Freeing Cinderella

Ch.3 A Bond We Make

"My stepfather..."

Yami's eyes went wide with shock as Yugi said this. "What...?" He was in disbelief. Yami just couldn't fathom how someone would do something like this to an innocent person, especially to one as beautiful as Yugi.

"He always did things like this to me; I've got the marks to prove it..." He croaked in a slightly hoarse voice.

Yami suddenly got up, causing Yugi to lift his gaze. "I shall return in a moment. I must get you some ice for your cheek. Stay here, alright?" Yugi just nodded before Yami disappeared from the room.

Yugi just sat there, his cheek throbbing every so often, tears staining his face, eyes puffy around the edges, the whites of his eyes bloodshot from his sobbing, throat sore from all his crying, body aching, and just feeling so drained... However, if there was one thing Yugi feared, it was if Yami wanted to see his marks, he would be so stunned at what he saw that he might just shun Yugi for it. He didn't want that, and that's why he never showed anyone the marks littering his body, mostly his back though. Yugi hated those marks, each one just another of his horrible past, and they all started after his mother passed away. His mother... How he missed her... Her gentle hands whenever they wiped his tears away or stroked his hair and back to comfort him, and her sweet voice that would always coo to him, calming the boy when he was upset. He missed that, even more after she passed away and Dartz's true nature was revealed. In that moment, Yugi truly felt alone as he wrapped his arms around himself. This was his way of comforting, though it felt more like he was holding himself together as not to fall apart at the seams again. Yugi wanted to cry, he wanted to release all those pent up emotions, he wanted comfort, but knew there was no one there to do that for him, not now, for it felt too far out of reach... The boy felt so lost when he was upset, not knowing what to do. His mother always knew, and right now, Yugi wished she was there, comforting him like she always did, whispering sweet nothings into his ear as she gently stroked his arms, back, and hair, letting him cry into her chest or shoulder. He didn't know what to do, something he always hated... Yugi wasn't sure if he should be happy or depressed. What was he to do? He felt so lost, like a wandering child in a maze of spiraling emotions he couldn't escape from. Tears slipped out of Yugi's eyes again as he began to cry once more, softly this time, trying to suppress his swirling emotions. Suddenly though, his bedroom door opened as Yami had returned, but he didn't notice until the prince sat down in front of him. Yami saw the tears sliding down Yugi's face as he reached over to gently lift his chin, Yugi now realizing the prince had returned. Yami gently wiped those tears away from that beautiful face before handing Yugi a glass of water. He stared as at it for a moment before slowly taking it in his grasp.

"Drink this." Yami told him as Yugi hesitantly took the glass. "You seem very weak, but at least this will help, if only a little."

Yugi nodded and drank the water, downing almost all of it in one go before handing the glass back to Yami, giving a small "thank you" in response. The prince then lifted Yugi's chin again and grabbed the bag of ice he went to retrieve, gently placing it on Yugi's bruising jaw. He flinched and whimpered softly, Yami quickly apologizing, only to have Yugi wave it off. "Usually no one ever apologized to me... I was always the one to do it, but I guess that was something I had gotten used to, that life I had been living for so long..."

"No one should have to live a life full of pain and suffering." Yami said a bit sternly. "You have been through so much, haven't you?"

"I don't know about that..." Yugi said, mainly to himself.

"I can see it in your eyes..." Yami noted, catching Yugi's gaze with this comment. "I can see the pain, the hurt, and the agony you have endured for so very long... How could you ever live such a life, Yugi?"