"The Rose Duelist: War Stories"
(Prequel
to "The Rose Duelist")
By: Seto's Princess
Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or the original storyline for "The Duelists of the Roses" for Playstation 2… However, I do own Maki Kaichi, Mr. Morosou Kaichi, Mrs. Yakima Kaichi, Mr. Ichiro Shuka, Mrs. Reiko Shuka, Rick Takinawa, Crystal Takinawa, Sujiro Mitsuki, a few other random names I made up, and this story.
Wow! 14 reviews for the first chapter! That is MANY more than "The Rose Duelist" had when it first came out. Of course, "The Rose Duelist" was not that well known back then. Anyway, thank you so much! I managed to squeeze out another chapter so here is chapter two! I hope you like it! Yay!
'Words in italics and single quotation marks' are thoughts.
"Words in italics and double" or no quotation marks are dreams.
Special note: Domino City is NOT the setting in the beginning of this story. Also, Seto, Yugi, the rest of the gang, and a few other notable people will NOT appear in this story. This story occurs before "The Rose Duelist," so Maki never met them.
Special Note 2: This story will be written in Maki's Point of View…
Chapter 2 – The Legend Begins…
The British Empire in the 1480s...
The Wars of the Roses, a power struggle between the Houses of Lancaster (The Red Rose) and York (The White Rose) to decide a royal successor, was nearing an end.
With the Yorkists well in the lead, the reign of Richard III was but a step away. And in France, Henry 'Yugi' Tudor -the last Lancastrian heir- was being forced to live a life of exile.
The Lancastrian forces were rendered powerless by ancient cards of sorcery wielded by 'Seto' Rosenkreuz, and his seven followers who, known as the 'Rose Crusaders,' served under the flag of Lord Crawford, a powerful Yorkist nobleman.
Lacking a duelist to champion their cause, defeat was imminent for the Lancastrians. In England, duel card games were still at the fledgling stage. Thus, the Lancastrians had to look elsewhere for a duel master capable of facing the Rose Crusaders in battle.
With this in mind, Margaret 'Mai' Beaufort of Lancaster secretly requested a High Druid to summon a duelist from another age...
"Oooooh!" a voice disrupted my thoughts. "…summon from the mystic circle of red and white roses, the one capable of harnessing pure power! There is truth to the legend of the Rose Duelist!" an old man, covered in cream-colored robes and a tall hat adorned with gold exclaimed. "But wait… The legendary Rose Duelist… is a young girl?" he asked, flabbergasted.
I blinked in confusion, simply dumbfounded by this man, by his words, by my surroundings, by everything!
"Oh, what am I saying? What does it matter that you are a girl? You are 'The Rose Duelist,' and that is that. L-Lady Mai! I… I did it! Now we have the means for defeating the evil forces of Rosenkreuz!" the man exclaimed in excitement. His body was quaking with a sense of utter joy. I remained quiet, still in complete shock. I still had no idea why I was standing in the center of Stonehenge with a strange old man who seemed ecstatic to be in my presence.
"Oh! My apologies!" he sputtered, his crystal blue eyes widening as he looked me up and down. I assumed he had never seen my style of clothing, seeing as he was wearing an odd cream-colored robe with gold ornaments on his tall hat. He was not any taller than 4'7". His whole body was covered by the robes, a simple opening for his eyes revealed the crystal blue orbs, but nothing else.
"In my excitement, I'd forgotten I was in the presence of the Rose Duelist," he continued, raising his eyes to stare at my own. His eyes shrunk slightly and he seemed somewhat intimidated… by me?
"Allow me to introduce myself," the short old man said and cleared his throat. "I am Simon McMooran, High Druid and servant of Lancaster. May I be so bold as to ask the name by which the Rose Duelist would like to be known?"
I still could not speak as I tried to take in my surroundings. A sudden chill went up my spine; I felt as though someone was watching us. Oh, how right I was.
'So that is the legendary Rose Duelist? But… she is… a girl! Hmm… This could work to my advantage…' thought the shadowy figure standing nearby.
…
"What's going on?" cried my mother as she frantically tried to catch a glimpse of anything, but it was too bright. No one could see a thing. Soon, the light faded, the audience hushed, and everything was back to normal, that is, except for my sudden disappearance.
"Hey, where'd Maki go?" Rick broke the silence and the announcer looked down at my empty seat with a questioning look. The audience all turned in an odd robotic movement to look at the seat I had previously occupied. Most of the people gasped, surprised that I was no longer there.
"Maki?" Crystal wondered aloud.
"MAKI!" my mother cried as she stumbled down the stands to rush to the dueling table.
"Where could she be?" someone asked.
"Did she disappear?" another voice asked.
The announcer finally realized the severity of the situation and called in security. "Search the building!" he commanded and the security guards dispersed themselves to look for me.
"Hey look, her cards are gone too," Sujiro pointed out from the audience.
"Yeah, you're right, Sujiro! Does this mean I win the tournament?" Rick asked expectantly, as if nothing had even happened.
"Maki just disappeared out of nowhere and all you're worrying about is this stupid tournament?" Mrs. Shuka scolded loudly from the audience. Those few fans of mine took it upon themselves to hiss and boo at Rick. My mother actually hit him with her purse.
"OW! What do you have in that purse… rocks?" Rick cried out in pain. My mother ignored his comment and whacked him with her purse again.
"How dare you say something like that? For all we know, Maki could've just gotten kidnapped and you have the nerve to say you beat her in that duel!" my mother yelled, her voice rising almost a whole octave as she tried her best to remain calm.
"Mrs. Kaichi, please calm down. We're searching for your daughter as we speak. She couldn't have gone far," the announcer tried to assure my mother, but she remained upset.
My father stood by my mother's side and wrapped his arms around her. "We'll find her, Yakima. We will find her."
"I hope so, Morosou," my mother muttered as a tear rolled down her cheek.
…
"My… my name? I…" I trailed off as I stared into his crystal blue orbs, trying to receive some clue of what was going on.
"Yes my dear? What is your name?" Simon McMooran asked me again.
"Maki… Maki Kaichi," I replied, trying hard not to reveal the nervousness I was feeling at the moment.
"…Maki? A fine name indeed! Now, here's the situation. The year is 1482, and you are currently in Stonehenge, near Salisbury, England. The British Empire is in turmoil with the House of Lancaster's rightful claim to the throne being challenged by Yorkist usurpers," Simon explained. (Here is one of the small details I changed. In the game, The Rose Duelist is summoned to the year 1485… However, since I wanted Maki to spend three years there instead of just a few months, I had to change the year to 1482.)
"1482?" I inquired, utterly confused. 'Did he just say 1482? I'm in the year 1482?'
"Yes dear duelist. It is the year 1482. Perhaps I should also inform you that you are in another world as well," Simon squeaked, unsure of what my response would be. (This is another one of my twists. In the game, you're just sent back in time. However, in this story Maki is not only summoned to another time, but also to another dimension. It really is not that important to this story, but it will important for the sequel.)
"Another world?" I asked, my eyes widening to the size of saucers.
"Yes. I am terribly sorry for taking you away from your home, but we need you, my dear duelist," Simon apologized with a sympathetic look in his eyes. (I also added some extra dialogue here for Simon McMooran, if anyone who has played the game has noticed.)
"Moving on, the power struggle is referred to as the Wars of the Roses, a name based on the badges used by both sides- a red rose for the Lancastrians, and a white rose for the Yorkists. Right now, our kingdom is threatened by the Yorkists and their wrongful claim to the throne! All because the Yorkists enjoy the support of the Rose Crusaders and their sorcerous White Rose Cards. Using our Red Rose Cards, we summoned you, Lady Maki, to this time and dimension. We hoped that your dueling experience would defeat the Rose Crusaders and lead us to victory!"
I remained silent throughout his explanation. 'They need me… to defeat some group called 'The Rose Crusaders?' I don't understand any of this! Wait… When can I go home? Can I ever go home?' My eyes widened as I finally realized that I was no longer at home, that I might not see my parents again for a while.
"We hoped that your dueling experience would defeat the Rose Crusaders and lead us to victory!" he exclaimed with a hopeful glint in his eyes.
'My dueling experience? Well, I know I'm a great duelist in my hometown… but that's just my hometown! What about someone like Maximillian Pegasus, the CREATOR of the game? Wouldn't he be a much better candidate for something as big as a… Wait a minute… WAR? There's a WAR going on? I'm supposed to STOP this war? How? This makes no sense!'
"You will help us...?" he asked, glancing up at me with hope. He did not even give me a chance to respond as he said, "Of course, you will! Foolish of me to even doubt where your loyalties lie… Rumor has it that only the legendary Rose Duelist stands a chance against the power of Rosenkreuz! We appreciate any help you can provide against them."
(Here is another change I'm making. This one is very noticeable to anyone who has played the game. I am completely cutting out Simon McMooran's explanation on dueling. For those of you who have not played the game, Simon just tells you about "the perfect rule." In the game, the dueling style is quite like chess; you move the cards around on a playing field. I decided to get rid of "the perfect rule" altogether, so you will never see it in this story.)
"One more thing before we head off to see Prince Yugi… Do you have a dueling deck?" Simon asked me. I blinked.
'A deck… MY DECK!' My hand flew to the card case attached to my dueling belt. I opened it hastily and was relieved to find my cards there. I pulled them out and quickly looked through them, making sure I was not missing any. They were all there, as if my duel with Rick had never begun. Under any other circumstances, knowing that Rick would win the town championship tournament on a technicality would have bothered me to no end, but I now had more important things to worry about – going home as soon as possible and trying to survive whatever was about to come. I put my deck back in its case and nodded to Simon. Although I could not see it under his heavy cloak, his eyes showed me he was smiling.
Suddenly, a shiver ran down my spine. I looked up, away from Simon McMooran's gaze and saw a dark figure peer out from behind one of the great stones of Stonehenge.
"Hmmm… So that's the effect of the Celtic Red Rose Cards… It looks like there's some truth to the rumor that the Red Rose Cards are capable of time transformation…" the figure spoke. Unlike Simon McMooran, his voice was young and intimidating.
"Who's there?" Simon demanded, looking around him desperately to find the source of the voice.
"It's been some time since the Battle of Barnet, old one..." the voice said as its owner emerged from behind the oversized stone. He was quite handsome. The moonlight glistened off his oddly shaped silver armor like a cluster of stars. He was a few inches taller than I was, with silky brunette hair, and deep blue eyes. He could not have been much older than me, so my guess was he was anywhere between fourteen and sixteen years old. His armor was surely something that caught my interest – it was shaped like a Blue Eyes White Dragon! How I longed to own one of those cards. Unfortunately, there were only four in existence, as every duelist knew, and so far, they had not been found. The rest of his clothes were a dark green color and a cape was attached to the back of his armor.
"Rosenkreuz! What brings you here?" Simon exclaimed; the small bit of his face that I could see under his cloak turned a slight red.
"Only a member of the Rose Crusaders may call me by that name," the young man retorted coldly as he glared at the short old man. "If you recall, I told you once before that you may only address me as 'Seto.' Or does memory fail you, old man?" (For anyone that has not played the game, Seto really does tell Simon to call him "Seto.")
McMooran made some sort of snarl and glared back at the tall young boy.
"And you," the young man said as turned to me and looked me up and down with the same analyzing eyes that Simon had. "You must be the Rose Duelist. I must admit there's a certain aura of power emanating from you," he said as he glanced over me again. "I believe an introduction is in order. I am Seto, leader of the Rose Crusaders. There are members of our little group that prefer to call me by the name of Rosenkreuz." (Here is another thing I changed. In the game, Seto's name is Seto C. Rosenkreuz. I think the "C." was supposed to stand for "Christian." However, I'm changing his name to Seto Kaiba Rosenkreuz. Otherwise, when Maki returns home in "The Rose Duelist," she wouldn't have been so shocked to hear the name "Seto Kaiba.")
"It's an honor to meet you," he said as he took my hand, gently pressed his lips against it, and then lifted his gaze to meet my own. My cheeks burned with a slight reddish glow.
Our eyes met his for the first time and I was immediately entranced, transfixed, lost in the deep midnight blue of his eyes. Those blue orbs of his were fascinating. I had never seen such beautiful eyes before.
Simon McMooran fumed with anger as he saw my blush. He certainly was not happy about Seto's attempts at romancing me. That was another thing that Seto had to his advantage - he could easily charm any female and win her over.
…
After searching for about half an hour, security decided to broaden the search and they actually brought in the police.
"Please find her! She's our only child!" my mother cried, tears streaming down her face. My father held her even tighter.
"We'll do everything we can, Mrs. Kaichi," a police sergeant assured her.
"I'm sure we'll find her, Yakima," Mrs. Shuka said sympathetically.
"I sure hope so, Reiko," Mr. Shuka added.
…
"I ask you again…" Simon cut in and forced me to break my eye contact with Seto, "What brings you here, Seto?"
Seto turned back to look at Simon McMooran. "Mind your manners, old man! What else would bring me here… I've come for the Red Rose Cards! After all, it is you who showed me how the summoning capabilities would evolve when the Red Rose Cards are combined with the transport powers of the White Rose Cards." (Take note that this is Seto Rosenkreuz, not Seto Kaiba.)
"You aren't thinking of attempting the forbidden 'Rose Summoning'… If so, then the Red Rose Cards must never fall into your evil hands! Card Sorcery taps into the powers of the Ancient Ones... By their very nature, each card is a double-edged sword that can cut both ways… The Rose Cards alone harness tremendous power. There's no telling what horrors one might unleash to the world by combining both Red and White. I will sacrifice my own life if need be to prevent any from uttering the 'Spell of Doom'!" Simon exclaimed.
'Spell of… Doom? What is that supposed to mean?'
"The Spell of Doom…? Fool! The sixteen Red and White Rose Cards grant 'power over all!' Druid legend has twisted the true meaning of these cards!" Seto scoffed, apparently disgusted by even Simon McMooran's presence. "We Rose Crusaders have sworn to create a utopia free from the ravages of war. We intend to accomplish this with the power of the cards! And we shall do so by extending the rule of Richard III throughout the known world!"
Simon remained speechless; he did nothing but glare at the younger, albeit much stronger man.
Seto smirked and continued, "By the way, it was clever of you to form a circle of red roses within the white rose barrier to summon the Duelist… But you were foolish to come alone. This area is surrounded, and if you wish to leave with your life, you will do so only by handing over the Red Rose Cards."
"Me? A fool…?" Simon spat sarcastically. "Then what about you? Are you fool enough to actually believe the Red Rose Cards would remain here in my possession? Right after the summoning, I had the cards dispersed among our best duelists to keep them from your tainted hands!"
Seto scowled, but he soon replaced it with a smirk as he glanced at me again. My cheeks slightly flushed again as I felt his gaze on me.
"Then you leave me with but one option… I shall enlist the aid of your precious Rose Duelist!" Seto declared.
Simon gave him a sarcastic look. "You take leave of your senses…"
"And you speak too soon, old man!" Seto retorted. "Heed my words, Duelist!" he called out as he turned to me, "If you wish to return to your proper world, you will require sixteen cards of the Red and White Roses... The Red and White positions must be laid out in reverse of the summoning order to send you home…"
"You know the spell..?" Simon sputtered and his eyes widened intensively.
"Since you need the sixteen Rose Cards as much as we do…" Seto continued, ignoring Simon's question, "I propose a partnership. Help us gather the cards, and I shall guarantee your return after we've achieved our ultimate goal!"
I did not even have a chance to respond, as Simon interrupted.
"An absurd proposal!" Simon shouted, his anger flaring up tenfold, "Do you think the honorable Rose Duelist would even lend an ear to your ridiculous proposal?"
"Can you be so sure, old man?" Seto asked and turned to me once again. "Let me see... Simon's side has eight of the Red Rose Cards, while my side - the Rose Crusaders - has possession of the eight White Rose Cards. As the numbers are even, simple arithmetic indicates that you should side with either of us. But I'm sure you'll take into account who's winning this war. After all, who was desperate enough to summon you in the first place? I think it's quite clear which side is better-positioned to send you home…" I took in all his words, my eyes fixed on his.
"L-Lady Maki! Heed not the words of this... this power-hungry lunatic!" Simon shouted as he looked up at me with desperation in his voice.
"Simon," Seto exclaimed almost as if he was scolding Simon, "must you resort to name-calling? I'm hurt." He faked a pout and I actually giggled at the sight. Simon's eyes widened as he saw my response. 'No! How could the Rose Duelist possibly fall for Rosenkreuz's boyish antics?' he thought.
Seto smirked and continued, "I'll tell you what. Why don't we leave the decision to our dear Duelist? After all, Simon, the Duelist's future is not for us to decide, now is it?" His deep blue eyes met my sapphire ones again and I gasped for breath. I felt as if he was looking into my very soul.
"Well, yes, but..." Simon began, but Seto interrupted as he walked off to a nearby rose shrub and plucked two different-colored roses.
"Splendid! In keeping with the old tradition of the Old Temple gardens, I offer you a choice, Duelist. Here are two roses," Seto said as he held out a white rose and a red one. "The white rose represents me and the red for old Simon here…"
"For the sake of justice… Choose the red rose!" Simon pleaded, and if it was not for the fact that he would lose his dignity, he would have gone down on hands and knees.
"Stand by my side, Duelist… Choose the white rose," Seto requested.
'What should I do? I still have no idea where I am exactly or why I'm even here!' I thought. I did know that I was in Stonehenge, but in another dimension? It did not make any sense. I looked up and searched Seto's eyes for some kind of answer. 'Wow… His eyes are so amazing… Oh, what am I saying? I don't know what to do! I'm supposed to be some legendary duelist that can end this war? I guess I'll join… Seto Kaiba Rosenkreuz…'
I smirked, took both roses, and looked at them. After a slight moment of silence, I tossed the red one aside, slipped the white one behind my ear, and took a step closer beside Seto. Simon eyes widened tenfold; he realized what my choice had been. Of course, at that point in time I was not completely aware of my situation and I had no idea of what the future would have in store for me. I sometimes wonder how my life would be different if I had chosen Simon's side instead.
Seto seemed slightly surprised by my choice, but his surprised expression was quickly replaced by a smirk. "A wise choice, Duelist! I see you are well versed in judging a situation. Welcome to the Rose Crusaders! I am honored," he said with a bow, and he once again took my hand and kissed it. I felt a rush of blood in my cheeks, but I looked up at him and smiled nonetheless. 'I certainly hope I made the right choice…'
"Okay, old man," Seto said and faced Simon McMooran, "It's time you made yourself scarce."
"Wha...? What are you doing" Simon asked, fear apparent in his eyes. He was suddenly by two soldiers with the insignia of the Yorkists's White Rose on their armor.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. I just need you out of the way until everything is settled," Seto explained as the two soldiers dragged the High Druid away into the darkness.
"STOP! Nooooo!" Simon's voice faded as he was dragged away.
"Now," Seto began as he turned to face me once again, "why don't we go to the palace and we can discuss things there. I'll introduce you to the other Rose Crusaders and we need to talk about the Red Rose Cards."
"Sure… Seto," I replied, unsure of what name to call him by.
"Call me Rosenkreuz. You are a Rose Crusader now, and only they are allowed to call me Rosenkreuz, so you could consider it an honor," he said with a smirk.
My cheeks pinked and I nodded. "Yes… Rosenkreuz."
"That's better. Now, you'll have to forgive me, Miss…"
"Maki… Maki Kaichi."
"You'll have to forgive me, Miss Maki, I was not expecting you, and so I don't have a horse for you. You won't mind riding on mine?"
"I… No, of course not," I replied and he nodded.
"Wait here," he commanded and left for a minute or so. He returned with a beautiful white stallion. I had never seen a horse up close before much less ride one, so I stared at it for quite a bit, trying to figure out how to get on.
Seto seemed to notice my predicament and he chuckled slightly. I frowned, placed my left foot on the stirrup and tried to mount the horse, but failed miserably and fell back. Before I could hit the ground though, Seto caught me.
"Need help?" he asked with another chuckle. Not only were his eyes amazing, but his voice was endearing as well.
He did not wait for an answer as he hoisted me up and then mounted himself behind me.
"Comfortable?" he asked. I nodded, my cheeks flushing a bright red as I realized how close our bodies were, but of course, he did not see it.
He snaked his arms around my waist, grabbed the reigns, and pulled them over my head so he would be in control of the horse.
"Hold on," he muttered and ordered the horse to go and we rode off into the dark cloudless night.
TBC…
Well now, we've all been introduced to Seto Kaiba Rosenkreuz now. Maki has joined the Rose Crusaders. Who are they? Who will Maki have to battle in this war? What will happen in HER world now that she has disappeared? Find out on the next "The Rose Duelist: War Stories!"