A/N: Hello my beautiful people. I know it's been a year, or just a little less than a year since I have posted, but here is a new chapter...FINALLY! It's a bit short, but I hope you like it anyway.

R&R

X-X-X-X

Things were going well, perhaps too well, because at the fortnight of Kaiba and Joey's conciliation news of the Kaiba kingdom entering their land arrived. The two had been having a private conversation over the dinner table. Their eyebrows had been doing most of the talking, when "the Kaiba prince is due here soon" penetrated their conversation.

Joey was slammed back to reality with those words. "What?!"

Serenity was stopped silent with Joey's outburst. She slightly tilted her head. "What, what?"

"The Kaiba prince?"

"Joey, the letter arrived about a week ago. I told you when the letter arrived. I couldn't very well reject the kingdom you will soon be married into."

Joey distinctly remembers Serenity talking about a kingdom asking to visit, but Joey had made plans with Kaiba, that he was already late to, so he readily agreed to the letter without thought. Joey made a note to himself that he would get around to reading the letter.

Doom dawned on him that the only letter he had not bothered with, turned out to be the one that mattered the most. It had perhaps been unconsciously on purpose, because he didn't want to think of no longer being able to be held by Kaiba.

He surreptitiously looked over to see what Kaiba's reaction had been to the news. Joey saw as what looked like panic filter through the soldier's eyes, before they shuttered shut. It was uncanny how his face just seemed to shut off then resumed to act as if nothing was wrong.

This scared Joey. He reached out to link hands with Kaiba, mostly to ease the pressure that had begun to build in his chest. Feeling Kaiba squeeze his hand in reassurance and eased a bit of that pressure.

That night the two made love like it was their last time, because if what Serenity said was true, this was the last time.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Joey and Kaiba waited with held breathes as the flags of the Kaiba kingdom slowly marched towards them. The announcement of their arrival had jerked the couple from their warm cocoon and had thrown them to the hard cold realities of the present.

Joey understood that his time of selfishness had ended, but he had started falling in love, and had given himself to someone he wasn't ready to say goodbye to. Joey knew that even if he were to ever feel affection towards King Seto, Kaiba would always hold his heart. It was a sappy and overly dramatic thought, but nonetheless true. Blindly Joey sought for Kaiba's hand. Once found, Joey grasped it and held on to it tightly.

While Joey's head was full of dread, Seto's feelings and thoughts were conflicting. He was just as jarred out of his dream like state, when they heard about the troops. He just didn't know why Mookie was approaching. Thoughts of the kingdom being under siege, Mookie being sick, the crops dying, turned in his mind. Another part of his mind seethed that they would dare interrupt his time with Joey. He wanted more days to wake up next to the blonde, he wanted to see the shy smile that spread across his face when they woke up tangled in each other, he wanted to not be king a few more days. While another panicked, would Mookie give his position away?, why hadn't he told Joey who he was?, did it even matter now?, Would Mookie be ok with this? Kaiba felt Joey's smooth hand slide into his, it dulled out the ranging wars in his head. Kaiba intertwined their fingers together, and held on to Joey's hand like a lifeline.

It wasn't long before, Joey had to dislodge their fingers to properly great the visitors. He and Serenity stood at the castle entrance waiting for the man leading the knights to take off his hamlet and climb the steps. This would be his future husband. The man was not ugly, but he did not have Kaiba's blue eyes, nor did he have Kaiba's dominating aura, or his unsmiling face. This man was tall and lanky with warm hazel eyes that shown with innocence. Perhaps had he met him first, Joey would have fallen in love with him, but King Seto was not Kaiba. The man smiled at Joey as he climbed the steps, two men flanking his sides.

Joey welcomed the group to their kingdom. Just as Joey was going to ask them what business had lead them here, the solider on the king's right looked past Joey towards Kaiba; a look of surprise crossing his face. The soldiers quickly left the king's side and kneeled in front of Kaiba, saying "your highness"

All of Joey's blood rushed to the pit of his stomach. Bile rose to his mouth. The man that he had thought himself in love with had been the one person he had been dreading to marry. Kaiba had been his, h had bared himself to his soldier. His heart began pounding in his ears. Kaiba had lied to him. Had continued lying to him even after Joey had confessed himself. Why? The only answer his traitorous mind could come up with was because Kaiba liked him well enough but not enough to marry him. Maybe it was well enough since he had broken the binds of the contract when he gave himself to Kaiba.

The contract!

That's what all this was about. Of course, why would anyone have fallen in love with him. Kaiba had spoken of a 'secret mission,' this was exactly what he had set out to do. Kaiba the Soilder of course the name was going to be ridiculous! His father always did say he was stupid. Joey had never believed him, not until this exact moment. Rage and shame swallowed his heartbreak.

The pale wide eyed look that Joey was giving him the moment he realized exactly who he was, immediately made him regret that he hadn't said anything to Joey earlier. Joey would have understood! His heart broke watching all the emotions fleet across Joey's face. He wanted to get on his knees, plead for forgiveness, but a lifetime of controlling his emotions was hard to break; especially in front of his people.

While he fought within himself as to what he could to do remedy his mistake, Joey stepped in front of him.

"I guess you got what you came for, your Grace. The contract between your kingdom and mine is null. Congratulations, you may now leave my land." Standing before him was not Joe. This was the prince of a kingdom. The look of a man that would one day be ruler. His words left Seto feeling cold and hot within. Joey thought, and guessed correctly, that his 'mission' was about breaking the marriage contract.

He wanted to say, that the marriage contract be damned, he wanted to marry Joey not for convenience, but because he couldn't see himself waking up every morning without Joey. Couldn't fathom a life without him, even if they had only known each other two moon cycles. Except when he opened his mouth, "You and I both knew that your kingdom had far more to gain from this marriage, it should not surprise you that I would want a better prospect for my land than to be united with a kingdom who's king has drunk it to the bottom" came out.

Joey's eyes became glassy, his breath stuttered, his nose flared; Joey was on the verge of a breakdown. Kaiba's insides twisted, he instantly regretted what came out. That's not what he had wanted to say, damn it! What was wrong with him?

"If that is the way you feel of our land, I pray that you leave within the hour. Your men have not unpacked, they can turn and come back from the your precious kingdom. I will also advise that your carriers not use our lands as a cut through to other lands, as we no longer have a reason to be on friendly terms." Serenity's eyes blazed with anger, and disappointment. Her voice was like a blade, made of steel and cutting straight at her opponent. Her words rang clear with warning. His soldiers would be maimed or killed if they set foot within the Wheeler kingdom again. This was the reason why she would inherit the kingdom.

Kaiba nodded his consent, and walked out of the castle, down the steps and onto a horse one of his men had readied for him. He turned the horse and left, without a backwards glance.

Joey held his head high until they could no longer see the flags of the Kaiba Kingdom.

Serenity tried to hug Joey, but he just extricated from her arms, and silently walked back inside. Joey wanted to scream, to yell, cry; throw a tantrum for the cruelty of life, but he knew that would not change anything so he swallowed his pain and tried to move on. And if at night he cried himself to sleep, well that was between himself and his bed.

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No matter how many times Mokuba tried to broach the subject of the Wheeler kingdom with Seto, Seto would completely shut him out. It hurt to have his brother do that, especially after not having seen each other for such a long time. Seto had set out to break the contract with said kingdom, so why was Seto upset?

While Mokuba asked himself what was wrong with his brother, Seto could not stop replaying the last few moments with Joey; wishing he had told him the truth. They had woken up happy Joey had been smiling up at him with love in his eyes. It hurt him, but if life had taught him something, it was that his subjects came before his feelings and he knew that no matter what the Wheeler kingdom was never going to be a good match for his.

Having heard that the contract was broken, Seto's advisors began scouting for "real potential brides" for Seto. He had both men and women paraded in front of him, but none of them where blond enough, had the right shade of brown eyes, weren't loud or obnoxious enough, none were kind to the servants, none skipped over words when their emotions got the best of them; none where Jou. Seto knew that he shouldn't look for his replacement, but every time someone came to the door, he was disappointed that it wasn't him.

Whenever he heard n passing of the Wheeler kingdom, he couldn't help listening in, hoping that they'd mention the prince. Seto just needed to know how he was doing. Was he hurting? Was he happy? Was he newly betrothed? But no one ever talked about the prince, they talked of Serenity and the King, but never of the beautiful amber eyed prince. Perhaps they did it out of consideration for him, but it irked him more that he had no news of Joey.

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Word of the broken engagement traveled fast, far and wide. It was during a game of cards that King Wheeler found out from third parties, that his son had broken off the contract between their kingdom and the Kaiba kingdom. He saw red, but instead of showing his anger, he acted as if he knew about this telling everyone that they had not broken off the engagement so much as they wanted to 'get to know one another.' "You know this new generation swears that there should be romance in a marriage. Pssh marriage is to bring great things together." Some of the other men didn't quite believe the fib, but how could they call out a bluff like that?

That knight King Wheeler headed home, rage fueling his every step home.