Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. For that matter I don't own Christian Rosenkreuz either (he was a real person, once). The only thing I own here is my OC, as well as some other concepts in this story.
A/N 1: There will likely be a few historical inaccuracies in regards to certain people or events, for which I apologize most sincerely and wholeheartedly because as a history fan I'd prefer being as correct as possible. However, considering that the game itself is not that historically accurate (I mean, wouldn't Bakura's personification in the game (Richard Cade) be dead by 1485?), it's likely going to be a very big headache simply trying to make it accurate. There's also the fact this varies from the game a little in that the protagonist wasn't summoned from the future but is an actual person living in the same time period.
A/N 2: As this is a transcript of an rp and not a fic, the pacing will probably come off as somewhat disjointed. Unfortunately, there are parts glossed over (like the duels) in favor of characterization and development between the main characters. However, I will also include notes on some of the stuff that happens here.
RP: Duelists of the Roses
Fandom: Yugioh
Roleplayers: ValarSpawn, JW%
Characters in this segment: Rose Duelist/PC, Christian Rosenkreuz, Simon McMooran
Location: Skype
The watcher rose from their seat on the partially crumbled dolmen as the pillar of blue light appeared in the heart of the rose-adorned ground. The light was endless, reaching high into the firmament. It would be an excellent beacon if that were its purpose, easily glimpsed for miles around. However, the watcher knew that wasn't the case. "It is time." They muttered as they went to retrieve their traveling gear and arms, ensuring everything was in place before striding towards the pillar of light. The watcher stopped just a few inches shy of it, breathing in deeply before stepping through and vanishing into the light.
Seconds later, the watcher stepped out of the pillar, finding that it lead out to a stone circle surrounded by a circle of standing stones. Some were lone pillars, others had been arranged into what seemed like a gateway and others simply lay on the ground on their sides. The place could only be Stonehenge, the heathen worship site down in Salisbury, England. But that was not what interested the newcomer; rather, it was the two figures that had apparently been waiting for them.
The first is dressed in the robes of a druid and their face hidden by a cowl; that mattered little to the newcomer, whose own visage is concealed by a hooded cloak and muffler. Quite possibly it had been this figure who initiated the magical ritual. The second figure was completely unlike the first, more striking and memorable. By contrast, he was young and clad in plate mail that had been molded and forged to resemble a winged white dragon curling about his body. The newcomer's gaze lingered on the last a bit longer before taking a step further and reaching up to pull down the muffler. "Someone called?"
Those with an ear for minute details would have noticed something odd about the person's voice, as though they were forcing themselves to talk on a lower register.
With a glare at Simon, Seto gestured for him to go first.
Simon glared back at his enemy then stepped forward to introduce himself. "I am Simon McMooran, a High Druid from Scotland and loyal servant to House Lancaster. I've summoned you on behalf of Lady Margaret Beaufort, who seeks your aid against the dastardly Yorkists-" Here he flashed another glare at the armored knight. "Confound them all! Keeping House Lancaster from their rightful place on the English Throne with their accursed White Rose Cards!" At this, the hooded stranger glanced towards the armored knight again, seeing him in a new light.
"If you're done," The knight said, noting the pause in Simon's diatribe, "I am Christian 'Seto' Rosenkreuz. Head of the Rose Crusaders. And I would apologize for interrupting your life with such squabbles that don't concern you, but then I wasn't the one who summoned you here. Now that you've been... abducted from your home, I would ask only to help send you from whence you came. Simply give me the Red Rose Cards that Simon used to summon you here."
"Foolish fool! You think I'd keep them on me after the summoning!?" Simon cut in at that point, not even giving the Rose Duelist a chance to respond. "They were dispersed throughout England and France, sent to our best Duelists so that they never fall into your evil hands, Rosenkreuz!"
Seto gave Simon a look of annoyance, but not one of rage. "Do keep a civil tongue in your mouth old man." He turned his attention to the one who had been summoned. "It seems you're stuck in this conflict thanks to the machinations of this old man and his masters. I at least offer you the choice of joining my Rose Crusaders. I can assure you that we are in a better position to offer you compensation for your hardships."
The Rose Duelist folded his arms. "I'm not sure either of you can give me what I seek." The response was brief, and they seemed to be waiting on a response from either party.
Seto shrugged. "I never claimed I could. I just ask you study your options. Who really would you wish to work for?"
"That depends: would they be willing to give me the Rose Cards if I lend them my services?"
"You...You ask too much! They are the right-"
"The rightful possession of neither party. It is my duty to retrieve them, and take them back to their resting place."
"If you can retrieve them from the Lancasters," Christian shrugged. "You may have ours as well."
"Hmm...Considering that there's eight of each color, simple arithmetic dictates I can join-" The Rose Duelist paused as the rose emblems on the stone circle caught their attention. The crimson tinted emblem seemed to blaze brightly while the white was significantly dulled and faded. "Odd. The gods usually don't care about the process, only the results... Clearly, one of them has some grievance against the Yorkists."
Simon tried to win the Rose Duelist over again. "See? Fate itself has decreed that you must join us! You will be key in our victory, Rose Duelist!" His fervor bordered on the fanatical, which actually made the figure in question step back from the druid, as though perturbed by his words.
"So be it. Making yourself the enemy of the Yorkists will not make it any easier for you to collect the cards from us."
The Rose Duelist held up a hand. "I never made my decision. I was simply noting what someone else wanted." Pointedly, the black hooded figure ground their booted foot on the Red Rose emblem. "I prefer taking my own path. Ser Rosenkreuz, consider me yours to command."
"I am honored by your choice. I hope we can work together for our mutual benefit." Christian said with a bow.
Simon's eyes narrowed beneath his cowl and he glanced down towards the Rose Duelist's feet. "You've drawn down the wrath of the gods upon you with your actions." He intoned warningly.
The agent of fate shrugged nonchalantly. "I am fully aware and will deal with it in time. Our business is done, High Druid."
"Hmph. So it is." There was a brief muttering of Gaelic before the High Druid vanished in a flurry of winds, leaving Christian alone with the Rose Duelist in the stone ring.
"We had best hurry." Seto said, setting off for his horse. "There are still a few Lancasters in England who would likely have the cards. We could catch them before they escape across the strait."
"Understood." Not having brought a horse of their own, the Rose Duelist began to walk, momentarily halting in their tracks as a wince grew on their lips. Just as quickly as it appeared however, the wince was gone, and they replaced the muffler back over their mouth again before walking over to Christian. "Would it be alright if I rode behind you? I have no horse."
"It will help us make better time, certainly." Seto agreed. "When we can I'll see about getting you a mount of your own."
"That would be appreciated. Many thanks." Pause. "Alain de France. I look forward to working with you, Ser Rosenkreuz."
"A pleasure to meet you Alain de France." Seto gave a polite bow and gesture before resuming his march down the hill. "The horse awaits."
The Rose Duelist followed after him, easily keeping up with his long strides despite being some inches shorter than him, showing they were used to such a lifestyle, though the gear on them seemed to imply a line of work more clandestine than his own. One geared towards stealth and intrigue, and not combat on the battlefield.
He didn't seem to notice, or rather he didn't seem to care, about the gear worn by the Rose Duelist. Instead he simply gestured to his attendants who were waiting with his own gear and mounted, offering a hand. "We have the Rose Duelist on our side. Let the word spread."
All of them shared a nod before mounting their horses and taking off in various directions to carry out his orders. In the meantime, the Rose Duelist had already mounted his pristine white charger and was waiting for him, though Erzengel seemed to have doubts about this new rider and was trying to reach back to bite at the newcomer.
"Let's go." Seto said and they headed towards the first duel... "I assume you know the rules you must use to win the cards from them, right?"
"I have experience in dueling, yes." Of course, it went without saying that it would be a long ride from Salisbury to Windsor, and much could happen along the way.
Christian just nodded, and seemed content not the press the matter as they travelled.
Some time later, their luck turned for the worst when they rode into an ambush, and warriors of the light armored variety sprang out from their hiding places to attack. There were at least 10, with four of their numbers being archers while the rest specialized in close combat. From their colors, they were obviously soldiers in service to House Lancaster and had caught them by surprise with a volley of arrows. One of the arrows was able to punch through one of the weaker parts in Alain's chainmail shirt under his tunic, causing the Rose Duelist to let out a cry of pain as he fell off the horse under the force of the blow. Fortunately, they were back on their feet again, pulling out several throwing knives and tossing them expertly at several targets, hitting each and causing either a serious injury or fatal blow.
Christian was off his horse immediately, shouting curses at the soldiers and summoning a lesser beast to deal with them and counter attack.
The Rose Duelist took a moment to check their injury, figuring it would be best dealt with later before going back to the fight and calling upon a beast of their own to aid them: a blue Winged Guardian of the Fortress, which proceeded to swoop down on the archers, lift them up to great heights and drop them to their deaths or burn them with its fiery breath.
Despite taking wounds, the two duelists managed to route the ambush with relative ease, clearing off the Lancastrian forces with flying beasts of legend.
Alain dismissed his Winged Guardian of the Fortress and sheathed his sword before starting to walk about to retrieve the throwing knives. "You fight well."
Seto nodded with a snort, as if that statement was obvious. "Are you hurt?"
"Nothing I can't handle." The Rose Duelist replied after recovering the knives and putting them back in their belt, then moving to lean against a tree so they could try to yank out the arrow.
He gave a suspicious look. "Are you certain? I'd prefer not to risk the life of the fabled Rose Duelist on a mere infected scratch."
There was no response save a snapping of wood. "Well...I did get hit with an arrow from the first volley." The sound, of course, had been from them snapping the arrow shaft in half.
"Then I should see it." Seto noted.
Almost imperceptibly, the Rose Duelist stiffened. "...Very well. But we should get off the road for this." As he spoke, the voice wavered, and for a moment something seemed off...but it could have simply been the pain of having an arrow on your side.
"Agreed." Seto pulled the horse to the side of the road where they could make an impromptu camp for bandaging their wounds.
Between the two of them they worked quickly to make the camp and finally, the Rose Duelist sat down on a rock, moving the hooded cloak back to show him the injury: half an arrow shaft embedded firmly into their side, having punched right through the cloth and chainmail.
"Let me have a look at that." Christian said, putting his hand on her side. "Is this the only place you're hurt?" (*)
"I have some bruises but they will heal. This is the only serious injury." There was also the matter of what she suspected was the Divine-inflicted stigmata on her feet but there was nothing she could do about that if her suspicions were true.
"Alright, let's get the shaft out of you. You look to have been penetrated good..." He muttered, testing to find the method that would cause the least additional damage while pulling(or pushing) the arrow head out.
The Rose Duelist nodded, leaning her head back and causing the hood to slide back a bit, revealing somewhat effeminate features and gray eyes which locked on to his own as she nodded, giving him the cue to pull it out.
With a careful, but swift, motion he removed the arrow and immediately put pressure on the wound to keep it from bleeding. "You are among friends here. At the very least it's only I. You don't need to shroud your face."
"...I suppose you are right. Right now, you might well be the only person I can trust on this island." She said as she began to unwind the muffler from around her neck and face. The Rose Duelist's voice was not the low voice that she had used at their meeting. It was still leaning towards the deeper end of the pitch spectrum but it was clearly not masculine.
"And you could explain why you hid your gender." Seto noted after tying the bandage down. He took a moment to study his own body. He had his own injuries to deal with.
"I didn't think it would be a good idea to broadcast my gender." She said before pulling down her hood, revealing violet-fuchsia hair with black gradients pulled back into a braid that had been pinned down to her skull with hairpins. "Do you need help?" Alaine inquired, glancing over his injuries.
"I don't believe that Simon would have cared who he used to his ends, and I find no issue with your fair sex." Though he couldn't speak for all of his Rose Crusaders... several of them would scoff at this revelation. "I don't think I need help, but if you're offering, place pressure here." He indicated one of his cuts he was trying to bandage.
She nodded and went over to him, placing her palm over a bloodstained section on the left leg of his trousers and pressing down to stem the blood flow.
Fortunately his wound was not particularly dangerous, and the bandages were easy enough to apply. "I fear this might have slowed us down in our quest however."
"I do have some knowledge of healing magic...I could use it to speed up the healing, if you like."
"I'd rather we use it to speed our chase to reclaim your cards." Christian replied. "Or to keep us safe from further ambushes, though I can do that much myself, had I thought of it. Does no one in this war fight with any honor?"
"As you wish." She replied as she helped him stow away the medical kit and handed him his sheathed sword, hilt first. "Those men back there seemed desperate to stop us...When in such straits, little thought is given to honor."
"Desperation is where true honor is shown." He snorted accepting the sword and returning it to it's place at his side. "When the path is easy there is no glory in it."
"That is also true." She replied as she stretched herself, wincing slightly as shifting weight down on either foot simply made the stabbing sensations she was feeling worse. Thinking back on the skirmish, she reflected on the men's' expressions. They had the look of desperate people who may or may not have been at the end of their rope. Quite likely their masters had threatened with the worst punishment they could think up if they failed.
"Are you okay?" He asked, watching her closely.
"I'm alright." She then covered the lower half of her face with the muffler before pulling on the hood again. "Shall we go?"
"Let's." He agreed and moved to back things back on the horse so they could travel again.
Fortunately, the rest of the day was without incident, and they managed to find a place to stay the night at a small hamlet en route to Windsor. It saw enough traffic to ensure some measure of prosperity but fortunately, the villagers did not ask too much questions nor were they interested. Some farmers even had mounts for sale, though none of them were the war beast Alaine hoped for. In any case, she was grateful for the chance to rest up and do something about her aching feet.
"My horse can't take both our weight for an extended journey." He pointed out when she was hesitant to purchase a mount of her own, with his coin.
She nodded, giving Erzengel a hearty pat on the neck as a reward for putting up with the additional burden of her. "Right. Let's see what we've got." Biting her lip at the flash of pain that coursed up from her feet and up her legs, Alaine headed over to the small pasture, carefully looking over the three horses, examining every inch of their bodies with a critical eye. "The black with the white left fore sock and the star on its forehead." She stated, singling out the horse that would serve as her mount from here on in.
Seto grumbled and haggled a little with the owner, but finally paid a fair price for the beast. As he left he glanced over at her. "Alaine. Are you sure you're alright?"
"I...It can't be helped, Seto." She gently ran her hand over the horse's neck and back. "I'll have to pay you back after I get the Rose Cards."
"I meant because you are bleeding." He said, touching his finger to his lip where she had bit hers.
She licked at her lower lip, seemingly unperturbed by the revelation. "...I bit down too hard. Oh well." She began to lead the horse over to the stall beside Erzengel's. "As I said before, it can't be helped."
He gave her a look that said she most certainly could help it by not biting her lip. "As you say Lady Alaine."
"It's not my lip that's my current worry. But I appreciate your concern, Seto." As she spoke she couldn't help but take him in one last time before heading over to the small camp they had set up not far from the farm.
"What is your current worry?" He asked cagily as they headed to their camp for a meal.
"My feet." It was strange how she could be so casual about the problem, trying to downplay it as though it was nothing. Even Alaine herself was a little disturbed by this.
He frowned at that. "What's wrong with your feet?"
"It feels like I'm walking on knives...stabbing into my flesh." She frowned and lifted her left foot, frowning as she saw the heel was a darker brown than she remembered.
His expression turned rather concerned. "That's... terrible. What's making that happen?"
"Remember what that old druid said earlier?"
"His ramblings were beneath me." Seto muttered.
"Well, most of his ramblings were rather inane and repetitive. But I am now paying the price for refusing to take their 'strong recommendation' to heart."
"What do you mean?"
"The powers that be have inflicted stigmata on me, and now I bleed with every step I take. On the one hand, I will be lighter on my feet and my grace will border on otherworldly but the ground will feel like knives."
Seto looked shocked at this revelation. "And... you decided on my side, despite this curse on you." He said.
"Pretty much." She frowned slightly as she took in his expression. "Is it that strange to you?"
"Perhaps a bit." He agreed. "I do not know how to repay you for this sacrifice, but I am impressed by your fortitude."
"You don't have to repay me but the thought is appreciated." She shifted so that she was basically sitting down on her knees, bypassing the curse. "And thank you."
"It is my privilege." He nodded.
She watched as he prepared the meal. "You're not from these parts, are you." It wasn't a question.
"I? No. And neither you, obviously." He answered, letting the meat cook over the flames.
"You speak English very well but there's still that slight hint of an accent." She replied as she pulled down her hood.
"And you as well, 'de France'."
She nodded, shifting her position again to lie down on her side to find a more comfortable way of bypassing the stigmata. Looking him over, Alaine tried to recall if any of her suitors back home had been so striking, so confident of themselves. She failed, if only because none of these could match him.
Seto shifted himself, letting her prop her feet up on his shins as they lay down. He did his best to make it seem like he was simply stretching out in his bedroll, and angled his upper body away from her so that it was clear he was not making an effort to take her virtue.
She smiled at that and turned about so that her back faced him, a sign that she -some would say foolishly-trusted him to watch her back. She did not fall asleep right away, gazing about her surroundings as she placed down trap spells about the camp's perimeter.
She found that he too had placed a few 'face downs' around the area himself, but he seemed to drop into light slumber almost instantly, as any campaigner learned to do.
She soon fell asleep as well, to the sound of the rustling grass as it was blown by a soft nighttime breeze and the crackling of the fire.
And that ends the first session. Feedback is greatly appreciated and adored, particularly because I'll be using this as the base for an actual fic.
*By this point, me and JW% had gotten tired of using gender neutral terms.
Erzengel: Christian's horse, his name means 'Arch angel' in German. In the original transcript, he was a black stallion called Stranger. Admittedly, that was me having Sandor Clegane on the brain.
Alain/Alaine: French variant of Alan and Alanna.
Stigmata: Originally, this had been referred to as a geis, mostly to keep with the Celtic theme. However, geis can also be positive as well as negative conditions imposed on a person. In the end, stigmata was decided on as the more appropriate term because the negative aspects are emphasized over the positive ones and also because in the Celtic mythos, its usually women who impose geis on the heroes, whereas no woman imposed this on Alaine. Anyone who's read The Little Mermaid will recognize the effect.
Remember, reviews are welcome! -ValarSpawn