It was three days travel to Scone, but Daemon rode fast and arrived with plenty of time to spare. There was a veritable party at the coronation, but he remained removed from the festivities.
Daemon was perhaps the only person who noticed Seto's break in character when the new king spotted something in the far distance. But when the thane had turned follow Seto's gaze, there was nothing there.
*****
Seto smiled smugly – the promise to him had been kept – but the sight of those three reminded him of Yami Yuugi's end of the deal, and this soured his mood. During the coronation celebration, he remained preoccupied until he found the perfect solution to his problem – he spotted a couple of ill-dressed men trying to drink away their worries.
"Who are those men?" Seto asked a servant.
Should I know them? the servant thought. "I think they're just a couple of poor holders," he said.
Seto smiled, satisfied. "Good. Bring them to me later."
Confused, the servant repeated, "Them?"
The king gave him an acidic glare. "Do you see anyone else I maybe talking about?" he growled.
Cowed, the servant stepped back. "No, milord. I'll bring them around, milord."
Seto put the smile back on his face. "See that you do," he said and took a drink.
When the servant left, Sakura leaned close to him. "What was that about?" she asked.
"Nothing we should discuss here," Seto said. He stood, took her hand and pulled her up to dance. "For now, let's enjoy the celebrations."
*****
Like Daemon, Yami Yuugi had also been at his friend's coronation. The difference was he had seen the witches. By the time he had returned with Seto to his new hold in Scone he had solidified his suspicions. "Kaiba, he is now all three: thane of Glanis, of Cawdor, and of Scotland, but I'm afraid you fulfilled the prophecy through improper means," he noted with some disappointment. "Yet the same three said you would not last and that my children would rule Scotland." He sighed. "Perhaps there is some hope for Yuugi, and yet it is strange – I don't want it to come true."
He entered his room to pack his things. When he could not find his son, he stepped back out to call for him. "Yuugi! Yuugi! Where are you?"
"Ah, there he is – the chief guest at the banquet!" he heard a female guest herald.
"What?" Yami Yuugi turned to see Sakura and Seto greet him.
"Yuugi," Seto said, "Sakura insists on having a banquet at Dunsinane – a sort of state affair as well as a housewarming party. I'd like you there."
Yami Yuugi grinned. "Kaiba, you're king now, and I am tied to you. Command me to come!"
Seto smiled. Then he studied Yami's almost empty room. "Packing so early? It isn't far to Dunsinane."
"I have matters to attend to," Yami said.
"Hm," Sakura said. "We had attended to ask for your advice, but that'll have to wait for tomorrow. Are you riding far?"
"As far as day, my lady," Yami smiled. "If my horse has anything to say about, however, we'll have to steal hours from the night."
"Just make sure you come," Seto said as he and Sakura turned to leave. He stopped. "Before I go – they say Bakura and Noah have fled. We need to talk about this tomorrow." There was a bit of a pause. "Say, is your son going with you?"
Yami nodded. "Yuugi is coming. Now, we must go."
Seto clapped a hand on Yami's shoulder. "Come back quickly."
Yami bowed. "I will, my liege. Farewell!" he said and left.
The new king turned to face his wife. "Sakura, why don't you get ready for the journey? I need some time alone."
She looked at him apprehensively but consented nevertheless. "All right, Seto."
Seto pivoted on a heel and nearly walked into an attendant. "What do you want?"
"The two men you asked for, my lord, are waiting at the gate."
"So go get them," Seto growled.
He delighted in the haste the servant made to obey him. I fear no one! Seto thought. Then he realized: No one except Yuugi. His pure, brave, wise soul is the only one that stands in my way. He rebuked the Weïrd sisters for prophesying to me, and they hailed him father of a dynasty. To me they promised no such thing. He clenched his fist. If that's true, everything I've done is for him. I've killed Gozaburo for Yuugi's sons to be kings.
He laughed. But not if I have anything to say about it.
The sound of steps grew louder, so Seto looked up. "Stay at the gate," Seto said to the servant, and he scampered away, leaving the two men he had brought.
"Your servant said you had need of us, my king," said one of them.
Seto nodded. "That's right. Tell me, are you poor?"
They mumbled assents.
"Your land was taken from you, right?"
They nodded again.
"If you had a chance, would you take revenge on who did this to you?" he asked.
"Yes, my lord."
"And if I told you that not only would I give you the name of the thane who did this to you, but that I would also pay you well?"
"My lord," one of the men said. "Do not insult me further –the world has been cruel to me and if you all you're asking for is a murder, I will do it."
"And I don't care what it is," said the other, "so long as it will help me get on my feet."
Seto flashed a toothy smile. "His name is Yami Yuugi, then, now your enemy as well as mine." He put an arm around each and seemed to whisper confidingly. "I am king. If I wanted, I could just have people erase him. But I've got to play to the crowd, and there are some people who might not like that. So I'm asking you to help me."
The man under his left arm nodded. "We'll do it."
The other was more doubtful. "What if – "
Seto ignored him. "You're brave men. Now, I'll tell you the details later. For now, know that when you kill Yuugi, take his son, too. I want this to be clean. So don't do it near my castle at Dunsinane. Now, make up your minds. Once you're in, you're in."
They nodded slowly at first, then more surely.
Seto displayed the smile again. "Good." He straightened up. "Now eat. Hang around. I'll call for you in a minute. I've got some things to do."
He released them and when they had left, he laughed maniacally. Yuugi, you fool, he thought. Your soul will fly, and if it finds heaven, it finds it tonight!
****
The parade to Dunsinane had started. But Lady Kaiba was looking back, watching last minute matters at their hold in Scone play themselves out. Last she noticed her husband race two men away from the small castle, but still he kept his distance from the train. After a while, she asked a nearby horsed attendant, "Tell your lord I wish to speak to him."
He nodded. "Yes, milady."
Sakura allowed herself to slump when he left. "I've got what I want, so why aren't I happy?" she sighed heavily.
She heard the increasingly loud jangle of horse equipment approaching and sat up. Sakura opened the carriage door and called out to the approaching rider: "Seto, why do you insist on traveling alone?"
Seto remained silent. He had sobered after his second meeting with the holders. Then he brought his horse close to the carriage, passed his reins to an attendant, and jumped off the beast into the carriage next to Sakura. He closed the door, allowing private actions and private words. He sagged visibly, resting his head on a hand. "Sakura, we aren't done – the snake's still alive," he said. "Rest? While I rest, I think, and it'd be better to join the dead we've sent than to lie awake thinking my thoughts all night. I envy Gozaburo – nothing can touch him now."
"Come on, Kaiba." She allowed him to lay his head in her lap and stroked his hair. "Dwell on happy thoughts," she urged. "We'll be entertaining guests tonight."
"I know," Seto said. "We have to be careful around Yuugi – he knows us well and our faces must disguise even our hearts to him."
"Don't be so depressing!" Sakura said.
"I can't!" Seto hissed. "He and his son are still alive, you know."
"Yes," she said. "But not for ever."
"That's right," Seto murmured softly. "We can still get him. Before the night is over, something terrible will happen."
She bent her head close to him. "What are you talking about?"
Seto sat up and stared out of the window next to her. "Sakura, you don't need to know – I'll let it be a surprise."
He watched the sunset. "Come, night!" he whispered. "Good things of the day begin to droop and drowse, while night's black agents to their preys do rouse!"
Sakura moved into his line of focus. "Seto?"
He laughed and caressed his cheek. "Don't worry, my lady. I've got it all under control."
*****
The two men Seto had hired for Yami lay in wait on the path to Dunsinane, perhaps a mile from the actual castle. They heard galloping. One of them reached for his dirk, but his hand was stayed. "Stop. The lord and his son will be on two horses, not one."
The trimmed rider slowed and skirted the area. Finally, he got off his horse and headed straight for them. "A bit paranoid, isn't he?" the overeager assassin remarked about Seto.
"Don't jump to conclusions," the second said. "Who sent you?" he asked.
"Kaiba."
The first smiled smugly, but his companion didn't notice it. "Why'd he send a spy?" the second whispered. "He told us exactly what to do."
He who smiled now shrugged. He beckoned the new man. "Hide, then. The sun's setting and the thane will hurry."
The well-dressed man joined them just in time to hear horses. Again the first murderer reached for his knife, this time more surely. "That should be them," he said. "Everyone else is already there."
They watched the two horses wander up the small mogul before them. "Why are they leading the horses?" the second murderer asked.
"Most people do it this way," the hired hand said in a kind of answer.
*
On the mogul, little Yuugi asked the same question. "Why aren't we riding, Dad? We're already late." He was a little ahead, leading with the light.
Yami Yuugi chuckled. "Yuugi, we've ridden the horses hard. They need a break, too. Besides, Kaiba will forgive us if we're a little late."
Yuugi heard a rustle and looked around. "What was that?" he asked.
His father drew his knife and pushed his son back. "What was what?"
Two men ambushed them, frightening the horses. In an attempt to bring them under control, Yuugi dropped the lamp, disguising the murderers' faces with darkness. They quickly surrounded Yami, but no one made the first move. Yami pulled his necklace off and threw it behind him. "Yuugi! Catch!"
But the throw fell short. The large pyramidal artifact on the chain broken into puzzle pieces, and Yuugi gathered them out of the grass. He hurriedly put these in a small sack on one of the horses and approached the fatal scuffle that had started when his father had broken the silence. He gasped when he saw Yami received a knife wound in the side. "No! Dad!"
Yami Yuugi wiped the blood from an earlier slash out of his eye but did not look back. "Yuugi! Run away! You can still get away!"
Yuugi mounted a horse but hesitated before leaving. Yami managed to parry an attack and return with a stab and a thrust. He glanced back. "What are you waiting for, Yuugi?" he yelled. "Ride away!"
A murderer took advantage of the momentary distraction to slash Yami across the abdomen. He collapsed but managed to slice a leg before they finished him.
Yuugi clutched at the reins, causing his horse to rear. "Dad!" he yelled. "No!"
The murderers left Yami and dashed for his son. Yuugi clutched the reins again, and the horse kicked out at the murderers before it was pulled away and into a gallop away from Dunsinane. When the limping murderer attempted to mount the other horse, it did not let him but reared, so that he fell off, and it galloped after his partner, Yuugi's horse.
The third man, the one Seto had sent last, appeared out of the woods. He moved Yami's face with his foot. "You lost the boy," he said.
"We know," the limping assassin snarled back. "Why didn't you do anything to stop him?"
"We can't do anything about that," the other murderer said. "Let's just go tell Kaiba what's been done."