AN: Happy weekend everybody! Chapter 8 is finished and I think it turned out quite well! Be prepared for a lot of fluff and a lot of bad language. :P But I enjoyed writing it. In this chapter I wanted to build up Marik's and Jesara's relationship a bit more and I wanted to turn the tables. I hope you like how this chapter ends - believe me, it's SO CORNY! And I really hope you like how I built up the character of Jesara so far.

There's also a short flashback in this chapter. Please mind that Marik and Jesara are about 13 and 14 years old, so this flashback is about 2 years before her runaway.

I'm so happy that my FF already reached 200 visitors and some of you already favourited it. Please leave a review and let me know what you think :-) I know you read it :P

Happy reading! Enjoy the kitschiest chapter so far!

Chapter updated: errors, details

Chapter VIII

The Vow

"What do you think who the other finalists will be?" Jesara asked the gang curiously after she swallowed the last bite of her spicy chicken curry. They decided to stop by a Thai diner for a snack before the finals begin. She knew that Marik will be one of the finalists for sure. Although she recently was positive about keeping calm around him she got more and more nervous by every minute that passed by and that brought her closer to the begin of the finals - to him. And actually their encounter yesterday evening really did nothing to ease her nerves now.

Joey and Tristan munched away an enormous Thai dish that would be enough for five persons and everyone eyeballed the two boys with raised brows. How could they stuff themselves with so much food like that and still fit into their pants?

"Moneybags has qualified himself for sure." Joey spoke with his mouth full of Thai rolls. "Then there's Yugi, me and you, Jess. And I bet an eye that this disgusting ass named Marik will be there too."

Jesara's chest tensed up at his name and she felt how her stomach turned upside down. "That makes five. Three others to go. I'm curious." She muttered while her eyes drifted over to the window. The sun was about to set and bathed the streets in a beautiful and glistering warm light. Duelists were lingering around the area in the hope to qualify for the finals last minute. 'Why couldn't my life just be normal? Just like them?' She asked herself mentally as she watched the ongoings outside.

"We shouldn't underestimate this Marik and the power of his millennium item. He may have lost the last duels against the ghost of the puzzle… but he has proven what he's capable of freaking everything to get my puzzle yesterday." Yugi stated and looked over to Joey who still stuffed his mouth with loads and loads of fried rice and noodles.

"He's gone too far, Yugi. And be sure that I'll kick his ass." The blonde teen proclaimed and finally finished his meal.

"Joey, Yugi's right. Who knows what he's comping up with next." Tea interrupted them and shot him an admonishing glance. Jesara's eyes were still glued to the hustle and bustle on the streets. Again their latest encounter came to her mind and seemed to repeat in front of her inner eye.

"If you say so." Joey murmured again and glanced over to the clock on the opposite wall of the restaurant. "Guys, let's get going. It's time to teach Mr. Rich & Famous a lesson."

All of them rolled their eyes in unison before standing up from their chairs - except of Jesara, who was still focused in the ongoing outside and daydreaming again.

"Jess? You come?" Duke tried to catch her attention by waving his hand in front of her eyes. The light grey haired girl blinked at him in confusion before she let out a deep sigh. Jesara nodded and forced a smile, but her body just filled with much more unease once again. "Coming…"

On the way to Kaiba Corp stadium the gang was loudly chatting about god-knows-what; the other finalists, who's duelling against who and if there will be crowds of people cheering them on. Serenity couldn't wait to see her brother duel in the finals - for her he was the greatest duelist of all. Her naiveté was too cute. In the mean Jesara remained silent wondering about too many things that tied up her mind. She wasn't sure how she could act like she didn't know Marik - it made her sick to lie to her friends, although it was for a good reason and if she didn't the worlds fate would be at stake. Ishizu definitely had her purpose to ask for her help and so did Odion. The thought of Marik trying to get closer to her again tightened up her chest. 'He's sorry… what a joke.'

Another deep sigh left Jesara's throat when they finally reached the stadium. The gigantic building was still under construction and far from being ready to be a glorious location for the finals of a tournament like Kaiba would celebrate it. He didn't even care for money, he could host the tournament in a castle if he wanted to. So why did he choose to host it in the shell of a building?

When they stepped through the entry way of the stadium they soon saw a tall figure dressed in a fancy white coat and black plants standing in the middle of the empty stadium. It was Kaiba who seemed to be already waiting for them. Next to him stood his younger brother Mokuba who was announced to be the official Battle City referee. Mokuba gave them a kind smile when the gang approached, his big brother instead eyed them with his typical arrogant-badass-never-happy-expression.

"How could an amateur like you Wheeler get one of my duel disks or even qualify to join my tournament. I thought I made it clear that Battle City is only for the best duelists." Kaiba spat when Joey and the gang came to a halt in front of the brothers. His arms were still crossed in front if his chest when he gave Joey an appraising glance. "Don't tell me that a fool like you made it into the final round."

"Shut up, Kaiba. I won 6 locator cards and I'm ready to spank your arse, moneybags!" Joey yelled at the young CEO. He definitely gets furious too easily. Kaiba only answered with a chuckle; he knew it would annoy Joey more than anything else.

"May I please you to show your locator cards to identify yourself as official Battle City finalists?" An older man wearing an expensive suit and sunglasses at night stepped forward and gestured them to hand over their cards.

And so they did. Yugi, Joey and Jesara handed their six locator cards to the polite man whose name turned out to be Roland. He gave an ID cards to each of them instead, which they eyed carefully.

"What are these for?" Jesara asked curiously and gave Roland a questioning glance, which then drifted over to the young CEO. But Kaiba didn't even care to answer her question, instead his steel blue orbs were fixed on Yugi.

"You will need your ID cards to access your room and to identify yourself during the finals. Our final location will arrive every minute." Roland explained politely, but Jesara wondered what he meant by access your room, this location didn't even have toilets.

"Yugi, prepare yourself to surrender Slifer The Sky Dragon to me. We two will be duelling for it and at the end of this tournament I'll be the greatest duelist of the world again!" Kaiba called out and pointed his finger towards Yugi, who glared daggers at the young CEO.

"Shut up, Kaiba. Do us a favour and calm your ego." Tea spat and shot him an overly annoyed glare.

Suddenly the sound of faint footsteps caught their attention and the teens turned around in unison to see who was the next finalist. Jesara's heart skipped a beat when the footsteps crossed her ear. Was it him?

A male silhouette approached them, but his identity wasn't able to tell until he stepped into the spotlights that lightened up the middle of the stadium. His white hair waved gently along his pale face - it was Bakura.

"Bakura!?" Jesara gasped when she realised it was the white haired teen which she had last seen injured and weak in Marik's arms. How did he recover that fast? "What are you doing here? You need to be in bed!"

A charming smile crossed Bakura's face when he stopped before his friends and greeted them in his British accent. "I'm fine. And I won 6 locator cards to join the finals." He grinned and held them towards Roland to take them and hand over an ID card.

Joey's face went pale as porcelain. "What? How did you qualify yourself in such a short time!?"

"I have to admit…" Bakura explained softly. "I won them all in just one duel."

Everybody grimaced at the young white haired teen with their mouths agape. Only Yugi stared at him suspiciously. Something about him wasn't right. Just one day ago Bakura was injured, weak and wasn't able to walk on his own. Did the ghost of the millennium ring return to his mind?

"The next finalist is coming." Kaiba said cooly his eyes fixed to the direction of where Bakura just came from a few minutes ago. Again Jesara felt how her heart skipped a beat when she saw another male silhouette appearing in the shadows of the stadiums entryway. Sandy blonde hair and lavender irises slowly came into the light of the bright spotlights. She held her breath when her eyes locked with his for a second.

"Namu!" Tea exclaimed with a bit widened eyes in surprise to see the blonde teen again after he rescued their friend Bakura and was also attacked by the cloaked jerks yesterday. „What are you doing here?"

His gaze drifted away from Jesara and over Tea and put on his most charming smile. He rubbed the back of his head with his right hand and chuckled innocently. „Hi Tea! Good to see you all unharmed. I was wondering about you all after yesterday." Marik was an awfully good actor when it came to manipulating and deceiving people for his advantages. He could make people believe to be the nicest guy on earth. Jesara's eyes were still fixed on him, his nice-guy-acting made her stomach turn once more. It made her sick to see him deceiving her friends with his nice-guy-acting, although she knew all too well who and how he really was.

„Hey man, good to see you too! How did you break free, Namu? We didn't see you anywhere after we got kidnapped." Joey came closer to Marik to greet him.

„To be honest… I think they had no interest in kidnapping me. They knocked me out and when I woke up again I found myself in a back alley. This incidence was so weird…" Namu, or to be exactly Marik, explained to the gang who surrounded him. Once again his lavender eyes drifted over to Jesara for a moment, again they seemed to look straight into her soul. She instantly broke eye contact with him and looked away, but anywhere special. Covering her unease with this whole situation wasn't the easiest thing to do.

„You were lucky, man. So what are you doing here? Don't tell me that you're a Battle City finalist!" Joey asked and curiously raised a brow. Again a bright charming smile came across Marik's gaze when he held up his six locator cards and nodded. 'Of course he is...' Jesara rolled her eyes in annoyance.

„I guess so…" He chuckled softly and handed them over to Roland, who replaced them with another ID card. „And you all did qualify too? Oh my… I guess I won't have any chance against you."

Joey grinned at his compliment and waved at Yugi to come closer. „Yes, we three also made it to the finals, man. I think you don't know my best friend Yugi yet?"

Yugi streched out his hand to Namu / Marik to shake, but his expression remained a bit suspicious towards the blonde teen. Something about him gave Yugi an uneasy feeling. „Hi, I'm Yugi! Nice to meet you. I've heard that you rescued Bakura yesterday. Thank you for that!"

Jesara's blood was boiling while she had to watch how Yugi shook hands with the one who almost killed him and his best friend less than just 24 hours ago. But for Ishizu's and Odion's sake she tried to keep her fury at bay as elegantly as possible. 'Oh Yugi, if you only knew...' She sighed mentally. Additional to that their intense moment that definitely went too far ghosted in her head mercilessly. How for Ra's sake could she let that happen?

Marik accepted his hand for a shake and smiled at the little boy. „Nothing to thank for. I only did what any other would have done too. I see that he's doing good. Bless god!" Marik looked over to Bakura and greeted him with another overly friendly smile, which turned into a slightly noticeable smirk for a second before he looked over to Jesara once again. Marik drew closer and smiled innocently to greet her. „I'm also very glad to see you safe and sound here, Jess."

She blinked at him calling her by her nickname and bit her bottom lip to hold back a ‚Fuck you'. Marik seemed to be too relaxed with the situation; he knew she could blow up his cover within seconds and ruin his complete plan in deceiving her friends to get closer to them. Ishizu, Odion and Marik had put her in an unsustainable situation and she hated it. Although she was actually in control and able to blow up his cover it felt like he was in control instead. Jesara never felt that lonely in the past two years than she did in this special situation. Marik gave her that special innocent pretty boy smile - just like nothing ever happened between them yesterday. Her stomach squirmed.

„Hi." she muttered and tried her best to force a credible smile to her gaze. His charming and gentle smile made her cheeks blush a bit. For a split second she didn't see the manipulative, frustrated and capable-of-everything man in front of her that she was frightened of for so long. There wasn't the tiniest indication of malice written to his tanned face. She wasn't sure if he acted or if it was actually a faithful expression. Wether or not, right now she saw the man she fell in love and used to share her life with a long time ago. And their passionate kiss yesterday was another painful, but pleasurable reminder of their past.

„Guys, someone is coming." Joey shouted out and pointed towards the entry of the stadium. Another male, but much larger and bulky silhouette, appeared from the shadows. A long deep purple cloak elegantly wafted from his tall body. Everyone stood with their mouths agape when the tall man finally stepped into the spotlights. A masculine tanned face could be barely seen underneath the purple hood. His piercing olive eyes drifted over the group of teens that glared daggers at him - except Jesara and Marik.

She looked at him in confusion, she never saw him wearing a that serious expression. For her Odion was one of the kindest people she ever met in her life. But - Wait! ‚When Marik acts like a boy with the ridiculous name Namu… does he intend to make them believe… that Odion is Marik?' She thought when her amber-olive eyes were glued to Odion.

„Tell us your name." Kaiba spat cooly and glared at the bulky man.

Odion grabbed something from underneath his cloak without breaking eye contact with the gang. They gasped and cringed when they saw the millenium rod in his hands, pointing it towards them dangerously.

„My name is Marik." Odion declared in a severe growling tone.

'That must be a joke. Damn, Marik... Seriously!?' Jesara huffed mentally as her hands turned into fists.

„I remember your shitface! Come here so that I can beat the crap out of you!" Joey yelled, but before he could draw closer to the cloaked man to punch him the blonde teen was held back by Tristan and Duke. Joey squirmed in their grip and growled in anger.

„Joey, hold on. You'll get your chance to fight him!" Tristan intended and tightened his grip to hold Joey back. Meanwhile Jesara's curious gaze drifted from Odion and the millenium rod in his hands over to Marik who still stood close beside her. She raised a brow like she was awaiting a good explanation, their eyes locked again. If looks could kill Marik would have dropped dead right away.

Everybody's attention was focused on the dangerously looking „Marik" who insulted Joey to tease him a bit more. After all Odion knew exactly how to act like Marik would do in this situation.

Jesara cringed when she suddely felt Marik's breath on her skin when he whispered something into her ear. „Don't worry, that's an authentic copy. The real millennium rod is still in my possession, dear Jesara." The dangerous gentleness of his breath stroking down her neck shot a shiver down her spine and she didn't know if she liked or hated it. Mentally she prayed for option number two.

Without attracting anyones attention she made two steps to the side to put some more distance between her and her ex. Odion went over to Roland to exchange his locator cards for his duelist ID card.

„Hey Joey…" Namu / Marik spoke up to catch his attention. „What's wrong with this guy? Who is this Marik?" Oh how good his acting was. He sounded so unbelievable innocent und unknowing right now - it was so good it pissed Jesara off like hell.

„Oh, you know, Namu… that's the son of a bi*** that assaulted and kidnapped us. You'd better stay clea-" Joey explained to the wolf in sheep's clothing, but was cut off my Jesara. „Marik is a disgusting prick that loves to torture other people and is capable of nearly everything. And that guy doesn't even have the guts to fight his duels on his own, instead he sends off his slaves to fight his battles. " Her amber-olive eyes glared daggers at the real Marik and she hoped he got the message in the roundabout way. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked him straight into his piercing lavender orbs.

Yugi and the other ones eyed her in confusion, they never saw or hear her swearing or using such a bad language. Namu gazed at her with widened eyes and raised brows. „Ohhhhhkay. Thanks for the info." She could tell from his tone that she hit the bullseye with her words. If they would have been alone in a room now she was sure that he would freak out completely at her statement. But her temperament got the best of her right now and she didn't care about challenging him. Marik's plan depended on her mercy. But he was lucky that she promised Ishizu and Odion to keep calm. So why not put his limits to the test by vexing him?

A low humming noise that came closer caught their attention, when the teens looked up they saw a huge blimp floating above them. It was one of Kaiba's airships. The blimp landed in front of them in the stadium and the engine noise lapsed into silence.

"Now I know what you meant by the final location will arrive soon.' Jesara muttered and glanced over to Kaiba, who still posed cooly in front of the airship like he was the king of the world. The door of the blimp opened and revealed a staircase.

'Oh Ra… If it wasn't already bad enough to be stuck with Marik in the finals to cross his foolish plans, but I can't believe it's getting even worse… To be stuck on an airship with Marik is much worse.' Jesara sighed, knowing what was coming next.

"Alright, duelists! As you may already know the semi-finals are being held on the stratos-deck of Kaiba Craft 3 on the way to another secret location for the grande finale!" Roland announced professionally and handed over to Kaiba.

"You'll fight 4000 feet over ground. The winds and the chilly air will put your skills and stamina to the test. If you can't handle it you don't belong here." Kaiba said in his typical arrogant tone. "The ID cards we gave to you have a number on it, we'll choose the first pairings randomly according to this numbers. They're your access keys to your rooms at the same time, so don't loose them."

The teens boarded the blimp to take a first look of their surroundings.

"Make sure that we take off in 5 minutes, Roland." Kaiba ordered his employee when he ascended the staircase of his aircraft.

"But Seto! We're still waiting for the eighth and last duelist!" Mokuba urged his older brother.

"All three god cards are on board. I won't matter about someone being late, it's not my problem, Mokuba." The young CEO spat and disappeared into the blimp. Roland and Mokuba looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders in unison. Then a female silhouette appeared from the shadows of the entryway of the stadium… coming closer. It was the eighth duelist.

/ on the blimp

The teens found themselves in a huge hall with big windows that allowed an astonishing panorama view of Domino City. The blimp had reached its travelling hight. The city lights glowed and sparkled underneath them and looked like an ocean of stars were laid at their feet. Luxurious furniture and lounge chairs surrounded them; Kaiba's interior stylists did have taste in design.

Jesara carefully scanned her surroundings and wondered if there were single or multi-bedrooms on Kaiba's aircraft. While she stepped around in the big hall she made sure to keep as much distance between her and Marik as possible. But her thoughts were interrupted by Joey when he came over to her and laid his arm over her shoulders. Jesara grimaced at him when he did so, but didn't do anything to make him stop.

"What about enjoying the view of Domino together? I'm sure we won't have the chance to see something comparable soon." Joey grinned at her with blushed cheeks. When Jesara looked at him she could see Marik from the corner of her eye glaring daggers towards Joey. She knew this expressions on his face all too well; he was furious… about what? Was he jealous? Oh right, he claimed that he still had feelings for her lately. Yes, he had proven that all too well yesterday. 'Let's put it to the test.'

"Nothing I'd like to do more, Joey!" Jesara said softly and gave him her most charming smile. Joey led her to the nearest window to enjoy the amazing view of the Domino skyline; his arm still laid over Jesara's shoulders that kept her close to him. She could see Marik through the reflection of he glass, his eyes were narrowed dangerously and if looks could kill Joey would drop dead right away. His whole body was tensed up; this time he wasn't able to cover his fury and she felt like she was in control over him again. A slight smirk crossed her face when she looked at Marik's reflection in front of her. 'Well deserved, Marik… Well deserved. How does it feel for you not being able to control everything and everyone?'

Joey pointed to several buildings to show Jesara where they actually were flying over right now. Jesara felt how he tightened his grip on her a bit, pulling her closer to him, but then she felt sorry for making him built up false hopes to tease Marik. He didn't deserved to be used and she hoped that Marik would think the same sometimes too.

Rolands professional voice spoke up right on cue and she softly squirmed free from Joey's grip to turn around and hear what Roland had to say. She felt that Marik's eyes were still glued to her, she hated it to be stared at.

"Alright, duelists! We reached our final height and dinner will be served in one hour! You'll find your rooms down the floor. After dinner the first pairing will be chosen for the first round of the semi-finals." Roland explained still wearing his sunglasses. Did this guy even see anything? "Let me know if I can help you with anything."

"May I ask you a question?" Jesara interrupted him and Roland nodded at her, awaiting her question. "When will we arrive on this secret location and when will we get back home?"

"We expect to arrive on our final location tomorrow afternoon and get back to Domino the following day." Roland answered kindly, leaving Jesara with her mouth agape. 'I'll be stuck with him for the next two days? Oh Ra… you're kidding me!'

"I can't wait for dinner! I'm wondering about the menu!" Tristan cheered and Tea rolled her eyes at his statement.

"You ate just an hour ago! And I want to remind you that you ate enough for 3 days!" Tea urged him.

"We're strong boys and strong boys need a lot of food!" Joey sung and rubbed his belly.

Jesara only rolled her eyes too and looked over to the hallway that led to the private rooms. Maybe it was a good time to to freshen up a bit, she was still full from the meal they had at the thai restaurant about a hour ago. "Guys, I'll go and check out the rooms. But I guess I'll skip dinner, I'm still stuffed with thai curry." She said and turned on heel. "CU later!"

She came to a long hallway with several doors on each side, every door had a number on it like the ID cards Roland gave to every finalist. Her card had the number 3 on it, so she looked out for the matching door. Jesara slid the card through the reader that was attached to the door and with a short beeping sound it slid open. The room's furniture was in the same style like the big hall she came from. It had all in it she needed; a bed, a big table with lounge chairs, a desk, a mini fridge and she also had her own bathroom in it. And thank god Kaiba decided to offer single bedrooms.

She unmounted the duel disk from her arm and placed it on the table in the middle of the room. Then she took off her leather jacket, threw it over the nearby lounge chair and stretched herself. If she knew she would leave the city for two whole days she would have brought some clothes to change with her. After Jesara freshened up in her room's bathroom she slumped onto the bed and stared onto the ceiling. Maybe a power nap would do her good.

The looks Marik gave her earlier crossed her mind. He was jealous, he really was… A tiny smirk crossed her face again. Mr. Always-In-Control lost control and it felt good to baffle him. For the first time in the last two years she didn't fear him. Why did it feel so good to make him jealous? Because she had some sort of control over him? Or did she like it because his jealousy proved that he really still had feelings for her? Her palm met her forehead and she let out a heavy sigh. Why should she even like it after all he had put her through? She closed her eyes to get them some rest before the first duel of the semi finals were about to begin and she prayed that the first pairing wouldn't be her and Marik before she dozed off.

/ dream / flashback

She sat on her bed and was sunk in a book she placed on her lap. It was an old Egyptian book about the nineteenth dynasty and Ramses II, long time before the great Pharaoh who saved the world from its destruction was born. Egyptian history was her favourite thing to read and learn about. Jesara was wore a dress made from Egyptian linen with a golden belt around her waist to make it look more feminine. Her ebony hair gently fell around her face and down to her chest.

The clashing sound of her rooms door startled her from her concentration. It was Marik who ran into her room and slammed the door shut behind him. Something was distressing him - again. He wasn't the same after his initiation of the tomb keepers. And after his fathers untimely death the Ishtar clan was led by Ishizu until Marik would turn 16. They had a lot of fights and disagreements from time to time. It was nothing new to see him like that.

"Whats wrong?" Jesara asked concerned and raised a brow when Marik slumped onto the bed beside her. He laid on his back and stared to the ceiling with dangerously narrowed eyes. A growl left his throat before he answered her.

"Ishizu won't allow me to go outside and see the world like we did on the day father was murdered by the pharaoh. Why can't we introduce the clan to the new age and modernise it a bit? I'm sick of living in a birds cage." He spat and turned himself to face the dark haired girl with the amber-olive eyes beside him. She looked at him with a sympathetic glance and stroked his sandy blonde head to provide him with some comfort.

His lavender eyes stared into hers; he suddenly sat up on the bed beside her and pulled her closer to him.

"Let's run away. I'm sick of being a tomb keeper and waste my life in this cellar. I want to fulfil my true destiny. Let's start over new. Come with me." He proposed and rested his hands on her shoulders. Marik's face was bloody serious and she stared into it in confusion.

"B-but we can't leave all this behind… w-we ha-… what about our ancient duty?" She stuttered and couldn't believe that he suggested to run away.

"I'll go with or without you… I'm done. I'm starting to live MY life; the life my destiny wants me to live. But I want to share it with you like I did before. So please, come with me." Marik begged and gently laid his forehead onto hers.

Jesara sighed and wrapped her arms around the sandy blonde boy in front of her. A golden ring on her finger glistened in the dim light of the candle that stood on her nightstand.

"I won't ever leave your side. I vowed it to you. My home is where yours is and my heart will follow wherever yours will lead you." She whispered and tightened the hug.

/ end of the dream / flashback

Knock knock

The sound of somebody knocking on her rooms door startled her out of her sleep. Why did her memories start to haunt her in her sleep? For her it felt like it was yesterday when Marik decided to leave the tomb and deny his fate as a tomb keeper of the Ishtar clan.

How long did she sleep? Hopefully it wasn't already time for choosing the first pairing. Jesara sat up on her bed and glanced over to her rooms door; she stretched herself before she stood up to see who's there.

Knock knock

Again somebody knocked on her door waiting for her to answer it. Maybe it was Tea; since only qualified duelists had their own room she maybe wanted to fresh herself up at Jesara's bathroom. Damn Kaiba for not providing door viewers.

Jesara pressed the button to make the door slide open from the inside. Before she even realised who came for a visit strong hands grabbed her upper arms and pushed her inside. The door slid shut again behind her and…it was Marik. Her widened eyes locked with his narrowed lavender ones when she found herself pinned to the wall again, squirming to loosen his tight grip on her arms - but to no avail.

"You really think that's funny, aren't you?" Marik spat and eyed her with the same furious glance he gave her in the big hall earlier. She gasped when he tightened the grip on her upper arms once more. Fright filled her whole body and made her tremble slightly. "How dare you to insult me in front of my enemy like that? And how dare you to let this peabrain touch you! I should cut off his fingertips for laying his hands on you!"

Marik was close to shouting at her, his loud voice made her cringe. Maybe it wasn't the best of all ideas to tease him the way she did earlier, although it made her feel powerful over him. Obviously it was time for the payback now. How could she even think that her actions would remain unpunished. Action and reaction.

"You don't own me anymore, Marik… or do you prefer Namu?" Jesara tried her best to cover the fear in her voice and make it sound more confident and brave. She didn't want to fear him anymore. "Actually, what crap of a name is that anyways? However, it's none of your business who I let touch me or not. You had your chance a long time ago and that's it."

"Guard your tongue! You belong to me and you know that!" The sandy blonde spat and pushed her against the wall with almost all of his body. "Or did you already forget about that little moment yesterday? Stop betraying yourself!"

Jesara's eyes narrowed at him dangerously. "I don't. And yesterday didn't mean anything, such as that kiss on your stupid yacht. We had this topic before. It was just a freaking lapse! And now let go of me!"

"You blame me that I broke every promise I gave you while you did the very same, Jesara! You vowed it to me and the whole Ishtar clan to stay with me and support me with all my plans! You're nothing better than me!" Marik yelled and startled her again, but she tried to remain strong.

"That was before you had the foolish idea to become pharaoh yourself, punished me and almost killed my friends! I guess there's a slight difference!" She snarled and squirmed in his grip once again, but Marik was much stronger than her; he always was. Keeping her at bay was always an easy task for him.

"How many times more do you want me to apologise!? I'm doing this for us! To allow us to live the life we deserve!" With every word he spoke his tone grew more gentle. Maybe there was more truth in them than she thought.

"Ha! I know that you're not a part of the life I deserve after all! Everything was just perfect before YOU walked into my life again!" Jesara spat. The more Marik tightened his grip on her and with every word he said she got more furious. "But Mr. I-Control-People-Whenever-And-However-I-Want could easily take over my mind and get his will. Why don't you use your stupid rod on me and spare this discussion to both of us?" Her words teased him to the bones.

A growl left Marik's throat when his right hand loosened its grip on her. With a loud bang his fist hit the wall only inches away from her face. Once again her amber-olive eyes widened in shock and stared into his. Sandy blonde bangs hung into his angry tanned face that was just inches away from hers. For a moment none of them said just a single word.

"Jesara…" Marik broke the silence between them; his voice way softer than just a second ago. "I won't EVER use the rod on you… When will you understand that you can't betray yourself that you still feel for me the same way I do for you after all those years of separation, although you try so hard and fail so bad." He muttered and gently stroked her cheeks with his hand that was slightly swollen from the punch against the wall. Jesara's heart thumped up to her throat - harder and louder with every second that passed by.

"I don't betray myself, Marik. We're done… We're done since you punished me with your whip and scarred me for life. There's nothing but reluctance I feel for you." She said stern and tried to fill her words with as much seriousness as possible, but within the second she finished them she knew it wasn't true; she knew she lied… betrayed herself, although she wanted it to be true so so so badly.

"You don't." His lavender eyes bore into hers. It was like he already knew she was lying again. Jesara swallowed hard to clear her throat. Marik could be so stubborn.

"Then prove me wrong…" she whispered. Her back still pressed against the wall; his hands still touching her warm cheeks and stroking some light grey hair strands out of her face. Thump thump thump. Her heart thumped a million miles a minute. They both stood in silence, their eyes still locked and only the sound of their breaths filled the room.

Suddenly she felt his left hand wandering from her upper arm to behind her back and down her spine. With a jolt he pulled her close to him, closing every distance between them and pressed his lips on hers. Jesara's eyes widened in shock - he kissed her… again. Jesara pressed her hands against his chest to push him away from her; she squirmed in his grip. It felt so wrong, but still so good. Just like yesterday evening. Marik deepened the kiss like he did last time and so desire finally overwhelmed her, washing away every anger and unease from her mind. She stopped trying to push him away. And so she gave in, closing her eyes and kissing him back. Slowly she rose her arms to wrap them around his shoulders and to press her whole body even closer against his muscular chest. A soft groan left her throat when his tongue begged for entrance before she allowed him to do so.

Jesara wasn't sure how long they both shared this wild and tempestuous kiss - she lost every track of time and so she lost every control over herself. Giving in to him again, feeling the warmth and comfort he provided her with felt so familiar, so right. She sensed the honesty in his kiss and movements, in every touch and in every inch of his body. Ishizu was right, Odion was right… He was right. Deep down in her she felt how the walls she built to keep him out forever tumbled down.

Another soft groan left her throat when Marik broke the kiss for a second to look at her. His lips formed into a smile while he eyed her with half opened eyes. Jesara bit her bottom lip as like she didn't want it to end; she craved for the touch of his lips on hers the moment they left hers. Her breath was heavy like she just ran a marathon.

"Evidence enough?" Marik whispered; he was out of breath too. His thumb gently stroked across her lips while he awaited an answer from the girl with the amber-olive eyes in his arms.

"Maybe..." Jesara answered under her breath. "But don't expect that everything is forgiven and forgotten… There's still a lot we need to talk about, Marik." Her voice was only a low whisper. He drew her closer to him and pulled her into a tight hug.

Suddenly she sensed how Marik's hand wandered underneath her tank top and onto her bare back, onto her weakest point - her scars. His gaze grew sadder when his fingertips ran over a one of them, he could feel the stigmatic tissue. The touch of his soft hand on her skin made her cringe. "Don't." Jesara muttered and pulled away from him. "Not… there."

"I'm sorry." Marik apologised again and gave her an understanding look. "Take your time."

"You've never been that insightful since… your initiation." She determined and glanced at him with bleary eyes. His expression was a mixture of severity and some kind of relief that she changed her view of him.

"May I beg you something before we… work this out?" Jesara crossed her arms in front of her chest; she didn't know how he would react to what she was about to say next.

Marik shrugged and shot her a curious glance. "What do you want to beg me, my dear Jesara…?"

"Stop your battle against the Pharaoh and my friends… please."

AN: So, what do you think of this chapter? :) so much kitsch! Pls make sure to leave a review and favour the story if you liked it.

BTW: Since there are also readers from Germany and Austria I wondered if I should also provide a German translation of the story. :-) Let me know if you would like that!

Chapter 9 should be online next week, I'm still wondering how to write the first duel without making it boring :P

Happy Weekend!