As if I can stop myself. This fic is just like my earlier fic "Scarlet eyes" inspired by a picture (not the painting I'll describe in this chappie). I felt I just had to write a story behind it. And here it is. I hope you'll enjoy it.
And as for you who're waiting for an update of"Daughter of the Devil" wait for a long time. I haven't even started with the last chapter.
Disclaimer:I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or the picture. Pretty obvious, huh?
The painting
"This is one of the few paintings that survived the war in the beginning of the seventeenth century. It is said that it was painted by the princess's younger sister Ryouko who admired her more than anything. There is a quotation, which is written on the painting's backside, written by someone called Kyoko who we guess was the princess's nurse."
The guide took a look at her papers to read the quotation.
The war was won but the price was too high to pay
Our beloved princess will fight no more
Her purity she kept all the way into death
Her innocence untainted
May her light forever shine upon our land
Kyoko
Yugi Atemu stared at the picture of the princess. She was a true beauty with a slim and catlike body. Her skin was pale and flawless and her dark hair framed her face, neck and shoulders perfectly. She was in profile on the painting, naked and leaning back in a perfect bow, her arms following her form. A deep green ribbon was swirling around her without touching the body, mostly there to hide her private areas. The background was a mist of light blue, pink and yellow.
The group continued the round till the last painting and then they said goodbye to the guide.
"Now, listen up class. You are now free to do what you want. You can go home if you like or stay here. I myself am going home. I hope you have chosen a picture to write about. See you all in class tomorrow."
Yami, Yugi's older brother, stretched and yawned. "This was the most boring afternoon ever. Don't you think Yugi?"
Yugi shook his head no, making his curly blond bangs, which gave a slight contrast to his otherwise black and blue hair, fall into his eyes. "You're the one who hate culture class, not me. This was actually quite interesting."
Yami groaned. "I can't believe you Yugi. Father wanted me to be a prototype for you. Geez, you're more of that than I'll ever be."
Amused chuckles from behind made the two brothers turn around. Bakura Kazuki, Yami's albino classmate and arch-enemy, was here too with his younger brother Ryou, who just happened to be best friend with Yugi.
"I'm impressed you showed up at all, loser," Bakura teased.
Ryou walked over to Yugi and the two of them left their older brothers to quarrel as mush as they wished. They had given up their tries to make them friends.
"I can't believe those two. I swear Bakura came here just so he could fight with Yami," Ryou said with a sigh.
"How come they are such enemies while you and I are the best of friends?" Yugi wondered.
Ryou just shook his head and sighed in defeat. He knew just as much as Yugi why the brothers of theirs hated each other.
They stopped in front of the painting of the princess, both deep in thoughts.
"You like it, young ones?" asked a voice from behind them.
The boys turned around to face a man with white hair and beard. His face was one of a man who had lived long and seen most of what mother earth had to show and what she tried to hide. His deep green eyes were sharp but gentle as he watched them with interest.
"It is a very beautiful painting," Ryou said softly and Yugi nodded in agreement.
The old man nodded and moved his gaze to the painting. "It seems impossible that there is so little written about this beautiful youth. I only know as much as I do because I have her sister Ryouko's dairy in my possession."
"You have? Then the painting is yours too I guess?" Yugi said more as a question than a statement.
"Yes, yes. I lent it to the museum because I thought it was important the battle was not forgotten. I am in fact related to the princess. Ryouko is my ancestress."
"But it's false," said a voice from behind.
The three turned to face Seto Kaiba, a classmate of Yami and Bakura.
"What do you mean: false?" the older man asked calmly to the younger ones' surprise.
"The ribbon was blue, not green," Seto said without taking his azure blue eyes from the painting.
"How can you be so sure about that?" the man asked.
Seto looked down at him, like he often had to do since he was very tall for his age. "It just… I just know."
The man just nodded, like he had been expecting the answer.
"You are more than right. The ribbon was the one that tied the princess's dress together at her back, and you are right when you stat it was originally blue. Where the original painting is no one knows. This one my grandmother painted before she died."
The man left with nothing more to say, not even a glimpse at the friends that had overheard.
Yugi looked back at the woman on the picture and once again disappeared in thought, as did Ryou. It was something with the painting that drove them all three to think of something they could not remember.
At the other side of the hall the owner of the painting looked back at them. "So… you are the reincarnation of the princess. I hope for you to bring me back the real painting," he whispered before he turned into a shadow.
There is the prologue. Tell me if you want to read the rest. BYW, this fic is an expirement so expect the unexpected.