Her Prince Turned King
By: Liv-x-Case-Benson
Ch. 1: Years Later, Rotten Luck
Living on the streets had never been easy for Mai Valentine, but, somehow, she had managed to survive. She hadn't always been on the streets, mind you, but the last duel she'd been in had cleaned everything out. She had no car, no money or a place to live. She'd put everything on the line and everything had been taken from her. The once top-ranked duelist was reduced to rubble. And with that, she lost her edge and her bite. Duel monsters was everything to her. It meant money, clothes, a car, a house.
Everything was taken, except one card that she kept close to her heart underneath the jacket that kept out the cold.
Sighing, she sat in an alley, using an umbrella with a hole in it to fend off the rain. Not that it did any good. Her Harpy Lady card. It was what kept her going. Harpy Lady was so…elegant and powerful, the way she used to be. The way she'd been when she'd met the young, Heart of the Cards player, Yugi Moto. He'd sure been something. Then there was Tea, Tristan and, of course, the loveable knucklehead, Joey. But it'd been years since she'd seen or even heard about any of them. She doubted they would take her in. After all, she had nothing now.
The rain began to pour, so she stood, everything drenched and walking into a coffee shop.
"Hey, hey. You're leaking water!" shouted the owner. "Get out of here!"
"But-but i-it's pouring!" Mai said, shivering. "I-I just need something warm to drink!"
The owner shook his head. The woman would've been very beautiful if she wasn't so grungy, dirty, and drenched in rain water. Her makeup was running down her face, clothed drenched. "No," he said, shoving her out. "I don't care who you are." He thrust her out of the café, right onto the wet sidewalk.
Mai laid where she was shoved, the rain still soaking her already drenched form.
Someone came running, not looking where they were going, accidentally tripping. "Oh, I'm s—Mai?!"
Mai opened her eyes, looking into deep brown ones. "J-Joey?" she shivered.
Joey got to his knees. "Mai, what are you doing out here? Looking so…grimy and dirty? Why aren't you at home keeping warm?"
Mai sighed, sitting up, but shivered violently. The rain was hilling her to the bone. She avoided his gaze.
Joey slipped off his jacket, putting it around her shoulders as he stood, offering a hand. "I know you're not normally one to talk about person problems, Mai, but you look like you need some help. Why don't you come back to my place, take a hot bath and change? Then we'll talk, 'kay?" he said, with a ghost of a smile.
Mai sighed. That smile always had gotten the better of her. Getting to her knees, she took his hand, letting him lead the way.
Author's Note: I know, I know, it's short, but I was inspired by when Mai gave Joey her card to compete on the Duelist Kingdom Tournament. I'll try to update this regularly.
Please read and review!
Liv-x-Case-Benson