Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Wake Not The Guardian ❯ Soul Guardian ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6 - Soul Guardian

The next day, they were off school, and to their dismay it was raining. Joey, Tristan and Yugi were off exploring the house for more passageways, and Mai had come to keep Téa company.

" Have you been upstairs, yet?" Mai asked Téa.

" What do you mean?" she said, still facing the window, absently staring at the dullness of outside.

" You have a loft, right?"

" You mean you want to go have a look?"

Mai nodded. " Sure. The boys wouldn't disturb us."

" Um…okay…but we don't know where the entrance is."

" It's probably hidden in a store cupboard somewhere."

Mai and Téa finally found the entrance to the loft - a thin, spiralling staircase, which creaked with every step hidden in the back of the cupboard containing candles. The candles had been stacked up in front so as to hide the stairs, as if the previous owners didn't want them to find the loft.

They were greeted with darkness, and Mai switched the torch on that she had found. " It's really depressing in here," she murmured, not wanting to disturb the stillness. Téa didn't reply, instead moving forwards to a stack of large, ornate boxes in the middle of the small room.

" It's small for this size house," Mai tried again. Téa simply nodded, pulling the lid off the top one.

" Oh, wow…" she breathed. " Mai - look!"

Mai moved forward, and found herself gazing at an amazing array of jewellery, all related to Egypt. There were scarab beetles, ankhs, hieroglyphs and carved beads, all attached to necklaces, bracelets, anklets and headbands. Téa looked at the lid, and noticed a small leather-bound book taped to the inside.

" Here, look at this." She pulled it carefully away, and opened it. The pages were yellowed, showing the age of the book. The pages were covered in Egyptian symbols and translations, and there was a note at the front of the book.

" `To those who find my treasure trove'," Téa read, " 'please, keep these safe. You are now the owner of my discoveries and are free to do with them what you wish. These boxes contain something magical, something beyond my understanding. I am leaving them here, hidden away until someone worthy enough finds them. I know you who reads this are worthy, as these objects would not choose to lead anyone else to them. They are your destiny. Take the objects that are drawn to you, and leave everything else. There will be a time and a place for decisions related to them, and you are in control. You will know the right time. Be careful.'"

" There's no name," Mai stated. " What does it all mean?"

Téa shrugged, putting the notebook aside and reaching for another box. Suddenly, a certain piece of the jewellery caught her attention, and she stopped. Lifting it out from among the rest, she realized she was holding a choker, with simple black cord and a small golden eye as the pendant. " It's the Millennium Eye," she gasped.

Mai looked startled. " Let's try another box."

Téa slid the choker round her neck and fastened it, relishing the coolness where the pendant touched her flesh.

The next box contained clothes from Egypt, and the next just had hieroglyphs carved inside. The last contained a small packet, and Téa raised it out of the box.

" Open it," Mai urged. Téa slipped the packet away from the contents. Into her hand fell a pack of duelling cards, with another note on a small piece of paper.

" `These cards are hand painted, with one-of-a-kind magicians, witches, fairies, goddesses, etc. They are the only ones that exist. Take good care of them.'" Téa read.

Mai's eyes were wide. " Have a look a them."

Téa turned a few over. True to the note, there were fairies, goddesses, witches and magicians. Each card had the name of the figure written underneath. But the one that Téa was drawn to was an elaborate painting of a woman looking down, holding a ball of light in her hands. Her wings stretched out to the edge of the card, and there was a distinctive line down the middle, one side drawn in whites and golds, the other in deep blacks, purples and blues. " The Soul Guardian," Téa murmured.

" Is she supposed to guard your soul?" Mai whispered.

Téa suddenly felt very cold. " Mai, these are original Egyptian duelling cards. What am I supposed to do with them?"

" Keep them. They're yours - you saw the note."

" But they're so old - what if they get damaged?"

" I don't think they will, Téa. They're magical. I can feel it."

Téa shivered. " Is it me, or is it cold in here?"

Mai got up. " Let's go. Leave everything here; we can come up later with the others."

Yugi knelt down by Téa's side. Everyone crowded around them, listening and watching.

" It looks authentic enough," he said. " Yami might know about it."

Téa waited until Yami appeared, then handed him the notebook. " What can you make of it?"

Tristan and Joey sat down on the floor; Grandpa had found a chair and sat down in it.

" It looks like a normal workbook. Someone - whoever found all this - wrote all the translations in here. It is not that old - probably a few hundred years, most likely less. But these objects; these are the real treasures. They are from Egypt during my reign."

Yami passed the notebook to Grandpa, then sorted through the boxes. " All these are items that belonged to the people in my court. But why are they here?"

" That's what we want to know," Joey replied.

Téa handed Yami the duelling cards. " What about these? Do you recognise them?"

Yami turned them over, a strange, serene look crossing his face. " I wondered where these had gone. These are mine, Téa. I was the one who made them, and individually hand-painted each of them."

Everyone looked shocked.

" I knew that someone in the future would find them, but I had no idea it would be someone so close to me, and that I would even be alive." He handed them back to her.

" Keep them, Téa. They're yours now."

" Yami, I couldn't take them. They belong to you."

" No, Téa. I painted them for someone who would need them. You are that person. If anything happens, they can protect you, far more than any of us could. I see you have already chosen you talisman," he nodded at the choker she wore around her throat. Self-consciously, she touched the pendant.

" Will it protect me too?"

Yami nodded. " Everything here is enchanted with some very powerful magic, woven by an old magician who I did a favour for once."

" You knew magicians?" Mai piped up.

Yami smiled. " There is a lot you do not know about me, and a lot I do not. One day we both will find out about my past."

" So I'm being protected by five thousand year-old magic?" Téa said.

Yami nodded. " That is right."

" So what happens now?" Tristan asked. " What do we do with it?"

" I guess we just keep it up here, apart from the items Téa wishes to keep," Grandpa said.

" It's getting late. We should go down now," Joey added.

They got up, and Mai led the way, holding her torch.

Téa was last, and just before she reached the top of the stairway, she suddenly felt a presence. Turning round, she flashed her torch into each corner of the room, but nothing was there.

" Téa?" came Yami's voice. He came up beside her. " What is it?"

She looked up at him. " I - I thought I heard something."

" There's no one here. Come on, let's get something warm to drink. It's cold up here."

Noticing she was shivering slightly, he slid his arm round her waist and gently led her to the stairs. She leant her head on his shoulder, and they walked down together.

Behind them, a pair of dark eyes stared at their retreating backs.

Tristan shifted onto his side, and stared at the curtains. He could hear Grandpa snoring in the next room, and for some reason he was restless. Something was going to happen, but he didn't know what.

Sighing, he got up and pulled the curtains apart slightly. There were shadows drifting in between the trees, and he couldn't distinguish the tree shadows from the suspicious ones. He closed the curtains again and slid out to get a drink of water. Passing Téa's room, he opened the door a crack and checked on her. She was lying on her side, breathing deeply and looking peaceful. At least she was safe for the moment, Tristan thought, noticing she was still wearing the choker loosely round her neck, and the pack of cards with the Soul Guardian on top was lying on the table next to her bed.

Tristan moved away, satisfied she wouldn't be going anywhere. He couldn't have known how wrong he was.

A shadow glided out from the closet, and approached Téa's sleeping form. The slitted eyes curved up in a menacing smile, and a dark hand reached out towards her, grasping the choker round her neck and pulling it away. The pendant fell unheeded to the floor.

Magic…a voice hissed, noticing the glow that came from the eye pendant. Chuckling, the hand reached into a pocket and pulled out a round object, turning it round so it faced Téa.

Téa… Téa…

She stirred, still half asleep.

Téa… Téa…

" Wha-?" She opened her eyes slowly, disorientated for a moment. Then she noticed the figure in front of her. " Yami?"

Téa…

She sat up. " What's going on?"

There was an evil chuckle, and she saw a bright glow of gold. Memories of her nightmares flashed through her mind, and she gasped. The glow brightened, and she felt a strange sense of peacefulness. She realized what was happening, and felt for the choker at her throat only to find it wasn't there. " The Millennium Eye!" she whispered, her hand feeling behind her for the one object left to protect her.

That's right…

" YAMI!" she screamed.

Then there was black.

Yami shot upright in bed. He knew that scream usually meant she had just woken up from a nightmare, but something was different this time. Téa had braved it and taken a sleep-aid before she retired for the night. So what was wrong?

He got up and ran to her room. Tristan was running up from the stairs, and Joey staggered out from his room.

" What's wrong?" he asked sleepily. Yami disappeared into Téa's room.

Suddenly there was a yell. Tristan and Joey ran in behind him.

" Téa! She's gone!"