A zummara is an ancient Egyptian flute. Hope you all enjoy this!

Chapter Twenty-Six

"We present for your entertainment the enchanting dancer, Layla!"

A beautiful girl sauntered into the center of the throne room. Her face was made up extremely delicately. Blush dusted her cheeks and the eye-shadow brought out her hazel eyes. She sent the Prince a seductive smile before beginning her dance.

I looked towards the Prince, whose face was now bright red. My eyes narrowed slightly when I realized her eyes never left the Prince's face…and his never left her face. Her body lithely twisted and turned through the complicated dance. The Pharaoh had thrown a party for the citizens of his kingdom to celebrate the recent flooding of the Nile…the same flood the Prince and I had barely escaped.

I rose from my seat, disgusted by the scene unfolding before me. "Alexandria? Where are you going?" I halted for a moment, carefully considering my answer. I faked dizziness, "I need to step out for a moment. All this wine is getting to me." I did not wait for his reply as I basically sprinted out the doors.

I ran to the nearest column outside, throwing my arms around as much of it as I could. My breath came in short spurts as I tried to hold back my tears. Why was I feeling this way? I could not believe my own stupidity. How could I expect to hold the Prince's attention, when there were clearly many others who were far more interesting than me? How could I expect that after one moment together, he would be completely devoted to me? It was selfish and stupid of me to think so.

"My Lady?"

I quickly spun at the voice and wiped away the few tears that had escaped. Seto looked at me, concern in his crystal blue eyes. I smiled weakly before turning back around and walking towards the balcony's edge. I sat down on the edge, whistling quietly. I felt Seto's hands cover my shoulders, trying to comfort me. A tiny growl was heard as my Kuriboh appeared. I gently stroked his soft fur, calming the small creature.

"It's that dancer, isn't it?"

As usual, Seto struck the heart of my current sadness. I laughed humorlessly, "Am I that obvious?" Instead of responding, he wrapped his arms around me further, hugging me from behind. His silence was more than I could take. Leaning against his arms, I broke down into tears. It felt like something inside me was slowly breaking apart. I did not even notice Kuriboh's departure.

I felt absolutely pathetic. Here was the greatest magician in the entire world crying relentlessly over some guy. I kept trying to tell myself that he was just another figure in my life, one who would join all the other faceless figures that had been a part of my existence until now. But, I could not force myself to believe that. He was special, and no matter who he chose to be with, I would always love him.

"He is a complete fool if he wants that wench over you." Seto's words comforted me. I knew how he felt about me; he did not hesitate to make it clear whenever the Prince was not around. He hugged me closer as I turned into his chest, my cries falling to sniffles. He quickly picked me up and carried me back inside. My sniffles soon fell into silence as I gently swayed in his strong grasp.

I closed my eyes as he passed by the throne room. The Prince could have his whore. I would complete my training with the Pharaoh, which would end at the end of the month, and leave. It was childish and stupid, yes. But I was not going to allow myself to stomach the sight of them. I sighed, irritated at my own pride. This must be how the other ladies felt when the Prince rejected them for me.

I was soon placed down onto a soft bed and tucked under the covers. With a small kiss on my forehead, Seto left, whispering that he would return as soon as the festival was over. As soon as the doors shut, I heard his sharp tone requesting the presence of guards at my door. I rose from the bed and slipped into my bathing room. After cleaning my face with water and donning on my silk cover, I walked outside.

The blazing stars shone brightly against the dark sky. I giggled to myself as that thought crossed my mind; I would be a horrible poet. One of my little creatures popped up, carrying a tiny drum. I smiled as he began to play. My monstrous brother appeared in a tinier form, extending his hand to me. As the drum kept a steady beat, a zummara and harp joined in.

My brother and I must have danced for some time because I soon felt another hand tapping my shoulder. I turned and immediately froze. It was the Pharaoh. I quickly bowed, "I apologize sir. I will ret-" He placed his finger over my lips and smiled mischievously before extending his hand like my brother had earlier. I laughed happily as the Pharaoh expertly twirled us around.

My eyes started to droop a little, tired from the fun I did not think I would have tonight. He chuckled and, before I could stop him, he swung me up into his arms and slowed the dance down. After a few moments of resistance, I settled down into his arms, my head lolling onto his shoulder. He slowly finished the dance, ending by placing me back into bed. He sat beside me for a few moments, humming quietly. The tune continued, but my mind had leapt ahead. Something terrible was going to happen.

I shot out of the bed, throwing a cover over my slip and dashed back down to the throne room. The Pharaoh called out to me in confusion, following my steps as quickly as he could. Seto was on his way back up when I flew past him. I slipped through his fingers, much to his dismay.

The little poser was still dancing when I burst through the doors. All the music ceased and the crowd parted for me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Prince shake his head, still a little dazed from her spell. Her eyes grew wide, surprise growing inside them. She backed away in fear, the knife I had seen dropping from beneath her sleeve to the floor. Everyone around me gasped. A few guards came up and seized her. I turned my back and looked towards the Prince. His gaze met mine for a few seconds, before dropping his head in…disgust?

A sudden cry broke the silence as the girl's knife cut through my abdomen. I quickly turned on her, taking her own knife and slitting her throat, my eyes a blazing red. I froze as she fell backwards, the crowd screaming behind us, and my mind came back to me. The knife clattered to the floor. My body began to shake as the gravity of the situation came crashing down on me. "Alexandria!" My legs collapsed from underneath me.

The Prince was by my side instantly. "I…I…I killed…killed her…dead…my fault…" These broken sentences were all I could say. My mind was unhinging as it grasped the deed I had just committed. I hardly noticed it when Mahado came to my side. He partially healed and bandaged my wound. I could not stop shaking, and my vision failed me. All I could see was her dead face, the blood covering it and my guilty hands. I soon blacked out.

I awoke what felt to be days later. I was in the Pharaoh's room. Bandages covered my torso, a wet rag lay across my forehead, and a bowl of cool water was on a chair nearby. I lifted my hands and stared at them. These monstrous hands…I fell back against the pillows, dropping the offensive objects from my view. I was repulsed by my own body. Perhaps my plan to leave would still happen.

"Dria! Oh thank Ra! You've awaken!" The Prince came inside, hastily climbing onto the bed next to me. I turned away from him, pulling the covers around me tightly. "Dria? Are you still unwell?"

"A prince should not converse with a murderer. He should throw her in prison and execute her."

Silence fell between us like a wall. I prepared myself to hear him agree with me and call for the guards who would escort me to my death. But, those words never came. Instead, a pair of arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me close. He rested his chin on the top of my head and began to stroke my hip.

"Don't be ridiculous. I won't allow anyone to put you in prison."

I snarled angrily and threw myself across the room, pushing him back. He stumbled in surprise, but quickly regained his balance, jumping gracefully off the bed before he could fall. I backed up against the wall, staring at my hands in horror. They'd almost hurt the man I held so dear. He approached me slowly, keeping his hands where I could see them.

I was about to turn tail and run when he trapped me against the wall. He covered my lips with his, silencing my screams instantly. My hands moved on their own accord from his chest to the nape of his neck, tugging lightly on his ebony hair. His large hands gripped my waist as my legs wrapped around his hips. I was helpless in his arms as he carried me over to the bed.

He pulled me on top of him as we fell back together. When his hand slowly moved down, my senses came back to me. I ripped myself from his arms and ran towards the balcony. I whistled loudly, calling to my red brother for help. "Dria! Don't go!" I jumped onto my brother's back, clinging tightly to his horns. I turned back to the Prince one last time, tears falling down my cheeks.

"I love you…"

I sighed as that memory ended. Why did I have to relive that moment? Sometimes, I really hated this Pendant because it seemed to have a mind of its own. It picked random memories from my head and chose to display them as it saw fit. And while a few of them were pleasant ones, it seemed to like my bad memories a lot.

A hand caressed my cheek, "Something wrong?" The man walking beside me took my hand in his, gently kissing the back. I gave him a small smile and shook my head.

"Just a memory."

His eyes crinkled in mischief, and his grip on my hand tightened. I raised my eyebrow in amusement, challenging him to continue with his odd actions. He suddenly wrapped his free arm around my waist tightly and released my hand. I squealed as he began to tickle me mercilessly. I squirmed and wiggled as much as I could, high pitched giggles ringing out of my mouth.

"Y-y-yami! Stop it!" I twisted until not even his strength could hold me and took off down the street. He chased me for a few moments, laughing loudly. People on the street stepped aside in amusement as they watched this odd couple flirt. Two arms grabbed me and pulled me back. His chest vibrated as his chuckles continued. I turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck.

He smiled down at me, his teeth sparkling in the sunlight. He leaned down and touched his nose to mine, giving me a small Eskimo kiss. I shoved him away, smiling widely. "You need to focus, mister. You have to be careful with your next opponent."

"Hey! Did ya hear? Joey Wheeler is dueling some dude with ESP!"

"This I gotta see!"

I turned back towards the Pharaoh, grabbing his hand and pulling him behind me. "Come on! We have to go cheer Joey on!"

He yelped in surprise as I dragged him behind me. "Dria! Slow down!" I ignored him as we ran up the stairs of an empty warehouse. Throwing the door open, I released his hand and ran towards the railing. Thankfully, Joey's duel was directly below the building. I guess those kids actually did know where they were going.

The duel was only a couple of turns in. I instantly recognized Joey's opponent, Espa Roba. He was a talented duelist…at times. His methods were a little unorthodox, but then again there is no exact way to duel. I had enjoyed hearing about how he toyed with his opponents (at least the arrogant, sadistic part of me did) when Father told me about him.

I rested against the platform railing as I watched. Pharaoh stayed still, just staring at the dueling area. I saw a bit of worry in his eyes, but confidence in Joey was obvious.

"Let's tell Espa what else this guy's got."

"Ok big brother, Graceful Dice is under his Swordsman."

I turned my head towards the adolescent voices. There were four boys on the platform next to us, all of them bearing an uncanny resemblance to Espa Roba. One was very young, still sucking on a pacifier. The next one looked to be in grade school, clutching his giant lollipop tightly. The third and fourth looked like high school freshman. One was holding a set of binoculars, relaying what he saw to the next one, who had a headset with a tiny microphone on it.

"Your opponent just drew another Graceful Dice."

I shifted my gaze back to the duel and listened carefully. They had to be relaying that information to their brother. I raised my eyebrow at this situation. Though I almost hated to think it, this was incredibly amusing. I smiled a little as I tried to think of a reason why Espa Roba would want to cheat.

"You just drew another Graceful Dice card."

It probably would have helped the boys in their attempt to help if they hadn't set up a little speaker system right next to them so they could hear what was going on. I chuckled a little as my theory was proven right. Pharaoh looked at me, smiling slightly. "What's so funny?" I waved towards the duel and then towards the four sneaks next to us. He scrutinized the area, trying to find the joke. His eyes widened slightly and his smiled grew as he remembered what the boys had just said.

"Joey only has one Graceful Dice."

Their scheme was over. Joey would know Espa was faking as soon as he looked at his cards. He placed both his dice cards down, probably assuming Espa would believe they were both Graceful Dice. Espa walked right into his trap, summoning a more powerful monster to his side.

Joey's little combo of Graceful and Skull Dice proved Espa's fraud. Espa retreated slightly when the crowd realized the truth. A high pitched whistle sounded off on the nearby platform.

"Violation!"

Mokuba came running from the opposite side, blowing his whistle loudly. The second oldest boy dropped what he was holding and tried to escape. I thought about jumping down to help Mokuba, but with one smooth slide and some quick hands, Mokuba caught him. I giggled; who would have guessed Mokuba was a ninja in disguise?

"Your brother will never duel in this town again!"

"Please you've gotta give him another chance!"

"Give me one good reason!"

The boys began to tell their story. As ex-carnival people, the kids at their school bullied them, teasing the boys for their previous occupation. I felt sorry for them because they had gone through so much, simply due to their family's job. Espa protected them from the other kids by becoming and remaining a respected duelist. I smiled, happy that my game had helped them.

Mokuba fell silent. He must have been remembering the times Seto stood up for him when they were little kids. Mokuba had been small as a child, attracting the attention of all the larger boys. Thankfully, Seto was big enough to handle those other kids. The younger Kaiba slowly turned towards us. His eyes widened when he saw Yugi and I staring at him. He shook his head angrily.

"What's to stop you from pulling this stunt again?" I sighed and walked over towards the adjacent railing. I vaulted over the railing, landing lightly on the next building. Mokuba looked at me in surprise, and the brothers looked on in fear. "It's her…Miss Pegasus!" I smiled at the grade school Roba. I gently tapped his head. "Would you like to come watch with me?" I turned towards Mokuba, "I'll make sure they don't try anything more."

The Roba boy smiled as wide as he could with the lollipop in his mouth. The others giggled in glee and immediately came to my side. I discreetly twirled my finger, causing a ladder to appear on the side. With Pharaoh watching carefully from the other side, I sent the boys up one by one. I kissed Mokuba's forehead before following them. Mokuba followed me, trying to keep up his appearance of commissioner. Personally, I think he wanted to watch Joey duel.

The tiniest boy wiggled and squirmed until his brother let him down. The tiny child crawled towards me, and sat down with his arms outstretched. I smiled and lifted him into my arms. He giggled excitedly, lightly pulling at my hair. The Pharaoh just stared at us. I couldn't really figure out what emotion his eyes were holding, but it didn't look sad…more like he enjoyed the thought of me holding a child. I smiled sadly. If only…

"With no defenses, Jinzo will destroy you and you'll be out of the tournament for good!"

Come on Joey, you can beat him. I had to stay positive and hopeful for Joey's sake. With Espa Roba boosting Jinzo's power every turn, things were looking glum for Joey.

"If you think I'm givin up just because of baldy and his tin can hat, you got another thing comin!"

The four younger boys in front of me cheered for the eldest boy in excitement. Even without their help, Espa was doing pretty well. He was trying to keep up the psychic act, but it wasn't fooling anyone anymore. I sighed and turned my head against the Pharaoh's shoulder.

"Everything alright?"

I shook my head. I just couldn't watch this. Joey had a knack for causing me to have heart failure sometimes. Time Wizard was an extremely risky card, no matter how lucky someone thought he was. That luck could turn sour so fast that he wouldn't even have a chance to think of a way out. Plus, Jinzo wouldn't rust in a thousand years…it was more like ten thousand years…as old as I am. It was admirable that Joey tried, but it didn't work as he planned.

After that, Joey was falling fast. Jinzo was a powerful monster and Joey had no trap cards. It wouldn't be easy for him to come back. The Pharaoh lifted his arm and placed it around my shoulders, pulling me into his chest. "You know he'll be fine." I sighed and nodded, turning back to the duel.

A few more turns passed by with no change. Espa's Jinzo only got stronger, not to mention his Reflect Bounder added to Espa's firepower. I was very impressed with Joey though. No matter what Espa threw at him, Joey kept fighting and stayed strong. It did take a message from his sister, Serenity, to keep him focused, but it worked. Thankfully, he knew how to improvise and that trait would hopefully come into play soon. If it didn't, this duel was over. Cue heart failure number two.

Roulette Spider…

It was one of…no, it was probably the riskiest move in the entire game. Fortune had to be on your side whenever you played this card. Otherwise, you were screwed. The monster the spider attached to would spin and spin until the opponent called for it to stop. Then, it was all up to chance. Jinzo began to slow little by little…until it pointed towards the Reflect Bounder. The duel was over. I sighed and placed my hand over my pounding heart. These kids were going to kill me some day.

The seven of us on the roof headed back down. The four boys immediately took off, running towards their brother. Mokuba headed back into the city to continue his job. Pharaoh and I stayed behind and looked towards the crowd. The Roba brothers were together again and Espa accepted defeat.

Pharaoh extended his hand towards me once more as we walked down the streets of Domino once again. I smiled, "Joey seems to be getting better and better with every duel. He might even beat you one day." I nudged his shoulder playfully. He jokingly narrowed his eyes and smirked. "Pharaoh…"

I squealed as he moved to trap me in his arms once again. I took off down the street again, only to run into a huge crowd. I looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of the lovable spiky hair. He was nowhere to be found. I groaned in annoyance. I hadn't run that far and I managed to separate myself from him.

A high pitched giggle sounded from behind me. I turned and cocked my head at the strange person standing there. He, or she, was all dressed up in a…circus outfit? This person was wearing a mask as well. Bells jingled as the person moved. "You're looking for Yugi aren't you?" I said nothing, just stared at the man. "Follow me if you want to find him."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. They snapped open again when I realized what I smelled. I followed the strange man at a distance, eventually coming upon a small circus tent. What on…

Something grabbed me from behind and placed a handkerchief over my face. I took one breath, and then realized my mistake. It was chloroform. I struggled as hard as I could, but the drug was taking its toll. I managed to squeeze out of the arms and take a few unsteady steps before collapsing. Uncomfortable arms picked me up and maniacal laughter filled the air. My eyes fluttered open for a few short moments, only to see another mask…but all I could think was, 'Not again!'