A fleet of helicopters was soaring over her. "Halt!" a voice on the chopper's intercom shouted. Soldiers in tactical gear and holographic ornamentation rappelled down from the helicopters and aimed their rifles at Avi. The red dots from the lasers attached to their weapons danced all over her and her companions.
Ser Gerhalos was displeased with this and charged but was shot in the neck by a man wearing brilliant green robes with gold decorations and trimmings and a crown of gold with the eye of Yeyu carved in the front. Ser Gerhalos began to cough violently and fell to the ground moving no more.
Avi began to babble in fear seeing her beloved knight laying motionless beside her.
The man in the ornate robes grinned and raised his hand in peace. "Have no fear, My Lady. He has simply fallen asleep."
"What is the meaning of this!" shouted Fira.
"Forgive me," said the man. "I am Telstan Murdow the Abbot of the Chapel in Eredas. Prince Stefan Ungard of Naralia wishes to speak with Lady Avi at the conference in Domino City."
"Prince Stefan Ungard?" said Aldara. "The son of King Forrest?"
"No!" shouted Avi. "I refuse!"
Telstan grinned. "My lady, this is not a request. You are to be taken to Domino immediately. The prince demands it. And if you refuse I am afraid my men will be ordered to shoot. And they do not carry tranquilizers as I do. It's your choice, Summoner, but you will go to Domino either way."
Avi bit her lip and nodded in defeat. "Very well. We'll go with you."
"Excellent," Telstan said, playfully slapping her cheek. "Hop on board at once. It is a long way to Naralia and I have to take a shit."
Avi - Domino City, Eredas
Chains and shackles. She would have preferred those. Instead, she found herself glimmering with expensive jewelry and wearing a fine gown half black and half white, for it was designed to look like the legendary Light and Darkness Dragon and it had a cape in the shape of white and black feathery wings.
Hours earlier she had been bathed in warm lilac-scented water by twelve beautiful Elven maidens. Her nails were polished and her hair trimmed and curled into a gracefully raised ponytail. She and her companions, also dressed in expensive formal clothing, were then treated to a grand feast in the dining hall of the White Palace in Domino City, a home reserved for only the highest nobles in Termnnia. Constantine sat beside Ser Kenneth, who was devouring a turkey leg.
"This is good quality meat," he said happily. "These Eastern folk can sure put up a feast am I right?"
Nobody answered. They didn't feel like talking. Fira grunted in response, hardly touching her green-broth soup. It was strange seeing her elegantly clad in a wine-red dress. Her tattoos were concealed by wavy sleeves from the shoulders of her dress and the left part of her hair was combed over the shaved area. There was a black bow in the back of her hair and she wanted nothing more than to slit the throat of the woman who put it on her.
Blair was sobbing. She had seen them put her Mystic Dragon in a cage earlier and she hadn't seen him for hours. She begged to see her dragon, but she was her pleas were refused. Constantine and Trish had gotten up from the table and marched around, wondering how in the world they were going to get out of this.
Ser Gerhalos had his mane trimmed and even curled. He sat beside Avi, keeping a close eye on the guards of the Church Militant who kept watch over her party. Baby Tiragon was on Avi's lap, looking around fearfully. Avi petted the little creature's head to calm it.
"I look so stupid," he declared while reclined next to Avi in a gigantic armchair once used by a Lord who had gigantism. Avi chuckled as she brought her soup to her mouth, not believing her knight of the beast-folk was dressed so gallantly in a white ballroom robe damasked in gold. The back of his mane was even tied into a long ponytail with a black ribbon.
"You look like a gentleman," Avi said, trying to control her laughter. But the situation was worrisome and any laughter she felt flickered away like a candle in the wind. She and her companions had their weapons and armor taken away once they arrived at the palace. Even Avi's staff had to be confiscated by guards who were not from the Domino City Security Forces. They looked like knights in shining armor but had the appearance of tactical soldiers the Daltons would use to go on special operations raids to take out bandits or smugglers at the Gates.
Some of the guards standing at attention in their room had their armor decorated with holographic ornaments in great styles. That was another thing that worried Avi. If this meeting was so formal, then why was such a heavy guard needed. Still, they were but a short drive from the House of Gray which could be seen towering in the distance behind Aldara's window. She was clad in a magenta gown and her ragged hair was shining like silk and went down to her shoulders in sensuous curls.
The abbot arrived through a doorway with white gilded doors.
"Prince Stefan is ready to meet with you, Lady Avi."
Avi nodded. Ser Gerhalos got up, but the abbot held out his hand and ordered him to stop. "Only the girl. You stay."
"Where she goes, I go!" Ser Gerhalos barked.
The abbot looked at Avi with a nasty grin. "Will you tell your pet to sit and behave, Summoner, or must I use the tranquilizer again?" The abbot said with a merciless grin.
"Please, Ser Gerhalos," Avi said petting his forearm. "I will be fine."
"But, My Lady…HURK!"
A dart found his neck again and he slumped over the table. His face fell into his soup. Avi ran to him and shook him but he did not wake. "STOP IT!" she shouted. "YOU CRUEL IDIOT STOP IT!"
"That was uncalled for!" shouted Constantine.
Ser Kenneth stood up from his seat, ready to deal with the abbot. The guards of the Church Militant took one step forward and aimed their rifles at them, causing them to freeze.
The abbot laughed, feeling no remorse for what he had done. "Now, if you please, Lady Avi. The prince awaits you."
Avi hesitantly rubbed Ser Gerhalos' back.
"We'll see to him," said Constantine. "Go to the brat now before these Naralians harm any more of us."
Avi nodded and went down the halls to the art gallery where the abbot said King Stefan was waiting for her. She expected to see a man like his father, but what she saw was a fair-faced young man standing proudly in front of a gigantic mural of the Obelisk, Slifer, and Ra defeating Zorc Necrophades in the War of the Giants. He must have heard her footsteps and known it was her, for he began his monologue.
"Ah, this is the great battle that rid the world of our greatest evil," the Naralian prince said, draped in dark gray robes with gold buttons and ruffled cuffs and a collar. His dark brown hair was tied into a ponytail with a blue ribbon. He pointed to Slifer the Sky Dragon, blasting Zorc with both of his mouths. Zorc held up his right arm in a sorry attempt to shield himself from the blast.
"Ah, that one right there, the Sky Dragon, that must be the one that Prince Yuri summoned to defeat Anubis."
"You know a lot about the Crown Prince," said Avi. "Bah, I'd imagine you do. I heard your father surrounded him with a force of two hundred men the night it was discovered the Celtra woman, Luthia, was pregnant with him. His men tried to kill them both."
"I am not those men, Lady Avi, " Stefan said turning to look at Avi. He paused for a moment and examined her. She felt uncomfortable being watched by his pale-brown eyes. His skin was sun-kissed and he had bangs over his eyes almost concealing them. The prince was awestruck by Avi's beauty and it too a moment for him to regain his composure.
He coughed into his hand and said: "Nor am I, my father. I wish to break away from the Holy Naralian Kingdom and join Master Yugi in the Alliance he's building."
Avi didn't buy into his flattery. "How do I know your intentions are truthful?"
"I have much to explain," said Stefan. "Come, let us take a walk in the gardens. The day is beautiful and the flowers are in bloom. I wish to get to know you. I've heard many wonderful tales about you."
He held out his arm. Avi gulped and reluctantly took it and walked outside arm and arm with the young king. As they strolled the gardens, they told their stories to each other. Where they grew up. Their first card. But when they grew used to each other, it was time for business.
"You are the archbishop of Yeyunism," said Avi. "I imagine they are not pleased with this."
"No," said Stefan. "Many of my followers are not happy I have chosen peace instead of war. My father is a radical with a voice that could get anyone riled up for a battle, even if it is one they cannot win. I had to convince my fellow members of the faith that we had to move forward and adapt to the cultures of this world. Slowly, my reforms were passed. Not in the full extent that I wanted but at least we could finally have a chance to play Duel Monsters."
"Do you play Duel Monsters?"
"I love the game," Stefan answered, taking Avi under a triangle-shaped tunnel made of water for them to cross under. "In the old days, my father and the Hierarch of the Church would have had my head if I ever asked that I wanted to play. But unfortunately for them, they schooled in in a little too much. I learned philosophy, mathematics, political sciences, and even law. I became too smart for their own good. Eventually, I became the voice of reason. Slowly but surely my voice is being heard. Now everyone can play the game and even dabble a bit in magic, so long as it's not anything too advanced like that they teach in the Citadel of Mages in Katina. My regulation has worked too well in my father's favor though."
"Why do you say that?"
"My younger brother, Malcolm. He learned to play Duel Monsters as well and became champion in Father's private court. Eventually, he started using Malcolm's skill just for the sake of gaining land with the Dueling Pact you hold dear."
"And yet I never heard about you playing under the Pact," Avi said with a conniving snicker. "Do you lack the skill to play?"
"I do," Stefan said with a nervous laugh. "But I wish to learn, that is one thing that excites me about this alliance. Perhaps I will get the chance to play and learn under Master Yu-Gi-Oh. And perhaps I will one day see your dragons in action. Hah, the followers of the church would have my head if they had learned I said that."
"I am glad you brought up the followers of the church," Avi said sternly. "Your members have grown very fanatical and have hunted down people like me. Magic users and duelists. What do you have to say about that?"
"The numbers in our faith are large," Stefan answered as the pair exited the fountain. "I cannot control what my people do. That is why I have come to you with a proposition."
"What are you proposing?" Avi asked, but she feared she already knew the answer.
Later
"They've talked for hours," Tordo said pacing around their bedroom suite. He circled around the front of a bronze fountain. "What's taking them so long?"
"Ugh," Ser Gerhalos groaned. "If my head wasn't aching, I would have found her by now."
Aldara pushed him back onto his pillow. "You will do no such thing," she said, spoon-feeding him a soup mixed with herbs to ease his burning headache. He moaned in agony and took another sip of the soup. "Thank you, Aldara, I'm feeling a little better now. Once I get my hands on that abbot I'll..."
"Possibly get tranquilized again," Constantine said watching television, a pastime he never had the luxury of having since he was from the Western Lands.
"How do all those people fit into the box?" Kenneth asked during a commercial break for some toothpaste advertised by none other than Seto Kaiba who told the audience the dental paste would make their teeth as white as his dragon.
The door to their room opened. Avi stepped inside, smiling.
"Avi!" Torodo cried out when the Summoner returned. She looked distraught and her face was blushing bright red.
"What happened?" Fira asked. Avi didn't answer. "Avi!"
"Did he harm you?" Ser Gerhalos growled.
"No..." Avi said grinning lovingly.
Fira scowled when she saw it. She grabbed Avi's shoulders and gave them a powerful squeeze. "What. Did. He. Do!"
Earlier...
"Marry you!" Avi stammered releasing herself from his arm. "You must be out of your mind!"
"It is the only way, My Lady," Stefan said grabbing her hands. Avi quickly released herself from them.
"The only way! The only way for what?"
"To have peace in our lands."
"And what? Do you think giving your vows to a pretty wife is going to stop your savage followers from killing any more of my people? It will never work. I am a Summoner — a magic user and you are a Yeyunist. Your culture persecutes magic everywhere."
Stefan chuckled and took her hands again. He kissed them both to calm her down. His lips were soft and sweet filling her with warmth. Stefan knew that Avi knew that she was being played. But there was nothing she could do to resist him. She was caught in his trap.
The Naralian Prince stared into the Summoner's silver eyes and said:
"Marry me not for love, Lady Avi, but to give the people of Termnnia happiness. A reason to join together and to be joyful in these hard times. You are a beacon of hope for duelists and magic users everywhere. As powerful and influential as Prince Yuri is, the people look to you for strength while I am seen as a great leader of the people of the Faith. If you and I can unite we will give our people reason to come together and lay down their arms. This alliance you and I will make will prove even stronger when you become Yuri's Royal Summoner after he is crowned High King. The world seeing you and I together will show all that mages and Yeyunists can and will get along in this brilliant world."
"This is crazy," stammered Avi. "I-I...what will the High King think? He hates your kind."
"Then we will show him," he took her by the shoulders and brought her closer to him. Avi could hear Arvas yelling at her to get away from inside her pendants. She could swear the other dragons she had found were roaring with him. But the King of the North had her so confused, stunted and even enticed that she could not hear them clearly.
Were her feelings being cheated by some spell? She did not know.
"Do this not for love, or me. But for Termnnia." Stefan whispered into her ear. His voice was soothing and sent a chill down her spine. He was a Yeyunist, but he was different from the other lords who wanted Avi as a wife. They wanted her as a mere trophy wife and tool for their military might but Stefan was speaking the truth to her and she could sense logic in his plan.
The union of the most influential practitioners of magic and faith would most definitely be a beacon of friendship for the poor people of Termnnia. Too long had the faith and its militant forces persecuted the magic-users and too long have Termnnians been prejudiced against the people of the faith. Orcs were coming and if Yuri wanted to beat them all he needed the forces of the Church who had amassed in huge numbers from Balodrum.
Avi was about to give him her reply when she felt Stefan gently pull down the straps of her dress. Her breasts came free and he leaned forward to kiss her neck.
"What are you doing?" Avi whispered as the prince turned her around.
He kissed her neck and said, "Never have I ever laid my eyes upon such a beautiful creature. How can one so soft, so kind, so magnificent, have the power to make beastly creatures such as dragons bend to her whim?"
Avi didn't answer but grinned instead feeling his hands yank down her dress until she stood bare in the middle of the gardens.
King Stefan stepped into the room grinning triumphantly. Fira backed away from Avi shaking her head in disbelief. Ser Gehalos roared and sprinted out of bed. He grabbed Avi by the arm and yanked her. "YOU HAD SEX WITH THIS MAN!" he shouted.
"She is my betrothed now, Ser Gerhalos," Stefan answered, rather calm despite the giant angry knight of the lion folk looking down on him. "We will make our vows in the coming months."
"No!" growled Ser Gerhalos. "You will not have her! I will not let you have her!"
"I am not a child anymore, Ser Gerhalos!" Avi shouted.
"This was a trap all along. You want the Summoner to stroke your ego!" He grabbed Avi by the arm. "Come, Avi! We are leaving!"
"Let go of me!" Avi demanded and slapped her knight across the face. Ser Gerhalos had been through pain before. He had been shot with arrows, and bullets, too. He had been stabbed with knives and skewered with spears but the pain he felt from those wounds paled in comparison to the slap Avi had given him. Everyone in the room gasped. Avi felt emotions stinging her heart when she saw Ser Gerhalos's whiskers trembling and his molten gold eyes glimmering. Avi bit her lip with guilt when she saw the big tear roll down her champion's face, streaking his golden fur into a shade of dark brown.
"Ser Gerhalos...I..."
"Say no more!" he barked and shoved her out of his way before storming out of the room. He turned to look at her one last time. "From now on, you're on your own. ALONE!"
"Ser Gerhalos!" Avi called. "Wait!"
"You don't need him anymore," said Stefan. "I am the only champion you will ever need."
Avi nodded in agreement. "Yes. Yes, you are right."
The abbot rang a bell from his pocket and declared, "Peasants! Kneel before Mr. and Ms. Ungard the Lord and Lady of the Principality of Prima Edenes!"
