Disclaimer: Anyone got a catchy, humorous disclaimer, implying that I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh? I'm fresh out, unless you count this one, where I just said that I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! But that's not the point, I need another disclaimer to use for this…or the next chapter, because I came up with one for this chapter…wait, why am I asking you this if I just came up with a disclaimer, that's both catchy and humorous, I think…. Argh! This is so confusing! Just read the chapter and pay no attention to me!

Chapter 11: Meet the Peasant

It was all Malich's fault. Yami was not happy at all. He was out in the blazing sun, riding with the four girls in his chariot. It was the second day of the girls visit. Dully, he was pointing out ideal places in the kingdom, or, at least the city where he lived.

'Why don't you take them on a tour?' Yami imitated Malich rashly in his mind. Now, he was prone to sunburn. Wonderful. Just great. Well, at least he got compliments on his city. The girls were more than generous with them. Maybe this was only because they hoped he would choose them for a wife, by showing they loved the city. Or, maybe, it was just pure kindness.

Yami looked out to his left and continued the tour, "This here's the Mage Temple." All of the girls leaned over to get a better look. Mages swarmed the grounds. Then, one mage walked down the stairs. Sentis jabbed Teana with her elbow and gestured to the mage.

"Only if you do," Teana whispered to her sister. They both waved to him.

"Hey, Seto!" they cried. Seto looked up from the ground. On seeing Teana (he pretty much ignored Sentis), he turned around quickly and walked back into the temple. The two lowered their hands and laughed. Even the other two girls shared a giggle. Yami could only smile. It was quite funny, actually, seeing Seto back track into the temple. Did he even know where he was going?

Obviously not. Naoh and Mokou were seen a second later, pushing him back down the steps, after seeing him retreat.

"Seto, you just came that way. Where were you going?" Naoh inquired, loud enough for those in the chariot to here.

"I was re…er…I forgot something," Seto stumbled with his words.

"No, I made sure you had everything before you left," Mokou stated, proudly. Seto turned his head and glared at them. The two boys looked at each other and shook. A death glare. Not good. They were in for it later.

The chariot left the premises of the temple. The five relaxed then. They were on the road leading to the square. While on this road, they passed a line of small houses.

"Who lives here?" Miaa inquired.

"The peasants," Yami replied. Suddenly, he spied a familiar house.

"Stop!" he called to the driver. He reined the horses.

"Excuse me for a moment, ladies. I need to attend to some business," and with that, Yami leapt out of the chariot and walked over to the house. The princesses just watched in curiosity.

There was a woman outside, hanging up laundry.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Whellor," Yami said.

She turned around, "Gracious me!" she quickly got down on her knees and bowed.

Yami sighed, "Please stand. You don't have to bow." Mrs. Whellor stood hesitantly. "Is Jono home?"

"Oh, yes sire, he's inside. I'll fetch him!" she ran off to get her son. She came back a minute later with a frightened Jono walking beside her.

On reaching him, Mrs. Whellor curtsied and left.

"You wanted to see me, sire?" Jono inquired.

"Jono, don't call me that. You are well aware that it's me, Yami…er, well, you didn't call me that, but still. Don't be frightened. You're not in any trouble. I just want to talk about what happened yesterday," Yami replied.

"Okay, Y-Y-Yami-i," Jono stated.

"Relax. That's an order," Yami said, using his authority to help out his friend.

"Of course," Jono tried his best to relax, like ordered.

"Come on, let's walk around and talk," Yami declared.

"But…you…walk…outside, in this heat and all…." Jono stuttered.

"Jono, please. I'm the same person you've known for years. Your starting to act like my servants. Yami this and Yami that. It's sickening. If I want to do something, I'll do it. Now come on," Yami said.

"Okay…." Jono walked around with Yami, as he explained everything. They came back to their original spot half an hour later. Jono was much more relaxed then.

"So, if you ever just want to visit, just tell the front guards your name. I'll have it so that they let you in without an appointment. If no one's at the front, which should never happen, though it's possible, use the back entrance. Either guards or two young mages will be there. Just tell them your name, like otherwise. Okay?" Yami explained.

"Yeah. Gee, thanks, Yug…er, Yami," Jono reddened at his falter.

"Don't worry about it. I know it's hard to get used to, after I've lied to you all these years. Again, I'm very sorry. But, I've got other things I need to attend to now, so if you'll excuse me, I must get going," Yami turned and began walking back to the chariot. He turned his head just to say, "Visit anytime! Farewell!"

"Bye!" Jono cried back.


Back in the chariot, the tour had resumed. They were nearing the palace again, when Sentis spoke up, "What's that?" She pointed to a small, stone building, in the shape of a right triangle. It was so small, that a most, three people could fit in there at one time.

"Oh…that," Yami hesitated. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to expose that place. But, if one of them was to be his wife, what was the harm of it?

"That's the entrance to the tunnel guarding the Millennium Items," Yami stated. The girls all stared at the simple building wondering how on earth that could be the place. They had heard of the Items, yes, but they hadn't known where they were. Now, it was hard to imagine them there.


Soon, they reentered the palace. By that time, it time for dinner. They went to the dining hall and sat down. Yami noticed the empty space at the other end of the table. He called Malich over.

"Malich, why is Seto's seat not ready?" he inquired.

"Master Seto has informed me that he won't be joining us for meals for sometime. He'll tell us when this changes. I asked him why, but he didn't answer." Malich left to go see to the food. Now, Yami was curious.

The mages sat down to dinner in the Mages Temple. Seto sat down to the right of Heishin. The mage, whom usually sat there, entered the room and walked over to his place. Upon seeing Seto there, he was outraged.

"Seto, what are you doing? This here, is my seat! Why aren't you at the palace as usual? What happened? Did they quick you out or something? Not part of the roy-" Seto didn't let him finish. He had stood up and turned around, quick as lightning. He grabbed his fellow mage by the throat and stared him in the eye.

"I didn't feel like joining the Pharaoh for dinner, tonight, and for many nights for that matter. I'm sorry to inform you, but you only got that seat for two reasons. One, I wasn't here. Two, you're third in command. That made you closet to Heishin. Now," he threw the mage down on the floor, "because I have authority over you, your seat has been changed. You now sit and the opposite end of the table." Seto pointed down that very, very, VERY long table, filled with mages. The mage quickly got up and sulked off, down to the far end of the hall, to his new seat. (See, mages sit in order according to authority, mostly. That was the whole deal with the seat thing.) Then, Seto sat back down.

Now, either the mage sitting next to him was stupid, or he hadn't heard of the phrase, "Curiosity killed the cat." Whichever it was, he made a BIG mistake.

"So, Seto, just wondering…. Why aren't you at the palace?" Seto narrowed his eyes and gripped the Millennium Rod he held tighter than ever.

"That's…my…business…." Seto said through clenched teeth.

"Well, sorry! I was just wondering, on account of you're…." He had started to say it…the one thing Seto didn't ever want to hear…for one reason, or another (there it is again! Argh!). Seto held out the Millennium Rod in front of him. The eye of the Rod glowed. Immediately, the mage froze. Of course, it was only a temporary spell, but it satisfied Seto for the time being. Now, EVERYONE had learned not to talk to Seto about the matter.

Presently, Heishin sat down. He seemed to have no notice of Seto's change in seats. Actually, he was well aware, or so he greatly thought, of why Seto ate with the mages. Mokou and Naoh sat across from their master and both wondered why he was with them. Of course, they didn't say their thoughts aloud. That would be suicide. But they were concerned. Seto had been acting strangely for two days now, and they didn't like it. They wanted the old Seto back.


The next day, a peasant approached the two front guards, Trith and Dustire.

"Who in the name of Ra do you think he is?" Trith whispered to Dustire.

"I'm not sure, but he doesn't look like he's on business with the King," Dustire responded.

"Hi, you two must be the front guards, right?" Jono inquired.

"Yes…" the two dragged out and looked at each other.

"Yeah, I guess I was just supposed to give ya my name, right? Yeah, it's Jono, Jono Whellor. I'm a friend of King Yami's," Jono explained, grinning, hoping this worked.

"Jono, huh?" Trith turned to Dustire, "How come that name sounds familiar? Where that scroll of people we can grant access to?"

"Trith, if you haven't realized it by now, you're an idiot. The Pharaoh just gave us orders yesterday to let Jono Whellor in, no questions asked!" Dustire argued.

"But how do we know it's the real Jono?" Trith responded.

"Look, kid, the Pharaoh's out in the back, in the garden. You'd best go now, because this is going to take awhile," Dustire said.

"Okay…thanks," Jono said, receding to the path leading to the rear of the palace. For some time, he could still hear the two arguing, even though Trith was stupid enough not to have noticed that Jono had already been granted passage.

Up ahead, Jono saw a tall pair of bushes; something like an entrance. He was just about to walk through them, when out of nowhere, two young mages appeared.

"Halt!" Naoh cried.

"Why is there a peasant on the grounds? Especially back here?" Mokou inquired.

"Hey, look, I have special permission from King Yami himself to be here. And the front guard told me that he was in the garden.

"You were let in by those two numskulls?" Naoh inquired, "Great, now we're doomed. Soon, an enemy will walk up to the front gates, and they'll give them leave! What is this world coming too?"

"Well, I'm NOT an enemy!" Jono exclaimed.

"How do we know?" Mokou inquired.

"No! NO! Don't start like they did!" Jono retorted.

"Master Seto! Master Seto! Master Seto! Master Seto! Master Seto! Master Seto!" the two bellowed on and on.

"Aw, be quiet already! You're givin' me a headache!" Jono cried, clutching his head. The two stopped yelling.

"Thank Ra!" Jono cried. Perhaps he had said that too soon.

"You hollered?" a cold voice sank in the entrance. Seto walked down from the stairs that were beside the garden entrance.

"Seto, there's a peasant here!" Mokou said.

"Yes, those two idiots up front let him in," Naoh stated.

"Indeed…" then he noticed Jono, "Ah, I believe we've met before. You're that mutt from the square."

"Hey! Watch it mage boy!" Jono cried, raising his fists.

"You are aware that you could be executed for that…taking me on, that is. Of course, you'd probably be dead before you were sentenced, due to what I could do to you," Seto remarked coldly, smiling evilly.

Jono lowered his fists, "Oh…sure…think what you want."

"Would you like a demonstration?"

"No, but if you'd let me through, I'll be on my way, "Jono said, taking a step forward.

The two young mages stuck their staffs out beside them, forming an X, "You haven't been permitted inside," Naoh said.

"Argh! I already told you, King Yami gave permission for me to be here!" Jono cried out.

"Just let him through. It will do us all a favor. What harm can he do anyway? He's just a peasant," Seto declared.

"You watch out!" Jono said, stepping into the garden.

"If I were you, I'd be the one watching my back," Seto murmured. Jono didn't hear him. Then, he turned around and left.

Jono walked down the short path. On reaching the end of the ten-meter path, he gasped. Walkways lead in every direction. Hedges provided as walls. There was a fountain in the middle of the square. Jono scratched his head. How was he every going to find Yami? He was sure to get lost. Jono walked up to the fountain and looked around, not being able to decide which way to choose. There were about five paths to choose from.

(This next paragraph come almost directly from the first episode back in Battle City ((after the virtual world experience)) which I just saw Saturday ((May 1, 2004)). So, this part just came into my head all of the sudden, and I then thought about what happened in the episode. Teehee….)

"One potato, two potato, three potato, four," he said, pointed at each path in turn, "I choose you!" He was pointing at the path directly opposite to the path of which he had just come off.

"Well, it's a start," Jono said, and walked around the fountain and down the path. Of course, Jono was going nowhere fast. He took many twists and turns, viewed many flowers and such, came to more squares (where he recited the potato song) and, to tell you the truth, was still getting nowhere.

Suddenly, after meandering around for a good twenty minutes, Jono heard laughter ahead. He quickened his pace and broke into a run. After turning a corner he appeared in another square. But this one had relaxing lounging chairs, on which four women were seated. Jono halted and the four stopped their talking immediately to look at the newcomer.

"Excuse me, but what are YOU doing in here? Commoners aren't allowed in the garden without an appointment. And by the looks of it, you certainly aren't here on business," Sentis stated.

"Well, excuse me for trying to find the Pharaoh, and gettin' lost and having to take all sorts of paths and…." And he rambled on and on, until Miaa interrupted him.

"So you want to see the King? He's down that path and to the left," she stated, wanting him to leave. Jono stopped and finally looked at the girls, realizing their beauty. Especially the blond one whom had just spoken to him.

"E-excuse me?" he said.

"I said, Yami's down that path and to the left," Miaa pointed to the left path.

"Y-yeah…by the way, my name's Jono," and recognizing their royalty, he bowed.

"And just to let you know, I'm a personal friend of the Pharaoh. I'm not here on business, and I have clearance."

"Well, sorry," Sentis turned her head.

Teana jumped up, "He has commoner friends, too?" Her sisters sighed, knowing their sister's lack of tradition. Then, Teana rounded on her sisters, "Ha! Mark that down, another similarity for me!" Isis sighed and took a parchment and a quill out from behind her. She put a tally under Teana's name. They were keeping track of who had more in common with Yami. So far, Teana was in the lead by nine. Isis was after here. Both Miaa and Sentis only had three similarities.

Jono stared at them for a second, wondering what this was about, and then made his way off.

"Why were you so hard on him, Sentis?" Isis inquired once Jono was out of earshot.

"Yeah, he seemed pretty nice, to me," Teana replied.

"I don't know…maybe it's just a natural feeling," Sentis retorted.

"You have a lot to learn, sister," Miaa said. Sentis just pouted, while they returned to their conversation on their scorekeeping.


Eventually, Jono found Yami, sitting on a bench in another square, throwing rocks into the fountain and humoring himself by seeing how big of a splash they could make, and how loud a pop occurred.

"Hey, Yami," Jono greeted.

Yami looked up, "Oh, hello! Somehow, I was expecting you."

"Really?" Jono sat down next to his friend.

"Yes. I expected you to come today, because I told you that you could come at any time yesterday. Then, when I heard Mokou and Naoh screamed for Seto, I knew you HAD to be there."

"Whoa…you heard them all the way out here? Well, no surprise really…. Then, Jono's head popped up, "Hey Yami, who were those girls back there?" he pointed back down the path.

"Oh, they're just some princesses from Nubia. They'll be staying awhile…." Yami faded off and stared at the ground.

"Why are they here?"

Yami tensed up and shut his eyes. He was afraid that Jono would ask that. Yami just didn't really want to tell his friend that he had to get married.

"Well…er…."

"He has to marry one of them," Malich entered the square, with a platter of goblets. "A cup of wine, or water, my lord? And what for your friend?" Malich set down the platter.

Jono, completely unaware, for he second of what Malich had said, replied, "Wow! You've got really good service here! I'll have…. Wait a minute…." Jono's eyes widened dangerously, and he jumped up and looked down at his friend in shock, "You're gettin' married!"

"Yes…." Yami looked sternly at his servant. Malich paid no attention to him and continued to stare down at the platter, waiting for an answer. Yami saw he was going to have to give a LONG explanation for this, so he requested, "Water, if you will, Malich." His throat was going to need something cool, and liquidly after talking his voice out.

"Oh, I'll take some wi…er…water too," Jono said, not wanting to look like he was all that with a cup of wine. He also momentarily forgot his shock when Yami asked for water.

"Jono, you can take some wine if you really want it," Yami said, taking a goblet from Malich.

"Nah, it's fine," Jono said, receiving a goblet. He examined it, "Man, you guys get the goods! Look at this thing! Even your cups are exquisite!"

"Really?" Yami looked at his cup, "It's looks pretty ordinary to me."

Jono stared at him long and hard, "There's something wrong with you…." Then, realizing he had insulted the Pharaoh (though it was a playful joke) in the presence of a royal servant, Jono tried recovering, "I mean…you've just seen them all your life, that why! Hehe…." he took a drink.

"If I may say, I think there's something more wrong with the High Priest Seto, than you, my lord," Malich replied.

"Oh?" Yami answered.

"Yes. He's been acting strangely lately. He hasn't snuck up on us servants for a couple days. He has stopped joining us for meals, as you know, and I've even seen him back track, on accident, sire."

"Hmm…that's not like him at all…" Yami said thoughtfully.

"Seto? Is he that mage that talked to you in the square?" Jono inquired.

"Yes," Yami replied.

"If you excuse my comments, that guy's a real jerk! He would let me in here at first. And he called me a mutt!" Jono exclaimed, and in his fit, overturned his goblet. He looked down at the spill, "Whoops, sorry."

"It's no problem," Malich took his cup and poured some more water in it, "The water will dry up soon enough."

"Well, Jono," Yami said, "I'm afraid that's just how Seto is…for one reason or another." (Ah! The phrase!)

"Hmm…" Jono replied, taking another sip of water, "Anyway…about this whole business about you gettin' married. What's the deal?"

Yami sighed. Malich, seeing the cue, took his leave and left to give the princesses their drinks.

"Well, technically, I didn't know this until two days ago, either. So, as you can imagine, it was a real shock for me too. I found out that this arrangement had been made at a conference my parents had had with the Nubian king many years ago. Supposedly, the girls knew about it, but I was left in the dark. It was only two days ago, that Malich also found out that I didn't know about this. He thought that someone had told me ahead of time. How wrong he was…. Anyway, by my next birthday, I have to marry one of them," Yami concluded.

"I see," Jono said, shaking his goblet slightly, "So, is there one right now that you think you might like?"

"Well, I haven't seen them for THAT long, and my memory of their last visit isn't too pleasant, so I'm not REALLY sure right now, but…."

"But what?" Jono pressed on.

"Well, I kind of like that Teana girl…."

"Which one was she? I bumped into them on my way here," Jono said.

"She's the one with the short, dark brown hair," Yami described.

"Oh…OH!" Jono laughed.

Yami looked at him, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, it's just something they said while I was there," Jono laughed some more.

"What'd they say?" Yami inquired, curious now.

"Well, Teana saw that I wasn't royalty, ya know? And she said, and I quote, 'He has commoner friends, too? Ha! Mark that down, another similarity for me!' The others didn't look too happy about that, especially the one with black hair, who took out a parchment and wrote something down on it. Probably what Teana said…." Jono faded off in a fit of laughter.

Yami's head went into his hands, "Good, Ra, they're doing that, now? Have mercy one me!"

Jono looked up, "Hey, you should be happy that you can hook up with girls like that! They seem to really like you! I can't do that, that's for sure. I mean, I asked a few girls out, but none of them want to date me. The others just really aren't my taste. But…." He left off.

"Jono, what are you getting at?" Yami looked at him and smiled in spite of his friend.

"Well, you know, three of those girls will be left out, because you're marrying one…so I was just thinking…."

"You want me to hook you up with one of them?"

"How'd ya know?"

"It's not that hard to tell what you're thinking. Tell you what. Since you're my friend, I'll try to hook you up with one AFTER I get married. Of course, that's because I get first pick, since that's the only reason their here. Alright?" Yami explained.

Jono hopped up, "Hey, thanks, man!" He shook Yami's hand, "You're a real pal! But, I think I ought to go, now. It's kinda gettin' late." Indeed, they had talked for some time, and the sun was setting.

"Here, I'll lead you out, so you don't get lost again," Yami said, standing.

"I wasn't lost!"

"Sure you weren't," Yami said sarcastically. Together, they took a different path back to the entrance.


Well, that was interesting! Man, Yami's a nice guy, helping his friend like that…or so I think. Well, you tell me in your reviews, okay?