The war of the roses, a power struggle between the houses of Lancaster (Red Rose) and York (White Rose) and the time was close to the dissension of a royal successor was nearing an end.

With the Yorkists well in the lead, the reign of King Richard III was all but a step away and in France Yugi Tudor, the last Lancastrian heir was being forced to live a life of exile.

The Lancastrian forces were rendered powerless by ancient cards of sorcery wielded by ”Seto” and his followers “the rose crusaders” who served under the flag of Lord Crawford a powerful Yorkist nobleman.

Lacking the duelist to champion their cause defeat was imminent for the Lancastrians, in England duel card games were still at the stage thus the Lancastrians had to look elsewhere for a duel master that is capable of facing Seto C.Rosenkreuz in battle.

“Simon! SIMON! Simon, where are you?” a frantic female voice cried out that belonged to lady Mai.

“I am here. Do not fret milady,” another, calmer, voice spoke

“Ah Simon, there you are! I have gathered up the red rose cards and the other duelists. We are ready to head for Stonehenge,” the female voice said. In the cold winter breeze “Very well, let’s be on our way. The sooner we summon the Rose Duelist, the sooner we can vanquish the wrath of Rosenkreuz and Richard the third ”

These two mysterious figures hid themselves underneath long cloaks of red with the symbols of the Lancastrian rose,

as did the seven other people that were with them. The cloaked figures left the castle, and headed off to Stonehenge, England. Simon McMooran and the eight duelists with him reached Stonehenge. They were in enemy territory, so it was certainly dangerous, but they had a mission. They needed to summon the Rose Duelist, for the legendary duelist is the sole person who could help them defeat the Yorkists.

“We’ve finally made it .Now, Lady Mai , everyone here is aware of the plan, am I correct?” a male voice asked. “Yes Simon. The instant the Rose Duelist arrives, we each take a red rose card and disperse in different directions,” a female voice replied. The two figures were in the middle of Stonehenge, England, along with seven other cloaked figures.

“Very well,” the male voice replied as he took eight cards with red roses printed on them and arranged them in a circle. Meanwhile, a shadow lurked nearby, watching every move of the nine people gathered around the circle of red rose cards.

‘So they're planning on summoning the legendary Rose Duelist… Well, this should prove

interesting…’ he thought.

The sky was a deep purple. It must have been midnight; the sky was so dark. Finally, something sparked from the red rose cards and the sky began to swirl in different shades of blue and purple. The eight duelists stood watching in awe as the wise old man standing in front of the red rose cards continued chanting the summ-oning spell.

The shadow that lurked nearby watched intently, waiting for the moment the Rose Duelist appeared to show himself. ‘Hurry up, old man; I don't have all day… You are such a fool, Simon McMooran! First I'll convince the Rose Duelist to join my side and then I'll take your red rose cards!’

“Oooooh!” a voice disrupted my thoughts.“…Summoned from the mystic circle of red and white roses, the one capable of harnessing pure power! There is truth to the legend of the Rose Duelist!” an old man, covered in cream-colored robes and a tall hat adorned with gold exclaimed.

“But wait… The legendary Rose Duelist… is a young girl?” he asked, flabbergasted. His face was hidden from view  except his eyes, a flash of lightning “T t t there was truth to the ledged of the Rose Duelist!!!”  - Rose

Duelist! What is he on about, this was a Maths Lesson-he was talking to someone that had come to congratulate him

 “Lady Mia! I..I did it! Know we have the means to defeat the evil forces of Rosenkreuz !,oh, what am I saying? What does it matter that you are a girl? You are ‘The Rose Duelist,’ and that is that. L-Lady Mai! I… I did it! Now we have the means for defeating the evil forces of Rosenkreuz!” the Man exclaimed in excitement. His body was Quaking with a sense of utter joy. I remained quiet, still in complete shock. I still had no idea why I was standing in the center of Stonehenge with a strange old man who seemed ecstatic to be in my presence.

“Oh! My apologies!” he sputtered, his crystal blue eyes widening as he looked me up and down. I assumed he had never seen my style of clothing, seeing as he was wearing an odd cream-colored robe with gold ornaments on his tall hat. He was not any taller than 4’7”. His whole body was covered by the robes, a simple opening for his eyes revealed the crystal blue orbs, but nothing else.

“In my excitement, I'd forgotten I was in the presence of the Rose Duelist,” he continued, raising his eyes to stare at my own. His eyes shrunk slightly and he seemed somewhat intimidated… by me? “Allow me to introduce myself,” the short old man said and cleared his throat. “I am Simon McMooran, High Druid and servant of Lancaster. May I be so bold as to ask the name by which the Rose Duelist would like to be known?”

I still could not speak as I tried to take in my surroundings. A sudden chill went up my spine; I felt as though someone was watching us. Oh, how right I was. ‘So that is the legendary Rose Duelist? But…she is… a girl! Hmm… This could work to my advantage…’ thought the shadowy figure standing nearby.

“My name? I…” I trailed off as I stared into his crystal blue orbs, trying to receive some clue of what was going on. “Yes my dear? What is your name?” Simon McMooran asked me again. I was trying hard to understand what is going on.

“…it is fine if you do not wish for your name to be known. Now, here’s the situation. The year is 1482, and you are currently in Stonehenge, near Salisbury, England. The British Empire is in turmoil with the House of Lancaster's rightful claim to the throne being challenged by Yorkist usurpers,” Simon explained. “1482?” I inquired, utterly confused. ‘Did he just say 1482? I’m in the year 1482?’“Yes dear duelist. It is the year 1482” he said “I am terribly sorry for taking you away from your home, but we need you, my dear duelist,” Simon apologized with a sympathetic look in his eyes.

“Moving on, the power struggle is referred to as the Wars of the Roses, a name based on the badges used by both sides- a red rose for the Lancastrians, and a white rose for the Yorkists. Right now, our kingdom is threatened by the Yorkists and their wrongful claim to the throne! All because the Yorkists enjoy the support of the Rose Crusaders and their sorcerers White Rose Cards. Using our Red Rose Cards, we summoned you to this time and dimension. We hoped that your dueling experience would defeat the Rose Crusaders and lead us to victory!”

I remained silent throughout his explanation. ‘They need me… to defeat some group called ‘The Rose Crusaders?’ I don’t understand any of this! Wait… Can I ever go home? yes I have escaped the hell hole’ My eyes widened as I finally realized that I was no longer at home, that I will not see my the Duel Army again for a while. “We hoped that your dueling experience would defeat the Rose Crusaders and lead us to victory!” he exclaimed with a hopeful glint in his eyes.

‘My dueling experience? Well, I know I’m a Great duelist in my hometown… but that’s just my hometown! What about someone like Maximillian Pegasus, the CREATOR of the game? Wouldn’t he be a much better

candidate for something as big as a… Wait a minute… WAR? There’s a WAR going on? I’m supposed to STOP this war? How? This makes no sense!’

“You will help us...?” he asked, glancing up at me with hope. He did not even give me a chance to respond as he said, “Of course, you will! Foolish of me to even doubt where your loyalties lie… Rumor has it that only

the legendary Rose Duelist stands a chance against the power of Rosenkreuz! We appreciate any help you can provide against them.”

“One more thing before we head off to see Prince Yugi… Do you have a dueling deck?” Simon asked me. I blinked .‘A deck… MY DECK!’ My hand flew to the card case attached to my dueling belt. I opened it hastily and was relieved to find my cards there. I pulled them out and quickly looked through them, making sure I was not missing any.

Suddenly, a shiver ran down my spine. I looked up, away from Simon McMooran’s gaze and saw a dark figure peer out from behind one of the great stones of Stonehenge.

“Hmmm… So that's the effect of the Celtic Red Rose Cards… It looks like there's some truth to the rumor that the Red Rose Cards are capable of time transformation…” the figure spoke. Unlike Simon McMooran, his voice was young and intimidating. “Who's there?” Simon demanded, looking around him desperately to find the source of the voice. “It's been some time since the Battle of Barnet, old one...” the voice said as its owner emerged from behind the oversized stone. He was quite handsome. The moonlight glistened off his oddly shaped silver armor like a cluster of stars. He was a few inches taller than I was, with silky brunette hair, and deep blue eyes. He could not have been much older than me, so my guess was that he was anywhere between fourteen and sixteen years old. His armor was surely something that caught my interest – it was shaped like a Blue Eyes White Dragon!

How I longed to own one of those cards. Unfortunately, there were only four in existence, as every duelist knew, and so far, they had not been found. The rest of his clothes were a dark green color and a cape was attached to the back of his armor. “Rosenkreuz! What brings you here?” Simon exclaimed; the small bit of his face that I could see under his cloak turned a slight red. “Only a member of the Rose Crusaders may call me by that name,” the young man retorted coldly as he glared at the short old man. “If you recall, I told you once before that you may only address me as ‘Seto.’ Or does memory fail you, old man?” McMooran made some sort of snarl and glared back at the tall young boy.

 “And you,” the young man said as turned to me and looked me up and down with the same analyzing eyes that Simon had. “You must be the Rose Duelist. I must admit there’s a certain aura of power emanating from you,” he said as he glanced over me again. “I believe an introduction is in order”.

“I am Seto, leader of the Rose Crusaders. There are members of our little group that prefer to call me by the name of Rosenkreuz.”

“It’s an honor to meet you,” he said as he took my hand, gently pressed his lips against it, and then lifted his gaze to meet my own. My cheeks burned with a slight reddish glow. Our eyes met his for the first time and I was Immediately entranced, transfixed, lost in the deep midnight blue of his eyes. Those blue orbs of his were fascinating. I had never seen such beautiful eyes before. Simon McMooran fumed with anger as he saw my blush. He certainly was not happy about Seto’s attempts at romancing me. That was another thing that Seto had to his advantage – he could easily charm any female and win her over.

“I ask you again…” Simon cut in and forced me to break my eye contact with Seto, “What brings you here, Seto?” Seto turned back to look at Simon McMooran. “Mind your manners, old man! What else would bring me here… I've come for the Red Rose Cards! After all, it is you who showed me how the summoning capabilities would evolve when the Red Rose Cards are combined with the transport powers of the White Rose Cards.”

 “You aren't thinking of attempting the forbidden ‘Rose Summoning’… If so, then the Red Rose Cards must never fall into your evil hands! Card Sorcery taps into the powers of the Ancient Ones... By their very nature, each card is a double-edged sword that can cut both ways… The Rose Cards alone harness tremendous power. There's no telling what horrors one might unleash to the world by combining both Red and White. I will sacrifice my own life if need be to prevent any from uttering the ‘Spell of Doom’!” Simon exclaimed.

‘Spell of… Doom? What is that supposed to mean?’

“The Spell of Doom…? Fool! The sixteen Red and White Rose Cards grant ‘power over all!” Druid legend has twisted the true meaning of these cards!” Seto scoffed, apparently disgusted by even Simon McMooran’s presence. “We Rose Crusaders have sworn to create a utopia free from the ravages of war. We intend to accomplish this with the power of the cards! And we shall do so by extending the rule of Richard III throughout the known world!” Simon remained speechless he did nothing but glare at the younger, albeit much stronger man.

Seto smirked and continued, “By the way, it was clever of you to form a circle of red roses within the white rose barrier to summon the Duelist… But you were foolish to come alone. This area is surrounded, and if you wish to leave with your life, you will do so only by handing over the Red Rose Cards.”

“Me? A fool…?” Simon spat sarcastically. “Then what about you? Are you fool enough to actually believe the Red Rose Cards would remain here in my possession? Right after the summoning, I had the cards dispersed among our best duelists to keep them from your tainted hands!”

‘Ok these guys are fighting and oh look the younger one is winning. I laughed again trying to hide it but I couldn’t and this made Seto look at me and smirk.’

Seto scowled, but he soon replaced it with a smirk as he glanced at me again. My cheeks slightly flushed again as I felt his gaze on me. “Then you leave me with but one option… I shall enlist the aid of your precious Rose Duelist!” Seto declared. Simon gave him a sarcastic look. “You take leave of your senses…”

“And you speak too soon, old man!" Seto retorted. "Heed my words, Duelist!” he called out as he turned to me, “If you wish to return to your proper world, you will require sixteen cards of the Red and White Roses... The Red and White positions must be laid out in reverse of the summoning order to send you home…”

“You know the spell..?” Simon sputtered and his eyes widened intensively

“Since you need the sixteen Rose Cards as much as we do…” Seto continued, ignoring Simon’s question, “I propose a partnership. Help us gather the cards, and I shall guarantee your return after we’ve achieved our ultimate goal!” I did not even have a chance to respond, as Simon interrupted.

“An absurd proposal!” Simon shouted, his anger flaring up tenfold, “Do you think the honorable

Rose Duelist would even lend an ear to your ridiculous proposal?”

“Can you be so sure, old man?” Seto asked and turned to me once again. “Let me see... Old Simon's side has eight of the Red Rose Cards, while my side - the Rose Crusaders – has possession of the eight White Rose Cards. As the numbers are even, simple arithmetic indicates that you should side with either of us. But I'm sure you'll take into account who's winning this war. After all, who was desperate enough to summon you in the first place? I think it's quite clear which side is better-positioned to send you home…” I took in all his words, my eyes fixed on his.

“L-Lady! Heed not the words of this... This power-hungry lunatic!” Simon shouted as he looked up at me with desperation in his voice.

“Simon,” Seto exclaimed almost as if he was scolding Simon, “must you resort to name calling? I'm hurt.” He faked a pout and I actually giggled at the sight. Simon’s eyes widened as he saw my response. ‘No! How could the Rose Duelist possibly fall for Rosenkreuz’s boyish antics?’ he thought.

Seto smirked and continued, “I'll tell you what.Why don't we leave the decision to our dear Duelist? After all, Simon, the Duelist's future is not for us to decide, now is it?” His deep blue eyes met my sapphire ones again and I gasped for breath. I felt as if he was looking into my very soul.

“In keeping with the tradition of the Old Temple gardens, I offer you a choice, Duelist’. Here are two roses, the white represents me,” Rosenkreuz now stood in front of me, the white rose offered to me and the red rose  to the side out of the my view, “and the red for old Simon here...”

“For the sake of justice… Choose the red rose!” Simon pleaded, and if it was not for the fact that he would lose his dignity, he would have gone down on hands and knees. “Stand by my side, Duelist… Choose the white rose,” Seto requested.

‘What should I do? I still have no idea where I am exactly or why I'm even here!’ I thought. I did know that I was in Stonehenge. It did not make any sense. I looked up and searched Seto's eyes for some kind of answer. ‘Wow… His eyes are so amazing… Oh, what am I saying? I don't know what to do! I'm supposed to be some legendary duelist that can end this war? I guess I'll join… Seto Kaiba Rosenkreuz…’

Both Simon and Seto looked to the duelist trapped in between them, noting her starry eyed gaze at the white rose.

“So, Duelist,” Rosenkreuz said seductively, “What is your decision?”

my hands slowly unfolded and like she would pick up a lily flower from the water, she took the white rose, knowing the reason it was being offered. “A wise choice, Duelist! I see you are well versed in judging a situation. Welcome to the Rose Crusaders! I am honored,” Rosenkreuz said. I looked up at him and smiled

“Guards take old Simon here away” Seto said with a board tone, and was as cold as it was when they met only moments ago. He then turned towards me and I could feel my cheeks were going red, Raven you can not like this guy he Lives in the past you do not I thought to myself

well at least she will be on our side, that is if she can duel well enough. Seto smirked at me “well Raven” do not faint Raven do not faint

”we should get going if we are to reach the campsite, I would imagine you are tired after you journey” He started to walk to the horse that was in the shadows, he was about to mount his horse. “we’ll aren’t you coming” the horses ears pricked up “he can tell that you are scared of him” Seto said calmly as he walked towards me pulling the rains of his horse, he got onto the horse and held out his hand for me to grab and so I did and he lifted me up as if I was the weight of a feather.

 “Just lean back and rest, you will need it” and that was what I did. My dreamless sleep was good, it was not often that I could get a good nights sleep I would normally be haunted by the shadow realm which held creatures that are fascinated by life, magic and death and the soul but tonight I was in a peaceful slumber ……..

….until I was awoken by a bright light, I slowly sat up and noticed I was on a bed. “Ahh you're up lady Raven” I nodded my head “your clothes are on the seat next to the bed and after I was told to take you to the main chamber to see Seto, my name is Isis” and with that she was gone