Chapter Nineteen

Delia!

Seto bolted up in bed. It seemed he'd been doing a lot of that lately. Mostly because of nightmares he'd had about Delia, but this one was different. It wasn't a nightmare. It wasn't even a dream. It was just a feeling. A dreadful feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't ignore.

He knew with a-hundred-percent certainty that something had happened to Delia.

Scrambling off the sofa, he picked up his phone and called Delia's hotel, only to be told that Delia hadn't returned for the day. Damn it, could she be with Zaid? No, he didn't want to think about that, but… where would she go?

She was definitely with Zaid.

If that was the case, she should be fine. Though he hated Zaid with a passion, he doubted Zaid would let any harm come to Delia.

Yet, Seto couldn't shake off that awful feeling. Instead of returning to bed, he checked in on Kisara, who was sleeping soundly on the massive four-poster bed. He wondered if she'll ever wake, since she hadn't so much as made a sound since he'd picked her up from the street.

Just then, his phone rang. Seto didn't recognize the number, but answered nonetheless, "Hello, Seto Kaiba speaking."

"Kaiba—"

Seto froze, recognizing the voice. There was no doubt about it. It was Zaid. How did he get his number?

"What do you want?" Seto cut him off coldly.

"Delia's hurt." Zaid got straight to the point. Seto felt his heart stop. His hand clenched the phone tighter.

"What do you mean? Is she OK?" No matter how much he might despise her for betraying him, he couldn't help but worry about her.

"I don't know. I'm heading to the hospital." Then Zaid told Seto the address. "I'll meet you there."

Before Seto could say anything, Zaid hung up. Seto took one last look at the girl sleeping in the bed before rushing out while calling his chauffeur. The hour between the time he got Zaid's call and when he arrived at the hospital was probably the longest one of his life.

When he arrived at hospital, it took him a minute to make himself understood. The nurse sent him to the hallway next to the operating room. Zaid was already there, pacing, his long strides eating up the space.

When Zaid saw Seto, his eyes narrowed. "I didn't think you'd come."

"If not, why did you call me?" Seto bit back.

"I just thought you would like to know," Zaid said with a shrug.

"So how is she?" Seto was surprised at how calm he sounded, when his well-being seemed to depend on Zaid's next words. The entire time he was thinking he shouldn't have left her there. So what if she'd picked Zaid? He should've forcefully dragged her off with him so that he could change her mind.

Zaid scrubbed a hand down his face. "I don't know."

"What happened?" A pause. "Was she with you?"

Their eyes met, hard marble brown versus cold blue. "No," Zaid finally said. "She wanted to stay at the site, so I let her." Zaid's shoulder slumped, like a man defeated.

"What happened?" Seto didn't know how he was rational enough to ask these questions, but he had to distract himself. Otherwise he'd rush into the operating room just to see if Delia was alive.

"She fell." The words were uttered with bitterness. "There are tunnels under the site. I knew about that, yet I left her alone." When Zaid looked up again, Seto was shocked to see that the hardness in his eyes had been replaced by something akin to anguish. "It's my fault." Zaid started pacing again. "I shouldn't have left her alone. As soon as you stormed out, I should've kept her under guard, just in case…"

"Just in case?" Seto asked when Zaid trailed off.

Zaid sank down in one of the seats by the wall with a defeated sigh. "After you left, I promised Delia I'd tell you the truth."

"The truth?" Seto's brows drew together.

"Yes." Zaid said at length. Sighing, he continued, "Delia didn't really betray you. Sure, she kissed me, but that's only because I begged her to pretend to be my girlfriend so that Brie will give up on me. So you see, she still loves you."

Seto wasn't sure just how many more of these shocks he could take, especially in one day. So he'd completely misunderstood the situation. Oh God, the way he'd treated Delia. That look on her face.

He'll never forgive himself.

Now… now he might not even get the chance to apologize.

No, she's going to be fine, he told himself. Delia was strong. A fall wouldn't do anything. The worst she'll get was probably a broken leg. He could almost see Delia laughing it off and grumbling when he tried to help her.

He almost smiled, until Zaid's voice brought him back. "But I intend to have her."

Seto narrowed his eyes. Zaid was back, the despair and sadness of earlier had disappeared. "I will have her back."

"Have her back? You've never had her in the first place." Seto felt the first flare of his temper.

"No, she was mine to begin with!" Zaid hissed vehemently. "I will have her back. You've already destroyed her once. I won't let that happen again."

Seto froze. While a part of him understood Zaid's meaning, the rational and practical part of him refused to believe it. No way. He didn't believe in reincarnations, in past lives, or any of those hocus-pocus.

"What do you mean?"

Zaid began to explain, but stopped as if thinking better of it. "You'll find out soon enough," he grumbled, then planted himself in a chair.

Seto realized he would get nothing more out of Zaid, so he sunk down and waited. He kept replaying the scene from yesterday in his head. If only he'd allowed her to explain… If he had dragged her away with him and damned the consequences… If only he hadn't left her heartbroken…

Yet, there was nothing he could do to change the past. Seto swore that he'll never let Delia out of his sight again, no matter what. If she wants to stay in Egypt, he'll stay with her. Just as long as he's with her, he didn't care what he had to do.

An eternity passed before the doors to the operating room opened. Both Seto and Zaid shot up to their feet as a doctor walked out. Zaid asked the doctor something in Arabic, which the doctor answered. Seto hated that he couldn't understand what they were saying and that he had to ask Zaid to translate.

"They're going to put her under observation for another twelve hours. After that, they'll know for sure," Zaid told Seto.

"Can we see her?"

Zaid turned to ask the doctor, who looked at the two of them for a second before nodding. They waited for a few more minutes before a nurse came to lead them down the hallway to another room. Seto's heart was literally in his throat as he saw Delia through the glass. They couldn't get any closer. How he wished he could set next to her, hold her hand, as if he could give her more strength to fight.

Seto glanced at Zaid, who was peering through the glass with a tortured expression. The man looked as if his heart had been torn out, much as Seto he himself was feeling.

Seto couldn't help but wonder at Zaid's earlier words. What did he mean? That Delia had been his once? As far as Seto knew, Delia had never met Zaid before coming to Egypt, so when would Zaid ever know about Delia? It made absolutely no sense, unless... No, Seto shook his head. It just couldn't be.

Then again, none of it mattered, because he wouldn't allow anyone to take Delia away from him.

"I have to go call Marik and her parents," Zaid said after a few minutes. "I'll be right back."

Seto made no reply, although he wanted to say that Delia probably didn't want her parents to know. All he wanted was for her to open her eyes, and maybe smile. He missed her smile. God damn it, he missed her. Period.

She was his world, his life, Seto realized in that instant. He had seen it coming, slowly, over the months they'd spent together, but he'd never dared to admit it to himself just how much she had come to mean to him.

Everything. She meant everything to him.

So please, please, wake up, Seto begged in his head. Just wake up.

"She's not going to wake up."

Seto's head jerked to the sound of that sweet voice and froze when he saw who had spoken.

Kisara.

She was standing a few feet to his right, her blue hair falling to her waist, her expression sad.

"How… how did you get in here?" Seto asked. He hadn't heard anyone come in at all. He couldn't have been that lose to his thoughts, could he?

She shook her head, her hair flying everywhere. "It doesn't matter," she muttered in that same sweet voice. "She's not going to wake up."

"How do you know?" Seto asked. He should be suspicious of this girl, who'd appeared out of nowhere, literally, but he wasn't. All that mattered was Delia.

"Because it's time," Kisara said, her voice full of sadness. "She is trapped. You're the only one who can release her. From the curse."

Curse. Seto felt chilled to the bone. He recalled that dream, the one where he'd banished Delia's soul. It couldn't be. It wasn't real. Nothing was real. There was no such thing as a past life.

But… but then how did he know Kisara? Why did he trust her? How did she get here? And Zaid? Could Zaid be part of that past as well?

"Do you want to save her, Priest Seto?" Kisara asked, her expression never changing.

"Yes," Seto answered without a second thought. There was no question of it. No matter what, he was going to save Delia.

"Good." Kisara gave him a sad smile. "I can only send you to her. The rest is up to you. Good luck."

Seto didn't get a chance to ask what she meant by that before everything around him disappeared, leaving him in utter darkness.

When the darkness received, Delia found herself in a garden. The same one she'd witnessed the last time, when Layla and Seto had their first meeting.

"You're not at court."

Delia felt herself turn at the voice. Shock stilled her as she saw Seto in ancient Egyptian clothes. Was she witnessing another one of Layla's memories? Yes, that must be it. She felt herself turn, felt the forced smile and knew that there was nothing she could do except to watch.

"No," Layla answered. "But what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at court as well?"

"It's over. Queen Dalila wants to spend some time with Prince Akhum without a retinue following them everywhere."

Seto sat down on the bench next to her. In the past few months, this courtyard had somehow become their little haven. Whenever they were both done with their duties for the day, they'd meet here and just talk. Seto told her about his kingdom while she spoke of her childhood. Layla enjoyed his company, and he always treated her as if she was a person, not just a Protector.

Yet, they always avoided the topic of her transformation. Layla could tell that Seto was curious about it, being a High Priest, but he never straight out asked her any questions. Whenever their conversation strayed too close to it, Layla would subtly change the subject. Seto never pushed her, which she was thankful for. The thing was, even if they did talk about it, there was little she could tell him. After all, she wasn't the one who performed the magic. She was only the recipient.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Seto asked after a few seconds of silence.

Layla blinked, not understanding, until he said, "About why you avoided court today. I heard you were betrothed to Prince Akhum, before what happened."

Layla scanned his face. Behind Seto's calm exterior, she sensed his curiosity.

There was another thing they never talked about – their relationship and growing feelings for each other. At least Layla knew she felt something for the priest, as insubstantial as that feeling was. As for Seto, he never mentioned it, but she saw the way he sometimes watched her, studied her when he thought she was distracted.

She didn't think he realized himself just how intense those looks were, or that no matter how hard he tried to hide his feelings, they shown through in the little details, like how sometimes he reached out to brush her hair only to pull back at the last minute.

"Yes," Layla said slowly, "I was betrothed to Akhum."

Even now, two years later, speaking of Akhum brought nothing but unbearable pain. Yet, she forced herself to continue, knowing that she needed to talk about this with someone eventually. It just turned out that Seto had become her closest friend since she left her country to come here as Dalila's Protector.

Organizing her thoughts, she slowly began, "Our two countries had a very long standing alliance. Because of this, Dalila and I were fostered at King Medsses' court as children. There, we grew up with Akhum and made all sorts of troubles together." The thought of that brought a smile to Layla's lips.

"Akhum and I were betrothed when I turned thirteen. We would've married the next year, but then, I caught the fever."

That was an extremely abbreviated version of what had happened, but Seto didn't need to know the rest. Like how Akhum had refused to even see her after her resurrection. How he'd married another as soon as possible. Not that Layla had held any hopes for their future. She very well knew what she was, but she hadn't expected his total rejection of her existence.

"He hurt you," Seto said, a statement, not a question.

Had she been that obvious? Well, one day she'll learn to hide her emotions as well as Seto. Then she saw his fist clench and sighed inwardly. Yes, he definitely cared for her deeply, but where would their relationship end up?

"I don't blame him. He couldn't accept what I am. Not very many people can, or should. What Father did is taboo."

"But it's not your fault." Seto's words surprised her. "You did not ask to be revived, nor did you want to become a Protector. You had no control over any of these things. He should not have taken out his anger on you."

Layla smiled as warmth spread through her. "You're sweet, Seto, but that's all in the past. Akhum and I are—"

"Layla?"

Layla froze. There was only one person who spoke her name in that deep and rumbling voice. She was just about to say that things were over between Akhum and her, but it seemed she was wrong. Slowly, dazed, she stood up and turned.

There he was. Dark hair waving in the wind, his dark eyes seemed to bore straight to her soul. He hadn't really changed, maybe gotten a bit taller, his body more filled out, but he was still the Akhum she remembered. If she could, Layla would've fainted. Instead, she swayed on her feet. Seeing Akhum again brought back all the tortured memories of the past, brought back the razor sharp pain she'd experienced when he'd refused to see her, and all the feelings she'd buried deep within her for the last two years.

Deep within Layla, Delia gasped. Zaid? She couldn't believe it, despite the difference in coloring, it was definitely Zaid standing before her. Now everything made sense! The way Zaid felt about her, because he was part of the past too.

Akhum took two hesitant steps in her direction. When Layla didn't move, rooted to the spot, he strode forward until he was right in front of her. Layla looked up. He'd always been tall, now he was even taller than before.

Layla noticed absently that Seto left her side reluctantly and followed Dalila out of the courtyard, leaving her and Akhum by themselves.

She could feel Akhum's eyes on her, studying her. He reached out to touch her and winced when his hand passed through her. She knew that he saw her solid form because of his spiritual power, but he should've known he couldn't touch her. His wince hurt. Did he just come here to tell her that she was an abomination?

"What are you doing here?" Layla asked finally, breaking the silence.

His expression tortured, Akhum replied, "I wanted to see you."

Layla forced herself to steel her face, although she felt anything but calm. "Well, you've seen me. Satisfied? Then please leave."

"Layla, I'm sorry."

Layla wanted to rail at him, to tell him that a simple sorry wasn't enough, but one look at him stopped her short. No matter what had happened, she still couldn't get mad at him. What was wrong with her? He'd abandoned her, rejected her completely, yet she didn't even have the strength to be mad at him.

Afraid that she might break down and cry, Layla asked about the one thing that'll remind her that there would never be a future between her and Akhum. Taking a breath, she asked, "Where's your wife?"

Akhum looked taken back. He hesitated for a moment before answering softly, "She decided to stay behind."

"What? Because she didn't want to meet me?" Usually, Akhum's wife wouldn't even know about Layla's existence, but Layla's resurrection was a scandal beyond proportions, there was no one who did not know about her, or her relationship with Akhum.

"No." Hesitation again. "She's pregnant."

"Oh."

Layla wasn't sure how she felt about that. Akhum was the heir to his kingdom, so of course he'd need another heir as soon as possible. She'd also heard that King Medsses' hadn't been well in the last few months. Everyone was just waiting for Akhum to become king.

"Congratulations?" she ventured, feeling lame that was all she could say to him. She should be his queen, the one to carry his children, but here she was, nothing but a monster.

"Damn it!" Layla took a step back, shocked by his sudden outburst. If he could, he would've grabbed her shoulders and shaken her. "Don't congratulate me!"

Cocking her head to the side, she asked, "What am I suppose to say?"

He looked at her long and hard. "Are you not mad at me? For what I did?"

"I was, but…" How does she explain this? She loved Akhum, knew she would've been happy with him, but when she'd died, everything had changed. There was no point clinging to the past. "You made the right choice, to ignore me. It is impossible between us. If you'd tried to accept me, you risk alienating everyone in your court and losing your crown. I don't want that for you."

He hissed a breath before sitting down. "You're always too understanding, Layla. Why can't you just hate me like a normal person?"

Layla's heart ached at the anguished look on his face. She wanted to stroke his hair, to tell him that everything will be fine.

"It's because I still love you, Akhum." He tensed visibly, but she continued, "I can't hate you for doing something that makes you happy."

"Then come with me."

He caught her gaze, and Layla began to lose herself in those eyes that she loved so much. With effort, she shook her head adamantly, more to remind herself than him that what he asked was impossible. "I can't. What would everyone at court think? What would your wife think?"

Akhum said nothing, but his lips set in a mulish line. She knew better than anyone that Akhum hated his responsibilities. He was never meant to be the heir, but his older brother had perished in that same outbreak of fever that had taken Layla's life, leaving him the sole heir to the throne.

Layla was glad that he didn't press on, for she was certain that she couldn't resist him if he had persisted in his efforts to convince her to leave with him.

She stepped back and put some distance between their bodies. Even though she was insubstantial, she still felt uncomfortable standing so close to him. "You should leave now, Akhum," Layla said at length.

He looked at her longingly before standing up. He raised a hand to trace her cheeks. Layla would have given anything to feel his touch again. "I miss you, Layla."

It took all of her strength to step back, away from him. Looking at him in the eye, she said with as much conviction as she could convey, "It's over, Akhum. I'm sorry, but you should leave."

He sighed, looking years older than his seventeen years. "I will never see you again, will I?"

Layla shook her head. "It is best we do not meet."

"Then good-bye, Layla." Again, that insubstantial touch. "At least this time I can say good-bye to you."

She didn't mean to, but Layla couldn't help the tears. Before he could do anything, she turned away, not wanting to prolong this moment. When the fever had broken over the city, Akhum had been whisked away. His father had to make sure he didn't catch it, because his brother had already caught it. She'd never got to see him at the end, and it had always been her biggest regret.

"Goodbye, Akhum," she whispered.

He said nothing. Seconds later, she heard him quietly walk away. It was only when she could no longer hear him that she broke down and cried.

A/N: I'm sorry for taking so long. I meant to update before Thanksgiving, but kept forgetting about it for the past few days. Anyhow, Happy Belated Thanksgiving to everyone in the US. I had a very relaxing weekend, though I didn't get to go home. $500 plane tickets just isn't worth it when I'll be home in a month. But hope everyone enjoyed some good food and saved tons of money on shopping.

As for the story, The reason I took so long was also because I've been having a kind of writer's block, so it's been hard to write. What I can tell you is that expect more flashbacks, because I really want to write about their past. We'll see where I go from there.

Remember to REVIEW.

Best,

Yohina