Disclaimer – I'll own Yugioh when you can talk from your eyeballs.
Apologies: I made a typo (apologizes) in the AN section in the last chapter. Sorry. Still very slow, and I'm not really well-rehearsed in fic-writing as of late; I thought I'd try and appease the fans though. xD
Reviews:
Code:
Re - Review
Res – Respond
Re: (Anonymous; Egypt hater) UPDATE! UPDATE!
Res: Oo;... Nice name. This is an update. X)
Re: (Anonymous; Twila) I like where this story is going...now COPNTINUE IT! Oh and have Sess hook up with Yami please!
Res: I'm workin' on it girl. xD And I suppose I might for all the negativity against it (you guys aren't helping me pick pairings that much, though there are some comments).
Re: (animewolfgurl) this is good. update soon
Res: Thanks! Good to hear positive feedback! I'm updatin'! Geez!
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Consciousness slipped through Sess's grasp like the sand from the beach. For several hours, she was tormented by a wave of nightmares which included a vivid display of torture inflicted on her by Master. It was all she could do not to scream in the dream, and she was threads away from hollering out into the confines of the guest room. Instead, she woke, holding distaste for the cold sweat that embraced her. It was too hot in here, but one glance through the windowpanes reminded her that she was not going outside. It was a dark and foreign scene to her, and she recalled her Master was searching for her. No, the outside would not do.
Slipping out from under the expensive and soft-colored blankets, she examined herself in the mirror. It was so peculiar that humans could not see vampires in the mirror, but the actual body was quite readily visible. Was this an effect of a parallel existence? She frowned at the messy hair on her skull, and smoothed it down with a hand. It would do no good to look like a hobo in Kaiba's mansion.
The doors were unlocked, and she opened them silently, poking her head out to take a gander around the house. While it was spacious, it was not quite overwhelmingly void of substance; it was just the right size for the accommodations and inhabitants to wander around with that feeling of hominess accompanying them. One look downstairs informed her that it was devoid of people lounging around; not even servants were up this early. A clock on the wall read half past three.
Every inch of the floor being carpeted, it was quite easy to make her way onto the lower level without so much as making a sound. The triangle formed by the sofa and tables invited her, but she declined wordlessly. She was in the mood to walk off this frightful feeling that had settled to nip at her bones; at the same time, she felt feverish and dizzy, and felt in no shape to be prancing. So, it was with a solemn and reflective aura that Sess began walking onto an aimless and intangible path about the house.
It was when she was in the kitchen, and finding another person there, that she stopped. The figure was muscular, enormous, and quite intimidating. It was a man, from the looks of it, and he seemed rather infuriated at her presence. It was at this point she realized the male creature was looking at her. Confidence and safety, the reason she had accepted the drive and stay here, was suddenly quite alien to her. The young woman peered at the stranger with a lump of fear in her throat, and began to turn back. It was dark in here, and it frightened her; she would leave. It was probably just a chef.
"Stay," was the order, and she knew that voice, so she halted.
"Master?" Sess questioned hesitantly, turning her head so that she might examine the man once more. She had to be mistaken; there was no way the vampire would be here! How would he have gotten in? She had been reassured upon goodnights that the house had supreme security – but did that really hinder a top-ranking vampire? Humans were so vulnerable to magic; then again, so was she.
"You are not safe here, and you endanger these creatures. You are a worthless child to them! You have so much potential and purpose to me. I am the one that has cared for you, and you flee for pathetic mortals! They will abuse you and strip you of all that you have left that is worth anything to you! You belong to me, and you will come to me. Now, return to your home, or I will be forced to punish you until you submit."
The man was ludicrous. He did not feel like Master, but he spoke of things that only Master would dare speak. Still, regardless of whether this was Master or not, she felt horribly uneasy.
"I do not want to go," she protested, but it was weak. Sess uttered a startled gasp, feeling a hand rest itself on her shoulder. The intruder was from behind, but she did not dare turn. If that was Master in front of her, she had no permission to take a course of action on her own. If it wasn't, she was still confused and intrigued.
The mysterious owner of the hand evidently insisted that she face him. With some interference, Sess was gazing into the amethyst eyes of what she knew as a double. It was unnerving, really, more than showing some spine to Master. It had to be obvious she was disoriented and frightened, for the entity backed off and proceeded to walk past her and into the kitchen.
"I must talk with you," was the demand.
"But there's-"
Turning, Sess found that she apparently was only hallucinating. There was no man there besides Yami, no shadows and no voices. Perhaps she was far more ill than she originally suspected.
"Yes?"
"There was a spider.."
Her statement received a dubious look. 'Women.' The double thought.
"What was it you wanted to talk about?"
Sess distracted herself skillfully by taking authority for her own, to raid the refrigerator. Inside, there was an abundance of various delicacies prepared for such late-night urges as these. This was the best she could get to feeding. The yami certainly could provide her some satisfaction, but if he were the double she assumed him to be, then there was no harming anyone related to little Yugi. She settled for sifting through the goods to find something appealing.
"Yugi tells me that you helped him out of a risky predicament. The fact that I was watching you attributes to this story; I have no reason to believe that you are the threat. This man he mentions, though; what does he want from you two?"
A carton of juice was knocked over onto the floor. Thankfully, the container was sealed shut, and no liquids were staining the floor. There was a long pause. The ticking of a clock was audible. A coffeemaker began to pour out the dirty-colored beverage into the pot. There was a distant curse from outside the perimeter of the kitchen.
Sess decided to grab a sandwich, unwrapping the plastic covering from it and discarding it into the trash bin. A tentative bite proved the combination to be ham with cheese and tomatoes. It was, in fact, quite delicious, and a favorite when it came to sandwiches. The question was not forgotten, though; the food would have to be patient with her for a moment. She returned the offended juice carton back onto the glass shelf in the cooling device, and shut it.
"I don't know. He wants me back, is all I know, and he does not like me leaving Home." Sess swallowed pain, the last word bringing such unwanted memories. Home was a comforting place for most humans; for any vampire, Home was a torture chamber for either you or your victim.
"And you thought you were safe, here?"
"Yes."
Another long pause dominated the room, and Sess was content to continue feasting on the sandwich, deliberately avoiding eye contact with the darker half of Yugi. The clock beeped four times, alerting the pair that it was four 'o'clock sharp. Finally, the quiet was broken.
"Are vampires more like you, or like that man?"
Pause.
"Vampires are just normal people, like your Yugi, or Kaiba.
"The first vampire was a violator of a sacred law concerning a powerful god, so I hear. In murdering, he was forced to die, but his soul never left him. He was forced to watch all he loved pass away and die. As further punishment, the god, being angry, inflicted him with the thirst for blood. That is where the horrors found in your entertainment come. By being bitten by a vampire, you are not just being made one of us; you are cursed with eternity, in a realm of mortality. I hear you want to die after a while.
"All we vampires are, are part of the living dead. But being a double, you know what some of that is like, too, right?"
Pause.
"Yes."
Sess finished her sandwich and exited the kitchen, all too glad to have the privacy of that guest room again. Yami didn't stop her, and neither did any of the servants that had finally started about their chores. She didn't think she would have stopped had they attempted to make her.
Upon reaching the top of the stairs, she was greeted with an ecstatic looking youth, and he was obviously used to being up this early. A conversation of sorts was started.
"Hi! Who're you?"
"I'm Sess. I'm a guest of Kaiba."
"Oh, so you know my brother! Are you his girlfriend or something?"
"No!"
"Just playing!" A pause. "Hey, guess what?"
"What?"
"Tomorrow's my brother's birthday! This year, I'm gonna get him something really cool! But, I don't know what to get or where to go."
"Well, what sort of things does he like?"
"Seto's really into computers!"
'Computers?' Sess wondered, and contemplated how she could help the boy.
"I'm sure anything from you will be special to him," she offered.
"Yeah, but it has to be extra special! He always gets me extra special stuff!"
"Really?" It was so difficult to feign interested, and she was so tired..
"Yeah! Come on, want to see my room? I'll show you all the stuff he's given me!"
"Alright."
A maid passing by paused in front of Sess's room, and smiled at the two strolling down the hallway. 'Oh, that girl seems nice. Mokuba is due someone to play with.'
--
"Maybe I'll hold him a really huge party!"
There was a knock that interrupted the two's secret discussion.
"Master Mokuba, your lunch is to be served downstairs, now! Your brother notes that there are no exceptions, and you are to be there immediately!"
Downstairs, the master of the household paced along the carpet, forming ovals around the long, rectangular dining table. The darker half was leaning against the furniture leisurely, watching his friend wear out the fabric.
"Where is that girl?"
"I talked to her this morning, briefly. It was early in the morning, she could have gone back to sleep."
"No, a maid reported her room empty."
"I don't think she'd leave, Kaiba. She's probably somewhere about."
"Nobody has seen her!"
Loud stomping from just outside the entrance signaled Mokuba's arrival and, much to the surprise of the other two, Sess's as well.
"Brother, I made a new friend! She's pretty cool! Where'd you get her? She said she was your guest."
"She's staying with us for a while, Mokuba. She actually is Yugi's friend, why not ask him?"
The darker half, caught by surprise by this, was in mid-sip of a drink and almost snorted into his cup.
"Naw, that's okay! What's for lunch?"
"The chef made shrimp primavera. Now sit down, I trust you remembered to wash up."
--
Lurking outside the window was an unfriendly and formidable presence. There was the Master, eager to simply break into this household and ruin these ugly, smiling human faces. Yet it was only Sess he wanted. Wait – what was this? There, that strange-haired one; was he the double of the poor boy he had brought for Sess to feed on? A double! What else made the day better?
"You have tried my patience, girl, but you are in no shape to try my strength. You belong to me, remember?"
And from the table, Sess looked up, and caught sight of the man looking in at her. Shock was plain on her face, but the others were absorbed in their meal and conversation and clearly were ignoring her.
"Hello there." A speech without words.
"Why are you here?"
"You are mine and you must return to me."
"I will not go!"
"Then all with you will die."
"You will not harm them!"
"No, there are worse ways."
"You do not mean-"
"I hope you feed well."
Sorrow sunk low and pulled Sess into her bosom. The woman fled the room, in horror at what she might do to the others. And in truth, she was barely resisting the urge to feed. She would eventually slip, and that door to the guest room would only shelter her from the outside too long. They had seen her leave; they would ask questions. Burying her head into the pillow, Sess bit into it, and allowed the stinging drops of water to roll down into the cushion.
She would not kill them. They would not die.
They were her only hope to living.
