeps -- Wilfred, Osamu thought, trying to remember the names of all his dart-playing buddies -- peered around at the assembled family. Osamu leaned back slightly, unsure whether they could see him through the crack or not.
"Where's the birthday girl?" Wilfred asked.
Hikari Peep came forward, holding a dirty, scrawny sheep. She seemed nervous.
"Why do you think everything the Peeps make tastes so good, Hikari Shepherdess?" Wilfred asked her.
Hikari blinked, and swallowed. "I don't rightly know," she said. "Used to be there was a magic well in the town, but the well's dried up now. Everyone knows that."
"Do they now?" Wilfred grinned. So did the other older Peeps. They seemed to be sharing a joke of some sort. "Well, now. Since you're eighteen, I'm going to let you in on the family secret."
Osamu leaned forward. His heart was pounding harder than usual. He had a hunch that if they caught him, he'd be in horrible trouble, but he couldn't bear to move. This had to be important.
Wilfred Peep was nodding and several younger male Peeps swept straw from the barn floor. They revealed a wooden hatch at the base of the straw pile.
"The reason there's no more magic water in the village well is 'cause me and my brother diverted the stream forty years ago," Wilfred told Hikari, his grin growing. "The Peeps have all the magic now."
He bent down and lifted the wooden cover as he spoke, revealing a hole in the ground. Lights, like multicolored fireflies, flew toward the ceiling, and the entire barn grew (if possible) even brighter.
Osamu put a hand against the cracked barn wall, intrigued.
"Now, lets have a look at your sheep," Wilfred instructed Hikari. "Ugly looking thing isn't he? Can't see him winning you the Lovely Shepherdess Competition."
The other Peeps laughed as Wilfred grabbed the sheep by the neck. Another male Peep grabbed a rope and lowered a bucket that was suspended on a pulley system.
It took three men to get the sheep into the bucket. They manned the pulley system and lowered the bleating sheep into the darkness of the well.
An echoey voice came out of the well. "What do you wish of my magic waters?"
Wilfred leaned forward. "Fill this sheep with your goodness and life," he instructed.
Finally, they wound the bucket back up.
Osamu gasped. Fortunately, so did everyone else. A gorgeous, golden fleeced lamb jumped out of the bucket and into Hikari Peep's arms.
The girl giggled in delight. "Wilf, it's amazing!"
Wilfred stood over her, and Osamu felt his own smile fade. Wilfred looked absolutely terrifying. Who knew that old guy had it in him?
"Don' you ever breathe a word to no one," he said, "or I'll cut your throat, grandchild or no grandchild."
Okay. That was enough for Osamu. He backed away from the crack in the barn, then ran across the field. He couldn't believe he had left Prince Yamato unattended for so long anyway. He bounded over the fence, patted Prince on the head, and then hurried toward the village.
If Wilfred Peep was willing to kill his own granddaughter to keep the secret, he certainly wouldn't have any qualms about executing Osamu.
All Osamu had to do was make sure he wouldn't get caught.
* * *
Ken was ready to pull out his hair. Daisuke was not acting normally. He was being completely unreasonable, and he didn't know what to do with him. Ken could barely manage to keep him in the barn.
He stood in front of the door.
"Do you have any idea what you do to me?" Daisuke asked. "You could never understand. I am your mate for life."
"Daisuke," Ken said with a sigh, "you don't know what you're saying."
"Oh, you know, do you?" Daisuke asked. "You know everything, don't you Ken? You can answer every question but know nothing. You're pretending to live. You're doing everything but actually living. You're driving me crazy."
"Stop bullying me," Ken commanded. "I don't like it. Now go to bed."
He froze and a sly look Ken had never seen before crossed his face.
"Or what?" he asked. "Will you scream? That's what most people do when they see a wolf. Scream and scream and scream."
For the first time since they had gone through the mirror, Ken was actually afraid of him. There were green lights in his eyes. And something strange about his appearance. Something not human about him.
Ken grabbed the nearest thing he could find -- a pitchfork -- and held it in front of him like a weapon.
Daisuke ripped it from his trembling hands. "What are you going to do? Stick it in me? That's what most people do when there's a wolf about. Stick it, stab it, smoke it out."
He pulled Ken forward, holding him tightly.
"Oh, that's what they did to my parents," he said, his voice was deadly sounding in a soft, morbid whisper. Ken was horrified. "The good people. The nice farmers. They made a great big fire and burned them both."
Ken didn't know what would have happened next if the barn door hadn't banged open and Osamu walked in.
"Hey," his brother said, "you'll never guess what I've just seen."
Daisuke froze and some life grew in his eyes. Ken reached toward him cautiously.
"I know why the Peeps win everything," his brother was saying. But Daisuke thrust Ken backwards, then pushed past Osamu and hurried out of the barn.
Both Ken and his brother stared after Daisuke for a moment.
"Is he feeling better, then?" Osamu asked.
* * *
Daisuke ran until he reached the edge of town. Then he stopped near a fence, breathing hard. He had no idea what he had been about to do to Ken. He just knew it couldn't have been good, from the terrified way in which Ken had been looking at him. He inwardly cursed his stupidity and lack of control.
It took him a moment to gather himself. He looked down. There was a horse trough near the edge of the fence, filled with water. He could see himself in it, himself and the full moon behind.
The evil moon. It made him like this. He didn't even recognize himself anymore.
Then the moon smiled. "Hello, wolf," it said with the Queen's voice.
His mouth fell open and he gripped the wooden rail hard.
"My mirror will still not show me who you travel with," the Queen said. "So I ask you, who are your companions?"
Finally, he got enough control over himself to answer. "I'm not telling you."
"What is their power?" the Queen asked. "Why should they conceal themselves?"
"I'm not telling you anything about him," Daisuke growled, thinking of what harm might come to Ken if the Queen was interested in him.
"Him?" the Queen asked, smiling slightly. "Is there something special about this him? Special to you? What's he like? Is he tasty?"
"You're evil," Daisuke snarled. "Stay away from me."
"Look at the moon and then tell me what you'd really like to do to him. Let your wildness out. Serve me and let the wolf out."
Let the wolf out. He looked up. The full moon was indeed beautiful, alluring, right. Let the wolf out.
He wanted to close his eyes, but couldn't.
Let the wolf out, she had said. So he did.
* * *
The hay scratched at his face. Ken, wanting to sleep some more, brushed it away. He heard footsteps and an odd bleating noise, but he didn't want to think about that at the moment. Just sleep.
Then there was a musty smell and his brother's voice, somewhere near him.
"Well," Osamu asked, "what do you think?"
Ken opened his eyes slowly. There was a sheep's face inches from his. He yelped and pushed it away.
"Hey, hey," Osamu said, "don't scare it, it took me nearly all night to catch it."
Ken sat up and wiped the sleep from his eyes. "Why have you stolen a sheep?" he asked.
"For the competition of course," Osamu answered, as if it were obvious. "The "Beautiful Sheep and Shepherdess Competition"," he rolled his eyes, "how else are we going to get the mirror?"
Ken blinked, his brain still somewhat fuzzy. "What -- wait a minute. How are we going to get the mirror back? The Shepherdess Competition? Wouldn't that involve a shepherdess?"
Osamu shot a sly sideways glance at him. Ken's eyes widened.
He looked at the sheep and back to Osamu. "Me?" he choked. "Oh, no. NO! Do I look like a shepherdess to you?!"
Osamu shrugged. "Look, I'm sure the people that live here do stranger things than crossdress. And you're girlish looking enough to win this competition with a little help."
"Osamu!" Ken groaned. "No!"
"I'm not a shepherdess! I'm a waiter. I don't know anything about sheep!"
"You don't have to," Osamu answered. "That's the beauty of my plan."
Ken examined his brother's catch critically. "Osamu, this sheep stinks," he said. "Its not going to win anything. It looks like it's about to drop dead."
"It won't when its been down the magic wishing well," his brother said. "Now go make your costume while I go and get it dipped."
"Costume?"
His brother pointed to a bunch of material draped over a drying line in the barn. "Who would ever guess it was once curtains? I have faith in your sewing abilities, Ken. Now hurry up and get changed. We only have a few hours at best."
Ken got up, brushed the remaining hay off of himself, and peered at the material. It wasn't at all attractive. And he thought that the blue color of it would probably end up clashing horribly with his hair color. He would have been able to guess it had once been curtains.
He walked over to it and pulled it back -- and leapt backwards in surprise. Daisuke stood there, his eyes glazed with dark circles around them. He had startled Ken.
"Good morning," Daisuke slurred the words together. He really did look terrible.
"H-How are you feeling?" Ken asked in concern. He had been worried about Daisuke all night.
He looked at Ken strangely. Not quite as crazily as the night before, though. But he had cuts and scratches on his hands, and his hair was tangled.
"Not too good," he admitted. "Everything's kinda hazy at the moment."
He stumbled a little, and Ken helped to support him, though he was still somewhat nervous of being overly close to Daisuke because of the previous night.
"I must fight what I am," Daisuke said desperately. "I can't remember what I've done. You'd better tie me up. That way I can't escape."
"What do you mean, tie you up?" Ken asked in confusion.
"Tie me up!" Daisuke shouted at him, making Ken jump back in fear. Daisuke looked guilty at his reaction. "Stop me from escaping. Tie me up now, while you still can," he said more gently.
"All right," Ken nodded. He didn't need to be told twice. It sounded like the best solution for all of them. That way he wouldn't have to worry about what trouble Daisuke was getting into while he was at the competition. He gritted his teeth just thinking about having to wear some dumb curtains up in front of a crowd of people. How humiliating.
He got a rope from the floor of the barn and made Daisuke lean against a thick wooden post next to a water trough. Then Ken tied his hands behind his back.
"Tighter," Daisuke instructed. "If I struggle, I can easily get free."
Ken pulled the ropes tighter, as much as it hurt him to hurt Daisuke.
"Tighter," Daisuke ordered.
Ken pulled again.
Then Daisuke smiled at him. "What's the worst thing you've ever done?"
His tone was colder than usual. Ken swallowed nervously and made another knot in the ropes.
"Tighter or I'll eat you up," Daisuke murmured softly.
Ken shivered at the words. He found himself needing reassurance that everything would be all right in the end, and buried his face in Daisuke's shoulder. The wolf nuzzled him gently.
"I'm sorry, Ken," he whispered. "Good luck with this shepherdess thing; I wish I could see you. You'll look beautiful."
Ken gave a muffled laugh and pulled back slightly so that he could see Daisuke's face. "No I won't. Osamu's out of his mind if he actually thinks that doing this might get us a chance at that mirror. It'll be horrible. I just know I'll make a mess out of everything."
"Have a little faith," Daisuke insisted. He leaned forward and kissed away a tear that had rolled down Ken's cheek. "Maybe this will be a Happily Ever After, after all."
Ken nodded. "I hope so. I really want to go home," he whispered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dragon Lady
: And yet again I have gone another chapter without being able to write the Sheep and Shepherdess Competition.Ken
: *rolls eyes*Dragon Lady
: I meant to write more on this chapter, but I simply couldn't write any more on it, and just had to end it with the cute fluffy bit. ^^;;;Ken
: *sighs* You all know dl and her fluff.Dragon Lady
: ^^;;;;Ken
: But at least it was one chapter that just delayed my inevitable embarrassment. -_-;;Dragon Lady
: Awww…you'll look cute in the dress, Ken-chan. ^^Ken
: Not if it clashes with my hair color I won't.Dragon Lady
: …Uh huh…^^;;;;Ken
: ^^;;;;Dragon Lady
: And my little ending scene was definitely more fluffy than either the movie or the book made it. ^^;;; I just love the sappy stuff. ^_~ But it does look like Ken's beginning to come out of his shell a little, doesn't it? ^_^Ken
: *shakes head with a small sigh at dl's hopeless romantic ness*Dragon Lady
: Anyway, I'll do more soon. The next chapter is definitely about the contest. Yes. No more delaying. ^_^ So now that you know the coming attraction, review and tell me just how much you all want to see this. ^_~Ken
: *rolls eyes* Review please.