Chapter 3

The answer is no. No I cannot. When I tumbled into Tewksbury at 6 PM, I was about ready to drop dead. While I was walking around looking for an inn, I passed through a marketplace and realized I was hungry. I had no British currency, only some quarters and a 5 dollar note. Would that work here? It couldn't hurt to try...

I walked up to a vegetable stand. I was looking for potatoes. They were a good source of protein, right?

"Excuse me miss? Do you have any potatoes?" I asked. She turned to me, her brown bob cut framing her blue eyes. She seemed... Awfully familiar.

"Fraid not, ma'am." She said, downtrodden.

"I'm sorry to hear that." I said. "What about cabbage?" She looked a bit happier to hear that.

"That we have plenty of!" She said cheerfully, motioning to a few heads. For 5 shillings, I picked out two heads of cabbage and a few carrots. I guess quarters looks very similar to shillings, because she didn't question them. I thanked her and moved along.

Looks like tonight's dinner was salad. I plucked leaves off the first head of cabbage and ate them as I looked for a place to stay. As I was looking at how absolutely vintage everything was, I tripped and dropped my cabbage, sending it rolling down the path.

"My cabbages!" I shrieked, giving chase. I eventually caught up to the head because someone had caught it.

"Thank you mister!" I started, but then I saw who had saved my cabbage.

It was Yugi. Not Henry Tudor Yugi, not Yami, the actual Yugi who looks like he's ten. The one with the beautiful round eyes.

"I-I-I..." I stammered, trying to find the right words to say.

"Miss, are you alright? You look flushed." He said. Shit, I was blushing! I pulled my hood up. And I'm just realising this, but everyone I had met here had varying degrees of British Accents. And Yugi's fit him best, he was SO CUTE, I literally had to fight the urge to squeal.

"Yes I'm fine. But do you know any nearby inns?"

"Why don't you stay with me? My home is just around the corner, it would be no bother at all."

"A-are you sure? I don't want to impose..."

"It will be fine. You seem really sick, and I don't want a lovely lady like you out on the streets on a May night. It's been a really chilly year." He said, taking my free hand and leading me through the streets.

Okay, so this Yugi was a smooth talker. I could deal with that. He led me a block and a half down the street until we reached a little corner store.

"I live in the apartment just above the game shop." He said, leading me through the door. Wiping the counter down was a young man with bushy blond hair and brown eyes.

"Hey Jou!" Yugi greeted. Jou looked up from the counter and gave a confident smile.

"Wow Yugi! You get lucky tonight or what?" He mused. Yugi blushed.

"Very funny, Jou. She's just staying here for the night because the inn's too far away." He let go of my hand. "I'm going to make some tea. Would you like some?"

"Yes please." I said. I didn't really like tea, but I couldn't say no to those eyes. Yugi dashed up the stairs, leaving me with Jou.

"He really is lucky to have met a gal like you." Jou grinned.

"I'm not a prostitute." I growled.

"I'm not implying that. What I meant is that you seem to have a good head on your shoulders and you seem very motherly."

"We've never met! How can you be so sure of something I don't even know about myself?" He pointed to my arms.

"What, the cabbage?" I asked.

"You hold it just like a baby. You have parenting instincts. Look, I want you to promise me something."

"What?" I asked.

"Before you go tomorrow, will you take Yugi with you?"

"I would be happy to, but may I ask why?" I said.

Jou frowned. "Well, ever since the Yorkists took over Tewksbury, it's been getting really hard to keep him safe. Yugi's parents are MIA because they got in a tussle with the Yorkist forces. They captured all the good Duelists in an effort to suppress rebellion. Yugi may not look it, but he's one of the best Duelists in the town, maybe even in all of England. And the Yorkists want him dead. I've been looking for someone to take him out of town so he can be safe."

I was silent for a moment. "...I'll do more than that. Where do the Yorkists hang out around here?"

"You're not seriously thinking about going after them are you?!"

"I have to. It's the right thing to do." I said.

Jou looked at me, then smiled. "I knew you were the right gal. They hang out in an abandoned warehouse on the other side of town."

"Good. I'll head over there early tomorrow morning, then come back and pick Yugi up. He won't even realize I left."

Just then, Yugi came back with tea. "I hope you like Earl Gray!"

"It's my favorite!" I said, taking a sip. Goddamn it tasted like hot leaf juice! Still, I kept a straight face.

"So you aren't from around here are you? What's your name?" Yugi asked.

"Lucy Miyako. I'm from the United States."

"I've never heard of that place before."

"It's overseas. I've never been to England." I said.

"Your name is a bit of an oddity..." Jou said.

"Well my mom is Japanese and my dad is English, so..." I said, rubbing the back of my head. I didn't like talking about my mom. We didn't...always see eye to eye.

"You couldn't have come at a worse time, though. With the War of the Roses going on, blood is being spilt unnessecarily." Yugi said, downtrodden. I roped an arm around his shoulder.

"We'll make it out, I swear." I said. He smiled. I smiled back, and yawned. "I should get to bed. Big day ahead of me tomorrow. " I said, getting up.

"Me too." Yugi said, also getting up. He showed me to the guest bedroom, and I settled in. I spent the majority of an hour retweaking my deck to take Rex out. He would pay for what he had done.

I set my phone alarm to 4 am. Hopefully, Yugi was a heavy sleeper. I slipped under the covers and fell asleep.