Atem sat at the table in silence, across from him, a young girl with dark hair cast her eyes downward. Thema reached over to her son, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. Atem turned to look at her, receiving a faint smile.

Aknamkanon spoke cheerfully to the man next to him,seemingly oblivious to the others around them.

"It has been quite some time since we had the opportunity to visit." The man said. "We should not have waited so long, my friend."

"I time,I do hope your wife is well enough to join you, I'm sure Thema would love the company."

" Yes, Trina was looking forward to this meeting,but the healer says she will recover fully. "Aknamkanon nodded,now glancing in his son's direction and cleared his throat.

" Atem,my son, you have a guest,it is our responsibility to entertain them. Perhaps you could start by speaking to the young lady. " Atem sighed.

"Yes,Father.I apologize,Princess,I mean no disrespect."

" I take no offense, my King. Please, think nothing of it, surely you must have quite a lot on your mind. " The girl replied softly,not bothering to raise her head.

"Yes, but it's no excuse. "

"Atem,why don't you show the Princess around,I'm sure she would love to see the grounds. Her father and I have several details to sort out,take Mahad with you." Atem reluctantly rose from his chair.

"Would you be interested in a tour?" He offered. The girl nodded, walking around the table to stand closer to Atem.

"Yes,thank you." Thema watched as they exited. She wanted to see her son happy. It broke her heart to know she could do so little to comfort him. She made up her mind to speak to her husband again later that night.

Once in the corridor, Atem found Mahad standing against the wall.

"I assume you heard my father's request." Atem said.

"Yes. I'll follow you." Atem nodded and thre trio began their tour. Atem glanced at the young girl, she seemed to be trying to stay a step behind. Atem stopped and turned to her.

"I realize that under your father's rules, your actions are normal. We share some similarities. However, there is no law here that says you must walk behind me and I invite you to speak freely and raise your head. There's no need to be so timid, Princess." The girl hesitated, slowly meeting his gaze.

"Thank you, my king. As my title is lower, It's considered disrespectful to speak to a king without permission."

"Really, here we call that having a conversation. Isn't it also your custom to follow the rules of the kindom you visit?"

"Of course. Out of respect for our host."

"Yes, well, It's difficult to get to know someone if you don't speak to them."

"Yes, I agree. It is very difficult. I hope it is not too forward, but you seem unhappy, my king. Have I done something to offend you?"

"No. It's not you. I'm sorry if I gave you that impression. Sometimes things get to be a little stressful, that's all."

"I am sorry. My brother is the next in line for our family and the chance of me truly understanding that pressure is slim unless I marry into it. I have heard many great things about you, great Pharaoh. You are much kinder than I imagined."

"I see, I must say, I'm a bit curious now, what sort of person did you imagine me to be?" She smiled sheepishly.

"I admit, it feels a bit silly now. I imagined you would be quite intimidating, you would be more like my father, telling me what I should or should not do. I actually thought you might be a bit...short tempered and mean." Atem chuckled.

"You can imagine it was a shock to meet you and find you to be the exact opposite, My king."

"Please, save the formality for in front of our parents. You are free to call me by name."

"Then if I may, I would request that you call me Nephthys."

"Very well. Nephthys," Atem said gently. Nephthys scanned her surroundings, admiring the alabaster pilars and statues.

"Atem?"

"Yes?"

"Earlier, I heard our fathers talking, yours mentioned that you had visited another place, is it true?"

"It is." Atem confirmed as they came to the end of the hallway. A large door was now in front of them.

"Would you tell me about your adventures, it must have been wonderful." The young girl said hopefully.

"It was. One of my great regrets is...that it ended the way it did." Atem sighed heavily, behind him, Mahad bowed his head in silence.

"If it helps you, we are happy to have you home, my Pharaoh." Mahad said at last.

"Thank you, my friend. It does." He turned back to the girl.
"I will tell you everything you wish to know about it. It is quite a story. The friends I made there taught me many valuable lessons and they will always be dear to me." Atem reached out, pulling open the door.

He shook his head in amusement, finding Mana on the other side, a smile crept onto her face as she held a small box in her arms.

"Hello, Mana, we were just on our way out, would you like to join us?"

"I'd love to, is this your new friend?"

"Yes. This is Princess Nephthys, we were just about to talk about my adventures." Mana gave a polite bow.

"Hello, Princess, you're going to love these stories. One of my absolute favorites is when The Pharaoh and Yugi-" Atem couldn't help but laugh at the excitement in his friend's voice.

"Mana, do not spoil it for the Princess." Mahad warned.

"Sorry, it's just so exciting!" Mana handed the golden box to Atem.

"It's not much, but I hope it'll cheer you up."

"Thank you, I'm sure whatever it is, it will help greatly." Mahad narrowed his eyes at the pair.

"I'll show you how it works later. I promise you'll love it."

"Mana, what's in the box?"

"Oh, it's just an early birthday present, you know, to cheer him up." She replied dismissively.

"May I see it?"

"Mahad, Mana is a dear friend. There is no need to be so protective. I trust Mana with my life." The king said sternly.

"I do not believe that she would intentionally harm you, my concern is that Mana does not have the best record when it comes to her magic and if that has anything to do with-"

"Hey!" Mana cried angrily. "My magic's been improving!" Mahad raised his eyebrows, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That is what I am afraid of. My Pharaoh, do you not recall the last time Mana said that?"

"Mahad, my friend, it means a lot to me to know that you care so much, but I ask that you not be quite so concerned." Mahad opened his mouth to protest but quickly thought better of it.

"It's sweet." Nephthys said. "The way your friends care about you "

"I consider myself lucky to have such loyal and loving people around me. If you would follow me, I know I will show you one of my favorite places and share with you as many stories as you like."

***

"Tomorrow's the big day, eh Yug?" Joey said.

"Yeah, I guess so." Yugi replied taking a bite of his hamburger.

"You pick a movie yet?"

"No. I thought we'd just decide when we get there. I'm still not really sure about this. I know i promised Grandpa I'd try, and I will. But just thinking about it, I just feel sad."

"Sorry. If there was a way to get him here-"

"I know you guys would try. That means a lot to me. It's hard to know that he's really never coming back. I feel like a big part of me is gone. I know It's something I have to accept."

"Knowin' that doesn't make it any easier. I get it. Like your Grandpa said, Atem would want you to be happy. You gotta do it for him. Tristan and Tea are worried, ya know."

"I know, I don't mean to make anyone worry. Maybe one day I'll be able to pull myself together."

"What if you entered that Dueling tournament comin' up in July, maybe it would-"

"No. I haven't even looked at my cards since he left. Too many memories."

"There's gotta be something. We just have to find it. I'll help ya." Yugi smiled faintly.

"Thanks, Joey."

"You wanna go hang out for a while, maybe we can-"

"Little steps, Joey. I'll see everyone tomorrow. It was hard to get myself to come out in the first place."

"Yeah, It wasn't easy for me to convince you either." Joey sighed. "I'm glad you came with me though. Ya smiled a little, it's a good sign."

"I guess." Yugi said with a sigh. He had been ready to go home the second he set foot outside the game shop. "Maybe I'll stop at the museum. I know It's crazy, but it's the closest I'll get to seeing him again. Right now, I just kind of need to...borrow his strength for tomorrow."

"It's not crazy. You do what you gotta do. I'll go with you, it'll be fun. I don't remember the last time I went in there."

"That's because you don't like the museum. Don't you remember telling me about the time you and Serenity went and some of the exhibits freaked you out?"

"Yeah well, that was a long time ago. It's all good now. But I'm telling you, Yug, those mammoths looked like they were ready to trample us." Yugi chuckled.

"Those are only models, but to be fair, When Grandpa took me when I was small, I was afraid of the dinosaurs. It took me a while to realize they weren't going to actually move." Joey shook his head.

"The stuff that scares you when you're a kid, eh Yug?"

"Yeah. It's kind of funny when you look back." As they made their way out of the restaurant, Yugi seemed in slightly better spirits. Whether it was the fact that they were going to the only place Yugi could feel close to his beloved Atem, or he couldn't help laughing at Joey's past experience, Joey didn't know, but he could only feel grateful for the brief reprieve from the depression Yugi had fallen into.