Zypher: Hello and thank you for all your reviews. I hope you will enjoy this chapter like all others.


Price of Love

Chapter 4


During dinner, Anzu continued to go on with their soon-to-be marriage and all, never knowing she was making Yugi more depressed. Yami saw this and growled, seeing the reason for his sadness. 'She will pay for this. Not only by coming earlier than expected but also rambling on about a marriage that won't even happen. She's upsetting Yugi and I won't tolerate this.' he thought.

He gave Aqua a slightly pleading look and he nodded. He turned to Yugi. "Yugi, are you finished with your meal? If you are, we can head to the aviary dome and look at the winged serpents, wyverns and some of the small dragons we have there." Aqua said.

He nodded and got up from his chair, waiting for Aqua. He bid goodnight to Yami and Anzu before leaving out with Aqua. When they were gone, Yami turned back to Anzu and glared at her. "That is enough from you. Your stay here will be only for a week. After that week, you are to not come back." Yami said.

"But why not? Our future rides on this visit. Do you not want to merge our kingdoms together?" Anzu asked. "No, I do not. You visit here is pointless and a waste of our time. We have found the one we wish to be with and it isn't you." Yami said as he got up.

"Now if you don't mind, I'm going to head back to my room. If you wish to go to yours, look for one of the Nightstalkers that are guarding the palace and they'll lead you to yours." Yami said as he left. She sighed as she finished her meal and did as she was told. She felt saddened that Yami didn't want to take her proposal but she wouldn't give up and will try everything she can to convince him along with Aqua otherwise.

'I can't give up. My parents need a strong kingdom merged with them and with the Dark Kingdom on our side, who knows what possibilities we'll have.' she thought as she confronted a black and silver Nightstalker and followed him to her temporary room.


Yugi followed Aqua towards the large dome and when they got there, he opened the door for him and he walked inside. When he took his first step into the room, he was in awe at the many creatures flying around.

"Wow, I never seen such creatures before. Are they the winged serpents you were telling me about?" Yugi asked. He nodded and gave a sharp whistle, calling a few of them down. One curled around his neck while the other two examined Yugi. One flicked his tongue out, tickling Yugi's cheek and making him laugh softly.

The flying serpent then perched himself around his neck and laid its head on his. He held out his arm and the other curled around his outstretched arm. "I see that Arash-ethis and Hayoc like you very well. I can see that the others will as well but at this time, they would be asleep so we can come back tomorrow. Would you like to see our two wyverns? They may look frightening but I know they will like you just as the winged serpents do." Aqua said.

He nodded and Azzere, who was still curled around Aqua's neck, flew off and they walked towards the end of the dome.

They, Yugi saw the two wyverns. One was red with a plate of black scales coming from the top of his head down to the tip of his snout while the other was green and almost looked similar to the first. He was amazed by the magnificent beasts and looked to Aqua. "They are so wonderful, Aqua. Do they have names?" he asked.

"Yes, the red and black wyvern is Rathalos and the green is Rathian. They're the only known wyverns along with a few others that we were able to domesticate and raise here. These two though have been the brunt of our forces when it comes to war." Aqua explained and he nodded.

Rathalos raised his head and looked to them with blue eyes, cocking his head as he gazed down at Yugi. Yugi took a step back as the beast got up and walked towards him. Aqua placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Don't worry, he won't hurt you, he's just curious of who you are." Aqua said and he nodded as the large beast lowered his head and sniffed him. Yugi raised a hand and placed it on Rathalos' snout. He closed his eyes and nuzzled Yugi's hand, already liking the boy. He smiled and started to stroke his head, hearing the wyvern purr deeply.

Aqua smiled and walked over to Rathian who was now awake and watching the two. She looked down to Aqua and lowered her head, nudging Aqua for him to pet her. He did so and watched as Rathalos with Yugi on his back walked around the dome, letting Yugi meet with the other winged serpents and smaller dragons. As it was getting later and Yugi was ready to fall asleep upon Rathalos' back did they leave.

Aqua took Yugi back to his room and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead before leaving the room silently.


Later in the night, everyone was asleep peacefully except for Yugi. He tossed and turned in his sleep, whimpering lightly before he bolted up awake and looked around before sighing. 'I would hate to make a decision that may affect Yami and Aqua but if they do plan to marry Anzu, there's no reason for me to stay. It would only cause me more heartache.' he thought as he got up. He looked around to make sure the beasts he chosen weren't around before packing a few things into his bag and left out his room.

He quickly made his way towards the castle entrance, slipping past the Nightstalker guards silently and left out. He sighed once more as he looked back to the castle, a slight tear coming to his eyes but he wiped it away and started to make his way towards the barrier surrounding the hidden kingdom.


Diamond and the others were in an inn, glad that the owner didn't recognize them as people of the Light Kingdom. Everyone but Jou was asleep. He was staring out the window that happened to be facing the castle.

'Yugi, I hope you're alright in there. We will get you out of there and take you back to the palace before your mother has to do the worse just to get you back.' Jou thought before he headed to bed. He just missed the chance of seeing Yugi heading by the inn and towards the entrance of the kingdom.


Back in the aviary dome, Rathalos woke up and looked around, feeling that something was amiss. He got up, careful to not wake up Rathian and left out the dome through the entrance made for them. He looked around and saw Yugi's shadowed form leaving the kingdom and whimpered softly before following, hoping to convince him to not leave.


Yami's eyes snapped open and he sat up. 'Something's wrong.' he thought and as soon as that thought passed, a Nightstalker walked inside. "King Yami, there's is a problem." he said. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Rathalos left the dome and heading towards the city and we have gotten word from Zairu that Yugi is gone." The Nightstalker said and Yami immediately got up.

'No, Yugi couldn't have left.' he thought before looking to the Nightstalker. "You, go back to your guard duties, I'm taking Rathian and looking for Yugi. If need be, keep an eye on Anzu's room to make sure she doesn't leave for any reason." Yami said and he nodded and he left the room.

Yami placed on a pair of pants and boots and left the room as well, quickly heading towards the aviary dome and over to Rathian. She woke up and looked to him. "Come on, Rathian. Yugi's gone and I can't bear to lose him." Yami said and she nodded as Yami hefted himself onto her back and she was off.


Yugi finally reached the entrance to the kingdom and looked back once more, tears trailing down his face before he left out. But before he could get to the lake, he heard a roar and looked up to see Rathalos there. He landed and looked down to Yugi, his eyes showing concern and sadness.

His rumbling purr was filled with question as he lowered his head down and nudged him lightly. Yugi placed a hand on his snout. "I'm sorry, but I can't stay. If I stay longer then I might be more heartbroken than I thought possible." Yugi said.

Rathalos shook his head, letting out another short, low roar and nudged him towards the barrier to the kingdom once more. Yugi shook his head and backed away from the barrier. "I can't go back, Rathalos. It will only make me feel worse." Yugi said as he left from the barrier and into the forest. Rathalos watched him leave and roared softly.


Yugi walked through the forest, hoping to make it through before something could happen. He didn't noticed he was being watched by a behemoth. The royal purple beast watched as he walked before following.

'He would make a great addition to the pack. Catoblepas will be very interested in him.' The behemoth thought as he caught up with him and caught him with his claws. Yugi gasped and tried to get away but the large beast had a strong grip on him. "Let me go!" he shouted, trying to wriggle free from him.

/No, you will come with me and meet Catoblepas. We have always waited for a mortal to come but none would never show into the Dark Kingdom. Not until you came./ Behemoth said as he carried him away. "No! What do you need me for!" he shouted once more. /Catoblepas will tell you everything once we get to the den./ Behemoth said.


Yami and Rathian found Rathalos and with a series of snarls and growls, Yami understood. "He can't be too far then. We must find him before the Behemoths get to him." Yami said, feeling horribly guilty for not metioning Yugi about the behemoths that lived in the forest. Of course, he couldn't really blame himself since he wasn't expecting Yugi to leave out the castle in the middle of the night.

He raised his head when he heard Yugi's shouts and climbed onto Rathian's back once more. "Come on! I just heard Yugi and he's in trouble!" he said and both wyverns roared as they flew towards where Yugi was.


Yugi didn't bother to struggle anymore and looked around as the behemoth took him towards the den. When they were halfway there though, Rathalos landed in from of them and growled. The behemoth growled as well. /Move out my way. I need to get back to the den./ the behemoth said.

Rathalos growled once more and Rathian landed behind the behemoth, Yami jumping off her back. "Let him go Behemoth!" Yami shouted and the behemoth turned to him. /Why? Catoblepas has been waiting a long time for a mortal to come to the Dark Lands and he's the only one./ he said.

"We have made a pact. If we were to ever get the prince of the Light Kingdom, Catoblepas can't have him for magical purposes." Yami said. Behemoth looked down to Yugi before letting him down. /I didn't realize this. Sorry to have bothered you then./ The behemoth said.

"It's quite alright. Just a misunderstanding. Just try not to make this mistake again." Yami said. The behemoth nodded before leaving once more. Yugi watched as he left before getting up. Yami walked over to him. "Why did you leave, Yugi?" he asked softly.

Yugi turned to him and seeing the sad look in his eyes caused tears to come to his own. "I'm sorry, Yami. I just thought I wouldn't be needed here since Anzu's here and I thought you and Aqua may marry her." Yugi said, looking down. Yami knelt down and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"Yugi, I will tell you this. Anzu is nothing to us. She's only a princess that wishes to get power as told by her parents. With our creatures, the possibilities are endless with what a kingdom merged with us could do. We don't want our creatures to be used in that way so her visit here is pointless. Our main concern is with you and your impending decision with whether you will stay with us or go back to your kingdom." Yami explained.

Yugi looked back up and smiled softly, nodding. Yami smiled as well, wiping Yugi's tears away. "Come on, let's get back to the castle." Yami said. Yugi nodded but then Yami looked up abruptly. Yugi was worried. "What's wrong, Yami?" he asked. Yami stood up and looked around, both Rathian and Rathalos growling lowly.

"Something's coming, Yugi. I want you to stay back." Yami said. He nodded and stayed behind Yami. A form showed through the shadows of the trees, a menacing growl coming from the monster.

It came out through the trees and revealed itself to be a T-Rexaur. Rathalos and Rathian growled once more, ready to attack the beast. More growls came and one T-Rexaur after another appeared. Yugi shivered in fear and held onto Yami's shirt.

"What are they?" Yugi asked. "Those are T-Rexaur. Very annoying beasts that always come when there's some sort of meal present. They must've heard your shouts and the Behemoth coming around. They normally take spoils from a Behemoth's meal." Yami explained.

The T-Rexaurs growled again, looking towards Yugi. Rathalos roared as charged for the nearest T-Rexaur, making a sharp turn and hitting the large dinosaur with his tail. When he was knocked down, the others charged in.

Yugi whimpered and Yami picked him up quickly. "Hold on, Yugi." He said and Yugi did so, watching in awe as leathery, black wings appeared from Yami's back and he flew up into the air just in time to avoid being caught by another T-Rexaur that slipped by Rathian.

They watched from above as the fight went on. Some of the T-Rexaurs tried to team up on them but it was fruitless as Rathian hit them with her tail, causing the poison encased in the spikes of her tail to be injected inside of them.

Yugi turned his head away from the battle and looked to Yami. "Yami, I have a question." Yugi said and he looked down to him. "What is it?" he asked. "I know it's not really important in this situation but how do you have wings? I thought your form was that of a fox." Yugi questioned.

"Yes, it's my primary form but every king that has stepped up to powers needs more than one form. So in basic terms, me and Aqua can shift into any beast we want but it will never be our true primary form. Everyone in the Dark Kingdom has a primary form and that's the one they will always shift into if there's danger present or that beast's ability will come in handy with everyday life." Yami said. Yugi nodded befor he heard a pained roar and looked down. Rathian fell to the ground, a major bite wound in her leg and bleeding heavily.

The T-Rexaurs that weren't being attack by Rathalos prowled towards her, ready to use her as a meal. "Oh no, we have to help her Yami or she will die!" Yugi said and Yami nodded. "Let me think real quick, I may just have an idea." Yami said as he flew over to a tree and placed Yugi down on a sturdy branch. "Stay here and don't make any sound." Yami said and he nodded.

Yami flew away towards Rathalos. "Rathalos, go and help Rathian before she is hurt more. I might be able to call some of the wild beasts to help us out since it will take too long to call for Catoblepas and the behemoths." Yami said and he nodded as he charged towards the T-Rexaurs, biting and slashing his way through them to reach Rathian.

Yami landed and whistled long and loud. A howl accompanied his whistle and a purplish-white form came towards their location. The beast stopped before him and Yami knelt down to him. "Fenrir, I know you don't normally help many that is not part of your pack but we have a situation here. Can you help us?" Yami asked.

Fenrir looked towards the T-Rexaurs before nodding and went to attack. Yami got up once more and flew up towards Yugi once more and picked him up. "Rathalos! We're heading back before something else happens! Once these T-Rexaurs are taken care of, help Rathian get back and I'll take care of her wound." Yami said and the wyvern nodded as he batted away another T-Rexaur.

Yami soon flew away, Yugi holding onto him.


They soon mde it back to the palace and he landed at the front of the doors. He let Yugi down and they both walked inside. "I hope Rathian is alright. I didn't want to cause this much of a problem." Yugi said softly. "It's alright, Yugi. I will not blame you for anything. Just please don't leave us again." Yami said and he nodded.

"Now, why don't you head back to bed? I'll stay up and wait for Rathian and Rathalos to get back." Yami said. "No, I want to make sure she's alright as well. It is partly my fault that she's hurt. If only I didn't leave." Yugi said, looking down.

"Yugi, it's not your fault. You just left by unknown judgment. If it wasn't for Anzu talking aimlessly about something that won't even happen has hurt your feelings and made you doubt of your stay here. There's no need to worry about her anymore. She is nothing but a nuisance that will be gone in a week if not shorter after what she made you thought and her shamelessness could've got you killed out there." Yami said and Yugi nodded.

"I have another question, Yami. What is it with the behemoths? They look evil but it seems that you have a pact with them. Why's that?" Yugi asked. "Their prince, Catoblepas, is on the verge of loosing his magical powers and that could be a deadly thing. So he has asked us to find someone, mainly a mortal, to bring so he could transfer his power to that person until he can recover and able to hold the magic that he can't keep within him.

"The behemoths may be fearsome beasts but they really do need this help now, especially with the sudden death of their king which happen a while back. Since we're all demons over here, someone from any of the kingdoms except the fairies on your side will do but they have to be willing so it wouldn't cause problems and also not turn on the behemoths and use Catoblepas' magic on them. They're beasts who can use thunder magic but Catoblepas' thunder magic is stronger than there's so it may be impossible for them to absorb his magic." Yami explained and Yugi nodded.

Soon, they heard a roar from outside and they left to head outside to see Rathalos there, Rathian on his back, sleeping even with the wound. Fenrir stood beside him, looking to them. Yami walked over to Rathian as she was placed on the ground and he went to heal the wound in her leg.

Yugi walked over to Rathalos and pat his head when he lowered it and them looked to Fenrir who watched him. He walked over to him and kneeled down. "Is there something you need Fenrir? You know you can go back to your pack now." Yugi said.

/I know but I wish to stay here now. After seeing you, I know many dangers will come to pass and you will need all the help you'll need is King Yami is not there to help you./ Fenrir said. "But what about your pack? Wouldn't they been worried that you never came back?" Yugi questioned.

/They know that I am gone. Even though I am not there, they will protect the forest from intruders and from any dangers that may come to the kingdom. The kingdom is part of our pack now and we will take care of it like our own./ Fenrir said and he nodded.

After the wound was healed, Yami got up and both Rathalos and Rathian, who woke up, left back for the aviary dome. He then looked to Yugi and Fenrir. "If you wish to stay with us Fenrir then you may. Would you like to have your own room in the palace?" Yami asked.

/No, I will stay with him. Many dangers may fall upon him and you or Lord Aqua may not be there to help him. But the beasts as well as myself, whether wild or domesticated, will be there to help him./ Fenrir said and he nodded.

"Come then, it's very late and we don't need to worry anyone else if they find out we're missing." Yami said and they nodded as they headed back into the castle and into their rooms.


Zypher: There, that's all for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. See you all next chapter.

Monsters

Fenrir: Final Fantasy XI (look on allakahzam for a picture of him under summoned)
T-Rexaur: Final Fantasy VIII
Rathalos and Rathian: Monster Hunter
Arash-ethis, Hayoc and Azzere: World of Warcraft