Pegasus was crushed. The woman he loved, the center of his entire world had turned her back on him. He didn't know what he was going to do. It had been all for her. Everything he had done was for her. All for her. He gave up his whole world, all for her.
Now he was without her. He couldn't live without her. She was his life. When she was dead, there was still a way to bring her back. But now…
Now, if she rejected him, he had nothing. There was nothing for him. She was his everything. Nothing mattered to him but her.
All for her…
Nothing…
Without her…
Cecelia stood with Yugi and his friends. They had all congregated outside the arena room, talking and laughing. Seto Kaiba didn't stay long, though.
"Come on, Mokuba. We're leaving."
"But Seto!"
"Hey, Kaiba! Ya not even gonna thank us for saving your butt?" Joey yelled after Kaiba's retreating back.
Kaiba laughed, and walked on, barely acknowledging Joey's existence. Mokuba paused for a moment. Smiling softly, he offered a hand to Yugi and to Joey. "Thanks, guys. Seto's thankful, too. He just doesn't know how to show it."
With that, he dashed after Seto. Seto smiled down at his little brother and took his hand. Mokuba grinned back at him. Together, they walked out of the palace.
Joey rolled his eyes. "That guy is weird."
Tristan shrugged. "Hey, is there any more food in this place?"
Cecelia nodded. Clapping her hands, she called forth the maids. After giving them instructions, the maids disappeared, returning with tables and chairs. A few moments later, the hallway had been transformed into a banquet hall.
Which was immediately attacked by Joey and Tristan. The others were a bit more genteel. While the Hungry Hippo Pair inhaled the food, everyone else milled around, talking and nibbling at the food. Only Cecelia was out of place.
'I have no place here. This is a celebration for the winners…"
Yugi noticed Cecelia hanging back out of the crowd. Walking up to her, he set an arm on her shoulder. "What's wrong, ma'am?"
Cecelia smiled down at the concerned face. "Its nothing, Yugi-kun. Go, join your friends."
"You're thinking about Pegasus-san, aren't you, ma'am?"
Cecelia nodded slowly.
"He still loves you, you know."
"I know. But…"
"He never meant to kill anyone. Sending us to the Shadow Realm is not the same as killing us."
"But he still hurt you…"
"And I forgave him. When he stole my grandfather's soul, I began trying to stop him. I was hurting him, too."
Cecelia nodded, slowly.
"Besides, he never hurt you. I don't think he would ever intentionally hurt you. Even when my Yami was trying to kill him, his first thought was of you. Yami would never have included you in the battle, but that's where Pegasus-san's concern was."
"I know. But he's changed, so much. He's not the same man he once was, and I don't know that I can trust him now. That I can love him now."
Yugi nodded. Eyes glazing over, he began to consult with his Yami.
But first, he had to convince Yami to quit sulking.
'You should have let me kill him.'
'No. That's not right either.'
'But he hurt you!'
'Sometimes the only way to stop the pain is to make more first. Like cutting out the infection.'
'Stop being so philosophical.'
Yugi grinned, 'Where did his wife go, that he needed to gain her back, Yami? Do you know?'
'Yes.'
'Will you tell me?'
'She died. Apparently from some sort of disease, very suddenly and shortly after the wedding. It tore Pegasus up, and he became obsessed with bringing her back. That was several years ago.'
'Thank you, Yami.'
'Anything for you, hikari.'
Yugi shook his head clear, and looked over at a rather concerned Cecelia.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, ma'am. I just had to talk with my Yami."
"That's the taller boy?"
"Yes." Yugi paused. "Do you know where you had gone, where you have been?"
"No. It hurt Peega-chan to talk about it. I know I was gone a long time."
"According to Yami, you died. Several years ago, in fact. And Pegasus-san has spent all this time trying to bring you back from the dead."
"But…but that's impossible!"
"Exactly. Which is why the path he took was not only risky, but the only way. There was no other way. He loves you enough to spend his entire life trying to bring you back to him. Can you really turn your back on him now?"
Pegasus was still huddled in the corner of the arena. He had not moved when they had left. He had not moved when Yugi had invited him to join them.
'Lost her…I've lost her…'
The words tumbled around in his mind, until he thought he would go crazy. He had finally gained her back, finally been able to touch her face, her hair, her lips again. But he couldn't change the way she felt. If she were to die again, there would be ways around that. He had succeeded once. He could bring her back again.
But he couldn't change her feelings.
And he couldn't live without her.
He couldn't live knowing that he had driven her away.
Without her…
He couldn't live…
Cecelia cautiously opened the door to the arena. Shutting it softly behind her, she looked around for Pegasus. He was gone. She grew worried. "Peega-chan? Are you in here?"
Going back out to the banquet, she asked around if anyone had see Pegasus. A couple people remembered him heading towards his tower. She thanked them and went to find him.
Climbing up the final stair to the bedroom they shared, she saw Pegasus there on the bed. He was lying still. So very very still.
"Pegasus! Peega-chan!"
Dashing over to him, she saw the knife in his hand, and the cut he had made. Shaking him, she cried, "Peega-chan! Don't do this! Please, come back to me! Please!"
Yugi looked around. "Where did the woman go? I was hoping to thank her for the food!"
"Oh, you mean Cecelia? She went looking for Pegasus. I think they went up to the tower."
"Well, let's go thank them. After all, they did provide all this food for us."
The Hungry Hippo Pair, finally sated, nodded. "Yah, that was great!"