Yana gave Kasanagi a longer dark red ribbon.
"There you go" she said.

"So ready to rehearse?" Yana asked, "We got about 3 hours before the first song you have to preform. And I can't believe that Bakura asked me to preform tomorrow after the final duel too."

"All I did was 2 songs and that's about it" Yana said, "By the way, have you noticed ever since mum cast the opposite spell, she has been acting really strangely?"

"Melhana keeping a close eye on her so we know what's going on" Yana said.

"I just hope so" Yana agreed.

---

Meanwhile, in the coldest part of the dungeon, the real Ashleigh finally woke up since that kidnapping.
Where the hell am I? she thought.
"HELLO?" she yelled.

Kaimiri was looking over one of the many ancient texts he had in his library when he heard the girl's yell over the surveillance system. "Well, it looks like our little fairy princess is awake." He said. He smirked. "It's only proper to pay her a visit."

With that he shut the leather-bound book and returned it to the shelf before heading to the dungeons. When he got there, he stood in front of the bars to Ashleigh's cell. "Good afternoon. I trust you're enjoying your stay." He said smoothly.

---

Selena groaned and swore as her alarm went off. Seven am?! Ugh...I fucking hate mornings. She thought as she pulled the blankets over her head and slammed on the alarm's snooze button. She'd been up all night practicing her piano piece for the closing of the tournament that night. Argh...I'm never doing a performance like this again. Ever.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" Ashleigh asked.

Kaimiri frowned. "Well, you're quite straightforward." He said. He leaned forward. "I'll tell you part of the plan. My name is Kaimiri Legarthdareiantilra. You and your allies probably know me as Dark Lord Kaimiri. As for how you fall into this plan, it's quite simple," his eyes glowed bright yellow for an instant. "Have you ever heard of the Shards of Truth?"

"No. I haven't" Ashleigh said, confused, "What is it?"

"The Shards of Truth are sometimes known as the Shadow Stones or the Heart Crystals. Their properties vary from the person who houses them and the color they are." Kaimiri explained. "It's not known how many they are. Many times they're extremely hard to find for one reason; they jump from person to person as if they have a will of their own." Kaimiri pointed to Ashleigh. "You are one of the vessels who house one of the Shards."

"But why? Why are you hunting me down for? I'm no vessel for any Shards" Ashleigh protested.

Kaimiri laughed. "Oh yes you are, my dear girl." He said. "Your very heart is one of the Shards. It's where you get your precious, powerful power. It's also the vital organ that keeps you alive. When someone is born as one of the vessels for a Shard, they're heart isn't made of flesh and blood; it's made of crystal. The shape is the same, and it serves the same purpose as any other person's heart, but it's pure crystal." He pointed to the right side of her chest, where her heart was located. "They very thing keeping you alive is the very thing I need. And I doubt that you can survive without a beating heart."

"Wait, what? My heart is crystal? I don't understand. Why didn't anyone tell me?" Ashleigh asked.

"Because it's undetectable by normal methods." Kaimiri replied. "If you have an ultrasound done, then it'll register as a perfectly normal heart instead of one that's made of crystal." He shrugged. "Of course, in order to use the power of the Shards myself, I must collect all of them and bring them under my control. Without their hosts. And since there is an indefinite number of Shards...."

"No..no....not that..." Ashleigh said, shaking her head, "You can't possibly mean...."

"Oh, I do." Kaimiri replied. "The ones who hold the Shards as their hearts...are going to die. By my hand if I must."

"Then why did you kidnapped my husband then?" Ashleigh asked.

"To get to the rest of the Shards." Kaimiri replied. "I was hoping to convince him to join our side, but when that didn't work I took some more...drastic measures."

"Wait, you wanted me to loose control of my powers AND turned me over?" Ashleigh asked.

Kaimiri nodded. "However, neither of those methods worked. But this one it appears has." He keyed in a code to open the bars. He stepped into the woman's cell. "Now, I need your heart if you wouldn't mind."