Zypher: Hello, hello and I welcome you to the next chapter of Price of Love. Thanks for your reviews for the last chapter and I hope you will enjoy this chapter just as much.


Price of Love

Chapter 6


The next morning, Yugi woke up to Granaldo's nudging and he walked with him to Yami's room for breakfast before they all left out for the festival. The town was abuzz with excitement as people danced and singed in the square, others eating and talking amongst one another. Yugi looked around in awe. "This must be a great celebration." Yugi said. Yami nodded. "Yes, it is. Something as special as this is rarely seen by many. You should feel happy to be able to see this with us." Yami said.

"I know and I am. You and Aqua did alot for me and I wish there was a way to pay you back." Yugi said. "You'll come up with something soon. I know of it." Yami said before looking to one of the stands and walked over. "Would you like to try some dur aelin yave?" Yami asked as he was handed a plate of the fruit.

"What's that?" he asked. "It basically Dark Lake Fruit in another language that we adopted. Those that make small ports on the lake grow these in hidden areas of the lake and provide us with them. They're really sweet." Yami explained, handing him a slice of the black and red speckled fruit.

Yugi took a small bite of it and his eyes lit up in joy. "These are really sweet! It's like a mix of many fruits blended together all into one." Yugi said, taking another bite of the fruit. He smiled as he took a slice of the fruit as well. "Yes, it's still a mystery how such a phenomenon can happen but we aren't complaining much." Yami said as he popped the slice of fruit into his mouth and they continued walking.

As they got closer to the square, people parted for them, praising as they went by. When they got to the center, Yugi watched as he saw some of the performers there dancing to a harmonious beat. When they came to the final bout, they ended in an amazing display of magic.

They applauded and one looked over in their direction. The young man smiled and walked over. "Ah, it's great to see you, King Yami and Lord Aqua." The man said. "It's also nice to see you Andune." Yami said. "So, are you planning to perform for us like you did before?" he asked.

Some of the people cheered for them to do so and Yugi looked up to them in wonder. "You actually perform?" he asked. Aqua nodded with a small chuckle. "Yes, we do. Every festival we have we perform for our people." Aqua said before looking to Andune. "So, which dance would you like us to perform for today?" he asked.

"How about Thalion Yavie Sulie?" Andune asked. They nodded and stepped forward to where the performers were. They moved out the way, taking out a instrument for the piece and both Yami and Aqua got into position. Yugi looked to Keara. "Do you know what he asked?" Yugi questioned, still trying to learn a little about their language. "Yes, he asked if they would do the dance of the Dauntless Autumn Winds. A very beautiful piece if I say so myself. It can be done as a single or with a partner." Keara said and he nodded.

The gentle whistle of a flute started and without a fault in their step, they started to dance with the grace of the gentle winds themselves.

Cultivate your hunger before you idealize.
Motivate your anger to make them all realize.
Climbing the mountain, never coming down.
Break into the contents, never falling down.

My knee is still shaking, like I was twelve,
Sneaking out of the classroom, by the back door.
A man railed at me twice though, but I didn't care.
Waiting is wasting for people like me.

Yugi watched in awe as they danced, entranced with their movement. 'Who knew they would spend time learning to dance? But it paid off well.' he thought.

Don't try to live so wise.
Don't cry 'cause you're so right.
Don't dry with fakes or fears,
'Cause you will hate yourself in the end.

Don't try to live so wise.
Don't cry 'cause you're so right.
Don't dry with fakes or fears,
'Cause you will hate yourself in the end.

Yami looked over to Yugi, never once falling out of step and held a hand out to him. He blushed lightly and shook his head. Keara laughed softly and pushed him forward a bit. He stumbled a bit but Yami was there to help him up. He looked up to him and his blush reddened more. "Oh, I can't dance at all, Yami." Yugi said softly. "Don't worry. I'll lead you." Yami said and he nodded as Yami gently led him through the dance.

You say, "Dreams are dreams.
"I ain't gonna play the fool anymore"
You say, "'Cause I still got my soul."

Take your time, baby, your blood needs slowing down.
Breach your soul to reach yourself before you gloom.
Reflection of fear makes shadows of nothing, shadows of nothing.

You still are blind, if you see a winding road,
'Cause there's always a straight way to the point you see.

Don't try to live so wise.
Don't cry 'cause you're so right.
Don't dry with fakes or fears,
'Cause you will hate yourself in the end.

The gentle rhythm of the guitar started, accompanying the soft sounds of the violin. Yugi soon got the hang of it and was dancing flawlessly with him. He looked back to him and smiled. Yami looked over to him and smiled back.

Don't try to live so wise.
Don't cry 'cause you're so right.
Don't dry with fakes or fears,
'Cause you will hate yourself in the end.

Don't try to live so wise.
Don't cry 'cause you're so right.
Don't dry with fakes or fears,
'Cause you will hate yourself in the end.

'Cause you will hate yourself in the end.
'Cause you will hate yourself in the end.
'Cause you will hate yourself in the end.

'Cause you will hate yourself in the end.

When the last gentle sound of the violin ended, the people cheered. Yugi looked up to Yami who walked over to him. "You did well for your first time, Yugi." Yami said as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Well, I guess I could say I have a great teacher." Yugi said. Yami smiled and nodded before they walked back over to Keara. "Great job as usual. So, what should we do next?" she asked as they walked away from the crowd, Andune and his crew starting up with a new dance.

"Hmm, I don't know. Is there anything you would like to do Yugi?" Yami asked. "Oh, I don't know but I do wish to try some more of the delicacies of the Dark Kingdom." Yugi said as they walked off from the square. "Then we have the perfect place for you. The Lome Taur has many treats that I know you will love." Yami said as they started heading to the small food dwelling.


"I can't find Yugi anywhere. How did you guys do?" Jou asked, looking to them. "Nothing. It seems everyone left for the festival Diamond told us about yesterday." Malik said. "And he's right. I remember seeing the King and Lord leave earlier but I hid before they could see me so I don't know if Yugi's with them or not." Kaiser murmured.

"Then I suggest two of us stay in here and the others go out and see if they can find any trace of them." Jou said. "Alright then, me and Malik will stay in here. Maybe we can find Diamond and Ryou while we're doing so." Topaz said and Jou nodded.

"Ok then we'll get out of here and look through that festival for Yugi." Jou said before they parted ways.


When they finally got to the Lome Taur, Aqua held the door open for them before going inside as well. A young girl with snow white hair looked up before smiling. Hello, King Yami. Came for some of your favorite treats?" she asked. "Yes, Hrive, and bring out some of your other dishes for him. He's new here and he wants to try out some new dishes." Yami said as they went to sit over at a table. "Right away." she spoke before leaving.

"So, what am I'm going to try, Yami?" he asked. "First you will try the Lisse Yave Vene which is a sweet fruit dish that has many of the fruits we grow here, including the dur ailen yave. Accompanied with that will be the Ssinssrigg yulna or passion drink which is another sweet treat that I know you'll like." Yami said. He nodded and talked with one another until Hrive came back out with the dish in one hand and the tray full of the dark liquid drinks in another. "Here you go. Please enjoy and call me if you need anything else." Hrive said before leaving to tend to the others that came in.

"Here, go ahead and try it." Aqua said, passing him a glass. He looked to it curiously before taking a sip and gave a hum of appreciation. "This is great. It's a wonder why the Dark Kingdom would have such sweet things." Yugi said. Aqua took a bite of his dark lake fruit and nodded.

"We may be a dark kingdom but that doesn't mean everything we eat has to be the same. Yes, we do have some delicacies that fits our, as the kingdoms over the lake would say, bloodthirsty taste but that can be rare unless we always eat such like another fruit called the Sereg Irmo but we don't, only on certain occasions, hence it's name." Aqua explained.

"And what does it mean?" he asked, taking a lisse pio, dipping it into the tuia netke. "Blood Desire. In certain occasions with the demon kind, they eat this fruit when they have a desire for blood or as a treat to please their mate before doing so." Yami said. He nodded, blushing lightly at the thought, and they continued to eat, Yami and Aqua explaining more about the kingdom and what the people do. Soon, it was getting close to night and after thanking Hrive, left out to head back to the square once more.

"Are we going to see the Black Volts now?" Yugi asked and Keara nodded. "Yeah. They should be arriving soon." Keara said. "Ah, there's Catoblepas." Yami said, waving him over. He looked over to them before smiling and walking over. "Ah, it's nice to see you all again. The behemoths are pleased that you were able to help before my condition got worse." Catoblepas said.

"It was nothing. We couldn't let your health deteriorate when we could've done something to help." Keara said before looking up and spotted the first Black Volt flying above. "Hey, here they come now." she said, pointing to the one she saw.

Yugi looked up as well and his eyes widened in awe as he watched the winged dragons fly into the town. "They look so wonderful, Yami. I feel so envious that your kingdom get these wonderful creatures to visit here every 100 years." Yugi said as the Black Volts flew down and landed next to one of the people, cooing softly, asking to be pet.

"Don't worry about that. At least you were here to witness this event." Yami said as two Black Volts came over to them, one of them donned in gold plated armor that covered its head, body and the tip of his tail. He held out his arm and one with the armor curled around it, cooing gently. He stroked its head gently, looking to the other, which was much smaller than the first, flying next to Yugi.

The little dragon examined him quietly before giving off a small coo and nuzzled his chest. Yugi laughed softly and wrapped his arms gently around the small dragon, petting his head. "I think he likes me." Yugi said, giggling as the little dragon licked his cheek.

"I see he does. Maybe if Thoron would like to, he and his child will stay here with us instead of heading back. What do you think?" he asked, looking to him. Thoron nodded and flew up a bit to perch himself over Yami's shoulders, his wings wrapping around his neck to keep him secure.

"That's wonderful. Thank you, Thoron." Yugi said, looking to the armored dragon. He nodded his approval and once the migration was complete and some of the Black Volts found home with one of the demon people, they bid Catoblepas goodbye before heading back to the palace.


"I don't see him anywhere Jou." Kaiser said. "I can't see him either but we can give up. We promised Queen Shiori that we would bring him back. The crowd's diminishing so maybe we can find him somewhere before they get back to the palace." Jou said and he nodded as they looked around once more before Kaiser pointed them out. "Good. The only thing we can do is follow since we don't want to get caught." Jou said and Kaiser nodded as they followed them back to the palace.


Like Yami told him, some of the Black Volts came to stay inside the palace, flying around and chirping quietly. Thoron went to join them while the small Black Volt stayed with Yugi. "So, did you enjoy today, Yugi?" Yami asked and he nodded eagerly. "Yes! Yes I have! I never had such fun before. I'm glad it was with you three." Yugi said. Keara smiled and pat his head lightly. "Well, I do hope you would plan to stay here. It's nice having you around." Keara said before she left them to head to her room.

"I think I will. It's so great here compared to being back home where I'm nothing but a prince training to be king." Yugi said. The little volt cooed and licked his cheek and Yugi stroked his head. "Well, you know now Yugi you're always welcome to stay here and when you're ready, we can confront your parents of this matter. We will be by your side all the way and I know Keara will as well." Yami said and Yugi nodded. They walked him to his room and Aqua placed a light kiss on his forehead.

"Quel esta, Yugi. Sweet dreams." Aqua said and he nodded, having a good feeling he knows what he said. "Quel esta, Aqua. Same for you, Yami." Yugi said and he nodded. "We'll see you tomorrow morning." Yami said before they left. Yugi watched them go before heading into his room, closing the door behind him.

He looked down to the now sleeping volt and walked over to his bed. He placed the small dragonling on a spare pillow before getting comfortable as well. He looked around the room to the many sleeping pets he had before looking outside to the full moon and he knew he would never leave this place he calls paradise.

'When we finally see each other again mother, I will tell you the truth. I rather leave my position as prince to live here. And nothing you will say will change it. Yami, Aqua and my new friend Keara will always be but my side. I may be leaving a lot of things behind but sometimes there are sacrifices for what you truly want. Sometimes the price of love is stronger than the price of leaving your memories of your home and friends behind.' Yugi thought before falling asleep, feeling the small dragonling snuggle up beside him.


Zypher: And that's all for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed this chapter a lot. The language I used here was actually the unknown or elven language (which I don't own) that I learned a little from reading Ravenx's Mela en' Coiamin (Love of my Life) and looked it up some more. Great story. For those that haven't read it should. Anyways, please leave a nice review and I'll see you in the next chapter.

Note: The song used earlier is the ending theme for Naruto. I thought it was a nice sounding song so I used it. I gave it the name Dauntless Autumn Winds because without the words, the beat, to me, sounds like something you would hear in the autumn. Don't own Naurto or the lyrics. In your minds you can imagine the dance in your own way because I'm horrible at thinking up dance moves.

Translations:

Lisse Pio - Sweet Cherry
Thoron - Eagle
Tuia Netke - Spring Honey
Hrive - Winter
Quel esta - Rest well
Lome Taur - Dusk Forest
Andune - Sunset