I don't own Yugioh.

I woke up early the next morning. A knot had formed in my stomach about what would happen later today, so I woke up well before the bell rang. I scratched my arms and legs because the straw was itchy. It was pitch black, and there were no windows. Having no other options, I began to think.

I wondered if Alukan would ever heal. I had talked with some of the slaves that had been to the infirmary yesterday. They said he still looked like he had full-body bruising and his breathing was faint. Apparently, he still hadn't woken up.

Then my thoughts wandered to the dragons. Fairy Dragons tended to be gentle… for dragons. They were still dragons, no matter what they seemed to be. Petit Dragons were the smallest breed of dragon, but they were still known for their vicious bites. The two breeds' head shapes and wing styles made them look very similar. They were probably sibling species on the evolutionary tree. They almost looked… cute, but again, they were still dragons. There was nothing lovable about dragons. I couldn't see why anyone good would choose them as summons. Gozaburo Kaiba was probably the most evil man on the planet next to Bakura, and he had an entire army of dragons. Probably half were so vicious that only Seto and Aksira were allowed to handle them.

Then I thought about Lady Aksira. She definitely had an air of command about her, and all the men feared her for some reason. Even Seto backed down from a fight with her, and he possessed a Ka. Maybe she possessed a Ka herself. It would make sense how she rose in the ranks so much. If she did have a Ka, it was probably much stronger than Seto's. I wondered what it was. It was often said that those who had Kas bore some resemblance to their monster spirit. I took in her appearance. She had crimson eyes and hair that was so dark that it seemed to absorb light. She had very dark tan skin. She was obviously intelligent, since she had been promoted to second in command, and she easily beat Seto in a battle of words. She had mentioned sparring, which could be a hobby of hers, although it may have been something she was forced to do. I began to consider all the monsters that would fit that description. My first thoughts of intelligent creatures that loved to fight were of dragons. I tried to think of dragons with the color scheme of red and black. I first thought of Serpent Night Dragons, although I quickly discarded that idea. She didn't seem like enough of a snake to me. Plus, they were dark blue, not black. Black Rose Dragons had pink, not red like her eyes. Harpies' Pet Dragons were discarded because they had green eyes, not red. They also had orange in their wings.

Then another even more dangerous thought came into my head. What if her Ka was a Red-Eyes Black Dragon? I tried to discard it, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Those dragons were among the strongest in existence. There was absolutely no way even Seto's Ka would stand up to a fight to the death with one of those demons. It would explain perfectly how and why the soldiers had such a healthy respect and even fear of her. If she unleashed the dragon, they wouldn't be able to stand up to it for more than ten minutes if they were lucky. She also would handle the most dangerous dragons in Gozaburo's army. Seto was the only other one allowed to handle them because they were so dangerous. She even looked like a human Red-Eyes. Then I remembered something. When Seto insulted her, her eyes literally had slits. Dragons' pupils did that when they were angry. She also had enough raw strength to dent Seto's greaves with her heels. Even if the heels were strong, so was the metal used in the greaves. A military leader wouldn't let his chosen successor wear weak armor. When Seto had threatened to lock her in the dungeons when he became leader, she had scoffed at the dungeons being able to keep her in; Seto hadn't even attempted to deny her ability to break out.

I had finally figured out Lady Aksira's Ka. Well, probably.

Then an idea hit me. If I had a Ka, what would it be?

I first considered my appearance. Blue eyes, pale skin, and white hair made up my outward appearance. I would take down anyone dumb enough to challenge me, as long as it didn't involve athletics. I was always poor at athletics. I considered myself intelligent, but I didn't put myself on the level of a dragon. I factored in my fear of dragons, so I tried to think of prey animals that dragons feasted on that looked like me. I couldn't think of any except for a Sunlight Unicorn. However, Sunlight Unicorns didn't suit my personality. They were too flighty, and they were constantly running. As I struggled to come up with a monster that would suit me, I suddenly remembered the White Stone of Legend that had probably been left behind.

Oh well, at least it's out of my hair.

Then a chilling realization hit me. I remembered the temple clerics practically worshipping me. I recalled the story they told about Queen Kisara and their theory that she was my past life.

Kisara. My name.

They had talked about how her monster spirit was the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. She had blue eyes, pale skin, and white hair, too.

Another epiphany came, making me shiver.

I recalled Bakura taunting me, and then that voice telling me to tell him that I was her reincarnation. It had taken control of me to pass on that information since I refused to do it. It knew what Bakura's Ka was, and even the Ka's name. Diabound. He had seemed shocked that the information came out of my mouth. Then I remembered what the voice sounded like. It had reminded me of rumbling thunder when I first "heard" it, but now that I had thought over it, I realized that it sounded like a growling dragon.

It can't be…

My heart was pounding.I hadn't realized how long I had been pondering things until I heard the first bell. Immediately, torches lit up and I saw the girls shifting in their beds. Mana got right up and stretched. Ayari groaned and started scratching her arms and legs more vigorously than I had. Evidently, she wasn't the only one who had hay fever. There were several others scratching themselves. It didn't help that our dresses only covered so much of our skin from the straw. The boys were much luckier there; they had potato-sack shirts and potato-sack pants to wear, while we were stuck with the potato-sack mini-dresses.

"Good morning," Mana said cheerfully.

"Morning," I said.

Ayari yawned. "What's so good about mornings?"

"There's a reason I just used the word morning by itself, Ayari," I said.

"How long have you been up?" Mana asked.

"A while."

"Really? It took forever to get you up yesterday," she commented.

"Yeah. Is it your new life?" Ayari asked.

"Sort of."

"Explain further," she said.

"I'll do it on the way to breakfast."

"We'll hold you to that. Let's go. I'm starving."

We headed on down to breakfast while I told Ayari and Mana about my history with dragons. I refrained from mentioning that I possibly had a Blue-Eyes White Dragon as my Ka. They probably didn't even know about Kas.

"What are you going to do about the dragons later today?" Ayari asked.

"I already talked with Lady Aksira about it. She's letting me stick with Fairy Dragons and Petit Dragons."

"What? Lucky," Ayari said. "I tried that when I first came here, but she didn't let me off the hook like that."

"I told her about my mother."

"Your mother?"

"Yeah. The Magna Drago that burned down my house the third time set fire to her room. Her burns were too bad for Meg to heal, so she ended up dying."

"Who's Meg?" Mana asked.

"Her full name is Gyakutenno Megami. She was my mother's personal summon until her death. She's basically stepped in as a surrogate mom after that."

"I've heard of that race. Aren't they a kind of fairy?"

"Yeah. Three breakfasts," I said to the chef on duty.

She handed us some hash browns and pork (low quality – nobility always got the best).

I grabbed a fork and poked at my food. Realizing that I might have a dragon as my Ka had ruined my appetite. I hadn't even realized that I felt sick to my stomach until then.

"Are you okay? You look sick," Mana commented.

"I'm not sure if I caught something or not. I'm not hungry right now. You can have my plate."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Which way is the infirmary?"

"Take a left, go down the stairs to your left, and it'll be the third door on your right. I'll tell Lady Aksira where you are."

"Thanks. I'll see you later."

I followed Mana's directions, passing a round of soldiers by the stairs. When I entered, the first thing I saw was a group of nurses huddled around a stretcher. The occupant's skin looked purple and was covered in a thick sheen of sweat. One of the nurses moved aside and I saw spiky blonde hair and locks framing a heart-shaped face. Alukan's blue eyes were closed, and his breathing was horrifyingly shallow. They had taken his shirt off, and if it weren't for the awful bruising, he probably would have been very attractive. I could clearly see the remnants of a six-pack that must have been impressive before his muscles had started to die. He had well-toned arms and legs before Bakura had worked his foul magic on him.

"Is he okay?" I asked.

One of the nurses shook her head. "It's not just his voluntary muscles that have been affected. His heart and lungs are bruised and dying as well. It's a miracle that he's survived this long."

"Bakura did this," I said.

"The Thief King?"

"Yeah. He chanted something and his muscles started to die almost immediately."

"You know him?" she asked.

"Sort of. We met right before the village was attacked."

"I can tell you care for him."

"More than you realize," I replied.

"I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but as the moon wanes every night, so does his life force. I'm afraid he'll be dead by the new moon."

A pit formed in my stomach. In my grief, another idea formed in my mind.

"Maybe the spell is connected to the phases of the moon."

"You're probably right," the nurse said. "But how can we change the phase of the moon? The spell would have to change the position of the moon, which is the size of a small planet. The energy required would kill even the strongest spellcasters in a heartbeat."

"Is there a way to bottle moonlight?"

Another nurse, a man, laughed. "If you can catch a bowl of fog, sure."

"What about time magic? Could you summon a Time Wizard and shift moonlight through time into this room?"

"It's not worth the risk," he said. "It's a one in three chance that things will go right. The other two times, it goes awry and you've messed up the balance of the universe for good. Even if things go right, you've still ruined the balance of the universe."

I didn't like this nurse or the way he was looking at me whatsoever. He had a general air of I'm-better-than-you. I wanted to needle his ego to deflate it more than anything at that moment.

He continued. "Well, he's not in a fit state for visitors. Go away."

"I think I'm sick."

He rolled his eyes. "Symptoms?"

"I'm sick to my stomach and I don't feel like eating."

"Well, that's probably because you've seen this guy's condition. Get out of here."

"I was like that before I came here."

"No, you weren't. Get lost before I call the guards."

Grudgingly, I walked back to the kitchens. Ayari greeted me.

"Feeling better?"

"No. They wouldn't treat me."

"What?"

"That guy in there…"

"Colan?"

"I don't know. He had tan skin and light green hair."

"I think I know who you're talking about. He's a man-tripk and a hudrik."

"That sounds like him. I didn't like the way he was looking at me."

"Yeah, that's Colan. Avoid him at all costs."

"Did I need that advice?"

"No, seriously. Avoid him at all costs. He's one of Bakura's top men."

"What? What's he doing in here?"

"Gozaburo allied himself with the Thieves' Guild. I think Colan is like number four in command. He's Bakura's personal medic, so he knows all of his tricks and spells. That's probably why he's in charge of your friend's treatment. Then again, he might just be trying to finish what Bakura started."

"I actually think they're trying to keep him alive. Bakura's a necromancer, and if he really wanted to, he would have killed him on the spot. It seems like they're trying to get something out of him. Maybe information."

"Maybe, but what would he know?"

"Alukan had mentioned that he was a soldier. They might want to know intel on that army, since Gozaburo's all for world conquest."

"How would they know he's a soldier?"

I thought about that for a while. "I'm not sure. I don't think he was a high-ranking officer. He probably would have said something about it."

"Maybe he's a spy?"

"I doubt it."

"You never know with spies."

"He just doesn't seem like the type."

She didn't reply.

Lady Aksira came in. "Come on. It's time to clean the dragons' cages."

I gulped.

She looked at me. "You look sick. You should go to the infirmary."

"I did. They wouldn't treat me."

"Colan was on duty, wasn't he?"

"I don't know who Colan is," I said.

"Medium-tall fellow, green hair, tan skin, gold eyes."

"That's him."

"He never treats slaves or servants. That blonde's probably the only exception, and that because it was a direct order from his superiors. He's a nasty fellow with an even nastier sense of humor. Even I try to stay away from him whenever possible."

I was surprised. He really was an unsavory character if Aksira avoided him.

"I'll heal you. What's wrong?"

"I have an upset stomach and I couldn't eat anything this morning."

She placed two fingers on my forehead. "I can't sense any bugs or viruses. Is something bothering you?"

Thoughts of Kas were still on my mind. I decided not to tell her the whole truth.

"The dragons."

"I'll block your adrenaline until four when we're done with them."

"We have eight hours with them?"

"Yeah. It gives Seto's slaves a break. It's not like they don't deserve it. I'll go ahead."

She touched her two fingers to my forehead again. I felt a weird sensation and knew that her magic had worked.

"Let's go."

She led us through the castle among halls I hadn't visited. I heard a screech and recognized a Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Then I heard a growl, this one much lower than the Red-Eyes's screech. I knew there were some dangerous species, but it was normally impossible to determine a species by its growl. She started running, so we followed. As we got closer, we started hearing more growls and hisses. Dread filled my heart, as I knew we were getting closer.

"Ayari and Mana will show you what to do. I've got to run," Lady Aksira had said as we entered the dragon's enclosure.

I gaped at her running in the same stilettos as yesterday. I couldn't even stand in low heels, yet alone sprint in stilettos as she was doing.

I heard a squeak and saw a Petit Dragon squirming in its cage. It seemed frightened of something and cowered in the back of its cage. When I (reluctantly) got closer, it backed away even further.

Good, it's scared of me. It ought to respect me.

Mana opened the cage, but the dragon hesitated to get out. When I walked around to the back, it shot out of its cage and flew away as fast as its little wings would take it.

That's weird. At least it probably won't bother me.

Mana's words echoed my thoughts. "That's weird. The Petit Dragons are usually friendly. What did you do to scare it?"

"I don't know. What do I do to clean the cage?"

"Use a pitchfork to get the straw out. Then rinse it and scrub it. When you're done, put new straw back in. It's pretty easy."

"Okay," I said, picking up a pitchfork.

The work was monotonous, but it went by faster that I had imagined it would be. For some reason, every time I went to open a dragon's cage, it huddled in the back before springing out and shrieking when I moved close to it.

"What are you doing to the dragons to scare them so badly?" Mana had asked at lunch break.

"I have no idea. I dislike them, but I don't think my dislike is strong enough to make them cower like that."

"Lady Aksira had blocked your adrenaline. Maybe they sense that and think you're some predator. They can definitely pick up on the smell of fear," Ayari said.

"I thought you said the Petit Dragons were friendly."

"They are. Normally they stay near you, and the more docile ones rub their heads against your legs. I don't know what you're doing to scare them senseless, but you're doing a great job of it, whatever it is."

"Thanks."

"I'm not sure if that was a compliment or not."

"I'm taking it as a compliment."

"Whatever," she said. "We still have about five hours in here."

"I want to try tackling a bigger dragon."

"I wouldn't if I were you," Ayari said. "They're practically in a class of their own."

"Well, my adrenaline is blocked. I can take one on."

"You only finished the Petit Dragons. Fairy Dragons are stronger."

"They're basically the same."

"Kisara! You're becoming reckless without adrenaline! Stick with the smaller ones!" Mana screamed. She was almost at the point of tears.

I was taken aback. "What's your problem?"

"My father… was killed when he tried to take on a gang of bandits. He bit off more than he could chew, and it killed him. I don't want the same to happen to you."

I didn't say anything. I hadn't really asked about either of their pasts.

She continued. "You're my friend, Kisara. I've had few enough."

"No way. You've got a bubbly personality and you're always so cheerful!"

"People say I'm too hyper and that they can't stand me," she said sadly. "It's really just a mask to hide my grief."

"If it makes you feel any better, my mother died from a Magna Drago's lava. I know what it feels like to lose a parent."

She started to sniffle, so Ayari and I gave her a hug as she cried into my shoulder. After a while, she continued.

"My brother Mahad went to join the army not long after that. He only left a note behind. It basically said that he was going to learn magic and whatnot and that he would return when he was able to protect us. It wasn't too long after that when Gozaburo attacked our village. Mother and I were separated, and I don't even know if she's alive."

I patted her on the back.

"Well, since you two have told your histories, I might as well share mine," Ayari said. "I was born into a rich family in a big city. We were in a wagon on the way to our vacation home by the beach when one of Gozaburo's cavalry units pursued us for a while, so our guards shot them with arrows. They left us alone for a while, and we arrived there unhindered, other than for that. Bad luck struck us again. A tsunami hit our home on the beach and ruined it. The wave carried us from our beds, and we were separated in the currents. I almost wonder if the cavalry units had a spellcaster among them to cause the tsunami, because they found me within minutes. I don't know if my parents are even alive.

"As you may have guessed, they brought me here, so here I am."

"Aren't you lucky?" I said. "I was born in a poor fishing family. I've almost never had enough to eat."

"That's why you're so thin," Ayari commented.

"Yeah."

"Aksira will kill us if we don't get back to work pretty soon," she said.

"Okay, you win."

The Fairy Dragons were cautious and showed signs of nervousness as I approached them, but they didn't panic like the Petit Dragons did. Every time I looked back at them, they had their eyes fixed on me. Out of spite towards the dragons, I jumped towards them and made a loud rarrrgh at them. The effect was hilarious. They scattered in all directions, shrieking and chattering with each other. Ayari and Mana joined in my laughter, or at least, they did until we heard a cold voice behind us.

"I hope you're not abusing my dragons."

It was Seto. He was giving us a death glare, and his general posture indicated aggression. However, with my adrenaline blocked, I didn't care.

"Where have you been? Aren't the dragons your responsibility?"

Ayari and Mana gaped and shook their heads frantically.

"Yes. Aksira and I just broke up a fight between a Red-Eyes Black Dragon and a Chaos Emperor Dragon. It was a nasty fight, and after they calmed down, I asserted dominance over them with this sword. Do you know what that means? I can command the dragons to hunt you down. You're just a slave, so no one really cares about you. And for your cheek, you won't get dinner."

"Did Gozaburo give you authority over my slaves, Seto? If he did, I'm sure I would have heard about it by now. Since I have heard nothing, you have no right to command them… or punish them," Lady Aksira walked in gracefully.

I interrupted. "That sword isn't dirty. Dragons wouldn't be scared of that mundane metal twig unless you used it against them."

"This 'mundane metal twig' was cleaned. And if it's so mundane, maybe we'll see how it feels in your side, or your neck, perhaps?"

"Go right ahead."

"Enough!" I heard a swishing sound and saw something metal fly past Seto's neck. Aksira had thrown a knife with such accuracy that it grazed his throat without breaking the skin. Even with my adrenaline blocked, I knew she was a threat and that it wouldn't be wise to cross her now.

"Oh darn, I just missed by millimeters," she said sarcastically.

Seto looked outraged. "How did you get that kunai past my wards?" he demanded.

"Come now, Seto. Who's the better spellcaster of the two of us?"

"That's Galem's kunai, isn't it?" he said, controlling his tone.

"And what if it is?" she put her hands on her hips.

"Enlighten me on how you acquired that." He seemed interested now.

"You're wondering how I got this from the Thief King's third-in-command? Easy. All it takes to distract a man is food or a sporting event. He probably doesn't even know it's missing."

"What did you feed him?"

"Enchanted narcotics. I control what he hallucinates. Right now, he's watching a duel between Bakura and me. I'm winning, of course."

"Don't they have someone test their food for poison?"

"I developed the narcotic, so there's no test to detect it. It takes four days for the narcotics to kick in. Then it takes a week and a half for it to be flushed out of the system. He won't need another dose for a good week now."

"How comforting to know that my fellow second-in-command is running a meth lab in her spare time."

"Not really. There's a difference between a chemistry lab and a meth lab. Besides, I stole it from Bakura's grunts, enchanted it, and replaced it. They never knew it was missing," Aksira said smugly, folding her arms.

"And I'm sure you didn't save any for yourself," Seto said sarcastically.

"You would be correct."

"Humor me."

"Honestly, use what few brain cells you possess, and think back. Have you ever seen me high or unusually aggressive?"

"Yeah. Once a month."

She glared daggers at him.

"If you think I'm-" she began, but was interrupted by a page.

"Lady Aksira, Lord Seto," he bowed to each in turn, "your presence is requested in Lord Gozaburo's councilroom."

They marched off without question, their previous argument seemingly forgotten besides when Aksira gave him the finger behind his back.

I turned to Ayari and Mana when they were out of earshot. "They really do argue like a married couple. They're not betrothed, are they?"

"Why? You're interested in Ghetto?"

"Cue coughing fit," I said.

"Hey, he might be a manturrei, but you've got to admit it. He is one heck of a stud," Ayari said dreamily, going back to her sandwich.

"Not you, too. I got enough of this back home."

"Who was your interest back home?" Mana asked.

"You're nosy."

"Come on. Cough it up," Ayari smirked and sipped her water.

"No one in Gonaga ever caught my eye."

"Anyone like you?" Mana asked.

"Yeah. Bakura did."

Ayari choked on her water and required the Heimlich maneuver. When she caught her breath, she sputtered, "The Thief King's from Gonaga?"

"No. The Bakura I'm talking about's first name is Ryou."

"They're not related, are they?"

"Probably not. I never heard of the Thief King having siblings. Ryou had a little sister named Amane, but she died from an infection years ago. I don't think Bakura's a girl."

"He wouldn't strike me as one."

"Well, he does have long hair," Mana said.

"True that," Ayari said as we shared a laugh.

"We'd better actually get to work," I said after we calmed down.

"You're right," Mana agreed, and we all picked up our rakes.

I finished cleaning the Fairy Dragons after a few more hours. Then it hit me. How was I supposed to herd the dragons in their cages if they were so terrified of me?

"Uh, guys?"

"What?"

"You know how the dragons are scared of me?"

"No duh," Ayari responded.

"How am I going to corral them in their cages?"

"That's your problem, not mine."

"Mana?"

"I'll help."

She pulled a whistle off a hook on the wall. When she blew it, it was extremely high-pitched. The dragons flew back into their cages obediently, and the doors closed.

"That's shrill," I commented.

"What?"

"The whistle."

"I didn't hear anything."

"You're kidding."

"No. Your ears aren't ringing are they?"

"No."

"I wonder if it's a side effect from Lady Aksira's spell."

"I wouldn't know. I'm no expert at magic."

"Spells normally don't have unintended side effects," Ayari said. "If there are any, they're almost always related to the spell. A spell to block adrenaline probably wouldn't increase hearing. If anything, it would decrease it, since adrenaline heightens your senses."

"You can use magic?" I was astonished.

"No, but it was part of my education to learn about the basics behind magic. Besides, if I could use it, I would either be stuck in the dungeon or in the military. They don't risk having sorcerers in the castle that aren't loyal to them."

Mana looked around. "That's why I haven't told anyone but Ayari."

"Huh?"

"I can use magic."

"Really?"

"I'm really strong, too. The problem is…"

"What?"

"I don't know any spells. I can't read the arcane language."

"I can't either."

"Because I almost never use magic, it builds up, so when I do use it, it almost never works right. It'll be too strong or do the wrong thing. That's partially why I'm so clumsy. It leaks out at times."

"Magic makes you clumsy?"

"Not really. When it leaks out, it affects whatever's on my mind. I tend to break a lot of vases when it leaks out if I'm looking at them."

"That's unfortunate."

"You won't tell anyone, right?"

"No."

"Promise?"

"I promise," I smiled reassuringly.

"Cross your heart?"

"Cross my heart."

"Okay."

After a few minutes, she continued, "I'm glad I have a friend like you."

"Right back at you," I said, reminiscing about Tea's friendship speeches. "Tea would be proud of this moment."

"What?" Ayari asked.

"Oh, back in Gonaga, I had a friend named Tea. She would give friendship monologues. Hers were pretty corny, though. I never thought I'd miss them."

"You're not the only one that misses home," she said.

"Or family and friends," Mana added.

"Yeah, but you never know what you've got until it's gone."

We stood in silence until we heard an argument getting louder and louder.

"Human lives should never be wasted!" That was Aksira.

"His is pretty much gone. How likely is he to recover?" a familiar voice said. I tried to place it.

"I seem to recall that he's my slave, and therefore my property," Seto said coldly.

"And how has he profited you, Seto?"

"I have leverage against your boss, Colan, leverage that I am not willing to relinquish."

"Well, I might just have to remove that leverage."

"Call me crazy, but didn't you receive orders from not only me, but also the Thief King himself that he is to remain alive. You are not to try to keep him alive. You are to, and I quote, 'ensure his survival at all costs.' Is that not what Bakura said?"

A pause. Then, "They only want him for information. With ailments that bad, he'll never recover to serve you further."

With a chill in my stomach, I realized that they were talking about Alukan.

"I'm sure he will if you do your job like you were ordered to by two superiors."

I could picture Seto giving a sickly sweet smile to Colan if he were capable of smiling.

"You're not my superior."

"Shall we have a Ka battle to determine that? I think I remember Bakura complaining about your lack of one, so I would win by default."

"I can still summon monsters," Colan added after some hesitation.

"I don't think you need to. Seto and I are conversing with one right now," Aksira retorted.

They were passing through the dragon's enclosure now. Colan opened his mouth to say something, but a man I didn't recognize cut him off.

"Enough, Colan. You heard Bakura's orders. Get to work."

"But…"

"You're acting strange enough as it is. You normally don't question the leader, yet you seem to show signs of insubordination mere minutes after the order was given. Don't make me report this in addition to Galem's odd behavior."

A mock bow, then, "Yes, Master Torik."

While Torik, if that's what his name was, scolded Colan, I thought I saw the corner of Lady Aksira's mouth twitch for a split second when he mentioned Galem.

Torik continued. "I hear a slave girl came up with a solution that made perfect sense to cure Seto's slave. Bottle moonlight, and release it during the new moon to ensure his survival."

"Can you bottle fog?"

"Yes, you can, with the appropriate spell. Don't even try to deny that we the Thieves' Guild bottle darkness to aid our plundering. Use the same concept to bottle moonlight."

I saw Seto and Aksira look at each other when Torik mentioned bottling darkness. He seemed oblivious to them at the moment.

"Fine, Your Majesty," Colan sneered.

"And I want an hourly report on your charge's condition," Torik continued. "If a necromancer, and the King of Thieves no less, wants someone alive, there's a reason for it."

With that, the entourage, with the exception of Colan, proceeded through an archway to where the dangerous dragons were kept (Ayari told me so).

After Torik's statement, I wondered why in the world Bakura would want Alukan alive so badly…

YAY! I finally updated! :D And yay for the 1000th view!

I am so sorry this is so late, but I finally got a good place to leave off. Writer's block and all the other classic excuses that every author tries to pull set in.

You're probably getting curious about Alukan, aren't you? All I'm going to say is that he has a very interesting backstory.

The next two chapters will have major plot points, so stay tuned.

One of the things that slowed me down was the lack of reviews (only two the last chapter), so if you want faster updates, REVIEW.