Authors Note:
Hey again peoples. Right, a quick history lesson. As you may have noticed that I have made several references to Horus being Atem's patron God (in both this fic and in Of Kings and Thieves.) I thought I was being all smart and because of all Egyptian Gods, Horus-the child and Anubis are my favorites, but it turns out that in the first episode of the Dawn of the Duel series, when Solomon Mutou enters Atem's tomb, a statue of Horus is present, so lucky break for me. lol
Also if you have any idea of Horus' back story, he is the God I feel most describes Atem. Horus was born after Seth murdered and hacked Osiris to pieces. Isis and her sister, Nephthys, collected the pieces and reassembled the corpse, all except for the God's manhood, yet somehow Isis was able to conceive a child, the God Horus. (Egyptian history is rife with incest.) No I do not think Atem was born from the same circumstances but, Horus-the child became known as Her-nedj-tef-ef (Horus, Avenger of His Father) in his adult life. And, so concludes our Egyptian history lesson 101, lol.
Right my advice to those reading this fic, I suggest before reading this chapter, you read my oneshot Oasis as it explains a little more of the developing relationship between Atem and Mana. I would upload it as a chapter within this story but that's cheating and I respect my readers too much to recycle it a oneshot as a chappy. If I were to write it from either Atem's or Mana's point of view, then yes I would rewrite it, though it would tell the same story in effect. But as I am writing from a third persons perspective, well... (shrug...)
Anyways, that's my advice. (Also perhaps Oasis may receive a few extra reviews...)
Disclaimer:
I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Egypt nor the history of either.
Lapis Luzali.
Chapter. 3: Perils of the Adolescent.
Every living beast and every plant in Egypt blooms swiftly into adulthood, and the children born to the land were no different. Boys are ready to wed and become fathers almost as soon as they first notice a young woman as more than just another defenseless beast to torment, and girls are ready to take a husband as soon as they are able to bear children of their own. Such was the way of their world.
Yet, a Prince of Egypt must complete one extra assignment before he is truly thought of as a man. Either by running the gauntlet known as The Red Road- a grueling trial of fighting and proving ones skills as a hunter and charioteer. Very few completed the trials as it was known as The Red Road for one reason alone... for the amount of young, headstrong Princes failing the trials and losing their very lives.
The second, and more favored method, was to capture ones very own God-bird, the majestic Saker Falcon.
Atem had recently completed this task. His young bird now joined the aging Saker belonging to his father in the royal aviary. Once a Pharaoh's reign ended, his God-bird was set free to join the departing spirit in its journey into the west.
Atem was a man now, and though he was of age to wed, he refused. Still claiming that women were beneath his notice and, much to the distress of the line of potential wives that were presented to him, turning his delicate nose up at each. Though there was one female he was still rather fond of...
"Are you as bored as I am, Temmy?"
He smiled. Mana always could make him smile. Even when he was slouching with an irritated scowl fixed firmly upon his face, listening to the reports of his eventual kingdom. Though his father still ruled, it was insisted that the Prince and his own Priests-in-training attended these long meetings. Mana took her proper place at the Prince's feet. No Priest was permitted to stand higher than the royal family and, as a woman, Mana was not even permitted to kneel at his side.
Not that she minded of course. Kneeling at Atem's feet provoked the playful streak in his nature. Even now, he sat and prodded at Mana with his toes. Trying to make her jump or squeak and disrupt the boring voice of his uncle, Lord Akhenaden with his gentle assaults. To his delight, she often encouraged the game, trying to grab his ankle when he nudged her.
"I do wish he would hurry and finish. I do not think I can stay awake much longer." Again her soft tones reached his ears as she complained under her breath. "His voice is almost as tiresome as Master Mahado's own drone."
Atem clamped his mouth shut but not before a snorting laugh burst out, bringing Akhenaden's report to an abrupt halt. All eyes swung to focus upon the Prince who immediately rubbed his nose. "My apologies Lord Ahkenaden. I believe the slaves did not clean my throne as thoroughly as they should have."
Mana lowered her head so her bitten back smile couldn't be seen. He was attempting to cover the outburst as a sneeze...
But it worked. Ahkenaden nodded and returned to his report, as though nothing had disrupted him.
"You almost had me caught." Atem's voice hissed at her in mock anger and his nudging resumed, a little harder this time. "Just you wait until we-"
Pharaoh leaned slightly toward his son and spoke from the corner of his mouth. "I know these meetings are tedious to you, my boy. But at least try to pretend you are listening to your uncle. If he feels you were not attentive enough, he shall repeat the report."
Atem nodded slightly and cupped his chin in his hand, propping his elbow upon the armrest of his throne and waited out the last of the report with the most interested expression he could muster upon his face.
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"Finally." Mana groaned as she stretched her legs, she bent to attempt to rub life back into them after the grueling two hour meeting. "I was beginning to think I would leave the hall as an old crone."
Atem grinned as he glanced up from the bao board and gestured for the girl to make her move.
She shifted once and stared thoughtfully at the board positioned between them. Atem watched her face as the tip of her little pink tongue slipped out and drew her bottom lip between her teeth, and shuddered. The action was innocent and she had no idea just how provocative a simple movement like that was to him.
Ever since Mahado had reached fifteen and left for his intense magic training, Atem had been left to rely upon Mana for companionship. And, if truth be known, he had loved every minute of it. Mana was fun, always smiling and always up to something. She was a bundle of boundless energy and it was almost impossible for anyone not to discover their own hidden pools of strength when in her company.
She was eager to learn. Siamun had taught bao to Atem and, in turn, he taught it to Mana. All the while he was starting to see her in a different light, no longer the awkward little girl he had bullied and teased when they were children, but for the woman she was becoming. She had learned how to handle him, his moods and tempers, and diffused tense situations between the young man and whomever had angered him with the ease and finesse of a loyal wife, allowing him to maintain his dignity as both a man and a king.
When she lifted her eyes from beneath those dark lashes, he swallowed thickly and those strange feelings that he had first experienced days earlier stirred in his belly with renewed strength. Engulfing his whole being in a warm wave. He watched her struggle to discover a path between his stones that surrounded her castle and suddenly decided winning this game was not important. Had his opponent been Siamun or anyone else, he would be grinning in satisfaction at delivering another crushing defeat, for he was an excellent bao player. Instead he rolled his shoulders and stood.
"Shall we go?"
Mana blinked slowly, confused, then stared down at the board. "But, the game..."
Atem waved her protest away, as though it were some annoying insect. "I tire of bao. If I continue to play, I will defeat Lord Siamun easily and lose all the love I have for the game." Then he smiled one of those smiles she was convinced he had only for her, the one that lit up his eyes and made his face boyish and appealing. "Now, would you join me in a hunt?"
She practically leaped to her feet and, in her haste, almost upset the bao board. She flushed, steadied the board and was beside him in seconds.
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He gazed softly at her from the corner of his eye, splitting his concentration between the girl beside him and the gazelle he was attempting to separate from the herd they were pursuing. He quirked his lips into a slight curl as he noted the way the simple white maiden-tunic whipped about her elegant thighs and clung so tightly to her curved hips and generous mounds upon her chest.
She hadn't bothered with the usual head cap that she usually wore, it would simply be lost in the speeds they traveled at, so her long hair streamed behind her as the wind toyed and knotted the strands.
Not paying attention to the fleeing animals path, he missed it throw a sharp left and gain a few extra cubits, only aware of the change in direction when Mana pointed. Growling an oath in frustration, Atem wrapped the left rein around his fist and pulled. He was an excellent chariot driver and he proved his skills now. To a lesser driver, a sharp turn like this would flip the body of the chariot and kill both those inside and the horses, but Atem adjusted for the swing. Planting his feet wide, he leaned away from the pull, his weight anchoring the light vessel.
As the horses veered, the chariot swung wide and hurled Mana hard against him. Without thinking, Atem shifted and pressed her against the front guard of the vehicle, holding her there and protecting her with his own body. Even when the chariot straightened once more, he didn't move away. Instead, he transferred the left rein into his right hand and, with his hip, he nudged Mana into a more central position before shifting his lower body to pin her once more. Pressed this closely against her, he could feel every curve and contour of her body slipping to fit with those of his own, and his cheeks heated as he passed the left rein back to his left hand.
He began thinking more and more of her, of how wonderful it feel to press close like this without barriers. How her cool skin might feel, crushed to his own hot flesh...
He shuddered. This train of thought was dangerous with her pressed so tightly against him, his feelings for her may be discovered. He willed away the sudden onset of hormones away and concentrated on the hunt.
Then Atem winced, suddenly aware of something jabbing painfully into his belly.
A bow.
Mana rolled her shoulder and the weapon slid down the length of her arm and into her hand. A light-weight bow that had be expertly and specially crafted for her and her alone. Easy to draw and frighteningly precise. She slid an arrow from the quiver at her hip, nocked it and drew.
She wore a guard upon her wrist and he knew, beneath the white material of her tunic, she wore a guard over her breast, both were fashioned from supple and well oiled crocodile hide. The wrist guard was more for support, where the cup over the mound of delicate flesh upon her chest was solely for protection against the biting back-lash of the bowstring.
Urging the horses to give their all, Atem smiled. He knew the girl had a deadly aim.
Even the voice of the string sang with an almost elegantly female lilt as it propelled the arrow through the air.
The gazelle squealed once and flipped over itself. Its forelegs splayed as they stopped running before the hind ones did. It rolled to a stop with the arrow embedded deep within its neck.
Leaning to the girls ear and pulling sharply on the reins, Atem murmured. "Bak-her, Mana. A beautiful shot."
Mana shivered as his breath tickled across her cheek, and flushed at how the praise so readily melted into seduction in her mind. But was it all in her mind? Hadn't he pressed so tightly to her that she had felt him so prominently through his tunic? Her blush only delighted the young Prince more and he nudged his body closer still.
The horses slowed to a halt and stood panting, steam rising from their sweating flanks and foam dribbled from their muzzles.
Mana tried to twist around and face Atem, but he had pinned her so expertly that she could barely wriggle. At her movements his breath came as short and barely audible moans. He turned his face into her cheek and she froze.
He was nuzzling her, his lips mouthed a gentle path over the flesh he could reach. His fingers clutched the rim of the chariot, trapping her. Preventing her from moving, from turning to face him.
She could feel him trembling against her. Despite the boldness of his actions, he was afraid.
Afraid of her reaction. Afraid and certain that if she were to face him, he would see horror in her wide eyes. Afraid of being rejected. And above all... Afraid to let her see his own fear.
"T-Temmy..."
The voice was so small and so confused that he paused sharply. He just stood there, pressed against her, cheek to cheek. Sliding one cautious hand to grip her fingers, giving them a gentle squeeze.
And to his surprise, she squeezed back.
Mana turned her lips to his cheek now, brushing a gentle path along his jaw. He slowly turned his head, allowing her to graze an agonizingly slow trail toward his mouth. He shuddered hard as the soft lips met the very edge of his mouth. Pulling back, he repositioned himself more firmly against her, ensuring she could feel every last inch of his body. Every angle. Every hard contour.
Lowering his head, his broiling crimson eyes shuttered...
"There they are! We have them!"
The sudden shout startled them apart, rocking the stationary chariot so fiercely that they almost lost their footing.
"My Prince, you should not have abandoned the hunting party."
Atem growled and pushed away from Mana suddenly, who clung to the side of the vessel, panting and attempting to collect her thoughts of what had just transpired between herself and her friend... No... Her future king.
In the excitement of the hunt and the ecstasy of the chase, the small party that Atem had headed, had scattered. The main body recollected moments after and attempted to catch up to the Prince, but he had thrown so many hard turns and spurred Kaheer and Bolast, two of the swiftest horses owned by Pharaoh, to their fullest and hardest gallop that there was no hope that they could catch him.
None of the men present could match Atem's skills. The only man who came even close was Seto, a man of the same age as Atem that Lord Akhenaden had taken as an apprentice, but he was elsewhere.
"You could have been injured," The lecture continued, and Atem grit his teeth. "Lady Mana could have been injured. You acted irresponsibly..."
"Enough!"
Atem's temper snapped. "Do not speak to me as though I am a mere boy. I am a man! I am to be Pharaoh! I captured my God-bird in my trial of manhood, which I stress to you that none here have completed a trial of such magnitude save for me! That is more than enough proof of my capabilities!"
Mana stared at the young man trembling with rage. He was so proud, so stubborn and,- she sought for a way to best describe him, then found one- so incredibly male.
One of the other men finally noticed Mana upon her knees behind the enraged Prince, and called to her. "Are you injured, my Lady?"
Immediately the Prince's furious scowl fell upon him. Mana pushed herself to her feet and smiled. "I am fine Sobekt. My Prince would not allow any harm to befall me. He is honorable and brave, and I would trust him with my very life."
She felt those crimson orbs fall upon her and she shyly met them. She smiled softly as the anger drained from his face and the tiniest hint of the boyish smile he had only for her touched his lips. He nodded, a gesture so small she almost missed it.
Sobekt turned to his comrade and gestured to the forgotten gazelle before he lifted his head and called to the rest of the party. "We have recovered the Prince and his kill. Let us return to the Palace and speak no more of what could have happened." he turned and skewered the man who had challenged and lectured Atem with a glare of pure disgust. "And you, fellow. You will do well to learn not to displease the Prince. He is protected by Horus. It would serve you well to remember that."
As the formation drove off at a leisurely pace, Atem turned to Mana. All his anger had melted away and his eyes had softened. "Mana..."
"Yes, my Prince?"
"Did you mean that? What you said?"
A cheeky grin toyed upon her lips. "Do you see any injuries? If I had, I would give you a lump for every one that I found."
Atem sighed as he turned away from her and gathered the reins, clicking his tongue to encourage the exhausted horses into an easy trot. "I did not mean that as you are well aware." He tried to sound nonchalant, but the excited flips his stomach was currently in the process of doing prevented it. "Do you trust me with your life?"
"No."
His stomach plummeted and his poise sagged a little. Then he felt her bump him with her hip playfully.
"I trust you with so much more."
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Okay the ending of the chapter was overly sweet, maybe I should have enclosed a warning for all those with diabetes. lol
Anyway, for those who decided to ignore the advice in my authors note, you may be a little confused as to the age skip from six to about sixteen for Atem and from five to fifteen for Mana or whatever their ages were determined to be in Oasis. I did warn you!
Anyways please read and review as I'd love any feedback and creative criticisms issued.
And wasn't I right about how Mana know's just how to deal with Atem?
Stay Smexy.
xXx