Chapter 8

When I woke up the next morning, it was really cold. When I tried to curl up in a ball, I couldn't. Something was blocking the way. But it was warm, so I drew closer to it. It felt kind of like a tree trunk. But why would a tree trunk be warm? Hell, why would there be a tree trunk in our lean to?

Wait. I opened an eye. Yup. I was holding Yugi around the waist in my sleep. Well this is awkward. I wanted to let go, but my craving for heat forbid me from doing so.

So I just lay there until he stirred. I shook him a little.

"Yugi? Yugi, it's time to get up. It'll take us all day to get to Towton, we should head out now..." I said. He gave a heavy groan and started to sit up.

"Lucy..." He noticed our position, and turned a saturated red. He pulled away from me.

"I'm sorry..." He started.

"It's fine, Yugi. I was the one who latched onto you anyway." I climbed out of the lean to. The fire from last night had long since gone out. I gathered up our things and handed Yugi's pack to him.

"We can just leave the lean to to decompose, since it was made entirely out of organic materials." I said.

We walked north for most of the day, having sporadic conversation. At 6 PM, we reached Towton. I pursued the market there and bought a head of cabbage and a bottle of Chardonnay wine.

"Isn't it a bit hypocritical to drink if you were raised by an alcoholic?" Yugi asked upon my purchase.

"Perhaps. But I know my limits, unlike the bitch I was raised by. We drink when we win the White Rose Cards!" I said, stuffing the bottle in the side pocket of my pack.

"Too bad that day won't come." A cocky voice said from behind us. I stopped and grabbed Yugi's hand. I looked behind me. Sure enough, it was Bandit Keith. He looked a lot more intimidating in real life, I'll give him that. But he was still a cocky moron.

"Ah. You must be the Rose Crusader in charge of Towton. I can't say I'm surprised." I said.

""What's that supposed to mean?" He sneered.

"Nothing. In America." I said. "Now I was told to duel you. I believe you'll find my credits in order."I said, opening my coat. In an inside pocket were the four Rose Cards Yugi and I had won.

"So you managed to defeat a few minor duelists...well let's see how well you fare against my machine deck!" He said.

"Really, In America? We're just gonna duel in the marketplace? Okay, fine, whatever." I said, shrugged, and plopped down in the middle of the dirt path.

I drew my first hand. Wattpheasant, Threatening Roar, Embodiment of Apophis, Spirit of the Harp, and Fencing Fire Ferret. I set down Wattpheasant, Threatening Roar, and EoA and sent them around. Hopefully Keith would take to one of my traps instead of Wattpheasant.

Keith laid down a monster and sent it into the labyrinth. I drew. Labyrinth Wall? Not what I was expecting, but great! I didn't have enough Star Counters to summon it, though... I didn't have enough Counters to summon any of my monsters. I moved all my cards forward a square and ended my turn.

Keith summoned another monster and sent it around the left flank. I drew. Waboku. I sent that around with Wattpheasant. I put down Spirit of the Harp to protect Alector and ended my turn.

Keith summoned another monster and moved his cards a little. As much as I wanted to underestimate him, I wouldn't allow myself to.

I drew. One of now 2 Curse of Dragons. This would come in handy later, but for now, I summoned the Fencing Fire Ferret. I moved it up and sent it along with Wattpheasant. Kieth just fiddled with his current robots. I drew. Reptilianne Naga. It would be nice if I could draw one of my trump monsters, the field was getting incredibly crowded. Plus, by next turn, I could summon even Wicked Dreadroot. EoA came to its first opponent, a Pendulum Machine. I activated Threatening Roar, preventing its attack.

"You bitch." He growled.

I smirked. "In America." I drew. Hell yes! Number 22: Zombiestein. I summoned him in the same row Threatening Roar just was, and due to terrain advantage, he was a whopping 5000 attack! I moved it two spaces forward.

"Holy shit! What the hell is that?!" He yelled.

"This is my strength incarnate. In America." I replied.

"Okay seriously, what is that?"

"What's what? In America."

"That! The 'In America' shit."

"Oh. Where I come from, your descendant says 'In America' after every sentence because he's so jingoistic."

"But that makes no sense! What even is America?"

I chuckled. "You could say its a land that lies beyond the edge of the world." With this cryptic information, Keith did little with his cards. I drew. Marshmallon, a good defense monster. I set him to the right of Alector, and moved Zombiestein up two more spaces. Keith fiddled with his cards desperately. I drew. Slate Warrior. I sent him behind Zombiestein, who would now take his first victim. Up flipped the card and-

SHIT IT WAS BARREL DRAGON! Shit, not Spirit of the Harp! You little cluster[EFF]! Zombiestein, kick his ass! -800 for Keith.

Keith was in a panic right now, even if he didn't want to show it. Desperate, he moved his deck leader away, but forgot to put a card between us. I drew. Bio Mage. I moved Zombiestein over and took out the rest of his life points. -5000 for Keith, end game. Victor: Lucy Miyako.

"What the hell was that shit?! I can't believe you beat me! Me, the Card Professor of the Rose Crusaders!"

"Believe it! In America!" I cheered, fist pumping. "Gimme that Rose Card, baby!" He reluctantly handed it over, along with Barrel Dragon.

"Oh cool. I forgot about this." I said. I took Yugi's hand and we walked away.

"So that's how you duel..." Yugi said.

"Yep. I'm not really that good actually, I don't know how I've made it this far."

"Not good? The card games must be even more complicated in your world than here. You worked magic out there!"

"You think so?"

"I know so!" Yugi said. I smiled.

"You really are a godsend, Yugi." I said. He smiled.

We were able to find an inn with availability this time.

"One night for two, please." I asked. The clerk looked at us and smiled.

"Oh, honeymoon couple?" I felt my face heat up. I took a glance at Yugi, who was also blushing.

"No, just two travelers." I replied. I paid for the room and she gave us the key.

"Enjoy your honeymoon!" She called to us as we left. I face palmed, still blushing.

To be honest, when I opened the hotel room, I expected our beds to be a pile of hay. They actually looked a lot like mattresses from our time. So that was convenient. I had noticed throughout my journey, that the present seemed to intertwine with 1845, most often with clothing. Henry had been wearing a cape and a very bondage looking leather vest when we had first met, my coat had fake fur rimming its openings, crops were about the same size as the present, and now the mattresses were modern? I want complaining or anything, especially when the covering on the mattress was velvet, but still.

That also brought up a crucial problem: there was only one bed. It wasn't a real problem for me, but I could tell that Yugi was kind of uncomfortable with the prospect of sharing a bed with someone of opposite gender.

"I can take the floor if you want." I said, setting my pack next to the bed.

"Lucy, I can't do that to you. You take the bed."

"I couldn't do that to you either. How about we flip a coin? Winner gets the bed."

"Sounds fine to me." He said. I pulled out a shilling.

"Call it." I said.

"Heads." I tossed the coin. You're never gonna believe what happened next. It managed to find its way into a duvet in the wood floor and landed ON ITS SIDE. Yugi and I both looked at each other.

And that's how I ended up spending a night in the same bed as my favorite anime character. To be honest, I was ecstatic. But I kept my excitement under wraps so I wouldn't be creepy.

It was a quiet night. We didn't have any conversations, just kind of lay there awkwardly and every once in a while one of us would shift positions. I drifted off facing the wall, hugging my pillow so I wouldn't latch on to Yugi in my sleep.

...

Fire. There was fire everywhere. I couldn't even see any land. It was scary, all this fire. Why was I scared? I had never been scared of fire before.

I looked up, and saw Yugi on the edge of the flames.

"Yugi? Yugi, get away from there! You'll hurt yourself!" I said, getting up. But I couldn't walk forward. My legs wouldn't allow it.

Yugi reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a card. He threw it to the center of the circle. A green light, one that was sickeningly familiar in shade, filled the circle. Some sort of hexagram...

OH SHIT.

"No! Don't be a dick, dream world! You KNOW I HATE this dream!" I shouted at the sky. I turned my attention to Yugi, who was walking into the flames.

"NO, YUGI! STOP IT! STOP BEING-" a bolt of pain shot through my arm. I screamed and fell to the ground. I looked back up, and saw Yami standing in front of me now.

The Seal of Orichalcos blazed on his forehead.

...

My eyes shot open. I was still holding my pillow in a death grip. I was drenched in sweat and I felt flushed. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Daylight poured through the window. I looked over at Yugi, who was looking at me, concerned. He also had a bit of a blush going on, which was weird.

"Lucy... Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah...just a dream." I said. I got out of bed and put my boots on. "We should get going." I grabbed our packs and we checked out. Our next stop was Newcastle. We had our breakfast of bread and cheese sandwiches on the go.

Yugi was unusually quiet today. I tried to start conversations, but he shut them down with misdirection and curt answers. I eventually got fed up with this.

"Okay, spill." I said.

"Huh?"

"Something's bugging you. I want to know what, and if applicable, who to punch." Yugi put his hands up and sweat dropped.

"It-it's nothing like that! It's just that last night... You were really vocal."

"Vocal? What do you mean?"

"You were moaning, screaming even. You were also struggling a lot..." His blush came back. Oh my god, he thinks I had an erotic dream.

"You were saying my name over and over..." And about him! This was kind of embarrassing.

"And I just wanted to know...was it one of those dreams?"

"Look, Yugi. You're my best friend. I would never think of you in such a way." I said.

"Oh... Then why...?" he asked.

"I had a nightmare that you left me." I said. "I know that you said you would never abandon me, but my subconscious still hasn't gotten used to it. I'm sorry for causing you concern."

Still...what was that dream about? It was nowhere near Season 4. Sure, Dartz was probably active, he had been in Season 5. I hope we don't run into him...

...

"...That bring the bare nessecities of life!" I sang. I was passing the time by singing songs. It had been a longer trek to Newcastle than I thought. The sun was setting, but we had less than a mile to Newcastle.

"What are you singing?" Yugi asked.

"The Bare Necessities by Phil Harris. Really explains our situation now." I said, the Newcastle town line coming into view.

"I think we should camp tonight." I said.

"Okay. Same deal as last time?" Yugi asked.

"Sure." I said, grabbing the knife out of his pack. We picked a spot and I started cutting down branches. After about an hour, we had a roaring fire and a lean to. We chatted for what felt like hours and went to bed. I fell asleep happy for once in my life.

Too bad that wouldn't last.

...

When I woke up, Yugi wasn't next to me. Huh. Maybe he got up early. I got up and looked outside the tent. He wasn't there. I panicked. Where'd he go? He wouldn't go somewhere without telling me right?

That's when I noticed an unburnt piece of paper in the burnt out fire pit. I scooped it up and adjusted my glasses. Middle English, pretty easy to translate.

"If 't be true thee ever wanteth to see thy Rose Duelist again, cometh to Newcastle Castle."

A ransom note. They took Yugi. I crumpled it and stuffed it in my pocket.

The rest of the day was kind of a blur. I don't remember what exactly happened, I might not have even been conscious for it, but next thing I knew, I was sitting at a duel table. Some bald guy with an L inked into his forehead was across from me looking absolutely mortified. Zombiestein and Dreadroot were pushing the opposing deck master into a corner, various monsters were at impasses with each other, the battlefield was chaos. He had 1000 life points left. Yugi was chained to the floor behind us, looking just as shocked.

"Huh..." I said. I guess I'll make my move then. "Wicked Dreadroot, attack!" -4000 points for L, end game. Victor: Lucy Miyako.

"How could this have happened?! You possess extraordinary power for a woman!" L shrieked.

"Don't fricking play the sexism card. Where's the key to those shackles?" I asked.

"I won't give it to you! My master needs the Rose Duelist!"

"Then why didn't you kidnap me?" I said. His mouth went agape.

"He's not-"

"No. Yugi is not the Rose Duelist." I walked around the table and hefted him up by the collar. "I am." The key, White Rose card, and a Labyrinth Tank card fell out of his coat. I scooped them up and used the key on Yugi's shackles. I knelt down and hugged him tightly.

"I'll never lose you again." I said.

"Lucy. We need to talk." He said. I pulled away and looked at him oddly. "What is it this time?"

We got up and started to exit the castle. "Lucy, did something snap inside you?"

"What are you talking about?" I looked at the door, which was wide open. "Why are the doors wide open?"

"That's what I'm trying to talk to you about. Lucy, you were a completely different person out there. You were devoid of all compassion and mercy. You played an extraordinary game, twice as good as before, but you scared me."

I frowned. "Really? I don't even remember how I got here. It was all kind of a blur up until the last turn. I just remember being back at the camp reading the ransom note, and next thing I knew, I was here."

"Strange..." Yugi said. "So you has no idea what you were doing?"

"Not really." I said. "But I'm sorry I scared you. And maybe we should get a room next town. Camping doesn't really seem to work that great for us."

Yugi laughed. "Perhaps."