It feels like it's been a long while since I focused on fan fiction. College is getting pretty stressful, and at this point in time, I'm ready to graduate already and start teaching. And, I've started getting into fandoms without writing. Anyway, this story is coming along pretty well, so I thought I'd start posting it. I don't own anything in this story, and I sincerely hope you like it.

"Hey, Yuugi, watch out!" A voice came from behind me. I turned to see what was going on, and got a cloth ball to the face. I stumbled back, tripping over the low brick wall I had just stepped down off from a moment ago. My rear end hit the ground, knocking the wind out of me. The cloth ball rolled a few feet away. "Hey! Throw it back, would you?"

I rolled over and crawled forward to pick up the ball and went to throw it back to the other kids. It went severely away from the target, but they were already running to grab it, laughing about my lack of coordination. Then, they were off again, and I was getting back to my feet and dusting my pants off. I played with them once, a while ago, because some adults were loitering around and bullied them into letting me play. It hasn't happened since.

Some shouting came from a block down, the opposite direction the other kids were. I turned, climb back up onto the short stone wall to get a better look. The shouting started again, louder, and even though I couldn't catch what was being said, I could see movement. There were people just now running across the street. I squinted, wondering what was going on as the last of them flit across the way. Is that… gold? Are those the priests?

"And I heard that that thief king, the one that's been causing trouble, killed him." One of the kids behind me stated. I glanced over my shoulder to see they had stopped playing their game.

"Oh, really? Don't you think we would have heard something, if that happened?"

"No way, man! We'd be the last ones to find out! If anything, they killed him and we're just waiting for the white flag."

"Well, I'm thinking about leaving. Yeah, my older brother knows how to sail, so we can go north over the sea and make a name for ourselves somewhere more stable than this hell hole."

"You're going to leave us behind? Come on!"

"What are we going to do? I'm too young to die."

"We aren't going to die. Who wants to rule a dead kingdom? No, no, we're going to be a part of some evil army. How do you feel about swords?"

"My dad died in a big fight like that!"

"I too young to-" I didn't hear the rest of that conversation, because someone suddenly grabbed my arm from behind. I was pulled backward, over the edge of the short stone wall that I've been walking along, balancing for the last half our or so. I fell over it, but this time, I landed on my feet, surrounded by tall figures in expensive clothes.

"What?" I gasped, my heart beating quickly, unable to understand what's going on. These are the priests!

"Bring him." One of them instructed, and I was suddenly pulled along, spirited away from the courtyard and from what I could see, the other kids didn't even notice I was getting kidnapped.

I was pulled into a dim room, and released. I stood there, not understanding what was going on. The three of them were picking at me, poking, and discussing something over my head.

"I think so."

"Their hair is similar, at least."

"But we'll have to put the red in."

"He's a little shorter."

"He never goes without his taller shoes, most no one would guess how short he is without them."

"We'll have to get him cleaned up. Dirt, all over. These clothes are filthy, and- stand up straight." I was wacked in the back. I did so, beginning to hyperventilate.

"You're going to make the kid have a panic attack." One of them pushed another away. This one came to stand right in front of me. Two hands fell on my shoulders, and he lowered down to look me in the eyes. "What's your name, son?"

"Y- Yuugi."

"Not anymore. It won't be forever, but now your name is Atem. Alright?"

"But… but it isn't." I trembled. "What's going on?"

"We don't have time to explain it right now, but you'll be compensated for your time and trouble. All you need to know is, your name is Atem, and you've just snuck out of the palace. This is the fifth time this moon, and you did it to play those games of yours, and you won't do it again."

"What?"

"Your name is Atem and you've snuck out of the palace again. Can you remember that?"

I nodded.

"Your name is Atem, not Yuugi. It won't be forever, but just for now. You and your family will receive a reward when this is over. I will personally seek out your family tonight to account for your absence, but for now, your name is Atem."

I tried to calm down, still not understanding, but thinking I could work with this. "My name is Atem."

"Good." He let me go and stood up, looking to one of the others and gesturing to me. "He's perfect. Come on, we have to get him back to the palace."

"This is never going to work."

"He's meek and quiet, this is never going to work. Even if the boy's personality doesn't give it away, he doesn't have the Millennium Puzzle. Atem goes nowhere without the Millennium Puzzle." He was the priest with the Millennium Rod. He patrols the streets quite often, keeping an eye out for the thief king and enforcing the curfew. The one that had talked to me wore a white headdress and wore a Millennium Item I didn't know the name of. It's a necklace; a large ring with several golden spikes hanging downward.

"We'll figure it out. This is our best idea, and we're going to try it. Come on."

We went back out into the dying light. The sun will set within the hour, and before this happened, I was already thinking on going back home. Now, Grandpa is going to be worried sick. Until the nice one goes to talk with him, I guess. I still don't know what's happening, but I can tell that they are all scared of something, and they think my pretending to be this 'Atem' person is going to help. If I can help, then, I want to do what I can.

The palace is even bigger up close than I expected. I've seen it from afar many times, but I've never even been up to the outer gates. The walls were taller than I thought walls could be, and as big as everything was, there was a surprisingly little amount of people about. It took what felt like forever to get from the gates up to the entrance doors. Then, inside, we met almost no one also. There were workers; cleaning things and moving heavy objects around. There was one man painting on the walls, and it looked pretty cool. We did encounter one older man who wore clean, expensive looking clothes who called me Atem and asked me why I looked so dirty.

"Ah… I snuck out again." I glanced toward the priests, then back to this man. "Sorry?"

He gave an unimpressed face, turning his nose up and complimenting the priests on catching me. At this, the priests ushered me away again. We went around corners and up a flight of stairs, through doors, until we reached what was surely some remote corner of the palace that I had no hopes of being able to find my way out of.

"This is your room." The nice one stated, opening a door into a large, beautiful room. It was clean, light, and clear. There were many objects which Grandpa wouldn't be able to afford with a year's worth of savings, and the clothes that hung on and from the bed looked softer than anything I'd ever touched before. "You'll sleep in here and spend all your spare time here. While you're in here, no one will get too close and suspect you of not being you. Only come out when one of us are here, alright? I don't care what you've got to say; no one's allowed in your room except you and your own servants."

"My servants?" I frowned, unsurprised but startled by the idea.

"That's right. You are of noble class right now. You'll find the washroom through there, and your clothing in the wardrobe on the other side of the door, there. If you're having trouble putting the gold on, as one of the servants for help. You need to look just like him."

"Like who? Atem?" I don't know who 'Atem' is, but obviously I shouldn't be pretending to be him. I get the feeling that he's someone important enough that playing this imitation game could get me thrown in prison, or worse, judged by the Millennium Items. But, if those wielding them are the ones putting me here, maybe I'm safe?

"That's right."

"Come on, we have to speak with the Pharaoh." The one with the Rod insisted, putting a hand on the shoulder of the one with the black headdress. "Karim, you'll talk with the servants?"

Karim nodded, and they all left me there. I stood in the doorway to the beautiful, clean room, and looked down at my dirty feet. I didn't even wear shoes, as I normally would when I intended to travel farther from the courtyard. I looked back into the room, knowing deeply that this was wrong. But, I don't know what else to do other than to go along with what they want. If I do get into trouble, then, I'll just be honest and tell whoever finds me out that those three priests told me to do it.

I found white robes in the wardrobe, along with several other garments. There was a soft, cotton, black cloak that looked worn, and several pieces of golden jewelry that I could only guess how much they were worth. Opting to take only the basics, I went to inspect the washroom. Whoever 'Atem' is, he wouldn't have dirt caked into his knees and matted hair like I've got. I need to clean up, and I'm sure the washroom wouldn't be too difficult to figure out.

I had only just gotten into the bath, happy with the temperature, when someone came into the room. I sat up quickly, but the humbly – but cleanly – dressed person didn't pay me any mind. Instead, they carried two small bowls with strange substances into the washroom and sat them at the counter.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Hair dye, my- ah…" The servant stuttered, almost addressing me as they would 'Atem', before remembering I wasn't him. They blinked, staring at my face, before looking away, then to me again.

"Yuugi."

"Hair dye, Yuugi."

"Actually, I don't really know what's going on, but those three seemed really freaked out that someone might find out I'm not him, so maybe we should just pretend my name is Atem?"

The servant's face started to go red, but judging from their face it wasn't from embarrassment. They were getting flustered. "It isn't much better, sir." They bowed quickly. "It won't take long, and once it is finished, you can wash it out in the bath. Do you mind?" They gestured toward me.

I shifted uncomfortably, but shook my head. I want to help out however I can, and apparently this wouldn't be weird for people of upper classes, so I can't argue.

An hour later, I was washing out my hair. The servant was long gone, and they'd only put red paint onto the tips of my hair. Apparently, it was already very similar to Atem's hair. That's probably why they chose me, actually, because my hair is rather unique.

Back in the bedroom, I realized that the servant hadn't disappeared entirely. Or, perhaps, they'd just come back. Gold laid out on the bed, from the wardrobe, and the servant stood by, waiting for me.

"What's your name?" I asked, getting irritated by referring to them as 'the servant' in my head.

"You may call me Seth." They bowed their head. "You must wear these; they are a symbol of your status. Keep yourself clean and your back straight." They began to instruct me on how to pull this impersonation off as they put the gold onto me. It was heavy, and cold on my skin. At least, at first. "Hold your head high, always wear shoes, try not to let people see the callouses on your hands. The more you stay in here, the less likely people will realize you're an imposter. Lady Isis will be informed of who you actually are also, but no one else must know."

"Why am I here? Why am I doing this?" I asked. "I mean, who is Atem, and where did he go?"

Seth hesitated, pulling his hands away from where he'd been straightening the gold piece on my shoulders. I met his eyes, and he ducked away.

"Please, tell me. I can't be much help unless I know what's going on."

"He's the prince." Silence suddenly assaulted the room, and Seth avoided eye contact with me. My heart stopped for a solid second and a half, before restarting and I exhaled sharply.

"The prince?" I'm impersonating the Pharaoh's son?! There's no way I could pull it off! This would be heresy of the highest order! I could be executed on the spot for this!

They nodded, moving to put the last piece of gold on my bicep. "You'll have lessons in two days, but right now it's the weekend. Do you know how to write?" I shook my head. "The priests will figure something out. Hopefully, they'll be able to find the Prince before then."

"What happened to him?" I demanded, getting back on subject. "Is he alright?" My mind was immediately jumping to what the other kids had been talking about, before I'd been kidnapped.

Seth shook their head. "I don't know. No one does. Earlier today, he just disappeared. Priest Mahad spoke with him last night, and I was told that the Prince had intended to leave to play some games with the common folk, on the other side of the gates. However, he hasn't shown up yet, and they're convinced that he isn't going to. You were brought in to fill in until they can find him."

"But what if he's never coming back?" I fret. "What if he's hurt, or if he'd just run away?"

"Then, eventually…" Seth shrugged, taking a step back, "I don't know. Ah… I will bring dinner to you soon. Tomorrow, it's recommended you stay in here as long as you can. But, if you have to leave, the palace court yard is just down the stairs and to the south. Don't go anywhere else and try not to talk with anyone."

"Shouldn't I know a little bit more about Ate- ah… the Prince before I try to be him?" I reached out, and Seth flinched away. I stopped, retracting my arm and wondering what sort of person usually lived in this room. "At least, please, make sure my Grandpa knows I'm okay."

"I'll talk with the priests." They bowed their head and turned, quickly leaving. Then, I really was alone.

The ground is smooth and clean, the bed is large and soft. There is a large mirror in the washing room, allowing me to see my newly dyed hair. The washtub is large enough to fit three of my selves inside, and the water comes from somewhere outside. It's warm, so I suspect a fire somewhere. Outside the window, I see that I am high above the ground. I can see out past the gates I'd come in through, at least, I can off to the side. In front of me stretched a field in which horses were grazing and ands were tending to them. There's a hill to the other side, with another stone building that was clearly a part of the palace grounds. I can't see much of the city from here, and I had no hopes of seeing my own home. I probably won't for a while.

I stayed up late, watching the orange sky turn black, and the stars come out to replace the faint, wispy clouds that had begun to form this evening. Seth brought in a plate for me, but I saw no one else the entire time. When finally my eyelids were too heavy to keep open any longer, I crawled into the massive bed, which felt cold and empty.

This probably won't have a whole lot of chapters. This story should be pretty compact. And, I will say that my favorite version of Yami/Atem to write is somewhere between Season 0 and the anime. He represents darkness and while that doesn't mean evil, it does mean shadow.

The Egyptian soul has five parts. In my headcanon, the two of them are separate people in that they have separate Ba (personality, represented by soul room), Ka (vital spark, represented by their beings that can walk around their soul rooms), and Ren (name, so long as their name is remembered, they have power). However, only Yuugi has the Jb (heart, about will, intention, and what is weighed when entering the afterlife) and only Yami has sheut (shadow, or the lasting impression on the world). So, Yami is Yuugi's shadow and Yuugi is Yami's heart. Yuugi needs Yami to make an impression, make friends and have confidence, while Yami needs Yuugi to have the right motive, compassion, and emotion.

If you really liked it, please leave a review. If you think I could improve in areas, please leave a review also. I don't know unless you tell me.