I'm glad you all liked the first chapter!! I hope this one is to your liking too! Please review!
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Atem watched Yuugi play with Shuji and Yuki. The ponies hopped around and nip at Yuugi's arms or legs when he wasn't looking. Yuugi was starting to get a little frustrated. "Come on, Shuji! I have to get back to work!" He picked up the cloth he had dropped to clean the saddles but Shuji quickly stole it from his hand and ran off.
Yuugi started racing the brown pony around trying to retrieve the cloth. Yuki would purposely get into Yuugi's path stopping him and give Shuji a head start. "Hey! Come on!"
Atem nickered quietly, shaking his head. Those little ponies were troublemakers. He took another drink of water from his vat. His head shot up when he heard Negishi shout at Yuugi. "Stop fooling around, Yuugi! Get back to work! You didn't clean the new mustang yesterday even though you said you would take care of it!"
Yuugi bowed his head. "I'm sorry, sir. I'll do it right now."
Negishi glared. "You had better do as your told. You're lucky, you know. I feed you, I let you bathe, and I pay you! That's more then most people give stable boys. Count your blessings and remember who you are. Never forget your rank!"
Yuugi's bangs covered his eyes. "Yes, sir."
Atem made a sputtering noise at Negishi as he walked away. 'Why was he so rude? Yuugi didn't do anything wrong.'
Yuugi didn't lift his head as he walked towards Atem's stall. He opened the door and closed it again. He retrieved the brush and started brushing Atem's coat.
Atem closed his eyes and basked in the gentle touch of Yuugi's hand and the slow brushing movements. He was so careful with Atem but still got the job done.
After a moment, Atem opened his eyes and turned his ears towards Yuugi. He could hear the young boy sobbing and sniffing. He looked back at Yuugi with concern. He nickered quietly, asking what was wrong.
Yuugi looked up at Atem and smiled. "I'm sorry. I'm being so foolish." He didn't stop brushing the Prince's coat. "My family is very poor. I was sold to Negishi-san when I was fourteen. Any money he pays me is sent back to my family. I don't get to keep any of it. Negishi-san sends it straight to them. I've never seen a single yen."
Atem nickered. 'That's not right. You're the one earning the money not them. It's yours.'
"I'm not angry at my family but I would like to have some of my own money. I have to wear the same clothes every day. I wash them each night, but it's not enough." Yuugi said dejectedly as he continued brushing.
Atem nuzzle Yuugi's cheek. 'Don't be sad. It's all right.'
Yuugi smiled. "You're so sweet." He stopped brushing to pet Atem for a moment. "But Negishi-san is right. I've seen how most stable boys are treated. I'm getting it pretty good here."
Atem was outraged. 'That's terrible! Why would stable boys be treated so badly?'
Yuugi continued brushing. "Negishi-san is so rich because he supplies milk to half the island! Lots of people depend on him. He gives milk to markets or sometimes to people on the other side of the mountain since most villages are small and don't live near markets. Plus, he can add a delivery charge to the price."
Atem mentally scoffed. 'What a cheapskate. He overcharges poor people for milk, the tyrant.'
Yuugi winked. "Don't let Negishi-san know I said that."
He nickered again. Yuugi continued. "Maybe tomorrow I can take you around the plantation and show you the cow barn. And the fields! You'll love it out there instead of being cooped up in this stable. I can show you everything and I know you'll love it!"
Atem was glad that Yuugi was happy again. He closed his eyes and listened to Yuugi chatter on about the plantation and about the adventure they would have tomorrow.
Once Yuugi finished cleaning him, he stepped out of the stall. "Oh! I thought of a name for you. Since your coat is so dark, I thought of calling you Yami. How's that?"
Atem nickered, nodding his head. 'It's a very nice name, sweet one. Thank you.'
--
Yuugi was happily brushing Yuki's coat. The pony neighed and moved around constantly, unable to stay still.
"Yuki! Come now, that's enough!" Yuugi giggled as the pony ignored him. "Yuki, don't be so difficult."
Negishi stomped over to the stables. He kicked at the door to Yuki's stall, surprising the horses and the stable boy. "Enough! You have a job to do."
"Yes, sir." Yuugi put away the brushes and left the stall. "What do you need me to do, sir?"
"Attach the new one to the cart. I'm going to take him for a ride today. I want to see how well he'll handle." Negishi said as he slipped on his leather gloves.
Yuugi nodded. "Yes, sir."
He turned around and yawned. He slipped on Atem's bridle and unlocked the door, leading him to the cart. He strapped the horse in and patted Atem's side."He's ready, sir."
Negishi mounted the cart. "It's about time." He lifted his crop and snapped it on Atem's rear. "Get up!"
Atem whinnied from shock and started trotting. He was hit again. "Get up! Come on! Get up!"
Because Atem was a prince, he didn't like getting ordered around. He was used to giving all the orders. 'Being a horse won't make a difference. You're not any king I'll follow.'
As they approached the gate, Yuugi ran over to open it for them. But before they could exit, Atem stopped dead in his tracks. Negishi glared, burning holes into the back of his head. "I said get up! Get going!"
He whipped Atem several times in a steady beat. Yuugi watched in horror as each whip became more powerful. Atem counted the beat of the whip until he could predict when it was coming.
"I said move!" Negishi was about to bring the whip down again but as it descended, Atem turned his head and caught the whip between his teeth. He ripped it from Negishi's hand and narrowed his eyes, nickering angrily.
Negishi gasped. "How did it do that?"
Suddenly, Atem starting running in tight circles as fast as he could. Negishi screamed. "Boy! Stop him!"
Yuugi took a few steps towards Atem. "Yami, steady now. Easy."
Atem was going as such a fast pace, Yuugi couldn't get anywhere near him with the cart spinning with him. Atem quickened his pace when he heard the wood that was attached to him starting to crack. Suddenly, the two poles on either side of him snapped from the pressure and the cart went rolling. Negishi jumped from the cart and landed not so gracefully on his behind. The cart tumbled over and crashed.
Negishi cried out pain. "Damn that horse!"
Yuugi couldn't hold back any more. He burst out laughing. It was the most amusing spectacle he'd ever seen. He held his stomach in pain as he laughed. That had been the highlight of his five years at Negishi's plantation.
His owner, on the other hand, did not find this funny. He stood up painfully and glared at Yuugi. "How dare you insult me! You think my pain is funny, boy!?"
Yuugi stopped laughing and looked at Negishi in fear. "I- . . . n-no, sir."
He marched over to Yuugi, fury sharpening his eyes. "Then why were you laughing?" Negishi retrieved his whip and stood a few feet away from Yuugi. "Why? Answer me, boy!"
He flinched. "B-because . . . I . . ."
"You were laughing at me!" Negishi cried. "And I will not allow anyone to disgrace me!"
He raised the whip high into the air and brought in down on Yuugi's chest. The boy cried out in pain and fell to the ground, curling into a ball. Negishi raised the whip again only to have his arm broken by a steel shoe.
Atem saw Negishi hurt Yuugi and his blood boiled. He raised his front legs in the air and kicked Negishi's arm. The bone cracked and he dropped the whip, falling to the ground in pain. Atem landed and stood back, glaring at Negishi. 'No one dares to hurt my sweet one.'
Yuugi looked up in shock. He grabbed Atem's reigns and put the horse back into his stall. "That was bad, Yami. We'll get into a lot of trouble."
Atem was confused. 'We? You did nothing wrong, sweet one.'
Yuugi ran off to help Negishi. Atem didn't understand it. Why would Yuugi help that man? He was a terrible person who abused him in so many ways! He doesn't deserve Yuugi's kindness.
'Although, I suppose it is Yuugi's kindness that drives him to help Negishi. He has a faith in humans that many have lost. I know I have lost that faith in humanity but Yuugi retains it no matter how badly he is treated.' Atem suddenly felt proud of him. 'He really is a sweet one.'
XxX
The most damage that Negishi received was some bruising on his behind and a broken arm. The doctor treated Yuugi's cut and declared that both of them would be fine.
Negishi had a sudden hate for that horse. Hime saw the new horse as a challenge. "Don't you worry, father. I can break him."
Yuugi sighed. He didn't want Atem to get into any more trouble. He was almost certain that Negishi was going to have him put to sleep. Thank goodness the brunt of his punishment was to be tied to a tree in solitude with almost no food or water for a single day. The rope kept him close to the tree, but not uncomfortably close.
Negishi's orders were that Atem must be left with an equal amount of oats and water. They were in small buckets and wouldn't last him long. But Negishi didn't take in the fact that horses also eat grass.
At first, Atem refused to eat grass. 'I was the prince of Egypt! Princes don't eat grass.'
But neither was a horse a prince and neither was Atem human. Not any more. He lowered his head and took a bit of the grass. He chewed it slowly at first. Discovering the lack of taste it had Atem was no longer reluctant. It was better then eating a straight diet of oats. 'When I can go back to my stall, maybe I should try eating that hay in there. See what that's like.'
"Yami!" Yuugi was running towards him with a bright smile on his face. He was carrying something in his arms. He presented Atem with a bread roll. "I thought you might like a treat. Oats and grass must get a little boring."
One roll was given to Atem and he kept one for himself. There was also a large canteen of water. He opened it and poured it into Atem's bucket. "I didn't want you running out of water so I brought some more for you."
Atem nuzzled Yuugi's arm. 'Thank you my sweet one.'
The bread he ate was warm and fluffy. It melted in his mouth making it that much easier to swallow. Atem lay on the ground beside Yuugi on his stomach, his legs tucked under him. He listened as Yuugi talked about his day so far, seeing as it was time for the sun to set.
"I'll get new hay in your stall tonight so everything is nice and clean for when you can come back." Yuugi smiled. "The others can't wait for you to come back. I think they really like you, especially after the stunt you pulled with Negishi-san yesterday."
Atem nickered quietly. 'He deserved every ounce of pain he felt. Especially after what he did to you. Why hasn't he been reported to the authorities?'
Yuugi looked up at Atem. "And, Yami? I wanted to thank you for helping me back there. I was sure he was going to beat me to death, or at least near it. I was really scared, but you stopped him from hurting me. Thank you. No one's ever done that for me before."
Atem pushed his nose against Yuugi's chest. The cut was healed by now and Yuugi didn't feel any pain. "Don't worry. I'm fine." He stroked Atem's snout and thanked him once again.
Yuugi stood up and brushed himself off. "I have to get going now. Sleep well tonight, Yami. I'll see you in the morning."
Yuugi walked down the hill that Atem was tied to and ran back to the stables, updating the other horses on the prince's status.Yuugi gleefully started cleaning Atem's stall. This was the one time he was glad to scrub everything down and replace the old with the new. Negishi told Yuugi because it was so late and since he had "done a good job for once"; he could go to bed early.
Yuugi thanked his owner and walked over to his bunkhouse. Behind the horse stables was a bunkhouse for the stable boy to stay in. Hime didn't want Yuugi to be in her house because he always smelt like horses so he was forced to sleep outside.
The bunkhouse was in good shape, despite it being several years old. There was a single window, one set of bunk beds and a table where Yuugi would eat his meals.
The stable boy collapsed into his bottom bunk and pulled the covers over him. He fell fast asleep before he could hear the thunder roll.
XxX
Atem hated that Negishi wouldn't shut up. 'My head is killing me, you moron! I demand that you be silent and let me sleep.'
But the prince's orders couldn't be heard. The only thing that comforted him was Yuugi's soft hand soothingly rubbing his neck.
Negishi glared. "It's your fault this beast is sick! You're the one who wouldn't stop him from spinning the cart. If this beast dies I'll let you join him!"
"Yes, sir." Yuugi sighed as Negishi walked away angrily. "It's his fault for not taking better care of the horses. But you won't die. The vet said so himself."
Atem tried to whinny quietly but it came out as a raspy squeal. 'It's his fault all right, but I don't want you to get in trouble just because of me.'
There was a heavy rain last night and Atem had been tied to the tree the entire time. The next morning when Yuugi went to retrieve him, he knew Atem was sick. Negishi and Yuugi brought the horse back to his stall so he would be warm and dry while he recuperated. Yuugi stayed by Atem's side since the moment he found out the Prince was sick. He pet Atem gently and spoke softly to him.
Atem was glad to hear Yuugi talk about nothing. Usually he hated such simple chattering, but today it comforted him. A warm blanket on top of him, his head lying in Yuugi's lap and one of the boy's hands stroking his neck: this was all he needed to feel better.
Shuji looked over the fence separating the stalls many times to make sure Atem was ok. He was grateful that the little pony was worried about him. But Atem knew it was just a cold. It was one that left him weak and unable to stand and with a pounding headache, but a cold nonetheless. He asked himself, 'Do horses get colds? I certainly am sick, but would it be called a cold?' Either way it was nothing serious.
The entire day dragged on. Atem was getting restless. Yuugi told him it was 3:00 and he had done nothing buy lie on the ground. He was getting tired of sleeping. He wanted to get up and race around, to move or do something! But any time he tried to get up, Yuugi would scold him saying he needed rest. He couldn't refuse Yuugi's gentle voice and soft touch. That boy had concurred a Prince and he didn't even know it.
Atem couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. He fell asleep, hoping he would feel better in the morning.
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I have pictures of the horses if you guys are interested in seeing what they look like. Give me your email and I'll send them to you or something.
Sorry this one is a little shorter. Anyway, I hope you like it! Please review!