Calmer of the Storm: -Ahem-…….

Cody: …

Calmer of the Storm: Uh…woops…hehehe….

Cody: -raises eyebrow-

Calmer of the Storm: Uh…waddya know…I'm back! –gulp- Uh…yeah. I got busy…I'm sorry! I'm not good at keeping my promises. I don't even know how many chapters are left…it all depends on how many stupid plot twists I decide to put in, lol. Almost there, I think….

Cody: You'd better hope they're still around.

Calmer of the Storm: What, my readers? Of course they are! -hears crickets- Uh….

---

Hikari ate in silence, as did the rest of them. They had the opportunity to eat at Sir Richard's table. It was long and thin, made of solid wood, probably oak. The meal that was placed before them was like nothing they'd ever seen, only read about in stories. But here it was; a feast that could feed a small army. But none of them were really in the mood for eating. Even Davis only picked at his food.

After a good fifteen minutes or so, Kari abruptly stood, the chair making a scraping sound as it slid across the stone floor. The others all looked up from their food, but she neither looked at them nor said nothing to them. Her crimson gaze fell on Sir Richard, who was at the head of the table. But even then, she could not meet his eyes.

"Excuse me." She stated softly, then turned and left.

The girl made her way outside. Even though the room was massive, easily two stories high and very wide, she felt as if she were going to suffocate. She was not one to be claustrophobic, however she was feeling anxious. With a sigh she ran a hand through her brown hair. Things were not sitting well with her.

She was about to lose her best friend. The person who knew her best, and the boy…man…she potentially loved. There were feelings for him that surpassed friendship, but she wasn't so quick as to label them as love. It was such a delicate thing. But what she did know was that she would do anything to get him back. He'd risked his life for her, and now he was going to die for her. Was this a knight's price for being chivalrous? Was this a man's price for being selfless?

Tears began to fall down her face. They shocked her, for she had not even realized that she had begun to cry. But she did not stop them. Who wouldn't cry in this situation? Her hands clenched at her side as the floodgates began to open. Reality was setting in. Sir Richard had….no, she had condemned him to death. If only she'd been more careful about leaving, if only she'd waited a little longer, if only-

"I should have to say that it's a rather nice night."

It took a moment for the voice to register in her head, for she was not yet familiar with it. It was the voice of Sir Richard. Hikari did not turn to him, for she did not think she could face him. Not right now. Not after what he had said. There were many people at fault here, but one is always looking to point the blame. Even though she had, only moments eariler, convinced that she herself was to blame, pointing the finger always felt better. She swallowed hard, and silence enveloped them.

It was broken by a sigh from the older man. "Marion, look, I know what you feel for him…"

Confusion danced across her face for a moment. That wasn't her name…but wait. It was. She had passed into history and had taken on this character. Of course….she knew that. How could she forget? It was all that Sir Guy referred to her as. No one here knew her real name.

The girl sniffed. "You have no idea what I'm feeling right now." She was surprised at the words coming out of her own mouth. There was a bitter, biting tone that went with them, and they stung through the serenity of the night. Since when did she get so hostile? But there was no time to think about that now.

There was another lapse of silence. "No, you're right. I don't."

Green eyes seemed like they would bore a hole into her head.

Slowly, she turned to him. "Then why are you doing this? It would have been better if you had refused us at the gate."

He licked his lips; he seemed to be struggling with something. "Robin is a dear friend of mine…" Sir Richard started, but the sentence failed him.

"Then why are you condemning him to death?" she cried, her voice raising a little. Beneath the sadness anger had emerged. Finally she lifted her gaze to meet his own.

He looked as if he were searching for words. "Sir Guy has every right to do what he's doing. Whether we like it or not, he does have claim to the throne. Not until the rightful king comes back can we do anything about it."

"Then free him! Do something! I don't care…I'll do it myself if I have to!"

"King Richard is in France."

"Then we'll overthrow Sir Guy, take his men, gather the loyal, and get him back!" She was thinking rather irrationally now.

"Marion, if it was in my power, I would do that very thing. But that is not the way this world works. Sir Guy has authority, and I, as a subordinate, have no right to question it."

"Does the word 'rebellion' mean nothing to you?"

Anger flashed through his eyes. "If I had known you were going to be smart with me, perhaps I would not have allowed you as guests in my home. You are fugitives, I know that much. Or else you would not have burdened those poor horses with so much. And you are to be married to Sir Guy himself. I have already broken the law by harbouring you here, and you ask me to rebel? My lady, I have a reputation as an upstanding citizen, and I do not wish for that to change. The king himself would not approve of such behaviour."

Her jaw clenched. Part of her wanted to flee, but she had gotten herself in too deep for that. "A good man is going to die. He's going to die because every day he risked his life for the people. People like you. He sought for ways to free the king, and he will do so until his last breath. This is a man who has not looked for any pleasures in life, and he's finally going to 'get what was coming', according to Sir Guy and evidently, you. I don't care what you or anyone else has to say about it; I'm going to take a horse and go down there myself. If I die, so be it. I would rather die knowing that I was doing the right thing than sitting back and watching a person that I care very deeply for go to his death because of me." A little bit much, perhaps, but she almost felt better about saying it. But she had made up her mind; she was going after him. Tonight. With that thought, she turned away and began to head for the stables.

"My Lady, I would not advise such action."

She spun back around to face him. "At this point, my lord, I don't think it really matters to me. Getting him back holds more meaning than just having him. There is no way to make you understand." Not only would she have lost Takeru, but they would all be stuck there for the rest of their lives. It was not something that she was really looking forward to.

Another long moment of silence fell between them. Sir Richard seemed to be thinking things over. "Get some sleep, my lady. Early tomorrow some of my men and I will ride along with you and your companions, and we will get him back." There was a note of defeat in his voice.

Hikari was dumbstruck. A part of her thought she should leap for joy and hug the man, and remain on cloud nine for the rest of the night. But she didn't…the euphoria wasn't there.

"Why?" came the simple question. It was all that would come out.

"Because…" he paused. "Because I'll never hear the end of it if I don't. Things will fall apart for me, anyways…I may as well go down fighting." There was no happiness, no comfort in his voice.

They started at each other for a long time, and they seemed to come to some sort of understanding. Hikari finally left, leaving the man to contemplate what he had gotten himself into.

---

What they didn't know was that in the heart of France, a resistance movement had already begun to take place. The faithful few had grown over the years, and word was getting around the Richard the Lionheart was going to be freed. Only time would tell.

---

It was early morning, and the castle was bustling with activity. Knights that served Sir Richard had been gathered. They all knew what they were here for. Some of them didn't like the idea, but were bound by their word to serve he that was higher than they. Others were thrilled at the idea, for they had been wondering when someone was going to do something like this. Many of them knew the boy personally, and were going to risk life and limb for him.

Sitting up, Taichi rubbed his eyes. He'd heard noises outside. Glancing out the window, he saw that it was still quite dark. Confusion set in, and he tossed the sheets aside. The boys had all been put in one room, and the girls in another.

Bare feet touched the cold, stone floor and he winced at the feeling. He was used to the sensation of carpet beneath his toes first thing in the morning. It made it seem that a simple thing such as that was something not to be taken for granted. Before he could make his way to the door, someone burst into the room. It was a young man, whom Tai did not recognize. This was either due to the darkness, the fact that he was not awake, or this man was new in the castle. The light of his torch cast eerie shadows through the pitch dark room.

"It's time to get up; we're leaving within the half hour." The man said abruptly, then left in the same manner as he had come.

The confusion only got greater, and Tai stood there a moment, allowing for the words to sink in. "Where are we going?" he voiced aloud, though to no one in particular. He shrugged, and figured he'd wake the rest of them.

"C'mon guys…time to get up…" He said, still not quite awake himself.

He was met with a few protests. Cody and Ken were the only two that actually got up. He knew the other two were at least semi-conscious, so he figured he'd tell them what he was told. "Some guy just came in and told us we're leaving soon. I don't know why or where we're going, but I don't really want to be left behind. You guys do what you want; I'm heading out."

He grabbed the shirt that he had been wearing the day before, and pulled it over his head. He had to be careful of where he was going, for it was still quite dark. None of them knew what time it really was, and it was anyone's guess. But there was no doubt that it was quite early.

Needless to say, his words had gotten the rest of them out of their beds. Davis was the last to vacate his, but managed to dash out the door just behind Matt. They made their way through the winding corridors and down a few flights of stairs into the courtroom where the girls, Sir Richard, and a couple dozen other men were standing.

---

Morning could not come fast enough for the brunette-haired girl. The conversation of the previous night still rang through her mind. What had caused him to change his mind? It couldn't have been her own words, for they were rude and driven only by a blind desire to rescue her friend. But eventually, she had succumbed to sleep, as all do in the end.

The stirrings outside her door caused her to waken. It occurred to her that she had not spoken of what was going on to any of the others. In a flurry of emotions she had neglected to do so the night before. That, and it had been very late. She just wanted to sleep, and for the morning to come.

Sitting up, she allowed herself to re-orient herself. Hikari slid out of bed, and gently woke the other girls. There were some protests, but she was insistent. She did not explain herself just yet, for she only felt the need to do so once. When she'd woken them all, she proceeded to grab the dress that she had been wearing. She spoke while putting it on.

"We're going after Takeru." She stated, bluntly.

There was a moment of silence before anyone spoke. "Hikari, you're going to get yourself, us, and Takeru killed. You can't do this; what would your brother say?" It was Sora who had spoken up.

Hikari looked at her the best she could in the dark. "He's coming too."

They waited for her to explain herself. "I talked with Sir Richard last night…" her voice was at a whisper. "I don't know why or how, but he's agreed to help us."

There was a tinge of sadness in the girl's voice that they could not quite place. This brought a stream of questions to the three other girls, but none of them had the heart to ask her about it. Whatever was troubling her was for her to deal with.

Sora rose. "Well, let's go, then. We're not sitting around and doing nothing."

A light smile stretched across the younger girl's lips. The truth was, it was Richard's decision that was troubling her. She did not doubt his loyalty to them, or his motives. It was the way he had agreed to help. He was almost…she couldn't quite place it. Needless to say, he was probably putting himself on the line in more ways than one. She only hoped that when all was righted and they were finally going to get home, he'd be alright. She understood that he was, in a sense, committing treason, which was punishable by death, but wouldn't the king see that he was doing it for a greater good? Surely the king knew of Robin Hood, right?

With a sigh, she shook her head. It was not the time to be thinking about this.

The girls did not take long to ready themselves, and were in the courtroom before long. They were greeted by Sir Richard and his knights, as well as a light breakfast. Fruits and breads, but it would do. They did not have long.

As they were eating, the boys made their way down. It was hard not to smile at the confused looks on their faces, however no one laughed. There was a sense of foreboding in the air. The knights of Sir Guy were not stupid; they had gone through their training just like any other. They only hoped they could get through this with as little grief as possible.

When they had made their way to the bottom, Sir Richard greeted them as well. "Are you ready? As soon as you've eaten, we'll go. I've got some extra horses that you can ride."

Davis' face fell at the thought of riding again. Sora was right…it was worse the next morning. He'd hobbled through the hallways, though noticed that he wasn't the only one. Of course, none of the others would admit to it.

Tai scratched his head. "Uh, what exactly is going on?" He voiced the question that was on all of their minds.

Sir Richard blinked. It hadn't occurred to him that they didn't know what was going on. "Why, we're going after your friend. Was Robin Hood not captured yesterday?"

They exchanged glances, then looked to the girls. It was clear that they knew what was going on. "You couldn't have said anything?" Tai said, grabbing some fruit and making his way to where the girls were standing.

"Sorry, Kari only told us this morning." Sora said.

He looked to his sister, raising an eyebrow. He'd taken a bite of the fruit, so his mouth was full.

She looked to the floor, for whatever reason. "I'm sorry, it was very late when the decision was made."

He swallowed, and placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. He could tell that there was something bothering her, on top of having all the emotions rushing through her. "Hey, it's going to be fine. We've been in worse situations, right? And we've always pulled through. Nothing's going to stand in the way between us and getting him back, okay?" He took another bite.

Slowly, she nodded her head. Lifting it, there was a soft smile on her face. "Thanks…"

He smiled to match her own. "No problem."

---

Only a few minutes had passed before they were all ready to go. They had been fitted with swords, but were instructed not to use them unless necessary. Cody carried his staff, and insisted that it was the only weapon that he would need. The teen refused to carry a sword, much less wield it against another.

Nodding in understanding, Sir Richard gave a speech. He revealed the plan, and they were off. The group was hoisted up into their horses, and would ride in the middle of the company. This would ensure that their horses could neither bolt nor pull anything, and if something did go wrong, they could be easily helped. Stealth would be the key here, for it would be what saved them.

As they set out the sun had not yet begun to show its face. But it was just as well, thought Kari, for Takeru only had until sunrise.

---

Takeru had gotten only a few hours of sleep. They'd thrown him into a cold, slimy dungeon filled with rats and other things that he wasn't even sure he wanted to know about. They'd not chained him, he was glad, but the cell wasn't exactly homely, either. The stone floor was cold, and water dripped from the ceiling. A tiny, barred window at the top of the cell was his only reference to the outside world. He knew how much time he had, generally, and it wasn't much. He could only hope that his friends could muster something in time to get him out. If they didn't, well, he'd be dead and they'd be stuck here. Forever. Never seeing Kari again wasn't sitting well with him, either. For that matter, never seeing Patamon, his family, friends, even his school again wasn't going over too well.

For the child of hope, he didn't seem to have much of it.

---

Calmer of the Storm: haha! I'm done! I've got a couple of ideas in the works, and maybe I'll kick my butt into gear and get the next one out earlier, but for all that know me….no promising! I'm horrible, I know. Maybe two chapters, maybe three…I don't know yet. But it's almost there!

So, like it? Hate it? Got ideas? Let me know!