Transcending Time
Chapter Eleven: Riddles In The Pages Leaving Too Much To Guess
Eshe hugged her knees, pulling her legs in closer as she tried to remain level-headed in the tight space she had concealed herself in. Tracing her finger against the cracks on the inside of the large clay pot she had climbed into, she tried to distract herself from the feeling of being enclosed and trapped. She threw her head back, looking out the neck of the receptacle which was only a little bit wider than her small body and tried to breathe in the fresh air just beyond her hiding space.
Her lungs strained to expand as she inhaled as deeply as she could, the pressure of her legs forced against her chest giving her little to no leeway when it came to such a basic bodily function.
The vessel had looked so much bigger when she'd been running through the palace gardens searching for a good place to hide, but from the inside it felt as though it was becoming smaller and smaller by the minute. Each breath Eshe took brought the walls of the pot in closer and closer until holding her head up to the blue sky above made her dizzy.
Her head lulled forwards against her knees as she began to pant, the hot and dusty air within the pot invoked a raspiness to her shuddery inhales, and she felt herself beginning to sweat, adding to the discomfort of her secluded hiding spot.
She couldn't tell how long she had been hiding, but she was sure Atem usually would have found her by now, he'd tag her smugly and claim her to be too predictable in the spots she would hide herself- but not now.
Had she finally outsmarted the boy?
So much for predictable, the young girl thought wryly, a spark of arrogance settling on her increasingly panicked mind.
Eshe couldn't tell if it was safe to escape the pot just yet; Atem could be nearby, and would claim victory as soon as she poked her head out of her spot, unless she waited until her allotted time was up.
The only problem is, Eshe had no idea if she'd been hiding for one minute or ten. Time seemed to stretch as her trepidation grew and there was no way to judge if Atem had given up his search for her.
The young princess wheezed, pressing her arms to the walls of the vessel, subconsciously pushing against them in an effort to give herself more space to breathe, but to no avail.
Perhaps she had been hiding much longer than she needed, and Atem was wandering around the gardens, scratching his head in confusion as he struggled to locate her - then she'd be able to hold this victory over his head and take her rightful place as the 'hide and seek' champion.
She was hyperventilating.
Tears trailed from her eyes down her hot face as she gasped for breath, desperately trying to kick the inside of the pot in a hysterical attempt to break free. She felt trapped, muscles stiff, unable to push herself up and out of the vessel.
"Found you!"
Eshe raised her head as a shadow blocked the light from creeping into the pot; her watery eyes settled on Atem's conceited smirk.
His face fell and his eyes grew wide with concern as he realised she was crying, and he reached into Eshe's hiding place to grab onto her arms to help pull her out.
Eshe's legs found their strength again and with the young prince's help, she managed to push herself out of the rim of the pot, and tumble forwards against the boy as she took deep labouring breaths.
The air felt cold against her skin as she left the stuffy confines of the clay pot, and she pressed her face against the soft grass. Atem knelt beside her, curling his hands around her arms.
"Eshe, what's wro-"
He was unable to get his question out before the princess burst into a tearful coughing fit, covering her face with her dusty hands as she began to loudly sob.
Eshe woke with a startled inhale, eyes springing open as she rolled over, throwing her cover aside, and pushed herself up into a kneeling position atop her bedsheets. She felt like she was burning up, her body soaked with a disgusting, rapidly cooling sweat.
Not wasting any time, she stumbled out of bed and across the room, hastily throwing open her bedroom window to inhale the cool night air, high above the city; the high altitude of her building gifted her with comforting gusts.
Small, tight spaces. Not fun. Never fun.
Crushing, drowning, asphyxiating.
Relief pumped through her as her body began to cool down; she slumped against her window sill and let the gentle breeze ruffle her hair, pondering her latest dream.
Unbelievable. Eshe almost suffocated in a clay pot and still wasn't crowned the 'hide and seek' champion.
She let out a soft wheeze of weak amusement; dream-Atem had practically saved her life.
Eshe wondered briefly, if dream-Atem had not had the intuition to check the clay pot, whether or not she would have suffocated in her sleep. Because it sure as hell seemed like it wasn't beyond the realm of possibilities at that moment. Leela could have found her, cold, stiff and trapped amongst her bedsheets with a look of terror instilled on her face.
"What an embarrassing way to die", she mumbled, chuckling softly.
She hoped her real death would be a more dramatic, climactic event. Nobody wants a boring death.
"Here lies Eshe, strangled by cotton blankets. That's what my tombstone would read; the people would point and laugh over my grave. She deserved to die if that's how she went, that's what they'd say..."
Realising she was talking to no-one but the skyline, Eshe closed the window with a sigh and retired back to her bed, hoping her nightmares weren't sending her into a delirious episode.
The diner was filled with mid-afternoon chatter as Eshe sat alone in a small booth, leaning her head into the palm of her hand as she lazily counted the circular patterns on the empty seat in front of her. The building had a relaxing feel to it, the walls and seats a pleasing colour palette of mint green, pinkish-red and pristine white. The walls were decorated with small canvases showing multiple styles of art from many different artists; it was truly a wonderful place to sit and clear her mind.
The waft of freshly-cooked foods drifting in from the kitchen made her mouth water, wishing she'd ordered a greasy steak instead of a refreshing salad. Her stomach rumbled as a waiter brought two hugely-portioned plates of burgers and chips to the two teenage boys in the booth across from her; she licked her lips and sighed.
Eshe had never really worried about her eating habits; she was gifted with a naturally fast metabolism, and any junk food she consumed mostly just dissolved into energy rather than adding extra fat to her body.
She couldn't run a two-hundred-metre sprint without collapsing to the ground to desperately take in air, sure, but she wasn't exactly interested in pursuing an athletic career, so it didn't really bother her that she wasn't in tip-top running condition.
It had only occurred to her within the last twenty-four hours that perhaps her nightmares were a result of the unhealthy cuisine she shoved down her throat, and thus she decided to try the route of fruit and vegetables to see if it altered the way she slept.
"Here's your salad, Little Miss Healthy", Leela quipped, appearing suddenly at Eshe's side as she placed the plate of greens down in front of her, watching her expectantly as she slipped into the other side of the booth.
"Thanks, Leela", Eshe spoke with a weak smile, grabbing her fork to stab at the lettuce and begin to force it down before she changed her mind and ordered something fattening. She had decided to visit her best friend in her working environment, a chilled-out diner down one of the main streets of Domino; Eshe had to admit, Leela looked pretty in her red waitress's uniform with the little white apron.
"So, any reason you ordered this monstrosity?" Leela asked, leaning forwards inquisitively as Eshe took reluctant bites of the dish before her.
"I've been feeling kinda rough lately. I thought my eating habits might be to blame", Eshe explained, grabbing her glass of water to take a sip.
"Rough how?" Leela inquired, sparing a glance to the kitchens to make sure her manager wasn't spying her slacking off.
"I dunno… since I went to the museum the other week, I've been having- like… dizzy spells?"
Leela's gaze flickered to Eshe's eyes, concern emanating off her suddenly, "Dizzy spells? Have you booked a doctor's appointment? What happened exactly?"
Eshe shook her head with an amused huff, "No, I'm sure it's nothing serious, and I just got really ill the other week just before we left the museum. It's fine, it only lasted about half an hour, and the group took care of me", she took another regretful bite of her tasteless salad and sighed.
"There's also… the nightmares I'm having have been getting pretty bad…"
Leela frowned, "Seriously, see a doctor. Please?" her friend looked almost pleading, probably recalling the stories Eshe had told her about her young childhood when the nightmares became too much. "If you start avoiding sleep, it might become worse."
"I'm not going to- I'm not gonna do that again. I'm just-" Eshe eyed her salad, "Let me try healthy eating first, and if that doesn't help, I'll see a stupid doctor, okay?"
Leela's lips curled into a small smile and she nodded, seemingly satisfied with Eshe's answer, "Good." She brushed a strand of black hair back behind her ear and crossed her arms, looking back down at the salad Eshe was lazily nibbling on.
"I mean, I don't see how torturing yourself by eating food you don't like is going to help but… you do you, hun."
Eshe rolled her eyes, snorting slightly at her friend's antics, "I will do me. Now let me eat my gross salad in peace."
She watched Leela poke her tongue out cheekily and begin to shimmy out of the booth, and then an impromptu white flash appeared the corner of Eshe's vision; she reached up to cover her eye, initially thinking a light in the diner had blown, but it became obvious that was not the case from the way nobody else reacted.
"Eshe? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Leela leaned forward, placing a hand on her shoulder apprehensively following Eshe's sudden odd behaviour.
Eshe blinked rapidly, and her vision morphed into something else.
The light reflecting off the sword in Atsu's hands glinted persistently in Eshe's eyes and her irritation grew as he waved it around in imitation of a clumsy swordsman.
"What do you think? Should I take up sword fighting instead of magic?" the boy inquired playfully, brushing a stray, sandy-brown lock back behind his ear, his hair having become mussed as he swung his blade around without grace or talent.
"I think you should put that sword down before you take someone's eye out", Eshe grumbled, shielding her gaze from the flashes of light.
"Stop being childish, brother", Dalila snapped, rising from her spot beside Eshe at the edge of the pond to snatch the sword out of the young teen's hands.
"Alright, touchy", Atsu quipped, "probably for the best though, I'm much better in my magic skills than sword-fighting. Who wants to be a swordsman, anyway? Magic is much more graceful- with sword-fights you just end up getting sweaty and bloody."
The boy crossed his arms smugly and Eshe regarded him with a skeptical eye, "sword-fighting is just as graceful as magic-wielding."
Atsu snorted, "You're just saying that because you like to spy on the prince while he's training."
Eshe went red with embarrassment, and squeaked out, "What!? No I don't!"
The boy shrugged, smirking knowingly, "Sure you don't."
"Ugh! You don't know what you're talking about!" Eshe groaned abashedly, crossing her arms defiantly and glaring the slightly older boy down, "Dalila, tell your brother to behave!"
"He's kinda right though, you do spy on the prince while he's training…"
Eshe turned to her closest friend, a scandalised expression on her face, "So much for backing me up!"
Dalila began to laugh at Eshe's whimsical look of betrayal, "You're so dramatic, Eshe."
Eshe rolled her eyes, and caught a blur of white passing behind the apertures surrounding the courtyard; she watched the young, black-haired magician-in-training, Rura, walk calmly to the entrance of the gardens and make his way towards them.
Atsu and Dalila followed her gaze, their expressions falling into an uneasy leer; Eshe frowned, wondering why the boy was approaching.
Rura carried a sense of wariness with him wherever he went; he always walked so stiffly, his arms swaying imperceptibly with every step he took, and he looked so statuesque in his movements. His graceful gait offered him the ability to appear and disappear without drawing attention.
He came to a stop in front of the group, his hands clasping behind his back in a relaxed gesture, his eyes scanned over them, and Eshe attempted not to shiver under his passive scrutiny; the boy's grey eyes were mysterious and frosty. He shook his head slightly to dislodge a long lock of black hair that had fallen into his face.
"Atsu", the boy spoke, and his deep voice seemed to reverberate, "Mahad wishes to speak with you."
Without waiting for a response, Rura turned on his heel and left.
"Ra, he's so strange", Dalila murmured, and turned to her brother who was scowling at the archway Rura and just left through.
Eshe frowned; until Dalila and Atsu had brought it up, she had never been bothered by Rura's idiosyncratic behaviour, of which she had observed the few times she had passed him in the hallways of the palace. Eshe hadn't previously spared the boy such close attention, but after her friend's started talking about him - that's when she had begun to notice his chilling stare.
"He treats me so condescendingly, not as an equal. It's so annoying", Atsu hissed, his lips pulling into a pout; the boy raised to his feet, throwing a quick wave over his shoulder at the two girls, "see you later, I better go see what Mahad wants."
Eshe watched him leave, still dealing with the unsettling tingling buzzing at the top of her spine brought on by Rura's presence.
"You're scaring me, Eshe."
Eshe jerked back suddenly at the immediate presence of a hand waving in front of her face, with a glance up into Leela's fearful expression, the tanned girl sighed. It had happened again, the throbbing pain in her head and Leela's skittish demeanour, as well as the tight hand gripping her arm were all clear signs of what had just occurred.
She'd blacked out again and had another weird day-dream vision.
"I'm just tired", Eshe murmured unconvincingly. In all honesty, she didn't want to make a big deal of her issues; there were too many people around and she didn't want to draw attention to herself by worrying Leela. The eyes of the two boys on the table across were already on her, and Eshe bowed her head, trying to ignore their nosy stares.
"I'm going to walk you home, Eshe", Leela spoke with a tone that implied she didn't want to be argued with, but Eshe shook her head regardless, irritating her headache further.
"I'm meeting Téa in town, Leela, I'm not going home. I'll just take some painkillers and I'll be fine."
Leela was not happy, that much was obvious, "Then at least text her and tell her to meet you here. I don't want you to be alone."
Her concern was apparent, and Eshe knew that Leela just wanted her to be safe; with a look down at her half-eaten salad, she hummed in acknowledgement, and nodded her head, reaching for her back to text Téa her location.
Téa had been happy to change their meeting point after Eshe had explained that she was feeling under the weather again; the brown-haired girl arrived shortly, and joined Eshe in the booth, displaying worry and a desire to assist in any way that she could.
"I can accompany you home, if you'd like? We can go shopping another day when you're feeling better", Téa offered, and Eshe shook her head, forcing a smile as she rubbed her temple.
"No, I'll be okay- I can feel my headache subsiding anyway."
She didn't want to let these issues ruin her's and Téa's day, and she sure as hell didn't want to crawl into bed and sleep it off because that would be admitting defeat to the troublesome pain. Her closed eyes twitched as she considered her vision; there was no denying the strangeness of the fact that her few waking-visions were connected to her dreams and nightmares, as they seemed to all reside in the same weird world she'd subconsciously created in her head.
Once again, she found herself perplexed by the realness of the mental conception she had viewed. The heat of the sun on her skin, the feel of the grass beneath her feet and the various smells of the garden orchards mixed together painted the picture of a very genuine experience. Then there were the people she dreamed about.
Atem hadn't been in this vision, but he and Leela seemed to be two continual subjects of her… hallucinations? She didn't quite know what to call them. The other people in her dreams were unknown to her and yet, she felt she should know them; while she lived these visions, she felt connected to them, as if they were friends and acquaintances she'd known most of her life, but the moment she became conscious again, she had no explanation for why she felt that way.
She'd always thought dreams were in the control of the person dreaming them, but Eshe felt as though the images she saw in her sleep were already laid out, like she was watching a movie. There was not an ounce of lucidity to accompany her restless sleeps, and it made her almost jealous to think that others could manipulate and steer the direction their nighttime fantasies.
Eshe snuck a glance back to Leela who was taking the order of another group of customers; another thing that struck her was simply: why did she refer to her close friend as Dalila whenever these visions took her. Surely there was no reason for that? Did her unconscious mind believe her to be speaking to a different person?
Téa watched her closely with a soft, but scrutinising gaze. "Is there something besides the pain that's bothering you?"
Her voice brought Eshe's attention away from Leela, and the tanned girl couldn't help but smile; she admired Téa's ability to recognise that the way Eshe's face was scrunched up was not a result of her pain, but more implicative of confusion.
With a sigh, Eshe took a sip of her glass of water - Leela had so graciously topped it up before Téa had arrived, ordering her to stay hydrated - and leaned more closely into Téa's space.
"Do you dream a lot?" Eshe asked, and Téa blinked at the arbitrary question.
"Hmm", Téa hummed, scratching her chin, "I guess I do."
"What kind of dreams do you have?"
Téa raised an eyebrow, unsure of how this line of questioning pertained to the current situation, but she was happy to answer regardless, "I dream of being a famous dancer a lot of the time", she smiled at the recollection of such dreams, "and sometimes I dream of watching my friends play Duel Monsters", her expression turned mildly sheepish, "I mean, that probably makes sense given the fact that it's such a leading part of our lives."
Eshe smiled and nodded, "Yes, I suppose that does make sense."
Téa frowned, "Why do you ask? Is this about the nightmares you told us about?"
"Mmhmm", Eshe hummed in confirmation, she was pleasantly surprised by Téa's acute intuition, and the fact that she had recalled the anecdotes of Eshe's troubled childhood.
"You know, you can tell me anything", Téa stated, her tone so sincere and her eyes so fervid that it almost made Eshe want to cry. The thought that someone she'd only known for a few weeks could be so keen to listen to and help her through her issues was new to her, and it made her emotional.
Eshe opened her mouth to respond, and then huffed with amusement, rubbing her eyes, "You're a good friend, Téa."
The resulting beam that lit up Téa's face was enough to brighten anyone's day, "friendship is my speciality!"
By the time Eshe's headache had faded, she found herself in dire need of some fresh air, and together, the girls had left the diner to journey around the block towards the mall, by way of the scenic route. The streets decorated with pink-blossom trees were a welcomed interruption of Eshe's reeling speculation over her strange visions, and she paused to breathe in the fresh Summer air that warmed her body.
Téa walked beside her at the same pace, ready to assist Eshe if she suddenly felt light-headed again; a consideration for which the tanned girl was eternally grateful for.
The brown-haired girl had offered to lend an ear if Eshe needed to talk about her nightmares, but an unwillingness to recollect the subjects of her dreams stayed her tongue. She didn't exactly want to reveal to Téa that she'd been frequently dreaming about Atem, just in case Téa was to mention it to the boy- Eshe would never live it down.
Eshe figured she could distract herself from her thoughts with shopping; it was always therapeutic for her to go from store to store and just buy clothes, art supplies, or pointless objects that she totally didn't need but felt an irrational desire to own.
It was upon arriving at the pretty dresses in the clothing store that Téa sent Eshe a sly grin; the girl fingered the fabric of a baby blue summer dress adorned with tassels and beads and suggestively spoke, "Say, Eshe, why don't you get a new dress for your next date with Atem?"
Eshe fought the blush that rose to her cheeks and disguised her flustered look with an exasperated expression, "That's if there's a next date."
"Eh!?" the noise Téa let out was one of shock, her eyes wide and questioning, "what do you mean? You don't want to go on another date with him?"
Eshe rose a cynical eyebrow, "No- no, of course I want to go on another date with him. I don't know if he wants to go on another date with me."
The resulting laugh that Téa gave was so sudden and loud that it almost caused Eshe to jump, and immediately the giggly girl clamped her hands over her mouth, abashed to have chortled so loudly.
"What in the world makes you think Atem doesn't want to date you!?" Téa squeaked in amused disbelief, and Eshe pouted heavily, narrowing her eyes.
"How about the fact that I've dropped about a million hints in my texts but he just doesn't seem to understand that I want him to ask me on another date?" the tanned girl grumbled, and Téa snorted slightly.
"Atem is a little slow on the uptake when it comes to romance. He's definitely interested, I can tell you that", Téa assured her, "but he's, ah, had a lot of things on his mind lately so you might have to be more blunt with him."
Eshe frowned slightly, "Has something bad happened? Atem was acting strange last week…"
"It's a little hard to explain", Téa murmured, nervously scratching at the back of her head, "but, you don't have to worry about it", she gave a smile of reassurance, "why don't you ask him out?"
The tanned girl looked a little skeptical, "well… you're sure he would be up for it?"
"Absolutely!" The enthusiasm with which Téa responded with was refreshingly certain, and Eshe smiled slightly, suddenly curious as to whether Atem had divulged much about their first date to the rest of the group.
"Okay. I'll text him", Eshe decided, a bold brashness rising within her as thoughts of what they could do on their next date arose. There were plenty of things to do; they could visit the aquarium, have a picnic, go bowling- Eshe heard there was a street-fair coming soon, perhaps they could head to that- or maybe they could check out the art gallery on the outskirts of the city?
As they left the shop, the tanned girl hummed in thought, "Do you think Atem would be interested in-"
Eshe stopped, pausing in the the middle of the walkway as people veered to avoid her and sent her subtle glares for blocking the way. She came to a halt as a feeling of uneasiness overcame her, her brown eyes darting around, searching for whatever caused the distinct feeling of wariness inside her.
"Eshe, what's wrong?" Téa's voice was firm, her hand on Eshe's shoulder with immediate concern.
"I don't know", Eshe responded, letting Téa know she wasn't experiencing another odd blackout, "I feel like I'm being watched."
"There's loads of people watching us, we're standing in the middle of the path", Téa answered, gently tugging on her arm to encourage her to move.
"No, there's… something…" Eshe shifted, turning her head to observe the faces in the distance; a chill crawled up her spine and she reached a hand up to rub the raised hairs on the back of her neck.
She couldn't see anyone suspicious, and yet, she didn't feel as though it was just her imagination creeping up on her.
Eshe grabbed Téa's wrist and led her out of the mall without a specific destination in mind; she just wanted to go.
On Tuesday morning, Atem and Yugi once again arrived at the confectionary cafe that Eshe worked at; she'd been called in to cover an early shift and promptly expressed her displeasure at having to work early. She mentioned that the morning shifts always ran slow as hardly any customers dropped by for desserts so early in the day, therefore Atem had proposed to visit, delighting in any excuse to spend more time with her.
Yugi sat across from him at the table, watching Atem with a smile as the tanned boy beamed at Eshe, who was behind the counter, preparing some breakfast treats especially for them.
"Marik called last night", Yugi suddenly spoke up in a hushed tone, out of earshot from anyone else in the cafe, "and he says everything is ready- he's going to break into the museum tomorrow night. He thinks it'd be best to do it then because it's closed on Thursday and Ishizu supposes the security might be a little more lax."
Atem nodded, "I'm surprised they've sorted this plan so quickly", he smiled, a spark of excitement in his eyes at the prospect of only being a couple of days away from having the necklace in his possession.
"Well, the sooner we have that necklace, the closer we'll be to-" Yugi lowered his voice further "-to restoring Eshe's memories. Oh man, I hope it works…"
"It will work", Atem stated, not a hint of alternation to his words, and Yugi hoped it was out of certainty, and not a firmness resulting from the boy's unwillingness to consider what it could mean if it didn't work.
Their attention was swiped as Eshe appeared at the table, carrying a tray of goodies, "Here you go, boys", she spoke in a buoyant tone, placing two plates of pancakes down in front of them, along with a frothy, whipped-cream topped banana milkshake each.
"Can I get you anything else?" Eshe asked with a grin.
"No thanks, this looks delicious!" Yugi squeaked, and Eshe giggled.
"Pancakes are the best breakfast", she declared cheerfully, and turned with a bounce in her step to return behind the counter- but not before sending Atem an audacious wink.
Atem's cheeks tinged with pink, and Yugi smirked at the boy across from him, "I see your relationship with Eshe is coming along fine", his tone was mischievous.
Atem cleared his throat and idly took a sip of his milkshake, licking away the cream that accumulated on his top upper lip. "We're going on another date", he sounded mildly triumphant, "to an aquarium, on Saturday."
Yugi grinned, "That's great, Atem!" The young King of Games took a sip of his own milkshake and then rose an eyebrow, glancing between his own beverage and Atem's. "Wait… you've got extra sprinkles on your milkshake", he noted with a look of mild confusion.
Atem shrugged slightly at Yugi's pout.
"-and you've got more maple syrup on your pancakes!"
The older boy's innocent expression was blemished with a clear flash of restrained smugness, though he still continued to act naive, like he didn't realise that Eshe was clearly playing favourites.
Eshe watched the boys eat their pancakes out of the corner of her eye as she lazily scrubbed clean one of the cafe glasses with a checkered kitchen towel; the shop was pretty quiet and they'd only had a few other customers besides Atem and Yugi.
She was glad they stopped by; it made her feel happy to know that they chose to visit her just because she had dreaded working a long and tedious shift- obviously the tasty breakfast was just an added plus. Eshe was especially taken by the bright smiles Atem kept sending her; she had to make a solid effort to not squeal like an infatuated schoolgirl every time she caught his gaze.
"How do you know that guy?" the voice of Eshe's co-worker broke her out of her incessant scrubbing and she looked up into the curious face of Haru.
"Huh?" Eshe shook her head dumbly and Haru motioned with a nod of his head to the table Atem and Yugi were occupying.
"How do you know him?"
"Which one are you talking about?" Eshe asked, following his gaze. Haru gave her an exasperated look.
"The tanned boy", he clarified, and then repeated his question for a third time, "how do you know that guy?"
Eshe watched Haru closely, raising an inquiring eyebrow, "He's my friend… why do you ask?"
She caught the way his eyes twitched back towards Atem, and his mouth curled almost unnoticeably into a smirk, "No reason."
"Really", Eshe murmured, unconvinced, but she dropped it as her eyes shifted, looking past her coworker's face and at the small television hanging in the corner of the cafe broadcasting the news.
Her eyes narrowed, catching the breaking news icon and a headline mentioning the words 'Domino City Museum'.
"What the hell?" she muttered under her breath, taking a few steps towards it; she reached up and twirled the volume dial, amplifying the sound with peaked curiosity.
"-Police are urging any eyewitnesses to come forth regarding a break-in last night at precisely 2:45am-"
"Holy shit", Eshe exclaimed quietly, mindful of the younger customers sitting in the corner of the cafe; she turned back to the table Atem and Yugi were sitting at, knowing they had a broad interest in the exhibits of the museum, "uh, hey, do you two know about this?" she called, and the two boys halted their conversation and shot her inquisitive looks.
Eshe could tell by the look on Yugi's face as he read the breaking news headline that he had not previously known about it, and the boy jumped up, his chair creaking loudly as the legs dragged on the floor. He stood in front of the tv, listening intently to the report that was being broadcasted, and Atem rose from his seat a little slower, a perturbed expression on his face.
"-an unexplained blackout occurred in the security cameras, and shortly after, the alarm was triggered, alerting authorities to the scene. It is reported that only one item was stolen, an Egyptian necklace dated roughly 1000 B.C and valued an estimated five-hundred-thousand dollars, known widely throughout the archeological society as The Lost Lavalliere-"
"That's the necklace we saw, isn't it?" Eshe murmured, a peculiar feeling of somber nervousness bubbling in her stomach, "That's crazy…"
She turned her attention from the television to Atem and Yugi, and her anxiety spiked at the expressions instilled on their faces.
Yugi's eyes were narrowed, his lips parted, a sort of angry perplexity to his face and a hint of growing tension in his body - but Atem was stock-still, hands clenched at his sides; his eyes were wide with shock and he very suddenly looked worryingly pale.
Their reactions left Eshe stunned and disturbed; what puzzled her was the way they seemed so personally appalled by the broadcast, as if it was a report declaring that there'd been a break-in at their own home.
It was startling, as was the prickling sensation of foreboding brushing across her consciousness.
Notes: Oh dang. Look's like someone beat the gang to the punch... ;) Please review!