So...this is a beast of a chapter. It's reallllllllllllllllly long. Something like eleven pages on Open Office or something. I think it's pretty good, though. :) But yeah. ANYWAY.

Just a side note. The parts that aren't flashbacks (the non-italicized parts) pick up right from the last chapter (round or about), but the flashbacks don't. They skip ahead. Hope that makes sense.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, unfortunately. Or any manga or anime. It's unfortunate, but it's the truth.

Warning: This chapter has a lemon. Not too great at writing them, but I'm working on it, so it's not too explicit.

As always, thanks to my lovely beta tenspeed457. She writes really good Yu-Gi-Oh fics. You should go check hers out, too.

Enjoy. :)

"Seth." Atem's voice cut through the darkness, jerking me out of my deep slumber. I sat straight up, struggling to adjust my eyes to the night. The moon's rays were glowing eerily through my window, casting light throughout parts of my room. The only area I was concerned with, however, was the end of my bed, where the Prince of Egypt was sitting barefoot, in just his dressing gown, with no jewelery or anything else on to signify his royal standing; if not for his godlike beauty, he could have been mistaken for a common Egyptian.

"Atem! What are you doing here?" I asked urgently. "You shouldn't be here!"

Atem crawled up my bed so that he was sitting in front of me. I had to stop myself from staring at Atem's body; his dressing gown was short and was currently exposing much of Atem's tanned legs, the strong muscles rippling underneath the golden skin. The gown had also slipped off one shoulder, baring such soft, smooth skin that I so wanted to touch...

"I wanted to see you, Seth," Atem whispered "I needed to see you"

Oh, how I had always wanted to hear those words, but he couldn't know that...

"You just saw me a few hours ago, Atem." I tried to make my voice sound careless, but instead it came out sounding kind of choked.

"I know." Atem's hand was suddenly on my face, and he kissed me softly. It had been two years since our first kiss in the temple, and that certainly hadn't been our last. Every time, I had protested, and every time, I completely gave into him. Even now, as an actual priest, I couldn't stop myself from seeing and thinking about Atem. "But I needed to see you again."

I took a deep breath to attempt to clear my head. Atem had this very debilitating habit of completely clouding my mind of any thought that didn't have to do with him. "We could get into trouble," I warned, even though I knew the threat of that didn't bother him at all, like it did me. Then again, Atem, as the Prince of Egypt, couldn't get into trouble like I could.

"We won't," he promised. "No one's going to hear us in here." He was referring to the vastness of the Priests' dormitory; my room was very far from anyone else's.

My train of thought was derailed by the very sudden presence of Atem straddling me,.

"Atem, what are you doing?" I found that my hands had somehow crept to rest on his legs, and I yanked them away. "It isn't funny, you know."

"I'm not trying to be funny." Atem leaned down to kiss me again. By the time he had broken the kiss, I was startled to see that he had somehow slithered under my covers.

"Atem..."

My heart about jumped out of my chest as he grabbed the hem of his dressing gown, and pulled it off, leaving his sun-kissed skin completely bare...I immediately shut my eyes; I was never supposed to see this as a priest.

"Open your eyes, Seth," Atem said softly.

"I-I...can't," I managed to get out after a moment.

"Seth, I want you to see me," he whispered. "Open you eyes."

I very slowly opened my eyes to find the most gorgeous human being possible straddling me. My breath caught my throat as I stared at him.

I jumped when I felt Atem's hand on my tunic. Before I could even react, he had pulled it off, leaving me bare as well. Immediately, I tried to cover myself up; my body was never meant to be seen bare by anybody, ever...

"Atem, stop!" My voice held no commanding tone whatsoever. "You can't...I-I can't...we can't..." I stuttered, trying--and failing--to not be too distracted by the beauty of the prince before me.

"What?" he asked innocently, a slow grin spreading across his face. "I'm not doing anything!"

I mustered up the angriest glare I could, but even then, I knew it was next to nothing.

"Seth. I want this. You want this. So why not?" The tone of his voice made his logic seem so clear.

"Because I'm a priest! I took a vow of chastity. My body is supposed to be for the gods only!"

His grin widened. "Well, Seth, fortunately I am the gods' representation on Earth." He leaned closer. "And I'm giving you full permission to use your body--and mine--in any way you like."

I certainly couldn't argue with this argument; the pharaohs were the gods' representation on Earth, and we treated them as such.

"Seth, for once in your life, stop thinking," Atem said exasperatedly. He smiled coyly and leaned down so that he could whisper right in my ear. "And aren't I worth Osiris' punishment?"

I didn't even have to ponder that answer. "Atem, you're worth everything I could possibly ever suffer."

"Then show me." Atem's voice was firm. "Show me what you feel."

I felt every single one of my defenses fall. Of course I wanted Atem. How could anyone not? I ran my hand down one of his legs, feeling the softness of it under my fingertips. Atem just studied me patiently, a calm look on his face.

"Fine, I will." I hooked my arm under one of Atem's and managed to flip him under me. He stared at me, completely disoriented, and I just smiled.

"You didn't think you were going to be the one in control, did you?" I teased lightly.

Atem's eyes were wide. For the first time in a long while, he looked apprehensive. "W-Well, I-I..." He trailed off. "I guess not."

A part of me had expected Atem to demand that he would be, and when I wouldn't give him his way, he would refuse to go any further. A part of me had even kind of wanted it.

The frightening part, however, was that a much, much larger part of me wanted him to acquiesce my request, and to let me have him...

"Seth, are you going to do something or are you just going to lay on top of me?" Atem asked dryly."You have to be the one in control, after all."

As punishment, I bit down on Atem's collarbone none too lightly. He flinched a little, but I could hear him inhale sharply. I placed a light kiss on the reddening spot before moving along his collarbone. With each nip of my teeth, his breathing got more and more erratic, and the delicious sounds that were falling from his mouth only encourage me in ravishing the prince.

I slowly began to move down his body, not leaving one inch of his smooth, tanned skin untouched I felt as though Atem was a feast; a feast I intended to both savor and devour.

"S-seth..." Atem gasped as my lips traveled to his inner thighs. I glanced up for a moment to see if that was a warning for me to stop or an encouragement for me to continue His face was flushed, his bangs sticking to his forehead....

I tore my lips away and settled on his hipbone, sucking until I made a mark. A dark thrill ran up my spine; when I saw that mark, it would remind me of the night we spent together...

"Seth, I-I don't know...I don't know if I'm going to last much longer," Atem whispered, his cheeks reddening.

I could feel Atem's body tightening like a spring, but it was hard; I could speed hours, days, kissing and touching his body. However, I wanted to truly be with Atem, and I knew that wasn't going to happen if I continued my ministrations.

"I--well, I---" I swallowed. Like Atem, I had absolutely no experience on what to do; I was going purely on instinct."Just relax, Atem."

"I-I'm relaxed."

His body was basically trembling from the need for release. "Yes, I can see you're very calm."

"Just...do whatever...but do something!" he burst out, very obviously frustrated. "For once in your life, Seth, don't think, just feel!"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before whispering, "It's going to hurt, Atem."

"Fine. Just..." Atem trailed off, but his eyes pleaded with me to finish what we had started.

I nodded and got up quickly, and Atem made sounds of protest. I ignored them, though, to get a bottle of oil that I used to keep my skin soft. I knew that without some sort of lubricant, I could very much hurt Atem, and probably even with the oil, I would still cause him great pain.

I quickly spread it on myself, throwing the bottle aside. I glanced at Atem; the bravado that had been on his face was now replaced with the look of pure uncertainty.

"Atem, are you sure? You look nervous..."

"Well, of course I'm nervous!" Atem snapped. "You're about to..."

I interrupted of what was sure to be a rather...elegant explanation with a kiss. When Atem got something in his mind, nothing could sway him, no matter what. His father said he was the stubbornest creature ever to have inhabited Egypt, and it was times like these that it was shown to be very, very true.

I positioned myself the best I could and began to enter him as gently as I could. Immediately, Atem gritted his teeth together, a sure sign he was in pain, but just as I was about to pull out, Atem grabbed my wrists.

"Don't you dare," he warned me. "Just...give me a moment."

I nodded, trying my best not to move an inch. After a minute or so, Atem nodded, and I continued the rest of the way in. Like last time, I let him adjust to what I was sure was an extremely odd--not to mention painful--feeling.

"I'm not going to break, Seth," Atem whispered to me after a little awhile. "You could...move."

Oh, how Atem was wrong. With him under me, he seemed extraordinarily breakable.

Although my heart told me to wait, my body followed Atem's advice and as gently as I could I thrust in for the first time. Atem winced, once again gritting his teeth, but he said nothing. I was torn; part of me very much wanted to keep going, while the other part of me was telling me to stop, that I was obviously hurting Atem. However, before my internal battle of the wills could go any further, my body subconsciously decided for me: I pushed in once again, and this time, Atem's hips arched up to meet my thrust, and both of us let out strangled cries and mangled versions of one another's names.

We continued that pattern, and it didn't take long for Atem to begin to emit soft gasps, every so often peppering them with my name. I could barely concentrate anymore, I was so engulfed in what I was sure had to be the pinnacle of all pleasure. A sheen of sweat began to form over Atem's entire body, and I made it my project to kiss every inch of his skin...

"S-Seth!" Atem choked out my name as his back began to arch. With one last thrust, he came with a loud cry, his nails digging so much into my back I was sure they would leave marks later. The feeling of him tightening around me sent me over the edge as well. For a moment, time seemed to stop as Atem and I were caught into our own little world of ecstasy, our own little world of pure and unadulterated pleasure...

Finally, though, I collapsed on Atem, both of us struggling to catch our breaths. I felt as though I had just run all the way to the neighboring city and back again during the noon day. Sweat and other...bodily fluids kept it so that Atem and I stuck together, unable to move from our current positions.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you," I whispered to him after I had finally managed to regain my normal lung capacity.

Atem shook his head. "It's more than fine, Seth. I'm fine."

That seemed to be all the words Atem and I could handle, however. A think silence blanketed the room, but for once, it wasn't awkward. I felt so content, laying on top of Atem, his arms loosely holding me. All I could hear was our mixed breathing, and the sounds of the crickets trilling outside my chamber.

I was so content, in fact, that my eyelids soon began to close, and my mind started to grow hazy with sleep. Just as I was about to take that final step into sleep, however, Atem broke the silence.

"Seth?"

"Yes?" My voice was muffled in his chest, so it came our more like, "Mmph?"

"That was amazing." It came out like he had been holding his breath, and then let it all out with that phrase.

I lifted up my head to look Atem straight in the eyes. "Yes, it was," I agreed. I was about to add, "Even though it's completely forbidden," but I didn't. I couldn't bear to break this perfect moment. the perfect serenity that Atem and I had right then.

"I love you, Atem." I softly kissed him on his forehead and settled on top of him again, settling my head so that it was in the crook between his neck and shoulder.

"I love you, too, Seth." He smiled, and at that exact moment, the moon was uncovered from the clouds, shining into my room so that it could illuminate just the two of us.

"See, even the gods approve, Seth," Atem said, his grin widening. "We have the blessings of the gods."

"I don't know about that. Maybe of one god," I said, lightly pinching him in the ribs. I immediately kissed the side of his neck to make up for it.

"Yes, one god certainly does approve," Atem whispered, his voice beginning to turn groggy. "And that's all we need."

I decided to leave it at that. And so both of us fell asleep, the moon shining down upon us, the crickets still conversing with one another, and me, praying, praying for both forgiveness for what I'd done, and for it to never stop.

It was the rays of the great god Ra that woke me the next morning. I wasn't used to waking up with the sun; I was always at the temple by this time even though I wasn't required to be. I wanted to outshine everyone else; I wanted to earn the High Priest position and not just get it because I was so close to Atem.

This morning, however, I was still in bed far after I usually was, with the Prince sprawled on top of me. Our limbs were so entangled it was nearly impossible to see where my body ended and Atem's began; the only clue was the startling contrast of his bronzed skin against my ghostly paleness.

"Atem." I began to rub slow and gentle circles across his back to wake him up. His skin was so very soft; I wanted to run my hands over it all day, everyday. I knew, though, that his servants would soon start wondering where the Prince had wandered off to. "Atem, it's time to wake up."

He stirred a little and groaned softly. when he lifted his head, his groggy eyes flicked briefly to the window and then found mine. He smiled.

"Good morning, Seth."

"Good morning," I whispered, running my fingers through his hair. "We have to get up"

"Mmmmm..." He bent his head down and began to softly kiss my collarbone. I shivered, and I could feel Atem grinning.

"Atem." I grabbed his shoulders so that I could pull him back. I couldn't form a coherent thought when his lips were on me. "People will wonder. Like your father, for example. Aren't you supposed to meet with him today?"

He somehow managed to get out from my grasp, and he began to trace my collarbone with his tongue. A part of me--a very, very large part, and perhaps too large of a part--wanted to let him continue, but luckily, the more sensible part of me took over.

"Atem, stop." To prove my point, I flipped him under me easily, and I pinned his wrists above his head. "Behave yourself."

"Do you really want me to stop?" he asked. By the coy smile on his face, he already knew the answer.

"Of course not, but--"

Atem's smile widened. "Glad we cleared that up. Besides..." He reached up to kiss me quickly. "This position seemed fine for you last night."

I could feel the blush rising in my cheeks; in fact, I was sure that Atem could probably feel the heat emanating from my face. I lowered my gaze so that I didn't have to look Atem in the eyes.

"Seth, you're so cute when you blush," He ran his knuckles gently over my cheeks, and that just just made me blush more. "Remind me to embarrass you more often."

My witty retort was on the tip of my tongue when I suddenly heard the shuffling of footsteps echoing down the hallway leading to my room. Immediately, I jumped out of bed, quickly grabbing one of my priest's robe that I--or Atem, rather--had flung off to the side. I slipped into it, and then knotted the belt at my waist tightly. I could only hope I could pass as presentable. I frantically looked for a place for Atem to hide, but all that was contained in my room was a couch for me to sleep on and a chest for my extra robes.

"Just...stay here," I whispered, and I quickly swept out of my room, barely managing to intercept the two men, who were presently standing right in front of my door, ready to enter. One of the men was Mahad, Atem's advisor, and the other man was the current High Priest to the Pharaoh, and also the man whom was in charge of all the lower priests' training.

"Seth, I'm surprised to find you here. You're usually at the temple by this time," the High Priest observed, as he studied me closely. Even though now I looked reasonably presentable, I usually looked absolutely impeccable at all times.

"Y-yes...I...I couldn't fall asleep last night, and when I finally did, I fell asleep so deeply I overslept." I said, the last part of my sentence very rushed. I could hear a derisive snort coming from the room behind me, so I cleared my throat to cover it, and also to disguise the smile that was threatening to appear on my face. Yes, indeed, I couldn't sleep last night, and that reason's name was Atem.

"So you have not seen the prince, then?" Mahad asked briskly.

"The p-prince?" I repeated stupidly. "No, I have not."

Mahad sighed, his shoulder scrunched from weariness.. I couldn't help but feel sorry for the man; he must have had the hardest job in all of Egypt: keeping tabs on the Prince Atem. "He's nowhere to be found. If you see him, please send him back to the palace immediately."

I nodded "Of-of course. He probably just snuck out to see Mana."

Mahad seemed to straighten up a little. "I haven't thought of that! I will go see Mana right away!" He turned around quickly, and began to walk away. The High Priest was about to follow him, but he turned around almost as soon as he had started walking away.

"Seth, if you would like to stay this morning, that would be acceptable, as long as you are at the temple after noon meal." Normally, I would have went to the temple right that very second. Then again, normally, I would already be at the temple. But now...Now, I was going to take the morning off.

"Thank you. I will be at the temple after noon meal."

The High Priest gave me a small smile and jogged ahead to catch up to Mahad. I made sure to wait until they were both out of sight before returning to my chambers.

Atem was sitting on my bed, only his lower half wrapped in a sheet. He smiled when he saw me.

"Mahad is going to Mana's to search for me, so..."

"So what?" I reached under the bed to grab Atem's tunic and handed it to him. "You must get back to the palace immediately. I'm not sure what you'll say but..."

Atem suddenly wrapped his arms around my neck, pulling me down for a long kiss. "No. That means that I now have bought us an extra few hours, since you don't have to go to temple yet."

"Atem!" I scolded. "We have stolen enough time already."

Atem's expression turned serious as he shook his head vehemently. "No. Never enough time, Seth"

"But Atem..." I protested weakly.

He shook his head once again, his blond bangs sweeping into his eyes. "Stay with me, Seth. And tonight, when you get out of temple, you will come to me again." He slowly slipped off the belt to my robe, and threw it aside, and then began to slide my robe off my shoulders. "You will always come back to me, Seth, as I will to you."

I sighed as I took off the rest of my robe. and climbed back into bed with Atem.

"That's going to be our downfall someday," I whispered to him.

Atem shrugged as much as he could with me situated on top of me. "As long as my downfall is with you, then I couldn't care less." He paused as he kissed me softly. "I love you, Seth."

I sighed and closed my eyes. This wasn't the first time I had heard those words comes for Atem; when we were children, I had promised to love him forever, but this time...this time I knew that Atem meant it, that those words held more than just an empty promise we had made as children.

"I love you, too, Atem," I whispered. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I could feel an aching tug at my heart; even then, I somehow knew saying those words would be unwise.

And very, very possible fatal.

The moon was high in the sky when Atem finally fell asleep that night in my arms. It was times like these that still reminded me of how delicate Atem really was. I smiled inwardly at the though of telling the pharaoh that; he thought he was anything but delicate. And in some ways he was; in manners of the state, he was the strongest of the strong. However, as I held him, the slimness of his frame...his tear-stained face....the pharaoh was much more delicate than he would like to believe.

To me, though, that was completely fine.

Because I would always be there to protect him.

I lay there for a long time, just listening to his steady breathing. Atem had always commented on how he loved to listen to me breathe. I would wake to find his head on my chest, right where my heart was located. I had always wondered what the appeal was and had asked him so many times, but he would just smile and say, 'I just like hearing you breathe, Seth. What's so odd about that?' But right this very moment, I could understand completely why Atem liked listening; it was very comforting, simply to know that other person was just there.

Atem stirred a few hours later, pushing the blond bangs out of his eyes. He tried to sit up, but found that my body was serving as an impediment, seeing as how my head was situated on his chest, an exact mirror of what he did to me.

"What are you doing?" he asked me. He was smiling, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. I was reminded of how he was doing that frequently as of late, and I had yet to still figure out what had been bothering him before the incident with Bakura. But now, now was not the time.

"Listening to you breathe," I answered matter-of-factly.

When he smiled this time, it reached his beautiful crimson eyes. "You always tease me about that. Do you understand why, now?"

"Because...because it's comforting. It's steady."

Atem considered my answer for a moment before tilting his head and thoughtfully saying, "Yes, that's true, but..."

I reached for Atem's hand and placed it over my heart. "Whatever reason you do it for, Atem, just know that my heart always beats for you." I bit my lip. Usually it was Atem who made the proclamations of love, not me. But for whatever reason I needed him to know that about me.

"Seth...." Atem swept some of my bangs out of my eyes. "Do you have any idea how good it makes me feel to hear you say that?" When I shook my head, he continued, "It makes me feel like everything I do is worth it. I love you, Seth."

"I love you, too, Atem," I whispered.

"Glad that has been established," he said smiling. "But we're going to have an early day tomorrow, Seth. We need to question Bakura some more, found out if what he said is accurate."

"Of course." Atem had settled back up against me, and I wrapped my arms around him once again. "As soon as I come back from the temple..."

"There's no need to go to the temple tomorrow, Seth," Atem said groggily, his eyelids beginning to droop. "The god you need to serve is right beside you."

I sighed. It was no longer a requirement but rather a liking as far as going to the temple went. I went almost everyday, but on rare occasions, such as this, I wouldn't, knowing that a lower priest would see the empty temple and do my duty for me.

"Of course," I repeated. "Just sleep, Atem. Your troubles will go away with sleep."

He nodded, his eyes already closed, his breathing becoming steadier and steadier. I snuggled closer to him, listening once again to his heartbeat, knowing that his heart beat for me, and for me only.

As usual, Ra's appearance was far too early for both Atem and me. However, both of us knew we couldn't linger; someone would be coming for Atem soon, and I still had to sneak out and back to my chambers before anybody noticed my absence. Before I had become High Priest, and had lived in the priest's dormitory, it had made it extremely difficult to spend the night with Atem; the dormitory didn't have too many secret entrances and I had been almost caught more than once.

As usual, I was the first to arise. It took great effort to get up; Atem had been sprawled across me, his limbs tangled in mine. When I finally did escape his extremities, I went over to his gold basin to splash some cold water on my face. The frigidness shocked me enough to wake me up completely.

"Atem," I said quietly, going over to put my hand on one of his cheeks. I rubbed one of my thumbs across his cheekbone, and he stirred a little. "Atem, it's morning."

He sighed and fully opened his eyes, revealing the beautiful crimson orbs. "I hate mornings," he grumbled.

"I know," I said soothingly. "They come very early."

Atem glared at me. He had told me that once when we were children and I had never let him forget it. "I was going to give you a compliment, but now, I'm not so sure."

"I'm sorry," I said, trying to be solemn, but failing, as a smile crept onto my face.

"I was going to say I hate mornings because that means my time with you ends."

I threaded one of my hands through my hair to bring him closer to me. I touched my lips softly to his. "But you know the greatest thing about night is? That it will, inevitably, come again."

"Yes," Atem admitted. "But the same could be said for the mornings."

"Try to be optimistic, Atem," I chided him softly.

He nodded. "Yes, well..."

Atem was interrupted by a sharp knock on his door. Quickly, methodically, we gave each other a second look; this wasn't the first time this had happened, and there had been a few times--an untied belt, an off-the-shoulder robe--that had almost gotten us into trouble.

"Come in," Atem said after a moment.

It was Mahad who swept in, his dark robes billowing around him. He sized both Atem and me up, and I could have almost sworn I saw disapproval and anger swirling behind his dark eyes. However, I concluded I must have imagined the look. since he continued as though nothing had happened. "Sire, it seems to me that the thief should be questioned as soon as possible."

"Of course," Atem said firmly. "Seth and I were just on our way out to do so."

Mahad nodded. "Good. And also, sire, the subject we talked of earlier..."

"Nothing more to speak of, Mahad," Atem cut in smoothly. "Now, could you please leave us to discuss the thief before we go to him?"

Mahad looked unsure, but after Atem threw him one of his most fiercest glares, he bowed and walked out, his dark robes trailing behind him,

"What was he speaking of, Atem?" I asked, as soon as Mahad had left. I had assumed that whatever had been bothering him for the last few days had not been bothering him anymore, but by the worrisome look in Atem's eyes, I knew he had managed to only sweep aside the problem, not fix it.

He plastered a weak smile onto his face. "Nothing, Seth. You know Mahad. He likes to stir up trouble where trouble doesn't need to be stirred."

"But, Atem--"

He shook his head. "Let's not speak of it. The thief is out there waiting, and we need to know the truth, Seth, whatever it may be."

"Atem, this problem is obviously not going away. You're going to have to tell me sometime."

The look on Atem's face worried me further. "Don't worry, Seth. I'm sure you'll be aware of the problem--much more aware than you probably need to be--very soon."

Those words echoed throughout my head as Atem and I waited in the throne room for the guards to bring the thief Bakura in. We could hear them bringing the brigand in even before we saw him; the miscreant was making quite a ruckus. He calmed down, though, when he saw that only me, Atem, and Mahad were in the throne room; Atem had insisted on that.

Like before, the guards threw Bakura on the ground, forcing him to kneel in front of Atem. This time, however, Atem said, "Let him stand."

"But sire---" one of the guards protested.

"Let him stand!"

The guards let off their pressure on Bakura's shoulder and allowed the white-haired man to stand. His face was twisted in a malicious sneer.

"Why don't you just execute me and be done with it?"

"Why, do you want to be executed?" Atem asked dryly.

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Of course not. But I'm sure it would be much better than what you're going to do with me."

"I'm not going to do anything with you, except demand you tell me everything you remember from four years ago."

I couldn't help but notice Bakura's shoulders sagged. "I told you everything already."

Atem got up from his throne, his eyes still glued on Bakura. "But you didn't tell me why. Why would my father order his army in to kill a village full of innocent people?"

""He had to have human sacrifices for the Millennium items, didn't he?" Bakura said after a short pause.

"Millennium items?" Atem repeated. "What are those?"

"It was your father's idea, I would have thought you would know," Bakura spit out, as though the phrase were poison.

"I assure you, I have no idea..."

"Did your dear father leave you anything before he died?" Bakura interrupted suddenly.

Atem looked a little taken aback at being interrupted; no one but me did that, and only in private, but he answered, "Yes, a few things. Why?"

"What were they?" Bakura asked eagerly. He even leaned forward a little. A little too close to the pharaoh.

"It's none of your business, thief," Atem said sharply, taking a step backward. "What is your business is telling me all you know."

Bakura's eyes didn't lose the eagerness, but he took a step back again. "I told you. My village, Kul Elna, was attacked because your father needed 99 human sacrifices for the Millennium items. No on knows what they are, but they have to be extraordinarily powerful if they require that many sacrifices. In fact, it's rumored that your father left you one."

"Me?" Atem asked incredulously. "Don't you think he would have discussed that with me before he died?"

"He died rather suddenly, didn't he?" Bakura smiled, his scar stretching obscenely. "Maybe he didn't have time to pass on such crucial information to his son."

Atem threw me a quick glance. It was true; the former Pharaoh had died very suddenly from an illness no one knew how to explain. Perhaps he had wanted to tell Atem, but hadn't gotten the chance.

"I was the only one to survive. I only got this scar, but I was left there, alone. I hope that those Millennium items were worth it."

Atem sighed. "Take the thief away," he said with a wave of his hand. "We shall deal with him later."

The guards nodded, taking Bakura by his arms. Like the last time he had left, he didn't fight them; instead, keeping his eyes on Atem the entire time.

There was a resounding silence that filled the throne room after the guards left with Bakura, leaving only me, Atem, and Mahad. Mahad opened his mouth to say something, but Atem interrupted him.

"Come, Seth, we have much to discuss."

I nodded, and began to follow Atem out. We were almost out of the throne room, when the voice of Mahad stopped us.

"I hope, my dear Pharaoh, that discussing is all you'll be doing. The gods know, Pharaoh."

Atem didn't turn around, but I could see an involuntary flinch go through his body. "Don't worry, Mahad. The gods have much bigger things to worry about than what I am doing."

"Very well, Pharaoh. But take care. We wouldn't want the High Priest to be harmed, now would we?"

"Atem--"

Atem just shook his head and grabbed my hand, pulling me completely out of the room. We didn't speak until we got back to his chambers.

"Atem, what's going on?" I asked loudly.

"Seth, just..." Atem closed his eyes then opened them again. "Seth, just keep your promise to me, and everything will be fine."

"Of course I will, but--"

Atem interrupted me with a kiss. "Trust me, Seth. Just...trust me. You trust me, don't you?"

I nodded. "Yes, I trust you, but--"

"Then that's all I need. You're all I've ever need, and ever will need." He kissed me gently. "Just know...that if anything were to happen to you....to us...I would die, Seth. Because without you, there is no reason for my heart to beat."

I nodded, startled by his statement.

Why was I in danger? What was this huge secret? What had Atem so worried? So many thoughts swirled around in my mind, but I bit my tongue. Atem had engulfed me in a hug, and I wrapped my arms around him. It seemed for a moment, that I could feel his heart beating in synch with mine.

Because, truly, Atem and I were one person, both completely unwilling--and incapable--of living without the other.

So...I hope you liked it. I also hope it was worth reading that beastly amount. If you could review, that would be awesome! If someone reviews, it seriously makes my day.

I had THE hardest time writing this chapter. Not sure why. I've had some parts written for ages, but some parts just didn't come too easy. I was practically slamming my head into the keyboard during some parts of this.

I write most of this during my Modern Culture and the Arts class and also my Comparative Religions class. If I just channeled all that work into my actual schoolwork, I'd be pulling perfect grades. My teachers must think I take the best notes ever.