Chapter 2: Revelation

Alai gasped and shook her head, trying to sit up, but the man's weight kept her down. He was able to sit up though, and did, straddling her in the process. Her breath caught in her throat as she fought back a yell. It would give away her and her sister's position and thus lead to a possible arrest. Why worry about escaping when you can avoid the whole process?

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Bakura looked down at the woman under him with interest. Long, well-kept black hair, soft skin, long legs… This woman could spark some fun in him the last temple girl barely touched on. A hungry smile crept over his lips as he studied her toned body. Up in the rafters he'd followed the two women, intending on taking the gold and valuables from them once they'd made it safely out, but he couldn't help but notice this one and wanted to take her along with the goods.

WAM! He felt himself be plowed over by something small, but strong. He fell on his side, the wind slightly knocked out of him, leaving him gasping for air. He looked up to see the girl's younger partner glaring at him and brandishing two daggers.

"Get the fuck off my sister, pervert!" she whisper yelled.

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Alai jumped up and had her weapons out in a split second. There was no way in Hell she would let her and Sheba's work go to waste. She moved next to Sheba and held out her weapons too. The man smirked and chuckled slightly, eyes studying the blades.

"And what," he asked, his voice deep and rough, "do you plan on doing with those toys, girls?" Alai's patience won out and she kept from making the first move. Sheba followed suit.

"Get out of our way and you won't have to worry," Sheba warned. Alai smiled at her sister's smart ass attitude. He chuckled again and shook his head.

"Do you—" Alai started, but a high, shrill scream from down the hall interrupted her. Thee thieves quickly turned and saw a temple girl with a bloodstained dress, ripped and torn in artful places.

"Boki! You stupid bitch!" the white haired man yelled. As he started to advance on her, Alai and Sheba grabbed their bags and ran. The turned down the hall and headed to where they hoped would be a windowed room.

Sheba slipped into one room and quickly waved over her sister. On one side was a window they could just slip through, but it was high up. Alai smiled victoriously. The thieving sisters were all-too good at reaching insanely high places. They hurried over and dropped the bags, then Alai made her hands into a foothold and boosted Sheba up. She hung out slightly, surveying the area.

"Sheba, are there any guards or people?" she asked hurriedly; she could hear voices and what sounded like footsteps coming in their direction.

"No! Pass up the bags," Sheba answered, holding out her arms. Alai handed her the strap for one and watched as her sister drop it down. After they repeated this step, Sheba jumped out the window. Not waiting for the ok, Alai jumped and hauled herself over the edge, just as the door in the room burst open. They dashed around the corner and headed to the inn using the "back way" and going behind buildings.

They quickly climbed through the window of their room and set down the goods. Alai started to pack a few of their travel belongings and threw on her cloak. Sheba was by the window and waiting when she finished.

They slipped inside the stable and loaded their horse Kamenwati, a large and beautiful black stallion from the tip of his nose, to his long dark tail. Sheba climbed onto the horses back after throwing on the blanket used as a saddle and held out her arm for Alai, who took it and swung herself behind her sister. Alai's deathly fear of horses was only broken slightly when her sister took the reigns when they were younger and began learning horsemanship.

"Go, Kamenwati!" Sheba urged the horse, causing it to rear and bit and gallop forward, bursting through the door. She hurried him outside the town while he Alai clutched to Sheba for dear life.

No one from the village chased after them, but they didn't stop until they couldn't see the speck. The sisters started laughing and cheering when Sheba pulled the reigns, causing Kamenwati to slow down. Alai hugged her sister tightly.

"You did amazing, Sheba!" she praised. Sheba smiled her bright smile and turned to pat her sister's head.

"At least you didn't panic this time when I made Kamen rear!" she teased. Alai stuck her tongue at her and laughed. Little did they know, they may no have been followed by the villagers, but they were followed.

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They came upon the gates of a larger city just as dawn broke. They watched the gates open for the many travelers and merchants who missed curfew camped outside the city walls. This was where the thieves could sell their stolen goods to be melted down and remade into something else for the nobles. Sheba directed their horse to follow behind a caravan with women and children coming from somewhere insignificant. This worked and they passed the guards unchallenged.

They entered into the market entrance of the city. People bustled about, children screamed with laughter and pickpockets lightened the purses of rich folks who wouldn't notice until it was too late. Alai felt at home here.

They weaved through the crowd, giving evil glares at would-be thieves who understood right away to back off, and stopped in front of an old stable. The girls dismounted, throwing down the hoods of their cloaks as they led him inside. One of the stable boys went to unload the saddlebags when Alai grabbed his wrist. He jumped and stared up at Alai fearfully.

"Don't touch, understand?" she asked. He nodded. "I'll take care of it."

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Next to the old stable was a simple inn, similar to the one in the village, only this one was filled with more patrons. Alai and Sheba carried in the bags and walked to the bartender.

"Sir?" she said to get his attention. He turned and smiled at the girls knowingly, pointing to the door behind him. They thanked him and went into the back room. It was dimly lit, the only light coming from a small fire under a makeshift chimney, but that was enough to glint off a small pile of gold across the room. Next to the fire, an old woman sat, studying a piece of gold and holding it up to the light.

"Grandmother Woserit?" Sheba softly said to her, kneeling down while she and Alai set their bags in front of her. The old women looked up, eyes glowing with youth that had long since left her bones. She smiled at the girls and set down the gold to open her arms.

"Alai! Sheba! My beautiful girls!" she laughed as they hugged her tight. "I see your journey to the small village was fruitful by the looks of it."

Alai smiled and said, "Well, We're going to have sort through some things because Sheba," she ruffled her sister's hair, "grabbed a few extra things." The old woman nodded and motioned to see the gold. They spread it out for the woman to appraise and offer a price.

"Temple hunt, eh?" Woserit said, studying on of the bowl's carvings. She couldn't read, but she knew the meaning of certain carvings.

"Yes, ma'am," Sheba said, pulling out one of the scrolls and studying it intently. About an hour later, she finished appraising and they settled on a deal. Woserit called in the bartender and had him give the girls' their money. If there was one good thing about the old woman, she was fair with Alai and Sheba. The girls thanked Grandmother Woserit and stood to leave.

"Wait Alai!" she said, catching the girl's hand. "Stay for a few moments." She looked at Sheba who shrugged.

"I'll help Rami," she said, pointing to the boy who worked in the stables. He peaked in just as she said his name to ask about the horse. She hurried out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Alai turned and sat before the old woman. Woserit studied Alai intently, probably using her "gift" as she referred to it as she did. Alai felt her skin tingle as power brushed against it.

"You have to great things unfolding for you, Alai," the old woman said, voice softening as another voice joined, creating a dual effect. "What have you been dreaming of lately?" Alai thought for a moment and remembered her dream from two nights before the last. She'd been dreaming of her family at first, then suddenly, everything went black and a great crystal dragon hovered before her and spoke her name in a great voice that reverberated through her whole body. Then she awoke.

"A dragon," she said slowly. The old woman pointed to a gold plate.

"Bring that here," the mystic said, for she was and a powerful one at that. Alai grabbed it and presented it to Woserit who then placed her hand on it. Instantly, the surface turned completely black as if made of ebony. The old woman's eyes glazed over and turned a milky blue in the iris as she picked it up, facing the black surface towards Alai. "Look into it and see what your soul shows you."

A great dragon, the one from her dream, stood proud. On her head were two horns of amber looking crystal that matched one that extended from her snout. Her wings and body sparkled as if made from diamonds, massive and magnificent. Her claws looked to made from the same color crystal her horns were and an even darker orange material covered its stomach and went down its neck, leaving space for a strip of the diamond material to separate the stomach and neck. Its great eyes stared directly at Alai and she knew her creature's name.

"Hyozanryu…" she whispered the great dragon's name.

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The supposed "monster" could cause Alai trouble if any of the Upper Kingdom's royal guards found out and she knew it. She would then be dragged if she didn't escape to the palace to be tried and have the "beast" removed so she could be cleansed and it would used by the royal priests to "protect" the land. The thought sickened her and she swore nothing could take it from her. She didn't mention it to Sheba though, not sure how her sister would take it yet…

They left with their money and quickly headed to market to get supplies. They had too much money on them to safely stay in the city. It may look like a nice place to stay, but theft and things of that nature were high leveled. They took precautions by hiding it on multiple places on their body, knowing very few would be brave to touch a woman without an uproar being caused.

"Alai, aren't we running low on food?" Sheba said, as they looked around. Alai nodded.

"Yes, we'll need more for the trip home tomorrow as well," she told her sister. They took a few separate trips, each time leaving the supplies in the inn, knowing very few dared try to steal from Mystic Grandmother Woserit. They passed a weapon's stand on their way back for their last trip and Alai stopped. A beautiful set of daggers with sapphires on the hilts glinted at her. Sheba quickly understood when she gave a questioning look. Next to them sat a set with rubies in the hilts.

Throwing back her hood, the owner of the stand saw she was a young fair beauty, obviously curious about the great blades. Alai repressed a smile as the man's chest puffed out and he stepped up. She delicately picked up one of the blades to study it.

"My my, you've got good taste, Miss," he said, leaning over the counter as she examined the sapphires. "Those are a pair of my finest work!"

"They certainly are magnificent!" she breathed, articulating her words to appear noble. Her earrings and gold chokers helped the look along.

"My lady, if you're interested in buying them," he said smiling, "I just happen to be having a discount." She feigned blushing and fluttered her eyes.

"Oh my, how wonder—"she began, but for the second time in less than two days, someone interrupted her by yelling. A crowd of people rushed over to where the yelling merchant was who obviously had been robbed. As people passed, Alai snatched up the second dagger and the other dagger set she'd been eyeing for Sheba.

The sword smith yelled, "Help! I've been robbed!" but because of the commotion, no one took notice of him. Alai laughed and dashed through the crowd, pulling up her cloak's hood. She dashed into an ally where she stopped for a breath and leaned against the wall. She took out her old daggers from under her skirt, and threw them to the wall. She quickly replaced the empty sheaths with the sapphire daggers and started walking normally.

Tpt tpt tpt. Alai spun around to see who was following her. The alleyway entrance was empty. She quickly glanced around without moving her head, not wanting to give away her suspicion. She turned and paused again, almost positive she saw a red flicker go over the ally's wall at the end. She glared hard at it and decided against using that escape rout.

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Author: Well, that's chapter two! Hope you all are enjoying this story. Oh! Note: Hyozanryu is in fact a dual monster card and will be playing a role obviously in the story.