What Is Forever?
By: Neko-chan
A/N: *sighs* I said this before, but I guess I'll have to repeat it. In this story, YAMI BAKURA is NAM. Yami Bakura IS in this story, and it WILL be a Yami Bakura/Ryou story (among other things...), but he goes by the name of Nam. 'Kay? 'Kay. *nods* Also, by request of Pikachumaniac (Go and read her fics! *huggles "Fairydust"*), Otogi/Honda is added as another yaoi/shounen-ai couple! *hyper happy genki dance*
Bakura: *sighs* Why is it that you always act so weird?
What do you mean, Baku-chan??
Bakura: *glares and points to "Youth of the Nation," "Bakura's Guide to Fighting...Dirty," and now "What Is Forever?"* Do you see my point?
...¬.¬;; Authoress' right, BAKA-chan.
Bakura: :-(
LOL! Anyway, hope you enjoy chapter four! (And, to answer a question, Morgan really WAS speaking Gaelic. In my author's bio, I mention that I'm teaching myself to speak two new languages...Japanese and Gaelic. Soooo...um, yeah. ^_^)
Chapter Four
"My Pharaoh? What do you mean...does it even matter?" Kaiba asked softly, standing up from his bow. Jyou winced slightly--he knew that something was wrong here. Very wrong. Nam and Ryou took a step backwards, but neither could move very far because of the palace guards at their backs. Scared of what was happening around him, Ryou took a step closer to Nam, clutching his arm tightly. In response to this, Nam shot Ryou a withering look and shoved him away.
Throughout this all, Yuugi stood, impassive and unresponsive.
Yami chuckled slightly. "Exactly what I said, Kaiba. What does it matter if a slave has a name or not? They're still slaves. And we are the masters. So, in the end, what _does_ it matter?" He paused and looked to his right, bringing his attention to two of his most highest-ranked lords. "Honda. Otogi. Find quarters for these four. Make sure no one except for the High Priest and myself go near them. Yuugi will be my personal slave. The blonde one will be Kaiba's, and the two pale-haired ones will become the court's attendants. They look like twins--like a matched pair. They will suit us."
Once he was finished speaking, Honda and Otogi stepped forward, bowing as they did so. Sharing a quick glance, they walked over to the four slaves, gesturing for them to follow the pair. All of this was accomplished without a word. Clustered in a large group, they all left. Except for...
"Why are you staying when I commanded that you and the rest of your fellow slaves were to go to your personal quarters?" Yami asked, raising an eyebrow at the much smaller man. He wasn't mad--after all, why should he be? Little rebellions interested him. Why get mad when people were only being people? The fun thing was--to manipulate them into doing what _he_ wanted them to do.
Yuugi just stared up at the taller (and older) young man. He blinked then finally asked: "Why?"
Now it was Yami's turn to blink. "Why? Why what, slave?"
Yuugi frowned. How to put into words what he was thinking--his thoughts? Was there even a way to do so? "Why?" he asked again. But, stumbling over his words, he continued, gesturing to everything around him. "Why are we the way we are? Why did this happen? Why you? Why me? Just...why?"
Yami cocked his head to one side and stared at the slave in interest. No one had ever really talked like that to him before and he was...intrigued. "I don't know," he replied, low enough that only the slave could hear him. "In the end, we are the way we are."
The violet-eyed boy frowned thoughtfully. "What is forever?"
The cruel Pharaoh laughed mockingly. This time, his answer could be heard by all. "'What is forever?'" he imitated, copying his newly acquired slave's question, right down to the tone of voice. "'What is forever?' Why, that's an easy question to answer! My _kingdom_ is forever. _I_ am forever."
Yuugi said nothing.
Honda and Otogi finally stopped at one door in a long, long hallway of doors. "This will be your room," Otogi said, gesturing to its bland face. Nam and Ryou exchanged glances. Jyou had been left a long time ago--his rooms connected to the High Priest's. (It somehow seemed as if Yami could sense the attraction Kaiba felt for Jyou and decided to tempt him with the blonde slave. Mind manipulations. Which was all true.)
"Whose room is this, my lord?" Ryou asked softly, subtly distancing himself from Nam. He remembered when he was rejected in the throne room. And still--he was rejected. Before when they were with the slave caravan and now, ever since they arrived in the palace. Only Yuugi seemed to accept him; and, even then, the young man seemed distant.
The brunette lord blinked. "This room belongs to BOTH of you. Since the two of you will both be the court's matched pair of slaves, you will be sharing a room. It's part of Yami's orders. All the paired up slaves share one single room together."
Nam said nothing. He just opened the door and walked into the dark bedchamber, legs stiff-legged. Nearly in tears, Ryou followed slowly, his feet dragging on the ground. The smaller man knew that Nam hated all of his fellow slaves. Before he had been caught raiding a tomb, he had been a free man. But when he was caught, he had been made a slave. For some reason, he blamed all of the slaves around him for that. And now Ryou had to share a room with him.
Would he survive?
Groaning a little bit, the heavy wooden door slowly closed behind him, leaving Nam and Ryou in the dark. Ryou tensed, expecting a blow to catch him while he was unawares. But that blow never came. A spark of light briefly lit up the room, then came a steady flame. Ryou squinted, already used to the obsolete darkness. And his eyes met Nam's reddish-brown ones.
"Ryuuji, I'm worried," Honda said softly, easily keeping up with Otogi's larger strides. They had much practice at walking together; once Otogi noticed that Honda was having trouble keeping up, he slowed his pace a bit, allowing Honda the chance to broaden his own. Like Nam and Ryou, Honda and Otogi were a matched pair. Only, instead of being slaves, they were two of the highest lords attending the court. (Only Yami and Kaiba were higher up than they were.) So, for state functions, Yami had often paired them up together. One of his reasons was to intimidate his enemies. How could he possibly know that it would have grown from there? Or did he...?
At hearing this, Otogi stopped and took his koi's hand, briefly kissing the knuckles. "I know how you feel, Hiroto. I, too, am worried. But what good will come of it? The best thing that we can do is hope...and pray. Yes, hope and pray. That's all we can do."
Honda closed his eyes and his grip on his lover's hand tightened. 'Oh, Ra... I _hope_ and I _pray_ that it will be better this time. Ra, please have let Yami's heart soften since...last time.'
Otogi leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against Honda's. "But, then again..." he murmured, "these new slaves seem somehow...different...than all the rest. Maybe they won't need our hopes and our prayers after all."
Honda leaned into the gentle embrace. "Can we still hope and pray for them, Ryuuji?"
"...of course, Hiroto. Of course, koi."
* * *
"The winds are changing again," Morgan intoned softly while her hair whipped around her like a fiery tornado. The two--Morgan Le Fay and Merlin--were sitting at the edge of a pier, far from the City of the Pharaoh. Both were finally going home...
"What do you mean, Morgan?" Merlin asked the younger girl, looking down upon her. He was standing, while she sat, allowing him to think that he had control over her. He was an old fool, but he was still dangerous.
Instead of answering verbally, Morgan brought out her Tarot deck. She drew out one card and showed it to Merlin. He blinked owlishly. 'Why would she show me Death?' he thought to himself. 'That was the card that she had pulled for Yuugi...' As he thought this, Morgan flipped it over, presenting the back to him.
Yuugi. A picture of Yuugi seemed to be painted on. She flipped over once again. This time, Yami had joined Yuugi. That was all Merlin could see before Morgan opened up her fingertips. The Death card floated in her hand for a little bit, twirling and spinning in the wind, before it finally sped away, dancing over the ocean waves.
"Did you see what was on the card?" Merlin asked, frowning at the card that was slowly becoming just a dark speck on the horizon. And still, it was dancing over the waves. Was it finally free? In a way...free of Morgan, the Tarot deck, what it represented, and magic? Merlin didn't really know. All too soon--it was gone.
"Yes."
"Will you tell me what you saw? You are the one with the expertise in Tarot reading. Your expertise lies in the subtle signs that things reveal to you. All I know is what Death represents. Change--good or bad. And, sometimes, actual death. Tell me: What did you see in the cards, Morgan?"
The red-headed girl just smiled slightly, resting her chin on a propped up knee. "Ah, now _that_ is a secret, Merlin. Eventually, you will see what the cards have told me. Some outcomes will be different, but most will be what the cards have shown to me. Times are changing. People are changing. Some people will die; some people will live. Some will love. And some will hate." Suddenly, she giggled. "Lord, what fools these mortals be!*"
And the sun sank below the horizon.
A/N: Well, there's chapter four. (I hope you liked the Honda/Otogi moment, Pikachumaniac! There WILL be more! ^_^) And, I hope that everyone is enjoying the story so far. Just...heed the warning on the summary and chapter one, 'kay? I've been in the mood to write dark and that WILL be what the story is. Dark. Seriously dark. x.x;; But...enjoy the story anyway! ^_^
* "Lord, what fools these mortals be!"--Puck, "A Midsummer Night's Dream"