Thorns by liahime
Nine Rose Curse:
Disclaimer: Liahime doesn't own Digimon today. Or tomorrow. Or yesterday. And probably next week too. If you own it, please give it to her as a.. um... a happy labor day present!
The moon had risen, fallen, and risen once more, and still, the princess's eyes stayed closed. She lay on the bed, her breathing growing slower and shallower with every second. She had been covered with thick blankets, and painstakingly fed soup throughout every day. Doctors had been quietly consulted. But there was no way around it, no matter what they told each other.
The kingdom's princess was cursed.
Physicians murmured behind the queen's back, trying to find a way to tell her without breaking her heart once more. The magic had tied itself into a knot, tightening as years passed. Frankly, if the one who could break the spell didn't come soon, the princess would fall from enchanted coma to eternal sleep.
There was no alternative, they sighed. The princess's life story had come to an end. Magic, in the end, could not be defeated by their knowledge.
Still, they all tried. Councillors and doctors flocked together, putting their heads together to think of a way to thwart the curse. It could be work of poison. Work of something other than magic. But while cures were being thought of, funeral arrangements were being made. Arguments over the next monarch had broken out already.
Five people remained, believing that the princess would stay alive. Seiko and Rumiko pushed every reporter out of the castle, keeping a silent vigil of constant prayer by Rika's bedside. Saruwatari sat against the door, ignoring the shouts from outside. Prince Takato, awkward at this moment, stayed quiet, attempts of conversation falling short in the stifling quiet. The room's silence was choking, with only the movement of the maid's footsteps as she brought food and drink, with the clink of cups and scrape of fabric on wood.
The cakes went untouched. There was a new side to Rumiko no one had really seen before now, Saruwatari found. She was quieter, not only in words and actions, but in spirit. Before, she had seemed so young, but now- she had aged decades in minutes- and Saruwatari realized that Rumikohad become old.
Not the type of old Seiko was- Seiko was still gracefully young in an old body that had aged with laughter, naturally and slowly. Rumiko- she had aged in days, losing her husband and only child in less than a week, left with only her aging mother. The pain showed, in deep circles around sleepless, mascara-less eyes, making her look more ancient than any wrinkle line could.
One of the younger advisors to the king- really, only a cup-carrier and messenger, really- came bursting into the tower room, carrying a sheaf of papers. He was excited; cheeks flushed from the run up the spiral of stairs.
"I've got it!"
Heads turned. Rumiko, frowned solemnly. "What is it, young man?"
"It's the cure. The cure to the curse-"
She stopped him. "Your name?"
"Henry. I'm one of the messengers for the king- from Willoughby-On-The-Stream... The village next to the river-" He was met only with a cold, waiting stare from Rumiko. Henry cleared his throat, and began reading off the page.
"The curse can be transferred to a volunteer with magic in their blood, by a sorcerer of any kind. i The chances of breaking the curse is much, much, smaller for the volunteer, but it is a possible chance."
Saruwatari stood up from his chair. "I'll do it."
Rumiko blinked. "You have no magic."
"My grandmother was a village witch. She cured warts and brewed love potions- there's enough in my blood for it to work."
She shook her head wearily. "No, you're needed too much. Without a person on the throne, we are weaker than ever. You need to stay. The army needs you here."
"Begging your pardon, but my lady, there isn't anyone else in the staff."
Takato spoke up. "My mother was part fairy. I have enough of the blood for the spell to work on me.. I'll do it."
The maid, unnoticed by the queen, gasped and dropped the tray she had been holding. Porcelain hit the stone floor and thin pieces of the cups scattered onto the floor. Quickly, she bent down to pick up the shattered cups. Her brown hair hid her shocked face. Takato was going to take the curse?
"You're absolutely willing? The curse won't transfer to someone not completely willing to take it." Henry put the scroll down. "And to find the one person to break it would be harder than the original form. You may never wake up again."
Takato nodded.
"You know the consequences, you know the pain that will come. Yet you will take it. You are sure?"
Again, he nodded. "I already know a person who might be able to break the curse. Almost a hundred percent positive, really." Still, he took a deep breath, steadying his fingers
Saruwatari coughed. "Ah, your highness... It's not Rika. I apologize, but she really doesn't love you. She's your fiancee, of course, but still-"
Takato turned his gaze away, looking at the worried maid, picking shards off the floor. "It's not Rika."
-
And so, a letter to his parents was quickly written, assuring them that he was perfectly safe and had on clean socks, and would be eating three meals a day while in the curse anyways. Takato signed it, sealed it, and placed it on the table.
Jeri, the maid that had been cleaning, came up to him. "Are you sure? What if-" her eyes were threatening to fill up with tears, "What if you don't wake up?"
"I will. Don't worry!.But I might as well be a bit useful for once, right? I always wanted to be a hero." He laughed, masking his doubt. "Here's my chance, and all I need to do is sleep."
"But a dead hero isn't as good as a person who's alive!" Jeri found herself worrying over her friend- she couldn't shake it off and tell herself that it would be alright. That Takato would come back. "You have to come back, OK? Promise?"
He grinned shakily. "I'll be back. After all, if I slept forever, I'd miss you too much, Jeri."
-
The pale young magician they had brought in to perform the spell was worried as well. She was poor- she came only because she needed the gold. Her hands shook as they turned the pages of Henry's notes back and forth.
She was a village girl, really, who just did a few wart removals and found springs of water for wells. Even found a few stray children and chickens. She couldn't do something this big. She
knew it. They knew it. But it was their only hope. In this magic-starved country, there was no one else able to- or willing to- try.
Still, the young woman, as much as she was needed, was out of place here, among the nobility and their blank, closed faces and silks and rubies. It didn't seem as if it was humans walking through the cold gray stone corridors. There weren't any chickens squawking, or the voice of a human person echoing through them. Not a smile or a word.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder. She almost jumped up in shock, but calmly turned around, masking her surprise. She tried to look experienced, professional, everything that the palace was expecting.
"Your name is.. Alice, right?" It was the councillor that had brought her here. He looked as nervous as she felt- she wasn't the only one, then. Somehow, it helped.
"Yes."
"Good luck." He smiled at her, the first human thing she had seen in this place. It was genuine and warm, not the tight smiles that the passing-by gave out of manners.. "Thank you for doing this." He handed her a glass of water. Sure, it may be only politeness that made him do it, but at that moment, the bit of human kindness brought to her in the glass of water made the pale solemn face break into an answering smile.
And so, she raised her hands and began to read the first words off of the paper.
The spell was long. Moonrise had come, and the half moon was high in the sky when Alice neared the end of the spell. Light from the power in the spell shot from Rika to Takato in the unlit room, the dark curse twisting, bound by thin threads of white light.
And it would have gone perfectly, without glitch. Though sweat beaded on the shaking fingers of the black-clad young woman, she continued smoothly, as the curse began to lift from Rika to the volunteer. The curse was nearly transferred now, and the watching people in the room let out a sigh of relief. The princess was safe.
But as life goes, there never really is perfection in humanity.
A thin ray of half-moonlight fell in through the window, and bounced off a small mirror hung on the wall. The moonlight collided with the curse, and chaos erupted.
The floor gently moved underneath their feet. The glass of water started to tremble.
"Keep going!" Henry moved to keep Alice from falling. "Just keep reading. Hurry!."
Stumbling over the words, Alice reached the concluding paragraph of the notes, and Rika began to stir- but the ground shook more, throwing the room off balance. Crumbling to the hard stone floor, with water bleeding the ink off the paper. The last words on her mouth remained unspoken.
She tried to get up, but her head wasn't thinking. There was something nagging her, that she had been forgetting. As she reached it in her mind, it drifted away once more, taunting her as it slipped out of her grip. Her eyes were closing, and through half-open eyelids, she saw the others slowly fall to the floor.
There was something that she should remember- a small detail at the end of the spell- what was it?
She could hear the princess stir under the blankets. Her legs wouldn't cooperate- she was just tired, so tired- there was a sound of snoring from Saruwatari's chair- the queen's head nodding downward- Henry, lying down on the floor- what was that thing? What was she supposed to remember?--
The stones under her feet moved once more, and she fell once more.
Within seconds, the palace was blanketed with sleep.
Anna- Thank you! I like the plot too... it's not that much like Sleeping Beauty though.. hehe... originally, it was, but then I got bored in the middle...
Rachel- hehe.. Who wouldn't diss Priscilla? Thank you!
tsuhime- thank you! The chapter is late, I know.. But I also blame my GBA.. Haha..
Flavor Of the Weak- ah.. I'll try to make it less confusing.. (I don't normally explain everything perfectly- it makes perfect sense in mycrazyhead though!) Thanks!
corruptedgoddess- Ryo's family must remain a mystery right now... thank you so much for the fanart, and for drawing it even though you were so busy! E-mail me at orenjigirl11292 at yahoo (your e-mail address didn't show up...) My e-mail address isn't linked cuz the upload thing won't let me put it in, but you get it, right? thank you so much again!
lady-snow- thank you very much!
DD6- thank you, hope the wait wasn't too long! ..
My Dream's Shadow- Thank you lots!
kunoichixxkanna- ah.. Thank you! I'm glad you liked it... (I was suprised when you said you were 13! You sound 15-ish..)
DigiChick- ah.. Thank you! If you have any criticism, please give it to me anyways! (I didn't put my age up for a while cuz I wanted honest reviews without people being nicer cuz I was younger than them..) Priscilla will never get Ryo because I already hate her!
Sparkling-Ruby Gem- thanks very much! sorry for wait!
Lisha- I don't like Priscilla very much either... thank you!
Dolce Saito- I feel your pain on homework.. School starts in a few days here in the NW.. And I haven't finished my summer homework yet.. oh well .Better go do it soon and not put it off..
Grdiang3l- thank you very much! Glad you liked the twist..
Crystal Luna Starr- thank you so much.. Hm.. Keitoro? I will think about it. (I still haven't picked! - I feel very lazy. I will go do it, everyone!) Thank you again!
Lil' Lilo- my b-day is on January 12... wanna give me a present? Haha.. Kidding..
authoress comments;
aish. I'm hungry right now.. I should eat some food. But for you, my lovely readers, instead of eating, I am typing, and drinking a lot of bottled water, and wishing for a croissant.
Please forgive the wait, because as usual, I was busy/lazy. But I will try to update ASAP, and make sure the chapter doesn't suck. (And I hope this chapter didn't.. I always have doubts about it...) I am terribly busy. School starts in less than a week, boohoo.. I somehow got turned into a choir accompanist this year, and so I am practicing a lot, because I'm nervous... So... I hope the chapter wasn't too bad ..
OH! Special note- corruptedgoddess! THANK YOU FOR THE FAN ART! thank you very very much..
--liahime