A Dream Come True
Kyrii navigated her way through the rapidly thinning crowd and, after a few minutes of wandering aimlessly through the twisted corridors, found herself next to her own room. She knew it wasn't one of the second-class rooms like the ones newcomers like Joey and she was pretty sure Yugi had to live with. Nor was it one of the luxury suites Rex and Weevil could gloat over, since she was a third place finisher in the Regionals, but not a champion, she got a first class room, not luxury, but not steerage. She flung open the door, entered, and slammed it shut, causing complaints from the other residents along the hall, but she didn't care. The only lighting provided was that of two candles on her nightstand, but other than that the room was fairly suitable. The sunlight filling her room was fading, so she struck a match and lit one of the candles and placed in a lamp on her nightstand.
Then flopped onto her bed and reflected on everything that had gone wrong in her life, and the list was extremely long. Just the thought of her misery made her upset and angry. She hated her life. But there, underneath all the debris of her cracked, battered, miserable existence shone tiny rays of hope, little shards of the past Kyrii had once cherished but had now forgotten. Well, maybe not quite forgotten. Sometimes, on long, lonely nights when no eyes pierced darkness but hers, sometimes she remembered a boy, brown hair like hers, icy blue eyes like hers, a nasty temper, like hers, tall and regal, like her...but the memories didn't stop there. If she strained her mind enough, sometimes she saw a darkened prison cell, a locket, and a starher star. She threw off her cloak and fingered the golden object, a mysteriously ancient, five-pointed star with an eye in the center.
She looked down at the Millennium Star fastened around her neck on a golden chain, and she thought she saw it glint strangely. At first she thought it was the lighting of the room, but in a few seconds the glint had changed to an unmistakable glow. Kyrii was not afraid, only startled, but before she could think of a logical explanation, a sudden wave of fatigue swept over her, and she fell back on her pillows, giving way to the oblivion of sleep. Never knowing that an eerie light was filling the room long after the candle had gone out
Images flashed through Kyrii's mind like bullets, all the images together like a watercolor. Weevil talking and laughing with Yugi and Joey on the deck...Yugi opens a boxtakes out five cardsWeevil cackles as he throws them overboardJoey dives in to rescue themYugi follows with a loud splash Kyrii awoke with a start, body drenched in a cold sweat, everything had seemed so real! She glanced down at her Millennium Star, she knew something had happened before she had fallen asleep, something that involved her Star, but she could remember nothing.
A sudden breeze cooled the air and Kyrii shivered, a storm was on its way. She hadn't realized how dark it had gotten, she lit the other candle and checked her watch, and it read ten o' clock. She knew she had fallen asleep around seven, had she really been sleeping for three hours? Oh well. Another, stronger flurry of wind rushed through the open window, this time rattling the pane and chilling Kyrii to the bone. She hurried to the window but just before she threw down the sash, her sensitive hearing picked up the faint sound of laughter from out on the deck. Not normal, amused laughter either, but mockingly cold laughter. A voice said something and Kyrii strained to hear the words, but they were drowned by another gust of air that made the candle flicker madly until it went out. But the darkness made what happened next even more frightful: there was a cry, accompanied by a loud splash, it seemed as if her dreams were coming true.
Without bothering to light another candle, Kyrii slammed the window shut and stumbled blindly through the darkness to find her cloak. It was a good thing Kyrii's eyes adjusted to the darkness so quickly because she was out the door in seconds, fastening the last silver clasp. Kyrii raced down the hall with amazing speed, until she came to the deck, "Yugi no!" she cried, but she was too late, he had already jumped.
With a flash of beige and pink, a brown-haired boy and girl both a little younger than Kyrii appeared from somewhere in the shadows, looking around wildly. Both the boy and the girl ran over to the side of the deck, but Kyrii dashed the other way, she knew there was an emergency ladder somewhere. In less then a minute, Kyrii had found it in a glass emergency box and was issuing a command to the other two: " Come here!" They both promptly obeyed "Stand back," the boy said to her, but Kyrii shook her head and with one powerful punch, broke the glass. Shards flew in every direction and Kyrii covered her face but her hands were badly cut, and the salty sea air tripled the pain. But Kyrii ignored the pain and (with a little help from the boy and girl) lifted the rope ladder out of the emergency box. They cast it over the side and a few seconds later they felt a tug on the end as Yugi climbed the ladder, clutching the front of Joey's shirt. The trio on the deck pulled and tugged and finally Kyrii were able to gently lift Yugi's worn body off the ladder, and the boy was doing the same with Joey.
" ThanksTristan," Joey said between huge gasps for breath and the boy nodded and smiled faintly "anytime, pal." "You...tooTea" Yugi was the speaker this time and it was the girl that smiled. They were obviously all friends, so Kyrii would not be wanted in the conversation. It was time, once again, for her to retreat into the shadows. That's what she liked to think of herself as: a human shadow, slipping into cracks and crevasses, being seen only when she wanted to be. It sounded like a nice life, but if she were given the choice, she would abandon it in a second. But Kyrii didn't have a choice, at least now, so she bowed her head, and faded into the shadows.
