Chapter 18- The Necklace part 2
Yuugi and Yami finally went back inside the palace.
"Where are we going to now, Yami?" Yuugi asked.
Yami smiled. "I don't know, and I honestly I don't care as long as I am with you." Yami answered.
Yuugi shook her head. "You're hopeless, you know that." Yuugi said.
Yami smirked. "Well, you shouldn't have made me fall hopelessly in love with you then." Yami answered.
"I don't think that I had anything to do with that. You let that happen on your own, and I didn't do anything to encourage it. You do remember that neither of us wanted to have someone throw themselves at us. You fell in love with me on your own." Yuugi told him.
"Okay. So maybe I did, but it doesn't mean that I don't like it. There's not another woman that would be able to take your place in my heart." Yami said, leaning down and kissing her.
"Likewise." Yuugi whispered when Yami pulled back.
It was then that someone came up to them, ruining their peaceful moment.
"Excuse me." a female voice said.
The two looked to see a brunette with blue eyes standing there.
"Yes. What is it?" Yami asked.
"I would like to speak with you, Prince Yami. Alone." she said, glaring slightly at Yuugi.
Yuugi wasn't intimidated by this look.
"Anything you have to say to me can be said in front of Yuugi, Hasina." Yami informed her.
The woman , Hasina, was obviously displeased by this fact. "I would rather speak with you alone, Your Highness." Hasina said.
Yuugi was in no mood for an argument. "Yami, I believe that I will go and see Anzu for a little while." Yuugi said.
Hasina's eyes widened at hearing Yuugi use Yami's name.
"All right. I'll join you in a little bit." Yami replied.
Yuugi, deciding to show Hasina since she had a good idea why Hasina wanted to talk to Yami, leaned up and kissed him before she walked off.
"Why did you let her do that?" Hasina asked.
Yami turned to her. "Hasina, what Yuugi does is of no concern of yours." Yami told her.
"She kissed you and called you by your name." Hasina said.
Yami sighed. "Hasina, I know you have my best interest at heart and are concerned with the decorum if the palace, but Yuugi had my permission to call me by my name, and she kissed me because she belongs to me." Yami said.
"Yours? What do you mean?" Hasina asked, her eyes narrowing.
"Hasina, I know good and well that you have always strived for your daughter to marry my or Atemu, but I ma afraid that will not happen. Atemu has found love with Heba as I have found love with Yuugi." Yami said.
"I see. Is she worthy of it, though?" Hasina asked.
"Hasina, Yuugi is of the right status. She is of the Mutou household, and there is nothing ill in her reputation. In fact, she doesn't even have one." Yami said.
"I am just concerned that she is after you for your title." Hasina said.
"Hasina, Yuugi and I started off as friends. I ended up falling for her. Unlike most of the other ladies that I have come into contact with, Yuugi didn't throw herself at me. In fact, she never even hinted that she liked me in such depths until recently. There is no doubt in my mind that Yuugi is honest with her feelings. Besides, Anzu has already found love with Honda, and I don't think that she wants to lose him." Yami said.
Hasina sighed. "Yes. I know. I just always worry that someone will take advantage of you." Hasina said.
"Like Mia would have." Yami put in.
Hasina growled. "That slut is the reason that I am suspicious of so many people." Hasina said.
"Mia tried to kill Yuugi because she found out that we were together. Mia's anger led to her death, and she is exactly why I want someone like Yuugi. Yuugi doesn't flaunt her wealth, which is great in it's own right. Yuugi doesn't care about her title. Yuugi doesn't try to belittle people, either." Yami said.
Hasina nodded. "You and Anzu have been friends since childhood. I merely worry about you." Hasina said.
Yami smiled. "Yes. I know." Yami said.
Hasina thought. "Why have I heard that name before? Other than Mia's attempt on her?" Hasina asked.
"Anzu might have spoken of Yuugi. They became great friends when she went with us to visit her a few months ago." Yami said.
"You mean, she's the one who Anzu said had suitors after her left and right, and that is was almost like your ordeal?" Hasina asked.
Yami nodded. "That's why I am certain that Yuugi's feelings are genuine." Yami said.
The two started to walk down the hall.
"Hey! Let me go!"
"We'll see what the Pharaoh has to say about this!"
Hearing Yuugi's voice along with a gruff one, Yami went toward the voices with Hasina behind him.
A guard held Yuugi tightly by the wrist, the scarab necklace in his hand. He jerked her roughly and said, "The Pharaoh won't take kindly to you stealing this!"
"I didn't steal it!" Yuugi said.
"Be quiet, girl!" the guard said. He raised a hand to slap her.
A hand grabbed his and jerked him away from Yuugi.
The guard looked and was surprised to find himself facing the Crown Prince.
"What is the meaning of this?" Yami demanded, jerking the scarab necklace from the guard's hand.
"My Prince, I found this woman with the scarab necklace. I knew she stole it and was taking her to the Pharaoh for it." the guard said.
Yami's eyes flashed. "You know that this necklace shows that the woman wearing it is being courted by the Crown Prince." Yami said.
"Yes, but you have not one." the guard said.
"I gave this to Yuugi today. She was wearing it because I was courting her." Yami said angrily.
The guard paled.
"I should have you punished for this disrespect." Yami growled.
"My apologies, my Prince. I was not aware that-" the guard started.
"Enough. You should have checked with me first." Yami snapped. He felt a hand on his arms and turned to face Yuugi.
"Yami, don't be so hard on him. No one really knows of our relationship, and the one who you are courting is usually announced to the kingdom, something that hasn't happened yet. This man had every right to believe that the scarab was stolen. Such a man with loyalty is hard to come by." Yuugi told him.
Yami sighed. "Yes. I suppose so." Yami said. He turned to the guard and said, "I'm letting you off for this, but don't ever do anything to her again, and see to it that the other guards know this as well."
"Yes, My Prince, and I do apologize." the guard said. He turned to Yuugi and said, "Forgive me, my lady. I should not have treated you as I did."
Yuugi smiled at him. "You were doing your duty. It proves that you are loyal to the Pharaoh. I have no hard feelings." Yuugi said.
The guard smiled gratefully at her before leaving.
"How can you be so forgiving?" Yami asked.
"It is just a part of my nature, Yami." Yuugi replied.
"With you around, I'm going to be doing a lot less punishing." Yami muttered.
"Unless it is deserving. He made an honest mistake, and truthfully, did do the right thing since he thought I had stole the necklace. At least he is one that will stop even the nobles if he believes that they did something wrong. It is rather comforting." Yuugi said.
"Indeed, it is. Hasan is one of the few who do that." Hasina said.
Yami slipped the necklace around Yuugi's neck again. "I think we'll be announcing this to the kingdom sooner than I would have liked." Yami said.
Yuugi turned and said, "I'm sorry, but we haven't been formally introduced." Yuugi was curious to who this woman was. She had a feeling it was not what she originally thought.
"I am Hasina, my lady. I oversee the practices of the dancers of the palace as well as their safety and health." Hasina said.
"Hasina is actually Anzu's mother." Yami said.
"It is a pleasure to meet you. Anzu has spoken of you to me before. She speaks of you with great affection." Yuugi said,
Hasina smiled. "Thank you, and I hope you will forgive my gruff manner before. I worry that Yami and Atemu will find someone to hurt them and I want to make sure that doesn't happen." Hasina said.
"Hasina is like an aunt to me. She constantly worries about me and Atemu. She helped us ditch the less tolerable ladies that came after us and covered for us with Father a few times." Yami said.
"Yes. You two will be the death of me. They would sneak off so that that they wouldn't have to attend the council meetings, and I would cover for them." Hasina said.
"Then we would get a lecture from her." Yami groaned.
"And you deserved it for skipping your duties." Hasina said.
Yuugi smiled. She liked this woman already.
"If you will excuse me, I must be going." Hasina said before leaving.
"Come on. We'll go see Anzu now." Yami said.
Yuugi and Yami started down the hall.
"For a moment, I thought Hasina was a mother who wanted her daughter to marry you." Yuugi said.
"Truthfully, Hasina had always hoped that Anzu would end up marrying Atemu or me, but she fell for Honda, and Hasina didn't try to interferes. She worried about me almost as much as Mother does." Yami said.
"Well, I like her." Yuugi said.
"I thought you would." Yami said.
Aknankanon sighed as he left the throne room.
Amara walked beside him and said, "Why are they on this already?"
"They want to be sure that we will have a queen when the time comes for Yami to take the throne. You know as well as I do that the Crown Prince has to be married when he becomes Pharaoh." Aknankanon said.
Amara sighed. "Yami doesn't want to just marry anyone, though. It should be a woman of his choosing." Amara said.
"As long as Yami announces that he's courting someone of honorable reputation and status, it will be his choice." Aknankanon said. 'Besides, I know that he's in a relationship with Yuugi, so it's not an issue. I just hope Yami gives her the scarab necklace soon.' Aknankanon thought.
"You're together?!" Anzu squealed.
Yuugi blushed and nodded while Yami smirked.
"When did this happen?" Anzu demanded.
"The night of the ball was when we first admitted everything, but then all that happened with Mia, and we never told anyone." Yuugi said.
Yami growled at Mia's name.
"I'm so happy for you. I knew that you liked each other, but I didn't know you had admitted it. This is wonderful." Anzu said.
"Anzu, let them get in a word in." Honda said.
Anzu glared at him and said, "I'm just happy for them, Honda."
Honda rolled his eyes. "We are happy for you guys. I think Heba, Anzu, Jou, Ryou, and Malik were going to go insane if you didn't get together. They were even plotting to get you together." Honda said.
"Plotting?" Yami asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We didn't do anything, Yami. I swear. We just knew you liked each other and wanted you to get together." Anzu said.
Yami sighed. "All right. I'll let you off the hook. This time." Yami said.
Anzu smiled. "Thanks, and I am really happy for you." Anzu said.
Aknankanon and Amara were walking down the hall when they saw Yami and Yuugi ahead of them.
"There's Yami. Should we tell him?" Amara asked.
"Yes. We'd better before he hears it by the council." Aknankanon said. He looked ahead and called, "Yami!"
Yami and Yuugi stopped and turned around to see Yami's parents.
"It's my parents. I wonder what they want." Yami murmured.
"Let's see." Yuugi said.
The two coupes met.
"Yami, we-" Aknankanon started.
"Yuugi! You're wearing the scarab necklace!" Amara exclaimed.
Yuugi blushed. "Yes. Yami, um, gave it to me this afternoon." Yuugi said.
Aknankanon looked at his son. "You did?" Aknankanon asked.
Yami nodded.
"You do know what it symbolizes, do you not, Yuugi?" Aknankanon asked.
"Yes. Yami explained it to me when he gave it to me. It shows that I'm the one he's courting." Yuugi said.
"Then you two truly are together?" Amara asked.
"Yes. We actually have been since the ball. After what happened with Mia, we just never got around to telling anyone, and I decided to give this to her." Yami said.
"Why aren't you surprised, Aknankanon?" Amara asked.
"One, I had a feeling that they would get together. And two, I knew." Aknanaknon said.
"How?" Amara asked.
"I told him. When he was asking me about what happened when Mia attacked me, I mentioned that we had gotten together at the ball, and we weren't exactly subtle the next day. She could have saw us, and that made her angry. I asked him not to tell anyone because Yami and I wanted to in our own time." Yuugi said.
"Is that why what the council said didn't bother you?" Amara asked.
"Yes." Aknankanon said, smiling mischievously.
Yami blinked. "What did the council say?" Yami asked.
"In the meeting today, they said that you had to be courting someone within the next few months so that you would have a queen when you became Pharaoh, and if you didn't find someone, they would." Aknankanon said.
"You're not serious?" Yami said.
"Yes. I am. They just want to be sure that when you are crowned Pharaoh, you will have a queen and an heir. I don't think there will be an issue now, though." Aknankanon said.
"I take it that we're going to have to tell the council soon." Yuugi said.
"Yes. They'll stop pushing this once they know." Aknankanon said.
Yami nodded.
"Who else knows about this?" Amara asked.
"Not many. We told Anzu and Honda. Hasina knows, too, but no one else does." Yami answered.
"I suggest you tell them." Aknankanon said.
"We'll be going now." Amara said. She and Aknankanon walked off.
"I can't believe this. I don't have to be married until I'm eighteen. I just turned seventeen. I have time." Yami said.
Yuugi touched his arm. "Like your father said, it doesn't matter. You've already given me the scarab. Come on. Let's go tell our brothers." Yuugi said.
"Okay." Yami said.
The two walked down the hall.
"Yuugi, are you going to be okay with the whole kingdom knowing about us?" Yami asked.
"I knew it would come out sooner or later. Granted, I would liked to have waited, but it's fine. At least now, the men will leave me alone." Yuugi said.
"And the women will leave me alone." Yami added, taking her hand in his.
"Yami, what exactly has to be done about announcing that we are courting?" Yuugi asked.
"Not much. Father will call the people, and he will announce that I have found someone who I am currently with. He'll also say that the scarab pendent is a sign of the fact that you are with me, and that you are protected under the same laws as the Royal family. There will also be a ball held that night in our honor." Yami said.
"Another ball?" Yuugi asked.
"Yes. Truthfully, there are very few balls that we will attend. There's only four maybe five a year. Like when Atemu and Heba get married, there'll be a feast and banquet, and there'll be dancing. We'll go together then. Some balls are just honor dignitaries and such. Father will also just hold a ball sometimes when he wants one." Yami said.
"I see. Good to know." Yuugi said.
"Oh. And there will be a night of the coronation when I become Pharaoh. It's used to honor the new Pharaoh and his queen." Yami explained.
"Okay. I take it I'll be your date every time." Yuugi said.
Yami smirked. "Of course you will." Yami said. He leaned down and kissed her.
"At this rate, we'll never tell Atemu and Heba." Yuugi said.
Yami chuckled. "I guess so. Come on." Yami said.
Soon, the pair reached Atemu's room, and they could hear voices.
Yami knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Heba called.
"It's Yami." Yami said.
"Come on in." Heba said. There sounds of giggling inside.
"I hope we didn't interrupt them." Yuugi said.
"Nope. Atemu would have yelled for me to get lost. Ladies first." Yami said.
"Yami, don't patronize me." Yuugi said. She opened the door and walked in only to have water splash down on her, soaking her from heard to toe.
Yami starred wide-eyed at her.
There were sounds of laughter.
Yuugi looked up, anger written in her eyes to see Heba, Jou, and Malik laughing themselves senseless.
"Uh-oh." Bakura muttered,
"Heba! Jou! Malik!" Yuugi growled.
The three named stopped laughing and froze when they saw a drenched Yuugi.
"Yu-Yuugi. What are you do-doing here?" Heba asked.
"Yami and I were coming to talk." Yuugi said, advancing.
"Yuugi, you're wearing the scarab necklace!" Atemu exclaimed.
"Yes, but I believe when I'll lose it when I'm in the dungeons." Yuugi said.
"For what?" Seth asked.
"Murder." Yuugi said, lunging at the three.
Heba, Jou, and Malik scrambled behind their respective lovers.
"It was a joke." Jou said.
"A joke? Jou, I am soaked completely!" Yuugi shouted.
Atemu, Marik, and Seth moved aside and pushed their lovers toward Yuugi.
"Hey!" all three exclaimed.
"We told you not to do it, but you insisted." Atemu said.
Yami watched Yuugi. 'Hmm. Yuugi looks rather arousing when completely wet. I'll have to remember that for later.' Yami thought, smirking mentally.
"Yuugi, I am really sorry. We didn't mean for that to happen to you." Heba said.
"No. It sounded like it was meant for me." Yami said, stepping forward.
"Well, we thought it would be a fun joke." Malik said.
"Fun?!" Yuugi shouted. She would have strangled him had Marik not pulled Malik back and Yami not wrapped his arms around Yuugi to stop her from killing her cousin.
"Yuugi, you'll regret it later." Yami said.
"No, I won't. Let me go." Yuugi retorted.
"What happened?!"
Everyone turned to find a wide-eyed Eternias, Yue, Isis, and Mahado standing there.
"These three thought they would play a prank on Yami by making water fall on him when he walked in. Yuugi got it instead." Atemu said.
"Isis, could you take Yuugi to her room so she can get dried and change?" Yami asked.
"Of course. Come with me, Yuugi." Isis said. She led a still angry Yuugi out of the room.
"I suggest you make yourselves scarce when she gets back." Yami said.
"Nah. Yuug will calm down and then get revenge on us later. That's what she always did." Jou said.
"By the way, was it my imagination, or was Yuugi wearing the scarab necklace?" Mahado asked.
"Yes. I gave Yuugi the necklace today." Yami said.
"Good. I guess the council has nothing to worry about then." Eternias said.
"No. They don't." Yami replied.
"What's with the necklace?" Ryou asked, sitting on Bakura's lap.
"The scarab necklace is always given to the Crown Prince. When Yami became the Crown Prince, I gave it to him. When Yami's courting someone, he gives the woman the scarab necklace as proof of that. With it, she becomes protected under the same laws that protect the Royal family, so no one can touch her." Atemu explained.
"You and Yuugi are together?" Yue asked.
Yami nodded. "Marik. Bakura. Before you say anything, I have no intentions of hurting Yuugi, and if I do, then you have my full permission to hit me." Yami said.
"Good. I'll hold you to that." Bakura said.
Yami sighed. "I had a feeling that you would." Yami said.
"When did you get together?" Heba asked curiously.
"The night of the ball, but we could never tell anyone with what happened with Mia. Yuugi and I think that Mia might have saw us kissing the next day, and that's why she attacked Yuugi." Yami said.
"Well, at least we know that the council will be off your back about starting to look for someone." Seth said with a smirk.
"Seth, shut up." Yami said.
In her room, Yuugi had gotten out of her wet clothes, dried off, and put on a pink dress like the others one although this one had a bit of lace around the hem of the dress and the sleeves.
"Yuugi, when did Yami give you the scarab necklace?" Isis asked.
Yuugi blushed. "Today." Yuugi answered.
"At least the council will be happy." Isis said.
"Yes. The Pharaoh and the Queen told us about that. The Pharaoh said he wasn't worried because he already knew we were together." Yuugi said.
Isis smiled. "Yes. I know. I had a feeling you were the morning after the ball." Isis said.
Yuugi smiled. "Yami's happy that I accepted. I also met Hasina. I think she was suspicious at first." Yuugi said.
"Hasina has always been protective of them. I'm sure she'll end up liking you." Isis said.
"I'm glad you think so." Yuugi said.
"Hasina just doesn't want Yami to end up being with someone like Mia." Isis said.
"I wouldn't either." Yuugi said.
"Tell me. Do you love Yami?" Isis asked.
Yuugi smiled. "Yes. I'll admit that he's handsome, but he's more than that. Yami's smart, strong, and he's great at games. He makes me laugh a lot. He's sweet to me, too. I love him very much." Yuugi said.
"I thought so. Yami deserves someone that will love him for who he is, not what he can give them." Isis said.
"Isis, I have never cared about my title. It means little to me. Wealth isn't an issue, either. I don't need it. I'm just glad that Yami loves me for me. Most of the suitors I have had just wanted the wealth, status, or sex. None cared about me." Yuugi said.
"Then Yami will make you very happy. Come let's rejoin them." Isis said.
"At least we don't have to get you two together." Jou said.
"Yes. We heard that you were planning to do that." Yuugi said.
"I can't believe you're together. We didn't think that you would ever get there on your own." Mana said.
"It took a little time to get there, but we did." Yami said.
"You do know that the council will have to be told and then the kingdom." Eternias said.
"Eternias, let them enjoy their relationship for now." Yue scolded.
"We're actually planning that soon. I think Father wants the council off his back about this." Yami said.
"I guess the kingdom will know pretty soon." Atemu said.
"Yes. The council should be happy with this." Yami said.
"Oh. I think they will." Atemu said.
"That won't be for a few days, though. I think the whole palace will know before long." Yami said.
By dinnertime, the entire palace was abuzz about the fact that the Crown Prince was courting the lady of the Mutou house.
Just a few things. Hasina will cause no problems. She's just concerned about Yami and Atemu's well-being. The guard wasn't going to hurt Yuugi. He knew what the scarab was meant for and thought it had been stolen. He was doing his job, nothing else. It wasn't meant as anything to hurt Yuugi.
The next chapter will be about telling the council and the kingdom that Yami and Yuugi are together.
R&R.