WAHOO! I FINALLY GOT DRAGON ROSE UP!

This is the result of listening to and watching a prideshipping music video to the Song Breath by breaking Benjamin non-stop for a week; seriously that's what I did. This idea for this story actually just came to me all at once while i was trying to watch Yugioh 5Ds in my dorm room, back when my laptop was busted, I literally wrote the entire scene (which will appear later) in my head until i was like, what am i doing, rushed to the comp lap and typed all day until it was done. Thus this story began!

As i said before, this is loosely based off Beauty and the Beast with a Lot of twists, and rewrites from my own creative mind. And if you've read my profile and read how i feel about characterization and such, then you know I WILL keep both Yami and Seto in character (i HATE it when Prideshipping fics make Yami submissive and Kaiba TOO nice, its so unrealistic) so they'd both be in character, Kaiba will still be an arrogant ass, with a heart of gold, and Yami will still be his complex, confident and fiery tempered self.

WARNING: (Grabs a microphone so everyone can hear me.) THIS STORY IS PRIDESHIPPING, Yoai, AND CONTAINS A LEMON LATER IN THE STORY! Now i know some puzzleshipping fans don't like prideshipping and I completely understand, but I LOVE Puzzleshipping but i also love Prideshipping, so if you don't like prideshipping or have any problems with Yaoi or Lemons, GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE, because I got nothing against it and I will NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCEWS TOLERATE FLAMERS OR ANY NASTY COMMENTS.

This story also contains GX characters, but only a small handful, like five at the most, and they're only secondary characters, so if you don't lik GX, don't worry.

Summary: Ever since his parents died–leaving the three of them orphans at the tender age of adolescence–Yami promised himself he would do anything to protect his older brother Atem and his beloved baby brother Yugi… Even if it meant sacrificing his life, his freedom and his dreams of escaping their pedestrian rural life and the unwanted lust of the Duchess to save them from life imprisonment at the hands of the vicious dragon king of his favorite fairy tale, Seto Kaiba.

He kept his promise.

Disclaimer:

Beauty and the Beast is a French Fairy tale, by an unknown author and Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and its characters (with the exception of Rebbeca, Leon, etc who were created by 4KIDS) belong to Kazuki Takahashi,

The plotline, idea for the prologue and all original ideas in this not found in either of the mentioned above, including Ida and Alastair belong to me, meaning NO STEALING!

Prologue: The Dragon King's Key

It was many a year ago, at least by mortal reckoning, when a proud and magnificent family ruled the lands from a magnificent Gothic manor of marble and stone. They were both fierce and protective, yet kind and loyal and fair. They were known as the Kaiba family. The name 'Kaiba' meant 'fang' and it suited them. Their reign was a Golden Age and the people were eternally grateful to them for overthrowing the previous rulers of the Manor. The previous family consisted of cruel, vain and arrogant nobles who usurped the throne when the previous owner died heirless–before he could appoint a successor to his mansion and those who lived in the villages. But the worst of the family–whose name the people chose to forget–was the eldest son. A vain and selfish man who cared only for his own glory and wealth, he even treated his own younger brother like dirt. He was the pride and joy of his parents. Groomed and raised to be dictator of the realm, he carried with him all the worst traits of his parents.

However, with the rest of the people behind them, the vicious dictatorship was defeated and overthrown by the Kaibas. With the support and respect of the people, Kaiba–a nobleman under the former king and his wife Ida–planned a rebellion against the usurpers to free the people. But one of the evil prince's slaves found out and told the prince, hoping to obtain a higher position. The prince–in a fit of fury–planned to execute the traitors, but before the act could be carried out he was foiled by the only pure member of his atrocious family: the youngest prince.

The youngest prince was a gentle and caring soul and for that reason, his parents shunned and abandoned him in favor of their eldest child. Every since he was a child and his family stole the throne, he knew they didn't deserve it. He'd look out the window of his home and wish so much to make a better place, for he was the only one who knew the difference between right and wrong. When he overheard his brother's vile plan, he swallowed his own fear and fled the castle to warn the Kaibas. With the younger prince's help, the rebellion infiltrated the castle in the dead of night and took the manor. But the rulers–even though they knew they were defeated–refused to be banished and instead of paying for their misdeeds, they flung themselves out of the window to their deaths. But the eldest prince refused to become a forsaken martyr. Instead he was exiled to the mountains and his family name banished from the realm as a reminder of those dark times where the people lived in terror of their government. Even the good, youngest prince refused to acknowledge his own surname. As a reward for his help, the younger prince was adopted into the Kaiba family.

The townspeople and the country flourished under the peaceful and prosperous reign of the Kaibas and their two sons, nephew and adopted son. The King–known throughout the lands as Alastair–though stubborn with his eccentric and unorthodox manners of ruling, was an exceptionally good King. His wife Ida was his equal in every way, an eccentric huntress whose wild spirit and golden heart could not be tamed. Both loved their people and made the fact known both within and outside the walls of the manor. Many of the castle's servants were wards of the king and queen who were given jobs and treated as if they were their own offspring. But the most beloved of all the Kaibas was the oldest son, their prince Seto. He was truly a handsome man both externally and within: a proud and stubborn man but with a will as strong as a dragon and a heart brighter than gold, eyes as beautiful and blue as the endless sky. Thought it was uncommon in that day and age, the royals spent as much time among their citizens as they could. Even their adopted son was loved among them. Among his people, the eldest prince Seto was kind and fair, and among the servants each one was like a younger sibling to him, but when the people were in danger he defended them with the ferocity and power of a dragon, earning him the nickname: the Dragon Prince. Yes, the people loved their rulers and their rulers loved their people, but the dark destiny of all kingdoms would soon doom this peaceful paradise.

Deep in the mountains, the exiled evil prince swore vengeance upon the Kaiba's for their betrayal and theft of his family's crown. Yet above all he despised the Prince Seto. Most people believed he hated the fair prince was because he was jealous and accused him of stealing the throne that should be his. However, that was only a small part of the answer, a much lighter side. In truth he envied the fair prince with all his soul. He hated how the people loved and respected him, how even his own little brother idolized the Dragon Prince instead of him. He hated how the prince Seto commanded the love, respect and attention of everyone who laid eyes on him without even trying, while he'd had to demand their love because they hated him so. He hated how, while he'd had to rule through fear and oppression, the people simply gave the Dragon Prince their love on a silver platter. And yet the prince did nothing with it. Even if Seto's parents were the true rulers, the exiled heir knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was the Dragon Prince who ruled the endless kingdom the Manor controlled. He vowed one day to return and rip away everything the Prince loved and treasured so deeply in the most malicious and unforgiving manner he could concoct. Banished to the shadows and forced to live a solitary existence of seclusion, his bitterness festered until it consumed his soul.

Finally–after years of dabbling in the dark arts–his bitterness, jealousy and rage transformed him into a sorcerer of terrible power. His dark heart had all but consumed him. One dark day, after all but signing away his soul to the darkness, he unlocked the dark, unforgiving arts of the Shadow Realm. Darkness consumed him, making him a prisoner of his own power yet affording him the ability to control the very forces of Purgatory and eternal suffering. Only one thing burned within his poisoned mind now: his lust for vengeance. (Technically the Shadow Realm is Hell, or Duat, isn't it? Not Purgatory?)

It was a day that should've been a day of great celebration, the eldest Prince's coronation on his 21st birthday–the day he became a man and the day he would be no longer known as the Dragon Prince, but the Dragon King. It was on this very day that everything changed. The sorcerer–wearing a mask of glamour to hide his pale red hair and the wickedness in his eyes with an appearance more commonly seen among the realm of mortals–attended the new king's majesty with a terrible plan to make the new king and his family suffer for their crimes against his person, even his own sibling would not be left unscarred for his treachery.

Only after everyone else had presented their gifts and their best wishes and promises to their beloved prince and soon-to-be king, the former monarch stood from his throne–holding in his hands a magnificently sculpted crown in the shape of a majestic white dragon with eyes of sapphire and powerful wings. Just as the former king was about to crown his son, the Sorcerer stepped forward and spoke his impossible demands: he commanded that Seto relinquish his crown and his throne to its true owner or great doom would befall them all. He cast aside his glamour as he spoke, eliciting a scream of terror from his former sibling who was the first to recognize the only remaining member of his murderous family, and gasps of shock and fear from the townspeople whom he had terrorized.

Naturally the bold prince refused, claiming nothing would convince him to relinquish his throne and the lives of his people and loved ones to a madman who knew nothing but tyranny: he did not fear death or enchantment. The sorcerer's eyes narrowed at the defiant family of royals before a smile struck his face; a smile that sent a shiver of fear down the spines of everyone present, chilling everyone in the room to the bone. Many of the elder members trembled at the horrible memory. Even as the royal guards attacked with arrows and blades, and the people rushed to defend their rulers, the Sorcerer's hood and hair shaded his wicked eyes as a shadow of black and magenta energy flooded his body like a wispy ghost. Finally, the sorcerer unleashed a deadly wave of black and magenta energy, consuming the entire throne room, but the servants and those loyal to their monarch refused to leave, and screamed in anguish and fear as their very essences warped to that of the dark master's sick desires.

He spoke in a fantastical tone as a deadly wave of energy–like a ring of black and crystal fire–ensnared the royals, and all except for Seto vanished before the young king's horrified eyes. But the Sorcerer refused to reveal to the devastated king what had become of his family. He then invoked the magic of the Shadow Realm and placed a terrible curse upon the manor and a deadly spell upon the kingdom and all who lived there. Proclaiming doom on the royal family and all who served them, friends and servants alike, the servants and wards of the castle were stripped of their physical forms and were warped into new ones for their loyalty, ones of creatures from the parallel realm of fantasy, only able to return to their true forms in that of a spirit. As for the prince himself, the Sorcerer wanted him to suffer the most. He wanted to see him wither away and suffer alone in solitude and anguish just as he had suffered, before extracting the final act of his vengeance. So he cursed him with the most terrible form of all: the form of the most magnificent and dangerous creature of myth and legend, once beloved by the royal family and the kingdom, and would now be used to doom the new King: the form of the Blue Eyes White Dragon. But his form was cursed to be neither monster nor human, but something awful in between. Trapped as a prisoner within his own body, with only his most loyal of followers in forms no human would dare trust, he was imprisoned within his Manor.

To entertain himself, the Sorcerer gave the prince an ultimatum: the prince would have 100 mortal years to find his one true key and break the curse, a key that could accept the King for the monster he was, else his soul and the souls of all those he held dear would never know peace and would instead be trapped within the dark depths of the Shadow Realm for all eternity. With a maniacal laugh and a haunting scream he vanished, claiming to return once his time had come… leaving behind a confused and terrified crowd who could no longer feel anything.

The prince let out a shallow gasp as he collapsed to his knees before he screamed in horror at the body that was no longer his. Instead of human hands, silver claws had replaced his fingers and ice-blue scaled paws were his hands. Scales and white talons adorned his arms. At his feet were the back legs and claws of a dragon. Confused and scared he turned to his servants, each holding a sad expression on their faces, which no longer held their light hues; their jeweled eyes had lost their color. And when a mirror was raised to the prince's face, he screamed. Blue scales adorned his body, torso and chest, a powerful, whip-like tail sprouted from behind him; fin-like appendages grew from his shoulders. From his shoulder blades sprouted two enormous wings large enough to consume his body, glittering with blood as they ripped from his skin: beautiful yet gruesome. But most terrifying of all were his eyes. No longer were they the brilliant cerulean he'd grown up with, nor were they human. Instead, he saw the ice-blue eyes and slit-like pupils of a dragon staring back at him with a mixture of horror and fear reflected in their depths. It was just as the sorcerer cursed him–he was neither dragon nor man but something terrible in between. His servants and friends urged him not to lose hope, that they would find his key, whatever it may be (though only the King knew that well-kept secret), and rescue his parents and the younger princes from wherever the evil Sorcerer sent them. But it wasn't long before hope began to fade…

As the years past, he fell into despair; though his followers and the people he'd worked so hard to protect refused to leave him or abandon the manor, the rest of the world forgot as the long years of the century rolled by. Alone in the castle, the former King's golden heir began to chill and stiffen, angered and bitter towards the world that shunned him so cruelly as a monster. As hope became an illusion scorned by the prince, his lonely heart grew cold and desolate, but his servants never lost hope and prayed and prayed to the God of light for aid, to save their master from the malicious fate cursed upon him and to help him find his key. For only the Prince knew about the key and told only a select two and they swore to take the secret to their graves, keeping it from even their most trusted friends and family. So the servants didn't ask. They just trusted their Master to find his key, knowing that whoever it may be would have to be a special soul to earn the heart and rescue the soul of their master. Though the secret was safe, it didn't take the servants long to fit the pieces into place and realize what the key must be:

The Dragon King's one true love.

I did say twist didn't I? Can I call it or What. Anyway, the second i started this story i wanted a curse rather than Seto being turned into a monster because he was a selfish bastard. I did a lot of work on the back story for this, the kingdom, setting up with the evil former family, the sorcerer etc. etc. That is because I don't believe people are pure evil or pure good (though there are always exceptions to that rule) so I really wanted the bad guy in this to hate hate HATE seto, and give him a reason.

I researched the japanes word Kaiba, both to prove it DOES NOT mean sea horse, and to give it something to relate it to dragons. So imagine my happiness when i found Kaiba was spelled similarly and deprived from the Japanese word "Kiba" which means Fang. Thus the name was born!

I had to make up Kaiba's parents in this, for obvious reasons, Ida is the same character in my story Let Me Be Your Wings, and the same woman from Seth's flashback in the Egyptian arc of his mom: black hair, blue eyes, pale skin. Alastair I made up. I figured since Seto and Mokuba were brothers, and his mother had black hair like Mokei and blue eyes like his, than their dad must've been a brunet like Seto and have gray eyes like Mokuba.

Kaiba's Dragon form was inspired by a picture by one f my favorite Artists Sliphertheskydragon's AWESOME picture of Dragon Kaiba, the link to it is in my Favorites on my Deviantart account.

Other than that as always read, review, critique, etc. etc. I love comments, feedback, and long reviews. Also, you'll NEVER guess who the bad guy is, or who I made Guesdon in this. XD