Thank you for these characters and their stories, Kazuki Takahashi. Requiescat in pace.

Chapter Three

Dria

It was the garden in the palace. Spring had just arrived and all the flowers were blooming. The servants had filled the pond with water and filled it with fish. I was walking along the top of the inner walls, balancing on one foot with my eyes closed.

"My lady! What in Ra's name are you doing?"

The sudden voice shocked me and, losing my focus and balance, I fell into the pond.

"Queen Alexandria!"

Everyone rushed towards me at once. Someone was lifting me out of the water as another placed a towel around my shoulders. A doctor was checking my head to be sure I hadn't caused any damage, physically at least.

"Something tells me her injury is more of a mental than physical issue, doctor." Obviously my loving husband agreed. I gave him a glare and stood up, shrugging off the towel in the process.

"Dria come now, you know I love to jest. Please come down." I climbed back up the wall. He sighed as I continued to ignore him, "I don't know why I allow you to do this." I turned back and smiled at him.

"The question is not who allows me to, dear husband. The question is who is brazen enough to stop me." He smiled as he began to climb the wall as well.

I groaned as my mind floated back down into reality. I felt arms around my shoulders and extra weight on my lap. I opened my eyes and tried to straighten my vision out. I was back in Yugi's house, far from Seto's dueling arena. Joey and Tea were in chairs across from the couch, sleeping. Tristian was sleeping behind me, his arms keeping me upright on the couch. Yugi had laid his head on my lap, also asleep.

I shook my head out and lifted my wrists. Rope burns were obvious, but they didn't hurt enough for me to care. I looked towards the clock, which read 6:00am. I leaned back against Tristian as I listened to the others breathing. What had gotten into Seto? I still couldn't figure it out. Hopefully his loss to the Pharaoh, or I guess Yugi, would help open his eyes.

I heard someone moving around behind me. "Oh, Alexandria. It's good to see you awake. You've been out for hours. Then again, so have these guys. Are you feeling better?" I turned my neck around far enough to see Grandpa and smiled.

"Yes, I am feeling much better."

I still felt awful for him because of his Blue Eyes card, but I didn't want to bring it up. I gently lifted Yugi off my lap and set him on the other side of the couch. I froze when Tristian moved, but thankfully he just moved closer to one side of the couch, giving Yugi more space. I tossed blankets over all 4 of them and placed a kiss on Yugi's forehead.

Grandpa watched me carefully, observing my every move. "You really like my grandson, don't you?" I smiled and nodded. I felt bad for giving him a half-lie and nearly told him everything.

"Yes, he's such a sweetheart to me. I feel like I've known him for years." Technically I wasn't lying. He seemed to know I wasn't telling the whole truth, but he accepted my story anyway. We spent the next hour cooking breakfast and sharing jokes over the stove. I finally felt connected to the past again. Shimon and I would do the same nearly every morning. I would leave Pharaoh's room early in the morning to help cook and spend a little quality time with my appointed guardian.

"Dria, you're awake! Are you feeling better?" Tea had woken up and sat down across from the stove. I brightly smiled and nodded. "I am, thank you." I set a cup of fresh tea in her hands and turned back to the bacon and eggs. As soon as they were finished, I set out 6 plates on the counter. I walked back over to the sleeping boys and tried to think of a way to wake them up.

"Alright boys! Wake up! Breakfast is ready." I rolled my eyes as Grandpa shouted from 5 feet away. Yugi awoke with a start and accidentally jumped into me. I laughed as I caught him, stumbling only a little. "Good morning to you too, Yugi." He blushed as I set him back on the ground. Joey came up from behind me and lifted me into the air.

"Alright! You're finally awake!" I chuckled at his excitement and reminded him food was on the table. Next thing I knew, I found myself on the couch and he was already digging into his meal. Outside of Grandpa giving Joey Duel Monsters' lessons, everyone made Grandpa and me stay inside so we could rest.

Later that night, the Duel Monsters Regional Championships were on. I groaned as they introduced Weevil and Rex. They're such idiots. Sure, they might be good against beginners, but put them against real opponents and they're nothing. I had met them both once before, and they had left horrible first impressions.

"It should be me in there!"

"But Joey, you're just not ready yet."

I smiled and placed my hand on Joey's shoulder, "You'll beat both of them one day, Joey."

That night, I needed to leave and take care of some things at Papa's house before the tournament. I gathered up the few bags I had and bid them all goodbye, but not before promising to come back soon. I winked at Yugi as I left, slipping out with what was left of Grandpa's card. I was going to make him a new one, one with a protective sleeve over it so Seto couldn't rip it up again.

I spent the next 2 days locked up inside Papa's house, redrawing the Blue Eyes portrait so it would be a one of a kind card. I finally finished it the day the boat was leaving. I was thinking about sending it back to the company for final production when Papa called.

"Hello, my Dria. I trust everything has gone well?"

"Yes, Papa. Nothing has gone wrong yet." We both chuckled. I hadn't bothered to tell him about the Seto episode, mostly because I was afraid of how he would react over the phone. I had learned at a very early age that if I was going to give Maximillian Pegasus bad news, it always needed to be done in person.

"Please don't forget that the boat leaves tomorrow. I've missed you so much. This place doesn't have the same energy without you."

I rolled my eyes. "You're such a suck up, Papa. What do you want?" He chuckled. "I want you to remember the boat leaves tomorrow and I want you to come home."

After reviewing some old tournament rules and adding some new ones, we said our goodbyes and hung up. I fell back onto my bed and wondered how Yugi and the others were doing. I thought about going by and inviting both Yugi and Joey to Duelist Kingdom, but I didn't want to let them know who I really was yet.

I arrived at the docks at 9:00pm the next night and made sure everything was set up. The guards Papa had sent over with the boat knew that I had changed my hair color, so none of them were surprised to see me. Most of them gave me a hug and ruffled my hair. I only laughed; nearly all of them had worked for Papa for years and saw me as their little sister.

As duelists started arriving, I said my goodbyes and pretended to be checking in with registration.

"Cross the ocean and enter the Duelist Kingdom!"

Now, Papa came up with special rules for me during this tournament. Instead of starting with 2 star chips, I would be starting with 10. For each duel I won, I would take away 1 star. For each duel I lost, I had to add a star. I had to carry around extra chips so in the extremely unlikely situation I lost, I had enough to both add and to give to my opponent.

"How do you know I'm not official?"

"Because they're not trying to sneak in through the lower hatches."

I peered around those in front of me and looked towards the noise. Joey and Yugi? I guess Papa had invited Yugi, and it sounded like he was bringing Joey along. The two guards looked at each other, trying to decide what to do. One looked towards me, wondering what he should do. I pulled out my phone, hoping they would call and ask.

My phone rang.

"Mr. Pegasus, we have a problem sir." I tried to keep a straight face as I replied.

"Mom, I told you. I'm going to a tournament. It's fine, don't worry about it. I'll take care of it." I laughed as I hung up and turned towards those around me. I rolled my eyes, "Moms." Everyone around me chuckled and returned to what they had been doing.

I walked through the upper deck of the boat, enjoying the night air. Nearly all of the other duelists had the same idea and were also hanging around outside the rooms. I leaned up against the side of a metal crate and closed my eyes. I couldn't wait to see Papa again. He might do some stupid things, but I knew he had good intentions.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and opened one eye. "Dria? What are you doing here?" I smiled widely. It was Yugi and Joey. I raised my hand, showing off my dueling glove. Their eyes widened. "You're a duelist? Why didn't you say so?" I laughed as I shrugged my shoulders.

I stayed with the two of them the rest of the time. I had to laugh a little when Mai showed up. Here I thought Joey was a master with words. I smiled when she told us she'd crush us all. Good luck with that my friend. It got to be pretty late and I was about to bid the boys goodnight when Joey started trouble again.

"This is a luxury cruiser!"

I groaned. I wasn't all that happy with the room arrangements either. I tried to convince Papa to send a different boat, one with more rooms for duelists who hadn't been in the finals of the previous tournament. Of course, that boat 'mysteriously' stopped working a few days before I left for Domino, so we had no choice but to send this one. Joey struggled in the guards' grip and tried to pry himself loose. I leaned up against the doorframe and slowly shook my head from side to side until one of the guards noticed. They released him and warned him not to cause any more trouble. I quietly thanked them as they passed by me and each one either discreetly winked or smiled towards me.

I waved to Yugi as he and Weevil Underwood talked and headed to my deck. I found it a little ridiculous, but I hadn't really been in the mood to argue with Papa when we made these arrangements. I changed into a pair of comfy sweats and a long sleeved shirt before heading back outside. The cool air was nice and the sea made the air smell amazing. It always made me thing of Atlantis: the constant ocean breeze blowing in through our windows, the sound of the gulls overhead, the bubbles from the fish below. It was times like this when I longed for those days once more. Then again, I missed the days in Egypt more than anything else almost all the time.

"Say goodbye to Exodia!"

I saw some cards being thrown into the sea and a green jacket diving in after them. Joey! Was he insane? I rushed down the deck, looking around for some way I could help get him back on board, or at least someone who could do something. Of course, it was the time I actually needed help was when I couldn't find it. I looked back down at the sea, expecting to either see Joey or to see nothing but ocean. I nearly screamed from the sight I actually saw. Yugi had jumped in as well! No! Not after waiting for 5,000 years! I couldn't lose Yugi and the Pharaoh just like that. I was preparing to jump in myself when I heard two more familiar voices.

"Yugi! Joey! Grab on!"

I sighed heavily when I saw Tea and Tristian tossing them a rope ladder. Thank the gods above; I had no idea how they had gotten on board, but I was extremely grateful for it. After having my heart attack of the century, I decided to retire to my bed. It had been a long day for me and I needed rest.

As I sank into my bed, I drifted away, back into my garden and back into the arms of my love once more.