Yay! Round four is here and it's Apprentice shipping! That's MahaadoxMana for those of you who are shipping illiterate let's see…I think I'm going to throw in a side of Logicshipping (priest Seto x priestess Isis) and some Mahaado/OC. …Oh yeah! And this is set before Atemu became Pharaoh. Kay? Kay.
Disclaimer: I own none of this except for the plot and my OC, Suki.
A/N: oh, and Mana is going to call Mahaado Master. If you've never seen the AE arc, Mana calls him that in a student/teacher meaning…not a master/slave meaning. (had to explain this to her cousin)
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"Atemu!" came an all too familiar shriek, causing the crown prince of Egypt to wince and turn towards the sound.
"Hello Mana," he greeted, "may I ask why you saw fit to shriek my name like a banshee?"
Mana giggled and plopped down next to him where he was sitting in the garden. "I don't know, I felt like it," came the response. "That reminds me. I also came to ask for your divine advice, oh great prince."
"And I will grant your request if I am able," Atemu replied in a mock serious tone, smiling. He and Mana always made fun of the fact that as royalty he was supposed to be wise beyond his years. "Now, child, what do you need to know?"
Mana giggled shyly before looking at her hands. "I…I wish to know how I can approach Mahaado…I have the hugest crush on him and I figured I better tell him my feelings before I lose my nerve completely!" she exclaimed.
Atemu sighed and thought on this. He had seen Mana's attraction for their friend and mentor in her eyes a while ago and had been dreading this conversation. At least he didn't have to dwell on it anymore. "Mana…while your heart seems to be in the right place, I…don't think Mahaado returns the feelings…"
"But he has to!" Mana interrupted, "there's a spark…a connection between us!" Here Mana's voice dropped back into a calmer tone. "You won't help me then?"
"Sorry. I just don't feel right about this, having seen what you refuse to," Atemu apologized.
Mana gave him a hug. "It's okay!" she chirped, "buuut if I succeed, you have to buy me lunch on our next marketplace excursion as an apology."
Atemu nodded in agreement and watched Mana bound off. "She's going to be disappointed…" he muttered.
…
Mana next sought out Isis and Seth. After some searching, she found them in the library, Isis reading a scroll and Seth polishing his headdress, it having gotten dirty, no doubt from a prank of Atemu's. Isis looked up, the Tauk having sensed Mana.
"Greetings Mana, what brings you here?" she asked kindly, Seth looking up as Isis spoke.
Mana took a breath before retelling Isis and Seth everything that she told Atemu. "So I was wondering if you two would be willing to give me advice seeing as whatever you two did obviously worked," she finished.
Isis and Seth looked at each other, as if conversing telepathically…which would be possible since the Rod allowed Seth to do that. Finally Seth broke the silence.
"Be yourself," he suggested, wrapping and arm around Isis, letting his normally cool mask slip and be replaced by tenderness, "others, when you're trying to get their attention, prefer you to be who you are, and not put on an act to please them.
Isis nodded and snuggled into Seth's embrace, tilting her head up to give him a tender kiss on his jaw line. "Also be ready for possible rejection. Mahaado may not feel the same way and you will have to accept that if that's the case."
Mana nodded and thanked them before leaving. At least they helped. Mana's mind drifted back to what Isis had said. It was almost exactly what Atemu had said, which made her wonder. Determined to find out, Mana decided to press on.
…
Towards late afternoon, Mana approached Mahaado's quarters, finally ready to face him. She had spent the rest of the day going around and asking the other priests and Shimon for their advice. All were quite helpful, offering tips and building on tips from the others. Be confident, be yourself, trust your instincts, don't chicken out, and so on. So lost in her thoughts, she squeaked as she crashed into someone, not having been watching where she was going.
Slender but strong hands landed on her shoulders to steady her. "Mana? You should watch where you're going. I was just going to look for you," came a gentle voice.
Mana looked up and flushed at seeing Mahaado standing in front of her. "You were looking for me, master?" she asked, embarrassment lacing her voice at realizing that
she had crashed into him. Seth definitely didn't have to worry about her being herself…this type of behavior happened regularly.
Mahaado chuckled and lowered his hands, Mana mentally pouting at the loss of contact. "Yes, you missed your lessons again," he explained, gaining a slight scolding tone.
"…oopsies."
With an exaggerated sigh, Mahaado started walking towards the garden, Mana following him. "So why were you heading towards my room?" he inquired as they walked.
"I…I was coming to find you. I wanted to tell you something…"
"Oh?" he said in interest as they entered the garden and sat on their favorite bench, "tell me, I'll listen."
Mana scuffed her shoe before looking up into Mahaado's gray eyes. "I really like you…as more than friends…so I was wondering if you would like to go out?" she asked hopefully before looking down shyly.
A myriad of emotions flickered across Mahaado's face before he settled on sympathetic amusement. Getting to a knee in front of her, he reached for her chin and tipped her head slightly so she would meet his eyes. "Mana, you do know that I care for you right?" he asked.
Mana nodded, confusion flickering across her face briefly.
"…but I must admit that it's not the same type of affection that you harbor for me. Granted, I care for you as more than my student, but it's more like I view you as my baby sister. Also, I have a girlfriend already, so I'm sorry if I accidentally encouraged your feelings and in return hurt you," he apologized sincerely.
Mana was silent, processing that before meeting his eyes again and smiling. "I can live with being your little sister…big brother," she answered. Mahaado laughed and standing, bent to give her a kiss on her forehead.
"Run along now, we'll catch up on your training tomorrow," he said before turning to leave the garden.
"…who's the lucky girl?"
Mahaado stopped and looked over his shoulder at Mana. "Suki."
Mana thought hard, trying to match the name with a face. "The priestess?" at Mahaado's affirming nod, Mana grinned, "Ooh, good catch!" she squealed before darting past him and running off to go find Atemu, shrieking the prince's name like a banshee.
Mahaado chuckled and headed towards the temple of the gods. Heading to the room of Hathor, he entered and wrapped his arms around the priestess sitting on the floor. "Isn't it a little undignified to be sitting on the floor?" he asked in the girl's ear, one hand coming up to stroke the chocolate brown hair that when Ra hit it, gave it reddish gold accents.
Suki, the priestess of Hathor, laughed and turned to hug him. "No because I hate the chair that is provided. I only sit in the uncomfortable abomination if I'm expecting someone or someone is coming to ask the favor of Hathor, but then I'll know ahead of time by the pages and I can get to the chair," she explained before kissing Mahaado.
Mahaado returned the kiss gently yet laced with a muted passion. Pulling back, he looked into Suki's eyes. The girl was very pretty. In addition to her unusual hair, the Egyptian had eyes that looked like a mix of turquoise and lapis lazuli. Mahaado bet that if she were compared to the ever vain Seth, she could give him a run for his money.
Suki studied Mahaado curiously. Mahaado was dwelling on something. "Habeeb, what is it?" she asked, "You look like you're thinking of something."
Mahaado snapped out of his thoughts at his nickname and smiled at Suki, cradling her in his arms. "It's nothing, my zahr. Mana expressed her attraction to me today and I guess it just threw me off."
"Oh…ok. And she took the news of your unavailability well?"
"Yes. She said she was content to be my baby sister."
Suki smiled and cuddled closer to Mahaado, his arms tightening around her securely. "Then all is well," she stated.
"Indeed." 'And I pray that it lasts,' Mahaado finished in his mind.
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Dude 4 pages…woo! Okie let's see. Habeeb means Love or lover in Egyptian Arabic, and Zahr means flower. I thought it'd be cute if Suki and Mahaado had pet names for each other.