Nahte: I sorta randomly came up with this idea…….this fic's kinda depressing, but it will have its moments……
Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, obviously. I mean, come on! If I owned it, do you think I'd be writing fanfictions???
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A Knight's Duty*~!~*~!~*~!~*~!~*~!~*~!~*
Memories, Both the Good and Bad
"Seto Kaiba. It is time."
I looked up in the darkness of my cell. Ah. My prisoner guard.
"You're late, Mr. Manasta," I said sharply in an accusatory tone, but my lips were set in a faint smile. Alexander Manasta stayed grimly silent as he led me out of my cell and the dark dungeon and into the damp hallways. The chains around my wrists and ankles made faint clanking noises that echoed through the walls as I walked.
"Sir Kaiba," he said unexpectedly in a soft voice, breaking the silence and also making me jump. I turned my face toward him and blinked curiously. "Why….?"
Okay, that was out of the blue.
To tell you the truth, he had me rather confused right about now….
"What do you mean?"
The brutish-looking, but kind man shook his magnificent red head slightly in a disbelieving way. "You know what I mean."
He had me puzzled for a split second there, but then—
"Oh," I replied, finally understanding what he was getting at. "Yes. That."
Ah, yes. He was questioning me about my decisions that led to my execution, which is going to take place today, not too long from now. Alexander stayed silent, waiting for me to go on. I smiled lightly as I imagined privately to myself what he might say to me when I explain it to him, ignoring the rather uncomfortable stillness.
'What the hell were you thinking, Seto Kaiba?! Had something crawled up your ass and ate your brains out when that happened?!?!'
I laughed out loud, causing him to look at me with an eyebrow raised inquiringly. I quickly shut up.
Sometimes, my dear reader, imagination is a bad thing.
"Well," I began slowly, still smiling faintly. I stared at the dark and damp walls as I spoke. "Sometimes, Alex, a knight shouldn't' do what he has been told to do, even if he had received orders from the King himself." I paused and waited for his response: whether he would grab my throat and shake the shit out of me, killing me before my execution can take place, spit at me and push my face through a wall, or stab me to death with the sword he was carrying because I had just spoken against the king. The answer was none of the above. I had received no reaction from him, and I took the no-reaction as a sign for me to go on. I paused briefly, choosing my words carefully as we strolled closer and closer to the gates that led to the outer areas of the castle.
"I couldn't kill a little child, slaughter a village full of innocent people, or let His Majesty go on a killing rampage for sport. I mean, maybe when I first be came a knight, when I was eager to earn glory and fame, I might have allowed it all to happen, but at that time, and even now, I couldn't—"
I was cut off by a set of bright sunrays that shone in my eyes as the gates opened, revealing a large, jeering crowd. Alex looked at me somberly after glancing at the expected audience. I offered him a small smile. He shook his head at me, his eyes going misty.
"Good luck, Sir Kaiba," he murmured softly, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder. "No matter what they do to you, remember, you are still a hero……"
I laughed.
"A hero? You continue to flatter me far too much for my own good," I said, still snickering slightly. "Anyway, I will be fine. After all," I flashed him a confident smile. "I know that have fought for what I believe in, and had won……in a way."
He opened his mouth again, but was cut off abruptly as two guards with razor-sharp spears blocked me from his view.
"Well….goodbye, Alex," I said loudly so that he may hear me over the booing of the crowd. "And thank you for everything!"
If he had said anything back to me, I had missed it as the guards roughly pushed me, urging me to go on. The audience parted automatically, smirking and sneering at me.
"Hurry up, hurry up. We have better things to do than to take you for a walk," said one of the guards gruffly. I held my head up high as I walked toward the guillotine through the thick crowd. I waited, almost wanted, to get the leaving shit beat out of me by them.
"Bastard!"
Well, there's the first of them.
An egg came flying at me. It hit me squarely in the face, drawing a fit of cruel laughter from the front-row people as it dribbled down my chin. I was unable to wipe it off as the guards forced me to go on.
I continued to stare straight ahead as I casually (except for an occasional impatient taps from the guards) strolled toward my death instrument.
"Son of a bitch," came a growl from the crowd. A rock flew at me, hitting my shoulder. My chains clinked again as I flinched slightly more from the impact than the pain itself.
"Seto Kaiba, the knight in disgrace," yet another hissed as a bright red tomato flew at me, barely missing my foot. More things came at my way, along with meant-to-be-hurtful mutters and remarks from the crowd.
"Coward….."
"Fool!"
"Idiot."
"—weakling—"
All kinds of things flew at me—may it be eggs, rocks, insults, tomatoes, sandals, etc, etc. Once, a book was even thrown at me! Crazy I tell you, these people were insane.
I endured all sorts of insults and mostly identified flying objects without lowering my gaze until my eyes caught a pair of wide, fearful brown ones. Suddenly, I was rooted to the ground, immobilized, and unable to look away. The roof of my mouth felt extremely dry as I tried to swallow.
"Lady Serenity……" I whispered hoarsely as I watched the silent tears running down her angelic cheeks. I tried to reach out to her, but one of the guards stabbed me on the back with his spear. With a small yelp of pain, I fell onto the ground, feeling the crimson blood issuing forth from the newly acquired scar. When the guards had pulled me to my feet again, (mind you, it hurt too. I think they were trying to pull my arms out or something!) all I could see was a shimmering mess of glistening brown hair and her shoulders shaking with her face in her hands. For the first time since I was chucked into the dark dungeon, my heart and my stomach plummeted into the deep depths of Hell….that awful feeling…..as I realized that she was crying…..
Crying……
For……for me.
The awful feeling in my stomach lessened as I realized that at least, my love would cry for me, even if it was within the secret chambers of her heart, unable to mourn out loud because of the king's strict orders.
My train of thoughts were broken again as the guards stabbed me on the back once more, pointing toward the wooden stairs before me.
"Go up. Now."
I drew in a deep breath.
So this is it.
The jeering and booing of the crowd below me grew louder and louder as I slowly walked up the stairs. I then stood on the fairly large wooden platform, facing the gleaming guillotine before me. Eggs oozed down my face and my bare chest, juices of tomatoes ran down my neck and hands, and bruises were forming on my shoulders, and just basically everywhere on my body as I stared at my death in a longing sort of way. I squinted my eyes briefly to take a better look at it. The blades looked sharp and taken well care of. Good. It would be a quick and clean death.
Breathing in and out deeply, I scanned the crowd for familiar faces to say goodbye as things continued to fly at me, my mind racing back to the day when it had all started……
Memories……both the good and the bad……