Yuugi sighed and stretched his back a bit. He had been carrying heavy boxes for Negishi for the past hour and was a little sore. He stopped in front of Atem's stall and smiled. "Yesterday was fun. I wanted to thank you for letting me ride you."

Atem nickered quietly. 'Anything for you, my sweet one.'

"Stable boy!" Hime screeched. "Stop wasting time! My party guests will arrive soon! Get ready!"

Yuugi nodded. "Yes, Hime-san." He turned back to Atem and smiled. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

--

Yuugi took the horses of the guests and put some in the remaining stalls of the stable. The others had to be tied to posts nearby or even to the fence. He had to remember which horse belonged to which guest so he could retrieve the horse when they left. In total, there were twenty-five horses. Through out the night, he had to keep their water and oat buckets filled. He groomed the horses and cleaned up the waste they left.

It was almost midnight when the party was finished. When the guests started to leave, Yuugi had to strap the horses to the proper carts and carriages, helping the guests into them.

Once the last guest left, Yuugi sat down on the ground completely exhausted. So much running around had worn him down. He needed to get to his bed-

"Stable boy!" Hime cried.

He wouldn't get to his bed anytime soon. He could feel it. He stood up and brushed himself off. "Yes, Hime-san?"

She smirked. "Daddy said that you have to clean out each and every stall. He doesn't want any foreign horse droppings in his stables. You have to clean all of them. And he said that you have to clean any mess the other horses And he said you have to clean whatever other messes the other horses left! And daddy wants it done tonight!"

Yuugi sighed. "Yes, Hime-san." Just when he had hoped to have the rest of the night off! He gathered his cleaning supplies and started on the first empty stall.

Atem watched Yuugi with pity as he cleaned the stalls. It wasn't fair that he had to go through so much work all on his own. As a prince, Atem understood the pressures of work. He had to do a lot on his own as well. But so many years of backbreaking work and abuse from his "owner". It wasn't right.

--

It was late. Atem was sure the sun would start to rise soon. He had continued to watch Yuugi though the night, not sleeping unless his sweet one could sleep. He wanted to make sure Yuugi wouldn't get hurt or sick. Thankfully, he was cleaning the last stall.

Yuugi stopped scrubbing and yawned. He noticed Atem was watching him from the stall directly left of him and smiled. "What are you still doing up? You should get some rest. Hime-san might want to ride you tomorrow. Go to sleep, Yami. The others are asleep and you should be too."

Atem nickered and raised his head, keeping it in the air. 'I won't go to sleep until you go to sleep. Besides, I'm a prince. Princes do as they wish and have no curfews.'

Yuugi sighed and shook his head. "You're a strange horse, Yami."

Atem snorted. 'Not as strange as some people I know.'

Over the past few days, a strange aura had surrounded Negishi. He seemed saddened by something. He had a strange look on his face. It was…odd.

Yuugi stood up and stretched his back. "I'm exhausted. I wish I could continue this tomorrow."

"Slacking off, eh, stable boy?!" Negishi exclaimed. He held a bottle of liquor in his hand and took a swig of it. He swallowed it before shouting, "Is that it?!"

Yuugi turned around and shook his head. "No, sir. I'm sorry. I'll-"

"You're worthless!" Negishi screamed, desperation lacing his voice. "Why?! Why are you so worthless?! Just like Toki. She was so beautiful. But then she had to die! Worthless!"

Yuugi blinked. "Negishi-san, your wife…she couldn't help it that she died. Some mothers die during childbirth. It can't be helped."

"What would you know about it!?" Negishi glared. "You don't know anything about love! You can't understand what it's like to lose someone you had a child with! She died because of that child! It's her fault!" He turned around and screamed to the night air, "You hear that Hime? It's all your fault!"

Yuugi stood up. "Negishi-san, don't blame your daughter for her death. These things happen. It wasn't anyone's fault."

Negishi wiped around and slapped Yuugi across the face. "Shut up! Shut up!"

Atem neighed angrily, outraged that Negishi struck Yuugi. 'How dare you!'

"You think you're so smart? You think you know everything, boy?" Negishi grabbed the whip he used on the horses. "This will teach you a lesson!"

Yuugi curled into a ball and screamed as the whip spilt open the skin on his side. Negishi yelled at him incoherently. His drunken state made everything unclear. Atem was able to make out one crucial sentence through his ramblings.

"No one came to her funeral fourteen years ago today! NO ONE!" He brought the whip down again.

Atem couldn't take any more. Yuugi was screaming in pain, a sound that broke his heart. Atem reared in the air and kicked down the door of his stall, breaking it off the hinges. He took a few steps to the stall beside him and reared again. Negishi wheeled around and gasped. Before he could let out a single word, Atem's shoe clad hoofs came in contact with his head. He let out a grunt and fell to the ground.

Yuugi gasped. He head heard a sickening crack and he knew that Negishi's neck was broken. His master was dead. Yuugi crawled over to the body, checking for a pulse. He felt nothing. He stared at Atem with shock. "He's dead."

Atem nickered quietly. 'Better him then you. I couldn't let him hurt you any more.'

Yuugi stood up, holding his bleeding side. "This can't be happening. This is unreal!"

Atem was confused. 'Why are you so scared? You didn't do a thing.'

"What should I do?" Yuugi asked himself. "I can't stay here! The police might think I did it." He looked at Atem. "If they find out you did it, they'll put you down. They'll kill you."

Atem took a few steps towards Yuugi. He pressed his nose against Yuugi's cheek. 'It's all right. You don't have to be afraid.'

Yuugi sobbed and wrapped his arms around Atem's neck. "I can't let them kill you. You aren't a murderer!"

Atem nickered quietly. He pulled away from the boy and got down on his knees. Yuugi looked at him confused. "What are you doing?"

He nickered again, flicking his head to his side. 'Get on.'

Yuugi understood what he wanted. "You're saying we should run away. Maybe we could go see Kaiba-san! He might take us in."

He slowly mounted Atem, a little scared of riding a horse again. As Atem rose to his hoofs, Yuugi looked over at the stable. All of the horses had been awoken by the ruckus. There was a sad look in their eyes. The only person who was kind to them was leaving.

Shuji and Yuki whinnied loudly as if begging Yuugi not to leave. He smiled sadly as tears fell from his eyes. "I'm so sorry, everyone. I hope I haven't brought any of you grief because of this. But you'll find a better owner now, someone who will love you forever and take such good care of you. I'll miss you all." He sobbed. "Goodbye."

Yuugi gently tapped Atem's side and they left at a slow walk. There was no point it hurrying; it was so late that no one would even notice them.

Yuugi heard all the horses whinny and neigh as loud as they could. The stable boy imagined that they were saying goodbye to him. He didn't want to leave these horses, but it was for the best. That's what Yuugi had to convince himself. It's for the best . . .

--

There was a knock on the door. "Niisama! Wake up!"

Seto opened his eyes and sat up on his bed, yawning. "Come in, Mokuba."

An eleven year old with long black hair and bright blue eyes walked into Seto's bedroom. "Niisama, there's someone named Yuugi here to see you."

Hearing Yuugi's name woke him up completely. "Yuugi-kun? Where is he, Mokuba?"

"With the doctor. He was wounded on his side, but the doctor said it's not bad." Mokuba was nearly knocked off the bed when his older brother sat up and ran over to the infirmary.

The hallways were dark, but Seto knew exactly where he was going. 'Yuugi-kun…please be all right!' He barged into the infirmary. "Yuugi-kun?"

Yuugi looked up, startled. "Kaiba-san. U-uh…I'm sorry. I-"

"Don't be sorry." He walked over and put a hand on Yuugi's bare shoulder. "My invitation wasn't for when it was convenient for me." Yuugi was shirtless with gauze wrapped around his midsection. Seto looked to the doctor for explanations.

The doctor bowed to his employer. "He'll be all right, Kaiba-san. The wound wasn't very deep. I gave him some painkillers also. He needs rest, but he's fine."

Seto nodded. "Good. Thank you." He led Yuugi to a spare bedroom. "You can stay here tonight. There's some pajamas in the dresser there you can change in. They might be a bit big but they'll fit. Once you're ready, go down the stairs and turn right. It'll take you to my personal study. I'll be waiting there for you so we can talk."

Yuugi bowed lightly. "Thank you…" He walked into the bedroom. It was a simple room. There was a bed in the corner with a nightstand beside it, a dresser for cloths and a roll top desk. As he changed, he thought about Yami in the stall with the other horses. 'I hope he's ok there. I'll have to go see him first thing tomorrow morning.'

Once he was descent, he followed Seto's directions and found himself in the study room. Seto sat on a couch beside the warm fireplace with two cups of tea. He offered Yuugi a seat. "Now, would you care to explain exactly why you're here so early?"

Yuugi sighed. "I'm sorry. I couldn't think of any where else to go." He paused. "Negishi-san is dead."

Seto put down his teacup and leaned forward. "What happened?"

Yuugi described the incident with a wavering voice. He was terrified. Would Seto call the police and turn him in? Would Atem be killed for committing such a crime? He didn't know. But he had to tell someone.

Seto sighed. "If the authorities ever found out about this then I'm positive Yami would be shot. I don't know if you would be arrested but I know they would kill him. However, that's only if they find out."

Yuugi looked up at him. "What are you saying?"

"Well, if the authorities ever come looking for you, it won't be because I told them." Seto said with a smile on his face. "Negishi-san is the only one who did something wrong. It wasn't you or Yami. So what reason do I have to report you for a crime neither of you committed?"

Yuugi smiled. "Thank you, Kaiba-san. Thank you so much."

XxX

Atem was glad to know that Seto wasn't going to turn them in. He didn't want to leave Yuugi, not ever. He kept a watchful eye on the stable boy as Mokuba taught him the rules of the ranch.

"We clean the stalls once every week and clean the horses regularly." The child instructed. "We have a total of 100 stalls and over 80 horses here."

Yuugi was shocked. "That's a lot of horses."

"We breed them for races, trail rides, and the occasional circus horse when it's requested." Mokuba said proudly. "It was all Niisama's idea. He loved horses since forever and always dreamed of having a ranch."

Yuugi smiled. Seto had a love for horses that few had. These horses were treated with care and respect. But Yuugi was curios about something. "What are my duties here?"

"Niisama said you'd be doing the same thing you were doing before." Mokuba said. "Cleaning the horses and the stalls, supplying them with fresh water and oats and whatnot. You'll also take the horses out to the paddock so they can have some exercise. It's not much different then what you were doing before."

Yuugi nodded. He was glad that this was going to be his new home.

--

Atem was going to be trained by going on the trail rides. He had experience with the commands already and Seto was sure he would be perfect for the terrain.

He strapped on a saddle and bridle and mounted the horse. "Let's go for a walk, Yami."

He tapped the prince's sides and they were on their way. Atem enjoyed the light walk they were traveling at. He took in the fresh air and beautiful scenery. Seto's ranch was nearer to the mountains meaning the trail was filled with hills.

When they went up the hills, Seto leaned forward and he leaned backwards when they went down the hills. He truly was a very skilled rider.

Atem loved this place. It was filled with wonderful people and beautiful scenery. As they walked back to the stables, Atem saw Yuugi taking a pony to its stall. He looked so happy as the horse ate oats out of his hand. At that moment, Yuugi looked so beautiful. Atem swore that Yuugi would always have a smile on his face. No matter what.

That night, Seto and Mokuba were doing some last minute checks with the horses. Yuugi was sent to bed some time ago and now it was just the two brothers checking on the horses and talking about anything. One subject interested Atem quiet a bit.

"Egypt is still missing its prince." Mokuba said. "The king is dead and no one has assumed the thrown from what I've heard."

Seto sighed and shook his head. "It's a shame. Egypt was such a beautiful country."

Atem nickered sadly. 'Egypt…I'm sorry I failed you.'

"I wonder where their prince is." Mokuba said. "I mean, why would he just disappear like that?"

Seto shrugged. "I don't know. I doubt he ran away. Egyptians are very brave, prideful, and never back down from a challenge. Especially one that involves their country being taken over."

"Do you think he's dead?" Mokuba asked.

"It's possible." Seto replied. He finished checking the horses and turned to his brother. "So how did Yuugi-kun do today?"

Mokuba smiled. "Fine. Most of it was stuff he was used to anyway so he knew what he was doing. Anything new he had to learn he caught on pretty fast. He handled the horses really well."

"I'm glad to hear that." Seto smiled. "Come on, let's get to bed. It's late and you have lessons tomorrow."

Mokuba whined and tried to convince his brother to let him have the day off. Their conversation faded away as they neared the mansion. Atem was lulled into sleep by the chirping of nearby crickets. That night, he dreamt of Egypt. The wide-open desert, the alabaster walls of the palace, the oasis the castle was built around, everything was beautiful there. How he missed his old home.

His mentor, Mahado, was one of his fondest friends as well as his bodyguard. His cousin Seth was the one person he could always talk to about anything. Shada, his father's right hand priest was always so kind to him. He missed his friends and family so much.

Atem was awakened by the sound of the side entrance door opening. He saw Yuugi slowly walking in. The stable boy smiled. "I didn't mean to wake you up. I just thought I'd bring you a treat."

He held two dinner rolls in his hands. He held one out to Atem, which he gladly took and chewed on quietly. "I think we'll like it here. Seto-san is so nice and Mokuba-kun is very kind too. The other workers are all good people. I think we're safe here. I'm glad he'll let us stay here."

Atem nickered quietly, agreeing. 'This is a wonderful place. It's too bad Seth can't be as nice as Seto.'

"I hope the others will be all right. Isamu and the others, I mean." Yuugi sighed. "I wish I could make sure they'd be all right."

Atem pressed his nose against Yuugi's cheek. 'Don't be sad my sweet one. I'm sure they'll be fine.'

Yuugi smiled and scratched under Atem's chin. "You know, sometimes I think you're human. You don't act like other horses do. You're special, Yami. You're really special."

He whinnied appreciatively. 'You're more wonderful then I, sweet one.'

Yuugi sighed and stepped back. "I should get to bed. See you in the morning, Yami!"

He ran out of the stables happily after waving to the horse. Atem settled back into the hay. Tomorrow was going to be good, he was sure of it.