A/N: Thank you sooo much for my first 2 reviews! I hope I can keep you both interested. I'm so glad you love the storyMukyuu Tenshi! You both made my day...

...I think I have been remiss...I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters associated with it. I do, however, own the characters I invented in this fan fiction...

Chapter 4

Mokuba talked incessantly the whole way home. Kaiba rolled his eyes thinking 'if I didn't have a headache before this car ride I sure as hell have one now.' He was told everything that happened that night starting from when Seto dropped him off earlier in the day. He did like the fact that his brother had found something to do, other than pester him to play all day, but this was insane. Kaiba just wanted to get on with the night and forget about a certain girl who, even in memory, annoyed him.

"Well, what do you think big brother, can I?" Mokuba asked. Kaiba realized that he had been ignoring Mokuba's ranting for a while now and was at a loss about the topic of conversation.

"Uh...what do you mean, what do I think?" Kaiba asked surveying the boy's slowly fading smile. He hated when he tuned the Mokuba out, it hardly ever happened, but with all the thoughts of the night in his own head it was inevitable.

"Haven't you been listening Seto...to me...at all?" Mokuba asked innocently.

Damn, this kid could break his heart when he tried. Kaiba tried to remember the question, and finally shrugged. His mind was racing with so many other things, so he figured he'd just let Mokuba have any way he wanted in order to avoid a fight. "Of course you can Mokuba, whatever you want." He noted the growing smile on the child's face; he had given the right answer and was a bit happy with himself. Kaiba once again lost himself in his thoughts and turned to watch the city race by.

"Thank you so much Big Brother! You are the best!" Mokuba sat back and seemed to turn his own thoughts inward.

Kaiba was just as happy for the peace and quiet in the car. He was able to sit there and quietly go over the information he already knew about this 'Princess' in his head. Once he got home he would start researching her fully. How could she know him and catch him off guard like that?

Never mind, he told himself, next time I'll be well armed and I'll know all of her weaknesses.

He wasted no time when he got home. Mokuba went to his room; Kaiba scarcely heard his quiet "goodnight" wish before closing himself in the dark office.

His first search was Valkaria...it was a country near Norway, which explained her looks. He read about the monarchy and found she was third in line for the throne. He also discovered her father had abdicated the throne.

So, that makes her second in line, after he brother Aron...almost a Queen, Her Royal Highness...He smirked as he toyed with that thought. She hadn't been living in her country for a while; she was in New York going to school.

Why would you leave a country you almost ruled? She could have gone to school in Valkaria...why New York?

New York University, however, explains her intelligence, she spent all her time studying business law there, while she lived with her Uncle. She also had a job with a prestigious company. She's so young and yet she's working for Cathway, a cutthroat brokerage firm? Why would the men who ran the company put a female, a very young female, in such a high place of power? She managed to go to school and work as a broker? Quite intriguing...Maybe her Father called in a favor...or her Uncle...

Kaiba scribbled the word 'prodigy?!' on the pad on his desk. He looked at the clock realizing it was almost 3am and she was still quite a mystery to him. He tried hacking into the main frame at Cathway. but every attempt failed. He was stumped, his blue eyes narrowed, and he began drumming his fingers impatiently. He hated that she was not as simplistic as he had thought she would be. There were layers here that he intended to peel back. He put Cathway on the back burner and started to research her name.

There were plenty of magazine articles, but not like typical royalty received. She was quite the secret to society; she snubbed the limelight and kept her profile low. He managed to find some pictures of her taken at her 18th birthday party, held in New York at Tavern on The Green. It wasn't a necessary thing, looking at pictures of her, but he couldn't help himself. He had never seen a girl look like this before, he had seen and had many beautiful women, but she was on her own level. Her eyes were always cold, secretive and mysterious in the pictures. There was never a smile on her face. She looked like a woman in the dark blue gown, it fit her like she was sewn into it. Was her figure that amazing? He rememebered her in jeans and a t-shirt with no shoes, hardly the same girl as the debutant in these pictures. Her hair was pulled into an updo and he found himself somewhat disappointed. What did she do with herself when she was nervous? He remember, with a smirk how she twirled her hair when he aggravated her. He also wondered if she even realized she did that. He dismissed her stupid hair and dress from his mind. He was more interested in what her position was with the power broker.

I will learn your secrets Highness...he vowed. Maybe once she held no mystery he could turn her out of his mind. She was only a woman and after the way she spoke down to him he was determined to teach her her place. He smirked as he powered down his computer. A few phone calls in the morning and some interrogation of said Princess and he would turn this around.

He shook his head, not really knowing why she mattered, only that she did...immensely.

Meanwhile Iolite dressed for bed. She had wanted to go online to see if Ryan left any e-mails, but Yugi didn't have a cable modem link and phone lines could be traced. She did know how to manipulate a pathway so that she couldn't be traced, but phone lines were dangerous. There had to be someway to get to Ryan. Then, it dawned on her, Mokuba. She wasn't sure if he was as computer savvy as Kaiba, but he at least had to be able to get a better link to the WWW than through a phone modem. She would call him in the morning. She sighed...hopefully Kaiba didn't answer the phone, but then again he would probably think the chore of answering the phone was beneath him. She couldn't help but giggle.

"I think that's the first time your laughter hasn't been forced since we left Valkaria," Raine interrupted her. He was leaning in the doorway watching her unpack.

"Private thought," she turned and smiled at him. "What do you think of everyone here? I mean, they all seem so nice and friendly, but are they all trustworthy?" She put her folded shirts into a draw and began hanging up her jeans. Some Princess she was, you couldn't tell by her wardrobe she was royal, she mused.

"I think you're as safe here as you can be under the circumstances," he said seriously. She was nearly unpacked, and he could tell she had tons of nervous energy. "So, what do you think of Kaiba?"

"I don't," she lied and he knew it.

"He managed to get your blood boiling," he baited her, "more than Ryan ever has."

She turned on her heel and faced the man, his eyes showed amusement, hers didn't. "How can you compare the two? Ryan is sensitive and sweet; Kaiba's ego enters the room before he does. Kaiba doesn't 'get my blood boiling,' he merely infuriates me."

He noticed the way she tried shrugging off the subject by reorganizing the closet she just filled. He decided to let the subject die. She really didn't need any more stress and even though he knew she was giggling about Kaiba, he also knew she felt a loyalty to Ryan. Heaven have mercy on them both, he thought, neither man knew how easily this Princess could turn from ice to fire and then back.

"Be careful when you go out," he said. "You don't know the city and I would hate to see you get hurt."

She looked at him innocently. She was already pulling her hair into a long pony tail. Ever since she was a child she was afraid to go to sleep. There were so many nights when her brothers waited for her to sleep so they could 'play' with her. She would wake up when hands grabbed at her. Many times it started as sleep and ended in a dark closet or even in the woods surronding the castle. How they managed to get her past the guards she never did quite understand. They loved to make her cry, and when she was too scared to scream they triumphed. She tried to bring herself back from the nightmares that haunted her, "I'm always careful, besides I know how to take care of myself," she winked at him, "I learned from the best."

He knew she meant all of the training he had given her, she was her own best weapon. He never did ask why she had so many problems sleeping, but since he was assigned to her when she was 8, she never slept more than 2 or 3 hours at a time. If he could forbid her to go out he would, but it never worked in the past, and it certainly would never work here because she felt so vulnerable.

"I'll see you in the morning Raine," she smiled as she approached him, "I'll be back before it gets too light out." She loved the night and how it sharpened her senses. Darkness had gained her deepest respect and she learned to move silently in it. She could hide and she could simply let it envelop her. Her deepest fear had, over time, become her greatest ally. He kissed her forehead.

She had a lot of thinking to do. She had a company to raid, a Father to save and a puzzle to solve. Too bad night only lasts a few hours...