Authoress's Note: OKAY! HERE IS THE NEXT CHAPTER!

This is a little more    intense than the past chapters, and I will say that the rating is about PG-14. In a few chapters, it WILL GO TO R, but it will take a little bit.

Also, just so you people know, I actually have all 20 pages of Part I done and I am working on Part II, which is halfway done. There will be about four parts to this, all with their own chapters and little things going on. And when I do get to Part II, the flashbacks will get slightly confusing…

Don't own "Yu-Gi-Oh" or "Behind Blue Eyes"

"But my dreams –
They aren't as empty
As my conscience seems to be…"

- the Who

            Dear God, they have just left me. I cannot help but shudder; the hunger has left me and there is blood staining my lips from where the cloaked one pressed his wrist to my mouth. I have never been so tempted before, not even when I was told to smash my violin to bits.

            They came to me with a strange knife. The cloaked one ripped my soiled lace shirt off and held my arms behind my back. There were words that were spoken; I don't pretend to have understood them. It was an ancient tongue that has not been spoken for over a thousand years. The knife cut into my chest and I thought he would kill me, but there is now a horrible eye. The wound seemed to glow and heal before my eyes and it left long, black lines. There is blood on my chest. Whenever I move to stab myself in the heart with the pencil, a searing pain goes through me and the curséd eye glows.

            It was not the end. They bled me until I thought I would faint and poured the basin into a jar. The cloaked one pressed it to his lips and drank. He passed it to his leader, who held it in his hands. There was silent communication between them for a moment before he came at me. I was pushed to the ground and I thought I was going to die; there was a wrist pressed to my mouth and no matter how hard I tried the blood was forced into my mouth.

            I screamed as the blood went down my throat; it seared my insides and filled me more than the food I had as a living being, as a mortal. I had been cut before, but never had I partaken of the forbidden drink.

            After it was done, the cloaked one left me alone with the dark-skinned demon.

            "Why me?"

            He ran his hands through my long white hair. I thought he would kiss me then, and the thought terrified me more than anything.

            "You were destined to come here. Destiny directed you to me."

            "Destiny never was for me. She never cares about anything but amusement. Why won't you leave me alone to die? You enjoy torturing me."

            "We must be both strong and beautiful to survive. You must be as strong and as beautiful as I am if you are to live. That was the way under the Egyptian Pharaohs, and it is the way it is in our world."

            What is our world, I thought. I am still wondering what that meant. Perhaps someday I will know, maybe as I am dying.

            "Who are you?"

            "I am called many things. You will call me master."

            He was gone before I realized there was no one there.

            I remember wearing ruffled shirts and seeing beauty everywhere around me as a child. I climbed a hill that was close to home, somewhere my parents told me not to go. I did not have to worry about the violin or the piano on that hill. Languages of the animals and birds buzzed in my ears; I was aware of everything.

            When I was fourteen, I was a rebellious soul. My hair was quite long by then, down to my waist, and I let it blow free. My brothers mocked me and called me a beautiful little girl; they kept their dark locks a little past their shoulders and tied it back with silk ribbons as they rode into town and tried to woo girls.

            On that particular day, I had had a not-too-pleasant run-in with my French tutor, who yelled at me in the language and taught me words that never should be heard in public when I messed up in my grammar. The language was easy for me, but not so for the other children in my family. I was the only one who understood all of it, and I had told him in perfect French that I was going for a walk. He had rolled off even more curses then; I was not there to hear it.

            I sat in a tree and brooded for what seemed like hours. I don't remember much that went on that time; I became aware of myself and there was a voice. It whispered in my ear and told me I was special; it was speaking in some strange language but I understood the meaning of what it was saying. A girl's voice, a voice I would know later as Cynthia's. It entranced me and bade me to jump off the steep hill and break my neck on the rocks below.

            I do not deny I wanted to do it; the voice was almost impossible to ignore. But even as it told me to do this, the counter-spell rode through my mind. I heard the most beautiful singing I had ever heard in my life. I opened my eyes and there was a girl dancing in the grassy expanse at the top of the hill; she was wearing fine clothing but obviously cared for none of it.

            Love made me fall out of the tree. She was very beautiful and she danced across the expanse of grass; brown, curly hair that was done in a loose circle braid. The hair that fell from it was braided; she had woven blue flowers into her hair.

            She did not notice when I fell, and I lay there watching her weave her spell. It was Mayday that day, I remembered; my brothers were playing pranks in the town with the girls they liked.

            Love has a way of finding you no matter how isolated you are, no matter how many walls you put up to keep others out. Love was what I felt up there, and nothing else in the world seemed to matter. A string pulled me toward her. She was dancing closer to the tree. Then she stopped.

            "Oh, I am sorry. I did not know someone was here." She blushed and I stood. I brushed off my coat. "I know the dancing wasn't—

            I turned around. She stared into my amber eyes; I stared into her baby blue eyes. I finished what she was about to say. "—acceptable."

            My hand fingered for a rose on the wild bush near the tree. I silently asked the plant for the blossom and my hand snapped it off. "For you, milady." I bowed to her. "You are as beautiful as the rose."

            Our fingers touched, and I saw the blush on her face grow as she accepted the rose. Her fingers held it like it would crush if she moved.

            "Is it the young Pegasus's custom to hide in trees all day?"

            Her voice was the most melodic thing I had ever heard. I knew the accent; it was British. More and more were flocking to the areas that had little to do with the Revolution because they had been driven out of their homes.

            "Is it Urania Fay's custom to waste away in the sun?"

            I knew Urania Fay; her parents had often come to dine with us. When they visited New Orleans several years ago, Urania had stayed with us. I barely recognized her now. I remembered that her mother and father forbade her to go outside during the day so she would not tan, but now her skin was darker from the light. I, however, was so pale that the sun seemed to pass right through me.

            "Yes. Besides, no one is going to care. My parents are dead."

            I brought her home and my father and mother welcomed her. The thin girl was given cakes and tea. She recounted the story somberly; the joy that she had known on the hill was gone like an illusion she had lost hold of.

            "Three weeks ago, a strange young man who called himself Midnight Blue came to the inn. Mother recognized him as the one who murdered Marque Pegasus, but Father wouldn't listen to her. It was very interesting because Midnight Blue paid for his room in advance with pure gold.

            "After dark, Mother told me that she needed water from the well. When I got back, the inn was silent. They were lying on the ground with horrible expressions on their faces and there was blood everywhere. I ran from it. It took me about three days to reach the closest town, and I had no money for lodgings or food. I was surprised that there were people looking for me; they said I had killed my parents. Midnight Blue had beaten me to the town and spread the story. There was nowhere for me to go."

            I remember that night as if it were a dream. I awoke and I was standing in the doorway of the room she slept in. My clothes were on, but I wore no jacket. The lace shirt billowed around me in the cool mountain air. It must have been an hour that I stood there; the full moon's light was streaming through the window by the time she awoke.

            She stirred in the bed and I was aware of her eyes watching me. She sat up and stared at me. The nightgown she was wearing dazzled me. It reminded me of the legends of King Arthur. She was a medieval princess.

            "Come with me," I told her. I held my hand out to her.

            Urania stared at me with her beautiful eyes for only a moment before her lips parted. The entire world hung suspended for the moment when she took a breath and replied to me. Those words meant something infinitely greater than a mere walk.

            "Yes."

            Sparks seemed to fly between our hands. I led her to the open window and looked down at the ten-foot drop. The manor was surrounded by trees; I used the trees often when I planned midnight escapes. I climbed onto the thick stone rail and held out my hand. My fingers grabbed onto a good-sized, sturdy branch. I let myself fall against the tree, and then swung myself up until I was in it.

            "I had no idea you were such a cat, young Pegasus." Her face was incredibly clear to me in that moonlight. I scarce could climb down because I was looking into her eyes.

            When I reached the bottom, I saw she was waiting for me. Her form was in shadow; I wondered if I had the strength to catch her. Well, it was too late for that. She had already jumped and she was coming at me. I broke her fall, and her weight against me caused me to fall backward. I was careful not to make a noise, not even to cry out, though her elbow was in my side and I felt like screaming.

            She lay against me for a short while, staring into my eyes, before she found where she was. I saw her blush and she got off me. Catlike, I jumped to my feet. She grabbed my hand and I led her away from the manor.

            We wove through amber fields and forest area until I heard the familiar sound of a waterfall. Oft I had come here and sat against the cool rocks, sometimes even stripping bare to swim in the water.

            The latter of which I was planning right now.

            I took off my jacket and smiled at her. I felt almost embarrassed taking off my shirt in front of her. Next I took off the boots, and, in a precarious moment, I decided to keep the tights on, which would dry by morning if luck was with me.

            Luck was always with me in those days.

            I dove into the deep pool and came up with a smile on my face only to find her in the water with me. She kept her body below the surface; her undergarments were white. I had never seen them before, nor had I ever thought about seeing them. My brothers saw them almost every night as they combed the bars for women to take to bed, women that were paid a lot of money for their trouble.

            She splashed me. I sputtered and stared at her.

            "Well, aren't you going to fight back?"

            "It's not proper to raise a hand against a lady."

            "Honestly, young Pegasus, you're too polite. Live a little; etiquette is only used during fancy dinner parties. All of you upper-classmen are so uptight. Now come have some real fun for a change!"

            I raised my hand against her and sent a shower of freezing water onto her. I ducked under to prevent her from catching me again and went under the waterfall. My white hair was plastered to my head. She was nowhere in sight. I heard something behind me and the next thing I knew I was being held under the water by her. I came up sputtering; she came up laughing.

            Her expert hands wove through my hair. I was now lying on a rock, and I was very wet. She was braiding my hair, of course, and my hair was as long as any girl's. It was almost as long as hers; she had hair so long she could wrap it around her head. I turned away from her and looked out at the water. There was someone watching us from the shadows and whoever was watching was laughing at us. I turned, but there was no one there.

            "What is it?"

            "I think someone is watching us."

            "Why do you care if anyone watches us? Does it matter to you?" Her fingertips caressed my face.

            I looked down. "No."

            She turned my face toward her and looked into my eyes. "Then why do you care?"

            We kissed; I let her fingers move through my hair. The braid was coming undone, but I didn't care. I was kissing a goddess, a muse.

            I damned my heritage in that moment. I did not want the manor any longer. I would not stay there with the rest of my family like some dying ghost anymore. My parents disapproved of me for my art, which, by the age of fourteen, I had to hide under my mattress. I asked my brothers to smuggle paints into the house for me, and they did so as long as I never told our parents about their antics in town. Not that I knew anything.