A/N: Yu-gi-oh is not mine...too bad for me...

Chapter 24

Iolite smiled at the man standing, now before her. "What are you doing here?"

He simply shrugged, "I came to...rescue you." He looked at Mortimer crouched on the floor, blood seeping through the handkerchief he clutched to his probable broken nose.

She let a giggle escape, "From him?! What a joke. You didn't think I could swat an insect? I've had to deal with his crap before, I'm surprised he forgot how easily I can inflict pain."

Mortimer rose to his feet, looking very pathetic. He knew this was just the beginning of a very long evening for the Princess. There was still Aron who she would have to deal with. Mortimer was also ready to deal out harsh consequences. She would pay for his pain with her own. Slowly, he skulked away still tasting the blood that ran down his throat.

"I'm hardly afraid of Robert Mortimer. He's a joke, the only reason my siblings keep him around is his wallet." She moved closer to the stairs that led to the gardens below. Silently she motioned for Ryan to follow, he did willingly. Quickly they made their way down the steps and into the shadows of the foliage.

"You know it's dangerous for you to be here, it's well known you are on my side not Aron's or Simon's." She searched his face, thankful for his support, but afraid for his well being in the same breath. He had every right to be here, he had royal blood flowing through his veins. She knew her father had wanted a marriage between them, but now the only man she could think of was an intense blue-eyed dragon. After all you've done I still want you. Am I a masochist? All the things that might have been now haunt me. I wish I had more time to explain everything, but you never gave me a chance.

"I knew you would need a friend here tonight, personally I think it's suicide for you to even be in this damned place. Why did you come?"

"It wouldn't end if I didn't. Do you think if I refused the invitation Aron would give up? He would simply switch tactics and hunt me down in other ways." Her eyes left his face, searching for a focal point somewhere over his shoulder. "I couldn't stand for it if he used someone I cared about to take vengeance on me."

"You mean Seto Kaiba." Ryan clenched his jaw, he wondered if he should tell her...

"I mean any of my friends, especially Mokuba Kaiba. He's too young and his life has been too intense already. He needs to be a little boy, he doesn't need any more drama."

"So, you're doing this to protect the young Kaiba brother?" He placed his hands on her upper arms, compelling her to look at him. "Your noble gesture may have cost you everything-your freedom, your identity and your mind. Once Aron has you he'll never let you go. Heaven only knows what that devil will make you do."

She stopped him by placing a finger on his lips. "Whatever happens you have to keep your promise to me. Continue with the raids, once Aron and Simon's supporters are corrupt they will have no financial back up and slowly they will crumble. No matter what-you have to ruin them, they hold too much power over too many people and I fear this is the only way to topple them. I won't be able to do any damage once I'm under the monarchy's thumb."

"You're still thinking of the people of Valkaria?!" He sounded outraged, "what have they ever done for you? They could have stopped his coronation, thrown him over but they've sat there-complacently. Now you want to protect them? I'll help you, but only in the hopes of saving you...let them be damned by their own stupidity!"

She stroked his cheek with her fingertips in an effort to calm him. "They have no recourse. They'll have their chance to oust him if we can prove Aron is corrupt. He'll start embezzling once his friends' pockets run empty." She smiled, trying to give him strength, hoping he would relax and be a minor player tonight. His being here was dangerous to them both.

"It's not fair that you have to be a lamb for slaughter because of his greed."

"Life isn't fair Ryan, you should know that by now."

He had an urge to kiss her, but resisted. He turned away.

"I'm sure Aron is looking for me, I better get this started. Please stay safe. The wheels of fate have already decided my destiny. I need you to stop what can be stopped, this is in motion and I've already made peace with it. Go now before it's too late and save Valkaria...I'm already lost and there is nothing you can do about it." She looked back up at embassy looming above. "I better get back inside before I'm missed." She reached out and squeezed his shoulder, "leave now and fight tomorrow. You've been my best friend forever and your pain would only destroy what's left of my conviction."

She left him standing there, watching her ascend the steps. He had so much left to say to her, but couldn't find the words. He was in love with another man's wife. His heart ached. He loved her enough to let her go. The best of his dreams had fallen apart. He'd let her live or die on her own. Slowly he made his way back up the steps.

As soon as she entered the ballroom Aron's timid assistant raced over to her. The poor girl would probably pass out if you said 'boo' to her. Her brother must have reached a new level of demention with this one. Her hollow cheeks, pale skin and trembling frame were pathetic.

"His Majesty, the King, would like to see you now, Your Royal Highness." She completed a somewhat shaky bow before Iolite. She smiled warmly at the girl, it wasn't her fault that Aron was tyrannical.

"Where is he?" Iolite asked, trying to maintain her calm exterior.

"Follow me."

The girl led her through the crowd towards the foyer. Kaiba's guards were in tow and soon Raine followed the foursome. He walked beside his charge fully intending to stay by her side. Iolite knew Raine's effort was futile, her brother always hated Raine and would never allow him to be an audience to his antics. She didn't say a word for fear that she would break if he tried to soothe her. All too soon they arrived at a set of doors. How amusing, she thought, they looked just like the doors that led into Kaiba's bedroom. How she wished she were home with Mokuba...

The frail girl knocked softly on the door and a very large, intimidating guard answered.

"The Princess is to enter unescorted." The guard looked down at Raine, "no arguments."

Iolite took a steadying breath then looked at Raine, "I'll be fine, just stay out here and wait for me. You, above all, know I can handle myself." She smiled at him, showing poise she backed away from her most loyal protector and entered the room.

The library, which Aron had changed into his office, was lavishly decorated with expensive artwork and furniture, she was sure it all had cost a fortune. He was already living well out of his range, she noted with a look of utter disgust. The monarchy was well off, but not this prosperous. Money was needed for the people, not for massive creature comforts. She wondered which of Aron's friends had purchased the Rembrandt for him. Maybe she would be sold to the highest bidder, or highest art gatherer. She shook her head, it really wasn't a laughing matter.

Aron was sitting behind a massive antique desk, leaning into his high backed chair, arms folded across his chest. He was ready for battle. She scanned the room, was he the only one here, or was Simon lurking in the shadows? She was left to wonder as he motioned her towards the chair in front of him. She could now relate to the mouse that gets fed to a snake. First, show no fear...

"I would rather stand, thank you." She stood before him; chin high, eyes hard, taking a defensive stance.

"I insist you have a seat." He smirked at her, giving her a direct order as King demanded her compliance.

"I don't want to, thank you anyway."

He could hardly believe her gall. "You will sit because I tell you to, or I will have you assisted." His eyes narrowed, his patience was ebbing. He had to establish the upper hand quickly, he had to force her to yield to his command.

"Then do your worst Aron, as if I could stop you." The defiance in her eyes was hot and tangible. She folded her arms across her chest, she was daring his retribution.

He stood, and then walked around the desk to stand before her.

"This is not how I wanted things to start," he stated blankly through semi-clenched teeth. "I had envisioned a warm reunion with my...beloved sister."

She resisted the urge to back away from him, that move would show frailty.

"Beloved? You can't be serious."

He sneered at her, "Very well...sister, I will explain to you what will now occur. I would rather have your cooperation, but my edicts will be done." He waited to see if she would flinch, but she didn't. No terror, no trepidation no panic in her deep blue eyes, half the fun would have been to see her fear. He took another step closer.

"Your marriage to Seto Kaiba will be annulled, fighting this would be useless seeing as he has abandoned you, my guess is he grew annoyed with your pride. Men don't like strong women, they want women who shrink and obey. A challenge is not fun for long. Your smugness is about to be extinguished." He grabbed her chin roughly, "you will then hack into Kaiba Corp. and set a virus to work. It will destroy the database and leave him open for raid. Who better to then complete the raid than Cathway?"

Her eyes opened wide in fear, then flashed hot with fury.

"I will never hack into Kaiba Corp. for you." She wasn't backing down, "you seem to think you're omnipotent. Well, if you want Kaiba Corp. infected with a virus and raided-you do it!" She slapped his hand away from her face. She was rewarded with a backhanded slap across the face that sent her reeling, but she didn't fall to her knees.

"What a man you are Aron," she could taste the blood in her mouth. "You know nothing but violence and control. How is it possible that we share DNA? You don't take after either of our parents. What a disappointment you are to our Father, I'm just thankful our Mother isn't around to see what a monster you are."

"Don't you ever say that slut would be let down by me, her treachery is legendary." That statement took her off guard, what did he mean? Before she had the chance to question his comment he continued his tirade, grabbing her by the nape of her neck.

"You still don't understand do you?" He shook his head slowly, almost as if he were mocking pity on her. "I own you now, we are not simply related-I am your King and your ruler."

She growled at him. "There is nothing you could do to make me betray my husband. Go ahead and take my life, do your worst, but I will not bend to your will Aron. You can have me, but not my mind, that is my own and my will is stronger than you hand."

He grabbed her shoulders and brought his face down, close to hers.

"You will obey me or death will look like a blessing," he warned.

She gathered up the saliva in her mouth and in a mighty act of courage, or stupidity, she spit it in his face. She was rewarded with another backslap that sent her grasping for the back of the chair. Aron circled his desk, wiping his face with his handkerchief.

"Fine, have it your way. It will be more fun for me to watch you break slowly."

He used his intercom to call someone in. Her face was on fire, the hits weren't as hard as she remembered, but they were painful and she was sure they would produce a bruise. She used her tongue to make sure none of her teeth were loose. Thankfully they were fine. Rubbing her cheek would show that she was in pain, so she couldn't allow herself that comfort.

The large guard who had escorted her in turned towards the door, in walked Mortimer. Iolite rolled her eyes heavenwards. "Twice in one night I get to enjoy your stench-lucky me."

The man practically snapped at her. She snickered at his limp as she snidely asked how his nose felt. The packing in his nostrils was already turning crimson. Mortimer passed her at an almost exaggerated distance. She whispered a curt 'imbecile' his way.

Aron was incensed! She was too much. Any other person, knowing how dangerous he was, would be cowering and begging for mercy. She, on the other hand, was laughing in his face. The urge to smack her again was almost overwhelming.

"Mortimer I have decided to grant you access to my sister. As soon as her marriage is annulled I will give my blessings to your union. If you decide not to marry her that's your prerogative, but the offer is there. She will also assist you, foremost, at bringing down Kaiba Corp.. Just think, with her inside knowledge you'll bring that conceited billionaire to his knees. It will all be yours."

Iolite's eyes drifted from one man to another, she was furious with them both.

"Forget it, Kaiba Corp. is sacred-there is nothing you can do to make me betray Kaiba. As for you Mortimer, I think you know that getting to me will be an impossible and very unpleasant task, besides, even if I agreed I'm not sure you're 'equipped' to handle an actual female...go back and pay for your whores psycho, that is the only way a woman would lay down for you." She folded her arms across her chest and turned her nose up.

That was the last straw, Aron surged from behind the desk and grabbed her upper arm, pulling her off balance, his other hand grabbed her throat. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't snap your worthless neck bitch!" He seethed into her ear.

At that moment the door slammed open. Aron's grip on Iolite released, she fell to the floor, grasping at her throat as she swallowed air in mighty gulps.

"What have we here?" Aron grinned evilly as he approached Kaiba, "Have you decided to reclaim your wife? Well, that time has come and gone, she's mine now to command as I please."

Kaiba strode into the room like a knight in shining Armour. There was determination in his face as well as disgust. His first thought was of Iolite's welfare, but he could not concern himself with that, if he thought about what she had been put through he would have shattered.

"I don't need to reclaim what already belongs to me you piece of filth. You call yourself King? You're worthless scum. Anyone who would use a woman with brutality isn't a man-what makes this worse is that she's your sister!" Kaiba's eyes nearly glowed red he was so angry. Aron took a step back, obviously afraid of the CEO's wrath. Kaiba walked over to Iolite and placed his hand before her. She gladly took it and stood. He stepped in front of her, shielding her from the horror that was her relative.

"This show of 'affection' makes no difference Seto Kaiba, your marriage is a farce. It will be annulled under my reign."

Kaiba sneered at the man, his eyes meeting Aron's challenge. "If you're referring to my so-called 'abandonment' of my wife there is a perfectly good explanation."

Kaiba studied the face of his wife, his hope was that she would trust him; if she didn't in the next few minutes all would be lost. She looked at him with those amazing eyes, eyes that haunted his sleeping and waking hours. His desperation for her had increased daily, how stupid he had been. He would try to explain later how he felt, but now was a frantic time. His only thought was saving her, she would hate him for what he was about to do, but consequences be damned...

A/N: I had to end on a cliffie here. The next chapter is already in the works. I know you were all trying to guess who the man was at the end of the last chapter. The clues were there and kudos to those who got it. Kaiba never called her anything but 'Highness', he's cold not warm and she'd have to be angry with him right? I mean if he abandoned you without allowing you to explain yourself wouldn't you be angry not smile? Anywho... I'm glad you're all enjoying and I hope you continue to read and please review...this story thrives on reviews!!! Thank you all.

Frosty: Update when you can...I know how life can happen. Unfortunately it keeps happening here. I recovered from bronchitis only to have my foot ripped open by a car door tonight. I swear my luck just plain sucks. Now I'll gimp for the next few days. The best was (as I'm standing in the parking lot bleeding profusely) my boyfriend said, "I thought the car door didn't sound right when you closed it." No kidding...my heel was in it! Anyway I'm ranting. I honestly try with the spelling errors and can't find them. Oh well, I never claimed to be perfect and yes I do post late at night, all my readers have my insomnia to thank for my quick updates. Well, you were right, just not at the right time...he came back later. Hope you liked this and as always thanks for your review and I'll wait patiently for your update.

WhitejellO: I'm just sitting here waiting for more poll results. This is so frustrating. Florida voting lines were tame where I am. I was in and out in 10 minutes; others in my county (Brevard) are still in line waiting to cast their vote (it's 11:20). ( It's now 12:00 and Bush took Florida...BEST DAY!!! OK, Florida is way better than New York!) New York was far more organized, voting here is a joke. I won't go in to it (that would take most of the night) however I am happy that at this point 79 percent in Brevard have voted so far! Awesome turn out! Did you know that Kerry is blaming Bush for the hurricanes in Florida? There are actual billboards stating that?! I almost fell off the chair when I saw that. Kerry must think we're all sitting in Florida with IQs of what...10?! Anyway, I'm running on and on here.

So, Mortimer was freaky huh? I'm glad I succeeded. What did you think of Aron? I tried to make him as evil as possible without putting horns on him. I also wanted to keep Iolite strong, hope I pulled that off as well. I have the next update almost ready to go...I'm on a roll with this story. It's still my favorite story to write. Yeah, I guess scholastic things are important too...Thank you ever too much for reviewing!!!

CRAZYABOUTANIME: Thanks for reviewing!

Solo-girl: You guessed wisely. I was wondering how many would. You really hate Ryan huh? I bet you hate him even more after this chapter, and then just wait until the next one. Oh boy! Aron is a beast, I can't wait to hear what you think of him after this chapter! I love your reviews! I agree about the lock out, what a joke. This happened a few years ago as well, I vaguely remember it came down to the wire and then ran over and I think the playoffs ran into July. I was barely into it then so it's just a fuzzy memory. Naturally my fav team is up north...hockey seems unrealistic in a state that never gets colder than 50. Yes, still complaining that I was relocated to the dorky 'sunshine state'. I hope you enjoy the games in Providence. Total victory dance for your baseball team! Did you hear they're coming to Disney?! I voted Bush and hopefully he'll take Florida, I'm still watching and everything is still so in the air it's scary. All the northern states went Kerry, so I guess my vote did belong in the south...hopefully Bush will remain where he is for 4 more years. Who knows, when you can vote maybe things will change. Always remember that every vote counts! I was prepared to wait on line for 5 hours to cast mine, thankfully it was only 10 minutes, but I would have waited never the less!

Sarah: Did you guess? It was a cliffhanger with clues so I don't feel too evil. Did you like this chapter as much, especially now that Seto is back? Thank you for updating and hopefully the next will be up soon. Thanks!

Mariks1andonly: So sorry I disappointed you and made it Ryan, but I had to have Seto make a grand entrance. The knight in shining Armour. I hope you enjoyed it and thanks, as always, for reviewing!

BlackendHeart: I hurried! I will hurry again, hopefully, with the follow-up! Thanks for the review, glad you think it's great.

Victorprimis: I try to update ASAP. I don't like being left hanging, so I don't do that to my readers. Thank you so much for your compliments on this story. I'm trying to make it interesting so when I hear that someone like you, who prefers something else, enjoys this I get very psyched. It wasn't too bad of a cliffy...was it? Besides, the suspense only lasted a few days...thank you so very much for the review!

Dragon Master's Mistress: I understand busy, glad you're still luvin' it! I have missed you, but realize life can be hectic. Ryan is a bit harsh, but hopefully, at some point he will redeem himself. I'm sorry it wasn't Seto, but as I told Mariks1andonly, Seto needed to have the Knight's role. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reviewing, glad to read a review by you again!

SetoLover: I missed writing, trust me, this is way more fun than any homework I've had to deal with. I'm glad we're both back on track...hello again! Eh, bad guess...you were half right, he did make his reappearance in this chapter. Yep, twists and turns...have I lost you yet? I may have lost me somewhere in there. Glad you like the development I'm trying to make them well rounded and with a review like yours I know I'm a success, which helps ease my mind. So, you don't like Ryan either huh? Is it because he's in love with Iolite? I'm curious... Thank you so much for reviewing, always love to hear what you have to say.