Looking around the long somewhat dark hallway, Dartz quickly and silently like a snake slipped out of his secret chambers. Night had fallen outside of the palace, and it was very important that he was not seen. The sorcerer slowly began to slide it shut. Weevil waddled along the smooth marble floor behind him, humming underneath his breath.
"Dartz!" Atem suddenly came bursting into the room, dark crimson eyes full of anger.
Dartz slammed the door shut, accidently trapping Weevil right inside the frame. He smiled, and bowed to the handsome prince.
"You're highness how may I be of service to you?" he asked while covering the hidden door with his cape so that Atemu wouldn't see.
"Dartz I'm stuck," Weevil squawked as he tugged on his master's cape, his voice came out somewhat raspy.
"The guard's just took a boy from the market on your orders," the prince snapped, his red eyes locked onto the sorcerer.
"You're father put me in charge of keeping peace in Egypt, the boy was a common criminal," Dartz shook his head as he replied.
"What was his crime?" Atem asked as his eyes narrowed, arms crossed against his chest.
"Dartz, I can't breathe," the bird rasped, before the sorcerer answered the little prince's question.
"Why kidnapping the prince of course," he sneered, kicking Weevil back through the door causing it to shut in his face.
"OW that hurt!" the bird's annoying voice squawked.
"He didn't kidnap me, I ran away," Atem countered.
"Oh how frightfully upsetting," he said, giving a fake sad expression. "Had I known."
"What do you mean?" Selene asked, slowly appeared out of the shadows her ocean blue eyes wide with anger walking over to Atem's side.
"The sentence has all ready been carried out," Dartz said.
"What sentence?" they both asked at the same time.
"Death," Dartz replied.
"How could you?" the prince said, as he tried to hide the sadness in his voice.
"I am exceeding sorry your highness," Dartz said.
"How could you?" were the last words that escaped Atem's lips, before he ran from the room, Selene following close behind him.
With his last effort, Weevil squeezed himself out of the door frame, and landed on his master's shoulder.
"So how'd it go?" he asked.
"I think they took it rather well," Dartz said as sinister smiles appeared on both of their faces.
Atem collapsed in his gardens, crying. He had managed to loose Selene on the way back to his rooms.
It was his fault. The amethyst eyed boy was dead. If only he hadn't run away.
"Atem?"
Atem looked up with tear filled eyes to see Marik and Malik with him, and very, very, concerned for him.
"What happened?" Malik asked as he sat next to the young royal.
Atem opened his mouth to respond, but more tears came out from his eyes. After a minute, he calmed down a little bit.
"It's all my fault." Atem choked out, surprising the two. "I didn't even know his name."
"Okay." Marik sighed and scooped the prince up bridal style and carried him into his room. For once, there was no protest and that was enough to alert the two, aside from the uncontrollable crying, that something was really wrong.
"Start at the beginning, and take your time." Malik advised as he rubbed circles on Atem's back.
Atem nodded his head and began to tell his friends what had happened after he had left the previous night.
However, Atemu didn't know that Yugi, thankfully, still had his head attached to his shoulders, and was chained to a wall in the palace dungeons. He was slightly sore from the beating Pegasus and a few of the other guards had given him, mainly to celebrate their capture of the illusive street rat who had invaded them for six years.
"He was the prince." Yugi muttered to himself, trying to ignore the dim pain in his body. "I don't believe it. I must have sounded so stupid to him."
"Yoo-hoo! Yugi?" a distant but very familiar monkey voice called out, making Yugi look up to see Joey sitting in the window the top of the dungeon. "Hello!"
"Joey! Down here!" Yugi grinned and moved his head towards the shackles on his hands and feet. "Please help me outta these."
Joey drops to the ground and stops, and then begins chattering wildly. Yugi felt like rolling his eyes as Joey did an impressive imitation of the prince before sticking out his tongue.
"Hey, he was in trouble." Yugi glared at the shifter. "Ah, he was worth it."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Joey mumbled as he jumped up on Yugi's shoulders and pulled a small set of tools out of his pocket before proceeding to work the manacles on his friend's wrists.
"Don't worry, Joey. I'll never see him again." Yugi reminded his shifter friend. "I'm a street rat, remember, and there's a law."
At that point Joey freed Yugi's hands and turned his attention to the chains on his ankles.
"He's gotta marry a member of the royal family or a high class citizen." Yugi trailed off, more talking to himself now. "He deserves it. Not some commoner."
"Ta da!" Joey cheered as he opened the last shackle.
"Thanks Joey." Yugi sighed as he rubbed his wrists and ankles. "I'm a… I'm a fool."
"You're only a fool to give up boy," a dark voice replied from the shadows. The two turned to see an old man sitting on the floor that neither of them had seen before.
"Who are you?" Yugi asked, curiosity in his voice as Joey changed to his human form..
"A lowly prisoner like yourself, but perhaps we can be more," he replied.
"I'm listening," the young man said.
"There is a cave my dear boy, a cave of wonders filled with treasure beyond your wildest dreams," he said, reaching into his dark cloak revealing blood red rubies that shone like stars and winked. "Treasure enough to impress your prince I'd wager,"
"Dartz will you hurry up, I'm dying in here," Weevil moaned as he pushed back the cloak, sweat was dripping down his light feathers.
Yugi frowned, "But the law says that only royalty can marry-"
"You've heard of the golden rule, my dear boy, whoever has the gold makes the rules," the old man put a pale finger his lips, cutting him off as he grinned, showing terrible hideous looking teeth.
"So will you share all of this treasure with us?" Joey chimed in.
"I need two young men with strong legs and backs to go in after it." The man grinned.
"Listen you old geezer," the blonde asked "one little problem how the heck do we get outta here?"
The disguised Dartz smiled even wider, as he got up limping over towards the wall with his chain, and opening a hidden exit. "Things aren't always what they seem, so do we have a deal?" he asked, holding out his hand to them.
One step into this section of the desert… and it was quite obvious that one had exited the oasis city of light and entered a land of darkness. The skies were shrouded in a purplish darkness even heavier than that of nighttime. The sand looked rather like a rolling sea in the shadows, stretching on seemingly for infinity. Glancing back, Yugi could see the faint, cheery glow of his city… but it was a mere star in a vast stretch of blackness.
Tightening his grip on the horse's reigns, Yugi kept his amethyst eyes focused ahead. He could see a dark, foreboding shape in the distance...and had the sneaking suspicion that they were nearing their destination.
Joey, walking on the young man's other side, whispered so that their mysterious old benefactor could not hear. "I don't like the looks of this, Yuge..."
"It doesn't matter..." Yugi whispered back. He gave his companion an encouraging smile. "Just remember… this will all be worth it in the end."
The blonde's brown eyes studied him with doubt for a moment. Then, he shrugged and they continued on their way in silence.
Climbing over an especially high dune, the small caravan froze… and gaped in awe at the entrance to the Cave of Wonders. The cave was a massive boulder, shaped into the likeness of a tiger's head. Sharp, stone fangs lined its strong jaws, and its eyes and inner mouth glowed a sinister reddish gold. Joey gasped in wonder; Yugi glanced back at their guide. The old man. Shrouded in cloth was perfectly still, seemingly unfazed by the incredible sight before them.
Then the leonine cave turned its head and glared at them. The blonde yelped in fright and Yugi's eyes widened.
"Who disturbs my slumber?" the cave demanded in a low, thunderous voice.
"It is I, Yugi," Yugi stepped forward and announced, forcing his voice to remain firm.
The tiger studied him for a moment...then seemed to approve.
"Proceed." It ordered. "Touch nothing but the lamp."
Then...the creature opened his deadly jaws with a mighty, earth shaking roar...and revealed a staircase leading down into its golden glowing throat.
"Remember, boy..." Yugi glanced back at the old man. He nodded and his mouth twisted into a wry smile, partially shrouded by his cloak. "First fetch me the lamp...then you shall receive your reward."
"C'mon, Joey," Yugi smiled as turned to his friend. His companion's eyes were wide with apprehension and he hid slightly behind Yugi in the ferocious face of the cave.
The blonde nodded, closed his eyes and let his thin form morph into that of a monkey. He deftly leaped onto Yugi's shoulder and hid behind the youth's copious locks of spiked hair as he ran into the tiger's jaws.