Disclaimer: If I owned Digimon, I would have named the Digidestined's future kids. Which they didn't... grr.... ^^ I have given I few of them names, though! Iori's daughter is now officially (on my part) Hida Mikayo (long story), and Izzy's daughter is Izumi Kameko. ^^; And Sora's son is Ishida Seiko. ~.~;;
Couplings: Medieval Taiora, Mimato, Takari, and Kenyako. ^^ Mainly Kenyako.
Notes: Okay, so it's a bit late. *shrugs* Here's more! Hehe... Also, to Kat-chan: Gomen nasai!! I've been extremely busy in the past... eh... two weeks and two days, but I'll e-mail you back soon! I swear! *grovels*
Destiny's Path
Matt sighed softly as his horse trotted steadily beneath him. Did he want to go on this trip? No. But he had been ordered to by the King, and it was obvious that what the King says, goes. Besides, he didn't have any real reason to object the assignment, besides the fact that Zunitïve was very far away and cold... and that a blizzard seemed to be coming in, despite the fact that it was only in early autumn... but Matt simply shrugged it off. After all, years of Knight training hadn't been for nothing.
Still, though, he wanted to go home.
As he couldn't, Matt continued to urge the plodding horse along, not really doing much of anything in terms of actually looking to see where he was going. It was late, dark; Matt could see that it would most likely become even darker still, surprisingly enough, and he started looking around for a place to camp for the night. It was hard enough to travel in this weather, and Matt didn't want to think about sleeping in the frost-bitten forest, but what other choice did he have, anyway? After all, he couldn't continue on throughout the night. Not only did he need some rest, Matt didn't want to wear out his steed.
He had been traveling all day, and Matt knew where he was. Just on the outskirts of both Zunitïve and Meritan. Matt knew that it was foolish to be so close to an enemy kingdom, but at that moment, he didn't care. His thoughts were full of both looking for a place to sleep and trying to become warmer. So it didn't really matter that Meritan's first city was only a few miles away, right? Matt sure as heck didn't care, especially considering that he wasn't going to Meritan.
It was at that moment that he first heard the growl.
Both he and his steed froze, trying to pinpoint the location of the noise. Matt didn't believe that it was anything more than a wild dog or something, but he couldn't be to careful. If it was a pack of wolves, Matt knew that he and the horse would have to make a run for it, and in the darkness of the night, it was quite obvious that the wolves would have the advantage. His steed was quicker, but the wolves were more agile, and they were used to hunting at night. But Matt really didn't need to worry, because it was probably a stray dog... right?
As a few more growls were heard, Matt's thoughts switched from a simple stray dog to a pack of hungry wolves- with him sitting out there on a silver platter for them to rip apart. Signaling for his nervous steed to go, the two of them quickly began to run along the bumpy trail, not trying to go anywhere in particular, merely to get away from the pack. As Matt gave a swift glance behind him, he could see the blurry gray shapes swiftly following them, yellow eyes flickering dangerously in the distance.
Turning back to his steed, Matt urged it on with his feet, and soon it was going so fast that Matt himself could barely hang on. And then-
-the wolf jump from the side of the path, leaping itself at him with precision timing.
Matt jerked to the left, reaching to his sword-
-the wolf somehow stayed on the horse-
Matt found his sword, and pulled it out-
-the wolf leaped again-
-the sword flashed!
Blood-
-was he dead?
The wolf? Where was the wolf?
Suddenly, Matt realized what had happened. He had sliced the wolf's side open, and the shaggy-furred creature had fallen off in a rush of blood and fangs. Trying to slow his beating heart down, Matt turned to the road again, where the horse was continuing to run for its' life. Although, Matt realized, the wolves were gone- they had been able to outrun them. So, calming his own terror, Matt began to urge his steed to stop, but the horse wasn't listening.
Growling dangerously on his own, Matt continued to try and stop the horse, yanking hard on the reins-
It was then that he saw the trap.
The horse ran blindly away from the wolves, who had vanished, and it slammed itself into iced over rocks-
-the horse stumbled, kicking his back legs up-
Matt found himself being jerked loose of the saddle as he himself went flying-
-a flash of leaves-
-the dark, upcoming ground-
And then there was darkness...
Izzy yawned. This was getting quite boring from what he could tell, and they were only on the main course. Still the dessert to go... ah, well, at least the food was good. It was strange, though, to be at a table that was so unfamiliar. After all, the kingdom of Ærotalla wasn't exactly close friends with Tykan – they were acquaintances at most – so Izzy barely knew any of the people that were seated at the table. Only Iori and the Queen were familiar faces, although he saw Joe in the corner, waiting to be called upon to serve.
Turning to where Iori was seated, Izzy quietly asked, So, how was horse grooming?
At Izzy's comment, Iori turned his attention away from his plate and gave Izzy a look of surprise – well, obviously, considering that the two of them hadn't gotten off on the best of terms. Acknowledging Izzy's question, the small Prince responded, It was fun, like I thought it would be. Horses are really interesting animals... maybe someday I'll learn to ride one.
You don't know how? Izzy replied, and Iori shook his head slightly. After realizing how rude he had sounded, Izzy bit his lip. Open mouth, insert foot... Shrugging off the feeling, Izzy asked, Would you like me to teach you tomorrow? Because I'm leaving tomorrow, but I can wait until the afternoon if you want me to teach you.
Iori asked, his head raising and his emerald green eyes wide with wonder. Strange expression for such a serious boy, from Izzy's point of view, but he said nothing. Iori smiled softly, asking again, You'll teach me how to ride a horse?
Izzy shrugged. Sure. I'm pretty good at it, and I'm sure it wouldn't take that long for you to get the hang of it. After all, it's not that hard, once you have the basics down.
That's great! Iori said brightly, and he then looked very embarrassed as a few of the older royals turned to look at him in distaste. Lowering his voice to a near whisper again, the Prince murmured, So, you'll teach me? Tomorrow at ten?
Izzy nodded, and began to respond, but it was at that time that dessert had arrived, and all was silent for the lustrous dishes to handed out amongst themselves. Izzy saw that the dishes were some kind of fruity drink – strange as it may seem – and it looked quite appetizing, even though he had just eaten a full meal.
It was then that he saw it.
A tall, blond man was standing by two of the dishes, which were on a very fancy-looking platter. Eyes narrowed, Izzy watched as the man pulled a small vial out of his garments, and look around briefly for anyone who could have spied him. Luckily, the man didn't notice Izzy staring at him, and he simply pulled the top off the vial, and poured some of its contents into the first dessert dish. After doing so, Izzy saw the man lift the tray up, and walk over to where he, Iori, and the Queen were seated.
Izzy frowned as the blond haired man walked over, an emotionless mask covering the unknown man's face. Had Izzy just seen what he thought he had seen? Surely, the contents of the vial couldn't be any type of poison of the sort, of course not; it was probably just some sort of mild drug used to calm down the taste of the drink or something... right?
The man arrived at the place they were sitting, holding the drinks. Your majesty, the man began, placing the platter down, I have decided to specially prepare a drink for both you and the Prince, my Queen, and I hope that you enjoy it.
That was it. Izzy did not trust this guy.
Why, thank you, Hiro. Obviously the Queen did, though, because she held her hand out to take the drink. Izzy noticed that the one that this person had dropped the contents into was the one he gave the Queen, and the red-haired boy had a sudden urge to reach out and knock the glass away from the woman. After the blond-haired man had given Iori his drink, he walked away quietly, and disappeared into the crowd.
Who was he? Izzy hissed to Iori, who was steadily sipping his dessert. Izzy had also received one, but in the matter of what had just occurred, he probably wouldn't have felt much like drinking it.
Iori looked up at him, a curious look on his face. Do you mean Hiro? he asked quietly, frowning slightly. When Izzy nodded, Iori said, Hiro Yagasuki is my mother's advisor. He's the one who is most knowledgeable about war and such, see?
Yes, I see. Izzy responded calmly, although inside he was like an arrow, shooting from one possible target to another. Briefly, Izzy considered telling the Queen, or at least Iori, what he had seen, but shook the thought off. After all, he was probably being paranoid – Tai told him that he had a slight tendency to do that – and after all, if Hiro Yagasuki was the Queen's advisor, he wouldn't try to poison his own Queen, would he? No, of course not, that would be very foolish...
Izzy nodded slightly to himself. He had not just seen Hiro Yagasuki poison the Queen, and he was going to stop all thoughts of it at once. Or, at least, that's what he told himself. After all, no one would poison the Queen of their own kingdom!
...right?
Sora cursed softly as her dress was yet again caught on a protruding branch. It was probably the fifth time that hour that she had been halted by the bushes around, and her dress was torn in multiple places all around.
Well, obviously, considering that she had been dumb enough to run away from the palace without a horse or anything of the like. The only things that Sora had to her own possession at that time was a small container of cool water, a blanket that was tied around her neck as a cloak to disguise herself, and a leather sack full of dried meat. The meat, as Sora had discovered earlier on, was hard and gritty, and nearly impossible to chew. But then again, it did fill her up, so she really didn't have much of a right to complain at all.
At least, that was what she had thought in the early evening.
But now it was cold and dark, and if there wasn't a path that was engraved in the forest, Sora most likely would have fallen into the river or tumbled into a ditch by then. Luckily, though, she hadn't, and was actually making pretty good time in her traveling. Now, if only she wasn't so cold...
Sora shook the thought off, and then began thinking of her mother, the Queen of Zunitïve. Sora knew that she couldn't become mad at the woman that had raised her- after all, her mother had given birth to her during a time recovering from a small war, and had raised her in the seemingly most perfect of ways. No, Sora could not be angry at her mother for trying to form this alliance, despite anything that she had said or thought earlier. Sora loved her mother too much for her to do that.
But Sora felt the need in her heart to blame someone, and at that point, there was only one other person left to blame. Prince Iori of Ærotalla.
Maybe that was unfair of her. After all, the young Prince most likely had no idea that Zunitïve and Ærotalla were going to try an alliance by marriage. Maybe it was all a simple mistake. Maybe.
But Sora didn't know any of these ideas. All that she knew was that she was running away from home because of some stupid, atrocious war and the fact that the side she was on needed Ærotalla's alliance. For that to happen, she needed to marry Prince Iori.
It wasn't her mother's fault. So, in Sora's logic, that instantly made it Iori's fault. She knew it was unfair of her. Iori was a nine-year-old little boy, and Sora knew that he probably didn't want to wed anymore than she did. But Sora didn't care. If it weren't for that boy, she wouldn't have had to run away at all!
All she could do was whisper to herself, as a chilling wind bit into her ears and whipped around her legs. The fatigue of walking so far was catching up to her, and she could barely concentrate on where she was walking, much less what she was saying.
But she began to whisper a single phrase, over and over again until it became almost as natural as breathing to her. Until the words flowed out of her mouth like a river, never stopping, but never beginning, either. A simple phrase, one that showed her feelings to her fullest extent.
I wish he was dead, I wish he was dead, I wish he was dead....
What do you mean, I can't get in to see her?! Izzy asked, his last nerves twitching. It was a few hours after the meal had ended, and Izzy had waited patiently for the Queen to call him in. When that had not occurred, the red-headed messenger decided to go to the Queen's chambers himself, only to find that he wasn't going to be let in to see the royal woman.
The man standing by the door simply said yet again, I am truly sorry, sir Izumi, but the Queen has fallen ill. You'll have to wait until another time, when she is feeling well enough to see to you.
Izzy frowned, his last nerve barely hanging on. It was imperative that he received an answer from the Queen as soon as possible, because the Amoritian troupes were planning to attack very soon. If Tykan didn't create an alliance with Ærotalla, it was basically saying that Amoritia and Meritan had wide-open shots at getting the small kingdom to ally with them instead – and Izzy could not, under any circumstances, allow that to be so.
Growling slightly under his breath, Izzy shoved past the guard in a rush, causing the snooty man to fall to the ground. The other guard lunged at him, but Izzy shoved the door to the Queen's chambers open quickly, and then slammed the door in the guard's face. After doing this, Izzy stood still for awhile, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart, which almost felt like it was going to burst inside of him. Standing there and breathing slowly, Izzy looked around quickly, and – not seeing anyone else in the largest of the rooms – noticed that there was a small room off to the side with the door ajar. As his heart began to calm down and beat at a steady pace, Izzy decided that his best bet in finding the Queen was to look at the most obvious of choices first. After all, that way he might be able to talk to her before the guards found another way into the chambers.
Walking quickly and quietly to the door of the room, Izzy knocked on the wooden door lightly and peeked in. There, asleep in a small bed, was the Queen – obviously the Queen's room wasn't actually in this tiny room; it was most likely an infirmary of the sorts. Standing by the bedside was a man Izzy didn't recognize (most likely a doctor) and two other men- a short and plump brown-haired man, and the tall and thin frame of no other than Hiro Yagasuki. At Izzy's knock, Hiro turned his head sharply, and glared at Izzy with piercing dark brown eyes. It was quite obvious that the blond-haired man was not eager to see this uninvited guest, and there was no question on how cruel Hiro looked at that moment.
Izzy seriously did not like that guy.
Hiro asked sharply, causing the brown-haired man beside him to jerk and look up. Why are you here? You're the the messenger from Tykan, I assume.
Izzy replied just as coldly, nodding. Casting a quick glance at the sleeping Queen, Izzy said, I came to receive the answer of my request for alliance. The Queen said that she would have it ready for me by tonight, and I would like to hear what she has decided.
Hiro scoffed, and gestured a hand towards the Queen. Cannot you see that Her Royal Highness is asleep at the moment? Dear child- Izzy winced slightly at this -I do believe that you'll have to wait until either the Queen recovers, or the time comes for I to make this decision.
Can't you simply tell me what her answer was to be? Izzy asked, irritated. Prince Iori has told me that you are her advisor, so you must be aware of her choice. After all, you know the most about the effects of war; surely she would have consulted you.
Hiro replied coldly, I do not know. Now, leave this room before I have the guards throw you out, do you understand?
Izzy's emotionless expression curved down slightly into a frown, but he said, Well, I shall leave, then. But I will be back first thing in the morning to see if the Queen has woken up or not. With that, Izzy turned and left the room, walking quickly to the door and pulling it open. Instantly, the guards tried to stop him and question him, but Izzy simply sauntered away, not giving any mind to the men.
There was no question now. Izzy was nearly positive that Hiro Yagasuki had poisoned the Queen. Izzy didn't know why he was so sure about this fact, but something in his mind kept saying that there was something suspicious about Hiro- whether it was how he walked, or why he was in the room with the Queen, or maybe what he had said...
Izzy shook off his thoughts, not wanting to think about why he was so sure about the advisor's guilt. At that moment, actually, all Izzy wanted to do was go into his assigned quarters and sleep...
He didn't know why, but for some reason, Matt felt safe. Instead of being on the hard, cold trail of the woods as he thought he might be, Matt could feel the warmth of a bed cover spread over him, and he could smell the cooking of... teriyaki chicken? Matt knew that the dish of teriyaki chicken was native to the eastern kingdoms of Amoritia and Meritan, so it was quite odd for anyone in the western kingdoms to make it, or even have some in possession. Still, the food did smell quite appeasing, and Matt found himself wanting to wake up so that he could eat.
Forcing his tired eyes open, Matt blinked a few times to get the sleep out of his eyes before actually looking around. The room he was in was a small one, and sunshine streamed in through a window by his bedside. Looking around, Matt could see that he was covered by a heavy quilt of pale yellow and green – much like the colors in the springtime – and that there was the noise of soft footsteps coming from the room next to his. As he looked at himself, Matt could see that his shirt had been removed – most likely to get rid of the wolves blood that he knew the shirt had been drenched in. Luckily, though, whoever it was that had found him had enough courtesy to leave his pants on (thank goodness!), and Matt could see that his armor was sitting in the corner of the room, looking perfectly clean.
Now the question arose: where was he?
Matt decided that it was time to get up and see for himself. Lifting the warm covers off of him, Matt brought his feet – boots and stockings off, of course – to the ground. Unfortunately, before he could even stand up, the unknown person in the kitchen walked into the room, carrying a tray of teriyaki chicken, green vegetables, and a jug of milk.
The woman smiled. I figured you'd be waking up around now.
Unable to say a word, the only thing that Matt could do was stare at the woman that he did not recognize. She was about medium height, with wavy hair that went down to a little past her shoulders. Now, Matt may have been mistaken, but he could have sworn that the girl's hair was the colors of both pale pink and color of fuscia- but, most likely, it was a trick of the light. As Matt continued to look the girl over – and to find himself noticing, at his embarrassment, the woman's breasts – he realized that she was simply standing there with the chicken, waiting for him to say something.
Matt stuttered, looking at the far wall, rather than the attractive young lady.
The woman rolled her eyes and set the food down on a stand by his bedside. Your name would suit me just fine, sir. I am Mimi Tachikawa, if you wish to know, and you're in my cabin. I found you nearly frozen on the trail, and I figured that I'd bring you in.
Oh, right. Matt replied stupidly, and he then said, Well, I am Sir Yamato Ishida, but you can call me Matt' if you wish.
Mimi commented. Do you mean to say that you are a Knight?
I would assume that my armor would tell you that much... Matt said calmly, now getting over the fact that he was without a shirt in a presence of a – to be truthful – quite beautiful young lady.
The girl frowned slightly, and as she moved her head, Matt could see that she did, in fact, have pink hair. Looking up and opening her warm brown eyes, Mimi replied, Well, yes, I saw the armor, but it was without the King's seal. Besides, I believe that I know all of the Knights of Meritan... are you new?
Matt questioned, and he then realized why the woman was so confused. Trying to clear things up, Matt said, Oh, Miss Mimi, I am not a Knight of Meritan. I am from Tykan, and I was on my way to Zunitïve. Am I in Meritan now? As Matt said this, he suddenly realized how dangerous it was to have revealed the fact that he was from Tykan- after all, Tykan and Amoritia were suppose to be going to war, and Meritan was allied with Amoritia... but somehow, Matt felt like he could trust this unfamiliar, pink-haired woman.
Mimi blinked as Matt said this, and then she broke out into a large smile. Oh, I'm sorry! I merely assumed that you were from Meritan, but I do suppose that you could have been run off the trail.
Yes. The wolves aren't too friendly around here, I see. Matt joked, trying to lighten the mood a bit. Mimi smiled a bit more at the joke, and Matt continued, saying, The chicken smells delicious, did you make it?
Oh, right! Mimi said, sounding quite flustered. Dear me, I should apologize for bothering you! You should go ahead and eat if you wish. To answer your question, yes, I did make it, but that's nothing compared to what my grandmother makes. Her's is positively the best there is to eat, do you know what I mean? Suddenly, Mimi blushed again, and Matt smiled at how cute she looked when she did, Oh my, I'm babbling again, aren't I? I'll just leave and let you eat, all right? At those last words, Mimi smiled and left the room quietly.
Matt blinked. It had almost seemed like the room had died when the pink-haired lady left – but that was probably his imagination. Shrugging his shoulders and turning to the food before him, Matt began to eat the sweet-smelling chicken...
Izzy was keeping his pace slow and steady as he urged the horse to trot forward. The brown-haired boy beside him was looking quite nervous – and that was an understatement – as he tried his hardest not to fall off the large creature. Of course, Izzy himself had never been subjected to that kind of nervous anticipation, so he found himself wondering how the smaller boy could be so frightened. After all, it was just a horse...
Shaking his head slightly, Izzy said, No, no, Prince Iori, you have to straighten your back. You can't go riding all scrunched up like that.
The green-eyed boy looking into Izzy's own black eyes, and he smiled nervously. Right... yes, that makes sense... Biting his lip, Iori proceeded to straighten his back the tiniest bit- but not so much that he would be too far away from the horse.
Oh, brother... Izzy murmured under his breath; this was going to take quite a long time as far as he was concerned. But then again, it wasn't as if he had anything to prepare for.
Earlier that morning, Izzy had gone to the Queen's chambers, only to be stopped by the same aggravating guards as he had met earlier – plus a few new ones. They had told him that the Queen wasn't available to see him at the moment, would he please – they had emphasized the word – wait until she wasn't ill. Well, that was all fine and dandy for them, but Izzy was getting quite annoyed with the fact that 1) he need to find out if the Queen was going to ally with Tykan or not, and 2) whether or not Hiro had really poisoned the Queen for some reason. Personally, at that moment, Izzy was definitely convinced that Hiro Yagasuki was up to something, and was toying with the idea that it involved the coming war.
But then again, Izzy always had been paranoid. Tai said so, Matt said so... heck, Izzy even said so himself. But for some reason, the auburn-haired boy just couldn't get the thought out of his head. After all, he had seen Hiro pour something into the Queen's drink- and, not to mention, the way Hiro had spoken just last night... something about his wording...
Snapping upwards with a jerk – and nearly falling off his horse – Izzy suddenly realized just what had been bothering him so much about the conversation he had with Hiro Yagasuki the night before. Hiro's wording of the predicament that was occurring... I do believe that you'll have to wait until either the Queen recovers, or the time comes for I to make this decision,...
Until I make this decision'? Izzy quoted under his breath, his face forming into a scowl. Iori had long since ridden further ahead, obviously thinking that Izzy was still behind him. Going over the sentence in his mind once again, Izzy clenched his fists tightly to the reins, nearly boiling over with fierce anger. Still quiet, Izzy muttered, He wouldn't make the decision... Prince Iori would!
Hiro's plot then became crystal clear for Izzy, who, despite being overactive and paranoid, was quite good at figuring out the schemes of others. Hiro Yagasuki poisoned the Queen so that he could make the decision of the war alliance! That had to be it!
Izzy pulled his horse to a stop, his original excitement over the whole ordeal wearing off. After the first burst of enthusiasm (after figuring the scheme out – or so he thought), Izzy realized that now wasn't exactly the time to rush into the Queen's room and start yelling about his discovery: they would all think he was crazy. Again, though, something was nagging him about Hiro's wording... again, something he missed. His mind cooling down and thinking straight, Izzy repeated to himself, murmuring, Until I'... but Iori is the one who would make that decision...
What decision?
Izzy jerked at the voice, and turned to see the clear green eyes of Prince Iori looking at him with a confused expression on his face. The young Prince had apparently stopped his horse – not being able to turn it around – and led the large animal back to where Izzy was.
Iori blinked at Izzy's abrupt movement, but he asked again, What are you talking about, Izzy? What decision would I have to make?
Izzy sighed, irritated at being interrupted before he was able to think the entire thing through. At that point in time, he didn't know whether his theory was plausible enough for him to share it with Iori – most likely, it wasn't. So, in response, Izzy simply stated, It's nothing, Iori, don't worry–
Tell me, Izzy. Iori said, his voice level rising a notch. It was obvious that Izzy had caught his attention, and the brown-haired child didn't seem to want to let it go. I don't care if it's nothing; you really seem worried about whatever it is. Just tell me, and maybe I can help.
I don't think you cou–
Just tell me!
Izzy raised an eyebrow at Iori, mainly because that was the only time that he had heard the small boy speak so loudly. Iori looked abashed at the volume he had assumed, so Izzy said nothing of it, but he knew that Iori wasn't going to stop badgering about what was on Izzy's mind unless Izzy told him. Oh, well, it didn't really matter all that much. After all, if Izzy's theory checked out, Iori would need to know anyway... now was as good a time as any.
Sighing, Izzy began to reveal the absurd idea in his mind, Well, see, this is just a theory...