Nadina woke up the next morning, refreshed by the morning sunshine and the faint fragrance of the orchids that grew the in the garden below. For a moment, she'd forgotten the events that had happened last night as she bounced out of bed, rejoicing that her brother was back home. Without changing out of her nightgown, Nadina grabbed her dressing gown and ran down the hallway to her brother's room, unable to restrain her enthusiasm.
It wasn't until she passed the library when the contents of the conversation she'd heard came back to her mind. Her footsteps slowed as she debated whether it was a dream or not.
I must have dreamed it, she determined. I was too happy about Marik being home and I must have fallen asleep before he came in and said good night. I must have dreamed about this whole thing. Nadina desperately tried to convince herself, but deep down in her mind and thought, she knew that it was no dream. The conversation itself was too fresh and too complete in her mind.
Her footsteps slowed as she realized that she was in front of the door of her brother's suite. She raised up her hand, but somehow, was hesitant to knock. She forced herself to calm down and pressed her knuckled against the smooth mahogany doors.
"Come in!" Marik's voice barked from behind the doors and as she entered, she saw that her brother was in one of his moods, though she saw him composing himself before her.
"Good morning, sister." He nodded a greeting at her before shifting his eyes back to the paperwork he had been staring at.
"Good morning, brother." He saw her hesitance and held out a hand. She walked over and hugged him back, placing "none-touching" kisses on each side of his face, the usual greeting he's used to. Him returning the same.
"I can't believe you're really home." She whispered into his ears as she clinged on to him.
"Believe it, I'm home. For a while this time." Her brother whispered back, stroking her hair.
How could this sweet brother be the one that she heard talking last night? Nadina refused to believe.
The phone on his large desk rang, breaking the siblings apart. Marik snatched up the phone and snapped, "Marik!" He listened for a moment, before coving the mouthpiece and saying, "Get dressed now, darling, I'll see you at breakfast. Right now, I've got to handle some business details."
The heiress of the Ishtar family nodded mutely as she turned to leave, but couldn't help hearing what the speaker was saying over the phone.
"Prisoner Seto Kaiba will be arriving by boat at 1400 on dock number three." Said by a deep male voice.
That sentence chilled Nadina to her spine and haunted her as she dressed for breakfast. Marik rarely dined with her even when he's at home. Nadina didn't waste any time dressing up her best. It's about time for Marik to recognize that his little sister was blossoming into a young lady.
She stared at herself in the mirror. There was something very attractive about the slender figure in a plain snow-white gauzy gown, with a black sash about the waist that trailed to the floor, and all the wavy taffy curls gathered to the top of her head with a little black bow. The lips were full and the long, dark lashes thick. The eyes below the lashes resembled rain-misted lilacs in a watercolor, not different from Marik's pale lavender orbs, only darker. Below, was the body of a blossoming young woman. The curves, the slender of the waist, and the desirableness of the long legs.
Added on to the golden sunlight streaming from the back and the feminine background of the room, it was a pretty picture. Nadina understood why her brother and all the others expected of her. If she set her mind to it, as Curt had said, she could easily break a dozen or so hearts before settling down.
However, Nadina only twisted her face away from the lovely portrait in the mirror. She sees nothing. Nothing worthwhile. Nothing meaningful besides a pretty face. Closing her eyes, she turned away from the full-length mirror.
She walked over to her trinket box and picked up a pair of earrings, fastening it onto her earlobes. The cluster of golden bells with pearl tipped tongues tinkled with a gesture of her head.
I wish people would judge me on my inside instead of my outside, the girl thought wistfully as she gazed out the window at the ocean beyond her that stretched toward the horizon. I wish it is what I do that matters, and not how I look. I wish I hadn't got any looks or a penny in the world, then I would find out exactly what I'm good for.
A knock came on her door.
"Come in," she called, abruptly turning away from the view. Curt poked his head in.
"Morning, Miss Nadina," he gave a quick bow. "Breakfast is served."
"Morning, Curt," she forced a tiny smile on her face. "Have you notified my brother Marik yet?"
The attendant looked down, indicating bad news, "Master will not be joining you this morning. He had business to attend to. His instructions are to—"
"Business?!" Nadina's dark eyes flashed. "Marik promised last night at dinner that he's going to do nothing but spent the whole day with me today, Curt. He's been on business his whole life! I hardly ever spent time with him and he rarely has time for me. Now, he couldn't even spare time for something as short as breakfast for me after we've been parted for seven months?"
"The Master's orders, Little Lady," Curt looked pained, bringing her this news. "His instructions were to began your lessons at their usual time and he'll see you at dinner."
"Thank you, Curt." Nadina's anger had converted to sadness and disappointment.
He promised. All he ever does is break his promises and leave instructions. "You may leave now." She turned away as two teardrops softly rolled down her cheeks and heard the door shut silently.
"Not hungry, Miss Nadina?" Edward Black prodded, watching the Ishtar push her food around her plate, occasionally nibbling something. She was strangely pale under the sun-kissed color of her skin.
The six-foot three twin of Clark Black was filling in for his brother today. Both of them are dark and handsome and had the title of being her personal bodyguards. Meanwhile, both have occupations outside of being her bodyguard. While Clark was her bodyguard as well as the head of security, Edward was her bodyguard and also her tutor.
"Not very, Edward." Nadina smiled weakly as she pushed her plate away and took a hasty sip of her tea. "Can we please start on our lessons early today?"
During the last half an hour sitting at the dinner table, she's formed a plan. Her brother's no longer going to keep anything from her. She'll see for herself what they're up to. She has to see it with her own eyes or else she refuses to believe her brother was not honorable and ignoble.
"Well—" Edward looked taken back, no doubt pondering over his master's orders of acting perfectly normal, Nadina thought as she quickly added.
"So if Marik is done with his work early, then we get to spent time together. Besides," she said sweetly. "I suppose you might have work later?" Fainting indicating the events that would take place at 2:00 PM. Just as she thought, Edward gave in without much hassle.
"Very well, Miss Nadina."
"We have the prisoner, Master. Come right this way." Odion guided. Both men treaded through the dark, damp underground maze to the prisoner cell. "We were going to settle him in the west cell."
"Is Nadina still occupied with her lessons?" Marik asked tensely as his quick footsteps navigated through the dark tunnels.
"It was reported that Edward gave her her lessons early today, under her request."
"I thought my orders were clear!" Marik's voice was dense and tight. His eyes were strained. "That everything today goes according to the normal schedule."
"Besides your homecoming, Master." Odion reminded. "She wanted lessons finished early in order to spent time with you. Besides, Clark has mentioned that fact that he needs his brother with him, bringing in Seto Kaiba."
"I hired both Blacks for their brains as well as their brawn"
The two stayed silent until they reached their destination, which was easily determined. They could hear Seto Kaiba's cold, dangerous voice threatening the men with the whole weight of KaibaCorp.
"If you morons don't release me at once, I swear I'll bring the whole weight of KaibaCorp upon you." The young CEO thrashed and twisted violently from his pathetic position, looking utterly young and alone as well as intimidating and dangerous at the same time, though only entertaining to Marik's eyes.
"Seto Kaiba," Marik drawled, closing the distance between them and waving Clark's cautious warnings silent. Marik smirked at the sight in front of him. At least, he has the great Seto Kaiba exactly where he wanted.
Kaiba was on the ground in front of him, sitting upright. His wrists were bonded tightly behind him, his ankles the same way. Even more satisfying was seeing the sixteen-year-olds eyes blindfolded with a strip of white cloth. His indigo trenchcoat and midnight shirt disevlished, the chocolate brown locks disarrayed.
The willowy brunette in front of Marik was trembling with rage or fear, the Ishtar couldn't tell.
But it will soon be from fear, his lips drew up at the corners and formed a wicked smile.
Nadina's heart thumped loudly as she slowly walked down the damp staircase toward the unknown world beyond. It was dark under their mansion, causing her fingertips to follow the lines of the walls, taking over the job for her eyes. If she had not caught sight of a suspicious looking Curt and followed him, she would never have know this place existed.
Now, alone, frightened, and determined, she moved cautiously downward, not knowing what she'll find. When the staircase ended and the left and right pressured her for an answer, Nadina bit her lips and panicked. Down here in these damp, dim tunnels, one could more than easily get lost.
Thank the Lord and a loud exclamation from Clark, Nadina sighed as the sound of living human beings reached her ears. She turned right and followed the muffled voices, taking unsure turns here and there. As she got closer, she began to identify these voices as her brother's and Clark's. Odion, Edward, and some unfamiliar others were not missed.
Her soft slippers almost missed the step in front of her and she almost went plunging into the darkness. The sparse fire torches that lit every few dozen yards didn't help the fact that she was still in darkness. But she was well rewarded when she rounded the stairway and found herself facing the familiar group of people.
From where she was standing, she could see everything clearly as soon as her eyes got used to the dimness. There were several unknown faces among the familiar.
"Where are they, Kaiba?!" She heard her brother's harsh voice demand and gasped. How could this voice inherit itself in Marik's throat? The voice that she's grown up used to was sometimes rough and gruff, but always affectionate.
"Spare me, Marik," an unfamiliar deep, throaty voice scoffed. "Give me one good reason why I would tell you."
Nadina saw a flick of Marik's wrist as a strange looking man wearing a weird robe came forward and lifted his arm. She hardly had time to stifle her cry as the crunch of a fist connecting with the jaw was heard.
"Perhaps this is one of the reasons?" Marik scorned, his patience wearing thin. Nadina peeked over the corner with tears in her eyes. What she saw next made her smother another sharp intake of breath.
A young man…no, boy—Nadina noted with horror—was sitting on the floor, evidently victim to those around him.
Seto Kaiba? She thought wildly with disbelief. Could this boy, possibly be Seto Kaiba? The Seto Kaiba that my brother has been manipulating for so long?
When she heard about Seto Kaiba, a CEO of his own multi-international high tech corporation, the picture in Nadina's head was of an elderly old man, in the thirties if not his fifties. The thought that Seto Kaiba was perhaps a year or two older than her, possibly the same age as Marik, had never crossed her mind.
"You have messed with the wrong person, you coward." Kaiba said, his voice still low and menacing.
Marik jumped to his feet, knocking his chair backward. "What did you call me?"
Kaiba didn't move, didn't back up. His mouth was set in a firm line and his head was tilted upward with dignity. "So you're both dumb and deaf, are you?" Marik look like he was about to haul off and hit Kaiba himself.
"There is no use staying strong and stubborn, Kaiba," Odion's deep voice growled. "Sooner or later, you're going to break down. Because we're going to keep you and wear you down until you tell us where your deck is."
"You'll have to kill me first." The young billionaire spat, stubborn and determined, his bonded eyes looking toward where the voice came from. At another nod from Marik, the same stranger accented their demand with another punch and a kick in the stomach. A relunctant, painful groan escaped from Kaiba's lips through his tightly clenched teeth.
Shaking, Nadina flattered her back against the wall and felt the cool, ragged surface through her clothes. She blinked back her tears, her mind spinning. She tried to gather her strength but couldn't and slid down along the jagged rocks. But she welcomed the pain, because it kept her from screaming.
"Master," Clark turned to Marik. "Perhaps it would be wiser to leave him now to allow him to ponder over his choices. We've been at this more than fifteen minutes now and we're getting no where."
"Good idea," Edward agreed. "If all of us are gone for too long, Miss Nadina might get suspicious. She's right up there waiting for your return, Master."
"Consider your choices, Kaiba!" Marik spitted, with a dark grin on his face. "This isn't going to get easier. If you want to live, you'll tell me the location of where you're hiding your deck. Or else, I'll promise you a very slow and very painful death." He leaned over to the slender that's breathing heavily. "If you tell me, I might consider not going after and killing your little brother to make you tell me what I want to know."
From where Nadina had slumped to the ground from terror and shock, she could hear Seto Kaiba's voice say something inaudible.
"You are a coward, Marik." Kaiba's slow words were painstaking but venomous. "You're too coward to face me alone, too scared to face me and that's why you've brought me here tied up and blindfolded. Fine, I can take that as a compliment, but I'm warning you—leave my little brother out of this."
"Be careful, Kaiba," a smirk graced Marik's lips. "It doesn't matter whether I'm a coward or not, as long as I get what I'm after. And besides, it is not your position to criticize me or did you forget? You're the one that's bonded and blindfolded, under the control of my men and the mercy of me. You're in no position to threaten anybody."
Tears of panic and fear flooded down Nadina's cheeks. Her brother, her sweet brother, loyal Odion, the intelligent and quick-thinking Black twins, and not forgetting the faithful, quiet Curt. Betrayal filled her heart.
Oh Marik! Her heart cried. Marik, how could you do this to me! Do you know how much pain I'm going through?
"Seto Kaiba is to stay bonded and not to be touched, fed, or taken care of unless I gave the order." Marik wasted no time commanding everybody. "He will be deprived of his sight and the contact of all human being." While he was saying this, the girl that had been hiding finally had the strength to look around the corner once again.
Seto Kaiba, bleeding and bruised, beads of perspiration shining from his forehead was half-conscious and some other stranger in dark robe nudged him with his boots—not gently—to get him to his feet and into the cell at the end of the tunnel.
The young girl's feminine heart lurched and her sympathy aroused. The girlish compassion, innocence, and naiveté pitied the poor conditioned young man that lay slumped in front of her.
"Get up, kid." The stranger rasped, half-laughing with amusement while Kaiba gave a laborious moan.
At that moment, something in Nadina snapped as she laid her dark eyes on the limp figure in pain. Stumbling and grasping the wall to stand up, she fled out of her hiding place, tripping over her own dress and feet.
"Brother!" She half gasped, half sobbed, tears had yet stopped rolling down her face.
"Nadina!" Marik stumbled back, his face stricken, as if he'd been struck. Then, the shock turned into anger, then concern, "Who in Ra's name were suppose to be keeping an eye on her?!" He bellowed, his eyes snapping as he swirled around to face the equally stunned faces. Without waiting for an answer, the leader of the Rare Hunters turned to Nadina and said smoothly, "Darling, you shouldn't be down here. " Then in a chiding voice, he admonished, "Look at you! You're as pale as paper. Come along, this isn't a place for a young lady."
"Wait, Marik," Nadina's lips trembled as she quickly brushed the tears trailing down her ashen white face.
"What is it, Nadina?" Marik turned back impatiently. "We shouldn't dwell, this isn't a place for a lady."
"Please, Marik," her lips quivered. "M-may I give him some water?" She motioned toward Kaiba's cracked lips and the pitcher of water sitting on the wooden table. Fresh tears pooled up in her eyes as she made herself pitiful for her brother's eyes. If she doesn't give him a good reason for her to get close to their victim, she'd never find out exactly how serious Kaiba was hurt.
Marik's eyes softened as Nadina choked back a sob. "Very well," he said sternly, motioning for Curt to pour a cup of water.
"Let me do it," she begged.
"Fine." Marik relented after thinking.
Nadina took the glass and moved slowly toward the young brunette. She knelt down by his side and examined the delicate, fine features. Dipping her dainty, lacy handkerchief into the glass, she gently washed the blood from his lips. Then, with the gentleness all the men felt, Nadina slipped her slender arms behind Kaiba's neck and held his head up while she pressed the cool glass against Kaiba's lips.
Kaiba felt someone holding his head up and something cool was held against his lips. The air around him smelled like flowers and soft, tiny tinkering of…bells could be heard. Half dazed and unable to see, he allowed the cool liquid to be swallowed. But as soon as the cold water entered and refreshed his system, his brain cleared and he remembered being held captive under Marik's control.
With a sharp, relentless twist of his head, he knocked the glass away. A gasp and glass shattering could be heard. Turning toward the gasp, Kaiba used all the strength he possessed in his shoulder to strike what he thought was his enemy. Cries and gasps were heard as the person was slammed away.
Enrage and visionless kept him from hearing the female cry, the gentle touch and silky skin that helped held his head up, and the feminine fragrance.
"Stay away from me," he snapped, his voice echoing. "What was that, huh? Poison?! I don't need you to—"
"No, Marik, don't!" A girl's voice cut through his sentence and he silence from the silvery, desperate cry of the girl.
A girl?! Kaiba's jaws dropped against his own will.
Footsteps thudded toward him and before he had time to wonder, he found himself been knock from side to side mercilessly.
Too surprised at the young voice of a girl among these crude, cruel men, Kaiba didn't feel the pain but focused on the lilting, pleasant voice that brought light to his darkness.
"Marik, stop it!" The sweet voice was desperate and sounded frightened. "Stop it, you'll kill him! He didn't mean to hit me! Marik, please, I beg you—"
Startled beyond his senses, Kaiba realized that it was the girl he'd knocked away.
No wonder it was so easy to knock her away, he thought wryly as Marik pummeled ruthlessly upon him. I shouldn't have known. The smell, the gentleness, I've been such a fool.
As he was thinking, the meaning of the cries sank into him. She isn't part of this scheme.
At last dragged away from Kaiba by the impossibly incredible strength of Nadina, Clark and Edward lurched forward, trouncing Kaiba like her brother had done a moment ago. Their Little Lady was precious to them as well and they are most certainly not going to take this kind of behavior from their prisoner.
"Marik, make them stop it!" She cried. "They'll kill him." Throwing her dignity and everything else aside, she sank to her knees by Marik's feet and clutched to his hand. "Marik, please, I beg of you, please stop it!"
Marik finally came to his senses as he called the Blacks off. His breath was harsh and unsteady as he glared at Kaiba. Nadina knew better than to hurry over to Kaiba's side to examine him. She stood idly by, watching, bringing her hand up to her cheek, where Kaiba's force slammed into her so harshly that she felt like he had backhanded her instead. His brows were still arched above the cloth that covered his eyes after the beating, showing his shock and incredulous at hearing that she's a girl.
"Lock him up," Marik rasped, pointing a shaking, enraged finger at Kaiba's figure. "He went too far this time."
As Nadina watched, mute and helpless, aside, the world champion of Duel Monsters was thrown carelessly into the cell and the metal door slammed, the click of the key turning sounded like a metallic bullet.
