The Fairest Lady: Chapter Nine

The djinn frowned unhappily as his mistress leaned over her thick spell book. She was still unwell, there was no contesting that fact. Purple shadows lingered beneath her eyes and she could not remain standing for as long as she ought to were she healthy. He hovered protectively behind her, frustrated that he could only remain above the goblet. As if sensing his unease, she straightened and held a hand out to the djinn. He took her hands in his and rested his cheek against it. “This is something I must do, djinn,” Mai told him in a soft voice. “I can wait no longer. I cannot die while our contract is still active. You have told me this. I may need some of your power, though, just a small sliver of it so that I might be able to complete these spells. If I don’t, they’ll collapse and all my energy will be wasted. And...I could die. As much as I hate this wretched life of mine, I do not want to die.”

“Are you so vain?” He queried with sad eyes.

“No,” she murmured, “I am lonely.”

Mai was, in fact, lonelier than she ever had been before. The royal suite in the gardens of the castle was surrounded by thick greenery, the only sound being that of birds and insects outside. No servants came near here, as it was too far into the gardens. The only exception was when she needed to restock on food and other supplies. She had made certain that the royal suite was full of food, though, and fresh water could be drawn from the pump outside. She doubted that she would be able to eat much food after she performed these spells. She and the djinn both knew that these spells could kill her. They are relatively simple spells, though, she thought dismally, so why do they keep doing this to me? “Djinn...”

“Princess,” he replied quietly, raising his head.

“What explanation do you have for me? Why would these spells take so much out of me? It was only recently that they began to affect me so badly. I once was able to deal with this without hardly any repercussions.” She gently removed her hand from his and clasped her hands beneath her chin, glaring across from her. Mai had set up the ritual in the drawing room and was presently seated on the floor. The sunlight from the long windows caused a warm glow to emit from the red and gold velvet furnishings. Even Mai glowed with her yellow, satin gown. Yet there was no happiness in the room at all. Mai was deliberating hard upon the matter at hand.

“I am not certain, princess,” he reluctantly admitted. She nodded and then returned her gaze to the book lying upon her lap. She unclasped her hands and drew in a slow, deep breath.

“I am going to release you from your bindings first, djinn, so that your power is not so weak. You will be able to help me more. I trust you to not break your word.” She raised her eyes to his. The djinn could not have broken his promise before, but looking at her hollow eyes...He would never betray her. He pitied her and yet he adored her and admired her. A djinn was supposed to be careful in how he distributed his emotions. He let his pity take control and warp itself into something else. “Can I trust you?” Mai asked him when he simply stared at her.

“Yes.”

“Then let us begin.”

X

Seto woke early enough to go into the forest by himself. The cottage had been quiet and besides his companion’s rooms, empty. He stood thoughtfully among some bushes, the subtle smell of rosemary pleasantly rising to his nose. He knelt next to the plant, running his fingers over the petals of the soft flower. Although mostly white, there were tinges of violet in the petals. The fragrance was stronger the closer he was. It was a fragrance he had begun to hate. He knew better than to go anywhere near the plant except when it had been ground up for potion uses. Nonetheless, when it came to matters of the heart rather than the mind, this was the perfect place for him to think. It inspired him.

He could not help but debate with himself on the intelligence of his decision to help Anzu. He cared nothing for the girl or what Bakura did to her. The reasons he gave to Anzu were, overall, true enough. He had fled to the Forest of Dim to escape the precious memories he had in Kraion and to get away from the people there that knew of him. Going anywhere else would have resulted in blatant stares, stares that assumed they knew him simply by rumors. He wanted nothing of that and if Yami were to find him here, he might possibly be shoved into the spotlight again, something he wanted nothing of. The reason he kept hidden from everyone but himself was not a thing, but someone: Kisara.

Seto snatched his hand from the rosemary and turned his back on it, his face clouding over. Anzu’s eyes...are blue, just like Kisara’s, he recalled thinking when he first met the princess. She was not as sweet-natured as Kisara had been, but every time her defensive walls were torn down, she reminded him so much of the girl he once loved. When he had been fixing her foot, she was weak and completely unaware of any eyes seeing her raw self. And, as he had met Kisara through healing her, he had a dim protective nature for Anzu from then on. He hated that such a thing would affect him. He did not wish it to be so.

If I continue to see Anzu as Kisara, he thought with growing disgust in himself, it will only cause problems with Malik and Bakura. I don’t want either of them to butt into my business. Kisara is dead. Anzu is only a sliver of what she was. I mustn’t let my emotions get the worst of me. Seto sighed, raising a hand and pressing it against his forehead, closing his eyes. He dragged it through his hair, opening his eyes and glaring moodily at the ground. With his hand in his hair, he turned slightly to look at the rosemary. Kisara...used to smell like rosemary. Shaking his head, he dropped his hand. I need to get Anzu out of our lives. I can’t stand not being in control of myself like this... He moved to leave, nearly colliding with the new arrival in the clearing.

Bakura glanced at the rosemary and back at Seto. “I wasn’t aware you were awake,” he remarked to Seto. In one hand, he had an ugly plant of some sort. Seto stared at him coldly. Inwardly, his heart was thundering with alarm. How long had Bakura been watching him? Because his thoughts had been so engrossed in the past, he hadn’t even sensed the sorcerer near him. Bakura’s gaze slid over his face and then he passed him to approach the rosemary. Seto watched as he cut some pieces off of it, his mouth tightening. In his eyes, he saw blood pouring from the plant, reddening Bakura’s hands and knife. “What’s wrong with you?” Seto blinked and the image was gone. Bakura was standing in front of him again. “You look like you’ve seen a monster.” His eyes narrowed warily on him as he said this.

“I have,” was all Seto said in return to this.

“I won’t dispute that,” Bakura answered calmly enough. “Go back to the cottage. Maybe you’ll be acting a little saner by the time I come back. Tell Malik I’ll be back in time for breakfast. Oh...and Seto?” he added as Seto once again attempted to leave the clearing. He paused obligingly and glanced over his shoulder at the male. “Stay away from Anzu. She trusts you too much for my comfort. I don’t need you meddling in my plans.”

“That sounds like an issue you have to work out,” Seto curtly responded and then turned on the spot, vanishing and arriving at the cottage. He trudged inside to see that Malik was already awake and working on breakfast. The dark circles under his eyes suggested that Malik had gotten as little sleep as Seto had, the tension in his jaw supporting the assumption that it had to do with nightmares. “Bakura wants you to know he’ll be back for breakfast.”

“Sounds wonderful,” Malik muttered and then sighed, slamming the knife on the counter as Seto started towards the door. He paused, wondering if he was about to have a confrontation with him as well. “When is Bakura going to do something about the girl? I like her just fine, but he has been letting this go for longer than usual. Now he’s sidetracked with some other project of his and is showing no incentive to deal with the first project he started.”

“He’s your friend.”

Malik shot him a dirty look. “I could care less. He’s being as forthcoming with me as he generally is with you. And you are getting rather close to her. I would have thought he would do something about that.”

“Is there a reason why you are musing aloud to me or are you simply trying to rouse an argument from me? If it is the latter option, you will be disappointed as I am not particularly in the mood for it.” Malik raised his eyebrows interestedly and leaned against the counter with his forearm, putting his other hand on his hip. Seto pointedly ignored the skeptical look and said, “I’ll be in my room,” ascending the stairs to avoid any exchange of words. All he wanted was to be alone before he had to face those blue eyes again, to be reminded of a woman that he had lost.

Malik watched Seto’s retreating figure with some confusion before shaking his head and returning to his cooking. The real reason for his frustration was that Bakura’s flippant attitude towards this was beginning to get on his nerves. He generally did not bother worrying about such things, yet this was taking it a bit far. Yami is going to send someone for Anzu if he loves her as much as I suspect. He’s a hopeless romantic. Of course he is going to do something about her disappearance. The longer Bakura keeps her away from Yami, the more restless the idiot is going to get and the more impatient, for that matter. He probably suspects that Bakura has her and knows where she is. I don’t need that kind of trouble here. He sighed, setting his spoon down that he had been using to stir the porridge. Malik pushed a hand through his hair, closing his eyes as he brow furrowed in what almost appeared to be agony. I can’t stand this...I can’t stand not being to sleep. How much longer will I have to suffer for what Isis did, rather than what I did? He opened his eyes and stared down at the bubbling porridge. How long will I have to suffer for the life I had been born into?

Malik pulled the pot away from the stove and the fire that was heating it, covering the top so that it remained warm. He collapsed at the table and pressed his face into his arms. I’m so tired of this farce of a life that I’m living, he thought to himself.

X

Bakura dumped the plants he had collected outside by the firewood and sighed, making a fist and rubbing his knuckles against a knot in his neck. He glanced towards the cottage, his mouth turning down unhappily. He could practically feel the tension rolling off the building. Releasing a sigh through his nose, he clapped his hands together to get rid of the dirt and headed towards the cottage. Seto’s behavior was strange enough, but Malik’s mood had slowly diminished to one of permanent irritation in the past day. He suspected it had to do with lack of sleep, for there was no doubt by how Malik’s appearance had been that it could be anything but that. Anzu, at least, had remained as she always had, if a bit less rowdy than usual.

He opened the door and saw that there was food on the table and Malik and Seto were already eating. He frowned, seeing that their female companion was not present. “Where is the girl?” he asked. Malik made a vague gesture towards the ceiling. “Why did you not wake her?” Bakura continued in his interrogation in a mild, patient tone. He received a shrug from his blonde companion and no reply at all from Seto, who seemed to be pretending that he was the only one in the room. Sending them disgusted looks, he stormed upstairs moodily and entered the princess’s bedroom without knocking. Thankfully, she was still warmly encased in bed. He considered throwing water on her, but immediately halted that thought. He didn’t need her in a bad mood, too, for a woman’s temper was far more annoying than any male’s.

Bakura paused beside her bed and surveyed her for a moment. While awake, she was always on guard when around him or else she was constantly looking for something to nag about; it was hard for him to find her attractive for those reasons. However, while asleep, she seemed oddly at peace and – dare he say – even a bit pretty. He could see the slight worry in her brow, though, which made him wonder how a person could be distressed even in sleep. He sighed through his nose, exhausted with the entire situation at hand, and glanced to the end of the bed and then back at her face. She was not going to like him waking her up at all.

With a wave of his hand, the covers were jerked off of her and she sat up quickly, blinking blearily, clearly still half asleep. “Wha...?” she mumbled, blinking and turning to look at him. Her eyebrows slanted down in confusion and then she went bug-eyed.

Here we go..., he thought.

“GET OUT OF HERE YOU DISGUSTING PIG!!!!”

Malik paused in his chewing and slowly turned his head to stare at the stairs. There were several thumps that sounded from upstairs and screeches from Anzu. He once heard Bakura swear and snap, “Damn woman!” Malik flicked a look to Seto.

“Do you suppose we should help or...?” he ventured uncertainly.

Seto ignored him.

Upstairs, Anzu had violently thrown herself at Bakura and after biting him and a lot of struggling, she had him on the floor. And, tangled in his robes he might be, Bakura was putting up a brave fight. He chose not to use magic for this battle and although he was pissed at her behavior, he was more entertained that some little girl had used what little strength she had to drag him to the floor of her bedroom. Most women would not have dared to attempt it. “You know,” he commented when she paused above him, holding a hair pin like a weapon, “if you wanted me so badly, you could have simply said so. I might have offered my body as consolation for being lonely.” He smirked at her horrified expression. “Or do you think I get off on being treated like a bad boy?”

“You’re such a...such a pig! I don’t want anything like that from you! What were you doing to me while I was sleeping anyway? Watching me sleep like the sadistic weirdo you are?” she demanded. “And why did you take the covers off of me?”

“Actually, I was trying to wake you up so that you could go downstairs and have breakfast,” he said calmly. His hand throbbed where she had bit him, but otherwise he was unbothered by what had just happened.

For a moment, she stared suspiciously at him, clearing trying to deduce whether he was lying or not. Looking at his face would have done very little either way, as Bakura was a rather expert liar. After a pause, she rose to her feet and dropped the hairpin on the floor. He got to his feet a little less gracefully because of his tangled robes. He swore to himself as he untangled them, only mildly irritated. Anzu watched him, her brows drawn together in bemusement. She realized that she really did not understand, much less this sorcerer. He had been so horrid to her at first and now he was actually making an effort to not blow up on her – or, if not that, he wasn’t as temperamental towards her as he had been. Maybe it was just Bakura who was complicated, because Yami had been far more understandable than this. When he saw that she was staring at him, he raised an eyebrow and said, “I’m not taking my robes off for an early romp, princess.”

“Why do you have to turn everything into something perverted?” she demanded. He smirked in return.

“Because I’m a male who has been deprived, why else? Now, can we please go downstairs and eat? Unlike you, I have been awake for some time and am famished. As entertaining as rolling around on the floor is with you, it isn’t the first thing I want to start my morning with.”

“Interesting, because those are my sentiments, too,” she told him and stalked past him. As she did, she heard him chuckle behind her. Flushing angrily, she hurried downstairs. It suddenly occurred to her that her foot was better, which made her pace slow somewhat. Today is the third day, she thought. I have to drink one more container of potion and by tonight, I might be out of the Forest of Dim and back to Yami. She entered the kitchen and paused, staring around her. I’ll really be back in Kraion with him and Shizuka and Jounouchi. It seems like forever since I’ve been home, but it wasn’t completely unpleasant here...

“Are you going to faint?” She jerked out of her thoughts and turned to see Bakura behind her, his expression blank. Anzu stared at him, perturbed by her thoughts. “Well?” he prodded, his eyebrows arching down in slight aggravation.

“No...I’m fine,” she said quietly and turned away from him to approach the table and eat.

Breakfast was quiet. Seto seemed to be in his own world and was the first to leave the table to go upstairs to his room. Malik said little and his face seemed paler than usual, giving her the impression that he might be ill. The dark circles under his eyes indicated that he had not been sleeping well, either. Even his mood and level of energy was lower than usual. She did not ask him if anything was wrong, though, for it was clear that there was; she did not, however, feel that he would divulge his problems to her. After she ate and helped with the dishes, she settled in the den by herself. She sat by the fireplace where a low fire was crackling, absorbed in her thoughts.

I’m going to miss this, she realized, a bit confused by the sentiment. I’m going to miss this close, family-like quality, even if they all have their own secrets they won’t share. I’ll even miss Bakura, for all his evil and horrible qualities. I don’t know why. And after Malik asked me that...I don’t even know what I feel for Yami now. I do love how he makes me feel, there’s no doubt about that. But him? Do I love him? What, then do I love about him? I just don’t know... Anzu looked up when she heard someone enter the room and saw that it was Bakura exiting the kitchen. “Bakura?”

He paused, slowing turning to look at her. He raised his eyebrows in question, seeming to be interested in why she wanted to speak with him. The look made her hesitate. “What, woman? Are you simply making sure that it’s me or did you want to actually converse?” he demanded after the silence lengthened.

“I just...wanted to thank you,” she said uncomfortably. “You could have locked me up or treated me worse than you have, but you treated me pretty decent. So, um...thank you.”

Bakura eyed her, a slow, sly smile curling his lips upward. “I think you might be warming up to me, little princess,” he commented before turning from her and continuing to his room. She stared after him, scowling angrily. Naturally, he had to ruin a perfectly respectable and polite moment. And she was feeling so generous towards him, too.

But I don’t want Yami to be hurt, Anzu thought, continuing from her earlier thoughts. No matter how much I like it here, I can’t allow Bakura to harm Yami through me. If I don’t love him, then I’ll know in time. I do want to see him, though, and Seto will help me go home. It’ll be best for all of us.

Anzu stood up and left the den to go upstairs. She knocked very softly on Seto’s door and it swung open soundlessly. She entered and after she was in the room, the door shut behind her. Seto was at his desk and turned once the door was closed. She had the distinct feeling that he was inspecting her with his hard gaze. He sighed softly through his nose and she might not have noticed if the room wasn’t so utterly silent. He turned away from her again, closing his eyes as though it pained him to look at her. She had a feeling it did. “Have you taken the last of your potion?” he asked in a low tone. “You’re walking better.”

“No...I planned on taking it after luncheon,” she replied. She hesitated and then continued, “I know...it’s none of my business what goes on around here, but – ”

“Unless it concerns me, princess, I can’t answer your questions. Bakura has told neither Malik nor myself his life outside of his studies of the Dark Arts. Malik? All you can get out of him is that he despises women. He wants nothing to do with them. He’s having nightmares, but would refuse any help that we might offer. He wouldn’t even admit that he was having nightmares if you asked him about it. With that said, go ahead with whatever it is you intended to say.” The sarcastic look he directed towards her indicated that he doubted she would continue. However, even if she could not get that information out of him, she was still curious about his own behavior as of late.

“Alright. Then what about you, Seto? Why has your attitude become so horrible? I can understand Malik’s if he truly is having nightmares, but what is your excuse?” He stared at her for a long time, with his usual impassive expression. Any other person might have been bothered or distressed with someone confronting them about such a thing, yet he acted as though they were discussing nothing more than the weather. The staring continued for far longer than she desired and her body began to tense. Her nerve broke and she averted her gaze to the ground.

“I assume this isn’t why you’re in here,” he stated plainly when she dropped her eyes, a subtle acknowledgement of her defeat.

“No,” Anzu agreed and after wetting her lips, raised her eyes to his face again, “that isn’t.”

“Let’s go outside then,” he suggested, rising to his feet. He moved to the door and ushered her through, following shortly afterward. They were silently as they traversed through the cottage to go outside. Even once they hit the cool, fresh air of the morning did they say nothing. Seto was occupied by thoughts that were echoing the earlier ones that Bakura had interrupted. Anzu’s tactless prodding had recalled them to mind when he was trying so hard to forget things. “You told me that you received the best advice on relationships here. Have you ever wondered why that is?”

“Of course. But I doubt any of my theories are true.”

“And I suspect that Malik has not confided anything in you?” he questioned, somewhat interested in the answer.

“No...Nothing. Why?”

“Because I feel that I am obligated to explain something to you,” Seto told her, flicking a glance towards her almost dismissively. “Not only because you are in a complicated situation with the Prince of Kraion, but also because you have been more open with us than we have with you. Perhaps worse things have happened in our lives – I don’t care to compare yours and our lives – but the fact remains that you deserve some hint as to why we are as we are. And maybe, once you return to Kraion, you can explain it to your prince and he will let us alone. Or, at least, let me be.”

There goes his selfishness again, Anzu thought irritably. “Very well, Seto, go ahead then since you feel indebted to me.”

Ignoring her sarcastic jab, he said simply, “I was in love once.” She blinked, shocked at the brief statement. “Her name was Kisara.” He paused at the edge of the barrier around the cottage, causing Anzu to halt a few steps behind him. “I killed her...because of my selfishness that you have told me is so disagreeable on more than one occasion. She was a peasant girl, whereas I had status. Her parents were of Hoshäi descent and naturally, those in Kraion hate anyone related to that kingdom. She had been beaten up badly, so I took her into my home. I took care of her, as she had no one else. I loved her, more than I had loved anything in life. That is why I could speak with you about love, of relationships.”

He paused to glance at her, to see her stunned face. “When I grew interested in the Dark Arts, she begged me to leave it alone, but I couldn’t. They were forbidden and Yami...young, little Yami. He was a brat, even at a young age. He knew exactly what I was doing. He gave me dirty, insolent looks and once even told me that I was evil. Well...In any case...Kisara soon became involved by my doing. She would have done anything for me. I wish I could say the same of myself, but if that were true, I would have given up pursuing the Dark Arts. Instead, I asked her to become involved in some of my magic. I killed her.”

“But...But how? Do you know...how?”

“Oh, not exactly,” he said slowly, thoughtfully. “The room was hot, burning me with just the magic that was spitting everywhere. I could hear her screaming...somehow the magical currents were flowing inside her, burning her insides.” He went silent for a moment, reliving the moment in his head. His hands clenched at his sides as his eyes clouded over with fierce anger. “I started screaming and tried to stop it...Nothing would help, though. I had to watch as her body absorbed all the currents and her face...her skin was becoming black, steaming from the magic inside of her. It was horrifying. After her death, I was fired from my position as court sorcerer and later was exiled from Kraion after they did a further investigation and concluded I had killed her.”

“...How awful,” Anzu whispered.

“I have never performed any of the Dark Arts after that. If I must harm a person, I will do it with swords, but never magic. I use my magic for healing only and defense.” His stoic expression returned and she knew that he was finished. “I suppose I would not have told you this except the reason I wanted to help you leave tonight is because you remind me of her.” He turned to face her and raised a hand, gesturing towards her face. “Your eyes. Her eyes were blue, just like yours are. The more I have to look at you, the more I have to be reminded of someone I can never seen again and that hurts me more than I would like to admit.”

Anzu said nothing as he looked absently towards the forestry. It seemed to make sense that Seto had once loved a woman. He was the gentler of the three, if more ruder than they were. She knew now why it was though, and she could accept that part of his personality. Malik, she was sure, had a good excuse for his way of living, too. Hoshäi was not an easy place to live in, or so she’d heard. His nightmares, she gathered, were from something that had happened there. Bakura, on the other hand, was a completely different case. From what she could see, he did not suffer from any nightmares or regrets. He seemed totally at ease in his skin and where he was and what he had done in his lifetime; he was unbothered by it all. Anzu would always have sympathy for Seto and Malik. As for Bakura, she could only wonder as to why he acted the way he did. He was a mystery, without really acting like one. He made everything so blunt, with no hidden meanings.

But I am not warming up to him, she thought, still annoyed with the comment he had thrown at her. I just want to understand everything and make things better. I guess it’s time for me to realize that I can’t. And I likely won’t ever be able to solve everyone’s problems. I can’t even solve my own...

“Enough of that,” Seto abruptly said, as if waking from a distant dream. “We must plan for tonight. Bakura is oblivious and Malik is too distraught with lack of sleep to worry about either of us. It should be fairly easy to get you out of here.”

“Oh, I do hope so,” Anzu responded, smiling. “I miss Kraion.” Her smile faded and her brow puckered. “I will kind of miss here, too, once I’m gone.”

“Save your sentimentalities, princess. It’s not worth putting into words.”

X

The castle was silent, a calming silent that could soothe any soul. It was late afternoon and most of the castle’s inhabitants had settled down for a break before dinner came. The one exception to that was the Prince Otogi, who was restlessly striding up and down various corridors. His mind could not stop moving and even the companionship of the darling Shizuka could not distract him. He needed to be alone to his thoughts and walking around as he was managed to keep others away from him rather nicely. His brooding expression assisted in that area as well.

Releasing an agitated sigh, he swept down yet another corridor and stopped at a window, slamming his palms against the glass. A ripple of vibrations shook the decorated glass. He disregarded it and stared out at the cheerful scenery. He had never cared for Kraion, let alone the people in it. Those of Siruean descent were relatively safe so long as they converted to the beliefs and customs of Kraion. The Hoshäi people, however, were not all safe in this kingdom. Otogi rather admired Hoshäi. He did not agree with them about the Dark Arts, yet the idea of only the strong surviving followed his own ideas. His sister was strong – or as strong as she could be without magic – and father was strong, too. Otogi flattered himself in believing that he might be strong. But this was all relative. Compared to those in Hoshäi, he was sure they were all weak.

It’s frustrating, he thought, curling his fingers into fists. I hate not being able to do anything...I can’t do anything for Anzu right now. And it’s not just me. I can see that Yami is experiencing a similar frustration. Everyone is holding us back because we’re princes. The only reason I am allowed to go in with Isis is because I have magic otherwise I would be as stuck as him. She doesn’t even care about Anzu...I suppose I don’t blame her. I would manipulate my way into a situation in order to get to my sister, just as she is doing for her brother. Still...I hate not being able to do anything. He slumped against the window and pressed his forehead against the cool glass. I hate that Anzu was put into this situation at all. How terrible it must be for her...How confused she must have been. I wonder if she is well. Oh, I hope she is not being mistreated by that damned sorcerer, Bakura.

Otogi sighed and pushed away from the window irritably. He frowned when he saw Yami crossing the grass towards the gardens. I wonder where he is going?

The Prince of Kraion was, after experiencing a particularly nagging feeling in his stomach, going to visit his sister in the royal suite. Frankly, he had no desire to exchange banter with her at the moment, but he had an uncomfortable feeling that told him something was wrong. Yami knew that she would not have cared if he got so sick he was near death. No matter how much she loathed him or how much he disliked her, she was still his sister. I have an obligation, he told himself. She has nobody out here to help her and is completely alone. It’s not safe. Anyone could get through those part of the gardens undetected.

Once he arrived at the royal suite, he stood a moment to survey it. The last time he had been here was when his mother was alive. After her death, it was no longer used and literally abandoned. Yami gave a vague smile as he recalled how she would move them here in the summer. Those were young days when he could sprawl in the grass with no worries at all. The sun would beat down on his face and his hot feet would bury in the cool blades of grass. Jounouchi would usually be with him and they would tear through the gardens like only boys could, raising their voices to each other and squealing with laughter. And afterward, even though Jounouchi was a servant boy, his mother would have them served lemonade. Yami’s smile slipped from his lips as he realized that Mai had never been invited to these outings – it had always been him.

Feeling guilty for something that had never really been in his control, he continued to the door of the royal suite, rubbing the back of his neck. He paused in front of the door and said nothing for a moment, simply gazing at the door. After a moment, he looked away, his forehead wrinkling with his worried thoughts, this time of his sister rather than his fiancée. Why did I never think about the reasons for Mai’s hatred of me? he wondered, disgusted with himself. If I had, I would have known this beforehand. It had never occurred to him that his parents were mistreating Mai. She had always been given the best of things. Now that he thought of it, he had only been the one presented with gifts; his parents had simply given Mai what she wanted, an entirely different thing altogether. He sighed, sliding his hand from his neck to his collarbone and then dropping his hand. It would be easier to face her while pretending to hate her.

Turning back to the door, he knocked on it and waited patiently. There were no sounds from inside, not even the footsteps of a person approaching. He leaned away and stepped around to look at the windows. The curtains were drawn and from what he could see, it was dark inside. Frowning, he pulled away and called, “Mai?” There was no answer. Returning to the door, he knocked again, calling her name a second time. The door swept open abruptly, startling him. A cloaked figure stood in the doorway. He gasped and stepped away hastily, clapping a hand over his nose and mouth as he gagged. What’s that awful smell? It smells like someone is rotting!

“Go, the princess wishes to be alone,” the figure growled out to him. Yami stared at it, horrified. He choked as a draft of the foul-smelling air blew towards him as the figure moved. “Go, Prince Yami. She needs rest. This life has drawn her down.” Yami paused, pressing his hand closer, and looking up curiously at the figure. It sounded like a man and by the sadness in his voice, he suspected that this man might be in love with his sister. He felt a bit of sympathy for him, yet felt that there might be something here if the man was still here and Mai was not present. “I will care for her.”

“What...What is that dreadful smell?” Yami asked hesitantly. The stranger tilted his head and seemed to listen for something.

“What smell?” he asked instead and then shut the door.

Yami stood for a moment, unsure of whether he should insist to see Mai or not. Deciding it was best she not see him, he stumbled away from the royal suite and heaved in deep breaths as soon as he was far enough to smell only fresh air. He breathed in deeply and after sending a glance over his shoulder towards the suite, he left the gardens. Once he had exited them, he considered over what had just happened that he wasn’t analyzing closely enough. She must be sick again, he thought, recalling when he had looked in on at her when she was sick last time. The same smell had been there, but not nearly as strong. What in heaven’s name could be wrong with her...? He turned slightly towards the gardens, shivering as if a spirit had passed through him. There was something ominous about Mai’s sickness...Something that he did not understand. When he turned back to face the castle, he jumped a bit at seeing Isis standing beside him.

“Is there something in there?” she asked him, ignoring his rather undignified behavior.

“Of course,” Yami replied in some surprise. “My sister is living in the royal suite. It’s encompassed by the entire garden. I believe she has a guest, there, as well...” He trailed off as he said this and then shook his head, continuing, “Is there some reason you wished to know?”

“It is nothing,” Isis vaguely said, turning her eyes from the garden. “I would like to set out in the Forest of Dim tomorrow, if that is possible. I have already spoken to the Prince of Siruean. He does not mind the idea in the least. He is as eager to see his sister as I am to see my brother. I felt I should tell you, as you can provide us with the necessary supplies while being in the forest.”

“Oh. Yes, I will send an order out immediately so that you two can leave as soon as possible tomorrow.” He paused, hesitating. “Can I ask you something?”

“Certainly.”

“What will you do when you meet Malik and the other sorcerers? Did you intend on bringing them back here?”

“No,” she answered quietly, “I have no intention to bring them here for judgment. They did not kidnap the princess, my prince, something I feel that you know as well as myself. If she is with them, they have helped her survive in the forest.” Isis turned to leave, slanting a look over her shoulder as she said, “I would think they deserve an award for that.”

Yami watched her walk from him, a swift, graceful walk that he admired. In the back of his mind, he wondered why he could not see the sorcerers as Isis saw them. However, as Bakura’s face flashed in his head, he knew the answer before he pondered the question much farther.

X

Bakura could hear the soft sounds of night around the cottage. Somewhere, crickets were chirping in the tall grass. He suspected that there might be one in her room with as loud as it sounded. The cottage was silent, with no sound of movement anywhere. It was deceptively peaceful. Unbeknownst to any of the other occupants of the cottage, Bakura had not only been working on his own devices in order to get to Mai. No matter what he did, she was strictly protected, either from her own magic or another’s. Some of it felt like hers when he encountered it, but some felt warped, with only the slightest taste of Mai’s. That had worried him. His own paranoid mind set him on another project entirely that took a lot out of him. However, it was worth it; he received a satisfying result. After much hard work on his part, he had created an oval piece of glass that stood on stone levers. It gave him a view of outside the cottage and he could hear any conversation he wished. It was made as a precaution against any intruders, as only animals were rejected from the cottage’s area, and was also made so that he could keep an eye on Seto and the princess.

It’s a pity, he mused, glancing at the glass structure. Seto is so intelligent but too arrogant for his own good. A smirk lit up his features as the shadows outside suddenly shifted. I wouldn’t have to deal with his matter at all if he wasn’t trying to ruin my plans. I need to get rid of Mai and Yami so that Kraion is mine. I’m sure Seto doesn’t care what I do – he merely inadvertently got himself involved with something that does not concern him. There is likely something else that is motivating him, other than his selfish desire to keep people away from the cottage.

Bakura rose to his feet from behind his desk and took his cloak from the back of his divan, throwing it around his shoulders and clasping it as his throat. He took another glance at the glass. Seto and Anzu were moving faster than he had expected. Ah, if there was an easier way of taking care of this, I would not bother. The princess aggravates me most of the time anyway. His chuckled aloud to himself. But then, she is beginning to like me. It will be too easy to manipulate her, although this will put me back a step.

Anzu and Seto, meanwhile, were hastening through the forest. She had to keep a hold on his arms so that they could flit through the forest by magic rather than troop through it on foot. The feeling was unsettling. Everything blurred, as if they were a tiny particle that was speeding through the forest. The sight of it made her stomach churn, so she eventually kept her eyes closed. They came a few yards from the end of the forest and she felt her body come to a halt. She pushed away from Seto and stumbled to a tree, heaving what little she had in her stomach. She felt him approach her from behind and push her hair from her face. Grateful, but feeling embarrassed that he was watching her be sick, she knelt, shaking, with one hand on the tree. “It affects you that way the first time,” he told her plainly.

“Thank you for the late warning,” she muttered, rising to her feet slowly. Her stomach had not yet settled, so she stood leaning against the tree for a moment so she would not have to vomit again. Wiping her mouth with the edge of her cloak, she waved a hand to show that she was better. Seto moved ahead of her and her eyes drifted down to the sword that was held in a scabbard at his waist. She wondered what he thought he would need that for and then had to remind herself that he did not fight with magic any longer.

As they walked, Anzu felt a prickling at the back of her neck, giving her the uncomfortable sensation of somebody watching her. She turned her head once to peer behind her and saw nothing but darkness and the outlines of trees and bushes. There were no sounds but their footsteps, with the occasional hoot of an owl or squeak of a bat flying above them. There were crickets chirping all around them. If someone had followed them from the cottage, they still would have heard them. Despite rationalizing all this in her brain, she stepped a bit closer to Seto. It was comforting to feel another human’s body heat.

“There is the break in the trees,” Seto spoke after they had been walking for about twenty to thirty minutes. Anzu still had the uneasy feeling of someone watching them and merely nodded. “Once you get there, you’ll be able to walk across the glade to Kraion.”

“Well, I’m not sure about that, Seto,” a soft, familiar hoarse voice rose from the darkness. Seto slowly rotated to face their visitor, his eyes narrowing. Bakura pulled his cloak’s hood from his face and sighed. “I wouldn’t care if you returned the brat back to her idiot fiancé, but I do have plans with her and frankly, you’re meddling in them.” He looked thoughtful for a moment and then grinned. “I assume you thought I was completely unaware. For awhile, I was, but you forget who created the cottage and who has more superior knowledge in the Dark Arts than you. Now, Seto, what would you like to do? Would you like to try and distract me so that she can run or just give this thing up while you can? I don’t mind either option, really.”

Seto reminded silent, the tightening of his jaw the only sign that he had even heard what Bakura said. Instead of him responding, though, it was Anzu. She grasped the sword in Seto’s scabbard and pulled it out, pointing it towards Bakura. He raised his eyebrows mildly, seeming to be entertained by her offensive position. “I’m going home, Bakura. I don’t give a damn about your plans!” She glared at him warningly. He eyed her thoughtfully and then dropped his gaze to the sword.

“Put it down,” Bakura told her.

“No.”

He sighed. “Anzu, put down the sword. It’s not a toy to be waved around.”

She was briefly distracted by his calling her by her name and then lifted the sword in a high arc, aiming for him. He moved aside in time and glowered. “I know how to operate a sword just as well as you or any other man does. Don’t treat me like an idiot, Bakura, because that’s the last thing that I am.”

“So you can use a sword,” Bakura said flippantly, “but can you use it well enough to take care of me?”

“I’m going home,” she stubbornly told him and broke into a run. Bakura was right behind her, but before either of them could get to the break in the trees, they were violently thrown to the ground. The sword flew out of her hands and skittered along the ground, hitting a tree trunk and becoming still. Seto, who had said nothing and did nothing while Bakura and Anzu had argued, stepped past them and came to a stop, raising his hands. It looked as though his hands were resting upon air. He released a small burst of magic that lit up what appeared to be an invisible wall. Anzu struggled to sit up after her body recovered from the abrupt blow. Bakura rose to his feet before her and stared at the wall that was slowly fading. He glanced down at her and scowled, grabbing her arm and hauling her to her feet. “What is that?” she whispered.

“A barrier,” Seto responded, throwing a look to them over his shoulder, “and a strong one.”

“Strong enough to keep all of us in,” Bakura added, moving so that he was standing beside Seto. He put a hand on the barrier and repeated what Seto had only done a moment ago. The barrier lit up again and Anzu took the time to inspect it. It was thicker than she had originally imagined. The sight of it made her tremble with sudden fear. There were dark electrical currents that fluttered through it. Both sorcerers saw it and removed their hands.

“And...that? What is that?” Anzu asked them. Seto seemed to have no answer, looking to Bakura. The latter sorcerer sent another burst of magic to light the barrier up a third time. Anzu could not keep her eyes from the dark currents, morbidly fascinated with them. The more she saw them, the more she shook. Bakura turned away from the barrier and saw her round eyes fixed on the barrier.

“Dark magic,” he shortly replied, removing his cloak and wrapping it around her. “Take her back to the cottage, Seto, and wake Malik. I want him here to see this. He’ll probably be awake anyway.” He pushed her into Seto’s arms. Anzu struggled to turn and look at Bakura. There was a hard, grave look on his face that she could not recall ever seeing before. And in his eyes she could see a worry, not only for himself, but for all of their lives.

X

DIS: I’m not sure why, but I really liked this chapter. After I got done with the first – oh, I don’t know – eight to ten pages, the writing went faster. Nonetheless, I do apologize for the two month wait. Honestly, this story isn’t high on my list of priorities. Besides that, as I said, those first pages were hard to get started on. It should go faster from now on, especially the romance. I’m excited for that. I actually have this wonderful, horrible idea that I want to get going. (Yeah, I used an oxymoron, lol.) Also, I expect that there will be several grammar/spelling errors and/or typos because I didn't edit this. I will, however, edit it and repost later. Anyyyyway... Please review telling me what you liked, disliked, or just how you felt about this chapter. Ciao!