Zypher: Well, I think I had you all waiting long enough so here's the next chapter to the Price of Love. Enjoy.


Price of Love

Chapter 3


Later that night, Yugi woke up to someone licking at his face and he opened his eyes to see Agama there, looking down at him. He yawned softly before he sat up, Agama crawling over the bed until he was at the edge. "Is it time for dinner already?" he asked. /Yes, King Yami and Lord Aqua are waiting for you. They told us to wake you up and bring you down to the dining hall./ Monolith said. Yugi nodded and got up, freshening up before he followed the beasts downstairs and towards the dining hall.

Yami looked up and smiled. "Ah, glad you came down. We have a nice feast ready. Please, sit down and eat to your heart's content." Yami said Yugi nodded with a wide smiled as he fixed his plate with one of each item that was laid out on the table. Yami and Aqua did the same, servants that were in the room making plates for the beasts and laid them out for them. Yugi looked up from his meal. "Are we the only ones here tonight?" Yugi asked.

"No. Bakura, Crimson, Marik and Toben will join with us eventually." Aqua said. Yugi nodded before he continued to eat.


Back on the other side of the lake, the Dinictus gave up it's chase and went back to its meal. Jou and the others were up in a tree to avoid to beast's sight. "Is it gone?" Diamond asked. "Yeah, it's gone. Now, while we're up here, we need to think of a way how to get across the lake." Topaz said. "Wait, couldn't Ryou transport us over the lake." Jou asked. "He can but he may only get us halfway and the last thing we need is to drown once we get to the center of the lake." Diamond said.

"But Diamond, aren't you studying light magic as well?" Malik asked. She nodded. "Yeah, I am. Why?" she questioned. "I think I know. Since you're studying light magic, maybe you and Ryou can combine your magic together and get us across the lake." Jou said. "You know. I never thought of that. By the gods Jou, that might be the first ever smart thing you thought of not related to battle strategies." Diamond said with a small laugh as she climbed down the tree. "Yeah, that is pretty smart..." Jou started but then realized what she said. "Hey! That's not funny!" Jou said as he followed her down.

Malik, Kaiser and Topaz laughed as well before they climbed down as well and followed their two friends back to the Light Kingdom to get Ryou.


As the dinner went on, Bakura, Marik, Toben and Crimson arrived at the dining hall, greeting Yugi. "So, you're the one that followed Yami and Aqua here. I'm guessing you really wanted to get away from wherever you came from." Bakura said as he piled his plate with food before sitting down.

"Yeah, I guess I did, didn't I? I really didn't know it was them until I noticed Lord Aqua was the black raven with scarlet eyes." Yugi said as he finished the last of his meal. "Yugi, there is no need to call us that. I say its a waste of time." Aqua said as he too finished his meal.

"Do you wish to go back to your room, Yugi?" Aqua asked and he nodded. Aqua got up and so did Yugi. "Come on, then. Yami, I'll see you back in your room." Aqua said and he nodded. "Ok then." Yami said before going back to his dinner. Aqua escorted Yugi out of the dining hall, the beasts following behind them silently.


When they finally picked up Ryou, they headed back to the lake. "Are you sure this is a good idea? The lands across the lake is dangerous and forbidden. What makes you think he would be over there?" Ryou asked. "He has to be. Queen Shiori already sent out some sentries to the others kingdoms and they all came back, saying that none of the kings or queens seen Yugi in any of their domains.

"The only guess we have is that the Dark Kingdom is somewhere over there and we have to find it or else the queen will be forced to wage war on the kingdom and we may surely lose with the beasts they raise over there. Not even I can make a strategy to get past them." Jou said.

Ryou nodded. "Alright." Ryou and Diamond concentrated their magic into a transportation spell and soon, they were across the lake with no problems. "Well, that was easier than expected. So, what are we going to do now?" Kaiser asked. "Well, I suggest we split up and look around for any sign of a barrier. Since the kingdom tends to be hidden somewhere in this forest, there has to be a barrier somewhere." Malik said.

"We could go with that idea if we don't plan to loose anyone while we're at it." Diamond said. They nodded and soon, they were off, Malik with Topaz, Jou with Kaiser and Ryou with Diamond.


The next day, Yugi was woken up by Zairu. /Little one, it's time to wake up. Lord Aqua wishes for you to join him on a small ride through the kingdom to better acquaint you to our lands./ Zairu said. Yugi nodded and got up, getting himself ready before he was led by Zairu down to the courtyard where Aqua was waiting with two large wolves. "Ah, Yugi. Glad you can make it. Are you ready to go?" he asked and Yugi nodded.

"Alright then. You can take Rosell and I'll take Qazere." Aqua said as the Blackrock Worg walked over to Yugi's side and knelt down so he could climb on. Yugi did so and Rosell stood back up again. "He's a magnificent beast, Aqua. Where did you get him and Qazere from?" Yugi asked as they rode out of the palace gates. "These race of wolves are all around the forest. We never did learn where they came from but there are only so many so we find those of different kinds and bring them here to the palace to raise and breed." Aqua said.

"So far, we have Qazere who is a Lupos breed, Rosell who is a Blackrock Worg breed, the Gorefang, the Deathmaw, the Old Cliff Jumper, the Prowler, the Ragged Scavenger, the Razormane Wolf, the Slavering Ember Wolf and the Snarler. We have many others, including different big cat breeds, Dragonspawns, Gnolls and the majestic Winged Serpents which I can show you another time when we go to the aviary dome." Aqua said and Yugi nodded.

When they made it to the village, people bowed before Aqua as they walked by and some children even came up and asked about Yugi. When they were done there, they headed into the forest. Unfortunately, this is where the problem comes in.


Ryou and Diamond continued to walk through the forest, keep an eye out for any wild beasts that may be living in the forest. "Are you sure we may find the barrier to the kingdom somewhere around this forest? What if it's farther away than we intended?" Ryou asked. "It may or it may not. We can't let the queen be forced to fight the Dark Kingdom and it's beasts." Diamond said before she stopped when she spotted something or someone riding through the forest. "Wait, it can't be..." she said and she finally got a good look at who was walking.

"What is it? Is it Yugi?" Ryou asked. "No, worse. It's Princess Anzu from the Fairy Kingdom but what is she doing here and how did she get across? She was the only inhabitant of the Fairy Kingdom that didn't have wings." Diamond said.

"Maybe the Sky Kingdom loaned or gave her a pegasus to fly over the lake but like you said, what could she be doing here?" Ryou questioned again. "You don't think she could possibly know the way to the Dark Kingdom do you?" Ryou asked as he turned to Diamond.

"I hope not but as much as I depise her, she may be able to lead us there. Come on." Diamond said and he nodded as they followed her.


'I know I said I wasn't going to come for a few days but I'll bet they'll be surprised to see me. Oh I can't wait.' Anzu thought. But then she saw Aqua coming by and her smile widened as she called for the pegasus she gotten from the Sky Kingdom and mounted onto her back before running towards him, never seeing Yugi there beside him. "Oh Lord Aqua! Lord Aqua! I came early!" she shouted to him.


Aqua heard her shout and looked to see her coming their way. 'No, not now. Not while Yugi's here with us.' Aqua thought as she finally came to a stop before him. "Oh, Lord Aqua. I never thought I would catch you out here riding. What's the occasion this time? Did you know I was coming?" Anzu asked. He growled softly. "No, not really, I still thought you wouldn't be coming for a few days. I was showing our new guest the forest." Aqua said as Yugi came from beside him. He was wondering what the Princess of the Fairy Kingdom was doing here.

'And how does she know Aqua? I thought the Dark Kingdom kept themselves hidden from any kingdom on the other side of the lake.' Yugi thought. 'Wait, isn't that the missing prince from the Light Kingdom? What in gods name is he doing here?' Anzu thought before turning back to Aqua. "Well since I'm here early, Lord Aqua, shall we head back to the palace and talk about the merging of our kingdoms?" Anzu asked and he sighed before nodding. "Come on, little one. We better get back." Aqua said as Quazere walked off.

Rosell followed behind him and so did Anzu and her pegasus.

Yugi looked over to Aqua before asking the question that's been bothering him. "Aqua, what did she mean by merging your kingdom with hers?" Yugi asked. Aqua sighed, not really wanting to tell him, fearing that it may affect his decision but knew he will find out about it soon enough. "What she means is that her parents wants her to marry us in order to merge our kingdom with theirs. She wasn't suppose to come for a few days but I'm guessing something happened to make her come earlier than expected." Aqua said.

Yugi felt a pang of hurt from hearing this. 'But why? I couldn't possibly like Yami and Aqua, could I?' he wondered as they soon made it to the barrier and walked through.


Ryou and Diamond followed them until they reached the barrier and saw them go through. "Well, I do believe that's the barrier. Should we go see if we can find the others and tell them we found the kingdom?" Ryou asked as he looked to Diamond. "Yeah, that may be the best idea than going through right now and seeing if we can get Yugi back ourselves." Diamond said as they left once more to go loke for the others.


When they arrived back to the kingdom, Aqua placed Qazere away and Yugi was going to do the same for Rosell but he wanted to stay with him so he let him. Aqua took him back to his room until dinner and then left with Anzu towards the throne room.

When they were gone, Yugi sat on the bed, looking solemn. Agama, Monolith, Zairu and Anacondaur watched him before Monolith walked over to him. /What's the matter little one? What makes your emotions so depressing?/ Monolith asked. "Well, the princess of the Fairy Kingdom came to us today and she said that she came early to talk more about the merging of her kingdom with the Dark Kingdom. Every time I think about it, I feel a pang in my heart at the thought of Yami and Aqua marrying her." Yugi murmured.

Monolith finally realized what Yugi was going through. Even after his short time here, he has thought of Yami and Aqua more than friends and with Anzu being here, trying to convince them to merge their kingdoms together, he feels as though he doesn't belong here if they do agree with her request. 'This will definitely affect his decision on whether to stay or go. And I can tell Yami and Aqua won't be happy if he goes.' Monolith thought.

/Don't worry. I'm sure that King Yami and Lord Aqua will not choose to merge their kingdom with that 'princess'./ Monolith said. 'And we'll make sure she doesn't even get the chance to do so for Yugi's sake.' he thought. Yugi smiled softly. "Thanks for comforting me. If I didn't think about that, I think I would've made the decision to head back home." Yugi said.

/Don't ever think about going home, Yugi. You don't know how that would make Yami and Aqua feel. They really care about you and want to do everything to make you feel comfortable here in the Shadow Palace./ Anacondaur said. Yugi nodded. "You're right. I don't want them to feel alone, even if they did decide to marry Anzu. I know that without me there beside them, they won't be the same." Yugi said. 'But the problem is, do they still think I'm their friend or more like I do when I think of them?' he thought silently.

Monolith ran a claw along his back. /Why don't you get some rest, Yugi? We'll wake you up when dinner is ready to be served./ Monolith said and he nodded as he climbed over to the top of the bed and lied down. Zairu walked over and placed the blanket and comforter over him. /Rest well, Yugi./ Zairu said and he nodded before he went to sleep.

Once he was deeply asleep, Zairu and the others gathered near the door. /What should we do about that princess? With her around and making advances on King Yami and Lord Aqua whether she wants to merge the kingdoms or not will cause problems and makes Yugi change his decision and most likely head back to his home. We cannot let her do that./ Agama said.

/I know. We all know that. We will have to deal with her ourselves. We can tell King Yami or Lord Aqua how Yugi is feeling right now but we know they cannot do anything to her or else the Fairy Kingdom will wage war on us for the loss of their princess. We will have to do everything we can to make her leave and forget any chances of merging our kingdom with hers./ Anacondaur said. /Then what are we waiting here for? Let's go and tell them now before she tries anything./ Rosell said and they nodded as Monolith opened the door quietly and they all slipped out without waking Yugi and made their way towards the throne room.


Back outside the barrier, Diamond, Ryou and the others were gathered there. "So, this was where the kingdom was hidden for so long. No wonder no one could find it." Malik said. "So, you said that you saw Yugi, the princess of the Fairy Kingdom and another walk right through here?" Jou asked and Ryou nodded. "Yes, that's what we saw." Ryou said.

"Well, if we're planning to get Yugi back, we have to go in and hope to not get in trouble or cause any while we're there. Remember, the Dark Kingdom has many trained beasts in there, ready to attack if need be and we don't need to be loosing anyone before we can even get to the palace." Diamond said and they nodded. "Well, let's get moving then." Topaz said and they all nodded once more as they walked through the barrier into the Dark Kingdom.


Zypher: All done. As always, please review and I'll see you in the next chapter.

Note: The list of wolves are monsters from World of Warcraft along with the big cats, dragonspawns (will be added later), gnolls (also will be added later) and winged serpents. Head to the Allakhazam website and you will see a screenshot of some of them that I may add into the story. For the record, I do not own World of Warcraft.