Simple Songwriter: I'm back! And I seemed to have gained a yami while I was gone...?
Annabelle: (grins TOO sweetly) he he he he he...
Simple Songwriter: Well, here's another one of my stories, I hope you like it!
NOTE: Annabelle is 18 years old with golden-brown hair and dark brown eyes. She is about 5'5"
Disclaimer: I, Simple Songwriter do not own Yu-gi-oh!
Chapter 1 - Facing Death
The sun was beaming, and the lake water sparkled beneath its fiery glaze. It was absolutely gorgeous. A young girl with golden-brown hair and dark brown eyes sat down on her beach chair to rest from her afternoon jog around the lake. Eighteen-year-old Annabelle von Operetta seemed to be a normal, but was actually quite different. Her parents died when she was only ten years old. They had left her with a small log cabin that rested on the shore of Lake Cora.
Despite the fact that she was an orphan, she lived a mostly normal life. But she couldn't forget the day that had changed her life forever.
Flashback
"Mommy?" said a ten-year-old Annabelle.
"Yes sweetie?" her mother replied, tucking her into bed.
"How long are you and daddy gonna be gone?"
"We'll only be gone for about an hour. Your daddy and I wanted to get a little fresh air, so we're taking a walk to town and back." She saw the fear in her daughter's eyes grow. "If it'll make you feel better, I'll have my cell phone with me in case you get scared."
"Thank you mommy!"
"You're welcome. Now try to go to sleep." She gently kissed Annabelle's forehead and then walked out of the room.
End Flashback
Annabelle clasped her head and forced herself to stop.
"(I've got to stop living in the past!)" she thought. "(What's done is done. And there's no use trying to change the past because it'll never happen! Sigh… I gotta cool down. I'll just go swimming for a little bit.)"
She got up from her beach chair and walked up to her house.
"Hmm…Which should I wear? The black one-piece, or the blue two-piece?" She thought aloud. Not taking anymore time to ponder that, she quickly undressed and threw on her black one piece bathing suit. Then she ran out onto the pier and jumped merrily into the lake.
"(Ah…This is better!)" She smiled as she swam out to the raft. Annabelle climbed up onto the raft and then dived gracefully back into the water. She plunged into the cool, relaxing water when a strange feeling overcame her.
"(M—My leg!)" she thought. "(It's cramping up on me! I—I cant move!)"
She desparately tried to swim towards the surface, but was unable to.
"(Okay Annabelle…Calm yourself. If you panic, then you drown…)" Her leg stopped bothering her for a minute and she seized that as an opportunity to breathe. She swam up to the surface and gasped for air.
"(Thank goodness!)" she though as she took in the fresh air. "(That was close!)" She clung to the raft for safety.
Suddenly, a motorboat drove by and the driver carelessly threw and empty liquor bottle out of the boat. To Annabelle's dismay, the bottle hit her in the back of the head and knocked her out cold. She sank slowly into the lake.
Meanwhile, nineteen-year-old Seto Kaiba was taking his afternoon jog around the lake when he saw a girl sink almost lifelessly into the lake.
"What the…?" He slowed down to comprehend what he had just seen. Then he ran as fast as he could towards the scene. And without a second thought, he ripped off his white T-shirt and dove into the lake. He swam out to the raft and looked around for the girl.
"Where'd she go?" Seto swam under the water and spotted the girl hovering at the bottom of the lake. He swam down what must've been twenty feet and grabbed the girl. After they had surfaced, he swam quickly towards shore and then laid her down on the warm sand.
He checked to see if she was breathing. She wasn't breathing.
"Oh great…" he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation…" Seto was not thrilled about having to literally 'French Kiss' some girl. But he knew what he had to do. Slowly, he bent down over the girl, opened her mouth, plugged her nose shut, and pressed his lips onto hers.
But before he gave her air a second time, Annabelle's eyes flew open and caught sight of Seto.
"EEEK!" she squealed pushing him off of her. "What do you think you're doing to me!"
"Oww…" he grumbled. "Is that any way to repay someone for saving your life?" he snapped.
She opened her mouth to say something, but instead turned her head to and started coughing violently.
"(Okay then… What an ungrateful little brat. I go over to rescue her from drowning, and she pushes me away. Hmph…)" He got up and dusted himself off.
"(Who is this guy?)" Annabelle thought as her coughing ceased. "(He's so cold…)" She squinted through the bright sunlight to see his face. "(Have I seen this guy before?)" She scrutinized him from head to toe. "(Wait a minute… No… It couldn't be—)" Her eyes widened in shock. "(Mr. Seto Kaiba? CEO of Kaiba Corp.? I knew I've seen him before! He was on TV talking about some of his inventions. But…What's a big-shot like him doing here?)"
"Are you about finished?" he asked impatiently.
"Huh?"
"Are you done 'checking me out' yet? You've been staring at me for the past few minutes here."
"I—I'm sorry sir. I was only trying to find out the identity of my hero, Mr. Kaiba, sir…"
"Hmm… How flattering…" he replied in a very monotonous voice.
"I'm sorry…It won't happen again…" Tears of pain and regret welled up in her eyes. The bum she got on her head started throbbing. Her vision became blurry.
"Relax. I understand your motive. (But you're still classified as weird.)" He sat down beside her. "Are you alright?"
"Um…Yeah." She lied. However, Seto wasn't fooled. He let out a tiny chuckle.
"Now, let's try that again. Are you alright?"
"I—uh…" He stared deeply into her eyes. "No, not really. If we're to talk, can we please do so indoors?"
"Whatever." He got up and then helped Annabelle to her feet. "Where are we going?"
"My cabin, if that's alright with you, s—sir."
"Will you do me a favor and quit calling me sir? You may address me as Seto. But don't let that go to your puny head. And don't go bragging it to your friends either."
"Okay Seto. My cabin is just a little further uphill." They started walking slowly up to her house.
"What did you say your name was?"
"I didn't. And it's Annabelle. Annabelle von Operetta."
"Annabelle eh? Haven't heard that name in a while."
"Hmm…" Her vision was starting to get even more blurry as her temples were throbbed mercilessly. But she acted as though nothing was wrong. That is, until she nearly fell over due to her impaired vision. However, Seto caught her before she could fall flat on her face.
"Is everything alright?" he asked with a hint of worry in his voice.
"Yeah, I just stumbled on a rock back there." She lied. "(The last thing I need is to look even more pathetic to him…)" She walked a little slower. Seto didn't seem to notice.
"(Well, she seems to be an alright person. I get the impression that she's scared of me though. Heh. How amusing.)"
Annabelle's vision had gotten worse. Everything seemed to be spinning freely. She clasped her head again. And before she knew what was happening, she was lying face down and unconscious in the sand.
He heard a small 'thud' and spun around to see what happened. "Annabelle?" He rushed over to her and picked her up bridal style. "(What's wrong with her?)"
After he had gotten into her cabin, he found her bed and laid her down on it. He sat down beside her, and waited for her to awaken.
For hours on end, Seto sat next to Annabelle. Finally, he looked down at his watch.
"(Wow… It's already 8:30. I ought to get back home. Mokuba will be wondering about where I am. But I can't just leave her alone like this…Grr…)" He took out a piece of paper and a pen and wrote a little note. He set it on her bedside table, took one last glance at her, and then left her cabin.
After he got down to the beach, he started jogging back to his house. A little ways down, he tripped on something and ended up getting a face full of sand.
"Cough… Cough… Son of a—" He spit out some sand and then stood up. He looked to see what he had tripped on and smirked. "My shirt…"
Seto bent down and picked up his shirt, then continued walking back to his house. When he got home, he was greeted by a very worried Mokuba.
"Big brother," he started. "Where've you been? You've been gone for almost seven hours"
"Calm down Mokuba." He said to his little brother, whose face was a bright shade of red.
"What happened? Are you hurt? Did the media come and start harassing you? Did—"
Seto placed a hand on Mokuba's shoulder. He looked up at his older brother with tears in his eyes.
'Just let me sit down and I'll tell you everything." Seto sighed. He walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. Mokuba walked in and sat right next to him, hands folded neatly in his lap.
"Alright. I was out jogging along the beach, and I see some careless person chuck his beer bottle in the lake."
"(When did you become the garbage police?)" Mokuba thought giggling. Seto didn't seem to notice.
"The bottle ended up hitting this one girl who was swimming. She looked as though she was about to drown, so I ended up having to play 'Hero' and rescue her. After I got her out, I realized she wasn't breathing and attempted to use mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but she woke up.
"We started talking and she told me her name. But when she was walking up to her house with me, she collapsed. So I took her into her house and watched over her for some time."
"Is she gonna be okay?" Mokuba asked.
"She ought to be just fine." He replied reassuringly. His younger brother smiled.
Annabelle was tossing and turning in her bed. She had gone into a deep sleep.
Annabelle's Dream/Flashback continued…
"Now try to get some sleep." She gently kissed Annabelle's forehead and then walked out of the room.
"Are you ready to go Kat?" asked Annabelle's father.
"Yes Ernest." Replied Annabelle's mother.
They walked outside hand in hand and disappeared in the distance.
Annabelle got out of her bed and left the room. She walked into the family room and sat on the couch. Deep thoughts rose in her mind.
"(Sigh…Everything's perfect! My life is great, my house is average, but it's all perfect! And my parents…)" She picked up and held a picture of her and her parents. She smiled and held the picture up to her heart. "(They're my only family…I can't imagine my life without them.)"
She sat there for about three hours and then started walking back to her room. But before she got in, she heard glass shatter and the lights went out. Thinking quickly, she quietly dashed into her room, grabbed her cell phone, and hid under her bed. Then she texted 'HELP NOW' to her mom's cell phone. All she could do now was wait because right after she sent the message, her phone died.
She heard the prowler rummaging through stuff in her parents' room. Then the prowler went into her room. He walked into her room jumped onto her bed.
"EEP!" she cried.
"Huh?" The man got off the bed and looked underneath it. He reached in and pulled Annabelle out from her hiding spot. "Heh… Just a little brat."
"Y—You let me go right now!" she pleaded.
"Awe… Does little Annabelle want her mummy and daddy?" He said mockingly.
"What? How—How do you know my name?"
"What does that matter? It's not gonna bring your parents back."
"What?"
"Your parents are dead."
"Huh? N—No… Who are you? How do you know?"
"I told you already. My name doesn't concern you."
"Why not?"
"A murderer never reveals his identity."
"You lie! Tell me who you are!"
"Not unless you want me to kill you too. Just like your precious mummy and daddy…"
"No…" Hot tears formed in her eyes, but she held them back. "You… You murdered my parents?!"
"Yes, my little brat. But don't worry. I was going to put you out of your misery anyways." He pulled a gun out from behind him and pointed it at the young girl.
"NO! PLEASE! I—I'LL DO ANYTHING! JUST PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" Her tears finally succeeded and fell from her face. The man reluctantly lowered his weapon.
"Don't breathe a word of this to any authority. Or for that matter, anyone. If you do, I will come back and kill you.
She bit her lip and then nodded. "Alright…I won't breathe a word…"
"Good. Now I must be off. Oh! And before I forget, here's a little keepsake for you." He drew a knife from within his black coat and slashed a letter 'D' on her stomach. With that, he slipped out the window and into the night.
"AIEEEEE!" She screamed as pain seared through her body. All she could do was lay on her bed crying over her parents and her fresh wound. "DADDY! MOMMY!"
End of Annabelle's Dream/Flashback
"Seto?"
"Yes Mokuba?"
"Can we go see her right now?"
"Why? It's almost eleven o'clock."
"I just wanna check on her."
"Sigh…Whatever…But we'll only stay for about twenty minutes."
"YAY! Thank you big brother!" Mokuba said as he gave Seto a big hug.
"(I really ought to stop giving in to him so easily.)" Seto thought as he and Mokuba ran out the door and over to Annabelle's house.
Annabelle laid in bed with her eyes wide open. A cold sweat dripped from her forehead. She reached underneath her pillow and grabbed a tiny box. She opened it hastily and pulled out a razorblade.
"(Why won't these visions stop…?)" She sighed and dug the blade into her arm. Warm blood started seeping through her skin and onto her bed. Then she started singing to relieve her thoughts of the past.
"Oooo-oo-oh-oh
There is nothing I can do.
There is nothing I can sa-ay.
I am stuck inside my mind,
and I cannot run away.
I'm stuck inside a lonely world,
where no one hears me out.
I try with all my hope and might,
but no one hears me shout.
The people here just walk around
with their noses stuck up hi-high.
They always point and stare at me,
some laugh as I go by.
There is nothing I can do.
There is nothing I can say.
I am stuck inside my mind,
and I cannot run away.
Oo-oh-oh-oooo
My mind is growing weaker,
and my brain has strayed off course.
I cannot comprehend this.
Books no longer are my source.
I'm stuck in here, the lonely world.
Waiting to be found
I try to get out of this place,
but my mind just jumps around.
There is nothing I can do
There is nothing I can sa-ay.
I am stuck inside my mind,
and I cannot run away.
Oh! Oooo-oo-whoa whoa!
Someone help me, someone care.
Please listen to my cry.
The more time I'm inside this world,
the more I wish to die.
I know there's definantly someone
watching over me.
If someone simply cares about me,
The truth they then shall see…
"Seto, do you hear that?"
"Yeah… It sounds like someone singing… (That voice…It's strangely soothing…)"
"Hello-o! Earth to Seto!" Mokuba said waving his hand in front of his face. "Where are we going?"
"Oh. Sorry, I was spacing out. The house is right there." He pointed to the log cabin.
"Great! C'mon! Last one there is a rotten egg!" Mokuba ran up to the house while his brother struggled to keep up.
"Mokuba! No fair! (He knows how much I hate that game…) You got a head start!" He quickly dashed up beside him and touched the door of the house before Mokuba did. "Looks like you're a rotten egg now Mokuba." He commented with a grin of satisfaction on his face.
"Fine…Now let's go in!" Mokuba pushed open the door and the two Kaiba brothers walked inside.
"Uh…Annabelle?" Seto called out. "Annabelle, are you in here?"
"Her name's Annabelle?"
"Yes. She's probably in her bedroom." Mokuba nodded and then took off in search for Annabelle. In no more than about a minute, Seto heard his little brother yelp. "Mokuba? Are you alright?"
"HELP! SETO! COME HERE! QUICK!"
He ran to where Mokuba was and saw him kneeling beside Annabelle. There was blood all over her bed.
"Are you alright and… WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?!" he demanded of his little brother.
"I don't know!"
Seto ran to her side as fast as he could. "Annabelle? Annabelle! Can you hear me! Wake up!"
Simple Songwriter: Okay, 1st chappie is done.
Annabelle: Please review for my hikari! I don't want her to kill me off!
Simple Songwriter: I'd never do that! (hugs Annabelle)
Seto: Don't you DARE kill her off you crazy writer!
Simple Songwriter: I said I wouldn't and that's a promise! (triple glare between Seto, Simple Songwriter, and Annabelle)
Mokuba: (sweatdrops) Anywho... Please read and review!