This is NOT YAOI! Atem and Yugi are twin brothers born to Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen, yes, that really is his real name, anyway the two are twin brothers, the twin princes, hence the name Futatsu no Oji meaning 'Two Princes'. Please be so kind as to review.

-Saph


The entire kingdom was joyous on the day the Pharaoh's wife gave birth, but the event didn't go quite as planned.

There were two boys, twins, both with the same shocking tri-colored hair. There were only minute differences between the two. The older one was slightly bigger and weighed more, he was to be the new Pharaoh, not only because he was older, but also because he was the only one expected to survive. The other was frail and small. He wasn't expected to live past a week and so the maids decided to only present the firstborn to the Pharaoh. There could only be one future Pharaoh anyway. And so, three of the midwives took the eldest to present to the Pharaoh, while two others took the younger one deep inside the palace, the last two stayed with the mother.


Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen was overjoyed that he had a strong, healthy son to present to all of Egypt. He held the boy out to the sun for all to see, as was tradition in royal families. He named him Atem after the Egyptian deity, meaning, 'the complete one', symbolizing that he felt that his family was now complete.


Elsewhere, the other child was taken deep into the bowels of the palace. The midwives knew he could never be Pharaoh, but he could at least work in the palace and serve the future Pharaoh, that would be as close as he would ever get to his brother. The midwives knew of a couple working in the depths of the palace that had wanted a child for a long time. The woman was barren and the man wanted so badly for a son to pass his name onto; they were perfect for this little one. The midwives arrived at the small hut that the couple lived in, and knocked, announcing themselves as they were let in. They presented the baby to the couple, telling them it's origin and that he must never know of his true family. After swearing the couple to secrecy the midwives left the happy family.

The couple named the child Yuugi meaning 'game' because when they had put him down he had started playing a game involving kicking a ball and watching it rebound.

10 Years Later

Ten-year-old Atem was outside one cool day, playing with a ball. The game he had invented involved kicking the ball as hard as he could into the stone wall. He would then observe what angle the ball rebounded and repeat. He was playing around when suddenly the wind shifted and the ball went with it.

"Ah! Wait, come back!" Atem called after the inanimate object. He decided to chase it, he really liked that ball, it was made for him by mother.

Atem followed the ball as it rolled deeper and deeper into the palace. Even though he had never been down there, the midwives had forbidden it, he felt a strange feeling, as if something was calling to him. He continued on, the ball forgotten.


Inside the hut that was visited by the midwives ten long years ago, the elderly couple smiled at their ten-year-old son. Currently, he was helping his mother wash the dishes after breakfast. He was rather good at it, he could wash the plates cleaner than the old woman could, and he knew how to put them in the cupboard so they would be easy to get the next time they were needed. Little Yuugi was good at things like this, he loved housework, everything from cooking and cleaning to sewing. As Yuugi was drying the clay plate his fingers slipped and he dropped it.

"Yuugi! Are you alright?" His mother asked worriedly.

"I-I'm fine, mother." Yuugi replied, bending down to pick up the plate. He had felt something just now, but he didn't know what. Although he knew not to keep secrets from his parents, Yuugi felt that he shouldn't tell them about this one.


Atem soon found himself at a small hut deep inside the palace. He didn't know what led him here, or why he had stopped, his feet seemed to have a mind of their own. He decided to enter the small hut and see what it was that was calling to him. If he got caught he could always get out of it nobody would dare harm the son of the Pharaoh.


"Yuugi, could you go get the box I left by the door?" Father called to Yuugi.

"Okay!" Yuugi called, smiling, he could help! He ran to the front door, stopping when he saw what looked like himself.

"What the...?" Both of the boys exclaimed at the same time.


The end of the 1st chapter! Will Yuugi find out about his long forgotten past? Will Atem take back his long lost twin brother? What will become of Atem's ball? Find out, but only if you review!!

-Saph