Chapter Three
The woods were getting dark at an alarming rate and Takato seemed to have lost his way. Milky the cow walked slowly pulled along by Takato, who seemed quite content to stay in the woods and not go to market at all.
"Boy! What are you doing with that cow?"
Takato quickly turned around, an elderly man in worn clothes and a gray beard, was leaning against a tree eying the cow. Takato shrugged. "I'm taking him to market," he said.
The man walked to the cow, looking at the way it held itself and numerous other things that Takato didn't know what to think of. "What are you going to do with it there?" the man asked, eying the cow still. Takato was growing uneasy.
"I'm going to sell him for no less than five silver pieces," he said. The man raised an eyebrow.
"Why such a sum, Takato? You'd be lucky to exchange this here cow for a sack of beans," the man said, continuing his examination of Milky.
Takato gulped slightly. He was raised on stories that said that spirits lived in the forest and liked mischief. It was likely that this man was one of those spirits. "I don't know how you know my name but my mother wants that much," he said.
The man nearly laughed. "Your mother?! A boy your age?" he asked, moving behind Takato.
Takato had enough and turned around to say something to the man's face but he had disappeared into the trees.
-
"You look beautiful."
Izumi nearly jumped and tripped over her newly acquired dress. The dress shimmered in the dim light and Piyomon stifled laughter at her friend's jumpiness. "I guess that means you're going to the festival," Piyomon continued. "Where did you get that dress?"
"Don't scare me like that. Oh, the dress? Don't laugh but it dropped out of the tree planted near my mother's grave," Izumi said, a bit annoyed at Piyomon surprising her.
"It dropped out of a tree?" Piyomon didn't sound like she was going to laugh.
"Yes, I know it sounds... odd but you know the stories about spirits and stuff. Personally," Izumi's voice dropped to a whisper. "I think a playful Digimon stole the dress and shoes from the village and needed to drop them off."
"That sounds likely," Piyomon said.
"Oh, sorry Piyomon but if I'm going to make it to the ball, I have to leave."
-
Taichi looked nervously around the forest. He had lost the trail of the girl with the cape. To top it off, though, he couldn't remember the ingredients and he mumbled to himself to try to remember. "How am I supposed to find a creamy cow? Or was that a red cow and white hair? No, I'm sure it was a creamy shoe and red hair..."
"The cow as white as milk, the cape as red as blood, the hair as rich as cream, and the shoe as pure as gold."
Taichi whipped around, anger swelling in his chest. "Sora!" he cried. "I told you to stay home, what are you doing?!"
Sora stepped out into the light, carrying a scarf and lantern. She gave Taichi the scarf with a forceful push. "You forgot this," she muttered. "And it's our house so it's only right for me to help out."
"Our house? It's my house, Sora. I inherited it from my father so it's my job to lift any curses on it," Taichi argued. He received a slap on the back of the head. Taichi was about to snap at Sora when she signaled him to be quiet.
A yout had wandered into the area of the forest they were in and pulling a white cow along. "The cow as white as milk," Sora hissed into Taichi's ear.
She stepped out where Takato could see her. Taichi followed suit. The boy jumped back slightly. "Where are you going with that cow?" Sora asked and Taichi repeated the question.
"To market," Takato replied nervously, ready to bolt with his cow friend at any sign of trouble.
"What are you going to do there?" Sora asked, once again Taichi repeated the question.
"To sell him. No less than five silver pieces for food," Takato replied.
"Five silver pieces?!" Taichi whispered to his wife. "I need to go back to the shop!"
Sora held him back. She threw a hand up to her forehead as dramatically as possible. "We can't afford that sum but don't take our beans!" she cried. "Anything but our beans!"
Takato moved closer with his cow, he remembered the words of the old man telling him that the best offer he could get was a sack of beans. His mother wouldn't be too happy but beans were food, after all. "Beans?" he asked.
Taichi, meanwhile, was not happy lying to the boy but Sora seemed to act the part of swindler well. He tried to stop her but Sora silenced him each time. So in resignation he handed over the beans that was in his pocket over to her. "Oh yes," Sora continued. "They're, uh, magic beans and worth a gold piece each at least! But we can't part with all of them so we'll give you five."
Takato was a dreamer and loved stories that had to do with magic. He looked sadly at his cow. "Will I be able to buy him back someday?" he asked.
Sora gave him a shrug. "Maybe," she said.
"It's a deal," Takato said, putting out his hand to get the beans. Sora gave him five and handed the sixth back to Taichi. In return, Takato handed the rope holding the cow to Sora. Giving Milky a sad pat on the head, Takato went back home.
When he was out of earshot, Taichi turned on Sora. "That's enough," he said. "You lied to him."
Sora sighed. "Yes, Taichi, but I had to. If we are ever to get a child we have to do whatever it takes," she said. "Maybe they are magic, it doesn't matter, at least they'll have some food. If he actually had gotten to market, the people there would have laughed at him. Once we have a child, it'll justify the beans. Don't worry."
Taichi glared at her. "Take the cow home, Sora, and give me the lantern. I'll get the rest in my own fashion," he snorted.
Sora yanked on the rope holding the cow and huffily took the path heading towards their bakery.
-
Lovely humming filled the air around the forest surrounding the tower. The tower was built to keep a great beauty hidden from the world, it's stone walls had not a door in them nor any stairs. The old witch, Yoshino, walked up to the tower. As always, Raramon was close by. The dying sunlight made the shadows of the trees reflect oddly on the stonework but neither witch or Digimon took any notice.
"A visit?" Raramon asked and Yoshino nodded. "Well, it has been a day since we've seen her..."
Yoshino looked up at the single window of the tower. "Hikari!" she shouted but the humming continued. Again, she shouted the name. The humming stopped.
"Ah, Hikari child," Yoshino shouted in what she thought was a pleasant voice. "Let down your hair to me, deary."
As soon as she said this, the longest hair in the entire kingdom descended from the single window. Thick and surprisingly well kept, it was rich as cream and was the only way to get up the tower. Yoshino, slowly, started to climb it with Raramon floating close behind her. Groans of pain came from Hikari, the owner of the hair, as the witch climbed. Even when the climber was careful, they tended to pull her hair too much.
-
Prince Daisuke, the second son of the king, watched all this from the bushes near the tower. A blue Digimon called V-mon watched with him. Daisuke's eyes were fixed on the owner of the hair, high and alone in the lofty tower. Even far away, he felt that this maiden was a beauty and after all he needed a wife... "Once the hag is gone," Daisuke said to V-mon. "I'll ask the maiden to let down her hair to me. Then we'll see if this Hikari is wife material."
V-mon gave him a grin. "We sure will," he said. "And we didn't have to put on a stupid ball like Junpei to find one!"