Shadow of Eyes
Prologue, Part 1
"Who am I? Are you sure you want to know? The story of my life is not for the faint of heart...If someone said it was a happy little tale, if someone told you I was just your average, ordinary girl without a care in the world, then someone lied. There's much more to me than meets the eye...Deep within these shadowed eyes, I keep secrets beyond your imagining. But let me assure you, this story, like many other stories worth telling, starts out on a dark, cold, rainy night..."
"EEEEEYYYYYAAAAAHHHHH!" the piercing scream of Sylvia Valentine reverberated throughout the household. The shrill, nearly ear-shattering sound was merely shrugged off by the maids of the Valentine estate, after all, they were quite used to the dramatic ways of their mistress by now. Little did they know that something substantially more serious was actually occurring at that very moment...
"No, no, no...This can't be happening...It can't be true!" exclaimed the panicking woman in hushed tones, a pregnancy test clutched loosely between her trembling fingers. With a violent tremor of her hand, it fell to the floor, never leaving her horrified stare. Sylvia backed away slowly, unsteadily, and sank to the floor, distraught and trembling, her eyes fixed upon the tiny positive sign on the pregnancy test. She shuddered and gasped for breath as she desperately tried to calm herself, but to no avail. Closing her eyes and resting her head against the uncomfortable hardness of the wall, she lost herself in tortured thoughts.
She was pregnant... Her worst fear was coming true, before her very eyes, her perfect world was crashing down around her. She opened her eyes to slits and peered at the pregnancy test, still lying where she had dropped it before. It's strange, she thought, that I would suffer so much pain and torment, because of so small a thing...Suddenly, she took action. In a flash she reached over, steadied herself waveringly to her feet, and threw the only evidence of her pregnancy in the nearest trash. She then raced off to her luxurious bedroom suite to quickly grab and throw on her fur coat, ignoring the sound of rain pitter-pattering against the windows and thunder crashing and booming overhead. As she began to strut back through the main entrance hallway, a picture hanging upon the wall from her latest and most successful photo shoot caught her attention, and she paused for a moment to observe it.
She was posing provocatively in a string bikini that was more string than bikini, a seductive smirk and a sexy wink graced her notoriously beautiful features. Wildly wavy, untamed locks, the color of the brilliant golden rays of sunlight during a sunrise, danced in the wind's embrace, and stray strands of gold lingered against her cheeks, framing her face and giving her the fierce look of an Amazon beauty. Her crystalline cerulean eyes gleamed with the light from the sun, as it set in an array of gold and magenta from behind, making her seem ethereal, more like a goddess than a woman. Sylvia traced her eyes down the picture, examining her perfect body, shaped by years of obsessive working out and watching her diet. Her face contorted firmly in grim resolve and confirmation; she now knew what had to be done... Whirling hastily away from the idolized picture, she continued her determined stride down the hallway.
"Royce," she barked sternly, "What time does James return from the state conference?"
The timid butler quavered under his mistress's intense glare, even though it was not meant for him, "A-a-around eight o'clock, M-Mrs. Valentine."
"Are you sure?"she asked forcefully, this time advancing towards him without diminishing her glare, and ignoring the poor man's pitiful shuddering. This time words failed him, and he merely nodded weakly.
Satisfied well enough with this answer, Mrs. Valentine stomped towards the front doors, gripped the handlebars roughly, and hurled both doors open, causing them to bang ominously against the walls. She then proceeded out into the pouring rain. Having regained at least some sense of dignity, Royce rushed out into the now tremendous thunderstorm after his mistress, wincing as the doors slammed closed, nearly hitting him on the way out. "Mrs. Valentine, Mrs. Valentine," he called.
She appeared to ignore him, or perhaps the falling rain and the crashing thunder had distorted her hearing. Either way, Royce watched in horror as the crazed woman sprinted through the storm, no doubt ruining her expensive stiletto heeled leather boots and fur jacket in the rain, as she finally reached her destination: a limousine. Sylvia swiftly opened the door, forcefully slammed it after her, and sped off, the tires screeching against the slick driveway. Royce stood, mind-boggled, and watched her drive away, fading away, disappearing into the distance. The butler swept the rain mixed with sweat off his brow, and sighed, "Whew, that woman has frightful mood swings..." He then retreated back into the safe warmth and dryness of the mansion.
Less than two minutes later, the front doors were loudly hurled open once again, except, this time, they revealed a sodden, and noticeably confused Mr. James Valentine. Once again, Royce was scared to death and rather dismayed at this turn of events; if this was not his job, and if he was not required to be painstakingly formal, he would have groaned and grumbled audibly.
"Royce!" the flustered man yelled, looking quite ridiculous in a soaking wet business suit, holding a briefcase, and dripping chocolate colored locks partially concealing his emerald green eyes. "What the hell is going on! I just saw another limousine pass by at the same time I was returning here, and I don't have to take a wild guess to know who's in it!"
"I'm sorry sir, but Mrs. Valentine just took off suddenly, without warning! She didn't even call for a driver!" the butler urgently retorted.
"What? She told me that she would be ready and waiting when I got home today, she knows we have a dinner party to attend at nine tonight..." Mr. Valentine muttered to himself as if trying to solve some unclear and difficult mystery. "Where on earth could she be running off to?" He massaged his stressed temples and sighed, "I'm going to clean up..." He then promptly marched in the direction of the nearest bathroom.
Setting his briefcase aside, he stared grimly in the gleaming bathroom mirror at his sodden, stressed, yet still handsome reflection, and groaned, reaching for a tissue to swipe away the congealing water droplets on his face. While he was discarding the wet tissue, he noticed a curious-looking object down at the bottom of the trash bin. Yes, it was the pregnancy test. As realization struck him, a look of utter shock and amazement passed across his features as he leaned over to examine it more closely. Seeing that it was positive, his heart started beating rapidly, his breath falling short. A million questions burst into his mind at once: Who? When? Why? How?...It's impossible! There is no way that Sylvia could be pregnant! After all, she had a tubal ligation awhile ago to avoid this very situation, he pondered to himself. He tried in vain to convince himself that it was merely one of the maids... No, his conscience nagged him persistently, You know it's true, deep down, you can't deny that feeling, you know your wife's pregnant. Clutching his forehead in dismay, he released a pent up sigh, attempting to calm himself in order to think logically about the situation.
James knew how much it would devastate his self-absorbed, and egotistical wife when she found out she was pregnant; it would drive her to the edge of insanity. Sylvia's career as a famed supermodel meant everything in the world to her, because her career gave her a sense of independence and freedom in a celebrity world filled with flashing cameras and glaring lights. It was what she had built her whole life upon, and he knew she would sooner kill herself than lose her career. James knew her better than anyone else, so he also knew that when she got into one of these impulsive, crazy moods, that it was never a good sign. Suddenly, he figured everything out; the mystery of her barging out of the house and driving away in a limousine all made sense now..."She wouldn't have possibly...would she?" he whispered in concern.
For the second time in one night, a deafening shout echoed through the Valentine household, "ROYCE! Get me a limo right this instant!" Poor Royce... Only but a minute later, Mr. Valentine promptly jumped into the leather backseat of the limousine and pointed Royce, who had involuntarily and reluctantly become James' limousine driver for the night, in the direction of St. James Hospital. The limousine raced off at the driver's command, with a roar of its engine and a screech of its tires, eventually lost from all sight, enveloped in the darkness, the booming thunder, crashing lightning, and pounding rainfall of the storm...
Meanwhile...
Mrs. Valentine shakily and cautiously creaked open the door that led into the abortion facility in St. James Hospital. She glanced around the depressing, sterile atmosphere of the hospital almost timidly, but the famed Sylvia Valentine was never timid. Just barely mustering up a countenance of confidence and determination, she made her way towards the check-in desk, her stiletto boots clicking sharply against the tile, leaving rainwater puddles in her wake. The disgustingly friendly and perky nurse seated at the desk chirped, "How may I help you?"
A shadow cast itself across Sylvia's face as she arrogantly demanded, "I need to see...Dr. Goldberg."
The nurse's face lit up in silent understanding, "Do you have an appointment?" she bubbled.
"No," Sylvia replied darkly, hoping that the young nurse wouldn't read too much into the situation.
"All righty then, I'll just need you to fill out this form, and Dr. Goldberg will be with you soon," the nurse replied cheerfully, paying no mind to the frustrated scowl that was slowly and gradually transfixing itself upon Mrs. Valentine's face.
Sylvia wordlessly accepted the form papers and pen that the smiling nurse thrust at her, and went to take a seat in one of the cushiony waiting room chairs. As the dejected woman sat down and released a soft, monotone grumble while filling out the form, the young nurse was given a chance to observe her more carefully. The girl could've sworn that the gorgeous blonde woman in the waiting room looked familiar. She wondered to herself why the woman was drenched with rainfall when she entered the facility, and then even further wondered what had compelled her to come to this specific section of the hospital in the first place. In fact, she realized inwardly, That woman looks almost exactly like...like Sylvia Valentine, the famous supermodel! Oh my God! Could it really be her?
Suddenly, Mrs. Valentine stood up from her seat and sashayed over to the desk, awkwardly handing the completed forms to the nurse, who was now outwardly gawking at her with a mixture of wonder and awe. The girl shook her head slightly as she glanced over the papers, dispelling the ridiculous notion from her mind. Reading over the name that Sylvia had written at the top of the hospital form, she blabbered brightly, "Thank you...Mrs. Kujaku, the doctor will be with you in just a minute..."
Sylvia watched slightly amused as the cheery nurse with her unwavering enthusiasm practically skipped away, then resumed to waiting for her appointment. Heaving a sigh, she impatiently grabbed a celebrity gossip magazine from off the counter and began flipping through the articles absentmindedly. She paused in her page flipping as a particular article caught her eye: "Sylvia and James Valentine, The Perfect Celebrity Couple?" Underneath this flashy title was a photo of James and her at a recent charity event; as usual, they were impeccably and elegantly dressed, arms entwined romantically, smiles of fake happiness imprinted unwillingly upon their faces. Sylvia's observing gaze turned from the image of her husband to herself; in the photo, her eyes appeared to be almost dead-looking, expressionless, soulless, despite the smile of ecstasy planted on her face... The magazine was swiftly thrown down onto the tiled floor, there it laid, fluttering open to a different picture of her kissing her husband's cheek, fake smile still upon her face. Mrs. Valentine averted her gaze as an older, more mature-looking nurse approached towards the glassy, crystalline, and transparent door that led from the waiting room to the facility beyond. The handle turned, and the door opened to reveal the nurse, who promptly spoke, "Mrs. Kujaku..."
Approximately fifteen or so minutes later, James Valentine burst loudly through the exact same door that his wife had entered through previously. Right away, without thinking, he marched hectically up to the desk and quickly asked the same peppy nurse, "Has anyone by the last name of Valentine been here recently?"
Absolutely unfazed by the desperate expression on his face, the nurse retorted, as if giving a well-rehearsed speech, "I'm sorry sir, but we are not allowed to disclose personal or private information of any kind. The information we receive is expected to remain confidential at all times, despite...What are you doing!" The girl stared furiously at Mr. Valentine, who had reached over the desk counter during her little speech, which he had ignored, and grabbed the appointment sign-up sheet. He was scanning the list of Dr. Goldberg's patient's names fervently, when his eyes landed upon the last name on the list...
"Kujaku!" he roared, "She's using her maiden name! I should've known, damn it!" He thundered off towards the glass door, flung it open, and proceeded to storm off towards the doctor's office.
"Sir! You're not allowed back there without an appointment! Come back!" she cried pleadingly after him, frantically heaving her bust over the desk counter in a failed attempt to dissuade him. Alas, the now empowered James Valentine paid no attention to her urgent pleas, leaving her sprawled, frustrated and distraught, atop the smooth granite counter, an interesting and quite amusing sight for a new patient that entered the facility mere moments later.
A/N: -Well, that was interesting...how the heck did I think that up? Anyway, the "prologue" is going to be pretty long, so I decided to update it in 2 parts. Don't worry, after the prologue is complete, I'll explain everything...sorry if it's confusing.
-Oh, and I hereby disclaim from owning Mai Kujaku and Yu-gi-oh, is that good enough for ya? Mai will show up...eventually.
-Please leave a review if you want, but I don't write because I want to, I write because I need to. Meaning, the main reason I'm writing this is because I have to express all the ideas in my head. Reviews are much appreciated though! - If you haven't figured it out already, this fic is my first attempt at serious writing, serious as in using a lot of complicated words like languorous and etc... There I go blabbing again...See ya next update! -Jewel