The Arrow, the Staff and the Shield
Chapter 15, Part A
Prince Taichi had laid awake the entire night thinking. He had known he would, knew that he would again the next night and most probably the night after that as well. It was simply because he had so much to think about. His coronation was the day after tomorrow. He was trying to play host to about two dozens guests from neighboring countries while at the same time preparing himself for a lifetime's responsibility to his kingdom. He was doing his best to stay calm and collected throughout it all, not allowing himself to lose his head. He was also attempting to divide as much of his spare time as he could between Hikari, Sora and Koushiro, refusing to sacrifice time with his friends and family simply because he was going to be busier.
He felt like his head was going to explode.
And now, on top of everything else, he had Ken's little thought on his mind as well. And as much as he tried not to think about it, the thought nagged at him, until he really started thinking there might have been something to what the Digitalian King had said.
But Ken's comment had also nudged another thought into Taichi's conscious mind. Sir Jyuu of the House of Kido. He was sure he'd heard the name before, knew it sounded familiar, but he still couldn't figure out where he'd heard it.
Then, early the next morning, it struck him like a bolt of lightning. Taichi jumped up from bed, dressed as quickly as he possibly could and ran off down the empty corridors to his father's study. Glancing out windows as he ran past them, the Crown Prince saw that it was still dark outside and he wondered vaguely what time it was.
He reached the study after a few minutes and locked it after he'd entered. He lit one lamp and scrambled to the shelf behind the desk. He searched nervously for a few moments, knocking a good many books and trinkets to the floor as he did so, before he found what he was looking for. His father's journal.
Taichi quickly placed it down on the desk and rifled through the pages. It took a good couple of minutes, but at long last the Prince spotted it. "Kido..." he muttered, placing his finger down at the top of a page. He took a moment to read through the page. At one point he paused for a second and went back to start it again, wondering if he had read it wrong. After confirming that he hadn't, Taichi looked up from the book and stared at the lamp sitting beside him on the desk. He then glanced down at the Kamiya crest signet ring on his left hand.
"I knew it."
* * * * *
Unknown to Prince Taichi, he was not the only person awake at that ungodly hour of the morning. Princess Hikari sat unmoving by her bow window, staring down at the castle grounds, also in deep thought. She was clothed in a lacy, white nightgown, her long brown hair hanging loosely down her back, free of constraints, and she had a sheer silk shawl wrapped around her shoulders. All in all, sitting there, her profile framed in the moonlight, the princess looked like a picture from a dream.
But dreams were one of the farthest things from Hikari's mind. She was trying to figure out how she was supposed to tell Takeru about her arrow and how she felt that there was some sort of connection between it and his staff. `Well Takeru, a few weeks back, I found a mysterious arrow that I'm afraid to use in a bookcase and I'm wondering if it might have something to do with that staff of yours.' Perfectly pathetic.
She sighed unhappily. That stupid staff was all she could think about, no matter what she tried to do to get it out of her mind and it was absolutely infuriating. And once she'd had time to think about it, she realized that there were probably thousands of staffs in the world that were made of gold and diamond; the fact that Takeru owned one was really nothing special.
"Then why can't I get HIS out of my mind?" Kari asked herself quietly.
* * * * *
Later that morning King Yamato was on his way downstairs to breakfast when he ran into Ken. "Good Morning King Ken," he said, barely looking up as he walked on. He paused for a moment after he noticed Ken's lack of response and glanced back at the Digitalian boy.
A very faint and forced-looking smile quickly appeared on his face. "Good morning."
Yamato nodded back at him before continuing on his way. But Ken merely stood there as a scowl replaced his smile, marring his attractive features. It was a good few minutes before he turned and walked in the other direction.
He arrived in what seemed to be a fairly desolate corridor, almost completely empty of decoration or furnishings. He glanced around himself, checking for any unwanted visitors. He then reached a hand down the front of his navy tunic and pulled out a black crystal on a golden chain from around his neck.
He held it out in his palm, closed his eyes and chanted under his breath for a moment. He then took his hand away slowly and his crystal hung in mid-air, as if held by an invisible hand. And then it began to glow. Ken bowed before it and spoke. "It is I, Master. I bring good news."
* * * * *
Takeru was running exceptionally late that morning as he attempted to fasten his green cloak around his neck, hold onto his green beret and golden staff, and hurry down the corridor at the same time. He had woken up much later than usual, having had trouble falling asleep the night before, and now he was late for his meeting with Kari.
Finally Takeru could stand it no longer and he stopped in the middle of an empty corridor to finish fastening his cloak as he leaned his staff against a wall near the corner of two crossing hallways. After he had accomplished this, at long last, he pulled his beret onto his head and tipped it to the side. He was reaching over to pick up his staff when he heard a voice around the corner of the hall.
Takeru froze. It was King Ken's voice he was hearing, but after a moment another voice spoke, a chilling voice that Takeru had never heard before but one would remember for a long time to come.
"... And I'm sure that he'll discover Sir Jyuu's secret soon enough."
"That's fine, boy, fine," the unfamiliar voice replied. This voice had none of Ken's suave charm and smooth texture, but sounded harsh and cold, piercing, like ice. "I'm sure that you are doing a wonderful job enlarging the gap between those foolish simpletons. But what I am most interested in, you have not told me. What of the arrow, the staff and the shield? Do you know who possesses them?"
There was a tense pause. Takeru waited anxiously to hear more and he slowly moved forward so that he could just barely see around the corner. There was King Ken, kneeling on the floor before a shining black crystal floating in mid-air. A strange sight to say the least and it became only stranger as Takeru realized that the other voice was coming from the crystal itself.
Finally Ken spoke. "I know only of the staff-bearer," he said as though ashamed. "The others are still unknown to me, despite my efforts. The staff of the Guardian of the East lies in the hands of Takeru Ishida."
Prince Takeru started. The Guardian of the East? `But I was always told that the Guardians were just a legend,' he thought to himself. `How did I manage to get hold of the staff of a myth?'
The voice from the crystal seemed angry. "Only one? You have been there two days and you have discovered only one? I taught you far better than that, I am sure. And I'll bet you haven't even managed to take it yet, have you?" Ken remained silent. "I didn't think so. Stupid boy! I did not send you there for a vacation, you fool."
The voice paused and Takeru heard a sigh. "If you are unable to acquire any of the weapons, then get Prince Takeru out of the way. If he is truly the staff-bearer than no one else can use the staff against us." The voice's tone sharpened. "But I still want those items. If you are unable to do this, boy, there will be hell to pay. I want this done before that fool, Taichi's, coronation the day after next and it will be done."
"Of course, Master," Ken replied quietly. The crystal stopped glowing and slowly fell into Ken's outstretched hand and he stood up.
Takeru was still around the corner, shocked at what he had heard. It was more than a little difficult to take in. But before he even had a chance to try, he realized that Ken was getting up to leave. Startled, Takeru backed up as quickly and quietly as he could manage with his heart feeling like it was pounding in his throat. He had almost made it away when something beside him crashed to the floor.
He jerked and looked down. His staff; he'd forgotten it was leaning against the wall behind him.
* * * * *
Around the corner Ken heard the noise and whirled around. He stormed down the corridor to the corner Takeru was hiding behind. Takeru cursed and tried to run before Ken could see him, but it was too late. Ken came around the corner.
He sneered when he saw the other boy attempting to escape. "How nice to see you, Takeru."
Takeru gulped nervously, but tried to hide it. Perhaps, if Ken believed that he had only just arrived in the corridor at the same time the staff had fallen and hadn't overheard anything, he could get away. "And you too, King Ken."
Ken sneered at Takeru's pitiful masquerade.
"Don't bother, boy. I know you heard me. Were you aware that eavesdropping is a severe breech of etiquette for a Prince?"
Takeru recognized his failure for what it was and gave up. "How would you even know? You aren't even a real king." Ken smirked at him.
"Not yet."
With this, he quickly pulled out his crystal from his tunic once again and pointed it at the Prince. He mumbled a few words under his breath and suddenly Takeru found that he couldn't move. He couldn't move anything at all, not his arms or legs and when he opened his mouth to cry out, his shout was cut off as his mouth froze also.
After a few moments of merely gazing thoughtfully at his captive, Ken started pacing around him. "No," he spoke quietly, almost inaudibly, "I'm not a king, or a prince even. But that will change when my master comes. Once he comes, he will rule these lands, not you or your brother, or the Kamiyas, or the Tachikawas. They should have been his long ago and they would have, had it not been for your lands' *Guardians*." He spoke the last word mockingly. "They managed to delay his return, for a time, but even they knew it could not last. Nothing can, not against my master."
Ken smirked once again, but it was quickly wiped from his face as running footsteps and a yell echoed down the corridor in their direction. "Prince Takeru! Are you alright?!"
Ken cursed and hurriedly mumbled under his breath, stepping back from the frozen prince, pointing his crystal at him once again. And then suddenly, the Ishidan prince disappeared into thin air. Ken couldn't help a tiny smirk that escaped to his lips as he tossed the black crystal into the air, caught it again and tucked it into his tunic. He went to pick and the staff, which had fallen once more to the floor. But before he had a chance to leave, Baron Daisuke and Count Iori appeared from around the corner. Cursing mentally, he put on a worried look.
"Your majesty!" Daisuke exclaimed, obviously surprised. He quickly bowed, followed by Iori, before explaining himself. "We heard our prince cry out, my lord. It sounded as though he was in trouble. We came to see what was wrong."
Ken nodded in understanding. "I, too, heard him shout," He lied smoothly, "And came to see what was wrong. But when I got here all I found was his staff." He indicated the gold and diamond weapon in his hand.
Daisuke started to panic, but Iori ignored him, striding over and snatching the staff from Ken's hands. As the teenager gave him a suspicious glare, Ken swore mentally once again. `Brat!'
As Iori went to get King Yamato and inform him of Takeru's disappearance, comforting Daisuke along the way, Ken stood still for a few moments. "Damn," he whispered, before turning to go back to his room.
* * * * *
Author's notes: Man, this took forever and it's not even that long. But, HEY! I'm back in my groove again! I have already started the next part. That's mostly because I was going to put it here at the end of this one, but decided not to. I still need to go over it and stuff and I've waited long enough to post this much. By the way, if you people are in the mood for something else to read while I'm working on this, you could always try my fic "Moving On". I actually think I'm doing a pretty good job with that one.
Anyhow, lately I've been thinking of redoing parts of this story. Not immediately, and I'll keep the original up, but I would like to fix up some stuff, you know, smooth out some rough edges. So, if you think it's a good idea, let me know and I'll get to it. Anyhow, next part soon, sorry for the delay, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Toodles! ^_^ A.E.
Chapter 15, Part A
Prince Taichi had laid awake the entire night thinking. He had known he would, knew that he would again the next night and most probably the night after that as well. It was simply because he had so much to think about. His coronation was the day after tomorrow. He was trying to play host to about two dozens guests from neighboring countries while at the same time preparing himself for a lifetime's responsibility to his kingdom. He was doing his best to stay calm and collected throughout it all, not allowing himself to lose his head. He was also attempting to divide as much of his spare time as he could between Hikari, Sora and Koushiro, refusing to sacrifice time with his friends and family simply because he was going to be busier.
He felt like his head was going to explode.
And now, on top of everything else, he had Ken's little thought on his mind as well. And as much as he tried not to think about it, the thought nagged at him, until he really started thinking there might have been something to what the Digitalian King had said.
But Ken's comment had also nudged another thought into Taichi's conscious mind. Sir Jyuu of the House of Kido. He was sure he'd heard the name before, knew it sounded familiar, but he still couldn't figure out where he'd heard it.
Then, early the next morning, it struck him like a bolt of lightning. Taichi jumped up from bed, dressed as quickly as he possibly could and ran off down the empty corridors to his father's study. Glancing out windows as he ran past them, the Crown Prince saw that it was still dark outside and he wondered vaguely what time it was.
He reached the study after a few minutes and locked it after he'd entered. He lit one lamp and scrambled to the shelf behind the desk. He searched nervously for a few moments, knocking a good many books and trinkets to the floor as he did so, before he found what he was looking for. His father's journal.
Taichi quickly placed it down on the desk and rifled through the pages. It took a good couple of minutes, but at long last the Prince spotted it. "Kido..." he muttered, placing his finger down at the top of a page. He took a moment to read through the page. At one point he paused for a second and went back to start it again, wondering if he had read it wrong. After confirming that he hadn't, Taichi looked up from the book and stared at the lamp sitting beside him on the desk. He then glanced down at the Kamiya crest signet ring on his left hand.
"I knew it."
* * * * *
Unknown to Prince Taichi, he was not the only person awake at that ungodly hour of the morning. Princess Hikari sat unmoving by her bow window, staring down at the castle grounds, also in deep thought. She was clothed in a lacy, white nightgown, her long brown hair hanging loosely down her back, free of constraints, and she had a sheer silk shawl wrapped around her shoulders. All in all, sitting there, her profile framed in the moonlight, the princess looked like a picture from a dream.
But dreams were one of the farthest things from Hikari's mind. She was trying to figure out how she was supposed to tell Takeru about her arrow and how she felt that there was some sort of connection between it and his staff. `Well Takeru, a few weeks back, I found a mysterious arrow that I'm afraid to use in a bookcase and I'm wondering if it might have something to do with that staff of yours.' Perfectly pathetic.
She sighed unhappily. That stupid staff was all she could think about, no matter what she tried to do to get it out of her mind and it was absolutely infuriating. And once she'd had time to think about it, she realized that there were probably thousands of staffs in the world that were made of gold and diamond; the fact that Takeru owned one was really nothing special.
"Then why can't I get HIS out of my mind?" Kari asked herself quietly.
* * * * *
Later that morning King Yamato was on his way downstairs to breakfast when he ran into Ken. "Good Morning King Ken," he said, barely looking up as he walked on. He paused for a moment after he noticed Ken's lack of response and glanced back at the Digitalian boy.
A very faint and forced-looking smile quickly appeared on his face. "Good morning."
Yamato nodded back at him before continuing on his way. But Ken merely stood there as a scowl replaced his smile, marring his attractive features. It was a good few minutes before he turned and walked in the other direction.
He arrived in what seemed to be a fairly desolate corridor, almost completely empty of decoration or furnishings. He glanced around himself, checking for any unwanted visitors. He then reached a hand down the front of his navy tunic and pulled out a black crystal on a golden chain from around his neck.
He held it out in his palm, closed his eyes and chanted under his breath for a moment. He then took his hand away slowly and his crystal hung in mid-air, as if held by an invisible hand. And then it began to glow. Ken bowed before it and spoke. "It is I, Master. I bring good news."
* * * * *
Takeru was running exceptionally late that morning as he attempted to fasten his green cloak around his neck, hold onto his green beret and golden staff, and hurry down the corridor at the same time. He had woken up much later than usual, having had trouble falling asleep the night before, and now he was late for his meeting with Kari.
Finally Takeru could stand it no longer and he stopped in the middle of an empty corridor to finish fastening his cloak as he leaned his staff against a wall near the corner of two crossing hallways. After he had accomplished this, at long last, he pulled his beret onto his head and tipped it to the side. He was reaching over to pick up his staff when he heard a voice around the corner of the hall.
Takeru froze. It was King Ken's voice he was hearing, but after a moment another voice spoke, a chilling voice that Takeru had never heard before but one would remember for a long time to come.
"... And I'm sure that he'll discover Sir Jyuu's secret soon enough."
"That's fine, boy, fine," the unfamiliar voice replied. This voice had none of Ken's suave charm and smooth texture, but sounded harsh and cold, piercing, like ice. "I'm sure that you are doing a wonderful job enlarging the gap between those foolish simpletons. But what I am most interested in, you have not told me. What of the arrow, the staff and the shield? Do you know who possesses them?"
There was a tense pause. Takeru waited anxiously to hear more and he slowly moved forward so that he could just barely see around the corner. There was King Ken, kneeling on the floor before a shining black crystal floating in mid-air. A strange sight to say the least and it became only stranger as Takeru realized that the other voice was coming from the crystal itself.
Finally Ken spoke. "I know only of the staff-bearer," he said as though ashamed. "The others are still unknown to me, despite my efforts. The staff of the Guardian of the East lies in the hands of Takeru Ishida."
Prince Takeru started. The Guardian of the East? `But I was always told that the Guardians were just a legend,' he thought to himself. `How did I manage to get hold of the staff of a myth?'
The voice from the crystal seemed angry. "Only one? You have been there two days and you have discovered only one? I taught you far better than that, I am sure. And I'll bet you haven't even managed to take it yet, have you?" Ken remained silent. "I didn't think so. Stupid boy! I did not send you there for a vacation, you fool."
The voice paused and Takeru heard a sigh. "If you are unable to acquire any of the weapons, then get Prince Takeru out of the way. If he is truly the staff-bearer than no one else can use the staff against us." The voice's tone sharpened. "But I still want those items. If you are unable to do this, boy, there will be hell to pay. I want this done before that fool, Taichi's, coronation the day after next and it will be done."
"Of course, Master," Ken replied quietly. The crystal stopped glowing and slowly fell into Ken's outstretched hand and he stood up.
Takeru was still around the corner, shocked at what he had heard. It was more than a little difficult to take in. But before he even had a chance to try, he realized that Ken was getting up to leave. Startled, Takeru backed up as quickly and quietly as he could manage with his heart feeling like it was pounding in his throat. He had almost made it away when something beside him crashed to the floor.
He jerked and looked down. His staff; he'd forgotten it was leaning against the wall behind him.
* * * * *
Around the corner Ken heard the noise and whirled around. He stormed down the corridor to the corner Takeru was hiding behind. Takeru cursed and tried to run before Ken could see him, but it was too late. Ken came around the corner.
He sneered when he saw the other boy attempting to escape. "How nice to see you, Takeru."
Takeru gulped nervously, but tried to hide it. Perhaps, if Ken believed that he had only just arrived in the corridor at the same time the staff had fallen and hadn't overheard anything, he could get away. "And you too, King Ken."
Ken sneered at Takeru's pitiful masquerade.
"Don't bother, boy. I know you heard me. Were you aware that eavesdropping is a severe breech of etiquette for a Prince?"
Takeru recognized his failure for what it was and gave up. "How would you even know? You aren't even a real king." Ken smirked at him.
"Not yet."
With this, he quickly pulled out his crystal from his tunic once again and pointed it at the Prince. He mumbled a few words under his breath and suddenly Takeru found that he couldn't move. He couldn't move anything at all, not his arms or legs and when he opened his mouth to cry out, his shout was cut off as his mouth froze also.
After a few moments of merely gazing thoughtfully at his captive, Ken started pacing around him. "No," he spoke quietly, almost inaudibly, "I'm not a king, or a prince even. But that will change when my master comes. Once he comes, he will rule these lands, not you or your brother, or the Kamiyas, or the Tachikawas. They should have been his long ago and they would have, had it not been for your lands' *Guardians*." He spoke the last word mockingly. "They managed to delay his return, for a time, but even they knew it could not last. Nothing can, not against my master."
Ken smirked once again, but it was quickly wiped from his face as running footsteps and a yell echoed down the corridor in their direction. "Prince Takeru! Are you alright?!"
Ken cursed and hurriedly mumbled under his breath, stepping back from the frozen prince, pointing his crystal at him once again. And then suddenly, the Ishidan prince disappeared into thin air. Ken couldn't help a tiny smirk that escaped to his lips as he tossed the black crystal into the air, caught it again and tucked it into his tunic. He went to pick and the staff, which had fallen once more to the floor. But before he had a chance to leave, Baron Daisuke and Count Iori appeared from around the corner. Cursing mentally, he put on a worried look.
"Your majesty!" Daisuke exclaimed, obviously surprised. He quickly bowed, followed by Iori, before explaining himself. "We heard our prince cry out, my lord. It sounded as though he was in trouble. We came to see what was wrong."
Ken nodded in understanding. "I, too, heard him shout," He lied smoothly, "And came to see what was wrong. But when I got here all I found was his staff." He indicated the gold and diamond weapon in his hand.
Daisuke started to panic, but Iori ignored him, striding over and snatching the staff from Ken's hands. As the teenager gave him a suspicious glare, Ken swore mentally once again. `Brat!'
As Iori went to get King Yamato and inform him of Takeru's disappearance, comforting Daisuke along the way, Ken stood still for a few moments. "Damn," he whispered, before turning to go back to his room.
* * * * *
Author's notes: Man, this took forever and it's not even that long. But, HEY! I'm back in my groove again! I have already started the next part. That's mostly because I was going to put it here at the end of this one, but decided not to. I still need to go over it and stuff and I've waited long enough to post this much. By the way, if you people are in the mood for something else to read while I'm working on this, you could always try my fic "Moving On". I actually think I'm doing a pretty good job with that one.
Anyhow, lately I've been thinking of redoing parts of this story. Not immediately, and I'll keep the original up, but I would like to fix up some stuff, you know, smooth out some rough edges. So, if you think it's a good idea, let me know and I'll get to it. Anyhow, next part soon, sorry for the delay, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Toodles! ^_^ A.E.
