[I feel it would be proper to defend myself here. I do not think that this is a Mary-Sue. It was not meant to be. It was meant to be pure and simple angst, using a character that I myself did not need to develop thus saving a lot of time and effort. I'm a little confused how anyone could consider it a Mary-Sue, especially after the first chapter. Some of my fics are Mary-Sue, but I do not need to invent my own cheesy character: Cecilia already existed ;
I confess, Kathy was meant to be a Mary-Sue character, but apparently it was not to be.
You the reader, having gotten this far, can draw your own conclusions. If it seems like a Mary-Sue to you, so be it. The problem with Mary-Sue fics is that most of them are poorly written. I've tried very hard not to write this badly, and I would be grateful for thoughts and suggestions in the form of reviews ;-) ]
Earlier, it would have been amusing to walk through the corridors of the castle and discover the little touches that were obviously her uncle's and laugh at his blatant vanity as he had hers so many years before., but now it was just sand in Aislinn's wounds, and she walked quickly, wishing they could just find that hot-tub. Kathy at her side, however, with her insatiable and slightly sadistic curiosity, held her back, insisting that they explore the parts of the castle where she had found the dungeon. Aislinn's pride refused to take one for the team on this matter, so she bit back the slightly nauseous feelings and agreed.
It wasn't long before they became lost in the twisting passageways, and it seemed that most of the aides were attending to the tournament and therefore nowhere to be found. Kathy seemed to enjoy this freedom and took the opportunity to explore several rooms where she knew very well she would not be welcome with a reckless, curious abandon that appalled the high-bred, fine-mannered Aislinn, who refused to enter the rooms out of etiquette. One time when Kathy ran up a flight of stairs Aislinn could have sworn she had something in her pocket when she came down that wasn't there before, but she said nothing, instead suggesting they get some fresh air.
A few hours later they were walking across the lush green grass towards the shore, soaking in the sunlight, and Aislinn sensed that Kathy was keeping something from her.
"Kathy?"
"Um... hm?"
"What's wrong?" It suddenly occurred to her what type of answers might come back. "No, wait, I don't want to know."
Kathy exploded. "Look what I found, Az!" She pulled a smallish book out of her pocket, and Aislinn recognized it as the object Kathy had taken out of the room.
"Alright, what is it?" she sighed.
"I think it's a diary!"
"Kathy! How could you?! I'm surprised!" Aislinn snatched the book from her friend's grasp.
"Oh, all right," she said, abashed.
Aislinn, coming in from a relaxing roam of the island with Kathy, grabbed the attention of the aide.
"What stage is the tournament in?"
"The duel between Master Pegasus and Yugi Moto has just begun, Miss."
She glanced at Kathy, who smiled. "Why not?"
They watched the duel together in silence from their hidden niche, neither making any comments about Maximillion Pegasus for which Aislinn was grateful to her friend. Many times she had to force back tears or force her fists to unclench before her nails drew blood. A few times Maximillion Pegasus even lost his unshakable composure, and Aislinn had to wonder whether it had anything to do with the recent confrontation in the ballroom. Even though she knew that it would have come sooner or later, she wished that it could have been after this final duel.
Finally, it was the last move of the duel, and with a powerful blow to her uncle's monster and to her heart, she knew that Yugi had won.
She half expected him to make some glib remark honoring the victor, or maybe to walk away in a blaze of repressed fury. He had always been a man of his word, a gracious loser, and had unbelievable composure with the exception of the slip before Aislinn that morning, but it hardly counted under the circumstances.
Either would have been preferable to the sheer terror and devastation blatantly frozen on his face. He buried his head despairingly in his hands as Yugi proclaimed his victory, lips moving in words that Aislinn could not hear.
As Pegasus turned to flee the arena Aislinn rose to follow him, but Kathy's hand was clenching her arm and the diary was open, her face ashen, her eyes tearful. This time Aislinn cared little about privacy, and read the passage Kathy pointed to.
Everything became clear, and she suddenly knew her uncle was in grave danger. Cecilia had been his motive all along, winning this duel would bring her back, and losing this duel... She did not understand how the Eye worked, but she had read despair in her uncle and was aware that this might be the final push that would send him over the edge that he had walked for so long. Perhaps to suicide.
She was racing down the hallway towards her uncle, Kathy following on her heels. They collided with two aides who blocked their way.
"You can't come through. This area is restricted."
"Get out of my way or I'll have you fired," Aislinn snarled with no attempt at self-restraint. "Now!"
Slightly cowed, the aide hesitated just long enough for her to push him aside and rush through. The hallway intercepted another, the entrance to the dueling arena on the left and a passageway to elsewhere to the right. Aislinn flung herself around the left and into the arena only to find her uncle gone, and cursed while she made an about-face and raced down the corridor. In order to get through, she dealt the aide a swift kick to the shins.
"Stop me again and I'll aim higher!" she shouted over her shoulder.
A few more minutes and the corridor split. Aislinn swore again in fury. "Kathy, left, I'll go right, and we'll both hope that he didn't go straight. Go! Now!" Before waiting for an answer she flew down the hall to the right and up a flight of stairs.
At the top she heard her uncle's voice and paused, suddenly frightened. A divider hid the stairwell from the rest of the room, and she needed to get around it in order to see what was happening, but before she could move she felt a prick on her back and a strong, thin arm snake around her neck.
"Move, speak, or breathe, and die," whispered a malicious voice in her ear. No option was left but to comply while she was roughly bound and gagged, her face pressed against the stairs. Now she could not see, but she could hear. Her uncle was speaking to Cecilia, addressing, she supposed, the portrait. So passionate was his speech that tears came to her eyes.
The voice that had threatened her spoke up, and a brief conversation followed during which Aislinn could do nothing but squirm, for the binding was done well. A battle? With the Items? Losing... Desperately she tried to get out, but all in vain. A sickening thud resounded through the room. A battle lost. More than a battle! A war! Her uncle's war was lost. What was that demon doing now? Taking the Eye! But...
Aislinn squeezed her eyes shut against the image of the Eye being torn from her uncle's skull, tried to shut her ears against the agonizing scream of horror and despair and her own heart pounding wildly in her chest as if it was some struggling animal trying to escape, trying to think of him as the broken shell of a man, the animal who could steal people's souls and seem to enjoy it...
...the animal who loved so deeply, so passionately that he was truly destroyed when she left and willing to go to any length to become whole again...
...the animal who was brilliant enough and mad enough to attempt a scheme such as this...
...the animal whose cries now sounded so terribly human...
...the man who was and always would be her uncle, the only true family she had left. No matter what.
I confess, Kathy was meant to be a Mary-Sue character, but apparently it was not to be.
You the reader, having gotten this far, can draw your own conclusions. If it seems like a Mary-Sue to you, so be it. The problem with Mary-Sue fics is that most of them are poorly written. I've tried very hard not to write this badly, and I would be grateful for thoughts and suggestions in the form of reviews ;-) ]
Earlier, it would have been amusing to walk through the corridors of the castle and discover the little touches that were obviously her uncle's and laugh at his blatant vanity as he had hers so many years before., but now it was just sand in Aislinn's wounds, and she walked quickly, wishing they could just find that hot-tub. Kathy at her side, however, with her insatiable and slightly sadistic curiosity, held her back, insisting that they explore the parts of the castle where she had found the dungeon. Aislinn's pride refused to take one for the team on this matter, so she bit back the slightly nauseous feelings and agreed.
It wasn't long before they became lost in the twisting passageways, and it seemed that most of the aides were attending to the tournament and therefore nowhere to be found. Kathy seemed to enjoy this freedom and took the opportunity to explore several rooms where she knew very well she would not be welcome with a reckless, curious abandon that appalled the high-bred, fine-mannered Aislinn, who refused to enter the rooms out of etiquette. One time when Kathy ran up a flight of stairs Aislinn could have sworn she had something in her pocket when she came down that wasn't there before, but she said nothing, instead suggesting they get some fresh air.
A few hours later they were walking across the lush green grass towards the shore, soaking in the sunlight, and Aislinn sensed that Kathy was keeping something from her.
"Kathy?"
"Um... hm?"
"What's wrong?" It suddenly occurred to her what type of answers might come back. "No, wait, I don't want to know."
Kathy exploded. "Look what I found, Az!" She pulled a smallish book out of her pocket, and Aislinn recognized it as the object Kathy had taken out of the room.
"Alright, what is it?" she sighed.
"I think it's a diary!"
"Kathy! How could you?! I'm surprised!" Aislinn snatched the book from her friend's grasp.
"Oh, all right," she said, abashed.
Aislinn, coming in from a relaxing roam of the island with Kathy, grabbed the attention of the aide.
"What stage is the tournament in?"
"The duel between Master Pegasus and Yugi Moto has just begun, Miss."
She glanced at Kathy, who smiled. "Why not?"
They watched the duel together in silence from their hidden niche, neither making any comments about Maximillion Pegasus for which Aislinn was grateful to her friend. Many times she had to force back tears or force her fists to unclench before her nails drew blood. A few times Maximillion Pegasus even lost his unshakable composure, and Aislinn had to wonder whether it had anything to do with the recent confrontation in the ballroom. Even though she knew that it would have come sooner or later, she wished that it could have been after this final duel.
Finally, it was the last move of the duel, and with a powerful blow to her uncle's monster and to her heart, she knew that Yugi had won.
She half expected him to make some glib remark honoring the victor, or maybe to walk away in a blaze of repressed fury. He had always been a man of his word, a gracious loser, and had unbelievable composure with the exception of the slip before Aislinn that morning, but it hardly counted under the circumstances.
Either would have been preferable to the sheer terror and devastation blatantly frozen on his face. He buried his head despairingly in his hands as Yugi proclaimed his victory, lips moving in words that Aislinn could not hear.
As Pegasus turned to flee the arena Aislinn rose to follow him, but Kathy's hand was clenching her arm and the diary was open, her face ashen, her eyes tearful. This time Aislinn cared little about privacy, and read the passage Kathy pointed to.
Everything became clear, and she suddenly knew her uncle was in grave danger. Cecilia had been his motive all along, winning this duel would bring her back, and losing this duel... She did not understand how the Eye worked, but she had read despair in her uncle and was aware that this might be the final push that would send him over the edge that he had walked for so long. Perhaps to suicide.
She was racing down the hallway towards her uncle, Kathy following on her heels. They collided with two aides who blocked their way.
"You can't come through. This area is restricted."
"Get out of my way or I'll have you fired," Aislinn snarled with no attempt at self-restraint. "Now!"
Slightly cowed, the aide hesitated just long enough for her to push him aside and rush through. The hallway intercepted another, the entrance to the dueling arena on the left and a passageway to elsewhere to the right. Aislinn flung herself around the left and into the arena only to find her uncle gone, and cursed while she made an about-face and raced down the corridor. In order to get through, she dealt the aide a swift kick to the shins.
"Stop me again and I'll aim higher!" she shouted over her shoulder.
A few more minutes and the corridor split. Aislinn swore again in fury. "Kathy, left, I'll go right, and we'll both hope that he didn't go straight. Go! Now!" Before waiting for an answer she flew down the hall to the right and up a flight of stairs.
At the top she heard her uncle's voice and paused, suddenly frightened. A divider hid the stairwell from the rest of the room, and she needed to get around it in order to see what was happening, but before she could move she felt a prick on her back and a strong, thin arm snake around her neck.
"Move, speak, or breathe, and die," whispered a malicious voice in her ear. No option was left but to comply while she was roughly bound and gagged, her face pressed against the stairs. Now she could not see, but she could hear. Her uncle was speaking to Cecilia, addressing, she supposed, the portrait. So passionate was his speech that tears came to her eyes.
The voice that had threatened her spoke up, and a brief conversation followed during which Aislinn could do nothing but squirm, for the binding was done well. A battle? With the Items? Losing... Desperately she tried to get out, but all in vain. A sickening thud resounded through the room. A battle lost. More than a battle! A war! Her uncle's war was lost. What was that demon doing now? Taking the Eye! But...
Aislinn squeezed her eyes shut against the image of the Eye being torn from her uncle's skull, tried to shut her ears against the agonizing scream of horror and despair and her own heart pounding wildly in her chest as if it was some struggling animal trying to escape, trying to think of him as the broken shell of a man, the animal who could steal people's souls and seem to enjoy it...
...the animal who loved so deeply, so passionately that he was truly destroyed when she left and willing to go to any length to become whole again...
...the animal who was brilliant enough and mad enough to attempt a scheme such as this...
...the animal whose cries now sounded so terribly human...
...the man who was and always would be her uncle, the only true family she had left. No matter what.