Hey guys, Quaver here (again). Thank you to everyone that has either reviewed or favourited this story so far, it means a lot to me so thank you. Also, I've had quite a few reviews asking for some back story so here it is. As always, I hope you enjoy the chapter and Yugioh GX does not belong to me.
Music, music is my life. It's always been there for me, through the good and the bad, sticking to me like glue. My own personal medicine, keeping me company when I was left alone.
I pulled the bright red bow on the top of my present and the shiny black wrapping paper fell onto my lap. In my hands was a flat-ish rectangle with a picture of my mother on the front. ''Honey, look, this is your mommy's new CD – do you like it?''She pushed my chocolate coloured bangs behind my ear and smiled serenely at me.
''Mommy, I love it!'' I jumped onto her lap with a childish kind of glee and wrapped my tiny, tanned arms around her thin waist. ''Let's listen to it now!'' she giggled – a soft, tinkling sound – and picked me up, carrying me to the CD player across the room.
My mother made music for a living; in fact, my father fell in love with my mother at a performance she did for an Industrial Illusions celebration party. As the lead creator of spells, traps, effects and rules, he was forced to go to the party. They met, fell in love and BAM! I was brought into the world.
Of course, having a child meant that one of them couldn't work as much in order to raise me. Unfortunately for my mother, she was the one to take that fall. Famous musician turned housewife – like anyone would expect – she hated it.
''I need it – don't you understand? Performing is in my veins, I need to get back out there...for me...for my fans...I need to!'' Mommy and daddy were arguing again. They did it a lot recently, but never when I was around. Of course, mommy put me to bed so they both thought that I was asleep. They always did, but I always sneaked down the stairs and sat outside the living room door, listening.
''Don't you see Joan, you can't! When we decided to have children, you knew that one of us would have to make sacrifices!''The steady tap of footsteps sounded outside the door and I knew that daddy was pacing, probably waving his arms around too, like he tended to do when he was angry.
''And why couldn't it have been you? Why couldn't it have been you?!'' Mommy's voice was shaking and sounded really thick and strange. I heard the shuffle of feet and then a thump that sounded like something hitting carpet.
''You know why it couldn't have been me, remember, everything we do – we do for our daughter.''
I didn't know until later what my father meant by that. He kept his job at Industrial Illusions because he loved it, because it meant that I could get a full scholarship into any duelling school of my choice. He kept his job because it ensured a bright future for me. It's too bad he never bothered to ask me what I wanted to do with my life, instead assuming that I'd want to work with duel monsters – just like him.
''I – I know, it's just not fair,'' the sound of muffled, feminine sobs permeated the air, in addition to the sounds of comfort in a more masculine tone.
''Mommy? Daddy?'' my tiny hand hesitated on the gold plated doorknob. Would they be angry with me for being out of bed? I decided I didn't care and twisted the metal under my hand, pushing lightly on the ornate, mahogany door. When it creaked open, mommy and daddy looked up from their position – mommy kneeling on the carpet, crying softly into her hands and daddy kneeling beside her with his strong, masculine arm draped over her shoulders.
''Oh, I'm sorry honey – did we wake you?'' Mommy smiled sweetly at me, but the effect was somewhat ruined by the tear-stains on her rosy cheeks.
''Mommy, why are you crying?'' I padded softly across the plush, red carpet until I was stood directly in front of my idol, reaching my tiny hands towards her searchingly. She pulled me into her warm embrace and I played with her soft, waist-length hair – chocolate brown – just like mine.
''Oh honey, mommy is just upset because she can't make music anymore,'' she stroked my head and hugged me tighter to herself, surrounding me with warmth and violets.
''Why can't mommy make music anymore?'' I questioned her with the innocence that only a child could posses and she laughed lightly, pulling away slightly to look into my eyes. Not making music made mommy sad and mommies weren't supposed to be sad. Besides, mommy was good at making music, and her music made me happy. I told her so and she laughed lightly, shaking her head.
''But honey, if mommy made music then who would look after you?'' she spoke softly in a wistful tone of voice, a sad smile pulling at rose-bud lips. My friends' mommies didn't always look after them - they had someone else do it sometimes whilst their mommy's were at work.
''A nanny,'' I smiled proudly, happy that I managed to remember the correct word. My smile widened into a grin when I realised that what I said seemed to somehow make my mommy happier.
''But darling, are you sure that you would be happy with that?'' my daddy finally spoke up from his position on the carpet next to mommy and I frowned slightly, shrinking back into my mommy's arms. It wasn't that I didn't love my daddy – because I did – it was just that daddy wasn't home often so I felt really shy around him, like he was a stranger or something. Besides, daddy made mommy sad.
I pulled back out of mommy's arms to look at her face. She was almost glowing with excitement, beaming at me brighter than the sun with a hopeful gleam in her toffee coloured eyes.
''I want mommy to make music,'' I want mommy to be happy. I think mommy got my silent message because she picked me up off of the ground and swung me in little circles.
''Oh, my sweet little angel – mommy loves you so much!'' she put me back down on the carpet and hugged me to herself, crying into my pyjama-clad shoulder. Her tears didn't bother me this time because mommy was crying happy tears. I snuggled closer to mommy, inhaling lavender and violets and just basking in the warmth that was her love and affection. I would have stayed there forever if I had the choice.
''Okay darling, if that's what you really want,'' my daddy hugged my mommy, sandwiching me between them. Yeah – an Alaska sandwich – for some reason, the thought made me really smile.
As selfish as it sounds, I wish I didn't get the nanny. Being the naive child I was, I didn't realise that letting my mother make music again meant not seeing her for up to a year at a time. Now I was truly alone, retreating more and more into my shell, building a wall. The only positive was that my father was home more often – taking his work home in order to spend more time with me.
However, this positive also had its negatives. Negatives like my father becoming obsessed with turning his daughter into the perfect duellist – 'the next queen of games' – he would joke, although I'm almost certain that he was being serious.
''Sweet duel,'' I shook my opponents hand and shot him a grin. He grinned back, thanking me before going off to find his parents. Man, that was majorly fun, I don't think I've had that much fun since mom brought home her last CD.
''What was that?'' Uh, oh. I turned around to meet my father's disappointed gaze and smiled sheepishly at him, hiding from his piercing glare behind my chocolate brown fringe.
''It's not the winning that counts – It's all about having fun and...''
''Wrong!'' I flinched slightly when my dad cut me off and looked up to see him almost glaring angrily at me. He noticed my flinch and sighed slowly, sweeping my fringe from my face to look into my honey-brown eyes. ''It's all about the winning – what good is fun to you if you're not the best?''
Suddenly, duel monster was no fun anymore. My father made me focus on tactics and strategies, making me memorise the rules and regulations until I could say them in my sleep. Duelling was no longer about my connection with my deck – heart of the cards as Yugi Mouto put it – it was about how well I knew the game. Suddenly, duelling sucked.
At least I still had my mother. I had her support and I had her music – as long as they were there for me, nothing could ever bring me down. That is of course, until the day they weren't.
''Mommy doesn't have much longer left, little bird,'' she whispered to me, the effort twisting her beautiful features with pain. Why did my mom have to leave? It just wasn't fair – I loved her damn it – she was my idol, my angel, my happiness.
''Mommy, don't leave,'' I sobbed brokenly into her shoulder and she sighed softly. Grunting with the effort, she lifted her frail hand to stroke my hair like she used to when I was just a little kid.
''Will you sing for me little bird? Will you sing your mommy to sleep?'' I nodded and sat up. This last request was so like my mother I would have smiled if it wasn't for the fact that she would be leaving me forever. I sat up and took a deep breath, quelling my tears and coughing slightly to clear my voice. This was my last song for my mother and I was going to make damned sure that it was done properly.
Ever since then, I just didn't speak. There wasn't anything physically wrong with me (my father took me to multiple doctors to make sure of that.) I just didn't want to speak anymore. My mother loved my voice – she said it was like an angels laugh - and now that she wasn't here, it just didn't feel right for me to use it.
Eventually, my father gave up on me and sent me away to a boarding school (duelling based obviously.) He said it was because he wanted me to improve my duelling – to be the best and all that jazz. However, I had a sneaking suspicion that the reason he sent me away was because he couldn't bear to look at me and be reminded of my mother.
Obviously the whole 'not talking' thing meant that I was quickly labelled an outcast and a big target for bullying. Eventually however, the bullying stopped when they realised that they couldn't get a rise out of me. So I was left alone, and that was just how I liked it.
After about a year at the boarding school, my father heard about an opening at duel academy and was all for me transferring there.
''My name is Doctor Crowler and I will the proctor for this entrance exam.''
I looked up from my Slifer-red iPod and smiled slightly at him, removing my deck from the holster strapped to my thigh.
''And your name is?'' I tucked my iPod away safely into my jeans pocket and gestured towards the name tag attached to my red and black chequered shirt.
Dr Crowler frowned at my lack of speech and positively glowered at me when I slid my black skull-candy earphones into place - blasting music.
''Excuse me young lady – we are not finished here!'' he growled and reached for the wire of my ear-phones as if to pull them out. I frowned at him and danced out of his reach, sliding my deck into place and activating my duel disk. Besides, this was my favourite song.
(A.N. Sorry guys, no duel here. I would include the duel but I don't think it will be much fun since Alaska won't really be saying anything. However, if you guys want, I could write up the duel and post it separately.)
When I won the duel against Crowler, everyone was shocked – myself included. The real kick though, was that I got to choose what dorm I wanted to be in. Imagine their surprise when I chose the Slifer dorms.
Now don't get me wrong - living in the luxury of Obelisk blue would be amazing. The only problem with that would be the fact that as an Obelisk – I would be forced to participate in many duels. Also, I would need to interact with people and social interaction was not a point on my agenda. At least as a Slifer, I would get the choice about participating in duels to be promoted. And in addition to this – my dad would be pissed.
Hi everyone (again.) I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter; sorry about the no duel thin but there will definitely be one next chapter which will be the Jaden (re) meets Alaska and the Tag Force tournament starts. Please keep sending in your ideas for pairings and remember to leave a review as it would be much appreciated :D.