Disclaimer: Don't ask me if I own Yu-Gi-Oh! cause the answer is no.
CHAPTER 6: Preparing
Serenity hurried up the stairs. As much as she would have not given her sisters the invitations, it would've been worse if they figured out some other way. Sighing, she opened the door to their bedroom.
"Um… Mai? Téa?" she called. Her sisters looked up from combing each other's hair.
"What happened?" Mai asked, barely even looking at Serenity. Téa glanced at Serenity quizzically.
"What in the world happened to your gown?" Téa queried. Serenity looked down. She was still wearing the tablecloth draped over her shift.
"Oh…um…I didn't want it to get dirty so I took it off," Serenity informed. Téa nodded with satisfaction and resumed combing Mai's hair. "Anyways, what I wanted to say was that the prince came over and gave this invitat-,"
"WHAT!" The two sisters exclaimed. "THE PRINCE!!! THE PRINCE SETO!?" They started to freak out and scream. "NO! We missed him!"
Take a chill pill, Serenity thought. It's only a guy. Well, one extremely handsome, cute, hot guy…yeah, but still just a guy. Serenity rolled her eyes and took out the invitation.
"He told me to give these to you," she said, handing the invitation to Mai. She almost jumped for joy. Téa squealed and ran over. She ran her hand over the envelope.
"Oh my gosh! I'm touching something the prince touched!" she exclaimed. Serenity felt the need to puke. Mai opened the envelope and took out three invitations. One she handed to Téa, one she kept to herself, and the other she carelessly threw over to Serenity. Téa was eagerly rubbed the invitation on her cheek. The other two were busy reading it.
"OH NO WAY!!! THIS IS PERFECT!" Mai cried after a minute, waving the invitation in the air. "This is way too perfect!" Téa stopped rubbing the invitation and scanned it with her eyes.
"What does it say?" she asked eagerly.
"There's going to be a Duel Monsters Tournament!" Téa whooped with joy. "The winner gets to marry the prince!" Both girls exclaimed in excitement and ran around doing a victory dance. Serenity sighed and read the letter again.
"It's in two weeks. All girls eighteen and older are allowed to enter!" Serenity stated. "That means me too!" Mai and Téa stopped celebrating and glared at Serenity.
"Very funny," Mai scoffed. "Do you think the prince would want to marry you?" Serenity crossed her arms. She remembered what Seto had said to her.
Just to let you know though, when my mom first told me I needed a bride, I thought of you first.
"Besides," Mai continued, "you couldn't make one move in Duel Monsters if you're life depended on it."
"I bet I could!" Serenity protested. "I watch you play a lot! I know some cool moves."
"Do you have your own cards?" Téa asked. Serenity opened her mouth and quickly closed it. "See, you can't duel."
"I can always get cards!!"
"Who's going to pay for them?" Mai challenged. Serenity thought for a moment.
"Stop arguing," Téa advised. "Now, you better resume your cleaning. Tomorrow, my sister and I are going to go shopping to boost our Deck power. It's too late today."
"Right. Get back to work."
………
By the time Serenity finished cooking and cleaning, it was already three past midnight. Serenity fell asleep immediately. Exactly six hours later, her sister, Téa, woke her up.
"Serenity!" Serenity yawned and moaned. With a sigh, she cleared her eyes. "We're going to the market." Serenity snapped to attention. "By the time we get back, I want you to finish lunch. We'll be back by noon." Téa left the room. Serenity blinked a few times before the realization hit her. She was going to be home all by herself!!!
She waited until her two sisters left the house before rushing to the bathroom. She helped herself to her sisters' wide assortment of bath salts and lavender soothing bath crystals. After a refreshing bath, she went down and had a big breakfast. She looked at the time and found she had more than two hours left.
"You know, I have a good idea…maybe I should go to the market myself. See if I can get myself a Deck." Serenity agreed to her own proposition and hurried upstairs to get dressed. She wore one of Téa's prettiest dresses. It was a dark green, with ruffles everywhere. It was a tad too long, but other than that it was perfect. By the time the clock struck ten, she was ready to leave.
"I can finish lunch when I come back," she decided.
Five minutes later, she had made her way to the market. This time, almost every girl in the whole kingdom was crowded around the major Deck Shops. Serenity knew she wouldn't be able to get in and out of one in time for lunch. Suddenly, she saw Mai and Téa come out of a store to her right. Panicking, she lunged into a smaller shop and came face to face with an old woman.
"Are you alright, Dearie?" she asked.
"I'm…I'm…fine, really I am!" Serenity insisted. "Sorry."
"Don't you hate the crowd?" the old woman asked, looking out the window. "I'm glad almost no one notices my game shop." Serenity turned around and gasped. Every glass showcase was filled with Duel Monster cards.
"Um…yeah…well…I gotta get going. I don't have any money." Serenity turned to leave the shop.
"Who is it?" Serenity struggled to hear the voice coming from the back. "Who is it?" Serenity noticed a short old man in the background.
"Ah…Dearie, this is my husband, Solomon. He runs this game shop." The old man smiled and waved.
"It's been a while since pretty little ladies came to my shop. My only customer is the prince himself, and the money he pays is way more than enough to keep me in business. I'm the only one who owns the rarest cards."
"I see," Serenity responded. "Well, it was just that I was trying to avoid somebody. I must be going now."
"What do you mean?" asked Solomon. "Don't you want to buy any cards? I heard there's a big Duel Monsters tournament for women…you can duel can't you?"
"Yes…and no," Serenity confessed. "You see, I never really had any interest in Duel Monsters. I thought it was too complicated. When my sisters play it, I watch and sometimes make note of whatever moves they use. That is, if I'm not busy with my chores. I myself don't play. I don't have an existing Deck or money to buy one."
"Hmm…interesting," Solomon remarked. "Do you have any interest in it now?"
"Oh yes!!" Serenity exclaimed. "I would love to learn and play, and maybe even attend the tournament." She thought of how Seto would react if she had learned and beat him in a game.
"You know…" Solomon's wife said. "My husband is a great duelist himself. He's a great teacher too. He taught our grandson, who is going to be the judge of the tournament, the ropes of dueling. He could probably teach you."
"Yes, I believe I could," Solomon agreed. "I'm usually bored around here anyway."
"Can you do it in two weeks or less?" Serenity queried. Solomon scratched his gray beard.
"Can't make any promises, but I'll assure you you'll know the rules and a few strategies."
"OH THANK YOU!!" Serenity literally jumped on Solomon, wrapping her arms around his neck. Solomon smiled.
"I knew you'd be enthusiastic. Now, to get started, we must get you a Deck."
………
"Mai, I swear I saw Serenity go through that store right there," Téa said, pointing at a small game shop. Mai squinted at it.
"No way. Why would Serenity be in the middle of a game shop when we specifically told her to cook lunch?"
"I don't know, Sis, but her dress looked like my favorite dark green one. You know, with the ruffles all down the skirt."
"You must have been imagining things. Just because you saw someone wearing a green dress like yours, doesn't mean it's Serenity. Now, we have a little less than two hours to get back. I think we should look for some higher level Duel Monsters."
"Let's go into that one!" Mai decided, pointing at a store neighboring the small game shop Téa had pointed out earlier. They rushed into it.
………
"You should also take this card," Solomon advised, giving Serenity a card from his shelf. "It's called Oracle Gate, and it has a very good effect. Oh, and this card too! It's called Attack vs. Defense. These two are good cards to have in a Deck." Serenity listened to every word he said. While talking about the different types of cards, he also told her the basic rules of Duel Monsters. Serenity was a good student and asked many questions.
"So, if my monster is in Defense mode, and my opponent attacks it and it is destroyed, I still don't lose any Life Points?"
"That's right, most of the time. Some monsters have a special ability that will allow them to still lower your Life Points. Like this card, Devil's Angel."
"Interesting."
"Oh yeah, while we're at it, I'll teach you some color stuff. You see this card, Devil's Angel? Well, it's orange because it has a special effect. Regular monsters are like yellow, ritual monsters are blue, and fused monsters are purple. There are also many symbols on the card. You see here, Devil's Angel has this small icon in the upper right corner that says 'Light' on it. That's its attribute. Special magic cards can increase a monster's strength based on what attributes there are."
"Cool."
"Many people like to have more of one attribute in their deck than others. One girl who came here once was called Lumina. She had a deck composed of all Light monsters. She bought one of the Devil's Angel cards."
"So, should I base my whole deck on one attribute?"
"I really don't recommend that. Though it is good to have monsters that support each other and monsters that are alike in type in attribute, for the sake of special magic cards helping more of your monsters, limiting yourself to one type might lesson your chances of being able to include cards in your deck that would suit your strategy."
"I see. So, does that mean Lumina is now at a disadvantage?"
"Not necessarily. Many duelists do what she is doing. She probably has a strategy that works with the cards she chose. After all, she is a tournament champion. It's not always bad." Serenity nodded. She never knew the world of Duel Monsters was so interesting.
"I think you're Deck's almost done," Solomon announced. "I did mention it's free right?"
"Yes."
"Well, anyway, I think one more high level monster should do the trick. It's good to have a few, but not too many. Remember, you need to sacrifice monsters to bring these onto the field. It's better to have monsters you can summon right away. Now…where is that one card I wanted to give you?"
"Is this it, Honey?" Solomon's wife asked, holding up a Monster Card.
"That's it!" Solomon took the card and let Serenity inspect it. "It's called the Dark Magician Girl. It's pretty strong, and has a good effect too. I thought it sort of resembled you, you know?"
"How?"
"Well, you know of the Dark Magician, right? Well, the Dark Magician Girl shows that even girls can do whatever men can. That's like you. I know that Prince Seto is a very good duelist, like the Dark Magician is a good magician. But, just like the Dark Magician Girl, you can also duel and show the world."
"Right!!" Serenity looked triumphantly at her new Deck. She knew she would have to be very careful if she wanted to keep it a secret from her sisters.
One day, I will show you all. I'll beat Mai, Téa, and the Prince. I'll show the whole world that I can Duel!
………
"Well, I guess that sums it all up," Mai stated as she came out of the Duel Monsters shop. Téa followed behind her, examining her new cards.
"These cards rock," Téa exclaimed. "Get it? Earth monsters? Rock? I knew I had the right idea." Mai rolled her eyes as she faced her younger sister.
"Just because I defeated all your fairies doesn't mean that you had to go and change your monster attribute." Téa scowled.
"You're just saying that because you don't want me to get powerful cards. I've had it with my nice little fairies, however much I like them. From now on, I'm an Earth duelist."
"Listen, Téa. Earth monsters aren't necessarily stronger just because they're made of rocks instead of feathers. Remember, twenty pounds of rocks weighs just as much as twenty pounds of feathers. It's just the amount of each that differs, as in, the attack strength."
"Exactly. Maybe one Earth monster isn't stronger, but how about an army. All my monsters are officially Earth types."
"Look… it's not a good idea to have all one attribute. You're limiting yourself on the effects of your monsters."
"If Lumina can do it, so can I."
"Lumina? Isn't she that Duelist that won the last competition? Everyone's been talking about her these days. She's got all Light monsters. Her dueling is flawless, at least they say."
"I'd like to defeat her!" Téa clenched her fists tight. "I want to get rid of her title." Mai's eyes widened.
"I get it now!" she said. "I know another reason why you chose Earth monsters. It's the same reason you have a grudge against Lumina. It's Yami, isn't it?" Téa huffed and crossed her arms.
"Maybe…"
"I should have known. He has a lot of Earth monsters in his Deck. And you like him more than Prince Seto."
"It's not fair, Mai!!" Téa yelled. Some people passing by stopped to stare at her. In a quieter tone, she added, "I have a huge crush on him, and he answers by dating my worst enemy."
"Lumina is your worst enemy? I doubt you two even met."
"You know what I mean!" Téa snapped. She was beside herself, which was usually how she acted when it came down to Yami dating Lumina. "She's got Yami, and I've got no one. At least he was my friend until Lumina came along and won that stupid tournament. Then Yami got this sudden idea he liked her. Why couldn't his little brother constrain him?"
"Yugi? He's busy enough. Don't you know he's won his share of tournaments in neighboring kingdoms? Everyone's saying he's going to be the judge in the Duel Monsters tournament we're going to." Téa's eyes lit up.
"You know what that means! Yami is most likely going to be there! Oh, Mai! I seriously need to practice some before the tournament! You've got to help me! Come on, let's hurry home!"
………
"Bye Mr. Motou! Bye Mrs. Motou! I promise I'll do my best for the tournament!" Serenity called. The two elderly citizens waved back as Serenity ran off through the streets.
"Remember, every day in the evening, stop by my store," Solomon reminded.
"I'll try!" Serenity promised. She turned and headed back to her house. She had a little more than half and hour to cook lunch. She'd have to brainstorm a way to be able to get away from her sisters every evening. It wasn't going to be easy, but she'd think of something.
I have to. I need to learn some strategies, or else I'll never be able to defeat Seto.