This one is longer than previous ones, but I really couldn't wait to write the last dialogue and decided to fit it into the 7th instead of 8th chapter.

Few notes: I decided not to explain rules of bridge and not go into the details of deals, because the chapter is long enough without adding to it eight paragraphs about who had which card.

Thousand is a game very popular in Poland and other Eastern Europe countires and is one of the games that are interesting and can be played with only two people. If you want, google it, but it is not overly important to the plot.

Warning: People die when we kill them.

Enjoy!

Anzu didn't even notice, but the guests were here a week now.

And they have stopped being guests long time ago.

If somebody had asked her that one week ago, she would never presume that she will get used to waking up every morning in her own room, to guiding Serenity down the stairs to the kitchen , to talking with her while preparing the meal for the rest of the inhabitants.

She would never presume that she will be joking with Yugi about who should clean the stables only to have Mana volunteer. That she will be treated with respect and kindness by people she feared when she had first met them.

Now, they have created some kind of a routine.

Mornings were busy- people, aside from the prince who was very persistently nocturnal, came down in different states of disarray, either trying to help her with breakfast, or trying to eat something while she wasn't looking.

The trips to the town were no longer the only way of escaping the house, but became a pleasurable and social occasion. Anzu and Yugi usually went to get groceries accompanied by Mai and Serenity, sometimes by Mahad.

Yesterday, Mana was finally allowed outside and was practically bouncing with energy.

After the shopping came the time for training.

First was Serenity's, the one that Anzu and Yuugi loved to observe. Anzu even started bringing a notebook with her and noting down most interesting plants and poisons, alongside their antidotes. Considering the lives they were living now, it might prove to be crucial someday. Serenity was a very dedicated student and took her studies very seriously. She had a perfect sense of smell and a very good hearing, but she had troubles with estimating the number of people approaching. She heard noises from great distances, but had trouble with distinguishing, whether it was just Mana, or Mana and a horse, or Mana and Yuugi.

Still, she made progress and Mahad was proud of her. Even Mana seemed to be impressed, even though she still got that vacant look in her eyes whenever Mahad praised Serenity.

The most memorable was the lesson concerned with many types of beverages. Mai and Mahad went to town on their own and brought back plenty of bottles, ones that Anzu had never seen before. This time, all of them were included in the lesson, tasting the beverages and trying to guess which was which. By the end of the lesson everyone was laughing happily at nothing and everything, Mana was even singing something in this strange language only people from capital knew. When they were sure it was the end, Mahad gave every single one of them a cup, himself taking one as well.

"In one of the cups I have poured poison. Your friends are now under the influence, they would have troubles finding it sober, when drunk there is no chance they could. Can you save them?" He asked Serenity and everyone looked at their cups." In a minute I will ask you to drink from your cup. Obey." He said, and that was it.

Shivering, Serenity made her way from one person to another, taking cups they handed her and smelling them, and Anzu still remembered the dread she felt. Was it in her cup? In Yugi's? Mahad would not let them die, that she was sure of, but...

"The time is up." Mahad said. Serenity was half-way done, stopping at Anzu before she could check her cup. " Where is the poison?"

"I don't know. It's not in the first three I've checked..." That meant that Mai, Mana and Yuugi were safe. But that left Anzu. Mahad and Serenity...

"Think." Mahad's voice was cold, but not hostile. " And do it fast, they will have to drink it in a moment."

"It's either in mine, or in yours." Serenity said, and Anzu felt a shiver run down her spine.

"Why do you think so?"

"Because the cups were here before. We all were sitting here in the same order. I was sitting next to you. I did not hear you move from the place you were sitting in, so you could have put the poison in the cups nearest to you- yours, or mine." Answered Serenity after a while. Even though her voice was confident, her body betrayed her fear.

"Very good." At that, Serenity sighed, and Anzu could not help, but follow her. It was not her lesson, but at the same time, it was - it reminded her, that what they wanted to do was dangerous and they could not afford to let their guards down. It was not an exercise for smelling, it was an exercise in paying attention to your surroundings. All of them could use it apparently, for they weren't blind, and yet Anzu didn't see Mahad pouring anything into any cup.

"But, not enough. " Mahad continued." If you have listened harder, you would know that I haven't moved at all. There was no poison to begin with."

"Good thing we are on their side, right?" Yugi whispered to Anzu, and she nodded her head. True, she didn;t see Mahad pouring anything, but she could with conviction say that. She simply wasn't paying attention. Sure, she was light-headed with alcohol, but that was no excuse. She had to be more careful. They all had to.

It was a lesson that remained with her for a long time.

After Serenity's training and a short lunch during which Yugi would go and bring some food to the prince's room, there came time for Anzu and Yugi's part of the training. Mana and Mai often switched their 'pupils', so that both could get used to different types of fighting.

Mai's strikes were strong and precise and her reaction to attack was fast. She had good defense, but all in all, after some time, Anzu noticed that her moves were predictable. Not that she had the skill to counter them, but at least she was making some progress, she was able to analyze the strategy.

Mana on the other hand was unpredictable. She was swift and agile, very fast at dodging attacks and countering them from different positions. She could seemingly disappear in a blink of an eye and attack her opponent's back. Her attacks were not as powerful, but they were efficient enough. While Mai brought her adversaries to their knees with exhaustion, Mana was skilled at disarming them.

Anzu and Yugi were still covered with bruises after their training sessions, but the bruises were fewer with time and they were getting better at giving back as good as they got. Yugi's fighting style, if Anzu could say anything about style at their level of fighting, resembled that of Mana's. He was handling Mai better than Mana, while Anzu had better results in fighting Mana than in fighting Mai. Though Anzu's forte was apparently dodging, not attacking, but at least she was capable of not dying with the first strike of a sword.

After training everyone got an hour or so for themselves. Anzu usually went to the bathroom to ease aching muscles and then to the bed to read for some time. With these sudden free hours she went back to reading with enthusiasm, revisiting the books of her childhood and browsing through her mother's.

When she went down to the kitchen she prepared dinner, usually with Yugi, or Mai. Mana often offered to help, but for obvious reasons, Anzu politely refused her help. Wanting to be useful, Mana became the care-taker of animals, going to hens for eggs or cleaning the stables and feeding Dragon, the one horse that was left.

At dinner everyone, including the prince, went down to the dining room and shared the meal, either talking about the past, or discussing future plans.

The reports started to reach the mansion, the one from Joey being the first. Joey wrote that he had found the land of the duke and was now trying to find a way to the court, that the duke was possibly a bastard in more than one meaning of the word, and that he missed Serenity very much.

The reports from Ishizu, Marik and Ryou followed, and the prince usually just summarized their contents, leaving some information to himself and Mahad.

Rishid and Shada were apparently in lands further away, because their reports were last ones to arrive. The overall situation was that everything was going according to plan.

Now, that Anzu and Yugi were part of it too, they learned that some of the knights were sent to different parts of the country to gather troops, to convince people and soldiers to follow the prince who had returned. Rishid and Shada were the most successful at the moment, because their lands were the ones who suffered the most with the change of the ruler. South and West were once great, flourishing parts, so the king had increased taxes from them, fully aware that they were able to afford them. He did not take into consideration, that by crowning himself he lost country's biggest ally - his sister, aunt of the Mad Prince and her son, current king of Arcadia and prince's cousin, not believing in the suicide of their kin, refused to sustain the alliance between the two countries and the trade with Arcadia stopped. South and West, the biggest exporters of crops and fruit were left with nothing.

Ishizu had bigger problems with East. Here people did not care much about the king or anything, too concerned with their little civil battles and wars. Still, she managed to convince some local lords to join the prince's cause and she promised to conquer the West if she had to. And Anzu believed her, Mahad seemed too.

Ryou managed to squirm his way into Lord Crawford's court, supplying the prince with information about Northern Tyrant's plans and state of knowledge about prince's whereabouts. According to Ryou, Crawford already knew that the prince was here, ever since Panic did not return, but was unsure in which part of the North the prince was hiding. Ryou warned them to be very careful about any new faces around the town.

Marik's report was more optimistic- Crawford apparently believed in dealing with problems on his own, for he had not informed the king about his suspicions.

"If we take down Crawford, the North will follow." Said the prince after reading Marik's report." And then it will be too late for Aknadin to react. Crawford is the most feared lord in the country. Whoever defeats him will take his place and loyalty of people. Without Crawford, Aknadin will be nothing more than an old man with no power to his name." Prince's smile that appeared after this sentence reminded Anzu on her first encounter with the man, when she truly believed him to be mad.

"First we must stir the trouble with duke. Without Devlin's support Crawford will be an easy prey." Mahad pointed out, and the prince nodded." Duke has one weakness. He hates me. Just like Crawford he will try to take me down on his own. And that will be his downfall."

And Anzu didn't even doubt it.

Usually after dinner, Mana and Yugi would clean up and the knights would sit down to play cards. Since she still did not see the appeal and felt bad about leaving Serenity out, she usually took the younger girl for a walk or just to her room to talk or read- Serenity enjoyed listening to the stories Anzu read out loud to her and she seemed to be as fond of fairy tales as Anzu was.

" Well, apparently all of us got a prince to save us from our towers." She said after Anzu read her Rapunzel, and Anzu chuckled.

"He doesn't fit the description, don't you think? And he was not alone." She observed. But in her heart, she agreed with Serenity. No matter how unusual the prince was, he definitely was their hero. He was Anzu's hero. And he seemed to be Yugi's, as Anzu noticed lately.

Her brother was fast to like and forgive people, but even for him it looked like taking it into extremes. He was spending every evening with the prince and the rest playing cards, and later he would stay with the prince in the garden, talking. She could not notice how late in the night he was getting back to his room. Not to mention the furtive glances he was casting to the windows belonging to the prince's room whenever he was in the garden.

Anzu could not pin point when exactly Yugi changed his approach to the prince and she wanted to ask him about it a few times, but in the end decided against it. He will tell her on his own accord some day. They were no longer only ones in each other's life, they did not have to know each other's thoughts all the time.

Yes, she missed sometimes the connection they used to have, but she was aware that they had to separate their lives somehow, they had to be their own persons to properly function. And while she ached for those moment when it was only two of them, she did not hold it against Yugi. They were still siblings and they will support each other, no matter how many secrets from each other they would have.

/

Tonight they were playing bridge.

Mana excused herself earlier to join Anzu and Serenity in Anzu's room, so only four of them remained. And there is no better game to play with four players than bridge.

Yugi was fully aware that he was acting like a child, but the perspective of playing with people he considered his friends simply made him giddy with excitement. That, and maybe he could play with the prince as his partner...

Ever since that one evening, the one when prince smiled at him, Yugi could not bring himself out of the strange enchantment. Before he couldn't think about the man without fear, now he couldn't think about anything else. He had so many questions, and every moment he could spend with the man was precious.

Red eyes that once frightened him, now only hypnotized him, making him follow the prince to the gardens and just talk with him.

He asked prince about his name once.

"I do not remember it. " He said then, sadness evident in his eyes.

"Mana and Mahad probably do, so why..."

"In our culture, if you do not have a name, you don't deserve it. If I get back the throne, I will get back my name. "

"You will suddenly remember it, Your Highness?" Capital's culture was a strange one. The urge to find the book about capital's customs came back.

The prince chuckled.

"I don't think so. But my royal vizier, Mahad, will have to pronounce me king to four sides of the world, so he will have to use my name. And if it cannot happen, a Nameless King still sounds better than the Mad Prince."

The prince didn't want to talk about himself much, so Yugi talked. He told the prince about his childhood and about his father. He spoke of his mother and of their servants, he spoke of Anzu and of Joey, of everything he could remember. And the prince listened, sometimes asked questions and sometimes just stood by Yugi's side.

He asked about Arkana once and Yugi stopped in his tracks, shocked.

He almost forgot the man. He was so happy lately, that he forgot about his fears, about the hurt he had felt. He had forgotten about Arkana. He would've never thought it was possible, and because of the man in front of him, the man who was supposed to be dead and wasn't, it was.

The picture of the prince Yugi now held in his mind was so different from the one he created that first night. Yugi was well aware that he was probably idolizing the prince, forgetting all the bad things that happened, but he refused to think on it. He was much happier with this new image of his savior.

"We should exchange partners every deal, it would be more interesting." Mahad proposed, and to Yugi's disappointment, the prince agreed. Still, it meant he will have his chance at playing with him.

"Mahad, do you want to start with, or against me?" The prince teased, and Mahad shook his head.

"I propose drawing cards. " He said, picking four aces from the deck." Hearts plays with diamonds, spades with clubs. Then hearts will play with spades, and so on."

Everyone nodded.

The first to pair up with Yugi was Mai. Yugi was very fond of her, so he did not complain. She proved to be a skillful, even if sometimes too careful partner. Yugi did not have much experience with playing bridge, he played it with father when he was small and at some point with Arkana, but he remembered rules well enough and at some times, he was sure they could've taken more tricks. But then again, they were only learning playing together. Still, they lost to Mahad and the prince, who seemed to understand each other very well. Since they grew up together, it was no wonder.

Next on, Yugi played with Mahad. Here on the other hand, he felt like the one who was too careful. Mahad seemed to know every trick they have taken and was good at foretelling prince's moves. For a while, Yugi was sure they will win this contract, because the prince and Mai were rivaling with each other instead of playing as a team. Unfortunately, this seemed to be a rouse, and with the last two tricks, Mahad and Yugi were defeated and points went to Mai and the prince.

And finally, Yugi got his wish. He was playing with the prince.

After they have declared their contract, Yugi just went with the flow.

It was almost surreal. One look from his partner and he suddenly knew which card to use, sure in his knowledge of his partner's hand, even though he did not see it. It was as if they have been playing this game together for years, their strategy flawless.

They won with style.

"Look at that. Quite a talent." Mahad said, and Yugi felt himself blushing. A praise from a man as wise as Mahad was something to be proud of, but he couldn't will himself to respond.

"It's always the quiet ones." Mai sighed." I wonder when will my day to wipe the floor with Your Highness comes."

"You are very good Mai" The prince answered, his eyes glinting with satisfaction.

"... You are simply better, yes I know." She cut in, and Yugi got a feeling that they have had this conversation before." I will have to teach somebody how to play and then win with them to feed my ego."

"I lost as well." Mahad pointed out .

"Yes, but you are experienced, you grew up with me." The prince interjected, a smirk on his face.

"And with that final insult, I am going to sleep. I know we should play more, but my fragile ego would not handle it." Mahad said, and bowed to the prince, leaving the dining room.

"At least he is not bitter about it." Mai murmured and followed the suit, bidding both the prince and Yugi good night.

"Are you still bent on not going to sleep tonight?" The prince asked, and Yugi lowered his eyes.

He gathered his monster deck in his hand. He was very fond of his cards, and just as he wished, they were a wonderful source of entertainment. At first, he wanted to use both of his decks interchangeably, but the Falcon one, as he called it, became too special to share it with everyone. So they played with monster deck, while falcon one was in Yugi's pocket, waiting for moments like this. This deck was special to the prince, and as such it quickly became precious to Yugi. It was something of their own.

"I was thinking that we could play Thousand, Your Highness..." At that, prince smiled.

"You have a fine, analytical mind, Yugi. You could be quite a strategist, with your interests and talent..."

"I am still losing to you, Your Highness." Yugi pointed out, shuffling the Falcon deck.

"That is of no consequence. You could..." And here, the prince stopped. He sat for a moment in silence, and Yugi opened his mouth to ask, when the prince jumped to his feet.

"Mahad!" And with that, he was out of the door, running into the garden. Yugi followed him in silence, hearing Mahad's steps on the stairs.

The prince picked up his sword that he hid under a juniper every morning, in case it was needed outside, like it was now.

Mahad with his sword in one hand and lamp in the other joined them and the three of them listened in silence.

Now, Yugi could make out the thud of hooves.

"Yugi, get back inside." The prince said, but before Yugi could move, the rider appeared in his line of vision. He squinted at the darkness.

"It's Joey!" He shouted. And indeed, in the pale light of the moon, Yugi could make out the blond hair and the posture of his friend. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that neither the prince, nor Mahad put down their weapon.

Finally, Joey reached them.

"Yugi! You are alive!" He shouted, jumping down from his horse. "Where is Serenity? Are you all right?" He said, panting with exhaustion. His horse, in which Yugi recognized one of his own horses, Kuri, looked dead on its feet.

"Why shouldn't I be? Serenity is upstairs, what..."

"What are you doing here." At first Yugi almost didn't recognize that cold voice. Then he remembered. He remembered why he was afraid of the prince in the first place.

"I was warned. I received a letter in which Yugi asked for help, said that Crawford already knows where you are and that I must aid you in changing the hideout." Joey said, browsing through his bag. Finally, he took out a piece of paper and gave it to the prince. The man looked at it for a moment, and then showed it to Yugi.

"Is this your handwriting?"

It wasn't. Yugi told the prince so, and the man just nodded.

"This letter is too vague. There is no name here. 'Your sister', 'our hide out', 'your friend'. It is clearly written by someone who knows you have a sister and nothing more. It is a trap." The prince gritted out, cold fury lacing his words.

"He had no way of knowing..." Mahad started, but prince's stare silenced him.

Suddenly, prince's gaze went to the road, and when Yugi listened, he also could hear the sound of someone running.

The prince looked at Mahad and both of them started. The prince mounted the horse while Mahad run next to him their eyes fixed on the road, the lamp Mahad held before now lying forgotten on the ground,.

"I screwed up..." Joey started.

"Joey!" Yugi turned. Anzu, Serenity and Mana were already downstairs, and Mai rushed past them with sword in her hand as well, running after Mahad.

Joey run to Serenity and gathered her in his arms. "I am so sorry, I have betrayed us... I was afraid that they got you, I wasn't thinking..." Serenity didn't seem to listen, concentrated on the fact that her brother was with her.

"Yugi, what is going on?" Anzu asked.

"I don't know. Somebody sent Joey here and followed him. "

"I brought a spy on your doorstep." Joey said, not looking at Anzu or Yugi.

"You couldn't have known... "

"I SHOULD HAVE!" Joey shouted, letting go of Serenity. His eyes were filled with anger, tears running down his face. "He told me to be careful. He told me not to give any personal details. HE WARNED ME!" Yugi assumed that by 'he' Joey meant the prince. "He told me they will spy on me while I am spying on them, but I thought I was so clever... So clever playing the fool. In the end, I was only playing myself." Here, Joey choked on his words.

Serenity started to whisper something, but Joey wasn't listening.

It was awful. How could Yugi say that nothing had happened? But how could he blame Joey, that courageous man who tried to help, who was brave enough to try, and simply made a mistake? A mistake that could cost them lives.

He looked at Anzu, who came to stand next to him.

" What will we do now?" She asked quietly, placing her hand on Yugi's arm, as if trying to comfort him.

"They will get the spy." He answered. And he was sure of it. He learned to believe in these people, in their wish of keeping everyone safe.

Mana was torn, Yugi could tell. She was standing by their group with her sword out, ready to protect them if needed, but Yugi didn't have to ask to know that all she wanted to do was run after the rest and make sure that everyone was all right. Yet, she stayed, for them.

And suddenly, Serenity shouted. " They are coming!"

It took same time, but finally shapes started to form in the distance.

"I will get lamps." Anzu said and rushed inside, switching on the light in the kitchen and coming back with two lamps.

The first person they saw was Mai. Her face was grim and she avoided everyone's eyes. "You should get back inside. There is nothing to see. " She said.

Serenity tried to follow this advice and started to drag Joey by the hand, but he stood in his place.

"Did you get him?" Mai did not answer.

Mahad and the horse came into the light, the prince following closely behind. On the horse, Yugi could see a body. He could not tell, whether the person on the horseback was still breathing.

"Inside." The prince said, and Mahad took the body off the saddle. "Yugi, take this horse to the stables, give it food and water. It lived through much today. After you are done, go back to your room." Yugi simply bowed, afraid to say anything. "Mana, get me a chair. Joey, Serenity. Go back to the house. We will talk in the morning."

Serenity nodded, and Joey's grim determination fought for a moment with the respect he had for the prince. Finally, he deflated and went back inside, guiding his sister and talking with her in whispers.

Yugi took the horse, Kuri with him to the stable.

True to prince's word, the horse looked barely alive. He took off its saddle and reins, and brought water to the poor creature. The horse looked at him in gratitude. He brought hey for it to eat, but Kuri was far more interested in laying down to sleep, ignoring the welcoming neighing of Dragon, and Yugi trying to cool it down with cleaning its pelage.

He left the stables without worry for Kuri, since she seemed to be fast asleep. Now he could concentrate on what was happening. For some reason, the prince didn't want them to see the spy. Why? Was the spy somebody they knew? Yugi didn't know much people, and most of them were already at the house. Was the spy somebody from the prince's ranks? Marik? Ryou? It was impossible, but that would explain why Mai looked so dejected and why the prince wanted to spare them this knowledge.

But Yugi was not a child anymore, and he had seen enough to handle this. He was no longer an outsider, he was in it too. He deserved to know. Besides, to get to his room he would still have to go through the garden, so he will see.

Deep in his thoughts, Yugi entered the garden.

They were not here. But, the light in the kitchen was still on, so they had to be there.

When Yugi entered, his heart stopped.

He was wrong.

He was not ready.

On the chair, tied up and bloodied sat a child.

His short hair was covered with moss and some kind of paint so that it looked as if his hair were green. On his nose he had glasses, now broken, and his face was spread in a mocking, almost fanatical smile.

After the first shock was gone, Yugi noticed that it was not exactly child. Despite his unimpressive height, the boy looked to be roughly Yugi's age.

It didn't help any.

Mai was sitting in front of the boy, asking questions.

Mahad and Mana were behind the chair, their faces frightening, swords in their hands.

Yugi wondered for a moment were the prince was. He got his answer when a voice from the corner of the room asked him:

"Why are you still here?" There, in the shadows, stood the prince, fire from the fireplace dancing in his eyes, paradoxically making them look even colder.

"I wanted to know..."

"Now you do." The prince interrupted, his voice quiet and seemingly calm. " Do you feel better?"

Yugi considered for a moment, but his thoughts were interrupted.

"Who sent you." Mai repeated the question. The boy just grinned.

"You are a desperate lot, fewer in numbers than he thought. He thinks you have any chance, he thinks you can do something. " The boy giggled, and Yugi felt unpleasant shivers on his spine. This spy was raging mad!

"I am going to assume you mean Crawford. He is the one who sent you after the blond one?"

This time, the boy laughed. "Oh, please, I know his name. I know everything about him! "

"Aside from names and location." Mahad noticed, and for the first time, Yugi heard him angry.

"Details. That idiot led me here. It all went well. "Another fit of laughter. Mai slapped him with her hand and stoically repeated her question.

"He is mad." Yugi whispered.

"He is afraid." The prince corrected. "Go away, Yugi."

"You are going to kill him, aren't you, Your Highness?"

"Don't ask me questions you don't want answered. Go away." Yugi knew it was an order, it came from the prince, but Yugi suddenly decided he would not move.

He could deal with Arkana, he could deal with Panic. But with his peer, terrified to the point of losing his mind, he would not go without a fight. He could save him... The prince seemed to like Yugi, maybe if he asked, maybe...

"You don't want to disobey me." The prince urged, and his tone from neutral changed into threatening.

Maybe not.

Yugi bowed and went on his way, trying to avoid looking at the figure on the chair.

"You know what is the best part of it? You will not kill me, and you cannot keep me in a mere house. You lost!" Here, the boy seemed to notice Yuugi, who stopped in his track under the madman's gaze.

"Oh? You've got a doppelganger? That's even better! Crawfo..." But it was too late, a triumphant smirk appeared on Mai's face.

"That's quite enough." She stood up and took her sword off its sheath. "Let's find out if it's true that we will not kill you." She said, and Yuugi could see the pure terror on the boy's face.

"But he said...!" He probably didn't know what he was getting himself into when he followed Joey. Maybe he was doing it because he had no other choice? How else could a boy become a spy? What for?

When Mai raised her hand, Yuugi was faster.

"Don't!" He shouted and jumped between Mai and the boy. Thankfully, Mai stopped her hand in time, the sword stopping inches from Yugi's flesh.

"Out of the way." She said, gesturing for Mana to take Yugi away. The boy behind him laughed maniacally once again and a comprehension of what he had just done downed on Yugi. He raised his hand and looked to the door. He could not see them, and yet he was sure he did -that red, angry orbs of a man he had just disobeyed.

And then everything was covered in smoke and somebody bumped into Yugi on his way.

The boy was getting away.

And it was Yugi's fault.

He ran for the door, hoping to catch the boy before he could betray them all. Or before he will get killed.

When he went outside, he immediately wished he didn't.

The boy was laying on the ground, his throat slashed, just like his stomach. Blood trickling down his chin in streams, his terrified, already unseeing eyes were glued to the figure standing above him, a figure who was now raising his sword once again.

"Stop! He is already dead!" Yugi shouted, throwing himself on the figure without thinking.

The prince just threw him off as if Yugi weighed nothing.

Yugi hit the ground hard, pain blossoming in his hip. Yet he stood up, looking at the prince in defiance.

"You killed a child." He said, looking at the man in front of him, at the blood still fresh on the sword and at the furious, mad expression in man's eyes.

"Pray that I don't kill another one." The prince growled, but Yugi stood in place, by the corpse.

They looked at each other in silence for a while, barely seeing each other, for even moon hid itself from this awful sight.

A shout interrupted anything Yugi thought about saying.

The prince cast one last look at him, a look full of hatred and went back to the kitchen, to Mana, who was shouting for him.

Yugi was left alone with the corpse. Truly, the boy died with fear, murdered by someone who did not resemble human at that moment.

He briefly wondered, how terrible must be to die like that - for that angry eyes to be the last thing one sees before a sword is thrust through one's flesh.

Yugi failed. He could not protect the boy from the prince. He could not protect his friends from the boy. He could not protect himself from the prince. Will he die now? For disobeying? For putting everyone in danger? He was sure that the boy escaped because Yugi bought with his little stunt the precious seconds the spy needed to set himself free and throw whatever it was that caused the smoke.

And by trying to help, Yugi earned the boy a cruel, painful death.

For which he himself will have to pay.

He was stupid.

But his heart would not handle just staring at his peer being murdered for getting himself caught up in something much bigger than himself.

He should have listened when the prince told him to go away.

He tried to spare him the decisions.

He tried to give Yugi the gift if ignorance. And Yugi refused it, thinking he knew better.

With a fleeting thought ' the prince will burn him later.' Yugi went to the kitchen.

The only one inside was Mai. Yugi was ready for glare, for beating for something. But she simply refused to look at him. Somehow it was worst.

"Where are the others?" He asked, praying for Mai to answer.

Yet, she was silent, as if she did not see him, her face grim and deep in thought.

Resigned, Yugi turned toward door, planning to go to his room to enjoy his last night alive.

"Mahad is hurt." He almost thought he imagined it, that faint sentence coming from Mai's direction.

He run up the stairs, barging into Mahad's room.

Everyone was there, everyone aside from the prince.

Mana was crying by Mahad's pillow, while Anzu was gathering his blood into a cup.

"He was struck with something poisoned. We are trying to find the poison and antidote." Serenity explained, taking the cup with blood from Anzu.

Yugi joined Joey at the back of the room, both of them standing by the wall like the culprits they were. It was their fault that Mahad was here.

The worst part of it was that no one said it out loud.

"I got it." At that, Mana raised her head and looked at Serenity in anticipation. "Anzu, use the vial with a complicated name starting with 'jag', it should be the correct antidote." Anzu immediately did as she was asked and poured half of the contents of the vial into Mahad's lips, using the second one to wet the bandages they were applying to Mahad's torso. to cover the wound. He was struck by something small, even smaller than a dagger. Yet, the blood was pouring, so even though small, the wound had to be deep.

The whole room was silent with anticipation.

And suddenly, Mahad took a loud breath and coughed, before he opened his eyes and vomited next to the bed. No one was paying any attention to the smell.

The fact that Mahad was still alive was far more important.

He looked at everyone, smiled and fell asleep.

Mana jumped to her feet and threw herself at Serenity, thanking her and crying at the same time, and Anzu sat down on the carpet, exhausted, trail of tears marking her face as well.

"Yugi. Tell the prince that Mahad will live." Yugi turned. Mai was standing at the door, looking at Mahad's sleeping form with relief. Yet, her voice was harsh.

Yugi did not have any fight in him anymore, so he just bowed and left the room, thanking every deity he could think of for sparing Mahad's life.

He reached the prince's door in some sort of detachment, as if he wasn't the one moving his body towards its doom.

He knocked, and when he didn't receive any answer, he entered, not having much to lose anymore.

"Mahad will survive. Serenity found the antidote in time. He vomited everything and is now sleeping." He announced, noticing how his tone was lacking any life. Only then, he raised his head and looked around.

The prince was sitting in a chair, looking out of the window.

For moment, Yugi thought the prince didn't hear him.

"Why did you come?"

"Mai told me to."

"So you are going to listen to her, but not to me?" That hurt.

It woke up Yugi from his stupor.

He noticed the tiredness of prince's voice, the resignation in prince's eyes.

"If it changes anything, Your Highness... Though I know it doesn't, I only wanted to help. " The prince did not interrupt him or kill him, so Yugi continued, hoping to at least make his peace with the man before he was to be judged for his sins.

" When I looked him, I saw a scared boy, a boy who was going to die because somebody told him to spy on dangerous people. He was my age... " Here, he felt the tears stream down his face. Emotions from the whole night now pouring out of him, as if he had some kind of catharsis.

"I know that it put everyone in danger, I know it is my fault that Mahad was almost killed, I know I disobeyed Your Highness... I simply wanted to save him. To save somebody."

Here, Yugi stopped and wiped his tears.

" I wished I will never see you become a murderer again."

At that, the prince finally looked at him.

"I was born a murderer, Yugi. I am a prince. As a ruler, I cannot be anything else. There will always be people who must be killed so that other people might live. "He said, standing up.

He walked to Yugi, his eyes unreadable.

"The only thing I can do to be a good ruler is avoid mistakes. My uncle made a mistake. He locked me up in an underground prison for three years instead of killing me. Simple whim of heart is going to cost him his throne and life, for I have escaped." The voice and eyes were calm, and yet Yugi was once again struck with how frightening they were. And yet... And yet Yugi was still here, refusing to run.

He could have run away from the house. He could leave everything here, refuse to take part in it. Yet he obediently came to this man to be judged, to ask for forgiveness, to apologize.

At least he learned the answer to one of his questions,he knew where the prince was for three years, and why he was not used to light.

"A simple mistake, one life given or taken, can change everything. And people always have a choice. Always. He had a choice, and he made it, coming here. I had a choice and I decided to kill him so that my people will stay safe for longer, until they are ready to face Crawford. You also had a choice. You refused to go." The prince's hands were now on Yugi's arms.

"You decided to stay and interfere. I should kill you for that. You are starting to be dangerous for operation and for my people. Today, your choices were a danger to Mahad. Who will you endanger with your soft heart tomorrow? Mana? Anzu? Me?"

Yugi wanted to scream, to assure the prince that he would never... And yet he did. He already did.

"I do not make mistakes, Yugi. I cannot afford them. Joey was unprepared, yet he did what I wanted, he attracted duke's attention, especially now that he had disappeared seemingly without a reason. Trusting him was not a mistake. He brought a spy with him, but that was something we had to take into account. But you, Yugi..."

Prince's eyes were now looking directly into Yugi's.

"Sparing your life might become my first mistake. You might become my first mistake."

Yugi's heart was now beating frantically, as if trying to escape his chest.

"I don't want to kill you. Don't make me chose between you and safety of my people ever again. Because there is only one choice for me."