Author's Note: I hope you like this story. It's just another one of my dumb ideas. This time, it's MEDIEVAL!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!! It's also Miyaken!!! Read it even if you are not a Miyaken fan! It will also include Takari, Mimato, Taiora and AAMRN. Yes, an AAMRN. This will have Ash and Misty in it. I miss them. They'd probably be like grown-ups in this story and don't mind if some things are miss-placed in the time-line. Oh, yeah! Yolei does not wear glasses in this fic, okay? I just don't want to do all the contact lenses crap. Go ahead. Well, I'm going to be using magic in this fic, just thought I'd let you know about that. Also, I need some grammer help. Does the term 'emperorness' exist? Does 'Empressness' exist? Help. Okay, people are wondering why it's called Straydes. Well, that'll come up.
Sincerely Rose
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Straydes Part 1 of 1
The emperor of Straydes, Ken Ichijouji, banged down the golden goblet onto a table beside his throne. "Execution!" he bellowed. The snake charmer wept as he was led away by the guards.
Once they were out of the room, the emperor turned to his adviser who just happened to be a worm. (**cough**Wormmon**cough**)
"That was what? The 56th most amazing show I've ever seen?" He glared at the green insect Digimon in discust. "Yeah, well, umm, uhhh . . . " Wormmon stammered.
"Maybe I'll go plan the next attack, instead sitting here doing nothing," Ken growled. He started to get up, but Wormmon stopped him. "But, you already attacked a village today," Wormmon pointed out, "it was the third villiage this month."
"Yeah, and I could've already planned the next four attacks, if I weren't wasting my precious time here," Ken grumbled. He was in the middle of planning another attack, but than the stupid worm had to come in, drag him to the throne room and tell him that he'd been working too hard, he needed a break and whatnot.
"Everything is getting boring!" Ken exclaimed, "if you don't find someone who can actually entertain me, then I'll have to send you to execution. Understand?!" "Y-yes, sir," Wormmon stammered.
Ken then noticed that the goblet was empty. "Davis!" he called. Nothing. "DAVIS!" Ken shouted. He waited for a second. Nothing yet. "DAVIS, GET YOUR ASS IN HERE RIGHT NOW, YOU WORTHLESS-!!!!"
A boy with short brown hair and brown eyes rushed in with one of those big jug thingies. "Um, you called, sire?" he asked sheepishly.
Ken sneered at him. "Fill. The. Goblet. With. More. Wine," Ken said, slowly, "You. Must. Always. Come. When. I. Summon. You. Or. You. Will. Have. To. Face. The. Consequences. GOT THAT?!" Ken shouted the last two words.
"Yes, sir," Davis muttered. He filled the goblet up with more wine. Then, he ran out.
"That's your fourth cup in the last half hour," Wormmon said to Ken, "are you sure you won't get drunk or something?" "Sure, I'm sure!" the emperor snapped.
He took a sip and spit it right out. "What's wrong, your highness?" the worm asked. "Damn! This thing is non-alcholic!" Ken exclaimed, "DAVIS!!!"
Davis came running in. "Yes, your emperorness?" he asked. "Wormmon, get someone to entertain me, and Davis, get me something alcholic!!" Ken instructed.
"Yes, sir!" Davis said. He ran out. "Sir, there aren't anymore people left to entertain you," Wormmon said. Ken glared at him.
"Didn't we capture some women from that other village we attacked today?" the emperor asked, "get me one of them! I hear that one is a spectacular dancer."
"Okay, sir," Wormmon said, "your wish is my command." He almost bumped into Davis, who was bringing in more wine (alchoholic this time), on the way out.
Wormmon crawled down to where the prisoners were being kept. There were six women all together. Wormmon went down to the cells they were being kept in.
Actually, they were being kept in one big chamber. Wormmon had no idea why Ken didn't just lock them up in cells like he did to all the other slaves. Wormmon knocked on the door. "Come in!" a feminine voice said from the other side.
Wormmon opened the door and crawled in. "I would like to see the dancer," he said. A lady with lavender coloured hair and reddish, brown eyes stepped forward.
"My name is Yolei Inoue and I am the only dancer here," she said, "what do you want with me?"
Wormmon recognised her voice. She was the one who had told him to come in. He looked around. Almost all the other women were huddled to together at the back of the wall.
"The lord has also heard you are a good dancer and would like it if you would come down to the throne room and dance for him," he answered, "we'll provide the music and your dress."
Yolei held in her breath as she thought. "Do I have a choise?" she asked. "Nope," Wormmon replied, flatly. "Fine. When do you I have to be ready?" Yolei asked. "You'll have to be ready in half an hour," Wormmon said, "a maid will come with your dress."
With that, he crawled out, shutting the door behind him.
Yolei sat down on her bed. A woman with brown hair came and sat down beside her.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked, "I know you don't want to do this." "How do you know?" Yolei asked. "Because you are my sister," Yolei's sister, Selena(?), replied, "I know when something is wrong. You miss your friends and family. You can't stand the thought of the emperor and you are detesting every momment of this. But, maybe . . . "
"Maybe what?" Yolei asked her sister. Her sisiter hesitated before answering. "Your dancing has soothed the hearts of many people before, sister," Selena answered, "it is because you love dancing and you dance with grace and beauty. You don't hate dancing and you always make people happy with your movement. Maybe you can sooth the savage beast."
Selena got up. "Please think about it," she asked and left. Yolei thought about what her sister had told her. "Impossible," she declared after a minute or so.
There was another knock at the door. "Come in," Yolei mumbled. A maid walked in with a white dress in her arms.
In the throne room, the emperor was drinking his fifth goblet of wine. "Who is it?" he asked, "describe how the girl looks like." "Well," Wormmon started, "she has lavender hair and reddish, brown eyes."
Ken eyed him. "How long is her hair?" he asked. "It's almost waist-length and kind of curly at the edges," Wormmon answered, "why?"
"Sounds like the girl who will be executed tomorrow night," Ken answered. "What did she do?" Wormmon asked. "Nothing," Ken answered. "Then why is she being executed?" the worm asked. "Because I felt like sending someone to execution! Now, would you shut up?!" Ken asked.
Wormmon's jaw dropped. (A.N. I know that Wormmon doesn't have a jaw to drop, but I didn't know any other way to put it.) "But, but," Wormmon sputtered, "but, your highness . . . "
"Fine, if she impresses me, then she won't have to get killed," Ken interrupted. He wouldn't have normally done this, but he got the feeling that Wormmon wouldn't shut up if he didn't do it fair and square. Wormmon cheered, but shut up after the glare he got from Ken.
'Oh, well,' Ken thought, 'at least he can't stop me from executing the snake charmer . . . '
A man with blue hair walked in. "What is it, Joe?" Ken asked. "The dancer," Joe answered. "Send her in," Ken muttered. He stared at the goblet in his hands as the door swung open and Yolei walked in.
"She looks pretty," Wormmon said. "That's what you said about the last 53 dancers and the fat lady who sung," Ken said in discust.
Wormmon shrugged. Ken looked away from the goblet to take a look at the dancer. He was going to be watching her dance so what's the point not looking right now?
His jaw almost dropped when he saw her. For once, the worm had been right- no, he had been wrong. She wasn't just pretty; she was gorgeos.
Yolei was wearing the white gown with white roses in it. There were more roses in her lavender hair and a loose veel was hanging from the flowers. It didn't cover her face. The gown didn't touch the floor and showed her feet. She wasn't wearing slippers or anything. She held another long piece of white fabric in her hands.
Unlike the other men who had seen her in the corridors, Ken wasn't dumb founded for long. The emperor got back his posture as quick as a whip and started talking.
"Before you begin," he said, "I know you have been sent to execution tomorrow."
Yolei took a deep breath and nodded. He took her breath away! He sat handsomely on the throne although he looked bored out of his mind.
Even through all this, she still detested him. His attack had had her whole villiage in panic. Her parents died in the attack, too.
"Here's the deal," Ken continued, "you totally impress me; you don't have to die. If you don't; you die. Understand?" Yolei nodded.
"Now, go on," he said taking a sip from the goblet. Joe hurried out of the room.
The music started and Yolei began to move. Her movement was slow and steady. "She dances devinely," Wormmon whispered to his master. Ken muttered something back.
Actually, he wasn't really only watching her dance. He was really watching her face as well. As he watched her, he felt a strange desire flow through him. It warmed him all over. What was this feeling?
The music slowed to a stop and Yolei also stopped dancing. She waited for his answer.
Ken's eyes moved up and down her body. "Okay," he finally said, "you didn't impress me that much." Yolei closed her eyes for two seconds and opened them again.
"But, you don't have to die," Ken said. "Thank you, master," she answered. "But, I'm not letting you off the hook that easy," Ken added.
He watched as confusion washed over her beautiful face. "You will get tortured for one hour tomorrow for my amusement," he told her. He smiled evilly at her.
Yolei nodded. "Okay," she whispered. "Now, go!" he ordered. Yolei turned around and walked out.
"But, she's a lady," Wormmon wailed once Yolei was gone, "she'd die in pain!" Ken took another sip and didn't answer.
Yolei walked into the chamber and sat down on her bed. There were eight of them all together. It took a while for Yolei to notice that 14 eyes were on her.
"What?!" she snapped. "What did he say?" a redhead asked. Yolei looked at her. The girl seemed to be about 19 years old; two years younger than her. She had blue eyes and her hair came almost half way down her back. (A.N. Watch Princess vs. Princess! Her hair is that long.)
"Who are you?" Yolei asked. "My name is Misty Waterflower," the red head answered, "Yolei Inoue, right? What happened?"
Yolei sighed. "I don't have to be executed," she said looking at the carpet. "That's great!" Misty exclaimed. But then she noticed the look on Yolei's face. "There's more to it, isn't there?" she asked.
Yolei nodded. "I have to get tortured for one whole hour tomorrow," she told Misty. Then she added, "for his amusement." "That's horrible," Misty said quietly, "I knew he was evil, but I never imagined that he'd be this cruel. Especially to a lady."
"Well-" Yolei began. There was a knock at the door. "Come in!" Misty and Yolei said at the same time.
Then they looked at eachother. All the other women were too scared to even open their mouths in this place. They smiled. Something told both girls that they were going to get along perfectly.
The door swung open and a man dressed in blue and gold walked in. It was the uniform that all the emperor's men wore. There was the emperor's sign on the chest- a golden whip in three coils.
The man had black hair and brown eyes. He was a bit taller than Yolei and Misty was only as tall as his shoulder.
Yolei eyed him and turned to Misty. Misty was standing there starring at him. There was pain in her beautiful aqua eyes.
Yolei sensed that something was up between her and the guy before them. Yolei looked at him. His eyes were locked with Misty's.
He sneered for two seconds and turned to Yolei. "The Lord doesn't really like to harm 'such a beautiful creature'. You will only go through torture for twenty minutes," he said.
Yolei stared at him. "A beautiful creature is what he said you were," the guy snapped, "and I don't tell lies!"
He turned on his heel and walked out, slamming the door behind him. "Misty, who was that guy?!" Yolei asked.
"That's Ash Ketchum," Misty replied, "he's a warrior and all that, but forget him. He does tell lies." "Why do you say that?" Yolei asked. "Forget him!" Misty snapped.
Her expression softened and then, she got a michivious grin on her face and her eyes twinkled. "What?" Yolei asked, curiously. "Such a beautiful creature, eh?" Misty asked. Her smile got wider.
Yolei gave her a look. "How can I love the man who murdered my family?" she asked, "have you gone nuts or something?" "I think that your sister is right," Misty said, "maybe you can and did sooth the savage beast. He reduced your torture time from one hour to twenty minutes, didn't he?"
"But, that doesn't prove anything," Yolei said. She walked out to a balcony with Misty.
They stared down at the villiage. It was kinda crowded. More of the emperor's men were patrolling the market square and some were bullying old men and threatening women.
"For all we know," Yolei said without looking at her, "he's a rapist." "Don't talk such nonsense," Misty said, "he never did anything like that to a woman. Of course, he never showed them anymore mercy then he showed the men. They all got executed one way or another."
Misty looked at the villiage for a momment. Two of the guards beat up a man in his late fourties. Misty frowned in discust and said, "I'm really confused. How can they all live like that? Very strange how there are still people in that town. You'd think by now, he'd sentenced them all to execution."
Yolei nodded. "What about your family?" she asked. "My parents died when I was young," Misty replied, "my sisters took care of me, although they were annoying sometimes. My youngest, sister, Lily got kidnapped in the attack. My two older sisters, Daisey and Violet, told me to hide in the barn. I hid there and after a few minutes I heard a blood chilling scream. I recognised the voice to be Violet's. I wanted to out and see what was happening, but I relised that it was a stupid thing to do. I waited and waited. Hours passed and I finally went out. The villiage was a ghost town. There was no sight of anybody or anything- alive. I walked around, trying to find something, but I didn't know what I was looking for. Suddenly, two of his men appeared and knocked me out. I was in this exact chamber when I woke up. I learned what was going on and I just lived in fear ever since."
"Fear of what?" Yolei asked, "you seem like the bravest person here-along with me, of course." Misty smiled sadly. "The pain of dieing or getting tortured is different from the pain you would feel if you lost somebody who you really care about," she said, quietly, "I felt that kind of pain when I lost my sisters. I never saw any of them. I don't know whether they're alive or dead. If someone really close dies, you feel like there's nothing to live for. I wanted to die that day I lost them. But, I remembered that somebody else is alive and I have to live for that someone. But, now I feel that that someone I had once known and loved is half dead. That he's drifting farther and farther away from me everyday . . . "
Her voce trailed off and she stared at the sky with blank eyes. She suddenly snapped back into reallity and looked at Yolei. "What about your family?" Misty asked. Yolei closed her eyes.
"It was only you in the barn. Me, my mom and my sisters were there," she began, "my father and brother were outside fighting the emperor's men with other men from the villiage. Somebody shot an arrow of fire. The barn got covered in flames in less than minutes. I heard my whole family and other families. Screaming, crying, begging for mercy . . . I blacked out. I woke up here, too. A few days later, my sister joined me. She said she escaped the fire, but mother and my other sister didn't. Both my father and my brother died in the fight.
Misty turned back to the villiage. "I would give anything to get out of here," she said with a sigh. "Why don't you?" Yolei asked. "That would be pretty stupid," Misty said, "we're not aloud in the corridors after midnight. If we get caught, we'll have to pay. Man or woman."
"That seems like the perfect time to sneak out of here," Yolei said, "after midnight. How can we get caught if nobody's awake?"
"Who's said nobody's awake?" Misty asked, "the emperor doesn't have to stay in the throne room, not that he does in the day time either, but there'll be guards everywhere."
"The guards don't even have self-controll," Yolei told her friend, "if they are the only things standing in my way, getting out of here should be a piece of cake."
"The emperor will be out and you can never know where to find him!" Misty told her. "The castle is huge," Yolei said, "what're the chances of us running into him?"
"Us?" Misty asked, "if you make it out of here alive, you can expect to see me the next day." Yolei rolled her eyes. "Besides, someone will have to warn you," Misty said, "they caught you once and they'll do it again, won't they?"
"You worry too much," Yolei answered, "and I thought you were brave." She snorted and went inside. "I am so brave!" she heard Misty yell back at her, "I'm just not stupid!! There's a big, fat difference between bravery and stupidity!"
Yolei smirked at her friend's out burst and sat down on her bed. She got a serious look on her face. 'If he thinks that I'm going to sit here and do nothing, he's in for a big surprise,' she thought, 'try fighting someone who'll actually fight back for once, emperor.'
That night, Yolei faked her rest until she heard a clock strike midnight. She quietly got out of bed and tip-toed to the door. She wasn't wearing a night gown, because she knew it would be pretty stupid since the point was to get out of the castle.
She was wearing a thin white gown with arms that came only a bit past her elbows.
She tip toed down the dark hallways. The only light was a few torches, casting a dim glow in the lifeless corridors. Yolei shivered. It was so cold!
She made her way down a flight of stairs and made her way through the hallways. She came to a turn and just to be on the safe side, she slowed down and tried to listen for any footsteps. Nothing . . .
Suddenly, someone roughly grabbed her arm and whirled her around. Yolei spun around and came face-to-face with the emperor.
The End of Part 1
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Author's Note: I decided to add a few things. I'm going to include magic in this story. You know, the spells, curses, fortune telling, teleporting . . . Actually, I really need a way for Ken to keep an eye on her and you know that I can't make him use the monitors, 'cause they aren't invented yet, so . . .
Sincerely Rose
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Straydes Part 2 of 1
Suddenly, someone roughly grabbed her arm and whirled her around. Yolei spun around and came face-to-face with the emperor.
Yolei would've gasped if she wasn't choking on her breath or if her tongue wasn't twisted and dry. 'I'm in for it now . . . ' she thought, miserably.
"What are you doing here?" Ken demanded, "I'm sure I sent somebody to your chambers to let you know that any prisoner caught in the corridors after midnight will be punished severly, man or woman."
Yolei didn't know what to say so she kept quiet, but Ken squeezed her hand harder causing her to wince. "Answer me!" he ordered. Yolei nodded. "Yes," she admitted, "I did know about that rule."
Ken sneered. He let go off her hand and pushed her against the wall. Yolei grabbed her hand. He had squeezed it so hard that she thought it would be less painful to just cut it off. She avoided his eyes, waiting for him to speak.
But, after a minute, she didn't hear him. She began to suspect if he had left or something. She looked up and to her dismay, he was still there. But, the frown on his face had turned upside down into a smirk.
A smirk. A sick smirk. A sick, evil smirk. His face was kind of darkened because of the lack of light. They were near a window, but it was cloudy out so the moon couldn't chase away the darkness that almost covered him.
Even through the dark shade of black, Yolei could see the sinister look on his face. But, there was something else in his darkened eyes.
A very small flicker of goodness. But, it was so tiny that if it were a flame outside, a gentle breese could blow it out. In an instant, that flicker disappeared and she once again saw the darkness and evil.
She held her breath as his eyes moved all over her, once again that day. Or night or whatever it was.
She tensed as he moved closer to her and leaned close. Their noses were an inch apart. He grabbed both of her arms and held her in place as his smirk grew.
"Usually," he said in a low whisper, "people who break this rule get sentenced to death."
Hot tears burnt her eyes. Yolei blinked them back. 'I am not going to cry,' she thought to herself, 'I will not cry infront of the enemy. I will not!' "So, I'll have to punish you," he told her.
Just then, a voice ran through Yolei's head. 'RUN FOR IT!!!'
Then, Yolei's stupid side took over. "You'll have to catch me first," she told him. "Huh?" Ken asked.
She took off at full speed. She turned the corridor. She practically flew down a stair case and she kept running.
Yolei looked behind her, expecting to see the emperor following her, but to her surprise, nobody was there. She slowed down to a stop.
A thought hit her like lightning. 'Oh no,' she thought, 'what if he had informed the guards? What if they were all after her right now?' She cursed loudly.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," somebody said. Yolei turned around. Nobody was there. Somebody had said that; she hadn't imagined it. The voice sounded very much like Ken's.
"W-who's th-there?" Yolei stammered. Then, someone pushed her against the wall. Yolei gasped and looked up.
The emperor was standing right infront of her and he didn't look very happy. 'Oh no,' Yolei thought. She gasped as he grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her towards him.
"Try that again and you'll regret it," he growled. He let go and Yolei once again made a stupid choise.
She started to run away, but she had only taken a few steps when she felt something go around her ankles. Her feet flew out from underneath her and she lands hard on her stomach and hands.
Yolei groaned and looked back at Ken to see him reeling in his whip. His smirked at her and walked over. "Get up," he told her. Yolei imediatley got up. She expected him to hit her or something, but he didn't.
"You've got spunk. I should sentence you to death," he said, smugly, "but, this time, I'll make an acception." "Wha-?" Yolei asked, surprised, "what did you say?"
He squeezed her arms again, making her wince again. "You heard exactly what I said," he growled in her ear as he leaned more closer, "consider yourself lucky. I don't make this offer to many people. But, I might change my mind, if you aren't in bed in less than fifteen minutes."
He brushed back a few strands of her hair and suddenly placed a kiss on her forehead. Yolei looked at him in amazement. He let go of her arms. "Now, go!" he ordered.
Yolei imediatley started to run towards her chamber.
Ken watched her until she disappeared into the darkness. Then, with a whisk of his black cape, he was gone.
The emperor reappeared in the throne room, on his throne. He held up his hand and the air in the middle of the room started swirl like portal.
A black glass appeared right in the middle of the room. It started to glow and picture appeared on it. Ken put his hand down.
Yolei was running through the corridors and he saw her enter her chamber, shutting the door behind her.
Ken held his hand up again, palm facing the glass. He made a fist and the glass disappeared.
'What had gotten into me?' he thought to himself. His most favourite word to use was "execution" so why didn't he sentence her to death when she disobeyed him?
It was something about her that made him merciful, soft and kind . . . She made a good feeling, but a confusing one rise in him every time she was near. Just thinking about her made that emotion.
Ken banged his fist on the golden throne. Even the gold cracked when he punched it. He was that strong.
"I am so strong that I can even crack gold by just smacking it," he said to himself, "I am not letting a prisoner change that. I am not going to get weak! I. AM. NOT!" He punched the throne again and this time, a chunk of gold fell off.
Ken smirked at it. He stepped on it and he kept pressing it against the floor until he heard it break. He lifted his foot of the chunk of stone.
The gold had broken into two big pieces and lots of tiny pieces. 'That's what will become of anybody who tries to change me,' he thought to himself. He smirked again.
Then, in a flash, he was gone.
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"He let you go?!" Misty asked in amazement, "no way! Yolei, you have got to be making this up! The emperor is not that kind of man." "That's what I thought," Yolei said with a shrug.
Yolei wasn't planning on telling Misty what had happened, but Misty suspected that something was up because Yolei was tired that morning and usually she was the first person up. Misy figured out that she must've gone somewhere and she had talked her into telling her what had happened.
"I don't know what had gotten into The Lord, but you, my friend, are one lucky girl," Misty told Yolei, "are you alright? Are you sure he didn't hurt you?" She paused before adding, "are you sure it was him and not some guard?" "I'm sure," Yolei smiled.
Her face grew serious. "But, you shouldn't tell anybody about my run in with him," she said, sternly, "I don't want the word to spread." Misty nodded.
Just then, Selena walked up to them. "Yolei," she said, shaking her head, "you're getting tortured today? How come you never told me?" Yolei shugged. "I guess I didn't want to worry you," she said to her sister. "Will you be alright?" Selena said with concern in her voice. "I don't know," Yolei whispered.
Selena and Misty looked at eachother, both with worried expressions. Yolei saw this and said, "You guys worry too much, ya know that?" Selena and Misty looked down.
There was a knock at the door. "Come in," Yolei called. Five of the women ran to the back of the room, but Misty, Selena and Yolei stayed put.
The door slowly opened and Wormmon crawled in. "Miss. Inoue?" he asked. "Which one?" Yolei asked. "Yolei?" Wormmon asked. "That's me," Yolei said.
'He must've come up here to tell me to get ready for the torture,' Yolei thought in discust. "I came up here to tell you that the Lord has cancelled your torture," Wormmon said. "What?" Yolei asked, surprised.
Wormmon shrugged. "It's the strangest thing . . . " he muttered. Misty let out a sigh of relief. "Well, that's it," Wormmon said quickly, "I gotta go." He crawled back out.
"That was odd," Selena noted. Misty nodded, but Yolei didn't say anything. "This just in," she muttered to herself, "the emperor has lost it . . . "
She felt a hand on her shoulder. "What are you thinking about?" Selena asked. Yolei shrugged. She picked at the blue gown she was wearing. "I don't know," she said, flatly, "I just don't know anymore."
Misty looked at her with a confused expression. "You just don't know what?" she asked. She didn't know what she felt about the Emperor anymore. Yolei didn't want to reply and she didn't have to.
There was another knock. "Come in," Misty sighed. The door opened and Wormmon crawled in again. "I forgot to tell you that at exactly 7:30, you are going to go to the Imerial Beach. Yes, the one that's right outside the castle. You can stay around there until 9:00."
With that, he turned around, but didn't leave. "Don't try to escape," he said, suddenly, "you'll regret it." He left.
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The sun was beginning to set. The sight was beautiful. There was a gold and scarlet haze over the horizen, making the water look like a diamond with shades of yellow and red.
Anybody would've said that there was nobody in the water . . .
The emperor looked out his window in his chamber and stared out at the ocean.
Suddenly there was a splash. From beneath the water rose . . . something or someone. Ken couldn't really make out who it was. He squinted and focused.
Whoever it was threw back lavender hair and ferociously shook his/her head, most likely trying to get water out of his/her eyes.
It was Yolei.
Ken stared at her. She dove back into the water with a small splash. She came back a momment later in a different part of the sea.
He watched as the water rolled off her body and beautiful lavender hair. She looked like a mermaid, swimming in the sea at twilight.
A knife of desire stabbed his heart and he once againt felt that feeling.
Ken tried keep control his body which didn't really seem possible at the momment. But he did. When, he did he tore his eyes away from the window. Away from the sea. And away from 'her'.
Ken sat down at his desk, obviously irritated and a bit angry. What in hell was this stupid feeling that kept rising up in him?! It was really starting to get on the emperor's nerves.
That was the last draw. He HAD to have her. And god, he will. He knew just how to do it, too.
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Just at that momment, there was another knock at the door. The five women ran to the back off the room again. "Come in," Misty said.
The door open and a woman in her early thirties walked in. She looked kind of young with blond hair pulled back in a bun and twinkling blue eyes. She was wearing a black dress and a white apron. She was clutching a piece of paper in her hand.
"Hello, ladies," she said with a bright smile, "my name is May. I work around the Imperial Palace." "You make that sound like a good thing," Misty pointed out. May shrugged, but she didn't lose that smile of hers.
"Anyways, his Emperorness has decided that it's about time that seven of you girls started doing some work around here," she told them. Misty's jaw dropped. "Work?!" she asked.
"Woah!" Selena interrupted. She turned to May. "Did you say seven of us?" she asked. May nodded. "But, there are eight of us here," Selena told her.
May got a confused look on her face, but it disappeared almost the instant it appeared. Her smile returned. "Well, I'm sure I can find out what's happened here," she said. She looked at the peice of paper she was holding.
"Oh, I see," she said as her smile returned, "a lady named . . . Yolei Inui??" "Inoue," Selena corrected. She frowned as she examined the paper. "Oh, yes. I see. Well, she . . . She's, umm, I don't know," May said with a shrug.
Misty noticed something. "Hey, there's something on the back," she informed May. "Huh?" May asked, "back?" Misty rolled her eyes and grabbed the paper away from May.
She read what was on the back and her eyes went wide. "What?" Yolei asked. "Oh, yeah," May seemed to remember something, "the Emperor did scribble something at the back."
Misty looked at Yolei as if she had grown another head. She looked back at the paper. She looked from the paper to Yolei and back for almost a minute. By then, Yolei was getting fed up.
"Would you just read the d*** thing?!" she asked. Misty starred at Yolei and began reading.
"It's tradition that no future Empress (the fiance of the Emperor; not the daughter) be a servant at the Palace. This tradition had never been broken and nobody's braking it now. So, because of this tradition, Yolei cannot be a servant because she's the next Empress. Signed, the Emperor, Ken Ichijouji."
Everybody in the room turned to Yolei who was gaping at Misty. After a minute, Yolei shook her head slowly. "No."
The End of Part 2
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Konnichiwa, minna-san! The third chapter! We're here already. So, I don't really know what in the world's going to happen now. Okay, I'm not all that bright on Japanese Mythology, so I'm just going to go along with mythology from Greece. Note: Couples being happy after marriages are very rare in Greek Mythology, but don't worry. Anybody out there who lives in the villiage I invented won't get a crabby Empress. So, enjoy as much as you can. And this chapter might have lime in it. Note: I said MIGHT and LIME! Not lemon. You see, I can read lemons but I suck at writing them.
- Rose Silverstein
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Straydes Part 3 of 1
"No," Yolei said, again. "Oh, my," Selena breathed. "No, no, no!" Yolei repeated. "It's alright," Misty said, unsurely. "No, it's not right!" Yolei snapped, "where's the justice?! He can't force me into this!"
"So, if he asked you, what would you say?" May asked without smiling. "No!" Yolei shouted. "I'm sorry," May said, the smile still gone, "but I don't think that the Emperor will take 'no' for an answer."
Yolei glared at her. "What is he doing right now?!" she demanded. May shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "Listen to me and listen to me carefully," Yolei growled moving closer to May, "I want to see him TODAY!" "Today, Madam?" May asked.
"Yes, today," Yolei repeated. "Um, if you want to see him, I'm pretty sure that I'm not the person you'd ask," May stammered.
Before, Yolei could reply, there was another knock at the door. "Come in!" Yolei shouted.
The door slowly opened and in crawled Wormmon. "What do you want?!" Yolei asked.
"The Lord would like to see you in the Imperial Garden tonight," Wormmon told her. All the women in the room stared at him. "The garden?" Misty questioned.
Wormmon shrugged. "That's what he said. He's been acting kinda weird lately. I wonder what's up . . . " Misty's head grew ten times it's normal size when she shouted, "YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT'S UP!!!!!!!"
"Okay," Wormmon admitted, "so, I do know what's up." Yolei growled. "I'm sorry to say that it won't matter what you girls think about this," Wormmon said with a shrug.
"And why not?!" Misty demanded. "Well, first of all," Wormmon began, "it's kinda like a right he gets. What the Emperor wants, the Emperor gets. Second, it's, um, well . . . the second reason isn't much of a reason really." Yolei and Misty glared at him, making him cough up the second 'reason'.
"Well, you see, none of the young women down in that villiage would be anything you can call pretty . . . " Wormmon's voice trailed off. Yolei gave him a look. "The Lord is the only person who thinks that," Wormmon said in his defense, "not me! I think they're all very beautiful! Honest!"
Misty was about to say something, but Yolei spoke before her. "If that's all, you can leave," she growled. "I wish it were all, Madam," Wormmon muttered under his breath. In his usual voice he said, "I am also supposed to escort you to your new room."
Yolei's jaw almost dropped. "B-but, but-" Yolei stammered. "The Master's orders," Wormmon said with a shrug. He was silently praying inside his mind that Yolei wouldn't take her anger out on him. It wasn't his fault that he got stuck delivering the horrible news. He was only supposed to be the adviser. Why couldn't Ken just get one of the servants to tell her??
Yolei was about to start shouting again, but she knew that shouting wasn't going to do anything. Wormmon turned around. "Coming?" he asked without looking back at her.
Yolei looked back at Misty and Selena. "Don't worry," Misty whispered, forcing a smile onto her face. Selena also smiled a fake smile. Yolei didn't bother to try. "Good-bye," she said in a hushed voice.
Once, Yolei was gone, Selena broke down crying. Misty tried to comfort her, but she felt like like turning their room upside down in anger.
Wormmon led Yolei through hallways and corridors and they stopped infront a room. After what seemed like hours of walking through very long corridors and climbing up lots of staircases, they stopped. Yolei was pretty sure that her room was on the other side of the castle.
"This is your room," Wormmon said, avoiding her eyes. Silence. "I hope you like it," Wormmon said unsurley.
Yolei opened the room without replying. She closed the door behind her. She sighed and looked around the room. Great. Now she was alone and she barely knew what to do. At least, with Misty and Selena, she had someone to talked to. "At least with them, I could've worked up some plan to bust out of here . . . " Yolei mumbled.
She examined the room. The walls were painted white. There was a lavender queen-sized bed up against one of the walls. The floor was bare and not to mention hard and cold. There was a wooden closet, a dresser and a full length mirror. There was also a window with curtains.
Yolei went over to the closet and opened the doors. Inside were dresses. They were very pretty and elegant, Yolei couldn't deny that.
She took one out. It was a royal blue colour with full sleeves and it wouldn't cover her shoulders or her chest. It showed off her figure. The hem had little fuchsia ruffles. So, did the cuffs, the starting of the dress and there were some more little ruffles at the waist.
For some reason, as she held the dress against her body and gazed at her reflection in the mirror, Yolei smiled. She didn't know why. She was supposed to be angry, but something in the room made her smile. And she didn't try to frown again, either.
She hung the dress back up and shut the closet's doors.
She sat down on the bed and buried her face in her hands. "Maybe," she whispered to herself, "maybe this is all just one big dream. No, a nightmare. A big, scary nightmare. Maybe I'll just wake up all of a sudden, in my own bed in my own house . . . " She pinched herself. "Ouch!" she exclaimed. It wasn't a nightmare.
She sighed, layed down and closed her eyes. After a few momments, she drifted off to a dreamless sleep.
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Ken paced around in circles inside his own chamber. After a while, he got tired of walking and sat down at his desk.
He wondered what Yolei was doing right now. He smirked for a second. Probably sulking.
His palm glowed a crimson colour. He ran his hand over his desk. Just like that, the black glass appeared on the desk and lit up.
It showed him that his fiancee was asleep. Her lavender hair was spread all over the pillow, her eyes were shut tight and her arms were around the pillow pressing it against the side of her head.
He watched as she moaned and moved up bit. Again, he felt that feeling stir up in him and that wave of desire washed over him.
In a way, that feeling was very annoying. Not knowing what it was, made Ken a bit uncomfortable and even a little bit angry.
Oh, well . . . Whatever it was, it would have to wait until tonight, when it would finally be solved.
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'So,' Yolei thought, 'this is what the Imperial Gardens look like.' It was beautiful. There were flowers everywhere. Roses, primroses, tulips, daisies, violets. There was a pond and pink and white lilies were floating around in it. Around the pond were bunches of lavenders.
Yolei loved lavenders. She walked over and sniffed them. She fingered one. It reminded her of her own villiage. Her heart began to ache as she remembered her family and friends.
A single tear rolled down her cheek and splashed onto the lavender. Almost imediatley, five or six butterflies flew out from underneath the lavenders and flew off. "So beautiful . . . " Yolei breathed as she watched them fly away.
She got up. She noticed a hedge with white roses. Actually, there were lots of hedges. Yolei relised what it was. 'A maze,' she thought to herself.
Smiling, she entered it. There were lots of turns and she was almost always finding herself at a dead end.
She finally found herself in the middle. There was a fountain right in the middle of the maze. The fountain was round and white. Water shot up in five places. Right in the middle, the water shot up the highest. Around it were more gentle ones.
In front of the fountain was a swing set. It was white with purple and white carnations and vines running all over it.
Yolei sighed and sat down. The gardens were so beautiful. She had expected them to be kinda, how should I put this, not good looking. Ugly, even.
Leaning back, she closed her eyes for a few minutes. Once she opened them again, a little voice at the back of her head told her that something was about to happen. Something did happen.
The emperor appeared out of nowhere. Startled, Yolei stood up. She was a bit freaked now. How in the world did he do that?! Were her eyes playing tricks on her or something?!? Yolei didn't think so.
He turned to her and smiled. She was wearing a tight, black, strapless, sleevless gown. It showed off her figure very well. But it wasn't ALL black. There were big purple flowers running across the hem and at the very top. She had purple slippers on and her hair was let out. A diadem with purple jewels rested on her head. She was so beautiful.
"Sit down," he said. Yolei obeyed. He walked over and sat down next to her, sitting at an angle so that he was facing her.
Yolei tried to avoid his gaze and she did it very easily. "Look at me," she heard him say. Yolei slowly turned her gaze to meet his. He frowned.
"How did you do that?!" Yolei blurted out. Ken looked surprised. He eyed her. "Do what?" he asked, calmly. "You just appeared out of nowhere," Yolei told him.
Strumming his fingers on the handle of his sword, Ken stared at her for a second, then laughed. "What?" Yolei asked. He stopped laughing.
He looked at her with a very serious expression. "Magic," he said, "black magic." Yolei gasped. "B-black magic?" she asked, bewildered. Ken nodded, proudly. "Yes," he answered.
"You practice black magic?!" Yolei asked. The emperor grinned. "That's what I said," he told her. "I-isn't black m-magic e-evil?" Yolei stammered. Ken fixed her with a glare. Yolei shrank back a bit.
He leaned close to her. Very close. "I am evil," he whispered into her ear, "I'm the king of evil." Yolei's heart skipped a beat. She whimpered. Almost all, or should I say ALL the courage she collected before she came down left her body.
She gulped. Ken moved away from her ear. "But," he said, "that wasn't what I came here to talk about." "Then what?" Yolei asked. "Well, this is one of those cases when actions speak louder than words," he told her.
Yolei got a bit scared. Was he going to hurt her or something? But surprisingly, he pressed his lips against hers.
Yolei was surprised. She wanted to push him away, but soon found out that she couldn't. Her body wouldn't move the way she wanted it to. 'What's happening to me?' Yolei asked herself.
She slowly began to relise the most obvious answer. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out when you've lost control of your very own body.
Her eyes slowly began to drop. Anybody who saw the look on her face would think she got paralysed or something like that.
Yolei did not like the situation she or her body was in. She felt her body slowly begin to grow weak. She wasn't finding any trouble breathing, but she was sure that her heart was beating much slower.
She relised that she was still kissing him. God knows why she wasn't out of breath yet. She felt as if her body would just . . . die.
Then, for some reason, she slowly melted into him and surrendered into the kiss. She closed her eyes and kissed him back.
Her arms went around his neck and he put his arms around her waist. He slowly moved down to her neck, burrying his face in her hair as he started to give little butterfly kisses to her right ear. Her ear ring did'nt stop him from acting like a professional.
Yolei moaned a bit as he went back down to her neck and onto her chest.
He suddenly stopped and stood up, pulling her up with him. Yolei was still in a daze and she leaned against him for support.
His arm went behind her knees and the other one went behind her back and he lifted her up.
In a flash, they were gone. Yolei got a headache in two seconds and it was BAD. It was so bad that she cried out in pain. Her head felt like splitting in two. But, it went away almost as soon as it came. But, her head still hurt like hell.
Yolei felt herself being layed down on something soft. She slowly relised that she was on his bed.
But, who cares about where she was, her head still felt like breaking into pieces. She moaned and layed her hand on her forehead.
She heard Ken chuckle. She felt him run one of his fingers down her cheek. "Yes, it will hurt for a while," he said.
Suddenly, he was on top of her. He started to remove her dress.
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Yolei woke up the next morning with no clothes covering her body. She perked up at that. Then, last night began to slowly replay in her mind.
She looked beside her, expecting him to still be in bed asleep. But, to her surprise nobody was there.
"I might've . . . dreamed . . . everything . . . " she mumbled to herself.
But, one look around the room she was in proved her very, very, VERY wrong. Her own chamber was small. But, this one. It was so damn huge!
The walls of the room were all black. There was a gold and blue border along the top of the walls. It was like gold and blue vines were twisting around eachother along the top of the walls.
There was a royal blue carpet on the floor. The bed was a four-poster bed and had a canopy and curtains which would hide the bed if pulled. The bed was black with a navy blue comforter. The curtains and canopy were blue with more designs of golden vines.
There was a dresser. It was black and gold. I don't think I need to tell you what's black and what's gold, do I?
There was a desk right beside the window. The window had black and blue curtains. The curtains were closed, shutting out the sunlight.
There was a full length mirror. The frames were (A.N. Guess which colours.) black with gold and blue vines running all over it.
There was a small black and gold table table next to the bed. It had candle stick on it. There was a candle. A small candle. A very small candle.
Yolei noticed a piece of paper on it. She picked up the paper and read what it said.
It said:
Your clothes are in the closet. Put something on and stay in the room. Don't even try to escape. One of my best guards is right outside our room guarding the door.
There was no signature, but Yolei knew exactly who had written the note. She knew because the person had written 'our room' instead of 'your room' or 'my room'. Of course, if he had written 'my room,' she would've known it was him.
She put it back onto the table and got out of bed. "I guess I better get dressed," she said to herself. And that's exactly what she did.
After she got dressed, she pulled open the curtains and stared outside. Well, at least she had a beatiful view of the ocean and she could make out part of the Imperial Gardens.
Judging by the heat of the sun, she figured out that it was midday.
Midday? That didn't seem right. She was always up before or at sunrise. What happened?
First she loses control of her very own body in the garden, now she wakes up really late. What was happening to her?! Yolei didn't know, but she didn't like it at all.
She started to wonder why she had lost control of her body in the Imperial Garden. She sighed. "I hate this," she stated.
Somebody knocked on the door, startling her. "Umm . . . come in?" She sounded like she was asking a question, rather then giving someone permission to do something.
Great. She didn't even sound like herself now.
The door opened and in walked May. She had a tray in her hands and she had her usual bright 'let's all be happy, everyone!' kind of smile.
Yolei noticed Ash standing in the doorway before the door closed. He must've been the guy guarding the door.
"Good morning, my Empress!" May said in a cheery voice. She sounded like she had just won a about a million gold coins. "Don't call me that," Yolei grouched.
"Well, that's true," May said, looking thoughtful for a second, "you aren't Empress until you marry the Emperor. Oh, well. Guess we'll have to go with good old fashioned 'my Lady' won't we, now?"
Yolei grumbled. "Don't call me that, either," she snapped. May starred at her, then smiled. "Sorry, no can do," she said, "here. Have some lunch. You'll feel a whole lot better after that."
"I'm not hungry," Yolei stated. "Well, you didn't have dinner last night," May said, "you'd better eat something or you'd faint or something. Then, I'll get the blame."
Yolei was hungry. She decided that May was right. She nibbled her food away.
"Well, I've got to go now, my Lady," May said, picking up the tray, "I'll be back with your dinner later on. G'bye." With that, she walked to the door, opened it and walked out without closing it.
Ash grabbed the knob to close it, but . . . "Wait!" Yolei said. Ash looked up at her. "What?!" he snapped.
"I have to talk to you," Yolei said to him. She walked up to him. "What?" he asked, his expression softening. "Do you know Misty?" she asked. "Misty? Misty Waterflower? Yeah, I know her," Ash replied.
Yolei was sure she saw some pain in his eyes. "I know her . . . " Ash's voice trailed off. "I know this might sound like a personal question, but what kind of a relationship do you have with her?" Yolei asked.
"Why do you care?" Ash asked. "Because," Yolei answered, "Misty's my friend. She's one of the only persons I can truly trust around here." Ash sighed. He looked down at the floor.
"Misty and I knew eachother since we were kids," Ash began to explain, "we practically never did anything but argue, those days." He chuckled, softly. "We grew up and we, uhh, we . . . " He trailed off.
"I know," Yolei said, smiling. Ash smiled. "We were supposed to get married," he told her, "but then, we got into a big fight. Not like one of our small arguements to tease eachother. This one was real. Everything is almost kind of a blur after that."
He leaned against the wall and sighed. "People lose control when they're angry," he said to her. "Yeah," Yolei agreed. Ash closed his eyes. "I told her that I hated her and never wanted to see her again," he said, bitterly.
"Oh, my Lord . . . " Yolei breathed. "I left the house," Ash continued, his eyes still closed, "I just kept walking away from the town until I came to Straydes. By then, my heart was killing me. I knew I would've died if I didn't do something to take my mind of my fight with her. The emperor was looking for more soldiers. I joined. Over the years I almost forgot her, until the Lord attacked my old village and captured her."
"Do love her?" Yolei asked, suddenly. "Yes, with all my heart," Ash answered, "but, I blew it." "No, you didn't," Yolei argued, "she still loves you. I knew it by the way she looked at you that other day." Ash looked at her in amazement. "What should I do?" he asked. "Go to her," Yolei answered, "if you two sit a down and talk about it, I'm sure you can work things out."
Ash sighed and smiled at her. "Thank you," he said, "I'll go right after my work here is finished." He closed the door.
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Yolei slipped into another gown. She had accidently spilled hot soup on the other one. May took it to get it washed.
The gown she was wearing now was purple. It was silky. The straps were loose, hanging over where her arms started. It showed off her figure, but it wasn't all that tight. The skirt was loose and not so tight.
She just left her hair out. It tumbled along her back. She didn't put on any slippers. The carpet was so warm and fuzzy and she like the feeling of it between her toes.
Yolei looked outside the window. The moon was gasting a beautiful silver glow on the Imperial Ocean.
She noticed two figures near the beach. One was one of the emperor's men. She could tell. She sqinted harder to see who the other person was. Misty! She relised that the man must be Ash.
She smiled as she saw him wrap his cape around her and they kissed. They turned around and walked away from the beach and back into the castle.
Yolei sighed, happily. "Be happy, Misty," she whispered. She stared out at the ocean. At least, Misty was happy now. Ash and Misty had always had arguements to tease eachother, but when one got out of control they almost lost eachother.
She sighed again. Sadly this time.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" a voice asked, startling her. Yolei turned around. The emperor was starring at the ocean. Yolei saw the glint of goodness in him again. His eyes weren't so dark and bitter or anything evil.
"Yeah," she whispered, turning her gaze back to the ocean. "I've seen the ocean before without the moonlight," he muttered, "it looked awful. So dark and evil. But, the light of the moon changes that. It casts a glow that changes the ocean completely."
Yolei was surprised. She hadn't expected him to say something like that.
Yolei suddenly felt his strong hands on her bare shoulders and felt his breathing at the back of her neck.
He pushed her hair over her shoulder and placed a gentle kiss at the back on her neck.
The kiss sent a chill up her spine. "Wh-what did you do to me?" she asked, "in the garden? I totally lost control. What happened?"
"I put a spell on you," he said, simply. She whipped around. "What?" she asked. "I put a spell on you," Ken repeated.
"But, why?" Yolei asked. "You ask too much questions," he replied, "but, I'll tell you anyways. I put a spell on you that made you lose control of yourself. You were in my control. It made you weak and you lost all your energy. That's why you didn't wake up so early today. The spell and the lack of food kept you unconcious."
He suddenly lifted her up and threw her onto the bed. "What are you going to do?" Yolei asked a little scared, although she knew exactly what he was going to do to her. She was getting a little sick of herself. The spell must've changed her personality. Or maybe it was the fact that he uses black magic was the thing that changed her. She didn't know what it was, but one thing is for sure. She hated her new self.
Ken chuckled. Faster than a rocket, he was on top of her. His violet eyes burned into her amber ones.
"Tomorrow is our wedding whether you like it or not," he said in a low voice, "listen to me, you b****! I get what I want. I wanted you and I got you. You're mine now."
She was surprised. He had changed so fast that she hadn't known the difference. Yolei felt a little bravery rise inside inside her. "I'm not yours," she stated, "at least not until the wedding. Besides, marriage is supposed to be done to bring two people who love eachother together. You're just doing this because I look good."
He laughed. "I just told you that I get what I want," he said, "you know what else I want?" Yolei shook her head, "no, I don't know what else you want." "I want us to not wait until the night after our wedding."
Yolei went into a daze again and felt the weak feeling. She tried to move her hand, but no such luck. 'Oh, no . . . ' she thought, 'no. Not again . . . ' She whimpered and Ken chuckled.
Just then, the room went pitch black.
End of Chapter 1
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So, what did you think?! Was it good? Review with honesty, alright? And someone can help me with the emperorness/empressness thing, please? Thanks.
I think that's about it . . . Oh, yeah. Disclaimer- I do not own Digimon/Pokemon and never will. And I did make up the town of Straydes, but the Digimon Emperor rules it.
Chapter 1 is exactly 32 pages!! I don't know what that is in your book, but for me that is LONG!!! VERY, VERY LONG!!!!!
- Rose Silverstein
Sincerely Rose
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Straydes Part 1 of 1
The emperor of Straydes, Ken Ichijouji, banged down the golden goblet onto a table beside his throne. "Execution!" he bellowed. The snake charmer wept as he was led away by the guards.
Once they were out of the room, the emperor turned to his adviser who just happened to be a worm. (**cough**Wormmon**cough**)
"That was what? The 56th most amazing show I've ever seen?" He glared at the green insect Digimon in discust. "Yeah, well, umm, uhhh . . . " Wormmon stammered.
"Maybe I'll go plan the next attack, instead sitting here doing nothing," Ken growled. He started to get up, but Wormmon stopped him. "But, you already attacked a village today," Wormmon pointed out, "it was the third villiage this month."
"Yeah, and I could've already planned the next four attacks, if I weren't wasting my precious time here," Ken grumbled. He was in the middle of planning another attack, but than the stupid worm had to come in, drag him to the throne room and tell him that he'd been working too hard, he needed a break and whatnot.
"Everything is getting boring!" Ken exclaimed, "if you don't find someone who can actually entertain me, then I'll have to send you to execution. Understand?!" "Y-yes, sir," Wormmon stammered.
Ken then noticed that the goblet was empty. "Davis!" he called. Nothing. "DAVIS!" Ken shouted. He waited for a second. Nothing yet. "DAVIS, GET YOUR ASS IN HERE RIGHT NOW, YOU WORTHLESS-!!!!"
A boy with short brown hair and brown eyes rushed in with one of those big jug thingies. "Um, you called, sire?" he asked sheepishly.
Ken sneered at him. "Fill. The. Goblet. With. More. Wine," Ken said, slowly, "You. Must. Always. Come. When. I. Summon. You. Or. You. Will. Have. To. Face. The. Consequences. GOT THAT?!" Ken shouted the last two words.
"Yes, sir," Davis muttered. He filled the goblet up with more wine. Then, he ran out.
"That's your fourth cup in the last half hour," Wormmon said to Ken, "are you sure you won't get drunk or something?" "Sure, I'm sure!" the emperor snapped.
He took a sip and spit it right out. "What's wrong, your highness?" the worm asked. "Damn! This thing is non-alcholic!" Ken exclaimed, "DAVIS!!!"
Davis came running in. "Yes, your emperorness?" he asked. "Wormmon, get someone to entertain me, and Davis, get me something alcholic!!" Ken instructed.
"Yes, sir!" Davis said. He ran out. "Sir, there aren't anymore people left to entertain you," Wormmon said. Ken glared at him.
"Didn't we capture some women from that other village we attacked today?" the emperor asked, "get me one of them! I hear that one is a spectacular dancer."
"Okay, sir," Wormmon said, "your wish is my command." He almost bumped into Davis, who was bringing in more wine (alchoholic this time), on the way out.
Wormmon crawled down to where the prisoners were being kept. There were six women all together. Wormmon went down to the cells they were being kept in.
Actually, they were being kept in one big chamber. Wormmon had no idea why Ken didn't just lock them up in cells like he did to all the other slaves. Wormmon knocked on the door. "Come in!" a feminine voice said from the other side.
Wormmon opened the door and crawled in. "I would like to see the dancer," he said. A lady with lavender coloured hair and reddish, brown eyes stepped forward.
"My name is Yolei Inoue and I am the only dancer here," she said, "what do you want with me?"
Wormmon recognised her voice. She was the one who had told him to come in. He looked around. Almost all the other women were huddled to together at the back of the wall.
"The lord has also heard you are a good dancer and would like it if you would come down to the throne room and dance for him," he answered, "we'll provide the music and your dress."
Yolei held in her breath as she thought. "Do I have a choise?" she asked. "Nope," Wormmon replied, flatly. "Fine. When do you I have to be ready?" Yolei asked. "You'll have to be ready in half an hour," Wormmon said, "a maid will come with your dress."
With that, he crawled out, shutting the door behind him.
Yolei sat down on her bed. A woman with brown hair came and sat down beside her.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked, "I know you don't want to do this." "How do you know?" Yolei asked. "Because you are my sister," Yolei's sister, Selena(?), replied, "I know when something is wrong. You miss your friends and family. You can't stand the thought of the emperor and you are detesting every momment of this. But, maybe . . . "
"Maybe what?" Yolei asked her sister. Her sisiter hesitated before answering. "Your dancing has soothed the hearts of many people before, sister," Selena answered, "it is because you love dancing and you dance with grace and beauty. You don't hate dancing and you always make people happy with your movement. Maybe you can sooth the savage beast."
Selena got up. "Please think about it," she asked and left. Yolei thought about what her sister had told her. "Impossible," she declared after a minute or so.
There was another knock at the door. "Come in," Yolei mumbled. A maid walked in with a white dress in her arms.
In the throne room, the emperor was drinking his fifth goblet of wine. "Who is it?" he asked, "describe how the girl looks like." "Well," Wormmon started, "she has lavender hair and reddish, brown eyes."
Ken eyed him. "How long is her hair?" he asked. "It's almost waist-length and kind of curly at the edges," Wormmon answered, "why?"
"Sounds like the girl who will be executed tomorrow night," Ken answered. "What did she do?" Wormmon asked. "Nothing," Ken answered. "Then why is she being executed?" the worm asked. "Because I felt like sending someone to execution! Now, would you shut up?!" Ken asked.
Wormmon's jaw dropped. (A.N. I know that Wormmon doesn't have a jaw to drop, but I didn't know any other way to put it.) "But, but," Wormmon sputtered, "but, your highness . . . "
"Fine, if she impresses me, then she won't have to get killed," Ken interrupted. He wouldn't have normally done this, but he got the feeling that Wormmon wouldn't shut up if he didn't do it fair and square. Wormmon cheered, but shut up after the glare he got from Ken.
'Oh, well,' Ken thought, 'at least he can't stop me from executing the snake charmer . . . '
A man with blue hair walked in. "What is it, Joe?" Ken asked. "The dancer," Joe answered. "Send her in," Ken muttered. He stared at the goblet in his hands as the door swung open and Yolei walked in.
"She looks pretty," Wormmon said. "That's what you said about the last 53 dancers and the fat lady who sung," Ken said in discust.
Wormmon shrugged. Ken looked away from the goblet to take a look at the dancer. He was going to be watching her dance so what's the point not looking right now?
His jaw almost dropped when he saw her. For once, the worm had been right- no, he had been wrong. She wasn't just pretty; she was gorgeos.
Yolei was wearing the white gown with white roses in it. There were more roses in her lavender hair and a loose veel was hanging from the flowers. It didn't cover her face. The gown didn't touch the floor and showed her feet. She wasn't wearing slippers or anything. She held another long piece of white fabric in her hands.
Unlike the other men who had seen her in the corridors, Ken wasn't dumb founded for long. The emperor got back his posture as quick as a whip and started talking.
"Before you begin," he said, "I know you have been sent to execution tomorrow."
Yolei took a deep breath and nodded. He took her breath away! He sat handsomely on the throne although he looked bored out of his mind.
Even through all this, she still detested him. His attack had had her whole villiage in panic. Her parents died in the attack, too.
"Here's the deal," Ken continued, "you totally impress me; you don't have to die. If you don't; you die. Understand?" Yolei nodded.
"Now, go on," he said taking a sip from the goblet. Joe hurried out of the room.
The music started and Yolei began to move. Her movement was slow and steady. "She dances devinely," Wormmon whispered to his master. Ken muttered something back.
Actually, he wasn't really only watching her dance. He was really watching her face as well. As he watched her, he felt a strange desire flow through him. It warmed him all over. What was this feeling?
The music slowed to a stop and Yolei also stopped dancing. She waited for his answer.
Ken's eyes moved up and down her body. "Okay," he finally said, "you didn't impress me that much." Yolei closed her eyes for two seconds and opened them again.
"But, you don't have to die," Ken said. "Thank you, master," she answered. "But, I'm not letting you off the hook that easy," Ken added.
He watched as confusion washed over her beautiful face. "You will get tortured for one hour tomorrow for my amusement," he told her. He smiled evilly at her.
Yolei nodded. "Okay," she whispered. "Now, go!" he ordered. Yolei turned around and walked out.
"But, she's a lady," Wormmon wailed once Yolei was gone, "she'd die in pain!" Ken took another sip and didn't answer.
Yolei walked into the chamber and sat down on her bed. There were eight of them all together. It took a while for Yolei to notice that 14 eyes were on her.
"What?!" she snapped. "What did he say?" a redhead asked. Yolei looked at her. The girl seemed to be about 19 years old; two years younger than her. She had blue eyes and her hair came almost half way down her back. (A.N. Watch Princess vs. Princess! Her hair is that long.)
"Who are you?" Yolei asked. "My name is Misty Waterflower," the red head answered, "Yolei Inoue, right? What happened?"
Yolei sighed. "I don't have to be executed," she said looking at the carpet. "That's great!" Misty exclaimed. But then she noticed the look on Yolei's face. "There's more to it, isn't there?" she asked.
Yolei nodded. "I have to get tortured for one whole hour tomorrow," she told Misty. Then she added, "for his amusement." "That's horrible," Misty said quietly, "I knew he was evil, but I never imagined that he'd be this cruel. Especially to a lady."
"Well-" Yolei began. There was a knock at the door. "Come in!" Misty and Yolei said at the same time.
Then they looked at eachother. All the other women were too scared to even open their mouths in this place. They smiled. Something told both girls that they were going to get along perfectly.
The door swung open and a man dressed in blue and gold walked in. It was the uniform that all the emperor's men wore. There was the emperor's sign on the chest- a golden whip in three coils.
The man had black hair and brown eyes. He was a bit taller than Yolei and Misty was only as tall as his shoulder.
Yolei eyed him and turned to Misty. Misty was standing there starring at him. There was pain in her beautiful aqua eyes.
Yolei sensed that something was up between her and the guy before them. Yolei looked at him. His eyes were locked with Misty's.
He sneered for two seconds and turned to Yolei. "The Lord doesn't really like to harm 'such a beautiful creature'. You will only go through torture for twenty minutes," he said.
Yolei stared at him. "A beautiful creature is what he said you were," the guy snapped, "and I don't tell lies!"
He turned on his heel and walked out, slamming the door behind him. "Misty, who was that guy?!" Yolei asked.
"That's Ash Ketchum," Misty replied, "he's a warrior and all that, but forget him. He does tell lies." "Why do you say that?" Yolei asked. "Forget him!" Misty snapped.
Her expression softened and then, she got a michivious grin on her face and her eyes twinkled. "What?" Yolei asked, curiously. "Such a beautiful creature, eh?" Misty asked. Her smile got wider.
Yolei gave her a look. "How can I love the man who murdered my family?" she asked, "have you gone nuts or something?" "I think that your sister is right," Misty said, "maybe you can and did sooth the savage beast. He reduced your torture time from one hour to twenty minutes, didn't he?"
"But, that doesn't prove anything," Yolei said. She walked out to a balcony with Misty.
They stared down at the villiage. It was kinda crowded. More of the emperor's men were patrolling the market square and some were bullying old men and threatening women.
"For all we know," Yolei said without looking at her, "he's a rapist." "Don't talk such nonsense," Misty said, "he never did anything like that to a woman. Of course, he never showed them anymore mercy then he showed the men. They all got executed one way or another."
Misty looked at the villiage for a momment. Two of the guards beat up a man in his late fourties. Misty frowned in discust and said, "I'm really confused. How can they all live like that? Very strange how there are still people in that town. You'd think by now, he'd sentenced them all to execution."
Yolei nodded. "What about your family?" she asked. "My parents died when I was young," Misty replied, "my sisters took care of me, although they were annoying sometimes. My youngest, sister, Lily got kidnapped in the attack. My two older sisters, Daisey and Violet, told me to hide in the barn. I hid there and after a few minutes I heard a blood chilling scream. I recognised the voice to be Violet's. I wanted to out and see what was happening, but I relised that it was a stupid thing to do. I waited and waited. Hours passed and I finally went out. The villiage was a ghost town. There was no sight of anybody or anything- alive. I walked around, trying to find something, but I didn't know what I was looking for. Suddenly, two of his men appeared and knocked me out. I was in this exact chamber when I woke up. I learned what was going on and I just lived in fear ever since."
"Fear of what?" Yolei asked, "you seem like the bravest person here-along with me, of course." Misty smiled sadly. "The pain of dieing or getting tortured is different from the pain you would feel if you lost somebody who you really care about," she said, quietly, "I felt that kind of pain when I lost my sisters. I never saw any of them. I don't know whether they're alive or dead. If someone really close dies, you feel like there's nothing to live for. I wanted to die that day I lost them. But, I remembered that somebody else is alive and I have to live for that someone. But, now I feel that that someone I had once known and loved is half dead. That he's drifting farther and farther away from me everyday . . . "
Her voce trailed off and she stared at the sky with blank eyes. She suddenly snapped back into reallity and looked at Yolei. "What about your family?" Misty asked. Yolei closed her eyes.
"It was only you in the barn. Me, my mom and my sisters were there," she began, "my father and brother were outside fighting the emperor's men with other men from the villiage. Somebody shot an arrow of fire. The barn got covered in flames in less than minutes. I heard my whole family and other families. Screaming, crying, begging for mercy . . . I blacked out. I woke up here, too. A few days later, my sister joined me. She said she escaped the fire, but mother and my other sister didn't. Both my father and my brother died in the fight.
Misty turned back to the villiage. "I would give anything to get out of here," she said with a sigh. "Why don't you?" Yolei asked. "That would be pretty stupid," Misty said, "we're not aloud in the corridors after midnight. If we get caught, we'll have to pay. Man or woman."
"That seems like the perfect time to sneak out of here," Yolei said, "after midnight. How can we get caught if nobody's awake?"
"Who's said nobody's awake?" Misty asked, "the emperor doesn't have to stay in the throne room, not that he does in the day time either, but there'll be guards everywhere."
"The guards don't even have self-controll," Yolei told her friend, "if they are the only things standing in my way, getting out of here should be a piece of cake."
"The emperor will be out and you can never know where to find him!" Misty told her. "The castle is huge," Yolei said, "what're the chances of us running into him?"
"Us?" Misty asked, "if you make it out of here alive, you can expect to see me the next day." Yolei rolled her eyes. "Besides, someone will have to warn you," Misty said, "they caught you once and they'll do it again, won't they?"
"You worry too much," Yolei answered, "and I thought you were brave." She snorted and went inside. "I am so brave!" she heard Misty yell back at her, "I'm just not stupid!! There's a big, fat difference between bravery and stupidity!"
Yolei smirked at her friend's out burst and sat down on her bed. She got a serious look on her face. 'If he thinks that I'm going to sit here and do nothing, he's in for a big surprise,' she thought, 'try fighting someone who'll actually fight back for once, emperor.'
That night, Yolei faked her rest until she heard a clock strike midnight. She quietly got out of bed and tip-toed to the door. She wasn't wearing a night gown, because she knew it would be pretty stupid since the point was to get out of the castle.
She was wearing a thin white gown with arms that came only a bit past her elbows.
She tip toed down the dark hallways. The only light was a few torches, casting a dim glow in the lifeless corridors. Yolei shivered. It was so cold!
She made her way down a flight of stairs and made her way through the hallways. She came to a turn and just to be on the safe side, she slowed down and tried to listen for any footsteps. Nothing . . .
Suddenly, someone roughly grabbed her arm and whirled her around. Yolei spun around and came face-to-face with the emperor.
The End of Part 1
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Author's Note: I decided to add a few things. I'm going to include magic in this story. You know, the spells, curses, fortune telling, teleporting . . . Actually, I really need a way for Ken to keep an eye on her and you know that I can't make him use the monitors, 'cause they aren't invented yet, so . . .
Sincerely Rose
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Straydes Part 2 of 1
Suddenly, someone roughly grabbed her arm and whirled her around. Yolei spun around and came face-to-face with the emperor.
Yolei would've gasped if she wasn't choking on her breath or if her tongue wasn't twisted and dry. 'I'm in for it now . . . ' she thought, miserably.
"What are you doing here?" Ken demanded, "I'm sure I sent somebody to your chambers to let you know that any prisoner caught in the corridors after midnight will be punished severly, man or woman."
Yolei didn't know what to say so she kept quiet, but Ken squeezed her hand harder causing her to wince. "Answer me!" he ordered. Yolei nodded. "Yes," she admitted, "I did know about that rule."
Ken sneered. He let go off her hand and pushed her against the wall. Yolei grabbed her hand. He had squeezed it so hard that she thought it would be less painful to just cut it off. She avoided his eyes, waiting for him to speak.
But, after a minute, she didn't hear him. She began to suspect if he had left or something. She looked up and to her dismay, he was still there. But, the frown on his face had turned upside down into a smirk.
A smirk. A sick smirk. A sick, evil smirk. His face was kind of darkened because of the lack of light. They were near a window, but it was cloudy out so the moon couldn't chase away the darkness that almost covered him.
Even through the dark shade of black, Yolei could see the sinister look on his face. But, there was something else in his darkened eyes.
A very small flicker of goodness. But, it was so tiny that if it were a flame outside, a gentle breese could blow it out. In an instant, that flicker disappeared and she once again saw the darkness and evil.
She held her breath as his eyes moved all over her, once again that day. Or night or whatever it was.
She tensed as he moved closer to her and leaned close. Their noses were an inch apart. He grabbed both of her arms and held her in place as his smirk grew.
"Usually," he said in a low whisper, "people who break this rule get sentenced to death."
Hot tears burnt her eyes. Yolei blinked them back. 'I am not going to cry,' she thought to herself, 'I will not cry infront of the enemy. I will not!' "So, I'll have to punish you," he told her.
Just then, a voice ran through Yolei's head. 'RUN FOR IT!!!'
Then, Yolei's stupid side took over. "You'll have to catch me first," she told him. "Huh?" Ken asked.
She took off at full speed. She turned the corridor. She practically flew down a stair case and she kept running.
Yolei looked behind her, expecting to see the emperor following her, but to her surprise, nobody was there. She slowed down to a stop.
A thought hit her like lightning. 'Oh no,' she thought, 'what if he had informed the guards? What if they were all after her right now?' She cursed loudly.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," somebody said. Yolei turned around. Nobody was there. Somebody had said that; she hadn't imagined it. The voice sounded very much like Ken's.
"W-who's th-there?" Yolei stammered. Then, someone pushed her against the wall. Yolei gasped and looked up.
The emperor was standing right infront of her and he didn't look very happy. 'Oh no,' Yolei thought. She gasped as he grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her towards him.
"Try that again and you'll regret it," he growled. He let go and Yolei once again made a stupid choise.
She started to run away, but she had only taken a few steps when she felt something go around her ankles. Her feet flew out from underneath her and she lands hard on her stomach and hands.
Yolei groaned and looked back at Ken to see him reeling in his whip. His smirked at her and walked over. "Get up," he told her. Yolei imediatley got up. She expected him to hit her or something, but he didn't.
"You've got spunk. I should sentence you to death," he said, smugly, "but, this time, I'll make an acception." "Wha-?" Yolei asked, surprised, "what did you say?"
He squeezed her arms again, making her wince again. "You heard exactly what I said," he growled in her ear as he leaned more closer, "consider yourself lucky. I don't make this offer to many people. But, I might change my mind, if you aren't in bed in less than fifteen minutes."
He brushed back a few strands of her hair and suddenly placed a kiss on her forehead. Yolei looked at him in amazement. He let go of her arms. "Now, go!" he ordered.
Yolei imediatley started to run towards her chamber.
Ken watched her until she disappeared into the darkness. Then, with a whisk of his black cape, he was gone.
The emperor reappeared in the throne room, on his throne. He held up his hand and the air in the middle of the room started swirl like portal.
A black glass appeared right in the middle of the room. It started to glow and picture appeared on it. Ken put his hand down.
Yolei was running through the corridors and he saw her enter her chamber, shutting the door behind her.
Ken held his hand up again, palm facing the glass. He made a fist and the glass disappeared.
'What had gotten into me?' he thought to himself. His most favourite word to use was "execution" so why didn't he sentence her to death when she disobeyed him?
It was something about her that made him merciful, soft and kind . . . She made a good feeling, but a confusing one rise in him every time she was near. Just thinking about her made that emotion.
Ken banged his fist on the golden throne. Even the gold cracked when he punched it. He was that strong.
"I am so strong that I can even crack gold by just smacking it," he said to himself, "I am not letting a prisoner change that. I am not going to get weak! I. AM. NOT!" He punched the throne again and this time, a chunk of gold fell off.
Ken smirked at it. He stepped on it and he kept pressing it against the floor until he heard it break. He lifted his foot of the chunk of stone.
The gold had broken into two big pieces and lots of tiny pieces. 'That's what will become of anybody who tries to change me,' he thought to himself. He smirked again.
Then, in a flash, he was gone.
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"He let you go?!" Misty asked in amazement, "no way! Yolei, you have got to be making this up! The emperor is not that kind of man." "That's what I thought," Yolei said with a shrug.
Yolei wasn't planning on telling Misty what had happened, but Misty suspected that something was up because Yolei was tired that morning and usually she was the first person up. Misy figured out that she must've gone somewhere and she had talked her into telling her what had happened.
"I don't know what had gotten into The Lord, but you, my friend, are one lucky girl," Misty told Yolei, "are you alright? Are you sure he didn't hurt you?" She paused before adding, "are you sure it was him and not some guard?" "I'm sure," Yolei smiled.
Her face grew serious. "But, you shouldn't tell anybody about my run in with him," she said, sternly, "I don't want the word to spread." Misty nodded.
Just then, Selena walked up to them. "Yolei," she said, shaking her head, "you're getting tortured today? How come you never told me?" Yolei shugged. "I guess I didn't want to worry you," she said to her sister. "Will you be alright?" Selena said with concern in her voice. "I don't know," Yolei whispered.
Selena and Misty looked at eachother, both with worried expressions. Yolei saw this and said, "You guys worry too much, ya know that?" Selena and Misty looked down.
There was a knock at the door. "Come in," Yolei called. Five of the women ran to the back of the room, but Misty, Selena and Yolei stayed put.
The door slowly opened and Wormmon crawled in. "Miss. Inoue?" he asked. "Which one?" Yolei asked. "Yolei?" Wormmon asked. "That's me," Yolei said.
'He must've come up here to tell me to get ready for the torture,' Yolei thought in discust. "I came up here to tell you that the Lord has cancelled your torture," Wormmon said. "What?" Yolei asked, surprised.
Wormmon shrugged. "It's the strangest thing . . . " he muttered. Misty let out a sigh of relief. "Well, that's it," Wormmon said quickly, "I gotta go." He crawled back out.
"That was odd," Selena noted. Misty nodded, but Yolei didn't say anything. "This just in," she muttered to herself, "the emperor has lost it . . . "
She felt a hand on her shoulder. "What are you thinking about?" Selena asked. Yolei shrugged. She picked at the blue gown she was wearing. "I don't know," she said, flatly, "I just don't know anymore."
Misty looked at her with a confused expression. "You just don't know what?" she asked. She didn't know what she felt about the Emperor anymore. Yolei didn't want to reply and she didn't have to.
There was another knock. "Come in," Misty sighed. The door opened and Wormmon crawled in again. "I forgot to tell you that at exactly 7:30, you are going to go to the Imerial Beach. Yes, the one that's right outside the castle. You can stay around there until 9:00."
With that, he turned around, but didn't leave. "Don't try to escape," he said, suddenly, "you'll regret it." He left.
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The sun was beginning to set. The sight was beautiful. There was a gold and scarlet haze over the horizen, making the water look like a diamond with shades of yellow and red.
Anybody would've said that there was nobody in the water . . .
The emperor looked out his window in his chamber and stared out at the ocean.
Suddenly there was a splash. From beneath the water rose . . . something or someone. Ken couldn't really make out who it was. He squinted and focused.
Whoever it was threw back lavender hair and ferociously shook his/her head, most likely trying to get water out of his/her eyes.
It was Yolei.
Ken stared at her. She dove back into the water with a small splash. She came back a momment later in a different part of the sea.
He watched as the water rolled off her body and beautiful lavender hair. She looked like a mermaid, swimming in the sea at twilight.
A knife of desire stabbed his heart and he once againt felt that feeling.
Ken tried keep control his body which didn't really seem possible at the momment. But he did. When, he did he tore his eyes away from the window. Away from the sea. And away from 'her'.
Ken sat down at his desk, obviously irritated and a bit angry. What in hell was this stupid feeling that kept rising up in him?! It was really starting to get on the emperor's nerves.
That was the last draw. He HAD to have her. And god, he will. He knew just how to do it, too.
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Just at that momment, there was another knock at the door. The five women ran to the back off the room again. "Come in," Misty said.
The door open and a woman in her early thirties walked in. She looked kind of young with blond hair pulled back in a bun and twinkling blue eyes. She was wearing a black dress and a white apron. She was clutching a piece of paper in her hand.
"Hello, ladies," she said with a bright smile, "my name is May. I work around the Imperial Palace." "You make that sound like a good thing," Misty pointed out. May shrugged, but she didn't lose that smile of hers.
"Anyways, his Emperorness has decided that it's about time that seven of you girls started doing some work around here," she told them. Misty's jaw dropped. "Work?!" she asked.
"Woah!" Selena interrupted. She turned to May. "Did you say seven of us?" she asked. May nodded. "But, there are eight of us here," Selena told her.
May got a confused look on her face, but it disappeared almost the instant it appeared. Her smile returned. "Well, I'm sure I can find out what's happened here," she said. She looked at the peice of paper she was holding.
"Oh, I see," she said as her smile returned, "a lady named . . . Yolei Inui??" "Inoue," Selena corrected. She frowned as she examined the paper. "Oh, yes. I see. Well, she . . . She's, umm, I don't know," May said with a shrug.
Misty noticed something. "Hey, there's something on the back," she informed May. "Huh?" May asked, "back?" Misty rolled her eyes and grabbed the paper away from May.
She read what was on the back and her eyes went wide. "What?" Yolei asked. "Oh, yeah," May seemed to remember something, "the Emperor did scribble something at the back."
Misty looked at Yolei as if she had grown another head. She looked back at the paper. She looked from the paper to Yolei and back for almost a minute. By then, Yolei was getting fed up.
"Would you just read the d*** thing?!" she asked. Misty starred at Yolei and began reading.
"It's tradition that no future Empress (the fiance of the Emperor; not the daughter) be a servant at the Palace. This tradition had never been broken and nobody's braking it now. So, because of this tradition, Yolei cannot be a servant because she's the next Empress. Signed, the Emperor, Ken Ichijouji."
Everybody in the room turned to Yolei who was gaping at Misty. After a minute, Yolei shook her head slowly. "No."
The End of Part 2
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Konnichiwa, minna-san! The third chapter! We're here already. So, I don't really know what in the world's going to happen now. Okay, I'm not all that bright on Japanese Mythology, so I'm just going to go along with mythology from Greece. Note: Couples being happy after marriages are very rare in Greek Mythology, but don't worry. Anybody out there who lives in the villiage I invented won't get a crabby Empress. So, enjoy as much as you can. And this chapter might have lime in it. Note: I said MIGHT and LIME! Not lemon. You see, I can read lemons but I suck at writing them.
- Rose Silverstein
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Straydes Part 3 of 1
"No," Yolei said, again. "Oh, my," Selena breathed. "No, no, no!" Yolei repeated. "It's alright," Misty said, unsurely. "No, it's not right!" Yolei snapped, "where's the justice?! He can't force me into this!"
"So, if he asked you, what would you say?" May asked without smiling. "No!" Yolei shouted. "I'm sorry," May said, the smile still gone, "but I don't think that the Emperor will take 'no' for an answer."
Yolei glared at her. "What is he doing right now?!" she demanded. May shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "Listen to me and listen to me carefully," Yolei growled moving closer to May, "I want to see him TODAY!" "Today, Madam?" May asked.
"Yes, today," Yolei repeated. "Um, if you want to see him, I'm pretty sure that I'm not the person you'd ask," May stammered.
Before, Yolei could reply, there was another knock at the door. "Come in!" Yolei shouted.
The door slowly opened and in crawled Wormmon. "What do you want?!" Yolei asked.
"The Lord would like to see you in the Imperial Garden tonight," Wormmon told her. All the women in the room stared at him. "The garden?" Misty questioned.
Wormmon shrugged. "That's what he said. He's been acting kinda weird lately. I wonder what's up . . . " Misty's head grew ten times it's normal size when she shouted, "YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT'S UP!!!!!!!"
"Okay," Wormmon admitted, "so, I do know what's up." Yolei growled. "I'm sorry to say that it won't matter what you girls think about this," Wormmon said with a shrug.
"And why not?!" Misty demanded. "Well, first of all," Wormmon began, "it's kinda like a right he gets. What the Emperor wants, the Emperor gets. Second, it's, um, well . . . the second reason isn't much of a reason really." Yolei and Misty glared at him, making him cough up the second 'reason'.
"Well, you see, none of the young women down in that villiage would be anything you can call pretty . . . " Wormmon's voice trailed off. Yolei gave him a look. "The Lord is the only person who thinks that," Wormmon said in his defense, "not me! I think they're all very beautiful! Honest!"
Misty was about to say something, but Yolei spoke before her. "If that's all, you can leave," she growled. "I wish it were all, Madam," Wormmon muttered under his breath. In his usual voice he said, "I am also supposed to escort you to your new room."
Yolei's jaw almost dropped. "B-but, but-" Yolei stammered. "The Master's orders," Wormmon said with a shrug. He was silently praying inside his mind that Yolei wouldn't take her anger out on him. It wasn't his fault that he got stuck delivering the horrible news. He was only supposed to be the adviser. Why couldn't Ken just get one of the servants to tell her??
Yolei was about to start shouting again, but she knew that shouting wasn't going to do anything. Wormmon turned around. "Coming?" he asked without looking back at her.
Yolei looked back at Misty and Selena. "Don't worry," Misty whispered, forcing a smile onto her face. Selena also smiled a fake smile. Yolei didn't bother to try. "Good-bye," she said in a hushed voice.
Once, Yolei was gone, Selena broke down crying. Misty tried to comfort her, but she felt like like turning their room upside down in anger.
Wormmon led Yolei through hallways and corridors and they stopped infront a room. After what seemed like hours of walking through very long corridors and climbing up lots of staircases, they stopped. Yolei was pretty sure that her room was on the other side of the castle.
"This is your room," Wormmon said, avoiding her eyes. Silence. "I hope you like it," Wormmon said unsurley.
Yolei opened the room without replying. She closed the door behind her. She sighed and looked around the room. Great. Now she was alone and she barely knew what to do. At least, with Misty and Selena, she had someone to talked to. "At least with them, I could've worked up some plan to bust out of here . . . " Yolei mumbled.
She examined the room. The walls were painted white. There was a lavender queen-sized bed up against one of the walls. The floor was bare and not to mention hard and cold. There was a wooden closet, a dresser and a full length mirror. There was also a window with curtains.
Yolei went over to the closet and opened the doors. Inside were dresses. They were very pretty and elegant, Yolei couldn't deny that.
She took one out. It was a royal blue colour with full sleeves and it wouldn't cover her shoulders or her chest. It showed off her figure. The hem had little fuchsia ruffles. So, did the cuffs, the starting of the dress and there were some more little ruffles at the waist.
For some reason, as she held the dress against her body and gazed at her reflection in the mirror, Yolei smiled. She didn't know why. She was supposed to be angry, but something in the room made her smile. And she didn't try to frown again, either.
She hung the dress back up and shut the closet's doors.
She sat down on the bed and buried her face in her hands. "Maybe," she whispered to herself, "maybe this is all just one big dream. No, a nightmare. A big, scary nightmare. Maybe I'll just wake up all of a sudden, in my own bed in my own house . . . " She pinched herself. "Ouch!" she exclaimed. It wasn't a nightmare.
She sighed, layed down and closed her eyes. After a few momments, she drifted off to a dreamless sleep.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Ken paced around in circles inside his own chamber. After a while, he got tired of walking and sat down at his desk.
He wondered what Yolei was doing right now. He smirked for a second. Probably sulking.
His palm glowed a crimson colour. He ran his hand over his desk. Just like that, the black glass appeared on the desk and lit up.
It showed him that his fiancee was asleep. Her lavender hair was spread all over the pillow, her eyes were shut tight and her arms were around the pillow pressing it against the side of her head.
He watched as she moaned and moved up bit. Again, he felt that feeling stir up in him and that wave of desire washed over him.
In a way, that feeling was very annoying. Not knowing what it was, made Ken a bit uncomfortable and even a little bit angry.
Oh, well . . . Whatever it was, it would have to wait until tonight, when it would finally be solved.
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'So,' Yolei thought, 'this is what the Imperial Gardens look like.' It was beautiful. There were flowers everywhere. Roses, primroses, tulips, daisies, violets. There was a pond and pink and white lilies were floating around in it. Around the pond were bunches of lavenders.
Yolei loved lavenders. She walked over and sniffed them. She fingered one. It reminded her of her own villiage. Her heart began to ache as she remembered her family and friends.
A single tear rolled down her cheek and splashed onto the lavender. Almost imediatley, five or six butterflies flew out from underneath the lavenders and flew off. "So beautiful . . . " Yolei breathed as she watched them fly away.
She got up. She noticed a hedge with white roses. Actually, there were lots of hedges. Yolei relised what it was. 'A maze,' she thought to herself.
Smiling, she entered it. There were lots of turns and she was almost always finding herself at a dead end.
She finally found herself in the middle. There was a fountain right in the middle of the maze. The fountain was round and white. Water shot up in five places. Right in the middle, the water shot up the highest. Around it were more gentle ones.
In front of the fountain was a swing set. It was white with purple and white carnations and vines running all over it.
Yolei sighed and sat down. The gardens were so beautiful. She had expected them to be kinda, how should I put this, not good looking. Ugly, even.
Leaning back, she closed her eyes for a few minutes. Once she opened them again, a little voice at the back of her head told her that something was about to happen. Something did happen.
The emperor appeared out of nowhere. Startled, Yolei stood up. She was a bit freaked now. How in the world did he do that?! Were her eyes playing tricks on her or something?!? Yolei didn't think so.
He turned to her and smiled. She was wearing a tight, black, strapless, sleevless gown. It showed off her figure very well. But it wasn't ALL black. There were big purple flowers running across the hem and at the very top. She had purple slippers on and her hair was let out. A diadem with purple jewels rested on her head. She was so beautiful.
"Sit down," he said. Yolei obeyed. He walked over and sat down next to her, sitting at an angle so that he was facing her.
Yolei tried to avoid his gaze and she did it very easily. "Look at me," she heard him say. Yolei slowly turned her gaze to meet his. He frowned.
"How did you do that?!" Yolei blurted out. Ken looked surprised. He eyed her. "Do what?" he asked, calmly. "You just appeared out of nowhere," Yolei told him.
Strumming his fingers on the handle of his sword, Ken stared at her for a second, then laughed. "What?" Yolei asked. He stopped laughing.
He looked at her with a very serious expression. "Magic," he said, "black magic." Yolei gasped. "B-black magic?" she asked, bewildered. Ken nodded, proudly. "Yes," he answered.
"You practice black magic?!" Yolei asked. The emperor grinned. "That's what I said," he told her. "I-isn't black m-magic e-evil?" Yolei stammered. Ken fixed her with a glare. Yolei shrank back a bit.
He leaned close to her. Very close. "I am evil," he whispered into her ear, "I'm the king of evil." Yolei's heart skipped a beat. She whimpered. Almost all, or should I say ALL the courage she collected before she came down left her body.
She gulped. Ken moved away from her ear. "But," he said, "that wasn't what I came here to talk about." "Then what?" Yolei asked. "Well, this is one of those cases when actions speak louder than words," he told her.
Yolei got a bit scared. Was he going to hurt her or something? But surprisingly, he pressed his lips against hers.
Yolei was surprised. She wanted to push him away, but soon found out that she couldn't. Her body wouldn't move the way she wanted it to. 'What's happening to me?' Yolei asked herself.
She slowly began to relise the most obvious answer. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out when you've lost control of your very own body.
Her eyes slowly began to drop. Anybody who saw the look on her face would think she got paralysed or something like that.
Yolei did not like the situation she or her body was in. She felt her body slowly begin to grow weak. She wasn't finding any trouble breathing, but she was sure that her heart was beating much slower.
She relised that she was still kissing him. God knows why she wasn't out of breath yet. She felt as if her body would just . . . die.
Then, for some reason, she slowly melted into him and surrendered into the kiss. She closed her eyes and kissed him back.
Her arms went around his neck and he put his arms around her waist. He slowly moved down to her neck, burrying his face in her hair as he started to give little butterfly kisses to her right ear. Her ear ring did'nt stop him from acting like a professional.
Yolei moaned a bit as he went back down to her neck and onto her chest.
He suddenly stopped and stood up, pulling her up with him. Yolei was still in a daze and she leaned against him for support.
His arm went behind her knees and the other one went behind her back and he lifted her up.
In a flash, they were gone. Yolei got a headache in two seconds and it was BAD. It was so bad that she cried out in pain. Her head felt like splitting in two. But, it went away almost as soon as it came. But, her head still hurt like hell.
Yolei felt herself being layed down on something soft. She slowly relised that she was on his bed.
But, who cares about where she was, her head still felt like breaking into pieces. She moaned and layed her hand on her forehead.
She heard Ken chuckle. She felt him run one of his fingers down her cheek. "Yes, it will hurt for a while," he said.
Suddenly, he was on top of her. He started to remove her dress.
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Yolei woke up the next morning with no clothes covering her body. She perked up at that. Then, last night began to slowly replay in her mind.
She looked beside her, expecting him to still be in bed asleep. But, to her surprise nobody was there.
"I might've . . . dreamed . . . everything . . . " she mumbled to herself.
But, one look around the room she was in proved her very, very, VERY wrong. Her own chamber was small. But, this one. It was so damn huge!
The walls of the room were all black. There was a gold and blue border along the top of the walls. It was like gold and blue vines were twisting around eachother along the top of the walls.
There was a royal blue carpet on the floor. The bed was a four-poster bed and had a canopy and curtains which would hide the bed if pulled. The bed was black with a navy blue comforter. The curtains and canopy were blue with more designs of golden vines.
There was a dresser. It was black and gold. I don't think I need to tell you what's black and what's gold, do I?
There was a desk right beside the window. The window had black and blue curtains. The curtains were closed, shutting out the sunlight.
There was a full length mirror. The frames were (A.N. Guess which colours.) black with gold and blue vines running all over it.
There was a small black and gold table table next to the bed. It had candle stick on it. There was a candle. A small candle. A very small candle.
Yolei noticed a piece of paper on it. She picked up the paper and read what it said.
It said:
Your clothes are in the closet. Put something on and stay in the room. Don't even try to escape. One of my best guards is right outside our room guarding the door.
There was no signature, but Yolei knew exactly who had written the note. She knew because the person had written 'our room' instead of 'your room' or 'my room'. Of course, if he had written 'my room,' she would've known it was him.
She put it back onto the table and got out of bed. "I guess I better get dressed," she said to herself. And that's exactly what she did.
After she got dressed, she pulled open the curtains and stared outside. Well, at least she had a beatiful view of the ocean and she could make out part of the Imperial Gardens.
Judging by the heat of the sun, she figured out that it was midday.
Midday? That didn't seem right. She was always up before or at sunrise. What happened?
First she loses control of her very own body in the garden, now she wakes up really late. What was happening to her?! Yolei didn't know, but she didn't like it at all.
She started to wonder why she had lost control of her body in the Imperial Garden. She sighed. "I hate this," she stated.
Somebody knocked on the door, startling her. "Umm . . . come in?" She sounded like she was asking a question, rather then giving someone permission to do something.
Great. She didn't even sound like herself now.
The door opened and in walked May. She had a tray in her hands and she had her usual bright 'let's all be happy, everyone!' kind of smile.
Yolei noticed Ash standing in the doorway before the door closed. He must've been the guy guarding the door.
"Good morning, my Empress!" May said in a cheery voice. She sounded like she had just won a about a million gold coins. "Don't call me that," Yolei grouched.
"Well, that's true," May said, looking thoughtful for a second, "you aren't Empress until you marry the Emperor. Oh, well. Guess we'll have to go with good old fashioned 'my Lady' won't we, now?"
Yolei grumbled. "Don't call me that, either," she snapped. May starred at her, then smiled. "Sorry, no can do," she said, "here. Have some lunch. You'll feel a whole lot better after that."
"I'm not hungry," Yolei stated. "Well, you didn't have dinner last night," May said, "you'd better eat something or you'd faint or something. Then, I'll get the blame."
Yolei was hungry. She decided that May was right. She nibbled her food away.
"Well, I've got to go now, my Lady," May said, picking up the tray, "I'll be back with your dinner later on. G'bye." With that, she walked to the door, opened it and walked out without closing it.
Ash grabbed the knob to close it, but . . . "Wait!" Yolei said. Ash looked up at her. "What?!" he snapped.
"I have to talk to you," Yolei said to him. She walked up to him. "What?" he asked, his expression softening. "Do you know Misty?" she asked. "Misty? Misty Waterflower? Yeah, I know her," Ash replied.
Yolei was sure she saw some pain in his eyes. "I know her . . . " Ash's voice trailed off. "I know this might sound like a personal question, but what kind of a relationship do you have with her?" Yolei asked.
"Why do you care?" Ash asked. "Because," Yolei answered, "Misty's my friend. She's one of the only persons I can truly trust around here." Ash sighed. He looked down at the floor.
"Misty and I knew eachother since we were kids," Ash began to explain, "we practically never did anything but argue, those days." He chuckled, softly. "We grew up and we, uhh, we . . . " He trailed off.
"I know," Yolei said, smiling. Ash smiled. "We were supposed to get married," he told her, "but then, we got into a big fight. Not like one of our small arguements to tease eachother. This one was real. Everything is almost kind of a blur after that."
He leaned against the wall and sighed. "People lose control when they're angry," he said to her. "Yeah," Yolei agreed. Ash closed his eyes. "I told her that I hated her and never wanted to see her again," he said, bitterly.
"Oh, my Lord . . . " Yolei breathed. "I left the house," Ash continued, his eyes still closed, "I just kept walking away from the town until I came to Straydes. By then, my heart was killing me. I knew I would've died if I didn't do something to take my mind of my fight with her. The emperor was looking for more soldiers. I joined. Over the years I almost forgot her, until the Lord attacked my old village and captured her."
"Do love her?" Yolei asked, suddenly. "Yes, with all my heart," Ash answered, "but, I blew it." "No, you didn't," Yolei argued, "she still loves you. I knew it by the way she looked at you that other day." Ash looked at her in amazement. "What should I do?" he asked. "Go to her," Yolei answered, "if you two sit a down and talk about it, I'm sure you can work things out."
Ash sighed and smiled at her. "Thank you," he said, "I'll go right after my work here is finished." He closed the door.
**************************************************************
Yolei slipped into another gown. She had accidently spilled hot soup on the other one. May took it to get it washed.
The gown she was wearing now was purple. It was silky. The straps were loose, hanging over where her arms started. It showed off her figure, but it wasn't all that tight. The skirt was loose and not so tight.
She just left her hair out. It tumbled along her back. She didn't put on any slippers. The carpet was so warm and fuzzy and she like the feeling of it between her toes.
Yolei looked outside the window. The moon was gasting a beautiful silver glow on the Imperial Ocean.
She noticed two figures near the beach. One was one of the emperor's men. She could tell. She sqinted harder to see who the other person was. Misty! She relised that the man must be Ash.
She smiled as she saw him wrap his cape around her and they kissed. They turned around and walked away from the beach and back into the castle.
Yolei sighed, happily. "Be happy, Misty," she whispered. She stared out at the ocean. At least, Misty was happy now. Ash and Misty had always had arguements to tease eachother, but when one got out of control they almost lost eachother.
She sighed again. Sadly this time.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" a voice asked, startling her. Yolei turned around. The emperor was starring at the ocean. Yolei saw the glint of goodness in him again. His eyes weren't so dark and bitter or anything evil.
"Yeah," she whispered, turning her gaze back to the ocean. "I've seen the ocean before without the moonlight," he muttered, "it looked awful. So dark and evil. But, the light of the moon changes that. It casts a glow that changes the ocean completely."
Yolei was surprised. She hadn't expected him to say something like that.
Yolei suddenly felt his strong hands on her bare shoulders and felt his breathing at the back of her neck.
He pushed her hair over her shoulder and placed a gentle kiss at the back on her neck.
The kiss sent a chill up her spine. "Wh-what did you do to me?" she asked, "in the garden? I totally lost control. What happened?"
"I put a spell on you," he said, simply. She whipped around. "What?" she asked. "I put a spell on you," Ken repeated.
"But, why?" Yolei asked. "You ask too much questions," he replied, "but, I'll tell you anyways. I put a spell on you that made you lose control of yourself. You were in my control. It made you weak and you lost all your energy. That's why you didn't wake up so early today. The spell and the lack of food kept you unconcious."
He suddenly lifted her up and threw her onto the bed. "What are you going to do?" Yolei asked a little scared, although she knew exactly what he was going to do to her. She was getting a little sick of herself. The spell must've changed her personality. Or maybe it was the fact that he uses black magic was the thing that changed her. She didn't know what it was, but one thing is for sure. She hated her new self.
Ken chuckled. Faster than a rocket, he was on top of her. His violet eyes burned into her amber ones.
"Tomorrow is our wedding whether you like it or not," he said in a low voice, "listen to me, you b****! I get what I want. I wanted you and I got you. You're mine now."
She was surprised. He had changed so fast that she hadn't known the difference. Yolei felt a little bravery rise inside inside her. "I'm not yours," she stated, "at least not until the wedding. Besides, marriage is supposed to be done to bring two people who love eachother together. You're just doing this because I look good."
He laughed. "I just told you that I get what I want," he said, "you know what else I want?" Yolei shook her head, "no, I don't know what else you want." "I want us to not wait until the night after our wedding."
Yolei went into a daze again and felt the weak feeling. She tried to move her hand, but no such luck. 'Oh, no . . . ' she thought, 'no. Not again . . . ' She whimpered and Ken chuckled.
Just then, the room went pitch black.
End of Chapter 1
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So, what did you think?! Was it good? Review with honesty, alright? And someone can help me with the emperorness/empressness thing, please? Thanks.
I think that's about it . . . Oh, yeah. Disclaimer- I do not own Digimon/Pokemon and never will. And I did make up the town of Straydes, but the Digimon Emperor rules it.
Chapter 1 is exactly 32 pages!! I don't know what that is in your book, but for me that is LONG!!! VERY, VERY LONG!!!!!
- Rose Silverstein