First of all, a few author's notes.
1. I use Japanese and American names interchangeably for a reason, later explained within the world-building stage.
2. I really hate Anzu, but this fic is not trying to bash her in any way. This is my way of trying to do her justice, so I'm very interested in feedback, whether my personal feelings are not affecting her portrayal.
3. Yami is character-wise based off Yami from season 0, yet later in the fic he will use the name Atem. I always have a problem with labeling fics, since Atem and Yami are esentially the same person, so for me Blindshipping = it happens in Ancient Egypt, Puzzleshipping= it happens in modern times/ whatever. So I truly had no idea how to label it. But hey, it's Yami from season 0, so let's stick with YY/Y
. Not very graphic, but this is not fluff, just so you know.
Enjoy and let me know what you think!
Once upon a time, there lived a girl.
She had a loving father who adored her and even though they both missed the girl's mother, their life was not sad. After some time, the man fell in love and married a very pretty lady. The girl was happy for her beloved father, even though her new step-sisters seemed unfriendly and mean.
Unfortunately, the man died soon after, leaving the girl under the care of her step-mother.
Since the girl was brought up to be kind and polite, she never talked back to her step-mother or her daughters, even though they made her into a servant. She complied with their wishes, hoping that one day, her life will change.
It became possible when the prince...
"Anzu!" Came the shout and the girl had to stop her reading. She jumped to her feet and put the book gently aside, running out of her room to the kitchen downstairs. Mr. Arkana was there and he didn't look happy. In fact, lately he never did.
"I think I told you and your useless brother to make this silver shine" he said coldly. "And yet, the first spoon I took in my hand was... disappointing. " Here, he made some kind of grimace, that was probably meant to exhibit sadness. "I don't think you deserve anything to eat, if you cannot treat your tasks seriously. Both of you. Tell that to your brother. And before you go to sleep I want this silver to dazzle. Madame Wong is coming." Anzu just nodded her head. She learned long ago that talking back was useless.
For years she thought that her sufferings could be explained only by this fairy tale-esque scenario that she was to be rescued by someone and reflect on her life as it was now as a lesson of kindness and endurance.
The kingdom she lived in consisted of many different cultures and nations, welcoming everybody within its borders. Strange names and families mingled with each other and it was no wonder that people such as Anzu's mother and father met, even though they were so different and came from different backgrounds and families. He was of 'oriental' origin, with his dark hair and intelligent smiles ;she of the kind west, with blonde hair, blue eyes and radiant smiles. They were always so in love with each other...
They moved to the north border of the kingdom, creating the mansion Anzu and her brother, Yugi, now lived in. Their father was really adamant on them embracing their oriental heritage and even though neither of his children looked the part, their names said enough. Their life passed in laughter and gold, and brilliant parties that gathered everybody from the neighborhood, rich or not, and let them enjoy life and forget their worries.
They never worried about money, because father's company was prosperous, and he always said that when money becomes your happiness, it means you are miserable.
When Anzu was ten and Yugi eight, their father went to the sea and didn't come back. When their mother received his journal and glasses they realized he was never going to. Mother cried and screamed, then she fell awfully quiet for few months. Yugi tried to cheer her up with his antics, but she hardly ever smiled. Anzu decided to take mother's place and try to run the house.
After a year their mother seemed to wake up. When spring came the light came back to her eyes and her lips started to smile. Everything was good again.
And then, at one of her wonderful parties that she started to organize again, she met Arkana. At first, Yugi and Anzu liked him very much. He was completely in love with their mother and by extension - with them. Though to giving them his time he preferred giving them gifts, he never once seemed to detest them or think of them as nuisance.
For few years they had a family again.
Mother never forgot father, and while the whole family sat by the fireplace she told them stories of his youth, the ones he told her himself and the ones she heard from his family. Arkana's face would always darken whenever she did that but Anzu and Yugi were too young to pay any attention to his mood-swings.
And then, mother died.
It was horrible. The sickness that took her almost took Yugi with her as well. For some strange reason Arkana blamed that on Yugi. In the middle of the night, while Yugi was still recovering, Anzu could hear Arkana's screaming and curses, his asking why Yugi stayed and his wife had to leave?
When Yugi came back to health Arkana they knew was long gone. He threw away all of the mansion's servants who loved the family and gathered every coin he could find in mother's room. The joy and splendor was gone.
It was like the story of Cinderella, with that small exception that there were no step-sisters, only numerous mistresses of their step-father. That, and Anzu could not remember anything about step-mother actually hitting Cinderella, beating her when she spoke out of turn, and locking her in the basement when she splashed wine on the table.
"Anzu! What are you doing?" Anzu looked up.
With a huge grin on his face, Yugi, his body covered in sweat, entered the kitchen.
Yugi, maybe because of the illness, or maybe because of the genes, was not tall. For his sixteen years he was very short, but his energy and optimism always seemed to make people look past his height. Right now, judging from the look of him and the smell, he was the appointed stable boy - Mr. Arkana, as they had to address him now so that no mistress would know who they were to him, changed his mind about Yugi's function at the mansion frequently, depending on which job at the moment seemed the most demeaning.
"I am cleaning the silver." She answered, getting back to work. The more she will do now, the less she will have to do in the evening when she was 'free'.
"But I cleaned it! Just like he told me to! I did it yesterday!" Anzu huffed at that.
"Maybe not well enough, because he told me to do it again." She replied, even to her ears sounding rough. She wasn't really angry at Yugi, but... But she was frustrated and terrified and he was still so optimistic, so.. So strong.
"Oh. Let me do it then." He said, smile disappearing from his face. All of her anger gone, Anzu put her arm around her younger brother.
"Not your fault. I think he smudged it with something on purpose." She said, trying to somehow cheer him up. Not that there was anything in that sentence that inspired any cheer.
"We should run away." He murmured.
Oh, they tried that, many times. Cinderella or not, they tried to run.
And he always found them, convincing the royal troops from the bastion nearby, that they did it to make him worry and make him give them more money. Had the guards bothered to look at the children they brought back to the man, they would see that it was certainly not the case. But even the kingdom has changed. Since the Mad Prince died and his royal troops were disbanded, the kingdom changed it policies. The borders were closed now and the new king spend all of his money gods know where, for the taxes were higher than ever. Guards, once inspired by duty, now were inspired mostly by somebody's purse.
And for the purpose of catching Anzu and Yugi, Arkana's purse was always full of inspiration.
"We should murder him." Proposed Anzu, jokingly. But Yugi started and looked at her in alarm.
"Oh, hush, I was joking" She rushed, rolling her eyes. " Don't worry. My prince will come. You will see. One royal ball and all worries will be gone." She said, this time only half-joking.
She's never met the prince, or anyone really, but... Surely, fate had to give them some sort of refund for what was happening to them right now. A prince and a crown sounded fair. Or somebody, really. It could be a shepherd boy, anyone who would take them, or at least Arkana, far from here.
"I wish it was that easy" said Yugi with a chuckle and focused his attention on the silverware in front of him. "How was your day? I spent all of mine in the stables, as you probably feel, so nothing to tell, really."
"Mine was not much better. I made breakfast, seen Mrs. Sandwine out, put his bedroom in order and made dinner. " Anzu answered, immediately checking the time. Laundry should be done soon, or else the sun will be gone.
"Well. I need to go to town for a while. I am supposed to buy something for Madame Wong. At least he doesn't give away mother's things..."
"True. One positive thing. Good job for finding it." She snapped and moved her attention to the fork in front of her.
Yugi was sure Anzu didn't mean to sound so... well, mean. He understood her feelings and couldn't find it in himself to blame her for her tone, but she should slightly change her approach, he thought.
Waiting for someone to save them was fruitless and will be fruitless. If they don't do something, they will stay as they are. Abused and neglected.
But alive. They had roof over their heads, they usually had food and people from the town, even if not helping, were not shunning them or abusing them. They had each other.
And Arkana will someday either leave or die, if Anzu for example doesn't marry first. Or, if they were clever enough, when Anzu turns twenty one they could appeal directly to the king to grant them their mansion - by the law, they were the proper heirs of their father, not Arkana. There were so many other routes they could take. There were so many things that could be worse about their predicament.
Maybe Arkana will snap out of his grief induced madness? Maybe one day he will come to his senses? Who could know?
Even the beating Yugi received the very same evening for picking the wrong colour of earrings did nothing to change Yugi's mind. There were still worse things that could happen to them. And they can and will endure, since they cannot leave.
"Hey, Anzu..." He asked the same night as his sister cleaned up his back and chest, looking for bruising." How do you feel about this house?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well... There are so many good things about it, that I love it. So many good, cheerful memories float around it. And yet there are so many memories that taint it, that I'm not sure, whether I hate it or love it more." He explained, wincing slightly when Anzu touched some particularly painful bruise.
"I've never thought much of it, you know? I want to leave it so badly that I forgot there were some better times we've had in it."She said after a while." Besides, many things changed. The wardrobe father brought from one of his journeys is gone... Remember when we decided that the pictures on it were not colorful enough?"
"Yes! And we painted it the best we could with our watercolors and came whining to mum, because they did not stick!" That was a happy memory, even though father back then looked as if he was going to die out of shock. Apparently the wardrobe was very expensive. After mother died, Arkana had it removed alongside other things from father's room, including his collection of feathers and shells.
"Or that time when we tried to surprise Donna and do her chores for her because of her birthday!" He prompted, and sure enough, Anzu also chuckled.
" She was so afraid! She thought some kind of an evil spirit was following her! And mother did not appreciate our attempt at making dinner." At that they both laughed, not loud enough to be heard in other rooms, but loud enough to feel better, to feel the togetherness and unity between them.
Cinderella was alone. They had each other. They were never alone, they supported and helped each other. No prince was required.
/
Yet the prince had come. But he certainly wasn't from any fairy tale.
It happened the next morning.
Yugi woke up early, since Arkana decided that their hens gave eggs that would not appease Mrs. Wong's tastes and wanted other kind from the market.
Yugi didn't mind. Even though the town was few miles from their home he always went there with Joey, the huntsman's son. If Yugi had a friend aside from Anzu, it was Joey.
"Early as always!" Shouted the blonde, joining Yugi on his road. "Are you bribing roosters to wake you up this early, or are you just unable to sleep like normal human being?"
'My step-father will beat me if I don't wake up on time' did not look like a good response.
"Bit of both, maybe? I mean, me and Robert the rooster are on pretty good terms, so you know." He joked, falling into step with the taller boy.
"What are you going for now?"
"Eggs."
"Eggs? You've got plenty of eggs, I know, you gave me some!" ...And was locked up in the basement for it.
"I know it as well, imagine that. But Robert is now very protective of his children. He complained loudly and drove us mad." Joey gave him a strange look, but did not ask further.
"By the way Yugi, you are living so close to the forest and to the border... Haven't you seen anything strange lately?" Yugi immediately noticed the change of tone. Joey was worried.
"Not really. Why do you ask?"
Joey was silent for a moment.
"You see, animals keep disappearing. I guess something is eating them, but it must be either huge, or a whole pack of somethings, because there is nothing left. No fur, no trace, anything. The forest is silent. And it worries me, Yugi. Something is out there." An involuntary shiver run up Yugi's spine.
"Can we change the topic? How is your sister?"
"Oh, Serenity is great as always... I mean, for somebody who cannot see, she certainly perceives everything to be just great, a perfectly adequate reason to be happy. I'm kind of jealous of this ability" Joey snickered.
"Yeah, me too." I could use tons of it, really.
"How is Mr. Arkana?"
"Oh... He is... well. Still trying to mend his broken heart, you know, after mom died, but he is all right, I guess." Anzu and Yugi made sure to never let Joey see anything out of ordinary about their living conditions. First of all, Arkana would make sure they regretted it, but most importantly- it was one thing to pity each other and yourself, it was much worse to see people pitying you.
"I don't know, he's taking his time. I know it is not easy, but I remember this house as it was before- I always envied you that you lived there, and I always snatched cookies for Serenity from your parties.."
"Yes, I remember that part, I defended you from Marco!" Marco was their old, strict butler. He wasn't used to children and treated them as adults- he tried to reason with them and could not understand why a child would eat sweets when its mother was not looking. He was thankfully gone before Arkana could sack him. He died of old age long before Yugi's mother's death.
"...And that's how our friendship begun!" Shouted Joey and for some reason, it improved Yugi's mood.
In the town they split their ways, both trying to get their things as quickly as possible and return to their duties. True, Yugi stalled for a moment to chat with Tristan, the local blacksmith, but not too long. After all, there was much to do and very little time.
Finally, with bags full of purchases, Yugi went back home.
The rest of the day was uneventful in comparison to what happened at night.
First, there were shouts.
They woke Anzu and Yugi up.
Shouts of many men, tramping their garden.
In fright, they run down, almost colliding with Arkana on the stairs. All of them were already downstairs when the doors gave away and men in black armors, torches in their hands, swarmed inside the house.
"Remain were you are and nothing shall happen to you!" Shouted someone, a woman, judging from the voice.
"It is my home! You have no right to be here!" Replied Arkana, fear evident in his voice. Suddenly, a knight shorter than the rest and with some gold triangle on his armor, stepped forward.
"And here you are wrong. I have every right." Said the knight and took off his helmet. For a moment Yugi thought he had lost his mind. The stranger looked exactly like him! So it was a dream, an awful dream... Yet, when he looked closely, he understood his mistake. The only thing the two of them had in common was unusual hair. The eyes, the complexion and expression- Yugi could never possess any like these.
"Who are you?!" Demanded Arkana, looking for something to arm himself. Sadly, everything was as clean as it could be and put in its rightful place.
By now their group of three was surrounded by the knights. Somebody, presumably a knight as well, switched on the light.
Suddenly, Yugi felt the gaze of the short knight moving onto him.
No wonder, since they apparently looked like long-lost twins. But then, the man's gaze left Yugi's hair and face, and focused on his neck. Suddenly self-conscious, Yugi followed the stranger's gaze with his hand. The bruises! The man's eyes were now on Anzu's wrist, which also displayed the evidence of Arcana's bad mood.
"More pressing question is, who are you. Since we have strength in numbers, it would be wise to humour me." It didn't even sound like a suggestion. The knight simply informed them. There was some sinister, commanding aura around the strange knight and Arkana must've felt it too, for he answered.
"I am Arkana of house Pandora, and these are my loyal, if not skillful, servants." At that, the intruder raised his eye-brow and a faint smirk appeared on his face.
"Is that so? According to the huntsman we arrested earlier, in this house should live one Arkana Pandora with two step-kids. Was the man wrong?" The last question was directed at Anzu, who started to shake her head, apparently not feeling brave enough to speak. Not that Yugi blamed her. He wanted to shout, to ask whether Joey was all right, but his voice was not listening to him. All he could do was look in fear at what happened in his own house, and say nothing.
Arkana just gritted his teeth.
The knight looked at them again and something shifted in his gaze. Something that made Yugi even more scared. He did not know who the man was, but clearly, he wasn't the Prince Charming Anzu wished for. This man looked evil.
"I think I want to relieve you of them. What do you say? Play a game with me. If I win, I take them. If you win, we get out of house and pay you. And, for the loser, there is yet another price to pay." Here, the man snapped his fingers and one knight held up a sack which, judging from the sound it made, contained gold.
Uncertainty on Arkana's face didn't last long.
"Wonderful. I accept." Yugi couldn't believe his ears. True, the man was horrid but... For few years, they were family! Tears started pooling in his eyes, but he was too terrified to let them out.
"You lost just now. But, for the sake of pretences..." Here, the stranger took out the sword he had on his hip. In one powerful shove, he embed it in the floor. " The game is quite simple. You have to hurt me with it. You've got two minutes. Then, it's my turn."
"Yugi..." That was Anzu. Yugi looked at her, seeing the fear he himself felt mirrored in her eyes. He didn't know what was going on. The rest of the knights stood there silently, not bothered with what their leader was doing.
Arkana stepped to the sword and started to pull the pommel as hard as he could. Yet, the sword did not move. He tried kicking it, but to no avail.
Aside from Arkana's rasping, there was silence. A faint ticking of the clock from the other room now sounded dreadful.
"Your time is up." Said the man and before Arkana could move away, the man grasped him by the neck and smashed his head on the pommel.
"AAAAAAH!" and then blood from his split forehead fell on the floor. Anzu, not caring for the knights beside her, fell to her knees.
"You lost. You lost the moment you agreed that human life can be bought or won. And for that, and for what you did to kids that were placed under your care, you shall pay." With that, the fearsome knight took out his sword out of the floor. Two knights rushed to him, holding Arkana back, so that he could not run. Yugi closed his eyes and prayed that Anzu did the same.
An awful noise of blade hitting flesh and bone, and the thud that followed was the worst thing Yugi ever heard.
"Take it outside." Said the same man, the murder, the monster that entered their house. He sounded... satisfied.
Only when the door after the other men closed, Yugi dared to open his eyes. Arkana, or rather what was left of him, was gone. Only a pool of blood and the dent in the floor stayed there to assure Yugi that what he thought had happened, was real.
"You have been avenged. Unfortunately, I cannot have witnesses. Therefore, I cannot keep you alive. And we need the house. My apologies."
What.
Anzu stopped crying, she just stared at the man in shock. Yugi, suddenly feeling brave, ran to her, ignoring the soldiers behind his back and put his arms around her. They came here to kill them for the house.
"You cannot do that!" He shouted.
The man blinked at him.
"I cannot?"
Wrong tactic.
"You don't have to, sir. I don't know who you are, but we can be of use. If you plan on staying in the house, we are the ones that have been keeping it. We can feed you and help you, we will cooperate, no matter what you want. Or, if you are so inclined, we can leave and forget that we ever saw you! Please!" Yugi shouted, not bothering with concealing tears that finally streamed down his face.
The man was staring at him, perplexed. Had he offended the man? Did he just provoke the murderer? Oh, what has he done?
"People never forgive and never forget. I cannot let you go. " At this, Yugi's heart sunk. But... At least they were still alive, and apparently, the man was ready to negotiate, at least. "As for your other proposition... What is my guarantee, that you and your lovely sister won't poison us all? Or kill us while we are here? I cannot risk the lives of my companions. " Answered the stranger, calmly.
"Trust me," he continued" I have thought it over and it is the safest way. It is nothing personal, and frankly, it saddens me that the huntsman was not wrong. Servants would not want to avenge their master, but..."
"...HE TORTURED US!" Shouted Anzu and jumped to her feet so suddenly, that Yugi fell down and looked at her from the floor. The previous blankness on her face was gone. Now pure hatred and determination shone on her face. " We are grateful to you and out of that gratefulness alone, we will stay here and help you, whatever you want to do with our house. If you truly don't wish to harm us, then don't!"
The stranger looked at the two knights beside him. Both of them seemed to communicate with him through eyes, because when he turned, he was smiling.
"My apologies again, lady. I will trust you to your word. Yet, just in case, let me remind you - the one who killed your protector was me, so any revenge should be executed on me only." And with that, the tension in the room lessened somewhat.
Anzu wiped off tears of her cheeks and pulled Yugi up.
"Prepare something to eat, I shall prepare the rooms. " She looked around" Nine people... Good thing that the mansion is big" she muttered to herself and went on her way. The soldiers, looking unsure of what to do, started to take off their helmets.
The murder of Arkana approached Yugi. " That was brave of you, to speak to me like that. Do not do it again for you shall be punished. But I appreciate the courage." He said and Yugi did everything in his power not to let it reassure him. He was not going to take any compliments from a killer and invader, no matter how civil he presented himself to be.
"Why do you look like me?" The man mused, looking at Yugi once again. Yugi returned the gaze.
"I look nothing like you, my lord." And truly, he did not. Aside from the hair, there was nothing they had in common. The man's skin was brown whereas Yugi's was white. His eyes were red, while Yugi's were purple. Yugi had soft features while the man looked like the killer he was. And he had some sort of an aura around him, that kind of aura that forced one into obedience and inspired fear and awe. Who was this man?
"If you say so." The man turned to his people. " Bring the huntsman, we are not keeping people outside. When the lady gives you your room, take off your armors and come back here. We have plenty to talk about." The knights nodded in understanding.
As if on cue, Anzu appeared at the top of the stairs." The rooms are ready. Please, choose whichever you like on the first floor. The second floor ones are not used and I don't have time to make them habitable." She explained and was welcomed with a round of thanks and gratitude.
A surprise showed on her face, but she quickly concealed it with a smile. Fake, but hospitable. When the knights and their leader were gone, Yugi went to the kitchen. He was very grateful that Anzu went after him.
"I don't want to talk about it. I want to forget it as soon as I can." She said as the greeting, and Yugi just nodded.
"Where are we going to sleep now?" He asked instead, putting the fire under the cauldron. A stew should suit the people. Psh. Guests. It was so surreal... Maybe it really was a dream and when Yugi wakes up the next morning, Arkana will be shouting at him to get down.
"I think... I prepared mother's room for myself and you... Since Arkana took father's, I'll have to clean it before you can take it. That's why I said the second floor is off limits. I will do something about it tomorrow. " Yugi nodded.
"Can you believe.."
"I told you, I don't want to talk about it" she cut in.
From the noise outside Yugi assumed that some knight was now bringing in Joey. And that Joey was unconscious, since he wasn't shouting or putting up a fight.
Anzu put out the cutlery and carried it to the dining room and Yugi observed how determinedly she did not look at the blood in the hallway. People upstairs were now talking amongst themselves, joking and laughing, as if killing the owner of the house they were in did not bother them. Maybe it didn't.
He started to bring food to the table, and suddenly he realized that the dawn would be in three hours. He should leave the food till breakfast. For some strange reason, the thought made him laugh.
The people stared to come down. Now that they were out of their armors they didn't look so terrifying. First down were three people with brown skin, similar to that of their leader. The tall man with black hair and tattoo across his face was talking to a very pretty lady next to him. Their third companion was shorter than them and was more remarkable than them- his sandy hair contrasted with his dark skin and he looked angry.
They entered the dining room when Yugi gestured them to it, and for a moment they looked uncomfortable. Or maybe it was just a trick of light.
Then a very pale boy with almost white hair arrived, chatting with a beautiful woman with blonde hair. When they were passing him, the woman winked at Yugi.
What's wrong with this people?
How.. Nevermind. They were invaders. The literally came to his house to kill him. He should thank the fates that he was still alive to judge them at all.
Then, another group of three arrived. Two tall, brown-skinned men and a very short and energetic girl who lowered her eyes while passing Yugi, as if avoiding his gaze. Maybe she felt some kind of shame.
Yugi was done bringing everything they had and was ready to leave the dining room with Anzu, when the last guest appeared.
"I thought that you will be joining us. After all, you offered to be our hosts." Said the man and before Yugi could process what was happening, both him and Anzu were already seated in front of the table and the ashamed girl from before was running to them with plates and cutlery.
That stranger was really something else.
Strangely , without his armor he looked even more awe-inspiring than before. In his plain, black shirt and trousers he could pass as a commoner, provided that no one looked at his face. On his neck Yugi has spotted a chain that was supporting a gold triangle he saw before. Now when he looked at it closely, he noticed that it was not a triangle. It was a pyramid.
Yugi's eyes widened.
Before he could react, Anzu did it for him.
"You are the Mad Prince!"