A/N: Originally a One-shot. Then... it got too long. But it's my second shot at Apprenticeshipping.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.
Warnings: God knows when I'll update this. Odd horse name. And... I do not bash characters or pairings. But, this is not Vaseshipping.
Mana laughed, the sound of her voice breaking through the desert's silence. The hot, Egyptian sun burned mercilessly into her tanned skin. With this heat, Mana felt invigorated, energy pulsing through her veins- only multiplied by the sweat dewing her brow. The horse she was on was just a young mare, similar to Mana herself with its bright sense of curiosity and young years. When the mare moved, each step reflected both its and Mana's unbridled enthusiasm.
Why were they so joyous? Mana couldn't actually speak for the horse but she knew the reason behind her own happiness; she managed to escape Mahad's eagle eyes and skip today's lesson and Atem, as well, accompanied Mana after sneaking out of the royal palace. Now, they were both on horseback, safely out of the city's sight, and were both merrily spending their selfly-given free day.
"We should do this more often," Mana said after her bit of laughter. Her mare snorted, as if in agreement. Atem only contemplated her with a smile, marred by his suddenly sad, amethyst eyes.
"This is fun Mana," he said. "But we've each got our own duties to tend to. You're training to be a master magician. I, on the other hand, am preparing to become Egypt's pharaoh. We can't be careless like this all the time."
Mana's exuberant mood seemed to plummet instantly at his words. She knew he spoke the truth but still- she sometimes wished she had her old friend back. The one who was always ready and willing to skip class with her and have some fun. Now, it seemed as if Atem had grown up- become the serious teenager everyone expected him to be as prince of Egypt. Mana, however, was determined to cling to her childhood; she wasn't ready to grow up just yet.
She feigned a smile, for Atem's benefit, and was determined to keep her mood happy.
"That still doesn't mean we can't have fun now," she shot back playfully. Atem's somber eyes brightened up once again with her statement.
"You're right," he agreed. An idea then sprang to Mana's mind.
"Come on!" she said, even more animated than before. "Let's race like we used to. For old time's sake!" Atem's smile turned into a mischievous grin.
"All right, for old time's sake. In fact, let's raise the stakes like we used to. First one to reach the pyramids wins. Loser has to be the winner's slave for the rest of the day." Mana's smile disappeared once again.
She never won those kinds of bets; Atem was always better on horseback and he knew well of it. But still, when training with Mahad she did admittedly get better at it. Maybe she would win for a change and he would be the one getting her spiced bread from the marketplace while balancing a jar of water on his head.
"Deal," she said smirking, clenching her hands on the horse reins tightly. Her confidence did nothing to subdue his cockiness, his self-assurance; he always won every race. They brought their horses side-by-side and Mana was the one to always make sure that they each were equally distant from the pyramids- making sure he didn't cheat. When she had gotten back on her mare, she was the one to call it.
"Ready…set…go!" And with a kick, both horses were off.
At first, Mana could honestly and proudly say that she was doing quite well; those lessons with Mahad were paying off. But then, Atem cheated.
Being the wonderfully rich prince he was, it wasn't difficult for one to discern he had practically everything at his disposal. Expensive, fast racing horses were no exception.
"Hey! That's not fair!" Mana shouted as her mare began to considerably fall behind. Atem didn't acknowledge that he had heard her. And he probably couldn't, not over the roar of his own triumphant laughter.
"What's the matter, Mana? Can't catch up?" he chided playfully to her. She pursed her lips, pouting, as the disappointed mare soon discovered she was unable to keep stride with Atem's white stallion. When this realization struck the horse, she began to slow even more until they were going a steady slow pace. Mana tried urging the mare on.
"Come on, Coco! We can still beat them! Have faith in yourself! We don't quit that easily!" But apparently, Coco did. To Mana's dismay, the mare was stubborn as she was curious and refused to go any faster than their current speed. Mana sighed in defeat, glancing up to see Atem was only a mere speck on the horizon. As she stopped Coco and jumped off, she wondered when he would realize that they weren't participating in their little race anymore. He was an extremely competitive person so it might be a while.
"Well, in that case, the deal's off. He shouldn't have cheated anyway." The mare snorted in agreement and Mana flopped herself on the sand, lying on her back and closing her eyes to the big, bright blue sky. "I mean really, he knows better than to use one of the horses the Romans gave him as a birthday gift. Not all of us are important as him to have everything at their disposal, ya' know."
Mana sighed again, listening to Coco paw at the ground. She wasn't really angry with Atem- she could never be. It was just that he had to win everything. Sometimes he could be just too competitive for his own good. And, one of these days, she was going to beat him…at something. She just didn't quite know what it was yet.
"I wonder if Master Mahad will be too angry with me. He never likes it when I skip. He always says that I have to be more responsible if I want to be a master magician someday." Mana scoffed. "Sometimes I think Master Mahad just needs to loosen up and have some fun. He's always so uptight all the time. I don't think I've even ever heard him laugh before. It's kind of sad really. Don't you think so, Coco?" Mana asked, addressing her mare. However, this time, there was no snort or pawing of the ground at Mana's words. Not a sound.
Puzzled, Mana sat up to look around for the horse. After a moment of searching, Mana found the mare- just a brown dot in the distance. Mana blinked, slowly realizing her own means of transportation was fast disappearing.
"Coco!" Mana exclaimed, springing to her feet. "Coco, come back here!" Mana took off running but- no matter how fast her short legs carried her- Coco's small speck never seemed to get any closer. Mana stopped running and huffed a strand of hair out of her face.
"Well, this is just my luck. The one day I manage to skip class with Atem- he cheats at racing and completely deserts me while Coco decides to leave me as well. I guess this means I've got to walk all the way home, now. Not looking forward to that." Mana sighed hopelessly, turning away from Coco's miniscule speck. "I can't believe I didn't hear her leave. Master Mahad is right- sometimes I'm just too unobservant or distracted or whatever he calls. I wonder why Coco ran off anyways." Mana glanced up at the sky and saw her answer.
In the distance, a large dark mass was swirling around, partially blocking the sun's light. A sand storm was coming.
"Well that's not good," Mana speculated, her eyes widening nervously. She looked around at her surroundings, hoping to catch sight of Coco or Atem. To her disappointment, she could see neither. And what was worse- Mana had no idea where she was. That was the problem when one lacked a sense of direction- you usually had no idea where you were. And Mana had no idea where she currently was or where she should go for that matter. And the ominous dark cloud was steadily getting closer.
"Atem!" Mana shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth to project her voice. She had no luck, however, when calling for Atem; she still could not see him.
So, Mana was in an interesting dilemma. Her horse was gone, Atem was no where around, and- if she didn't act fast- Mana would soon find herself caught in a sand storm.
I'm going to push myself to finish this story. It's not suppose to get too long. But you never know.
Please review!
-Nuit Songeur
