Summary: An cynical, sarcastic, and anti-social teenager named Kiera Blackthourne (pronounced Key-air-uh Black-thorn) is transported back in time and is asked to aid in the vicious battle between the houses Lancaster and York. What side will she choose and what sort of adventures will arise? Based on Duelist of the Roses.
********************************************************
Chapter One: Fate Intervenes
It was about a forty-five minute walk from the library, and once Kiera got there, she was exhausted. After hanging up her black windbreaker on the coat rack, she stepped inside. The library was almost empty, except for the librarians and a man reading a newspaper. She went to her favorite section, Medieval History and searched desperately for a book she hadn't read yet. The selection was limited, and in the week she had been here, Kiera had read all ten Medieval History books. A librarian noticed her scanning the shelves and walked over to her.
"Excuse me, miss. Is there something I can help you with?" she asked sweetly.
"Yeah, get some decent books here. Your selection sucks," Kiera muttered. "I'm outta here." She was about to leave when. . .
"If you're referring to Medieval History, we do have another book that we just got in." the librarian added. Kiera turned on her heel and stared thoughtfully at the librarian, who went behind her desk and pulled out an old worn book called 'War of the Roses'. "This is a really good one. I've read it three times myself." Kiera grabbed the book and left.
"You have to. . . check that out." the librarian finished as the door closed.
Kiera kept walking. Sure she had just stolen a book from a friendly old librarian, but she'd make sure to return it. Eventually. Once she got to the park, which was also pretty much deserted, she opened up the book and began to read. The first page read, in fancy gold lettering,
A card! A card! My kingdom for a card!
Curious as to what cards had to do with the War of the Roses, her favorite war of them all, she flicked through the pages finally getting to the first page of the story and read…
The British Empire in the 1480's. . . the War of the Roses . . . a power struggle between the houses of Lancaster (red rose) and York (white rose), was nearing an end. With the Yorkists well in the lead, the reign of King Richard III was but a step away. And in France, Henry Tudor was being forced to live a life of exile.
"What the HELL?" Kiera yelled, startling a passing jogger. She looked again at the portrait of Henry Tudor in the book. Instead of the usual old white guy portrait they had for Henry, they had the picture of a young man with tri-color hair spiked as if it had been electrocuted. This guy looked more like someone sighted at a club or a rave than an English nobleman. Shrugging, she ignored the freaky picture and kept reading.
The Lancastrian forces were rendered powerless by ancient cards of sorcery wielded by Rosenkreuz and his seven followers known as the "Rose Crusaders" , served under the flag of Lord Crawford, a powerful Yorkist nobleman.
'Ancient cards of sorcery? Bullshit.' Kiera thought. 'This is more like fiction based on real events, and loosely based at that. What was this doing in a History section? Whatever. I got nothing better to do.' The next few words would change her life forever.
Lacking a duelist to champion their cause, defeat was imminent for the Lancastrians. In England, dueling games were at their fledgling stage. Thus, the Lancastrians had to look elsewhere for a duel master capable of facing Rosenkreuz in battle. With this in mind, Margaret Mai Beaufort secretly requested a High Druid to summon a duelist from another age. . .
Kiera's reading was interrupted when the ground began shaking. "What the fuck is going on?" she mumbled as the earth dissolved beneath her feet. Falling into purplish-black darkness, a light flashed brightly and Kiera passed out. Some time later, she found herself lying flat on her back. The grass beneath her felt damp, like it had just rained. Impossible, it hadn't rained in three weeks. 'Where the hell am I?' She finally decided to open her eyes. It was dark out, which was strange since it was 10:00 AM according to her watch . She looked around and saw a little man in yellow robes dancing around, yelling like crazy.
"Oooooooooh! . . . summon from the mystic circle of red and white roses, the one capable of harnessing pure power. . . There was truth to the legend of the Rose Duelist! Lady Margaret! I . . . did it! Now we have the means to defeat Rosenkreuz!" The tiny man suddenly stopped and noticed that Kiera was now conscious. "Oh. . . My apologies. In my excitement, I'd forgotten I was in the presence of the Rose Duelist!"
"The WHAT? Who the hell are you? And what am I doing here?" Kiera asked, rather agitated .
"Allow me to introduce myself." the man spoke with a Scottish accent. " My name is Simon McMooran, High Druid and servant of Lancaster. May I be so bold as to ask the name by which the duelist would like to be known?"
"Kiera," the irked teenager snapped at him. "My patience grows thin and you've yet to tell me why I'm here."
"Kiera! What a fine name indeed!" Simon declared. "Now here's the situation. The year is currently 1481* and you are currently in Stonehenge, near Salisbury, England. The British Empire is in turmoil, and the house of Lancaster's rightful claim to the throne was being challenged by the Yorkist usurpers. The power struggle is referred to as the War of the Roses, which . . ."
"I know about the War of the Roses, old man. Probably more so than you do," Kiera replied angrily. "Because technically, the houses of Lancaster and York have equal right to the throne since both heirs are relatives of Edward IV. So they're really not usurpers." Simon glared from beneath his hood and continued.
"Since you know so much about this," he stated, with a hint of bitterness, but quickly regaining his usual amiable tone, " I shall skip straight to the point. Using the Red Rose cards, we summoned you, Lady Kiera, to this day and age. We hoped your dueling experience would defeat the Rose Crusaders and lead us to victory!"
"But. . ." Kiera began.
"You will help us?" he asked anxiously. "Of course you will! Foolish of me to even doubt where your loyalties lie. . . Rumor has it that only the legendary Rose Duelist has a chance against the power of Rosenkreuz."
"Would you let me talk? I'm tryin' to say something here!" Kiera yelled, causing the puny man to jump. "I'm just some teenager and a bad Duel Monsters player at that. How the fuck do ya expect me to defeat this Rosenkreuz guy?"
"We appreciate any help you can provide against them," Simon explained, "Which is plenty, considering you are the one destined to save us. But before I forget, I should warn you that the rules to dueling differ here from those of your age.
"Whatever," Kiera muttered, removing her deck from her pocket and shuffling it.
"The first rule is that you must choose a deck leader," Simon began.
"Ahhh. . ." Kiera mumbled. She remember this rule from the Noah Arc of Yu-gi-oh, her favorite anime. After much searching, she finally found the card, Neo the Magic Swordsman. He had always been her favorite. Simon began chanting and suddenly, Neo appeared at Kiera's side, causing her to flinch before quickly regaining her composure.
"Cool. . ."
"I'm glad you approve, milady," Simon beamed. "Now then, the second rule is. . ."
"Hmmm. So that is the effect of the Celtic rose cards. It appears there was some truth to the rumor that Red rose cards are capable of time transformation," said an unknown voice.
"Who's there?" Simon demanded of the intruder. Kiera looked around and saw no one, the fog was too thick.
"It's been a long time since the battle of Barnet, old one." The intruder stepped out of the mist, showing himself to be a young man with brown hair and piercing blue eyes. He wore armor emblazoned with the Blue Eyes White Dragon.
"Seto!" Simon barked at the trespasser. "What brings you here?"
'Holy crap! Kaiba? I think I'm losing my mind!' Kiera thought. ' And that picture of Henry Tudor kinda reminded me of . . . Don't be ridiculous! It's just my imagination.'
"Only a member of the Rose Crusaders may call me by that name," Seto stated coldly. "If you may recall, I told you once before that you may only address me as Rosenkreuz**. Or does memory fail you, old man?" He snickered at Simon's rage before turning to Kiera. "And you. . . You must be the dreaded Rose Duelist. I must admit there's a certain aura of power emanating from you. I believe an introduction is in order. I am C. Rosenkreuz, leader of the Rose Crusaders. There are members of our little group who prefer to call me by my true name, Seto. And you are?"
"Kiera Blackthourne," she replied.
"A pleasure to meet you," he said, kissing her hand. Uncharacteristically, Kiera blushed a little. Meanwhile, Simon fumed. The Rose Duelist, and the savior of the Lancastrians, was being hit on by the ENEMY!
"I ask you again. . . what brings you here, Rosenkreuz?"
Seto released her hand and glared at his adversary. "Mind your manners, old man! What else would bring me here. . . I've come for the Red Rose cards! After all, it was you who showed me how the summoning capabilities would evolve when combined with the time transport abilities of the White rose cards. . ." Simon's eyes widened in fear.
"You aren't thinking of attempting the forbidden 'Rose summoning'. . . if so, then the Red Rose cards must never fall into your evil hands! Card sorcery taps into the powers of the Ancient Ones. . . By their very nature, each card is a double-edged sword that can cut both ways. . ."
"Thank you, oh great Captain Obvious, for enlightening us to the fact that a sword with TWO edges can cut in TWO directions," Kiera snapped. In the background, Seto snickered, hastily disguising as a cough.
"But. . ." Simon sputtered.
"Look Simon McMoron," Kiera interrupted.
"McMooran!" Simon stated indignantly as Seto tried in vain to keep from laughing.
"Whatever, McMoron. Do me a favor and cut the crap. I haven't got all day to stand around and listen to you two debate this. Look, Rosenkreuz wants the 8 Red Rose cards. If you're gonna give 'em to him, then go ahead and do it. If not, then just say so and we'll get on with the war."
"But he has no choice," Seto claimed, regaining his composure. "He was clever enough to form a circle of red roses within the white rose barrier to summon you. But . . . He was foolish enough to come alone. This area is surrounded and if you wish to leave with you life, you will do so only by handing over the Red Rose cards. . ." Kiera and Simon looked around and saw that he spoke the truth.
Simon laughed. "Me a fool. . . ? Then what about you? Are you fool enough to believe that the Red Rose cards would remain here in my possession. Right after the summoning, I had the cards dispersed amongst our best duelists to keep them from your tainted hands!
"Then you leave me but one option. . . I shall enlist the aid of your precious Rose Duelist!" Seto declared.
"You take leave of your senses!" Simon announced.
"And you speak too soon, old man!" Seto retorted. "Heed my words, Kiera! If you wish to return to your proper time period, you will require 16 cards of the Red and White roses. . . The red and white summoning positions must be laid in reverse in order to send you home."
"You know the spell?" the druid asked, eyes widening.
Rather than respond, Rosenkreuz ignored him and continued, "Since you need the 16 Rose cards as much as we do. . . I propose a partnership. Help us gather the cards and I shall guarantee your return after we've achieved our ultimate goal!
"That's absurd!" Simon declared, "Do you think the honorable Kiera would even lend an ear to your ridiculous proposal?"
"Can you be so sure old man?" Seto retorted. Simon glanced over to the Rose Duelist and wondered if he really could trust her.
"Now let me see here. . . " Rosenkreuz began, " Simon's side- the Lancastrians- has the eight Red Rose cards, while my side - the Rose Crusaders- possesses the eight White Rose cards. Simple arithmetic indicates that you could side with either of us. But I'm sure you'll take into account who's winning this war. After all, who was desperate enough to summon you in the first place. I think it's quite clear which side is better prepared to send you home. . ."
Simon, already uptight, was now frantic. Though he hated to admit it, Seto had a good point. His side was winning, and this could compel the young duelist into allying with the Yorkists.
"K-Kiera! Heed not the words of this. . . this power-hungry lunatic!
"Simon! Must you resort to name-calling? I'm hurt," Seto replied sarcastically, "I'll tell you what. Why don't we leave this decision to our dear Duelist? After all, her future is not for us to decide, now is it?" Simon gave no response. "Splendid!" the knight declared, flourishing two roses that Simon used in his spell. " In keeping with the traditions of the Old Temple gardens, I offer you a choice. Here are two roses. The white represents me, and the red for old Simon here."
"For the sake of justice, select the red rose!" Simon pleaded.
"Stand by my side, Kiera. . . Choose the white rose." Seto offered calmly.
Kiera stood there, eyes shifting back and forth, from red to white. Five minutes passed and she hadn't made up her mind. Occasionally, her hand would creep close to one of the roses before she pulled it back.
"I don't know." Kiera let out a fake sigh. " It's just SO hard to pick."
Simon was sweating profusely. If the savior of his people elected to side with Rosenkreuz and the Yorkists, all would be lost. Seto, however, stood there relaxed as anything. He didn't really care what Kiera chose. If she chose Simon, fine. He would move on and still defeat the Lancastrians nonetheless. Still, having her on his side would make things a lot easier. . .
"You just can't be scared, huh?" the duelist in question asked, jolting him from his thoughts. "Fine, I've made my choice." And she grabbed the white rose from Seto's hand, so hard that she cut herself on the thorns. Seto smirked and threw the Red Rose to the ground and crushed it beneath his boot.
"A wise choice! I see you are well versed in judging a situation. Welcome to the Rose Crusaders! I. . . am honored." Seto stated, bowing. "Ok, old man. It's time you made yourself scarce."
"What? What are you doing . . . Stop! Noooo!" Simon yelled as he faded away.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. I just need you out of the way until everything is settled." Seto stated. He then turned to the Rose Duelist, who's eyes were wide.
"Whoa! You gotta teach me how to do that!" Kiera exclaimed.
"In due time, milady. In due time. But first, we must return to the castle. There we shall get into further detail of your mission," he explained. Seto led her over to a carriage. It was silver and pulled by four white horses. They stepped inside and they rode off to Bostwick, to the castle of Richard of York.
End Chapter One
********************************************************
* The game says 1485, but I changed it since the War of the Roses ends in 1485 with the death of King Richard III, who became king in 1483. So in 1485, a fight over the throne would be simply the Lancastrians trying to overthrow Richard and not both sides fighting over who was to be king, as the game says.
** I kinda took this idea from ShadowFox2 (much thanks to her for inspiring me). She felt, and I agreed, that it was dumb for a person to allow his enemies to call him by his first name, while his own followers called him by his last name.
I'm really picky, aren't I? Please review and I'll keep writing. Later!