Act I, Scene I
Once, in a time too ancient to be remembered by the modern human, there lived a young kingdom called the United Diamond Lands. It had once been a series of minor kingdoms, but the ruler, at the start of their reign, had ruthlessly conquered them, slaying their royals and pilfering all of their gold and silver.
The ruler of these lands was a fiery little lady of the age of seventeen. Some might have once called the Queen beautiful; indeed, everyone in the kingdom had to admit that, with that dark red hair, purple eyes flecked with pearl, creamy white skin, and considerable height, she was quite the looker. These traits were long paled since the Queen ascended the throne.
The Queen was selfish, vain, cruel, and unbelievably self-centered. Many even doubted her sanity. She was harsh to her loyal servants, and enslaved most of the lands to do her dirty work. The entire kingdom was in poverty, and there was rarely enough food for anyone. Life was unbearable for all but the Queen, who was surrounded by most of the kingdom's wealth and servants who would wait on her hand and foot, day and night.
The kingdom had reached the last straw. Their army was abused, their countrymen enslaved, and their homes lay in decimated ruins. They had sworn that, one day, they would deliver to the Queen their vengeance.
And, lo and behold, that day was coming very, very soon.
Emilia finally stood and wiped at the layers of grime that constantly coated her forehead. She stepped back, trying to see if the statue she had been ordered to clean had no further specks. If it did, she would get no dinner.
The statue gleamed in the sunlight, a new craft from the Queen's friend overseas. As always, it detailed Her Royal And All Powerful Majesty The Queen with the most beautiful clothes, and in the most vivid of colors. The Queen loved any pretty thing, which necessitated a great many statues of herself to be erected all around her kingdom, since she was the self-proclaimed "jewel of the kingdom."
Every time she said those words, Emilia wanted to gag.
Satisfied that her work was done, she gathered up the tools that had littered the palace courtyard for the past hour. Normally, Emilia greatly cherished any time alone in the courtyard. The most beautiful flowers often climbed the walls, drawing many small woodland creatures, and the five fountains that circled the center danced in daylight, sending shimmering rainbows overhead. It was peaceful, something scarce in the kingdom nowadays.
But today was no ordinary day. The Queen was coming home from her visit to one of the neighboring kingdoms.
Emilia scurried through her sanctuary, straining her ears to listen for the sound of an approaching horse. If the Queen caught her here, then she would get no dinner for the rest of the month!
There was no baying of horses, though, and Emilia sighed in relief. She opened the servant's doorway and headed down the damp, narrow passageway to the shed where most of the tools had been shoved, in an effort to appease the Queen's wishes for no "dirty servant materials" to litter the castle.
Putting her things in an empty corner, Emilia stood up, and caught her reflection in a looking glass used for searching for dust. Her long indigo hair, which hung to her waist, was matted and glued together by sweat and dirt. Her pale skin was sickly and tinged gray from dust, and her gray, blue -flecked eyes looked dead and void.
Emilia sighed. She needed a bath. Perhaps the Queen, upon seeing the statue, would let her.
Trumpets badly out of tune screeched out front, causing Emilia to jump. "Oh, darn." She gasped, hurtling back the way she had come. "I cannot be late!"
She bolted out the opening and joined the ranks of servants who had spilled out of the castle at the blaring of the pitchy instruments. The crowd peered in the direction of the large golden doors, not so eagerly awaiting the return of the Queen.
Finally the doors cracked open, admitting a tall boy with dark, flushed skin and brown curly hair. He marched to the right of the large golden doors and called out in a loud voice: "Fellow servants of the castle of the United Diamond Kingdom! I present to thee, our shining jewel, our pride and joy, the One Who Is Most Beautiful And Merciful, She Who Holds The Titles Of Fairest In The World, Shining Goddess Of Radiance, A-"
While he was prattling on, a pair of guards came up and began to pry open the heavy golden doors.
"-She Who Is Of The League Of Our Gods, The Proud Daughter Of The Late King WAAAUUUUGGHH!"
The guards had succeeded in opening the doors, and they came crashing open, smacking the poor boy in the stomach and sending him tumbling into the ground.
Emilia hid her smirk in her hands. 'Oh, poor Billy.' She thought, struggling to keep from giggling.
The fanfare started up again, accompanying an iron-wrought carriage through the entrance. A legion of knights trotted in formation behind the carriage.
The knights all lined up as the carriage stopped just in front of the twin staircases that led to the castle's main entrance, dubbed the "Front Door" by the servants. Everyone stood to attention as the red carpet was unrolled and the cages of turtle doves set into position on either side.
On the other side of the crowd, Billy raised his head. "The Queen of The United Diamond Lands, Queen Anna Maria Adelaide Melissa III!" He shouted, before falling, unconscious, back to the ground.
The carriage doors opened and the doves were released, hailing the entrance of the Queen.
"Hello, my loyal subjects!" Came the high-pitched trill of Queen Anna. She was in an enormous gown she probably got from a new admirer. Her face was dolled up to the point where she resembled a tiny, porcelain doll. Her eyes held what might have resembled kindness, but nary a one single soul in the crowd were fooled. They knew she was wondering who had messed up what chore, and who had been good.
"Now, my dears, I have an announcement to make!" Queen Anna squealed, standing on the steps of the carriage to accentuate her height.
"I, your beloved Queen, met a wealthy, young, strikingly handsome King whilst overseas. The wonderful man pulled a few strings, and in but a few short weeks, we are to be wed! My subjects, you are very soon to have a king!"
There was silence for exactly three milliseconds. Then the captive audience of bedraggled servants cheered like there was no tomorrow, and Emilia along with them.
"A new ruler in the kingdom?" Emilia murmured, her spirits soaring higher than the Queen's ego. A King in the land could pull the kingdom out of poverty! Rebuild it to the former splendor it once was! Maybe even end slavery!
It was pointless to hope like this. Emilia knew for a fact that their Queen was overbearing, petulant, entitled, and everything in between, and she drove suitors away on a daily basis. And, remembering their deal, it was more than likely that she would chase off this one, too.
But for now, Emilia would believe that there was hope for her people.
"Emmy! Emmy, Emmy, Emmy! EMMY!"
"EEEEEEK!"
Emilia squealed as a strong pair of arms clamped around her from behind, forcing her to drop the knife and the potato she had been peeling.
The person spun her around. "Can you believe it?" Billy squeaked. "Well, Emmy? Huh? Can you, can you, can you? HUH, HUH, HUH?!"
Emilia had to smirk. Even when mildly concussed, Billy had the personality of a bouncy puppy.
"Okay, Billy! I, as well as the rest of the kingdom, heard you." Emilia laughed. "And no, I cannot believe it! A new ruler!"
"Woohooo! There may be hope for us yet!" Billy crowed, dancing around the tiny, abandoned kitchen that Emilia slept in. She watched him celebrate, giving a mental sigh of defeat. 'Oh, Billy. I wish you would stop hoping. Then maybe your heart will not break as hard after.' Emilia sadly thought.
A timid knock sounded on the door. Immediately, Billy screeched to a halt and stood to attention. Emilia kicked the pile of blankets she had pilfered to sleep on out of sight before copying Billy's actions. "Come in." She called formally.
The door creaked open, admitting a tall willowy girl with gossamer, light-blue hair, and storm cloud gray eyes. She was dressed in soft skirts often seen worn by peasants, and was the image of innocence. The only thing that ruined this image was the diamond sword that hung in a scabbard at her waist, a symbol of a knight of the royal court.
"CORDELIA!"
Emilia and Billy simultaneously cried out, wrapping their childhood friend in a hug.
Cordelia laughed. "Good to see you too!"
The three friends let go of each other and laughed. It had been so long since they had last seen one another!
"Hey, Em! How are you?" Cordelia asked. "The wicked witch of the west been good to you?"
"Is she ever good to anyone?" Emilia retorted, and the two girls shrieked with their impersonations of the Queen's ridiculous, bubbling laughter.
"Billy, my man! How are you? How's your head?" Cordelia said, indicating the bandage covering Billy's head.
"Could be worse." Billy said. "The hallucinations wore off an hour ago!"
"And you bounced back this quickly?" Cordelia chuckled fondly. "You always did have a thick skull."
"And how have you been, Delia?" Emilia asked. "Oh fine!" Cordelia replied. She launched into a tale of her travels as the princess' honor guard, both of the women ignoring Billy's indignant muttering.
"So, have you met the future King?" Billy pried. "Well, Dels? Have you, have you, HAVE YOU?"
Cordelia laughed. "Yes, I have met the future King! And he is quite wonderful to his kingdom. Although, in court, I daresay he is quite crazy! Heavens, the man thinks that in the future, there will be these things made of metal and powered by steam that do not require any horses!"
Emilia giggled, trying to ignore the pangs of guilt in her heart. "He is perfect for our Queen!"
Suddenly, Cordelia turned to Emilia, all businesslike. "Em, I actually came on the Queen's orders. She's sent for you."
Emilia fought back a groan of exasperation. "Why does she want to see me at this ungodly hour of the night?"
"She wouldn't say." Cordelia mumbled, staring at the ground.
Emilia nodded and threw open the door to her room, wondering what the Queen of Insanity wanted from her now.
Emilia entered the Queen's room unbidden, having gotten no response when she knocked. The girl threw up her hand to shield up her eyes from the numerous mirrors and precious metals that were thrown carelessly around the room, which threw blinding fragments of light into the eyes of the unprepared.
When her eyes had grown accustomed to the overall shine of the room, she began to navigate her way through the enormous piles of precious gems, metals, mirrors, dresses, shoes, and everything else that the Queen insisted were there for décor, and would not allow any of the servants to clean.
The only reason they obeyed was because of their secret hope that the Queen would get lost in there and never be seen again.
Finally breaking free of the Maze of Absolute Gorgeous Death (the servants prided themselves on their creative word choice), Emilia reached the washroom, where high-pitched squeals had been emanating. Emilia guessed it was the middle of the Queen's ten o'clock beauty session.
"Come in!" A pitchy voice wailed.
Emilia winced before obeying. She entered the washroom to find the Queen, in her nightclothes and sobbing by the washing basin.
"My Queen?" Emilia asked, cautiously approaching the wailing, spoiled girl. "What is of issue?"
"OH, IT IS A DISASTER!" Queen Anna shrieked, flinging her arms up in the air. "There will be a royal ball in a week to announce my engagement to the King of the Sparrow's Isles, and my own filthy, vile servants insist on dishonoring me by stealing my finest broaches and then LYING ABOUT IT LIKE THE STUPID COMMONERS THEY ARE!"
Emilia bit her lip to keep from shrieking right back at her.
"Your Graciousness, we should not jump to conclusions so quickly! Perhaps they are still being shined!" 'Or, maybe lost in your trashy room with about five thousand other stupid objects you blamed us for?' Emilia mentally added.
"No, no no. It is very clear to me what is going on here." Queen Anna sniffed. "The servants hate me! They do not like me at all! EVERYONE HATES ME!"
And with that, the Queen buried her head in her hands and began to sob with harsh, babyish wails.
Emilia mentally kicked herself. Why had she not calmed Anna down sooner?! This could only mean one thing.
"I must simply have them all hanged! Then I will hire servants more-"
"I will work off their debt until the wedding!"
Queen Anna ceased her fit and looked up. "Huh?"
Emilia gave the speech she had had to give a million times. "I will vouch for them, and work off their debts until my most Humble and Beautiful Queen is wed."
Emilia winced in regret as soon as she heard the words fly out of her mouth. It was just a wretched test of the Queen to ensure Emilia's loyalty, and to see if Emilia would object! All Anna wanted was to have less mouths to have to feed! That was all!
"Oh, thank you, my sweet Emmy!" Anna crowed. "It is so nice that I have at least ONE friend in this place!"
Anna leaned forward in a sly manner. "But, my dear girl, don't think I have forgotten our deal. You may be getting a new King, but you nasty peasants shall not be getting back your kingdom! I will never let you take this hideous dump back to its former glory, you hear?"
"Yes, my Queen." Emilia whispered, lowering her head in misery.
"Good!" Anna squeaked, back to her usual personality: bubbly and ridiculously childish. "Now, you may have your dinner tonight, granted you finish your chores."
Emilia sighed. "Yes, my Queen."
Emilia ran through the hallways, fighting the urge to scream. It would not do to anger the Queen in her current state.
'None of this is fair.' Emilia thought as she entered her bedroom. 'That awful she-witch is positively horrifying! How dare she torture the servants with a promise of hope, when all she plans to do is take it away from them!'
Emilia sat on her pilfered pile of raggedy blankets and rested her head against the wall. A wave of sadness overcame her.
'Oh, Father. If only I could have been more like you.' Emilia thought with a sigh.
Then she reached for her half-peeled potato. She still had chores to do.
"Wow." Kotori stared at the stage. "Never in all of my years did I expect Vector, of all living beings, to have a soul like this! How about you, Yuma . . .Yuma?"
Yuma was sniffling into a tissue. "Oh, poor (sniff) Saichi! I can't (sniff) believe that lousy old Sei had to be so mean to her!" Yuma buried his face into the disgusting tissue and started to cry again.
"What a baby." Misael sniffed. "Well, I admit, Sei did a magnificent job acting like a crazy queen, and Saichi is portraying the servant girl rather spectacularly. This play is actually not so bad!"
"I personally liked Rio as that knight lady." Durbe said. "And I am rather impressed how Vector got Takashi to act like that!"
Alit was also in hysterics. "I-it was j-j-just so S-SAD-D!" He whimpered. Gilag patted his back reassuringly.
Kaito was deep in thought. "This story sounds familiar. Hmm . . ."
Disclaimer: YuGiOh! Zexal, as well as YuGiOh! itself, belong to Shin Yoshida and Kazuki Takahashi, respectively. This is the work of a crazed fan.
Thanks to Zexallover, Anonymous, and Guest for the reviews on Chapter One!
Drexal: Allow me to introduce Queen Anna, played by Sei, Cordelia, played by Rio, Billy, played by Takashi, and the lovely Emilia, played by Saichi. Hopefully this should clear up the responses of our good friends in the audience.
Tali: I have a feeling that a few people were expecting something completely nuts right off the bat. Do not fear, people, that is coming very, very soon! Particularly to a certain someone out in the audience!
Zexal: (chuckles) I cannot wait to see the look on their faces!
Drexal: I can! Tali-chan, I cannot believe you seriously want-mmmph!
Zexal: (covers Drexal's mouth) Tali-chan, anything else you want to add?
Tali: Actually, yes! Thank you to those awesome people out there who read and reviewed this! I was so happy when I read those reviews! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and the ones that follow! Please leave a review!