Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Duel of Love ❯ Uncertainty ( Chapter 13 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
Disclaimer: I don’t own Yu-GI-Oh   A/N: Okay…so this should be one of my good chapters too, so I can’t wait to get to writing it!  Oh yeah, remember that enemy that showed up a few chapters back?  Poor Katiana…wait…not this chapter…yet…I’m so fricken cruel…so…cruel…   Duel of Love   Chapter 14: Uncertainty   Katiana        I’ve been back for a month now, and I’ve been working really hard.  The pharaoh has been spending a lot of time with me too, I don’t know why though…and Seto hasn’t said anything…if he minded…wouldn’t he have said something?  I couldn’t focus on that though…I was so close to figuring out the language the sixth text was written it…       “Miss Katiana?” the pharaoh asked, coming over and looking over my shoulder, “You’ve been working really hard…are you sure you don’t need to take a break?”      “…” I was focusing on the text, murmuring something in a language I didn’t even realize I could speak.      “Miss Katiana…aren’t you even listening?” he asked and then seemed to hear what I was murmuring, “Wait, you don’t only read it…you seem like you are speaking it!”      “Oh…what?  My pharaoh, I’m s…sorry,” I said, “I think I d…didn’t…realize you w…were talking to me!”      “It’s alright,” he chuckled, “But you seem to be speaking the language…”      “It’s n…not that hard,” I said, “The p…pattern of speech…”      “You truly are brilliant,” he said, “You should be a scribe!”
     “I’m a p…priestess,” I stammered, “People d…don’t take me seriously…”      “Is it because of your stammer?  Shame on them…” he said and I blushed.  He was really close to me, I could feel his breath on my neck and his hand was so close to mine, barely brushing against my hand but it was still there.  I closed my eyes for a moment… I loved him…  I remembered that…and I had wanted to tell him when I had died…did he know?  Did he love me back?  Now I was being a fool…how could a pharaoh love someone like me?      “…” I said nothing in response… He was so close…  I almost let out a small sigh when he stood up again and he looked at me with a semi-confused expression on his face.      “What was that for?” he asked, no anger apparent in his voice.      “What…oh…I’m s…sorry,” I said quickly.      “No, you did something…you sighed, didn’t you…when I stood?” he asked.  I had myself caught.      “…” I didn’t say anything…to lie to the pharaoh would be really bad…I think he knows the truth already…and to tell the truth…would mean he’d probably confirm his suspicions if he had any…which he probably did.      “I see…” he said and let the matter drop, “I did say you’ve been working rather hard, I think we should get some lunch…”      “Okay,” I said with a smile, standing up quickly, “I’m just a tiny, l…little bit hungry.”      “Will you take my arm and allow me to guide?” he asked, offering his elbow to me and I extend my hands timidly to take his arm, “Don’t worry, I don’t bite.”  It’s not really the biting I’m afraid of…I’m still afraid of his other half…even if I do love him.   Unknown        He was happy again…and that didn’t bode well for me…if that little priestess couldn’t die from whatever had occurred at her temple, I would just have to take matters into my own hands.  I guess when you wanted to something right you had to do it yourself…   Yami        I could have sworn I heard her sigh when I was close to her and I almost wanted to take her in my arms and kiss her then…but only if she had admitted that she had let out that small, disappointed sigh…which she didn’t.  She hadn’t lied either, she just said nothing about it…if she had lied I would have caught her in the lie and then I would have asked her right then her true feelings…so she was clever or afraid…  She had a right to be afraid, I had almost hurt her some time ago and even if it was a while ago she still remembered it as clear as day.  Something like that didn’t just leave someone’s memory.  She was afraid of my other half…so she was afraid of getting closer to me, wasn’t she?  I was afraid of that too…but I was going to do it sooner or later…I wanted her.  I wanted to hold her and love her…  I love her and I wanted to love her…but I wanted her to love me back.  That was what made my other half think I was weak…because I loved her and wanted her love…not her body.   Unknown        It was easy enough to sneak around…no one would know I was here thanks to my illusions and shadow magic.  This was going to be easy…too easy…but not yet…my time to act would come…   Katiana        I couldn’t sleep that night…I was too…well; I don’t know…I just felt something bad was going to happen.  I couldn’t explain the feeling I had…but I just knew something was going to happen.  I found myself pacing back and forth in my room, trying to get to sleep but finding sleep impossible to obtain, which was why I kept pacing.  I really knew I should get to sleep but I couldn’t bring my eyes to close!      I jumped when I heard slump against my door, surprised my spell wasn’t throwing whoever it was back.  A groan came from the other side, a pained moan and I realized the spell was working but whoever it was couldn’t move and was getting shocked by the spell!  I went over to the door, deciding to unlock it and see who it was.  I flung open the door and a body fell into my room and another moan came from it.  I lit a candle and brought it over.  By Ra it was the Pharaoh!      “My P…Pharaoh!” I exclaimed and kneeled down and took him into my arms.  He was bleeding from his side, and it looked bad…worse than the time he had been injured in the ruins.      “Ka…Miss Kat…” he murmured and I dragged him all the way into my room.  He was really limp and I was really scared.      “You’re n…not supposed to b…be here…it’s night…w…what happened?” I stammered and tried to get him up onto my bed but I couldn’t lift him because he was too heavy.  I laid him down on the floor and went around my room lighting the lamps and torches and candles so light came into the room.  I grabbed the pillow from my bed and put it under his head and grabbed the small basin of water I had on the table and brought it down along with a cloth and set it down next to him.      “Uh…” he muttered and I looked towards the source of the bleeding, realizing this must be after one of his nighttime battles, so he wasn’t himself…but still, he was injured and that was bad…  I grabbed a blanket and lowered it to cover his lower half (he still was naked after all…) and looked for where his wound was, which it was slightly above his stomach.      “My Pha…Pharaoh…it’ll be alright,” I said soothingly, dipping a cloth into the water and gingerly touching it to the wound, and he tensed up so I pulled away, “I’m s…sorry.  I s…should wake a real h…healer…but they’ll be m…mad at me for w…waking them t…this late…I mean I c…can I am t…trained but…” A hand shot up weakly and grabbed one of mine.  The Pharaoh looked up at me, breathing heavily.     “No…I was…told you…were…the…uh…best…” he gasped, “Anywhere…else… trouble… you…you understand…and know…”
    “I’m s…sure they know of your…um…c…conditions…why…why me?” I asked and he released my hand and I brought the wet cloth back to his wound and cleaned it as best as I could.  He winced again but I could tell he was forcing himself to relax.  It was odd… he seemed like his normal self, how could I be sure he was though?      “I…trust you…I can…you know me…and I…” he tried to say something but seemed to change what he was saying, “I need you…”      “You…sh…shouldn’t be here,” I stammered even though in truth he was the pharaoh and he could be anywhere he wanted…kinda…I don’t know!      “I know…your spell…” he gasped, “Don’t…don’t…f…force me to leave…”      “My Pha…Pharaoh,” I said, “You c…can’t possibly n…need me…”  I applied some pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding with a dryer cloth, seeing the blood seep through it but holding back nausea.  I had seen blood before…why was now any different?      “Call me Atemu,” he said and I found myself blushing.  He didn’t seem as affected as he had been last time I saw him at night but he still seemed slightly affected…but wait… last time he wanted me to call him Yami…why the change in name?  Was Yami the name of his other half?      “I c…can’t my pharaoh,” I said, “Its n…not proper…”      “Damnit,” he said, “Please…my…name…is Atemu…”      “Why?” I asked and he grabbed one of my hands again even though it pained him to do so.  I looked at him, in his eyes to see tears in his eyes again…those eyes I loved…      “You…innocent…” he said, “I want to say…it…afraid…”      “What’s w…wrong?  You’re n…not…  I m…mean I already t…told you,” I whispered but I fell silent, continuing to apply pressure to his wound, which had stopped bleeding.  He was recovering fast and I knew it wasn’t because of me.  I hadn’t used a spell of anything…he must have the ability to recover from injuries naturally…that did make him powerful…      “I wasn’t myself…the other time,” he said, “You knew it…and when I woke from it…I hated myself…because I had hurt the one person…I…love…”  I lessened the pressure.      “W…What?  How…How…c…could you l…love me?” I asked, “I’m a P…Priestess and n…not even a good one…and I’m a commoner…”      “Doesn’t matter,” he said, “You always…were worried about me.  You always…cared…so polite and you captivated me…” he said, “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen…”  He didn’t speak anything else, his eyes closed as he fainted from blood loss.  He had…he had just admitted he loved me?  Was he playing some kind of a cruel game?  What did he want…it wasn’t proper, I couldn’t say it back he knew I couldn’t!      “My P…Pharaoh?” I stammered and fetched some bandages I kept with my things, wrapping them around his wound as best as I could.  He moaned and slowly opened his eyes.      “I don’t know why…it’s easier to say it now…I love you,” he said, “Even though…it puts you in more danger…I can’t help it!”      “My Pharaoh…please tell me what h…happened…” I said, trying to change the subject, steadying my voice as best as I could.      “I was in a fight…one of my duels…I won of course…but I was injured in the process,” he said, and immediately went back to the one subject I didn’t want to return to, “Don’t you….don’t you feel anything for me?”      “I think you’ll b…be okay now,” I said, ignoring his question.      “I know you do…” he said, “Its little use…to say otherwise…”  He tried to get up but I pushed him back down.      “You n…need to rest!” I exclaimed and he smiled at me, wincing only slightly as he did so.      “I know you like me…at least a little,” he said.      “It’s n…not proper…it’s not right, I can’t!” I said and he lifted his hand to touch my cheek.      “So warm…” he said, “I’m not going to…have you thrown in a dungeon…”  He placed his hand on my back and drew me down to him.      “My Pharaoh!” I exclaimed, trying to get back up but he hushed me and only let me shift slightly so I could be more comfortable.  He wasn’t himself then…was he?  In only a short amount of time he had recovered and now…he…      “No words Miss Katiana…none until you call me by my name, Atemu…” he said and allowed me to sit up.      “…” I didn’t say anything but checked the bandage, making sure it hadn’t bled through, which it hadn’t.      “I heal quickly, don’t I?” he asked with a small grin, “It doesn’t matter though…I know you love me…”      “Uh-uh!” I said, staring at him as I shook my head.      “Even if you don’t admit it,” he said, “And thank you…you have a healer’s touch…”
     “Uh-hu…” I trailed, agreeing with him, “C…Can you get up?  To g…get you on the bed…to rest…you n…need it…”  I wasn’t listening to him anymore, he wasn’t himself… he wasn’t rightly himself.  In the morning he’d wake up from whatever sort of a dream he was in and he’d forget he even said anything…it wouldn’t mean anything… and it would only break my heart if I told him and he remembered nothing about it…      “I think I’m strong enough…” he said, “But could you lend a little assistance…I recover fast but not that fast…”  I offered him a shoulder and a hand and helped him up and he clutched the blanket to cover his um…well anyways I got him up into the bed and helped him get situated.      “There,” I said, “You s…should be able to l…leave by morning, right?”      “Yes…do you really want me to leave that bad?” he asked.      “I mean only…that…” I stammered…oh how could I get him to understand?      “Alright,” he said, “I’ll leave the matter be, if that makes things more comfortable for you…just for now…but I do know you care about me…”  How could he focus on such a thing when he was injured?      “Uh-hu,” I said.      “Well then on a lighter matter…” he began.  He really did seem like himself…maybe his other self didn’t want to deal with an injured body or something like that…      “What is it?” I asked.      “Where’re you going to sleep?” he asked, “It appears I’m taking up most of the bed…”      “No…it’s n…nothing!  I can s…sleep on the floor!” I said.  The pharaoh had full right to sleep on my bed, he had been injured for Ra’s sake and he needed rest!  I didn’t mind giving it up to him.      “Miss Katiana, that’s not proper to have a woman like yourself sleep on the floor,” he said, “Besides…I wouldn’t want to…”      “You’re the p…pharaoh…you s…sleep wherever you want,” I stammered and started to get off of the bed but he grabbed my hand.      “Stay with me… please…” he said and pulled me gently next to him and embraced me, “Please…”      “It isn’t p…proper…” I said but he hushed me with a finger to my lips.      “Shhh…” he said, “I won’t harm you…”      “I k…know that but…” I said.      “Miss Katiana…please, I may never have this chance again…I feel my time is running short…” he said.       “W…What do you mean?  You’re the p…pharaoh you’ll live…” I began and he hushed me again.      “I won’t talk about that now…but please, grant me this one favor?” he asked, “I won’t harm you…I just want to hold you…to know what it’s like…”  I sensed sadness in his voice, as if he really believed he wouldn’t have this kind of a chance…he really loved me, didn’t he…he did…I sensed it now…just as he knew I loved him…I knew he loved me…but he told me himself…whereas I was afraid.  I couldn’t tell him…it wasn’t proper or right!      “Alright,” I said.  What harm could it do…to let him hold me…he was the pharaoh, he could have whatever he wanted…and he wanted my heart and I was almost ready to give it to him…   Yami        Holding her in my arms was the most wonderful experience I could imagine.  She was soft and warm and her hair smelled like flowers.  I realized I was still naked…but I didn’t take her under the blanket at all…I wasn’t going to do anything.  I was fighting a loosing battle against the darkness in myself…and this was one thing I had wanted before I ended up fighting to the death protecting her…  I couldn’t tell her I had injured myself so that my darker side would leave.  I loved her so much, and I had even told her…it was better she deny it…her feelings.  In some ways I was hurt in a lot of ways I was relieved.  It would make it easier when I…      “Stay here in my arms,” I whispered as she slept, “You are my love…my princess…”      “…zzzz…” she snored quietly in my embrace.      “I’ll go to the temple tomorrow…pray you always remain happy…safe…” I said, “Ra help me…I did not know what love felt like…”   Katiana        The next morning I awoke to find the Pharaoh gone.  I understood why he had gone, to avoid having someone walk in on us but it made me sad in a few ways…I enjoyed being held by him.  I didn’t tell him though and I think he already knew.  He knew my feelings, even though I hadn’t admitted them!  He said he’d wait…and then ask again…  How could I answer when I didn’t know what love felt like?  Is it even love or infatuation or something like that…what was it…I didn’t even understand my own feelings!  Did I actually understand them and I was just unwilling to admit it because I was afraid?  What was I afraid of…of ruining his reputation…having him in love with a lowly priestess…?  Was I afraid of Seto?  I couldn’t be…I don’t think I was thinking straight…  I headed towards the library to do my work again, unsure of what any of my thoughts were.          “…” I poured over the tome and wouldn’t let my mind wander.  I was here to do a job, that was all…then I’d go home.  So why did my heart hurt?   TBC   A/N: I know, it’s short but that’s how it is for this chapter.  Please review, even if you think it sucks (but don’t flame me!) and please wait for the next chapter… if anyone is counting down…2-4 chapters until…