AN: Forgive the lateness of this chapter, and the crapiness, I'm not feeling very well and it's been rushed. But try and enjoy it anyway!

Firefly In Ice

Chapter Eleven

"… Ryou?"

"What is it?… Yuugi?"

"There's… another reason I've been so quiet recently."

"Oh?"

"I… I just wanted to clear the air… before I go."

"You can trust me, Yuugi. What is it?"

"I – I might not be coming back north. Ever."

The journey Yuugi took to return the way he had come felt far easier and much faster than he remembered, perhaps it was because this time he knew where he was going, how long it would take, and what he would find on the other side of the sea. Perhaps it was the food in his bag that kept his stomach from complaining or the prospect of finding out who he was. Or, maybe, it could have been the alleviation of the dark thoughts that had weighed him down before Solomon had given him hope.

Yuugi no longer felt helplessly lost, nor alone, in this strange and alien world. He sensed now that, once, he had belonged here just as anyone had, and all the elves rejection was based weakly on fear and misunderstanding. That didn't mean Yuugi was about to waltz into their city as he looked right now with these claims, he wasn't stupid and knew the elves where as likely to sit and listen to someone listing their faults as a fish was likely to grow legs and walk upright. But, his own conviction was a start.

He had dwelled long on what Solomon had told him, thought hard about how the centaurs received him without fear and without hate. He had been lucky, so lucky to have found them. Without them he would be wandering aimlessly throughout the grasslands, possibly travelling further south to find the desert Solomon had mentioned. But still without any purpose to guide him. With only a vague sense of needing to find something he had lost.

He felt his surroundings now with a greater acuteness than he had managed before. He felt the quality of the air, the heat of the sun, the moisture in the surroundings, the revolving stars. It seemed the longer he spent away from his prison, his hell, the more alive he became. Freedom suited him, wide open spaces and light suited him. Light. Yuugi had grown to love light with a passion, after the eternity of darkness and with his past still shrouded in shadows Yuugi yearned for lights quality, felt it and adored it with the affection of a kindred spirit. It might have something to do with his element, this love for light, but spending so much time imprisoned in pure darkness certainly didn't harm his growing appreciation of it.

But above all of this was the greatest feeling that was coursing through him. The hope, the new belief, that he wasn't unnatural at all. Solomon had said that all the demons, every clan upon this earth, had vanished as completely as he had himself. It was true that Solomon had said Yuugi must have been imprisoned long before the others started disappearing, but that hitch could easily be explained away with the idea that he might have been an experiment to see how well whatever had happened would work. Perhaps he hadn't been so different, so unnatural in his ways that the others of his own kind had locked him away, perhaps it was something else entirely.

Perhaps it was the Shadows themselves.

Yuugi hadn't mentioned the Shadows to Solomon, deciding that if the old centaur didn't know about them, as indeed it seemed that no other creature alive today appeared to know about them, then he would not go into complicating things by mentioning them. If he did that he would have had to start talking about things he felt almost instinctively that other races should not know. The Shadows were a dangerous force, and that was all that Yuugi could clearly remember about them. They were dangerous, they were merciless, and they seemed to have an unbreakable link to demons that Yuugi could not pinpoint with his faulty memory. His conclusion was that the Shadows had taken them all away, and done to entire clans what they had done to him.

Yuugi wondered if they would eventually break free as he had done, or if his searching and bringing of the Keys to that Door would have any effect on it.

But that was far away now, for the present he still had to find and get the Keys. And that meant facing the elves. Yuugi had a little half formed plan that was still being formed and reformed in the back of his mind, he didn't really have a clue what he was doing, and most of this would be a mixture of his deception skills and sheer luck.

Yuugi hoped the prince was as he remembered him, hoped that he wouldn't be too hard to find and contact. If not than his other chance was Malik, but that option somehow didn't sound quite as appealing as the prince himself. Yuugi wasn't sure why. He just felt that he knew the prince better, that he had a greater chance of reading him and working him to his hearts desire.

Now there was the little worry niggling the back of his conscious that said those elves that had chased him away from the centaur village would be more trouble for him yet. But Yuugi had left them far behind, they would have no idea where he was headed, and the chances of them recognising him when he was inhabiting the body of a human, all dressed up and well mannered, were small. And even if they did, he planed to be well rooted into the prince's confidence by then, the prince would attest that he was human and therefore incapable of making it across the sea and back in such a short space of time. The prince, if Yuugi played his cards right, would fight for him. He was sure of it.

It was then, as his thoughts once again began to dwell on the elfin prince, that Yuugi saw the dark line on the horizon for what it was.

Land lay ahead of him; he had made it back to the ice.

Yuugi grinned, increasing his speed even though his wings kept telling him they would like a break. Once over the land Yuugi recognised the shore below as similar to the one he had left from, he had arrived only a few miles down or up shore from his starting point. It was afternoon, and the sun had begun its decent towards the horizon from its highest point in the sky. Deciding it would be best not to stop to rest, as that may intrude on the time he had to befriend the prince before the other elves caught up, even if he could get to the prince in that time, and even if his muscles were tired it would be best to keep moving as long as there was sunlight.

And truthfully he was interested to see how long and how far his endurance lasted now he was better prepared and rested beforehand. And so following landmarks and features he remembered seeing through all that previous fog, Yuugi rode the wind with ease and delight, absorbed the warmth of the sun and often closed his eyes just to enjoy the sensations of the two of these things together. He doubted he'd ever get tired of flying.

A few hours later, when Yuugi had reached deep inland and the sea was long lost on the horizon behind, Yuugi narrowed his gaze on a small speck on the upcoming horizon that felt familiar, it only grew larger and into a more solid black as he drew closer, and presently a row of similar specks but lower appeared as well, stretching out from each side of the largest one.

With an excited and self-accomplished grin Yuugi realised he had found the Grey Mountain and the mountain range that blocked off a large part of the world from the deep parts of elfin territory. He was back where he had started again, phase one of his half formed plan was completed.

The mountains were further away then they looked, however, and it took a couple more hours of intensive flying before Yuugi finally reached the very top of the Grey Mountain, and alighted on its pinnacle, folding his worn wings gratefully on his back and curling his tail around the narrow point for better balance as his claws clutched at the rock, feeling the sensations of solid ground after so long in the air. He was met with a stunning sight. Before him lay a great vast land, beautifully coated in thick white, he had never actually seen the view from here before, he had only been around here during the night and he had never exactly been given the time to stop and admire the scenery. Many miles before him, over a vast stretch of farmland and snow coated paths and almost mirroring the Grey Mountain but not managing to reach the same sheer height, lay a single mountain within which a great white palace had been set, turrets and towers, great walls and widows melding with the rock possessing the flawless elegance of water. Under the gigantic palace lay a huge city, made of stone and thick dark wood, each building proud and strong, unique. The city was walled all around by a white stone wall that glittered in the sun and looked as if it could have been made of the snow that surrounded the city, the city itself however was completely void of snow in a clear display of magic. To the left of him spreading from the base of the mountain and looping passed the city into the distance, was a deep forest of evergreens where the trees stretched so far to the left that Yuugi could only just see its end from the highest point in what had to be the whole kingdom.

It was the forest where the Shadows had imprisoned him. Under all those trees, somewhere, lay the hellish chamber of his prison.

Yuugi shivered and turned his gaze firmly away from the forest.

His attention now back on the scene and not the scenery, Yuugi saw something that made a nervous and excited thrill run through him. The snow-covered land was far from deserted; in fact it was filled and alive with moving creatures, thousands of little black specks working their way down the Grey Mountain and towards the elfin capital city. Goblins. The first row had already engaged combat with a mounted elfin group, perking his ears, Yuugi easily picked up the sounds of shouting and screams, footsteps, the whooshing of arrows and blades. And tilting his head, Yuugi could just about catch the first whiffs of the scent of blood that was reaching so high on the wind.

Another battle? Then this was surely a war rather than the occasional skirmish Yuugi had taken it for, assuming that the elves simply hated the goblins because they hated everything that did not conform to their 'perfection'. Yuugi still had to snicker to himself, he would never understand why they felt the need to fight over such a cold place. To him it was hostile, a frozen wasteland, what was there here to fight over? Other than snow and the occasional rock? As pretty as all the whiteness was Yuugi much preferred the land he had found to the south. He hoped to return there as soon as possible.

But for now, he would concentrate on finding those Keys.

Yuugi's eyes lit up as his keen sight caught the prince galloping into the battle, at least now it wouldn't be hard to find him.

Flaring his wings, Yuugi coiled his muscles and leapt from the mountain's peak, gliding swiftly down over the battle towards the forest edge. He didn't think anyone had seen him, the glare of the sun would have distracted anyone from looking closely at the sky.

Yuugi's heart leapt as he swooped high over the prince himself, performing a strange little ditty in his chest that Yuugi couldn't identify. Relief, though, surely. It had to be relief that the prince was still alive and well, after all if he wasn't then that was all of Yuugi's best-laid plans gone to waste.

Dropping sharply, Yuugi shot into the trees like a blur, turning sharply when he was under the canopy to dig his claws into the closest tree and slow his descent before he crashed. He was definitely getting better at this flying business. Having landed safely and unnoticed, Yuugi's senses were going wild with the sheer menagerie of smells and sounds, he could feel the aggression and hate, the pain and death that the battlefield reeked of. It made his blood heat, made him eager to join the fight and flex his neglected claws with a scratching post of flesh.

But he mustn't. And though he had run out of food and was hungry, he was not starving, and Yuugi found it was much easier than it had been to rein in his instincts. He just hoped he could keep them reined in.

The battle was in sight now, though Yuugi kept himself hidden by laying low behind the vegetation like a stalking cat. His slitted pupils narrowing as his eyesight sharpened, unable to completely control himself under the onslaught of blood. His tail tip twitched on the snow.

The prince was out there, looking like some kind of divine saint on his white horse draped in silver armour, glowing sword raised to the pale blue sky, dipping occasionally to spill blood onto the ground.

He lead well. Yuugi noted a little reluctantly, the prince definitely knew how to command his soldiers, if nothing else. And too his surprise, Yuugi found himself taking a side in this war that did not include him. He wanted the elves to win. Silently he had begun cheering when the prince killed a goblin, telling him which way to turn to kill another, warning him of possible danger, and flinching if something looked painful for him. His mind had become a running commentary of 'Left, left. Now to the right. Go for the throat, kill it! Look out for that… yes now go around that for the weak spot.' Whishing he could get in there himself and taste real fresh blood in his mouth again.

And then something strange happened. The prince turned from the front line that was pushing the goblins towards the centre and began riding back towards the forest. Heading for the stragglers, the goblins that had escaped the elfin blades.

Yuugi saw it before it happened, the prince noticed too late the goblin archer aiming for him and Yuugi had to dig his claws right into the frozen ground beneath the snow to prevent himself from shooting, more akin to a bullet than anything living, out of hiding and tearing the goblin to pieces. With an uncontrolled growl bubbling up from the very base of his stomach, Yuugi forced himself to watch as the price fell and the horse galloped into the forest.

Yuugi panicked for a good moment, wondering if the prince was dead, but then he saw the other move. And felt a fine shiver run up and down his spine when his eyes met with those over-familiar rubies. Thankfully the prince passed out before he could register what he was seeing.

Yuugi could barely believe his luck. He had been given the absolute perfect opportunity to get to the prince and gain his trust before anyone could interrupt. Waiting a moment to be sure the elf was unconscious, Yuugi cautiously crept out from the forest, the battle had moved far away now, but they could still be seen by anyone overly curious. Reaching the prince, he studied him for a moment, the arrow wound looked deep and reeked of something unnatural, poison perhaps?

Yuugi hissed quietly in displeasure, lifting his head he took in a deep breath of air through his nose, catching the scent of the individual goblin who had shot the arrow and categorising it firmly to memory for later. He glared at the direction it had vanished before turning back to the prince.

Unconscious he looked very different. The elfin qualities stood out more, the calm graceful features. Skin made of unblemished white silk. Sharp angular eyes and jaw line, high cheekbones and long ears visible from under the hair, ending in an elegant point. Signs of nobility were everywhere, the silver circlet with an eye made of opals and onyx that looked as if a third eye had opened upon the price's forehead, insignias that must have represented the royal family decorated his armour and a ring he bore on his right hand's maiden finger. Yuugi wondered if all the elves with royal blood possessed red eyes, or if it was just this prince. Was he the only one with eyes that seemed to whisper echoes of almost memory to him when he slept?

With a jolt Yuugi remembered where he was and the very real danger the prince was in. There was no other way Yuugi could do anything else without both hurting the price's immediate wound and making himself too conspicuous to others. They had to stay low. And so Yuugi clamped his teeth around the back of the prince's collar, and began to drag him backwards, moving on all fours towards the shelter of the trees. Yuugi cursed around the material in his mouth, it was a good job his teeth were strong because fully equipped in armour the elf was no lightweight to drag.

This kept on until Yuugi deemed them safe enough to not be seen through the trees, then realised that the tracks they had left behind were extremely conspicuous. If the elves were as good at finding things as important as their prince as Yuugi thought they would be, they would need to find a much better hiding place.

And that meant flying.

But the prince had to be made much more comfortable before they did that. Finding the fastenings that kept the armour in place, Yuugi peeled the chain mail off; the arrow had gone in just below the collar of the links. These goblins clearly knew how and where to aim. The blood was dripping from him now and Yuugi noted how very, very still and stiff the prince was.

Hoping against hope he knew what he was doing, Yuugi snapped the arrow so there was only about three inches left protruding from the skin. He had learned a great deal about anatomy since fresh food like this was his main food source after all. The wound had to be both sterilised and he had to be sure nothing was left in there, so yanking it out would not be the best way. Yuugi tried to tease it out of the skin by gently tugging. The prince did not move a muscle. And the arrow would not budge. Making frustrated sounds to himself Yuugi sat back on his heels and tried to think what he could do.

The arrow was stuck fast into the tissue. It would not be teased out. Yanking it would cause a lot of internal tissues to be ripped – therefore more bleeding – and there was a high risk of the arrow head not coming out with the shaft – which would cause even worse problems. It was as if cold made it… stick… faster…

Yuugi's thought trail fizzled out as an idea hit him with sharp clarity. He felt stupid for not realising it before. Heat. Heat not only made things more pliable but it helped to sterilise things.

He would have to move quickly, not only would the pain possibly wake the prince, the scent of blood from the wound was making him uncomfortably hungry. So Yuugi concentrated, pushing the heat of fire into his claws until they glowed a deep red. Sharpening his sight until he could almost see each skin follicle, Yuugi positioned his index and maiden fingers from each hand near the entry point of the arrow. The heat that rose from them wobbled as it lifted through the icy air.

It was over in an instant. Yuugi prised his four claws into the skin so the arrow was surrounded, twisted it a little, and pulled the whole thing out. It came free easily this time, and once free the wood disintegrated into ashes, the metal melting and slipping onto the snow to harden again. The skin smoked a little, but was no longer bleeding, the burn had caused the skin to seal over, the hole where the arrow had been would not close immediately, but elfin healing rates would definitely help it along. There would be scarring, but it would be minimal compared to what it could have been, only a small circle of scar tissue just below the right collar bone. There was nothing he could do about the poison he was sure was circulating the prince's body, Yuugi hoped it wasn't fatal and he would recover by himself. If not that was his plan down the drain and he'd have to resort to thievery.

But for now, he'd need all his strength to carry the prince's weight and his own on his wings, and his stomach wholeheartedly agreed to some fresh goblin archer. The prince would be fine for a little while.

Turning to stalk the forests border, Yuugi followed the whiffs of that goblin's scent that had run from Yami after shooting him down. His mind's focus narrowed until he forgot that there was a world outside of hunting down this prey, he concentrated only on the scent and the feel of the snow under his claws as he ran along the set of tracks the goblin had left behind. It was heading towards the Grey Mountain. It wouldn't reach home.

He could see it now, trudging through snow ahead, its short bow by its side, chittering complaints to itself. The land rolled by beneath Yuugi, the sky was growing overcast with clouds the colour of storms, his wings lay flat and his tail straight as he streamlined so fast his feet could barely keep up. The snake hissed quietly through his fire, little flares of red lighting momentarily along his back. Adrenaline sung in his blood, anticipation gnawing his nerves. Yuugi loved this. The hunt set him free to be the creature his darker thoughts wanted him to be, it scared him a little, that he was so eager to give into instincts demands and let them use him to rip and tear and leave behind a trail of blood. If he ever truly gave in that would happen, and the massacre would leave him horrified and disgusted with himself. But by all of hell, he would have loved it while it lasted.

The goblin was close now, Yuugi wanted it to see its death coming at it. In fact, his thoughts turned darker, he wanted it to know why he was going to kill it. Slowly. The serpent flicked its forked tongue, and Yuugi smiled a fanged grin. He wondered how blood would taste when flavoured by terror. He let out a purposeful growl, vicious and loud, so that the goblin heard and turned to look behind it. It screeched, no doubt recognising Yuugi from the time he had spent in that coliseum, clutched its bow and tried to pull an arrow out of its quiver to aim at him. It was a brave one, Yuugi would give it that, he would also be sure to break that before killing it.

The goblin's arrow trembled too much in his grip, and the aim was far out of range of the demon barrelling towards it, frantically it sought for another, but he was only nooking the notch of the shaft onto the thick string by the time Yuugi was there. He blinked, and when he opened his eyes the demon was smiling at him with a terrifying enjoyment, the arrow snapped in the demon's claws and his bow was soon ashes on the wind. Before the goblin could think on the situation, the demon had lifted itself up onto two legs and lifted him so his feet dangled in the air; its claws fastened tightly in his leather collar.

Yuugi took a long, deep breath through his nose. This was the one alright. He would enjoy this.

"We've been a bad little archer, haven't we?" Yuugi crooned at it, his eyelids lowered hypnotically.

It only writhed, breathless, in his grip. Yuugi scowled, "You speak, don't you?"

When no answer seemed forthcoming Yuugi lost his patience with it, his stomach said to just tear into it already, but his mind wanted to play. Growling he dropped the goblin, that fell to its knees gasping for breath. Yuugi whipped his tail round until with a dull 'thwack' it hit the goblin's cheek with the blunt force of muscle, it fell on its side with a squeal and tried to pick itself up but Yuugi soon halted its pitiful escape attempt by wrapping his tail around its neck and hoisting it back in front of him, kneeling. They looked at each other, both understanding that Yuugi could snap the goblin's neck whenever he felt like it.

The wind was picking up, to the east the battle seemed to be slowing down, clouds blocked out the sky and the temperature was beginning to drop. In the distance arctic crows scratched at the air with their voices.

Yuugi narrowed his eyes, his stomach told him to finish this, his mind told him to draw it out for maximum pleasure in pain, but his heart reminded him that a certain elf was currently lying helpless and possibly dying of poisoning deep in a forest full of dangers.

His tightened his tail's grip around the goblin's neck, "Speak."

The goblin chocked, then ground out the words, "Speak of what, demon?"

Yuugi smiled a little at this small success, "What is in those arrows of yours?"

A snarl, "What concern is that to an overgrown lizard?"

In anger Yuugi picked the goblin up with his tail and threw it against the ground, leaping to pin it to there with his claws slowly piercing the flesh he leaned in so their faces where close and whispered with magically heated breath, "The concern is whether or not your next answer saves your life."

The goblin looked back, trying to bank its fear behind a mask of insolence, "A lie. Why would you let me go?"

"Because it is in my interest to get away from here as soon as possible, as is yours. If you tell me right now how to cure the poison that was in those arrows I will let you walk away from me with scratches. If you hesitate I will tear you apart and eat you alive. I'm not fussed either way, you have one hope left, trust me or die."

The goblin was silent a moment, but as Yuugi raked his claws, already deeply embedded in flesh, along the goblins arms it gave in with a shriek, "Sanies! Sanies leaves will cure the poison!"

Yuugi raised an eyebrow, "And what exactly are they?"

The goblin gasped, hoping now that this would be the key to his life, "They are small leaves from a plant found only in dim areas." When Yuugi growled for him to elaborate the goblin poured it all out in one great hurried breath, "They're a dark green, but have a fine coating of white hairs that make them look like there is always frost on them. If you stew them in boiling water until they disintegrate, then drink the water it will cure you of the poison. Just a handful is needed, too many will cause an adverse effect of a deep sleep that freezes the bones. They smell like iron, you won't be able to miss them."

Yuugi tilted his gaze to look at the woods, "You can find them in the forest?"

The goblin nodded frantically. Yuugi grunted his approval and stood, taking a step back and allowing the goblin to get up, giving him room to run. Yuugi watched its back as it ran, letting it get a safe distance away before smirking, time to try something new.

"You can't really have thought I meant it when I said I'd let you live after meeting me." Yuugi spoke to the air, letting heat gather up inside of him and climb, searing hot, up through his body and into his mouth. He took a deep breath, braced his clawed feet into the frozen ground beneath the snow, opened his mouth, and roared forth a stream of golden fire. The flames shot over the ground faster than the goblin could run, melting the snow as it went, engulfing and roasting him instantly until only well cooked remains were left gently steaming on the ground.

Time for dinner.

It hadn't taken Yuugi too long to find those leaves. In fact it had taken much less time than he had anticipated. The smell of iron the goblin had described was more potent than he thought, it weaved through the trees like threads loosed from fabric, catching his attention as he roamed the woods and leading him towards them with a clear path. The scent filled his nose even now, a good few leaves clutched in his hand as he made his way back to where the prince was. He needed to get them some place safer, more sheltered, as soon as possible. With the setting sun the clouds had turned the night black, and he could sense in the wind that a snowstorm was coming fast.

Thankfully, when Yuugi finally reached the elf, he was still there and unharmed. Not looking any better, but not looking any worse. With a soft curse Yuugi realised he had forgotten to ask the goblin if the poison was fatal or not. Oh well, not much he could ask it now. Stuffing the leaves into the now empty bag the centaurs had given him, Yuugi knelt down, and hoisted the prince up and over his back, holding the limp arms around his neck and letting the head rest on his shoulder, Yuugi stood to test his balance. The prince was certainly no lightweight, but he could just about manage it for as long as it took to find better shelter.

It took a hell of a lot more effort to get the pair of them airborne than it did with just him, but once they had gained enough height to level out it was a little easier. The wind definitely helped him keep air under his wings; it would have been harder if the weather had been still.

Yuugi scanned the area with his enhanced vision, hoping to find something before he sprained a wing joint or the storm kicked up, compared to the Shadow's Hell this black night was as bright as a rainbow so navigation wasn't going to be a problem. After many long minutes of soaring and the weather deteriorating to the point where Yuugi was finding it more difficult to stay on course in the strong wind, which was steadily growing into a fierce gale, his gaze finally caught sight of something by the foot of the mountain range, many miles east of the Grey Mountain. A cave. On foot it would be a steady two-hour climb from the base up to its position, but in the air Yuugi angled down and alighted by its entrance in moments. The cave was pitch black inside, but dry and vacant, hitching the elf up higher on his shoulders Yuugi worked his way inside the narrow opening just as the first balls of hail and snow began to fall.

Inside, the cave was about as tall and as wide as Solomon's tent had been, only a lot more irregular in shape. Yuugi quickly lowered the prince down at the back of the cave where it was warmest, letting him lie on the hard ground. Yuugi pulled the leaves back out of his bag, ready to administer them, when he realised the gaping hole in his plan. He had no bowl. Nor any water.

Yuugi gave a long, frustrated sigh, his patience beginning to wear very thin with all these little set backs. It was enough to make him want to leave the prince here and just enjoy what life could give him. It would certainly be simpler. But neither his curiosity nor his conscience would let him do that.

With a long look at the blizzard outside, Yuugi reluctantly threw himself into the melee of wind and ice to find the necessary wood.

Less than an hour later, he returned in a foul mood.

"You owe me." Yuugi hissed at the unconscious elf on the floor, as he stumbled past, soaking wet, freezing, and struggling under a large pile of wood to carve and burn.

He used his claws to dig a hollow out of a think block of wood, and filled it with the heaping snow outside, then he pilled the wood into a neat pyramid and lit it with a spark from his magic. He wanted to warm the whole cave up now even he was shivering in the cold, and warming it up by his own constant magic would exhaust him. Yuugi melted the snow over the resulting flames, kept under control by the lack of other things to catch fire to in the cave, then stuffed the leaves inside the water and poked them in the boiling water (the heat didn't bother him) with his claw until they had completely disintegrated, turning the water a deep unpleasant looking green. Yuugi wrinkled his nose at the strong smell of iron, glad he wasn't the one that had to drink the stuff, and held it outside in the snow for a moment to cool it down to normal drinking level for non-demons.

Yuugi scowled to himself as he once again knelt by the prince's side, feeling far too much like a nanny for his own comfort. He held the elf's head up with one hand after parting his lips, and poured the drink into his mouth from the bowl with the other. Making the prince swallow it was no easy task, and Yuugi was given the distinct impression that half of it ended up on the prince's clothes, but that wasn't his loss, and there was probably more than enough of it anyway.

After placing the empty bowl back on the floor, Yuugi watched the elf for any signs of recovery. Hell, he'd settle for any sign of life other than frozen, limp limbs and breathing so shallow even he had to stop and make sure it was actually there. Yuugi's eyes caught sight of the deathly white skin picking up more pigmentation under the flickering firelight. After a pause Yuugi leaned closer to listen to the prince's breathing, it was a little deeper, less rattling than before.

He was recovering.

Yuugi froze, his eyes widening, as the prince groaned, turning his head as his eyelids fluttered, he suddenly sounded dangerously close to waking up. But Yuugi didn't have time to move, a hand had clutched with surprising strength around his tunic and the prince seemed to grimace in pain in his sleep. Yuugi was beginning to panic slightly, this was bad, the prince couldn't see him like this. It would ruin everything!

But then, as soon as it started, it stopped. And the prince was still again. His body relaxing and his expression smoothening out as he fell into a natural sleep not forced on him by poison. His hand unclenched, but still gripped Yuugi's clothing loosely.

Breathing out to calm himself Yuugi loosed the elf's grip on his tunic and lay the arm back down by his side. An involuntary smile pulled at his lips seeing the prince laying in a healthy sleep now. After all, he was very attractive; it would be a shame if he were lost.

As if on second nature, Yuugi quickly dipped his head and brushed their lips together with the faintest of touches. A shock of sparks in his body made Yuugi jerk backwards. There was disbelief, why had he just done that? And why had there been not only a pleasurable tingle on his lips but a jolt in the back of his mind that seemed to almost dislodge the shadows there that he was sure contained old memories. It was that feeling again, the same feeling of having done all this before many, many eons ago.

It could not be possible, Yuugi kept telling himself, he was far too old and the prince far too young for him to be someone he had known. And the prince would remember it he had known Yuugi. So, maybe, someone else? Someone completely different? Another demon he had loved perhaps, that the Shadows separated from him. It was all far too much to think about when he was so tired.

Yuugi growled in frustration, leaving the prince's side to find somewhere to sleep now the cave had warmed up. It wasn't as if he cared about the stupid, self-obsessed, accident-prone elfin prince, he was just apart of the plan. He was just another rung on the ladder to those Keys, and his past.

And after all, Yuugi smirked to himself as he watched the unconscious elf, what better way to steal those Keys from the elves then by manipulating their prince?

"W-what? But Yuugi… your prince…"

"You said it before, Ryou, that it's illegal for me to be with him."

"And you said to me that you would fight to the death to keep him!"

"I – "

"And you're just giving up on all that the two of you have been through?!"

"Ryou, please…"

"I don't understand. Do you not love him anymore?"

"It… it isn't like that…"

"Yes or no, Yuugi, do you still love him?"

"… no."

AN: Do Not Panic about the italics at the end here! Yuugi has reasons and the reasons may or may not be explained soon lol. I think people are beginning to get very confused about what the italics are on about, so if people want I can write a bonus 'chapter' that sumerises in a nutshell exactly what has happened and why. I would also be willing to answer any questions people have about the story in this 'chapter' so that it might make more sense. Sometimes I honestly do forget I'm the only one that acually knows what's going to happen lol.

So if people want me to do that I'm more than willing, just make sure you tell me that lol.

Review Please!