A/N: Hey folks! Sorry for the delays, I'm traveling all over the eastern U.S. seaboard and I haven't been staying in one spot for very long, not to mention some places don't have a decent internet connection. I was hoping to ate least have had chapter five by Christmas so, I'm pretty late. Also, fate just isn't on my side. As if typing didn't take long enough, there's a blizzard supposedly coming into more. On top of that, I had trouble while snowmobiling earlier today. My snowmobile's handle caught fire (probably from a faulty hand heater) and I got second degree burns on my left hand when it burned through both the rubber handle grip and my thick snow gloves. It's not too bad, only the weaker version of that degree burning, but the blister hurts like there's no tomorrow! I'm glad I'm right handed for the things I'm not ambidextrous, though this slows my typing even more. Sorry. Anyway, hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a good Boxing Day (and any other holidays), and a special good night to any Bostonians and New Yorkers (the last two places I've been at) out there reading this.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Desert Frost-Time
Chapter 4: Takeoff

It was later the same day as Atem, Mana, Mahad and Seto descend through a set of winding stone steps into the palace's horse stables. They were preparing to set up the team of horses that would lead the Pharaoh's carriage to the villages. The stone path was unfortunately bitter cold, and they could see their breaths in front of their faces. Seto kept squeezing his nose repeatedly, trying to regain feeling in it aside, from stinging.

"I'm freezing my butt off!" Seto commented. "I even can't feel my face. It's like my nose is gonna break off." Mana giggled at that and Atem suspected that she hoped that would indeed happen.
They passed various stalls, looking for one horse in particular first.

"Now let's see, ah, here we go." Said Atem, standing before his horse, a white stallion. He opened the stall door and walked in.

"Get the rest of the horses." Seto said and Mahad and Mana went to do so, while the Pharaoh climbed onto his horse's back, leading it out of its pen and turning it towards the large open door. The world outside the stables was literally pure white form all the snow.

"Hyah!" Shouted Atem, whipping the reins. The horses galloped out of the stables and…
Floowmp!
Sank chest deep into the snow.
"Never mind about the other horses." Atem called back to the others. The trio quickly ran to his aid when they saw what had happened.

"Whose bright idea was this again?" Seto asked rhetorically, looking at Mana.

"Hey I'm doing my best here!" She countered.

"The plan is sound." Atem interrupted. "We just have to remedy this situation." Mana thought a second the snapped her fingers, her face brightening.

"Pharaoh! You won't believe it!" She called. "I have the solution!" Seto and Mahad looked skeptical but Atem looked positively delighted.

"Well then, lets have it." Mana smiled at him.

"Follow me." Atem followed her immediately, while Mahad and Seto exchanged a nervous glance before following too. She led them to the back of the stables to an area devoid of any horses. But there was something there as they could hear a snorting sound. Mana stopped in front the stall door that was emitting the sounds. The brunette beamed with pride at seemingly fixing their problem. "This is Dew." Said Mana, opening the stall door. Atem, Mahad and Seto looked behind her to see a single camel. It didn't look like it was exactly, motivated, enough to be of any help. It just stood there staring at everything and nothing with nothing short of disinterest on its face.

"A camel?" Asked Seto. "Is that the best we got? A camel?" He said leaning in to look at the expressionless face.

"Careful, he spits." Seto jumped back quickly. As if on cue, the camel fired a small ball of saliva shooting across a good distance. The young priest looked positively disgusted.

"What good will one camel do us?" Asked Mahad as he began to pace around the animal.

"Camels are able to use their wide feet to walk across sand without sinking and I figured they could do the same to across snow." His apprentice replied.

"It's still only one camel." Seto said slowly as if talking to a dense child.

"Well, he's a magical camel." Mahad stopped and closed his eyes. Did he really want to go there?

"Define 'magical'." He asked as Atem started laughing.

"Well, to help get around faster, I cast a few, small, harmless spells. And he can fly." The three guys blinked.

"A magical flying camel?" Asked Seto incredulously. "Again, this is the stupidest idea I've ever heard."

"Do you have a better idea?" Mana countered. Seto remained silent. "Didn't think so." Seto turned on his heels and marched towards the palace. Mahad rolled his eyes but eventually followed suit. Atem however smiled warmly at Mana.

"Mana, did I ever tell you I love your ideas?" He asked. Mana blushed and shook her head no.

"Well I do. You're really amazing." Mana blushed even deeper. Did the young pharaoh even realize what he was saying? Or was he just being a good friend?

"Can we get under way?" Asked Seto. The four were now in the palace's main corridor, finishing up the last of the plan's detail.

"Soon." Mahad answered.

"What's the hold up?"

"They're just finishing converting one of the carriages to travel on snow."

"That's good." Said Atem. "By the way, how many families do we have to get?"

"1,225." Mahad answered after quickly checking a census list.

"People? That's not that bad." Said Mana.

"No, 1,225 houses. Some are single person, some have large families living there."

"Oh." Said Atem, grimacing.

"We can have it all done in a few days."

"I want it done in one night."

"Right; one Night. Wait! What?" Said Mahad in shock. "My lord, may I ask why?" The pharaoh nodded.

"I want everyone to receive the gifts altogether so no one will feel left out t any given time. That way, come morning everyone will have their stuff."

"Can it be done?" Asked Seto.

"We'll have to leave by nightfall. And we'll have to be fast."

"A flying camel doesn't sound so stupid now, does it?" Mana said Smirking at Seto who growled.

"We've got our job cut out for us." Said Seto. Atem sighed.

"Come on. Let's go have dinner. They should be done by the time we finish." He suggested. "And call the other priests. This is a special occasion." This was one of the few times the priests ate together with Atem. Usually they would just eat by themselves, unless there was a really special occasion. They assumed that Atem ate by himself. What they didn't know was that the dining hall was hardly used anymore, for Atem hated eating alone in the giant hall and would instead sneak away to meet and eat with Mana. The dining table was thus, unusually loud as everyone chatted and discussed the event they would soon put into motion. Though all eight people at the table talked amongst themselves, it was generally kept to groups of two: Atem and Mana, Mahad and Isis, Seto and Aknadin, and Karim and Shada. At one point Mahad looked across to his apprentice and the Pharaoh and nearly had a heart attack on the spot. Mana had taken a small cake and stuffed into the Pharaoh's mouth, horrifying Mahad and making Seto smirk. However, to Mahad's relief and Seto's chagrin, Atem simply laughed. Mana took a napkin and wiped away the bit of topping that had been left on Atem's mouth, and they continued talking. The rest of dinner was uneventful and gradually, the priest left one by one as the finished. Soon only Atem, Mana, Mahad and Seto remained. As Atem and Mana left the table laughing and chatting Mahad and Seto looked on after them. Mahad was happy that they weren't getting into any trouble, but the other priest looked nervous.

"I really worry about these two." Said Seto. "You know what the pharaoh said when she turned me into a chicken? He said 'You never know; someday she may become Princess of Egypt'." Mahad smiled slightly. Partly because of Seto and partly because of what he'd just learnt Atem had said. "I mean can you imagine? Mana, Queen of Egypt? Obelisk help us." Mahad frowned and shook his head a bit.

"Well, she's really not that bad. She's just young and inexperienced."

"She's a walking disaster."

"You're one to talk Mr. Hole-through-the-palace-roof."

"That was different. That was an accident." Seto defended. "And I was a child."

"Just like with Mana. She's just a child too."

"Not when there's an accident every other hour of every day. And she's not a child. She's 15!"

"Oh, come on. It's not that often." Seto scoffed.

"The Pharaoh needs to find himself a girlfriend. Then he'll stop being around her so much!" He said.

"What if the Pharaoh chooses her?" Mahad couldn't help but ask the question that had just popped into his mind. Seto looked like he'd just been told he'd lose all his authority.

"Obelisk help us."

"She's learning. She'll grow and do well."

"She's already caused you much trouble; why do you defend her?"

"She's my apprentice. I have faith in her. I know she's destined for great things."

"Besides, if that's still not reason enough for you, there's also the fact that the Pharaoh likes her."

"That's what worries me." Said Seto. He turned and began to walk away.

"What a hypocrite." Mahad muttered.

"What?" Seto called back

"I said watch for crickets."

"It snowing! They're all frozen! That doesn't even make sense."

At long last the conversion of the carriage had been complete and Atem stood with the others studying it from every angle.

"Wow! It looks amazing!" Said Atem as he regarded the "carriage". It couldn't really be called that anymore though. The entire top half of the royal red vehicle had been removed in order to fit the giant bag, though the velvet red seats had been kept, albeit all turned to face forward. The wheels had also been removed and replace with wooden runners to allow it to slide through the snow. As the guards moved to load the bag, Seto suddenly raised a hand, stopping them.

"We should really put a spell on these to make sure they don't break." He said knowing that some of the stuff in the oversized bag was fragile.

"Oh! I'll do it!" Mana volunteered.

"No!" Mahad said quickly and louder than intended so that everyone turned to look at him. He cleared his throat nervously "I mean, I'll do it." Atem grinned apologetically at Mana who was glaring angrily at her master. Mahad cast the correct spells and soon the guards were hefting the oversized bag into the rear of the carriage. As they did, Isis called Mahad over to give him some tips.

"Watch for dangers out there. This may be more than anyone can handle." She said. "This weather can be treacherous. Keep your head and stay calm." Mahad raised an eyebrow.

"Relax, I'm not an apprentice." He assured her.

"No, but Mana is. Remember to guide her. And don't be too hard on her."

"Yes ma'am." Mahad allowed him self a little joke.

"And keep the Pharaoh safe." Isis continued. That in itself went without saying.

"Of course." Said Mahad.

"Be careful." She added hugging him. Mahad's cheeks became red.

"I-um…I uh, yeah… will do." He stuttered. Mana turned to look at Atem, grinning wide.

"Oh, I'm beginning to see something." She said gleefully. Atem smiled at her.

"I'm beginning to see something too, and it's making the snow melt." He joked.

Atem drew his long, red cape around him and fastened it around his shoulders. For the first time in the past few days however, he realized something that he'd known but simply forgotten. It was so obvious, he felt incredibly stupid for forgetting it.
"We're gonna freeze out there, aren't we?"

"Nope." Said Mahad waving his staff around himself. Mana and Seto were imitating his movements, the latter using his Millennium Rod.

"Here." Said Mana, placing her hand on the Pharaoh's chest. Instantly he felt warmth spreading from the area of contact, through his body. It wasn't like the desert heat, but rather a different, more welcome warmth. It was one that Atem was oddly enough familiar with as he felt it, naturally, whenever Mana embraced him. At those thought, the young pharaoh felt his cheeks heat up, and not from the magic. "There." Said Mana, pulling away. "It's a body-temperature regulating spell. It'll maintain your body temperature no matter the environment. It's simple enough that not even I can mess up." She said the last with a wink. Atem nodded his thanks. As palace personal attached the Dew the Camel to the carriage, Atem climbed into the front seat, the one usually reserved for the carriage driver, before giving Mana a hand, helping her climb in. Mahad and Seto sat behind them, in front of the gifts bag.

"Everyone ready?" Asked Atem.

"As we'll ever be." Said Mahad.

"Let's get this looming disaster under way." Seto grunted. Atem rolled his eyes.

"Always the positive one."

"We're all set." Said Mana. "Come on Dewey, let's go!" With that, the camel galloped out of the palace, its endowed magic also lending it strength to pull the heavy load.

"Come on up we go." Said Atem and with that, Dew rose up into the air with the carriage.

"I can't believe this actually worked." Said Seto, looking around.

"I can't believe we're actually flying." Said Mahad looking at the ground dropping away below them. In front of them, Mana was all grins. Atem looked proudly at her and the two started laughing.

"Haha! It worked!" Said the pharaoh.