Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Duel of Love ❯ Translation ( Chapter 7 )

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

A/N: Okay, so I got my braces out, and I'm like "WOO HOO! More room in my mouth!" and then guess what?  I get retainers, two to be precise now that take up the room in my mouth, not to mention pressing against my gums and are damn uncomfortable!  I hate them damnit!  Didn't even let me choose my color…*mumbles*

Anyways, please read this chapter!

Duel of Love

Chapter 8: Translation

High Priest Seto

     I closed Katiana's door so the healer could examine her without me watching over her shoulder.  I noticed the Pharaoh coming down the hallway.

     "High Priest Seto," he said, greeting me.

     "My Pharaoh," I greeted back, bowing slightly.

     "How is she?" he asked as a yelp of pain erupted from the room, "She sounds fine…"

     "She hates it when I force a healer to look at her," I said, glancing at the doorway, "I let her train in healing more than anything else at the temple…"

     "So she probably trusts her abilities more than that of others?" he asked, "She is one amazing woman."

     "She acts like a child…" I said, "And she will always act that way."
     "It's amazing she's been able to act like that…" the Pharaoh said, "She is able to keep smiling…" 

     "I'm amazed you think like that about her," I said and he looked at me.

     "Don't you see her like that?  Or have you always just imagined her as a kid?" he asked.

     "I have always thought of her as a woman, I never thought about it otherwise, but it's just the way she acts…" I said.

     "I like her, is there something wrong with that?" he asked, "I actually rather admire her."

     "Is that so?" I asked, but we were interrupted by the healer coming out of Katiana's room.

     "Is she alright?" the Pharaoh asked, glancing at the door the healer was closing.

     "She'll be fine; she doesn't exactly like healers though, I can tell.  Either that or she just complains all the time," he said, "Beg your pardon my Pharaoh."

     "It's good to know, it's alright," the Pharaoh replied, "May we see her?"  The healer nodded; reminding us we would have to let her rest and then walked away.  The Pharaoh took a few steps towards the door before I brushed him away and went in, shutting the door behind me.  He wasn't allowed to be near her, the only reason he was even allowed to be near her at the ruins was because we had split up to find her faster.

     "Seto," Katiana said, "Hello, I'm f…fine… the healer said it wasn't that bad but I c…could've… I can tend to myself you k…know…"

     "I know this," I said, "But sometimes you forget to check yourself over carefully enough when you get hurt.  You do just fine when looking at other wounds though, just not your own, you know this…"

     "I r…remember having to heal you…" she said with a smile.

Flashback

     "Ow, that stings!" I exclaimed, "Watch it!"  Priestess Katiana smiled at me.

     "You g…get into fights knowing you'll get h…hurt," she said, "Just sit still…"  She tended my shoulder, gently putting the cleaning solution in the burn wound.

     "I have to fight sometimes," I said, "Stop smiling at me!"

     "Why shouldn't I s…smile?" she asked.

     "It's because you look so dumb when you do!" I exclaimed, "Ow that still stings!"

     "S…sorry," she stammered and kissed it, "There, does that m…make it better?"

     "What was that for?" I asked angrily.

     "I've heard m…mothers say to their children in the c…city sometimes, when their c…children get hurt and fall, 'do you w…want me to kiss it and make it b…better?'  I've always w…wanted to do something like that…" she said, looking at me with that dumb smile of hers.

     "Why?" I asked.

     "I don't h…have a mother who'll do t…that for me," she said, dropping her eyes and staring towards the floor.

     "Idiot," I said and patted her on the head.  She glared at me before smiling and applying more of the solution to my burn.  I cried out again and she looked at me with a small grin on her face.  I grinned back, she was so hopeless.

End Flashback

     "Where's the Pharaoh?" Katiana asked, looking up at me from where she lay.

     "He's outside.  He was worried about you," I said.

     "Didn't he w…want to see me?" she asked.

     "He might of but I didn't wait to find out," I said, "He's not allowed to see you remember after what he did to you…"

     "In the r…ruins, he saved my l…life, and he g…got himself hurt," she said sorrowfully, "Because of m…me…"

     "Is that so," I said bitterly, "Well he did deserve to be hurt, after what he did to you…"

     "How c…can you say that?" she asked angrily, "He's always b…been so kind to me!  That night… I don't know w…what happened but I don't t…think that was the real him!"

     "Believe that that was the real him Katiana because it was.  A personality he only shows at night, but his true personality nonetheless.  He's mean, crude and would've raped you had you not gotten away.  He enjoys toying with people…" I said, "Katiana I highly suggest you return to the temple, the Pharaoh said he would need you to complete your task even if you decide to return, so you still can work at completing your duties…"

     "Seto, I c…can't leave…" she said, "I came to w…work here.  It wouldn't be the s…same if I had the distractions of the t…temple around me."

     "Are you completely sure?" I asked and her eyes seemed resolute.

     "Yes," she said, "I h…have to…"

     "Very well then, I'll leave you to your rest and then to your duty.  But as soon as you are done you will return back to the temple, understood?" I asked and she nodded slowly, with certain sadness in her eyes.  I tucked her under the covers, much to her protest and left the room.  The Pharaoh had left, most likely because I had offended him and he didn't want to argue with me about it in front of Katiana.  I shrugged.  Oh well, he had been the one to hurt her in the first place.

Yami

     I went back to my room; it was more than clear that High Priest Seto still wouldn't trust me around her, no matter what had gone on earlier at the ruins, which included me protecting her.  I couldn't argue with his reasoning, but I really wanted to talk to her again, really see her again.  I lay down on my bed and relaxed against my pillow, thinking hard.  I never knew what love was, I never felt it before.  How could I know this was truly it?  How could I know that this feeling was true love?  I didn't want to hurt her again; I couldn't fight against what happened to me, I wanted to but I couldn't!  I turned to my side and struck my bed, I couldn't fight against it!  My duty required me to battle and when that happened, I changed completely…  If the sixth tome held the answers for me, I prayed she would find them…

Katiana

     The next day came quickly and I wanted to move around.  It wasn't doing me any good to just lie in bed all day, my leg was broken, sure but it'd be alright if I walked around a bit.  I didn't want to get lazy, so I decided to head towards the library to begin translation on the sixth tome.  It would give me something to do and I wouldn't be moving much there.  I don't think Seto could argue with that, other than the fact I have to limp my way there, moving my leg as little as possible.  It didn't feel too bad though, it could have been much worse.  I put my pendant back where I had stored it before, with my other few precious treasures, now stored in the bowl that Madera had given me.  The other items I had in there included a stone I had found when Seto had taken me to the Nile River once.  It shone really brightly, smooth and cool.  It was my first rock, the one that started me collecting.  Maybe it would make the Pharaoh feel better.  It always did when I would hold onto it. 

     "Maybe it c…could help him fight his demons…" I said, and then I laughed.  It didn't have any magical abilities; it was just a pretty rock.  But still, it was my favorite, and it represented good luck for me, maybe it would for him too.  I'd deliver it to him now, I'd put it in his room and he'd find it later.  Seto would really object to my train of thought, but I didn't care much.  Not anymore.  He had saved my life, the Pharaoh had, I couldn't be mad at him; I couldn't hate him for what he did.  That wasn't the real him.  I knew it wasn't and I'd find a way to help him, just like I found the sixth tome.  I exited the room, clutching the stone firmly in my hand.  I'd give it to him; he needed it more than I did…

Yami

     I heard a knocking at the door, but it was probably just a servant bringing breakfast or something.

     "Come in," I said, not even bothering to look over at the door.

Katiana

     So he was in his room?  I hadn't originally planned on that, I was just going to leave the stone in his room if he wasn't there and I never thought about what I'd do if he was there…

     "I said come in already," he repeated and I slowly creaked open the door, looking in to see him on his bed, his head and body turned away from the door entirely, "You can leave it on the table…"  He couldn't already know what I was going to give him, could he?  I took a step inside, trying not to let any sounds from my voice escape and then have him recognize who was actually in the room.  I made my way to the table and put the stone on it, making a small sound as I did so.

     "Thank you," he said, "You can go."  I really didn't think he knew I was there, maybe he thought I was a servant bringing breakfast or something.  I exited the room as quickly as I had come in; trying to be silent and I shut the door as I exited.  I saw a servant coming down the hallway, this time actually carrying a tray of breakfast and hobbled down towards the library, determined to start my translation of the sixth book.

Yami

     There was another knock at my door; did they want to collect the tray already or something?

     "Who's there?" I asked.

     "It's one of your servants my Pharaoh, I have breakfast…" came the reply.

     "Wait, didn't you already deliver breakfast?" I asked, getting up and going to the door.

     "Not to my knowledge my Pharaoh…" the servant replied as I opened up the door.

     "Then who…?" I pondered, looking towards the table, and saw only a small stone upon its surface.  I took the breakfast tray from the servant and he bowed and left me to my thoughts.  I went over to the table, setting down the tray and picked up the stone.  It was very smooth and had a variety of colors on it and glimmered softly in the faint light of my room.  It was quite beautiful, but where had it come from?  Who had slipped into my room then, if not to deliver breakfast to give this to me?

     "She likes to collect rocks, you know," Madera's voice seemed to echo in my mind and I ran my hand over the polished surface.  Had Miss Katiana given me this?  Why, did she think I needed a polished rock or did it have some magical ability or something?  I gripped the stone in my hand; I had to see her about this odd gift.  What was she possibly thinking when she gave me a rock?  I mean, sure it was pretty, but it was still just a rock!

Katiana

     "This l…language of this book," I said with a moan, "It's slightly d…different than the others!"  This wasn't good!  I could hardly read any of this because it was slightly changed from the form in the other five tomes.

     "Miss Katiana, what are you doing not resting?" a familiar voice asked and I froze.

Yami

     I looked at her, pouring over the tome, searching for answers.  I looked at the stone in my hand; I could already imagine what she'd say when I asked about it.

     "My Pharaoh, I d…didn't expect to see you here!" she would say.

     "I wanted to thank you for your gift," I would say, and show her the stone.

     "Oh, r…really?  So you l…like it?  It means so much to m…me and I wanted you to have it," she would reply.  I sighed; she probably held the rock that existed now in my hand as a special stone, one she valued highly.

     "Miss Katiana, what are you doing not resting?" I asked and she looked up at me with startled frightened eyes.

     "I didn't w…want to lie around d…doing nothing," she said quickly looking back at the tome.

     "But you should be resting, if High Priest Seto finds out…" I began but she smiled a little.

     "If he f…finds out I don't c…care," she said, "I'd rather be here t…than feeling so useless."

     "You feel useless?" I asked her, still standing in the entrance, not daring myself to go further.

     "N…not in the way you're probably thinking… Even w…when I'm hurt I still w…want to be doing something," she said.

     "You could have had the tome brought to you," I said cautiously, turning the stone over in my hand, a movement she caught and she turned a deep shade of red.

     "I wanted to w…walk," she said, looking at my hand before turning back towards her book.

     "Thank you," I said after a pause, "For the stone.  I don't know why you'd give me this; no one has ever given me a rock before…"

     "Oh…you don't l…like it?" she asked.

     "No, it's not that, never mind," I said, turning away.

     "I f…found it at the Nile," she said, "It was my f…first stone in my collection."

     "When did you go to the Nile?" I asked, turning back with interest.

     "I went there w…with Seto," she replied, "A long t…time ago."

     "Oh, is that so?" I asked, "I didn't know…to be entirely honest, I just couldn't figure out why you would give me a stone…even one as pretty as this one, it's still just a rock…"

     "I know that!" she exclaimed, standing with effort, "But it's always b…brought me luck and maybe it c…could help you with your problem!"

     "As a good luck charm," I said dryly.

     "Yes," she replied firmly, and for once I still couldn't understand.  If it was good luck why give it to me?  It couldn't help me and it probably wouldn't be able to help me and for that reason I didn't want it, I didn't need it and she shouldn't have given it to me!

     "I don't need your stone and I certainly don't need your pity Miss Katiana!" I yelled at her, flinging the stone to the ground.  I watched tears well up in her eyes; she struggled to choke them back as she looked at where the stone had fallen.  I shouldn't have said that, I shouldn't have said something so hurtful.  We just stood there, the both of us, and her tears fell like rain, and they fell hard on the cover of the tome in front of her.  She limped around the table and made her way towards the entryway, I thought she was going to get mad at me; I wanted her to get mad at me!  Why couldn't she just get mad at me?

     "I'm s…sorry," she said, "I was f…foolish to think you needed luck my Pharaoh.  You h…have the most power of all of us, and you don't n…need luck."  Damnit get mad at me!  No, she just knelt down and picked up the stone, clasping it in her hands.  I moved aside to let her leave, watching still as the tears fell from her eyes.  No, I couldn't let her go…don't let her go…

     "Miss Katiana!" I cried out, grabbing her arm as she tried to leave.  She pulled away from me and looked at me with her tear stained eyes, I wanted to brush the tears away, I had cause them, I had brought this upon her!

     "What m…more do you want from me?" she asked, "What more?  You t…tried to rape me and I've f…forgiven you!  You hurt me and I f…forgave you!  You were k…kind to me and I tried my best to be k…kind back…  What more do you want?"  My arm fell to my sides, useless.  She was mad now, wasn't she?  No, she wasn't mad, she was crying, I had caused those tears of hers.  I turned towards her, turned to face her and I was mad at her, I wanted her to be mad at me!

     "Don't you ever get mad at someone?" I asked, "Why are you so cheerful all the time?  Why do you always smile?  Is it because you had an easy life at the temple?  Why must you be so happy, why…"  I couldn't find anymore words, I struggled to find more words but none existed.  Her eyes told a story, she hadn't had an easy life, she had her share of struggles and now me, I had caused her emotional and physical pain…  I could feel the tears of my own eyes well up within me and I bit them back as I stared at her.  I stared at her and she was looking back at me, as if searching for something in my eyes, something she thought she had seen before.  Before I knew what I was doing I grabbed her and pulled her into my arms, and she didn't struggle to pull away.  She let me hold her, she let me hold her close and my tears fell as swiftly as hers.

     "My Pharaoh," she said quietly and I sank to the floor, clutching her against me.  I felt her hands come to rest on my shoulders and I felt her hold me, my hands dropping as she took me into her arms.

     "I'm sorry," I sobbed, "I'm sorry…"  She didn't respond, she just held me close to her, held me in her lap as I cried.  I felt that she had already stopped crying, she wasn't caring about her own well being now; she was focusing on mine!

     "Why do you care so much?" I asked, "Why do you want to help me?"

     "…" she said nothing and I curled up, my head and some of my body resting against her.

     "Why you…why did it have to be you?" I asked, "Why did you have to be the one that could read the tomes?"  The hands that held me faded from my shoulders and the warmth that I felt faded as well.  I could feel something, sensed something, and then her arms came around me again, and I felt her head rest on mine, her forehead resting against my hair as I continued to cry.

     "I forgive you," she said and placed a kiss on my hair.  I stopped mid sob to absorb what she had just done.  No one had ever done this before; no one had ever just kissed my hair, not even my own mother!  I felt her shift and my head rested upon cool stone.  I heard footsteps and she was leaving, leaving me here…

     "Miss Katiana?" I asked though my voice didn't sound like my own.

     "It's alright," she said, "I'm fine…  Goodbye…"  I picked myself up from the stone floor and looked on as she left.  I let her leave; I didn't want to stop her.  Why me, why did I have to fall in love with her?  I looked around, picking myself up and noticed the stone, the one I had flung to the floor, and it was right in front of me.  I knelt down and picked it up, looking it over once again.  She must have left it behind, no, she didn't, did she?  She had given it to me, and she wanted me to have it.  I clutched it against me like a shield and walked out of the room, going towards one of the balconies nearby, walking out onto it, only to see clouds blanketing the sky.  What had really just gone on there?  Did she care for me as well?  Did she love me the way I loved her?  What was it, why is she like the way she is?  I really didn't understand her, when I thought about it, I couldn't understand her.  Even though I knew her well, I still didn't know her, I didn't know her like High Priest Seto or Madera did, I didn't know her that well and yet I was in love with her so deeply, I could care less what her life had been like…  I felt a water droplet hit me on my face and I blinked.  More drops followed that one and soon it began to rain.  I looked up at the sky, allowing the rain to soak me thoroughly.

     "It hardly ever rains here," I murmured.

TBC

A/N: Wow, some chapter, right?  Even I don't understand all to well what went on here!  Anyways, please let me know what you thought of in a review!  I really don't have much to say right now…