Chapter 9: I want to understand
The halls of the palace were dark and silent. It was quite late and people were slowly disappearing into their rooms for much wanted and deserved sleep. Here and there were still the sounds soft whispers and talks between servants and slaves but even that was falling into nothing.
Yugi was running through the halls, his feet making loud noise and silently cursing himself for being late. It made him worry in its own way. He was almost sure that the pharaoh would never hurt him but he knew that being late would hurt the ruler. It was hard for others to understand how lonely and hurt the pharaoh was. The only thing they saw was the power and wealth he was bestowed with. Yugi's gentle soul ached when he thought about the suffering the older one was going through.
One last corner and the boy stood in front of heavy door leading into the pharaoh's chambers. He was breathing heavily from running through the streets and palace like that but he couldn't help himself. He knew that the pharaoh needed him and because he had lost himself in his thoughts he was now late. The fact that his sides hurt badly from the lack of oxygen was unimportant. Yugi was about to open the door when someone from inside did if for him instead.
Seth stood in the door and for once his eyes were soft and gentle. Yugi couldn't remember seeing the high priest in such a mood for a very long time. Actually, since the incident when he and Yami first met. The boy didn't understand why the priest was always so nice to him. Well, nice… how it came. He didn't yell at him, didn't call him by names or anything like that. Which was something he was usually doing to other people.
The rest of pharaoh's priests were treating him differently. They were watching him, studying him and making comments about him between themselves. It was purely annoying not to mention embarrassing. To him, Seth was an enigma. He was yelling at everybody but not at Yugi. He was insulting everyone and everything in the world but not him.
"You are late! You should go inside. The pharaoh was fussing over you not being in here at dusk. Just go and calm him down."
Yugi would swear that he saw a hint of smile on the priest's face. Dismissing it as a play of the torchlight Yugi quickly nodded and ran into the chambers.
It hit him at the very same moment he entered the bedchamber. The sadness, bitterness and heavy touch of loneliness. Yugi almost choked on his breath when he felt these dark emotions imprinted in the pharaoh's room. The said pharaoh was sitting on his bed with his eyes closed, head turned towards a window. The small boy slowly walked towards him.
"Pharaoh?"
One ruby eye opened and a soft smile appeared on the tanned face. Yugi's breath hitched again. Even if he didn't feel the emotions in the room he could see it clearly in pharaoh's eyes. Without thinking the smaller boy ran into Yami's embrace.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be late. I really didn't I swear! I was lost in thoughts and I lost track about time. I'm sorry, pharaoh!" his tiny arms tightened its grip on the older one's torso. Yugi couldn't stand it. He knew how it was to be alone. All the time back in Domino city, he was alone. But the pharaoh didn't have to be like that. Yugi was alone because he was small and weaker than others. That was the reason why the bullies beat him daily and others tried to avoid him. But not Yami. The Egyptian pharaoh was strong and wise. There was no reason for him to feel this way.
Yet it was there.
Right in his eyes there was darkness, ready to take over his very soul. Yugi didn't know what to do. He felt guilty for making Yami worried. If only he would be able to make things right. The boy could feel a hand slowly stroking his back.
"Don't worry about it, little one. I'm glad that you kept your promise and came back."
Yugi's eyes grew wider in instant. Was that what the pharaoh was so afraid? That he wouldn't return back to him. Salty tears forced their way into the amethyst orbs. He just couldn't believe it. Was it because the pharaoh cared, or because he needed him for something? Yugi wanted so much to believe that it was the first case. That the handsome and incredibly wonderful man cared for him.
Carefully, Yugi nuzzled his face into the pharaoh's chest. That man who was scaring and confusing him so much also offered warmth he craved for since childhood. Yugi wished he could understand himself. He just knew that the understanding to the man whose arms he was in right now was in Yugi himself.
The final key to salvation.
The path that leads to peace in them.
The last step to reach the heaven.
Tyr was happily walking through the halls of the Egyptian palace whistling some melody and looking at the paintings. Anybody could say he was in a very good mood. After all it was a beautiful morning and everything was telling him how successful the day was going to be.
The young Phoenician was tall and handsome. Like most people around the Mediterranean Sea his skin was tanned but instead of brown eyes his were jade green. His look and charming smile usually got him lots of attention from girls and women around the places he visited. He didn't mind. It was good, especially when he got good money from his transactions as well.
As most Phoenicians Tyr was a merchant. He travelled all around the Mediterranean Sea to sell or buy things. Just like his father he continued in gaining wealth and political power.
And that was the reason why he was in Egypt. The land of sand was always a good opportunity to find some valuable information, make good deals or just a visit the market. Not to mention the palace. Tyr could honestly say that he liked Egyptian culture. They had a good taste in architecture. Even when they sucked in art. The paintings were terrible. He added in his thought with a mocking grin.
For now he was trying to decide what to do today. The pharaoh was with the damn council so Tyr couldn't ask for an audience and maybe talk about some deals between their countries and nobody else was aroundat the moment. With a deep depressed sigh, Tyr decided to just wander around the palace and see what kind of opportunity the fates would send his way.
The fates granted his wish in two heartbeats. When the merchant turned around the corner something smaller than him collided into his chest and sent him on the floor. Tyr was so surprised that for a moment he couldn't do anything else than stare at the ceiling and thing what the fuck happened.
"Ouch!"
Tyr lifted his head a little and looked at what knocked him down. A young boy was half-laying on his chest, who was now rubbing his head. Tyr was speechless. The boy looked like the pharaoh himself. But … it couldn't be him. He was sure that the ruler of Egypt was with his council right now.
"Oh! I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going. I didn't mean to knock you down! Are you ok?"
The two large amethyst eyes took all the coherent thought out of Tyr's head. He managed to get out of the shock when the boy slid off and sat down on the floor next to him. It was unbelievable how similar the boy was to the pharaoh. There were differences. The pharaoh was taller and his eyes were crimson red. The boys eyes were also missing the stern look and his hair didn't have extra golden streak. And most importantly … where Yami had a air of confidence around him the boy was shining with innocence and trust.
"Yes, I'm fine. I guess so. Ehmm … and you would be?"
"Sorry, where are my manners! My name is Yugi. Once again sorry for bumping into you like that. I was kind of in hurry!"
"So I noticed." Smirked Tyr and stood up. He helped Yugi onto his feet as well. And studied him a little bit more in the process. The boy was dressed like an ordinary servant yet the jewellery on him let Tyr know that he was much more than that. The necklace around his neck proved it quite well. It was the seal of the pharaoh himself. It was clearly saying one thing … untouchable. The boy was out of reach of any rule or restriction except for the pharaoh.
"My name is Tyr and I don't think I saw you in the palace before. Are you new here?" asked Tyr curiously. He thought that any kind of information is always important and the boy looked like an enigma he wanted to solve.
"I'm here for few days. It's just I'm trying not to wander around the palace too much. It's little bit complicated and I don't want to get lost again." Yugi sighed in defeat and Tyr couldn't help but chuckle. The boy was simply funny.
"Where were you going in such a hurry anyway?"
"The council meeting will be ending soon and I thought I could talk to pharaoh."
"Well, I needed to talk to the pharaoh too. But I'm afraid that the meeting will be longer." Tyr chuckled again. "The ambassador from Roma is putting on airs again so don't expect to talk to Pharaoh too soon. I suggest letting him cool down because he is going to be extremely pissed off. He always is when somebody from Roma is present. And in that case I am offering you my company for the time. Since we both obviously don't have any better plans."
Yugi smiled and nodded. The man before him was interesting and nice. So why not?
"You will not piss him off again, Jou! Are we clear?"
Jou stopped looking out of the window and turned his head towards Azizi. With a shrug he returned to watching the people on the street.
"I don't piss him off! He starts it all the time!"
Azizi sighed and buried his head in hands. It was plainly useless. Jou would never admit that his attitude was making the high priest go on a rampage but it was normal. All Azizi wanted was for Jou go to the palace, give Seth the wooden box, and he wanted to make sure that Yugi was alright. But he definitely wasn't about to let Jou end up in a dungeon for his foul mouth towards the priest. It was hard for all of them that Yugi wasn't there anymore. They all missed him. Azizi was fully aware that it was worst for Jou and he honestly wanted to give him a chance to see the smaller boy as much as possible.
"Just try not to get into any problems, Jou. Can you do that for me, please?"
"Huh?"
"YOU FREAKING IDIOT! CAN YOU AT LEAST LISTEN TO ME!" screamed Azizi when the dumbfounded Jou looked at him again. Truthfully he was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice that Azizi was trying to talk to him. It happened to him a lot in these days. It wasn't only Yugi as Azizi thought. But that wasn't important.
Jou grabbed the box for Seth and hurried for the door. Each time he could see Yugi was what counted and he didn't need to be scolded every time. Of course he knew that it would be better for him to behave but he didn't lie when he said that Seth started each of the fights. Or maybe he should learn more self-control. It didn't bother him at that moment. He was going to see Yugi again and that was the main thing.
"That imbecile, how dare he talk to me like that? Does he really think that I have nothing better to do than listen to that bullshit? Damn him to hell! Why does the Senate always send HIM. I can't stand him and I seriously doubt that anybody else does! So WHY?"
Seth rolled his eyes and tried not to yawn. Yami was acting like a REALLY spoiled brat and his priest was getting tired of that. On the other hand, ambassador Semptimus was truly annoying as hell.
"I think it's the reason why they send him every time. They can't stand him either. But you should control a little bit yourself. A moment longer and you would probably start war with Roma."
Yami, who was about to explode, took a deep breath and then kicked a near chair. Which wasn't a good idea since he was wearing sandals but the anger overcame even the pain. Seth understood. Semptimus was making Yami insane just by his manners. And that was another reason why Seth was almost never present when the elderly man was. Seth's own patience was extremely tested when the man was around. And Egypt truly couldn't afford war with Romanians.
"Yami, why don't you go to your room and try to relax for once. Take a nap; bathe or whatever will cool you down. Geez, go find yourself some whore if you think it will help you." To his utter surprise Yami refuse all these offers with a wave of hand.
"Where is Yugi?"
Seth dropped his jaw at this. Yami never, never put anything before fucking pleasure slaves when he was stressed. And the ruler was asking where was … The thought in Seth's mind gave him a dark suspicion.
"Don't you even think abou…"
"I don't want to hurt him and I don't want him for that you idiot! I was just asking where he is!" snapped Yami when he heard Seth accusing. The truth was that he wanted him that way but not for stress relief. He couldn't understand it. He wanted that boy since he laid his eyes on him. The other beauties of the palace suddenly just lost their shine. Yami understood that he wanted Yugi and nobody else.
"I think that since you told him that he can go wherever he wants to he will be probably somewhere in the palace." Said Seth with now calm voice.
"Than fetch him!" barked Yami at his cousin and strode off to his chambers. Seth sighed. This is gonna be a long day!
"… and then he said; Well excuse me, but how did I was supposed to know such a thing? I swear she did looked like a horse anyway!"
Yugi burst in laughing holding his sides. He wasn't sure if all of these stories were true but they were really funny. The small boy was glad that he met Tyr. The day passed so quickly that he didn't even notice what time was. There was something about the Phoenician that sounded little bit off, but Yugi shrugged it off as the accent. Or maybe the dramatic way he was acting. He would be a really good actor.
The sun was slowly setting but the meeting with Romans wasn't finished yet or so they both were told. Instead of waiting for the pharaoh to show up they decided to spend the day in royal gardens simply enjoying themselves. Tyr didn't asked about Yugi's background and the boy was glad for it. He didn't feel like telling anybody about it with the exception of Jou. After all he didn't tell Yami about it as well. It just sounded so unrealistic that he couldn't bring himself to say it to another person.
Most of the time Tyr was talking. The young merchant obviously loved the sound of his own voice and didn't hesitate to let anyone know. Not that Yugi minded. It was fun listen to him. The stories about countries he visited and people he met were enchanting. It was nice, and it gave him the feeling that he knew these people and lands by himself.
When Yugi calmed down he noticed the sudden silence from his new friend. Tyr was looking at something behind Yugi so the boy turned around to see what caught his attention. On the path Seth was walking towards them, his face letting them know that he hadn't had the best day ever.
"The happiest priest of pharaoh's court just arrived. Let us bow down deep and hope he will pass us." Came Tyr's sarcastic comment before Seth was to close to hear him. Yugi elbowed him to make sure he would stay quiet.
"Yugi, I was looking for you the whole afternoon! Pharaoh was looking for you. You should go to him, he is in his chambers." Seth wasn't happy. He was actually pissed off. He spent three hours looking for the kid because of Yami's order and wasted his precious time. And what more; on the way to the gardens some servant told him that in his library one nameless dog was waiting. Seth truly wanted to stay angry but one look at Yugi's worried eyes made him melt.
I wonder how Yami feels when he's with this kid. If only I could solve this mystery!
Yugi quickly nodded and with a short wave to Tyr he disappeared back into the palace. When he was gone Seth turned his curious gaze towards the Phoenician. Tyr smiled nervously.
"Ahnn, don't take me wrong, high priest! I was just talking to him. I would never touch what is the pharaoh's." and with a short bow he disappeared as well. Seth grunted something to himself and started walking toward his library and a certain 'dog'. On his face crept a small smile. Maybe the day wasn't as bed as he thought.
Yami couldn't stand it. It's been thee hours and Yugi was still somewhere else. He wanted the boy to be with him right now. Yami felt bad for being so selfish but he couldn't help it. The whole world looked so much brighter when the boy was around. Not for the first time he was wondering how it would be to make love to that boy. To simply feel him completely. To be able to make him scream in ecstasy. And Yami would make sure that it would be ecstasy and pleasure that the smaller boy felt. But considering how scared the boy was Yami didn't think that would ever happen. The worst thing was that he still could remember the touch of his fingers on the smooth and creamy skin.
The pharaoh's breath hitched when he heard the door opened and the breathless Yugi appeared. Yami thought that the boy had to run the whole time from wherever he was. He couldn't help it, but the boy looked perfect even when his cheeks were red from lack of air.
"I'm sorry, pharaoh. I hope you didn't have to wait long." Somehow Yugi managed to get this from his exhausted form. Yami chuckled when he saw it. The dark feeling of loneliness disappeared immediately when Yugi showed up in the room. It was unbelievable but just watching the smaller boy was making Yami so happy.
"Don't be sorry, little one. After all it was me who told you to go wherever your heart wants to."
"Yes but…"
"It's alright. Come here." Yami motioned to him and held his hand up. Yugi, whose breath was now calm, walked towards the ruler and put his small hand into the tanned one. Yami slowly made him to sit on his lap and wrapped his arms around the younger one's body. Once Yugi was safely in his embrace Yami buried his head into the boy's soft hair. With a content sigh Yami let all his worries just float away. He couldn't care less about them right now.
"Little one, you are still scared of me, aren't you?"
Yugi thought about it for a long time. Was he really scared of the pharaoh? He was confused and maybe that was where his fear came from. But being so close to Yami, and what was more, in his arms, made him feel so safe and protected. So cared for. It was a feeling he wanted to feel as much as possible. All of sudden he remembered the kiss. It was so sweet and gentle. Yugi couldn't bring himself to believe that the pharaoh would hurt him. His lips were so warm and soft. It made him want more. Need more!
"Maybe a little. I'm honestly not sure. I'm sorry."
Yami was silent and Yugi could almost feel the sorrow from his body. He didn't need to see Yami's face or hear his answer.
"Don't be sorry, little one. It was my fault that you fear me!" whispered Yami into the boy's hair. Yugi wriggled in the tanned arms and the pharaoh hissed in pain when the smaller one's feet touched Yami's sore leg.
"Pharaoh, what happened?…"
Yami silenced him by pressing his lips on the boy's.
"Shush, it's nothing. After that meeting I was quite angry and took it on a nearby chair. My leg is just a little bit sore that's all."
Yugi quickly looked at Yami's foot and his eyes widened when he saw a nasty bruise right above his ankle. Tears appeared in his eyes.
"It must really hurt, pharaoh!"
"It's nothing, don't worry about it, little one."
The smaller boy firmly shook his head. With a confidence he didn't usually feel Yugi made the pharaoh to lie back on the bed. In utter surprise Yami obeyed. It never happened before that the amethyst eyed boy would be so assertive. Yugi brought a bowl with cold water and some cloth from the night table. He was sure that somebody tried to take care of the bruise but Yami didn't let them. As gently as he could Yugi wet the cloth in water and wrapped it around the sore area. It wasn't anything special but it wasn't a serious wound either. He tied it with another cloth to make sure that the coldness stay on the place.
Yami was watching fascinated as the boy treated the bruise. The fact that it was Yugi who took care of it made the pain go away instantly. When he finished Yugi looked at Yami seriously.
"You should stay in bed tomorrow. It wouldn't be good for you to walk. You need rest."
Yami smiled and wrapped his arm around the boy's waist. Taking the surprised boy next to him Yami lay down and looked into the amethyst eyes.
"Thank you, Yugi. I will rest tomorrow under one condition. That you will stay here with me!"
"I'm serious!"
"Me too."
Yami gently kissed Yugi's forehead. He couldn't help it. The utter joy that the boy was more open around him was making him absolutely happy. He was afraid to kiss him deeply. There was no way that Yami would risk having another vision. Hurting or making Yugi upset was the last thing in his mind. But he wanted to feel him at least a little.
Experimentally, Yami let his lips wandered over Yugi's cheek and jaw. He left soft kisses along the way until he touched the soft skin behind the boy's ear. It earned him a contented moan from the youth. The pharaoh doubted that Yugi knew how happy he was making him.
After all, the boy was in Yami's arms and let kissing him. This time he didn't struggle or cry out in discomfort. Yami couldn't hold it anymore. He needed to taste the sweetness again. He returned to his lips and kissed him deeply.
And there was nothing what could stop him from doing it.
Oh my, I was able to finished chapter 9. Can't believe it. Hope you liked it. I want to thank to Abi2 for being beta for this story.
This story is my present for you to the st. Valentin's day. Hope you are enjoing it ;)
Murail
