Erg…getting bored yet? No? Great! Then you won't mind R+R!
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Pegasus was taken aback. "You…you know about the Millennium Items?"
She shook her head. "Not much. Not much at all. I know of four in existence – my ankh, Yugi Motou's puzzle, Ryou Bakura's ring, and…" She looked at him full in the face. "Your Millennium eye."
"And you know what my eye does?" He trembled a little. The jig was up – at least with one person.
"Of course I do. You know what happens in a duel before you even start. You can see into the other player's hand…"
She couldn't even really think about it. It was too amazing.
"So…you really took out your left eye and put the Millennium eye in?" she whispered.
He nodded, looking at the ground. For some reason, he felt ashamed having her know.
Rei reached up to Pegasus's face. She gently brushed away the hair that covered his Millennium eye and stared at the gold object.
Maximilian sat stiff, too frightened to move. When she pulled her hand away, he spoke, trying to keep his voice smooth and normal. "Hideous, isn't it?" Pegasus sounded more confident than he felt.
"Not really," Rei said, shrugging her shoulders. "It's actually quite dashing. Sort of like…like a pirate with a patch." She smiled winningly.
"A pirate?" he said skeptically.
"Sure," she answered. "Although you must have had such beautiful eyes…why would you want to do that to yourself?"
Pegasus studied his fingernails, not answering.
Rei noticed that he was uncomfortable. "Well, um…your remaining eye is very lovely. It's a very nice shade of orange."
He looked up. "So are yours. They're practically the same as mine."
Silence. Then Rei spoke. "So I guess I won't be leaving until I give you the item, right?"
"You guessed correctly," he said. "But I won't take it from you by force. You'll stay until you give it willingly." He thought. "How did you know it was a Millennium Item?"
She thought about the campfire and her new friends. "From Yugi Motou and his gang…they told me all about the items…and I showed them mine, and Yugi said it was certainly an item."
More silence. Pegasus was deep in thought. "Just so you know, there's going to be a charity ball tonight here in the castle," he said. Rei stared at him. "You have the choice of either staying locked in your room or attending it."
"I…I guess I'll go," she said. Nervously, she grasped a piece of her hair and twisted it. A bad habit she had.
Pegasus nodded. "I thought so." He cleared his throat. "You have a large selection of ball gowns to wear. Choose whichever you'd like."
Suddenly, Rei reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you…"
He was stunned. "For…for what?" Nobody had showed him any emotion in a long time.
"I don't know…everything's been lovely. Even if I'm being forced to stay here, it really is very pleasant."
"Oh…" Unsure what to do, he decided on hesitatingly putting his arms on her back. He hadn't remembered how good it felt to hold a perfect person in his arms…she was beautiful, kind, intelligent, comforting…Pegasus rattled off adjectives in his mind, one by one.
Finally, Rei let go. "I have to get ready for the ball…I don't even know what I have in my closet." She stood up to leave. "See you tonight?"
Maximilian could only nod. Rei turned and swept out of the gazebo, her black hair shimmering in the late afternoon sun. She turned the corner she had come from and was gone.
He stayed in the gazebo a few more moments, then got up and proceeded to his chambers to prepare for the ball.
Rei poked through her closet, her Moody Blues playing softly in the background. "What can I wear in here? Not much…orange eyes don't go with anything…" Then she found the perfect thing. She lifted it up to herself in front of the full length mirror and smiled happily.
It was an ankle-length ball gown, pure white, shimmery all over, with one-inch thick straps. She peered in the closet where the dress had previously hung, and found white gloves and white heels to match it. Rei threw off her clothes and put on her robe. 'I'll have to put the dress on first, so I don't ruin my hair getting it on,' she thought to herself. She lay on the bed, thinking about how to do her hair. When the thought of something creative, Rei grabbed all the needed accessories and ran into her master bathroom, shut the door, and got to work.
Seven o'clock rolled around. Most of the guests had arrived, the men wearing tuxedos and the women in evening dresses. Even Pegasus had given up his normal red outfit for a black tux. He wished to tie his long hair back, but he couldn't for fear that they would notice the Millennium eye, so he left his hair as it was.
The band played the classical music softly. Maximilian was forced to make idle chat with his guests, chat about things he wasn't remotely interested in. Sports, the stock market. Nothing exciting. He was bored out of his mind.
Then the double doors opened, the door that the guests came in. A beautiful black-haired girl with orange eyes entered, wearing a long white ball gown, white elbow gloves, and heels. She had decided to tie her hair back in a long braid and then wrap it around her head.
Maximillian Pegasus was stunned, as were several of the other guests. Obviously, nobody knew who she was.
Her bright eyes scanned the throng of people, and they settled with recognition on Pegasus. She swept with grace towards him.
He couldn't tear his eyes away. If she was beautiful before-!
Rei finally reached him. "Sorry I'm late – I had some trouble with my straightening iron…" she left off, noticing Pegasus staring at her. "Um…is something wrong, Max?"
Max. "No…not at all, Ms. Pollack," he assured her, bowing slightly.
She rolled her eyes and punched him lightly in the arm. "Will you cut the 'Ms. Pollack' stuff, at least for tonight? I feel like an old lady buying groceries."
"As you wish," he answered, with a small smile.
"Thank you!" Rei said. Then she looked toward the dance floor, at the couples dancing happily. She glanced at Pegasus. "Come on, let's dance!"
Maximilian coughed nervously and straightened his tie. "Er, well, I don't dance …"
Rei grabbed his hand and pulled him to the floor. "Silly. Of course you do."
Not wanting to make a scene, he allowed himself to be dragged along willingly. Rei stopped at an open spot. "Here's good."
They began to dance to the light music. Both were surprised at how good of a dancer the other was.
Pegasus actually started to enjoy himself. 'But what if we get to a slow song and she doesn't want to…' He tried to forget about that possibility as he moved.
And then, of course, a slow song started. Maximilian looked down at Rei for a moment, and was taken off guard when she leaned into him and took his hand. He squeezed it lightly and put his other arm across her back.
'Nobody knows his good side…' Rei thought to herself. 'Everybody thinks he's cold and heartless…' But she didn't care about anybody else that evening. She sighed happily and rested her head against Maximilian's chest.
'It seems like she's trying to reach out to me. Even after I almost killed her this morning…'
They danced until the song ended. When it did, both Rei and Pegasus stopped moving, but they held their positions, not wanting to let go of each other. Pegasus looked down. "You're a very good dancer."
Rei gazed at him. "You are, too."
The leader of the band went up to the microphone. "We'll keep playing after a short break. Then get ready to really rock and roll!"
"What the heck does that mean?" Rei asked Maximilian, finally letting go.
"After the band plays classical and jazz music for a while, they switch to some more modern music. Nothing like rap, but some of the 'golden oldies', you could say."
Rei nodded. "Oh."
Pegasus held out his arm. "Hungry?"
She put her arm through his. "Sure."
They walked off the floor together, both thinking different things.
'She really is beautiful…am I in love? No, that can't be…I've only known her for two days. It must be something else. Maybe it's…brotherly love?'
'Even though he's got me here because of my Millennium Item, he really has been a gentleman these two days…except the little incident on the third floor. But anybody could have made that mistake…even me. I feel so close to him…'
They reached the food table and got into different conversations. The band rested for about half an hour and got ready to play again. The leader stepped up to the microphone again. "Okay…our first number will be one which I'm sure you all know…it's 'Eight Days a Week' by none other than the Beatles!"
Rei hastily put her wine glass down on a table and ran over to Pegasus. "Come on!"
He allowed himself to be dragged for the second time to the floor. All the couples seemed happier dancing to something with a livelier beat than the boring classical music. Rei was having the time of her life.
Love you every day, girl,
Always on my mind.
One thing I can say, girl,
Love you all the time.
Hold me, love me,
Hold me, love me,
I ain't got nothin' but love, girl,
Eight days a week…
Pegasus was stunned at how true the song was to him. It hit him like a thunderbolt, as he was twirling Rei. 'I'm in love…' The statement he made to himself took a huge load off his mind. He was finally being true to himself…
The song ended. Rei, laughing happily, hugged Maximilian. He was now not ashamed to hug her back.
The leader went to the mike. "I'm glad you guys enjoyed that Beatles hit…now here's one that's not quite so well known, but is by one of my favorite bands. It's a slow dance, so get ready! This is 'Love Don't Come Easy' by the Moody Blues!"
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Wow…it's Rei's favorite song! *gasp* Please keep reading!