Sooo... I am starting this new story. Well, I started it a long time ago, but didn't want to post it until I had a considerable amount done in advance. WHICH I have done... so, here it goes. Raiden shall give a summary.

Raiden: I hate this.

Silence: I don't care. Tell them what it is about!

Raiden: Well, it is set in Ancient Egypt. Atem, Rei, and Hotaru are all siblings (20, 18, 15), and their fathers', King Aknamkhanans', funeral is how the story begins. It proceeds to tell the lives of these 3 people and the troubles along the way. While Atem wrestles with war and family problems, Rei with her marriage predicament, and Hotaru with her freedom of the palace, Egypt is in for one heck of a ride.

Genre: Romance/Action/Adventure

Pairings: Atem/Anzu, Marik/Rei/Seto...Rei/Seto/Makoto, and Hotaru/Yami Bakura.

Disclaimer: We own nothing.

Almost Easy

Prologue

They all hung their heads, the dry wind swirling the hot sand of the desert around them. The sun beat down on their flesh, drenching them in a sweat they all knew too well. The late Pharaoh Aknamkhanan's mummification was now complete, and today was the day he was put to rest in his tomb.

The remainder of the royal family stood closest to the entrance of the tomb, flanked by the High Priests' and remainder of the royal advisors. The four kin of the late Pharaoh all held different expressions, each one puzzling in there own way.

His wife, Mertz, wept as her husband was carried away, hiding her face with a veil. Her black robe flew around her, the wind making it billow like an ocean of the abyss. She seemed to be the only one upset, grieving behind her black hair.

The eldest of the Pharaohs children, Atem, looked at his father's coffin as it passed him, four of the tomb keepers keeping it in procession. His face was kept neutral, but underneath it he was scared. He was now the new Pharaoh… he alone would make all the decisions. His mother had been taking up business until the funeral as custom, but now that it was over, he was Pharaoh.

The second of Aknamkhanan's children, Rei, stood at her brothers side, her amethyst eyes showing nothing at all. She never really cared for her father much, considering he always paraded her around like an ornament. He claimed that she was the most beautiful woman along the Nile, so therefore was always secluded to the palace walls, to 'protect her'.

The last of his children, Hotaru, stood by her sister and held her hand, her eyes darting around the crowd of people that presented themselves at the funeral. She too was beautiful, but her father was too preoccupied with her brother and sister to pay much attention to her. Aknamkhanan placed her as an apprentice to a priestess at the Temple of Isis, but she always skipped. So, Hotaru was dubbed a heathen.

"Rei, when this is over, do you want to go hang out by the river?" She whispered to her sister, who gave her an incredulous look.

"Hotaru! This is neither the time nor the place to be discussing this!"

The pair became silent again as High Priest Akhenaden led them all in a prayer, telling of the Pharaohs journey through the land of the dead, praying for guidance and hope that his heart was lighter than the feather of Ma'at. It was a very ornate prayer, one that the High Priest had prepared specifically for the occasion.

"With you we wish luck and wealth in the afterlife…" He concluded, giving the tomb keepers the signal to carry him in.

As their father was carried to his resting place, his three children watched on, each one with a different thought.

This is it… Atem closed his eyes. I am Pharaoh.

Good luck in the afterlife. Rei kept her eyes open, but showed no sign of grief.

Bye-bye father… Hotaru thought briefly, but then her mind wondered to other things.

"Rei…" Hotaru tapped her older sister on the shoulder, admiring her long, black hair that drifted to her thighs. It seemed that since Rei had claimed the title of 'palace beauty', she would have to claim something else. Upon cutting off her hair and running rampant all over the kingdom, she was deemed the 'palace troublemaker'.

"What?"

Hotaru rocked back and forth on her feet. "Well, I was wondering if you would like to go to the town with me…"

Rei sighed and sat down on a stone bench, putting down the necklace she was about to put on.

"You know we aren't allowed too."

Hotaru, of course, would hear none of this. She was always sneaking out, and she never got in trouble.

"Whatever, Rei. Father's dead now, so you won't have to worry about it."

The eldest of the two shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair. "It's not that simple. Mother and Atem have still been adhering to his rules. Besides, Atem signaled for me a few moments's before you arrived."

By looking at Rei's face, she could tell that bad news was in the air.

"What do you think it is about?"

"I know what it is about…" She looked sad, her eyes dropping to the ground. Hotaru was not used to this side of her sister, whom to her always held an air of confidence and never flaunted her emotions. This was definitely odd. "Father told High Priest Akhenaden things he would like to be enforced after his death…"

"Which means?"

Rei gave Hotaru an irritated look. "It means, miss impatient, that I am betrothed to High Priest Seto and Atem is betrothed to Anzu."

Anzu was the daughter of one of the High Priests and also a childhood friend of the royal family. She was always very supportive of Atem, so the odds were good for them. Rei and High Priest Seto, however… not so much.

"Hey! Where am I in this list?"

"You were SUPPOSED to be a priestess, remember?"

"Oh, yeah…" The youngest sighed, remembering that she was supposed to be helping out in the temple. Priestess' were not allowed to marry, but for some reason, the priests could marry as long as the woman was not a priestess. "Why can't Atem just say what he wants? He is after all, the Pharaoh now."

Rei shrugged. "Atem is nervous. He isn't going to be thinking straight for awhile."

An awkward silence passed between them, in which Rei used to put on her necklace and bracelets. She stood from her place and straightened her dress, making sure the dress covered her assets properly and the skirt wasn't crooked.

"I have to go see Atem now." Rei patted her younger sister of three years on the head. "Please don't get in too much trouble."

Hotaru walked the city streets; dressed in a plain, white robe and no makeup. If she was to act apart of peasant life, she needed to dress the part, right?

She hated being apart of the royal family, always having to follow rules and do things you don't want to do. She hated watching her sister get married to someone she didn't like and her brother being confused.

The sun was high in the sky now, shining its rays of brilliance upon her. This was one reason she didn't want to be a priestess. If she had complied with her fathers wishes, she wouldn't be able to enjoy her afternoon walks in the sun or midnight excursions around the city. She liked the freedom.

Sad thing was no one here could offer her complete freedom.

Maybe someone could someday.

Rei walked the lonely halls, making her way to the throne room. Dread and fear filling her thoughts with every step. Would Atem go through with their father's wishes… despite the fact that she and Seto hate each other?

She knew that the end was inevitable. Even if Atem decided to repeal the betrothal, Akhenaden would coax him into putting it back in place, saying that he should obey his father's wishes. That is just how Akhenaden was. He would use Atem's vulnerable state to influence his law.

Rei knew her brother was not weak, but the shock of suddenly being made Pharaoh and all the pressure of living up to their father's name was overwhelming his judgment. However, she would still be angry with him if he went through with this betrothal.

She entered the throne room silently, seeing that her brother was meeting with another person already. Even though she walked up quietly, they still stopped the conversation and turned their gazes to her.

"Hello, Rei…" He smiled. "Thank you for coming. I was just finishing a conversation regarding father's tomb."

It was them Rei looked to the unknown person. It was a man dressed in purple robes that hid most of him, signifying that he was a tomb keeper, obviously for her father's tomb. His blonde hair slung neatly over his face, covering his forehead.

"You are dismissed."

The man bowed in respect and made his way out, but took a glance at Rei as he left, showing her his own amethyst eyes.

End of Prologue