AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Thanks for the new reviews, just wanted to take a minute to respond.

RobinIV: I hope you had fun on your vacation; I imagine it was more important than reviewing my fanfic (sweet Kenshin smile). Yes indeed, and neither did I when I wrote it. Actually, I lie, that was my plan all along. "It will be interesting to see whom she chooses"—glad you mention it! (evil smirk) It's a pretty important part of the plot! Well, most people would enjoy Yami's company more, since up to now Kaiba's been a royal $$. Good luck with your college apps! Mine turned out fine, thanks, I hope yours did too. So stressful! I think they do it to torture us… some kind of cruel conspiracy… I don't know. I know Stanford doesn't start processing until this month… so why it was due in early December is beyond me. I only have two apps left, and they're basically finished! (claps) But then come financial aid stuff… (grumbles) stupid FAFSA…

Mystical V: I won't ask; it was what I intended anyway. I had hoped to get readers by being mysterious (and I have) but I think it's a little TOO mysterious for a large majority of readers who don't get past the summary. Thanks for reading! (It's intriguing, by the way)

Ayame akakaru Kaiba: Hahaha. I guess all I have to say is that the main character is a very complex character. Sometimes she's meek and accepting, while on occasion she's a fighter. The thing about her, too, is that she doesn't believe that Destiny is mutable, necessarily, and that's why she's doing everything. Don't worry; at some point in a much later chapter she will rebel (trust me, I'm the author). Oh, and thank you for agreeing with Joey. I'm trying to make him seem sensitive and protective (not in a romantic way, though).

Sorry for this exceptionally short and boring chapter, but I'm working on school stuff and a new fanfic, which requires a decent amount of historical research. Disgusting, no? Oh, and if you like my fanfic, please encourage other people to read it too! I'll be posting the next (and much longer, relatively speaking) chapter Sunday (hopefully).

Chapter 11: The Bonds of Destiny

I went home that night and cried myself to sleep. I didn't want to Channel with Yugi. Yami must have found out by now; he would hate me for keeping secrets from him. Even more, he would hate me because it was Kaiba I was marrying; the image of the High Priest threatening to destroy Yami stood clear in my mind.

I was going to marry a man I did not love. I had come to terms with that. All along, I suppose, I knew that if I were ever to marry it would not be for love. Destiny seemed indifferent to human emotions. I had even, I think, managed to accept the fact that I was giving up something of myself, some part of me that I had managed to cultivate for five thousand years that I would now have to share with Kaiba.

But I had not counted on returning to my former vegetable state, where I was to not think or feel or care. I was losing everything, with no way to get it back. Destiny had trapped me again, as it had every time I had sought to escape. Only this time, it meant business. The coincidences of Kaiba and Yugi and the High Priest and the Pharaoh were too obvious to ignore. And finally, I was to fulfill my purpose.

Destiny would kill me, as it had been planning for five thousand years. But it would make sure that I suffered before it released me from its bonds forever.

Months passed. I could hardly keep track of days or weeks. I was fitted for gowns, asked about colors and foods. I don't remember ever answering. This was somebody else's wedding, not mine. The plans for my wedding were stored carefully in my head, special secrets that would go with me to the grave.

With about three months left until the wedding Kaiba asked them for permission to relocate me to his mansion. They agreed. I said nothing. There was nothing left to say.

I packed my meager belongings into a small bag. It had gone unspoken, but I knew that from that moment on I was to be Kaiba's wife. I would not be free to associate with my friends, but only with those Kaiba approved. I would spend my days working for Kaiba Corp., tucked away in an office working figures, instead of enjoying myself in the sunshine. I would disappear from the world, only to reappear at special events when Kaiba needed me. That was my role now. That was who I was. That was my Destiny.

I sat on my bare mattress. Kaiba was not supposed to arrive for me for another few hours. I had time. My chances to see Yugi and my other friends were unlikely now. I needed to speak to them.