When Kaiba returned to his bedroom, it was several hours later. He quietly shut the door and found Téa a sleep on the sofa. On the coffee table in front of her was a silver tray with two empty wine glasses and the bottle Nicholae had given her. Kaiba smiled when he realized she fell asleep waiting for him. He lifted her up and carried her to bed. As he looked at her sleeping face, he thought to himself, 'maybe this marriage won't be so bad after all.' Kaiba noticed that his mood began to improve since the day she was changed.
He then thought back to the conversation he had with Vlad and Gozaburo. Vlad scheduled a fight to choose a successor a year from now. He knew that Gozaburo would fight to the death and he had to protect his family. 'I need to train,' he thought to himself as he crawled in his bed. He turned out the light and decided to start his training first thing in the morning.
…
Téa woke up to the smell of coffee and found a cappuccino sitting on her night stand. She sat up and looked around the room. Mai was sitting at the foot of her bed smiling and jokingly said, "Your knight in shining trench coat dropped that off for you a few minutes ago."
"Where is Seto?" Téa asked curiously.
"Before he left, he said that he was going train with Mokuba at the Castle… That's all I know," Mai explained. Téa nodded and Mai continued, tomorrow is your big day so I was wondering if you would like to go get your nails done. Téa smiled and agreed, "Sure, just let me get dressed."
"Take your time Téa, Sophie hasn't even come yet," Mai replied.
…
Sophie saw Mokuba and Seto in the castle arena. She knew why they were there and felt hurt that her husband was the cause of the trouble within the Kaiba family. She walked up to the two and they stopped what they were doing to bow. "You two are doing great, but I think you should train with several different Vampires to get the best chance of winning. I have convinced my husband to come train with you Seto. He may not be sure that you will be the best choice for the vampire race, but I am. I want you to learn from the best. Please accept his teaching," She asked.
Kaiba nodded and thanked her, "Will you be attending the rehearsal tonight?" Kaiba asked.
Sophie shook her head and replied, "I would love to, but Vlad and I have a meeting tonight. We will be there for the wedding though."
Kaiba nodded and waved her off before returning to his training, "I will see you then."
…
Sophie knocked on the hotel door and was surprised when someone pulled her in the door. Mai was beaming and asked, "What took you so long?" She didn't wait for an answer and instead grabbed her purse and said, "Let's go!"
…
At the salon, Téa laid her head back in the bowl while the hairdresser massaged shampoo into her hair. She noticed the hairdressers all had unusual eye colors and realized that they too were Vampires. She then saw Mai was at the nail station chatting with the woman painting her nails. Sophie was relaxing next to Téa wearing a face mask.
"Sophie, I am nervous about the wedding, Although I have known Seto for years, I don't know that much about him. How am I supposed to marry someone that I don't love?" Téa asked.
Sophie sat up with a soft smile, "I asked myself the same question nearly 500 year ago when Vlad married me. As you know, Vlad rescued me from being sacrificed to the Vampires and gave me the curse. Although I didn't love him then, I eventually became hopelessly devoted to him. I may not always agree with my husband, but I would do just about anything for him. I later found out that when a vampire chooses his bride, it is never done on a whim. Seto, may think he did it just to save you, but it is much more than that."
She continued, "A vampire only gets married once. Vampires know when they have met their mate instinctually…It is part of the curse. Once the vampire chooses his or her spouse, they will do just about anything to ensure that that person feels treasured and happy."
"However, if either of the spouses are killed, the other will die shortly afterwards," Sophie said sadly.
Téa sat up in a panic and asked, "What? Why?"
"A broken heart," Sophie explained, "As I said earlier, vampires only get married once. If their beloved dies, the blood vessels in their heart start to collapse and eventually the spouse too will die."
Téa was quiet for a few minutes, before she asked, "So, what else can kill a vampire besides a broken heart?"
Sophie looked over to Téa and answered, "There are only two other ways to kill a vampire; The first way is to remove a vampire's heart from their chest and crush it, or to completely drain the vampire of its blood."
Téa gave Sophie a look of concern and asked, "Does Seto have the strength to beat Gozaburo?"
Sophie smiled and replied, "I think he does." She paused for a moment and said, "Besides, I gave you a secret weapon."
Téa was about to ask what she was talking about when the hair dresser said, "Okay, lets dry you off and do a trial run on your hair."
…
Vlad entered the arena and immediately, removed his shirt. "Let's see how much you have to learn. Come at me Kaiba."
Kaiba ran up to him and before he could reach him, Vlad disappeared and reappeared behind him. Vlad grabbed Kaiba by the back of his shirt and threw him against the wall. "You are going to have to try harder than that Kaiba, if you want to protect your family."
Mokuba then charged towards Vlad and was shocked when he was pinned to the wall. "You're strong Mokuba, but you don't have your brother's endurance."
Kaiba stood up and grabbed Vlad's arm, "My brother is not the one fighting Gozaburo. I am, so refrain from putting your hands on him."
Vlad used his other hand and grabbed his shirt, "I could rip your heart out without a second thought. Your brother should be able to protect himself," Vlad let go of his shirt and continued, "as should you. You have been holding back on me and I want to know why? Why are you not using your power?"
"Reading my opponents mind to find out their next move is cheating. I want to win this fight fair and square. I want to prove that he no longer has a hold over me," Kaiba explained.
'I knew I was making the right choice,' Vlad thought to himself. Vlad then said, "Kaiba, I am going to make you an offer. After your wedding, there is a small town right outside Tokyo, Sophie and I own a farm there. If you meet me there for three hours to train, every day before work. I can promise you that you will be ready for the fight. "
"I will be there," Kaiba said.
"Good," Vlad replied. Vlad pulled his shirt back on and continued, "I suggest you two go clean up. The rehearsal is in less than an hour."
…
As the girls arrived back to the hotel room, Mai told them to come to her room. She had a surprise for Téa. When they got in the room, Mai went digging in her closet. She pulled out a dress bag and a box of shoes. She then explained, "I wanted to give you something that you would love long after the wedding. So, I got you this to wear to the rehearsal dinner."
Téa unzipped the dress bag and found a Marylin Monroe style lace dress. The dress was off white with a plunging neckline. "I can't wait to try it on Téa said as she excitedly skipped to the bathroom."
A knock was heard at the door and when Mai opened it, she noticed Mokuba and James in the doorway. Mokuba was holding a suitcase and a dress bag. "Hey boys, what can I do for you?"
"Grab your bags, we are moving you two to the bridal suite. After the rehearsal, we don't want Seto to see Téa until the wedding." Mokuba explained.
Mai quickly packed her bag and waited for Téa to come out. When Téa came out, she was grinning from ear to ear. "I love it Mai," she said as she twirled around. She ran up and gave her a hug, "I am so happy you are here."
Mai smiled back and replied, "Me too, Téa. Me too."
Mokuba and James helped the girls to their new room and placed her wedding gown and clothes in the closet.
…
