Natoya: So now I'm on chapter four! Yay! And I'm really very truly sorry about my long absence!!

Yugi: And in this chapter… wait, what happens?

Yami: Knowing her, she'll make us read it to find out.

Natoya: Yep. /smile/ Knowing ahead would spoil the fun.

Yugi: Aw… /pout/

Natoya: And today we have a special guest to do the disclaimer!

Yami: /yawn/ Please give a warm welcome for… Seto Kaiba?

Seto Kaiba: Hn.

Natoya: Seto, be a dear and do the disclaimer. /smile/

Seto: She doesn't own us, happy?

Yugi: Aw… /pout/

Natoya: /sigh/ If only… Well, enjoy the chapter!

&

"Oops…" Yugi muttered quietly. He stared down at the fifth vase he managed to break in just one morning. What a way to start out the day. Yugi shook his head and looked from side to side. No one.

"If a vase falls down in the middle of a palace and there's no one around but the person who broke it, does it make a sound and get the little slave boy in trouble? No…" Yugi mumbled to himself, backing away from the vase. He turned and ran down the hall. When he was far away enough, he leaned against a pillar and breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe the Pharaoh wouldn't find out he was the one who broke it. And besides, it wasn't his fault. Those damn vases seem to just jump in his way!

"Well, well, running away from the scene of the crime, eh?" said a smooth voice. Yugi froze in fear and moved his gaze up white robes to a face framed by a white hood and gold crown.

"Uh… Uh…" Yugi stuttered.

"You must be the Pharaoh's new slave. I'm one of the Pharaoh's Priests. I am called Mahad. You broke that vase down the hall?" He asked. Yugi shook his head.

"No!"

"I saw you break it." Mahad said, giving him a look.

"Then why did you ask me if I broke it?!" Yugi asked, panicking. What if this guy told the Pharaoh?! What if he got punished?!

"It was a rhetorical question. If you don't wish to be punished, I suggest you go back there and clean it up. Understand?" Mahad said. Yugi breathed a sigh of relief again.

"Okay. Sorry Sir." Yugi muttered and walked back down the hall. Stupid priest having to show up when he did… Would have saved him some work if he hadn't seen… Yugi was getting bruises on his delicate hands. Princes didn't work like this! Not that anyone knew he was a Prince… Yugi sighed. He'd done this to himself when he decided against telling Yami who he was. The chores Yami had given him were to simply clean the floors of all the rooms he was assigned. Then he was to clean up and straighten Yami's room. After finishing with the vase (a chore which got him a nasty cut on his hand that hurt like bloody hell) he headed off to Yami's room.

"But-!" Yugi stopped dead when he heard voices from in the room.

"I said no! Now get out!"

"But the wedding's only in a couple weeks! Why can't we-"

"I said no! Damnit woman, get out!"

"But Atem-!" Yugi gulped. He could physically feel the air in the room and the area he was in turn icy and cold. Yugi shivered.

"Never. Ever. EVER, call me Atem again. Do you understand me?" Yugi gulped again. He knew that voice was Yami's but he didn't know it could be so icy and unforgiving. Mia burst out of the room a second later in tears. Yugi cautiously peeked into the room. Yami sat in one of his beautiful golden chairs, staring out at the sky.

"Uh… Pharaoh? Is everything alright?" Yugi asked. When Yami turned to him, he had to fight back a gasp. His crimson eyes were so dark with anger… So icy cold…

"Come in Yugi." Yami said, though not very nicely. Yugi timidly came inside and walked over to him.

"Are you okay?" Yugi asked. Yami stared up at him.

"I'm fine." Yami snapped. Yugi flinched.

"Sorry… Do you want to be alone?" Yugi asked, biting his lip. He didn't know why, but Yami's temper made him want to tread very carefully around him. Yami sighed.

"No." Yami said, looking away.

"I… I heard…" Yugi tried to say. Geez, what was wrong with him? He had never feared any royal temper, not even his own father's, but something told him he had to be very careful when Yami was mad.

"You heard that? Sorry. Just another one of Mia's attempts to seduce me into bed." Yami spat angrily.

"You want to talk?" Yugi asked.

"No." Yugi bit his lip again. The response was so curt and final. Yugi's eyes narrowed as he stopped biting his lip.

"Why didn't you want her to call you Atem?" Yugi asked, determined now to get Yami to talk. Yami's gaze met his again.

"Because only certain people can call me that." Yami answered, deciding to answer him and relaxing a bit. He had decided not to try to change the way Yugi talked to him. A slave would never interfere in the lives of royals, but there was something about Yugi that just made him easy to talk to. So Yami just let it go.

"And who are these certain people?" Yugi asked. Now that Yami was relaxing, he though it was safe enough to sit by his feet. Settling down and getting comfortable, Yugi gazed up at Yami, waiting for an answer.

"My friends and my remaining family. Atem is my real name, but everyone I know, since the time I was born, has called me Yami. Only my family and my friends still call me that from time to time. Strangers or people I can't stand I get touchy with when it comes to my name." Yami said. Yugi nodded.

"I see. Isn't that kind of odd though? You would think Yami would be the nickname." Yugi said. Yami chuckled.

"You would think, huh? But oddly enough, that isn't the case." Yami said. Yugi suddenly smiled a little wickedly and laughed.

"There now, don't you feel better now that we've talked?" Yugi teased. Yami looked down at him, confused for a minute. Then he realized his anger was gone and he was feeling a lot better. He chuckled again.

"Thank you. I do feel better." Then Yami looked down at him with a mischievous expression. "But doesn't someone have a chore to finish?" Yugi frowned, realizing he had Yami's room to finish. And he still wasn't done with some of those floors… Damn him and his laziness! Yugi cursed himself.

"Leave it to you to bring that up." Yugi grumbled and got up, marching off the balcony Yami had been sitting on to go into his room. Yami smiled. He turned from his place on the balcony to watch Yugi work. It was then he noticed the blood leaking off his hand.

"Yugi?" Yami asked, alarmed. Yugi turned and looked at him.

"Huh?" Yugi said.

"Yugi, you're bleeding!" Yami said, rushing to him and taking his hand. Yugi stared at his hand, shocked to see blood running down it.

"Oh… That must have reopened. I cut it when I was cleaning up that vase I broke…" Yugi muttered. Yami looked at him and his eyes narrowed.

"Broken vase?" He questioned. Yugi blushed and giggled.

"Uh… Yeah… About that…" Yugi said.

"So you're the vase breaker we've been hunting all morning." Yami said.

"Uh… No?" Yugi said. Yami chuckled.

"Well, at least you cleaned up one of your messes. Come on. Let's get a healer to see to your hand." Yami said. Yugi followed him out of the room. He led him down the hallway to another hallway and yet down another hallway. Yugi was getting bored when Yami took him into another room. A young woman stood in there wrapping a guard's wound. She smiled when she saw Yami.

"Hello, Pharaoh." She said with a bow. "I'll see to you in a moment." She finished wrapping the man's wound and sent him on his way. Yami led Yugi over to the table and helped him up to sit on it.

"He cut his hand." Yami said. The woman nodded. She took out some salve and gently rubbed some on his hand. Yugi hissed because the stuff burned. When she was done, she wrapped his hand in a cloth.

"Change this once a day until your cut heals. Change it more then that if you have to bathe or if you get it wet some other way." She said and handed him a bundled up roll of cloths. Yugi thanked her and hopped down from the table. Then they left.

"Thank you." Yugi said as they walked.

"You're welcome. I hope you'll be more careful from now on. That cut could have gotten infected." Yami said, scolding him lightly. Yugi smiled.

"Okay." He said.

&

"Geez! How could one small boy just vanish?!" Marik said as he sat down.

"I don't know!" Bakura snapped. He sat down next to Marik. The men were currently in a small pub after a whole day of searching for their missing prince. A man came over to them and smiled brightly.

"Would you like to order anything?" He asked. Bakura glared at him.

"A drink for both of us." He snapped. The man disappeared. Marik frowned.

"Where could he have gone? How could he hide so well?" Marik asked.

"He's small so he could be anywhere." Bakura said. There was a sudden crash. Bakura and Marik whipped around in their seats and stared. A young boy with white hair kneeled on the ground with dishes surrounding him. The boy looked near tears as he tried to pick up the broken shards of the plates. Another man came out and began yelling at him. The boy did begin to cry then. He picked up what he could and ran from the room.

"Well that was stupid." Marik said. Bakura stared at him.

"How so?" Bakura asked.

"He should know better then to drop good dishes like that." Marik said. The other man came back with their drinks. Bakura glared at Marik as he sipped his.

"So you're going to blame him for it?" Bakura asked. Marik stared at him.

"Why do you care? He's not important to us." Marik said. Bakura frowned. He turned his head and stared silently at the door through which the young boy had vanished.

&

"Yami! Oh Yami! Pharaoh, where are you!?" Mia called. She was bored stiff waiting in the palace all day with her annoying mother, so she decided to hunt down her betrothed. She turned and walked down another hall, growing more and more frustrated as her search failed. Turning another corner, she bumped into Isis.

"Princess Mia." Isis said as she bowed to her. Mia smiled.

"Hello there Isis. You haven't seen the Pharaoh by any chance, have you?" She asked. Isis looked at her, a blank expression on her face.

"I do believe he's in the courtyard." The woman answered. Mia smiled. Perfect! She giggled to herself as Isis walked away. The courtyard was full of flowers and trees and it had a huge fountain! It was the perfect romantic setting! She hurried away. She imagined what she would say, what she would do! Maybe he would finally change his mind about bedding her! She spotted him sitting by the fountain in the courtyard and ran to him.

"Pharaoh! I've been looking everywhere for you!" She said happily. Yami turned and frowned. It was then she got a glimpse of two other people with him. The first was his childhood best friend Mana. Mana she didn't mind; she thought the girl was cute. And the second was that lowly slave he'd bought two days ago. Yugi, was that his name? She decided she did not care. She did not like him or the way he seemed to cling to Yami.

"Princess Mia." Mana said and gave a little bow. Yugi gave a small one also.

"What brings you here Mia?" Yami asked.

"Darling, I was so lonely by myself. I wanted to spend some time with you." Mia said, doing her best to pout adorably.

"I'm busy now Mia." Yami said, turning away from her. Mia frowned.

"Doing what?" She snapped.

"He's helping us right now Princess." Yugi said, glaring a tiny bit at her. She turned up her nose at him, clearly stating that she was superior, and glared back.

"Helping you with what?" She asked. Yami turned to glare at her this time.

"It's really none of your concern Princess." He said. Mia instantly went back to pouting.

"But Darling, what if I could help?" She asked.

"No offense Princess, but you can't. It's a surprise for you from the Pharaoh for your wedding." Mana interjected quickly. Mia instantly brightened. Yami gave Mana a look.

"Well, then I'll be off! Wouldn't want to spoil such a thoughtful surprise from my beloved!" Mia said and bounced away, willing to leave him be for now. Yugi flashed Mana a brilliant smile.

"Way to get rid of her!" Yugi said happily. Yami frowned not looking very happy.

"But now she'll be expecting something on the wedding day." Yami said. Mana grinned.

"We'll worry about that later. How does this look?" Mana asked, holding up her necklace of flowers. Yami smiled.

"They look lovely." Yami said. Yugi finished his and held it up.

"What about mine?" He asked.

"Beautiful. Where did you learn to make them?" Yami asked.

"My mother taught me how when I was little. She was always making flower necklaces from the flowers in the garden." Yugi said. He walked over to Yami and gently placed the necklace around his neck, smiling. Yami was surprised to find himself blushing as Yugi's hand brushed his cheek.

"Thank you." He said softly. Yugi froze, a light blush covering his face. He quickly withdrew his hands and looked away, though Yami saw the small smile on his face.

"You're welcome Pharaoh." He said, then sat down to make another. Mana laughed cheerfully as her necklace was finished. She got up and hung it around Yami's neck too. Yami smiled and fingered both necklaces.

"These are lovely. Thank you." He said. Mana giggled.

"Pharaoh?" Yami looked up to see Mahad staring down at him. Mahad had an odd look on his face, though he was trying to remain businesslike.

"Yes Mahad?" Yami asked.

"Uh… Sorry but what are you wearing?" Mahad asked. Yami fingered his necklaces again and laughed.

"They're flower necklaces. Mana and Yugi were making some and they decided to decorate me with them." Yami answered. Mahad smiled.

"I see. Well, the reason I came out here was to tell you that Seto is looking for you and he looks serious." Mahad said. Yami frowned. He took off the necklaces and laid them gently by the fountain. Yugi and Mana tried to pretend like they weren't there anymore.

"I have to go. Mana, watch Yugi. I'll be back soon." Yami said and followed Mahad away. No sooner had he gone inside then he was tackled by Princess Mia.

"Have you heard the news yet?! I just heard myself! Oh darling this is wonderful!" Mia squealed. Yami frowned and pushed her away.

"What news?" He asked. Mia frowned. Then he spotted Seto down the hall. Seto saw him also and ran towards him, a scroll in hand.

"There you are. This is for you." Seto said and handed him the scroll. Yami opened it and began reading, shock etching itself on his face.

"What…?" He asked softly.

"Darling, isn't it great?!" Mia chirped. Yami stared at Seto.

"They want to move the wedding date to three days from now?" Yami asked.

"Yes!" Mia squealed.

"The emperor says that two weeks is too long to wait now. He said he will pay for whatever major changes need to be made, but the wedding MUST be in three days." Seto said. Yami frowned.

"If not, then what?" Yami asked.

"War will be raged on Egypt. My daddy doesn't like it when his daughter is displeased." Mia said, her face darkening. Yami whirled to her.

"You wrote him, didn't you!" He accused.

"I thought the time was going by too slowly and I will not be refused by you much longer. I wanted to be married as soon as tomorrow, but the soonest daddy could allow was three days from now." Mia said. Yami was furious with her, his face darkening also the angrier he got.

"Fine." He growled out. "To prevent war, I'll marry you in three days." Mia giggled.

"Yay!" She chirped and bounced away, happy her plan had succeeded. After that embarrassing scene in his room when he refused to bed her yet again, she had taken matters into her own hands. Soon she would be his wife and in his bed.

"Sire, if I may…" Seto began.

"What?!" Yami snapped.

"She's such a bitch." Seto said, his face remaining impassive, which made the statement funny for some odd reason. Yami blinked. Then he grinned.

"Thank you Seto. You just made my day." He said. Seto smiled and walked away. Yami turned on his heel and went to his room.

&

Yami: I CAN NOT BELIEVE I HAVE TO MARRY HER IN THREE DAYS TO PREVENT A WAR ON MY COUNTRY!!

Natoya: Uh… It wasn't me! It was the though bubble in my head! Don't kill me!

Yami: /face darkens…/ Oh… I won't kill you. Yet.

Natoya: Eek! /runs off stage/

Yugi: /sweatdrop/ Uh…. Yeah. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and stay tuned for the next chapter!

Yami: /cackling manically as he starts up the flamethrower/ /runs off stage/

Natoya: /loud off stage blood curdling scream/

Yugi: If there is a next chapter… /sweatdrop/ Yami! No killing the authoress! /runs off/