Chapter 12

The Messenger

from Home

The next day, everyone is up, dressed for the day and having a splendid breakfast that Yugi, Ryou, and Jonouchi have cooked up. Enjoying the meal that his beloved prince made, Atem said to remind Yugi, "Keep in mind, Yugi. The king is a sneaky one, full of trickery. So keep a cautious eye for strangers."

Snuggling close to the taller teen, Yugi reply, "Don't worry, I'll be fine." and place a sweet kiss on his cheek.

Then everyone at the table heard a knock on the front door. "Who could that be at this time?" said Marik.

Getting out of his seat, Yugi said to the others as he left the dining room, "I'll get it."

When he answered the door, there was a slightly older Egyptian wearing a long Egyptian robe with a matching turban on his head. "May I help you, good Egyptian?" Yugi said with his best polite tone.

"Forgive me for intruding on you unexpectedly, but I'm looking for the crown Egyptian prince."

Before he could say a word, Atem came up from behind Yugi as he placed a hand on his shoulder, "Who is it, Yugi?"

Then when the Egyptian and Atem locked gazes, the Egyptian immediately went down to one knee and bowed to him, "My prince, I've searched high and low for you and the others?"

"Atem, who is this Egyptian?" Yugi said, looking back and forth between Atem and the Egyptian.

"Shadi is one of the priests that serves my father back at the palace me and the others used to live until my uncle attacked."

"I've searched for you, Bakura, Seto, Marik and Malik, Prince Atem. Every one of your families were able to stop Aknadin from taking over the palace and your father's kingdom. Now they all want you five to return to the palace." Shadi said as the others appeared behind Atem and Yugi, the other four Egyptians just as surprised to see Shadi as Atem was.

Placing an arm around Yugi's shoulders, Atem said, "I appreciate the fact you came all the way out here to bring us back to the palace, but Bakura, Seto, Marik, Malik and I are happy here. We've been safe from my uncle and we've survived on our own out here. And now, the five of us have found another reason to stay out here." then the five Egyptian teens gestured their eyes toward Yugi, Ryou and Jonouchi.

Understanding that Atem, Bakura and Seto have found someone they love, Shadi closed his eyes and sighed. "I understand that you don't want to leave because of these white teens, but at least return to the palace to let your families know that you all are alive."

Before Atem could say a word, Yugi turned toward his prince and said, "You should go with him, Atem."

All surprised by Yugi, Bakura said with Atem looking back at him with surprise across his face, "But Yugi…"

"When you told me about your past, I could sense that you were the one that wants to return the most out of the five of you. This is your chance to see your family, Atem."

Touched to know that Yugi has known about how much he missed his family, Atem then remembered the problem with Dartz. "What about the king who is still after your life?"

Giving his prince a reassuring smile, Yugi said, "Don't worry about me, as long as Bakura, Seto, Marik, Malik, Ryou and Jonouchi are here, I know I'm safe from my stepfather."

Starting to be reassured and returning his smile, Atem turned toward the others and said, "I trust you guys will keep Yugi safe while I'm gone?"

All smiling, Ryou said with a fist to his heart with honor, "Of course."

"Cross our hearts." Marik and Malik said, crossing their hearts with their pointers.

"With our lives." added Bakura, mimicking Ryou's gesture.

"Rather die than let Yug be killed." then Jonouchi.

And finally, Seto with a smile, "To the end."

Glad to know that they will protect him, Atem turned back to Yugi then was pulled toward the smaller teen by the collar with both hands until their lips met in a lustful yet forceful kiss. Seeing Atem and Yugi kissing, Shadi started to blush and looked away, shyly. When they broke the kiss, Yugi gazed into Atem's crimson eyes with a smile and said, "Safe journey and return home safely."

Caressing the side of his face tenderly, Atem returned the smile and said, "I will, I promise I'll be back as soon as I can." With that, Atem turned toward Shadi and said, "Alright, let's go, Shadi."

"Let's make haste, my liege." Shadi said and together they ran into the trees, in the direction of the palace in the desert.

When they were out of sight, Yugi turned toward the others and said, "You six should get going to the gold mine if you're going to get more gold dug up out of the ground."

"Six?" the four Egyptians looked at each other in confusion.

"Jonouchi and I want to go to the gold mines with you to help." said Ryou, snuggling really close to Bakura.

"But for first timers, gold mining is dangerous if you're not careful."

"Aw c'mon, you guys have been doing it since ya were like nine." reply Jonouchi, mostly toward Seto.

"We did have accidents in those mines the first few weeks that we started a life out here." added Bakura, worried about Ryou getting severely hurt in the mines.

"But, some help would be nice while Atem is away." Malik said, dismissing the thought of accidents in the mines.

"Besides, they should learn how to do it right if they want to make a living here with us." Marik added as he wrapped an arm around Malik's shoulders and pulling him closer to his side.

To see that Ryou and Jonouchi are completely convinced about going to the mines with them, Bakura and Seto disregarded about the accidents. "Well, you two can come along as long as you follow our instructions closely to avoid your first accident." Bakura said when he and Seto finally agreed to let them go with them.

Very happy that they'll go, Ryou said, "Thank you!"

"Ya won't be disappointed, we promise." added Jonouchi.

So glad to see his friends this happy, Yugi moved to the side to allow them to leave. "You all have a good day and take care of each other. I'll make something sweet for when you return."

"You don't have to do that, Yugi." Seto said in a friendly tone.

Shaking his head, Yugi reply with a smile, "This is my way of thanking all of you for letting me and my friends live here, especially to Atem."

All smiling, Malik said with a smile as they left the mansion two-by-two, "What are friends for, right young Prince?"

Returning his smile, Yugi reply, "Right." Then as they walked away from the mansion to the gold mines, Yugi called out to them before heading inside to do his chores before he could bake some sweets, "See you all tonight!"