Yugi and Seto had been working in the cabin for a week. Yugi didn't know what they were waiting for, but Seto kept saying that it wasn't safe and he trusted the Seto knew what he was doing. Seto also always made sure to stay by Yugi's side even if they were safe inside their room at night. Yugi was starting to worry that Seto seemed to be too cautious.
They were walking through the market and Seto was beginning to worry him even more. He was looking behind them every five minutes and he kept one hand over where Yugi knew he hid a dagger. "Seto?" he asked cautiously.
Seto seemed to tense when Yugi spoke. He hadn't realized that Yugi had seen his actions. He cursed himself. He didn't want Yugi to be worried. He was trying his hardest to keep Yugi from being scared. "It's nothing Yugi," he said as he forced himself to relax.
"Are you sure?" Yugi asked cautiously.
"Yes Yugi."
Yugi nodded as they came upon the cabin. If Seto said that it was nothing to worry about than Yugi wouldn't worry. Though, that was only short lived as two people shoved them inside the inn as they were walking in and locked the door so that no one could get in or out.
Seto immediately took his sword out and positioned himself between Yugi and the two attackers. "What do you want?" he growled.
"Whoa, whoa," said one of the attackers as he lifted his hands to show that he was not going to attack. In doing so he also revealed his royal guard uniform. "It's just us." He took off his hood to reveal Joey's face and the other attacker took off his hood to reveal Tristan.
"Joey!" Yugi said with delight as Seto put his sword away slowly, "Tristan! What are you guys doing here?"
"We're looking for you of course," said Joey. "You were actually rather hard to find. Seto's apparently been doing a good job of keeping you guys' identities a secret."
"How is it looking with the pharaoh?" asked Seto.
Joey immediately lost his happy mood. "Unfortunately, he was seriously injured in the battle. We don't know if he's going to make it."
Yugi gasped. He hadn't known that his father had been in so much danger. If he had known he would have demanded that Seto take him home immediately. Now that he knew there was no way that he was going to be kept here. He had to go home now. Without even telling his guards he went up to gather his things from the room that they had been staying in for all this time.
Seto watched Yugi leave with a look of concern on his face. He hadn't meant to keep Yugi away from his father. He had only wanted to keep Yugi safe. He sighed and looked back at the two guards as the innkeeper and her husband walked into the room.
"What is going on here?" gasped the woman. "Why are palace guards here?"
"I'm afraid we must leave now," said Seto, "but we thank you for the hospitality that you have provided to us."
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"To the palace where we belong," answered Seto.
"The palace?" the woman gasped. "You guys work in the palace?"
Seto only nodded as Yugi came down carrying all of their stuff. He was still dressed in the rags that they had bought, but now he also wore the head piece that marked him as the prince. He also wore the cloak that he had come to the inn wearing so that he could cover himself when they went onto the streets. Seto immediately took the bags from him and Yugi would have protested if he hadn't been in so much of a hurry to get to his father.
"I thank you for your hospitality while we stayed here," Yugi said to the woman as he put his hood over his head and headed to the door, "but I'm afraid we must leave."
This time the woman only nodded as the four of them walked by her and her husband. She couldn't believe that she had had the prince staying in her inn this whole time. That he had actually been working for her as though he was nothing more than a commoner.
Seto was the last to leave, but before he stepped out of the building he turned to the innkeeper and her husband one last time to say, "The king has done everything in his power to keep the identity of his son a secret. I trust that you will not reveal who he is."
The woman only nodded again and then Seto was gone.
Yugi ran straight to his father's chambers when he had heard the news. He hadn't even stopped at the gates when the guards had tried to stop him. Luckily, Joey and Tristan had been running ahead of him and had told the guards to allow him passage. The whole time he was running Seto remained at his side with a worried expression. He knew how it would affect Yugi if his father died and all of the stress that would be put on the boy, but the only thing he could do was pray to Ra that Yugi's father be spared from death for a little while longer.
As they approached the chambers, Yugi noticed that one of the servants was outside of the room waiting for them to arrive. "How is he?" he asked the woman frantically.
"I'm afraid he isn't doing well my prince," she shook her head sadly. "They don't think that he will survive this time."
"But he has to!" Yugi yelled. "He can't just leave me."
"I'm sorry," the servant girl shook her head sadly. She quickly turned and left afterwards. She loved the royal family too much to be able to bare such sadness and loss within the family, and it was even worse when it was Yugi because he was just a weak child.
Yugi turned to the door and stared at it. He wanted to go in, but he was afraid of seeing his own father, the man that he had always thought was unbreakable, so damaged.
"My prince?" asked Seto.
Yugi sighed. "Have you ever felt the need to do something so badly that you rush to do it, but then when it actually comes time to do it, you're afraid to even try?"
"I have," Seto nodded, "but, in my experience, it's those times that you choose not to do what you had wanted to do that you will regret for the rest of your lives."
Yugi put his hand on the door as if to open it, but he did not apply pressure. "I just can't do it," he said as tears began to roll down his face.
"Then let me help you," Seto said as he stepped forward and opened the door himself.
The door gave way to a beautiful grand bedroom where a large bed sat in the middle with a sick king inside of it. "Father!" Yugi gasped as he ran to the side of the bed.
"My son," the pharaoh wheezed. "Come here." He padded the bed next to him and Yugi crawled up to be closer to him. The pharaoh placed his weak hands upon Yugi's cheek and smiled. "I'm so glad you're okay," he said.
"Seto's been taking care of me," Yugi said as he tried to smile. It turned out looking very fake so he just let it slide off of his face without a second thought.
"I'm glad," said the pharaoh. There was a moment of silence before he spoke again. "I'm going to die."
Yugi gasped at the words that his father had just spoken. The severity of the situation suddenly hit him with full force, but even in the face of his father's imminent death, he still wouldn't give up hope that he might survive. "The nurses are going to fix you right up father," he said hopefully.
"No my son," the pharaoh shook his head. "I am going to die and you will have to take my place as the king of Egypt."
"I can't," Yugi cried. "I'm not strong enough to be pharaoh. I can't do it without you."
"Strength doesn't only come from physical abilities," said the pharaoh. "It comes from…." The statement was left unfinished as the pharaoh's lifeless hand fell from Yugi's cheek.
Yugi's tears fell even faster as he looked at the motionless body of his father. He had just lost his one and only beloved father. He had just lost the only other family member he had ever known. He was alone.
Yugi dashed out of the room without even thinking about Seto or if the man would follow him. He actually hoped Seto wouldn't, because this moment was one of the only times that he wanted to be alone. He wanted to mourn his loss in loneliness.
Seto followed close behind Yugi.
They were somewhere in the gardens when Yugi finally collapsed from both physical and mental exhaustion. Seto didn't even give the boy a moment to himself before he pulled him into a comforting hug.
"Leave me alone," Yugi sobbed as he tried a week attempt to escape from Seto's strong arms.
"You can cry on me," Seto answered. He knew how Yugi felt at the moment. He remembered how he had felt when his mother had died. He too, had wanted to be alone, but he had also felt that he wished that someone would come to comfort him just so that he wouldn't feel so alone. So that he wouldn't feel like no one cared for him anymore. He wouldn't let Yugi feel that way no matter what.
Yugi buried his face into Seto's chest and said. "Pharaoh's shouldn't cry."
"But a boy who just lost the only family that he's ever known should cry. At this very moment you are not the pharaoh. You are just a boy that needs to cry."
Yugi nodded and the two of them sat there for the rest of the night as Yugi sobbed and Seto tried his best to keep Yugi at least somewhat calm.
i hope you enjoyed this new chapter