Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations I put all my poor victims in. Thanks very much for reading and please review cause I'd love to hear from you.
Act 2 Scene 2
"So you sure you're up to this, Digidestined?" Rika asked sweetly as she pulled out her cards, fanning them in front of her with her D Arc in her other hand. She was called the Queen if the Digimon Cards for a reason after all. There was non in all the lands that could best her in this sport of kings. Or in this case, queens, she thought with a smirk. "I don't go easy on friends, much less family enemies." She added, just to make that entirely clear upfront.
"I think I can take whatever you dish out, Tamer." Matt answered, grinning at her in the dim light. He wasn't much for fighting, least of all with Gabumon standing in for him, but he figured they could give the Tamer a run for her money. Or a dance, he added mentally. "And the fact that we're family enemies because our mothers competed in the modeling world doesn't say much when you think about it. I've always thought it was a rather stupid reason actually."
"Hear me loudly not arguing." Rolling her eyes Rika and Matt shared a look of complete understanding. Rika knew a lot of the problems between their families was thanks to her catty mother. Well that and her stupid cousin Kazu. God but she must have dropped him on his head one too many times when they were kids. "So lets do this?"
"Lets." They'd both opened their mouths to issue orders when something sounding almost like a war cry reached their ears as they both turned to see the idiot cousin rushing over, his digimon close behind.
"Get away from my cousin, fiend!" Kazu roared as he rushed over, his D Arc clutched tightly in his hand. "If you think I'll stand by and let you harm a hair on my little cousin or her digimon you're-" Whatever else he would have said was lost as said little cousin's fist connected to the side of his head. Hitting the ground with a thump Matt, Rika and the other digimon crowded around to stare down at the unconscious Tamer.
"God but he's such an embarrassment." Rika said with a sigh, looking over at Kazu's digimon who was used to seeing her punch out his partner. "Go carry him to his room, okay?"
"Yes ma'am." The robot looking digimon picked up his partner easily and laying him over his shoulder walked off to get the poor guy into bed with an ice pack. Kazu was not going to be a happy camper when he regained consciousness, that was for sure. He hated when Rika so easily kicked his ass.
"Nice punch." Matt whistled under his breath, impressed by the speed and force of that speedy punch. He'd barely seen it coming. The idiot certainly hadn't.
"Thanks. Damn, now he's going to tattle on me as soon as he wakes up." Wincing Rika could practically hear the hour long lecture already. "Bad enough that I hit him, but hitting him in front of you is just really going to make things worse. Usually when I kick his ass he doesn't want anyone to know so he comes up with some lame excuse everyone sees through in a millisecond. Now what little pride I've let him keep is going to kick in. He's going to be gunning for you, not that that's really anything to worry about."
"Well I definitely don't feel the need to update my will." Matt agreed with a snicker, unable to imagine anything that that pip squeak could dish out that he couldn't handle. "So we battling or not?"
"There's not much point since his friends will probably be out here in a couple minutes to try and save him from me or if they find out what I did they might come and try to pick a fight with you. We might as well just head back in." Looking very disappointed Rika looked over at Matt questioningly. There was nothing she hated more then missing out on a good fight, especially since it was rare to find anyone willing to battle with her anymore. "Rain check?"
"If I can have that dance."
"Deal."
"What!" Everyone staring at Jeri in shock it didn't take a genius to figure out that they were not pleased that there wasn't going to be a big battle between Rika and Matt. "Why aren't they fighting!" Terriermon demanded to know. "Who cares about stupid dancing!"
"Because there isn't supposed to be any battles just yet, Terriermon." Jeri reminded him, patting him on his fluffy head. "Besides, if we did have a battle then Renamon and Gabumon would get hurt and I really don't think Rika or Matt would like someone who'd caused their digimon to get hurt."
"But they both agreed to the fight!" Takato complained, his voice very close to whining. A digimon battle was definitely way better then any mushy love scene any day. "And the teacher said we could change anything we wanted as long as it was obviously based of the play."
"I'm the one that has to write this so if you want a battle, you're going to have to write it, Takato. Just remember though, you need this assignment to boost your mark and that isn't going to happen if we turn in a version full of battles and bloody mayhem." Crossing her arms in front of her Jeri gave Takato a stern look. "Now do you want a good mark or do you want to turn this into one of your graphic novels?"
"Fine." Unfortunately, his mark for this assignment mattered more then enjoying the story they were creating. But at least it was turning out better than the original. Not that that was a hard thing to do. "On with the dance then."
"That's better."
Walking back into the ballroom they were both well aware that they were being openly gawked at as Matt led them out and onto the dance floor. Coming to a stop Matt turned and offered his hand to her with a small, rather mocking bow. "If I profane with my unworthiest hand, may I have yours for this dance, my lady?"
"I suppose I could lower myself to the occasion." Was her tart response as she took it, allowing him to pull her into a waltz which he did surprisingly well, him thinking the same about her own skills. Their mothers, they both thought with small grins.
"Now if I were trying to woe the daughter of my sworn enemy, how would I go about it, I wonder." Matt said as he deliberately held her closer then was necessary, just to piss the hell out of any of her relatives who were watching.
"Well what exactly would you be hoping to achieve, my new friend?" Rika wanted to know, well aware of the game he was playing. "After all, no lady wishes to be wooed simply to piss her whole family off. Not that I'd mind really, seeing as I do so enjoy that particular activity myself whenever the chance arises. As it is, you'd have to be quite the flatter to get anywhere with me, good sir."
"You have a good point there, I am using you shamelessly, aren't I?" Matt grinned as he leaned forward, so that his lips were against her ear as he whispered, "Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged."
"So you would have my lips absorb the sin that they would take?"
"Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged! No, I'd have you give me my sin again." Grinning wickedly Matt pulled back so that he could stare into Rika's equally grinning face. What a woman he'd found, like him in too many ways to count. Maybe getting dumped by Sora hadn't been such a bad thing after all, Matt mussed, reducing them to mere swaying on the dance floor as they ignored the beat of the music.
"Excuse me." Alice said sarcastically and Rika and Matt both turned their heads to find Rika's head servant tapping her foot as she gave them a not pleased look. "Are you trying to get him killed, Rika? Your father is practically foaming at the mouth, your mother is in vapors and Lord Henry sent me over here to split you two up before your father does some splitting of his own. And I do mean by way of steel meeting flesh."
"Oh boy. I'll head them off, you better make a quick getaway, Digidestined." With a quick wink Rika took off in the direction of her parents, the crowds parting for her out of sheer instinct and the past knowledge that she wouldn't pause to politely ask to be let through.
"You're either very brave or very stupid. Since you're a Digidestined, I guess the answer to that is obvious." Alice said with a smirk as she shook her head at the handsome blond youth. "Careful. If anyone catches you undressing that girl with your eyes like that you'll end up with your head on a platter. There are plenty around here you know."
"And you are?" He hadn't been undressing her with his eyes though. He'd been sidetracked by those incredibly lovely legs of hers.
"My name is Alice, I'm in charge of keeping that girl in line. I'd appreciate it if you'd keep in mind that my family has been breeding and training dobermons for a very long time. Unless you want to meet up with some of them, I'd stay off these grounds." With a rather insulting nod of her head Alice walked off, leaving him behind to grin as he appreciated that view as well. Or at least he did until he saw various Tamers moving to close in on him. Then he thought it wise to grab his friends and go. There would be no meeting his fiery tempered Tamer again if he was dead after all.
"Do we have to include the scene where Mercutio makes an idiot of himself, calling out as he tries to find Romeo with Benvolio?" Takato wanted to know, laying on the grass with his head propped up in his hands. "I mean all they do is talk about Rosaline in the hopes of him being stupid enough to give away where he is."
"Yeah, like he really wants to be caught sneaking onto Juliet's property again." Terriermon added with a roll of his eyes. "He's got to deal with the dobermons as it is."
"But I think it's terribly romantic, risking everything to go back to see her." Lopmon said with a sigh, gazing off dreamily.
"More like incredibly stupid." Was Terriermon's response to that.
"How is he going to get by those Dobermon, anyway?" Was what Renamon wanted to know, looking at this from a practical point of view. "Is he going to take Gabumon with him to fight them off while he goes to romance Juliet slash Rika?"
"I've got an idea for that." Jeri said with a mischievous grin on her face. After all, as Takato had been constantly pointing out, there was no reason they couldn't have some fun with this. "So shall we continue then?"
"YES!"
"Oh damn it!" Racing through the orchard with dobermons on his heels was not his idea of fun. Matt could hear Tai and Davis calling out for him but he was a little too concerned about being eaten alive by the huge dog like digimon to really pay any attention to what they were saying. He'd managed to bribe a servant into telling him just what balcony to look for and spotting it gave a sigh of relief when he saw that there was a trellis leading up to her balcony. Putting everything he had into one last sprint he was climbing up the vine choked trellis with lightening speed while the dobermons barked impatiently at him from below. Success, Matt thought as he continued to climb his way up.
"What the hell! what barking through yonder window threatens it to break? Ah, it's the dobermons below as the fair Matt ascends." Came an amused voice and Matt looked up to see Rika leaning over her balcony in a white nightgown, grinning at him in amusement.
"O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art as glorious to this night, being o'er my head. As is a winged messenger of heaven. Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes of mortals that fall back to gaze on him when he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds and sails upon the bosom of the air." Matt called up, grinning even wider when she laughed delightedly at his incredibly cheesy and stupid opening line of greeting.
"Now that is hell of a bad line, pal of mine." Rika called down with a few remaining chuckles. "I guess this means I should answer in kind, should I not? Let's see...hmmm." Clapping her hands to her chest Rika struck a decidedly forlorn diva pose for his amusement. "O Matt, Matt! wherefore art thou, Matt? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Tamer. After all, what is in a name? That which we call a Calumon would be just as hyper, regardless of his name."
"I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Matt Digidestined again." Reaching the top of her balcony Matt swung over to sit contentedly on the brick wall, sitting across from her with a roguish look on his face. "Miss me?"
"What man art thou that would climb up my balcony at night and so stumblest on my counsel?" Rika wanted to know, amazed and impressed by the lengths he'd gone to to come see her. "How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore? The orchard walls are high and hard to climb and the place death, considering who thou art, if any of my kinsmen find thee here. Not to mention the dobermons." She added as an afterthought, moving over to the balcony's edge where she ordered the dobermons to go off, which they reluctantly did.
"With love's light wings did I o'er-perch these walls; For stony limits cannot hold love out. And what love can do that dares love attempt; Therefore thy kinsmen are no let to me. Besides, if they're anything like those cousins of yours, Kazu and Kenta, I've really got nothing to worry about."
"You'll be lucky to escape with your hide if you're found out, not all my cousins and kin are as stupid as those two."
"And would you have me caught, Rika?" Matt asked softly, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips as he placed a gentle kiss on the back of it.
"No. You're lucky you're so damn cute."
"As my mother is always telling me."
"Well I hate to break the mood but you do know that the sun's going to be coming up any time now. You'd better get that cute butt of yours out of here before you're caught." Rika pointed out, tugging her hand free with the faintest of blushes on her cheeks.
"O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?" Matt asked mournfully, looking like a dejected puppy as he gave her his very best sad look.
"And what satisfaction canst thou have to-night?" Like she didn't know the way teenage boys minds worked, Rika mentally rolled her eyes as he just grinned at her like an idiot. Yep, they were just so predictable.
"Is a kiss totally out of the question?"
"For the moment."
"Then how about the exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine." Matt asked with a grin as he retook her hand, drawing her closer to him. "After all, I did climb over a wall and risked being eaten by dobermons to see you. I think a confession of undying devotion to me isn't too much to ask for."
"What good would my vow of love be, seeing as I'm getting married soon." Rika pointed out dryly, Matt groaning comically in response. "You think you've got it bad? I've got to marry one of my best friends who's like a brother to me. Can you imagine having to sleep with someone you thought of as a brother?"
"I have a brother..and I'd rather not think of T.K. like that..ever."
"See my point? And unfortunately, there's no way I could make money in this world unless it's on my back and that's even worse than marrying Henry. Fate does not shine kindly on the maidens of these lands who have not men to shield them and pay their bills." Taking a seat beside him Rika looked out, into the gardens with affection. It was sad that she felt more affection for the house than the people in it. "I've even thought of disguising myself as a man but I don't think Id be able to pull it off for very long."
"You are in a pickle, one I shall likely find myself in sooner rather then later. Parents are annoying at the best of times, least of all when they have the continuation of their line on their minds."
"Why should anyone be allowed to force anyone else into marriage anyway? It's not like Henry wants to be marrying me either. Our parents set it up."
"As if parents have any idea what we'd want in a spouse." Matt scoffed, understanding her completely on this point. "Sometimes I think I should just go and marry some girl just to spite them. I can always divorce her if need be. Hey...now there's an idea."
"Are you suggesting..what I think you're suggesting?"
"Well you can't marry this Henry guy if you're already married, now can you?"
"You do know that what you're suggesting is crazy, right?" Rika was about to go into just how crazy it was when she heard a voice from behind her. "Alice calls within, I hear some noise; dear idiot, adieu! Anon, Alice! Crazy Digidestined, be true. Stay but a little, I will come again."
