Chapter 1

The twins were silent as the lid of the alabaster sarcophagus rubbed against the other half closing off the last sight they would see of their father.

It was unreal. A cold, the doctor had told them, but the sickness would pass and all would be well. They were awakened by the nurse's scream in the middle of the night. The gods had taken him away in the darkness.

Atem had cried out in anguish, cursing in grief and sorrow while Azula remained quiet. Standing in the doorway, she didn't flinch when the other priests rushed pass her. She didn't shed a tear as others had. She didn't speak as the men carried him out as tears, mixed with anger and sadness, streamed down their faces.

Was it wrong for her to say that she didn't feel the same pain the others were feeling? Was it wrong for her to feel nothing for the man she had known as her father? She was supposed to cry, wasn't she? But she couldn't muster up those emotions that her brother and her people displayed.

She didn't have the same relationship with her father as her brother had. She never had the chance to bond with him, to laugh with, or share experiences that a father and child would. He was just a man that she had known as Father... nothing more.

"I will start the preparations for the coronation." She heard their uncle speak. The announcement set something off inside of her.

"We need to let the people know that they are still being led by a Pharaoh." He placed his large hand on his nephew's shoulder. "We'll make the announcement that Atem will now be Aknamkanon's successor and…"

Her body reacted before her mind could process her actions. She was by her brother's side, sensing his confliction and grief but was too respectful of their uncle to say what was on his mind.

"Can this not wait until later?" Azula didn't mind that her uncle sneered at her for speaking up.

"Azula, now is not the time for your insolence!" Aknadin snapped. The young woman's hand shot out, swiping hard across his face.

"And now it not the time for you to shove my brother onto the throne when we are grieving." Her pink hued eyes glowed dark with rage. She would be damned if she allowed her uncle to bully her brother into something that he was not prepared for.

Aknadin bit the inside of his lip to calm himself from lashing out. He didn't speak until the taste of his own blood spilled into his mouth.

"'We?' I highly doubt that you are grieving." His snide remark earned him hard punch in his good eye. She heard the gasps echoing in the room but she didn't care. She took pleasure in seeing her uncle in pain as he stumbled back from the blow.

"How dare you?" She spoke slowly. She could have killed him. She was thinking of so many things she could have done to him with just a few words.

Gritting his teeth, he glared at her with malice. His hand came up as if he were ready to strike her and he would have; he's all but forgotten that she was the Princess of Egypt and saw her as nothing more than a woman that had yet again defined him in front of his peers.

"Aknadin." Mahod grabbed his wrist. The high priest moved fast before the man could follow through with his act. "Please…"

His hand held tighter when the rage in Aknadin's face etched harder.

"Get your hands off me!" He snatched his arm free from the taller man's hold.

"Aknadin, if you touch Princess Azula, I swear to you, you will lose that hand." Mahod spoke with authority and stared down the elder Priest as if he were challenging his threat. Aknadin looked back to see Azula ushering out Atem of the room.

He made a silent vow that this was the last time he would allow that child to go against him.


Azula moved around her room aimlessly. After the fiasco with her uncle, it nearly broke down Atem. He hated when the two of them quarreled and the death of their father just pushed him over the tipping point.

He held it together until they made it to her bed chambers and then he cried. He cried long and hard until there was nothing left. He had lost his father so quickly. He had so many questions that needed to be answered. So many thoughts and opinions that he needed his father's advice on. And now his uncle was pushing for him to be seated at the throne and rule Egypt?!

He wasn't ready!

He felt the mattress shift. His sister's fingers ran through his hair to calm him down. He sighed. He knew if he had his sister, his twin by his side, everything would be alright.

Today proved that as she stood up against their uncle. He had wanted to fight for himself. To stand up to their uncle, but the words were caught in his throat. It infuriated him. How was he to rule a country and he couldn't speak for himself? He had always relied on Azula to be there to protect him, to pick up where he had fallen short. To walk him through the hard times.

His father had told him that one day he would have to stand on his own, to lead on his own. Azula wouldn't be at his side to protect him forever.

Sooner, rather than later, he would have to take charge. But was he truly ready?

The soft knock at the door paused his self-wallowing. The person on the other side didn't wait for an answer. The elderly hand maiden, dressed in ceremonial black walked through the door. She held rolled parchment in her boney hands.

"The girls were cleaning up your father's bed chambers and one of them came across this on his desk." She held out the cotton parchment, tied together by a thin twine. "It is addressed to the both of you." She said as she sat it down on the bed.

"Thank you." Azula gave a small smile to the woman that left as quickly as she came.

"What is it?" Atem asked once they were alone again. He sat up, propping his back against the numerous pillows. Azula did the same next to him as she pulled the twine away and unrolled parchment.

"It is a letter in Father's hand." She was shocked. What could her father possibly have to say after death that he didn't say when he was alive?

"To my children. My children that are my universe. I am not a man that speaks about his feelings; that was something your mother would have been better at than I. I know that if she were here today, she would be proud of you, just as I am. I'm sorry that I have not said this to you as often as I should have, but that does not make the statement any less true."

Azula stopped reading. She could feel something burning throat as she cleared it. This letter was obviously for Atem. Her father had never said a kind word to her other than 'Good Morning'. She highly doubted he would be starting now.

She continued.

"To Atem: This is your day. The day you have be trained, educated, and born to do. This is your moment, but this moment will be followed by events that will change your life forever. You are now King. At eighteen, you are now Pharaoh of Egypt."

She paused again and found her brother staring back at her. Their birthday was a few months away and realized that their father had penned this letter to give to Atem at the coronation ceremony.

"It will be a frightening thing, knowing that you will now rule over the county. Your decisions from here on out will affect not only your family but countless families across the land.

"Never be afraid to ask questions; that is why you have your advisors that will be faithful and never steer you in the wrong direction. Never be afraid to take risks, as I have told you before, a great leader never plays by the rules. And most importantly, trust your heart.

"Forget your regrets, learn from your mistakes, take chances, and leave your doubts behind you. Do not compare yourself to my reign. You were born to continue my legacy and surpass me just as I surpassed my father. Strive to be greater, better, but above all, be Atem and no one else."

Azula passed the parchment to him to let him read it again. As the seconds ticked by, more tears steams down his cheeks. He smiled, washing them away with the back of his hand. Their father did not foresee his untimely death, but while he was sick in bed and nothing to do, he wrote this, thinking of his son. It was the encouragement he needed. He was ready now. He was ready to begin his reign and make his mark in history.

"Wait…" He played with the edges of the parchment. "There's another one." He revealed a second letter.

"To Azula." As her brother said her name, all she could hear was her father's voice. What did he have to say to her?

"When you were born, your mother lost her life. It would be false to deny that bitterness did not fill my soul. I could not bring myself to bond with you, to love you like a father should love his daughter. By the time I got over my bitterness, it was too late. You had grown up, and to my regret, without me.

"I am sorry. I am sorry that I did not give you my love and attention that you rightly deserved. I am sorry that I held you responsible for something you had no control over. I am sorry that I was not the same father that I was towards Atem. You two are twins, you deserved identical love. It may be too late, and my words my fall on deaf ears. At your eighteenth birthday you are now ready to seek marriage. As your father, I have a say in which man you will choose that will become your husband, as my father did. I will not participate in that tradition. I know that you will only go against me. Instead, I allow you to choose whomever you want. I will grant my blessing no matter the man. All I ask is that you follow your heart and not be afraid of the consequences.

"I know I have never spoken to you with such kind words before this day, but please know that I speak from my heart.

"Never change, no matter who tries to stop you. Never stop striving for knowledge as I know you will be a great asset in Egypt's development into a great nation.

"I love you Azula and I am proud of you. You are truly your mother's child. So different and defiant of the rules that you make your own to suit you; I love you for that. I love you for being exactly who you are."

She was silent as her chested burned. How dare he say such kind words to her! How dare he write down everything she had longed for growing up and then die before she got to say her peace!

Unintentionally, she snatched the parchment from her brother's hand, tearing it slightly. She read it again, and again until she knew for sure that black ink would not morph into something else. That this was not a trick and her father was actually the cruel heartless man she had grown up knowing.

Nothing was on the page but kind loving words that she craved for. That she desperate wanted to hear. And more so, she wanted to hear from his mouth. But she would never get that chance. She would never get to hear his voice again.

Atem wrapped his arms around her. He never felt more helpless than at this moment and he wished he could do more to comfort his sister.

Burning tears came flooding out as he heard her cry for the first time when reality finally hit her:

Their father was dead.


A/N: It feels ssssoooo good to write again! Two years is such a long time! Writers' block can be so hard to shake. This has been sitting in my files for a long time. A lot of reworking andnim kinda nervous about it. But I'd rather get it out there then hiding it. :)

Hopefully this will be just as enjoyable to read as all the others.

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