A/N: Um…. sorry for the long wait?

…………….oooooooooooo……………

Yuugi lay sprawled on his stomach, eyes fixed on the golden hourglass, and ears tuned to the minutest sounds coming from outside his bedroom. Ever since Anzu had dragged him kicking and screaming from the throne room and locked him in there, he'd gone through bouts of dreamless drowsiness and moments of intense anxiety. His earlier protests against being incarcerated as well as his attempts at kicking down the door had fallen on (Anzu's) deaf ears and he'd decided to sleep it off rather than actually wait for his father to come for him. After all, Yuugi thought, why just sit there and be bored?

The crashes and explosions had long ago stopped, blanketing the palace in an eerie silence. Yuugi wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not. The sounds of his father and Bakura's battle terrified him yet the silence made him feel worse. What had happened? Was Bakura finally beaten? If so, why hadn't the pharaoh come for him yet? Everyone in the palace from noble to slave had scurried off in fear, hiding themselves in any nook and cranny they could find and leaving their young prince forgotten.

The toddler curled into a foetal position, straining to hear anything from beyond the bedroom door. He shivered from fear of being alone and abandoned and tried to seek security by burrowing into his blanket and mass of pillows. He stifled a whimper as he thought back to Bakura's hideous Ka and the pained and frightened expression on his father's face as he held the boy close. It was all he could do to grip his blanket tightly and wait.

The door slowly creaked open, causing Yuugi's spiky head to jerk up in surprise. He sunk deeper into his make-shift nest as an unfamiliar blond head poked through the door. The person, most likely a servant, was no more than a child. He kept his face the ground and carried with him a brush and a large bowl of water. Paying no attention to the prince, he dropped to his knees and began silently scrubbing the floor. Seeing as the boy seemed harmless, Yuugi emerged from hiding and crept to the edge of his bed, watching curiously.

Without a word, the blond made his way around the room, occasionally stopping to stretch and rub his arm. He'd avoided eye contact with the prince no matter how hard Yuugi tried to catch his attention but occasionally glanced around the eloquently furnished room with awe (while keeping his back to the now frustrated toddler). It didn't matter to him that the boy was a complete stranger. Yuugi had been incredibly relieved to have company and desperately wanted to talk to him. He was just too shy to say anything.

"Um…. hello…….," Yuugi said softly, after deciding he couldn't take it anymore.

The blond said nothing and continued to work. Yuugi slid further off the edge of his bed, not wanting to leave it at the moment. He brought his face as close to the other as possible and greeted him again, this time, a bit louder.

Again, the servant said nothing, his attention purposely focused on the oh-so-fascinating palace floor. He was stubborn, almost rude, and Yuugi was pissed.

"My fada's da pharow ya know. You gonna be in big trouble!" The toddler practically screamed, after many more futile attempts.

Dropping the brush and getting on his feet, the blond muttered something under his breath and turned to leave. But before he could take two steps, Yuugi hopped off his bed and scrambled in front of him, coincidentally standing right between him and the door. He looked up at the servant with huge, accusing eyes and, for the first time, noticed the servant was at least a neck and head taller than him (counting his hair, that is). He was not intimidated though, after all, he was the prince.

"Why dun ya talk ta me?" Yuugi pouted, anger and sadness mixed in his voice. His lower lip quivered as if he was about to burst into tears at any moment.

"'Cause I'm not allowed," The servant replied humbly, keeping his gaze on the ground.

"Why?"

"'Cause they said so."

"Why?"

"'Cause I'm a slave."

"Why?"

"'Cause I got no parents."

"Why?"

The blond bit his lip and gripped the hem of his tunic until his knuckles turned white. He had been told he'd be flogged if he spoke or even looked at the annoying shrimp of a prince. If his superiors found out he might have punched the lights out of the little guy, well……..

"What's ur name?"

The blond looked up in surprise and quickly dropped his head. Up to that point he could have gotten away with talking to the prince but if the prince knew his name, there'd be no way to bluff out of it. But his superiors would understand, right? He was, after all, only seven and this was an unusual situation. Sort of. The prince spoke to him first.

"Jou."

Yuugi giggled, "Dat's a funny name, really short and weird and kinda boring."

"Thank you."

"But it's okay, Joo – "

" – Jou…"

"Yeah Jou, I like it and ya look like ur name."

Jou studied the prince for a moment, not caring whether he was allowed to or not. The boy seemed to genuinely mean well and that was okay, even if he was a little strange and totally violated protocol.

"My name's Yuugi, Yoo-gee. My fada's da pharow ya know." Yuugi grinned from ear to ear. He loved saying that very single time.

Jou just had to smile. "That's really neat. Is this whole place your chamber?"

"Yup, wanna see?" Yuugi grabbed Jou's arm and led him around is bedroom, giving a grand tour of all the expensive furnishings and beautiful décor that lined every corner and wall. He pointed out a giant tapestry depicting the creation of the world by the creator god Aten and proudly displayed his knowledge about every detail of it. He knew Jou was impressed by what he knew and made an effort to wrack his brain for as much information as possible.

"Oh, oh, and dis is from Room, it's my favrit. C'mon, Jou it's ova here!" Yuugi bounced happily towards a delicate marble vase with various abstract shapes and designs painted on it. The vase perched on a skilfully carved stand that stood well above Yuugi's head.

"Fada said da Roomans gave it ta him 'cause he was bettah than dem."

Jou made a face.

"Fada gave it ta me 'cause – hey, what was dat?" The prince stopped his little lesson to look at Jou who was clutching his stomach and blushing madly.

"Sorry, prince, I…. hehe…. I just got nothing to eat in a couple of days and yeah…" Jou turned away in embarrassment, hoping Yuugi wouldn't make a big deal out of it.

" K, lets get something ta eat!" Yuugi hadn't noticed it before, but he'd been in his bedroom for a long time and he was famished. And now, since Jou was his friend and all, it wouldn't be so bad to find the older boy some food as well. After all, he was the prince, and he was allowed to go anywhere he wanted.

"But… But…" Jou stammered.

"Aww, c'mon." Yuugi forcefully tugged Jou towards the door, "I dunno where to get food but we got lots."

"But prince, I'm a slave; I don't eat when I want to." Jou made an effort to resist Yuugi but was afraid to hurt the younger boy. Yuugi seemed to be very adamant on getting him into trouble.

"Dat's what Anzu says too, but people said dat's only 'cause she wants ta be skinny and dat's it, 'cause fada told me she could eat wheneva but she didn want ta 'cause, I dunno, she said she didn't wanna. C'mon Jou, I think it's dat way. Dun worry, we got lots."

Yuugi ignored Jou's protest and continued to drag him along; oblivious to the fact that Jou's cheeks were still as scarlet as before. The boys left the room, bowl and brush forgotten as well as the fact that there was still unrest within the palace.

…………….oooooooooooo……………

"Master Shimon, please tell us what happened."

"I'm afraid there is nothing I can tell you. As soon as they entered the shadow realm, I lost contact with the pharaoh." The last few words came out in a whisper as Shimon stared down dejectedly at the shattered remains of the single most important treasure in the entire palace.

In truth, no one knew what happened, and if anyone did, it would have been Shimon. As soon as the pharaoh declared a shadow game, the entire throne room was bathed in an impenetrable, opaque cloud of purplish-blue. The priest had used his remaining strength to try and connect with the pharaoh from the outside world but he was drained from the magical wall he'd earlier erected and Bakura still had plenty of strength to block him out. Nothing could be seen or heard from within the shadow realm and when the clouds finally lifted, all that remained was a beat-up Millennium Ring and the pieces of what used to be the Millennium Puzzle.

Stricken, Shimon sought the highest nobles and the remaining priests for help. They were no more able to deal with the situation than he was. All they were able to do with crowd around the pharaoh's puzzle and take turns coming up with theories as to what could have happened. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that they were in a dire situation.

"If the pharaoh lost the duel, than where is the thief?" the High Priest, Seto, growled, glaring down intimidating at a stout noble by the name of Bato. He wasn't the first to suggest the idea and Seto was sick of hearing it for the fifth time.

"W-well, um, it c-could be that um-m-m…." Bato stammered, the flab on his lower chin jiggling and sweat pouring from his brow, as the High Priest's icy blue eyes drew closer to his. He withdrew quickly from "under" Seto's gaze and began mopping his face with a cloth. "I w-withdraw that comment," he replied quickly, scooting to hide behind one of the other nobles.

Shimon shot a warning glance at the Seto and sighed. He examined the expressions of the group, looking for anyone who might have come up with the answer. His own mind was still numb from the shock.

"I may have the answer," a noble by the name of Amar perked up after a long and pensive silence, "Perhaps the two "moved" to a different location taking the shadow realm with th-"

"-and they are in a pleasure slaves' quarters right now, in the ball that is the shadow realm which is probably hovering above the girl's nude body," Seto spat sarcastically, attempting to control his urge to strangle the bald man, "Gods, do you fools do nothing all day but gorge yourselves and indulge in women? I wouldn't be surprised since your brains seem to be saturated with the fat from yesterday's roast!"

"That is enough Seto." Shimon said gently, trying to calm the priest's rage but that only further annoyed the man.

"Look, Shimon, I don't even know why these "nobles" are here. They know nothing of the shadow realm and pretend to do so by making up ridiculous stories, expecting to impress us," he pointed an accusing finger at Amar, who surprisingly stood his ground better than Bato had.

"We need all the help we can get." Shimon replied.

"Help is only useful when the ones helping are actually helpful. 'Maybe they moved, taking the shadow realm with them,' do you consider that help? Do you?" Seto had lost interest in the nobles now, baffled by the idea that Shimon could be so blind.

"It was only a suggestion-"

"Well it was a bad one and us wasting our time on their 'suggestions' is pointless. We need real answers from those who actually know what they're talking about." the priest had his back turned to the group; unaware that they were flushed with rage. A third man had begun to draw a dagger and was hiding it under his cloak.

"Perhaps you are the one that is wasting our time," Shimon looked up at him paternally, his voice cool and seemingly in control.

Seto's words caught in his throat and he clenched his teeth in anger. The man may have been older and in a higher position than he was, but he had no right to speak to him in what Seto interpreted as a disciplinary tone. Shimon always seemed to be against him, even when he knew Seto was right. The man was simply jealous of him, the priest thought..

Seto's resentful silence bothered Shimon but he was grateful that he'd caught the younger man's attention, "Listen to me," he continued, "We are all very upset over what happened but if you take your anger out on others, you'll just make the situation worse for everyone and nothing will be accomplished."

"And what have you done, old man? This entire time, you've been standing silent and letting these idiots come up with ludicrous solutions for you. At least I'm trying to make progress." Seto crossed his arms firmly across his bronze chest and returned Shimon's gentle paternal tone with mockingly stern one of his own.

"And have you made any progress?" Shimon stood his ground.

Seto grinned sardonically, "First I need to get rid of the garbage."

By now Shimon had noticed the increasingly visible dagger peeking out from the noble's robes. He figured Seto was not yet in the position of being in danger so he pressed on, "What garbage do you speak of?"

"The ones that are trying to ambush me with a poorly-fashioned dagger."

The man gasped quietly and quickly replaced the dagger, taking a few steps away from the two priests. The others' faces paled.

Shimon sighed, not in relief or exasperation but out of wiriness, "So what do you suppose we do?"

"Clean up this mess and crown a new pharaoh," Seto replied as if it was common knowledge.

The group collectively gasped, the nobles looking at each other and murmuring. Shimon was appalled at such a blunt and disrespectful answer, "What did you say?"

Seto was not at all surprised by the elder's reaction. Shimon had expected a theory, what Seto did was give a solution, "Is that not what we always do when the pharaoh passes on? Or would you rather we stand idly while the palace and the kingdom slip out of control?"

"The pharaoh may return," Shimon said solemnly, secretly wondering if that was even a possibility.

"I doubt it, and if he does, who is to say that Bakura won't either? It's obvious that neither won the battle and both suffered the same fate. The battered items are more than enough evidence of this." He pointed at the Ring across the room, "I don't know how you people could be so blind. He's not coming back!"

"Who's not coming back?"

The group turned sharply as two little boys appeared in the east entrance, the taller daring not to set foot into the throne room while the shorter bounding at full-speed towards Shimon. He ran straight into the old priest and tugged at his robes, oblivious to the gawking gentlemen, "Simon, Simon, where's fada, he said he'd come but he didn' come. Can't you tell fada to come? I'm hungry and Jou is too."

Shimon looked down at the child, completely speechless. Seto's suggestion immediately came to mind but he brushed it away. It wasn't an appropriate time to bring it up in front of the child. Or was it? "Hush prince, everything will be fine. I'll have Anzu bring you something to eat but right now we are very busy."

Yuugi frowned at Shimon's gentle chiding and didn't like the idea of having to wait any longer. He'd been left alone for long enough, "But I wanna see fada now! Where's fada, Simon, where's fada? I wanna see him now!" Yuugi screamed and tugged harder on the elder's robes, hopping up and down in frustration. Shimon could understand the child's annoyance but he was still a little disappointed at Yuugi's total disregard of his royal position.

After a long, awkward silence in the elders' part, Priest Karim pushed past the crowd and gently kneeled in front of Yuugi, his face turned to the ground in submission, "Hail Pharaoh Aten Yuugi," he said sombrely, "May he live forever."

The rest, save for Shimon, nodded and followed one by one, repeating the same phrase until all of them were prostrated at the little one's feet. As they rose, Yuugi finally noticed the large group of men. And how intimidating they were.

"S-simon, wha'r dey doing?" Yuugi backed shakily away from the men and made an attempt at hiding behind Shimon. But before he could do so, Shimon, took a step to the side, isolating himself from the child. Now was probably the best time for Yuugi to learn to live up to his role and be independent.

Yuugi stared up at him, dumbfounded and deeply hurt. The priest purposefully ignored this and tried to keep his tone as formal as possible, "Hail Pharaoh Aten Yuugi," He said with grave respect, "May he live forever."

"Wha'r you doing?" Yuugi cried, "My fada's da pharow, not me!" His tiny body shook violently of fear and his voice cracked as hot tears slid down his cheeks. He stood alone, in the center of a circle of mostly old and unfamiliar men. All of them looked down at him with disapproving eyes. Even Shimon had abandoned him.

"My Pharaoh," Karim said, "Many things have changed and we need your help."

"No! I dun wanna help!" Yuugi screamed "I want my fada. Where's fada, Simon, I want him now, I want my fada NOW!" He broke into a full-force sob and waited for someone to wipe his eyes and nose but no one moved or even made an attempt at consoling him. This made him cry even harder.

Shimon felt the guilt settle in as he watched the broken child. This was not the way and he knew it from the beginning. "Anzu!" he called, "Please escort the prince to his chamber. He needs rest."

The servant, who'd been just around the corner awaiting orders, quickly rushed in and scooped the whimpering boy into her arms. Yuugi's sobs subsided a little at Shimon's usage of his familiar title and he clung tightly onto Anzu for the comfort he'd been craving. He buried his face in the crook of her shoulder to avoid looking at the priests and nobles as he was being taken away and continued cry softly out of self pity.

"He will understand soon enough," Shimon assured the others as soon as Yuugi and Anzu were out of sight.

"Well, we can't wait for him to grow up," Seto replied sternly and turned to leave the throne room.

The others did the same, leaving the old priest alone. Shimon eyes fell onto the fragments of the Millennium Puzzle and he frowned. Somewhere down the corridors, he could still hear Yuugi's cries.

…………….oooooooooooo……………

Anzu sat on Yuugi's bed, holding the prince 1 tightly and gently rocking him back and forth. The boy had kept up his self pity act for quite some time after they'd left the throne room and no matter what Anzu did, Yuugi had not let up. He'd occasionally stopped to whine about his father before he resumed with the waterworks. Anzu's shoulder was soaked through. She wasn't even sure why he was crying anymore.

"Please, prince, tell me what's wrong." Anzu asked softly, stroking his hair and attempting to un-bury his face from her shoulder.

Yuugi was purposefully unrelenting, completely ignoring her and Anzu's patience grew thin. "Dey, dey hate me, dey all hate me!" he finally slurred after he stopped to catch his breath.

"No they don't, prince, they are just upset because well…."

"No, Dey all hate me and I hate dem too! Dey all like fada and not me cause I'm a child and not da pharow!" His muffled voice was louder this time and Anzu could tell he was forcing himself to cry even harder and therefore earn more pity from her. Humouring him probably wouldn't get her anywhere.

"Are you hungry, prince?" She asked finally.

"No," Was the stubborn reply.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Really? Because you've been in this room for a long time."

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Sorta."

"How about we get you something to eat?" Anzu said cheerfully, "The kitchen has lots of good food. What do you say? How about some roasted lamb?"

The boy stopped crying but refused to lift his head. "Jou's hungry too," he muttered.

Anzu knew who Jou was. The new slave brought over from the south was almost completely untameable and rebellious until he was handed over to the semi-mad Pegas. No one knew what the servant of the High Priest Seto did to the boy, but he'd kept the boy in his possession for ten days and after the ten, the child was completely subservient. No one had outwardly questioned the subject but those who knew about it still fear Pegas and keep a distance from the boy, including Anzu.

"Oh, who's Jou?" She asked good-naturedly.

"He's, um, my friend." Yuugi said shyly.

"Oh really, when did you meet him?" Anzu was trying to kill two birds with one stone. Humour the brat and get some answers.

"Yeah, he came taday to wash da floor and I showed him my chamber and he was hungry so we went ta get some food but I got lost." He turned his head away, remembering what happened after he DID get lost and felt the tears well up in his eyes again. He had even forgotten Jou back at the throne room after he'd gotten upset. Yuugi shifted into a more comfortable position on Anzu's lap.

"I dunno where he is now 'cause I left him back dere…" Yuugi blushed in shame. Anzu was amazed. For once, the little prince wasn't thinking about himself.

"It's alright, prince," she patted his back gently, "I'm sure Jou knows how to get around. Do you think he's really nice?"

"Yeah! Jou's really nice but he doesn' talk much 'cause he said he's not allowed or somethin." Yuugi looked up at Anzu and smiled goofily at her. If he made Jou out to be a really nice person, he thought, than maybe she and his father would let him play with Jou.

"But he's got no friends. He's all alone, like me."

"What about me?" Anzu inquired, "I'm always here for you."

"But it's different 'cause Jou is Jou and you're Anzu…. and a girl." He looked away shyly.

The servant smiled teasingly "What's wrong with girls?"

"Dey are girls and, and dey looked different and yeah…" Yuugi tried to squirm out of Anzu's lap but she held onto him tightly, amused.

"So you like boys better than girls than, prince?"

Yuugi gave her his classical innocent look, "You like boys betah too 'cause when you see fada, you turn really red and you dun do dat when you see girls."

Anzu blushed but also felt a wave of sadness at the mention of the pharaoh. She fell silent, shifting uncomfortably and fiddling with the corner of Yuugi's blanket. "You know I will always be here for you, right prince?" She asked softly.

Yuugi blinked, "Yeah! 'Cause you're Anzu. Did I make you sad 'cause I said I liked Jou?"

"No, prince, you didn't make me sad." She tried to smile but couldn't so she just rubbed his back reassuringly. "You didn't make me sad at all."

"But you're sad now and it's 'cause you're talking ta me." Yuugi pouted, remembering how the elders had treated him and wondering if Anzu was doing the same.

"That's not true, prince, I promise," she forced an awkward smile, "If I'm sad, it's because I care about you a lot. You know I care about you, right?"

"Yeah."

"And you know I'll always be here for you, no matter what, right?"

"You said dat already."

Anzu ignored the comment and continued, "And no matter what, you'll still have people that'll love you and take care of you and make sure you're safe. Everyone in the palace loves you a lot. Do you know that?"

"I guess…" Yuugi muttered.

"They do, for sure. But prince, your father, y-your father…." She trailed off, sucking in a deep breath to get rid of the big lump in her throat. "You understand, right? Everyone loves you a lot and they won't stop loving you, ever."

"Yeah, I guess if you say dat. But fada loves me lots more den dey do. He told me." Yuugi insisted cheerfully.

"Yes, that's what he said. And no matter what he'll always love y- "

"Yup, dat's what he said – "

"But, prince," Anzu stopped him before he could say any more, "He's, well, he's not um, a-around anymore. Do you understand that?"

She shivered from the cold. The first rays of the sun had yet to be seen and it seemed as if that night was the longest she's ever experienced. Perhaps nature itself was in the state of mourning and wasn't ready to bring light into the world until Egypt's fate was decided. Her eyes drifted to the hourglass. The top was full when she'd first left Yuugi in his bedroom, now not a single grain was left.

"Not really," He said quietly, slightly confused.

"Your father's not coming back, prince, he won't be coming back." Anzu's voice cracked as her eyes blurred with tears.

"Dun cry, Anzu, fada said he was comin back, he said." The boy reached up to give her a hug and she held him gently.

"No, prince," she sniffed, "He won't come back. I am very sorry. We still love you a lot, we love you- "

"No, Anzu, he said, dun worry, he said…" Yuugi reassured her, rubbing her back like she'd done to him earlier.

"No Yuugi," she sobbed, her face buried in the crook of his neck, "He's gone forever, he's dead, Yuugi, he's not coming back! Don't cry, everything is going to be alright, we still love you a lot, we love you a lot."

Yuugi roughly wiped the tears off Anzu's cheeks with his little hand, wondering why she didn't understand what he was telling her, "But he's gonna come back, fada said so. You didn' hear 'cause you were too far away but fada said so. Dun cry, Anzu, you're too old to cry."

Anzu grabbed the boy's shoulders and stared straight into his eyes with her red, watery ones. He was so upset before, she thought, yet now, he was unfazed. Or rather, in denial. She had to make him believe, for his own sake and for everyone else, especially the irritable old men who had scared him to death.

"He's dead, Yuugi," she screamed, "Your father will never come back again. But you still have, you still have…" A fresh batch of tears broke forth and she quickly grabbed him in a hug, letting his soft hair absorb everything.

"Did something hurt you Anzu, 'cause you're cryin so much and you'r makin' my hair wet." Yuugi tried to struggle away from her but she held on tightly, deaf to whatever he said."

"No… Yuugi," the servant said weakly, exhausted, "You father is dead, he's dead. Please don't cry, I don't want you to cry again…."

"I'm not cryin, you are! Why'r you bein' so weird? Dun cry, anymore, it makes me sad. Imma tell fada when he gets back dat you made me sad." The prince threatened, hoping she would contain herself. In truth, it did bother him to see Anzu cry so much, especially when she was the one who always looked out for him and held him when he cried. This was all too disturbing.

"Did he really say he'd come back?" Anzu asked quietly, blind to her own words.

"Yeah, he said. Dun worry Anzu, dat's what he said." Yuugi hopped off her lap and grabbed her hand, "C'mon, let's look for fada and food. I'm really hungry,"

The servant relented and let the child pull her off the bed. She made no protest when he dragged her towards the bedroom door and down the corridor. She wondered if Yuugi was right as she wiped the wetness from her face. After all, no one really knew what happened. Perhaps there was a chance. She knew there was a chance. The Pharaoh could not have been beaten so easily, that much she knew was true. Anzu's heart lifted at the thought of this and she readily followed the boy. There was always a chance. There HAD to be a chance.

…………….oooooooooooo……………

A/N: Yeah, that was long but I wanted to keep it all in one chapter just to wrap this part up. Thanks very much to all those who reviewed lat time. Also, I'm thinking of changing Yuugi's age so his logic would make a little bit more sense. You can refer to chapter two for the changes.

1 She was used to calling him "Prince."