Darkness Within
Note: 5 reviews… it's a start, and a good one at that. R&R please! Now… what shall happen to Fiacha in this chapter…
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh or McDonalds!
Chapter 4: Attack of the Killer Donuts (just kidding, couldn't think of a good title!)
After Joey had eaten his fair share of donuts, and his mind was operating somewhat well, he sat down to think about Fiacha. Something weird was going on, and he didn't want to be the last one to figure it out. He was too used to that feeling.
Fiacha was still laying where she'd fallen asleep the night before, on the couch, wearing a large t-shirt of his with her jeans. She had been very, very opposed to that idea, but in the end she caved out of sheer sleepiness, and that face that her former outfit had been too uncomfortable. Maybe he should have saved her something to eat. He was already hungry again, though, so he resolved to take her out for breakfast and then get her to tell him what was going on.
"Oh…" she groaned, rolling over. "Please… no… I'm too young… don't make me do this, papa. I don't wanna be a tomb keeper anymore. Please don't touch me with that needle, papa. Please don't…" she screamed out in her sleep, no doubt reliving some horror in her past.
Joey stared. Tomb keeper? Hadn't that Marik guy said he had been a tomb keeper?
"No… It's so bright and pretty up there. Don't make me go back inside, papa. Can't the Ishtar family come back now?"
Now he was sure that she had something to do with Marik, but he didn't want to believe it. He liked Fiacha; she was different from other girls. She didn't judge him on his brains, which was a very good thing indeed.
"But… it would too change things! Don't talk like that, Dolan. If they had never left… the stupid pharaoh wouldn't need me… I could leave. But I'm not blaming them; they were…" she trailed off and rolled over, suddenly flailing madly. "Please! Let me out, let me out! You know I will fail, papa. Let me out! Don't leave me alone in… the… dark." With the last word she shot up, eyes wide with terror.
"Stay back you- Oh… Hi." She looked very dazed, as people who have just woken up often do, but also very scared. "I'm sorry… I just… I've had a nightmare."
Trying to make sense of it all, Joey just nodded. "I… are you hungry or anything?"
Fiacha blinked a few times and then looked down at the t-shirt, blushing. "I guess so. I think I need a minute alone, though, Joey."
Joey shrugged and left, leaving Fiacha to sigh and think back on her dreams. She had been revisiting her days of trial, to insure that she was worthy of service to the pharaoh. She had dreamed it out of order, for the ordeal she had taken, a long fortnight in the darkness, alone and without food or drink, had come before the actual hardest part; the tattoos that marked her as a tomb keeper.
Every one of them wore a marking that told the meaning of their name, and the nature of their service, and of their qualities. It was but a little strip on her arm, but the details were intricate and it had taken several hours of being prodded with a needle to complete. She envied her brother, who had few things to be told of him, and had a very small band around his wrist. He had been brave, and not cried out.
She reached into her bag and pulled out the necklace her brother had given to her, slipping it over her head. Next she pulled out her dress, not worn since the day she had left. She had weaved and embroidered it with her own two hands, and it was still the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The color was the same dull cream as any other, but the markings were carefully stitched around the hem, neckline, and on the ends of both sleeves. The hem told of the prophecy, the neckline of her ordeal, and one sleeve held her name meaning, the other her hopes and dreams. She had shown no one that sleeve, for fear of getting in trouble. She had dreamed of leaving the temple behind and seeking love and revenge. Now that she was living it, it no longer seemed so great.
"Oh, brother, if only you were here to guide me. What do I do about this boy? Why do I feel so… strange?"
"Fiacha? Da restaurants are all gonna get busy if you don' hurry!"
She sighed and threw on the dress without another thought. It was her own, and in every stitch was her story, her hopes, her thoughts, and the love she had for her brother, if no one else. It would guide her.
"Wow… dat's a nice dress. You look… good."
Blushing and then feeling ashamed of it, she nodded. "Would you believe that I made it myself?"
"Really?"
"Yes. A long time ago, at home."
"Oh. Do you miss your family?"
"Not really. My father was very caught up in his… job, and my mother died giving birth to me. I miss only my brother. He tried so hard to protect me."
"From what?"
That was too many questions, even from this slightly slow boy. Something was up. Was it possible that she had cried out in her sleep?
"From… life. From anything that was a threat. I'm starved… let's hurry!" She had hoped to distract him with this mention of food, and it worked very well. He ran off ahead, flying into a restaurant that had some sort of yellow arches at its front.
She stepped cautiously into the place, feeling a strange pulse from within it. Looking around, she saw someone that she could not have missed if you showed her all the people in the world; Marik Ishtar.
"You," she whispered under her breath, feeling his gaze upon her. He always made her so nervous, with his dark ways and the task that had been his.
"Fiacha, I never thought I'd see you anywhere but in those musty temples."
"So then… you gave the pharaoh his message?"
"Yes, and now I am free."
"How lucky you are, to be truly free."
"You have grown since last I saw you, little raven. I can sense darkness around you. You are here for revenge on the pharaoh, aren't you? I would not advise such a path."
"You, Marik, were too weak to win, but I am not. I have a strategy much better than yours."
"Oh? And is that to date his closest friend so that you can learn secrets about him?"
"I am not dating Joey!"
"That's not what it looks like to me. Goodbye, little raven. It would be wise of you to heed my advice."
Seeing Joey's stare, Fiacha shrugged and went to help him with the tray.
"You know dat guy?" he asked, shoving a pancake into his mouth and swallowing it in one motion.
"Yeah, we grew up in the same place."
"Marik grew up as a gate keeper, secluded from other people. Are you saying that you were the same?"
"How did you know that? Oh…" Suddenly, that offhand comment hit her. He had involved Joey in his plan to destroy the pharaoh as well. "It's not that I lied, Joey. It was a dark past, and it has to be hidden, or they can find me again. Please don't tell anyone, not even Yugi." Especially not Yugi. If he knew of that, the pharaoh, even with his damaged mind, would make sense of it. He could not be warned.
"Da last tomb keeper I met wanted to kill Yuge, or somethin like dat. How am I supposed to trust you?"
"I… I guess I can't give you a reason, except that I am only trying to protect myself and my family. I have no interest in hurting your Yugi."
The last sentence was not spoken like a friend, it was said like a tomb keeper. She looked into Joey's eyes and still could not find hatred. Why would he not hate her? Again, she tried to overshadow his thoughts, but found this time a bright light that rejected her darkness. His aura pulsed, and she backed away as the darkness retreats from light.
"What?"
"You… you're…"
A woman lost in darkness will emerge to return to the pharaoh his memory. Many things will test her, but she must not fail. In order to unlock his mind, she must first listen to her heart. Along the way she will be faced with both allies and enemies; one of darkness like her own, one who is nearer the pharaoh than anyone, and one who is pure as the light of the sun. Her path is not bound by fate, and so much hangs in the balance here. The future is in her dark hands.
"The one of light," she whispered. The prophecy did not tell if he was to be friend or foe, but how could light and dark coexist. Did this mean she had to get rid of Joey?
"What are you talkin' about?"
"Nothing, Joey, just a daydream. Can you promise to keep my secret?"
"I guess I will for now, but if you try an' hurt Yuge, den you aren't ant friend of mine."
"Alright. Thank you, Joey."
She bit her lip nervously. What if… what if the pharaoh would not release her family from his service? Until just then, she'd always imagined threatening him and getting her way, but Joey was an undecided factor. His interference could change things. But she had to get inside, first. She had to be friends with little Yugi and all of his friends to get close to the pharaoh. But not too close… especially not to Joey.
Shadows, help me to see my path clearly again. The light blinds my view.
At once she was consumed in purpose, more shadow than girl, and Joey was nothing but a tool. This way was much easier.
"Now why don't we go and see Yugi," she said, smiling at the blonde who shrugged and led the way, sensing the change but knowing not what it meant.
End note: dun dun dun… What comes next for Yugi and Yami? Is Fiacha's chosen path the right one, and is Joey friend or foe? Review ASAP!
