Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Keeper Of The Crown ❯ No Means No ( Chapter 10 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Keeper Of The Crown

Chapter Ten: No Means No

OOOOO

People stared as their Princess entered the city on horseback with the man who had supposedly assaulted her. Villagers gaped, pointed and whispered amongst themselves. What an odd sight it was. Royalty parading in with one of their status - a criminal, no less - was just something not done.

The Princess Anzu looked quite pleased. Sure, she was drawing unwanted attention from the commoners, but she was with Yami. And he wasn't angry with her anymore. So she was happy. Sighing, she looked up at the Royal Palace. She wondered silently...what would her father say when she saw her with Yami?

And furthermore... what would his reaction be when she told him that she had found her true love in a peasant? Would he allow their marriage? Would he...would he welcome it? Would Yami be accepted into the Royal Family, like Otogi had been when Teana announced their engagement?

The brunette frowned, hugging Yami tighter. 'Most likely not. Father hates the peasants. And Yami is the poorest of the poor.' She sighed. 'How am I going to make this work out?'

"You're troubled."

Anzu smiled weakly. "How did you guess?"

Yami chuckled. "You're holding me very tightly."

The Princess sighed and loosened her grip on him. "I'm just frightened...about what father might think once I tell him."

"You weren't frightened before."

Anzu shrugged her shoulders. "I've had a whole day's journey to think about it. And... And did you actually think that I wouldn't care about my father's opinion? He's my father. No he's more than my father, he's the Pharaoh. His word is law, and it matters to me. I...I want him to accept you, Yami. I want you to be welcomed into our family." She looked away from him. "If you're not... I don't know what will happen."

Yami gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry. I'm sure everything will work out," he said in a confident tone. "If your father doesn't accept me, I'm sure we can just find another way to be together."

"But I don't want to lie to them. I've been lying about us, and I feel terrible. They're my parents. They deserve to know. But at the same time, I don't ever want to tell them because I don't want to lose you." Resting her head on his shoulder, she sniffed. "I'm just so confused about all this."

The tall boy reached down and ran a hand through her silky hair. Placing a small peck on her lips, he winked. "Don't worry. As I said before, everything will work out. I'm sure your father will understand."

OOOOOO

"Absolutely not."

"Father, I don't see why you're making such a big deal out of this!" Princess Anzu said, glaring up at her father.

Pharaoh Akunamukanon paced back and forth in front of his throne. He shot a glance in the direction of the tri haired boy who stood a few feet away. The boy's head was bowed in respect and he looked very rigid and uncomfortable. "He is the same boy that raped you!"

"He didn't rape me, he only kissed me! And only because I wanted him to!" Anzu took Yami's arm and held it tightly. "I love him, father. I truly love him with all my heart and soul."

"He escaped from the Royal dungeon and killed three of my best guards! He deserves to be killed." The ruler yelled, beginning to lose his patience.

The brunette shook her head. "No! You can't kill him! Father, don't you understand that I love this man? I want to marry him and be happy with him," she exclaimed, holding Yami tightly.

Yami raised he head a little bit, his eyes still focused on his feet. "Pharaoh, if I may say something? I... I love Anzu very much. I never tried to hurt her. I would never do anything against her wishes."

"Please, father, allow me to stay with him," Anzu pleaded, bowing lowly.

The Pharaoh shook his head. "No, he is a peasant! It's not right." He looked sympathetically down at his daughter. "Now I'm sorry if you love him, but I forbid it."

The Princess's eyes widened. She looked between her father and Yami, and then tears formed in her eyes. "I hate you!" she screamed before turning and running from the Throne Room.

Akunamukanon sighed loudly and sunk down into his throne. Queen Leila was by his side in an instant, patting his arm and telling him that Anzu would be fine after she got a chance to cool down.

"I'll go talk to her," Leila said, smiling at her husband and leaving the room in search of her daughter.

Frowning, the Pharaoh looked up to see the room empty, with the exception of some guards. A smirk came across his features as he called over one of his men.

The black haired soldier Karim bowed in front of the king. "How may I be of assistance, my Lord?"

"Find that peasant and throw him back into the dungeon. He will not escape from his sentence this time around."

Karim nodded. "As you wish, almighty Pharaoh." He then disappeared.

'My daughter will not cry over him. Her marriage to Prince Varon is so close to being arranged.'

OOOOOO

Anzu lay on her bed, tears spilling down from her eyes and staining her cream colored cheeks. From her spot on the floor, Kisara stared worriedly. Putting her cleaning rag into a pale of soapy water, she slowly approached her mistress.

"Miss Anzu, why do you cry? It is not befitting for a Princess like you to cry like this," she exclaimed.

The brunette looked up at her servant. "Kisara...what would you do if someone forced you and the person you love apart? What if they forbid you to be together? What would happen?"

Kisara blinked a few times. "Miss Anzu, I'm afraid I don't understand."

"I love Yami so much," the Princess said, wrapping her arms around her knees. "But father won't allow us to get married. Yami is a peasant... and everyone says it isn't right for us to be in love. Surely you must know how it feels."

The blue haired girl smiled. "Oh, you speak of Seto and me? Well...I do know how you feel. Seto made me vow to keep our relationship a secret, and of course I couldn't refuse if I wanted to live to see the next day, so it's hidden. No one except he and I - and you - know of it." Her eyes widened. "Oh! Miss Anzu! Please don't tell Seto I told you! He would be so angry!" She buried her face in her hands shamefully.

"I think Seto already knows that I figured it out. And, since I am in the same predicament as he, I doubt that he minds." Anzu looked up when there was a knock at the door. "Enter."

Leila stepped inside slowly. Smiling at her daughter, she came and took a seat on the plush bed. "Anzu, we must talk," she said slowly. When she had her child's full attention, she continued. "I know that you love that boy. I could see it in your eyes down there, and I can see the sorrow of losing him in your eyes now. But...I think it's for the better that you move on. That peasant isn't the one you're meant to be with. You, my dear, are the Princess of Egypt. You deserve royalty."

"I don't want royalty. I want Yami."

The Queen shook her head. "I'm sorry, dear. We can't always have what we want in life. It's just not always what the gods have planned for us."

Anzu growled. "I don't care what the gods have planned for me! I want to marry the man of my choice! I wont have my father tell me who and who not to love!"

"That is quite enough," Leila said warningly. "Really, Anzu, I expected you to act more mature about this. If this new attitude of yours is the result of your being around with that boy, then it is a good thing Pharaoh forbade the relationship."

Looking to the ground, the Princess sighed. Kisara had politely disappeared when the Queen entered the room, so she now had no means of comfort. "Mother...I don't wish to be with anyone else besides Yami. I love him so much."

Leila smiled at her daughter and embraced her. "Well maybe we can change that." At receiving a confused stare, she stood up from the bed. "Your father arranged for the Prince of Rome to come and dine with us. Maybe after you meet him, you will see what a nice boy he is. Pharaoh thinks it is a smart match, and I don't doubt hid judgment. He is already on his way to Egypt as we speak, and hopefully tomorrow he will arrive."

"Mother, I really must protest to this. Why did I not have a say in it?"

"Need I remind you, you were kidnapped." The Queen sniffed. "Please try to calm down. Losing that peasant isn't the end of the world."

Anzu sighed and watched her mother exit. Walking over to the balcony of her room she stepped outside. The night air felt cool on her face and cheered her up slightly. Looking down at the gardens below, she remembered what she had said before to Yami.

And if he doesn't, we'll run away together! We'll run away and live happily together and get married and have lots of babies!

They had laughed before. But now, it seemed as though that might be the right thing to do. It might actually be the only way for them to be together.

'Yami...Where are you now?'

OOOOOO

"And this time, stay in here!"

The guards laughed to themselves, locking the cell door and taking their positions on the other side of the dungeon. Yami frowned, looking around. Great. Now he was stuck in this stupid dungeon, and the Pharaoh would probably have him killed at sunrise. What did he do to deserve this?

'You fell in love with the Princess of Egypt, remember?'

The tri haired teen snorted. Looking to the cell next to his, his eyes saddened slightly. He didn't even have Malik to talk with anymore. 'Malik...I hope you made it to the afterlife.' Frowning, he began to wish that none of this had happened. If he hadn't saw Anzu that one night at the festival, none of this would have happened. If he hadn't decided to play hero, he wouldn't be in prison.

If only he took that offer.

If he had taken Jounouchi's offer and married Shizuka, he would never have fallen for the Princess. Bakura wouldn't be his enemy, and Malik wouldn't be dead, and he would be next in line to be executed. Life would have been normal. He could have had a family with Shizuka and moved into a nicer home and still be with his friends. He could have kept his job in the fields and could have had children to go home to.

But would he want that? Would he want to be a father to Shizuka's children? No. He didn't love Shizuka. He loved Anzu, even though it was against written law. He wanted a family with Anzu. He wanted to be forever with Anzu. She just made his life more exciting. More worth living. He wouldn't want to replace the good times with her.

'The good times when she was just pretending.'

Closing his eyes, Yami leaned further against the slimy wall of the dungeon. He was thinking to much about all this. It wasn't fair that he was blaming Anzu, either. It wasn't really her fault. Well, it was her fault that she snuck out and caused them to meet, but it wasn't her fault that he fell in love with her. It wasn't her fault that his hear ached, like even now, when they were separated. It wasn't her fault that his spirit would soar whenever he saw her shining face.

Maybe she was being herself around him, and maybe she wasn't. But whoever she was with him was whom he loved. And if he could be with that person for the rest of his life, Yami would die a happy man.

Quirking a smile, the tri haired teen clenched his fists together. "I wont throw our relationship away like this. I won't rot away in this cell, and I definitely won't be executed in the morning." He looked up at the small crack in the wall, squinting as the bright sunlight hit his eyes. "You said if your father didn't approve, we would run away together. I don't know if you're still up for that plan, but I am, Anzu. As soon as I find a way to get out of here...I'll come for you. And we will go somewhere that we can be happy. I swear on my father's soul that I won't lose you again."

To be continued...