Here we go again! I actually believe the end is near. I am honored at the number of quality writers who have taken the time to read my story. Thanks for all the reviews! Keep them coming! Don't own Yummy Yami, Seto or any of that YGO stuff.
Chapter 10: Seto's Bane
Seto stalked into the temple. His impassive face was belied by the quickness of his steps; he was a man with a destination in mind. He saw the High Priest from across the large theater. Columns soared above the tiny human pest that scrambled though the religious emporium, columns that would soon don the cartouche bearing his name. His lips actually twitched upward at that. The priest walked forward to meet him.
"Ah Seto," he spoke in hushed tones, "did you kill the girl."
His eyebrows arched, "What do you think? She won't be of any use to him now, and after tonight no one will be able to close the portal. I will finally defeat that fool Yami. Is everything ready?"
" I leeched what powers I could, and the rest I have suppressed with my alchemy, but soon it will be beyond my strength to control. The ceremony must happen tonight."
"It will and then the world will be at our feet." Then I will take care of you.
Cold. The stone was cold to my face, then the pain, a sharp stab in my head. My fingers explored for the source of my discomfort, gasping aloud when they found the sticky indent in my skull. I opened my eyes to see a dimly lit room of stone. The walls were moving. No that was just me, probably a concussion, causing me to see things. Alone in the small bare room, I tried to get up. I heard a rattling sound, and then the bite of manacles around my ankles stopped me. Chained!
"Hey!" I ventured, to hear only my own voice reply. "HEY!" I screamed again. Alone, chained, forgotten. Where was Ma'kat? Who would have done this to me? I pulled at the chains until blood dripped onto my feet from my raw ankles. The iron didn't budge their housing, solid rock.
I became dizzy with the excursion and slipped down to the icy floor, nearly sitting on a burlap sack. The contents—one golden box, I slid back the lid and examined the puzzle again, smooth and perfect. I exhaled slowly and the pieces started to come together in my hands, if not in my head.
Hours past, the chill had soaked into my bones, my feet were numb, my stomach complained for sustenance. I ignored everything, totally engrossed in the puzzle. I didn't hear the metal scraping of the key, or the quiet feline swish of footsteps, until a voice spoke, "You've looked better."
My head shot up to stare into the ice of Seto's eyes.
I stood up as quickly as my lifeless legs would allow. The pins and needles stabbed at me as the circulation returned, "Let me out of here." I hoped this meant that I would be freed, but his dark voice set my nerves on edge.
"Now, now Princess, no hurry. It's time we had a little chat."
"Chat? I'm chained, in a dungeon, hardly conducive to chatting! Set me free or Yami will…"
"What? After I tell him you are not even his dear Cassandra, but some imposter."
I sucked in my breath, his word felt like a strike to my midsection. Again my only lifeboat of sanity was sailing away without me, my defense gone. Crestfallen, I glared at him with hooded eyes. There was no use denying the truth.
"No witty reply, another indication of your fraud. Cassandra was never at a loss for words. But you could have your purpose, whoever you are."
"What do you want of me?" I felt defeated already.
"Right now? Nothing, just stay put here, until after ceremony. Then we will discuss, how you will marry me."
"I am to marry the Pharaoh." I stammered out, clinging to the only truth I knew.
He chuckled, "I will be the Pharaoh after tonight. And I will need the Grecian army if I am to solidify my position as ruler. You will marry me; unless you want your secret revealed. The Greeks aren't as forgiving as I am, they would do much more than throw you in the dungeon for your lies."
I struggled again against my chains, reopening the freshly squelched wounds.
"You have spirit, I'll give you that." His eyes raked over me again, "And you are as beautiful as her, once cleaned up of course." He grabbed my shoulder and pushed me against the wall. "I loved her you know, I could kill you for looking like her, for pretending to be her." His grip on me tightened as his face screwed up in rage. "We had plans, to rule the world together." His voice broke, "Then she was gone, and you came. I knew it from the first moment I held you that day in the chamber, you were not my Cassandra. At the banquet, you didn't have her carriage, her voice…you are nothing. Nothing but a pretty pawn in my game." He reached out to stroke my cheek and I retracted from his touch.
"Is that what this is to you? A game?" I could not believe his callousness.
"Everything is a game, a prize to be won, a challenge to be overcome. You'd do best to think about what I've said, and consider my offer carefully." He left the cell abruptly, leaving me blinking after him, still in shock.
What could I do? Yami is in terrible danger and I am stuck here. Seto was right; I am nothing and no one, a pretender who'd been found out. Even if I were to escape, would Yami believe me, after all the deception? I bit back tears, my heart aching in my chest. I turned back to the puzzle, drawn back to its smooth pieces, calmed by the task. I had almost solved it. Two more…there! I slid the last piece in and the room filled with a golden light. I fell back and crumpled onto the floor as my legs gave way beneath me, I vaguely wondered what I had unleashed as the completed amulet burned in my hand and all feeling left my body.