~Later that day~

Chapter 4

~Later that day~

Knock Knock.

"Who's there?" Yamato called, leaning his head against the door.

"Sir, it's Taichi." Yamato nodded and opened the door for the knight.

"Good evening Tai, what seems to be the problem?" Taichi sighed and came into the room.

"Your highness, I have to tell you something." He wrung his hands around his cloth, or whatever he had in his hands.

"First off, call me Matt. Second, what is it?" Taichi sighed deeply and showed Yamato the cloth. Yamato opened the cloth and stared at the design. It seemed like a crest, something of a heart, but it curled in on one of the sides. The reddish pink color reminded Yamato of the dress Sora had worn earlier today. The fabric seemed to be ripped from a larger piece, a uniform maybe.

"And what may I ask is this?" The prince asked, looking at the knight. Taichi sighed again.

"That, Yamato, is the crest of the Takenouchi Kingdom…my home." Yamato thought for a second, and then realized what Taichi was saying.

"You came from Sora's kingdom?" Taichi bowed his head and nodded. Yamato stared at the young knight. "You-you're her love, aren't you?" Again, Taichi nodded. Yamato then smiled. "That's great! Now you two can be together!" Taichi looked up at him, a twisted smile on his face.

"Her father hates me! He's the one that told me that I she had died in the fire…that's why Hikari and I left, we had nothing left for us there." Yamato nodded.

"She thinks you are dead." Taichi's eyes widened.

"She told you about us." Yamato nodded and then thought.

"Come on, we have to find your princess." Taichi shook his head in defense, but Yamato grabbed his wrists and pulled him out the door.

"This is not a good idea Matt." Taichi said trying to pull away from the determined prince, but Yamato was showing strength he hadn't shown before.

"Yes, it is. Sora is too wonderful of a person to be miserable. You are going to be together." Taichi sighed as they reached Sora's room. Yamato rapped lightly on the door.

"Princess…I have something for you." The door slowly opened and there stood Sora. She looked at Yamato questioningly, but then turned to Taichi and gasped.

"Oh…" She whispered, backing up into her room. Taichi smiled weakly and entered the room. "Tai?" She whispered, touching his chest. "I thought you were dead…?" Taichi nodded.

"I was…I was away from you." Sora's eyes shined and the two embraced. Yamato smiled and closed the door behind him.

Now, how to tell the King?

~*~*~

Sora and Taichi went onto the balcony of Sora's room. The sun looked as if it was about to set, the sky melding beautiful reds, yellows, and oranges.

Sora's heart was racing and she couldn't keep her eyes off her love, he was alive!

Taichi stared at the princess, the princess who stole his heart.

"What happened after the fire?" Sora asked him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Taichi sighted and he wrapped his arms around her thin waist through her arms.

"Hikari, Gatomon, Agumon, and I traveled many miles to the closest town…here. I met up with the commander of the army, showed off some of my fantastic skills," He winked and Sora giggled, falling into his chest, and he wrapping his arms around her. "And I joined their army. Then I saved the children of the schoolhouse from a fire…Prince Yamato and Takeru acknowledged my…braveness? And threw me a party." He sighed and the two walked back into her room, sitting on the bed. "Hikari and Takeru seemed to be growing…closer, so Yamato suggested that we stay close to them, to see if something happened." Sora sighed, what a coincidence that he came to the Ishida Kingdom, and that Hikari and Takeru fell in love…did he say Agumon and Gatomon? Sora coughed, and looked Taichi in the eyes.

"You two…you two have Digimon?" Taichi nodded slowly, eyeing Sora carefully.

"Yes…why do you ask?" Sora looked away, towards the ground, thinking.

"It's just…it's a coincidence that you came here. You know, seeing that both of the Ishida princes have Digimon…and Miyako and I have Digimon…I think Miyako's advisor also has a Digimon…" Sora kept mumbling to herself as Taichi looked on. Then he couldn't take it anymore,

"Sora, tell me! What's the big deal about Digimon?" He placed his hand on her shoulder. Sora looked up at him and breathed in deeply.

"You remember how I used to read the old myths and prophecies of our country?" Taichi thought for a moment, and then nodded. "I remember one about the destined children and their Digimon…oh, if I only had the book with me!" She closed her eyes. "Taichi, do you know any more people with Digimon?" Taichi nodded,

"Other then my sister and the princes? Why yes, my good friend Daisuke has a Veemon with him, and Lord Koushirou has a Tentomon. His maid has a Palmon, pretty little thing," Taichi thought for a moment. "Ah, once, when I went to get my arm sown up, for I had been slashed in battle," Sora frowned and touched his arm. "The doctor had a Gomamon helping him, bringing in his equipment." Taichi looked towards the ground. "Oh! And I saw a Wormmon in the flowerbed of the Church, I don't know who it belonged to. There's also Terriermon running around the streets of the town." Sora nodded, and was counting in her head the number of people with Digimon, but then there was a knock at the door, causing the two to jump.

"Your majesty," Sora heard one of the castles many servants call. "It's time for dinner." Sora turned to Taichi,

"When I leave you can sneak out, I'm sorry we couldn't talk for long." She kissed him gently on the lips. Taichi smiled and kissed her again.

"I've missed you." He whispered, wrapping his arms around her waist. She nodded and placed her arms around his neck.

"And I you." And they kissed, not wanting to ever part.

~At Dinner~

"Now, how are our love birds doing?" The King asked the princes and princesses. They all kept their eyes locked on their food. They each were living a lie, and they had no idea how to break it to their parents.

Takeru looked up at his brother. He had told Yamato about Mimi being sick, and that had troubled his brother deeply. You could see by the look on his face that he had something heavy lying on his mind. The Queen also noticed this.

"Yamato darling, what's the matter?" Yamato looked up at Takeru, then at his mother.

"Just. Tired, I guess. Nothing to worry about." His mother didn't buy it.

"Now Matt, I know that look, what's wrong?" Yamato sighed and ignored his mother, taking a sip of his drink. The King noticed his son's reaction and exclaimed,

"You will answer your mother." He said viciously. Yamato closed his eyes and then looked at his mother.

"Really, I'm fine." He mumbled. The Queen looked away, but the King kept his eyes locked on his son. Yamato felt this, but he didn't let it bother him; he kept eating.

The dinner was interrupted when the doors flew open. They all looked up and saw Lord Koushirou and the town doctor, Jyou Kido.

"Your majesty," Koushirou exclaimed, running towards Yamato. "You need to come to my manor right away." Yamato's eyes widened, realizing that the situation had something to do with Mimi. Yamato pushed himself away from the table, knocking the chair over in the process.

"Let's go," He said, picking up the chair. The King stood up roughly.

"Where do you think you're going in the middle of dinner??" Yamato closed his eyes and clenched his fists.

"To the manor, where does it look like I'm going?!" Yamato screamed. Takeru gasped softly. Yamato had finally snapped at his father. Takeru turned to the King, only to see that he was red in the face.

"Don't you ever raise your voice to me again!" He shouted. "Give me one good reason why I should allow you to leave this dining room!" Yamato crossed his arms and walked backwards towards the door.

"Because I'm going to visit my sick wife!" And with that, he left. Everyone was shocked, the King still in the same position he was in a minute ago.

"Did he say wife?" The Queen whispered, her hand now covering her mouth. Koushirou and Dr. Kido shared a look, and the two raced out of the door after the angry prince.

Sora looked across the table at Takeru. The young prince was literally in shock; Yamato had released his secret! It wouldn't be long until they figured out his relationship with Hikari….

"He said wife." The King mumbled, plopping down on his sit. He looked over at Takeru. "Did you know about this?" Takeru snapped back to reality and turned to his father. He just stared at him, not knowing what to say. The King grew angry. "Did you know?!" He screamed, causing Miyako and the Queen to cover their ears.

Now it was Takeru's turn to be angry. He nodded, and snorted.

"Of course I knew! And do you want to know how I found out?" He said, standing up and throwing his napkin on the table. The King watched him fiercely. "I found out from the priest. What was I doing visiting the priest?" He asked, tapping his foot and he pushing his chair in roughly. "I WAS GETTING MARRIED!" He yelled hysterically, storming out of the room.

The two princesses looked at each other, then at the King and Queen. The two were shocked, not knowing what to say. The Queen started to cry, and the King looked down at her, confused.

"Why the hell are you crying?" He asked. The Queen sniffled and looked up at her husband.

"I missed my babies' weddings!" She cried, sobbing into her hands. The King sighed and shook his head.

~*~*~


Takeru raced out of the castle, trying to catch up with his brother. Out of the gates, past the guards ("Your highness?!" "Sorry!!! I'll explain later!!"), and into the vast fields of their castle.

Down the hills towards Koushirou's manor Takeru ran at top speed, but he still didn't see his brother. Did he run that fast? Takeru finally reached the gates of Koushirou's manor and pushed them open, for they where unlocked.

He noticed that the door to Koushirou's house was wide open, but what caught his attention was the fact that Hikari was leaning on the wall beside the door.

Takeru slowed down and stopped in front of Hikari. Out of breath, he sank to the ground and looked up at her.

"Hello." He gasped, trying to catch his breath. Hikari smiled and bent down also.

"Hello yourself." She laughed, patting her husband on his back. "You're the second blonde prince that's run by here in the past ten minutes, what, is there a fire?" Takeru laughed softly, sitting on the ground with his arms supporting him.

"I broke my promise." He whispered, looking up at Hikari. She seemed confused, as if she didn't know what he was talking about. "I told my parents." Hikari's eyes widened and she too fell to the ground.

"You what?! Takeru! How could you??" Takeru shrugged and looked away.

"It was a spur of the moment kind of thing. I was so angry, I don't know what came over me." He looked back at Hikari, who had a concerned look on her face.

"What do you think he's going to do?" She asked, as she leaned against the house. Takeru shrugged.

"He's really angry, he could do anything." Then he heard Yamato scream inside the house. It wasn't a frightened scream; it was something of joy. Takeru shot up and tried to go inside, but Hikari pulled on his sleeve.

"Leave him be. I know what it's about." Takeru looked down at her, trying to figure out the secret. Hikari just smiled and looked away. "It's a girl thing, I'll tell you that right now." Takeru sighed, if it was a girl thing, he was never going to get it.

Takeru slid down and sat next to Hikari, leaning his head on her shoulder.

"It'll all be over soon." He whispered. Hikari nodded, stroking his blonde hair.

"Hopefully."

~*~*~

"I cannot believe this! Our own sons betrayed our country!" The King screamed. He threw one of his heavy books across the room, causing his wife to jump in fright.

"Please dear, we'll just have to take this into our own hands. The other Kings will understand our situation, they both have daughters and know how rebellious young ones can be!" The King didn't buy it.

"That's not the point!" He huffed and sat on his desk. "The point is that they betrayed me. They went behind our backs and got-got married! Yamato was probably the brains behind this operation! He probably convinced poor Takeru to marry-" He stopped and thought. "Who did they marry?" He turned to his Queen. She thought for a moment.

"I have no idea." Then she started to weep. "Oh! I don't even know my own daughters-in-law!" She wiped away her tears when she realized that the King was not happy.

"Probably some pretty peasant girls. They probably don't even know how to say their own names, let alone spell them!" The King grew angry. "We'll have to dispose of these wives if we want our peace arrangements to fall through." The Queen gasped and covered her mouth.

"Are you implying that we kill two innocent girls?" She whispered, not believing it. The King turned away and walked towards the door. He stopped and placed one hand upon the frame.

"Darling, I'm not implying…I'm demanding." And he stormed out, leaving the Queen to think of what her husband has become.

Unknown to the royalty, the royal pets, Gabumon and Patamon were hidden under the desk, listening in on every word. They sat shocked at the King's words.

"He-he's going to kill them!" Patamon whispered. Gabumon nodded, rubbing his chin.

"We have to get to the princes and tell them before it's too late!" He hissed, crawling out from under the desk, and past the Queen. Patamon followed his friend and the two made it out of the room unseen.

The two Digimon scurried down the corridors of the castle, trying to find the nearest exit. They came upon a window, and Patamon got an idea.

"I'll fly out! You keep the King busy while I warn the boys!" Gabumon nodded and helped lift Patamon up on the window's sill.

"You have to hurry, lives and hearts are at stake!" Patamon nodded and shot out the window, flapping furiously to keep himself afloat and to gain speed towards the manor.