Aziza's rooms as the Keeper of the Scrolls were small and modest, very close to the great hall where she worked surrounded by shelves. With a bedchamber, a small entryway that doubled as a living room and a door leading to a bathing hall for lesser officials like the stable master and herself, it was just a little more than necessary, which suited her just fine. It even had a little spot for prayer to the gods, which was filled with a large assortment of items related to Ra or Isis.

Atem walked over to the small table and picked up a statue of Ra in his phoenix form. As the future pharaoh, he had to be familiar with all the god's forms, but this was by far the form that frightened him the most. He'd never seen the actual god, for there was thankfully peace in Egypt, but he had seen paintings and the like. He put the statue down and ran his hand over a flat carving of the two gods together. It was different than the usual stoic posture. They were turned sideways with a piece of furniture between them. Bending closer to the rough piece of art, he thought he recognized it as a cradle. But what was-

"Prince Atem?" He whipped around and the sound of Aziza's voice and smiled. She smiled back and bowed slightly. "To what do I owe this honor?"

His nerves returned with a vengeance and he fought to keep his voice steady. "The sky is very clear tonight, and almost everyone is asleep. I was hoping you might join me on the roof to look at the stars for a while." Resisting the urge to look at his sandaled feet, he looked at her instead.

He'd met Tea yesterday, had been all but forced to spend most of the day with her, in fact. He'd found her pretty and intelligent enough, but not especially passionate about things. The only time she'd gotten truly excited all day was when he'd showed her the royal baths. At least she's pretty, he'd thought to himself at the time, but now, looking at Aziza even that paled. Both had brown hair, but Aziza's was shot through with streaks of gold, and much lighter and with no perfumes making him dizzy. Aziza's form was lean like Tea's, but also stronger, the body of someone who could race chariots with him and go into battle with him. And her eyes, her beautiful purple eyes, flared with the passion Tea's lacked utterly.

Now they sparkled with a sly sort of happiness, and something else he couldn't quite put his finger on. "I'd like that," she answered finally, letting him relax. "Just let me put something warmer around my shoulders. The nights are getting colder." She rifled through the small trunk on the floor and pulled out a shoulder wrap of slightly thicker linen. He didn't recognize it as part of her uniform as librarian, so it must have been something she'd brought from home. She quickly wrapped it around her shoulders and turned back to him. "I'm ready," she said with a smile. He realized he was staring and quickly walked out the door, hoping she would follow.

The roof of the palace was flat, as were most houses in Egypt. But the difference was that, in the middle of the roof was a trapdoor that led down a flight of stairs into the highest level of the palace. During times of war or unrest, two guards were stationed at the door to ensure no assassin crept into the palace through that entrance. These guards saluted Atem when he came up through the door with Aziza following behind. "You can relax," he told them. "We'll just be over there for a while." He gestured towards where he'd set up a blanket earlier, in case it got colder.

Aziza noticed this detail and grinned with a touch of mischief. "Only one blanket, my prince?" Atem blushed when he realized his mistake, but the mischief faded from her smile and she took his hand. "It's alright, my prince. Shall we lie down? We can look straight up that way and not hurt our necks."

"Please call me Atem. And yes, that's a good idea." Hearing her use his title left a sour taste in his mouth, especially after being called that all day by Tea. And probably for the rest of his life. But he shoved that away from his thoughts and squeezed her hand gently. They sat down and looked at the night sky.

For a while, they just looked up at the dark expanse ornamented with the brightest of beauties. "Look," Aziza said, pointing at one cluster of stars. "That one's flickering, like it's running out of oil."

Like I'm running out of time, Atem thought, and braced himself to say what he needed to. "Aziza, I-" He choked on the words but forced them out anyway. "I have to pick my future wife tomorrow." She stilled beside him. He hurried on, trying not to look beyond her profile, barely visible in the darkness. "The law is making me marry Lady Tea from the House of Life. But I…I want you to know that if I could choose, I'd pick you." He closed his eyes, waiting for her furious disbelieving reaction.

She kissed him.

His eyes flew open as her warm mouth left his. He could see nothing but the shape of her head against the night sky, but when she kissed him again he could feel the smile on her lips. Then she sat up and said, "I'm glad. Because I would have picked you too." He sat up and looked at her outline against the stars.

"Do you love me then," he asked, cautiously. He almost didn't know what he wanted her to say. If she said no, that meant his love had always been hopeless, and would have been even if their standing had not kept them apart. But it would also mean he wasn't worthy of her love, despite everything they had shared in the time since she brought Yugi back, all the laughter, wonderful hours in the library, griping about their siblings' romance.

But was it even crueler if she did love him? The impossible possibility that they might have been together, had things only been the smallest bit different? If he had been the younger son, or even just a noble, or even a peasant, they would have been able to, to love without an entire kingdom of disapproval.

"Yes," she said, kissing him on the forehead. "But I don't want you to give up just yet. No one knows what might happen tomorrow." And he wanted to believe her.

I have now finished this story and just need to upload the last couple chapters.

The next chapter contains the image that spawned the whole story. I actually read a different story that had some similarities, and wondered what it would look like if I did it. After that, there was this one scene I couldn't get out of my head, so I finally wrote the story for it, and will upload that scene soon.

Please Enjoy!