Nightmare

Authoress: Daughter of Shaadi and Dartz

Hikaru: I'm back with another one!!

Yami: Dear Ra. You just don't know when to quit, do you?

Hikaru: Yami, leave me alone. Witty, a little help here?

Witty: (Nods and sics the evil bunny from Monty Python on Yami)

Ryou: (Cue the anime sweatdrop)

Hikaru: Ryou-chan, would you do the disclaimer for me this time?

Ryou: (Nods) Sure. Hikaru-chan does not own YGO ::or monty python, as mentioned above:: but anything original is hers.

Hikaru: Arigatou, Ryou! (Hugs him and Bakura) Warnings: Near lime-ish scene. Don't like, don't read. And now, on with the fic!!

((Dream sequence))

Aisling wandered around aimlessly, lost in the darkness. Fear swept over her, made worse by the fact that she had no idea where she was, or how she had gotten here in the first place. She shivered, wrapping her feathery-white angel wings closer around her for warmth.

"Hello? Is anyone out there?" she called to the darkness, but she received no answer.

Suddenly a bright flash of gold light appeared out of nowhere, blinding her. She cried out in shock, raising her arms to shield her eyes from the harsh glow. When she lowered her arms, she could just barely make out someone walking towards her. She squinted a little, trying to make out who was approaching her, and smiled in relief when she realized that the one approaching her was Ryou. But where had that light come from? That was when she saw that he was holding the Millennium Rod, and that it was what had created that light. She shook her head, pushing that aside as she ran to him, practically flying into his arms.

"Ryou, I'm so glad you're here!" she said, laying her head on his shoulder as he took her into his arms. He didn't reply, though, and she looked up into his eyes, wondering why he wasn't speaking to her. "Ryou"

That was when she noticed that something definitely wasn't right. She gasped when she noticed a tell-tale bit of violet in the brown eyes of who she thought was Ryou. The one who held her smirked evilly, letting the illusion drop, revealing himself to be Marik. Aisling's eyes went very wide with terror and she started to struggle wildly, twisting and thrashing desperately in Marik's grip, triyng to free herself, but it was to no avail. His hold on her was far to strong for her to break loose from.

"Please, let me go. Don't hurt me...onegai, y-yamette"

"Foolish girl, you belong to me now. You're mine," he snarled, tightening his grip on her, to the point of being painful.

Frightened tears streamed down her face as she fell limp in her captor's arms, shivering wildly like a scared bunny. "How dare you make me think you were Ryou. Please, just leave me alone....No!" she stammered, screaming the last word as he pushed her shirt away from her shoulder and started to kiss her neck and shoulder, biting harshly every now and then and lapping up the blood that came.

"Please....no, don't do this to me again!" She struggled again, screaming into the darkness that had returned, hoping for someone to come save her. "Ryou! Seto! Someone, please! Help me"

Marik narrowed his eyes, and slapped her. "Shut up, little one!" he snapped, grabbing her left wing and digging his nails into it, pulling feathers out and drawing blood; then doing the same to the right wing, eliciting a scream of pain from the girl in his arms.

By now Aisling was sobbing almost hysterically from fear and from the burning pain where Marik had ripped into her wings. She didn't want to go through this again. She cried out as Marik shoved her to the ground, pinning her slender body beneath his own more powerful one, and with one hand he pinned her wrists above her head, his other hand roaming over her trembling body, and she turned her face away, squeezing her haunted sapphire eyes shut tightly. She didn't want to see what was going to come next. A sick feeling washed over her as Marik reached over and grabbed her face roughly, forcing her to look at him. She glanced into his eyes and saw nothing but pure insanity and dark lust burning in his violet orbs. She let out a strangled sob, hating the way he was staring at her, as if he was undressing her with his eyes.

"Please, leave me alone! I don't want this!" she sobbed, her eyes begging him to let her go.

"Now what fun would that be, my dear?" he taunted her, leaning down and licking away the scared tears that streamed down her face.

He slipped his calloused hand beneath the fabric of her crimson shirt, eliciting another sob from her as he caressed the flesh under it, then tore her shirt away, then her skirt, exposing her. Aisling tried to pull away, but he still had a harsh grip on her wrists, or so she thought, until his other hand caressed her face in mock-tenderness. That was when she realized that he had somehow managed to bind her wrists to the ground, making sure she wouldn't be able to escape like she had last time . The Angel Sorceress struggled anyway, but fell still when Marik tore at her wings again. Pain shot through her, making her feel as though she was on fire and being burned alive from the inside out. She let out a shrill scream, shutting her eyes tightly again. She just wanted to wake up from this hellish nightmare, or what she thought had to be one, anyway. As much pain as she was in right at that moment, she wasn't sure what to believe.

Suddenly, she was aware of someone calling her name in the darkness, and the feel of Marik's hands roaming over her form began to fade away. She didn't open her eyes, though, thinking it merely to be another one of his tricks. lnstead she just braced herself for the pain she was sure would come, feeling her heart being shattered and her spirit being broken again when she heard that same voice calling out to her once again, and she slowly began to open her eyes.

((End Dream Sequence))

"Aisling! Aisling, love, wake up! You're having a nightmare!"

Aisling sat straight up, startled, and looked around frantically. Her eyes wild with fear because she was still trapped in the dream she had been entangled in merely moments ago. She tensed when she felt arms surround her, but when she looked up into the soft, doe-brown eyes of her beloved that stared down at her in concern, she let her muscles loosen, and threw herself into Ryou's embrace, sobbing uncontrollably as she hid her face in his shirt.He massaged her back lightly, trying to calm her, whispering soft words of solace in her ear to reassure her.

"Shh, shh. It's all right, angel. You were having a nightmare, that's all," he whispered softly, stroking her hair with his other hand.

She shook her head, looking up at him with haunted sapphire eyes that seemed to speak of far more than she was willing to talk about. "I....I was so scared, Ryou. I had that dream again....the one where Marik was...." she trailed off, silvery tears slipping down her pale cheeks, leaving crystalline trails that seemed to shimmer in the moonlight that flooded in through the window, shining on the two innocent ones and seeming almost to make them both appear as otherworldly beings. "He tricked me....made me think he was you"

Ryou looked at his heartbroken lover sadly, raining gentle kisses down her face, trying to soothe her. She clung to him almost desperately, as if he was her only lifeline in that moment. Ryou sighed, wishing he could do something to help his love, but not knowing what. Only Aisling knew the full details of what Marik had done to her when he had held her prisoner during the Battle City tournament, and he had not been able to get to her. She hadn't even told him everything. Instead she kept most of it to herself, but he knew she wouldn't be able to heal until she got it all out in the open. But it seemed that the blue-eyed Hikari was far too frightened with the object of her nightmares coming after her all the time and being in the same mansion.

"Please, Ryou. Stay with me tonight, I don't want to be alone. Don't leave me, please!" she pleaded, looking up at him brokenly.
Ryou looked into her eyes, startled by her words. "I won't leave you, Angel-cat. I'd never leave you, not ever. I promise," he said, stroking her cheek lovingly.

Aisling merely nodded, smiling a little. His words seemed to be enough to calm her. Either that or she had exhausted herself from crying so much, because her eyes slowly began to drift closed(not quite sure this is right, keep it though), and she started to go limp in his arms, finally falling asleep. He smiled down at her sadly and layed her back down on the bed, curling up beside her. He pulled the blankets up around the both of them and pulled her closer to him so that she had her head on his chest, and kissed her softly on the forehead.

"I'll always protect you, Aisling. Aishiteru, tenshi," he said quietly, before letting his eyes fall closed as well, finally slipping into unconsciousness, holding his beloved angel in a protective embrace, both of them being completely at peace for once in a long time, under the tender watch of the luminescent moon above.

(Owari)

Well, there you go. This is the first in a series of one-shot vignettes between Ryou and Aisling. Please R&R. It's really disenheartening to put your soul into something and then have it ignored. I'll try to update Change of Heart and some of my other fics when I can, I'm having slight writer's block on them, but I promise I will continue them. Well, if I don't update again before the holiday season ends, everyone have a merry Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate) and a happy new year! Ja ne, minna-san!

Hikaru Shinatoru, Daughter of Shaadi and Dartz