~*Another World*~

            Tea slowly opened her eyes, looking around, only to find herself in a rather unfamiliar place. "Where am I?" she groaned, rubbing her forehead. Instead of sidewalks, roads, and houses, all she saw were trees and more trees, as if she were in a forest. "This isn't Tokyo. What is this place?" she then got up and walked the twisted paths the forest had led her to. She then came to a stop seeing people crowding around. Being curious, she moved a bit closer though keeping her distance.

            Screams were then heard. A young girl's perhaps. No…wait…a child's! Two men with black masks over their head, held each of the child's arms. They bended over for a moment, perhaps doing something, before standing up once more. They then held up a rather odd looking cross. The girl tied to it. Her hands tied to each of the cross like how Jesus was in his crucifixion. They stabbed the cross like stake onto a pile of haystack.

            "Let's see the bitch…I mean witch, burn in hell," a villager cried out. And in the blink of an eye, fire started to build up on the haystack. Tea could easily through the child, wanting so much to save her but was too late. The fire burned through the child, screams filled the air.

            "Oh God…" Tea couldn't believe what she just saw. She kept her distance, hiding in the forests. "This is just like the Salem Witch Trials." She then stopped as if she had realized something. "I'm inside the book. I'm inside the story and I haven't even read half of it yet."

            "Hey you," a voice startled her so badly, she nearly collapsed to the ground. Turning around, she saw what seems to be a young boy in clothing, riding on a horse, looking at her strangely. "What are you doing here? This is a forbidden area."

            "Well…I…uh…" Tea didn't know how to explain it.

            "That's some pretty weird clothes you got there," the young boy looked down at her. He seemed to look like a 12 year old but judging by his voice, Tea realized he was much older than she expected. "Where are you from?"

            "Tokyo." She replied.

            "Tokyo?" he looked at her strangely. "Where's that?"

            Before Tea could answer, she noticed the villagers spotting the two. The young boy looked up at them before down at Tea. "Hop on, I'll take you somewhere."

            Tea nodded as she slowly got on the horse. The boy handed her a blanket. "And put this over you and hang on."

            "What's going on?"

            "I'll explain it later." He replied, kicking the horse lightly as it started trotting along into the village.

            "Hey Yugi," one of the villagers called out. "Weren't there two people with you."

            "Nope," he said. "You people must've been seeing things."

            "So what's under that sheet?"

            "Few goods my brother asked me to buy for him in the markets."

            "Ah, that's good for your strange, yet respected brother."

            "Yeah." Yugi then kicked the horse lightly. Tea felt herself bouncing up and down in the end. Finally, they came to a stop as she heard Yugi call out, "Okay, it's safe to take the covers off."

            Tea took off the covers noticing they arrived at a rather old fashioned house. She then hopped off the horse looking up at the house curiously. "What is this place?"

            "Salem," the young boy replied, picking up his basket. "Once a city of peace before this whole witchcraft thing came about," he the smiled. "I don't believe I've introduced myself. My name is Yugi."

            "And I'm Tea." Tea gave off a weak smile.

            "Hmm…" he looked over her for a moment.

            "You don't think I'm a witch do you?"

            Yugi looked at her, a bit confused at first but smiled. "I have a brother who is about the same age as you, if not a bit older." He then opened the door. "Come in. Make yourself at home."

            To this, Tea stepped inside the home. It wasn't really fancy as it was at her house. The walls were wooden, the furniture simple though they were decent enough to have a fireplace, a bookshelf filled with books and…a staircase? Curiosity overcame her as she slowly made her way up the stairs.

            "Hey Tea," Yugi called out from the kitchen. "Want any tea?"

            "Sure," she called back. She made sure her footsteps were silent as she finally reached the top of the stairs. There were only three rooms, she noticed. Wandering about, she entered one of the rooms only to find herself in the bathroom. Tea saw some of the steam arising from the curtain. Realizing someone else was taking a bath, her face flushed with embarrassment, turning to leave, when suddenly, a deep voice called out to her.

            "Where are you going?"

            Tea froze in place, feeling her face flush a deep crimson red. She couldn't move another inch despite the fact that she was right by the door. Being daring, she slowly looked up only to be taken back. A tall young man, perhaps nineteen, stood before her, a white towel wrapped around his waist. His face resembled Yugi in a way but much older. His body seemed godly-like, though not buffed nor scrawny, glistened and soaked from the water. The temperature in the bathroom seemed to have risen.

            His eyes bored into hers, his purple gaze seemed hypnotic for the moment. He lifted her arm gently, his fingers running up and down the lace of the sleeve before gently letting it go, leaving her a bit confused. His lips curled to what may have been a smirk, it was hard to tell.

            "Yugi has got to stop bringing in these girls unless he really wants to start dating." He cupped his hand under her chin, lifting her face up, gazing down at her. He stood at least a foot taller than her. He then left the bathroom. Tea took a peek outside the door, seeing the elder one entering another room, closing it behind him.

            Without thinking, she bolted out the bathroom, running down the stairs. Yugi looked up at her curiously as he settled the tray with four cups made of porcelain filled with tea on the table, before smiling. "I see you have met my brother."

            "That's your brother?" Tea settled down on the chair, taking out her sweater, folding it on her lap. She wore a short sleeved green and black army top. "I thought he was your identical twin."

            Yugi laughed. "I've been getting that since we were kids." He then looked up seeing an older guy making his way down the stairs, gazing at the two. Tea looked up but quickly turned away, blushing, hearing Yugi laughing.

            "Well Tea," Yugi smiled. "This is my brother and so forth…"

            "Yugi," Yami smiled, making his way to the living room. "Are you really going to date this young one?" he looked down at the girl. "Strange clothes indeed. She's obviously not from around here. If the villagers saw her, they would've hung her for witchcraft." He chuckled at that. Fixing the collar of his suit, he then looked down at the cups of tea before a dark expression creased his features. His eyes then turned to Yugi. "There are four cups in the tray Yugi. Is this some kind of joke?"

            "Huh?" Yugi looked at the tray, noticing there were four cups. "Oh…" he then glanced up at Yami. "I guess with…it's just…it feels like…I think…"

            "You know what? Sometimes you don't think." His voice was enraged as he took one of the cups, splashing Yugi with the hot liquid, causing Yugi to scream in tortured pain.

            "Hey, what the?" Tea jumped off the chair, trying to hold Yami back but all Yami did in return was shove her as hard as he could to the floor. He then slammed the tea cup onto the table, shattering it to millions of pieces. He then left the living room and into the kitchen.

            "Jeez," Tea groaned, rubbing her head. "That jerk, what's his problem?" she started to get up. "I'll teach him a lesson."

            "No don't!" Yugi grabbed a towel, wiping himself off.

            "Huh?" Tea was bewildered. "You mean, you let your brother do this to you?"

            "He was never this way," Yugi's eyes gazed at the floor. "All of the young girls in the village once fell in love with him. No wait…they still do. See, before you came along, there was another girl who once lived here. Her name was Serenity. She used to live with her brother Joey until one night, the two had an argument and he turned his back on her. So she came over here and stayed with us for a while. Yami seemed quite fond of her though I wasn't so sure what he saw her as. A girlfriend or a sister, since both of our parents had died and…well, we were like a family."

            "So what happened to Serenity?" Tea took a sip of the drink.

            The 15-year-old boy looked up at Tea. "Few nights ago, the magistrates broke into our home and took her away. The screams woke the both of us. Yami tried to grab Serenity but it was too much. By the time I got out of the room, they were gone."

            "Why would they want Serenity?"

            "The circle, as they call it, named Serenity as a witch because a few weeks back, she betrayed them by telling the reverend of how they were pretending to be afflicted. But of bourse, nothing happened to them for some reason. She was sent to court, and dear god, she pleaded her innocence and tried so hard to give way the circle's true actions. But she couldn't do it. They sent her to prison and back to court the next morning. They hung her, yes, but the rope didn't last too long so they tied her to the stakes and burned her. We weren't allowed in the courts at that time and they told us too late of her sentence. By the time we reached the town square, they've set her on fire. Yami just couldn't bear to leave the whole night." 

            "Maybe Yami really loved her." Tea's hands n early shook with fear as Yugi told his story.

            "Perhaps he did. I'm not so sure. They were very close, yes." He drank down his tea when a knock came about the door. Yugi looked up at the door, then to Tea. "Go to the kitchen. If, for now, someone sees you, they'll think you're a witch. I'll get you some clothes on my way to the markets. But for now, you'll have to stay upstairs. Don't go outside or downstairs till nightfall."

            Tea nodded as she took her sweater, her bag, and the tray of cups to the kitchen. She glanced up at Yami who just sat there on the chair. Placing the tray on the table, she took off her bag and sweater, placing it on the counter. She tried to ignore the conversation going on in the living room between Yugi and his friend. She took her cup and the remaining cup on the trayt placing one beside Yami, the other one still in her hand. She took a seat next to him noticing a few candles burning on the table. Curiosity ran all over her. He seemed to have a rather split personality. Earlier, he seemed to have a seductive, dark aura, as if he had possessed her. Now he seemed as if he should have been placed in the asylum.

            "Yugi told me about it." Tea sipped her tea, looking him over. "Look, I'm sorry."

            Yami looked up at Tea for a long while before picking up his cup, sipping up his drink. "You know you didn't have to apologize. I guess I'm just a bit upset after what happened. Serenity and I were very close friends. Her brother usually has some anger problems and always took it out on her. That's why she usually came to me. We had dated…once. She used to be part of the circle until they found out about our going out. Those girls from the circle were the ones that usually fall for me but dear me, I truly detest them."

            "If it's not too much to ask, what is the circle you speak of?"

            "The circle consists of five to ten girls who tell the reverend who are the witches. They have the power to name anybody. She told me their secret before she died. If only I could've stopped them in time. If only…" suddenly, he then felt an arm wrapped around his shoulder. A bit startled, he looked up.

            Tea looked at him, her eyes seemed to be filled with concern. "It must've been so hard for you."

            "We've been friends since childhood."

            "What does her brother do for a living?"

            "He's the magistrate's assistant though he wasn't there the night she died. He was out of town. When he found about his sister's death, he nearly went ballistic." He then stood up and peeked outside the doorway. "Good, they're gone."

            "Why is that good?"

            "For good reasons. Since you're obviously not from around here and from another time perhaps…" Yami's eyes kept at the living room.

            "How did you know?"

            Yami smiled, looking down on her. "I just have this way of knowing these things." He then beckoned her closer. She made her way towards him, keeping her distance. "I may not know where you have come from but I know someone who can." He then took her hand and led her up the stairs and into his room. He made his way to an old trunk. Taking out a key, he unlocked it, taking out a white, long sleeved, laced top, a long white, wool skirt, and black boots that seemed to be for working. He looked up at Tea, tossing her the clothes." He then turned to the window, closing the curtains.

            Minutes ticked by as Tea finally dressed up. He glanced up at her, a small smile played his lips. He made a circle with his finger, gesturing her to turn around. Approaching her from behind, he placed a bonnet over her head, tying the strings on the bottom of her chin.

            "If anyone asks, you're my cousin, I'm sure you know how to explain your story." He circled around Tea, looking over her new appearance. "Those used to be Serenity's clothes."

            "Wouldn't this remind you of her?"

            "I don't think she'll mind." He then held out his hand. "Come, let's go." Tea took his hand as they both went down the stairs and outside where his horse awaited for him. Lifting her up, he then climbed on the horse, riding off into the night.

~"*To Be Continued*~