-Author's Note-
Well here is my first Digimon fic (Hmm I think...). I've tried to keep all the Digimon members fairly in character while still manufacturing enough angst and thrill for the story to be interesting. This is sort of like an epic; I just started writing and couldn't stop. It's also a spin off of 'Gladiator' with many of the same concepts as the movie, although I have added a lot of my own elements.
O and a thousand dollars to whoever can think of a better title! A hehe I'm kidding. But please suggest some titles, I'm not that great when it comes to picking catchy headings. (Thus, my chapters are untitled)
-Warning-
Many times Yamato is shown in less than a positive light. While this works for the fic and I do play up a lot to his vain and selfish traits, I like Yamato. Really I do! *Rotten tomatoes are thrown by fan girls* However, I had to make him seem real, and a young dashing Emperor seems very likely to let the wealth and popularity go to his head. Above all he does appear very human.
Also violence! Lots and lots! Well not really but this is a fic about a gladiator so take a wild guess.
-Disclaimer-
I do not own 'Digimon' or the movie 'Gladiator'. I do not own any of the Digimon characters as well, only my original ones. I do not own the Empire State Building, an ice-skating rink, or the world's largest ball of yarn either. *Sighs at bad attempt at joke* O well, you get the idea.
Sorry ^^^^ is so long! It won't be next chapter, promise. Please read ~ review ~ enjoy!
Of Men And Heroes
By Jasmine
Chapter I
"A thousand stars studded in that night sky and not one whom may grant my heart's sole desire, I fear."
*
Long ago, on this earth that we inhabit, there was an empire like no other. A kingdom that dominated all the other countries within Europe, and in fact the whole world. This colossus of power was known then and forever as Rome. Rome was as grand a kingdom as ever there was; a region developed by the likes of crafty politicians and sheltered by legions of brave soldiers, all protecting a dream they called the 'Roman Lion', a beast of fierce and innumerable might. And all was good for a time; the populace prospered, the merchants grew fat from the riches of the Indies, and the army conquered more and more land until it seemed it might take over all of Europe.
Yet even the lion must have a downfall, an Achilles' heel as one might say. For the very foundation of Rome, the politicians and statesmen, were now crumbling the pillars of the empire with their wretched corruption. They lied and cheated the golden coins away from each other and their people until the masses became displeased and even a rebellion was heard to be whispered on cold night winds. The lion had found his one weakness, the tiny snake of fraud slithering in the grass. For even the most smallest snake possess fangs able to fall a lion and this particular snake is rearing back to strike.
That is how the story was first told to me when I was but a little girl. It always begins with those words, the 'Long ago', the beginning when this land was great. When Rome was a kingdom of dreams and hopes, of men and -heroes-.
That time passed with the carousing of the sand's in the hourglass, and like all things, the glory days of Rome became only willowy memories. Peasants were dying of diseases that swept over the countryside, murdering families at an instance, and the true tyrants, no not pillagers or thieves but politicians, fought and indulged in night crimes in hopes of taking over the throne. They struggled against each other, weakening the Empire as they did so with their constant shifting of Emperors. Over and over it went on, one backstabbing the other, until the land wept for its misled children.
And then, in a time not so long ago, as if from an ancient mist, a hero rose.
*
The large room was alive with chatter and bright colors. A large number of wealthy and renowned people, all dressed in lavish robes and headpieces, were standing about, smiling towards one another and conversing politely. Metallic moonlight cascaded down the tall windows, onto the polished marble floor, and servants, dressed in small flimsy cotton tunics, passed between the rich like ghosts with hollow lost eyes and carrying trays of sugared fruits and meats, the smells teasing their empty bellies relentlessly. Candles filled the hall with a warm glow and glinted off the jewels dripping from the necks and limbs of the wealthy, turning the air into a night sky of electric gilded stars.
Of all the guests, the most honored was Emperor Yamato, the youngest ruler ever to take the throne. He stood to one side of the room, people converging on all sides just to get a chance to exchange a word or two with the likes of such a man. His brilliant blond hair gleamed in the candlelight and he flashed his subjects a charming smile. He wore a robe of white and gold, tied loosely with a gilded broach over one shoulder. Yamato greeted them with a nod and his chiseled narrow face shown with a radiance, as if he was in his element. After all, everyone knew the young sir as a party lover at heart.
To his side stood his brother, the youthful Takari. He looked much like his sibling; a man of striking good looks and piercing azure eyes. Yet it was evident in his face that this party bored him. Young Takeru was not as much of a showman, or a 'smoke and mirrors' type of lad, as his sibling, he was much more thoughtful and inquisitive, preferring to hold afternoon talk with the likes of the great thinkers of the Empire and close friends, and thus the sea of snotty people held little amusement for him. "Brother, when shall this party be done with? Have you forgotten already the treaty we must negotiate with the Prussians?" he asked, fighting back a yawn.
Yamato nodded and shook the hand of a military official eager to please his Emperor and then turned to Takeru, speaking rather aloof, "O Takeru, must you constantly worry of such things which bore my brain to mush? Those Prussian savages can wait one night at least! Now may you go to find a pretty young maid which suits your liking and bother me no more in your pursuit of diplomacy."
Takeru snorted, "These maids disinterest me as much as documents disinterest you, dear Yamato. They are all far too shallow for my pallet. But I am all too certain -you- have seen a woman which strikes your fancy." His pallid eyes stormed with disgust at his brother's wild antics; never did he want to be taken seriously!
"But of course, Takeru! You know me; I will have a mistress for each of the moods that befalls me," the Emperor laughed arrogantly.
Suddenly a man stepped in front of Yamato and bowed low. It was Erasmois, a member of the Senate and good friend of the Emperor. He had a twisted leg ever since youth, which he now tucked back behind him, not so much an embarrassment anymore since all were use to it, but Erasmois hated it none- the-less. It always seemed to drag just behind his gait, weighing him down, constantly reminding him of a past that stung at his heart. Kissing the large sapphire studded ring upon the Emperor's hand, the lanky man smiled respectfully and cried loudly so that his voice echoed across the room, "Friends and loyal followers of this grand Empire known as Rome and the bearers of the crown, tonight we gather together under the safety of the Roman Palace to celebrate a significant day. For on this night of March 15th, our noble Emperor, the son of a man who's valor far surpasses any mortals', has come into the spring of his life. -Tonight- he is to turn eighteen and so enters the coming of his legacy, the beginning of his rein of justice and power. -Tonight-." Erasmois looked at the young ruler with a broad slick smile and Takeru swore that for a moment he saw a flash of cunning in those cool, composed green eyes. "-Tonight- Emperor Yamato steps out from the shadows of the forefathers that came before him and reveals the lion he holds within!"
The crowd erupted into applause; Yamato smiled and was pleased for the time, being bathed in the glory of his people. Takeru seemed to be the only one within the throng of citizens who wasn't clapping, his mind churning in edgy alarm. Then Erasmois held up a hand to silence the crowd, his dark mass of black hair falling before his brow. "And now, as a gift from the Senate and I, you're most humble and loyal of servants, I present to my Emperor the beautiful Mysterious Minstrel Mistress!"
Lovely flute music flitted up to the ceiling in delicate rhythm as a man began to play his wooden reed instrument. All eyes watched as slowly a beautiful maiden seemed to materialize in front of the Emperor. She wore a dress of thin raven black material, which fitted to her slender body nicely and was tied about her waist with a belt of golden chain, revealing slender creamy legs. She wore a hood so that only tufts of silky brown hair poked out from the rim and a veil of thin shadows covered her lower face. Slowly her voice began to flow all around the room in a stream of soft melodies as lovely as a lazy summer's sunset. Takeru was transfixed on the swaying female figure; he watched her beautiful brown eyes relishing each note she sang.
As the song ended, the people cheered loudly like a roar of thunder and the woman bowed low to the ground. As she stood there, in mid-kneel, Takeru was certain her gentle brown eyes met his inquiring blue ones and she raised a slender eyebrow, feeling her cheeks tinge with a rouge at his mere glance. Then she gasped, seemingly lost in his intensity and stood, fleeing the room quickly.
Takeru turned to his brother and whispered, "I must be going Yamato. See this not as any ill will towards you of course, I wish you good fortune on this of days, but I must be off."
Yamato replied in a hushed tone, "Do what you must brother. Good luck to you in your quest for maiden's fair, eh?" The Emperor winked and then watched as Takeru darted into the crowd and was lost from view.
Erasmois grinned and then held up his goblet filled with rich red wine, the purest in all the world. "Who here among these fine men would like to offer up a toast to our Emperor?" Not a person moved, each too weary of setting themselves up to be thought a conspirator against the throne, for these were treacherous times when a heretic could be called at the drop of a hat. Erasmois furrowed his brow in mock puzzlement, "O come now! Surely you may all speak freely here in the house of the Gods, amongst your fellow kin! Who here is a man and not a mouse?"
There was stiffening pause before a voice shattered the quiet like a stone crashing into a glass windowpane. "I believe I will speak." There was a wave of whispers that ebbed among the masses as a young man with a mane of fiery red hair stepped foreword. It was Koushiro, speaker of the Senate, and never was there a man who possessed more wisdom then he.
Erasmois looked pleased, it was the only man he expected and wished to speak. He said in a voice thick with contempt, "Then may you toast our Emperor's legacy in whatever manner you desire, sir!"
Koushiro's gaze was sure and his voice was unhesitant. "I offer up blessing to the Empire and its people, poor and rich alike; I toast now to the hope that our Emperor will prosper under the belief that he is a voice for his subjects and no more or less. Also I raise my glass high in commemoration to the dreams of the children sick in the lanes now whose only wish is to be heard, for now dreams are all that are left of them. " Koushiro raised his glass and the whispers grew louder, yet his deep eyes burned with a passion and a slight loathing.
Yamato was stunned. How dare this man of the Senate come into his own home and imply he was ignoring his own citizens! The Emperor kept his cool and gave a smile, taut at the edges like a tin music box wound up too tight. "Aye. And I offer toast to the dream that Senate will never think its selves messenger of the Gods nor golden cage to the Roman Lion." Yamato raised his glass and took a sip of the crimson liquid, all the while watching Koushiro. The crowd was now alive with lulled gossip.
Koushiro gazed at the man, unable to bridle his anger as he spoke, "Dictators ride to and fro upon lions which they dare not dismount. And the lions are getting hungry." The speaker of the Senate also drank his wine, knowing that perhaps this might be his last pleasure on this earth.
Erasmois drank and peered at Yamato and Koushiro just over the rim of his goblet, the red wine beaded at his lips as he quietly chuckled with mirth.
*
The minstrel gracefully padded hurriedly down the marble corridor as Takeru appeared just out of a doorway. Catching sight of the woman, he shouted, "Wait, please miss!" and quickly took chase.
The mysterious bard turned her head to see the running Takeru and rapidly resumed her flight. Just as she turned a corner, her delicate golden necklace's clasp broke apart and clattered to the ground. Takeru was on it in a moment and picked up the pretty glimmering rose-shaped pendant. "I believe you dropped this," he panted and held out the jewelry in his pale palm.
The girl seemed frightened as she babbled, "I'm horribly sorry for running away, your Excellency. I... I just get shy... after performances... Please accept my apologies."
Takeru smiled slightly at the woman's panicked speech. "No need to say you're sorry, malady. I was the one who chased after you, remember? It's my own fault for frightening you as I did."
The minstrel looked at the Emperor's brother and then hesitantly took back her necklace into her small creamy hand. The golden rose pendant disappeared within the folds of the woman's black robe. With a smile hidden by her veil she inquired, "So I -won't- be sent to jail then?"
"What? For making me run? I think not," Takeru chuckled and then asked, clear out of the blue, "Who's Taichi?"
The girl looked up sharply, her chocolate eyes fringed by a long dusting of eyelashes welled in terror and puzzlement, like a willowy deer preparing to take flight. "Excuse me?"
"Your necklace had etched on it: Love Taichi... Is he your suitor?" the boy said, trying to hide his apparent interest in this enigmatic young woman.
There was a slight giggle emitted from behind the veil. "Gods no! He's my brother," she laughed.
Takeru chuckled too and trailed off mysteriously, "O I see. Well that is good..."
The girl raised a thin arched eyebrow and asked coyly, "And why is that, your Highness?"
"Only that I may wish to see you again and it would certainly be a pity if you were already taken. By the way, there is no need for you to call me your Highness. My brother is the one who insists on all the technicalities, I prefer to be called simply Takeru," replied the young man, a humble yet adorable look on his face.
A tint of pink came over the girl's soft curved cheeks and she replied, "If that is to your liking then that is what I shall do, simply Takeru."
"And of your name? May I be blessed to know it?" the man spoke, feeling rather bold and at ease for some reason in the company of this beautiful bard.
A fracture of a smile singed beyond the veil and she replied, her amber eyes filled with innocent flirtation, "Perhaps another night, Takeru." Then with a last sweeping glance, she turned and ran down the length of the hall until she was gone from sight.
The man stood for a moment gazing off into the space she disappeared into and then a large foolish grin overcame his face from ear-to-ear. Finally he'd met a young woman with some wit and enchantment about her, as well as a stinging range of jabs and not to mention stunning. With a small chuckle that echoed across the marble corridors, Takeru walked towards his own bedchamber. Yet those wide doe-eyed brown orbs followed him, ever present in his dreams.
*
It was a cool night; a sweet breeze blew across the lapping Nile River to calm the scorched Egyptian lands. Lambs baaed quietly as they snuggled closer to the warm fleece of their mothers' and their shepherds lay out on their backs upon grassy hills. A large fortress of fiery sandstone stuck out from the fertile land like a testament of this empire; both once beautiful and grand yet now just meager collapsing grains in the hourglass of life.
A woman lay on an open-backed couch saturated in rippling thin silks and cool shawls under a canopy of cotton cloth. Her name was Mimi, Princess of Egypt. Her long mane of silky light brown hair lay over one shoulder, gently fluttering in the wind, and her skin was perfectly tan. Mimi's face was like a statue's chiseled features, adorned with dark kohl ash all along the framing of her hazel eyes flecked with embers of gold. She lay back upon the satin couch and she looked dolefully up at a small opening in the canopy to see a dark, velvety sky encrusted in vivid stars. "A thousand stars studded in that night sky and not one whom may grant my heart's sole desire, I fear," she sighed to herself and her sad words were carried with the wind.
"Then perhaps I may be your star tonight?" The steady masculine voice broke through the Princess's still atmosphere and at once she looked up to see a tall man standing before her. His streamline chest was bare and tanned; his wild head of raven hair waving in the wind. A small brown cotton cloth was wrapped around his thin waist and a slight smile was on his long face.
Mimi leaped up, her bare feet pattering against the cool stone, and she ran towards her beloved, wrapping her arms around his warm naked chest. "-Jyou- ..." she murmured and tears of mixed joy and sadness sprang to her eyes.
The man ran his long fingers through Mimi's hair and kissed the crown of her head. "My beloved Mimi, I've wanted to do this the whole day. Even as I tended the flock, I thought of you. Have you any idea how you affect my heart?"
The Princess bit her lip and stepped back slightly from the embrace, lowering her gaze. "I know full well, for my heart aches too every time we are apart... And that is why what I must say pains me so."
Jyou's dark eyebrows knitted together and he gently took Mimi's hand in his. He spoke softly as he gazed at her dejected face, "What is it, my Princess? Has something happened?"
"Yes... Yes something has," Mimi began and then looked up into her lover's brown eyes, a tear running down her cheek. Those eyes that had always gazed upon her with such care and affection, those scorched and chapped lips that whispered things to her during their nights together that no other soul would ever hear. He had loved her without a worry to titles or riches; Jyou loved -Mimi-, not the Princess. He was the one she'd imagined marrying and growing old with, he was her first and last true love. The sobs began to part through her now like frothy tufts of ocean waves breaking over a coast, smearing kohl across her high cheeks.
"I'm meant to wed another." The statement was so horrid and stark, like the icy tip of a blade. It left her petal lips and felt heavy, weighting the silence. Yet this dagger would rip into this couple's tender beating hearts up until their dying day, this was their cryptic fate.
The man's mouth fell open in shock and his voice rose, "-What-? How can that be? But I thought you spoke to your father about our love..."
"I did but he would not listen, or more appropriately he did not -care-. My father said that whether I love another matters not for I am to marry Royalty, whether I prefer it or not. He told me love is a selfish emotion, I must put all those silly notions behind me to do what's best for this land," the Princess spoke. Truth be told, she half agreed with her father. Here she was gallivanting and holding midnight encounters with a handsome rogue shepherd when all around her the Egyptian Empire was weakening and becoming increasingly more vulnerable to other nations.
Jyou was still too surprised to think correctly as he said, "This cannot be! We... You and I are to marry, Mimi! How can the Pharaoh just auction you off to the highest bidder? Has he no interest in your happiness?"
Mimi grasped the side of the sofa for support, the weightiness of her bleak fate crushing down on her. "Apparently not, Jyou. You see how our empire has been reduced to beggars at the feet of the high Romans; my father says I must sacrifice my foolish ideals for my people and marry the Emperor of Rome. I cannot help but believe he speaks the truth Jyou, I am but a servant to my Empire..."
"Underworld's fire to the Empire!" shouted Jyou suddenly and he seized Mimi's upper arms with his hands, clutching her tight. "I care not if it came tumbling down on its head! It's only a wasteland of scorched writhing sands, and a sanctimony of fat royals made rich off the backs of the slaves and the poor. Why should we suffer to further this Gods-forsaken land?"
Tears were cascading down the girl's face as she was seized by her beloved, her body quivering as she forced herself to look up into his furious face. "Jyou, there is no way of escaping my fate. The ship comes to port tomorrow at dawn and I will depart on it, never to see my homeland or -you- again."
The shepherd's eyes widened and he asked, his anger softening at the jagged edges to reveal grief, "Tomorrow morn? You have kept this from me for so long and only sprung this dreadful surprise upon me the night before your departure?" A solemn tear collapsed from his eye, rolled along the gently curve of his cheek to fall upon Mimi's smooth brow.
Mimi stammered, "I am sorry, Jyou. With all the world, I am sorry. I felt I shouldn't blight our love, our last days, with such news."
"O take back that sorry! This world is forcing my only love to leave me, I'll not accept it's apology!" he shouted, his voice laced with both fury and an overwhelming sadness. "How dare you do this to me Mimi! I knew from the start that you were a spoiled one, but I never knew you were so -rotten- ! Don't lie to me now in saying you love me when you thought so insignificant of me as to not discuss this. I was a toy for you, an ignorant sheep boy with which to spend evenings with and whittle away the boredom. You did not love me!" Jyou spat, his eyes moist yet burning. There, he'd hurt her, made her reel back on her heels as if struck. He'd hurt just as much as she was wounding him.
The Egyptian Princess' sobs broke through into her words, the tears crisscrossing over her face. "That is not true! You are my love, Jyou, the only one I fear I will ever be allowed in this lifetime. Please Jyou, let us not ruin our last night together," Mimi cried and tried to hug her lover, to encase him in her touch and make things as they once were.
Yet Jyou backed away from Mimi and looked upon her with hurt and disgust. "Mimi, I ruin nothing you haven't spit upon already. This love? Though I may have felt it burning in my heart, I fear it was void in that hard stone in your breast. Have a perfect life with your Emperor, I am sure he will give you all that I could not." And then the tall man vaulted over the railing and was lost in the darkness of the night, running over the fields and allowing the rain of tears to blur his eyes.
Mimi stood there on her veranda and trembled, the wind sweeping over her shear dress of pink and gold. Then she fell to the stone floor on her knees and put her head in her hands, abandoning all but the sobs that ebbed over her.
*
Taichi stood, feeling somewhat awkward among the crowd of laughing people. He wore an outfit of worn leather that was much more functional and rugged then the current colorful garb of the people all around him and his muscular tan body seemed out of place in the sea of slender, pale faced royals who had never worked a day in their lives. Women flocked, of course, all around him, everyone wanting to catch the eye of the successful General Taichi, nicknamed 'Brave Lion Eye'. But Taichi wasn't particularly interested in these women; they were all far too snotty for his liking, with their noses permanently pointed towards the sky.
He swilled back the amber liquor in his glass and pensively scanned the room. In the far corner of the party, hidden just behind a tall stone pillar, stood two conversing figures in the shadows: Emperor Yamato and Erasmois. Taichi smelt the suspicion in the air; it practically reeked with corruption and spiced wine. He quietly slunk over to the marble pillar and hid to one side of it, listening intently to the two men's conversation.
"... Do you really suppose that?"
"Yes, Emperor. That man is dangerous. He holds great weight in the Senate, perhaps even enough to raise them up against your leadership."
"Yes, yes, Erasmois. You may be right but we can certainly deal with that all in the morning, right now let us enjoy the party! I'll lend you a mistress tonight to keep you warm and take your mind off of the boogie men you seem so afraid of."
"Your Highness, I think you do not see the danger in your ways! By tomorrow morn a seed could already be sown, one that is destine to grow into an oak and overshadow you. I tell you now, uproot this seed before it has time to blossom, strangle out all life in it!"
" O Erasmois, we are the best of friends but one day I will grow tired of all your nagging and anxieties. Now leave this Koushiro matter to rest until tomorrow or else I will have you removed from my birthday party at once. I will not have such a gay event spoiled by your heavy sour mood."
"-Youuu hooo-! Taichi! O my goodness, I have not exchanged words with you since... Well, I never did! But still, that doesn't give sway to letting you run away and hide on me now," a bubbly blonde practically leaped upon the man, her blue eyes flashing flirtatiously. She was wearing a particular olive green garment that showed a lot of cleavage and vivacious hips and from every possible position dangled expensive gold.
Taichi tried to silence the woman by raising a calloused hand and clasping it over her scarlet tinted lips. But it was already too late.
Erasmois was upon the man in a flash, his useless leg not even a hindrance to his swift movements, with a small dagger raised to Taichi's throat. "Why were you concealing yourself away, fool?" hissed the man with the electric green eyes. The woman pulled away from Taichi, screamed in terror, and ran into the crowd.
Taichi looked the man in the face yet didn't say a word, twin metallic blades glimmering in his deep eyes. The tension was so thick between the two it was suffocating and Taichi's lips were set firm in a scowl.
Emperor Yamato was soon by Erasmois side and he said, "What have we here? Isn't this the brave General Taichi who served my father? Erasmois let the man go at once!"
The member of the Senate let his sword drop reluctantly and Yamato put a hand on the General's shoulder. "Let me apologize for Erasmois. My friend has been on edge lately, seeking out mere ghosts hidden in the shadows," charmed the Emperor with a jovial laugh.
Taichi glared at the two men and said dangerously, "Then may your friend stop hunting for these ghosts before he finds that there are other things, much more real and -dangerous-, lurking along in the shadows as well."
Yamato seemed puzzled for a moment, yet quickly covered that up with a radiant smile. "Point well taken. Do you hear that Erasmois?" the Emperor spoke and then looked at Erasmois sternly.
Erasmois nodded his head yet his gaze blazed with hatred towards Taichi. He said gravely, "I hear well, your Excellency. And what I hear is insolence towards you; he speaks with a laced tongue in your presence. Perhaps you should ask General Taichi why he was hiding about, listening to our discussion like a spy?"
Taichi teeth grated and his hand neared perilously towards the hilt of his sword. "What I was doing is none of your business, Erasmois. You are in no position to call me a heretic."
"Now, now men," intervened Yamato, "Let us not spoil my eighteenth birthday, eh? Please keep your tempers at bay for one night."
Taichi glared at the two men before he strided away into the crowd.
"Is that enough proof for you that a rebellion is brewing in the night sky, your Highness? Spies are at every corner, listening with peeping ears," spoke Erasmois.
Yamato lost it, his temper flaring. He growled, "That is enough, Erasmois! All that I saw was you making a mockery of yourself, and me, by calling false claims against a loyal General of mine! Get out, now! Leave this Palace or else I will have you -beaten-!"
Erasmois narrowed his green eyes and then stalked off.
Yamato rolled his eyes, his anger melting away just as quickly as it swelled, and murmured to him self, "Can't I have just one peaceful night, Gods? Just one?" Then he caught sight of a pretty woman and was on his way.
*
Erasmois passed through the crowd, anger inflaming him. The new Emperor, and his dearest 'friend', was much too defiant for his liking, Erasmois had thought he might be merely a weak pawn to control the Empire with but now saw it would be much more difficult then this. General Taichi was also proving to be an unsuspecting thorn in his side; he might one day be a worthy adversary if Erasmois did not act quickly.
He neared close to a man with a glossy shaved head and small, beady eyes set in a rough pudgy face. Erasmois looked around and then whispered, "Holton, go to the Speaker of the Senate's house in the city and there I wish you to dispose of him in any means necessary. Do all of this quietly."
The man chewed slowly on his grimy fingernails and then smiled a yellow- toothed grin at Erasmois. He nodded his head and then lumbered off.
Erasmois' plan was working perfectly. When Koushiro was found dead, it would be apparent to all that it was the doing of Emperor Yamato after the little seething speech the Speaker of the Senate had made against him this very night. This would enrage the elders of the Senate and they would pull back their support from the youthful ruler... And without their aid, Yamato would be like a sapling, easily controlled or cut down. My, how glorious fate could be when it worked in his favor.
*
-Closing Notes-
Well that was a lot more drama and very little action. This chapter I believe is the most boring, it gets a lot more interesting as the chapters go on. Mimi and Jyou are no more? Kari and Takeru seemed to have hit it off no? Hmm is Erasmois working his own plot for the crown? And where o where is Sora?
Side note, I am really -really- mad you can't download bold letters! What the -? How am I supposed to make this dramatic if I have to put freakin - 's everywhere? It cramps my artistic talent; I just can't work like this. *Throws papers in air and storms off* Haha, I'm just joking, I'm not even holding papers. But seriously Fanfic.net is a great site, don't get me wrong, but this is so -lame-. Hehe.
Well here is my first Digimon fic (Hmm I think...). I've tried to keep all the Digimon members fairly in character while still manufacturing enough angst and thrill for the story to be interesting. This is sort of like an epic; I just started writing and couldn't stop. It's also a spin off of 'Gladiator' with many of the same concepts as the movie, although I have added a lot of my own elements.
O and a thousand dollars to whoever can think of a better title! A hehe I'm kidding. But please suggest some titles, I'm not that great when it comes to picking catchy headings. (Thus, my chapters are untitled)
-Warning-
Many times Yamato is shown in less than a positive light. While this works for the fic and I do play up a lot to his vain and selfish traits, I like Yamato. Really I do! *Rotten tomatoes are thrown by fan girls* However, I had to make him seem real, and a young dashing Emperor seems very likely to let the wealth and popularity go to his head. Above all he does appear very human.
Also violence! Lots and lots! Well not really but this is a fic about a gladiator so take a wild guess.
-Disclaimer-
I do not own 'Digimon' or the movie 'Gladiator'. I do not own any of the Digimon characters as well, only my original ones. I do not own the Empire State Building, an ice-skating rink, or the world's largest ball of yarn either. *Sighs at bad attempt at joke* O well, you get the idea.
Sorry ^^^^ is so long! It won't be next chapter, promise. Please read ~ review ~ enjoy!
Of Men And Heroes
By Jasmine
Chapter I
"A thousand stars studded in that night sky and not one whom may grant my heart's sole desire, I fear."
*
Long ago, on this earth that we inhabit, there was an empire like no other. A kingdom that dominated all the other countries within Europe, and in fact the whole world. This colossus of power was known then and forever as Rome. Rome was as grand a kingdom as ever there was; a region developed by the likes of crafty politicians and sheltered by legions of brave soldiers, all protecting a dream they called the 'Roman Lion', a beast of fierce and innumerable might. And all was good for a time; the populace prospered, the merchants grew fat from the riches of the Indies, and the army conquered more and more land until it seemed it might take over all of Europe.
Yet even the lion must have a downfall, an Achilles' heel as one might say. For the very foundation of Rome, the politicians and statesmen, were now crumbling the pillars of the empire with their wretched corruption. They lied and cheated the golden coins away from each other and their people until the masses became displeased and even a rebellion was heard to be whispered on cold night winds. The lion had found his one weakness, the tiny snake of fraud slithering in the grass. For even the most smallest snake possess fangs able to fall a lion and this particular snake is rearing back to strike.
That is how the story was first told to me when I was but a little girl. It always begins with those words, the 'Long ago', the beginning when this land was great. When Rome was a kingdom of dreams and hopes, of men and -heroes-.
That time passed with the carousing of the sand's in the hourglass, and like all things, the glory days of Rome became only willowy memories. Peasants were dying of diseases that swept over the countryside, murdering families at an instance, and the true tyrants, no not pillagers or thieves but politicians, fought and indulged in night crimes in hopes of taking over the throne. They struggled against each other, weakening the Empire as they did so with their constant shifting of Emperors. Over and over it went on, one backstabbing the other, until the land wept for its misled children.
And then, in a time not so long ago, as if from an ancient mist, a hero rose.
*
The large room was alive with chatter and bright colors. A large number of wealthy and renowned people, all dressed in lavish robes and headpieces, were standing about, smiling towards one another and conversing politely. Metallic moonlight cascaded down the tall windows, onto the polished marble floor, and servants, dressed in small flimsy cotton tunics, passed between the rich like ghosts with hollow lost eyes and carrying trays of sugared fruits and meats, the smells teasing their empty bellies relentlessly. Candles filled the hall with a warm glow and glinted off the jewels dripping from the necks and limbs of the wealthy, turning the air into a night sky of electric gilded stars.
Of all the guests, the most honored was Emperor Yamato, the youngest ruler ever to take the throne. He stood to one side of the room, people converging on all sides just to get a chance to exchange a word or two with the likes of such a man. His brilliant blond hair gleamed in the candlelight and he flashed his subjects a charming smile. He wore a robe of white and gold, tied loosely with a gilded broach over one shoulder. Yamato greeted them with a nod and his chiseled narrow face shown with a radiance, as if he was in his element. After all, everyone knew the young sir as a party lover at heart.
To his side stood his brother, the youthful Takari. He looked much like his sibling; a man of striking good looks and piercing azure eyes. Yet it was evident in his face that this party bored him. Young Takeru was not as much of a showman, or a 'smoke and mirrors' type of lad, as his sibling, he was much more thoughtful and inquisitive, preferring to hold afternoon talk with the likes of the great thinkers of the Empire and close friends, and thus the sea of snotty people held little amusement for him. "Brother, when shall this party be done with? Have you forgotten already the treaty we must negotiate with the Prussians?" he asked, fighting back a yawn.
Yamato nodded and shook the hand of a military official eager to please his Emperor and then turned to Takeru, speaking rather aloof, "O Takeru, must you constantly worry of such things which bore my brain to mush? Those Prussian savages can wait one night at least! Now may you go to find a pretty young maid which suits your liking and bother me no more in your pursuit of diplomacy."
Takeru snorted, "These maids disinterest me as much as documents disinterest you, dear Yamato. They are all far too shallow for my pallet. But I am all too certain -you- have seen a woman which strikes your fancy." His pallid eyes stormed with disgust at his brother's wild antics; never did he want to be taken seriously!
"But of course, Takeru! You know me; I will have a mistress for each of the moods that befalls me," the Emperor laughed arrogantly.
Suddenly a man stepped in front of Yamato and bowed low. It was Erasmois, a member of the Senate and good friend of the Emperor. He had a twisted leg ever since youth, which he now tucked back behind him, not so much an embarrassment anymore since all were use to it, but Erasmois hated it none- the-less. It always seemed to drag just behind his gait, weighing him down, constantly reminding him of a past that stung at his heart. Kissing the large sapphire studded ring upon the Emperor's hand, the lanky man smiled respectfully and cried loudly so that his voice echoed across the room, "Friends and loyal followers of this grand Empire known as Rome and the bearers of the crown, tonight we gather together under the safety of the Roman Palace to celebrate a significant day. For on this night of March 15th, our noble Emperor, the son of a man who's valor far surpasses any mortals', has come into the spring of his life. -Tonight- he is to turn eighteen and so enters the coming of his legacy, the beginning of his rein of justice and power. -Tonight-." Erasmois looked at the young ruler with a broad slick smile and Takeru swore that for a moment he saw a flash of cunning in those cool, composed green eyes. "-Tonight- Emperor Yamato steps out from the shadows of the forefathers that came before him and reveals the lion he holds within!"
The crowd erupted into applause; Yamato smiled and was pleased for the time, being bathed in the glory of his people. Takeru seemed to be the only one within the throng of citizens who wasn't clapping, his mind churning in edgy alarm. Then Erasmois held up a hand to silence the crowd, his dark mass of black hair falling before his brow. "And now, as a gift from the Senate and I, you're most humble and loyal of servants, I present to my Emperor the beautiful Mysterious Minstrel Mistress!"
Lovely flute music flitted up to the ceiling in delicate rhythm as a man began to play his wooden reed instrument. All eyes watched as slowly a beautiful maiden seemed to materialize in front of the Emperor. She wore a dress of thin raven black material, which fitted to her slender body nicely and was tied about her waist with a belt of golden chain, revealing slender creamy legs. She wore a hood so that only tufts of silky brown hair poked out from the rim and a veil of thin shadows covered her lower face. Slowly her voice began to flow all around the room in a stream of soft melodies as lovely as a lazy summer's sunset. Takeru was transfixed on the swaying female figure; he watched her beautiful brown eyes relishing each note she sang.
As the song ended, the people cheered loudly like a roar of thunder and the woman bowed low to the ground. As she stood there, in mid-kneel, Takeru was certain her gentle brown eyes met his inquiring blue ones and she raised a slender eyebrow, feeling her cheeks tinge with a rouge at his mere glance. Then she gasped, seemingly lost in his intensity and stood, fleeing the room quickly.
Takeru turned to his brother and whispered, "I must be going Yamato. See this not as any ill will towards you of course, I wish you good fortune on this of days, but I must be off."
Yamato replied in a hushed tone, "Do what you must brother. Good luck to you in your quest for maiden's fair, eh?" The Emperor winked and then watched as Takeru darted into the crowd and was lost from view.
Erasmois grinned and then held up his goblet filled with rich red wine, the purest in all the world. "Who here among these fine men would like to offer up a toast to our Emperor?" Not a person moved, each too weary of setting themselves up to be thought a conspirator against the throne, for these were treacherous times when a heretic could be called at the drop of a hat. Erasmois furrowed his brow in mock puzzlement, "O come now! Surely you may all speak freely here in the house of the Gods, amongst your fellow kin! Who here is a man and not a mouse?"
There was stiffening pause before a voice shattered the quiet like a stone crashing into a glass windowpane. "I believe I will speak." There was a wave of whispers that ebbed among the masses as a young man with a mane of fiery red hair stepped foreword. It was Koushiro, speaker of the Senate, and never was there a man who possessed more wisdom then he.
Erasmois looked pleased, it was the only man he expected and wished to speak. He said in a voice thick with contempt, "Then may you toast our Emperor's legacy in whatever manner you desire, sir!"
Koushiro's gaze was sure and his voice was unhesitant. "I offer up blessing to the Empire and its people, poor and rich alike; I toast now to the hope that our Emperor will prosper under the belief that he is a voice for his subjects and no more or less. Also I raise my glass high in commemoration to the dreams of the children sick in the lanes now whose only wish is to be heard, for now dreams are all that are left of them. " Koushiro raised his glass and the whispers grew louder, yet his deep eyes burned with a passion and a slight loathing.
Yamato was stunned. How dare this man of the Senate come into his own home and imply he was ignoring his own citizens! The Emperor kept his cool and gave a smile, taut at the edges like a tin music box wound up too tight. "Aye. And I offer toast to the dream that Senate will never think its selves messenger of the Gods nor golden cage to the Roman Lion." Yamato raised his glass and took a sip of the crimson liquid, all the while watching Koushiro. The crowd was now alive with lulled gossip.
Koushiro gazed at the man, unable to bridle his anger as he spoke, "Dictators ride to and fro upon lions which they dare not dismount. And the lions are getting hungry." The speaker of the Senate also drank his wine, knowing that perhaps this might be his last pleasure on this earth.
Erasmois drank and peered at Yamato and Koushiro just over the rim of his goblet, the red wine beaded at his lips as he quietly chuckled with mirth.
*
The minstrel gracefully padded hurriedly down the marble corridor as Takeru appeared just out of a doorway. Catching sight of the woman, he shouted, "Wait, please miss!" and quickly took chase.
The mysterious bard turned her head to see the running Takeru and rapidly resumed her flight. Just as she turned a corner, her delicate golden necklace's clasp broke apart and clattered to the ground. Takeru was on it in a moment and picked up the pretty glimmering rose-shaped pendant. "I believe you dropped this," he panted and held out the jewelry in his pale palm.
The girl seemed frightened as she babbled, "I'm horribly sorry for running away, your Excellency. I... I just get shy... after performances... Please accept my apologies."
Takeru smiled slightly at the woman's panicked speech. "No need to say you're sorry, malady. I was the one who chased after you, remember? It's my own fault for frightening you as I did."
The minstrel looked at the Emperor's brother and then hesitantly took back her necklace into her small creamy hand. The golden rose pendant disappeared within the folds of the woman's black robe. With a smile hidden by her veil she inquired, "So I -won't- be sent to jail then?"
"What? For making me run? I think not," Takeru chuckled and then asked, clear out of the blue, "Who's Taichi?"
The girl looked up sharply, her chocolate eyes fringed by a long dusting of eyelashes welled in terror and puzzlement, like a willowy deer preparing to take flight. "Excuse me?"
"Your necklace had etched on it: Love Taichi... Is he your suitor?" the boy said, trying to hide his apparent interest in this enigmatic young woman.
There was a slight giggle emitted from behind the veil. "Gods no! He's my brother," she laughed.
Takeru chuckled too and trailed off mysteriously, "O I see. Well that is good..."
The girl raised a thin arched eyebrow and asked coyly, "And why is that, your Highness?"
"Only that I may wish to see you again and it would certainly be a pity if you were already taken. By the way, there is no need for you to call me your Highness. My brother is the one who insists on all the technicalities, I prefer to be called simply Takeru," replied the young man, a humble yet adorable look on his face.
A tint of pink came over the girl's soft curved cheeks and she replied, "If that is to your liking then that is what I shall do, simply Takeru."
"And of your name? May I be blessed to know it?" the man spoke, feeling rather bold and at ease for some reason in the company of this beautiful bard.
A fracture of a smile singed beyond the veil and she replied, her amber eyes filled with innocent flirtation, "Perhaps another night, Takeru." Then with a last sweeping glance, she turned and ran down the length of the hall until she was gone from sight.
The man stood for a moment gazing off into the space she disappeared into and then a large foolish grin overcame his face from ear-to-ear. Finally he'd met a young woman with some wit and enchantment about her, as well as a stinging range of jabs and not to mention stunning. With a small chuckle that echoed across the marble corridors, Takeru walked towards his own bedchamber. Yet those wide doe-eyed brown orbs followed him, ever present in his dreams.
*
It was a cool night; a sweet breeze blew across the lapping Nile River to calm the scorched Egyptian lands. Lambs baaed quietly as they snuggled closer to the warm fleece of their mothers' and their shepherds lay out on their backs upon grassy hills. A large fortress of fiery sandstone stuck out from the fertile land like a testament of this empire; both once beautiful and grand yet now just meager collapsing grains in the hourglass of life.
A woman lay on an open-backed couch saturated in rippling thin silks and cool shawls under a canopy of cotton cloth. Her name was Mimi, Princess of Egypt. Her long mane of silky light brown hair lay over one shoulder, gently fluttering in the wind, and her skin was perfectly tan. Mimi's face was like a statue's chiseled features, adorned with dark kohl ash all along the framing of her hazel eyes flecked with embers of gold. She lay back upon the satin couch and she looked dolefully up at a small opening in the canopy to see a dark, velvety sky encrusted in vivid stars. "A thousand stars studded in that night sky and not one whom may grant my heart's sole desire, I fear," she sighed to herself and her sad words were carried with the wind.
"Then perhaps I may be your star tonight?" The steady masculine voice broke through the Princess's still atmosphere and at once she looked up to see a tall man standing before her. His streamline chest was bare and tanned; his wild head of raven hair waving in the wind. A small brown cotton cloth was wrapped around his thin waist and a slight smile was on his long face.
Mimi leaped up, her bare feet pattering against the cool stone, and she ran towards her beloved, wrapping her arms around his warm naked chest. "-Jyou- ..." she murmured and tears of mixed joy and sadness sprang to her eyes.
The man ran his long fingers through Mimi's hair and kissed the crown of her head. "My beloved Mimi, I've wanted to do this the whole day. Even as I tended the flock, I thought of you. Have you any idea how you affect my heart?"
The Princess bit her lip and stepped back slightly from the embrace, lowering her gaze. "I know full well, for my heart aches too every time we are apart... And that is why what I must say pains me so."
Jyou's dark eyebrows knitted together and he gently took Mimi's hand in his. He spoke softly as he gazed at her dejected face, "What is it, my Princess? Has something happened?"
"Yes... Yes something has," Mimi began and then looked up into her lover's brown eyes, a tear running down her cheek. Those eyes that had always gazed upon her with such care and affection, those scorched and chapped lips that whispered things to her during their nights together that no other soul would ever hear. He had loved her without a worry to titles or riches; Jyou loved -Mimi-, not the Princess. He was the one she'd imagined marrying and growing old with, he was her first and last true love. The sobs began to part through her now like frothy tufts of ocean waves breaking over a coast, smearing kohl across her high cheeks.
"I'm meant to wed another." The statement was so horrid and stark, like the icy tip of a blade. It left her petal lips and felt heavy, weighting the silence. Yet this dagger would rip into this couple's tender beating hearts up until their dying day, this was their cryptic fate.
The man's mouth fell open in shock and his voice rose, "-What-? How can that be? But I thought you spoke to your father about our love..."
"I did but he would not listen, or more appropriately he did not -care-. My father said that whether I love another matters not for I am to marry Royalty, whether I prefer it or not. He told me love is a selfish emotion, I must put all those silly notions behind me to do what's best for this land," the Princess spoke. Truth be told, she half agreed with her father. Here she was gallivanting and holding midnight encounters with a handsome rogue shepherd when all around her the Egyptian Empire was weakening and becoming increasingly more vulnerable to other nations.
Jyou was still too surprised to think correctly as he said, "This cannot be! We... You and I are to marry, Mimi! How can the Pharaoh just auction you off to the highest bidder? Has he no interest in your happiness?"
Mimi grasped the side of the sofa for support, the weightiness of her bleak fate crushing down on her. "Apparently not, Jyou. You see how our empire has been reduced to beggars at the feet of the high Romans; my father says I must sacrifice my foolish ideals for my people and marry the Emperor of Rome. I cannot help but believe he speaks the truth Jyou, I am but a servant to my Empire..."
"Underworld's fire to the Empire!" shouted Jyou suddenly and he seized Mimi's upper arms with his hands, clutching her tight. "I care not if it came tumbling down on its head! It's only a wasteland of scorched writhing sands, and a sanctimony of fat royals made rich off the backs of the slaves and the poor. Why should we suffer to further this Gods-forsaken land?"
Tears were cascading down the girl's face as she was seized by her beloved, her body quivering as she forced herself to look up into his furious face. "Jyou, there is no way of escaping my fate. The ship comes to port tomorrow at dawn and I will depart on it, never to see my homeland or -you- again."
The shepherd's eyes widened and he asked, his anger softening at the jagged edges to reveal grief, "Tomorrow morn? You have kept this from me for so long and only sprung this dreadful surprise upon me the night before your departure?" A solemn tear collapsed from his eye, rolled along the gently curve of his cheek to fall upon Mimi's smooth brow.
Mimi stammered, "I am sorry, Jyou. With all the world, I am sorry. I felt I shouldn't blight our love, our last days, with such news."
"O take back that sorry! This world is forcing my only love to leave me, I'll not accept it's apology!" he shouted, his voice laced with both fury and an overwhelming sadness. "How dare you do this to me Mimi! I knew from the start that you were a spoiled one, but I never knew you were so -rotten- ! Don't lie to me now in saying you love me when you thought so insignificant of me as to not discuss this. I was a toy for you, an ignorant sheep boy with which to spend evenings with and whittle away the boredom. You did not love me!" Jyou spat, his eyes moist yet burning. There, he'd hurt her, made her reel back on her heels as if struck. He'd hurt just as much as she was wounding him.
The Egyptian Princess' sobs broke through into her words, the tears crisscrossing over her face. "That is not true! You are my love, Jyou, the only one I fear I will ever be allowed in this lifetime. Please Jyou, let us not ruin our last night together," Mimi cried and tried to hug her lover, to encase him in her touch and make things as they once were.
Yet Jyou backed away from Mimi and looked upon her with hurt and disgust. "Mimi, I ruin nothing you haven't spit upon already. This love? Though I may have felt it burning in my heart, I fear it was void in that hard stone in your breast. Have a perfect life with your Emperor, I am sure he will give you all that I could not." And then the tall man vaulted over the railing and was lost in the darkness of the night, running over the fields and allowing the rain of tears to blur his eyes.
Mimi stood there on her veranda and trembled, the wind sweeping over her shear dress of pink and gold. Then she fell to the stone floor on her knees and put her head in her hands, abandoning all but the sobs that ebbed over her.
*
Taichi stood, feeling somewhat awkward among the crowd of laughing people. He wore an outfit of worn leather that was much more functional and rugged then the current colorful garb of the people all around him and his muscular tan body seemed out of place in the sea of slender, pale faced royals who had never worked a day in their lives. Women flocked, of course, all around him, everyone wanting to catch the eye of the successful General Taichi, nicknamed 'Brave Lion Eye'. But Taichi wasn't particularly interested in these women; they were all far too snotty for his liking, with their noses permanently pointed towards the sky.
He swilled back the amber liquor in his glass and pensively scanned the room. In the far corner of the party, hidden just behind a tall stone pillar, stood two conversing figures in the shadows: Emperor Yamato and Erasmois. Taichi smelt the suspicion in the air; it practically reeked with corruption and spiced wine. He quietly slunk over to the marble pillar and hid to one side of it, listening intently to the two men's conversation.
"... Do you really suppose that?"
"Yes, Emperor. That man is dangerous. He holds great weight in the Senate, perhaps even enough to raise them up against your leadership."
"Yes, yes, Erasmois. You may be right but we can certainly deal with that all in the morning, right now let us enjoy the party! I'll lend you a mistress tonight to keep you warm and take your mind off of the boogie men you seem so afraid of."
"Your Highness, I think you do not see the danger in your ways! By tomorrow morn a seed could already be sown, one that is destine to grow into an oak and overshadow you. I tell you now, uproot this seed before it has time to blossom, strangle out all life in it!"
" O Erasmois, we are the best of friends but one day I will grow tired of all your nagging and anxieties. Now leave this Koushiro matter to rest until tomorrow or else I will have you removed from my birthday party at once. I will not have such a gay event spoiled by your heavy sour mood."
"-Youuu hooo-! Taichi! O my goodness, I have not exchanged words with you since... Well, I never did! But still, that doesn't give sway to letting you run away and hide on me now," a bubbly blonde practically leaped upon the man, her blue eyes flashing flirtatiously. She was wearing a particular olive green garment that showed a lot of cleavage and vivacious hips and from every possible position dangled expensive gold.
Taichi tried to silence the woman by raising a calloused hand and clasping it over her scarlet tinted lips. But it was already too late.
Erasmois was upon the man in a flash, his useless leg not even a hindrance to his swift movements, with a small dagger raised to Taichi's throat. "Why were you concealing yourself away, fool?" hissed the man with the electric green eyes. The woman pulled away from Taichi, screamed in terror, and ran into the crowd.
Taichi looked the man in the face yet didn't say a word, twin metallic blades glimmering in his deep eyes. The tension was so thick between the two it was suffocating and Taichi's lips were set firm in a scowl.
Emperor Yamato was soon by Erasmois side and he said, "What have we here? Isn't this the brave General Taichi who served my father? Erasmois let the man go at once!"
The member of the Senate let his sword drop reluctantly and Yamato put a hand on the General's shoulder. "Let me apologize for Erasmois. My friend has been on edge lately, seeking out mere ghosts hidden in the shadows," charmed the Emperor with a jovial laugh.
Taichi glared at the two men and said dangerously, "Then may your friend stop hunting for these ghosts before he finds that there are other things, much more real and -dangerous-, lurking along in the shadows as well."
Yamato seemed puzzled for a moment, yet quickly covered that up with a radiant smile. "Point well taken. Do you hear that Erasmois?" the Emperor spoke and then looked at Erasmois sternly.
Erasmois nodded his head yet his gaze blazed with hatred towards Taichi. He said gravely, "I hear well, your Excellency. And what I hear is insolence towards you; he speaks with a laced tongue in your presence. Perhaps you should ask General Taichi why he was hiding about, listening to our discussion like a spy?"
Taichi teeth grated and his hand neared perilously towards the hilt of his sword. "What I was doing is none of your business, Erasmois. You are in no position to call me a heretic."
"Now, now men," intervened Yamato, "Let us not spoil my eighteenth birthday, eh? Please keep your tempers at bay for one night."
Taichi glared at the two men before he strided away into the crowd.
"Is that enough proof for you that a rebellion is brewing in the night sky, your Highness? Spies are at every corner, listening with peeping ears," spoke Erasmois.
Yamato lost it, his temper flaring. He growled, "That is enough, Erasmois! All that I saw was you making a mockery of yourself, and me, by calling false claims against a loyal General of mine! Get out, now! Leave this Palace or else I will have you -beaten-!"
Erasmois narrowed his green eyes and then stalked off.
Yamato rolled his eyes, his anger melting away just as quickly as it swelled, and murmured to him self, "Can't I have just one peaceful night, Gods? Just one?" Then he caught sight of a pretty woman and was on his way.
*
Erasmois passed through the crowd, anger inflaming him. The new Emperor, and his dearest 'friend', was much too defiant for his liking, Erasmois had thought he might be merely a weak pawn to control the Empire with but now saw it would be much more difficult then this. General Taichi was also proving to be an unsuspecting thorn in his side; he might one day be a worthy adversary if Erasmois did not act quickly.
He neared close to a man with a glossy shaved head and small, beady eyes set in a rough pudgy face. Erasmois looked around and then whispered, "Holton, go to the Speaker of the Senate's house in the city and there I wish you to dispose of him in any means necessary. Do all of this quietly."
The man chewed slowly on his grimy fingernails and then smiled a yellow- toothed grin at Erasmois. He nodded his head and then lumbered off.
Erasmois' plan was working perfectly. When Koushiro was found dead, it would be apparent to all that it was the doing of Emperor Yamato after the little seething speech the Speaker of the Senate had made against him this very night. This would enrage the elders of the Senate and they would pull back their support from the youthful ruler... And without their aid, Yamato would be like a sapling, easily controlled or cut down. My, how glorious fate could be when it worked in his favor.
*
-Closing Notes-
Well that was a lot more drama and very little action. This chapter I believe is the most boring, it gets a lot more interesting as the chapters go on. Mimi and Jyou are no more? Kari and Takeru seemed to have hit it off no? Hmm is Erasmois working his own plot for the crown? And where o where is Sora?
Side note, I am really -really- mad you can't download bold letters! What the -? How am I supposed to make this dramatic if I have to put freakin - 's everywhere? It cramps my artistic talent; I just can't work like this. *Throws papers in air and storms off* Haha, I'm just joking, I'm not even holding papers. But seriously Fanfic.net is a great site, don't get me wrong, but this is so -lame-. Hehe.