Loquashipping (Kisara x Rebecca)
She was seven years old the day she found her.
Rebecca snuck into her grandfather's study. He was out for a moment buying some extra groceries, as he hadn't been expecting her mother to drop her off for an extended visit so suddenly. Extended visit. Ha.
Her little fingers gripped her skirt a little tighter, trying not to think about the horribly sweet expression on her mother's face when she had said "see you soon, sweetie." See you soon. That was a joke. Even Rebecca knew that wasn't going to happen. She had heard her grandfather arguing with his deceased son's wife in the next room over. Her mother thought the seven-year-old wouldn't understand things like "just can't take it anymore" and "not ready to handle a child on my own" and "I'll come back for her some day I swear."
She crawled underneath her grandfather's desk. She loved his study. It was small, but the ceiling was high, and the walls were a warm wood panel, and the light was a bit dim and atmospheric. It was always quiet in here, no windows, just hiding from the world for a while while you immersed yourself in work. She could see the bookshelf from her place beneath the table, and started counting all the books she had read that were there. She hadn't read most of them. Had grandpa gotten some new ones?
She hugged her knees and let her head fall down.
She wasn't going to see daddy again. And mom was leaving her.
Rebecca had promised that she wasn't going to cry. She had tried to be angry at her mother. But now...now she was only scared and alone. Her sobs choked somewhere in her throat as she tried desperately to still them. But the attempt made her wiggle, and she bumped into the side of the desk. The desk shook slightly, and something slid off to the floor. She could hear the soft papery sound. It made her glance up.
Curiosity overcame her other emotions. The thing that had fallen was a small set of playing cards, although, they weren't like any other set of cards that she had ever seen. The backs were a brownish color, and the fronts seemed to have some kind of art on them. She reached out and picked up each one carefully, shuffling them into her small hands and then trying to spread them out so that she could see them. Her tiny hands couldn't hold them correctly, though, so she crawled out from under the desk and spread them across the thick carpet.
Her eyes widened and a small smile grew across her face as she looked at each card closely. There were creatures on these cards, remarkable, fantastical things. Some of them had descriptions of the monsters on them, like tantalizing hints of a bigger story. Others had brief instructions, something about life points, attack points, effects, summoning...
It's a game, she thought suddenly, delightedly. Maybe grandpa can teach me!
She reached the last card. She drew in a soft breath as she held it up to the light. The holographic sheen reflected light in rainbow colors across the beautiful blue-white dragon. Deep blue eyes looked out fiercely at her, wings outstretched. It was like a dragon made of metal, and Rebecca had never seen anything more beautiful in her life.
She stared at it for a long time in awe. But then the novelty started to wear away as the memory of why she was here in the first place started to come back to her, and she slowly put the cards down.
Her mom was abandoning her.
Her fingers dug into the carpet. It was the first time she had thought those words consciously, and it sent a flutter of rage through her. She wanted to throw something, to hit something. Then she wanted to fall down and sob until she couldn't feel anymore.
"I hate you," she whispered.
Her breaths were coming shorter. She jumped to her feet.
"I HATE YOU!" she screamed, throwing head upwards. "I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU!"
Then she fell back down again and curled up into a ball as the tears started to roll down her cheeks, free for the first time in weeks.
A soft sound whispered past her ears, but she didn't notice it past her tears at first. Then a sensation fell over her, like a light hand on her hair, stroking it gently. The way her father used to do when she couldn't go to sleep. A soft humming seemed to come from the air.
Rebecca hiccuped. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw the dragon card glowing softly. She closed her eyes shut and opened them to check again. But when she opened her eyes, instead she saw a woman kneeling beside her, her hand gently stroking Rebecca's hair.
She was the most beautiful woman Rebecca had ever seen, with long platinum blue hair like the dragon's scales, and calm, kind blue eyes. The woman smiled softly.
"Are you all right?" she whispered.
Rebecca didn't speak at first. The moment felt unreal, but the woman was real. Her touch was real.
She swallowed.
"My mommy left me here," she whispered. "She doesn't want me."
The woman's smile faded. Her brows drew together. Her fingers twined gently in the little girl's hair. For a moment, neither spoke. Rebecca swallowed again.
"Are you a dragon?" she whispered.
The question seemed to throw the woman off guard. She blinked for a moment. Then she smiled warmly.
"Yes," she said.
"Cool," Rebecca said. She took a breath and sat up, ducking her head shyly away from the woman's touch. "I'm...I'm Rebecca."
"I'm Kisara."
Rebecca looked up at the woman through her bangs. They sat in a gentle silence for a moment.
"Um..." Rebecca said. "I...I like dragons."
Kisara smiled.
"I'm glad."
"Because they're really cool," Rebecca said. "And strong. And they don't need to have people to feel better."
Tears were starting to bubble over her cheeks again.
"And they wouldn't be sad and lonely if their moms went away because they're strong and beautiful and –"
She couldn't talk anymore because she was crying so hard. Kisara leaned forward and drew Rebecca to her, holding the little girl gently.
"Sh," she murmured. "Sh...oh, it's all right. It's all right."
Rebecca couldn't stop crying, so she just snuggled deeper into Kisara's arms.
"Even dragons get lonely," Kisara said, her voice a whisper at Rebecca's ear. "It's okay to be lonely and sad. It's okay. Even dragons cry, you know."
Rebecca sniffled. Kisara didn't move away.
The next thing Rebecca knew, she was waking up. She opened her eyes groggily, her glasses askew. Her cheek was pressed into the carpet and she knew there was a mark there. She sat up, rubbing her cheek.
"Oh, you're awake," she heard her grandfather say.
She glanced up. He was sitting at his desk with his elbows on his knees, smiling at her – although, there was a bit of strain in the corners of his eyes.
"I didn't want to wake you up," he said. "You feel any better?"
Rebecca's eyes wandered to the cards still on the floor. She nodded, but she blushed.
"Sorry about your cards," she mumbled.
He smiled, and the tiredness seemed to fall away.
"I don't mind about that at all," he said. "It's called Duel Monsters."
He got off his chair and, with a bit of difficulty, let himself down on the floor beside her.
"This is my favorite," he said, picking up the shiny dragon called. "The Blue Eyes White Dragon. It's very rare, you know."
"It's my favorite too," Rebecca said.
Her grandfather smiled.
"Do you want to learn how to play?"
Rebecca nodded.
Kisara's card glinted in the light, and Rebecca could feel her soft touch on her hair again.
A/N: I almost forgot that Rebecca's grandpa used to have the Blue Eyes White Dragon, so I thought that would be an easy way for Rebecca to come into contact with Kisara. Also thought it would be interesting because the Rebecca after season one uses a dragon deck, so I can imagine Rebecca's really into dragons (like me), so she would easily form a connection with the Blue Eyes. Although, this will eventually have a sad ending because Rebecca will be separated from Kisara when Arthur gives the Blue Eyes to Sugoroku. :( Next is Logicshipping (Priest Set x Priestess Isis). Ooh, I'm looking forward to this one. :)
