The King's Maze (Yami x Reader)

Birth of the Maze

XXX
The sun had disappeared for well over an hour, but the sky still held on to a dark blue with the clouds mere puffs of smoke. From were I sat I could see specks of stars dotting the sky. Clyde took another hearty drink of the soured blood wine before plopping down in his seat to tell us how the maze came to be.

"As I mention before," He started with a croak then cleared his voice, "everything here in the maze was part of a country. The only things that are left over from that time is the town below us, the castle and of course, the garden. Everywhere else has been warped by the walls and by the carnage of the monsters that now live here. I lived in town with my family; running a small butcher shop with my wife and sons." Clyde paused for a moment then breathed to center himself. "The King," he said, clutching the top of his knee, "had a young son, whom he adore. Every year to celebrate the child's birthday the king would put on a big spectacle for the town and country to join in. A festival one year, a large-scale scavenger hunt the next and so on. When the boy was eleven, he demanded that a game be made in the prince's honor. Whomever could come up with the best game and beat him at it could make whatever request the king and it would be granted."

"Naturally, everyone in the kingdom raced to come up with the best game, till one day a traveler happened to pass by. When he heard of the challenge, he went to the castle and asked to make use of that part of the garden beyond the gate for his game. The king allowed it since he didn't think any harm would come of it. It was on castle grounds after all. The traveler took a whole day I heard to set it up and when the young prince entered it, he never came out. Hours passed, and the boy never returned. The king sent in his men, but they never could not find the boy. The travel then went in and brought the boy out. Having lost the game, the king was forced to for fill his promise."

"Let guess, he didn't." Joey said crossing his arms as he sat back in his seat.

"Correct. The King didn't put a limit on what could be asked so the traveler asked for half the kingdom. When the king said no the traveler then asked for the life of the prince." A collective groan filled the room but said nothing so the vampire could finish telling the story.

"The travel was put under arrest and the festivities continued and the contest was forgotten. Then in the middle of the celebration a loud scream was heard. I still remember the sound and feared it was my boys, but they were in their beds. Another came and took us a moment to realize it came from the castle. There was one last cried and the silence that followed curdle my blood. It was the silence that follow death. When morning came, we learned the prince had disappeared into the maze and presumed dead. The king with mad and tried to enter that part of the garden but his advisers held him back. Not of the guards they sent in to find the body ever came out. When they tried to force the traveler to enter, he again asked for his reward of half the kingdom. Before anyone could stop him, the king killed the traveler at the gate. Our king was never the same after the loss of his only son and slowly our country fell into ruin."

"Is that when the maze started?" Mai asked when Clyde paused for a moment. The vampire shook his head. "No, the maze didn't begin until a year later. The body of the prince was never found and no matter how many people went pass the gate not a single person ever returned."

"Wait, so the garden stay the same?" The vampire gave Yugi a short nod and breathed out wearily.

"Yes, and our madman of a king forced his people through the gates to bring back his son. If only I left sooner, then my family wouldn't have suffered what happened next. On the anniversary of the prince's disappearance another stranger went to the castle. A relative of the slain traveler who wanted the reward his brother had earned. The king tried to kill him too, but the new traveler revealed himself to be a sorcerer. All over the kingdom the voice of the sorcerer was heard saying, "My brother entertained your prince and was robbed of his reward. So now this kingdom must entertain me" After that, the first walls went up, cutting our country off from the rest of the world.