Outside of the Throne room
"Are you okay with this, Yugi?"
"Yeah, I'm sure the king will understand the mistake. But, I'll be his guest tonight. Besides," he giggled nervously, "how can I say 'no' to dinner and meeting his friends. I hope after this, he'll let me help him find someone."
Ryou sighed, He has, my Queen, it's you.
Inside the Throne room
"I got it! Quit asking you son of a backwards centaur," Atem huffed.
"Quiet! And remember your damn possessive streak. Atem, you little dog, you need to just let Yugi come in and act as normal as possible. NO talks of weddings or ceremonies. Got it."
Akefia glared at Atem who was biting his lip. He more than wanted to grab his Queen-to-be and hold him all night, but he knew the boy was scared. So, going with Ryou's plan was good, but deceitful to Yugi and Atem would deal with the consequences later. As of now, he had to convince Yugi that they belonged together.
The doors opened to reveal two figures. Ryou stood straight with an air of protectiveness as Yugi walked in; they did not have time to retrieve the outfit made by the tailors, but Ryou improvised with Yugi's uniform. Yugi had on his leather sleeveless shirt with the collar and gold studs going up his chest, he kept his pants and belts, along with his deck, and his shoes were not so bad. He had worn his nicer dress shoes because of the chill.
Yugi felt all the eyes in the room staring at him. It was not mockery as usual, but wonderment. He kept darting his eyes back and forth at all the occupants of the room, they were magnificent creatures from books and fairytales. Each had a type of decoration to their outfit and the beings were all kind from Yugi's perspective. He stopped when he noticed a pair of crimson eyes staring at him. The man standing on the steps of the dais stared at Yugi with such contentment and love that he did not have to guess who it was. He wore a black tunic shirt with gold sleeves and gold trousers.
Yami smiled at Yugi with such grace that made Yugi blush. The king looked like him, but was taller, tanned, with muscles that Yugi lacked. Yami stepped away from the white haired man who stood by him as Ryou left his side to go stand by the white haired man. Yugi gulped. He was anxious. He did not want to hurt the man that had been so kind to him on Halloween. He did remember saying that he loved him but as a friend, maybe if he could explain that to Yami he would not be upset.
Yami stopped in front of him. Yugi bowed his head then heard a nervous chuckle.
"Do not bow, Little One, you are a guest of the King, and your respects have been paid by joining us tonight."
Yugi nodded and Yami took his hand leading him to the dais.
"And I should show you some respect; my name is Atem."
They stopped and Atem gestured for Yugi to sit on the armrest of the dais. It looked big enough, so Yugi obeyed. Atem smiled wider and sat in the dais. He clapped his hands, which apparently meant for all the occupants to somewhat line up.
"Also, for the sake of time saving I have talked to the other royals and they will come up and introduce themselves to you personally. I hope that is not too much."
Deciding to speak, Yugi said, "N-no, not at all. That is very considerate of you and them."
Atem nodded.
The first to come up was a woman with long blond hair, a small tiara with wings and opal studs embroidered in it, with huge periwinkle wings sticking out of her back. She wore a corset like top with a long tulle skirt and spiked heeled boots. Following her, were two humanoid dragons, as best Yugi could call them, who wore simple cotton outfits. The male had red trousers and a white shirt, while the female wore a light pink dress. Another male stood beside the dragon humanoids and he had green wings sticking out of his back with clawed bird feet, wearing brown jeans and a nice blue shirt.
The woman spoke with a confidence that Yugi sensed she had, "I am Mai Kujaku, Queen of the Winged Kingdom in the Gigas Mountains and here with me are my consort, General Jono Franke and his sister Shizuka Franke. The young man standing with the general is one of his best trainees and body guard of Shizuka, Private Hiroto Helmstetter. It is an honor to meet you."
Mai and Shizuka curtsied as Jono and Hiroto bowed slightly.
"The honor is mine," Yugi said with a beautific smile. The four smiled back and let the next lot take over.
It was a tall man with aqua hair that stopped at his neck's nape. His eyes were colored differently, cerulean on the left and gold on the right and his bangs stood out jagged like Yugi's. Alongside him were two females. The woman had auburn hair like the girl, and the girl had the same cerulean as the man while the woman had light brown eyes.
They were dressed as Yugi imagined royalty of the Middle Ages to be. Layers with flowing drapery and dark colors, except the man had trousers with a shirt and a sword at his waist with a holster holding a very odd gun. The woman was in layers, but her dress stopped at her knees and flared out, she also had the same gun holstered at her waist. The girl wore a cute Sunday dress that had a shawl more than a drapery. Her hair was put in buns on each side and some of it hung out of the buns.
She looks so cute, thought Yugi.
"Hello, Master Motou, I am King Dartz of Atlantis-"
"Atlantis is real!"
Yugi shut his mouth hard and blushed puce. King Dartz's daughter, as he assumed, giggled wildly at the outburst and so did several others in the room. The Atlantian King just smiled amusedly as did the woman who had to be his wife, making her the Atlantian Queen. Atem placed his hand on Yugi's to calm him. Yugi smiled sheepishly and Dartz continued.
"I see you have heard many stories of my kingdom. Well, when we have the time I will tell you the true tale of my home. My daughter," he nodded to the girl, "Kristina, Kris for short, loves to hear me tell it so she will join us."
"I am happy to meet you Master Motou," said the Atlantian Queen.
"O-oh, p-please call me Yugi."
"Lovely, and you can call me Lydia."
The family bowed and let the next group approach.
It was four males. A boy with dark aqua hair and light aqua bangs, who had deep violet eyes standing next to a demon with horns protruding out the top of his head, grey skin with grey eyes to match, and red hair trailing down from his head to the large tail; he had bat ears that gave his appearance a completed animalistic look. Next to them was a buff muscled man that stood over six feet, with blond spiky hair and large sideburns. He wore a tight sleeveless shirt that showed off his arms with baggy pants and army boots.
Yugi felt a little intimidated, but knew the man was friendly. The last male was one Yugi had only seen in his books. He was a satyr with tiny horns sticking out of his forehead, and gravity defying brown hair that went up in wavy peaks.
Yugi stared and he forgot about his manners until Atem nudged him.
"Oh, sorry."
"Oi, it's okay mate, I get that look a lot, even here. Not many satyrs you find in warms places. Name's Valon by the way."
"I'm Prince Noah, of the Tundra, the Kingdom of the North," the boy chirped. The demon standing next to him face palmed and ran his hand down his face.
Noah bit his lip, but the demon patted his shoulder and introduced himself to Yugi, "I am Alistair, his Prince's mentor and guardian until he is old enough to rule."
The blond man held out his hand. Yugi took and felt how small he was to the other man.
"My name's Raphael, head of security in the Diamond Palace and bodyguard of the Prince. Valon is the Prince's tutor in weaponry and war strategies."
Valon scratched his head and let out a cough, Yugi guessed he was supposed to say that.
They went down and a large group gathered at the bottom of the dais.
"Yugi, I would like to introduce part of my council and closest friends. Head Mage Mahad and his wife, Mage Isis," they bowed along with three kids who looked Yugi's age, "and their children, Mana the girl in the short black dress, Ishizu in the silver dress, and Marik, the oldest and only boy. Next are my best men of our security and army, Supreme Commander General Karim," another buff man with dark eyes and a uniform bowed, "and Major General Shada," a bald man with a tattoo on his forehead bowed alongside General Karim . "And last my cousin-"
"Kaiba!"
Yugi saw a man that looked like Seto Kaiba standing at the end next to a pale woman with silver hair. He had the same face and build, but…on closer inspection the differences were obvious. His skin was tanned and his hair and eyes were darker; Yugi's face blushed puce again. He blurted out when he knew he should not have. All the eyes, especially a pair of blue ones, stared at him.
"I-I am so sorry, sir, and Atem. It's just y-you look like someone I know."
The man raised an eyebrow. "From the tone, I assume he is not a friend of yours."
His voice sounded like Kaiba's, but held less arrogance and sounded deep with pride. Yugi nodded.
"Well then, I am not this Kaiba. I am Seth, Atem's cousin, and Head of the Council. This is my wife, Shape shifter Kisara."
The woman bowed. They looked familiar, but Yugi did not know why. Kisara saw the confusion and said, "We were there when you first met King Atem."
Yugi did remember two other people from that night and nodded. Atem nudged him again and pointed to Ryou and the white haired man.
"I believe you have met Ryou and he has told you about Dungeon Master Akefia."
"Yes,"Yugi blushed again when his stomach grumbled.
"Hey," Jono shouted, "I think we need ta eat before this guy faints."
8888888888
The dinner was delicious. It was a skewered meat with vegetables that he never saw before and the plates were delicate China with a very sweet juice that tasted like melon mixed with chocolate in crystal goblets. The only difference was that they did not use utensils. Everyone ate freely with their hands, even the food that was in the bowls like the biscuits were tossed to one another and not passed. But Yugi actually found it relaxing, despite the fact that it took him twice before catching a biscuit. The serving bowls were glided from one end of the table to the next and if someone did not want to wait they simply crawled under the table or walked on it to get the food.
Even so, the dinner was still tiring. The children, as Yugi heard Isis call them, sat close to him and asked him thousands of questions, most concentrating on what were humans like. Yugi answered good-naturedly because he found it fun.
He even told a few white lies to throw them off, such as when Mana asked what humans' favorite pet were; Yugi told her it was a rock with googley eyes. She gasped in astonishment, until she asked again. Yugi could never hold his face straight and told her no. He did that a few more times until they caught on and said he was a bad fibber.
Marik was quiet through the whole thing and Ryou did not ask any questions only aided Yugi in some of the barrage so he could eat his food.
When dinner was over and desert came out, Yugi's eyes popped out. It was a six layered ice cream cake with vanilla as the base and strawberry swirled together with chocolate. He did not think it could be finished, but he was wrong. Yugi had two slices before he was full. The other guests ate three to four slices until the cake was gone.
At this point, the conversation went into games humans' play. Kris was asking about sports, but Yugi had little knowledge of that except for baseball.
"Sorry," he said. Kris frowned. "But, I know a lot of board games, RPG's, and card games. Back home my grandpa owns a game shop and I have the title "King of Games," so I can tell you about them."
"Really!"
"Yes, I-"
"Where did you get the title?"
"How did you win it?"
"What games do you play?"
"Are there Queen of Games?"
Another barrage hit Yugi but he was prepared. Atem got them to calm down and Yugi pulled out his deck and all eyes were on him again. He gulped.
"T-to answer your questions, I played at Duelist Kingdom against a man named-"
"Maximilion Pegasus," Jono said. Yugi's eyes widened and he nodded. "Go on, sorry for interrupting ya."
"And he's the inventor of Duel Monsters. My chances were slim at best, but I believed in my deck and its heart-"
Heart?
The voice was in Yugi's head. He looked up to see Marik staring at him.
"Yes. The Heart of the Cards."
"Marik," Isis began, "had an accident as a child and became mute. He has the ability to telecommute his thoughts and that is how he speaks."
"Oh," Yugi looked at Marik again, the teen was back to silence. "My grandpa taught me that a true gamer believes in his deck. I used that belief to win, and I earned the title and prize money."
"That's so cool," said Mana. "Can you teach us how to play?"
"I loved to."
88888888
Several hours later had Yugi finally alone with Atem.
The kids had taken up all his time with them looking at all his cards saying which ones were their favorites. He told them the basic rules of the game and they wanted to hear more about his battles, as Ishizu dubbed his tournaments, so Yugi told them about his opponents and how with Pegasus he felt like the man was reading his mind. At some point during the duel, Yugi felt a pulse of energy flow through him and the duel was normal after that without Pegasus' trick.
He left out Kaiba and the part were Pegasus tried to take over Kaiba Corp. by kidnapping Mokuba; also, he did not tell them about the virtual world against the Big Five. When they left, Yugi was relieved and saddened. He really enjoyed playing with them and wanted the night to never end. But it had to, just like he had to talk to Atem about the whole soul mate mistake.
Yugi left the parlor room that he had been in with the children and went for a walk to wake up his mind. It had become a little hazy. The palace was truly breathtaking. Even though it was dark metal, it was still beautifully crafted.
On his walk, Yugi did not watch where he was going and missed the stairs to Atem's room. The king was waiting for him and Yugi decided to head up on the wrong stairwell. He did not notice until he saw that the stained glass windows were painted differently. Yugi kept taking turns and stopped when he saw a door with a giant cross on it. Yugi heard movement and decided that he needed help.
He opened the door quietly and saw a man with a gold cloth turban that had a feather in the middle in a black robe chanting in Latin. Yugi stepped and screeched in pain.
The window to the outside of the Shadow Realm was opened in Priest Shadi's room. He did not join the party because he did not enjoy large crowds and waited to see his future Queen the next day, but that became now when he heard the boy scream bloody murder. Shadi quickly shut the window but the shadows had already decided to feast on Yugi's fears. Shadi came to him and tried to take them away, but one touch on Yugi's skin and he felt an energy that was full of light.
Shadi knew the name of this power but could not concentrate. He kept trying to dispel the blackness from Yugi's mind fighting it madly. The boy writhed in pain and Shadi felt the tug of the light pulling at him, thinking he was the cause of this pain.
The screams from both of them must have been terrifying because Atem came in no time and so did half the palace.
"My King."
"Shadi, oh God, Yugi."
Atem joined in on dispelling the blackness, unlike Shadi, the light seemed to trust him. Soon all the blackness left Yugi's body, but he was fevered and had opened scars on his arms, legs, and chest. Atem lifted him gently. Even if Yugi was one of them, he still could not enter the outside Realm without the shadows trialing him. Atem shook. He could not lose his Little One. He could only do so much and the healers' magic was useless to this onslaught.
"Shadi, please, tell me there's a way to save him, please," the desperation in the king's voice was heart wrenching. Shadi breathed slowly, the light had taken a toll on him. He nodded
"Yes, but I am not sure if Yugi can provide the part he needs."
"Please, Shadi, try at least. I-I can't lose him."
Shadi bit his lips and said, "I need to marry you two."
Atem did not ask why and said "Proceed."
"I, Priest Shadi of the Umbra Palace, hereby commence the marriage ceremony. Take each other's hand," Atem held Yugi's limp hand in his, "I will hold out the runes that will bond you to one another."
Shadi used his reserved magic to make the runes appear on the two males' ring finger. "With this I shall ask, do you, King Atem Damno of the Shadow Realm take this boy to hold and to cherish until death do you part."
Atem let out a strangled, "I do."
"I shall ask you, Yugi Motou, King of Games, do you take this man to hold and to cherish until death do you part."
Yugi's eyes fluttered opened and both knew that was his "I do."
"The rings will appear and your love is sealed. I now pronounce you husband and wife."
The runes on their ring fingers changed into rings. Atem's was a plain gold band and Yugi's was silver gold with a ruby in the middle.
In an instant, his wounds cleared and he looked better. Atem lifted him and left. The people in the halls parted letting the newlyweds go to their chamber.