Chapter 1: The Beginning

Greetings everyone. My name is Juliana. Well...actually, my real name is Princess Juliana Henjimoto. I was born in the era of Ancient Egypt. A time of great powers, magic, and war. My parents, or Pharaoh Zuberi and Queen Safiya, were priests to the pharaoh Akunumkanon. They had one child before me, my older brother Ryu. After a few years of his birth, it was clear that Ryu was not fit to take up the throne of Holy Land. So, after much decussion, Ryu was sent across seas to America and never seen until the Battle City tournament. What is Holy Land you may ask? Holy Land is the realm of the beasts known as Duel Monsters. The Shadow Realm stands between Holy Land, and Earth. My mother was born in Holy Land, but my father was born on Earth. I, on the other hand, was born in the Shadow Realm. Later one we established that it might be the cause of me being so different. When I say we...I do not mean myself and my parents. My parents died in less than an hour after my birth. My life has been long, hard, and extremely lonely. This is the story of my life, up until my meeting with Yugi Mutou and later on other keepers of more advanced Millennium Items, like my own. I will go as slow and detailed as I can remember...the best place for any story to start is the beginning...

"She's beautiful!" said a soft, gentle voice.


"She sure is. The Gods have blesses us with another child at last. What shall we name her?" asked a deep voice.


"I like Juliana. A-are you sure she's ok? She hasn't made a sound or even cried yet."


"Yes, I'm sure. She's breathing fine."


The child named Juliana opened her eyes and looked around at her surroundings. Above her was a young looking woman with long brown hair and light brown highlights. Next to her was a strong, dark-skinned man with brownish-blue hair and stern eyes.


"See? She's fine," said the man. He kissed the woman then rubbed Juliana's head.


Juliana then heard a roar and turned her head to the other side. She saw a large white dragon with blue eyes resting a few feet away from them. She also noticed the entire area was dark. The air seemed a bit cold but magical. The man, her father, noticed her looking around and smiled.


"Amazing, isn't it Juliana?" he said. She looked up at him. "This is the Shadow Realm. It's an extremely mysterious place full of wonder. You will learn about this when you get older."


The child sort of nodded and closed her eyes. Her mother smiled and hugged her tight. "We must keep her! I will not allow her to leave like our first child!" she said to her husband.


"Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you or her. I'm sure the pharaoh will-." He paused and looked away.
His wife looked at him. "What is it?"


He stood and looked at her. "It's Pharaoh Akunumkanon. He wants us over at the palace immediately." He grabbed the woman's hand and helped her up. He then whistled for the dragon. "Let's go."


The women wrapped Juliana up in a blue blanket and held her close. They both got on the dragon as a dark portal appeared. The dragon, now carrying 3 passengers, flew through the portal into a large, vortex like tunnel. A few minutes in, Juliana's mother began humming to her. Juliana watched different shades of dark colors fly past as she listened.


"We're here," her father said. They exited the tunnel and entered another area of the Shadow Realm. Beams of light flew everywhere and the dragon dodged every one. The father looked down and saw a group of dead Egyptian soldiers. A few priests stood behind a man who faced two evil priests.


Juliana's mother looked down at the fallen soldiers. "Oh no…. why now?"


The dragon landed near the pharaoh and Juliana's father jumped off, running toward him. When he stood next to him, he bowed. "My pharaoh. Sorry we're late."


Pharaoh Akunumkanon looked at him, then at Juliana. "It's ok, Zuberi. You have a reasonable excuse."


Zuberi looked at the two priests, then at his wife. "Safiya! Get out of here now. I'll handle this," he said. He turned to the Pharaoh. "My Pharaoh, it would be wise if you left as well. We cannot put you in danger."


"Very well. Just be careful. These two are smarter than they look," Akunumkanon said. He turned and walked toward Safiya.


"Not so fast!" yelled one of the priests. He wore a large, black armor and helmet. The priest lifted his arm up as a beam shot out of his arm, toward the pharaoh.


"Pharaoh!" Zuberi yelled. He ran up and blocked the beam with a silver shield but the beam kept coming. Pretty soon the shield began to fall apart.


"Zuberi!" Safiya cried. Juliana turned her head and watched the battle without blinking.


The priest walked forward, the beam hitting the shield even harder. "Get out of here, now!" Zuberi yelled. The beam completely destroyed his shield and hit him.


"ZUBERI!" yelled Safiya. Akunumkanon ran up to her and the dragon.


"Leave now!" he yelled. Safiya and Juliana looked at the body of Zuberi as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon flew up. Tears began flowing from her eyes as she held Juliana with one arm.
The other priest stepped up and fired a huge energy ball at the dragon. The dragon dodged it but the priest continued firing blasts. One finally hit the dragon and it disappeared.


"Safiya!" the Pharaoh yelled. He ran for her as she fell from the sky, holding Juliana close to her. She fell a few feet away from Akunumkanon with Juliana on top of her, safe. Safiya, however, died from the impact. The priest who had shot down the dragon smirked and walked up to them. When he was a few feet away from them, a bright pink light appeared in between them.


"What's this!" he said. The light faded and in its place stood the Dark Magician Girl with her arms crossed, glaring at the priest. He smirked. "Would you like revenge for your fallen master, fool?"


A shield formed between her and the priest. She turned and picked up Juliana before the shield fell. By then, the other priest had arrived and prepared to attack. The Dark Magician Girl flew up, dodging the attacks from the priests. Juliana looked over the Duel Monster's shoulder at her dead parents, almost reaching out for them as trees and a small pond replaced them.