Atem could feel his heart beat increasing as he walked closer and closer to the shopkeeper. It would be his first time talking with someone here who wasn't the fishermen. He took a deep breath to calm himself before speaking up in the best Aramaic he could.
"Hello, I'm looking to buy some cooking vessels," he said with a curious nod. He wanted to come across as polite but not overly so.
The woman looked over him curiously before giving him a smile.
"Of course. We have a wide variety. What kinds were you looking for?"
Atem noticed her looking at him as he read through the list, though it only consisted of three items. She didn't say anything else until after the money was exchanged and the vessels given to him.
"Say, I haven't seen you around here before? Are you a traveler. Pardon me, I don't mean to sound rude or offensive, but you don't look like you're from here."
Atem would know that curious glance anywhere. It was that of seeing a foreigner, and being a pharaoh, Atem knew he was bound to attract attention no matter what especially with the rare traits he was born with: the hair, the eyes.
"It's true that I've come from a place far from here. I work on merchant ships all over the place, so I get that a lot. I'm Aut." He decided to stick with his made up name from now on. He wasn't sure how well known his real name was, but he didn't want to risk anything. He didn't know what the situation was in Egypt after all.
"You're so lucky to be able to travel so much. The farthest I've been is to Jerusalem from here," she chuckled. She sighed as she saw other customers approaching. "Looks like I'm going to be busy today. Say, if you're going to be at the upcoming festival, I'd love to hear stories about your travels."
"Oh, uh, it would be an honor. Good day," Atem said quickly with another nod and started to make his way back to the house by the cliff. It seemed he was already turning into a great liar, though he supposed it was rather easy since these people knew nothing about him. He could say he was the best juggler in the Levant part of a travelling circus, and they'd probably believe him.
Atem spent the rest of his time sitting by the cliff and looking out at the sea. It was always something that calmed him knowing that Egypt was somewhere beyond the horizon. He wasn't exactly sure how long he spent doing that until a tap on his shoulder caused him to jump in surprise and quickly turn around, ready for anything despite his injured leg. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was Yugi.
"Oh, hello. Sorry, I was..lost in thought," he said once he recovered from the little scare.
"Hi, Aut! My grandpa says thanks for running that errand for him. It's good to see you up and about. You're looking a lot better too," he said, taking a seat next to him. "We found something really cool while out fishing today. Look." Yugi unwrapped an object to reveal a curved bronze blade, one that looked all too familiar to Atem.
"My sword! You found it. I can't believe it was just floating in the sea," Atem gasped and held it in his hands.
"That's yours? That's amazing and lucky too. The writing on the handle..it's Egyptian hieroglyphs, right?"
"Correct. It's my name." Atem knew he was safe in saying that since he knew for sure Yugi couldn't read his written language, many couldn't.
"Wow, I've never seen a bronze weapon like that before. I'm guessing you're skilled in swordsmanship?"
"I'd say I'm pretty proficient. The last I saw it was when I stabbed two of my attackers. It must've been dumped overboard as well. I didn't think it'd come back to me so easily." Atem stared at the way the setting sun's light shone over the smooth bronze. Some parts of the blade still had caked layers of dried blood from the attack, a grim reminder of what had happened.
"I'd love to see some of your skills..when your leg is better that is. Were you some kind of warrior?" Yugi had a curious sparkle in his eyes that made Atem smile. It reminded him of himself when the sword had first been given to him. He had completed his combat training with Mahad and helped out and watched the whole process of creating the weapon. The last step was carving his name into the wooden handle. It was an achievement he could never forget.
"Simply a means to protect myself. This world can be a dangerous place, you know?" Atem felt a twinge of guilt for having to lie so much. He'd love to share all of his stories, but right now, that was a dangerous thing to do even with Yugi whom he was starting to build a bond of trust with. "I promise to show a few of my skills once my leg is better, and I have a proper stance." He patted Yugi's head in an encouraging manner. "For now, it must be kept safe."
The week seemed to fly by as Atem familiarized himself with the village and the land around it. Each day, he gained more and more strength back, only needing the crutch when his leg really started to hurt. He kept a friendly yet distant relationship with the other villagers, still fearful of discovery. His bronze sword was kept safe and out of sight in the house. He wanted to be as helpful as he could to Yugi and Solomon since they had gone out of their way to rescue him and take him in while he recovered. Even though he was a stranger, they treated him like he was a part of their family. He would be forever grateful for that.
At the end of the week, the village was all geared up for their festival. Lanterns were stringed along the buildings and roads along with a huge fire pit for the bonfire in the middle of the town. By then, Atem was managing without the crutch. He still had a bit of limp as he walked, but he was much stronger than before. He planned on the festival being the last big event in this town before he started to make his way back to Egypt. It would be best for him to leave before something bad happened to this quaint town. The longer he stayed there, the more chances there were of him being discovered since word of his disappearance must have spread far and wide by now. The last thing he wished was for anything bad to happen here or to Yugi and Solomon. When he reclaimed his throne, he'd repay them for all their kindness.
Atem's eyes went wide as they approached the town's center with the huge fire in the middle roaring upwards in brilliant orange flames. Little glowing orbs from the flames escaped into the night sky like magical fairy lights. The lanterns everywhere gave the village a mystical look that reminded Atem of ancient stories.
"This is..incredible. I'm glad I'm feeling so better so that I can experience this. You have this every year?" Atem asked.
"Yup, every summer solstice. It's a big celebration, come on!"
"You kids have fun. I'm going to go talk with the other old timers." Solomon patted them both on the back and walked over in the opposite direction.
Yugi guided Atem over to all the different festivities, many involving food. By the time they were done, he felt like his stomach was bulging. He hadn't eaten that much food since the great feasts in Egypt. The great fire drew them next as many dances were happening there.
"Phew, I need to take a breather, Yugi," he said, taking a seat underneath a canopy to watch the others dance. He noted how they moved about to the rhythm of the drums and music with such freedom. He couldn't take his eyes off of them. "I need to let my stomach settle first," he chuckled at the pout Yugi gave him. "Go ahead and dance. I'll join you in a bit. I promise."
Atem watched Yugi dance with other kids from the village joined by some little ones as well. A slight smile played across his lips as he watched them. It warmed his heart to see people dancing with such freedom and glee. It was a community coming together to celebrate together. It was a quaint festival, but to him, it seemed as great as any. He was so focused on watching the musicians and others dancing along with the fire that he was taken by surprise to see Yugi standing in front of him, extending a hand out to him.
"Come on, you deserve to have some fun too."
"I don't know..you all dance so well..I don't really know how you do it here," Atem said reluctantly, though he slowly accepted Yugi's hand, standing up and following him towards the others.
"Don't worry. It's not about skill or anything like that. Just move how you want."
Atem mostly just danced how Yugi was dancing, trying his best to absorb himself in the music. His movements were stiff and awkward at first, but he slowly began to gain his confidence, remembering back to many festivals he had been to before. His limbs became looser and moved they way the music was going. He wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed, but by the time he was growing tired and stopped and opened his eyes, he found the others by the fire intently watching him. There was a moment of silence where Atem was frozen, wondering if he had done something wrong when they started cheering. Many of them gave him pats on the back, and children were asking him to teach them how to dance like that.
"Wow, you're really good, Aut! Everyone loves your dancing. You looked so..free," Yugi said with a wide smile on his face.
"Uh, well, I just moved with the music I guess," Atem chuckled, nervously scratching the back of his neck.
Many had told him before that his dancing was beautiful to watch, but it had been when he was a pharaoh and pharaoh to be. He thought they said it out of obligation, but here, they genuinely meant it.
"Whatever you want to call it, it was amazing. I'm going to go find my grandpa and see what he's up to. Will you be alright on your own for a bit?" Yugi asked, already heading in that direction.
"I'll be fine," Atem said with a nod.
While Yugi was gone for the moment, he decided to wander around to see any other festivities that they hadn't been to yet. He was so entranced by all the different colored lanterns as he walked along the roads, constantly gazing up at them. It was incredible how much these lights alone could transform an ordinary coastal town into a magical place. His guard was completely down and only came back when a tight grip latched onto his arm, pulling him into a darkened alley. Atem was about to retaliate but moving caused a sharp pain to shoot up his injured leg, making him grunt.
"Unhand me," he managed to say but anything else was caught in his throat as he looked up to see someone very familiar to him. "Seto..what are you doing here?"
