This chapter was a lot of fun to write! I don't know why, but I got it all done in one day ... which is probobly why it's so short. Anyway, I'm having a little trouble thinking of what Atem's second wish should be. I already know what his third wish will be, but I have no idea what his second wish should be. Give me some ideas and I'll think them over! The question remains, though ... what do you get someone who already has everything? Anyway, here's my next magical chapter! How corney was that ...

---

Atem stared at the beautiful boy in front of him for a second, trying to take in what he had just heard. The genie, named Yugi smiled at him with a cheery smile on his face. " … A genie …" Yugi nodded.

"That's right; and by opening my bottle and releasing me, you are now my new master." Atem was still in shock from the whole dramatic entrance the boy made from his bottle, but bring in the whole 'I'm a genie and you're my master' thing, this was just downright stupid. The exhausted Pharaoh rubbed his temples with his fingers.

"I must be hallucinating …" He sat on a rock and rested his head in his hands. Yugi took a few steps toward his new master.

"You look so tired, Master." Using his magic, purple sparkling glitter surrounded his palm. He conjured up a small glass of water in his hand once the glitter went away. "Here you go, drink this." Atem looked up and saw the water. At first he was a little skeptical about it, but the boy just kept on smiling.

"It's not poisoned, is it?" Yugi giggled.

"No, it would do me no good to kill my masters. First of all, I'm not allowed to kill." Atem nodded, sipping the water. "And second of all, I'm connected to you until you make your three wishes." Atem chocked on the water that was given to him

"What do you mean 'three wishes'?" The genie rolled his eyes.

"Don't you know anything about genies? We are to grant our masters three wishes of whatever they want … of course within reason." Atem made an 'hmm' sound to himself.

"Alright, so I get three wishes, correct?" Yugi nodded. "So what happens after you give me my three wishes?" Yugi sighed. Granting the third wish was always the worst. That meant that he had to suffer God only knew how many more years of loneliness in that stupid bottle until someone else came along and released him.

"Then you have to put me back in my bottle and send it away for someone else to find." Atem was taken back for a second. It hurt him a little to think about his little genie granting someone else's wishes.

"So you mean you've been through other masters?" Yugi sighed and nodded. He took a seat on the rock right next to Atem.

"Yup; truth be told, you're my fourth master … first in the past fifty – six years, but fourth in all." Silence took the mood for a few seconds. Neither knew what to say to the other. "So, what's your first wish?" Atem had to think for a second. If he only had three wishes, he wanted to make them last. There were many reasons for that. First, he didn't want to waste his wishes on stupid things. And two, he didn't want this magically beautiful creature to leave him. The Pharaoh opened his mouth to speak, but Yugi beat him to the punch. "Before you say anything, let me tell you a few things. One, keep it within reason; nothing too serious." Atem blinked and rolled his eyes; as if he wanted to get anymore attention then he already had. "And two … no wishing for infinite wishes. Granting that is strictly against the Genie's Unwritten Code of Honor." Yugi said with a giggle. Atem frowned a little bit. He didn't think of infinite wishes at first, but that sounded like the only way to keep the boy for himself … and now he couldn't do that.

"Well, I would like to get back to my palace …" Yugi cocked his head.

"Palace? You live in a palace?" Atem smirked as he crossed his arms.

"Where else did you expect a Pharaoh to live?" Yugi stood up with his jaw hanging and a smile on his face.

"SHUT UP!" Automatically, Atem was offended and was about to start throwing a tantrum when Yugi spoke first. "I've always wanted to meet a Pharaoh before," The boy looked around the desert for a second. He seemed sad. "I guess that means I'm in Egypt, huh?" This time, Atem was the one to roll his eyes.

"Well, where did you think you were?"

"I thought I was still in Persia." This came as a shock to Atem

"Persia? Why on Earth would you think you were in Persia?"

"Because that's where I'm from. I'm from Persia … three hundred years ago …" Atem started to laugh, thinking the boy was insane. Yugi started to get defensive. "What's so funny!"

"Are you suggesting that you're three hundred years old?" He asked, still laughing. Yugi shrugged.

"No …" The Pharaoh's laughter started to lessen.

"Good; because I was about to think that you ---"

"I'm three hundred and forty – six years old." Atem stopped laughing as soon as he heard that. This boy didn't look a day older then twelve.

"But … b – but … but you're so young!" Yugi chuckled a little bit.

"Well, I've always been small for my age, but my body is really supposed to look only sixteen." This was way too confusing. First this boy says he's three hundred, and then he says he's three hundred and forty – six, and then he goes and says he's only sixteen? This kid needed to make up his mind. As if sensing his master's questions, Yugi giggled.

"I'll tell you about it later. Right now, I need to grant you your wish." Atem stood and crossed his arms.

"And just how are you going to do that?" Yugi smiled. He lifted two fingers to his mouth and made a high – pitched whistling sound. Before Atem had time to figure out what the genie was doing, another swirl of sparkling purple glitter formed in midair. When the glitter started to disappear, he could make out the outline of a small, colorful rug with all kinds of jewels sown into the fabric. Atem was astonished! That rug looked like something that could have been taken from his palace, but at the same time, he knew that nothing he owned was as magnificent as that rug. Suddenly, the rug took off at an intense speed. Atem had to catch his breath for a second, but Yugi giggled both at the Pharaoh's reaction and at the fact that he was once again able to ride his magic carpet out in the open once again. The rug made a sharp 180 degree turn in midair, and came down toward its master and his master. (Meaning Yugi and then Atem) Suddenly, Yugi jumped onto the rug and accelerated high into the sky; so high, that Atem had to squint in order to see them.

---

Yugi was having the time of his life! He had been bottled up in that … bottle and had forgotten what it was like to feel free once again. The higher he went, the more he would cheer himself on. "WHOOO – HOOOOOO!" He yelled. A couple of times, he did a few stunts like loops, and then decelerating a few hundred feet, almost touching the desert sands yet again, but then quickly accelerating yet again. Yugi loved the feeling of the wind in his hair. He stood on the rug like a surfer would on their surfboard. His golden chains made clanking sounds at the incredible speed of the flight. A perfect view of the desert was what Yugi saw now. "YEEEEE – HAWWWW!" He cheered again. Once he made another loop and then another sharp turn, he saw Atem watching him with his arms folded and a little bit of a smile on his face.

---

Atem watched as Yugi flew through the sky on his magic carpet. He couldn't help but smile. As beautiful as the boy was, he was just as equally cute. He heard Yugi's cheers and thought they were the most beautiful sounds in the world. His voice is like music that was made especially for me. Atem though. He already knew he was attracted to his genie and he didn't want to give him away. The young ruler had to think of some alternative to keep Yugi for himself. Since infinite wishes are out of the question … there's only one thing to do. He smirked as he thought this. Soon, he could see Yugi coming straight for him.

"C'mon Master, join the fun!" The little one called. Atem shifted in his stance for a little while.

"N – No, I think I'll just ---" Before he could finish his sentence, the Yugi drove the rug under Atem's feet and scooped him up. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Atem screamed, the higher they went. Apparently, he had a little fear of heights. On instinct, Atem's arms found themselves around Yugi's waist, holding on for dear life. When Yugi felt the sudden added weight, he blushed but tried to keep his cool.

"Have no fear, Master! I'm in complete control of this carpet!" Yugi said, having to raise his voice in order for Atem to hear him. Atem's grip on Yugi's waist increased as did the speed of his heart. Yugi's blush also increased and he squeaked a little, but not loud enough for Atem to hear.

"How do you stop this thing! Make it stop!" Yugi laughed as Atem kept trying to tell the carpet to stop, slow down, halt, and any other word he could think of that could make the rug stop. But for some reason, the more Atem spoke, the faster the rug went. Yugi laughed out loud at his master's attempts. "Why is it not listening to me!"

"Well, for one, it's a Persian rug; it doesn't speak Egyptian!" Atem cringed out of both trying to hang on and for what he just heard. "And second of all, I'm the only one who can command it!" They still had to speak in rose voices just so one would hear what the other said.

"Then make it stop!" Yugi looked ahead to see where he was going and he saw a huge, golden building in the middle of what looked like a lively city.

"Master, is that your palace down there?" Atem opened one eye to answer the question. To his relief, he saw his home.

"Yes, that's my palace go to it!" Yugi smiled.

"As you wish, Master!" The rug once again increased in speed; causing Atem to scream bloody murder.

In a matter of seconds, The rug had reached a balcony of the palace and slowed down enough to drop Atem on his bed as Yugi made another turn and jumped off, doing a flip a and landing on one knee right beside Atem's bed. Yugi pointed his left index finger and his sparkly purple magic surrounded the gorgeous rug as it disappeared. The young genie looked over at the bed to see Atem lying on it with glazed eyes; starting at the ceiling. Yugi thought he was still in shock from the carpet ride. He made his was over to the bed to make sure the Pharaoh was alright.

"Master, are you okay?" When no response came, Yugi sat on the bed almost right over Atem and gently patted his cheek to get him to wake up. "Master, please say something." Yugi moved his hand over to Atem's chest to feel a heartbeat. He found one, alright. It was beating almost as fast as the carpet had taken them to the palace.

Atem's mind was still in 'I'm alive, I'm alive' mode when he heard Yugi calling his name. As soon as the genie sat on his bed, Atem's breath started to increase. He knew his heart was beating wildly, but he didn't know if it was from the ride or from Yugi's presence being so close to him. "Master, please … wake up!" Yugi moved his hand back over to Atem's cheek and held it there. To his surprise, Atem's own hand came up and held Yugi's right where it was. Yugi felt a sense of relief in his heart.

"Yugi …" The Pharaoh kept panting his name.

"Master, I'm so sorry … maybe I should have found an alternative way to get us here." Atem wanted more then anything to just wrap his arms around Yugi's soft body and never let go, but he couldn't bring himself to do so … or say anything nice. His face turned into a frown that suddenly scared the living daylights out of Yugi.

"Oh, you think! You could have had me killed! You stupid boy!" Yugi frowned himself.

"Hey, if it weren't for me, you'd probably be dead anyway from dehydration or heat exhaustion!" He tried to defend himself. Atem slapped Yugi across the face, causing Yugi to fall to the ground. A bright red mark in the shape of Atem's hand was left on Yugi's perfect white skin. The genie held his hand to the mark. Atem could see tears developing in Yugi's beautiful eyes. But Yugi tried to hold those tears back. He also scrunched up his chin, making it look as if he were about to cry. If Atem were in his right mind, he would have comforted the boy. But instead, his anger was in control of him and when that happened, he would not tolerate anything whatsoever. The angry king pointed his right finger directly at Yugi, who was still on the floor in the exact position he had fallen in. "Listen, Genie." Yugi flinched at the exaggerated use of the word 'genie'. "You told me that I am your master. That means that there is absolutely no talking back to me whatsoever!" The young genie's face turned from sad and scared to angry. He may have been a genie, but he was no slave. And he was going to make sure that Atem knew that. "You belong to me until I make those three wishes." Atem slammed Yugi's bottle down on the end table right next to his bed. Yugi visibly clenched when he heard the slamming sound. It was as if his new master was trying to break his home.

"Uh, Master, if you don't mind me saying, you only have two left ---" Another slap came to Yugi's face as he said this. The boy couldn't help but cry this time. Atem had slapped him on the same cheek as he did before.

"Do not speak unless I tell you to, is that clear?" Yugi slowly nodded as his tears kept coming down his face. "Answer me with words!" The genie glared at his master with hate in his eyes. Atem smirked at that look.

" … Yes … Master …" The smirk was joined by a chuckle at Yugi's submissive attitude. He couldn't help it. He was not allowed to resist his masters at all. So the only thing he could do was take everything they gave to him.

"Good. Now, go back into your bottle and I don't want to see you until morning." Yugi glared at Atem one last time before he turned into a cloud of swirling, sparkling purple glitter. The genie was all too happy to obey this particular command. The swirling purple glitter made its way over to the bottle and entered it as if the bottle were sucking it back in.

Once Yugi was back in his bottle and away from Atem's sight, the Pharaoh let down that fierce shield of dominance and fell to his knees with his face buried in his hands. Now that his anger had passed, he was once again in his right mind. He couldn't believe that he had hurt something so beautiful … twice! And he also called him a thing and a possession. He was so grateful for Yugi not casing a curse on him, or turning him into something terrible like the monster he truly was. Little did he know that no matter how much the little genie wanted to do that, he was not allowed to betray his master. Atem sobbed for a while before making his way over to the bed and lying down. He looked at the amethyst bottle sitting quietly on the night stand as if it were a regular piece of decoration or treasure. Tears kept coming from his eyes, making them even redder then they naturally were. He wanted the magical creature inside the bottle to befriend and maybe even … love him. It was hard to think that he had fallen head over heals for this mystical beauty, but there was just something about him. "I'm so sorry, my little wish – maker …" He whispered to himself. "Please forgive me …" Atem turned himself around so that he didn't have to look at the home of the one thing he wanted, but could never have.

---

Yugi lay down inside his bottle, looking at the opening with his arms under his head and his legs bent, with one leg crossing over the other. The inside of the bottle was beautiful, to say the least. The entire floor was one big, fluffy silk pillow; there were also a lot of smaller silk pillows of different shapes and colors that lined up against the walls of the bottle, but the big floor pillow was a cerulean blue color that fit perfectly into the bottle. Each time Yugi was put back into his bottle after granting the wishes of his past masters, he would be put into a deep sleep that would not end until his bottle was once again opened. The giant pillow – covered floor was great for that long sleep when it lasted more then a couple decades. The walls of the bottle were decorated like a royal bedroom (you know, kinda like the one from 'I Dream of Jennie' but without the couch and the entire floor is a pillow) without the bed. Crystals decorated the outer most part of the bottle and made little rainbows everywhere now that the top of the bottle wasn't on it. All in all, to anyone else, it would have looked like the most wonderful place to rest. But to Yugi, it was his prison. He was held in this one room and was not able to leave it without his master's permission. And when he was outside the bottle, he could only go a few yards away from it without being suddenly sucked right back inside. Yes, he was stuck to it like glue. This wasn't his choice, of course. It was this stupid curse … the curse that kept him immortal and forced him into enslavement to anyone curious enough to open his prison.

Yugi turned onto his left side, almost sinking into the pillow covering the bottom of the bottle. The poor had been crying nonstop since Atem told him to stay in his prison until morning. "Stupid Pharaoh … I'm not his slave!" Atem was the most air – headed master he had ever had. Maybe the most clean, but Atem was the only person Yugi actually knew who could blow smoke up his own ass. "If it wasn't for this damn curse, I'd be with my family now instead of serving 'His Royal Pain – In – My – Ass - ness!'" Yugi hadn't always been a genie. Once upon a time three hundred and thirty years ago, he was a happy boy who lived in a village in the country of Persia with his mother. His father had died when he was ten and his mother was very sick. She was a very devoted mother and Yugi was very close to her. He was the only person who could take care of her. Then, one day, being the teenager that he was, he fell to peer pressure and got into some trouble with his friends. They were playing pranks on some strange man who caught the group of boys teasing him. His friends ran, but Yugi tripped and the man yelled and beat the boy to a pulp. As if that wasn't enough, the man placed the, what he had called the 'Curse of the Genie' on him, trapping him inside the bottle. As if that wasn't enough, the man had set fire to Yugi's village and was forced to watch the flames destroy his home through the gems encrusted in the bottle, which served as one – way windows from his bottle to the outside world. Everyone in the village died, as did Yugi's mother … he never got to say good – bye to her. The little one cried, just thinking of that day. Three hundred and thirty years later, he was still the same sixteen year old who was foolish enough to tease some crazy man and become cursed for all eternity; cursed to serve all who open his bottle. Unfortunately for him, it had to be Atem who opened it this time. Yugi was used to being ordered around, but he had never been slapped before. He winced as his hand rubbed against the red mark on his cheek, which he knew would bruise by morning. "That Pharaoh has no idea what's coming to him," A sly smile made its way to Yugi's face as he snuggled deeper into the pillow. "Sure, I'll obey him, but it'll come with a price." Yugi turned so that his stomach was lying on the pillow. Through the gems, he could see Atem lying on his bed with his back facing the bottle. Yugi glared one last time at his new master through the gem before he turned on his back. He had been asleep for fifty – six years and was wide awake … so what was he supposed to do for the next few hours?

---

The next morning, Atem woke up to sunlight right in his eyes. He groaned as he sat up and stretched. "There has to be a law against having light that bright so early in the morning … and if there isn't, I'll make one." Being as pig – headed as he was, Atem actually thought he could control the power of the sun. After all, the sun was Ra, and he was the son of Ra. Anyway, Atem looked over at the jeweled bottle he had found the day before. He could only hope that Yugi would not be mad at him and would give him a chance to apologize. Wait … since when did he have to apologize? He was the Pharaoh, and being Pharaoh meant never having to say you were sorry. And besides, he was Yugi's master, right? Shaking that thought from his head, he threw his legs over the side of the bed and sat straight up. Years of classes in etiquette gave him habits in manners. "Yugi, you can come out now." At first, he thought the little one was going to ignore his order, but then that swirling purple cloud of magic came out of the bottle and swirled around the Pharaoh himself until it went in front of him and materialized into Yugi, standing there with his arms crossed.

"You summoned … Master?" Yugi used the same tactic Atem had used the day before by exaggerating on the word 'master'. Even with an angry look on his face, he still looked like the incarnation of all that was pure and beautiful. Atem had to swallow his pride if he was going to go ahead with his plan to make the boy his forever.

"Yes, I did … how did you sleep, last night?" Atem asked in a snotty tone. Yugi countered with a scuff.

"I've been asleep for fifty – six years … you really think I went back to sleep?" Atem shrugged. He started to put his plan into action. He stood up and removed the top of his tunic, stretching when it was gone. Yugi could see all the muscles in Atem's body and was for some strange unexplained reason … infatuated. As if he could sense this, Atem started to walk suspiciously slowly towards the big dresser that sat at the wall across the room. Yugi kept looking at Atem's body, but it wasn't out of lust like Atem wanted … it was more out of curiosity. He had never seen someone like this before, and it was a totally new experience to him. "Is something wrong?" Atem asked, snapping Yugi out of his trance. The Pharaoh smirked, knowing the boy was interested.

"No, nothing." Yugi looked away, adjusting the band around his forehead, not seeing Atem's smirk. Yugi took the band off of his forehead and shook his head violently. This time, it was Atem who started to stare. He wanted to see what the boy looked like without that heavy piece of jewelry on his head … as well as other places. Yugi turned to face Atem and cracked his neck while doing it. The pop noises were strangely making Yugi even more interesting. He also undid the golden chain on the front part of his purple vest and took it off as well. Atem swallowed the lump that was in his throat. He started to sweat, just looking at Yugi's chest and upper stomach. The room temperature suddenly rose to a high point. The Pharaoh whipped his face with his arm.

"How can you not be hot in this temperature?" He asked. Yugi looked at his master as he tried to take out the wrinkles in his vest.

"I don't sweat … my body temperature adjusts to the climate of the environment around me. If it were freezing here, I wouldn't feel that either." Atem wasn't paying attention. He just observed the boy trying to get rid of those wrinkles. He really wished Yugi would put his vest back on if he wanted to keep his attraction to the genie a secret and make Yugi come to him. Yugi stood up and put the vest back on, earning a sigh of relief from Atem, although he didn't hear it. He didn't bother to put the head piece back on just yet as he walked over to Atem, still standing at his dresser. Yugi smiled what seemed to be an innocent smile. The blue jewel on his forehead seemed to sparkle even more when he smiled.

"Need a hand, Master? You've been over here for quite a while." Atem was finally able to overcome his emotions when Yugi smiled at him.

"Uh … no, no I have don't need help getting dressed." Yugi giggled, but stopped when Atem looked at him again. The Pharaoh sighed when Yugi hid his cheery face from him. "Yugi, I … I," He hated doing this. Apologizing was probably his biggest weakness. "I … I" He knew what he wanted to say, he just couldn't put it into words. Yugi cocked his head in an adorable way.

"You …" He tried to help.

"I … want to … apologize … for last night." This completely shocked the little genie. Atem didn't seem like the apologizing type to him. "I apologize for slapping you … and insulting you … My anger takes over sometimes and makes me somewhat a different person." He admitted. Yugi wasn't convinced.

"Do you mean that?" Atem slowly nodded. He looked at Yugi with eyes that seemed to say 'please believe me'. Yugi thought for a second. Maybe he judged Atem too fast, but he still had to keep his guard up around him. The genie smiled s he leapt forward and wrapped his arms around Atem's stomach, nuzzling his bare skin.

"I forgive you, Master." Atem smiled. He thought he was going to go crazy with Yugi around him like this. He wrapped his arms around Yugi as well and gave him the big hug he had wanted to give him since the moment he came out of the bottle the first time. As the two hugged, Atem felt as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders. For now, his desired had been satisfied … a little bit. An aura of warmth came to him. He smiled as Yugi continued to nuzzle Atem's bare stomach and chest. For a moment, it seemed as if time had stopped and only they were moving about … but then, something had to ruin it, of course.

There was a loud knock at the door to the Pharaoh's chamber. "Pharaoh, are you awake?" Atem's head snapped up in surprise at the voice.

"Oh – no …" He softly muttered. Yugi raised his head from Atem's stomach and gave him a questioning look.

"Who is it, Master?" Atem looked down at Yugi.

"Yugi, quick … hide in this closet!" He could have told him to go back into his bottle, but he was afraid that the person would look into the bottle and see the little person inside.

"But ---" Atem put a hand over his mouth.

"Shh, no 'buts', just do as I say!" Yugi sighed and once again, became a mess of swirling glitter and disappeared. The door opened to reveal his High Priest, and head adviser, Sir Maroon. (Sorry, habit) Atem looked at him for a second. "… What do you want, Maroon?"

"I just wanted to see if you were awake yet." Atem rolled his eyes as he put on a new tunic and all of his jewelry.

"Aren't I always up at this time?" Maroon smirked.

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"No …"

---

In the closet, Yugi thought for a second. For some reason, this new person's voice seemed awfully familiar to him. To satisfy his curiosity, he magically disappeared from the closet and reappeared behind his bottle in a shrunken size. He was only three centimeters tall. When he got a good look at the man's face, he gasped out of pure horror and shock!

---

Maroon looked around the room. "Something is different here …" Atem crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"You say that as if you were suspicious." Maroon ignored Atem's comment and continued to scan the room with his eyes. Finally, his eyes turned to the sparkling purple bottle on the night stand. Atem followed Maroon's eyes to what he was looking at, and his own widened in surprise. Maroon picked up the bottle, not noticing the tiny figure right behind it, running to find another hiding place.

"Your Majesty, where did you find this?" Atem had to search his mind for some kind of answer. If he told the priest 'I found it in the desert and the person inside brought me home', then he knew he'd lose what little respect Maroon gave him. "Well, Pharaoh …"

"I … it was a gift from my trip …" Maroon raised an eye brow.

"A gift? For what?"

"As a piece offering." Atem answered, just a little too fast for Maroon's liking.

"And you took it, just like that?" Atem rolled his eyes.

"Look, Maroon, they gave it to me, I thought it was pretty, so I took it. Now, if you'll kindly leave me to my morning routine, I will see you in a few hours." Maroon knew Atem was hiding something from him. He looked at the bottle once more and a feeling of de JA vu came over him.

"Fine, I bid you good - bye, Your Majesty." Maroon would find out what Atem was hiding sooner or later, and he knew Atem knew he didn't believe his 'peace offer' story. Even if the other countries wanted a peace treaty, there was no way any of them would give a gift to a spoiled brat like Atem.

When Maroon was gone, Atem sighed as Yugi magically grew to his regular size. The Pharaoh noticed the look of pure horror in the genie's eyes. Yugi was violently shaking and his eyes were staring at the door that Maroon left from. "Yugi?" He waved his hand in front of Yugi's face, but no response came from the boy. Atem slowly took Yugi's body and sat him down on his bed.

"N – no … n – not h – him …" The genie muttered. Atem was beginning to get a little worried.

"Yugi … are you alright?" Slowly, Yugi's breathing started to increase to where he started hyperventilating. "Yugi … calm down!" The genie threw himself into Atem's chest and buried his face in his tunic.

"Please don't let him find me! Please keep him away from me!" He was now crying and clinging tightly to Atem's body. Atem had to calm the boy down before he fell into a state of hysteria and before he punctured the Pharaoh's skin with his increasing grasp.

"Yugi, who are you talking about, what's the matter?" His worry was growing by the minute. The boy seemed to be trapped in a memory of some sort. Atem guessed it wasn't a pleasant memory. Yugi kept crying and holding onto Atem as if he were about to be taken away. "Yugi, calm down … calm down …" If he could get Yugi under control, he could talk to him about what he was so afraid of. Yugi's breathing returned to normal, but he was still crying. Soon, his crying became little whimpers and hiccups every once in a while.

"Please … please …" Yugi kept repeating. Atem started to tear himself. Such a beautiful creature shouldn't have to fear anything this much.

"Yugi, talk to me … what's the matter?" Still shaking, Yugi looked his master in the eyes. He didn't move from his spot on Atem's stomach, but he began to speak.

"H – Him … that man …" Atem raised a brow.

"Sir Maroon?" Tears welled up in Yugi's eyes as he nodded. Atem lifted his chin and looked his genie in the eye. "Yugi, why are you so afraid of him?" He knew why he wanted to hide Yugi. He didn't want to share the genie with anyone else. But why Yugi was afraid of the man was beyond his knowledge. The little genie continued to shiver in his master's arms.

"He … he made me this …" Confusion could be seen on Atem's face a mile away.

"What do you mean?" Yugi regained himself and sat up a little. A sniffle came from him.

"He's the one that turned me into a genie …"

---

End of Chapter.