Zypher: Hi all and welcome to the next chapter to the Price of Love. Thanks for reviewing the last chapter so please, enjoy.
Price of Love
Chapter 9
It was a few days after the short war with the Light Kingdom and everything was back to normal. Both Yami and Aqua now accepted Yugi's friends freely into the palace after Yugi explained to them about them being there. Of course, if they were to stay, they would have to get anything they needed from the Light Kingdom.
So the next day, they left, promising to come back soon. Yugi waved to them as they left, standing beside Aqua. Once they were gone, he turned to him. "So, what can we do today?" Yugi asked.
"Whatever you would like to do. You know that I would agree to anything you wish to do." Aqua said. "Hmm, how about we go to the aviary dome. I would like to see Rathalos and Rathian again." Yugi said. He nodded and taking his hand, they left for the aviary dome.
Back at the Fairy Kingdom, Anzu was waking up, starting to remember what happened last time. 'I remember that I was at the palace and I encountered two people there that shouldn't have been there. I can't remember their names but they casted a spell on me. But what was it for?' she thought before a thought crashed into her mind.
'That's right, the prince. That smug little Light Prince stole my soon to be husbands from the Dark Kingdom. I was suppose to tell the Queen of the Light Kingdom about her son's location but those two men stopped me! I must see if I can convince them again.' she thought as she got out of her bed and left her room.
Yugi stroked Rathalos' head as he sat beside the large wyvern. He purred in content as his tail swished lightly back and forth. Rathian watched silently, mirth shining her features as she stood beside Aqua who had Azzere and Hayoc wrapped gently around his neck. He too was also smiling softly as he watched them.
"After those few days, Rathalos seems to have missed you. I do believe he has taken great attraction to you." Aqua said. "I believe he did but I don't mind. In your terms, that would mean more protection for me just in case you or Yami weren't nearby."
"Yes, you are right about that." Aqua said as he stroked Azzere's head before letting him fly off to join his kin. A few of the Black Volts that stayed in the dome came down to land beside them, curled up beside their feet.
Rathalos looked up suddenly catching Yugi's attention. "What's wrong, Rathalos?" he asked. Rathalos didn't make any sort of confirmation of anything, only stood and spread out his wings, flying off. Yugi stood up and watched him go. "Do you think he sensed something?" he asked, looking to Aqua.
"I think he did and I best go with him. You stay here with the other beasts in the dome. We can't trust that whoever caught Rathalos' attention friendly." Aqua said as he climbed onto Rathian's back, Hayoc moving away from his neck and curled around Yugi's before she flew off behind Rathalos.
Yugi watched as they left before sitting back down on the ground, hoping for their safety just in case it was something deadly. Hayoc gently nuzzled his cheek while the Black Volts curled up around him to comfort him.
Anzu was making her way through the forest on her pegasus, hoping to get to the palace on time but was hindered when she came across a behemoth. /What are you doing here?/ The behemoth questioned.
"I came here to meet with King Yami and Lord Aqua once more." Anzu said. /Sorry but all ties to your kingdom with the Dark Kingdom has been severed. You are not allowed to come to the Dark Kingdom anymore./ The behemoth spoke.
"But how? I was supposed to be their bride before this mess with the Light Prince started!" Anzu said.
/Well now, you are not for they have chosen said Light Prince as their fiance. They have already exchange clips with the young prince and once the prince bores the marking of the king and lord, their engagement is official and nothing will break it./ The behemoth said.
"No, I won't let this happen. That prince must go back to his kingdom and never come back!" she demanded, glaring at the behemoth. He only snorted at her. /I am not the one you should be demanding this to. If you dare to even try, you should talk to the king or lord themselves./ he said.
"Fine, I will and I will straighten things out." Anzu said and was about to continue on her way to the kingdom but was stopped once more when Rathalos landed in front of her, snarling. Her pegasus reared up and she lost her grip, falling to the ground as it flew off back to the Fairy Kingdom. Rathian landed behind Rathalos and Aqua jumped off her back. He saw Anzu getting back up and his eyes narrowed.
"How dare you come back to our kingdom? What is it that you want?" he questioned. "I want to talk with you about this engagement you have with the Light Prince. How could such rulers thinks of something like this?" Anzu asked.
"Because, this is a relationship that has happened way before the questionable marriage with you. We have hoped for a long time that we would have Yugi's hand in marriage and now that this day has finally come, nothing would change our mind about it." Aqua said. "But, you can't do this to me, to the Fairy Kingdom. You must reconsider." Anzu said.
"No, the decision is final and nothing you can do will change that. Rathalos, send her home." Aqua said and he nodded as he took flight and grabbed her by his talons, flying back towards her kingdom.
He then turned to the behemoth. "And I thank you for stopping her advances." Aqua said. /It was no problem. I had to do something before she could've done something that could hurt or harm Yugi./ he said. He nodded once more and mounted onto Rathian's back.
"I best be getting back now before I worry Yugi. Hope you have a good day." Aqua said before Rathian flew off once more. The behemoth watched as they left before he went back to patrolling the forest.
Shiori still sat in her room, still in shock that her son would marry the rulers of the Dark Kingdom. Kitargi, with all the strength he could muster since his heart problem was now starting to affect him, tried to comfort the best he could. "It's alright dear. It's about time we let him make his choices." Kitargi said.
"I know but I still think that Yami and Aqua are up to something. We raised Yugi to become a just ruler but then he runs off to the embrace of the enemy. I care about his choices but I still want him to return home." Shiori said.
"But you know you can't force him to coming back home. You can still talk to him but I know you won't be able to make him come back. I say that it's best you put the Dark Kingdom's differences aside and merge with them for our kingdom's safety and that of our son." Kitargi said.
She sighed before nodding. "Ok then. I will let him stay but I must go to the kingdom myself to make sure it is sutable for him. I will not let him stay and something is bound to happen to him." Shiori said.
"I don't know why you bother putting yourself through all this trouble. Yugi is fine and I can think that we can trust Yami and Aqua to keep him safe." Kitargi said. "I know but I still want to know he's safe. He is still my son and I will care for him until I die." Shiori said.
Yugi looked up when he saw Rathian coming in and Aqua jumped off her back. "Where's Rathalos?" he questioned. "He'll be back soon. That princess from the Fairy Kingdom tried to come back to argue with us about our choice of betrothal and I wasn't in the mood to hear it from her so I told him to drop her back off at her kingdom." Aqua said.
"Oh, she must be angry then. Do you think she might ask her parents to wage war upon you since you backed out from the marriage you had wth her?" Yugi asked as he gave Rathian one last stroke of her head before they left out the dome.
"No, even if they would agree with her, their warriors aren't strong enough to defeat our beasts. They may have been there to witness them not killing anyone off in the last war but this one will mean possible casualties." Aqua said. Yugi nodded before sighing lightly. "All this trouble makes me think I'm the one that started all this." Yugi said.
"Don't say that. It wasn't your fault at all. It was our choice to bring you here in the first place. You have a wonderful life and you don't have to worry yourself about following the rules of your kingdom. Just think, how would you feel if you never came here? Never getting the chance to see the rare Black Volts, never trying the many foods we serve and communing with monsters that were said to be deadly by other kingdoms? Would you want to be back home, taking place as king and dealing with a person you may never love?" Aqua questioned.
"No, I don't want that. You're right, my life here is better and I never want that to change." Yugi said. "That good cause we don't want it to change either."
Later in the day, as it was slowly approaching nightfall, Yami walked over to Yugi's room. He was inside playing with Uial when he looked up to Yami's arrival. "Oh, hi Yami. What brings you here?" he asked. "I want you to come with me for a swim. I have something I wish to share with you." Yami said. He nodded and after placing Uial back down on his pillow, he left out with him.
When they reached the lake, they walked in and Yami led Yugi to where he wanted to be. "Why are we here, Yami?" he asked. "Because, as my betrothed, not only do we need to exchange clips but to also have you bear the markings of Dark Kingdom's King and Lord. I want to give you mine while I have the time so if something were to happen to your clip, you'll still have my mark to show you are my betrothed and have no other demon touch you in any way." Yami said. Yugi nodded to his explanation. "How does this work. It won't hurt me will it?" Yugi asked.
"No, not at all. It's a sinple bonding spell that will leave the marking on your arm and your mind will be linked with mine to ensure our bond." Yami said. He nodded once more. "Will I have to do anything?" he asked once more. "No, I'll do everything." Yami said and brought Yugi into his arms and placed a hand upon his left arm.
He chanted softly and his arm started to glow with a dark light. He watched curiously before he felt Yami turn his face towards him and leaned down to kiss him softly. He returned the kiss softly and as they kiss, the marks started to appear upon his arm. It was a short while but once the marks were completed, Yami broke the kiss. Yugi looked down to the marks before looking back to him, a small smile lightening his features.
"Thanks." Yugi said. "It was nothing. I know that demons that shouldn't belong in our kingdom would dare try and take you away from us not only because you are a prince but because you are our betrothed and any evil minded demon would try and take you to hold you for ransom. I for one will not let that happen to you." Yami said.
He smiled and hugged him lightly. "How about we go and see Gaer for a while before we head back." Yugi suggested and he nodded as they swam in the direction of Gaer's home.
After visiting Gaer and seeing that she was doing well with Vishimtar's company, they headed back to the castle. Yami bid Yugi goodnight before retiring to his room. Yugi walked back to his own and walked inside. Granaldo looked to him and smiled. /I see you have gotten your first set of marking from the king already./ Granaldo said.
"Yes and I'm grateful he gave them to me. The last thing I want to happen is for me to be taken away by someone and Yami or Aqua won't have a way to get to me." he said as he sat upon his bed.
/Don't worry about that. If someone dared to even try to come in, we're here to help you from danger./ Agama hissed as he climbed upon the bed and moved over to Yugi. He nodded and stroked his head, looking out the window for a short while before he got ready for bed.
Later in the night, Shiori left the castle and donning commoner's clothing, took a boat across the lake. Once it reached one of the ports, she left, telling the servant to wait there, and started making her way to the kingdom. She went through the barrier and gasped at the beauty of the kingdom.
This is how the Dark Kingdom truly is? And to think, I thought it was a dark placed filled with bloodsucking demons.' she thought as she walked around, quietly examining the homes and people who were still out.
'It just like any other kingdom, only secluded. And they were probably secluded only because we shunned them, thinking that they were evil and a disgrace to our lands.' she thought once more.
Once she believed she explored enough, she returned back to her boat and left back to the other side of the lake.
'Maybe I was wrong into thinking Yugi won't be safe there. If the people aren't as I always thought, what are the chances that Yugi would be hurt in someway by Yami or Aqua? Maybe I should agree with what he wants to do. I know that they will keep him safe.' she thought as the boat reached the other side and she made her way back to her kingdom.
Zypher: And that's all for this chapter. Hoped you enjoyed this chapter and will be waiting for the next.
