Book 3 The Cross War, Chapter 4: A Feast of Princes
Some how in her mind, she always knew. Always knew that Takuya would be the one, always knew she was in love with the goofy brown-haired boy and she'd always knew he was in love with her. It was the hatred between their families and their own pranking on each other that had hidden this undeniable fact from the two until now. The night before had been heartbreaking for her, after nearly being forced away from Takuya after their confession, the carriage ride back to the villa nearly reduced her to tears. She was day dreaming about how she and Takuya could somehow be happy with each and undermine their parents when her mother broke the news to her that a marriage contract had been agreed upon orally between the Prince's cousin and her father during the time of the Prince's little ball. Not wanting to be seen suspicious with her elicit affair with the Capulet prince, tired to look disconcerted about her future life as the wife of Teppei, the prince's cousin.
Her mind did not allow her to sleep that night, trying to find a way to clear her thoughts, she opted for stargazing. She was surprised that once she found her mind travelling to the stars, they were reawakened by the call of her beloved Takuya. He confirmed his resolution to have her, to not let anyone else have her, and she herself felt the fire in herself to have him. She did not want to disgrace her father's name by rejecting Lord Teppei's hand in marriage but she could never deny her passion for her eternal rival. Izumi finally decided that enough was enough and that her father had no say for her happiness. She was going to listen to her heart and deal with the consequences when the time comes.
She had decided. She convinced Takuya to meet her at the Tribunale where she would put her plan in place. It was simple, a secrete marriage that only Takuya, herself and a priest would be witness to. They would then run away together, far away, to Royale or to the Empire, even as far as the 13 Colonies of New Britain if they had to. Of course this little stunt would bring shame to her family name but she could not live with herself if she denied her own happiness. She hoped her father would sooner or later forgive her for her selfishness and that one day they may even see each other again but for now, she would finally have Takuya to herself.
As she thought about it, she was blind for all these years. They had always been with one another, not a day had gone by without Takuya or herself acknowledging one another but often it was to mock each other. She wondered what would have been if their families were not rivals with each other, would they have grown up together as best of friends, would her father had offered her hand to Takuya instead if he asked, would it had been a grand wedding such as the ones her mother had often promised to her when she was little?
Deciding to not further delay her plans for the day, the young blond finally escaped from her warm bed covers and dress for the day. Of course, her plan was to hold a secrete wedding and that meant she could not dress for the occasion and a simple everyday dress and a travelling cloak would have to do. She would have to lie to her mother and make up some excuse about needing to go into town to meet with other ladies of her age. Finally settling upon her violet dress, one that she often used for school and shopping purposes, she decide upon seeing her family one last time before her plan of running away came to pass.
Seeing as it was a bright and sunny day, it was apparent her family would have decided on having breakfast in the gardens. The same gardens not too long ago Takuya had been in and had declared his undying love for her. Izumi giggled to herself, Takuya wasn't known for being the best with words and after witnessing his unsuccessful attempts to court Chiaki, she would have never expect that Takuya could be romantic.
"Izumi! Daydreaming like that is unbecoming for a lady such as yourself!" Her bubble-headedness burst upon hearing her mother's voice.
"Now now dear, I think our little Izumi is just excited about her future husband and was day dreaming of the wonder grandchildren she will soon give us." Replied her father as he tried to calm the older Monatgue women down. Izumi could not look straight at her father, in fear of showing any signs of betrayal or for the guilt that had been placed upon her. "Come, sit and have some breakfast with us dear, it will place you in a good mood for when the valiant Teppei comes to finalize the marriage contract."
"Actually father, I fear that I am not as wise as you are with business dealings and I am sure you will know best to make me happy with my future husband. I had plan to go into town and tell the news to Lady Chiaki while Teppei and yourself go over the details" She lied to her father, surely she this was going to live with her for the rest of her life but Takuya was worth reliving such a horrid moment.
"Oh, my little princess already the gossiper. I see that you will make a fine wife for Lord Teppei. Of course, enjoy your day with Lady Chiaki." Her father replied as Izumi dug into what little food she could stomach. For the rest of the morning was relatively peaceful, idle chit chat about the weather was heard but nothing compared to the next moments of her life. It was when she had just finished her meal when her cousins Junpei and Tomoki raced to the villa on horse back shouting as they appeared down the road. The shouting became even louder as they arrived and at a climax when the two Montague boys ran into the gardens, their pants and boots thick with mud as a result of their frantic riding.
"Roma!" The boys repeated over and over again before Lord Monatgue managed to calm them down. "The Roma army have been spotted not two days walking distance from Venice. The Prince has gotten word that Bologna has already fallen and they will be heading towards Verona and Venice!" The boys finally managed to say.
"How is that possible, Bologna had more than enough Lords with Digimon to defend the city from a Roman invasion." Izumi's father demanded, Izumi too was curious as to how an army without any Digimon were able to overpower those who had more than enough to easily wipe out the Romans.
"It is the genius, Milord! The Golden Lion! He has created weapons capable of defeating Digimon, he himself have been seen in the battlefield. The prince's informants have said he is capable of defeating a hundred Digimon by himself!"
"Do not fear, the Capulet boy has summoned a mega and as much as it pains me to say it, the Capulet will defend this city." Izumi was shocked that her father would admit that Takuya was capable of doing anything but more so as her plan was to run away with Takuya. What would he say now if he knew their city was in trouble? His hot headedness would have him fight in the battle and that would ruin her plan. However, she knew that even if she did want to run away with Takuya, he would still want to do anything in his power to fight. She would have to convince him they should run once the fighting was done, even then there was no telling when her father had intended to give her to Lord Teppei.
Knowing that not much else could be done, she excused herself and prepared herself to go see Takuya. She need his reassurance after all that had gone on this morning.
O O O
Takuya did not know what was going on but there was constant shouting from some place or another as he slowly made his way to the designated meeting spot between himself and Izumi. From what he had gathered, Roma was going to attack Venice in a matter of days. If that were the case, maybe he could convince the Prince to let him have Izumi's hand in marriage over the Prince's cousin after he became the hero and defeat the Roman Army singlehandedly with KaiserGreymon.
It had only been two days since his fateful summon of his mega Digimon, however with all that had transpired, with his whirlwind romance with his eternal rival, he had yet had any time to spend with KaiserGreymon. However, this was not a concern to him, Digimon were simply tools for the nobels to showcase as a status symbol. And if the Romans did indeed make their way to Venice, Takuya had no doubt KaiserGreymon would easily take on the entire army himself. In any outcome Takuya could percieve, he would be the hero and surely the Prince would kneel to Takuya's needs. He did not realize that he was already half way up the stairs leading to the church, he was still too busy day dreaming about his knightly future but he was somewhat curious as to why Izumi had chosen this as the location for their meeting. It would have been much simpler if they met somewhere that was more secluded, such as one of the more remote routes just outside of the city western walls. The church on the other hand, although the inner sanctums were rarely visited by the public, there was still enough monks and priest to catch wind of their affairs. In fact, he was almost sure this was the most awkward place they would have decided upon but Izumi seemed to have a plan.
He made his way to the seats closes to the alter, still pondering as to what Izumi might have been thinking. Although it was near noon, when the sun was at its peak the church was considerably dark. The church was a fairly large in size, when he was a child he would often run up and down the centre of the church, counting about fifty rows of seats. Hundreds of candles lined each side of the church, the fire fluttering as wind from the main doors drifted in. The ceilings, magnificently high with dozens of candle chandeliers lining parallel to the centre walk way. And of course at the every end of the church, where the alter sat, stood a large statue of beautiful women, a goddess. However, this was no ordinary goddess, actually now that Takuya thought about it, this wasn't a goddess at all, it was a statue of His Holy Lord, Yggdrasil. Takuya was never a religious individual, but as a good Venetian he never questioned his religion, only that Lord Yggdrasil was the creator and the end of all things.
Although he never took religious studies all to seriously, he knew that Lord Yggdrasil had many forms the world took to worshipping. He knew that many cities that made up the Republic worshipped Yggdrasil as the earthly mother, however just past the Alps, in Royal, Yggdrasil was simply depicted as an omnipotent being, where the Royal churches would often place a large glass sphere to represent this. The weirdest story he heard about Lord Yggdrasil came from sailers returning their journeys to Ming. In the far east, Yggdrasil was seen as everything and nothingness at the same time, this thought along hurt Takuya's brain. He had heard there was no large churches to worshipping Lord Yggdrasil, only small family shrines in each families home, believing that once an ancestor died, they would become part of infinity of Yggdrasil's being.
However, it was Yggdrasil that was currently causing the Romans to advance from their little city state and try and purify the world of the evil they believed as Yggdrasil. The Romans, in the mind of Takuya were just a bunch of no believers, those who lived on the fringe of the Republic. He laughed a little to himself, the Romans were waging war because of their belief of their own god, whom they believe was more powerful than Lord Yggdrasil, in fact they even had gone as far as denying the existence of their Lord. The Romans were a cruel race of people, they were trying to imprint their God on the world and if those who oppose their religious came along, they were dealt with. The Romans left a path of death on their holy march, Takuya had already heard stories coming from Republic cities near the boarder with the Romans, all of the stories were the same, death was inescapable. It would satisfy him greatly if he were the one to end the Romans reign of terror. Takuya looked forward to meeting this Golden Lion that he heard rumours about. Genius or not, he was no match for a mega Digimon.
"Takuya...Takuya?" He felt a warm hand stork his check, waking him from his daydream. The voice that called him was soft, full of love, it put him at peace. He looked up to find his beloved Izumi, however she was not alone, as there was a simply dressed priest standing behind her.
"Izumi!" He replied as he stood up and took in her scent before embracing her body.
"Ah, young love" Exclaimed the priest, "It is such a shame that your families do not recognize such beauty between two younglings in love."
"Your Holiness, I have come to you with a request!" Exclaimed Izumi as she broke from his embrace and turned to the priest, "Please I beg of you, marry Takuya and I in secret. I can not go another day knowing that I am yet married to my beloved Takuya." Takuya himself was shocked to finally learn the reason as to why Izumi chose the church as their meeting spot. She had planned for them to be married today in secret and knowing Izumi after all these years, she had probably planned for them to run away once the secret ceremony was completed.
"Now, now young one. It shames me such a wonderful day must be celebrated with such secrecy but I can not refuse a request made upon me by fateful citizens of our Lord Yggdrasil. With war to soon loom over us, it would be my great pleasure to marry two lovers before our grand city should be plagued by such evil as the Romans." The priest turned and begged the two to follow, "Come, I shall preform the ceremony in the basement, we can not afford to have witnesses to have eyes on you."
Izumi had grabbed Takuya's arm before he could protest but even though he wanted to, he was too stunned to even talk and the fear of upsetting his love if he were to refuse this plan. The ceremony was a short one, with no witnesses or family, it simple blessing by the priest was all that was needed to officially marry the two once rivals. Again, Takuya was too shocked to move a muscle during the entirety of the ceremony. Once the priest had finally without a doubt declared them as a married couple, Takuya felt as though the floor beneath gave way and crumbled into an endless pit. The priest had left to give the two some privacy, going onto his everyday duties and preyers.
Izumi turned her attention back onto Takuya, her forest green emerald eyes borrowing deep into his chestnut counter parts. Knowing Izumi for most of his life, he knew exactly what she was going to say next.
"Let's run away together! To Royal!" She quickly stated, almost as if she was out of breath.
"Izumi." He said softly, commanding enough so that what he said next would tell her that he was in charge of their relationship, "You know I can't do that. You heard what the streets are saying. Roma is only days away, Venice will need me."
"But what about me? What about us? Please, let's run away. Away from this place! Somewhere where we can be happy, be together..." She begged, taking his collapse hands into her soft face and slowly whispered, "forever."
For the second time that day he was speechless, hundreds of thoughts going through his head trying to find an answer for the crying girl. Not knowing what to do, he was mildly thankful for what happened next.
A large explosion could be heard above them, through the churches large open doors. After, chaos on the streets began to filter into the little basement the two lovers were currently in. Screams and more explosions.
Fun Facts:
Aisles of a church are the side passages, the centre is the nave. So girls, I hope you never dream of walking down the aisle one day.
Izzy was the manager for Taichi's football/soccer club at the time of Digimon Adventures.
