"Marriage?" He couldn't be hearing that right. Did his mother just say that he was getting married?

"That's right dear," his mother said as she gazed at him with striking green orbs. Rin Ichijouji was one of the most beautiful women he had ever known. When he was younger, he used to think that she could have been a sister of the beautiful goddess from one of his favorite animes Ah! My Goddess! With her tall, slim figure, long vivid blue locks, fair skin, and striking green eyes, it was no wonder why he thought she was the most beautiful and warm-hearted person in the entire world.

How could he not have seen it for what she was though? His mother was a very successful businesswoman and ran the family corporation with his father. Despite her friendly, warm appearance, his mother could be very cold and very single-minded at times. There would be many times in where she would put the business over him.

"Me and your father have found the perfect wife for you." His mother placed the folder she had been reading moments ago before he had barged into her office after being told about the marriage by his father while he was visiting him in his bedchamber.

Masao could only stare at her in dumb silence. "But...but...I don't know a single thing about her," he told her, hoping it could change her mind about this arranged marriage his parents were already starting into motion.

"Kurosawa Leiko-san is a very respectable and dedicated young lady," Rin stated matter of factly. Masao couldn't help but snort at the name, which got him a disapproving look from his mother. "Masao, Kurosawa-san comes from a long line of powerful leaders and nobles. She was groomed in the way of business, law, and leadership, as were you, and has proven to be the perfect successor to her father's company."

Masao frowned. So this marriage was all business then. "Masao, one day you will take over your father company. That is your duty as heir to the Ichijouji Corporation." Rin folded her hands in her lap as she gazed at her son with cold eyes. "I will not have you marry anyone or bore me a grandchild that is lower than perfection," her voice had a slight edge to it that made his chest twinge with anxiety. "Kurosawa-san is your only perfect suitor. You are to wed by the end of this week. Do I make myself clear?"

"But…"

"Do I. Make. Myself. Clear?"

Masao was silent for a moment as he gazed at his mother with a frown of his own. Of course, his mother wanted a grandchild. But she wanted children that were perfect in every way. He wasn't perfect or obedient in any way and that was what made him think why she was pushing for this marriage. She couldn't bore any more children and his father was suffering from cancer. They were all so unsure if he would make it or not.

Despite that knowledge, Masao couldn't stop the pain that threatened to escape from his chest. It hurt that he couldn't marry anyone that he pleased. He had dated a couple of girls in his private school, but nothing too deep came from those relationships. His mother had made sure they knew they were unworthy to be his friend or future partner.

Masao sighed. He knew there was no way to change his mother's mind. She was the head of the company, now that his father was gravely ill. He had no say. At least with his father, he didn't have to worry about being bossed around and told what he can't do. His father was clueless at times, but he was sympathetic and understanding of his needs.

Masao bowed his head in submission. "Yes, Okaasan." Masao did his best to hide back the tears that began to prick at the corners of his eyes. He couldn't show the woman that he was hurt by her words. She did not like weakness. She loathed it and would lecture him of the ways of manning up if he didn't leave. Now.

And that was what he did.

Masao briskly walked down the long hallway away from his mother's office. He hadn't thought about where he was going. All he knew was that he had to get away. He had to get away from his parents. From their control. From this life. He had to get away from all of this.

As he walked down the winding staircase and down dimly lit hallways, Masao found himself going up and up and up...until he hit the top floor where an old abandoned library led to a beautiful and stunning balcony that opened up to the beautiful sky.

It was only then when he allowed the tears to fall. And when they did, Masao found himself unable to stop them and then he fell to his knees and began to sob.

The castle was quiet as a beautiful woman with long red hair that flowed down her back and bright violet eyes opened a golden door that led to her bedchamber. The woman sighed as she closed the door behind her, resting the back of her head against the cool metal. It had only been five months since the passing of the former King and Queen and four and half months since her coronation from Princess to Queen. Yet, she was so exhausted and so very lonely.

The Queen slowly walked towards her black and gold dressing table and sat down on the chair of the same theme. The beautiful woman gazed at herself in the oval-shaped mirror. The woman that staring back at her was a kind, gentle woman with bright violet eyes, flawless tanned skin, flowing red hair that rested down her back and framed her youthful face, and two large gray cat ears, which had a golden disk earring hanging on each one. Resting on her forehead was the royal headdress, proof of her status as royalty and queen, and hanging around her neck was a golden pendant, given to her by her mother when she was born. Within the pendant, was the crest of her kingdom: a pink ornate rose.

Despite her appearance, this stunning and beautiful Princess turned Queen was no ordinary woman. In fact, she wasn't even human. This cat-like humanoid was none other than Bastemon, Queen of the Forest Kingdom.

The young Queen sighed as she stared at herself. She looked absolutely exhausted, not that she didn't have a right to be. The war between the Chosen Ones and the Dark Masters had really done a number on the Digital World. The land throughout the Digital World was badly damaged and many Digimon were homeless or on the verge of extinction due to the war.

Bastemon had found it difficult trying to fill in her parents' shoes. The former King and Queen had died protecting the kingdom when the battle between the Chosen and the Dark Masters had gotten too close to the kingdom and the other villages that were located throughout Server. The kingdom had been heavily damaged and the citizens of the Forest Kingdom were restless and afraid.

It had always been her mother who gave them hope that they would continue to live and prosper despite the divide that seemed to swept the lands when the Dark Masters began spreading their evil chaos across the lands one day, followed by the birth of the divine Holy Beasts.

Bastemon wanted to gag at the bile taste in her mouth. The Holy Beasts thought that now they were God-like and had defeated the Dark Masters (or so they siad) they could tell them what to do. The Holy Beasts had already begun reformatting the Digital World. They were changing everything!

Bastemon ran her claw through her long red locks. Rumors of Shamamon's prediction had spread across the lands and sea. The Holy Beasts were going from monarch to monarch, attempting to take their power away and have them live under one rule.

Their rule.

The Holy Beasts wanted to be the only ruling power among the Digimon. And they (all the kingdoms and monarchies that had been around for generations) were in their ways. They were a threat to their power.

"Assholes," she spat angrily. "Who do they think they are?" Bastemon couldn't help the anger that filled her. Many of the other kingdoms had fallen, no thanks to the Holy Beasts. Just because they are Gods they think they could boss us around...give up our power...to them?! The young Queen shook her head in disgust. Many of them had been in the ruling nobility for centuries. The Holy Beasts weren't even alive yet when the first monarchy was formed.

Bastemon closed her eyes, trying to think through the pain and fear she felt. If Shamamon was right, then the Holy Beasts would try to take her power away next. They were going after the monarchies that were weakened and still rebuilding from the damaged caused by the Dark Masters and those Humans. And to add insult to injury, they were especially going after kingdoms that had female rulers without a mate or a King. The Holy Beasts did not think a woman should be in a ruling power, not alone anyway. They thought they, women, were weak in comparison to the men.

Upon opening her eyes, Bastemon turned her gaze towards her balcony and stared at it with a slight glare. Bastemon knew why Knightmon and the staff were so worried. As long as she didn't have a mate, the Holy Beasts would look down on her and see her (and her reign) as insignificant and take her kingdom by force if they felt the need to. She was weak in their eyes.

Bastemon shook her head at that. When she was a little Plotmon, she had always dreamed of being just like her parents. They were strong, passionate, and completely devoted to their people. If one of their subjects were sad, her mother would be there with a smile and open ears. If one was struggling with the labor or another job, her father would be there with several 'mons to assist the struggling one. They helped the other and supported one another. This was why her parents were adored by their citizens and across the lands. They built an even stronger and more powerful kingdom under them, continuing her grandfather's legacy.

They all had been heartbroken when her father and mother had got caught in the crossfire between Piemon and one of the Chosen Ones' Digimon. They had all mourned, but not as much as her. For months she had been shielded in the palace. She would occasionally leave the palace to help in the rebuilding efforts and helped those who were homeless and offer supplies and shelter to other neighboring kingdoms. But with the way thing were going, it was only a matter of time before she lost everything.

The young Queen sighed sadly as she returned her gaze to her desk and eyed a golden handheld mirror. The mirror had been given to her by her mother when evolved into a Bastemon almost a century and a half ago. Bastemon knew this was no ordinary mirror though. This mirror was enchanted with the ability to locate the one she truly desired.

Bastemon had gazed into the mirror several times within the past several decades. Who she saw in that magic mirror took her breath away every time. "Mirror, show me my mate, the one that is my other half." Bastemon held the mirror and watched as the mirror glowed softly with swirls of clouded light before revealing a gorgeous young man with enchanting black eyes and messy brown hair. Bastemon's chest would always flutter with excitement whenever she saw the young Human Male. She could watch him laugh and smile for hours without getting tired. "Masao…Ichijouji..." Bastemon purred dreamily as she imagined what it would be like to mate with him, to talk to him under the moonlight, to dance with him…

"W-why?" Violet eyes blinked in confusion, snapping out of her daydream, as she heard a male voice with a thick Japanese accent. She gazed at the mirror, a worried frown plaster firmly on her beautiful features as she gazed at the sobbing male. "W-why? Why? Why?"

"Why are you weeping, my Masao?" She noticed the gorgeous male was in the old library again. It wasn't really unusual. She sometimes saw him going to the library to escape his life (even for a few moments), overlooked the estate that he lived at from the stunning balcony that was there. The land of the Human World didn't really impress her. There were too many buildings and too much contamination and noise. All she cared about was the gorgeous male that looked sometimes at peace and sometimes sad.

Bastemon had seen the male sad before, and she hated it. It was his parents, she realized. It was always them that did something that made him cry. He could never hear her, but she could hear him as he vented about how unfair his parents were when they forbid him from being friends with the other Humans that his parents believed were unworthy or when why intervened in his personal life when he attempted to mate with other females. (Noted, they had only kissed before the male's horrible mother drove the females away with her ugly charm and words, but it still made her scream in frustration. It should be her with her soulmate, her Masao! Not those females!)

The male had no choice of his life. He would spend hours listening to his parents as they gone on and on talking about how he will take over the family business. Bastemon realized long ago that the man's life was controlled and dictated by his parents, mainly his mother.

Bastemon could understand what he was feeling. She had to live her life in the castle for a good part of her life and within the barriers of the castle's walls. But she had learned that there were bad Digimon out there. Digimon that would not care if they harm others. Digimon that mainly lived to destroy all that was pure and good.

Her parents were always understanding though. And listened to her when she didn't understand or like something. They loved compromises. It was why they got along so well.

"How can she do this? I don't want to get married…"

Bastemon froze. "M-marry?" Her voice trembled as the male continued to speak. This marriage, she inwardly hissed at the thought, was arranged, a set up by his parents. He didn't even know who this female, that he was supposed to marry, was. She wasn't even a friend.

She was just a stranger to him.

Bastemon felt her heart go out to the male, for more reasons than one. If he were to marry this stranger, there was no guarantee they would be happy. He would be miserable. Bastemon tried to ignore the pain in her chest at the fact that her soulmate would be ripped from her before they even got to meet face to face. It brought tears to her own eyes.

"Your Majesty?" Bastemon immediately put the mirror down, cutting off the male's words. The male had been wondering what it would be like to actually be free of his parents' plots and plans for him.

"Yes, Sir Knightmon?"

"I do apologize for bothering you this late at night, Your Majesty, but Sir Shamamon is here, requesting your presence."

Bastemon brows furrowed. "Sir Shamamon?" What was he doing here, especially at this hour?

"Yes, Your Majesty. He says that it is of great importance...something about your future mate."

Bastemon's eyes widened as she jumped out of her chair and briskly walked towards the door. It didn't take her long to realize why Shamamon was here. All her loyal subjects and staff had been worried about the Holy Beasts coming to their kingdom. They would find a way to break through the barriers that surrounded the forest. This was why they kept having balls almost every other week. She needed a suitor, a mate to support her and help her rule. But Bastemon had declined every female and male that approached her, from the smallest Viral to the most intelligent Vaccine. None of them appealed to her, at least not to the standards of the Human Male she had been fawning over for years and had been growing to love.

The young Queen pulled the door open, much to Knightmon's surprise and obvious concern. Bastemon understood the elder Digimon completely. Knightmon (and his squadron of Pawn Chessmon) had been loyal followers and friends of their clan ever since they had been abandoned by their previous monarch. From the stories her mother told her, her grandfather (when he had been a young Digimon, just bigging the reign of his rule) had found Knightmon (Clockmon at the time) and several Pawn Chessmon dying in an abandoned town in the middle of a desert, just a few miles outside their borders. She didn't understand why Lord Knightmon would order their execution, nor did Knightmon or the Pawn Chessmon knew for that matter. But her mother had figured that it was because Lord Knightmon thought they were weak and unworthy for some reason, figuring they were better off dead than to continue following him to what he called paradise and glory.

"Your Majesty…?"

Bastemon straightened her posture as she closed the door behind her. "Where is he, Sir Knightmon?" Her voice might have been a bit too earnest but she didn't care. She had to get to her future mate before his parents gave him away to this...female.

"...In the garden, Your Majesty." Knightmon paused for a moment as he gazed at her with a mixture of concern and uncertainty. "Your Majesty, I do not wish to pry...but are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Bastemon said as she ran her claws through her long red hair. She was actually glad she hadn't undone the braid, remove her jewelry, or change to her nightgown just yet. It would have been annoying if she had to spend an hour making herself presentable again after taking it off. "Why you ask?"

"It's just that...you've seemed really anxious when I mentioned your future mate. And always seem uninterested and far away when other Royals come to the kingdom to seek your hand in marriage. "

Bastemon frowned slightly. Should she tell him about the Human? About her soulmate, Masao Ichijouji? He had a right to know, her thoughts countered. He was the one that always helped her with his wise words and knowledge. He had lived a long life and had seen all. Would telling him that she was in love with a Human surprise him? It was unheard of, she was aware of that. Many Digimon might not approve of this. Humans were by far so weaker than them and so unknown to them.

"Sir Knightmon, I do appreciate you looking out for me and the wellbeing of the kingdom. I know it has been difficult these past few months, especially with the threat of the Holy Beasts hanging over us." Knightmon nodded in understanding. Ever since he had been saved by the Third King all those centuries ago and been taken in by the Royal Family, Knightmon had vowed to protect the Royal Family and all their heirs until his last breath.

Knightmon would forever be eternally grateful for their kindness and compassion, this was one of the reasons he wore the Royal Family Crest proudly on his armored chest. But with the coming threat of the Holy Beasts, he feared for the future of the Kingdom.

He didn't want to have Her Majesty to marry a 'mon she did not love. She was still young, barely the age of 200 (which was when Bastemon's mother, Pearl, married Leomon) and deserved to marry and love whoever she chose. She had her whole life ahead of her after all. But with the Holy Beasts going after the monarchies scattered throughout the Digital World, they had to hold their own in this struggle of power.

"But there is another, isn't there?" Knightmon had noticed the far away look glistening in Bastemon's violet orbs, a look Pearl had in her eyes so many times when she was Bastemon's age. After many decades in service to the Royal Family, Knightmon was very good at reading Digimon. It came in handy when assassins or their enemies from other kingdoms and villages tried to kill the Royal Family or destroy them from the inside out.

"Yes," Bastemon said with a small smile. "My future mate is my destined soulmate. I have seen him through the enchanted mirror. I have not seen him in person of course, but I pray this will change with Shamamon's help." Bastemon's face soon turned troubled and unsure, like she was hurting inside. "As we speak, he is being forced to marry a Female Human he does not know."

Knightmon could only frown, not that Bastemon could see through all the armor he wore. However, at the mentioned of 'Human' Knightmon found himself pausing and gazing at the Queen curiously as he processed what she said. Knightmon, in all honestly, was a little disappointed at the Queen for not telling him sooner about her already seeing someone else. All the awkward interactions and conversations with the other rulers at the balls could have been avoided. However, there was that subtle hint of what type of creature Bastemon's future mate was.

"A Human?" The Human World had always been a subject that interested him. The Third King had been fascinated by them and their ways of life and would always look into the enchanted mirror (the one Bastemon now had in her possession) and wrote his findings in one of the many journals that now resided in the castle archives.

"Yes, he's Human," Her Majesty said in a soft, warm voice, her eyes far away again and feature resting on an expression he had wished (more than once) Pearl had gazed at him with all those centuries ago when they were young and foolish.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?" Knightmon never got over the pain of forever losing Pearl to Leomon. But he never let it ruin their friendship, nor his loyalty. As long as his friend was happy, he was happy and proved it every day as he protected both the King and Queen and their heir to his last breath. But now with the passing of the King and Queen, Knightmon had a new wound in his chest. It was raw, painful, and still bleeding with agony.

Now as he watched Bastemon, with that same look on her face, he knew without a doubt that she was in love with a male that did not know she even existed. He was happy for her, he really was, but there was something that bothered him. She mentioned that this male was being forced to marry another. It sounded as if he had no choice in the matter.

Knightmon had to push that thought aside as Bastemon finally realized he had asked her a question and the way her face fell with sadness and anger made him realized just how delicate and time sensitive this situation was. "Yes...and if I don't get to him soon he will be ripped away from me...before he even knows I exist."

Knightmon could practically feel her pain and he hated it. He had made a promise to Pearl long ago that he would protect Bastemon with his life, guide her and be there for her when she needed it. "That will not happen." Knightmon was just as surprised as Bastemon by his words, but he would never deny the truth of his words. "If this Human is your future mate, then I will do everything in my power to make it so." Violet orbs glistened with tears at his words for he meant every word. "We will find a way, Your Majesty. I promise you."

"Thank you." Bastemon wiped at her tears as she smiled up at him.

Knightmon nodded as he offered his arm to the Queen. "Why don't we go to the gardens then? Maybe Sir Shamamon might have some insight to share."

Bastemon smiled as she wrapped her arm around his. As they made their way down the halls and stairs that would take them to the castle gardens, Knightmon could not stop thinking if he was doing the right thing for not trying to convince Bastemon to give up on this Human. He was in another world and with the barriers in place, it was not easy to travel between worlds. But as he thought about Pearl, he realized that she would want her daughter happy, even if it was a Human. She would encourage her to chase her dreams and follow her heart.

"Your Majesty, thank you for seeing me this late."

Knightmon silently watched as Bastemon released his arm to talk to the other Digimon. As the two conversed, the Warrior Digimon knew no matter what happened, he would always support the Queen. He would help her find her mate, just as her mother would. And if anyone opposed, which he was sure there would, he would be there to protect and defend the last remaining member of the Royal Family. It was his duty to protect them and to serve, for without them he would not be alive, he would not have a home. And Knightmon and the Pawn Chessmon would always protect their home.