Thorns by liahime
Ten RoseAwakening
Disclaimer: liahime is currently not in possession of Digimon. She does, however, own quite a lot of unfinished homework. If the owners of Digimon would like to trade, she'd be happy to do so...here we go!
Rika's eyes flew open. She stood up, legs shaking. Her feet touched the cold stone floor, and there was no light in the inky black darkness. The room was eerily cold, as if the warmth had died with the light. It was the piercing, cold darkness that your eyes can't adjust to- the dark of an inky winter night with no stars.
She was awake, but she still felt so tired. The darkness pressed down, urging her to fall back asleep once more. Her fuzzy head ached for more rest. Cloudy and confused, she blindly swayed in the darkness. The black night beat down on her, almost solid, telling her to collapse onto the stone floor, that had never looked so soft- that if she went back to sleep, everything would be perfectly fine.
Rika shook herself, and walked blindly forward, head buzzing as if filled with bees. Her hands reached out, searching for the door in the pitch black room.
She turned the handle slowly, and walked out into the light, expecting the guards to be waiting there, telling her to go back to sleep, or else. But as she moved carefully forward, and into the dimly lit hall, she walked onto two bodies, sprawled out on the floor. She poked one with her foot. The guard assigned to watch the door rolled over and started to snore loudly.
Eyes adjusting slowly to the light, Rika kicked the other guard, and he too kept sleeping. It wasn't like the guards to sleep- they were normally up, comparing swords and not accepting bribes from her.Security must have gone down.
A glass of water from the kitchens would help, if she could make it there. She must have been really tired, to still feel exhausted after sleeping. Head still in chaos, she stepped over the two snoring men.
She kept walking slowly down the corridor. The cold stone on her feet kept her awake, sensibly solid and simply there, not fuzzy and hazy like the rest of her vision. Flickering torch light cast her shadow onto the wall, twisting and turning it over and over.
How had she gotten back? She remembered things in fragments. A rose bud, beginning to unfurl. Bamboo walls. A drop of blood, rushing to the ground. But after that, things had gone fuzzy. She could only vaguely remember the feeling of uneven bumping, peaceful rest, and warmth in the cold air that had surrounded her. After that, she remembered nothing more- just a peaceful, comfortable silence- and then she had woken up once more.
The castle was colder than normal. As her head cleared and she woke up, Rika noticed things that seemed to shift and blend into the castle wall, as if the stones were alive. The torches lining the wall flickered as she walked by. There was a stillness to the castle that hadn't been there before- as if the world had stopped moving as soon as she had woken up. She couldn't be dreaming- she was awake, she knew it. But-
Sleep... Sleep and all of your problems will be over... Her mind kept telling her, over and over; softly making it's way into her head. Sleep. Right here. You'll be fine, just sleep. It was true, she was tired... She could just curl up right here and take a quick nap-
No. Rika shook herself once more, banishing the last traces of sleep from her mind. She was not going to sleep.
With the sudden movement, she heard the rustling of heavy layers of fabric on stone. Her hands flew to her sides, and landed on silk, thick and smooth as water. Even in the darkness, it glowed faintly, almost sparkling. Flowing down to the floor in cascading lace and ruffles, it brushed the floor softly, arranging skirts gracefully around her feet. In the fading torch light, seed pearls glowed with an inner rosy warmth.
There was no doubt about it.
Rumiko had struck again.
-
Ryo, far from silk and pearls, was trying to convince the guards to let him out, and was getting successfully ignored.
"C'mon, guys. I just want a peek at the palace."
"No."
"I need to go to the bathroom!"
"No. Stay there."
"Do you want to see this trick I know how to do it? All you need to do is unlock the door and close your eyes."
There was no response. The guards turned their backs on him, pulling out a deck of cards.
Ryo sighed and sat down on the hard metal cot, knocking over the empty water jug. Apparently, these guards weren't the typical brainless village bullies that guarded cells. The rough clay of the jug. It rolled away to a stop near the door.
"Do you feel anything?" One of the guards nudged the other. "Something's.. uh.. moving."
"Idiot, no it's not."
"No, I swear that the floor is shaking-" The jug near the door began to quiver violently. None of the three noticed as it shivered and shook.
"It's not-"
Just then, the stones of the dungeon floor rushed up together, in a huge wave, throwing them all off balance. It lifted Ryo up off the floor, flinging him into the iron bars of the cell. And then, as if nothing had happened, the floor settled down gently to flat silence once more.
"Ow..." He looked up, rubbing his head. The guards were flat on the floor, snoring as if they hadn't slept for days. The door swung gently open, inviting him to go and leave.
This did not happen normally, and would be classified as very, very odd. However, despite being very, very odd, it was also very convenient as well.
And though anyone, with an extremely strong and morally-righteous conscience, would have stayed in the cell, and tried to waken up the guards, and waited for his or her punishment for what he or she did not do, in example, losing their head.
That is, if they didn't have a brain.
And as Ryo Akiyama currently possessed a brain- although a starving, exhausted one- he rolled the guards into the cell, turned the key in the lock, and walked up the dungeon steps in search of a kitchen, his grumbling stomach leading the way.
-
The kitchen was empty when Rika got there. It must be really late, if none of the cooks are here. What time is it? The palace's kitchens were normally busy, no matter what time of day, with early morning pastry chefs to late night dishwashers. The fire was still lit, and the candles lighting the room were still cheerfully glowing. Unrolled dough lay on the chamber.
That's odd.. Cooks normally finished before they left. She went over to pour herself a cup of water. As water flowed into the glass, her eyes landed on something- or rather, someone.
A person was there, with streaks of flour on her tanned face, hands still smudged with dough. Her black hair tumbled out of the net that held it back. It was one of the bakers. There was only one thing unusual about it, however-
The baker was lying on the floor, not moving.
Was she breathing? Rika couldn't tell. She held the cup over the baker's mouth, waiting for her to breathe. A second passed by. Another. And yet another. Was the baker dead?
Just as Rika was about to set her glass down, a huge snore came from the girl on the floor. The baker rolled over, inhaled deeply, and stopped breathing again. She repeated herself twice before Rika realized that this was the actual way the baker slept.
Another enormous snore ripped through the silent air. Rika bent over to pick up the cup of water from the floor, nearly falling flat on her face by tripping on the layers of silk.
-
Ryo Akiyama, munching a danish rescued from the oven. He walked through the kitchen, thinking and eating at the same time. As he searched through the maze of pots and pans to find the way out, he heard something move. It wasn't the movement of bakers, with their pans of deliciously warm breakfast croissants. The sound wasn't the clash of pans or chopping of vegetables.
It sounded like Priscilla.
Swishing silk and soft footsteps. Who else in the palace could it be? None of the nobles would sneak down. Rika might- but she wasn't the type that would go in silk. It must be Priscilla.
He ducked behind a shelf of spices, pondering on how to sneak away without Priscilla noticing him.
You could get revenge, you know. A tiny thread at the bottom of his conscience poked him. For the dungeon. Just scare her a bit, you know. Sneak up on her, and shout, and disappear. Pretend you're a ghost. Make her look like a fool.
Ryo Akiyama, angry from staying up all night in a rat infested cell, decided immediately that this was an excellent idea. Before he escaped, he might as well finish all business he had. Finish everything and leave silently for the southern seas.
He slowly moved forward with practiced grace.. It was possible. He could do this. Tie her up and run away. He wouldn't even have to look at her.
But then, he remembered. Rika, on the lantern lit path, soaring past him in the full light of moonrise, past white flowers, cutting through the grass to rush by, almost on wings. A crying Rika, a laughing Rika. He could remember her, barely- when they were just little kids, she had still fought with the same inextinguishable spirit then. And there was the empty Rika, after death- cold and sad, alone.
A Rika he'd never again hear or see, left only to memories of what had been.
Perhaps, he decided, business was not finished yet.
-
Ryo sneaked up slowly on the silk-skirted noble. He had decided- he needed to see Rika before he left. He'd just scare her with some ghost trick, and get directions to wherever the princess was. It was a foolish thing to do, for an escaped prisoner- to alert someone of his escape- but he felt- knew- that he had to do this.
He wailed loudly, making wraith-like noises, howling in the most ghost-like manner he could produce. The noble was, as he peeked over the jars of cinnamon, bending over, as if examining something on the ground. As he continued his wails, balanced precariously on one of the higher shelves, she put her head up.
"Come out, whoever you are. I'm not stupid." Her face showed annoyance, not fear.
It couldn't be- she had been sleeping, not waking up when he last saw her.
But it was, despite the layers and folds of silk skirts, pearls and all, it was, undoubtedly Rika.
Just then, his foot wobbled, and the shelves of spices- cinnamon and pepper, salt and ginger- all fell down, bringing him with them.
Ceramic shards fell with an explosion of thick curry powder, causing them both to cough violently as the golden-brown dust flew through the air. As the powder settled to the tiles of the kitchen floor, Rika managed to choke out her greeting to Ryo.
"Why did you do that! Idiot!" She fanned the spicy powder away from her face, without luck.
"It was an accident! Really!" Ryo coughed and stood up, away from the powder. He reached out. "Here. Stand up. The air is better up here."
She stood up, without the offered hand and cleared her throat. "The cook's going to have a fit when she sees this. What possesed you anyway? That was stupider than normal, Ryo. Even for you." Curry powder settled down on her hair, coloring it brown. She shook it off roughly, and her hair went flying, falling out of the hair tie that held it in.
He caught his breath. For a moment, she was shining, illuminated by the candle light behind her. The silk shone as if it was woven from starlight. Golden curry fell slowly in a soft rain of glittering dust, casting a near-magical aura around her. Gold and pearly white danced around her, motes of light and dust hanging in the air. It was magical and human beauty, tangled together in Rika.
"What?" She turned to face him. The curry on silk made an odd combination, breaking the effect.
"Nothing." He turned away, brushing curry off of himself and sweeping it into a new jar. He paused for a moment, coughing on stray powder. "Rika? Um..."
She found her hair tie, tying her hair back up to it's familiar place. "Just say it. It's the dress, isn't it."
"Eh.. Yeah. It's so... pretty." What he had just said sunk back in. "I mean- not that you can't wear pretty things-it's just that-"
She cut him off. "My mother."
"Your... mother?"
"Well, it couldn't be anyone else, idiot!" She snapped. "Who else? The guards?" She was like a cat that had sensed something different in the air, standing tense and still.
"What is it?" Whatever it was, he couldn't feel it.
"Something's different."
Something rumbled slowly underneath them, like thunder from the earth's core. It sounded as if the drums of giants were being struck, over and over. The rumbling crescendoed, with glass and metal shaking unsteadily on their shelves. As it came closer, and closer, the floor shook, rolling the sleeping baker away. Jars fell to the ground and shattered, adding lighting and glass to the mix.
There was a huge puff of gray smoke, smudging the outlines of everything; getting into Rika and Ryo's eyes. Dust and curry powder whipped up from the floor, flying into tiny cyclones. And from the raging dust and smog, a voice complained over the rumbling thunder.
There was a sudden bump, and muted grumbling. Cutting through it, a petite figure walked out of the blinding fumes, and opened her mouth.
"Do you have to make it so dusty, you stupid old hag! My poor silk! My poor gloves! Put that stick of yours down immediately and get my dress clean! NOW!"
High pitched, whiny, and scratchy, it was, and could only have been...
The infamous Priscilla.
TiNyLoVeBuBBLeS- Don't we all hate Priscilla? she's modeled after someone I know. Thank you!
DigiChick- Thank you very much! Sorry the wait was so long.. grumbles... horrible school work..
DD6- glad you were OK with the wait last time.. Thank you lots!
My Dream's Shadow- Thank you very much!
Crystal Luna Starr-Wow.. I'm honored... a lot. Thank you so much!
lady-snow- the plot thickens.. Dun dun dun! You're right! That is fun to say! thank you!
Anna- Thank you so much! Sorry for the looong wait!
Lisha- Thank you for reviewing! Priscilla has returned to the story once again... thanks for waiting so long...
kunoichixxkanna- ah.. My stories aren't that good yet.. I'm working on it though. Thank you!
Lil' Lilo- Sorry for making you wait! Thanks!
Dolce Saito- thank you tons and tons! And you're right about school... sorry for making you wait so long!
and the editor kau-sama has returned from vacation and homework- thank you for the croissant and making me start writing...sniff.. You didn't have to do it so loudly though.. My poor ears..
authoress notes:
I feel so lazy... Once school started, right after it ended, I wasted a LOT of time and did not work on this.. Too much homework.. The teachers give us so much! And then they don't grade it, and because of that, they give us more work to do while they cram in grading...
On a more random note.. Curry! Curry! Curry! I feel like eating some curry... I normally type this stuff up really early in the morning before breakfast. That way I'm motivated to write more.. looking at the clock.. Augh! I need to go.. sorrry for the long wait everyone.. Hope you like the chapter..
Thank you to all you wonderful reviewers out there! I'm touched- thank you for reviewing... thank you very much!
-liahime