Thorns by liahime:
Disclaimer: No I don't own Sleeping Beauty (even though I am messing up the story..) And I don't own Digimon.
Two Rose Gold:
In burst the King of the Middle Kingdom, ready to bid his darling and only daughter farewell before he left for a border war with a barbarian horde.
"RIKA." He was steaming.
She met his glare. "FATHER."
He glared down at her. "You punched the West Kingdom's daughter."
"What! When?"
"YOU should remember, daughter."
"THAT was maybe five years ago, father."
"The West Kingdom brought it up TODAY."
"She called me a brat."
"You just gave me a month of work extra."
"If I remember, she called me a brat that you detested. Is this true? Are we not supposed to defend our good reputation as much as possible."
They stood glaring at each other for a moment. Cold blue eyes and fiery purple eyes. Neither seemed liked they were going to give up soon. The king took several deep recommended breaths from the Royal Physician to slow down his blood pressure. He cleared his mind of all angry thoughts, as the Royal Psychologist and Child Raiser had advised.
Then he saw Rika staring back at him, obviously not listening, but of all things, reading her history textbook and working on her homework.
He sat down on the bed, scowling. He slammed the textbook shut. "Those eyes. Daughter, you have the most annoying eyes. They just stare at you endlessly, coldly. You're supposed to be a princess. Not a little barbaric ruffian. Go learn from your mother. She was the perfect princess, is the perfect queen." He glanced at the barbaric ruffian. "Wipe that unladylike look off your face. You look like a piece of ice. Princesses are to be warm and friendly, caring to all and-"
"The expression's from you." Rika had stopped paying attention to the destruction of the Yellow Citadel, trying very hard not to scream at her father.
The king pretended not to have heard. When he was mad- which was rare- he didn't stop being mad for quite a long time. "And your chest! It's so flat for a girl of your age. One might think you a boy, especially with the way you act. Talk to your mother and ask her for help with that kind of thing. Have a mother-daughter moment. And also, Rika, it's high time for you to be married."
He glanced at what he thought would be a daughter hanging on his every word, full of polite energy and radiating obedience.
Did he see this?
Of course not.
Several seconds and two shouted sentences on the lines of tower confinement for a month and the key turning in the lock, the portrait hanging outside of the wall fell on the ground again.
Rika sighed and looked out the window. Wisteria brushed the glass like velvet, hanging gently around the window. She opened the window, saw her father below and spit. He looked up just as she ducked down. As he walked off to join his army, she looked at the huge vines climbing the tower. No one was looking at her...
With the king out on another border war, the training grounds for the knights was completely deserted of anyone over the rank of a squire. Just the average knight-wannabes and the occasional junior-hero-in-training, swinging their blunted swords around and boasting in the summer sun. And though this was the umpteenth time that she had come here, she was taking just as much caution as she had the first time. She didn't need to, there was Renamon, following behind in the shadows every step of the way. But then again, where was the fun in that?.
Crouching behind a huge water barrel, she darted to the abandoned horse stables. Rush around the blacksmith's old anvil. Wait until the coast is clear, and then sprint to the old office with the faded label reading Saruwatari. She barged in.
An old man was there, waiting for her. "You're late, girl."
"I had to climb down the vines."
"Do I need to know?"
"No." She glared at him.
"Insubordination in the ranks." He tapped her on the head. "Never to your commanding officer. How do you expect to do anything besides wear silk and ride little white ponies for the rest of your life if you can't follow the rules? If you can't do it, you don't deserve it. Why I teach you is a mystery, a mystery. You're a girl. A little girl-child who is late and makes excuses." He looked solemnly at her, and then grinned.
"But you're fine, princess. You can beat anyone of those spoiled whining prince-brats any day of the week. That's why I train you... I don't have to worry about hurting your precious manicure or crushing your royal velvet." He paused to look at the clock. "You know, there just might be a tournament starting in two minutes, one that you may just have been training for all of last month."
There was silence. And then none.
"CRAP. I AM LATE!"
The final entry to the kingdom's current tournament burst out of the office.
She made it. Barely, but she made it. Hair tucked up into the helmet. Face completely calm. Registered as Saruwatari Tai of the Middle Kingdom, the long lost nephew of her- or really, his- training master.
"You OK?" He whispered to his favorite pupil.
"Never been better."
"You don't look better... Did something happen today?"
"No."
The herald-in-training played a few sour notes, and then the right fanfare. He opened up the scroll, and cleared his throat. "In here which that the royal heroes, knights, and champions in training, have gathered here to show their mighty prowess and skills to the audience and to show the strength of their kingdom's upcoming warriors." The herald lost his place for a moment, and quickly scanned the paper. "And um, er.. We will begin the tournament now, everyone. First up is the prince Akito of South Kingdom and Raiju, son of Sir Ryu of East Kingdom."
"You're sure your nerves aren't messed up, Rika?"
"I'm fine. Completely perfect."
"You look worried."
She raised one eyebrow. "No... just that this will be too easy."
He grinned at her. "We'll talk after. Go up and win."
On the field, Raiju had won. He moved up the ladder system. Akito sulked.
"Next up!"
Princes, squires, the sons of lords and a princess moved up and down the ladder system, trying to prove their kingdom's glory. East kingdom's future heroes in their dawn orange with huge swords, battling the rival West Kingdom's sea blue cloaked young champions. Southern green and Northern silver armored warriors. Middle kingdom, in white- the princess held her own, her teacher decided. She was already getting a second glance from the other kingdoms' weapon masters.
She's a natural with that sword... It's a pity she was born a girl- a princess. Thanks to my brilliant teaching talent, and her natural ability... She whipped the last prince.
Such a waste of talent, to stifle in silk and parasols...
He sighed and pretended to listen to the Minister of Sword Shining talk about polishes. Some things, he decided, just can't be helped.
The final contestants were chosen out of the huge amount of people that came in. Those who didn't care for the art of battle had long dropped out, refining it to the best of the best. The current champion from last year- a thirteen year old prince from the West kingdom. He looked completely sure he would win, sipping iced water and leaning back in his chair. He was laughing with his friends, throwing a towel at someone... Rika sat alone, also one of the final contestants, trying to calm down. Her father's words echoed again and again in her head, ruining whatever peace of mind she had.
Those eyes. Daughter, you have the most annoying eyes. They just stare at you endlessly, coldly. You're supposed to be a princess. Not a little barbaric ruffian.
She frowned and started to polish the sword, rubbing it with a rag until it shone. It glinted in the sun, and she kept rubbing.
Wipe that unladylike look off your face. You look like a piece of ice. Princesses are to be warm and friendly. And your chest! It's so flat for a girl of your age. One might think you a boy, especially with the way you act.
Too bad father... the entire realm of k ingdoms thinks of me as a boy. She polished the sword faster, pressing harder and harder. A boy who just got into the tournament's top ten.
The annoying little voice in her head piped up. Don't you wish he was here to see you?
"No." Rika's hand hurt, but she kept polishing the sword. It was strange how it hurt... it never had before... Someone tapped her on the shoulder, making her stop in surprise.
"Um... You're Sarawatari Tai, right? From Middle kingdom? I'm Ryo. From West. Your sword is shiny enough... you might want to stop now." He pointed at her hand, where the scratches were starting to open. "Your uncle might not be that excited to see that, you know."
"I'm your competition. You're not supposed to help."
He grinned at her, as if he had known her for years. "I need the competition. Last year was too easy." There was something familiar about him, but she just couldn't remember it.
"So you're the latest hero boy from the west." Another boy had muscled his way through the crowd. "You're going down."
"No, you are."
"You."
"You."
Rika looked at her bored looking teacher, wondering why boys were so thick headed. Of course, she didn't say a thing. She was a boy now, wasn't she? Still...
A shadow fell over her. She turned. Another boy was probably there to join the "you're going down" fest.
A girl, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and the oddest look in her eyes was staring at her.
"You're new, aren't you?" She smiled at Rika.
"Um... yeah."
"I'm Princess Priscilla. From West kingdom. What's your name?" She leaned forward and cooed.
Inside the helmet, Rika was in complete shock. Priscilla. Priscilla from the West kingdom. The same Priscilla that had gotten her in tower confinement for the next month today. The Priscilla that had called her a brat. The same Priscilla that was very obviously trying to flirt with her, oblivious to just who this was.
And Rika, with all the patience she had used up that day, was not happy. So she did the first thing that she could think of.
She punched Priscilla in the nose. Again.
The two boys stared at her in shock. Priscilla held her nose in shock and pain. It wasn't bleeding, you can't punch very hard when you're holding a sword in your right hand and a rag in the other. It was just red, and shinier than normal. Her makeup had flaked off, and had wiped onto Rika's glove.
Rika felt very awkward at this moment. Apparently, guys don't punch girls.
Ryo spoke up first. "Um.."
Priscilla screamed. "THAT BARBARIAN PUNCHED ME IN THE NOSE!" She hit Ryo in the arm with her fan. "GO PUNISH HER!"
Rika lowered her voice as low as it could possibly go, and coughed. "Uh.. Sorry." There wasn't much more to say.
The trumpet sounded, announcing the final matches. Priscilla glared at her. "You are such a brat."
Rika ran off. There was no time to argue with the princesses of West kingdom. She had a tournament to win.
Saruwatari-sensei stood behind her, getting her ready. "The west-kingdom boy, he's good. He can fight with both hands equally. He likes to start with his right hand and then switch with his left to throw people off balance. And remember to keep control of your weak side." He sniffed. "My own little nephew, growing up."
A rival teacher laughed. "Emotional, Saruwatari?" He was glaring while he laughed.
"Not really, Kon." He glared back and smiled just as wide. He whispered to Rika. "That's Kon of West kingdom. The best teacher in the world after me. His horrible, horrible student is that boy. So don't let him win or he'll rub my nose in it. His student won last year."
Rika nodded. She didn't feel nervous a few minutes ago, but now that she was here, actually about to start... She understood cold sweats. She glanced at Priscilla, sitting under a huge umbrella as the sun baked down, eating a candy.
Isn't life so completely fair?
Renamon slipped out of the shadows to check on the nervous young princess. "You might want to imagine the person you're fighting as your worst enemy." Just as quickly as she came in, she faded back into the shadows, leaving Rika alone with this advice.
The trumpets sounded. She was up.
"OK. Worst enemy. Got it." She breathed in and entered the silent ring.
Ryo Akiyama, once smiling, was staring her down as soon as she came in. Cold eyes. Emotionless eyes were looking down hard at her, from the audience. From her opponent, the one thing in between her and victory. She stared back at him.
The final match. Renamon's words echoed back. Pretend that you are fighting your worst enemy.
Worst enemy... She couldn't count Priscilla... she had seen her twice in her life... Her mother and the dress fights weren't the same level as enemy. As she thought about it, circling her opponent, waiting for the right moment, she decided. Her anger boiled down to one thing, one person.
Her father.
No hard feelings, she thought, as she rushed towards him, starting the battle. You're just in the wrong situation at the wrong time. She gave him her father's face, scowling at her.
He blocked the sword's swing and lunged forward. Those eyes. Daughter, you have the most annoying eyes. She stepped aside and hit the boy with her father's face in the side. He leaped back up, surprised, and continued.
"You fight like a girl, Saruwatari."
Rika was unoffended until it sunk in what the guy meant. "You fight like a princess, Akiyama."
He looked even more offended. Then he grinned, slowly trying to trick her blade into slacking down, creating an opening. "There's this one princess I knew, who fought better than you."
"Oh really." She doubted it.
"Her name was Rika... She punched the girl you did, just as hard. You must really hate her for some reason. Priscilla's not that bad when you get to know her." His sword tip was circling, ready to hit any moment.
"Did you by any chance... call her Wildcat?"
"Well, yeah. Do you know her?"
"Yeah.. She's very-" She searched for a word that some guy would say. "Unique."
"Hm... yeah. She was different from most princesses. Never seen magic. Roses. Strange girl... very tomboy."
Rika was boiling inside her armor, and ready to hit him just for being him. She didn't need to imagine him as her worst enemy. She didn't want to be a Priscilla-like princess wearing lace tablecloths everywhere, but there was a point where she was a female. Not a male.
She swung out hard, knocking him off balance. Cutting at him again, she pushed him to the ground. He moved aside, and got up.
"I take that back. No girl can fight like that. You are undeniably a guy."
Rika hit him again, still annoyed. "Would you stop with the gender thing?" She swung her sword up to block his, the metal clashing together. His sword point whipped up to her chin.
"No."
She pushed her sword up to knock his away, and started to fall backwards. As if invisible hands pushed her up, she fell forward, coming back to balance. As if nothing had happened, she continued blocking and attacking. Almost as if this happened everyday.
Almost as if Saruwatari Tai had a fairy gift... But those were impossible. Fairies had been outlawed since the birth of the princess. Impossible. The judges shook their heads, and continued to watch.
The battle crescendoed, sword ringing on sword. Exhausted, both were breathing hard. The battle was ending, and no one was sure who would win. Muscles aching, armor dented, Rika put her strength into one last attack. She swung at Ryo once, twice, going faster and faster, exhausting herself, driving him back. The pain in her arms grew, her hands had started to bleed from holding the sword so hard, scratches opening wider.
He stepped back, blocking every swing, and stumbled over a small rock on the ground. Unlike his opponent, he didn't come back up. He tripped backwards. Rika's sword was ready to hit when-
Renamon silently came up behind an exhausted Rika. "Something happened at the palace. You need to go back. It's urgent."
Urgent- more urgent than winning the tournament was rare. Dropping her sword, she ran out of the ring, sprinting to the castle, Renamon close by.
Ryo got back up and chased after her. The judges were buzzing. Did this count as forfeit? Or had this Saruwatari won? And where was the other boy?
Rika tossed her helmet aside, throwing it by the door of the office. Her hair had come out, and shone flame bright in the sun as she rushed to the palace to see what was that urgent.
Close behind her was Akiyama Ryo, carrying his sword and panting. Just as he had caught up, he saw a long strand of red hair come out of the helmet, and then an abundant flame of hair come up, much longer than the average guy's.
He stopped to catch his breath. Long hair. The guy he had been fighting was a princess? A princess was that good? There was no way. His eyes were playing tricks on him.
She kept running, worried to the palace, not knowing about the boy watching her run all the way.
And when she got to the palace and found out the news, if she had known, she wouldn't really care.
DigiChick: Hey! Yay! I love getting bribed... But if Ryo is a prince or not... You just have to keep reading! (haha, it's just that I haven't decided yet..)
GTKari-123: You looked at my profile! thanks very much for reviewing! Glad you liked it!
Strawberry'd: You saw my profile too! Good job! Glad you liked it.. (and yeah, I COMPLETELY understand about the korean dramas..)
Crystal Luna Starr: Thanks for reviewing! Glad you liked the tablecloth part.. But if you want to know more about sleeping beauty, this isn't the best thing to read... hehe.. I'm adding a lot more to it.
Jhon 117: Thank you for reviewing! Very happy you liked it.
Dolce Saito: Yay! A guaranteed reviewer! Please go review NOW! Thank you thank you!
corruptedgoddess: This isn't like the disney movie... but I'm happy you liked it. If you do fanart, please show me!
shadowcat: Nope, Priscilla is just my random OC. Sorry it took forever to update
and (sigh) kau-sama: thank you for being so patient! I AM VERY SORRY FOR MAKING YOU AND EVERYONE WAIT!
authoress comment!
SHORT AUTHORESS COMMENT! I HAVE MY COMPUTER CURFEW AND I AM OVER IT RIGHT NOW... Thank you everyone for reviewing and waiting so patiently.. I am sorry this chapter is a bit messed up too, but I wanted to try this out. Please tell me if you want a rewrite of it, OK? This isn't like the original Sleeping Beauty at all, but I never really got it as a little kid.. Wouldn't dust and spiders fall on her? And then a guy comes up and kisses her because she's pretty? And they immediately get married? sigh.. I never got love at first sight..
But then again, I was a strange kid..