Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Duel of Love ❯ Rumor ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh

A/N: Wow, thanks for the reviews… I love writing this one so much right now I'm taking a break on the others for a moment…just until I get myself to settle down from writing this, of course. I hope you'll still enjoy it!

Duel of Love

Chapter 4: Rumor

Katiana

It has been two days since the celebration and I was working in the kitchens today, just because I wanted to do something, to make myself a little more useful than just a bookworm. I mean, well… I was chided a lot for reading so much. Seto sometimes teased me about how I would never make a proper wife or anything of that sort if all I did was study all day, at least until I reminded him I was a priestess and probably wouldn't be marrying anyways. That would shut him up occasionally; I don't see why he insisted on teasing me like that.

"Good morning everyone," a familiar voice said and shocked at the voice I turned and in the doorway was the Pharaoh!

"Good morning my Pharaoh!" the various servants called out, each one bowing slightly as his gaze swept the hustle around the kitchen. People were cooking, others like me were washing dishes and some were just separating various food items into their bins. It was mostly women back here, and they were more than happy to let me help out a little. I was a little more than nervous, what would he say if he saw me here, and not working in the library? I had translated some history in one of the texts this week, but it just marked some dates that weren't really of any importance. What would I say to him if he noticed me?

"Miss Katiana?" he asked and I nearly dropped the plate I was drying, "What are you doing here?" I watched him walk up to me, having an amused grin on his face.

"I j…just wanted to h…help out a b…bit," I said, "So when I g…go back I still know h…how to clean and such."

"I don't think High Priest Seto fears you are going to get lazy from being here for a while," he said, "To each their own, or so I've been told." I dropped the plate I was holding and quickly got down to pick up the pieces.

"I'm s…such a… I'm so c…clumsy," I said, "I'm s…sorry…" Crimson eyes met mine and the Pharaoh took a piece of the plate from off the floor and set it on the nearby table.

"Everyone has moments when they're clumsy," he said, his eyes twinkling with amusement. I hastily picked up the pieces of plate and stood up, putting them on the table with the piece the Pharaoh had picked up. A woman came and took them away and everyone stood watching us after that.

"Um…uh…" I couldn't think of anything to say. He didn't seem mad at me or anything.

"Walk with me," he said, beckoning with a nod of his head and started to exit the kitchen. I looked at one of the women and she nodded that it was alright to go. I quickly fell in step behind the Pharaoh.

"I'm s…sorry," I said.

"What are you apologizing about?" he asked, "About not being in the library today? It's alright, I think even the best of us need a break." He turned around to face me when we were a little further down the hall.

"W…what?" I asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing at all," he said, "Do you want to spend the day with me?"

"Why?" I asked.

"I'm going into the city," he said, "Today is one of the few days I can get out of work and go into town without any guards."

"Oh!" I said, "Well… I don't w…want to cause you any t…trouble…"

"No trouble at all," he said, "I think it would be…what's the word, fun? I think I've hardly used that word before."

"…" I didn't know what to say.

"Is there anything in particular you like to do in town?" he asked and I looked down at him and mumbled something, "What was that? I can't hear anyone when they speak so softly."

"I h…have a friend there…" I said, "S…she makes vases…"

"Why don't we go visit her then?" he asked, "I'm sure she hasn't seen you in a while."

"N…no, I'm sure you have b…better things to do!" I exclaimed.

"Not for today, well, you had better lead the way," he said, "I don't believe I know the way to your friend's place."

"Um…" I said, still unsure of what to say, "Alright."

Yami

She seemed really shy, walking with me, leading the way. I found it very odd when I caught her in the kitchens working; I must have made her nervous when I entered in.

"Are we almost there?" I asked as she led me down another street.

"She's out of the w…way," Miss Katiana said, "Oh, we are here!"

"This is out of the way," I said and Miss Katiana knocked on the door.

"I'm not open today!" a voice called out, "Come tomorrow!"

"She's w…working then today," Miss Katiana said, "Madera!"

"Hey, that voice sounds familiar," the voice replied, "Katiana, is that you out there? You haven't been here to see me in over two months! Give me a minute, I'll be right down!" Sure enough, we stood there near the door and it opened to reveal a tall woman with dark hair and she looked at us both.

"Madera, its g…good to see you!" Miss Katiana said.

"So you are Miss Katiana's friend? It is good to meet you," I said offering a hand.

"You…you're… oh my goodness! The Pharaoh, at my door, Katiana, what's been going on?" Madera asked, looking at her.

"I believe I can explain that," I said smiling at her, "You see I needed her assistance at the palace and so she's been helping me translate some texts. I decided to take some time and go into the city, so I invited Miss Katiana along with me and she mentioned she had a friend in the city, so here we are. And don't worry, you can act like yourself around me, I'm not mean, no matter what they say.

"Do you want to come in?" Madera asked and we stepped inside, "By the way, Katiana, I finally finished it. I had finished it two days ago but I didn't know when you were coming back to see me. It's upstairs. Come on then, oh, um… my pharaoh, you can make yourself at home…"

"May I come and see what you finished?" I asked and she nodded, I think she was a bit overwhelmed at the moment, maybe I did something wrong?

"Katiana, I can't tell you how proud I am of this piece of work," Madera said, "I know it's late, two months late but I still want to give it to you."

"Two months late from what?" I asked.

"My b…birthday," Miss Katiana stammered, "I t…turned 20."

"Well, I didn't know, I would have gotten you something," I said and she turned a deep crimson, "Actually, that might have been slightly hard, seeing as how I didn't even know you existed until about a few weeks ago."

"Don't b…bother," she said, "Its okay."

"Here it is," Madera said as she retrieved a bowl from a shelf, "It's all painted and you can even eat out of it…"
"You work with clay?" I asked.

"I do it for a living, but it's really fun sometimes," she explained, "And it's a good living too."

"I can assume since you seem happy," I said and she smiled at me.

"You know, you're not as bad as the rumors say you are," she said.

"What rumors?" I asked.

"I've heard various ones," she said, "But you don't seem like the type that was described in them. So Katiana, do you like it?"

"Its b…beautiful," Miss Katiana exclaimed, running her fingers over the smooth surface.

"What's that painted on it?" I asked.

"Some designs that I had been turning over in my head to see if they would work," Madera explained, "And I'm glad they did."

"You h…have a lot of talent," Miss Katiana said, "I love it!" It really was a beautiful bowl, the colors seemed to create a wonderful image of a dragon on it, and Madera had a lot of talent.

"That's good," she replied and looked at both of us, "Hey, if you want to, I could let you guys work with some clay. I know Katiana knows how to so she'd be fine but you My Pharaoh, do you want to work with some?"

"Um…I've never worked with clay before," I said.

"It's easy," she replied, "But you get yourself dusty and dirty."

"I'll work for a b…bit with clay Madera," Miss Katiana said.

"Good, let me get you set up!" Madera said, "Would you like to give it a try My Pharaoh?" I smiled at her.

"I don't think I'd be too good," I said, "But I'll watch if that's okay."

"To each his or her own I guess," she said with a grin. Miss Katiana was looking at me oddly; she probably didn't know what to think of me, wanting to do things she assumed most people of nobility wouldn't even dream of doing. I wonder what High Priest Seto told her now more than ever.

…

Miss Katiana had many skills and I was just amazed at how well she worked with the clay. She and Madera both had talent; it was fascinating to watch them work.

"Katiana, make sure you don't raise that edge too high," Madera said and Miss Katiana quickly folded an edge to smooth over the height and made it work more with the other parts.

"S…sorry!" she exclaimed with a blush. I had to admit, she was quite cute when she was apologizing. When she smiled too, she always seemed to brighten up whatever room she was in. Is this what my teachers used to call a `crush'?

"It looks good though," Madera said, "But I don't think I'll be able to get it fired before you have to leave today, so tell you what, I'll drop it off at the palace with my next order, alright?"

"Okay," Miss Katiana said, still trying to not look at me. I sighed slightly, softly. I had to keep my distance, I didn't want anything to happen to her, I probably was stupid for actually allowing myself to become this attached to her so far.

"You know My Pharaoh, Katiana has a rock collection," Madera said and Miss Katiana glared over at Madera and I found myself laughing softly.

"That's cute," I said before I could stop myself, "Is it a big collection Miss Katiana? I don't know of many that have a rock collection."

"It… it's not much," she said, "R…Really, it isn't!"

"Are any of them shiny?" I asked.

"Well, y…yes," she said quickly, "But some are p…paint rocks and others are just u…unique."

"That is very interesting," I said and she turned back towards the clay she was working on. A rock collection, I really didn't know anyone who had one, much less want a rock collection.

Katiana

We left Madera's place around the time evening came. I think we had stayed later than we meant to, but the Pharaoh didn't say anything at all. Madera had said a few words to me before we left, telling me to watch out for the Pharaoh, she had heard a rumor that the Pharaoh wasn't as good as he appeared to be and that sometimes at night… he battled… naked! I was too stunned to reply to her and I walked away with a sense of… something. I've heard plenty of rumors but that was the first time I've heard that rumor mentioned to me at all. Why battle like that at all? Maybe Seto was right and I was just too naïve. People could battle that way, for whatever reason.

"People and t…their rumors," I muttered as I walked behind the Pharaoh and he stopped, and then I bumped into him, not knowing it.

"Did you just say something about rumors Miss Katiana?" he asked, taking a step away and turning around.

"Well, y…yes," I said with a slight nod, "I don't l…like them all the time, t…that's all."
"That's good," he said, "Sometimes rumors hold truth, but they don't necessarily hold the entire truth."

"You t…talk as if you're used to them," I said.

"I am, when they get started, it gets hard to trace them back to where they originally came from, the best thing I can do is just let them wear out," he said, "Now hurry up, we better be getting back before it gets dark." I followed him as he started walking again, leading the way. There must be more to what he said; something bothered him when I mentioned rumors. I hope he didn't hate me.

"I'm s…sorry!" I exclaimed, "My comment m…must have upset you…"
"Is that what you think?" he asked and I nodded, "No, that's not it. I don't really think anything you say could upset me, maybe make me a little more curious about you or make me look at you like you're nuts sometimes, but you didn't upset me." I didn't upset him at all? He really must be odd, or he's so used to it he doesn't care anymore… Poor Pharaoh… he must really be thought of badly thanks to all the rumors.

"Well, r…rumors hold little truth once t…they've been to many people," I said, "And if p…people don't want to find out the r…real truth then they're no b…better than those that start the rumors!" He looked at me like I had said something profound.

"I do believe that was just what I needed to hear," he said and smiled at me sadly, "Even if some rumors still hold truth…"

"B…but the whole truth needs to be f…found for the whole s…story!" I exclaimed and he smiled at me a little more cheerfully. He looked a lot nicer when he was happy.

"Thank you Miss Katiana," he said, "We better hurry now though, everyone must be wondering where we went off to." I didn't think to point out that I wouldn't be someone the palace people would worry about, even if I was important. If the Pharaoh didn't make it back soon, they'd worry something happened to him, and create quite an uproar trying to find him. I trailed along behind him, allowing myself to smile. Rumors were rumors and that was that.

Yami

That night I found myself unable to sleep. Miss Katiana was firm in her beliefs, but every rumor held some truth to it. Especially some of the rumors circulated about me. Especially those. I yawned and sat down on my bed, it had been a long day going out into the town with Miss Katiana. I had seen a lot and taken in some sites I had never seen before in the city, even though I had lived here my entire life. I guess growing up in the palace, my father never really wanted me to know what was out there, and maybe he was afraid I would be a blacksmith or potter if I had known those existed, even if I was royal blood. I looked towards the door, half expecting something, half dreading something coming. I didn't like going to sleep most of the time; nightmares always haunted me and wouldn't leave me alone. The darkness I felt from them was almost choking at times, and I could handle a lot, everything but that.

`You're falling for her,' a voice in the back of my head sighed and I groaned. Last thing I needed was to fight with myself over something I couldn't have. Miss Katiana was a priestess and she said herself at many points that High Priest Seto had laid claim to her, and yet… I really did like her. She was so kind and gentle, the exact thing that was dangerous for me to be around, especially at night. I didn't want any harm to come to her; I had to distance myself now, just a little. I had to pull back; I didn't want her to get hurt. I don't want her to suffer because of something I might do. I lay down on the bed and decided to sleep on the issue entirely, even though I knew I would distance myself from her anyways.

"Goodnight Miss Katiana, pleasant dreams," I whispered to the thin air, and let my dreams form as they would, nightmarish or otherwise, "Goodnight…"

TBC

A/N: Wow, so many people like this story and I love the way this is going! Okay, maybe the Pharaoh seemed a little different in this chapter, but he kinda was supposed to. I'm going to warn you now; next chapter'll be a little rougher. The next chapter will prove why I rated this R in the first place. I do hope you'll stick with me and my story though, through thick and thin, I mean plot twists make a story, right?

SPECIAL: Thanks to Crazy_Kins for doing a drawing for me of Katiana and the Pharaoh! If he posts it anywhere I'll post how to get there here or something, but thanks to him bunches for drawing it for me! I like how it turned out and look forward to his work in the future as I may ask him to draw certain scenes and such!

Review this please, but remember, any flames will be used to roast marshmallows for those that like my stories! And check out my other stuff too! (Gives you something to do while waiting for the update… right?)

Hope to have reviews and I'll see you all next chapter!