Hi all! Here's chapter 2! Heehee!
Chapter 2: The castle
"Back in time?!" Joey started to freak out. "How are we supposed to get back home??"
"I don't know Joey!" Yami said. "But could you please keep your voice down?"
All three of them were silent for a moment, and all that could be heard was the clanking of metal, and the footsteps of the men and horses.
"Look," Yugi said, and Yami and Joey looked up to see where they were headed.
It was a small town, but unlike anything they have seen before. The houses, the people, the clothing…everything was so different. The village was something they would have seen in a movie…or a fairytale. The villagers stared at them as they passed.
"I suppose we look strange with the clothes that we're wearing." Yami said.
"Oh yeah, I forgot we were still in our uniforms…" Joey said looking down at himself, then back at the villagers. "Don't tell me we're gonna to have to change…"
As they walked further into the village, the guards surrounding them started to depart one by one. They had all gone to different parts of the city to stand watch or to stop onlookers getting in the way. By the time they had all gone, it was just them and the three women in front of a small castle. The castle wasn't too large but it was grand enough to be the best in the village. Stone walls protruded from it to surround the town.
"Alright, here's where you three will be staying with us." Helewys said with a grin. Ellyn however, looked seriously at them.
"But before we settle in, we need to have a word with you in private. Is that all right?"
Yami, Yugi and Joey exchanged nervous glances, but nodded nonetheless. What choice did they have?
Ellyn, Helewys and Malkyn led them through the main parts of the castle into the study area. The walls were lined with bookcases filled with many volumes that would make any library envious. A fireplace was lit at one side of the room as a main source of light. Once inside that room, Ellyn and Helewys closed all of the doors while Malkyn went to the main bookshelf at the end of the room.
"You are not to tell anyone about this, understand?" Ellyn said. Only after Yami, Yugi and Joey nodded did she motion for Malkyn to go on ahead.
Malkyn proceeded to pull at one of the books in the bookshelf. At once, the entire shelf moved over to the left, and behind it, was a spiral staircase that lead underground. "All right, let's go!"
Noticing that she was motioning to go first, they proceeded to walk down the stairs and the women followed.
The staircase was very long, and it got cooler and darker after each minute. Eventually, Ellyn had to light a torch (that was so conveniently placed on the walls) so that they could see the rest of the way down. After a half hour of silent walking they finally reached the bottom. With only one torch, it was hard to see what the room, or rooms were.
"What is this place?" Joey asked, shivering. Now that he knew where they were, he was now afraid that they were going to have to spend the rest of their lives in a dungeon.
Malkyn smiled at him. "There's no need to be worried. We'll be out of here soon. We just wanted to show you the place."
"What's so special down here?" Yami asked. Like Joey, he feared that they could be in some sort of trouble.
"Alright, I'll get on with it," Ellyn said. In the dim light, they could tell that the three women were looking at them as if they've never seen anything like them. "We know you are not from here…"
"And that's why we need your help." Helewys said. Ellyn nodded.
"You see there is a prophecy of three men coming from a foreign land, and those men will have the power to stop the evil King!"
Yugi, Yami and Joey blinked. That was a little unexpected. Malkyn spoke up looking serious.
"Basically, our King has started to become more and more irrational and…evil." All three women cringed at the word. "We don't know what's wrong, or what happened but we do know that you three match the prophecy. You can save us."
"Our King is very powerful you see, and not just anyone can do it. It has to be someone who is not influenced or deceived by the way we do things." Ellyn said. "That is why it must be you."
"Okay," Joey said trying not to sound rude. "But if he's so powerful, how in the world are we supposed to beat him?"
All three of the women looked at each other and back at them.
"We will train you."
"Wh-what?!"
"Do not let our appearances guide your thoughts." Helewys said now grinning. "There is a reason why we are so highly respected."
"You will all have three months to train. These dungeons will be our training quarters. No one must know about it until you three are ready to leave three months from now." Malkyn spoke up. "Each one of you will have private lessons on how to handle a weapon, with one of us." She turned to Joey. "You will be training with me."
"You, young one," Helewys said, looking at Yugi. "will train with me."
"And you are left with me," Ellyn said looking at Yami. "Our training must be confidential. That means you are to talk about it to anyone. That includes to each other."
"Wait…are you saying that we can't see each other for three months?!" Yugi said, looking at Joey and Yami. They blinked at the women as well.
"That is correct."
"Wait a sec." Joey said pointing at the women. "What if we don't want to do this? What if we just walk outta here to go home?"
The women looked at each other and back. "Then our kingdom will fall to ruin and many lives will be lost. Not only that, but you three will never be able to go home."
Joey, Yami and Yugi looked at each other in horror. Malkyn broke them out of their thoughts.
"Plus, we'd have to kill you, since you've seen this room." she smirked and brought out a knife from her pocket.
"Okay, okay!" Joey said, and backed away. "I was only kidding."
"You will learn Joseph, that jokes will be taken too heavily here," Ellyn said.
"Hey, how did you know my name?" They smiled.
"We know all of your names, because the prophecy was kind enough to give them to us."
Well, there's that one. I know it's not as detailed as I would like, but I have a bad habit of trying to get to the parts that I like to write, and because of that, I sorta neglect the earlier stuff...so bear with me. It'll get better. ^_^'
Cya in Chapter 3!
