Hey everybody (or at least the one reader I know I have)
I don't have much to say today (more than that I'm going down for. I'm getting ill) My birthday is coming up this Monday. Hurray for me. But I won't tell you my age, it's a little sensitive (and no, I'm not some old grandma if that's what you thought!)
Whatever. On with the fic and don't forget to review when you're done reading.
The saint of Scotland
Bakura slept worriedly that night. He tossed and turned as his mind was trapped in dreams he could not make out. There were monsters everywhere. Wherever he turned there were another picture of grotesque beings, killed humans, burning villages… it went on for what seemed to be an eternity. But suddenly there was a light in this world of sins and evil. It was soft, but so clear and pure it burnt his eyes. And suddenly the vision cleared.
"Impressive," he said as he walked up to her, a young girl with long, curly black and blue hair. Her dress had dirty spots here and there from where she had been hit with stones from the ghouls she had just fought off.
"Unicorn," the girl said without turning her eyes from the earth towards the horse that stood at her side. "Go home."
"Why let her go?" he asked her. "It will take you some time to get back now." He wasn't sure of where this girl belonged, but the fact she had been riding there was clear enough her home was not very close to here.
"I figured you would take me back freely," the woman said and turned. He realized how close to her he stood. The blue eyes were crystalline and sharp. They held no sort of fear or pain. Her face had a bruise on her cheek and forehead, and for some reason it made him furious. She was shorter than him, almost a full head. But still she had a very nice body and clean skin.
"Who are you?" the girl asked as she let her sword slide back into the sheath. "I have seen you three times and still I do not know your name."
Bakura wondered what she was talking about. He had never seen her before… or maybe he had. That one time when Yami had showed him that drawing. "You wish to know my simple name?" he asked and took another step forwards, she didn't move away. When he reached out to touch her face she didn't flinch. "My name is Aku," he whispered.
Aku? That wasn't his name. His name was Bakura. So why did he answer her question with a lie. He was sure she could see right through it.
"Evil," the woman answered.
"Yes," he whispered. He caught himself caressing her face down to her neck. He wanted to pull his hand back, but the soft skin made him relax after the images he had seen previously. But he tried to not move the hand any lower. "That is what it means by some foreign language. I am surprised you know of it. But you… why are you not afraid of me. You seemed to be afraid of Crow."
Crow? Who the hell was that? This girl, the Battle Princess, was afraid of birds?
"I am not afraid," the princess said calmly. "I simply can not like the one eyed one for anything in the world. He only desires what he himself can have from me."
Bakura didn't know what to think anymore. One eyed one? A man with one eye named Crow? The words that came out of his mouth sounded like he was the one who knew this Crow guy.
"But I… what if I am just the same as him. We are the same kind after all."
The same… kind? Bakura tried to look down at himself, wanting to make sure he was human. The Battle Princess was very clearly human. Was he not?
The Battle Princess's eyes looked deeply into his, capturing him in their bottomless depths. "I know when I should be afraid. But you are no danger to me."
Bakura was surprised by her answer. Whenever would he be dangerous for anyone? He had never hurt… well, no one who had not made any harm to him or Ryou, but that was another story.
"Maybe you are right," he whispered and leaned closer to her face. "I have no such desire. If I want something from you… it is only you."
Bakura didn't know what happened. The princess's eyes brought him down. He could not stop himself. She closed her eyes when he lent in and…
Bakura sat up straight in his bed, face burning red from embarrassment.
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my freaking fucking God," he rambled over and over again, unable to stop himself from shaking.
The white-haired man fell out of bed and walked to the kitchen to make himself a cup of really hot coffee.
"No, not coffee," he decided. "Something sweet. Something with much sugar… chocolate."
He didn't know why he suddenly needed something sweet. However the sweet drink calmed him down visibly.
"I haven't gotten a hug for a while," he realized as he lay with his head on the table. "Ryou, you better wake up soon so that I can take care of you again."
He looked at the clock that ticked away on the wall. 3:24 in the morning. "Damn it all to hell," he muttered to himself. "I might as well start reading that bloody book."
Jono lay silently still in his bed, but under his eyelids the eyes were stirring around in panic.
There they stood. The priest, the groom, and the guests. Everyone had gathered here to witness the wedding of the Irish lord Thomas and the queen of Scotland. He did not know why, but the mare thought of this… man, to marry the queen was breaking his heart in million pieces. There was nothing he wished for more in that moment, but to rush out of the church, leave the country and never again turn around.
But why did his heart arch so at the thought of the queen's wedding. It took some time for him to realize, but when the realization of why he was against the wedding was the reason for it; Lord Thomas only desired the throne.
He closed his eyes to stop the bitter tears from falling. At his side stood the young errand boy, holding his hand tightly, and at the errand boy's side stood a girl with the same hard face as he had himself. She did not wish for the queen to marry either.
But the organist never started to play. Neither did the priest look very happy about his mission to bind the queen and lord together as husband and wife. Yet the queen entered the church…
The rest of the dream was a blur. When Jono woke up he was covered in sweat and panting hard. He couldn't remember the end of the dream, but it had been very important, and it had scared him to no end.
The blond fell out of bed with a loud dump, waking his mother in the process.
"Katsuya, how are you? What happened?"
Jono looked up at his mother. He didn't realize he was shaking terribly before he started to speak. "I-I-I dreamt. A-a dre-eam. S-s-sh-she…"
His mother kneeled in front of him and took her son's hands into her own. "Darling, it was only a nightmare. It is alright. Nothing will hurt you, or it will have to deal with your mother." The last she said with a smile, hoping she could make her son smile a little.
"But she's dying," Jono said weakly, tears forming in his eyes. "T-the princess is dying. She is going to die. They will kill her. That man will only hurt her. She is dying."
His mother embraced him and rocked him back and forth, trying to calm him. Jono cried until he fell asleep again.
"What happened?"
The woman who was Jono's mother looked up to see her husband stand in the doorway. "He must have had a terrible nightmare," she said sadly. "He kept talking about the dying princess."
"Again? I thought he got over those nightmares years ago."
The woman looked down at her sleeping son. "I thought so too. But it seems the princess who hunted his dreams as a child have come back to torment him again."
The man sighed sadly. It was a long time since the last time his son had been having nightmares about a princess. Both of them had asked Jono to explain his dreams for them. He had explained that all he could remember was a kind hand, a thankful smile, before she turned around and disappeared. But he did not know who the princess was or what she looked like.
"The only thing we can do for him is to be there when he needs us," Jono's father said quietly. "We can not force that princess out of his mind. I only hope he will figure out who the girl is and why she is dying. That way she should leave him alone."
"I hope you are right."
Honda wasn't freed from dreams either. He was crying in his sleep and mumbled incoherent words. His father, who had been a light sleeper ever since Honda was born, woke up and went to see what was wrong.
"Hiroto. Hiroto, wake up."
He was watching everything from a window in the hall. He could even hear the princess's desperate cries for everyone to get inside.
("They are here! Everyone get into the castle! No exceptions! Run!")
His heart was in his throat as he saw the shadows lowering over the courtyard. There were five of them, one bigger than the rest. He could see them, but the ones on the ground could obviously not.
He noticed someone rush against the stream of fleeing humans towards the princess. At her call he realized it was Malin.
("Go back inside,") the princess yelled at her.
He saw one of the guards be taken into the air. But the princess was faster. He saw how she jumped high in the air and managed to grab the guard's leg and pull him out of the vampire's claws.
"Come back inside alive, princess," he whispered to himself as he ran towards the entrance, only to find it filled with people. He ran back up to see what was happening outside. He was suddenly blinded by a strong flash of light. When his vision cleared he saw the princess leaving the ground in the claws of a vampire.
"No! Release her!" he yelled and hit the glass with his fists in frustration. What would happen to the kingdom was the princess to die?
Tears of helplessness steamed down his cheeks. Then he heard the princess scream.
He lifted his head to see her falling from high above. Another vampire tried to catch her, but screamed as in pain when it failed. It, along with the princess hit the ground heavily.
"Your majesty!" he yelled, hitting the glass once again.
Another guard, this one with clear, blond hair, rushed to the princess's aid. But then it came down again. The biggest vampire.
"YOUR MAJESTY!"
"Hiroto!"
Honda looked up into the eyes of his father.
"Calm down. It was a nightmare," the older Honda said lowly.
Releasing a breath he didn't know he had been holding, Honda fell back on his pillow.
"Now tell me what you were dreaming of. You haven't been having nightmares since your mother passed away."
"I have no idea," Honda said, still panting and trying to dry his eyes. "I saw flying creatures from a window, and people trying to get inside, away from those monsters. She was almost taken away, but that monster dropped her and she landed heavily in the snow. Then it came down for her again… and…"
"Hiroto?"
"It took the king away. She is alone now."
The older Honda had no clue of what his son was talking about, his words made no sense.
"It will be okay. When you wake up tomorrow you will not remember this dream. Go back to sleep now."
Hiroto only nodded, turned and fell asleep out of exhaustion.
A terrified scream filled the house of Kaiba. Yukino jumped out of bed, looking around for the source. When she realized it was her son she wasted no time in dressing in a robe, but ran straight to Mokuba's room.
"Mokuba, darling. What is it? What happened?"
"She's gone. The princess is gone," Mokuba cried.
Yukino sat at his side and held her youngest son close. "Hush, hush, my boy. Everything is alright. You only had a nightmare. You will see. When you wake up tomorrow morning you will be fine again."
"B-but… she was hurting. She was hurting so much. And then he raised his sword and killed her. She is gone."
Yukino had been a mother for seventeen years. Seto also used to have a lot of nightmares in young days. Therefore she knew exactly how to calm her son down. She started to sing slowly.
Tell me what has happened
Why is the sun not shining?
And why is the moon and stars not joining us tonight?
But the light of an angel
Is lighting up our dark lives
Darkness can not hide it
She is shining even now
--
Let this nightmare end soon
My angel, keep us all safe
Free the people from what has tormented them so long
Give us hope forever
Light up the path we're walking
Let no darkness hurt us
Holy saint of mankind
--
Sun will shine tomorrow
Moon comes out from its hideout
Stars are twinkling down at us who followed her to here
The saint, bearer of Hope
Angel of the earth's glow
Always will I love her, she who leads me even now
Mokuba fell asleep during his mother's song. Falling right back into the open arms of a smiling angel.
There she stood with her army, waiting for them in front of the monuments of the ones killed in this war. How he hated her. How he hated the queen of the kingdom that should have been his. How dared she?
Her face, the most precious treasure of the kingdom. The most holy of God's saints. The reason of his pain.
"So, Battle Princess. Are you ready to give up your kingdom to me?" he yelled at her from his place in the front of his army.
"You know I can not leave the throne to you, brother," she called back. "The kingdom needs me."
"It was mine to begin with!"
"You have chosen the wrong way, brother. Please, do not do this."
How dared she? She was the reason for his pain. She was the reason he was like this. She was the one he had sacrificed everything for. And she, in return, fought against him. She should have placed the kingdom at his feet had he bid her. But he knew. He knew this her loyalty towards God and the people was her greatest weakness.
"You are weak, Battle Princess," he spat. "Too weak to guide this land. I will take back what is mine, even if I have to take it by force!"
He drew his sword and started forwards, and behind him, his army of hungry monsters did the same.
Her holy sword, made by God's archangels to protect the people, gleamed white as she drew it and raised it towards the dark sky. Her army followed her example and a forest of swords pointed at the sky. Her war cry marked the beginning of the last battle.
Yami sat up straight in his bed, bathing in sweat and gasping for air.
"A nightmare," he breathed for himself, before the words of last night hit him again.
"You're the one who killed her!"
He felt sick. How was he going to live through his life when those words echoed through his mind all the time?
But this dream. He had felt such hatred towards her. He had felt… such despise. What was going on?
It was a quite early Sunday morning when the gang rang on the bell to Bakura's place.
"What the hell are you doing here this early?" a madder than usual Bakura-in-the-morning answered the door.
"To get this mystery over with already," Honda said in the same tone.
"Then get your fat asses inside and I will explain what I have figured out from the book."
Honda, Jono and Yami made their way inside and seated in the living room.
"Where's Anzu?" Jono asked after coming down to actually see who were there.
As on cue, the bell rang again.
"The door's open!" Bakura yelled.
"Are you dressed properly?" the girl asked once she opened the door.
Bakura suddenly snapped. "GET YOUR ASS INSIDE RIGHT NOW!"
The brunette came inside, dressed nicely in a pale pink, knee long skirt and white blouse. When she saw the guys she smiled teasingly. "You're not morning persons, I understand?"
Looking at each other the guys realized what she was talking about. None of them had brushed their hair or put much care in dressing. All of them looked like they had dressed while drunk.
"Just sit down so I can tell you what I have found out," Bakura sighed heavily while sitting down in his favourite armchair. He already had the book in hand. "This story starts about 1620 when the princess was eight years old. That was when the one who originally wrote this book arrived to the castle. The one who arrived was named Malin, the eight year old spy of her family of thieves. It was meant Malin would pretend to be the princess's friend to figure out where the treasure chamber was located. But the princess figured her out and Malin had to return to her family empty handed. Had the prince Atemu not been around at that moment Malin would have been killed by her family for failing her mission. Malin's family was beheaded for violence towards the heir of the throne and the princess took Malin in, and the thief started to work as the princess's nurse, taking care of all of her friend's personal needs."
"Well, now as well we know who this Malin girl was. A thief," Honda said when Bakura lifted his eyes from the book for a moment.
"We now also know the princess actually had a brother, which for some reason is denied in the history," Anzu stated.
"I am more curious of how the prince could have the same name as Yami's last name," Jono said.
"If Yugi is the reincarnation of the princess, then I might as well be a reincarnation of her brother. But I don't want to be compared with him. For I believe he grew to hate her when she became queen."
"But according to Ryouko's diary the prince was dead before…"
They all looked at each other. "The prince was a vampire?" Anzu voiced.
"I have not read the entire book yet, so I can not tell," Bakura said and returned to the book in his hands. "Malin early knew the princess had a hand with animals. The horses greeted her happily every time the young princess went out. Dogs and cats protected her from strangers and suspicious travellers. And above the towers of the castle flew the king of heaven, the Guardian, keeping his sharp eyes out for anything that could harm the treasure of Scotland."
"The king of heaven?" Jono asked.
"Don't you know?" Anzu asked a little surprised. "The king of heaven is another name for a golden eagle."
"Golden eagle?" Honda asked. "You mean one of those was guarding the princess too?"
"Obviously," Yami said.
"As the princess grew up she also early started to train with her brother and the soldiers," Bakura continued. "She also indirectly ruled Scotland through her father every now and then. But everything was not fun and games. The princess's ability to use any weapon as if born with them in hand was due to her fate. Throughout her life she would be dependant on the sword."
Bakura stopped, thinking back at his dream. She had been fighting off the grotesque things on her own, with her own light.
"A princess with a sword?" Honda thought out loud. He had actually never thought of anything like that seriously. Royalty was supposed to be protected, not protect. Especially not the women.
"Well, I guess it is the reason she is called Battle Princess," Anzu said as a matter of fact.
"I haven't read this part through yet," Bakura spoke up as he flipped the pages to where he was. "But 1625 the king of France arrived with his two daughters, Mai Valentine and Tea von Lily."
"And we more or less know how that story ended," Honda said. "The prince proposed to Tea, but before the wedding the prince died and Tea returned to France."
"And the prince… started to hate his sister," Yami mumbled.
The others stared at him, not knowing what he meant, or if he talked to them at all, or simply to himself.
"Now what information are you sitting on?" Bakura asked rudely, not caring how the other would react. But what happened wasn't really what he had awaited. Yami tensed for a moment and looked up at him, before looking down at his hands.
"I… Yugi is the reincarnation of the Battle Princess. And I… am the prince. Tonight I dreamt of a battle. It was my army… against hers. But all I could feel towards her… was hatred."
"Do you hate Yugi?" Bakura asked tonelessly.
"Of cause not!" Yami burst out and stood. "Yugi is everything to me. He's my little brother. Of cause I love him. I…"
"Then why are you sitting here pitying yourself because you hate him?" Bakura's words were hard, but they hit where they were meant to. "You're really pathetic."
The silence that lowered over the gang could have been cut with a knife had anyone cared to try. The one who finally broke it was Honda.
"I… I had a strange dream tonight too," he said lowly, but his voice seemed to echo in the silent room. "I stood inside, helplessly watching what was happening outside. There were snow on the ground and the air was cold. I could see shadows in the air, and then I heard her… the princess, scream for everyone outside to get into the castle. She was caught once, but it dropped her and she landed quite heavily on the ground. The vampire came down for her again… then I woke up, realizing it was nothing but a dream. But right now I wonder if it really was."
The silence was over them once again, everyone taking Honda's words in.
"When I was a kid…" It was Jono's voice that spoke this time. "I know I used to have nightmares about the princess. I can't remember any of them clearly. All I can say for sure is that I always wake up with a feeling of complete hopelessness, and the sensation that something that I am leaning against, a presence, is never going to be there anymore. She gives me a grateful smile before she turns her back to me… and disappears." He was silent for a moment, thinking of the dream he had tonight. "When I grew older the dreams stopped, faded away, and I did everything I could to forget they had ever been there. But last night she returned. I know that what happened is important, but I just can't remember."
"But the princess was much stronger than we can imagine," Bakura suddenly said, finally breaking the silence completely, gaining his friends' attention. "She fought off an army of ghouls on her own, with only light and a sword as weapons. I know… because I saw it in my dreams tonight."
"But…" Yami started slowly. "If you also are having dreams… then it must mean you too have an earlier life with the princess."
Everyone stared at each other, as if searching for something they didn't know.
"But I haven't dreamt anything tonight," Anzu said. "And we… more or less, know that I am the reincarnation of the prince's fiancée."
"There is something strange with all this," Bakura said, crewing at his thumb. "All of us, almost, are having dreams about the princess. Ryou, Yugi and the others are, after what we have guessed, reliving an earlier life. Why aren't we?"
"Maybe there is something for us to find here that can help your brothers, Seto and Malik to come back to this life?" Jono suggested. "You can't live your life in the past."
"That's something you should say to someone who doesn't want to grow up further," Honda stated.
"You know what I meant."
"When does the store open?" Anzu asked out of nowhere.
"About… 10'o clock," Bakura said looking at his watch. "That's in one and a half hour."
"Then I think it's best to collect what all of us have to some kind of summary. I have a feeling Dr. Lou would be a great help here if we could get to see him later today. I am sure he will believe us."
"Stop, go back a little," Jono suddenly stopped her rambling. "What do you want us to summary? I thought we already got everything down."
"Then I can tell you we haven't," Anzu stated with businesslike voice. "All of us have made up our own picture of the Battle Princess and the story. I believe it's best if we somehow manage to get these our pictures down on paper. Whatever we are supposed to uncover, we can not do it each one on our own. If we want to find the entire truth, we have to work together."
They boys looked at her. "For some reason I hate to say it," Bakura started. "But I believe Anzu is completely right about that one."
"Here you go," Yosei said and handed Bakura the translation of the poem. "It is as good as I can manage, but as always with a translation, it can not exactly mirror the original. Have you read through the book yet?"
The white-haired teenager shook his head in denial. "I have come to where the princesses of France arrive. But I really think I need to read it through myself and not have a summary," he hurried to say when the dark twin opened her mouth to summary the story.
"Oh, fine then. If you want to sit in here and work you can use the table over there. It is a little cleaner than the rest. If you need any help, don't hesitate to call for any of us. Grandma Karin will be here shortly, and Hoshi had to run some errands, so you probably won't see much of her."
"Thanks, I think we will just sit down and get through with this riddle," Jono said, already moving towards the table, seemingly prepared for them.
Bakura handed the papers to Yami. "It's your turn to read," he stated.
"Does it matter who does it?" Yami asked, but took the papers anyway.
"Yes. It feels like I have been the one doing it until now, and I'm sick of it."
"Fine with me," Yami said with a shrug of his shoulders. The gang sat down on the chairs and Yami eyed through the text. "Well, at least it seems more coherent than yesterday."
"Just read and leave your statements till after you're done," Bakura muttered.
"Be quiet yourself then," Yami mumbled and started to read before the white-haired teen could talk back.
In those times of fear and pain
Broken is the sealing chain
The Battle Princess is reborn
To protect the world as sworn
--
The gained will be lost
Must victory at any cost
Stripped of beauty
The lord is filled with fury
--
In a place without belief
Painful bonds are tied without mischief
Trust is torn
And love too worn
--
The darkest night with sorrow will fill
The heart of light the darkness thrill
I seek a word both now and then
It is shining through the dark den
--
Again I want this feeling
For it the Lord is kneeling
What is the opposite of sorrow?
It can save the light of tomorrow
--
This clue is the only I can give
Before you in the battle your last days live
May the light never leave you be
For then you give in to eternity
--
Something the dark lord wants to hide?
Your love, your home, your pride?
Hiding in her heart is a star
The blinding darkness is far
--
I leave you now with only this
The rest you must find on your own, little miss
The Star in her is the word I seek
For in Light even Darkness retreat
The gang was silent for a long time, before something clicked in Jono's head.
"'Little miss'?"
"As I said; it's a translation I have done, and therefore it's not exact," Yosei said from behind Bakura. "The actual phrase was 'my dear', but it didn't suit since everything rhyme. You can't even imagine how hard I worked to make everything rhyme."
"I couldn't rhyme if I tried," Jono said. "So I believe you had a hard time with it. Now, what can we make out of this?" He turned to Anzu.
"Well…" she started, biting her thumb. "I suppose this lord it talks about must be Dracula or something. Wherever he lived with the rest of his monsters, I am sure it would be a place without belief, trust or love. The heart of light is the Battle Princess's; I am positive all of us agree to that. But then I'm stuck. The last four phrases are talking about something important, and are giving clues to what it is, but I can't figure out what."
"Well, lets see which clues are given," Bakura said, talking the papers from Yami and eyed through them. "Here, it says it is a feeling, something Dracula didn't like. It can obviously be compared, or somehow linked, with a star, since here it says 'the Star in her is the word I seek'."
"And the night retreat from the light of day," Jono said, making everyone stare at him. "What?"
"That must be the smartest thing I have ever heard from you," Bakura said.
"I will just pretend I didn't hear that," Jono muttered.
"Vampires hates sunlight," Honda said and snapped his fingers. "The word we seek is 'sun'."
"Close, but not close enough to hit the target," Yami said. "The sun isn't a feeling."
"Oh, sorry, I forgot about that."
"But the princess was shining," Bakura said, gaining everyone's surprised stares.
"What do you know about that?" Yami asked suspiciously.
"I told you I dreamt about her too, didn't I"
"Yes, but you said she fought off the vampires with light, not that she was actually shining."
"Must you take everything so literally?"
"When it comes to you, yes."
"No fighting in here!" Yosei called from the other side of the store.
The two archenemies took deep breaths. "Fine," they said in union.
"What did you dream about?"
To everyone's big surprise, Bakura blushed all the way to his hair roots. "I-I think… the princess may have had a lover," he mumbled, looking anywhere but at his friends.
"Where did that include the subject?" Jono asked. "Well, I know she got married, but…"
"She what?" Yami stood and glared at poor Jono.
"Um. She… she married some guy, Lord Tom or something… I think."
"How do you know about that?"
Jono gulped and tried to back further away from Yami's piercing eyes. They had taken a crimson hint in the violet depths. "I dreamt it."
"Why didn't you say anything before?" Anzu asked annoyed.
"B-because I can't remember further than that she entered the church," Jono defended himself.
"Are you talking about the queen's false wedding?"
The group turned to Yosei, who was cleaning up the table next to theirs.
"False wedding?" Honda asked. "How can a wedding be false?"
Yosei put some books into place before she started to talk again. "In order to protect Scotland, the Battle Princess needed the throne. She was engaged with an Irish lord, some Lord Thomas or something. But like all God's saints, the queen never married."
"Hold it," Bakura suddenly stopped her. "What do you mean 'saint'?"
"Oh? You don't know. The Battle Princess is Scotland's patron saint. The domestic people celebrate her memory every year with plays and food. They believe that she is still there, watching over them forever. And when there is a trouble in the country, they pray to her to help them solve it. It is said to work with personal troubles as well."
Silence rested over the gang after the dark twin's revealing.
"So…" Jono started.
"The Battle Princess we are searching for…"
"Is a saint," Anzu ended Honda's sentence.
Bakura and Yami looked at each other, both knowing what the other thought. If the Battle Princess was a saint… then what was Yugi?