Cora
"Where is she?" Cora grumbled. She checked her watch while tapping her foot on the ground impatiently. Ms. Goldwine was running late. She was supposed to meet Cora here at the courtyard fifteen minutes ago. Probably out in town buying another latte or gossiping with her office mates again.
As for Cora, one would think with the name Kaiba she would be surrounded by a large group of friends by now. She pictured herself riding into Domino in the back of an exotic car with a handsome Duelist and a flock of girls, laughing and gossiping on their way to the mall or the theatre for a good movie after school. Well, she wasn't. She was all alone in the courtyard of the academy. She hadn't made a single friend that day.
Then again, except for a few blokes who tried to bribe her for her Blue-Eyes White Dragons and made crude propositions she had to refuse, she didn't really talk to anyone either.
Twenty minutes had gone by. By now, Cora thought it best to go inside and wait for Ms. Goldwine in the school. The tropical heat of Southern Eredas was cooking her. Her skin, moist with sweat, was sticking to her blouse, and her jewelry was starting to make her itch. A cool breeze flew by every now and then, granting Cora some relief from the heat. But the sky over the buildings of Domino was turning dark black.
A drumbeat of thunder could be heard. The cool breeze now turned into a howling wind, which was not good considering how short her skirt was. She had to hold it down with her hands as the storm grew closer. Her face turned red and she gritted her teeth. "I'm going to punch the bastard who thought to make it this short was a good idea!" She muttered, crossing her legs.
A cold raindrop suddenly fell on the tip of her nose followed by a distant rumble of thunder. Yup. It was time to go back inside. "Ms. Goldwine, my father is going to hear about this." Cora kicked a stone into the pond before going back inside the campus. "We have a tight schedule to keep Ms. Cora," she said mocking Ms. Goldwine.
She took a long walk through the vast halls of the school and saw something that caught her interest. A sign above a pair of escalators that read Arena 1.
"An arena!" Cora said happily. "Now we're talking."
She went down to the lower level and entered the playing grounds. It was a stadium that could house a crowd of 20,000 strong. The banners of the academy hung from the rafters hundreds of feet above. A giant screen on the other side of the stadium was showing a looping image of the academy's logo. Cora sniffed the air. She caught a sweet and mouth-watering scent.
Food! On the east side of the stadium was a food court with restaurants of all kinds including some from another world called Earth, where Prince Yuri was said to reside until he was ready to come home to be king. Tables and booths were neatly placed around the Dueling Arena at the center of the stadium. A fountain of silver and myrrh and brilliant white limestone that glittered at the right of the arena.
A statue of a knight in armor fashioned to look like a Blue-Eyes White Dragon stood on top of the fountain. He was holding up a sword as a Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon roared behind him, spewing out water from its mouth into the pool below where a few girls took off their boots to cool their feet as they did their homework.
Cora soon realized that this stadium was no stadium. It was a cafeteria. She wanted to eat, but she knew Ms. Goldwine was probably on her way. Instead, she looked around for a few challenges to face. Lucky for her, there was a group of young Eldori men standing on the arena, laughing as a tall brute with a shaved head told crude jokes about his girlfriend.
Their uniforms were quite different. They were more like dark blue trenchcoats trimmed with gold and white and decorated with gold buttons. The shoulders of the trenchcoat were tall and wide, white at the center with a solid gold emblem of the academy and their order.
One of them had long, blond hair going down to his back in elegant waves. Swirled bangs hung over his face giving him the appearance of an angel. His eyes were bright green mixed with the same color of blue Cora had. His trenchcoat had gold epaulets and a platinum chestplate was strapped over his torso.
Cora couldn't wait to face them. She hurried up the steps but was not met with a friendly welcome.
"Get down from here," said a young man with curled blue hair. "This here is our turf."
"Says who?" said Cora.
"Says Headmistress Rosamunde Thaddeus, that's who! This here arena is for the academy's honor students. We're the best of the best. And you're not. Now scram."
The young man with the blond hair stepped forward. "Hold on. I know you. You're the girl everyone's talking about. Cora, correct."
"That's right."
The boy with the shaved head scratched his head. "You mean that girl they call Kaiba's daughter?"
"Forgive this simpleton," the blond boy said bowing. "He may be highborn but knows no manners. Especially towards lovely girls such as you. I am very pleased to meet you, Cora. I am Prince Clovis of House Matthias. Son of King Engel Matthias of Shark Rock."
Cora smirked pretentiously. "A petty kingdom, huh?"
Clovis smiled to hide the sting to his pride. "But it is a kingdom nonetheless. Now you be a good girl and show me some respect. I am a Termnnian Prince after all."
"That's right!" said the blue-haired boy. "Prince Clovis has the opportunity to join Prince Yuri in the Royal Termnnian Table of Rassay. All he has to do is be the best Duelist in Duelist Academy, which he's already been accepted to. You should know he's already been placed in Obelisk Blue."
"Oooh, Obelisk Blue," said Cora. "I'm going there, too. So it's no big deal. Actually, it doesn't matter what dorm I'm placed in. I'm going to be the best no matter what."
A Duelist with long, serrated, red hair laughed and crossed his arms. "No doubt your daddy had to pay to get you that opportunity. Prince Clovis here is getting in through skill and hard work."
The boy with the shaved head nodded. "Yeah, and you have lots of other Duelists to contend with there. Clovis is the best of the best, but you've also got to deal with the likes of Zane Truesdale, Jaden Yuki the Academy Ace, and Yugi Muto the King of Games, who is said to be going back to school there to learn about Link Summoning. Not to mention Prince Yuri. He's going to be the High King of Termnnia, meaning he's going to have the God Cards. You mean to tell me you can take them out."
Cora shrugged. "My father has beaten one before. So has Yugi. How hard can it be? If they can do it, I can do it. The God Cards don't scare me."
Clovis's friends burst out laughing.
Prince Clovis held out his hands and bobbed them up and down. "Quiet. Quiet, please," he said calmly. "Your pretentiousness shows no boundaries, Cora. You really are your father's daughter alright. It's about time you got an attitude adjustment."
Cora scoffed. "What? You going to spank me or something?"
"An enticing proposition. But no. I want to see your Blue-Eyes White Dragons. Rumor has it Seto has given them to you."
"Sorry, but he hasn't. If I'm to have those babies in my deck, I've got to earn them. And the only way I can do that is by impressing my father, which is a daunting task in of itself. To do that I have to Duel."
"Oh, I'll impress him, alright," Clovis said, snapping his fingers. Someone brought him a Duel Disk that looked like a giant claymore made of silver. He had to hold it with both hands. However, the chestplate he wore served as a hub to hold his deck. "I'll defeat you so badly, he'll pity you so much that he'll have no choice but to give you those dragons."
"That's not going to be easy," Cora said, holding up her deck. "My father built this deck for me. It may not have the Blue-Eyes, but it's full of some of the rarest and most powerful dragons in the game."
"I have no doubt the deck your father made you is strong. But what good is the deck if the Duelist wielding it is pathetic?"
Cora held out her hand and transformed the Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon ring into a Duel Disk. It glittered and the crystals inlaid on the trim cast rainbow hues in the light of the stadium.
"I'm not pathetic. I'll show you what for."
"Impress me then."
LP 4000
"I'll start first," said Clovis. "I set a monster face-down and end my turn."
"My turn," said Cora. "Draw! I summon Infernal Dragon in attack mode!" She slapped the card on her Duel Disk and summoned her beast. It stood ten feet tall and was colored dark green with a bright lime green underbelly. Spikes adorned its arms, legs, and back. The spikes at the end of his tail formed a trident to be used as a deadly weapon.
ATK/2000 DEF/0
"Infernal Dragon, attack!" Cora commanded the beast.
Infernal Dragon roared and flapped his wings, taking flight as he created a fierce gust of wind. He puffed out his chest and launched a fireball of black flames at the face-down monster. It was M-Warrior #1.
"I end my turn," said Cora. "Not so pathetic now, am I?"
"Oh, I think you are," laughed Clovis.
Infernal Dragon let out a painful roar and then exploded. Cora grunted, shielding herself from the hot blast with her arm. When the smoke cleared, Infernal Dragon was gone.
"Huh? Hey? Where did he go?"
The boy with the red hair laughed. "You clutz. Don't you know Infernal Dragon destroys itself after battle? Goddesses above, what would your father have to say if he saw you make that blunder?"
Cora examined the card and felt stupid when she read the text. He did destroy himself after battle. However, if she had another monster on the field, she could sacrifice it and bring Infernal Dragon back. But, she had none and she left herself wide open for attack.
"My turn," said Clovis. "My, my. How inept of you, Cora. Here I was thinking you would provide a challenge for me. Especially after all that talk. My turn. I draw. Ah, perfect. I play the spell, Silent Doom. This card allows me to bring back a monster from my Graveyard. However, it stays in defense position and cannot attack."
M-Warrior rose out of the ground. He was kneeling and had his arms crossed over his chest.
"No harm done," said Cora. "I mean, he can't do much alone."
"Oh, but he's not alone, little Cora. "Not after I play this. Polymerization. I fuse together M-Warrior #1 and M-Warrior #2 to create Karbonala Warrior!"
The two M-Warriors jumped into a swirling vortex that formed over the arena. Out from the vortex appeared a handsome knight in purple armor, wielding a magic sword and a shield to match his armor.
ATK/1500 DEF/1200
"Attack, my monster!" shouted Clovis.
Karbonala Warrior grunted and lept towards Cora, he slashed her across the chest, knocking her flat on her back.
"Ow!" Cora shouted. Her Life Points plummeted to 2500. She got back up to her feet. "Lucky shot."
"As if," sneered Clovis. "I set a card face-down. It's your move."
"That won't happen again, I promise you that!" Cora said breathing heavily. "I draw. Yes. I summon Alexandrite Dragon!" She summoned a dragon covered with jewels. With an ATK of 2000, Alexandrite Dragon had more than enough power to take down Karbonala Warrior."
"Attack his monster, Alexandrite Dragon!" Cora commanded her beast.
Alexandrite Dragon shot glittery, white-colored flames from its mouth, which animated to form into the likeness of a dragon that let out a loud screech.
"I think not," laughed Clovis. "Reveal face-down card. Inspiration."
"What!" Cora cried.
"Inspiration is a rare trap card that can increase the attack of one of my monsters by seven hundred points. Now, Karbonala Warrior's attack increases to twenty-two-hundred, giving him the strength he needs to slay your dragon."
Karbonala Warrior held up his sword. The magic steel absorbed the flaming dragon lighting the blade like a torch. He swung towards Alexandrite Dragon and cut off its head with one powerful swipe.
Cora - LP 2300
Clovis - LP 4000
"A perfect score as always," Clovis boasted. "Are you through?"
Cora shook her head. She set two cards without a word and ended her turn.
"Cat got your tongue, Cora? Don't worry. This will all be over soon. I summon Marauding Captain who lets me summon Command Knight. This lovely warrior will increase the attack of all my warriors by four-hundred points. It's over, Cora. I attack with my monsters."
Cora held out her hand. "I activate my face-down card. Negate Attack. This will stop your monsters' attacks. I'm safe."
Clovis clapped slowly. "For now, Cora. But please, go on. I do enjoy putting you in your place."
"I draw!" Cora yelled. "Okay. Here goes. I'm done playing around. I activate the spell, Polymerization. Now, I fuse together Lord of Dragons with Divine Dragon Ragnarok to create the all-powerful, King Dragun!"
ATK/2400 DEF/1100
"Oh!" Clovis and his friends gasped in wonder at Cora's new monster. He had the upper body of a giant Lord of Dragons, but his body was that of Divine Dragon Ragnarok's, a massive serpentine dragon. He had black wings and a cloudy collar. He held a flute in his hand.
"Once per turn," Cora explained, "I can Special Summon a Dragon from my hand. Say hello to Tyrant Dragon!"
King Dragun blew on his Flute of Summoning Dragon and called out a colossal-sized dragon out of a divine arcane glyph. It towered over the field and its wings spread over the width of the stadium. The membranes were royal blue adding to the majesty of the beast and its body was brownish-gold with a few solid gold scales shimmering here and there on its legs and tail. A pair of meter-long ivory horns protruded from his head and inlaid at the center of his skull was a brilliant opal.
ATK/2900 DEF/2500
"Oh no!" cried Clovis.
King Dragun attacked first. He took a deep breath and shot fire from his mouth, burning Karbonola Warrior to cinders and dealing 1000 points of damage to Clovis's Life Points. Tyrant Dragon was next and incinerated Marauding Captain. With his effect, he could attack again and then destroyed Command Knight for a grand total of 3100 points of damage.
Cora - LP 2200
Clovis - LP 900
"No way!" shouted the boy with red hair. "Clovis is going to lose."
The Duel caught the attention of the other students. They dropped what they were doing and hurried around the arena to watch the Duel.
"I haven't lost yet!" shouted Clovis. "I draw." He gritted his teeth. He didn't like what he got, but it was better than nothing. It was a huge gamble, but if he stacked his deck right, he would hopefully draw what he needed.
"I activate Graceful Charity. This allows me to draw three cards and discard two. Yes. Perfect. I play the spell, Card of Sanctity. This will allow us to draw until we have six cards in our hands. But it doesn't matter what you have, Cora, for this match is mine. The cards I discarded with Graceful Charity were Dark Blade and D.D Warrior Lady. A Light monster and a Dark Monster. Now, I banish them to summon a warrior without peer. A monster so rare that only a few were ever printed. Behold the envoy of your destruction. Come forth and unleash your fury on this plebian! Black Luster Soldier- Envoy of the Beginning!"
Cora gasped. "No! Not him!"
"You've heard of him I see," Clovis sneered. "Well, now it's time you saw him up close and personal."
A white, chaotic, arcane glyph hovered over the field and shot a beam of light from the center. When the beam dissolved, it revealed the warrior in blackish-blue armor trimmed with gold. He had a reddish-brown plume on his helmet and carried a massive sword and shield.
Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning
ATK/3000 DEF/2500
"Go, my soldier! Destroy her pathetic dragons! Unleash your fury!"
Black Luster Soldier held out his blade. FLASH! A white streak flew around Cora's dragons. Right after Cora was done blinking, Black Luster Soldier appeared back in his position. His sword, however, was dripping with hot dragon blood.
White flashes streaked all over the two dragons. They roared in agony and exploded. Cora finally realized that Black Luster Soldier moved so fast his strikes were slow. But that couldn't be. Nothing could move that fast.
Her Life Points fell to 1500. She was still in the lead, but with a monster as rare and powerful as Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning out in play, what was the point of going on?
"Just admit defeat, Cora. You were never supposed to be here. You were never a Kaiba. You will never be a Kaiba. I hope you enjoyed your time here. But this is only an establishment for the best of the best."
Cora shook her head. "If I lose it won't be because I surrendered. I'm going to keep going. So long as I have Life Points, I'm going to keep on playing. So long as I still have nine tries left, I'll keep getting better. I'm not going to quit until I've earned the right to call myself Kaiba. I draw."
She held the card up, not wanting to look at it. Cora exhaled softly and looked at the card. She smiled. "It's over."
"Indeed it is," said Clovis. "You played an okay, game, Cora, but it's not good enough."
"No. It's over for you. In my Graveyard, I have Infernal Dragon and Alexandrite Dragon. A Light monster and a Dark monster." She looked up at him and smiled. "I'm sure you can do the rest."
Clovis already figured her out. "No. W-wait. You're bluffing. I doubt even Seto Kaiba would even give you something that powerful. I know he has it, too, but there's no way he'd give it to the likes of you."
"Find out for yourself," Cora said, showing him the beast. The Envoy of the End. Chaos Emperor Dragon.
"No! She does have it! No! No! It can't be! It can't be! I don't wanna. You...you can't!"
"I banish my two monsters of Light and Darkness from the field and summon my beast. Go Chaos Emperor Dragon-Envoy of the End!"
Another chaotic glyph appeared over the field. It shot a beam of light from the center. From the beam, a carpet of flames ignited Cora's side of the field. From the flames emerged the beast. His scales were brilliant turquoise and glittered underneath plates of armor made of silver steel. Long, flaming, orange hair flowed from the back of his head and underneath his helmet. Bright red eyes lit the darkness underneath his helmet, covering most of his skull. He snarled, spread his massive wings, and roared.
Chaos Emperor Dragon-Envoy of the End
ATK/3000 DEF/2500
"It doesn't matter!" said the boy with the shaved head. "They're evenly matched. They'll destroy each other if they do battle."
"I think not," said Cora. "Sorry to disappoint you but our monsters aren't going to fight. At least not today. If you're ever up for a rematch, Clovis, I'm game. But today, victory belongs to me. I pay one thousand of my Life Points to activate Chaos Emperor Dragon's effect. He will destroy every card in our hands and on the field and inflict three hundred points of damage to your Life Points for each card sent to the Graveyard. Thanks to your Card of Sanctity, we both have a decent number of cards in our hands."
Chaos Emperor Dragon shot golden flames from his mouth and blanketed the field with fire. Black Luster Soldier cried out in agony and was shattered to pieces. Chaos Emperor Dragon shot a fireball at Clovis before he destroyed himself. Clovis was struck hard by the blast and was knocked out of the arena where he landed on his friends. They fell in a messy pile on the floor, squirming and groaning.
"I win," said Cora.
She heard clapping from behind her. She turned and saw Ms. Goldwine cheering and jumping up and down with glee. The other students slowly began to applaud Cora for her performance as well.
Clovis pushed and shoved his way out of the pile of friends. He balled his fists and growled. "This isn't over, Cora. You just wait and see."
"Phew," Cora said. She jumped out of the arena. "You're late."
"Forgive me, Ms. Cora," Ms. Goldwine said, embracing her.
"Ack! Ack!" Cora groaned. "You're crushing me."
"You can't fault me for being excited," Ms. Goldwine said, letting go of Cora. "This is your first victory. We must go to celebrate. What would you like, my dear? Ice cream? Pizza? New cards."
"Right now, I'd settle for my bed. I'm bushed, Ms. Goldwine. But I'll take you up on that offer. I can't wait to tell my father about this."
"Oh, I'll bet he'll be so proud."
"Is this supposed to impress me?" Kaiba said, shutting off the footage on his phone. "That was pathetic."
Cora balled her fists. Her lips trembled. She turned and stormed out of her father's office. She slammed the door behind her, knocking down picture frames and shaking a few trophies on the shelf nearby.
"But, sir," said Ms. Goldwine. "She defeated a rare Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the End. You must give her some credit."
Kaiba scoffed. "Credit? She almost lost the match. She won through sheer dumb luck. Prince Clovis almost had her beat. Had she not drawn the Chaos Emperor I gave her, she would never have won that match. If Cora wants to impress me, she has to win her Duels through skill, not luck. If she wants to learn about luck, she should pack her bags and learn from the Wheeler clan. I have a lot of things to do and Cora has homework to finish. See that she finishes it before the night is through, Ms. Goldwine. I will not allow procrastination to become a habit for her."
"Yes, sir," Ms. Goldwine said, turning away.
Back in Cora's room, Ms. Goldwine found herself leaning against the bathroom door listening to Cora rant in the shower.
"What more does he want from me?" she shouted, sliding her hands down her scalp. "It's like he doesn't want me to be here."
"I'm sure he does, Ms. Cora. Mr. Kaiba is a very strict man. He is very proud of this House and wants nothing but the best from it. He wants the best for you."
"Because overworking me and ridiculing every achievement I make is really going to help me improve."
"Well, it was one match, Ms. Cora. We have a long way to go to reach that goal your father has set for you. And as much as I hate to agree with him, he's right. That boy almost had you beat. You must practice a bit more."
"I will," Cora said turning off the stall. She came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. Her eyes were red with weep.
"Don't cry, Ms. Cora. It's going to be okay."
"I'm not crying!" Cora insisted, she gently pushed Ms. Goldwine aside. "I got shampoo in my eyes. I'm not a baby, geez!" She hurried to the dressing screen beside her bed to change into her nightgown.
"Well. Tomorrow is a new day."
"New day, same shit," Cora said coming out from behind the screen. She sat down on the edge of her bed. Thunder rumbled outside. Rain splashed against the glass walls of her suite.
Ms. Goldwine tapped her foot on the ground. "I understand your pain, Ms. Cora. But use foul language in front of me again and I'll wash your mouth out with soap. You are to be a lady of House Kaiba. And ladies do not use foul language."
Ms. Goldwine walked to the night table by Cora's bed and picked up a brush crafted in the likeness of an Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon. She took off her high heels and sat behind Cora to brush her hair.
"Where on earth did you come from, Cora?" Ms. Goldwine asked.
"The road," Cora answered. "That's all I know."
"Your mother and your father? I'm sure you had a family before you started wandering."
"I don't know if I had one," said Cora. "It's sort of strange. I feel like I was born not too long ago. Like Woosh, I find myself walking on the road going nowhere. I know this sounds silly, but I feel like I wasn't even born."
"You couldn't have come out of thin air, Ms. Cora."
"Barbara, please. Enough with the Ms. Cora stuff. Just call me Cora."
Ms. Goldwine pursed her lips. "If that is what you wish, Cora. But going back to this business of yours. You didn't just come out of thin air. You had to have come from somewhere."
"Maybe I did. Maybe I did have parents. But if they were callous enough to toss me out as a baby, then they never loved me. No one ever did."
Ms. Goldwine chuckled. "I do. I think you're wonderful. And you're very beautiful. You'll make a fine addition to House Kaiba, mark my words, Cora. Not even Yugi Muto would dare cross you."
"You really think so?" Cora asked.
"Of course, I do, Cora. You can do anything. You know, Mr. Kaiba was like you. Abandoned by his parents. Alone, save for the company of his little brother. He had nothing. No gold in his pockets or a Gokibore for a card. Until Gozaburo Kaiba came along. He took them in. Believe me, it was not easy for Seto to adapt and fulfill the wishes his father had. But, he had his head high up to the sky and defeated him. And look what he has today. A bigger empire than his father could ever dream about. The Daltons may be the royal family here, but this city, this country, perhaps even the continent, all bow down to the might of Kaiba Corp. A God Card once obeyed him."
"So I heard," said Cora. "Maybe I'll wield one, too."
"Perhaps you will," said Ms. Goldwine. "But for now, you need to pass your history exam."
"I was afraid you'd say that."
