Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Shadowy Links to the Past ❯ The Council of Magick ( Chapter 11 )

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Yugioh.

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Chapter 11: The Council of Magick

Dwenny slowly opened her eyes. Groaning softly, she raised a hand to rub her aching temples. Her hand brushed against something soft on her face. Puzzled, she gently felt her face, finding that that soft something was a bandage. Dwenny winced a little as her fingers touched the bandage-covered long gash on her cheek. So that was why her face felt sore there. Images of what had happened before she had fallen unconscious came flooding back to her. What was she thinking, using dark magick? The answer came immediately: Yami. He was in trouble, and that was the only way to save him. Still, the Council was not going to like it.

It wasn't until then that Dwenny took note of where she was. Staggering to a sitting position, she quickly noticed that she had been lying on a soft bed. The room was dark, except for the light coming from the slightly open door. Dwenny held up a hand, palm up, intending to summon her magick to light the room, but found that she could not. She cursed softly. She must have not fully recovered yet from her attack on Marik. Dwenny sighed. Her eyes, now adjusted to the dark, could make out some things now. A chair in the corner. A dresser across from the bed. A nightstand next to the bed. Whose room was this? Where was she?

Something shifted a little on the bed. Dwenny glanced down quickly. She hadn't noticed it before. Reaching out, she gently felt the object next to her. Rough, coarse fur greeted her fingertips. "Bestian?" she said softly.

The little dog's ears perked up at the sound of her voice, and he sleepily opened his eyes. He wagged his stubby tail a little, glad to see she was okay.

Dwenny stroked his fur. "I missed you too, boy." Her fingertips brushed against the bandage on the back of his head. "Go back to sleep now. You still need to rest little one."

Bestian obediently closed his eyes and fell back asleep.

Dwenny smiled. Then she heard voices coming from beyond the door. She silently slid off the bed, so as to not wake Bestian, and made her way to the door. She opened it slowly, then peeked her head out of it. Her eyes traveled down the well-lit hallway, filled with pictures hanging on the walls. At the far end of the hallway, she noticed two closed doors. Dwenny's sharp eyes made out a boy in the picture closest to her: Yugi. She must be in a guest room or some sort, at Yugi's. She stepped out of the room, closing the door slightly behind her. She made her way down the hall, in the direction of the voices. She found herself standing in the doorway of the living room, which she recognized. Yugi and his three friends, Tea, Joey, and Tristan, were sitting around the table, talking. Dwenny couldn't see or sense Yami anywhere in the room.

"I'm soooo gonna get it, you guys," Joey was saying, sounding dejected.

"What do you mean, Joey?" Yugi asked.

"Dwenny." Joey said simply. "Do you realize how many times I've made cracks about her and her magick?" He put his face in his hands, groaning. "Now that she has dark magick, she probably can't wait to use on me. I'm a dead man!"

"I'm not going to harm you, Joey," a voice said behind them. They all turned in surprise, seeing Dwenny leaning against the door frame. She continued. "Just because I have dark magick, doesn't mean I'm bad, you know."

"Uh, hello here?" Tristan said. "The way I see it, if "dark" magick was so good, then wouldn't it be called "light" magick or something like that? I mean, come on. Let's try to keep the terms consistent here."

Dwenny looked at him evenly. "True magick is neither dark nor light. It's both. The only good or bad is in the heart of the person doing the magick. Do you understand now?"

Yugi thought about her words. "So you're saying that all magick consists of both the light and the dark?"

Dwenny nodded. "Yes, Yugi. Without the other, one would not be able to exist. It would be too…unbalanced."

"But Yami says he could only sense dark magick coming form Marik and his men." Yugi still didn't seem too convinced.

Dwenny sensed Yami's presence in the room. She spotted him standing next to the couch, near Yugi. She smiled her hello to him, and he returned it with one of his own. She looked back at Yugi. "Marik chooses to use only the dark aspects of magick, just as I choose to only use light magick."

Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash of blue light, startling everyone except Dwenny. When it was gone, five men stood near the window. Four were cloaked in long white robes. They all had grey hair, and stood with their hands clasped in front of them. The fifth was dressed in dark jeans and a leather jacket. Cold blue eyes looked out from beneath blonde bangs. Yami narrowed his eyes, clenching his fists. He recognized that man as the one who attacked Dwenny before. He'd have to keep a close watch on him.

Dwenny gulped a little upon seeing the four men in white. They didn't seem too pleased. She was in trouble now. Taking a deep breath, Dwenny place one arm diagonally across her chest and bowed her head respectfully towards them. "Council." Her voice didn't betray the fear and anxiety that was welling up inside of her.

"Cerridwen." It was Noden, the High Elder, leader of the Council. His dark, old eyes flashed with disappointment. And anger. He sighed. "Do you know why we have come?"

Dwenny could tell he was trying to keep his composure. She nodded. "Yes, my Lord, I believe I do. You've come for me, haven't you?" Her voice shook with some sadness.

Yugi spoke up. "Dwenny, what do you mean, they've come for you. Who are these guys?"

Dwenny looked at Yugi, a sad expression on her face. And one of regret. "I'm afraid I haven't been completely honest with any of you." She glanced at Yami, but only briefly. She couldn't bear seeing the shocked, hurt look on his face.

"Aha!" Joey cried. "I knew something was up with you!" He wasn't so concerned for his own well-being now, now that he knew these robed guys were here for her.

"Well, Cerridwen, I'm pleased to see that you haven't betrayed your true identity to them." Noden's eyes darkened. "But that still doesn't make up for what you did do."

Gwydion smirked. He was enjoying this so much. "Yes, Cerridwen. As a Seeker, you should be QUITE ashamed of yourself. Falling in love with your assignment. Tsk tsk." He shook his head mockingly.

Dwenny glared at him. That snob. Always acting like he was so powerful, because his uncle was on the Council. "Whoever said I was in love with my assignment?" she said, almost sweetly, with a smirk of her own.

Yugi shook his head. He really wished someone would fill him in on what's going on. "Seeker? Assignment? Dwenny, what's going on?" he asked almost pleadingly. He sensed something bad was going to happen, and soon too. Yami sensed the same things as he.

Dwenny sighed. "I'll explain everything. Soon after Uncle Max had left, men came to the castle. They said I was wanted by the Council of Magick. I'd never heard of them, but didn't have much of a choice. I was taken to London, to a place undetected by normal people. It was being hidden by magick. There, I met Lord Noden and the other members of the Council. He said that the Council could sense great potential within me, and wanted to train me as a future Seeker." She paused. "A seeker is one who finds and punishes those who abuse magick. Anyways, I stayed in London during those long months of my uncle's absence, my magick and skills growing. When the Council sensed his return, I was sent back to Duelist Kingdom, being told to keep a careful eye on him, and not to reveal the Council to him. So I pretended that everything was the same, silently watching his every move from the shadows…" Her voice trailed off as the memories of those times swept over her. Yami sensed her sadness, and walked over to where she was. He couldn't put a comforting arm around her, but maybe his close presence would ease her pain.

The Council noticed Yami's moving, and shook their heads. This was unacceptable indeed.

Dwenny smiled appreciatively at Yami's concern. She knew the Council didn't approve, but she no longer cared. She couldn't help how she felt, though Goddess knows she tried.

"Okay," Tristan said, breaking the silence. "That explains the Seeker part, but not the assignment." He was still having trouble believing all this.

"That's because I'm not done yet," Dwenny said. She continued on with her story. "Once Duel Monsters became a success, I started noticing my uncle use his Millennium Eye powers more frequently. I was…appalled to find out that he was stealing souls from people, for his own gain, to increase his power. I knew what he had wanted to do, and was saddened that I could not help him. But I was duty-bound as a Seeker to report to the Council. They arrived shortly before the Duelist Kingdom tournament was to begin."

"And let me guess," Joey interrupted. "They didn't take his Eye cuz he was your uncle."

Dwenny shook her head sadly. "No. They foresaw in the near future that someone else would take it from him. But they did take something away that was even more valuable to him than his Eye…"

"What was it?" Yugi asked softly.

"Me," Dwenny said so softly, barely audible. "They forbid me to ever contact him again. And I haven't spoken to him since that day." A single tear slid down her cheek.

"This is all very touching, but would you please hurry and finish?" Gwydion said, annoyed. "We have some business to attend to here."

Dwenny regained her composure. "Patience is considered a virtue, you know," she said coolly. But she continued on. "After leaving the castle, the Council instructed me to stay on Duelist Kingdom, giving me my next assignment. I was to watch a certain duelist, expected to be a participant of the tournament." She looked at Yugi as she said these next words. "He owned the Millennium Puzzle."

Yugi's eyes widened. "You mean, I'm your assignment?" He paused, a confused look crossed his face. "But you're not in love with me." He looked at Gwydion questioningly.

"Gwydion was mistaken. Apparently, his magick isn't as strong as he thinks, since he cannot sense Yami." Dwenny smiled sweetly at Gwydion.

Gwydion faltered. "Ya…Yami? Who the heck is he?"

"The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, of course," Noden said. "If you could not sense him, then indeed you are not strong in magick." He shook his head. "Such a disappointing discovery," he murmured.

Gwydion's mouth dropped open. He was being made a fool in front of the Council! By some spirit, no less. He closed his mouth and clenched his teeth. Well, if Dwenny was in love with Yami, then he'd make sure they'd never be together!

"Wait a minute," Tea said. "You said a Seeker goes after people who abuse magick. Yugi hasn't done anything wrong…has he?"

"Yugi's not my assignment, at least not entirely. The person that I'm really after is Marik Ishtar. He's a hard one to find, but the Council knew he'd eventually come after Yugi's Puzzle, as power-hungry as he is. So, my assignment is to protect Yugi, as well as finding and stopping Marik."

"So that's why you came to Domino City," Yugi murmured. "You were following orders."

Dwenny nodded. "You may be wondering why the Council didn't stop Uncle Max when they had the chance, before he could steal more souls. And cause more pain."

"I…I guess it crossed my mind briefly. Why didn't they?"

Dwenny smiled at him. "Because they knew that it was your destiny to stop him, not theirs. You see Yugi? You're much stronger than you think."

Yugi blushed a little at the compliment. "…Thanks…" he said quietly.

Dwenny looked over at Yami. "So now you know all my secrets," she said softly, meant only for his ears alone. Yami nodded, his crimson eyes telling her he understood why she couldn't tell him everything before.

They were interrupted by Noden. "Good. Now that everyone is on the same page, we can do what we've come here to do." He cleared his throat. "Cerridwen, you have violated your oath as a Seeker and have betrayed this Council's trust by giving into the dark magick. Your punishment for this gravest act is…death by burning at the stake!"

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Okay, now you the readers get to make a choice…if you're getting bored by this story, then I can end it next chapter. Or, I can continue on with what I kinda have planned, which goes more into the ancient Egypt and Marik stuff (making the previous couple of chapters actually have a point to them…) Your choice. I don't really want to keep writing this if no one is interested in it. But I have to warn you though, either way, the story won't have a "happy" ending. *shrugs* I'm not into writing happy type endings…Hope to hear from you soon so I can start the final/next chapter. If I get very little response, then I'll probably end it anyways. Thanks for reading!