Ok, so you guys know, I won't be putting joey/jounouchi, tea/anzu, or tristan/honda in this story because no one besides Hutchy seemed to care and she didn't want them. ^_^
elsiey: Chopin Season is awesome as usual! Thanks for reading!!! ^-^
Destiny's Dragon: Thanks for the opinion on Yugi's friends! For Yami's torture you should use….A TOWEL! Give him rat tails! OW!! ^-^
Hutchy: Thank you so much for answering about the friends!! *flushes picture of "the gang" down toilet" haha!! Thx for the review! ^____^
Nadia Kaiba-Elf Jedi: I'm glad you think so!! Hope you like the next chap!!
Chapter 11 (I don't have any comments about the chapter number today. Sad. lol!)
Yami stood behind the throne, arms resting on the back tapping his foot against the marble floor. What was taking so long? He had sent the guards down to get Yugi nearly half an hour ago. He lifted a shining object off the seat of the throne. It was made of golden block pieced together to form half an upside down pyramid. Yami wondered at the significance of the object, and the box in which it came. He thought back to when he had come back to reality from his soul room, and vaguely recalled seeing two small hands slip a similar gold box beneath a pale green tunic.
Feeling quite exasperated and impatient, Yami marched out of the room in search of the guards and the amethyst eyed boy. It wasn't as though they could just disappear…
Yugi scampered after Keturah, the dust grating against his face as they crept closer to the palace. His small feet were burning from the intense heat of the sand that had been baking in the hot Egyptian sun, causing him to wince with each step. When they reached the gates, Keturah put a finger to her lips, pointing to a pair of guards at the entrance. Yugi nodded, wondering how they could get by with out being noticed.
"Up that way," Keturah whispered in his ear, pointing to a vine covered trellis against the side wall.
Yugi clambered up it, his aching feet grateful to be on something other than sand. Keturah climbed gracefully up after him, landing silently on the flat roof. She motioned for him to follow before sweeping off down a narrow hallway, her cloak blowing in the wind. As they came to the end of a particularly long passageway, Keturah skidded to a halt right at the end, causing Yugi to run smack into her back. Rubbing his nose he pulled back and peered around her to see what was causing the hold up. His stomached did a summersault as he saw the familiar silhouette of the pharaoh sweeping down the hall. Yugi and Keturah pressed themselves as close as possible to the wall, hoping against hope that he would just keep walking. As he reached the door, Yami paused, and turned his head, eyes sweeping around the room behind him. Yugi could have sworn they lingered on their hiding place for a moment, but Yami turned, and left the chamber without any sign of witnessing their presence.
"Follow me," Keturah whispered urgently, tugging on Yugi's arm.
They ran down twisting halls and countless doors, so many that by the time they came to a halt, Yugi's head was spinning. He put his hands on his knees and bent over, trying to catch his breath.
"Where are we?" he gasped.
Keturah glanced warily over her shoulder. "Yugi," she explained, "this place is sacred. It is not as secret and secluded as I would have liked, but in a palace that is always swarming with servants, there are no unattended rooms or corners. People may see you here but if they do realize who you are, they cannot touch you unless you consent to their wishes."
Yugi lifted his head and looked up at the room in which they stood. He gazed upon the room with rapt fascination radiating from his violet eyes. In the center of the room stood a great statue of a mighty dragon, so lifelike in its appearance that he almost shrunk back in fear. "It seems familiar…," he said softly.
"It should," Keturah said, her voice suddenly strong and cold. "It is Osiris, god of the sky. He came with the Dark Magician and the pharaoh's will to bring you back from the desert."
Yugi's eyes widened as he recalled the red scales, the black talons, and the earsplitting roar that had issued from the dragon's mouth. He looked to the base of the statue and saw several lotus blossoms and plates of incense. "This is not a safe place for me," he said, realizing how many people must come to the temple every day.
"It is as safe as I can give you," she replied. Placing her hands on Yugi's shoulders, she met his amethyst eyes with her own mahogany ones. "Yugi," she said, and for the first time her voice wavered. "Just promise me you won't leave here unless you absolutely have to. If something were to happen…" She broke off and Yugi was surprised to see a tear trickling from her eye as she clasped a hand to her mouth. This was the same person who had stood up to Yami's wrath, lasted through the trials of the desert and poverty, and cared enough for him that the thought of him being in danger made her weep even when none of the others had.
"I promise," he whispered.
She smiled, wiping the tears off her cheeks. "I have to go before they realize I'm missing," she said straightening up. "I'll see you again soon Yugi, that is my promise." She turned to go. "One more thing," she said over her shoulder. "Keep a firm hold on that puzzle."
Yugi watched her go until she turned down another passageway and disappeared. He walked around the statue to the back and sat down behind it. A soft comforting glow came from the puzzle, and its presence made him feel sure that somehow, everything would be all right.
Yami walked through the palace quickly, intent on finding what had happened to the guards he had sent to bring Yugi. As he strode towards the door of a particularly open chamber, he thought he saw a flash of gold out of the corner of his eye. He stopped, and looked behind him for the source of the glow. He scanned the room quickly, and behind a corner on his left, he saw swinging out of sight, a brown cloak, attempting and failing to conceal the tips of some oddly familiar hair.
'This is becoming interesting," Yami thought to himself, and he walked quickly out the way he had originally been heading. He stood silently outside the door for several moments before returning to the chamber behind him. He turned sharply and marched quickly but silently down the hall, hearing the distant sound of feet slapping hurriedly against the floor. Yami followed the noise until it came to a halt. Looking around, he found himself standing where only hours before he had been at sunrise, the temple of Osiris. As he looked up at the great dragon, his attention was directed to the two figures beneath it. Both were hooded and cloaked, but he had no doubt in his mind as to who they were. As the taller of the two departed, Yami felt a strange emotion in the back of his mind, and felt himself once again being pulled into his soul.
Standing inside the labyrinth of his mind, Yami sensed that elusive feeling once again. He swept over to the door and pulled it open. Outside was a narrow hallway, and directly across was a small room, its door wide open. Yami stepped over the threshold carefully, and was suddenly bombarded by a soft echoing of many voices ringing in his ears. As he listened, Yami came to realize that all the things being said were by the same voice…Yugi's voice.
"What happens now?…How do I…If someone comes and finds me…What if someone finds out she helped me?…I can't stay in hiding forever…Why did I find this puzzle?…Who am I?……..Osiris, what happens now?…"
Yami stood motionless as Yugi's mind poured out its thoughts and troubles until by a sudden impulse, he searched among the tremendous amount of thoughts filtering throughout the room, until he found the one that held a real significance to him. It was a memory, one that had taken place not long ago. As Yami submersed his mind into the memory, flashes of the day and night flicked past on the insides of his eyes. Keturah's ace, a cloaked man, a great dragon, and a pair of red eyes, cold and deadly…. When Yami opened his eyes, and deep painful feeling was seeping through his chest. As he looked back again at the small figure at the base of the statue, tears filled his eyes and a terrible guilt filled his heart.
"How could I have been so wrong?"
Well, hope you like!! I was babysitting last night and had about 2 hours and did some major story brainstorming. But I'm going to finish this one before I start those, so it might be a while. THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR READING!! NOW REVIEW! ^-^ luv ya! Ente
