Chapter 2

Yoshino watched the retreating back of the little girl. The girl hadn't seen her or Raramon, of course, that would be quite a disaster. Getting up, she ran through the door which Sora was just starting to close.

Sora jumped back. "Oh!" she cried. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here! Taichi, get over here!"

"What?!" Taichi had come from the other room, his shirt front streaked with flour. He noticed the witch looming in the doorway. "Argh! Sorry, neighbor, we didn't know you were coming..."

Yoshino shoved Sora out of the way and stormed into the store. Raramon floated in by her side. Sora tried to help the old witch into a chair but she shrugged off the help. "I'm fine!" Yoshino snapped as she settled down. "It doesn't seem like much cooking is being done here."

"Well," Taichi began. "The day is almost spent. Our bakery is about to close for the day."

Yoshino rubbed at her temples with her hands. "No, not that," she sighed. "Your wife doesn't have anything in her oven!"

"What?" Sora asked, her face twisted in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Yoshino sighed again. "You're not with child!" Yoshino cried. "Really, you two are just as clueless as his parents were."

"You knew my parents? They died in a baking accident, didn't they?" asked Taichi. He had always thought his parents died in some accident in the bakery and nothing in his life proved otherwise.

"No! Your father maybe but your mother died giving birth to your sister," Yoshino said and Raramon gave Taichi and Sora a glare each.

"I have a sister? Where is she?"

Yoshino muttered a curse under her breath. "None of your buisiness, baker. Yes, you do. I took her away when she was born. Why? Because your stupid mother had a craving for greens. My greens. So much in fact that she sent your father to steal my greens. All sorts. Then I caught him and let him go because he promised he'd give me the child. So he did."

"I knew your parents were crooks," said Sora, poking Taichi in the stomach. "You said they were wanderers!"

"Other than that," Taichi said, rubbing his stomach. "What do you want now?"

"Oh, it's all about what you want! I know you two have been angry with the fact that you can't seem to get a child. The reason? His father stole some of my beans! My beans! I don't mind a few missing carrots or a missing head of lettuce but no one touches my precious bean plant!" Yoshino roared, standing up for effect. Raramon floated behind the witch to make her seem more formidable. Both Taichi and Sora backed up, witches were known for their quick tempers.

"Um, if you say so ma'am," Sora said, backing up into Taichi, who grunted partially in pain and partially in agreement. "But how do we reverse the curse?"

"Huh, always what you want. Give me the cow as white as milk, the cloak as red as blood, the hair as rich as cream, and the shoe as pure as gold in three days and I'll reverse the spell, no strings attached," Yoshino said, sighing. Raramon settled down, too, though she still glared at Taichi.

"Is that all?" asked Taichi.

"Yes! Now, I've got to be going," Yoshino said, scrambling up and dashing as fast as she could out of the house, Raramon not far behind.

"We better get going," Sora said. "That costumer earlier had the red cape!"

"But she was a little girl!" cried Taichi. "We can't steal from her!"

"It's just a cape and she comes from a rich family, she can just get a new one easily," Sora said, getting a coat.

"Well, you aren't going, Sora, it's my house and it's my job to lift any curses on it," Taichi replied cutting Sora off from getting her coat and grabbing his. Sora sighed and Taichi slipped on his father's old hunting jacket, his face lit up when he found something in the pocket. He took the things he found and showed them to Sora.

"Six beans... Six beans... Those must be the witch's beans! You better keep those," Sora said. "And I'm coming."

Taichi was already out of the door, down the path, and into the woods. Sora sighed, grabbing a scarf he had forgotten, and dashed out the door to follow.

-

"Harder, Izumi! Brush it harder!" Chiaki snapped. She sat in the brilliant blue ballroom dress that her mother bought for her in front of the large gilded mirror, trying to hold still as her stepsister attacked her unruly hair with a brush. The large lion-like Digimon that Chiaki's mother kept as a close friend kept watch, his large defined face was amused.

Izumi muttered half to herself, half to the other two as she kept brushing hard. "Father says to be obedient. Mother said to be good. Stepmother says to be disciplined. Leomon says to be strong. All that Chiaki says is to brush her hair!" Izumi gave Chiaki's hair a hard pull after every sentence, each stronger than the last.

Leomon noted this and moved to stop Izumi's abuse of Chiaki's hair but Chiaki was faster. She was getting angry. Before Izumi could move, Chiaki whipped around, the brush still stuck in her thick dark brown hair, and gave Izumi a mighty slap on the face. Izumi stumbled backwards slightly, clutching her face, uncomplaining. Why bother? Her stepmother, her father, or Leomon wouldn't care. A lady had to be strong enough to take all the lumps in life, including slaps from bratty stepsisters. "Clod!" snapped Chiaki, taking the brush out of her hair and glared half at Leomon and half at Izumi.

"Now, girls," Leomon said, his paw moving close to the sword he always wore at his side. "Play nice or not at all. Chiaki, your mother wouldn't like you to ruin your nails before you get to the ball..."

Chiaki grunted and turned back to the mirror. Juri, the mother of Chiaki and the stepmother of Izumi, walked in at the moment. Her green ballroom gown swaying slightly, she eyed Izumi rubbing her cheek and Chiaki trying to handle the hairbrush. "Is there a problem, Leomon?" asked Juri, eying the girls. The Digimon gave a shrug for a response.

"No, nothing at all," Leomon said, leaning against the wall. "Nothing at all. Isn't that right, Izumi?"

"Nothing at all, Stepmother," Izumi muttered. "Um, can I go with Father, Leomon, Chiaki and you to the ball tonight?"

Juri blinked at her stepdaughter. Izumi going to the ball? Juri found the idea absurd and laughable. She wasn't cruel by nature, that much was true, it just would be embarrassing for the family if Izumi came to the ball dressed as a mere serving girl. The girl simply didn't have any nice dresses and Chiaki was a couple of sizes larger than Izumi, the clothes would simply swamp her. "No, no. I'm sorry but with that hair and those clothes? The Prince would die of mortification and your poor father would be the laughingstock of the entire kingdom! I'm so very sorry but that just won't do," Juri said, waving a white gloved hand around her head for effect.

"Leomon doesn't have any clothes, either!" Izumi practically shouted at her stepmother, she was fed up with being treated as a servant.

"I'm a Digimon, we have a different set of codes then you humans," Leomon said flatly. "And I believe our carriage is here.

Juri gave her stepdaughter a triumphant smile.

-

The girl swung the basket by her side jauntily. Some of the sweets that was for her grandmother were resting in her stomach, that was what made her spirits soar. A rock was suddenly thrown from the side of the path. The girl turned her head slightly and a green plant Digimon poked out her head. "Mimi!" the Digimon cried. "I didn't know you were in the forest!"

The girl sighed. "You do now, I'm just going to my grandmother's, Palmon. She's sick in bed, you see," Mimi said and moved closer to the side of the road where her Digimon friend jumped onto the path beside her.

"Really? It's getting dark, though," Palmon said.

"I know," Mimi sighed. "I've heard stories about a Digimon called Beelzebumon roaming the forest for girls. I tried to tell Mother that but she wouldn't listen... All she said was to keep to the path and never stray from it."

"Wise words," Palmon agreed. "Can I come with you?"

Mimi gave a shrug. "Sure," she said. "I'd like the company and Granny probably would, too."