Sora yawned and stretched, rising from her place on the
ground. She had been lounging under the strong branches of a spreading peach
tree, and now had the urge to mingle with the hundred or so other princesses
there. She felt awkward, being the only baroness and one of few girls from Japan.
The princesses hailed from kingdoms all over the world, in places that she
didn't even know existed. There were a few girls from a continent they claimed
was across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
What foolery, Sora thought as she brushed the skirt of the
peacock-blue silk dress she wore. All the girls were clad in dresses of similar
fashion, but all of theirs were of lighter hues.
"Sora! Oh Sora, come
quickly!" one of the princesses cried. The redheaded girl darted over to her
friends, all of them with grim expressions on their faces.
"What's going on?" she
questioned, her eyebrows arched on her pale forehead.
"Blimey, the bloke caught
another knight!" a princess from England exclaimed.
"Oui, it's incredible!" Catherine, princess of France,
cried.
A/N: Yes, as you can see, the girls from around the world have appearances too.
"He barely got two steps
inside the door before it happened," Anna, one of the Russian tsarinas sighed.
"All the girls are ogling
at him now. I hear he's rather fetching," the sultana of India, Mina, added.
"Well, let us go see,"
Sora murmured, picking up her skirts.
"Wait! Don't leave me
behind! I'm always left behind!" Rosa, princess of Spain, cried as she chased
after the elder girls.
M/N: We're taking creative liberty to that little
ankle-biter from Mexico.
The flock of maidens
processed towards the door that would lead them to their captor's front hall.
The castle they were imprisoned in was immense, ancient,
and crumbling. Places where walls once stood were mere heaps of rubble.
Tapestries and carpets were faded and worn to bare patches if rats hadn't
gnawed on their tasseled edges. In the front sprawled a great pond, putrid
green with algae and no way of crossing except hopping great spans between
fallen pillars like frogs from lily pads. The girls were certain that stretch
of water was infested with alligators or some other vicious reptile. Behind the
castle were gardens and orchards kept in immaculate shape by some unseen force.
The ninety-nine princesses and one baroness were allowed to come and go on the
grounds as they pleased so long as they returned to the front hall by sunset.
Otherwise, they would befall a fate worse than any. For the sorcerer had
enchanted the lot of them, and placed powerful charms around his fortress to
ensnare any who tried to rescue the maidens.
"It's the same story every time," Tsarina Sonja moaned,
gesturing with her hands. "Some poor, pathetic hero comes to rescue one of us
and has the lack of wits to go right through the front door. After no more than
a few steps, poof! He's a stiff statue, and verily, I know not what happens to
him afterwards but he's never here by morn. We break our fasts and by then a
new playmate for his Eminence, the wizard we never see, has arrived."
The other girls nodded.
How often they had watched a gallant young knight march boldly into the
garrison to slay his foe and find himself, if he was most lucky, a statue.
Others were transformed into newts and lizards and slimy creatures to be
pickled in brine and used in potions. Or if fortune dealt them the worst of
cards, they would be changed into servants of the mage, creatures
unrecognizable even to themselves, and all their humanity was lost.
The flock of royalty hastened through a small side door
into the front hall, once used by servants, now common for the princesses to
enter and exit through, since the front door was only accessible by crossing
through a veritable minefield of sorcery. The chamber was always dusky-dark,
wrought iron candelabras forming twin lines down the middle, where a moth-eaten
runner of faded velvet lay across marble tile. A bright, bubbly mass of
princesses were circled around their latest gossip, chattering like a flock of
parakeets about who he might be and, more importantly, who he was sent to
rescue.
"He doesn't seem to be of
any nobility," stated one damsel.
"But he's wearing a
knight's livery," another pointed out.
"Hmm, seems rather fair.
European, I'd wager."
"Ah, but the shape of his
eyes suggests something Oriental."
Sora couldn't help but
feel a twinge of jealousy tugging on her heartstrings. The others were always
telling stories of how gallantly their heroes fought against their captor, even
if it was in vain.
No one will send help
for a worthless little baroness from such a tiny place like Tokyo Kingdom.
Heroes don't waste their sweat on someone like me.
The princesses scowled at Sora with disdain, parting into
two neat rows like the Red Sea. Silence fell upon the room with a heavy shroud,
the only noise coming from Sora's footsteps padding on the carpet. The young
man had only been changed into a statue, the mildest form of "punishment."
Early light streamed through dusty, broken windows, casting a pale halo around
his alabaster form. He bore not an expression of shock, or anguish, but one of
mild surprise. He seemed rather calm, unlike the others, who had always worn a
face of torture. One hand rested lightly on the hilt of his sword, his face
upturned towards the grand staircase leading to the wizard's sanctum sanctorum.
"Do you know him, Sora?"
"Have you seen him
before?" the friendlier lot of princesses questioned at Sora's wondering gaze.
Two steps more and she was eye-to-eye with the young man, still and silent and
cold as death.
Her breath stopped completely. Sora felt her lungs
tighten, and for a few shaky heartbeats she couldn't breathe. Tears welled in
her eyes, suddenly spilling down her cheeks in a gushing torrent. She threw her
arms around his neck, the others staring at her with confusion and, in some
cases, disgust.
"No! No! Why did you have
to come? You stupid, stupid boy! He'll kill you! He'll kill you!" she howled,
falling to her knees and convulsing with sobs.
"Sora, mon ami, why do
you weep so?" Catherine murmured, kneeling beside her friend.
"Yamato…Yamato…" she
whimpered pathetically, unable to express her anguish.
"Blimey, the chap belongs
to her!" Maryanne of England gasped.
Diana of Athens clucked
her tongue and lit a stout candle, placing it beside the young man, a ritual
she had performed for every man who passed through the double doors, many never
to be seen again.
Suddenly there was a rush of wind and an ominous crackle
of thunder, the day sky darkening as thick clouds rolled in, black as pitch and
unnaturally formed.
"Ah, another rat has
fallen for the bait, has it, my dear little field mice?" a voice mocked. The
princesses shrieked in terror, clustering together and clinging to each other.
The sorcerer, short in stature but by no means weak, glared at them with hatred
smoldering in his emerald eyes. He stormed down the stairs, past the trembling
maidens, and stood before the Princess's Champion.
"You weep for him, little
imposter?" he questioned. Sora stared up at him in bemusement, unable to speak.
"Oh, I know all about your little charade. You're just a baroness, the princess
I wanted for my collection slipped through my fingers. But I believe I know a
suitable castigation for your little…oversight. I think I should just
leave him as he is, to join my statuary. And you shall be forced to live
with the knowledge that it was your audacity that made him so."
And with those words the
sorcerer vanished off into the depths of the castle, where no woman dared set
foot.
~*~
Sora sat at the feet of the statue for the rest of the
day, not eating and completely ignoring the contemptuous looks some of the
princesses gave her as they traversed through the halls. She rested her head
against the cool stone, sighing.
"Yamato. You probably
cannot hear me, although I'm told stones can hear, which I greatly doubt. If
you can hear me, I'm sorry. By my fault you are made to suffer this way;
I thought it was a worthwhile idea at the time to save the princess, but I was
wrong. I never even got to tell you…to tell you I…I…"
"Sora?"
Rosa's heavily accented,
high-pitched little voice rang out in the empty, silent hallway. The little
Spanish girl trudged over to her friend's side, stumbling over the skirt she
had gathered in her small hands.
"Sí, Rosa?" Sora replied
in Japanese-accented Spanish.
"I was wondering if you
could tell me, that is if it does not make you mucho sad, what the story is
behind Señor Statue?"
Sora smiled wistfully, drawing her knees to her chest and
brushing a finger along the dusty ground. "I suppose I could tell you."
The little girl kneeled
on her knees, hands in her lap, an attentive expression on her face.
"Well, it started with a
cotillion I was at. It was being held for the princess of my kingdom,
Tokyo…that's in Japan."
Not long after beginning
her story, a few other princesses joined them. Rosa moved aside for Catherine,
Mina, Anna, Sonja, Maryanne, Diana, and several others who were mildly pleasant
to Sora. The young baroness recounted the events of the cotillion, telling with
gestures and although she spoke in her native tongue, their captor had
ensorcelled them so that they all understood each other's languages. The girls
looked up longingly at the statue, sighing loudly.
"How wonderful. Imagine,
some squire you don't even know asks you to dance and you end up falling hopelessly
in love with him!" Diana cooed.
"Ah, l'amor. C'est si
bon!" Catherine added.
A/N: I apologize for terrible linguistics. I speak only broken Latin and even more broken Japanese.
~*~
As twilight streaked the sky with brilliant color, and
the princesses who didn't hear Sora's tale directly finished hearing it from
another girl, a cold fog rolled low along the grass. It twined around the bare
ankles of the hundred maidens, like a cat does. Their eyes glazed over in a
trancelike state, and each picked up a lit candle that seemed to materialize on
the ground. In a solemn procession the young women marched into the front
foyer, standing in perfect rows marked off by the iron candelabras. Their
candles flickered in a strong gust of wind, but did not gutter.
~*~
Yamato blinked owlishly, trying to remember what had
happened to him. His joints were stiff, and moving them shot pain through his
body. After a few moments of regaining feeling in all his appendages, the young
knight examined his surroundings. The dusky-dark of twilight could not
penetrate the musty room, for over a hundred candles flickered brightly in
neat, almost churchlike, rows. Every candle glowed with a pearly effervescence
against the vessels that held them.
"W-where pray tell am I?"
he murmured, finding his voice. His own syllables bounced off the wall and
echoed quietly in the room.
Burdened by the lack of memory, and the pain of being
immobile from sunrise to sunset, Yamato walked up and down the aisle in the
center of the hall. It took him a few moments to realize that the candles
brightening this cold and otherwise hostile chamber were held not only by those
wrought-iron candelabras, but one hundred alabaster statues of maidens. Wild
fantasy gripped his heart with a clutch of ice, and in fear and slight madness,
the Princess's Champion ran up and down the rows of effigies, causing the
candle-flames to sputter. Finally Yamato halted before a figure that bore the
same solemn expression the others wore. Shoulder-length hair rested on delicate
shoulders. Small hands cupped around the candle, almost in prayer. Eyes blank
and cold, portraying no sign of emotion.
"Bright Heavens," Yamato
gasped, touching the cold lips of the pale woman motionless before him,
brushing two fingers on lips, brow, cheek. "Sora, my Sora. A month and a day I
searched, hope never wavering from my heart, and now I find you and cannot free
you. What cruel fate is this?"
Turning away, Yamato put a hand in his pocket. From the
depths of that little stitched pouch emerged a ruby cut smooth, hanging on a
silver pendant, a rune carved bright on its surface. The gem sparkled in the
candlelight, as did the light in Yamato's eyes. He now drew his own talisman
out from under his tunic, rubbing it with a thumb.
I pray Aurelia was
right about these.
He grazed his lips over
hers, sliding the amulet around her neck. "Though I haven't known you long, I
can't get you out of my heart. I love you, Sora Takenouchi, with all of my
soul."
Finding a small altar tucked into an alcove, Yamato
crossed the room, fell to his knees and began to pray reverently. Though unsure
of his religion, he recited every prayer he knew of, hoping that any god
would listen to his entreaty. For the rest of the long, cold night, the only
sound in the grand hallway other than the gnawing sound of obese rodents was
the whispers of a young man in holy meditation.
~*~
Sora and the other girls regained their human forms at
dawn's first gleam of light. Yawning, the redheaded girl looked towards the
front door, where her knight had stood twelve or so hours ago. He was not
there. Her slender body was shuddering with dry sobs, her breath coming in
hysterical gasps.
"Sora, hullo, he's over
here!" Maryanne exclaimed, pointing at the little altar.
Sure enough, a form was
kneeling in front of the little cross propped up on the low wooden table
holding several statues of varying deities, his head bowed in prayer.
Sora wove around the
milling princesses and dropped to his side.
"How is this possible?
Yamato…how?" she mumbled.
Maybe he's under a
similar spell.
Sora nodded, agreeing
with the small voice that had chided her in the back of her mind. She knew
little of the details regarding her own enchantment, merely that once that cold
fog touched them the girls would go into a trance and not revive until morning.
If I can avoid that
fog, then maybe…
She began thinking, working her plan out, sketching and
writing notes in the dust, only to erase them moments later. Even though she
could rely on and trust some of the others, if she was to save Yamato and
herself, Sora would have to do this on her own. By midday, she was certain of
her plot, and was now having second thoughts about initiating it.
"Come now, Sora. You
cannot back down, you're a strong, intuitive baroness and this isn't something
that has you cowering in the wardrobe like a child!" she scolded herself.
"What isn't something
that has you cowering in the wardrobe?" Mina asked.
"N-nothing! Just a little
piece of nothing!" Sora fibbed, blushing.
~*~
Day gave way to sunset and the hazy blue of twilight.
That sick, bitter fog started rolling in along the ground, snaking along the
ankles of unwary princesses. Sora bit back a yelp and hurried towards the
nearest tree. She had been taught to climb as a child, by an older cousin, and
could climb even practically limbless trees. She scraped her feet and hands,
tore her gown, and got pine pitch ground thoroughly into her hair, but Sora was
certain she had escaped that deadly mist. She watched the other girls process
with their candles to the hall, where their bodies would be imprisoned in
alabaster for the evening. Why the sorcerer did this, no one really knew. Some
say it was to gain power for himself by draining it from the girls, others say
he was a deranged interior decorator. Whatever the reason, Sora cared not, and
concerned herself with getting out of the boughs in one piece and finding
Yamato.
Climbing down was always harder than climbing up, and
when there was the uncertain chance minions of the night were roaming free,
things were a little more tense. Sora's thin silk dress snagged a few times,
leaving her precariously hanging for a moment or two while she freed herself.
Breathing a sigh of relief when her feet finally touched solid ground, the girl
glanced around once more to reassure herself that she was alone, and hurried
inside to find her love.
~*~
Yamato could hardly move tonight. Weak with hunger,
drained of all strength, he sat cross-legged on the cold floor, his head in his
hands.
I feel like I'm going
to die, he thought, taking one
shallow breath after another. If he died here and now, he would have failed in
his quest and let the princess and his kingdom down. He had to get up.
There was no question in his mind about it.
"Yamato?"
His head jerked up
suddenly, waves of nausea sloshing over him. Wild-eyed with fever, sweat
dripping down his pale, thin face, the young man stared in shock at the figure
moving closer, a candle in her hands.
Sora fell to her knees, a
hand resting on her mouth in surprise.
"Yamato, what has he done
to you?" she whispered, putting her light on the ground and throwing her
slender arms around him.
Although he was never one
to show his feelings, Yamato couldn't help but burst into tears at the sight of
her.
"Sora…"
"It's all my fault,
Yamato! It's my fault you have to suffer like this, it's my fault you're here!"
she sobbed, resting her head on his shoulder.
The blonde young man
sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Sora, 'tis no one's fault. You'd
never have known things would turn out as they did. I'm just thankful I found
you."
Sora looked up and him
and smiled, tears still rolling down her cheeks. "You were knighted?"
Yamato nodded. "But I
confess…I'm no squire. I never was. I lied to you, Sora, and I'm ever so sorry
I did. Before Aurelia charged me in her service I was my father's apprentice, a
blacksmith's son."
"You're Takeru's brother,
aren't you?"
"Aye. Please forgive me
for lying to you, Sora. I didn't think it would go as far as it did."
Sora kissed his cheek,
wet with his own tears. "Of course I forgive you. Yamato…"
"Sora, I…"
"I love you!" they
blurted at the same time. Both looked up at each other, blushing furiously.
It was then Sora realized there was a small weight around
her neck. She lifted the amulet up so she could see it, then stared in wonder
at the young man beside her.
"Where did you get this?"
"One of Aurelia's many
bestowments. I gave it to you last night, but you mustn't have heard me because
it didn't work."
"What do you mean?"
Yamato rose shakily to
his feet, offering her a hand. "Well, she said they would protect us from
anything, but only if given as a sign of love. I confessed my love to you last
night, but you were like the rest of them…" he motioned towards the stone
princesses. "But maybe I can prove once more how much I love you."
And with those words
Yamato took Sora into his arms and gently kissed her.
"Stop! You filthy little cur! Get away from her or I'll
make you regret ever being born a man!" a voice cried. The sorcerer (whom we
all know is Wizardmon) rushed down the stairs, glaring cold fire at Yamato.
"Who do you think you are, anyways?"
Yamato straightened,
shoving Sora behind him protectively and unsheathing his sword.
"I believe I'm Sir Yamato
Ishida of Odaiba, Champion of Crown Princess Aurelia of Tokyo Kingdom."
"Well, you may have a
fancy title, Sir Knight, but titles are no match for my magic!"
Lightning shot from his
fingertips and raced eagerly towards Yamato.
"Look out!" Sora
shrieked, covering her hands with her eyes.
~*~
Magic hung heavy in the room. The evil mage stared in
horror at the sight before him. A phoenix and a wolf stood in front of the
knight and his lady, discontent in their eyes.
A/N: Yes, it's Garurumon and Birdramon! They don't call this a Digimon fanfic for nothing.
"We are the Guardians of
Love and Friendship, sworn to protect," the creatures said in unison. "You have
upset the balance of light and darkness in the world, and it is our duty to
restore it."
"Bah! No creature can
destroy me! You're wasting your time."
M/N: Why does this sound very Myotismon to me?
The sorcerer glanced
above him, sending a bolt of power at a chandelier. It bounced off the
chandelier, ricocheted off a mirror, and struck Yamato with a blinding force.
He howled in agony and fell, Sora screaming.
The wolf and phoenix rushed towards the wizard, tearing
him to pieces. The phoenix spread her crimson wings, light swirling. It touched
each princess, restoring them to their true forms. From the hallowed sanctum of
the now-deceased wizard came princes and knights from all over the world,
reinstated to their real selves, and those that had perished due to the mage's
cruelty were brought back from death. Yet all was still not right.
"Yamato? Yamato, please!" Sora wept, trying to find his
pulse. She could find none. "You can't die! You can't! I love you too much!"
Hysterical with grief, the girl took the
sword from his hands and turned it on herself, poised at her ribcage.
"I won't live without
you! We can be together in death, Yamato."
The girl leaned forward,
about to fall onto the sword and take her own life.
"Sora…" came the barest
of whispers. A trembling hand touched hers. She dropped the blade, turning her
attention on the young man lying beside her. Yamato's eyes opened slowly, the
deep sapphire dimmed with pain.
"Don't kill yourself,
Sora. This is a mere scratch, I'll be fine in a few days," he chuckled weakly,
the ghost of a smile lighting up his blanched face.
Yamato's guardian wolf
nuzzled him gently. "I'm proud to be your protector, Yamato."
The phoenix folded her
wings, smiling with her eyes. "Your love saved his life, Sora."
Yamato got up slowly, supported by a few of the other
young heroes.
"I can't believe you got
past that wizard! How did you do it?" Yuri, tsar and brother of Anna and Sonja
questioned. Yamato grinned feebly, taking Sora's hand.
"Love and Friendship," he
said simply, kissing that hand.
~*~
Aurelia sat in the throne room, drumming her fingers
anxiously on the thick arm of her throne. Her sisters were elsewhere,
squabbling no doubt. Takeru, now a squire, sat on a little stool next to the
crown princess, sighing every so often.
"He's been gone for
months! When is he coming home?" the boy sighed.
"I don't know, Takeru.
Patience, though. I'm certain he will return very soon."
"But what if he doesn't
come back? I'm tired of waiting!"
Jyou and Mimi stepped
into the room, arm in arm.
"Lia? The heralds say
there's a boy trying to get into the castle and the garrison would be giving
him hell as usual," Mimi reported, touching the Rune of Sincerity at her neck.
The princess sighed, excusing herself and marching down
the great hall, servants stopping and bowing as soon as she was seen.
"Get thyself up and stay
up," she snapped.
"Yes, Your Highness! Of
course, Your Highness!" they groveled.
The same two guards, the
round one and the Cockney one, were on the watch shift at the drawbridge,
taunting a weary, weakened traveler being supported by an equally exhausted
young woman.
"Please, you have to let
me in to see the princess!" he begged as the girl beside him started to cry.
"Thou hast not heard the
orders of the palace, verily? No man may enter without a writ from Their
Majesties."
"But we don't have a
writ! My lady and I have been gone for near two months! Crown Princess Aurelia
is expecting me, you have to let me in!"
"Stand aside, men, or you'll be liable to end up dangling
from the gallows!"
The sentries turned,
cowering at the sight of their young sovereign.
"This is not the first time
you have provoked such trouble. Henceforth you are relieved of your guard
duties and shall be put to work in the fields with the farmers. Sirs Taichi and
Koushiro will be your replacements," Aurelia stated in a steely tone.
Then the dark-haired girl
stepped forward, towards the pair on the bridge.
The young woman threw her
arms around the princess and wept for joy, laughing as tears ran down her face.
"I never thought I'd see
you again!"
"Sora, oh Sora, I'm so
glad you're back! The palace wasn't the same without you!"
Yamato bowed curtly. "I
have fulfilled my quest, Highness, and you may rest easy knowing that sorcerer
has been vanquished."
Aurelia grinned. "I chose wisely. Tokyo Kingdom cannot
thank you enough, my Champion. I see you had no trouble in releasing the powers
of your runes."
Yamato glanced over his
shoulder, where the wolf and phoenix sat beside Desdemona, now a calmer mare.
"Aye, they were the ones
who defeated that black-hearted conjurer. And now, Princess, I must ask you
something."
"You may ask of me
anything, Sir Knight."
"Will you find me a
healer, and fast?"
Aurelia nodded, motioning
for a nearby page. He returned promptly with a familiar young man.
"I don't believe you've met my new court physician.
Healer Jyou Kido of Odaiba, my Champion Sir Yamato Ishida."
Jyou and Yamato stared at
each other for less than a moment, then started laughing.
"A court physician?"
"A knight? Glory, Yamato,
I missed out on quite a bit. Fill me in while I brew up something for you."
"It shall be just like
the old times, good friend."
Before Yamato hobbled off
after the physician, he turned and took up Sora's hands in his own.
"My dear Baroness, you
have done my heart so much. Will you do the honor of being my lady for all
times?"
Sora nodded, unable to
speak, and embraced him tenderly. "I love you, Yamato."
"And I you, Sora."
She rose onto the balls
of her feet and gently kissed his lips, declaring before the court and the
kingdom that she and the Princess's Champion would forever be one soul.
~*~
And I believe that would be 'the end.'
I didn't get to do any swordfighting?! I was ripped
off!
Easy there, Yama, don't go postal on me. I figured that since this is a Digimon story Garurumon and Birdramon should get in on the action too.
But I'm the hero! I should have killed Wizardmon!
He forced me to kill him that way. He refused to be a part of the story if you were the one to defeat him.
Stupid wizard. Ignore the fangirl-author, send me the
reviews. Yup, send them all to me, Matt, the muse behind the fanfics.
Do you mind? I'm the one who wrote the thing, I deserve
the reviews!