Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ The Love of a Priestess ❯ It Has Begun ( Chapter 35 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Awww… shucks. Spring Break is over. And so is my trip to Pomona.

This chapter traumatized me a little after I wrote it. -shudders- Seriously. It was creepy and painful. Okay, shutting up now…

Thank you Jenny Galaxie, Phersule, and AMK for your reviews! You guys are awesome for actually reviewing a freaking WEDDING chapter! Much love for you three.

Chapter 35: It Has Begun

I was rudely awakened the next morning by Kaiba's phone ringing. I groaned and almost yelled as I threw of the covers and lunged for the obnoxiously happy sound.

“Hello?” I snapped, hoping to scare away whoever was on the other end.

“I need to speak to Mr. Kaiba,” the male voice on the other end said quickly.

“Mr. Kaiba is currently unable to speak to you.” Kaiba, at hearing his name, stirred and mumbled something incoherent.

“Would you please tell him it's urgent?”

My eyes narrowed and I sucked in my breath sharply. It was all I could do to keep myself from snapping at him… I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba got married yesterday, stayed out at the reception until 11, had guests over until 1 or 2 in the morning, and then had sex with his new wife—and we won't go into the details of that. Quite frankly, I don't think he's inclined to talk to you.

Instead, I smiled grimly to myself and took a deep breath. “I'm sorry, I can't do anything right now. I can give him your message and ask him to call you back when he's able.”

I was lying over Kaiba's torso, my right hand running absently over his chest, so it shouldn't have surprised me that he woke up. “Who is it?” he asked groggily, noticing I was on the phone. “Why did they wake me up?”

I smiled sweetly at my husband and covered the mouthpiece of the phone. “I don't know. Someone who wants to talk to you.”

“Tell them I'm busy,” he muttered, lying back down and pulling me with him.

Suppressing my giggles, I removed my hand and said, “I'm very sorry, sir, there's nothing more I can do.”

“All right. Tell him to call the office, it's about the Duel Monsters tournament.”

“Will do.” The click on the other end of the line told me the unwanted caller had finally hung up.

“You're to call the office when you have a chance,” I murmured, lying down and resting my head on Kaiba's chest. I smiled as I felt the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

“Mmm… what was it about?”

“Your Duel Monsters tournament.”

Much to my dismay, Kaiba sat up quickly, causing me to fall away from him onto the bed. He reached for the phone and dialed the number of his office.

“Hello? Yes, I'm sorry, what is it?” he asked rapidly into the phone. My eyes narrowed, and I sat up, crossing my arms across my chest. As he spoke, I became more and more irritated. Finally, I stood up and went the bathroom and started my shower. I doubted Kaiba would be off the phone before I finished.

Sure enough, when I stepped out of the steamy bathroom Kaiba was just hanging up the phone. I intentionally ignored him and went into my closet, looking for something to wear. I had a feeling that I wouldn't need to be worrying about making it to the airport in time for our honeymoon…

“I need to get to Kaiba Corp.” I heard him say as he hurried into the bathroom. I gave a noncommittal murmur and continued dressing. When I was done, I headed downstairs to look for my friends.

I found Yugi stirring, blearily rubbing his eyes, yawning, and stretching. Everyone else was still sleeping.

“Morning,” I said, feigning cheerfulness. “Hungry?”

Yugi stifled a yawn as he nodded. “Shouldn't we wait for everyone else to wake up?”

“No, it's alright. I'll just make them breakfast as they get up. Go upstairs to the guest room and shower and change. It's the room at the far end of the hallway, next to Kaiba's study.” Yugi nodded and padded clumsily up the stairs, still half-asleep.

I headed into the kitchen, ready to make breakfast. I dismissed the cook, who was struggling to wake up and get ready, and told her that I would take care of it. As I stood at the heating stove, Kaiba tore down the stairs, briefcase clattering against the rails.

Something must be very wrong, I thought to myself. Nevertheless, I continued to ignore Kaiba as I cracked an egg over the hot pan. I hope Yugi likes his eggs over-easy.

“I'm going to the office,” he said quickly, poking his head into the kitchen. I made no response, except to expertly flip Yugi's egg over. “I should be back in a few hours,” he continued, apparently not noticing anything wrong. Before I could respond, he was out the door and starting his car.

Something's really wrong if he's not even waiting for the limo. I, unfortunately, could care less what it was.

Yugi stumbled into the kitchen and sat down at the counter. I didn't mean to take out my anger on him, but I ended up slamming down his plate of steaming hot food with a loud clank. I thought the fine china plate would break, but to my relief it didn't. I abruptly turned away from Yugi and went back to the stove, angrily cracking eggs over the pan and frying them.

“What happened?” Yugi asked timidly.

“Nothing,” I snapped. Silently, I berated myself. This isn't Yugi's fault. Don't get mad at him. I gritted my teeth in annoyance. Well then who the hell DO I get mad at?

“Morning,” Joey mumbled as he stumbled into the kitchen to join Yugi at the counter. I practically threw a plate of food at him.

“Good morning, Joey,” Yugi replied politely, nervously watching me. “Where's Mai?”

“Still sleeping… Hey, are you okay?” Joey asked suddenly, deep chocolate brown eyes fixed on me.

“I'm FINE. Why does everyone keep ASKING?” I snapped, banging the pan down onto the hot stove.

“Because you're not,” Joey pointed out bluntly, and I gave a strangled scream.

“Joey!” Yugi admonished.

“What? I'm telling the truth.”

“Not everyone can handle the truth early in the mornings,” Duke grumbled, flopping down onto a stool at the counter. His plate nearly hit him in the face. He sat up sharply, green eyes narrowed.

“Hey, sweetie, I know you were probably up late and all, and you look just as cranky as me, but I don't appreciate hot food on a hot plate breaking my gorgeous nose.”

I sneered at him but said nothing. He'd have to take that as enough of an apology. But he was right about one thing—I was cranky, probably even more than Duke himself, King of the Morning Crankiness.

Within minutes the commotion in the kitchen woke the others in the living room, and they were soon gathered at the counter, munching on the breakfast I'd so graciously provided. I was wiping down the other counters with such a vengeance I'm sure I put cracks in the marble surface just shining them.

“Where's Kaiba?” Tea asked innocently, and I flung the wet rag angrily in her general direction, proceeding to storm out of the room into the main hall. From there, I stalked up the stairs and threw the door to the bedroom open. My anger had left me completely exhausted, and I ended up lying across the bed, face down, buried in the sheets Kaiba and I had made love in just that morning.

“Nee-chan?” Mokuba asked softly, tiptoeing into the doorway.

“Nnnn?” I mumbled into the sheets.

“Where's big brother?”

“Where do you think he is, Mokuba?” Why do you keep taking your anger out on others? I reprimanded myself again.

Mokuba was silent. “Stupid…” I heard him hiss, and then his footsteps pounded away into the hallway. Silence fell over the house—I couldn't even hear the others eating downstairs. After a few long minutes—who knows how long it really was—I sat up and brushed back my hair. My eyes were strangely dry, and I sensed that my face was perfectly composed.

I hurried downstairs and poked my head into the kitchen. My friends noticed and looked at me warily, perhaps expecting me to turn a machine-gun (or one of Kaiba's sarcastic tirades) on them. Instead, I smiled wearily and sat down next to Yugi.

“Sorry,” I said simply, and poured myself a glass of orange juice.

There was a moment of silence as what I said sank in—the realization hitting even me. Wow. Did I sound stupid…

“I mean… I'm sorry…” I trailed off, and let out a frustrated sigh.

“We understand,” Serenity said simply, placing a hand over mine.

“Where'd that jerk go, anyway?” Joey asked, crushing a piece of toast—probably what he'd like to do to Kaiba, given the chance.

“To his office.”

Gasps ran around the table. “What about your honeymoon?” Mai asked, shocked.

I shrugged. “I'm not worrying too much about what outfits I'm supposed to pack now.”

“That's awful!” Serenity gasped, clearly horrified.

“Yeah, that's kind of weird, even for Kaiba,” Duke agreed.

“Don't worry about it,” I reassured, sipping my orange juice. “It's fine. It was stupid of me to expect so much.” I ignored shocked looks and outright anger as I finished off the juice.

“Now that's stupid,” Tea snapped, standing. “You can't blame yourself for this.”

“I'm not,” I replied simply. “I'm just saying it should have been obvious to me where Kaiba's priorities are.”

Eyes narrowed, but no one argued with that. I shrugged again and stood, carrying my glass to the sink.

“You guys are welcome to go home, if you want. I have some things to take care of…” Actually, I had a certain pair of guardians to rage at for putting me through this…

“I have a few errands to run, but I'll be back,” Mai said quickly. “Come on, Joey. Let's get this done with now.” Joey, like a puppy seeking approval from its master, trotted out after the tall blonde woman.

“Hey, Tea, let's go check on Grandpa. Then we can come back here,” Yugi suggested. I wondered if Yami was telling Yugi how very much I wanted to be alone right now.

“Okay,” Tea agreed. “I'm pretty sure Kaiba won't be back before then…” she muttered.

Duke, Tristan, and Serenity were quick to make plans to get out of the mansion (I fail to remember exactly what they were), and soon I was left alone in blissful silence.

Except for Mokuba.

“Did Seto really go to Kaiba Corp.?” he asked, almost disgustedly.

“Yes,” I replied evenly, not daring to look at the younger Kaiba.

“When he gets back, I'm gonna…” I heard him mutter as he tromped upstairs.

“Mokuba!” I called after him.

“Yeah?”

“I'm going out for a little bit, okay? I'll be back in a few hours. If the others come back, tell them to make themselves comfortable.” Before he could respond, I had shut the door with a sharp click.

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I couldn't quite figure out why I wanted to go back, I just knew that I had to. Something was pulling me back… I vaguely remembered the last stone I had been looking for the day I left, remembered how it had begged to be discovered and its secrets unlocked. Maybe that was what was drawing me back, like a fish caught on a silver hook. Maybe that was what I was looking for.

Then again, maybe I just wanted to scream and rage at them for arranging my marriage to Kaiba and the ensuing emotional hell I'd been through. That was probably more like it.

As soon as I got to the house I hurried into the kitchen. Nobody was there, but I was content to wait. I poured myself a glass of mango juice, and sipped it impatiently. When it became clear that they were not returning soon, I tried to clear and relax my mind. It would do no good to talk to them—or anyone—if I kept being angry and grouchy.

Slowly, I began to let the past few days slip away. I forgot how angry I was at Kaiba, how sad I had been when I talked to Mokuba, the reassuring solidity of Kaiba's arm around my waist as we slept, the comfort Yami's presence offered at my wedding, everything that had happened last night… Slowly, surely, like the rind of an orange being gently peeled away, the recent memories fell away, and I opened myself to the ancient ones.

I wasn't fully prepared to Channel. I was preparing myself, but I didn't expect to tap into any memories. There was no one around, no object of the Channel—how could it happen?

But it did.

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It was a blinding, fast, blurred memory. Like a broken record, it kept playing over and over. The same broken, tattered images. The same harsh, grating sounds. The same colors and shapes whisking by my eyes, too fast for me to see.

But this was different. This memory hurt. The pain shot through my bones, laced through my muscles, brought me down to the floor with its strength and intensity. Better than any chains it bound me there, lying sprawled over the cold linoleum.

The dark, deep, frightening chanting began to fill my ears and the room. At first, it was just one voice—one deep, rich male voice, chanting the ancient words I didn't understand. As he finished the verse and began to repeat it new voice joined his, and the pain increased tenfold. As more and more voice joined into a loud chorus of silk and knives, the pain became more than unbearable.

They were tearing me apart. My physical shell screamed for mercy, the tears flowed hot and burning down my cheeks. My voice grew harsh screaming for help, for mercy, for the cold of the floor beneath me to envelope me and take away the burning in my body.

But more than that, they were ripping out my soul. I could feel it leaving me, forsaking me, called away by some higher power. It flowed out of me from my mouth as I screamed, my nose as a struggled to breathe, my fingertips as I grasped blindly, my eyes as I fought to see, from every pore and every inch on my body. It flowed out of me as quickly as blood from an open wound, as swiftly as a river after a storm.

In the ghostly, half-memory that shrouded me I watched in horror. My body lay strapped to a stone, thick pieces of leather over my torso and legs, heavy chains around my ankles, neck, and wrists. I was fighting, struggling… hands reached down to hold me, whips cracked and I felt the stinging somewhere on my body. Then the chanting began, and the cycle of pain repeated.

How many times the sequence replayed itself I do not know. I know that after some time I fell silent, the strength to scream lost to me. I writhed on the floor of the kitchen in silent agony, waiting for one of them to return and stop the memory. My eyes had even failed to shed tears, as there was no liquid left in my ducts, no blood, even, it seemed, in my veins.

Suddenly, the cycle began again, and I felt it was different. It came, began, coursed through me with its destructive power—and then the memory continued. I shrieked as the chorus reached its peak, the pitch grown high and frightening. Voices—hundreds, thousands, who knew how many?—were practically yelling the ancient chant. My body arched in pain, and no hands reached to stop me.

Where I could feel my spirit escaping I suddenly saw light—light, soft, golden, glowing, flowing from my body. It drifted upward, pulled by some strange magnetic force, and congregated in a glowing orb hanging above my head. The light began to grow brighter, and brighter, then began pulsing with its own energy and force. Fear and dread began to grow in my stomach, as I watched the golden light become tainted. Dark, black light joined it, twisting and twining its way into the gold orb, like cracks in a perfect pearl.

The voices grew even louder, deafening—they were not even speaking intelligible words anymore, just strange sounds blending together to form that piercing chorus of pain. The light above me grew brighter, bolder, even as it continued to flow from my flesh. The light began to pulsate more intensely, and as it did the darkness grew and spread, reaching its tentacles over the pure gold light like a disease, as if they were fingers strangling a newborn child.

Finally, the voice reached their true climax and rose, singing sound seeming to join with the light above. As suddenly as it had begun it ended, leaving a resounding silence in its place. In that moment of emptiness, time seemed to speed up, and all I could see was the gold light pulsing faster and faster.

Then—one word. Just one word.

“Unleash!” the voice cried.

And the globe above me stopped spinning and shattered into a million shimmering, light, dark fragments that rained down upon me like shards of glass.

And then the darkness came.

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“Stop!”

His voice shattered the memory, broke it apart and freed me from its curse. I lay weakly on the floor, not daring to move. I could still feel the pain, the fear, the utter dread as the golden light disappeared, consumed by the darkness.

He took my head gently and laid it on his lap, stroking my hair. The tears came, hot and fast, and I curled up and buried my face in his stomach.

“Shh…” he murmured gently, rubbing my back. “It was just a memory.” But I could hear the edge in his voice, the uncertainty—and yes, the fear. This was no ordinary memory, and we both knew it.

I heard her footsteps as she burst through the door. It banged open, and she didn't even stop to close it. Before I knew it, she was kneeling beside me, hands on my shoulders, warmth coursing through my body.

“What happened?” she asked, fearfully, to either of us. “I was looking for my brother… and then I felt it, and I saw it, and…”

“It has begun again,” he whispered. I said nothing, only continued to weep and shiver.

“No,” she said slowly, the warmth draining from her touch. I dared to look up, and I saw that beneath her beautiful dark skin she was paler than a ghost. “It can't be… she's not ready…”

“She must be. There is no choice.” His voice was firm, commanding, but I could still detect the tremble at its periphery.

“No… No!” she screamed. “It can't… she's not… She'll die!”

“She can't die until it is complete! We have no choice!” His voice was raised in fear. “If it is time, then it is time! She must be ready! They are, so she must be too!”

“You know she's not!” Her voice had reached a shrieking pitch—something I'd never thought possible from the quiet, demure woman. Her hands were shaking terribly, even as they clenched and unclenched against her thighs.

“It has begun,” he repeated, but his voice sounded dead, hollow. Not at all the mysterious, comforting voice he'd always offered me.

“But… how can we help her? I must go after my brother. We need him in order to prepare her! And without him, there is no trinity to unlock the ancient stone!” I understood now—she was as frightened as I was.

“I know you must. Go after him. Find him. Bring him back. Do whatever it takes, short of killing him. I will do my best while you are gone.” Even he was scared of whatever was happening.

“Please…” I found myself whispering. “Tell me what's happening.”