Chapter 3: A New Friend

"Please, wake up! Lady Arden of the City of Miami, of Midgard, you must awaken! Your people are worried for your sake!"

Arden groaned, waving her hand.

"Geez, enough! I'm awake! Who's making all that noise, anyways-BY ALL THAT'S GOOD, WHY IS THERE AN ARMORED GHOST WITH A HAMMER IN MY ROOM?!" She screeched, backing up against the hospital bed. Said ghost chuckled a bit, and sat next to her.

"Surely you have not forgotten the events of the last time you were awake, Lady Arden, have you?" He asked. She raised an eyebrow, and then looked at the band around her wrist. She sighed.

"Right… that creepy guy… this band… the pain in my left eye… and that new card… He wouldn't stop calling me 'The Sapphire'." She said, a bit of wonder and somberness in her tone. She pulled out said card.

"The Sapphire… How odd. Not to mention this band, the rune on your eye, and you gaining the ability to call upon me in battle."

She looked up at the spirit in front of her. She looked in a mirror, and initially didn't see anything. Determined to get answers, she focused as hard as she could, and for a moment, she saw a blue line with a triangle in the center, glowing in her eye. She closed her eyes for a moment, and sighed.

"A rune, huh? That kind of thing is almost unheard of nowadays. Thank God it doesn't show unless I find a way to make it appear." Arden said, the gratefulness evident in her tone. She pulled out the card that she remembers creating during the Duel.

"Clearly, that man wants something with us. Whether it is good or bad, I cannot tell."

"And that's all I can really tell about him, Thor. He wants something with us… and he obviously knows more than he lets on. He's obsessed with some sort of 'Emerald' and 'Ruby' too. Since he called me 'Sapphire', I bet they're going to be two other Duelists."

Thor nodded in agreement.

"It would make the most sense. But the question then becomes… who will they be, and how will he know that it is them?" Thor asked.

"I don't know. But I'm the Queen of Miami's Riding Duel Circuit. I can at least try to watch over the other Riding Duelists here and see if the other two are here. If Neo Domino City's proved anything, people who share powerful fates like that tend to be in the same area."

"A good Queen watches over her subjects. I will aid you as best I can, my friend." Thor promised, before fading. Arden sighed, and put his card back away in her Deck case. She soon heard a knock at the door. It was soon opened, revealing the doctor charged with treating her- a gentle-looking woman with soft blue eyes and light brown hair.

"I never thought I'd see you get this beat up in a Duel of any kind, let alone a Riding Duel, Arden." She said. Arden chuckled softly.

"Neither did I, Jen, but the bastard was unlike anyone I've ever faced before. He used cards I knew all too well, but he was good. It's rare for people like him to exist." Arden admitted. Jen smiled.

"Well, you're recovering quite well… in fact… you're recovering at superhuman speed, Arden." She told Arden. The latter's eyes widened.

"What?"

"Something happened during that Duel. When the surgery team operated on you, they couldn't do anything. The band on your arm can't be removed. It electrocuted anyone who tried, and it's clearly fused with your skin… almost like someone cast it on your arm."

Arden was horrified. Even when she was sedated for a surgery, whatever powers she had would act of their own accord? And the band really was fused with her arm?

"Even someone as strong as you, Arden…. I can tell you're scared of this. The mark on your eye wasn't much different. Though we were able to stitch other wounds closed, it wouldn't let us get near your eye. It would glow, and shock anyone who tried. Nonetheless, the wound closed and healed on its own… and your other injuries healed so fast, I couldn't believe it. All we have to do is take out the stitches and you're going to be discharged." Jen said, trying to be as kind as possible, taking Arden's hand in her own.

"As much as I wanted to keep you here to figure out the changes to your body, the higher-ups insisted that there was no credible legal reason to keep you, and that your status as the Queen of Miami's Riding Duel Circuit came first. Honestly, I hate the politics that come with your profession, but I know how much you love to Duel. Just... be careful, Arden." She added softly. Arden nodded, and stood up.

"I will, Doc. I've got to get ready for the up-and-coming tournament, so this is goodbye for now." Arden said, smiling and leaving.

"Good luck out there!"

"Thanks!"

Arden left the hospital, mounting the Stormrider and revving the engine. Since she was the Queen of Miami's Riding Duel Circuit, she was indeed quite rich, and that meant her D-Wheel had been fixed rather quickly. Now in perfect condition, she sped off towards her home, arriving peacefully.

She walked into her apartment, and sat down on the couch. She saw the moon's reflection in the sapphire gem embedded into her arm, and then gazed out to the moon itself. She sighed heavily, and Thor materialized again.

"You seem troubled, milady." He said calmly.

"I've got a bad feeling about what it means to be this 'Sapphire' that creepy guy talked about." Arden began, getting up and walking out onto the balcony. Thor followed her.

"Hmm.. Yes, he was odd, and constantly insisted on calling you by that title…" Thor mused.

"Yea, and then I conjure you out of nowhere… not to mention the rune on my eye or this weird band…" Arden added.

"There is so little we know, and that is not good." Thor continued. Arden looked out over the city.

"I'm the Queen of Miami's Riding Duel Circuit. It's my duty to remain calm no matter what, keep on smiling, motivate all of Miami's Riding Duelists to strive for the best, represent my city, and protect them. Now that I know he exists… I have to find him and figure out who he is. If he threatens the city, I'll likely have no choice but to crush him again and have him arrested." She said to no one in particular.

"Any good ruler, be they an emperor, empress, queen, king, or whatever they may be, would look out for their people. You are a good Queen, looking out and caring so deeply for her subjects." Thor praised. Arden chuckled.

"The title of 'Queen of Riding Duels' really is just a title, Thor. It just means I've won the Championship Tournament and never lost in a situation where my title would be on the line. Still, I can't turn a blind eye to this. Many of the Riding Duelists in this city are really young, and look up to me as an idol figure or something like that. And it's not just the Riding Duelists-regular Duelists look up to me too. I'm going to have a lot of pressure on me if words gets out about this guy." She admitted, leaning on the railing. Thor placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I will aid you as best I can, rest assured, Queen Thracia." Thor assured. Arden laughed a bit.

"Just call me Arden, Thor. That 'Queen' stuff really only comes up when I have to be a pretty face for the general public." She said. Thor smiled.

"Then I will do just that, Arden." He said, just before fading. Arden sighed again, and prepared for bed, crawling in for the night. Unknown to her, a mysterious figure sat perched on the roof of the Riding Duel Arena. The moonlight cast over its face revealed a devilish, sly smirk on a female face.

"Everyone's asleep… It's time to begin…" She said quietly, leaping from the rooftop…