Chapter 26- Apologies and Announcements
Yami, Yuugi, and Mana made their way back to the palace from the Mutou house.
"How do you think that Heba and the others will react to the fact that you did come back, Yuugi?" Mana asked.
"I honestly don't know, Mana, but I hope that they have learned their lesson. I really don't want to have to go through this much more." Yuugi said.
"If they haven't, then I swear that I am going to kill them all myself." Yami said.
"I wouldn't worry about that too much, Yami. If I know Heba, by now, he's gone over all the possibilities of how things can turn out that he's driven himself almost crazy." Yuugi said.
"And driven Atemu crazy right along with him." Yami remarked.
"Okay. Yuugi could come back. I mean, she's in love with Yami, and she's not going to just up and leave him." Heba said as he paced his room.
Atemu shook his head and then returned to reading his book.
"Of course, Yuugi could be angry enough at us that she's not going to come back and might never back to see us again." Heba said.
Atemu let out a sigh.
"Than again, Yuugi's never been one to hold onto a grudge for that long. I'm sure that she didn't mean that she'd stay away. She just needs some time to cool off." Heba said as he continued his pacing.
Atemu's grip on his book tightened. He was getting really irritated about how Heba kept going on about the possible outcomes of his situation with Yuugi.
"On the other hand, we did make Yuugi really upset, and there's a chance that she's not going to want to come back. In fact, she might not ever want to see us another day of her life." Heba said.
Atemu was trying to block out Heba's incessant babbling, but it wasn't working.
"Of course, Yuugi thinks highly of family and wouldn't want to chance losing her relationship with any member of her family." Heba stated. He thought and then said, "Yuugi also was really upset and might decide that she doesn't want to hold family ties to us because of how many pranks we pulled on her and how we made her feel."
Atemu slammed his book down and said, "Heba, that's enough!"
Heba jumped and stopped his pacing to turn and look at Atemu. "What?!" Heba exclaimed.
"Heba, you are driving me crazy going through all these possibilities. Can you please just stop it?" Atemu said.
"I'm sorry, Atemu, but it's driving me crazy not knowing what she's going to do. For all I know, Yami and Mana could come back without Yuugi, and it would be my fault that she didn't want to come back. I could have really destroyed my relationship with my sister." Heba said.
Atemu sighed in frustration. "Heba, there is no reason to worry about something that hasn't happened yet. Yes, it is possible that Yuugi won't come back, but I think that what she really needed was to get away for a little while. I think that being gone for a week will have helped her, and if she doesn't come back, then we'll deal with it when we know." Atemu said.
"Atemu, it is about to drive me insane thinking that Yuugi might not come back just because of my actions." Heba said.
"Heba, if she doesn't come back, then you're going to go there and talk to her. That is if you survive my brother's wrath." Atemu said.
Heba gulped. "Please don't remind me about that." Heba said.
"Well, it's something that you are going to have to think about because he is probably the first person that is going to be coming to talk to you, and I don't think that he's going to be very lenient about this whole dilemma." Atemu said.
"Hey! There's the palace." Mana said.
"Good. It's nice to be back home." Yami said.
"Yes. Now let's just hope that my brother and my cousins have learned their lesson and will stop with all the pranks that they have been playing lately." Yami said.
"Well, if they haven't then you'll just kill them, Yami." Mana said.
"She makes a good point, Yami. You did say that you would kill them." Yuugi agreed.
"And I will keep to that promise. They did go a bit too far with all of these pranks that they have been playing." Yami replied.
The group arrived at the front gates to the palace.
Upon seeing the Crown Prince, the guards immediately opened the gates and allowed the three back inside the palace walls.
The three reached the front steps to the palace and dismounted from their horses.
Servants came up and took their things back to their rooms, and stable boys came to get the horses and take them back to the stables.
Yami, Yuugi, and Mana walked up the stairs and into the palace where they were greeted by Aknankanon and Amara.
"I'm glad to see that you have arrived safely." Aknankanon said.
"Yes. We didn't have any trouble on the journey there or on the journey back, Father." Yami assured him. "Good." Aknankanon said.
"Did you have a pleasant visit?' Amara asked.
"Yes, we did. Grandfather was surprised by the sudden visit, but he was glad to see us. He was also thrilled with our news." Yuugi said.
"Doe she know what you were doing?" Aknankanon asked.
"Yes. He always said that Heba's, Jou's, and Malik's prankish nature would get them into trouble one day. He's just said that it's finally gotten them into trouble." Yuugi replied.
"Well, I am certain that you are tired from your journey. You should all go rest and relax." Aknankanon told them.
"Yes. I think that that would be the best thing for us." Yami agreed.
Yami, Yuugi, and Mana headed toward their rooms.
"I'd better go let Master Mahado know that I'm back." Mana said before she ran off.
"Is Mahado that strict with her?" Yuugi asked.
"He has to be considering Mana's tendency to run off and skip class or training every time he turns around." Yami answered. He chuckled and said, "Of course, it's been easier for her to get away with it since Isis has been pregnant. Mahado worries about her more than he's worried about Mana's training."
"Well, I'm sure that he still doesn't let Mana get away with skipping even if he is more worried about Isis." Yuugi said.
"Yeah. She gets a good lecture every time Mana manages to sneak out of her class or training." Yami agreed.
They reached the hall that their rooms were on.
"I'll see you in a little bit." Yami said.
"Well, I'm sure that I'll be hearing from Heba before we've been here an hour." Yuugi said.
"Would you like to place a bet on that?" Yami asked.
"Sure. What would you wager?" Yuugi asked.
"I say that whoever wins chooses who helps Father plan the ball to celebrate our engagement." Yami said.
"Okay. I accept. I say Heba and the others will be here in less than hour." Yuugi said.
"I say it'll be more than an hour." Yami said. He smirked and said, "I don't think I'll lose."
"Yami, I believe that you have forgotten when Heba and I won the bet of when Jou would convince Seth to go with a bigger wedding." Yuugi said. She flashed Yami an innocent smile before she scurried into her room.
Yami's mouth was hanging open as he realized what he's just done. "Damn it! I just set myself up for it big time." Yami muttered before he went to his room.
Yuugi had bathed and changed into clean clothes. She stretched before she went into her room and sat down. "It was nice to visit Grandfather, but it's just as nice to be home again." Yuugi said. She reached over and opened her drawer and took out her diary and started to write in it.
Day 258
Yami, Mana, and I just got back from visiting Grandfather. He was surprised, but happy to see us. He was very excited about the fact that Yami and I are now engaged. I thought that he would be happy to hear that. It was nice to get away from the palace for a while, but I see the palace as my home now, so it's good to be back. Yami and I have a bet on. I think that Heba and the others will be here in less than an hour. Yami thinks that it'll be longer. Whoever wins the bet decides who helps the Pharaoh with the plans for the ball. Yami doesn't know my brother and cousins as well as I do, so I think that I will be the one that wins this bet. Yami forgot that I've won bets against him in the past. I mentioned that before I came into my room, and I think that he realized that he had just walked into a losing bet.
A knock on the door halted Yuugi's thoughts. She smiled and closed her diary and put it up before she got up and answered the door.
Heba, Jou, Malik, Bakura, Marik, and Ryou were outside of her door.
'Record time.' Yuugi thought.
"Um, hi, Yuugi. We heard that you were back." Heba said.
"Yes, I am. Yami, Mana, and I got back just a little bit ago." Yuugi answered.
"Could we talk to you?" Jou asked.
"Yes. Come on in." Yuugi said. She stepped aside so that the six could walk into the room. Yuugi closed the door and turned to face them.
"Yuugi, we are really sorry!" Heba said.
"Yeah. We didn't mean to make you that upset when we were playing all those pranks on you. We honestly didn't think that it bothered you that much." Jou added.
"We knew that you were irritated by them, but we didn't think that it would upset you enough to make you want to leave." Malik added.
"Yeah. Sorry about that, Yuugi. I shouldn't have opened my big mouth and suggested it." Marik put in.
"And I shouldn't have helped them set it all up. Sorry about it all." Bakura put in.
"So, are you going to play pranks anymore?" Yuugi asked.
"Well, I can't say that we won't ever play pranks anymore, but we're not going to play them as much. Maybe every once in a while, but not constantly like we have been." Heba agreed.
"Well, I can live with that, I suppose. I would rather not be the one that the prank was played on, but as long as you don't play them every time I turn around, I can live with that, but if it gets out of hand again, I think that Yami will kill you all." Yuugi said.
"So, you forgive us?" Heba asked.
"Yes, I do." Yuugi said.
The next thing Yuugi knew, she was in a bone crushing hug by all five of them.
"Oh, thank you, Yuugi! You don't know how crazy we've been driving ourselves." Jou said.
"Yeah. We didn't know if you were going to come back or not." Heba added.
"Guys-air." Yuugi gasped out.
"Sorry." all five said as they finally let go of Yuugi, who was struggling to breathe.
"All right. I suppose that I should tell you all the truth now." Yuugi said.
"What truth?" Malik asked.
"When Yami, Mana, and I left, I intended to come back with them." Yuugi said.
"You mean we've been driving ourselves crazy for nothing!" Bakura exclaimed.
"No. At first, I had thought about not coming back and just staying with Grandfather. I changed my mind on that before we left, though." Yuugi said.
"What changed your mind?" Ryou asked.
Yuugi smiled and took out the ring that Yami had given her.
Heba gasped and exclaimed, "Yami asked you to marry him?!"
Yuugi nodded. "That's why I decided that I would stay regardless. I went to tell Grandfather about being engaged, and I hoped that you would all realize that your pranks can cause more trouble than you intend to." Yuugi said.
"So, you were trying to teach us a lesson?" Marik asked.
Yuugi nodded.
"Well, I think you've succeeded. I nearly drive Atemu nuts going through all of the possible outcomes of all this." Heba said.
"I think that Seth wanted to kill me with how I was going on." Jou added.
Yuugi smiled at them. "Then I hope that you don't play pranks on me like you used to because Yami has assured me that if you play anymore pranks on me that is going to kill you all, and I don't think that he was joking by all this." Yuugi said.
There was a knock on the door then.
"Speaking of whom, I'm guessing that that is Yami now." Yuugi said. She walked over and opened the door and, sure enough, Yami was the one at the door.
Yami saw Heba and the others and said, "Sorry. I didn't know that you all were talking."
"No. It's okay, Yami. I think that we have everything sorted out." Yuugi told him, motioning for her fiancé to come in.
Yami did as Yuugi said and came on into the room. "What all have you gotten sorted out?" Yami asked.
"That we were all a bunch of idiots for playing all those pranks on Yuugi, and that if we do it anymore, you're going to kill us." Heba answered.
"Good. I'm glad that you all understand I will kill you if you make Yuugi miserable anymore." Yami said.
"We do, and if we do anything that makes Yuugi that upset again, then go ahead and kill us." Heba said.
"Don't tell him that. He'll actually do it." Bakura said.
"Yes, I will." Yami retorted.
"Just as long as you remember that Bakura and I will kill you if you do anything to hurt Yuugi since you two are getting married now." Marik said.
"I don't plan on it, Marik, and you should if I do anything to hurt her." Yami replied.
Yuugi shook her head. 'I think that I need to hang out with my female friends more.' Yuugi thought.
"Anyway, I guess that we had better be going. We'll see you two after while." Jou said.
Bakura and Marik quickly made their way out of the room. Malik, Jou, Ryou, and Heba followed as they gave Yuugi and Yami their heartfelt congratulations.
"Well, I guess that they did learn their lesson after all." Yami said.
"Yes, they did, and you lost the bet." Yuugi said.
"Damn. I had hoped that you forgot about that." Yami said.
Yuugi smiled at him. "Yami, you need to remember that these people are members of family, and I know them better than you think, and any bets made about how they act I will most-likely win." Yuugi said.
"Yeah. I remembered that after we made the bet." Yami said.
"I thought that you had. Anyway, since you were the one that lost the bet, I get to decide who's going to help the Pharaoh plan the ball." Yuugi said.
Yami sat down on the bed. "I have a feeling that I am going to regret asking this, but who is going to help Father with that? He's going to want to know pretty soon." Yami told her/
"Well, you can tell him that both of us will help him with it." Yuugi answered.
"What?!" Yami exclaimed.
"That's right. I want to help plan this, but I'm not letting you get out of this, Yami. You're going to help us whether you want to or not." Yuugi said.
Yami glared playfully at Yuugi. "That's not fair in the least, Yuugi." Yami said.
"Yes, it is. The wager was that the one who won chose who would help the Pharaoh plan the ball, and I say that we both help him plan it." Yuugi said.
"Fine. I guess I don't have much of a choice." Yami said.
"No, you don't." Yuugi agreed as she down beside Yami on the bed.
"And just so you know, Father is planning to tell the council later today about our engagement, so you'll need to be there." Yami said.
"Oh. Okay." Yuugi agreed.
"Are you okay with everyone knowing?" Yami asked.
"Well, I don't think that I have much of choice in the matter at the moment. It'll be fine." Yuugi said.
"No. You really don't." Yami agreed.
Yuugi sighed. "How long have you known about this meeting?" Yuugi asked.
"Honestly?" Yami asked.
"Yes. Honestly." Yuugi clarified.
"Since the day we left to go see your grandfather." Yami answered.
"You knew that long and didn't tell me?!" Yuugi exclaimed.
Yami jumped. "Yes." Yuugi glared.
"Yami, I am going to kill you for not telling me sooner!" Yuugi shouted, lunging at him.
Yami dove off of the bed and turned to face her.
"Yuugi, calm down. The only reason that I did not tell you is because I didn't want you worrying about that meeting while we were with your grandfather. I just wanted you to enjoy your time with your grandfather." Yami said.
Yuugi narrowed her eyes. "Did it ever cross your mind to tell me about this meeting when we were returning to the palace today?" Yuugi asked.
"Truthfully, no." Yami answered.
Yuugi took a deep breathe to calm herself down.
"All right. When is the meeting?" Yuugi asked.
"In an hour." Yami answered.
"In that case, get out." Yuugi said.
Yami looked slightly afraid. "Are you angry at me?" Yami asked.
Yuugi sighed. "No. I am going to go ahead and get ready for the meeting, and I don't want you in here when I do." Yuugi said.
Yami pouted. "You're no fun." Yami said.
"No. I'm not. You don't get the privilege to see me like that until our wedding night." Yuugi said.
"Fine." Yami said. He started for the door. With his hand on the knob, he turned around and said, "Yuugi, there's no need to for you to wear the scarab necklace to the meeting. Just make sure that you wear the ring." Yami said.
"What do I do with the scarab necklace then?" Yuugi asked.
"We'll need to put it up and keep it safe until we have a son, and he'll be given the scarab for when he's looking for a queen." Yami answered.
Yuugi nodded, and Yami left.
About ten minutes before the meeting was supposed to be, Yami went to Yuugi's door. He knocked on the door, and Yuugi opened the door a moment later. Yami's jaw dropped at the sight of Yuugi.
Yuugi was wearing a light green dress with the sleeves to the middle of her upper arm like always, and the dress had a darker green lace with different pattern strewn throughout. Yuugi was also wearing the ring that Yami had given her when he proposed to her.
Yuugi rolled her eyes and shut Yami's mouth with her hand. "You are going to have to stop doing that, Yami." Yuugi said.
"I can't help it. You have that effect on me." Yami said.
"Let's go." Yuugi said as she grabbed Yami by the arm and started to pull him down the hallway.
"Eager, are we?" Yami asked.
"I just want to get this over with." Yuugi answered.
The two made their way down the hall and toward the throne room.
Omar, the head of the council, just go through telling Aknankanon and the priests what was going on in the kingdom. "That is all that we have to report, my king." Omar said.
"Thank you, Omar. There is one last piece of business that must be attended to, then." Aknankanon said.
A few of the priests knew what is was, but a few of the priests and the entire council did not know what this other piece of business was about. They all waited patiently to hear what this other business was.
Aknankanon nodded to Yami, who understood that he was to take over.
Yami stood up and motioned Yuugi over to him. Once she was there, Yami said, "I wanted to inform the council and the priests that Lady Yuugi and I are now engaged to be married."
It was a welcomed surprise.
"This is indeed a joyous time for Egypt then." Omar said.
"The plans for the celebration ball are already in progress. The ball will be held at the end of next week." Aknankanon said.
"Very good, my Pharaoh. I am certain that the people of Egypt will happy to hear this news." Omar said.
'Yeah, but you're more happy about it.' Yami thought. He didn't blame the council because they were looking after Egypt's best interest.
Once the announcement of Yuugi and Yami's engagement was a announced to the people of Egypt, they were very happy to hear that their new queen would be someone that they knew would treat them right and would look after the good of the kingship and not try to take control.
The gods seemed to be smiling on the great kingdom Egypt.
I hoped you liked the trick played on Heba and the others.
The next chapter will be about the ball celebrating Yuugi and Yami's engagement.
R&R.