Author's Note: The amount of hits on this story… IT'S OVER NINE THOUSAND!
My Mom: What, nine-thousand? There's no way that can be right!
(Sorry, couldn't resist.)
Yes, I've hit nine thousand hits. :D
This chapter is my favorite one so far, simply because I was in the zone when writing this and it basically wrote itself.
So, here's the next chap!
Chapter 13
Mahad was distraught at what he had found. Following the Pharaoh's orders, he had fiercely interrogated his entire security workforce, finding five of them to be guilty of working under Lady Yugi's brother. Normally, this crime would be considered treason, and the individuals would be sentenced to death. But, because the Royal family and Lady Yugi's brother were on unique terms, those guilty were simply escorted out of the palace and were warned never to be caught again by the Pharaoh's security for threat of worse consequences.
Mahad was sorry he had to put some of his most loyal spies to interrogation. He knew them to be completely innocent, but the Pharaoh's command had been specific in making sure every member of the royal spies were investigated.
But Mahad understood. And so did the loyal spies. Everyone seemed to know of Lady Yugi. Apparently, she had made it her business to meet and greet everyone, so much so that the majority of the court and servants were completely taken with her. Mahad had discovered this during the interrogations, when the loyal spies had fawned over Lady Yugi's name like she was a royal herself.
And, while this was all well and good, it also made Mahad a bit nervous.
Gossip spread like wildfire and not just in the palace. Before long, intelligence would make its way over the palace walls and then the entire kingdom would know of Lady Yugi.
Accordingly, all the spies were forced to swear on their lives that they wouldn't leak intelligence to the outside.
Mahad usually wasn't one to be stern about orders, but the ones beneath him could tell that this time, it was not to be taken lightly. Mahad had even raised the stakes of the penalties given to those who didn't take their responsibilities seriously.
So, obviously, something big was happening.
And everyone was dying to know what.
"Master Mahad," the spies would ask, "What is so important about Lady Yugi?"
Whether it was the fact that the story was too long or that he was told not to release any intelligence made little difference as his answer either way would be, "It's not the business of anyone besides the inner circle at this time."
Mahad took advantage of the mild chaos and began to write out secret records for all the spies under the Pharaoh's control.
As he wrote under the faint flicker of a candle, Mahad thought hopefully, I hope Seto is having an easier time than me.
-transition-
Seto's hometown brought back such painful memories.
Nothing had changed. Nothing.
The town's temple where he had played as a child still stood where it always had been, a shining beacon of hope in the sand. His and his mother's old house still sat on the outskirts of the town, etched into a rocky hillside.
Of course, Seto was not there to reminisce. He was there to gather information on 'Motou'. And he knew just where to get it, too.
In undercover attire, Seto, accompanied by two nameless spies, set out for the Valley of Kings, which lied just beyond his hometown. There, he knew of someone who had plenty of connections with 'Motou'.
Seto knocked lightly on an abandoned tomb's entrance.
There was no answer, and that was to be expected. Seto knew there didn't need to be an answer. He leaned close to the stone door and whispered a chant to its exterior, quiet enough that the spies could only decipher one or two words.
As Seto finished the mantra that was the password, the stone door sank backwards, just enough so to leave it slightly ajar.
"They really should have changed the pass code…" Seto muttered before motioning the two spies to follow him inside.
In the tomb, there was a collection of hundreds of thieves, con artists, cheats, liars, smugglers, murderers, assassins, and every other criminal one could imagine. They occupied the main tomb's hall, discarded treasure littering the floor.
Seto walked up to the first person he saw, a relatively small teenage boy, and questioned, "Do you know where I can find Bakura?"
"You know his real name?" The young man's blonde eyebrows rose intriguingly as he supposed, "Then you must be here on personal business." He asked skeptically, "Who is it you work for?"
"Motou," Seto didn't hesitate to provide.
The blonde nodded, saying, "Then, come with me."
He led Seto and the spies more into the tomb, the clatter of all the criminal's activities fading as they delved deeper into the cavern.
The blonde stopped outside a door and motioned inside, informing, "He's in here."
Seto nodded and walked through the door.
"Bakura!" he called in.
"Ah, if it isn't Priest Seto," a voice returned. (It used "priest" like a swear word.) The voice belonged to an infamous albino Egyptian upon a golden throne. He sat with one leg crossed over another, his hand used as a kickstand for his head to rest upon. "What brings you? Surly you're not here to arrest your old friend, are you?"
"We were never friends," Seto hissed, his sapphire eyes narrowing dangerously. "And, no," he assured, "I'm here on more important matters."
"Matters more important than then arresting the notorious Thief King?" Bakura questioned, his expression mockingly curious.
"Yes." Seto swallowed before commanding more than asking, "I need you to tell me everything about Motou's whereabouts and recent activities."
"Hmm…" Bakura hummed, mulling this declaration over. He stood up and sauntered over to Seto, the man looking up at the tall brunette. The albino inquired, "And, how valuable is this information to you?"
"I don't have time for games," Seto growled.
"No time for games?" Bakura smirked condescendingly. "You're no fun."
"I'm serious, Bakura." Seto threatened, "Give me what I need to know, and I'll consider not reporting this hideout to yours to the authorities."
"Well, when you put it that way, I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Bakura looked down at his hand with an uninterested expression, not in a hurry to provide anything.
"Now, Bakura," Seto snarled.
"Fine, I give." Bakura turned his blood gaze on Seto, enlightening, "Motou's been awfully busy lately, in and out all the time. He's barrowed some of my scouts, to which he promises to return the favor ten fold. At present, I have no idea where he is. He rambles on about some bastard Prince keeping his little sister hostage, but you know me; I'm not really one for details."
"So, you no nothing as of current?" Seto interrogated.
"Well, it's not like I keep tabs on him or anything." Bakura's smirk turned sickeningly sweet. "That was your job, wasn't it, Priest Seto?"
Seto growled in response. He turned back towards the exit, huffing to himself more than Bakura, "Not anymore."
-transition-
"Tell me, Yugi," Atem asked nonchalantly, "Besides your brother, who else took care of you when your parents were away?"
Yugi's mind seemed to be somewhere else as she replied, "Usually, nobody. But, when I was really young, my grandfather stayed with us."
"I take it he's not around anymore," Atem supposed quietly, gently stroking Yugi's hair.
Yugi nodded.
"And, did your brother invite anyone to your manor while your parents were away? Friends of some kind?"
"Yes, but I was not allowed to be around them." Yugi's gaze lowered as she thought. "Brother locked me in my chambers." A smile caressed her lips as she confessed, "But, years after that begun, I learned how to unlock my door with a feather and sneaked out to eavesdrop on them."
"Why would you want to?" Atem inquired, letting Yugi's head lie on his shoulder.
"I knew there was nothing I could do to stop my brother from doing awful things, but just hearing him made me dare to hope that he could sense my presence and chose to do good on his own." She closed her eyes warily. "It didn't work, it seems."
Atem gave a small smile, saying, "At least you tried. And that was all you could do at the time."
Yugi nodded into Atem's shoulder. She declared, "Now it's your turn to answer some of my questions."
"I suppose that's fair."
"Why are you friends with Mana?" Yugi scrunched her nose. "You are just so different, and what you provided as an answer before just doesn't add up."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you said you and Mana met when you were children and that you formed a bond, but why did you keep that bond?"
"Honestly?"
"No, lie to me."
Atem laughed nervously. He swallowed and admitted, "We kept in touch because Mana was appointed to be my wife incase I couldn't find the right one in the time I was allotted."
To Atem's relief, Yugi just laughed, responding to this with, "But you two are such opposites! I just can't imagine you putting up with her as your wife."
Atem defended, "She's only a bit hyper…"
"Yes, only a bit," Yugi agreed sarcastically. At once, her laughter ceased, and she inquired, "If Mana, according to you, would be a sufficient wife, why go through all the trouble of being with me?" Atem had told Yugi of the contract dilemma.
Atem smiled cockily, stating, "Because sufficient isn't good enough for me. I need perfect." He took Yugi's hand in his.
"I'd hardly say I'm perfect…" Yugi murmured, her face raising a few degrees.
"You are perfect for me," Atem insisted, "And that's why I'm going to marry you."
Yugi's eyes widened. She asked gently, "Then, it's official? We're really going to get married?"
"Only if you want to," Atem ensured, worry lingering in his throat.
"I do, I do," Yugi promised quickly, hearing this concern. Nonetheless, though, her unseeing gaze lowered.
"Then, why do you look so unsure?"
"Because…" Yugi leaned back on Atem, explaining up to the sky, "Marrying you means I'll have to be Queen of Egypt someday… an honor I don't think I'm an eligible candidate for."
Atem was lightened at the knowledge that that was Yugi's only concern, and he asked, "Why not?"
"I can't see," Yugi plainly stated.
"So?"
"'So'?" Yugi was surprised. Why did it seem like Atem didn't mind that she was blind? Didn't it make her inferior?
"So what?" Atem repeated.
"So, that means I won't be able to rule properly."
"Of course you will be," Atem promised.
Yugi shook her head.
"Okay, give me an example."
"Well…" Yugi thought aloud, "What if I need to sit in court and help you decide if a person is guilty of a crime or not, and I can't because I won't be able to see if guilt is on the person's face. Then what?"
"Then you ask Isis," Atem replied, "Also, just because you're blind doesn't mean you can't use your other senses. You would be able to hear the lies in the person's voice if the criminal is guilty."
"I never thought of that…" Yugi disclosed, curious to what other things she could do that she had never felt she had been capable of.
"And, that's why you have me," Atem said with a smile.
"Yes, that's why," Yugi teased, giving a light laugh.
"Lady Yugi," a voice greeted, but the voice was strained as if impatient to give bad news.
"Yes, Pharaoh?" Yugi sat up and turned to where her name had come from, asking, "What is it?"
The Pharaoh sat down next to Atem and Yugi at their seat in the courtyard. He alerted, "I came to inform you that your brother had replied to my invitation." His expression was emotionless as he held up a scroll.
Yugi's face was ghostly white as she whimpered, "It's not- it's not bad news, right?"
"Well, no, you see-" He unraveled the letter for emphasis. "- Your brother did just as I expected of him and has agreed to come to the palace."
"When will he be here?" Atem questioned, feeling anger rise in him at the thought of confronting the demon.
Akunumkanon sighed. He couldn't keep it from the couple forever, so why not break it to them now?
"He'll arrive next week."
Author's Note: The Queen of Cliffhangers strikes again! Muhahahaha! *clears throat* I mean, uh, review. ;)
P.S. I'm on vacation! So, you might not get another chapter soon, depending on whether or not I feel motivated or not. Depends.
Where was I? Oh, yeah, review! :D