Disclaimer: Let's see… Nope, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Don't!

Author's note: I decided not to make the disclaimer and a/n both bold and italic. I think normal straight looking words look better. Yea, and I didn't expect myself to actually start this chapter so fast...

C.A.M.E.O said that my story is way too depressing… Sigh… sorry about that… Personally, I like angst story, but with a happy ending. I would cry when I read something sad, but the happy ending would make me feel so happy… So… well… just to let you people know, that it might get even more depressing… Not this chapter though! However, it will, and I insist, WILL have a happy ending… it's just going to give me a headache trying to fix all the problems and depressing things I created in earlier chapters though… laugh nervously

Anyway, here's chapter 19. Enjoy! And lots of thanks to all those who reviewed!

The Spirit of the Sword

Chapter 19

The Peace Before the Thunderstorm

It was dead quiet. The sky was dark ever since the sun had set. A carriage was hiding behind a tree outside of the castle. Two large brown horses were in front of the carriage, eating grass. They would be pulling the carriage later on, so why not eat while they can?

The moon was covered by the clouds; the light that illuminates the earth at night was deprived by the dark clouds. It was hard for anyone to notice the carriage thanks to the clouds. No one would see the carriage anyway, since the guards were all sleeping like a baby on the ground, all because of Bakura, who had obviously drugged them.

Bakura's white hair was a bit too noticeable even without the moon light. He was wearing a dark brown cloak, but he didn't put on the cap on the cloak. Annoyance and anger could clearly be seen on his face, with his frowned eye brows.

"Where is she?" Bakura pouted. He had been waiting for half an hour already! Didn't I tell her to be here by twelve o'clock exactly? I even reminded her several times! Don't tell me she was caught by some useless guard, maid, or even Kaiba himself! Bakura thought angrily.

He started to pace back and forth. He had the urge to rush into the castle and drag Serenity out here, no matter if she wanted to go with him or not. He refused to let his prey escape when he had almost grabbed it.

"If she got caught, she better not say I'm helping her out!" Bakura uttered to himself. "Damn, I forgot to instruct her not to say anything about me if she gets caught."

Bakura kicked one of the rocks on the grass, out of irritation. He didn't feel like going into the castle to find Serenity then coming back out with her. What if someone saw him when he went in and out with her? Then he would be in big trouble. No way would he risk his own life for her.

"Fine, half an hour more. If she still doesn't come, that's it for tonight!" Bakura announced to himself angrily. "I'll make her leave tomorrow night or something. I'm done waiting for her after one hour!"

With that, Bakura plopped down on the grass in front of the carriage. His patience was getting thinner and thinner with each passing seconds. Not to mention he didn't have much patience to begin with…

Serenity turned onto her side on the bed. She was half awake, but still felt tired. She felt like she had been sleeping for hours, but she still felt so weary for some reason. She couldn't find the energy to get up from the bed.

Suddenly, she remembered there was something she had to do! But exactly what? She didn't remember… Slowly replayed what happened these few days, Serenity abruptly jumped out of the bed. She had forgotten that Bakura wanted to help her leave the castle to find Joey! She had to meet him in the front gate of the castle by twelve!

"Oh no! I probably over-slept! What time is it?" Serenity blinked several times, trying to see more clearly. She noticed the sky was already very dark… She turned towards the direction of the newly invented grandfather clock. "Oh no! I'm late! It's already twelve thirty! What can I do?" Serenity almost panicked. She was never late in her entire life, well her fifteen years on earth anyway.

Serenity quickly brushed her hair so they don't look as messy as when she just woke up. Then, she checked that her jade necklace was still on her neck. That was the only possessions she had with her in this castle. All the other clothes and stuff were given to her by Seto Kaiba. She didn't have any time to bring anything with her when he dragged her away from Lost Village in front of Joey.

After she checked everything, she quickly rushed out of the door. When she got into the hallway, she quietly tip-toed forward. She wouldn't want to wake anyone up. Being caught not only would be embarrassing, but it would also get her to be punished, probably.

Serenity continued to walk forward quietly. There were many rooms on one side of the hallway. The other side had large windows. She could see the castle's garden from the hallway, but it was too dark outside. There was no moonlight to illuminate the beautiful garden for her. She had only been there once… but she remembered it was magnificently gorgeous with all types of pretty flowers.

Walking down the hallway alone was still quite freakish. She was still afraid the monster she saw lasting, the one with a scythe in his hand, might appear again to chase her. Last time, thanks to Seto, that monster had disappeared right after she bumped into him. And… he promised to protect her… But, that was just a lie…

Even though she had been here only for weeks, and for a large portion of the time she was in bed because of her wound, there were still many memories here in Domino Castle. Memories that were good, bad, happy, sad, … all kinds of memories. No matter what types of memories, she would not forget, even though she didn't want to remember those hurtful words Seto said to her… But still, for some reason, she didn't want to forget him, even if his words hurt.

When Serenity was about to turn left in order to get to the stairs that lead to first floor, she heard the noises of something shattering. It sounds like… glass being shattered… that noise… just like my heart when it was shattered by Seto… Serenity thought bitterly.

She walked towards the noise without really realizing what she was doing. Unconsciously, she wanted to see who shattered the glass, perhaps she could help that person. But help what? Help that person clean up the shattered glasses? She didn't know. But some kind of forces seemed to be pulling her over to where the sound came from.

When Serenity realized where she was, she saw a large door. She remembered she saw it before, when Seto pulled her with him to their room after he kicked Tristan and Duke out of the castle that morning. If she remembered correctly, this place was the library, where Seto look through the documents regarding Domino Kingdom. Who could be in there? Seto? Or some thief or spy?

There were no guards around at this time of the night. Serenity's hands trembled as she reached out for the door. No matter who's in there, hopefully not a thief, but she also didn't feel like seeing Seto at this moment, she just hoped that person wouldn't hurt her.

Slowly, Serenity pushed open the door. The room was so dark… The light wasn't ignited. More glasses were shattered when Serenity was in the doorway. She jumped, not expecting more glasses to be shattered so suddenly.

"Um… Who's… in there?" Serenity asked suspiciously and timidly. She slowly moved into the room. Then, she fumbled for the light on the table.

Suddenly, 'something' grabbed her wrist. Serenity flinched, not expecting anyone or anything to touch her at all. "Ah! Who… Wh-what are you? Let go of me!" She shrieked with all her might.

"What are you doing here?" A coarse and irritated voice asked her, while tightening the grip on her wrist.

"No! Let go of me!" Serenity was still frightened. She didn't hear what that person asked her. She continued struggling, trying to get her wrist loose from the grasp.

"Don't make me repeat it again. What are you doing here?" The voice sounded angrier. The person tightened his grip on her more.

"Ouch… it hurts… let go of me!" Serenity shrieked again while twirling her arms to get away from the tight grip on her wrist.

"Answer me!" The voice yelled at her.

Serenity started to tremble… she's scared, mostly because she couldn't see in the dark room, but also because the voice sounded so furious… plus the owner of that sound was so close to her, she could even feel his or her body heat. "I… I heard… shattering n-noises in… here… S-so I…" Serenity stuttered.

"Hmph." The person grunted and let go of her. Foot steps announced that person walked away, at least farther from her.

Serenity quickly circled to the other side of the desk. She felt much safer that a barrier—the desk—blocked the 'creature' from her. "Who… or what… are y-you?"

More glasses were being shattered. "Who do you think?" The voice asked sarcastically.

After carefully listening to the voice, Serenity gasped. "Se-Seto?" She asked surprised. But that voice was a bit too coarse than Seto's usual voice… What happened?

"Hmph." Seto grunted again. From his voice, he seemed to be a distant away from her.

Serenity fumbled for the lamp again. When she reached it, she quickly turned on the fire. The room was lightened up by the lamp. Serenity's eyes widened at what she saw…

The library was huge. There were cabinets of books all lined up neatly. The desk she was hiding behind was made of fine wood, and there were piles of documents on top of the desk. There were also a cabinet of glass bottles, probably wines, in one of the corner. But what flabbergasted her the most was the broken pieces of glasses on the floor and some empty bottles rolling around on the ground. How many bottles did Seto broke? And how many bottles of wine did he drink?

Serenity's eyes wondered towards Seto, who was sitting on the ground. She had never seen him like this before! He was always so arrogant, a bit too self-confident, dignified, having strong self-control, and even she had to admit, he was always neat and… handsome… But what she saw was a kind-of-drunk Seto, with messy brown hair, almost unreadable expression that seemed to be a mixture of guilt, anger, misery, and pain… His usually astute sapphire eyes were no longer astute, but dull.

Serenity's eyes swelled up with tears. She didn't want to see him like this… it hurts to see him so painful… "What… happened, Seto?" She asked, hoping to ease his pain.

Seto didn't answer her. He picked up another empty bottle and threw it towards the wall. Clang! Instantly, the glass bottle shattered into pieces. The noises and the sight of a self-abandoned Seto stung her heart. She wanted to help him. All the bad things he said to her were forgotten; they were not as important as helping him.

Serenity walked slowly towards Seto, while trying to avoid the shattered glasses everywhere. He didn't react to her moving closer to him; either he didn't care or he didn't notice her. His head was lowered, and his hair concealed his eyes. Serenity kneeled in front of Seto to get a better look at his expression. She put her hands on his shoulder and slightly shook him, nervously.

"Seto? What happened? Please… tell me what happened… I want to… help… if I can…" Serenity tried to find out why Seto was so upset.

"Hmph. What do you want?" Seto grumbled. "Are you here to tease me as well?"

"… of course not…" Serenity said. "Why? Who… teased you?"

"None of your business!" Seto yelled. He pushed Serenity's hands away from his shoulders, with forces a bit too strong. Serenity gasped and lost her balance. She was pushed a few inches away from Seto and fell onto the floor in a sitting position. Her hands were supporting her on the floor behind her back. Seto was loosing a little control of himself now, because of all the alcohol he consumed already. However, he was still pretty conscious; he wasn't really drunk yet.

"Ou-" Serenity winced. She held in the whole "ouch" to not worry Seto, if he would even care for her at all. A piece of the glass pinched into her finger when her hand tried to support her when she fell to the ground. It was probably bleeding a little, but she didn't dare look.

"Get out! I don't need anyone bothering me right now!" Seto yelled at her again. He sure was in a really, really bad temper.

"I just want to… help, Seto…" Serenity said with a thin layer of tears in her hazel eyes. Tears were threatening to drop down her cheeks, from the pain in her finger and from the pain in her heart. Did he loathed her that much to not let her help him?

"Help? What can you do to help?" He snorted. "Oh I know. You can cry. But does it help?" He continued mockingly with a smirk.

"I'm serious!" Serenity yelled. She looked at him sincerely, but a bit angry that he mocked her. Besides, she wasn't really a cry baby who only knows how to cry. She had many other skills too, like cooking, cleaning, sewing, writing, reading, playing instruments, painting, … you name it.

Seto was silent. He looked at Serenity with mixed emotions. He was struggling internally about whether or not to tell her. He longed for someone to talk to, to listen to his problems. Mokuba was the only one who actually knew Seto's feelings and supported him, but he's gone… And Seto couldn't open his heart to anyone except Mokuba, ever since their childhood. Did he finally find someone else to talk to, someone who truly cared for him? But he shouldn't feel this way… Getting close to someone would only hurt you at the end if something bad happens to that person… like Mokuba…

"I may not be much help… but I really, really don't want to see you like this anymore, Seto!" Serenity said out loud. She leaped into Seto's arms and hugged him tightly, despite the chance of being pushed away by him. "I'll be by your side, no matter what happens… no matter how much you dislike me…" Serenity mumbled, but he heard it. All she wanted to do was giving him her support…

Seto's eyes widened. She's… willing to support me… even after what I said to her today…? He hesitated for a while, but still lifted his hands and held her tightly. Her body was so warm, so soft, and so soothing. All the problems and that mocking letter Pegasus sent him seemed to fly away when she was with him.

"… Thank you…" Seto whispered into her ear. He buried his face into her neck. The pleasant fragrance from her hair soothed his dreadful mood. A warm feeling began to spread out in his heart. There were some feelings he kept on dismissing ever since he met her, but those feelings were threatening to be known and admit any second.

A smile appeared on Serenity's beautiful face. Tears finally trickled down her cheeks. Seto said thank you to her! He hugged her back! Her broken heart was suddenly being repaired bits by bits back into a heart that could beat normally again, even the pain in her finger had abated. All those awful words he said flew away out the window. She loved Seto, she wanted to be there for him if he encountered some problems, and… she could forget that he said he didn't love her, as long as he let her stay and help him out… Sad? Maybe… but that was her only wish at the moment.

Joey had several times claimed that she had a heart that's too soft, which was not a good thing according to Joey and all her friends. They said it would be good to have a kind heart, but not a too-soft heart. Joey also kept on telling her not to feel sorry for evil guys or arrogant jerks because they deserved to suffer, and because if she helped them out, they would only bite her back in the end. But it seemed like Joey was right, she couldn't help but feel sorry for and wanted to help Seto out.

After several minutes of just holding onto each other, Serenity broke the silence… "Do you want to… talk about what happened?" She asked with a soft voice.

Seto broke the embrace but didn't say anything. Should I tell her now? Either way, I still need her to help me make a strong sword… She will know sooner or later… Seto pondered. But when his eyes spotted the tears on her face, what he was about to tell her soared into the night sky, no longer on his mind.

"Why did you… cry?" He asked, while wiping her tears with his fingers.

"I… I'm just glad that you didn't… push me away this time." She whispered. Seto's deep cerulean eyes were drawing her in, she couldn't take her eyes off his ocean-like orbs.

Looking at her innocent eyes that revealed her fear of being hurt again by him, his heart suddenly ached. Not thinking much like his usual self, he lowered his head and captured her lips. His kiss wasn't rough like what people might think, but of a gentle and caring nature. At the same time, he held her into his arms again… She didn't resist.

Almost suffocating each other, they paused to grasp some air. Serenity was blushing, which made her cheeks rosy. She's so cute. Seto thought with a smile, not a smirk.

"I need your help, Serenity…" He whispered into her right ear. His breath tickled her.

"Wh-what is it?" Her heart was beating so fast that she was afraid she might even faint.

"I'll tell you tomorrow…" He answered, voice lower than usual. "Will you help me?"

"Of course I will… I promise." Serenity answered. Seto's breath near her neck was distracting her to the point that she no longer can think straight.

"Remember your promise, Serenity. Don't lie to me, and don't betray me." His voice suddenly turned into a warning.

"I won't… why not tell me now?" Serenity asked, confused.

Seto let go of her. His eyes were now of a deeper than usual blue, with some mysterious fire burning in them. "Because I have something else I want to do first… tonight… my Queen…" Seto said in a profound tone as his hand caressed her cheeks and then her lips.

Serenity shivered slightly, but it wasn't because she's cold. "What do you have to do first?"

"This." Seto stood up suddenly and scooped into his arms. He started walking towards one of the closet filled with books.

Serenity gasped at his sudden action. Out of fear of falling down, she quickly held onto Seto's neck with both of her arms. But because of the suddenness in action, she carelessly hurt her already bleeding finger. Serenity winced.

"What's wrong?" Seto asked, curious.

"… Nothing…" Serenity said. "What are you doing? …Put me down…" Serenity pleaded while blushing even more.

"Don't lie to me. Why did you wince?" Seto asked intensely. No body lies to the great Seto Kaiba!

"… I… pierced my finger with a piece of broken glass… when I fell to the ground… you pushed me earlier…" Serenity said meekly, hoping he wouldn't get mad at her for being so clumsy.

Seto didn't say anything, again. He didn't even look at her finger. He reached the closet in the corner. Seto pushed one book on the second shelf backward. The closet suddenly slid open, revealing a door that leads into a bedroom. This was a secret bedroom that only Seto knew about. All those nights that he didn't go back to his bedroom where Serenity slept, he slept here.

"I'll fix your finger up in a minute." He finally said.

"… It's okay, I'll go get the bandage myself… Can you please put me down now?" Serenity asked. She was about to panic since she didn't know what that mysterious fire in Seto's deep blue eyes means… She sensed danger, and by instinct, she believed the best thing to do would be to flee…

"Have you forgotten, Seren, that you are mine since our wedding?" He whispered into her ear again. "I want you… tonight. Of course, after I fix up your finger." He said determinedly. Perhaps it was the alcohol, otherwise he should be avoiding her like what he did for days already. If he was truly wide awake, without the alcohol playing tricks in his head, he would realize what he was doing. He was getting a bit too close to Serenity, and that means if anything happens to her, he would be suffering like when he lost Mokuba.

Serenity shivered again at his words. She didn't expect him to say that… Her cheeks were dyed into a pinkish color due to blushing. She was afraid too… she didn't know what to do… Her mother never really tells her anything, and Joey wouldn't tell her about those kinds of stuff too…

"But… I-" Serenity hesitated but was cut off.

"Are you afraid?" He asked as he walked into the room, with an evil smile. But he didn't give her any chance to explain as he covered her mouth with his, swallowing all the things she might have said. Serenity's cheeks burned, and a type of new and unfamiliar fire began to burn in her body. Temperature seemed to rise for both of them as they disappeared into the room…

The closet slid back to the original place. The library was quiet once again, and no one was in it anymore. The lamp that Serenity ignited earlier was slowly fading as the oil was being used up. The library slowly returned to darkness…

Bakura crept back into the castle after he put the carriage and the two horses back where they belonged. His face was distorted out of rage and irritation as he stormed down the hallway. He had been waiting at the front gate of the castle for one whole hour! He had been waiting for nothing! He wasted his precious time!

Damn her! Where is she? Bakura yelled silently in his heart. Serenity made him wasted one hour pacing back and forth or sitting on the grass like an idiot. She didn't even show up!

"This plan is not working. Next time, perhaps I really should consider accompany her out the front gate." Bakura pouted. "But that means if we get caught, I would be in trouble too."

The hallway was empty, not even a soul was there. Most of the maids and guards were sleeping at this hour late in the night. The rest of them were probably some place else, like in front of the king's bedroom standing guard. Then that means he wouldn't have a chance to sneak into the king's room to see what the hell was Serenity doing.

"Tomorrow, I'll find out what she did tonight, hmph." Bakura thought, still fuming.

He went back to his own room and plopped down on his bed. His mind spinning again as he tried to come up with a better escape plan. Perhaps waiting in the front gate wouldn't be such a good idea for the next few days. Those guards being drugged by him would sure get all suspicious by tomorrow. That would only means the guards would be more alert and also increase numbers of guards everywhere in the castle to ensure the safety of the king and the queen.

A headache started pounding on his head as no plans came to his mind. Bakura slapped his forehead lightly to distract himself from the pain, but of course it's not working.

"Damn! Argh! The hell with this plan thing! I need sleep for now!" Bakura pouted and decided to delay his scheme of seducing Serenity. That wasn't really that important anyway…

The castle was quiet once again. Only the fire in the secret room in the library was burning high…

Author's note: Good, I finished another chapter, Yippie! How's this chapter? Not as depressing, right? Originally I planned something bad to happen in this chapter, but I couldn't resist the temptation to put in some sweet memories for both of them first, so here it is.

There will be more interaction between Kaiba and Serenity also in the next chapter, yay! Some peaceful conversation, some arguments, and a BIG surprise that might make all of you want to kill me… But, please don't be angry with me, I'll have some solution to fix the mess I caused in this story, I promise!