Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows for last chapter! It always makes me happy to see you guys enjoying the story as much as I enjoy writing it. So, I saw the new Beauty and the Beast movie for the FOURTH time a couple weeks ago and it was BEAUTIFUL. It honestly gets better every time I see it. Seriously, if you haven't, I recommend seeing it. The acting is great, the new songs are beautiful, and everything is just…AH it was so good. Anyway, I won't spoil any of it for you guys, but seeing the movie again made me super inspired to work on this story, especially since the stress of the end of the semester has sort of zapped the energy right out of me! So, without further delay, read and enjoy!

Xxxx

What was I thinking? Alissa asked herself as she slowly followed Seto down the tower staircase. No, I know why I did it. I had to save Ben and Alister. I had to, but why did I have to be so impulsive? I should have found another way; I can't stay here!

"Keep up," he growled, looking back at his captive as he grabbed another lantern from one of the hooks on the wall. His voice pulled Alissa from her thoughts and she bit back a sarcastic retort before picking up her pace so she fell in right behind the Dragon King. She followed him down the long, dank flight of stairs. Once they finally reached the bottom of the tower stairs, Seto shouldered open the door and ordered her to follow him down the nearby corridor and then up another set of spiral stairs that lead to the second floor. As she pulled her coat tighter around her to keep out the cold, she couldn't help but let her eyes wander around the corridor. The interior of the castle was just as beautiful and magnificent as the exterior.

The hallway led to a large open balcony with black, marble bannisters and stairs on both sides. She peeked over the railing of the balcony and was offered a fantastic view of the main entryway along with several other rooms, including a lavish dining room. Intricate chandeliers made of crystal and dark iron hung from thick chains attached to the high ceilings. The ceiling was made up of points and curves and scattered with several stained glass windows. White pillars ran along the walls and stretched all the way up. Statues of gargoyles and other winged creatures lined the walls, all of them evenly spaced. The detailed craftsmanship made the statues look alive. Despite the age of the castle, no dust or cobwebs could be found anywhere. The walls, the statues, the chandeliers, and even the corners of the tall ceiling were spotless. Everything in the castle was dark colored and eerily blanketed in shadows, a sharp contrast to the silvery tone of the Master's scales. Alissa dropped her gaze to the marbled floor and shivered slightly.

The Dragon King peered over his shoulder to make sure Alissa hadn't gotten too far behind. He watched her as her fascinated and terrified gaze moved around the castle's interior. He suddenly noticed how stifling the silence had gotten. He had always been one to enjoy the silence, it always offered him a sense of peace, but suddenly the absence of noise was becoming too much for him. He didn't expect Alissa to be the one to break the silence so after a few seconds he finally spoke.

"I take it you find the castle adequate?"

"It'll do," she replied tonelessly. He eyed her for a few seconds more before returning his gaze in front of him and speaking again.

"The castle is your home now. You're permitted to wander about it as you please with a couple restrictions, you're forbidden to leave the castle grounds and you are not allowed anywhere near the West Wing."

"The West Wing?" she asked, her head shooting up in interest. "Why? What's in the West Wing?"

"It doesn't matter what's in there. All you need to know is that you're not allowed there."

Alissa snorted but otherwise stayed silent.

"Also," Seto continued. "Should you need anything, don't hesitate to ask one of the servants for assistance. They'll be happy to serve you."

Alissa let out a sarcastic snort causing the Dragon King to look over his shoulder and fix her with a hard stare.

"And what exactly do you find so funny?"

"You really think that giving me a room and acting civil is going to make me forget what you've done? You've taken me prisoner!"

"Tch, don't blame me for your lack of impulse control. You agreed to this."

"You didn't give me a choice!"

"There's always a choice."

"Look, I don't like you and you don't like me so do us both a favor a drop the act!"

The Dragon King growled before letting out a dark chuckle. A chuckle that chilled Alissa to the bone. In a blur of silvery blue, he had turned his whole body around and backed Alissa up against a wall. He had her boxed in with a clawed hand on each side of her head.

"What the hell are you doing? Get away from me!" she screamed, fighting to keep the fear out of her voice.

He didn't listen and instead leaned in until she could feel his breath on her face.

"You have a wild spirit and a sharp tongue. That's a deadly combination for a prisoner to have," he paused to take her chin in one of his claws and force her fearful but defiant gaze to meet his. "I suggest you learn how to get both of those under control otherwise your stay is going to be very unpleasant."

"Let go of me!"

He stared her down for a few more seconds, dropped her chin, stepped away from her, and then continued down the hallway like nothing had happened.

Alissa stood frozen in fear for a few more seconds before slowly stepping away from the wall. She clenched her fists to stop her hands from shaking and cursed herself for letting him see her fear. She quickly collected herself and her defiant glare returned full force.

"Keep up," he called from down the hall. "We're almost to your room."

She held her tongue, caught up to him, and continued to follow him towards her new prison.

xxx

"Come on, everyone! We've got to move quickly! The Master will be here with the girl any minute!" A blue beast with red wings called to the group of bustling servants preparing the Blue room for their new guest. Since the room was hardly used, it had taken a while for the servants to remove the heavy layers of dust accumulating in the corners and on the windowsill, but with the dust gone, the sheets cleaned and replaced, and the vases replaced with fresh flowers; the room was looking as good as it had before the curse. The beast eyed the servants as they worked, his thick, blue tail moved of its own accord behind him. Spikes protruded from the monster's shoulders, wings, stomach, wrists, forehead, and chin.

"The girl does have a name, Yami," Yugi replied with a smile as he arranged a bouquet of white roses in a blue vase on the bedside table.

"Yeah! Her name is Alissa and she's gonna be da one ta break da curse!" Joey said happily as he fluffed up the pillows on the bed.

"You're getting ahead of yourself, Joey," Yami replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why don't we let her get settled in before you go exciting everyone again."

"What's not ta get excited about, Yami? Did ya hear how she challenged the Master?"

"Joey might have a point," Yugi chimed in. "Not many people would have stood up to Kaiba the way she did."

Yami didn't have a chance to answer before his attention was pulled to the now open balcony door.

"I've finished the balcony," a feminine voice announced when the balcony door opened. A large, blue feathered bird with a fiery red crest and a plume of red feathers for a tail. The bird hovered above the ground and brushed away the dust that coated the golden handles of the balcony doors.

"Thank you, Mai," Yami replied to the now standing blue bird.

"And we've finished with the wardrobe," a small green creature with golden wings and blue eyes replied, flapping its wings to stay in the air.

"We weren't sure what she liked so we filled the wardrobe with a couple standard pieces until we can get her measured and some clothing made," a pink creature with a halo and blue wings added.

"Alright. Thank you Tea; Serenity."

"Well, dat just about does it. Da bed is made, da room dusted, da wardrobe is made up, and da bathing chamber is prepared. Da room looks ready ta me!" Joey replied enthusiastically.

"I'll just light a fire," Yugi said, approaching the gated fire place. "It is rather cold in here." Yugi made his way over to the fireplace and picked up the piece of flint from the mantle. He pulled open the gate and the glass that kept the fire contained and fiddled with the flint. After a few seconds, a fire roared to life. He shut the fireplace and stepped back.

"There! I think that about covers everything." Yugi replied. "The room looks great. Thank you everyone for the help."

"We're glad ta help ya out, Yug."

"Well, since Yugi gave us his approval for the room we all need to leave. The Master will be here any second," Yami replied sternly, holding open the door and beginning to usher the servants out. "I have a feeling the gir- I mean Alissa will want some rest after the night she's had."

"Yeah, you're probably right. We'd probably just freak her out more."

"Yes, yes. Now everyone get out of here, they're coming!"

The servants scattered, disappearing down the long hallway and out of sight; all of them hoping that the Blue room would make their new guest feel at home.

xxx

"We're here," the Dragon King replied upon reaching a dark, mahogany door.

His voice pulled her gaze up from the floor and to his face. He stood, holding the door open for her to enter. She chewed on her bottom lip nervously and approached the door.

"Thank you," she said quietly as she entered the room. She stopped just inside the doorway and stared, completely enthralled by the beautiful room. Having grown up in a farm house, being in a room of such elegance made her feel as if she had walked straight into one of her books.

The room was large, the walls painted a light blue color. A bed with a silver casted iron frame and a silky, blue canopy sat against the wall in the middle of the room. Blue sheets made of silk were pulled up and tucked nicely under a large, white comforter. Silver and light blue colored pillows, both decorative and not decorative, were situated neatly at the head of the bed.

A silver casted iron table sat to the left of the bed and housed a beautiful bouquet of white roses in a crystal blue vase. A leather bound book sat next to the vase. A beautifully carved candelabrum rested flat against the wall above the table, each branch holding a candle that filled the room with the fragrance of rose petals. On the left wall, a tall fireplace made of dark marble and glass housed a roaring fire. More candles were situated on the fireplaces mantle, all held inside iron candle holders.

All the furniture in the room was made of dark colored wood with brass handles. The furniture pieces lined the walls across from and adjacent from the bed. On the same wall as the fireplace there was a large wardrobe with intricate, swirling designs carved into it. A large desk and chair sat against the far right wall next to a large bookshelf stacked with books.

Across from the door into the bedroom, there was another doorway. The door was hardly open, but Alissa was able to deduce that it led to a bathing chamber. Across from the bed was a pair of glass doors with dark blue curtains tied open with golden cords that opened up to a balcony.

"I hope you find the room to your liking." Seto's voice jolted her out of her staring. She turned to look at him briefly before turning her gaze back to the room.

"It'll do."

"Despite the circumstances, I really do hope you enjoy your stay here."

She turned to look at him again when he said that. Was that sympathy she had detected in his voice? Before she could think any more on it, he spoke again.

"Now, get changed and have the servants bring you down to the dining room for dinner. That isn't a request." Then, without another word, the Dragon King slammed the door shut and locked it, leaving Alissa trapped and alone in her new prison.

Alissa let out a frustrated roar and hit the door a few times before she leaned her back against it in exhaustion. She let out a dejected whimper and slid down to the floor with her head in her knees. After a few seconds, she mentally scolded herself for giving up so easily. She pulled herself to her feet and looked around the room for something she could use. Promise or no promise, she was not staying in the castle with a monster who didn't understand sacrifice. All she had to do was reach the woods and then she'd be home free. There was no way that the Dragon King would be able to find her if she escaped into the woods and she was sure she'd be able to find her way back home without too much trouble. She wasn't ready to give up hope just yet. She was going to escape.

Xxxx

Hey guys! So, I had no intentions of it taking this long to get this updated, but then school happened. This was my last semester of college…ever…so it's been rather busy. I have finals in two weeks and then I am FREE. Anyway, I just wanted to start off by apologizing for the long wait. A few notes for this chapter.

Firstly, for Alissa's room design, I wanted something regal but at the same time something sort of tomboyish since Alissa isn't exactly that lady like. However, I still did want to make her room a little girly. So, I opted for light and dark colors to kind of give me the best of both worlds.

Second, the castle interior was inspired largely by Beauty and the Beast (the animated version) just because the castles that I used for the exterior of the castle didn't really satisfy what I wanted for the interior. Not much of the castle has been described yet, but I plan to describe more as I go along and as Alissa discovers new rooms in the castle.

Third, the servants and their monster forms. So, even though Tea, Serenity, Yami, and Mai weren't in this chapter a lot, I decided to clarify what monsters they are and their position anyway since here on out they'll probably have a pretty significant role in the story.

In the very first version of this story, I planned on having Mai's monster form be Harpy Lady and Yami's monster form be either Dark Magician or King's Knight. However, as I mentioned before, I don't want any of the servants to be humanoid creatures cause the humanoid creature is kind of Seto's things. So, I opted for other monsters in their decks.

Mai is Blue Winged Crown and serves as the Palace Maid.

Yami is Archfiend of Gilfer and he is the Palace Steward; he's in charge of all the castle staff and is also in charge of the castle in Set or Mokuba's absence. He is also Seto's advisor (this role will come into play later).

Tea is Shining Friendship (I know, shocker) and is the Palace Seamstress/ Mistress of the Wardrobe. She's the one in charge of all the clothes and she also oversees their manufacturing. She also takes down measurements.

Serenity is Petit Angel and is the Assistant Seamstress. She assists Tea with the measurements and sewing.

Lastly, as always, a huge thank you to my beta AbyssalDreamer18 for editing for me. With finals just around the corner, I definitely needed the second pair of eyes to check this over.