"Beware the Eastern Sun"
Chapter 5
"And to the brave knights who quickly kneeled and pledged their
loyalty, great honor was given, but to those that hesitated and
remained aloof, they were never heard of again."
-The Rise and Decline of the Felwar Empire
The night wore on without incident.
Platter after platter of meats, vegetables, fruits, pastries, and breads came,
accompanied by drinks of all sorts. They saw the familiar faces of some of the
digimon they had met before: Leomon, silent and brooding at one end of the
table; in the opposite end of the room, Ogremon sat, doing his best to ignore
all those around him; Elecmon was torn between eating and amiably chatting with
his neighbors; and Fridgimon was recalling another of his lengthy stories. It
was a rather lavish festivity, much like the medieval kings of late, yet with a
twist of flavor that seemed almost...Matt-esque, to put a word to it.
Matt rose at from his position at the
head of a giant dais. "I'd like to call a toast." He raised his glass
high in the air. "A toast to the glory of battles past and battles yet to
come."
Murmurs of assent filed the room as
the assembled peoples raised their glasses and drunk heartily. There were a few
drunken shouts and the riotous laughing of a group of hardened soldiers
clustered around the remains of some giant pheasant. Sora, Mimi, T.K., and Kari
sat at the foot of the dais and looked at each other uncertainly, but still
raised their glasses in homage.
The feast dragged on late into the night, with all sorts of
entertainers from jesters to jugglers to fire-eaters. Mimi, being the
opportunist she was, did not refrain from enjoying herself as much as she
could. She was currently the center of a conversation with some strange people
about some equally strange "heroic" battle. Despite the
unwholesomeness of the crowd assembled around her, she was blushing with
delight and giggling. T.K. and Kari had almost drank some of the wine before
Sora was able to replace their goblets with some mild fruit juice. They
remained restless, looking this way and that way, and engaging in animated
conversations. By the late evening, however, they fell asleep on a bench
against the stone wall, leaning against each others' shoulders.
More than once Sora had felt the
feeling of doubt rise in her, and more than once she had swallowed it down.
That still did not prevent it from nipping at the edge of her consciousness,
however. She would be eating, laughing at an occasional joke, and completely at
ease, when her eyes would fall upon Matt. Somehow, the look on his face, the
smiling, openly amiable physiognomy, was disquieting. It sent chills up her
spine and would unsettle her so much that she began to avoid looking at him.
Eventually, she would come to staring at her plate and eating silently before
Mimi, T.K., or Kari would pull her back into sociality.
Matt looked upon his people and
smiled. There they were, down the long wooden table, feasting upon meat and
mead. There they were clustered close to the fires, throwing dice, darts, or
other paraphernalia. There they were, in a drunken stupor, face in their plates
or asleep on the floor. There they were grabbing at the passing serving women,
or anything that ventured nearby. There they were, in all their colloquial
glory. This was his empire. This was his conquest. This was the dawning of a
new age.
The sun rose in the East that next
morning, disturbing the peace of the pre-dawn world. Its rays reached out like
tendrils to grasp the earth, leaking into every shadow, shining upon all life.
The sky changed from a peaceful blue to a fiery red, the red of blood, of
battle, of danger. Soon the sun dominated the eastern sky, and nothing was out
of its reach. Even the cosmos were bathed in the brilliant heat of its deadly
rays. In the underbrush, a rabbit scurried for the cover of shade, staying
close to the cool, cool earth. The sun continued its rise, unheedingly.
At the castle, the day began, much to
the confusion of the city-folk, with the crowing of the rooster. At daybreak,
markets were already set up, people were about, farmers were in the field, and
the rigors of medieval life were on their way. Mimi, Sora, T.K., and Kari awoke
in large bedchambers, attended by servants for their every need. Just as they
had changed their clothes after a relaxing bath, Matt entered their quarters,
accompanied by two guards, who remained silently by the doorway. He was dressed
plainly in royal purple, with dashes of red. Expensive silks and other
adornments were visible as were the sturdy leather shoes he wore. Mimi could
not help but smile and comment about his decidedly good taste.
"Do you like it?" he asked,
obviously pleased. "You know I could have a dress made for you...if you
wish it. Just one word all the silks from here to Syrea will be yours." He
made a sweeping gesture with his hands as his voice trailed off enticingly.
Mimi merely giggled, and turned away,
her cheeks a deep red. Matt turned to the others. "I trust that you have
had a restful night?" The others nodded in agreement. "Good! I have
some business to take care of right now, but I'll be back and we can talk
and...do whatever you feel up to later on. There's an archery field, the
stables are always open, or you can come hunting. Your choice." With a
final wave and a smile, he left the room followed by his two guards.
As soon as he left, Kari, T.K., and
Sora glanced at each other and knew what they were thinking. Mimi was still
giggling to herself. Sora began the conversation. "Have any of you noticed
something, well, different about Matt?"
"Yeah!" T.K. spoke up.
"He's acting all grown up all of the sudden."
Kari fidgeted. "Well, I sure
haven't seen him like this before."
"Mimi?" Sora looked over at
the blushing girl.
"Oh, sorry!" she said, smiling
and covering her reddened cheeks. "It's just that..." She began
giggling again. "Well, how do I say this?" She controlled herself and
took a deep breath. "I would have to say that he was very
charming." She began giggling again.
Kari looked at Sora. "Is that
going to happen to me when I grow up?"
"We can only hope for the
best," Sora replied, shaking her head.
Palmon looked confusedly at Mimi,
still giggling, and back at the group, and just shrugged. Biyomon looked at
Sora with concern. "You know, I've been watching Gabumon, and he looks
about half himself. He smiled and all when we talked to him, but he looked
pretty worn out."
Sora bit her lip. "I don't know
what to make out of all of this."
Mimi, who had finally calmed herself,
approached the other three. "Well, one things for sure, and that's that
the person who just walked in here was not Matt."
T.K. spoke, "Matt's a nice guy.
He does cool stuff for me all the time. He's just a little nicer than usual,
that's all." He clutched Patomon close to his chest.
"I guess you're right," Sora
said, unsure of herself. "Looks like there's nothing we can do but go
along with this."
[The day went on as
usual. We visited the stables, watched Matt shoot some arrows, and T.K. even
asked if he could go hunting with Matt. Matt leaned down at T.K. and gave him
that familiar tone of his as he told T.K. that it was too dangerous. He would've
put up further protest had Matt not said that maybe T.K. could later if he was
really good. I didn't really approve, but he's not my brother, I suppose.
Anyhow, I digress...]
[Things took a
twisted turn in the evening]
A messenger ran up to Matt and whispered
into his ears. A contorted look of rage came upon his face before he was able
to cover it with the façade of a nonchalant expression. He spoke a few brief
words to the messenger, who bowed and ran off into the dusk. Matt turned to
address the group. "There's been a slight change of plans. Return to your
chambers and take a few moments to rest. I'll be needing you in the Great Hall
at 8:00. My guards will come to escort you." And then he was off at a
brisk pace, with his entourage following closely behind.
They found their way to their rooms,
but spent their remaining hour in silent thought. T.K. passed the time talking
excitedly with Patomon and playing with him, and Mimi indulged herself shifting
through the numerous dresses that had suddenly populated her closet. Kari sat
on her bed and talked to Gatomon in quiet tones, and Sora just sat in a chair
and stared at the floor.
The time rolled on, and eventually, an
escort of guards arrived at their doors. They marched in silence to the Great
Hall, already a black void in the infinite skies of the night. Dim torches lit
the way to the Hall. The world around them seemed to hold its breath for the
passage of the pensive quartet. Perched in a leafless white tree, watching with
its small, yellow, beady eyes, was a raven. In a flurry of movement, it took to
the air and flew towards the Hall.
When they entered the Hall, the giant
tables had been cleared and in their stead stood a retinue of Matt's followers.
Matt himself stood solidly on the dais, looking down upon the peoples assembled
before him. His look was distant, as if his thoughts drifted afar, but his
presence was certainly known. On his side stood Gabumon, who looked his amiable
self. Matt reached down a hand and scratched his fur behind his ears, causing
Gabumon to smile with pleasure. The digimon kept his silence, however,
expressing himself by action instead of word.
The four were led to a position at the
head of the crowd, and the captain bowed as he and the guards left to take
their normal posts around the room. A murmuring was present in the room as its
occupants exchanged brief words of concern and question. But soon, Matt raised
both of his hands, signaling for a silence. When he was sure he had the
attention of everyone in the room, he began.
"I know it is late, and I hate to
call you from your festivities, but a message has been relayed to me of the
utmost importance." He paused to let the words soak in.
"At 6:45 this evening, I received
word that Akaramon, the evil digimon, is still alive."
Murmurs of disbelief traveled through
the crowd as neighbor looked upon neighbor and back at Matt. The four could do
nothing but listen. Matt raised his hands again and the room hushed. "I
know it is hard to believe, but I have also been informed that Akaramon holds
an empire in the Far East which is growing as we speak. The sources are
reliable. There has been no mistake.
"And now I must ask of you what
no man or digimon would like to ask of another. I must ask you to join me again
in battle against the evil Akaramon.
"Yes, we have just enjoyed the
fruits of victory, but now is not the time for complacency, for every moment we
wait, every second of indecision, some digimon out there is suffering, and it
is our duty to return peace to the land, to free all digimon from the hands of
oppression. So I ask you all now to renew your oaths of fealty to me so that we
can go united, and attack the enemy with all the strength of the digital
world."
There was a brief pause before Leomon
stepped forward and raised his hand. "I will join you. By my honor and
word, I swear my loyalty to you, Matt, to battle by your side as long as it
shall be necessary."
After Leomon, others began to step
forwards and swear their oaths. In a few moments, all assembled had sword
allegiance to Matt. All except T.K., Kari, Sora, and Mimi. Matt turned to them.
"And now I ask you, my long-time friends and companions, to swear an oath
of loyalty to me." He reached out his hand towards them and smiled.
The were stunned and could not move,
and could only glance at each other nervously. T.K., however, stepped forward
bravely and eagerly and said, "I'll follow you Matt. Always. I
swear."
Matt's smile broadened as T.K. ran to
his side. He waited expectantly for the others, but got no response. Finally,
Sora spoke up softly, "Matt, we're your friends, not your subjects."
Matt's face darkened imperceptibly.
His jaw tightened. "Is this your final decision, then?" He did not
wait for a response. "Then I have no choice. If you are not with me,
you're against me. Captain, take these three away. I place you under house
arrest."
Kari, Sora, and Mimi stared open
mouthed as guards surrounded them and prodded them away. Kari passed a final
glance at T.K. and his eyes met hers. For a moment, she almost saw something in
those eyes. But in a moment, it was gone, hidden beneath the jovial face of the
little T.K.