-Chapter 2…..Beginnings

Yugi's peaceful daydream was halted by the intrusion of a powerful whack upside the back of his head. He fell to the floor and turned around quickly to be faced with the terrible sight of his overseer.

"If I catch you slacking off again it'll mean a good beating for you. I want my reflection in this floor by sundown, am I understood?"

Yugi nodded slowly, his terror subsiding as the horrible woman left the room with a distasteful grunt. The boy looked around at the dining hall and sighed, then bent over and continued his labor. What a nice dream it had been, too. If only he could ever remember what they were about after they finished.

He finished scrubbing the area by his cutoff time, but just barely. Feeling the exhaustion of his task crashing down on him, he stood up and stretched, his back cracking loudly. He slung the filthy rag over his shoulder and removed the cloth band tied around his head, which held his hair in place while he worked. As the long brown and purple spikes were freed from their constraints, they immediately jumped into place, defying gravity and rising up above his head. Springy blonde bangs fell around his face, and he had to adjust the loose strands so he could see. He grabbed the bucket of soapy water and quickly left the long dining hall. If he were caught here too long after his cut off time, he'd risk being reprimanded by one of the cooks or servants. He made his way down through the palace and into the servants' quarters, feeling relaxed as the smell of animals and grain assaulted him. The clinical, perfumed smell of the palace always made him a bit queasy. He walked past the guards, thoughts of spending the evening with a hot bowl of broth and listening to his grandfather complain about the day on his mind. His blissful wishes of a peaceful evening were interrupted, however, when two guards intercepted his path.

"One of the dungeon hands has requested someone like you." The burlier of the two men said, his hungry eyes examining the small boy's every move.

"What does he need me for?" Yugi asked in reply, setting his bucket down.

"They said they needed someone with small hands. Cleaning a torture victim, I think." Yugi blushed again at this, he'd been down to the dungeon before, and those prisoners always scared him.

"They won't…need me to actually talk to one of them, will they?"

The soldier shrugged, looking somewhat bemused at the adorable boy in front of him. "Who knows, they weren't exactly specific." the second of the duo said, "But I'd suggest getting your tight little ass down there, the Dungeon Master is not a patient man."

Yugi glared at them indignantly, he hated when people spoke to him demeaningly; he was not a child. Huffing, he set his supplies down behind a stack of barrels and headed back into the palace. Then he began his way down the long, winding, desolate staircase that led to the dungeon.

Seto's face flared as he neared his release, staring down into the warm brown eyes of his lover, whose soft, caressing tongue was making purposeful movements along his shaft. The king grunted as he was deep-throated, biting his lower lip and digging his nails into the blonde's scalp. He then let out a content sigh as his load left him. The blonde ingested the entirety of it, as he wouldn't have dreamed of wasting a drop of his lover's seed.

Seto sat in a nearby chair, wrapping his ornate robes around him once again. The blonde got up from his knees, then sat on his master's lap and nuzzled his neck.

"That feel better?" he asked "You seemed tense."

Seto grinned, stroking the hair of his lover "Yes, Jounochi. It did. You always know just how to cheer me up."

Jou smiled "Damn right I do. If it weren't for me, you'd have torn half the kingdom apart by now with your grumpy attitude."

Seto gave a content chuckle, wrapping his arms around the blonde's waist and kissing his neck, "Then the kingdom is lucky to have you, my puppy. But if you'll excuse me, I must return to work. I need to ensure hospitalities have been properly issued upon our guest."

Jou got up from Seto's lap, frowning slightly, "I hope you didn't go too hard on him, he is your blood after all."

Seto pulled on his golden braces, grinning slightly at the words of his lover. If anyone else had said that to him, they'd have been severely punished for such blatant questioning and disrespect. Jounochi was the only one he'd ever allowed to have complete access to him and his emotions. And yet there still were things that Jou did not know…things that Seto would ensure he never knew.

"Don't worry, I've kept him alive. But just barely."

Jou came toward him and wrapped his arms around Seto's neck. "Well, it's a start. I'll see you when you're done ruling the world with an iron fist, then?"

Seto removed Jou's hands from his own neck and kissed each palm lightly, then moved toward Jou's and whispered ever so softly, "Yes, you will indeed. And when I return, I won't be nearly as nice." An obvious shiver went up Jou's spine that made Seto's mind fill with dirty thoughts that would have to be abandoned for the moment. He then left the chamber without another word, leaving Jounochi to stare after him with none but a wistful sigh.

Yugi gulped as he moved along the line of cells, trying not to make eye contact with the occupants of each one. He'd known that he was going to end up with a crappy job of some sort from the moment he entered the dungeon, but the boy had had no idea that he was going to actually have to come into contact with one of the prisoners; the most dangerous of the prisoners, no less. He'd heard some horrible stories when he was little about King Yami the tyrant, and the terrible deeds that went on in his kingdom. His grandpa had told him that if he didn't behave, King Yami would come and take him away, never to be seen again.

When he'd heard that Master Kaiba had actually captured the evil pharoah, he was overjoyed at the kindness of his brave leader. But he'd never have imagined that he was going to have to talk to him. What if Yami tried to hurt him? What if the guards couldn't save him in time? What if he was accidentally locked down here, and no one came to rescue him, and he'd be trapped forever with Yami?

Relax, Yugi. You don't have to stay with him, you don't even have to talk to him, all you have to do is wash him and give him food. Yugi thought anxiously, staring down at the small portion of stale bread and the flask of water that he was to give to the king. He wondered if a pharoah could get used to eating like a peasant. After all, he was probably served all kinds of delicious foods back at his palace. Some of the rumors even said he sometimes ate his own people….

Yugi stopped and gulped at that, wishing the thought hadn't crossed his mind. The dungeon surrounding him suddenly felt a lot colder and darker. He was now only a few steps from the chamber in which the king was held, and his hands were shaking as he carried the tray of food. The guards saw him coming and waved him forward. He paused outside the door, looking up into the faces of the two garrisons.

"Is he really as bad as everyone says he is?" Yugi asked nervously, biting his lower lip.

"Worse." One of the guards replied, shaking his head. Yugi dropped his gaze, fear entering his large violet eyes, "But don't worry, kid. We're right here if you need us. Just call for help if he tries anything."

Yugi swallowed, "Ok." The second of the guards unlocked the rusty door, opening it slowly and allowing Yugi to step inside. He kept his eyes shut tight as he walked through, and didn't open them until he felt the straw of the cell under his feet.

Inside the room was the most beautiful man Yugi had ever seen.

He was tan, very tan. His skin was a golden brown and every area of it was prominent with muscle. His face was narrow, with sharp features that showed patience and intelligence with every detail. His hair, very similar to Yugi's own, spiked up with shots and blonde, purple, and black. His eyes were closed with sleep, but despite his frail condition he looked incredibly strong.

"Lucky you, Yami!" the guard called to the beautiful man teasingly, snapping Yugi out of his awestruck trance as he wondered what the guard had meant by that. Then the door closed, leaving himself alone with the king.

Now that the guard was gone, Yugi had more time to examine him. His hands and feet were chained, rendering him completely immobile. There were whip marks staining his immaculate body, and he was almost entirely covered in blood. One of his eyelids were slightly blackened and his face was covered in nasty bruises. Three of his fingernails had been pulled out, and a long cut extended from his bottom lip down to the base of his neck. He wasn't naked, but the loincloth that covered him had come loose and was barely clinging to his hips. Yugi's eyes widened as a thought crossed his mind pertaining to what was hidden underneath.

Realizing that he should probably be getting to work, Yugi set aside the tray of food and bucket of water. Then, deciding that it would be best to clean him while he was still asleep, Yugi picked up the bucket and dunked his clean rag in the warm water, moving closer to the man. He set the bucket down and very softly touched the rag to his skin, intending to be gentle. Despite his efforts not to wake him, however, the man opened his eyes to the touch and let out a gasp of pain, his body convulsing slightly and the tanned muscles rippling. Yugi pulled away quickly, and the pharoah's eyes scanned over to meet the boy's own.

His eyes…red like richest of wines, had Yugi captured with their first glance. They showed a certain intensity, a defiance that didn't demand authority, but rather took it unquestioningly in a way that no one could ever dream to defy.

Yugi swallowed, and very slowly approached him again. He was incredibly gentle in his movements as he dabbed at the wounds on his chest, allowing the water to drip over his body. Though the man hissed again with pain, he did not speak in protest. He watched Yugi's hands work over his body in silence, letting out only the occasional sound of pain, at which Yugi would slow down and be even gentler with his movements. When he had finished the chest, Yugi moved to the man's back, then his legs, and then his face. He tried to avoid spending too much time on the king's lower body, as for some reason that particular area was making Yugi incredibly uncomfortable. Then he set the bucket aside and decided the man would probably be more thirsty than hungry, so he gently rested the flask on the king's lips and allowed him to drink slowly, the water dripped down his chin and when Yugi removed the flask, there was liquid still dripping from the man's lips, which Yugi softly dabbed away with his handkerchief. Then he took the bread and broke it into tiny pieces, placing each one on the man's warm tongue before allowing him to chew and swallow, then progressing to the next one.

When Yugi had finished the slow, and oddly enticing task of feeding the king, he reached back up to give him another long sip of the flask, and found himself staring directly into the man's sharp red eyes. For how long Yugi found himself trapped in that chained god's gaze, he had no idea. But he was only freed when one of the guards knocked on the door, asking if he was all right. Yugi blinked, trying to clear his head as he answered back that he was fine, still with no contribution from the man himself.

Yugi gave him another sip of water, this time the eyes were closed as he did so, much to Yugi's bitter disappointment. Yugi then gathered up his materials and moved toward the door, trying to get one last look at the man before he turned around left the room. He didn't stop to look at the guards, who gave him a funny look as he scurried off toward the stairs.

Yugi walked as fast as he could toward the dungeon stairs, practically throwing his supplies to the side as he reached the exit. Once he had left the dark, musty depths of the palace and was back in one of the main hallways, Yugi ran as fast as he could and bumped straight into one of the guards on the way. He dashed into the servants' quarters, skidded past his Grandpa as he entered his own home, and ran straight up into his room. He locked the door and collapsed on the straw bed, breathing deeply as he recalled those eyes. Those intense, blood-red eyes that had captured his very soul for those few long, beautiful moments. Yugi didn't understand what had just happened in the slightest, but he did know one thing was for sure…

He had to look into those eyes again.