I've officially run out of shit to say.

Just remember that this takes place in Ancient Egypt.

Enjoy.

The Pharaoh and the Slave – Chapter 2

Atem was whining.

"I hate them!" he exclaimed. "They think that I'm stupid because I'm a child? They said that my uncle has a solution, but everybody knows that there will be a war! And nobody wants to speak with me about that!"

Yugi sat next to his friend and listened to him complain. He gazed off into space, not really paying much attention to what was happening. There was something bothering him, and now it was time to tell Atem about it. "Atem, listen to me…" he said. Atem immediately stopped talking. "I must leave with my mom and master Tiye for a journey soon…"

"What?" Atem stood up, surprised and scared for his new friend. "That's silly! Outside the Palace walls there's a war that's about to break out! Where are you going to go? When are you getting back?" He gripped Yugi's hands in his own.

"I-I don't know," Yugi said sadly. "Maybe we won't ever come back. But, even if I'm with my mom and my master… I'll miss you so much. You're my best friend!"

"You too, Yugi. I don't want you to leave!" Atem lowered Yugi's hands. 'How can they send Yugi away? I don't want it! I want him to stay with me.' Then he got an idea.

[Later that day]

After he had finished playing with Yugi, Atem ran back inside the Palace to find his uncle. He found the older man putting some scrolls away in the record room. "Nobel Uncle!" Atem called out to get his attention. He bowed to him once Aknadin looked his way. "I hope the God Ra lights up your day, Nobel Uncle!"

"And yours too, Prince Atem." the older man said.

"Uncle, I want you to give me the slave Yugi!"

"Yugi…? Ah, yes, the son of Tiye's oriental slave. He's useless! Why would you want him?" Aknadin asked.

"Why does it matter?" Atem asked him. "I'm offering you the possibility to get rid of him."

'It's a personal question,' Aknadin thought. 'Atem is affectionate to him.' "An oriental slave is precious goods, and Tiye is very affectionate to him. I don't know if I can."

"Please Uncle!" Atem begged. (1)

Aknadin turned to leave. Looking over his shoulder, he said "Very well. Now the slave is your property."

Atem couldn't care less if his uncle had labeled Yugi as "property". He was just happy that he got to have Yugi stay with him forever! He thanked his uncle and ran to tell Yugi the good news.

He found Yugi sitting in their favorite spot in the garden, under the tallest of the trees. The only downside was that Yugi was sobbing. "Yugi, what's the matter?" Atem asked, walking up to his friend. "Why are you crying?"

Yugi sniffed, the tears running down his face shining under the moon light. "My master won't let me in the room! I want my mom! Maybe I was bad?"

Atem stiffened, realizing what was going on. "No Yugi," he said, gripping his friend's face and turning him to look at him. "You're not bad. But now you're mine. Don't worry; you can sleep in one of my slave's rooms. Then, if I say to my uncle that you have to see your mom, he'll do it!"

Yugi's head snapped up and out of Atem's hold. He glared at Atem and said "You… what have you done? It's your fault!" His eyes filled with anger. "I don't want to stay with you! It's my mom I want!" he shouted. "Go away! I hate you!"

His words struck Atem right in the heart. He didn't expect this reaction from Yugi! And for him to say that he hated Atem… it was too much. "I only wanted to help you!" he yelled, before standing and running back into the Palace, tears falling from his own eyes. He ran to the only person he knew could help.

"Mahad!" he yelled, running into the older boy's room. Mahad sat up from his bed.

"Prince?" he said, confused. "Prince, what's the matter? Are you crying?"

Atem flung himself onto Mahad's lap and cried into the bed sheets. "Mahad, Yugi hates me!"

"What?"

"I-I wanted Yugi to stay with me, so I went to Uncle and asked him to give Yugi to me. And now he hates me and my uncle has banished him!"

"Oh, little Atem," Mahad sighed. "Don't cry. I know your intentions." He ruffled Atem's hair. "But you did do something selfish."

"But I can't leave him Mahad!"

"Prince, listen. You did what was right for you, but you didn't think about what was right for Yugi. A ruler can't be selfish with his people."

Atem sat up and hugged Mahad. "I understand," he told him. "Tomorrow I'll give Yugi back to my uncle." He didn't want to, but he wanted Yugi to be happy.

"That's a good idea. Let's go to sleep now Prince. I'll convince Yugi to come sleep in one of our rooms." Atem nodded and layed down in Mahad's bed. Mahad covered him with the blanket and left. Atem soon fell asleep.

"Atem! Atem!"

What…?

"Atem!"

"Who is it? This voice…"

"Atem!"

"Yugi!" Atem shot up in bed, Yugi's voice still ringing in his ears. But as he found out, it wasn't just a faint ringing. Yugi's voice was real!

"Atem!" he heard Yugi yell from the other side of the curtain separating them.

"No, you can't!" Mahad's voice put in. "The prince is sleeping!"

"Leave me! I have to see Atem!"

Atem got out of the bed and threw the curtain aside. Mahad had his arms around Yugi, who was struggling to get out of his hold. "Yugi!" he said. "What happened?"

Yugi's eyes landed on Atem, and it broke Atem's heart to see the fear there. "A-Atem! They all left! My master and my mom too! I'm alone! Help me!"

"What? Already? I didn't think…"

Mahad gazed sadly at them. "Unfortunately," he said, "Aknadin had ordered his family to leave this morning with the slaves." A quick glance out a window told Atem that the sun had already risen. "It was top secret… and nobody knows where they're going." Mahad released Yugi at last, and he ran into Atem's waiting arms.

"Yugi, forgive me! I can't help you. But I promise you that I'll never leave you. You can sleep in my room! I'll take care of you!" Atem hugged Yugi closer to his body.

Yugi wrapped his own arms around Atem's shoulders. "I don't hate you!" he said. "You're all I have left!"

"I promise you Yugi, when we're adults, we'll go find you mom."

'We'll always be together.'

(1) Okay, if you've read the doujinshi, then you'll probably be scolding me for not putting in the actual dialogue. But it made Atem seem like such a brat! I couldn't write that! Plus Aknadin was being a total dick. I'll make him evil later *smirk* but for now, he's a nice guy. Also remember that the Millennium Items haven't been created yet. That's next chapter.

Speaking of the next chapter, the person who uploaded this to YouTube put chapters 2 and 3 together in the same video. So I'm putting them in the same chapter as well!

I was a bit confused at this point, but I figured out that this chapter takes place after a nine-year time skip. So Atem is 16 and Yugi is… either 15 or 16. I'm not so sure…

Oh well! He still looks like he's about 12.

Enjoy!

The Pharaoh and the Slave – Chapter 3

The sun beat down on the Palace, its rays making the alabaster walls glisten like gold. Inside one of the large Palace rooms there were the soft clicking noises of a game being played. Inside the room, Prince Atem sat across a table from Priest Seth, who was moving a piece on the game board in front of them. Off to Atem's side, a small slave called Yugi held a large palm leaf attached to a stick, blowing the cool air over the two higher-positioned men.

"It's your turn, Prince," Seth said, setting his piece down. Yugi watched intently, interested in the game they were playing. (A/n: Don't harp on me just 'cause I don't know what game they're playing. It's like Ancient Egyptian chess or something…) Atem mentally cursed at his bad luck. He was stuck in a bad position.

But he smirked in good measure. "Very good Seth! You've got me in a tough spot."

Yugi looked at the board, but at the corner of his eye he saw Seth looking at him. 'Why is Master Seth looking at me?' he thought. He grip tightened on the pole in his hands. Wait, the pole? 'Oh no! I forgot to make air!' He bowed to Seth quickly and said "Forgive me Master Seth! I was drowsy and not paying attention! I'll go back to my job!"

Atem leaned back in his chair to stare at Yugi. "Oh Yugi, why not just stop? You're tired, no? Come on, sit down."

"Y-yes, but…"

But Atem had turned his attention back to Seth. "Have I ever told you about Yugi, Seth?" he asked. "He's good at games like this and he's really smart! When Mahad had taught him how to read and write, Yugi nearly achieved a Scribe level!"

Yugi's face went red. "I…I think so…" he said shyly.

Atem reached back and hugged his best friend. "Come on! You're my pride!" he said with a laugh. Seth smiled, glad to see his Price have such a nice friend.

A voice from behind Seth made Atem and Yugi break apart. Aton, the slave master, stood outside the door. "Prince, may I enter? I have a message from the Pharaoh."

"Aton, come in. What does he want?"

Aton stepped in and bowed to the Prince and Priest. "The Pharaoh wishes that you choose a trusted messenger for him to send out to be a message runner in the Syria War."

"Wh-what?" Atem said to himself. 'He wants me to send him a "trusted messenger"…? And who's Aton looking at? Wait, he thinks that…?'

'W—why is Aton looking at me like that?' Yugi thought.

'If he thinks that I'll send Yugi into such a dangerous place, he's made a great mistake,' Atem thought. "Thank you Aton, but-"

"My Prince, please give me this chance! I'd be honored!" Seth interrupted, getting down onto one knee.

Atem stared down at him, surprised. "Oh! Of… course you can Seth! Very well! Seth, Aton, you can go to my father and give him my decision!"

"Yes Prince!" they said, leaving the room.

Atem turned and placed a hand on Yugi's shoulder. "And you, Yugi, can you go to Aknadin for me and tell him that his pupil Seth will be outside the city for a bit of time? But come back at once, okay?"

Yugi nodded. "Of course! I'll go at once."

{Tremble in fear, for I am a time skip!}

Yugi slowly approached Aknadin's rooms. His head was swarming with long-lost thoughts. 'The last time I was here was the day that my mom left. It's been years.' he thought.

"Who are you?" the guard outside asked as Yugi stood in front of him. "Master Aknadin says he doesn't want to see a nobody."

The comment stung, but Yugi kept his head up. "I have a message from the Prince for the Nobel Aknadin." he told the guard.

The guard turned and pulled a bit of the curtain covering the door back. "Master, there is a messenger from the prince here," he said.

"He can enter!" Aknadin's voice called. The guard stepped back, pulling the curtain with him, signaling for Yugi to enter.

Yugi stepped inside, pulling yet another curtain out of his way. "Nobel Master," he said "The Prince has sent me to-"

"Bastard!" Aknadin approached Yugi and grabbed his neck, choking him and pushing him up against the wall. Yugi gasped as he felt his feet leave the floor as he was hoisted in the air. "Little viper! Don't say that to me! I was there when Seth had said it to my brother!"

"M-m-master… what…?" Yugi struggled to talk.

Aknadin's glare was terrifying, the Millennium Item in place of his left eye glowing menacingly. "It is only your fault that Seth will be sent into the war. With your plot… have you corrupted the Prince too? You must be sent to the war, not him! If only Tiye knew she has nursed a viper! If only on that day I didn't give you to Atem… it would be better for all! And now you have made the end of your mother!"

Yugi struggled to breathe, tears beginning to run down his face. 'But why is he angry with me?' he thought. 'I've done nothing! I'm scarred!' "M-my mom…? What's the matter with her?" he choked out.

"Tiye had died in a fire!" Aknadin shouted. "And you mother was sold on the West Market!"

Yugi's eyes grew wide. His mother was… sold again? He'd never see her again! His fear got the better of him as he shouted "It's your fault! You're a monster!"

"How dare you, worm!" Aknadin's eyes narrowed in rage and he threw Yugi across the floor. Yugi's couldn't hear anything for a bit, so he missed Aknadin's next statement. He gulped in some much needed air and pushed himself up onto his forearms. He felt someone's hands pull his tunic away from his back. He looked back and fear struck his very core. "No!"

But it was too late.

CRACK

Yugi screamed in pain as the whip struck against his back. It struck again and again. Yugi screamed for the only two people who could help him, his mother and best friend. He felt the whip dig into his back, causing deep gashes to appear and his blood to run down his white skin.

Eventually the whip stopped, but not before Yugi's throat had run completely dry from screaming. He could feel the pain spreading out to other parts of his body as well. "Atem…" he called weakly.

Atem…

Atem…!

Help me…

Atem, help me!

Please help me!

Atem walked down the hall, angry. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "This was a terrible day!" he exclaimed aloud to no one. "My training was horrible because Yugi never showed up! And now I'm worried." He had searched all around the Palace for his friend.

A figure curled up against one of the walls near his room caught Atem's eyes. The familiar tri-colored hair caught his attention. "Oh, here you are!" he said, approaching Yugi, who's head rested on his knees which were pressed up against his chest. "Where you here the whole day? I waited for you."

Yugi lifted his head, whispering "S-sorry Atem…"

Atem turned serious at the sight of Yugi in tears. "Yugi…" he said cautiously. "What's the matter?" He put his arms around Yugi and pulled him away from the wall. Yugi couldn't manage to say anything other than Atem's name. When Atem's hands met Yugi's back, he gasped at the warm feeling on his fingers. "Yugi, you're wet!" He pulled his hand away and froze. His hand was stained with dark red. "B-blood? Oh Ra!"

He lifted Yugi bridal style into his arms. "Yugi, open your eyes, please!" But Yugi had slipped away into unconsciousness. Panicking and fearing the worst, Atem ran into his room, calling for Mahad and Isis, both priests in his father's court.

The two came rushing into the room at Atem's call. "Prince!" Mahad said. "What's the matter?" Both of them froze at the sight of Atem sitting on his bed, an unconscious and bleeding Yugi in his arms. Isis covered her mouth with her hands to keep herself from screaming.

"Please, help him…" Atem said sadly. "I think he was whipped."

'I was not able to protect you. Forgive me Yugi…'

HA! I am safe from your torches and pitchforks and rotten tomatoes because I wasn't the one who came up with the idea for this!

Kill the artist if you want, but this is where the chapter ends. We don't find out what happens 'till chapter 4. Maybe I should just leave it at this…

Nah, I won't be any meaner than I have. I'm just gonna make you wait 'till I finish typing chapter 4.

Until next time!