Drabble written for a meme on my tumblr RP account BeautyofIllusixn.


Mana was an excitable child, always following the Prince and his companions around, even though she was much smaller than all the boys around her.

She didn't mean to, of course, but being a clumsy child, she often ruined the games that the Prince worked so hard to build, or made him lose by shouting encouragement at the wrong time.

One day, he and Mahad had had enough, and hatched a glorious plan to get rid of her for an afternoon so they could play in peace.

"We should play hide-and-seek!" Atem shouted, little under his eighth year at the time.

"Hide-and-seek? That's my favourite game!" Mana squealed, barely able to contain her excitement. They never played her favourites ever, and she could barely believe her luck!

"But I thought you said we were going to play Se-" Mahad's words were cut off by a look from the prince. "Right! Hide-and-Seek! I can't wait!"

"Can I count first?" Mana asked, barely daring to hope.

"No," Atem cried. "I want to count first, so there! Otherwise, we won't play at all!"

"Of course, Prince Atem! I-I'm so sorry! Please let us still play!" Mana pleaded.

Atem sent a smirk in Mahad's direction.

"I told you."

"You did, your highness." The eldest boy of the trio folded his arms, but said nothing more.

"Remember, Mana… You can't come out until we find you."

"Of course! I'll choose a good hiding place, I promise!"

Atem, still smirking, began to count as Mana ran off to hide.

Atem waited until Mana had completely disappeared, before turning to Mahad. "Senet? Or soldiers?"


Hours later, and Mana was still hidden, waiting patiently up in a tree.

Teehee! They still haven't found me!

Her stomach rumbled.

"I hope they find me soon…"

Meanwhile, Atem and Mahad were sitting at the feast table, talking excitedly about the game they had played that day against Shadi.

Mahad was looking about the tables, searching for the tiny mop of hair that he knew would be Mana.

"She's not here, Atem," he said softly.

"Relax, Mahad… She probably got bored and went to bed." Atem sounded confident, but he still looked worried, and after dinner they snuck out to search, but to no avail, and they were quickly caught and put to bed.

The night was cold, Mana found out, still huddled in her hiding place. It must be really good if they cannot find me, she thought, trying to stay cheerful even as the cold bit at her cheeks and made her toes hurt.

Slowly, she submitted to sleep, hoping that Atem and Mahad would find her come morning. She was really very hungry.


It was master Siamun that found her the next morning, face blue and wheezing breaths even as she slept. The boys had never seen him so angry even as he did his best to curb the cold she had gotten overnight.

When Mana awoke, hours later, she found that she could not move her arms. She looked down to find one ashamed looking apprentice holding one hand, and a teary prince clutching the other. She blinked.

"You found me…"

Atem shook his head. "We didn't find you. We tried and tried but we couldn't. Great Uncle Siamun was the one who found you."

"But… You always find me."

"Your spot was just too good, Mana." Mahad said softly.

"You are now officially the Hide-and-Seek champion," Atem said, reaching out to gently poke her nose. "We're sorry you had to hide for so long. We'll do anything to make it up to you!"

"I'll teach you a magic trick," Mahad suggested.

"I'll be your servant for a year!" Atem cried out.

Mana thought about it. She really thought about what she wanted.

"After I have some food, can we play Hide-and-Seek?"