I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters... except for Jenna.
Jenna was first aware of the pain. Her body felt as if it was on fire, and the ache in her ribs was almost unbearable. She felt incredibly stiff and her head was simply pounding. She let out a moan, and immediately heard the sound of someone talking and a response, followed by the sound of a door closing. She sat up slowly, gritting her teeth against the pain, and, trying to dispell the immense headache, she rubbed her eyes.
Then all at once, she realized she was lying in an extravagent bed, and there were slow footsteps approaching her from her right. Her head whipped in that direction and her eyes went enormous upon seeing a dark skinned man in strange clothes, a sword in hand within arms reach of her. In that instant, everything that had happened returned to her in a confusing and horrifying rush, panic, terror and confusion rearing up in her mind. She let out a cry of alarm, and rolled off of the bed. Pain exploded in her side, but she didn't care. She just wanted to put as much distance between herself and this strange man as she could. She noticed then that the entire room was extravagent and well lit through open windows, but that knowledge was put off to a cobwebby corner of her mind for the time being, as the man moved around the side of the bed, his sword coming up defensively. He frowned at her, and she felt another shockwave of fear course throught her being.
Then he spoke to her, but the words were completely inelligible to her, which only added to her fear. She wanted to talk, but her mind went numb in that instant, trying to wrap itself around what was going on. She also had the sinking suspicion that if she couldn't understand what HE was saying, he probably wouldn't be able to understand HER either.
His features turned angry as he took a few quick steps toward her, shouted something else she couldn't understand, and slapped her hard across the face. A screech escaped her lips as she fell to the floor... just as she heard the door to her room open. Another surge of terror coursed through her, now accompanied by a searing pain where she had fallen. Her face stung where he had hit her. He raised his hand to strike her again, when they heard an angry shout from across the room.
The man turned and they saw eight others enter the room. All of them were dark skinned, and dressed in light materials. They all had either headresses or hoods covering their heads, except for one man who simply had a golden headband and the strangest hair she had ever seen. The style of the clothes seemed vaguely familiar to Jenna, but she was too panicked at the moment to try and remember from where. Seeing these others only increased her fear all the more. What the hell was going on?
She took the moment of distraction to scramble backwards in terror, until she felt her back hit the wall. The ache in her ribs was almost unbearable now, between the quick breaths she was taking and how hard her heart was pounding. Then the men started to talk... all of it unintelligable.
The Pharaoh glared at the guard. "Just what did you think you were doing?"
The man stood at attention immediately. "Forgive me, Pharaoh. I was concerned she may be an enemy, because she appeared due to Bakura's Diabound. I asked her her name and she didn't answer me... She tried to run away and... I assumed..."
Seto frowned at the guard. "We ascertained earlier that she was not a threat to us physically or magically either! You fear her due to her odd appearance and nothing more!"
The guard blanched. "Please... forgive me! I let myself get carried away and I promise I shall never do so again!"
The Pharaoh frowned. "You are relieved of your duties until further notice and are forbidden to approach this girl until I say otherwise. Now leave us... both of you," he said to the two guards... but directing no anger towards the second. They both nodded and exited the room.
The Pharaoh and his six priests turned to regard the girl. She had pressed herself up against the wall, trembling uncontrollably and watching them with wide eyes. He turned to Akhnaden.
"What can you pick up from her?"
The old man's golden eye flared slightly. "She is absolutely terrified... and very confused. I believe that you were right in your earlier assumption, my King. She has even less of an idea of what happened than we do."
The young King nodded, and then took a few steps towards the girl.
Her reaction was immediate. She scrambled back along the wall, obviously terrified, and tears started streaming down her face when she found she was backed into a corner.
Mahad stiffened slightly. "Please use caution, my Pharaoh. Sometimes the most dangerous animal is a cornered one."
The Pharaoh regarded him. "I have a feeling this 'animal's' fear will not lead it to do anything that will threaten us. I will be all right. The rest of you stay there." He turned back to the girl, holding his hands up to show he meant her no harm, and approached her slowly, kneeling down to her level. He touched her shoulder, which she cringed at, and he hushed her gently.
"It's all right, little one. We will not harm you. I promise you that. May I have your name?"
Jenna had no idea what to do. She didn't know what to think of this man in front of her, and her fear was at its peak. And she still couldn't understand what anyone here was saying.
Seto frowned from across the room. "Answer the Pharaoh's question!" he said in a commanding tone, making the girl cringe.
The Pharaoh held his hand up. "Enough, Seto. Be still." Then he regarded this strange girl for a moment, lifting her chin with his hand so she looked him in the eyes. The terror he saw in them was heartbreaking.
"Miss? Can you hear me?" he asked, thinking she had perhaps been born deaf.
Jenna's resolve caved. "I... I'm sorry! I can't understand anything you're saying!" Then she simply broke right down.
Everyone in the room started when she spoke the incomrehensible words.
Isis sighed. "Well, that explains her terror. It would be scary enough if she COULD understand us. Since she can't, that fear must be magnified significantly."
The Pharaoh very gently cupped her face in his hands, and then pulled her close to him, letting her sob in his chest. She was trembling uncontrollably, but seemed to relax slightly as he ran his hands up and down her back and comforted her. She gripped his tunic like a life line, taking in shaky breaths and trembling like a leaf.
An idea formed in the Pharaoh's mind. The question was: would it work? The only way to know was to try. "Seto, come here."
The High Priest approached them. The girl cringed immediately upon seeing him, the Pharaoh hushing her gently. Seto crouched down, noticing the girls eyes were now on him, filled with fear and confusion. "Yes, my Pharaoh?"
"Your Millennium Item allows you to enter another persons mind. Could you somehow utilize it's abilities to teach her our language?"
He looked thoughtful. "Possibly. I could try transferring knowledge on our language directly into her mind. But such a feat has never been attempted before. I can't guarantee it will work... and I'm afraid it will be painful for her."
The Pharaoh thought hard for a moment and then sighed. "We have no choice but to try. If we are unable to communicate with her effectively, her fear and confusion may only increase. We have no way of explaining to her what happened... or of hearing her side of the story."
Seto looked at the girl for a long moment and then nodded. Her eyes hadn't left him for an instant while they talked, and the Pharaoh had held her close. "All right. I suspect she will lose consciousness when I am done. All the new information may need time to sink in effectively and her mind will need to learn to recognize it for what it is. And remember... this may not work at all."
The Pharaoh nodded. "I understand." Then he gently disengaged from the girl, pulling her to her feet. Seto stood in front of her, making sure his Rod was in his belt. He touched it briefly and then reached his hands out towards the girl. She cringed immediately, but the Pharaoh rubbed her shoulders reassuringly from behind as Seto indicated he meant her no harm, gently caressing the sides of her face. Then he brought the palms of his hands to rest over her temples, closed his eyes, concentrating hard on the task at hand, and brought to life his Shadow Magic.
Yay!! Chapter two is up!! Do you like it, dislike it? Please let me know!! I'm new to the site and I would LOVE to hear what everyone thinks! I'm not afraid of flames, so don't be shy!!