Sorry for my absence, lots of things happening at once in my life. But, you don't want to know about that, you want to read the next chapter of my story, so, onwards! ^_^
Replies to reviews:
The last Nightwalker - So glad you are enjoying the story so far! I'll get back to your story probably within a month from now, so I should be reviewing for your story real soon! And with the drama bit, I'm equal parts scared and excited to write it. I just hope I can do it well and that my plots aren't too predictable. Mind you that I have a love of well written clichés, so… but I'm not to sure on the 'well written' part… Well, there are a couple of twists that I hope I can pull off, wish me luck! ^^'
Ern Estine 13624 - Yeah, I always liked Tea and admired her dream of wanting to be a dancer, so I'm going to be pretty nice to her in this fic, considering I'm bashing Anzu now and will be doing it harder later. Hope I don't keep you waiting as long with the next one. :D
ForeverWildfire2.0 - Yugi will meet the other hikaris in this chapter. I hope I can pull everything off well enough. And yes, Joey is in the palace. ;)
InuYoisuhi - Hope you enjoy the next installment.
YurukaMuto A.S.M - Glad you think it's good. On the matter of Yugi's first time, I would think it would be a little self explanatory that it would be as you requested it, but for clarification, they will share it. If you know what I mean.^_* It won't be for a good number of chapters, but it will be there! And on a side note, THANK YOU FOR THE IDEA! I had another puzzleshipping story on my mind that I do want to write but was going to hold back because the start was shaky, but your suggestion fixed that right up! That will be my next puzzleshipping story. ^w^
Yume blossom - I can only hope you enjoy the next part of the story and all that follows. :)
Guest - Hope you like it!
"Egyptian" "Japanese"
Without further ado, chapter 3! ^_^
Yugi followed Yami and Tea into what looked like a common room of a sort. What caught Yugi's attention first was a small dip in the middle of the room with a small fire pit and benches around it. Plush looking couches were on either sides of the pit and individual chairs were beside them. Off to the right was a game table and a balcony on the left.
There were already seven people including Seto there. Currently, Seto was arguing with a blond slightly shorter than him. Their argument had three spectators on a neer by couch; a brunette with amusement dancing in her emerald eyes and two insane looking boys. Though the snowy haired one looked more in control than the sandy haired one.
On another couch seemingly ignoring the others chattering pleasantly were the last two occupants of the room who looked like the previous two boys' sane doubles. It was the snowy haired sane one that noticed them first. "About time you got here." he greeted nicely. "Seto and Jou are already at it again."
"We can see that, Ryou." Yami and Tea went over to the unoccupied seats around the fire pit and sat down. Yugi stood by Yami's side, unsure if he was meant to sit in the empty space next to his master. Yami saw this and said softly, "Yugi, sit down we are among friends here." With a small smile, Yugi sat down secretly enjoying the proximity to Yami.
After he sat down, the sandy haired sane one saw him. He seemed to rush over and spoke quickly. "So you're the new hikari, huh? Where are you from? What's your name?" Yugi, startled at the sudden appearance of maybe not-so-sane lavender eyes and not understanding why was said, yelped and hid behind Yami a little. The boy stopped where he stood and asked, "Was it something I said?"
Yami chucked and turned to Yugi. "It's alright. Malik's just being friendly." At the sound of the foreign language being spoken all but Seto and Jou, who were still arguing, turned to look at them.
"Yugi's from Japan and doesn't understand much Egyptian." Tea offered up as an explanation.
The insane snowy haired boy nodded and walked calmly up to Yugi and said, "Greetings. Be I called Bakura. Everything good have be for you?"
At the sound of such garbled Japanese, the three on the couch started laughing. After deciphering the meeting of the words Yugi got out, "Nice to meet you Bakura, and everything has been wonderful so far thank you."
Bakura, meanwhile, was looking at them and wondering why they were laughing. Once Yami got control of his laughs he told him, "Your Japanese needs work, my friend." He then translated what Bakura had said to Yugi and everyone laughed after.
While they were laughing Yugi asked Yami, "Why can he speak Japanese, though badly?"
"Bakura has been my friend for almost six years. My mother taught him some of the language even though he never took to it."
By this time Bakura was trying to get everyone to stop laughing at his blunder with empty threats when his double came to his rescue. "I think it's time for introductions. Seto! Jou! It's time to get acquainted with our new addition."
For the first time, the arguing pair noticed that everyone else was gathering at the fire pit. They selected with a last glare and took seats opposite the other. The snowy haired boy was the one who kicked off the round of introductions. Yami translated for him and he learned that the remaining snowy haired boy was named Ryou and was Bakura's personal servant.
The other sandy haired boy was named Marik and trained with Malik as apprentice guards. To Yugi's immense surprise, he learned that Marik and Malik shared no familial ties. Both of the boy's hair was crazy, but Marik's did stick up noticeably more. They shared the same deep bronze skin tone and their eyes were almost the same shade of lavender.
The brunette was named Mana and was Mahad's apprentice as a magician in training. She and Yami had been close friends since they were in diapers, though the only Japanese that she knew was 'hello, goodbye, sorry'. She and Yami were like brother and sister.
The real surprise was in Jou, or Jounouchi*. He turned out to be Tea's personal guard from Japan. Anzu had a personal guard as well, a big brute named Ushio who seemed to just wander the palace or go out to the town, doing whatever pleased him and abusing his authority.
After the introductions, Yugi felt more assured about his place there. He now had three people (excluding Anzu) who could talk to him and help him learn the language of his new home. So far, his new life was shaping up well. It was definitely better than being a pleasure slave to a fat old man back in Japan.
Soon Yami, Seto, Bakura, and Marik were engaged in a four way game at the table. Yugi found he made fast friends with Jou just like with Tea. He also felt a connection with Ryou and Malik when he found out they both were hikaris just like him. It felt good to have two people he could relate to on such a level. Mana also seemed kind to him and was quite helpful and playful even demonstrating some of the magic tricks she learned.
Before they knew it the four boys' game was winding down with it ending up being between Yami and Seto with Yami coming out on top. All the while, Yugi was watching how Yami acted around his friends and the group's interactions in general. There was a time when Ryou swayed at Yami for something he said and Yami just laughed. It was a shock to him to see that this group of friends could act the way they did. If Ryou had done what he did in public and not private, he, a slave, could be executed for it. Everyone was treated as equals. It warmed Yugi's heart to think that they were willing to accept him in their fold.
The group of ten were chatting pleasantly with Yami, Tea, and even Jou translating for Yugi. Yugi learned of many of their antics, which since Anzu and Vivian arrived, consisted of pranks on them. It was after a funny story about how Marik, Malik, Bakura, Jou, and Mana managed to lure the two into the stables, then set a horse look to make them fall in manure, that Jou asked, "So, Yugi, how did you end up here in the first place?"
Yugi stopped laughing abruptly at being asked such a sudden question. His smile faded and he was taken back to five months ago, remembering in a haze of grief and fear how he had fled his home the morning he found that his grandpa had passed on in his sleep. In vain, because he didn't even make it ten miles before the slavers that had had their eyes on him for a while found him and claimed him.
Every one noticed the change that came over the young boy. He was subtlety trembling and flinched when Yami touched his shoulder. Jou widened his eyes and whispered, "You weren't born a slave, were you?" Yugi could only nod.
Tea snaked her guard and breathed, "Oh, Yugi, I'm so sorry."
"Yah, I'm sorry. I didn't realize. I wouldn't have asked the question otherwise." Jou apologized sincerely.
Yami just put his arm around Yugi and looked at him, contemplating what he was about to say. In a tight voice, he asked, "Do you have anyone to go back to?" Something in him made him cringe when he asked that and made him not even want to offer what came out of his mouth next, "If you want, I could send you back to-"
"No!" Yugi cried. "I don't have anywhere to back to in Japan. I mean I do have a cousin, but she left home five months ago, with a trading caravan so I would have no idea where she would be." He buried his face in Yami's chest and mumbled, "My grandpa died a week after she left, so I wouldn't even have a home to live in and would probably get sold as a slave again."
Yami didn't have anything to say to that, so he just held the trembling boy while Tea and Jou translated what he said for the others to hear. Ryou got up and took the seat next to Yugi. "Yami can you tell Yugi how I got here?"
Yugi looked at Ryou then at Yami, waiting for the explanation. Yami took a deep breath. "Ryou asked me to tell you how he got here as well as his story is similar to yours. Ryou's family was wiped out by a sickness and, like you, he was found by slavers and put on sale. The only difference was that the slavers didn't know he was a hikari, so they sold him along with the other slaves.
"When he got here, he hardly spoke to anyone because he was afraid someone would find out he was a hikari. Eventually, he became more friendly but he still didn't tell anyone. It wasn't until he was feeling sick and Bakura forced him to go to Isis that we found out he was a hikari."
Yugi turned to Ryou when Yami was finished and gave him a look that said, "Is that true?" Ryou just nodded. Malik came over then and told Yami something and he translated, "Malik says that even though nothing like that has never happened to him, he's still scared that something like that might."
Looking into both of their eyes, one pair doe brown and the other pale lavender, despite the language barrier, Yugi felt that both of them did truly mean to be his friends. Hie eyes teared up at the show of kindness and he pulled both of them into a hug and could feel both of them hug back. When he pulled away Yugi managed to say, "Thank you." Though it was accented, it was still understandable to the two other hikaris.
Time seemed to melt away as the group laughed and joked after that. It seemed like only minutes had passed when in reality it had been hours when servants came and dropped off food for the group. This seemed to be a routine. On their way out, one reminded Yami that he had lessons in one hour. Yami groaned and thanked the servants.
Once both Yami and Yugi finished their food, they bid goodbye to their friends and made their way back to Yami's room. As they walked Yami asked, "So what do you think of your new friends?"
"They're all great." Yugi felt mildly surprised that he already thought of the others as his friends. "It feels nice that I can relate to Ryou and Malik as fellow hikaris and shared experiences. Jou and Mana are both kind and funny. Bakura and Marik seem a little crazy, but nice just the same." Yugi thanked whatever gods were responsible for bringing him to such a life and meeting such nice people.
"That about sums it up." Yami smiled. They reached his room soon after. There were things lying about after the two had rushed to breakfast that morning. Yami fathered some scrolls, quills, and parchment then instructed Yugi, "Just clean up what's in the room and after you're done you can go to the garden if you want. I'll be back in a few hours."
With that, he left Yugi to clean the room and await his return. It didn't take long to clean the room, and Yugi didn't want to go out without anyone to translate for him, so he started looking around Yami's room. He found a small cabinet near the far left corner of the room, next to the doors for the balcony.
Opening the cabinet, he found it was filled with games. Most he didn't recognize and their instructions were written in Egyptian, so he couldn't read them. Yugi found a checker board and pieces, so he decided to play against himself until Yami came back.
He was halfway done with his second game when there was a heavy knock at the door. Yugi got up to answer it, wondering who it could be. When he opened the door he was rudely shoved aside and a girl with black hair done in two buns and equally black eyes burst into the room.
"Yaamii," she called sickly sweet, "I'm soooo sorry I was absent at breakfast. Someone pushed me into the pond in the garden last night. Maybe now we can spend some alone time together." She looked around and for the first time realized that instead of Yami in the room, there was a pale slave that kind of looked like him. "What are you doing here slave?" she snarled, disappointed.
With a sinking feeling, Yugi realized that this must be the second princess after Yami, Vivian, and she was looking for him. Remembering what Yami had taught him that morning, Yugi respectfully bowed and said, "Prince Yami is at his lessons." He fervently hoped that would be enough for the princess, but he was wrong.
With a vicious slap that sent Yugi sprawling on the ground, Vivian growled, "Answer my question, slave, what are you doing here? And where do you get the gall to call Yami by his new car name?! Only those who are close to him can call him that!", completely ignorant of what the crimson sash around Yugi's waist ment and that even she was not allowed to call Yami that.
Yugi was unable to understand most of what Vivian had said, but he did hear Yami's name again, so he stumbled out, "H-h-he is not h-here." while he was able to get on all fours.
This only seemed to enrage Vivian more because she kicks him in the stomach and shrieked, "I can see that you imbecile! Answer me! Why are you here?!" Instead of try to answer her again, Yugi curled up in a ball on the floor to protect himself from any further attacks.
It was a good thing he did, because when Vivian saw his half finished checker game, she let loose many more vicious kicks screaming, "AND YOU HAVE TOUCHED HIS THINGS?! WHAT DO YOU THINK GIVES YOU THE RIGHT, SLAVE?!"
She stopped her attacks, but only to go to the door and call, "You there, guard, come here. There is a slave in the prince's room that needs to be punished."
Yugi looked out from between the gap in his arms to see the guard that entered, hoping that they could put an end to all this. To his immense relief, he saw that the guard's skin was far too pale to be a native egyptian's, so that meant it had to be Anzu's personal guard, Ushio. He got on his knees and explained, "I don't know what she is saying, but please help me. I'm the prince's new personal servant, from Japan like you. My master is away at his lessons, if that is what the lady wants to know."
Another slap from Vivian. "Speak our language, slave!" Yugi made eye contact with his countrymen, pleading with his eyes for help. And wished he hadn't.
Ushio's eyes were by far the cruelest he had ever seen. They were full of a predator like hunger, searching for his next victim. With a wolf like smirk he asked Vivian, "What does this slave need to be punished for?" Yugi's stomach dropped. It seemed the predator had found what he was looking for.
"This slave was in the prince's room without permission, used his nickname without permission, and finally had the nerve to mess with the prince's things." Vivian snorted.
"Well then, this slave needs to be seriously punished." Yugi wanted to run, but his legs wouldn't do what he wanted them to do. While he didn't understand the bulk of what was said, he did hear 'slave' and 'punish' in the same sentence three times so he could figure out what they were talking about.
Ushio grabbed his arm and proceeded to drag him out of the room. "Wait! Stop! Please!" Yugi begged, though he knew it was pointless. "I'm the prince's personal servant! I haven't done anything wrong!"
The only response he got was a sharp blow to the head and the command, "Be silent." Yugi k pt on squirming, so Ushio picked him up off the floor to restrain him. "N-n-no, p-please…" Yugi whimpered.
It was meet with a soulless laugh. Ushio brought Yugi's ear next to his mouth. "Save your voice, slave, you're going to need it later. I know who you are, only bimbos like that princess don't know who you are. And everyone knows that you are also a hikari." Yugi flinched at the sheer lust in his voice. "I have always heard how tight hikaris were, now is the time to find out, eh?"
Yugi's struggling increased ten fold when he heard where Ushio's true intentions were. Before he could scream, Ushio brought his hand up to his mouth to silence him. "None of that now. You can scream all you want once we get some where no one can hear you." With that, Ushio went a step further and bit his earlobe. Yugi screamed, but it was muffled by Ushio's hand.
Acting purely on instinct, Yugi bit the hand covering his mouth as hard as he could. Ushio cried out in surprise and that gave Yugi the opening he needed to escape Ushio's grasp. He ran in the opposite direction of where Ushio was taking him and began screaming, "Help me! Help me! Someone, anyone! Help me!"
He alternated the cries for help between the two languages, hoping someone would come to his aid. Yugi didn't dare look behind him as that would slow him down. If Ushio caught him, there would be no escape and Yugi refused to be raped by him.
After a minute or two of running, Yugi came across a training area of sorts and spotted familiar crazy hair styles. "Bakura! Marik! Malik! Jou! Help me!" he cried and threw himself onto Malik, almost knocking him to the ground.
"Yugi, what's wrong?" Malik asked concerned. Yugi just sobbed on his chest.
Jou came over and asked the question in Japanese and all Yugi was able to get out was, "Princess- guard- rape- chasing me- help." It was more than enough for Jou and Bakura, who went out to check the hall only to find no one there.
They came back and Jou tried to comfort Yugi with a hand on his shoulder, but he jerked harshly away, only letting Malik touch him. "It's alright Yugi, there was no one in the hall who ever it was, it looks like you lost them." Yugi just continued to sob on Malik's shirt, showing no signs of hearing what was said.
Malik took Yugi's chin in his hand to see his face and gasped when he saw the darkening bruises. "We need to get him to Isis." he said urgently. The others gasped as well when they saw the bruises.
Yugi's legs refused to move and this time he let Jou carry him to the healing chambers. On the way he started mumbling, "Yami, Yami, Yami…" So Bakura and Marik went to go get him. By the time they got to the healing chambers, Yugi was completely out of it.
When Isis got to him, she took in his unresponsiveness, pale skin, and shortness of breath and cursed. "He's in shock. How did this happen?"
She took Yugi from Jou while he explained. "We don't know exactly, he just came running in crying and screaming asking for help. Based on what he was saying, I think a guard tried to rape him."
Isis nodded and put Yugi on a cot. Then she grabbed two blankets and covered Yugi with one and usd the other to prop his feet up. "Did he ask for anyone?" Next she got the cream for bruises and started applying it to his face.
"Yeah, he kept asking for on the way over here. Marik and Bakura went to go get him."
As if on cue, Yami came bursting into the room with Marik and Bakura on his heals. "Yugi!" He quickly rushed over to his side and took his hand. "What happened." he demanded. "I just left Yugi in my room an hour and a half ago. Who did this?!"
It was plain to see that the young prince was furious, smoke was practically coming out of his ears. "From what we could tell when, it seems like a keg a guard tried to rape him." Jou said.
"WHAT?!" Yami shouted. "Who would be stupid enough to try that?!"
The sound of Yami's voice caused Yugi to stir. "Ya-Yami?"
Yami's attention immediately shifted to him. "It's me. It's alright now, you're safe."
Yugi's other hand went to grasp the one that was holding his other hand and he began to cry. "Oh Yami, I was so scared. I was just in your room when Vivian came in. She started screaming, then she started hitting and kicking me, then the Ushio, then- then-" Yugi couldn't go on any more and just started crying. Yami used his free hand to stroke Yugi's cheek gently comforting him softly.
After about ten minutes, Yugi had cried himself to sleep. Isis looked him over and decided that there was nothing more she could do for him accept apply the bruise cream to his other injuries. Yami nodded and picked up Yugi and carried him to his room. His friends left him alone, knowing that he just needed some space to cool off.
Inside Yami was fuming. How dare they lay a hand on Yugi! He was marked as his personal servant, and even then, Ushio was very well capable of understanding what ever Yugi had said to defend himself. If it was true that the bastard had tried to do something as vile as to rape his little one, there would be hell to pay. Regardless, both he and Vivian would have to stand trial for harming his Yugi.
Once he got to his room, Yami layed Yugi down on his bed then sat next to him and waited for him to wake up. He saw that Yugi had been playing checkers, but the pieces were knocked everywhere, probably by Vivian. He put the game away and thought to ask Yugi for a game when everything was better.
Yugi woke up some time later in Yami' bed wondering how he got there. Then, the memories crashed down on him like a wave. When he gasped, he heard Yami's voice come from his side, saying, "It's okay, Yugi. It's all over now. You're safe." After it seemed like Yugi had calmed down, Yami asked gently, "Can you tell me what happened?"
Looking into those kind crimson eyes made Yugi break down and tell him everything from start to finish. Once he was done he asked, "What's going to happen now?"
"Well, Vivian and Ushio will have to stand trial for what they did. Normally, the punishment for something like this is death, but since they have royal connections, they will probably get off with being on house arrest or something like that."
"W-will Ushio still be allowed in the palace?" Yugi fearfully whispered.
Yami cringed and said, "Unfortunately, most likely." Yugi then broke down in fearful tears and Yami couldn't help but ask, "Did- did the slavers ever violate you like that?"
To his relief, Yugi shook his head. "No. They knew I would get a better price if I was still pure. They fed me well and didn't hit me for the same reason. If I miss behaved, they would just punish someone else instead." Yugi was beginning to tremble so Yami pulled him into his arms.
"But that's not the first time someone tried to rape me. It happened about five times before. Once when I was eight, twice when I was 10 and 11, and then once a few weeks before my cousin left." Yugi was crying again now. "I thought that maybe here it wouldn't happen, but it looked like I was wrong."
"Oh, Yugi, I promise that it will never happen again." Yami had tears in his eyes now, just listening to the broken tone Yugi was using. "I promise that I'll protect you, no harm will ever come to you again."
Hearing Yami's heartfelt words made Yugu wrap his arms around him to and just say, "Thank you, thank you" over and over again.
Both Vivian and Ushio got the sentences Yami predicted, both were confined to their rooms for two months.
From that day onward, Yami took his promise very seriously. He took Yugi with him everywhere, even with him to his lessons. As it turned out, that was the best thing for the both of them. Once Yugi had a firm grasp of the Egyptian language, he ended up being better than Yami at his lessons, helping him wherever he needed it.
Even when Mahad started teaching the prince magic, it turned out Yugi had a talent for that as well. Yami's ka monster ended up being the magician of black chaos while Yugi's was the little hairball kuriboh.
Yes, since that day, it became an uncommon, even downright strange to see one without the other. Yami even went as far to walk with Yugi to get his own food. There were some that objected to the close bond the prince was forming with a mere slave, but they eventually accepted it.
Life was good for Yugi, Yami, and their friends. But life has a funny way of always throwing in something new to change everything when someone seemingly has it perfect. Being the crown prince of Egypt changes nothing about this fact.
The beginning was okay right? I can't help but feel I botched the meeting. GAHHH! I will admit that most of my planning for this story is like, at least a year from where it started, so the next chapter will have a ten month time jump. You should be able to figure out why that is. ;P
It's kind of funny, that I started working on this fic in reverse. I started with the end, then worked my way backwards to the beginning. Logically speaking, that means that I can only get better! I hope.
Well, whatever the case, I appreciate every single person who took time out of their day to read this. Even the future readers who are reading this when the story is already completed. Well, whether you're reading this when it's the latest chapter or not, please leave your thoughts down below in a review at least once. Until next time! ^^
*I'm using Jou because I know I'd get sick of writing out Jounouchi every time.