Tea felt light.
The sun was shining down on the sandy beaches she was lying on, and Tea sighed in bliss as she fingered the sand beneath her. The waves lapped on the shore calmly, and the blue sky hung warmly above her. Tea sighed again in contemplation, and then frowned. She was supposed to do something, she was supposed to remember something, but what was it? The thought drifted away as a cool breeze fluttered over her, and Tea closed her blue eyes in peace. A sea gull called over the waves, and Tea slowly sat up in the warm sand, making the sand fall out of her hair and clothes quietly. Tea turned her face toward the sun and smiled. Today was perfect, the sun was shining, the sand was warm, and the water was inviting. Standing up, Tea found herself in a bikini, and with a shrug ran toward the water. Laughing, she dove in and floated on the water under her. Flipping underneath, Tea closed her eyes and let the water push her back to shore. Popping up again, the swimmer pushed back out and let the waves lap around her in quiet bliss. The sun shone peacefully from her spot in the water, and with a smile Tea flipped to her stomach and dog paddled side ways before flipping back under and jumping back out again. Laughing, Tea let the waves push her all the way back to the sand and then once again fell on the sand with a bubble of giggles escaping her lips.
She felt light.
Letting the sand pillow under her, Tea closed her eyes and fell asleep, the song of nature lulling her to sleep.
"Tea." A voice called on the wind, and Tea tightened her eyes in response. She wanted to sleep, the sand was so warm, she just wanted to drift back down and out. "Tea." The voice repeated, so charming and captivating that Tea opened her eyes to see a man standing above her. He was tall, and a bit older than her with an almost greenish colored hair and dark blue eyes. He was wearing a white suit, and had a calm charm radiating about him.
"Noah." She smiled, and quickly knelt before him. "My King, I'm honored to be in your presence." With almost girlish awe and excitement she smiled at him, and she waited to be given instructions.
"Please rise. There is no need to kneel, Tea." The King told her, and obediently she rose to stand before him. He gave her his arm, and taking it with girlish anticipation she let him stroll her down the beach.
"What brings you to this side of the kingdom, my King?" She asked with a smile, something in her mind rebuked the idea of touching her King, and she frowned trying to remember.
"I wished to see you." The King told her gently, and Tea giggled at his response.
"I'm delighted you came." She grinned, and suddenly the landscape changed. She was suddenly in a flowery meadow, and she gasped in excitement. "It's so beautiful!" She exclaimed, and ran toward the meadow. Behind her, Noah smiled in contentment as he watched one of his citizens fall in love with him. The King was a good King, he takes care of his citizens. Tea thought happily as she knelt to smell a wildflower. "All this is so beautiful!" She called to her King as she ran back toward him. Something was wrong, but she couldn't remember. Something was yelling at her, that her King wasn't good, that he was evil. She couldn't remember, there was something she was supposed to do, but what was it? Who was she supposed to help? Or if she was even supposed to help anyone, or anything. The worries quietly slipped out of her mind as she smiled in her King's radiance.
"Please, sit." He told her warmly, and with a smile she sat looking out at the warm field before her. The wind swayed the flowers back and forth, and dandelions gave up their fluff to the insistent winds. Noah sat behind her, and slowly encircled Tea in hi arms, leaning her back until her back was against his chest. Tea sighed in bliss, and closed her eyes. She was happy, she was light, she was in a paradise far from her own little world. Something clicked, and Tea's eyes snapped open.
A world far from her own.
Noah.
King Noah.
Taken.
Her friends.
Her mission.
Tea remembered.
Suddenly fighting to get away from the man behind her, she pushed his arms away from her and sat up quickly.
"Let me go!" She demanded as she pushed herself to her feet and started running. She didn't make it very far, immediately Noah was in front of her.
"Where are you going?" He asked calmly.
"Away from you!" Tea retorted, and tried to run in the opposite direction, but he blocked her path effortlessly.
"You would have been happy, all you had to do was forget. I could have made you happy, Tea. You would have been happy, don't you remember?" He asked sadly. Tea's cheeks flamed. She did remember, and it hadn't all been a bad experience. It had actual been the highlight of her year. She shook the thoughts out of her mind.
"No! It wasn't real, forced love is never real!" Tea told him firmly.
"And yet, all your friends are happy in their fake little worlds." Noah told her with a smug smile.
"Where are they?" Tea asked quietly.
"All over my virtual realm, Tea. After splitting Yugi and that Pharaoh into different bodies they didn't remember a thing, and so far only you have been able to remember. Everyone's happier here Tea, just forget, and you'll be in blissful peace again." Noah tempted, and Tea felt her resolve falter. How could everyone be happier? This was all fake! It wasn't real! But it had been so nice, so warm! If everyone was happy, why should she rip them from it? "Tea, your friends will be quite displeased if you take them from this place. Here, they are in ultimate enjoyment. Back in your world they had to scrape and scrimp to get by. Here, they are in bliss. They are in perfectly tailored worlds made to their exact happiness. Yours was the beach, and if you had gone to the house behind you you would have found a dance studio with an audience ready to oo and awe over your moves, you would have been famous. Just forget, everything will be perfect that way." Tea shook her head trying to decided. Her friends would be mad at her for taking them away from this place? No they couldn't, they would understand!
Wouldn't they?
"Stay here, Tea, forget. Everything will be perfect again." Noah's voice tempted, and she looked into his blue eyes to find the truth. She saw he was right, that he would honestly make her feel blissful, but this was still a prison, no matter how golden the cage was.
"I'm getting out of here." She decided, taking steps away from the King of the Virtual Realm.
"So sorry you feel that way, and how do you plan on doing that?" He asked, his face filling with sorrow.
"You'll let me leave this place." Tea said firmly. Noah started laughing.
"As if I would do a thing like that! You want to get your friends back? You go find them." With that pronouncement made, Noah dissolved and the grassy land beneath her turned into hard rocks and the flowers became angry crashing waves. Lightning cracked the sky and Tea let out a scream in fright. Caves loomed about her and Tea started running. "Keep going little Tea! You'll never find your friends!" Noah's voice cackled in the thunder and Tea just squared her jaw and kept running. "Good luck, my dear! You'll need it!" Tea kept running she would find her friends, she'd brake them free, and afterwords she'd go to a non Noah created beach and relax.