Author's Note: Whoo! It's been a long time since I wrote a fic, much less a Yu-Gi-Oh one! Still adore this show and I'm posting this before I think about it too long and decide it's not good enough. Anyway, inspiration for this came when I was rewatching the Memory World arc and Atem was sucking the venom out of Mahad's arm. I don't remember much about first aid, but I DO remember that you're not supposed to do that. Too lazy to go look up what you ARE supposed to do much less what Ancient Egyptians would do though. Also, the scene where Mahad gets bitten, I combined dialogue elements from both the English and Japanese versions of the scene because I like both, but for different reasons.

Headcanon: I've always been partial to the relationship between Mahad and Mana being sibling-like, but the older I've gotten, the more convinced I've become that they're actually blood-related. Nothing ever said they weren't and they look. too. damn. similar. to. NOT. be. Also, nothing ever said what Mahad's or Mana's social class were, so guess what? I'm having them born and living in the palace their whole lives.

Also: Yeah, it's a small thing, but I've also got Mahad and Mana as cousins to Isis. I'm totally down with that and will still ship the hell out of Mahad and Isis.

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is owned by Kazuki Takahashi and I am merely exploring and playing around with characters and relations and histories for the purpose of my own mental stimulation and amusement.

Serpent, Equality, Loyalty

Mahad heard the childish peals of laughter from the inner grassy courtyard and smiled to himself. It seemed he was right in his assumption that his little sister and the Prince were playing there. The Pharaoh could have easily had one of the priests look for his son, but he supposed the Pharaoh had known Atem wouldn't be too hard to locate. Truly, when he was with Mana, it was impossible for his location to remain a secret for long.

"Here you are, Mana," he heard Atem say from around the bend.

"Thanks Prince!" his little sister said.

"There you are," Mahad said as soon as he rounded the bend and got a glimpse of the spiky tri-colored head of Egypt's Crowned Prince.

Atem turned his head slightly to catch sight of him, but then faced him fully. He was standing next to Mana and she was holding a plum in her hands. "Mahad. Let me guess; my father asked you to keep an eye on me," he said with a soft, slightly exasperated sigh in his tone.

As the son of a very strict and silent father with high expectations for himself as well, he greatly understood how the Prince felt about such an order. Atem was eleven after all, almost a man, and though it was for his protection, he likely felt he was beyond the age of requiring a constant 'babysitter'. Mahad may have made a comment that as the Prince and future Pharaoh, he was never going to stop having 'babysitters' for the rest of his life – they would just instead be called 'guards' – when he saw something that made his heart freeze and his eyes widen in fear. A small black snake fell into view and hung from the lowest branch right behind Atem and it was swinging around dangerously.

"Watch out! Behind you!" he shouted as he ran forward.

He watched as the snake swung towards the prince and opened its fanged mouth while lunging at him. Mahad only had enough time to throw himself between Atem and the serpent and he flinched before the fangs even sank into his arm.

He felt the two sharp needle-like pokes into his left forearm at the same time Atem cried out, "No, Mahad!"

The snake immediately let go and slithered away, but the damage was already done. Mahad fell forward onto his knees and clutched his arm, shaking and scared. Like every Egyptian child, he had learned which snakes to beware for the lethal venom, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember if that snake was one of them and it didn't help that he hadn't gotten a good look at it.

"My Prince, are you alright?" Mahad asked, faintly aware of Mana whimpering and crying fearfully beside him.

"I am fine, but what about you?" Atem exclaimed and knelt beside him, those amethyst eyes of his wide and concerned.

"Forget about me," he insisted. He could feel sweat beading on his forehead and his arm right where the snake had bit him was pulsing painfully underneath. Was he already feeling the effects of the venom or was it all in his head? At least Atem was safe.

"Don't move," Atem commanded, and before Mahad could stop him, he grasped his arm and lowered his mouth to the puncture wounds, sucking out the venom as he did so.

"No my Prince, please stop. The future Pharaoh needn't do this," he said in protest.

After a moment, Atem raised his head and met his gaze head on. "Just what is the difference between you and me?" he asked and Mahad stared.

His expression was sincere and a little too grave. He had not seen that expression on the Prince's face often. The last time had been when Priest Jabari of the Millennium Scales and his Aunt Priestess Ramla of the Millennium Necklace had sacrificed their lives to rescue and protect the three of them after they had been trapped out in the desert by a merciless band of thieves, outlaws, raiders, and slave traders in the midst of the most brutal and terrifying sandstorm they had ever witnessed and experienced.

"See here, red blood flows through your veins just as it does through mine. Being a prince means nothing where it truly matters. I'm no god and I'm not better than you. We're both human; we're both the same and you're my friend. I could do no less for you than what you would do for me," Atem said, his voice burning with conviction and sincerity.

Mahad was speechless with shock. What Atem was saying was downright blasphemous, but that meant nothing compared to the warmth and admiration that coursed through his heart upon hearing those words. The Prince, his closest friend since they were children, valued him and his life as much as his own, as an equal. Oh, he'd known Atem had never been particular about overseeing the class distinctions that separated him from others – everyone knew that – but to say such a thing and believe it whole-heartedly at the young age of eleven… when had his Prince grown up so much?

"My Prince…" Mahad said weakly. Really, what could he say?

Atem nodded and gave him a soft smile. "When I am Pharaoh, I will create a future where everyone is equal and living free to make their own choices and choose their own destiny. And I know when that day comes, you will be right by my side, Mahad. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Mahad's throat felt very dry and tears he refused to shed burned at the corners of his eyes as his heart swelled with loyalty for his Prince, his friend. He might have said something profound or even found a way to verbalize the intense swirling emotions within him if not for a woman's panicked voice suddenly screaming his name. All three of them spun on the spot to face the source and saw Isis doubled over panting heavily with terror written on her face and her hand clutching her late mother's Millennium Necklace around her neck.

"Mahad… You… Prince… snake…!" she exclaimed breathlessly.

"Oh!" Mahad said. Embarrassing as it was to admit, he had almost completely forgotten that he'd been bitten on the arm by an unknown species of snake.

"Ah! Mahad! We have to take you to Healer Lapis!" Mana yelled and grabbed his uninjured arm to try and drag him to his feet. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who'd somehow managed to forget though. That was something.

"Yes, we must get you to her quickly," Atem agreed. "Isis, do you know where Lapis is right now?"

"I-I don't know- wait, hold on! Maybe my Necklace will help me locate where she will be," she said and closed her eyes to focus on the gold metal around her neck. While they waited, Mahad watched her curiously. It was unusual for Isis to be so brisk and informal, especially when speaking to the royal family, no matter that Atem had told her before it was unnecessary. It wasn't long after that her beautiful sapphire blue eyes shot wide open. "She's in the Healer's Ward and will be there for a while yet," she said at last.

"Excellent! Thank you, Isis," Atem said with a grateful smile.

This time, Isis seemed to have regained enough of her composure to bow her head and resume her formal speaking style. "It's the least I can do, my Prince." She lifted her eyes from the ground to meet Mahad's dark gray ones. "Please take care, Mahad."

Mahad refused to believe that he let himself blush (he totally did though).

Mana and Atem together dragged him off to the Healer's Ward to find Shada's mother to ensure he was no longer in danger from any snake venom that may still reside within his blood. His red blood. Just like the Prince's. Mahad was not consciously aware of walking to the Healer's Ward, so lost in thought he was about what Atem had just said to him while he absently rubbed his fingers against the tiny wounds.

It was Mana's high-pitched yell that finally startled him out of his thoughts. "Lapis! Healer Lapis, Mahad got bitten by a snake! You have to help him! He might die!"

Lapis immediately turned to face them from her medicine cabinet as they entered. There was no question that Healer Lapis was Shada's mother. They had the exact same color blue eyes and neutral analytical expression. Her dark gray hair was pulled up into a loose top bun and some stray strands hung loosely near her ears, but it still kept out of her face and she looked professional but not unapproachable. Mahad supposed that was the intention; it wasn't normal for a woman to hold a formal position as a healer or physician.

Lapis gently grasped his left arm and looked at the puncture marks with her experienced Healer's eye. "How long ago did the bite occur? What species was it and how big? Where were you and what were you doing when it bit you? What symptoms are you experiencing right now? And what treatments have you attempted thus far?"

Mahad shook his head in frustration. "It wasn't a big snake, only about a foot long and I think it was black, but I couldn't tell you what species it was. It was in the plum tree hanging from the lowest branch about to bite the Prince when I pushed him out of the way and it bit my arm instead. After that, it dropped to the ground and slithered away. That was about um… fifteen or twenty minutes ago maybe? Right now, my arm is throbbing and it hurts right at the puncture wound and I feel a little light-headed, but that's about it where symptoms are concerned. As for treatment, the Prince sucked as much of the venom out as possible immediately after I was bitten."

Lapis immediately fixed a sharp stare on the Prince. "Oh did you now?"

"Erm, yes?" Atem said though his expression was contorted into a confused frown that matched his own. The way Lapis had asked the question, was the Prince not supposed to have done that?

Lapis sighed and smoothed her hands along the punctures. "It's a little warmer to the touch than the rest of your skin. Come, we're going to wash it out."

Mahad didn't even have the chance to comply on his own before she was dragging him off to the wash basin and the huge water jug. "Hold your arm down straight into the basin," Lapis commanded and Mahad quickly obeyed. With his arm down, Lapis then tilted the water jug just enough to let a steady stream of water escape and run over his bite wound.

Mahad had no idea how long he held his arm in the basin like that and just let water run over it, but he was sure it wasn't a short interval and was equally sure this was the longest Mana had been quiet when she wasn't asleep. Nobody made a sound the entire time, too engrossed in wondering about the medical treatment Lapis was performing to utter a word. Finally at long last, Lapis removed the water then grabbed a strip of clean linen to dry his arm and another one to cover the wound.

"There we go. That's the best I can do for now. Keep it covered at least until about this time tomorrow and then come back to me. I'll need to check it to see if it's healing well and not infected. The dizziness might mean you're dehydrated, so drink plenty of fluids, but if you're still feeling dizzy or nauseous tomorrow, let me know and I'll give you something."

Mahad took a moment to observe the wrapping and then looked back up at Lapis who was putting the remaining cloth back in her cabinet. "Thank you, Healer Lapis."

Lapis closed her cabinet then turned and gave him a very faint smile. "You're a very lucky young man, Mahad. So far, it appears that the snake that bit you was one of the nonlethal ones and a juvenile no less. All snakes have venom to kill their food, and you're probably still going to have some in you, so you may feel sick for a few days, but you'll live. However…"

Her blue eyes suddenly fixed back on the Prince and were a little less warm than they were before. "Sucking the venom out of the blood with your mouth was a very foolish thing to do, and you're just as lucky that it wasn't a lethal snake, my Prince."

Atem and Mana exchanged a silent bewildered look and Lapis sighed once again. "I'll get you three children straightened out on snake venom now before you accidentally make a fatal error later and kill yourself trying to help someone." She sat down in one of the wooden chairs across from the younger two children and weaved her old weathered hands together.

"First off, my Prince, let me tell you that your heart was in the right place and your reasoning for the best way to help was not an illogical conclusion. Generally speaking, when bitten by a venomous snake, you want to prevent or delay the venom from reaching the heart or core of the body because then it can do some nasty work. You can cut off an arm if it's the only way to save someone's life, but you can't do that with the chest or the head. That being said, sucking it out straight from the wound is ineffective and more likely to give you the same lethal venom that you're trying to get out. So please, my Prince, don't ever attempt to suck venom out of a wound with your mouth again. It's simply not safe or effective and so it's not worth it."

Atem lowered his head to stare at his hands on his knees, subdued by the Healer's gentle scolding and he nodded once. "I understand, Lapis," he said quietly. Mana silently reached over and covered one of Atem's hands in a gesture of comfort and support.

Lapis stood after about a minute's worth of quiet and approached the two children. She placed her hand gently upon Atem's head and knelt down in front of him. Her gentle smile was back on her face. "You're a good kid, Atem. It's wonderful that you care so deeply for your friends. Don't ever lose sight of that when you become Pharaoh. What fun is it to stand at the top of the world if you have no one to share it with?"

Atem stared up at her with a kind of wide-eyed admiration and he might have said something in response if Lapis hadn't decided at that moment to ruffle his spiky hair and tell all three of them to run off and go play to "go be kids" as she put it.