Transcending Time
Chapter Nine: You're All The Things I've Got To Remember
'...Paint your palette blue and grey, look out on a summer's day with eyes that know the darkness in my soul…'
Eshe hummed to the music emanating from her iPod dock across the room as she gently scratched in the intricate details of her latest drawing with distinct precision, firmly but tenderly holding the graphite pencil between her thumb and forefinger.
The presence of a soft voice and a melodic tune removed the desire to bump her leg up and down as she transferred the visions in her head to paper.
She hadn't had a spare couple of hours during the last week to sit and draw for her dream-diary; now it was Friday morning, and she had several sketches she wanted to get down before leaving for work.
Monday morning had gifted her an interesting dream that appeared to continue from a previous one; the night she had dreamt herself as a seven-year-old on a journey with her father to a fanciful palace amongst a kingdom along the Egyptian Nile had trailed off when she'd awoken, but as she slept, it had faded back in right where it left off, as if a few days of consciousness hadn't separated the whimsical visions.
They'd reached the palace at last…
A stocky, elderly man by the name of Shimon awaited Eshe and her father at the steps that led up to the large palace as the two royals exited their carriage before him; he was accompanied by a slew of guards whose gazes remained lowered in respect, although, being the petite height Eshe was, it was hard for them to avoid looking at her face without staring directly at their feet.
Eshe didn't mind, she smiled and wiggled her fingers in a wave as one of the young guard's eyes flickered briefly to her face - and her smile only widened when the man's lips curled upwards at the corners.
"Ah, Prince Nizam, welcome back to the kingdom of Pharaoh Aknamkanon. My king is awaiting your presence in the throne room", the old man spoke, nodding his acknowledgement and respect of the ex-king of Upper Egypt; his gaze lowered to the small girl standing at her father's side, "and you must be Princess Eshe. It is a pleasure to meet you, young one. My name is Shimon, I am one of the six Guardians of Pharaoh Aknamkanon's court."
Eshe nodded, a nervous twitchy smile on her face as the man introduced himself, "It is nice to meet you", she responded politely with a slight bow of her head. The man wasn't at all intimidating, it was his position that made her anxious; Eshe's father had warned her that it was just as important to make a good impression on all of the High Priests of the Pharaoh's court as much as the Pharaoh and his son themselves.
The young princess took this warning very seriously; she wanted to be well-liked from the onset if she was to live in the palace for the foreseeable future, and that meant she could only be on her best behaviour.
Shimon nodded in what appeared to be approval, before turning back to Prince Nizam, "please, if you will, follow me."
They climbed the many steps - her father, the priest and the guards seemed to do so with ease - but Eshe lagged slightly behind. Her little legs could only carry her so far, and it was especially difficult at a steep angle when the steps were just a bit too awkwardly tall for her small stature. The guard she had smiled at before remained just behind her, matching her slow pace and watching her closely with a restrained, amused expression; the young princess felt her laboured breathing was audible enough for the group of them to realise that she might have needed a hand, but either they hadn't caught on or they were ignoring her plight.
Or perhaps they just guessed she was independent enough to defeat the troublesome steps all on her own.
In which case, she'd prove them right and determinedly climb the steps with renewed vigour.
With a dramatic, bellowing sigh, Eshe finally reached the peak of the steps and admired the large archway before her that led into a wide courtyard decorated with pillars, wall murals, alabaster vases, and square ponds full of colourful fish.
Everything was symmetrically pleasing to look at, the colours painted upon the walls were bright; guards stood regally around the room, stoic and respectful.
Her father had told her the palace was beautiful, but it was only just hitting her as she looked upon it's glory; perhaps living here would not be so bad.
"The throne room is this way", Shimon spoke, directing ahead with a motion of his arm, and Eshe scrambled to return to her father's side, having been distracted by the sight around her.
Prince Nizam glanced down at his daughter and smiled at the wonderment on the young girl's face, "You see now, young one? The beauty of Pharaoh Aknamkanon's palace."
Eshe nodded gently; the palace she'd lived in since birth was smaller than this one, and although the walls were embellished with imposing carvings and paintings, the colours were nowhere near as bright as the ones surrounding her at that very moment.
"Mmm", the young princess hummed in agreement, her eyes still sparkling as she marvelled.
They traversed through several corridors and doorways before coming to a stop in front of an intricately designed majestic door. The guards that had accompanied them broke away to stand either side of the throne-room entrance, and the young guard Eshe had smiled at gave her a subtle nod of avowal, which she returned with a friendly expression.
"Prince Nizam, Princess Eshe, welcome to the throne room", Shimon spoke, and the guards pushed the heavy doors apart, revealing a long, wide, magnificent hall.
Music was playing as they stepped into the room, prettily-dressed women danced at the sidelines, and at the opposite end, a raised platform of golden stairs.
A resplendent man in a gold-lined purple coat sat stiffly in the throne, watching Eshe and her father closely as they reached the base of the steps and halted. Shimon climbed the steps to join the other five guardians encompassing the throne protectively in their cautious stances.
Eshe's eyes were drawn to the young boy stood beside the throne- Prince Atem, she assumed. He was obviously royalty if the dazzling adornments on his body were anything to go by; the small, golden crown perched among his wildly spiky hair was the more apparent giveaway in that regard.
The young prince stared back at her, his expression neutral and curious about her.
"Prince Nizam", the Pharaoh nodded to him in acknowledgment, "I take it you had a comfortable journey?"
"I did, my Pharaoh", Eshe's father confirmed, his voice the definition of deference, "It is an honour to stand before you again. Please, allow me to introduce my daughter, Princess Eshe."
Eshe felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle up as all eyes in the room turned to her, and she inhaled a shaky breath and bowed her respect to the Pharaoh. Prince Atem's head tilted with slight inquisitiveness at the sight of her twitchiness.
"Princess Eshe", Pharaoh Aknamkanon greeted her with a kind tone, "I have hopes that you will become good friends with my son, Atem."
The boy in question, glanced briefly up at his father and then regarded Eshe with a friendly smile, and the young princess felt her nerves fade ever-so-slightly.
Eshe had awoken, already past the point of questioning why she'd dreamt of Atem as a child, even less his and Yugi's grandfather. She'd already chosen what part of her dream she was going to bring to life within her drawings.
Of all the glorious imagery she had imagined that night, she had chosen to draw the nameless guard who had gifted her a small smile when she'd felt out of her depth. The man had been slender, yet muscular, and his deeply tanned skin glistened with perspiration under the harsh sunlight. He'd worn a white skirt- or maybe it was more like a kilt- and his chest had been bare; in one hand he'd clutched a spear, and his hair (if he indeed had any) was hidden by a protective linen head cover.
He hadn't remained nameless for very long, as the following night he had made a second appearance within her unconscious visions.
"This will be your room for as long as you live here, princess. If there is anything you need to make your time here more comfortable then you may call upon me; I will be your handmaiden."
Eshe was led by an older woman into a grand room that appeared the embodiment of comfort and leisure. The bed was incredibly large for her small height and it made her giddy to think that she'd have so much sleeping space for herself, and across the room there was a vanity desk with a stand of colourful adornments. The small balcony opposite her bed had a delightful view of what seemed to be one of the courtyards; but at that moment Eshe was admiring the wide armoire in the corner which was no doubt filled with an entire wardrobe of princessly attire.
A large room like this was not what she had been expecting, the Pharaoh was very generous to give her such a spacious place, not to mention a gift of fine clothes and jewels to bedeck herself with.
"Thank you…" Eshe murmured softly, trailing off as she looked up at her new handmaiden- the woman had not given the girl her name.
"My name is Usi, princess. I have been asked to help you prepare for bed, as you must have had an exhausting journey here", the handmaiden spoke formally, hands clasped gently in front of her; her posture was prim and proper and her wrinkled face held a neutral expression.
"But it's still early", Eshe spoke with a frown, glancing out to the balcony where the late-afternoon sun shone through.
"It is necessary you are well-rested for your arrival celebrations tomorrow, but if you wish, I can give you a little while longer to settle before you sleep."
Eshe nodded her assent, "Okay. Thank you, Usi."
The handmaiden nodded, and turned to exit the room, leaving young Eshe alone within her brand new living environment. The princess gave a soft sigh and strayed to the balcony, pressing her hands to the ledge to try and peek over the top of it- she could only just see the scenery below her, and caught sight of vivid green grass and colourful, blooming flowers around a small pond.
At once, she wanted to discover how extensive and beautiful the gardens here were in comparison to the ones back home- well, back at her father's palace. Aknamkanon's kingdom was located closer to the Nile river, and therefore was sure to have much richer planes and brighter shrubbery.
Eshe turned to scurry across her new room and quickly swung the door open, gaining the attention of the two guards posted outside her room.
"Is everything okay, princess?"
To Eshe's relief, she recognised one of the guards as the man she had become marginally familiar with earlier that afternoon, and smiled brightly as she asked, "What's your name?"
The guard knelt to her height and responded cordially, "My name is Asim, princess. Is there anything I can do for you?"
She could see easily that he had cloudy green eyes and a light scar on the right side of his jaw.
"Please could you show me the way to the gardens, Asim?" she asked, hopeful and pleading.
Asim nodded and returned to his full height, "If that is what you wish, princess. I will escort you there and supervise your time in the gardens."
"Thank you!" Eshe squeaked, eliciting a quiet chuckle from the guard. She followed the man down winding hallways and a few flights of steps, all the while observing the hieroglyphic carvings engraved in the walls.
They reached the gardens in no time at all and Eshe's mouth dropped open in amazement at the sight of the well-kept foliage framing the pathway that twisted with spiralling stepping stones towards the ponds. On the other side, sloping steps lead up to a terraced area built for relaxing in the shade. It was beyond gorgeous, and Asim stepped aside, taking a stiff stance by the entrance, electing to supervise the young princess from a short distance instead of leering over her shoulder the whole time.
"I will be here, should you need me."
Eshe nodded, a wide grin on her face; she excitedly hopped across the stepping stones towards the lightly rippling surface of the pond. She knelt by it, not too close- she didn't want to lose her balance, tumble in and simmer with mortification when Asim inevitably pulled her from the water.
Instead, she watched the brightly coloured fish through the shimmery, effervescent surface, glinting with every slight rippling disturbance in the late-afternoon sunlight.
A glance up into the overhanging tree helped her discover the animal responsible for the sing-song chirruping she was suddenly aware of. She smiled at the small winged creature and it shook its feathers, tilting it's small head to eye her cautiously.
She identified it as a Plover bird, evident by it's grey wings, white breast and black-feathery head. A white trail of feathers traced the area from the tip of its black beak, just over it's beady eyes, to cross at the back of its head.
"Hello", she greeted it softly, and the plover swooped down to peck at the grass a few feet away from her, no doubt searching for worms and other insects to snack on.
Eshe crossed her hands in her lap and watched the bird hop around, probing the rich soil for food, and before long it was joined by two other birds of the same species.
"What pretty birds", the young princess spoke gingerly, and remained still when one of the plovers hopped up onto her knee- perhaps with the intent to inspect her for food.
"I'm not a bug", she giggled, and the little creature tilted its head in inquiry.
For as long as she could remember, she had a sweet fondness for birds, and in return they were happy to befriend her, never scared of her.
She watched the birds scutter around and lazily plucked up a flower that had fallen from the bush beside her; she turned it over in her hands and inspected the slightly wilted petals with a pout.
"What are you doing?"
The sudden, close voice startled Eshe slightly and she turned quickly as the plovers flew away with a fright.
Prince Atem stood nearby, watching her with knitted eyebrows, lips parted with curiosity; his wide, deep purple eyes followed the plovers as they flew off at once.
"Um… I-"
"Picking flowers?" Atem cut her off, turning his gaze back to her with a deep frown, "You shouldn't do that. Those flowers are rare." He seemed upset at the prospect of the princess ruining his father's garden.
"No!" Eshe squeaked with restrained indignance; she hated being accused of things she didn't do, she hurried to explain, "The flower had already fallen, I picked it off the ground."
Atem's face softened immediately, "Oh, sorry."
Eshe gave a sigh of relief, happy the boy didn't regard her with mistrust; she looked up to where the plovers had hastily soared away and frowned, dismayed that the boy had scared them off.
The young prince followed her gaze and stepped closer to her, "They weren't scared of you…" he stated, a spark of interest in his voice.
"No", Eshe confirmed, looking back at him inquisitively, wondering if he'd come to the gardens for a reason or perhaps had noticed her out here.
"How come?" he raised an eyebrow, tilting his round head in puzzlement.
Eshe shrugged slightly, "Birds aren't afraid of me… I'm not a very scary person."
"Am I a scary person?" he asked, a tone of bewilderment to his voice as he pointed a finger at himself, causing the princess to giggle.
"I don't think so. You just spoke too loudly."
Atem looked content with her answer and gave a small smile as he sat beside her with a look of avid curiousness; perhaps he had come to get to know her on the basis that the two would be living in the palace together.
"Do you like it here?" Atem asked, brushing his fingers airily through the grass.
"It's… nice. I've only been here a few hours, so I'm not sure yet." Eshe replied honestly, twiddling her thumbs and trying not to stare at his quite unusual hair.
Her gaze was far too scrutinising and he raised a self-conscious hand to brush through his blond bangs, letting out an irate huff. Eshe bit her lip apologetically.
"Sorry. Your hair is… um, different."
That only seemed to make him more miffed, "Well…" he began, sounding as though he was about to take a dig at her own appearance, but he trailed off after a moment, apparently not finding anything to make fun of.
Eshe hid an amused smile behind her hand as he grumbled something insignificant under his breath, "I didn't mean that as an insult! I like it", she clarified, and Atem blinked his wide eyes at her, the irritation draining from his expression.
"Oh", he murmured, brushing his hand through the rest of his hair.
"Your father's hair isn't that colour. His hair is ashy.", she observed, and Atem's eyebrows knitted.
"It didn't used to be. It used to be black, but running a kingdom turned it grey", Atem explained, and Eshe blinked, nodding.
"Hm… actually, my dad has grey hairs too…"
Atem smirked as she mused, "My hair is more like my mother's was."
"Your mother?" Eshe spoke with a questioning tone, she hadn't seen his mother yet.
The way Atem's gaze fell was evident why; she was no longer alive, it should've been obvious from the way he referred to her in the past tense. Get it together, Eshe.
"I see", Eshe spoke, and then a little softer, "I'm sorry."
"It happened when I was a baby", Atem informed her, shaking his head gently.
The young prince knitted his eyebrows as Eshe gave him a pitying look, so she quickly wiped it from her face and changed the subject, "what do you do for fun around here?"
"Um… I play games", he answered, blinking at her.
"What kind of games?"
"All kinds", he responded with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Like hide and seek?" Eshe suggested, and the boy beside her smiled.
"Yes, but I must warn you, I'm the hide and seek champion around here."
Eshe smirked and huffed in his face, "I wouldn't be so sure! Tomorrow, after the celebrations, we can play hide and seek and I'll show you who the real boss is!"
The prince leaned forward with a sly grin, "Just don't cry when I win."
"Ugh, you'll be the one crying!" Eshe squeaked.
Across the garden, Asim chuckled at the sight of a new friendship blooming.
Eshe had elected to draw the curious plover to represent that specific instance of the fantasy world within her mind; she smiled fondly as she drew, even in her dreams the birds were her friends. She assumed such a dream sequence had been triggered by her delightful date on the Saturday before.
She had briefly considered drawing the young prince, adorable as a child, but opted instead to depict his likeness following the dream she'd then had Wednesday night; an image that she couldn't remove from her mind. It had been short, but it had made her feel warm upon awakening; Prince Atem had been there, perhaps only a few years younger than the real Atem - his face had been a little rounder and his eyes had appeared softer. It was a vision she wouldn't soon forget.
Eshe breathed the scent of wild flowers and loamy soil from her crouched position amongst the garden shrubbery, exhaling a quiet, content sigh. The day was beautiful; the sky was a brilliant blue and the freshly watered grass reflected gentle beads of light from the bright sun above. Truly, it was a magnificent sight, but it was not what Eshe's eyes were drawn to.
Prince Atem was absorbed in his studies; eyes scanning over the papyrus scroll he held at arm's length; he sat on the stone rim of the water fountain, his left leg tucked under his right, and his right leg hanging off the edge. He'd removed his sandals, and his toes were idly poking at the damp grass below him as his gaze flickered across the paper, silently reading the hieroglyphics and absorbing the information.
His tutor must have been feeling generous to let him study in the gardens today; usually the prince would be made to sit in the library. Granted, on a day like this, the archive rooms would have been stuffy and hot - not a perfect learning environment for the future Pharaoh who seemed to complain all too much about the hot weather whenever he had to attend his classes.
Eshe had just finished her arithmetic lessons, and she had been on her way out to the gardens for a spot of relaxation when she'd seen Atem through the apertures surrounding the courtyard. With quick thinking, and an unwillingness to distract the boy while he was learning, Eshe had ducked through one of the archways and clambered down amid the greenery of the bushes.
The perfect cover-camouflage for a sneaky princess such as herself.
There, she had remained for five minutes, simply watching the prince work through his academic tasks. Eshe's cheeks pinkened as she watched the boy responsible for her little infatuation; she adored the way he looked when he held such concentration on his face. The way his eyes remained stern, and the way his lips pursed as he debated his thoughts over whatever it was he was reading.
Eshe found him handsome- annoyingly so- unable to keep her thoughts off of him. She shoved her knuckles into her mouth and nibbled on them distractedly as she glared at the offensively perfect boy across from her who was minding his own business, none-the-wiser to her company and her frustrated irritation.
Then there was the way he always smiled at her with his wide, innocent eyes- did he know what he was doing to her? Making her turn red as she fumbled over her chaste attraction to the prince. She didn't dare admit to him that she thought him more than just a friend; she was sure he didn't feel the same way.
Eshe had witnessed something recently that solidified her assumptions, when the newest Priest of the court - Priest Seto - had brought to light the issue of Atem being obligated to find a wife. The Priest had informed Atem that since he was approaching his mid-teens, it was the excellent time to start thinking about his familial future, planting the ideas of producing an heir into his head.
Atem had never looked more uncomfortable in his life, and the scene had certainly stuck with Eshe.
Priest Seto had probably meant well, but the prince had taken every opportunity to drop the subject, instead electing to talk about how he could kick Seto's butt in a game of Senet.
The only thing Eshe could infer from the situation was that Atem wasn't interested in romance, or at the very least he wasn't interested in pursuing her in that sense. She'd been there in the room when Atem had avoided talking about it; and Priest Seto had even glanced her way a few times before regarding Atem with an expectant look.
Eshe was pulled from her thoughts when Atem placed his scroll down to wipe the sweat from his forehead onto his forearm, before brushing a hand through his hair. She could see the way his blond bangs clung to his head, damp with perspiration, and she tugged on her braid to stop herself from squealing at the sight of his fetching, dishevelled appearance.
Why was she so obsessed with this boy?
She'd woken that morning, giggling at how ridiculous her dream-self had been, acting like a schoolgirl with an out-of-control crush on the boy. Still, the virtuous and guiltless love emanating from her soul within the dream had left her feeling refreshed; she hadn't felt that feeling in a long time- even if it wasn't real.
There was no way she wasn't going to draw the ethereal, young prince sat focused in the midst of his schooling. She drew attentively, but no matter how hard she tried, she didn't feel like she was capturing the pure sensations of her vision on paper.
A trickle of embarrassment passed through her at the idea of Atem discovering her drawing; she be left a stuttering mess trying to explain that one.
Placing the finished sketch aside, Eshe took a moment to stretch her arms and back before she returned to work on her final drawing for that week.
Thursday morning had been dreamless, and she was thankful for that, but Friday morning, that morning, Eshe had had a new and interesting vision.
"Dalila, have you seen my favourite bracelet?" Eshe called to her friend as she scanned her collection of jewels and baubles amongst her vanity desk with a hint of urgency.
"Where did you leave it?"
Eshe frowned at her fair-haired friend with a sarcastic look; the girl was reclined in the chair across the room watching the princess with a lazy smirk.
"If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn't be searching frivolously, would I?" Eshe replied, a hint of impatience in her voice.
"Why are you always misplacing things?" Dalila murmured with a roll of her eyes, a good-natured smile on her face.
"Because I rely on you to keep track of everything I do", Eshe squeaked, "You know my life is far too hectic!"
Dalila snorted, "Your bracelet is on your bedside table, princess."
With an indignant grumble, Eshe scampered over to her bed to swipe the bracelet from her desk, "You could've just told me that to begin with."
"It's fun watching you freak out, Eshe."
"Thanks for leaving me fretting that I'd lost it."
"Anytime, my friend."
Eshe rolled her eyes, quickly returning to her vanity to apply her kohl eyeliner with expert precision. Although she'd been friends with Dalila since she was nine, the girl just loved to torment her.
"Trying to pretty yourself up for Atem?" Dalila teased, playing with the fabric of her dress - a striking green material that matched her eyes.
"Shut up", Eshe grumbled, her cheeks twinging red.
Dalila's grin turned sly, and she twirled a finger through her brown locks knowingly, "I thought you'd given up trying to win his affections. You said he didn't like you that way. Honestly, I don't know why you bother."
"Dalila", Eshe whined, "Stop crushing my hopes."
"Piling makeup on isn't gonna change the fact that he's not into you. Boys are dolts, they don't know beauty when it's standing right in front of them."
"Well I'm not putting on makeup to try to win him over, okay? I'm doing it because I want to, so drop that attitude."
Dalila raised an eyebrow, and mumbled under her breath, "But you hate wearing makeup…"
Frustrated at the subject of conversation, Eshe changed the topic, "Speaking of boys, I've seen the way you look at Rura. You got the hots for that novice magician?"
Dalila's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets, "UGH, what in Ra's name gave you that idea?"
Eshe turned with a malicious grin, "Oh, now look who's flustered!"
"I'm not flustered, I'm disgusted." Dalila deadpanned, "Your perception must be clouded."
"I saw you making eyes at him yesterday when he walked past the courtyard, what was all that about?"
"I was scowling at him, nothing more, nothing less." Dalila crossed her arms sassily and Eshe turned to her fully as she finished applying eyeliner, watching her friend closely.
"Why were you scowling at him?"
"He's in some stupid rivalry with my brother, they're both competing to be Mahad's top student and loath as my brother is to admit it, Rura is a superior magician…"
Eshe hummed thoughtfully, "Atsu is an excellent magician though. He's always showing me little tricks with his magic. He's been trying to turn lotuses into daisies but he hasn't quite gotten the hang of it yet", she chuckled retrospectively, "I suppose that's why he needs to up his game."
"Well that's just it, my brother tries to alter the properties of flowers while Rura is exceeding in destructive magic, which is apparently a far more useful skill to have", Dalila spoke sarcastically, shaking her head in annoyance. "It's pissing my brother off, and then he complains to me which pisses me off, so I like to show Rura that he's inadvertently pissing me off."
"I think you need to relax a little, Dalila. Why don't you join Atem and me in the gardens for lunch?" Eshe offered with a smile.
"And suffer through you batting your eyelids at him while he's completely oblivious to it all? Not a chance, honey. I'll find you later in the archives?" Dalila suggested, jumping to her feet quickly.
Eshe sighed, eyes dropping to her feet, "Okay."
Dalila paused, disconcerted to see her friend so upset, "Hey, Eshe, don't let a boy get you upset." She shrugged slightly, "His loss if he's not into you. There's plenty more fish in the sea…"
Eshe smiled slightly, holding out her arms for a hug, and Dalila obliged quickly, wrapping her arms around the princess in a comforting hold.
It was Leela.
Eshe had dreamt of a girl who looked almost identical to her best friend; she sketched on auto-pilot, thinking about the subtle differences in appearance comparing Leela to the girl in her dream, Dalila.
The skin tone differed slightly; Dalila was a little more tanned, whereas Leela's skin was paler with freckles dotted around her face. Apart from Leela's dyed black hair, everything else was more or less the same.
She drew Dalila with her beautiful green dress; a colour that could rival the palace garden grass as it shimmered with dew in the morning sun. It matched her eyes perfectly.
Her series of dream-drawings were complete, and she glued them into her perfectly presented sketchbook with a satisfied nod of her head. She was glad not to have been assaulted with nightmares the past week; instead experiencing only images of make-believe world conceived from the weirdest corner of her brain.
Even if the images she saw didn't terrorise her, it still helped to draw them.
Idly, Eshe leaned back in her desk chair, swiping her phone up to check her messages. She'd been texting Atem on-and-off all week; but the boy had seemed oddly distant like something was bothering him. She hoped she hadn't done something to ruin their date; she couldn't recall saying anything that could be taken negatively and she felt they parted on a good note, so she really had no idea why he seemed so distracted. The last text she'd received was Atem confirming that he'd stop by her work-cafe with Yugi later in the day.
Nonchalantly, she sent a text to Leela, who had left for work hours ago.
'Had a dream about u earlier. We getting takeout tonight?'
With a glance to the clock, Eshe packed up her art supplies and decided to get dressed for the day; very soon she'd have to head to work.
An unexplained feeling of lethargy had overcome Eshe halfway through her shift, and she'd sat in a booth on her break, resting her head lazily in her arms; she watched her colleague, Haru, serve two young girls, handing them each a cone of bubblegum flavoured ice cream topped with multicoloured sprinkles, and giggled as their eyes lit up at the sight of the dessert.
Her phone buzzed and she checked the screen; noting that Leela had responded to her text from this morning.
'Ur having naughty dreams about me? It's your turn to pick up takeout tonight', Leela had signed the text with a smiley face and an abundance of kisses; Eshe rolled her eyes.
'It wasn't a naughty dream, shut up. You were watching me do my makeup and we were in Egypt', Eshe sent back, accepting her role as the 'collector of takeout' for the evening.
After a few minutes, Leela texted back.
'Doing your makeup, huh? But u HATE wearing makeup… must've been a traumatic dream for you.'
Eshe snorted, 'Very funny. I don't mind a little bit of makeup, I'll have u know.'
'Oh yeah, like when u wore it on ur date with Atem because you felt ugly and wanted to impress him?'
With a roll of her eyes, Eshe returned her phone to her bag, unwilling to even grace Leela with a response; she glanced up as two familiar faces entered the cafe.
"Hey!" She waved Atem and Yugi over; the younger boy gave her a bright smile, returning the greeting as he moved to sit in the booth with her, whereas Atem followed quietly and looked at her with an enduring stare.
"Is everything okay?" Eshe asked, frowning at the boy's barely contained expression of melancholy.
He seemed to sober up from his apparent misery and smiled at her, though the grin didn't reach his eyes.
"Fine!" He affirmed, a little too enthusiastically, and then his eyes flickered away from her briefly, before he spoke softly, "Are you well?"
"Yeah, I'm alright. A little tired, but fine."
Atem nodded, eyebrows knitting for a reason Eshe could not comprehend, and then the brothers shared a look in which they seemed to communicate without talking. Eshe raised an eyebrow, it was clear that something was going on.
Over Atem's shoulder, Eshe noticed her colleague Haru staring over at them out of the corner of his eye as he seemed to aggressively clean a glass with a cloth. As soon as the silver-haired boy noticed Eshe watching him, he turned quickly, pretending to do something else.
Okay, her co-worker was acting strange.
"Hey, um, Eshe", Yugi spoke up suddenly, pulling her attention back to the occupants of the table, "Would you like to come ice-skating with us and the group tomorrow?"
"Ice-skating?" Eshe repeated with a chuckle, "I haven't been ice-skating in years. I was always terrible at it."
Yugi's expression deflated slightly, until the girl spoke up again.
"But sure, why not?"
The boy's smile returned, and Eshe looked up at Atem, once again finding his eyes boring into her's with an unnerving gaze. His usually striking, deep purple irises were dull, dim and unseeing, as if he was looking right through her.
The expression set her hair on end; it was a stark opposite to the unbridled elation she had witnessed the last time they'd been together.
He looked at her almost as if he'd seen a ghost; a daunting unsureness - but about what? That was the question.
Eshe watched Yugi unmistakably kick Atem's leg under the table; the tanned boy letting out a grunt, flashing his younger brother a hint of a glare, before turning to Eshe with the fakest of smiles.
"I've never been ice-skating. It'll be an interesting experience", Atem spoke, his voice a little too steady for his wavering emotions, an abnormal combination.
"Well then", Eshe spoke carefully, offering a small smile, and her cheesiest pun in an attempt to lighten the mood, "I'm sure we'll have snow problem getting the hang of it."
Atem did not laugh.
Notes: Song referenced at the beginning is 'Vincent (Starry Starry Nights)' by Don McLean- beautiful song, I suggest you give it a listen :) I was quite eager to get this chapter out today so I am eternally sorry if anything seems rushed or if I missed any spelling/grammar errors. Feel free to point them out if I did! As always, I live for your feedback!