AN: Oh gosh! You know what? I didn't plan on updating this story SO soon. But today I wanted to write a little for it and ended up with finishing it completely. xD
Well then, enjoy! Don't forget to review :-)
CHAPTER XI
The Conference - Part II
The ballroom of the Marriott Hotel was breathtaking. Its walls were painted in a golden shade and LED lights gave the whole room and its egyptian style an extra dimension. It was large enough for about two hundred guests. Countless round tables were decorated with outstanding floral centrepieces with typical egyptian flowers, golden leafs and white feathers, which gave the whole thing an Art Deco look. Luxurious chandeliers made from Swarovski stones illuminated the ballroom with a dim, warm light. I immediately fell in love with the golden baroque chairs and their ivory upholstery. Each table was laid for about 10 people.
As we walked in I tried my best to push the thought aside that we weren't even meant to be here. The waiter couldn't find us on the guest list - of course he couldn't. But that was an easy task to solve with the power of the millennium rod. All he needed was a charming smirk and a little snip with his piano thin fingers.
My eyes scanned the whole ballroom, they drifted from face to face and every woman with black hair and blue ices got special attention from me. Ishizu was here and I couldn't wait to see her. My arm was tightly wrapped around Marik's when we walked through the ballroom to our table, Odion followed right behind us. Seeing him in a suit and bow tie was so unusual, he looked even bulkier in it.
Marik attracted the attention of literally every female being in the ballroom. His platinum hair, tanned skin, violet eyes and masculine face packed into a super fine suit was of course a striking sight. He wore that amused smirk on his lips and I knew that he knew that he was looking good.
We arrived our table and Marik pulled out the chair for me like a gentleman. That of course felt a little awkward after our little argument two weeks ago and he acted like nothing had ever happened. But maybe I was just making mountains out of molehills. He then sat down right beside me on my left and Odion beside him. I immediately grabbed for the menu card to see what was going to be served today. I was literally already starving to death.
"Miss, would you like a glass of red or white wine?" A polite server came. His smile and teeth could make a fortune in a toothpaste commercial. I smiled up at him and wanted to ask for white wine, but before my mouth was able to form the first word Marik cut me off.
"Mrs." Marik corrected him dryly and shot him an angry glance with his piercing eyes. The happy smile of the server vanished from his face within a second. I looked at him with an arched brow.
"I'm sorry, Mr." He excused apologised. Then his attention came back to me with a forced smile. "Mrs, would you like some red or white wine?" He asked again and out special emphasis to the Mrs. After he served all of us he disappeared into the crowd. Marik had done it again. He needed to let everyone know that I was his. 'Would be great if you'd also treat me like that…' I thought to myself.
A man in a deep burgundy suit played on a snow white piano in one corner of the ballroom and the melody was like balsam to my soul. While I nibbled on my glass of white wine my gaze wandered through the ballroom again, but I couldn't fine Ishizu in the crowd and I became impatient.
"Master Marik, your commands?" Odion whispered and leant a little closer to Marik.
"First of all we have to wait until dinner is over and the social part starts. Pegasus will hold an opining speech and presentation of that new egyptian inspired card collection and announce my sister as a special guest. As soon as the main part has ended we try to separate my sister from her bodyguards. If my precious sister isn't willing to give me exact location of the god cards then I will have to do it my way." Marik explained and focused on the glass of red wine in his hands as his thin fingers stroked along the edge of it.
I blinked at him in surprise. Did he really plan on hurting his own flesh and blood to get the information he wants? And to top it all he made me a part of it. "B-but Marik… we can't…"
"We will. I won't let her hinder me on fulfilling my ancient destiny just because she's too stubborn to realise that this so-called pharaoh won't ever come back. Besides that he doesn't deserve that power… he killed my father. He's a murderer, nothing else." He cut me off and gave me a stern glance. With those words spoken I knew it would be better to say nothing more.
In the meantime everybody found their seats and waited for the show to begin. The light dimmed down until it was almost completely dark in the ballroom. Only the flickering light of the candles on each table illuminated the room. Then the lights on the stage at the far end of the ballroom came to life and music started to play. A grey haired man in a red suit appeared on the stage and then the audience freaked out. I've never heard such a loud applause before. Besides that it was very exciting to see Pegasus, the man who invented Duel Monsters, live and in person. So I also clapped my hands in excitement.
"Thank you! Thank you!" Pegasus said into the microphone and waved his hand to the audience. "Thank you all for coming here and I'm looking forward to a very special evening. First of all I want to say thank you to all of my partners and investors who made this possible. Thanks to you Duel Monsters became the most popular card game in history and the amount of cards is growing with every year. Today I'm proud to announce a very special release of new cards that are inspired by the beauty and mystery of the culture of ancient Egypt. But before I will present them to all of you I like to introduce you to the woman who helped us with her knowledge, expertise and assisted us in design such as research. Without her this new release wouldn't have been possible. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Miss Ishizu Ishtar!"
The audience applauded when Ishizu stepped onto the stage and shook hands with Pegasus. My heart skipped a beat in happiness when I saw her. She wore her hair the way she always did, sleek and perfectly cut straight. She was dressed in a silver, straight falling gown with an egyptian touch.
The applause fell silent when she approached the microphone. "Thank you all and thanks to you, Mr. Maximillion Pegasus for welcoming me tonight as your special guest. I also want to thank you for trusting me. It was a honour to collaborate with Industrial Illusions and to create this beautiful collection of cards with egyptian history. But I don't want to talk too much, because you all are waiting for what Mr. Pegasus has in stow for you. Thanks again and I wish you all a wonderful evening." Her piercing blue eyes wandered over the audience and finally they locked with Marik's… and then mine. She didn't look surprised at all. It was obvious that her millennium necklace told her about our attendance long beforehand. Marik's hands balled into fists on the table when he stared back at her with an icy gaze and I saw how also Ishizu's eyes narrowed at him slightly. All I wanted to do was to stand up, run to her and hug her for hours. I had missed her so much. But I knew I couldn't. With that she stepped away from the microphone, shook hands again with Pegasus and left the stage. Then she took a seat on one of the tables in the front row.
A growl left Marik's throat and his hands trembled in anger. I let out a sigh and took a sip of the white wine.
Pegasus took the microphone to proceed with the presentation. Mentally I prayed that this wouldn't take too long, although it might be interesting. He announced a bunch of new cards for the game, all of them were literal masterpieces. Especially Gravekeeper's Visualist and Gravekeeper's Headman caught my attention. The new cards were mainly Gravekeeper inspired monsters, such as a few spell and trap cards. Combined in a theme deck they could be very powerful. Ishizu really did an amazing job with Pegasus. I liked their design and the idea behind it.
"How could she even dare…" Marik growled under his breath beside me.
"What do you mean, Marik..?" I asked silently and leant a little closer to him to hear him better.
"She used our family's history to create these cards with Pegasus. That's pure blasphemy…" He answered with his eyes narrowed to slits as he watched the presentation on the beamer.
I knew that there was nothing I could say to make him change his opinion about the new cards. I also knew that there was nothing he or I could do to change things as they were. He had to deal with it and right now it was better to just leave him to his anger. Otherwise it would end up in a 'atomic plant on two legs´-scene again.
When the presentation was over the audience gave a standing ovation and loud applause. The new cards were already a big success for Industrial Illusions. After Pegasus left the stage they immediately started with the first course of the gala dinner. It was delicious, every course of them was perfect. But all I could think of was Ishizu and how I could approach her without Marik's knowing. I also spotted Seto Kaiba on one of the front tables. He was known as one of the worlds best duelists and was the CEO of an international gaming corporation. Besides that I've heard that he was quite bold and arrogant.
After the empty dessert plates were cleared away from the tables Marik stood up and offered me his hand elegantly. "Come." He said in a stern, but charming tone. I looked up at him and hesitated. "Let's have a dance."
I accepted his offer and let him help me up. "Uhm… I'm not sure if I can dance in this dress." I said worryingly. Besides that I already felt how the alcohol made me a bit dizzy.
"I will lead you. Just do what I do, but I need to get a better impression of the ballroom and need to take a closer look at the exits." Marik said when he led me to the dance floor. Again my lips formed into a thin line of dismay. Of course he didn't only want to dance with me, he wanted to check everything for his plan. I sighed. His hand was wrapped around mine all the way to the dance floor and my cheeks blushed from his touch.
I didn't really know how to dance - I barely knew how a Waltzer worked. Marik positioned me and rested his hand on my waist and then he pulled me closer to his chest until there was no space that separated our bodies. I felt how my cheeks started to burn and I couldn't control it. Then he started to move and pushed me softly back, to the side, back and forth along with the music.
While we danced Marik scanned all corners of the ballroom carefully over my shoulder. What was going on in his mind right now? I glanced up at him and watched him while we danced. My cheeks were burning and I enjoyed how his touch and how close we were…again.
"I'm not mad at you." He said eventually and his eyes then locked with mine. I blinked up at him in surprise.
"You're not?" I questioned back in case my ears had just failed me. He nodded slightly.
"No. You just care too much, Jesara. But you should start to focus on the important things. I want you to do this with me - together. Like you promised me back then." Marik said softly and pulled me closer once more. I felt his hand wandering up my back and a wonderful shiver shot down my spine. Maybe he was right. I never really liked Carter much, but I was still sorry for what happened to him. But Marik had stopped to care. He just cared about his 'mission'… and me. Obviously.
"I will. Always. As I promised you." I whispered back as he lead me through the slow Walzer to the slow piano cover of 'You Are The Reason' by Calum Scott and Leona Lewis. And again I lost myself in his lavender irises that glanced down at me with intensity.
Suddenly he stopped the dance to lean down to me slowly. I knew what he was about to do. "B-but here? What about…?" I asked under my breath when our lips were just an inch away from each other.
"I know that you told him. And honestly… I really don't care about that right now." Marik answered and then laid his mouth on mine. My lips welcomed his touch and I kissed him back. It didn't last long, but I enjoyed every second of it.
Suddenly his mood changed from happy to pissed. A growl left his throat when his eyes wandered through the ballroom. "Damn it. We lost her."
I cocked a brow at him. "What do you mean?" I questioned.
"Ishizu. She's gone. Odion observed her and her bodyguards. She's been here just a second ago and now she's freaking gone." Marik sweared with narrowed eyes. "Jesara, I need you to help me now. I know it's hard for you because you love her, but I need you to help me find her."
Everything in me hated the idea, but after a moment I nodded slightly. "O-okay…" I knew Marik wouldn't have accepted a 'no' from me. We separated from each other and decided to look for her in different spots. Odion looked for her in the outside the ballroom and lobby, Marik and me checked we ballroom separately.
I came across the bar and took a closer look at every black haired woman that crossed my way. But I didn't find her. Then I decided to check the stage area; maybe there was another exit right behind it. But there was just nothing more than cables and technical stuff.
Suddenly a door opened right beside me and a hand grabbed for my wrist and pulled me into what seemed like the backstage area. Another hand covered my mouth to prevent me from screaming or calling for Marik. I panicked, but then I looked straight into piercing blue eyes that were accentuated with pitch black eyeliner.
"Jesara." Ishizu said softly and removed her hand from my mouth. I almost broke out in tears of joy.
"Oh my god. Ishizu." I hugged her and buried my head in her neck. "I missed you so much."
Ishizu hugged me back. "I missed you too." She said in return and then took a step away to look me in the eyes. Her expression was stern and her hands rested on my shoulders. Ishizu's blue eyes looked straight into my soul. "Jesara. You need to come with me. Now."
I arched a brow at her. "B-but… No. I can't leave him…"
"It's serious, Jesara. Please. I can't let you stay with my brother any longer. It's not save." She urged and tightened her grip on my shoulders.
I had never seen her so desperate. "What's wrong? Marik is searching for you and he wants to get the informations about the whereabouts of the god cards from me… Come what may. If somebody has to get away from here and him it is you, Ishizu."
"Trust me, please. My millennium necklace showed me the future, you really should come with me." Ishizu explained insistently.
I shook my head. "No… Whatever the necklace showed you then you probably know that I…" I formed my palms into fists and nibbled on my bottom lip nervously. I've never confessed that to anyone nor even me, but the bare thought of leaving Marik made me panic. "I love him, Ishizu. I can't…"
Silence surrounded us for a second.
"Sister. Jesara." Marik interrupted us as he rounded the corner of the corridor. His expression was cold as ice. My gaze snapped back at him in shock. Odion stood right behind the sandy blonde.
"Marik." Ishizu greeted coldly. "I won't tell you where the god cards are and you know that."
He chuckled evilly and lifted the millennium rod to point it towards her. "Jesara, step beside." He commanded and locked eyes with me for a second. His expression said it all. He heard what I just said… Without any word I obeyed and took a few steps to the side. It broke my heart to betray Ishizu like that.
"As you wish, my precious sister. I hoped that we could work this out without using the millennium rod, but you leave me no choice." Marik proclaimed and suddenly the millennium rod started to shine bright.
The light blinded me. I screamed and begged him to stop, but all I could see was white…nothing but white. "Marik! No!"
When the blinding light faded I cautiously opened my eyes. I was scared about what might had happened to her. When my eyes adjusted to the normal light again I realised that Ishizu was gone. She was nowhere to be seen. Simply gone without a trace.
All I saw were two piercing lavender irises staring at me like daggers.
AN: Hope you enjoyed it! And now: Review!