Me: Don't kill me, don't kill me, don't kill me

Friend: What are you doing?

Me: Praying to Amateratsu to make sure that people don't kill me when I finally post this . . . .

Friend: You're hopeless . . . .

Me: Probably.

*Star*

The next few days were a bit tougher than most. Yusei continually worked on his runner, but what surprised me was that he still made time for his job as a mechanic and spending time with me. Actually most of the time were spent together was teaching me how to put together his runner. This wasn't a selfish action on his part, I had asked him to teach me. I felt a little useless as I was now and I wanted to see if I could find a skill. Leo, Luna and Crow all had been teaching me Duel Monsters. The game was really familiar to me, somehow.

That wasn't the tough part. The hardest part was trying to hide my nightmares from Yusei. He had to get up early for work, but he insisted that we slept together in that time. Of course I didn't complain; Yusei's room was unusually cold and he normally kept me warm in the night. But I was scared of falling asleep in front of him. I didn't want him to worry about my nightmares, but they seemed to be getting worse and worse.

They weren't all about Yusei, either. Most of them were of me, and what happened in a life. I assumed they were my memories, but it was like something was twisting those memories into nightmares. The scenery was off as well. Whenever I dreamt of civilization it was either of a village or a city made of stone. It was so different from Neu Domino City that I wondered if I came from the other side of the world.

I laid in the darkness, cuddling myself into the warmth that Yusei had left behind. He had just left for work a half hour ago, leaving me in the cold room. I pulled myself into a ball. I had been awake all night as usual, trying to avoid sleeping while Yusei was around. I looked at the clock radio on Yusei's desk. It was five in the morning.

I sighed and turned on my back before letting myself drift off to sleep.

~Dream~

I was sitting on an expensive-looking bed and starring out a window that looked big enough to be a door. The full moon was shining through, along with millions of stars. Star . . . My named seemed so empty compared to what it really meant. What was the point of being a Princess if your voice was never heard? I lifted myself off my bed and went over to the window. I leaned my head on the glass, enjoying the coolness of it.

"My lady?" asked a timid voice from the doorway. I turned my shoulder over to see a young girl at the age of seven. She was a servant girl whose parents died serving mine. I smiled at her as she held a candle-holder with a lit candle in one hand and was rubbing her tired eyes with the other. "I had a bad dream." She said with a small yawn. I could still hear the fear in her voice as she said so.

"Come here, Hope." I said, beckoning her to come inside. She put the candle on the desk before running up to hug me. I stumbled a bit as she started sobbing into my nightgown. I stroked her strawberry-blond hair soothingly and waited for her tears to stop. "It's alright . . ." I said, trying to get her to stop crying. "You're alright . . . ." She sniffed and looked up at me with a watery face. I chuckled and wiped her tears away with my sleeve. "What nightmare could be so bad huh?" I asked her before I lifted her into my arms. Her legs wrapped around my waist like a monkey/

I laid her down on my bed before getting on it myself and pulling the covers over us. She curled up closely to me, still sniffling. "It was so scary. Mama and Papa were hurting. I don't want to sleep again." I frowned; so she had a nightmare of her parents again? I held her a bit closer and let her steady her breathing.

I started stroking her hair again, "Hope, you do know that your parents love you right?" I made sure not to use to the past tense. She nodded but hid her face in my stomach. "Even now they are watching over you. They are not the ones giving you the nightmares, you are."

She tightened her grip with her small hands, "I just feel so sad . . . ."

I sighed, "They would not want you to be sad, Hope. They would want you to live a happy life." She looked up at me with her bright blue eyes with a skeptical look on her face. Oh, what a bright girl she was. "I'll tell you a secret. I know a trick to these nightmares of yours." Hope tilted her head in confusion but her eyes were full of curiosity. "All you have to do is wake up," I said, smiling at her, "Think of all that are here and love you and you will wake up." For the first time that night, Hope smiled.

~Three Days Later~

"My lady?" I turned around at the small voice behind me. I hadn't expected Hope to visit me on this night of all nights. I stopped packing my small pack and turned to her.

"Yes, Hope?" She looked at me with sad eyes. I melted every time I saw those eyes.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" She asked me with an even sadder voice. Oh, by the Gods I really didn't want to leave her alone.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I have to." I turned back and packed the last of my necessary belongings. I had to pack light if I wanted to leave quickly. "I'm not used to this life, Hope. I have to go and find my place in the world." I wiped away a small tear before she could notice it.

"You'll be back though, right?" I stopped and looked at her. She was on the verge of tears. "We need you, Star." I looked back at the little girl in surprise. That was the first time she had called me by my name.

I hesitated before picking up my pack and throwing it over my shoulder. "I'll be back when I'm strong enough." I said with a resolve in my voice. I wasn't lying. I knew I had to come back someday, but for now, I wanted to live my own life. I plucked a ring off my finger before turning to Hope. "Keep this safe for me until I get back." I said before placing it in her tiny hand. "Make sure that you show it to no one." She nodded with determination before closing a fist around the ring.

I went over to the open window and threw down the rope I had uh, commandeered from the stables. I tied the end I held to a bedpost and pulled on it to see if it would hold my weight. Good. I went to the desk and put a letter on it in my own handwriting. "Make sure this gets to General Archfiend and no one else." I swallowed. It was hard to call the man who raised me by such a formal name. Hope looked at me with sad eyes before nodding. I knew I could trust her.

I started down the window before hesitating and turning to Hope, "I'll miss you, kiddo." I said in my accent. One that I was forbidden to speak in ever since I came here. With that, I descended down the rope and into freedom.

I woke up suddenly from the strange dream. It had been as clear as day, almost like a memory. I watched as sunlight steamed into the bedroom, giving it more warmth than usual. I got out of bed and dressed in my new cloths. The blouse was a bit low-cut, but didn't show anything and was loose enough for me to feel comfortable. It was also black with blue dragon wings on the back. Every since I had gotten these cloths I had decided that blue was my favorite color. The sleeves were pinched a bit at the tips, but other than that they were loose and comfortable. The pants went to my knees but they covered my curved nicely and were easy to walk around in.

I smiled before walking in the kitchen and making breakfast. Yusei had taught me how to make everything, but for some reason it felt like I was just re-learning it. Either way, it was fun to cook with him. I made scrambled eggs, some bacon and toast. A glass of milk completed the meal and I happily ate it all.

I normally went outside when I had nothing to do. Yusei had given me a key to the apartment, making me feel ever more at home then he already had. But I felt abnormally tired today and I wanted to think over the dream I just had. It hadn't been a nightmare, which confused me, but it wasn't exactly pleasant, either.

I went over to the movie collection that Yusei had and looked through them. One day I had painfully found out that I hated scary movies. It took Yusei an hour to convince me that the things that happened in 'Saw' weren't real and that he would never let that happen to me. After I had seen 'Chucky' though, I couldn't look at dolls the same for days.

I looked through and found one that I hadn't seen yet. 'Mulan', it sounded good, and it was a cartoon so it probably wasn't scary. After about ten minutes into the movie, I couldn't tear my eyes away. I knew that this would probably end up being one of my favorites.

Me: I really hate scary movies.

Friend: Wimp.

Me: WHAT WAS THAT BITCH?

Friend: YOU HEARD ME SHRIMP!

Me: FLAT-CHESTED!

Friend: PREP!

Me: . . . . that was low . . . .