The Father

About a week had passed since Atem had started having tea in Seto's room early in the morning, and Mokuba was getting very suspicious about exactly what kind of relationship the two had. While the first morning they'd brought in fresh raspberries had been hilarious, just two days ago, it didn't change how odd their new pattern was, and Atem seemed to be behaving strangely in other ways, too. It was nothing most people would see; the strangest moments were ones when he saw Atem sitting or standing still, holding a hand to his belly with an odd, little smile on his face. He'd decided to find out what was really going on, once and for all, so thought he could sneak into Atem's room at night to force him to explain.

Only, when he got to the older Prince's room, no one was there. It was obviously the middle of the night, but no one was there.

Sounds came through the door from his brother's room, sounds like gasping and moaning, drawing Mokuba to the connecting door. Carefully opening it until he could see the two—they were in Seto's bed—it took the boy a minute to process what he was seeing.

They were both nude, other than the choker Atem wore—and the binds. One was tied around his neck, below the choker, another was tying his wrists together behind his back, a ribbon was tied at the base of his manhood, and he even wore a blindfold! The Prince knelt over his brother's lap, knees to either side of the paler teen's hips, and it was obvious there was at least one cord coming from a place there shouldn't have been anything. As he watched, the smaller teen lowered himself on the King's manhood—there was no mistaking it at that angle—then raised himself, arched back and with only the taller teen's hands at his hips to steady him. The sounds he was making were something the boy couldn't define, somehow frantic, and there was a rather satisfied expression on Seto's face, especially when Mokuba heard the darker teen beg his 'Master' to 'let him come'.

A hand on his head made the boy start and stare up at Shada, who watched the two impassively for a moment before pushing Mokuba back and pulling the door closed.

"Shouldn't you stop them?" the younger boy asked, his expression horrified.

Looking down at the boy for a moment, the man realized he couldn't just leave, so sat down in Atem's desk chair and said, "I fairly expected to find them like that when I came, and had already resigned myself to it."

"To your Prince being—being—tortured, tied up—" He stopped and stared as the man held a hand up, a vaguely amused expression on his face.

"I've come to the conclusion that you northern people shy away from your sexuality, as though it's wrong," the Priest said, giving Mokuba's head a little pat. "In Egypt, we tend to favor it, and make a habit of teaching others to please their partners—what you see them doing is something nearly every man in Egypt has tested at least once. Some like it more than others, but even I have found myself in both the giving and the receiving position with my partner. I daresay it was Prince Atem who told your brother to handle him in such a way to begin with. He may well be one of those men who prefers to be in that position, not because the King forced him to be in it."

"Don't you all basically think he's Seto's slave? That's what the choker he's wearing is—basically, because it's our family's crest, my brother marked Atem as his property," Mokuba announced with a glare.

Shada raised a brow at the new information, and said wryly, "Did you know, in our land, that is a marriage proposal? I suspect King Seto knew that when he had it designed to fit Prince Atem so perfectly, and we knew already our Prince had a lover, but he—and apparently, his lover as well—were very good at hiding his identity under shields. We know men can't marry other men, nor women other women, so we find ways of making such promises without a proper marriage—and everyone in Egypt would know, just by looking, that the Crown Prince had found a permanent lover."

"Then shouldn't Atem have something made for Seto, too?" the boy frowned.

"It depends on them. His Highness is...somewhat feminine, and Seto is obviously a dominant male. In such a pairing, the result is most often what you see—the feminine one takes the role of the female, so also bears the marks of it. My partner and I, however, are much more equally balanced, and often reverse our roles, so both of us bear a twin mark. We just keep it very well hidden, and Prince Atem, like most 'women', chooses to bear the mark—and display it," the Priest explained.

For a long time, Mokuba fell silent, then asked, "Don't you hate him? Seto, I mean, for kidnapping your Prince?"

To Mokuba's surprise, Shada sighed lightly and said, "Some wish to, and the Vizier is amongst them. Honestly, though, while I don't entirely trust him, I haven't found any reason to hate him, and he's done a remarkable job of giving our Prince rights and much freedom. If this is something His Highness wants, without solid evidence of any wrongdoing on King Seto's part, I don't feel we have a right to intervene."

"That's 'wrongdoing'," the boy spat, motioning at the door to the other room.

"Even if it was the Prince who wanted that?" the Priest asked with a raised brow.

Flushing, Mokuba admitted, "I guess that can't really be my brother's fault..."

Reaching over to pat the boy's head, Shada said, "Thank you for looking out for our Prince, though, young Prince Mokuba."

"Do you know why Atem would be behaving strangely?" the boy suddenly asked.

"In what way?" the man asked with a puzzled frown.

"He keeps getting weird teas from Priestess Isis, and drinks them in my brother's room, usually wrapped in a big blanket—he says it's the cold—and I see him sometimes with a sort of happy, dreamy look on his face, but he's not doing anything except holding a hand to his belly," the younger Prince explained, showing the man what he meant with his hand.

The Priest blinked, then blinked again, then his eyes widened as he murmured, "Could he have taken...?"

"What?" the boy asked in confusion.

Suddenly, Shada's expression became wryly amused as he said, "Well, that would also explain some of his chaotic emotional responses."

"What would?" Mokuba asked again, but the man just rose. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, technically," Shada answered, leading the boy from Atem's room and closing the door behind him. "But when you find out about what the two of them have done, don't hate them, all right?"

"Why would I—" he began—but the Priest was already gone.

CI

The next day, Mokuba didn't join them for the morning meal, claiming he wanted to be left alone for awhile, and didn't join them for the noon or evening meals, either. In fact, he was avoiding everyone. Since no one understood why, they let him be, other than Seto telling servants to bring food to his brother so he didn't starve. In the end, it took Mokuba a few days to emerge again—just to see something he didn't want to see, something which sent him running to Isis.

CI

After eating the evening meal that day, Atem suddenly started feeling dizzy and tired, so headed for his room—but had to lean on the walls a few times on the way. He felt odd, but didn't recognize the feeling as something specific, so didn't realize his thought processes were impaired. It didn't even reach his mind that he should have gone right to Isis, not to his own room, and even when he collapsed on his bed, he didn't think of it, just wrapped his arms around his head and tried to make everything go away. His head was really beginning to hurt.

Suddenly, something soothing pierced the pain, tiredness, and dizziness, slowly bringing him back to an alert state—where he looked up and saw a very angry Healer by the name of Isis staring down at him with her lips pursed.

She lifted her hand off his forehead and said, "You were supposed to come to me immediately. If Prince Mokuba hadn't seen you struggling to get back here and come to get me, you could have harmed yourself or your child, possibly even taken your own life, the more you fell to the poison you'd been given."

"Sorry...My mind was—" he began, starting to sit up.

Isis put a hand on his shoulder and physically pushed him back down. "Rest," she ordered.

Once she was sure the teen would stay laying down, she got up and went to the door connecting to Seto's room. That, she opened, causing the young King to stop pacing in surprise, and by the expression on her face, he thought he should just obey when she motioned him into Atem's room. As he stepped into the room, the Priestess motioned him to the Prince's side, even as she grabbed the chair from the desk and moved it over so she could sit beside the bed. Slowly, Seto sat down at his lover's side, but both remained silent.

"Let me be clear on this," the woman began, glaring at the two. "If you expect your child to survive, you can't afford to give the nobles another chance to poison Prince Atem. You're only lucky they didn't use something as deadly to the unborn child as foxglove or nightshade—those almost certainly would have slain both in less than an hour under these conditions, where the 'mother's' body cannot protect itself from any kind of danger while with child."

Both blanched, then traded looks before Seto looked back at her and asked warily, "What made you call me in here for this?"

"Priest Shada caught young Prince Mokuba watching your escapades a few nights ago. He expected to find the two of you in such a position—and when the young Prince offered certain information to him, he realized very quickly His Highness was with child. As such, he came to inform me of the father's identity," she explained acidly.

It was clear she was angry, but to be fair, Atem asked, "Are you angry?"

"Angry?" she asked, pursing her lips. "I am furious, Your Highness, though likely not for the reason you think I am." Both blinked in surprise as she then went on, "When I see a vision, normally, I see no conclusion, only an event. If I see a conclusion, the event must happen in exactly that way. I saw our Prince give birth to a healthy child in our homeland. As such, the child must come to be, and His Highness showed great responsibility for that life as well. As of that moment, the father's identity was irrelevant."

Slowly, the two puzzled through what she was saying, then Seto asked tentatively, "Are you saying you approve, or just that you don't have the right to stop it?"

The Priestess sighed and closed her eyes, even as the tension began seeping away from her. When her eyes opened, she said, "In my vision, you were not in Egypt with Prince Atem while your child was being born."

Heaving a sigh, Seto answered, "Atem told me. The one thing which jumped into my mind was that I may not be alive then. I'd never leave his side willingly, let alone if it was time for our child to be born, so...short of disaster or death, I would be there."

At that, her gaze became sad, and her eyes went to Atem as she asked, "You would still bear the child of a man who may not even live long enough to see or hold it?"

"I'm hoping things won't turn out so badly, but if they do...our child will be all I'll have left of him. Women use such reasoning all the time, so I don't see any reason why I can't use it as well," the Prince pointed out, also sighing in sorrow.

After a moment, Isis gave a small, wry chuckle. "Yes, I suppose you have a point. And since you seem to be more female than male at the moment, even without a child in your body, I should have realized you would have the same reasoning. I officially give up. As much as I may want to dislike you, King Seto, I would be doing both of you a great disservice if I kept holding on to that." Her sharp eyes then went to Seto as she added, "But I am deadly serious about keeping poisons away from Prince Atem. His body can't fight them, so not only will they take hold easily and quickly, but they'll act faster than under normal circumstances. The same is true of illness. Didn't he tell you when I told him about this?"

"My main concern was being able to stay warm, so I didn't really mention the rest—I'd been planning on taking care of that myself," Atem admitted.

"Let this be a lesson to you, then," Isis told him dryly. "If you intend on sharing as much of your child bearing time with your child's father as possible, you have to tell him what he needs to know as the one responsible for your well-being."

"On that note, would you happen to know a magic to try to bind the child to its mother, even if something causes it damage?" the King asked suddenly.

"Why? Are you intending on harming the Prince?" the Priestess asked with a raised brow—and was surprised when the pale teen faced her with an even, imploring gaze.

He said, "My court just tried to poison him. There's no guarantee they won't attack him physically at a time when I can't intercept them, and while his sword skills exceed mine, that doesn't mean he can fight off any enemy while waiting for me. Anything to help tie them together so they can survive longer..."

For a long time, the woman was silent. Finally, she sighed. "Step over to your chamber with me, King Seto. It seems there are a good many things I need to share with you as the child's father, things you need to know and understand about your child's mother." Her eyes went to Atem sharply as she said, "Stay in bed and rest, Your Highness—that isn't optional. Your body is weaker than you think at the moment."

As she and the King were rising, a knock sounded on the door, only for Mokuba to push it open—and lead Seto's Chief Healer, Kisara, into the room.

As Kisara looked at Atem, she suddenly sighed and said, "Prince Mokuba, have a servant bring a meal for Prince Atem. He needs to replenish his resources." The boy ran out again as the other three stared at Kisara. The woman with long, silver-white hair said, "As a Healer, Priestess, you know very well he needs to eat. Right now, that's all I can tell, but I'd like to know the whole story once you've spoken with the King."

Pausing for a moment, Isis then sighed and gave a little nod before leaving the room with Seto, and Kisara sat at the Prince's side. When she closed her eyes, he knew he was being scanned, and debated transforming his body back to fully male form—but as her brow creased, he knew it was too late already, and she'd found the womb. A moment later, she lifted her hand to his forehead, then let it slowly drift down his body, making him wonder if Isis had missed something in her healing.

Her eyes then opened and she asked—the last thing he expected her to. "Is your Priestess also your people's Chief Healer, or near to that in rank?"

He blinked, then blinked again, eyes clearly questioning—and Mokuba came back inside to announce, "Shizuka is going to bring a meal. How's Atem, Healer Kisara?"

Looking up at the boy, she said, "He was well-tended by the Priestess, but it seemed she was rushed and forgot to close a few energy cycles she had placed. I suspect I would have done much the same in my urgency if it had been you or the King who had been poisoned instead of Prince Atem." Her eyes went back to the darker teen as she said, "And to answer your question, I asked Priestess Isis to explain the situation to me properly, so I would rather not ask things directly until she can explain it by a Healer's terms. The higher her rank, the easier she and I will understand each other."

Sighing, Atem admitted, "Priestess Isis is also our Chief Healer."

For the rest of the time while the three waited, first for the food, then for Isis and the King to return to the room, they were quiet. Atem had finished eating and the dishes were taken away some time before the other two rejoined them, and for a bit, they had some general conversation. Finally, it was getting late and Mokuba went to bed, leaving the two Healers, the King, and the Prince alone.

"I knew Prince Atem had a few distinctly female internal parts, but those parts didn't include a woman's womb, nor could I find any way for said womb to become with child," Kisara said as she looked at Isis, being very openly blunt. It was a Healer's prerogative, after all, so the two men could only sigh.

The other Chief Healer, on the other hand, replied, "That would be because Mages, Priests, and the Royal Family of Egypt—all those who learn magic—have the ability to use transformation magic. Typically, said magic would be used to escape when under attack in our own homes, but when a man takes a woman's body or a woman takes a man's, all of the functions of their transformation's gender also function. Also, by studies our people did on those transformations, we came to realize a fair number of people carry part of the opposite gender in them, regardless—His Highness is one such, as you noticed. By those terms, not only can he become with child while transformed, but he can carry it safely to its birth. The child will only grow while he has a female or partially female form which includes a womb, or by using his current state of being male while maintaining nothing but the womb, which uses significantly less energy than any degree of full or partial transformation. As such, I have been instructing both the 'mother' and the 'father'—our Prince and your King—on how to go about having a child under these unusual circumstances."

Rather than being completely stunned, Kisara seemed shocked, but said nothing right away, even as she took some time to think through what she'd been told. By the time she spoke again, even her shock seemed to have faded as she said, "Then, speaking as a woman living in such a cold environment, I should help you as well, if you truly intend on doing this. Cold is one of the most likely killers in winter, even in noble households, of mothers with child and of the unborn children they carry."

"I'm surprised you're taking this so well," Seto commented in a dry tone.

Crossing her arms, the white haired woman replied as dryly, "Most women would actually find it rather 'just' for a man to bear a child—to find out how we feel and what we have to go through to do so. Yes, I was surprised to know it could, in fact, happen, but nearly every woman I know has wished they could make their husbands carry their own children. In this case, that would be even more true, because a future ruler who knows even a small part of a woman's hardship is a ruler who will consider us more."

A long silence followed as Atem looked faintly amused, but then he asked, "What if it's not a 'hardship' to me because I chose to do it?"

"Just wait until your body starts making proper adjustments for the child," Kisara replied with a wolfish grin, making Isis chuckle. "Just wait until you start finding you aren't able to eat certain foods for no apparent reason, or that you wish for the strangest of foods together at once, or having mood swings you don't understand, yourself, or having to carry so much weight you have to struggle to move around. And let us not forget the physical pain of having something the size of a melon come out through a part of your body only large enough to fit a man's length." As the Prince turned a little pale and ill-looking and the young King gaped at her, she smirked and asked, "Are you still so certain you wish to bear a child, Your Highness?"

For a moment, the darker teen just stared at her, then closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. After a minute, he opened his eyes again and said simply, "Yes."

At that, Kisara gave an impressed whistle, even as Seto turned to look at him and ask, "Are you sure, after hearing all that?"

"Are you going to back out now, after all this?" Atem asked him with a raised brow. "I have to go through it all, not you. And let me just tell you that, if you desert me now, I will kill you at the first available opportunity, duel agreement aside."

The King paled and held his hands up in a surrender motion as he said, "I'm not going to desert you—either of you. I just meant that I'd accept it if you wished to end this now."

Kisara turned to look at Isis and said, "I have new respect for your Prince. If things here ever collapse, I'll join your people in the south, with all my abilities and loyalty. Tell that to your Pharaoh when you next trade word off with him."

"I can do that, but some of us will be here all winter without contact with our people, so what I can do or not depends largely on when Priest Mahad arrives," Isis replied.

"Who?" Seto asked, looking at the woman in confusion.

"The Priest who trained Prince Atem in his Mage skills," Isis explained. "He and his Mage's apprentice, Mana, will be coming here. Obviously, I have to stay, along with my apprentice, and my brother and Bhakura are staying here. Since we're finalizing the trade agreement later this week, the others will return to Egypt with the documents and begin making the needed arrangements. They should be leaving about a week after the agreement is finalized, and if luck is with us, Priest Mahad and young Mana should arrive a couple of days before they leave. If we have that couple of days, we'll be in contact with the Pharaoh once more, and if not...it waits for spring."

"And...the reason for the switch is...?" the young King asked in puzzlement.

"He is our strongest Mage," Isis replied. "Better to have one strong Mage on guard duty than several people strong in many things, like the Vizier."

Nodding, the pale teen said, "I'll let some of my trusted people know, then."

Finally, that was all resolved, so they turned to talking about how to keep the Prince and his child sufficiently warm over the winter.