Yay, I finally got this done! Terrible what temporary writer's block can do...I shudder thinking about permanent ones. Maybe writing three stories at once is a very bad idea...scratch that, it is a bad idea. Gets confusing.

This chapter's longer than usual, and I'm rather surprised at how it's turned out. Won't say anything until the bottom, but I'm getting the feeling the story's beginning to write itself instead of me!

Thank you to my reviewers, That Girl in the Glasses, Miorochi, Ray-nee-chan and xXWinterSonataXx! This chapter is for you people!

Over the next few days I tried to be as I normally was. I must have regained quite a large measure of normalcy back, because Mana and Mahado only winked and smiled at me after their little prank. They didn't question what made me go back to almost normal. Oh yes, I had yet to reprimand the two for their trick, but I didn't have the heart to. It had helped, and reprimanding Mana was like throwing a drop of water onto sand beaten by the sun. Dries just as quickly as it lands. As for Mahado…no one could see anyone reprimanding him, except for Priest Seto. He was too responsible looking.

Atem was watching me like a hawk whenever we were in Yafeu's presence, and any traces of slight warmth he used to give Yafeu more than other suitors were gone. He sensed it had to do with him, since he was also on that midnight ride. He was angry at whoever had caused me so much doubt that I would begin to mistrust the bonds I had with everyone in the palace. I was both glad and worried at his concern. Glad, because that meant he cared; worried, because if he discovered the truth, he might be attacked.

At least I didn't feel like I was in a fog, or suffocating. That I only felt when Yafeu pretended everything was okay, that he had done nothing to me. He smiled, laughed, even dared to flirt like the suitor he was pretending to be. I wanted to punch the bastard's face for acting like he was still trustworthy. I tried to get rid of him once.

"Yafeu, it's been a while since you arrived at the palace, hasn't it?" I asked casually. He looked at me, barely containing a sharp look. We were playing sennet, while Mana watched. I dared not hold this conversation in front of Atem, in case he suspected something. "Would your family not be missing you?"

"I doubt it. My father and mother have never paid attention to anything other then wealth," he said with a slight smile.

"But still, I thought courting periods don't usually last this long," I pressed. He frowned, and then a teasing smile was on his face.

"Why milady, is it a crime to be persistent on winning a lady's hand? Especially one so beautiful," he said in a pompous voice. Mana giggled at me, and I glared at them both.

"Ha ha. But don't start with the flattery. It's just words."

"You know though, even if people say you're ugly, you're not. You're actually quite beautiful after the first glance."

"Thank you. I am judged by first glance normally though. Pity, ruins chances of getting wed. That's why I try to look for a man that's at least honest and loyal." I inwardly smirked as those words struck a cord in him, though I wondered why. I did not expect the faint and brief flash of hurt deep in his eyes, and wondered if what I had seen was real at all.

"I didn't know you were that eager to wed. I thought you said marriage was the furthest thing from your mind," a smooth voice said from behind me. I steeled myself not to betray anything other than friendship, and looked around. Atem casually leaned on the backrest of my chair. He tapped a finger at one of my main pieces, which was in danger. I glared at it as if it was its fault, and not my lack of strategy skills fault, that it was going to be taken.

"There's nothing much to think about when you have nothing to do," I said, flashing a brilliant smile. Maybe too brilliant. He gave me a strange glance, and looked at Yafeu. The back of my neck broke out in a thin sheet of perspiration as I wondered how long he had been leaning on my backrest, unnoticed, and how much he understood from anything he heard.

Looking into Atem's eyes momentarily, I saw a shadow there. Something was wrong. Concerned, I asked him, "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, perfectly. Why do you ask?" he replied. I sent him a sharp glance.

"Because you look a little tired, and worried," I answered, and marvelled at how I knew him enough to recognise the symptoms. A quick brush off if anyone asked about his welfare, a slight shadow under the emotions he piled on top of it to hide it.

Atem sighed. I made to stand up and offer a seat to him, but he kept a hand on my shoulder, indicating to keep the seat. "I'm just a little worried about my father. He took ill, yesterday night."

"Is he alright?" Mana asked in alarm.

"He will be; it's not too serious. Mahado is helping the healers treat him," Atem answered.

"That's a relief. And Mahado will cure him, he's meant to be the best healer in the palace," I said, smiling.

"Not meant to be, he is!" Mana said proudly.

And I had no more chances to try and get rid of Yafeu. He made sure I didn't. Stupid man with his empty flattery, no one would believe me if I even had a chance to tell anyone who he really worked for.

Worst of all was that I was in a quandary, and had no idea how to fix it. All I was doing was waiting, hoping some miraculous idea would strike me randomly, an idea so clever it would reveal who Yafeu really was, get rid of Bakura, and keep everyone safe at the same time.

So very simple.

I breathed a little easier as Yafeu untied the blindfold around my eyes, and glared at him. This, this demon had just kidnapped me from my own room! How could he have done that, and how could he have snuck past the guards around the palace unnoticed while carrying me?

That didn't matter, because Yafeu had just started dragging me towards the same ramshackle looking building he had dragged me to last time to see Bakura. I resisted, and his grip on my wrist tightened a little. I winced, and surprisingly, his grip on me softened.

"Bakura will make you an offer which will sound outrageous to you," Yafeu told me almost inaudibly, muttering quickly. "But for Ra's sake, don't go berserk and talk about honour, or try to attack him. It won't affect him one whit. It's better to just comply, if you want to escape with your life. And I'm giving this advice as a friend concerned for your safety. Not the pretence."

"You were pretence from the beginning," I hissed. A definite flash of hurt went across his features.

"I don't work for Bakura for the fun of it, I too uphold an honour. So you can stop accusing me of being a dishonourable man. I've had to make some hard decisions. And lying to you became hard after a short while. You make my job difficult," He muttered. His next glance at me warned me not to say anything about what he had just told me.

He was upholding an honour? But what honour could he uphold by working for Bakura? And I had only started making his job difficult recently, by trying to throw him out or trying to stay away from him. I wondered what his purpose was for working for a murderer and thief.

We reached the same door I faced last time. Without further ado, he shoved me inside, stunned, and closed the door behind me. I steeled myself, and then turned around.

Bakura was in the exact same spot as I first saw him last time, perched on the strange stone slab, smirking. He didn't move, but sat casually and watched me with that discomforting gaze of his. Being in the very room I had been frozen in…I shivered and hugged my arms around myself. I did my best to glare at the thief, despite my nervous gesture.

"Glad to see you look as well as someone facing me could be expected to be," Bakura said with traces of triumph. He revelled in my terror. I was pleased when my voice came out with only very bare traces of tremors.

"Anyone would run from you, your smirk can irritate anyone to death. Why was I brought here?"

"So very abrupt, Charis? And here I thought you would do a favour for the person who warned you against liars."

"The only liar is you."

His face hardened. "I did try to get you away using persuasion, but it hasn't worked. I might have to tame you with a threat, Charis."

"What?"

"If you had to choose between your own freedom, or the life of your precious Prince, what would you choose?"

I stepped back, stunned. He wouldn't dare to kill Atem. He wouldn't. "We had a deal, Thief King! If I said nothing about you, you would not harm anyone."

"Ah, but circumstances have changed. Your chosen outlook has changed the situation, and forced me to deviate from my original plan. So, are you interested in hearing my proposal, or shall I send one of the spirits to go and kill the Prince right now? Remembering the sensation you got, he'll be enduring it until he dies." To emphasise the point, a spirit suddenly flew through the walls and then through the next one. I paled considerably, if it was possible for my skin to go any whiter.

"I'm listening."

"You can agree to give your Ka to me, and remain working by me, or I can kill the Prince. Simple."

I gaped for a few seconds at him before finding my voice again. "Why in Ra's name would you want my Ka? I don't even know what it is! And I would be useless working for you! Even…even you said you had no need of me!" That had been humiliating. Degraded by this thief.

Bakura reminded me of what he said before. That my Ka was powerful, since it riled the spirits of this place. And it was what interested him. He wanted my Ka, so he could feed it to his own, and make it more powerful. In its place, he would put a bit of his soul into mine, and in that way control me. I could only stare at him in horror by the time he finished.

"So, it's give you power and my freedom, or Prince Atem's death," I whispered. In the large cold room, it echoed much louder.

"I'll give you seven days to think over it. On the seventh night, I'll come to the palace myself. Yafeu will be watching you. If you so much as say a word about this, I'll kill the Prince in his sleep. And don't think I'll be captured trying to get into the palace. The defences there are pathetic."

I backed into the door, wary of any spirits around that would attack me like last time. The door suddenly opened behind me though, and I fell into Yafeu's chest. Silently, he took me and led me outside. I was completely numb from shock, trembling at the mere thought of making the decision Bakura forced on me. Though I was sure I would give myself up rather than let Atem be killed, an instinct I trusted said it was a very bad choice as well. Also my survival instincts were quite panicked.

Yafeu had no trouble blindfolding me and hoisting me onto a horse. Maybe he thought it was too easy, considering I would always utter some protest.

"What? No chatter tonight?" he asked. I kept silent.

On the way back to the palace, I let a helpless tear slide down my cheek.

"You're doing it again," Mana said the next day. I was tired, and faced the day with heavy lidded eyes and the feeling of having a large, unbearably heavy burden on my shoulders. I wondered if this was the type of weight the Pharaoh carried around, by ruling a country.

"Doing what again?" I asked absently. I dipped a hand into the fountain I sat by. Mana, rather than doing her lessons, had snuck away again, and was keeping me company until she was caught. So daily an occurrence. Everything around me was so…normal, it was almost surreal.

A fish floated near my hand. The fish brushed it, and sank a little before swimming away, its movements suddenly clumsy. I wondered if my burdened feeling had communicated to it-I hadn't even tried.

"Going into a shell this morning. Plus the fact you look half dead. What happened? You were happy yesterday," Mana said sadly. I blinked, and forced an unconvincing smile on my face.

"Bad night. Can't shake the nightmare off," I told her. I couldn't shake the nightmare off-I was living it, the building up to the horror.

"Want to talk about it?" Mana asked. I shook my head, and my smile was genuine this time.

"No, I'm okay. Just a little shocked still. Thanks for offering Mana."

"Alright," she said doubtfully. Then a cheeky grin came upon her face. "But if you don't get out of it soon, Mahado and I are going to have to lock you in a room with the Prince again. Say, you never told me what the Prince did to make you so comfortable afterwards." There was a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Atem talked to me. What else did you expect?" A flash of disappointment ran across Mana's face, but she shrugged.

"Okay, if you say so. But cheer up a bit."

I had an idea. Mana was a magician in training; she had to know about spirits. I asked her about spirits and their ability to move.

"Yeah, spirits can move places. But usually, they stick to the place their living selves died at. They can be good, or really scary. Why do you ask?"

"I heard people discussing spirits in town, and I got curious. So normally spirits just stick to the place they died at when they were alive? Wow, I was a little worried about a few myths. Spirits flying in on an evening breeze and such." I felt bad for lying to Mana. But I was protecting a life, so I tried to ignore my own lie.

"Where did you hear that? Spirits don't really move…well, I heard there was a really complicated way, something about carrying the spirits in their Ka."

"You mean…the Ka eats the spirits?" I gulped. Mana nodded, wide eye herself.

"Something a bit like that. The tactic was used by a few evil magicians to power up their Ka. They have to have really strong Ka though…"

"I have the feeling I asked too much, and found out more than I wanted to know," I groaned. The idea of Ka eating spirits seemed a little…disturbing. Also, it meant that it was possible for Bakura to move a spirit to the palace, and send it after Atem.

"Mahado's coming this way Mana," I pointed out. She squeaked and ran off, seconds before Mahado peered around a bush to look at my suddenly lonely spot. I dredged up a smile, which faded after he left.

So much for ignoring the thief.

The second day since I met Bakura again, I hurried off to Priestess Isis' usual meditating chamber. I knew that she liked to meditate early in the morning, when everything was peaceful, so she could receive her visions in peace.

Normally only the Pharaoh's court would visit at this time, but I needed to know if the Priestess had any visions of the future concerning Atem, while no one else was about. She couldn't see my future, but she hopefully could see his, which might help me decide what to do about my situation better.

Hesitantly, I peeked my head through the open doorway, and saw that the young priestess' eyes were closed. I stood at the edge of the doorway timidly, until she reopened them.

"Charis. Do you need anything?" she asked in surprise. I shook my head, but changed halfway and nodded nervously. "Come in. What is wrong? You look…fatigued, to say the least," she commented.

I walked in and stood awkwardly in front of her and the orb mounted on a table in front of her. She gestured to sit on the stone bench she sat on. I seated tensely, and gave a short, quiet laugh.

"Please be honest, milady priestess. I look absolutely horrid," I said with a wan smile. Last night had been almost sleepless, with nightmares of Atem about to die, with the spirit behind him, hand ready to plunge into his back. A few other nightmares in between included me screaming as my Ka was ripped out of my body. Far before I had dressed to come to Priestess Isis' meditating room, I had given up on sleeping at all.

My reflection in the silver glass was the exact opposite of happy and healthy.

"Do you wish to discuss whatever is disturbing you?" the Priestess asked me gently. "And please, just call me Isis. We are of equal rank virtually."

"We…are?" I asked, bemused. She looked a little awkward, and shook her head to clear her own expression.

"Never mind. But please, say what you have come to say."

I looked down. "Have…may I ask if you have seen any visions of the Prince yet, mila-Isis?"

She looked puzzled. "A few, yes."

"And…has anything bad happened to him?" I asked. Concern flittered across her face.

"No, but I have not focused on particular people lately, but been scanning over people generally. Let me try." Closing her eyes, she put a hand to the Millennium Necklace around her neck. I waited with a breath I held unknowingly, until Isis' eyes opened again. They were confused.

"I…don't see anything for the Prince. A cloud of indecision obscures any visions of the future containing him in it. The future has something unexpected for us." Her head turned to me. "Do you suspect any danger to the Prince?"

"N-no," I mumbled, and hung my head. I just told her I had been having nightmares, and they had shaken me. Might just be a paranoid imagination.

"Sometimes dreams are actually visions of the future," Isis said gravely. "Could you describe your nightmares?"

There I panicked, because if I told her about my nightmares, she would question my involvement. Briefly, I managed to stammer out a much more simplified version, where the room was dark, and Atem stood in the centre of the room. Something unknown, but horrific dashed up to him, and my modified nightmare ended there.

"I see why you are worried for the Prince. I think it is only a nightmare, but just in case, I will keep a closer eye on any visions concerning him. And I will inform the Pharaoh of the nature of my visions," she told me, and smiled reassuringly at me. I started at the mention of the Pharaoh. How terrible for me to forget he was ill!

"Is the Pharaoh cured of his illness?" I asked.

"He is recovering quite speedily, but the illness has deprived him of his normal strength. He will need a few more days rest," Isis replied. I smiled a happy one at the news, and stood up. I gave a short bow to the Priestess, remembering I had forgotten that courtesy when I entered. How rude of me.

"Thank you for your time, Priestess," I smiled. She bade me farewell, and I stepped outside. Quickly but quietly I went back to my room, where I let my genial smile fade.

Atem's future depended on my decision? Oh gods, help me please.

The third day, I spoke with Priest Shada. He was harder to catch than Isis, and I made sure to wake up especially early to search for him. Not that I needed to 'wake up'. I slept, then jerked awake, and repeated the cycle many times throughout the night, until I again gave up on sleeping as the first rays of Ra were rising.

Priest Shada was known to start work on his research for things early in the morning. I found him in the library, pouring over a tome. I shuffled towards him, and the sound caught his attention. He looked up, surprised at finding anybody in the library so early in the morning. "Good morning, Lady Charis."

I responded to his greeting, and after a moment's hesitation, asked him if I could speak with him. He agreed, rather puzzled.

"I…I just wanted to learn a bit more about Ka," I said. "It's strange how anyone's can be revealed, but mine can't be seen. Even I can't see it. All I see is light."

"You have tried to reach your Ka?" he asked.

"No, I have reached it already, yet all I can see is light. I just wonder over the importance of a person's Ka. It can be powerful, according to the person, but if one can't see it, wouldn't it be useless?"

"Not necessarily. Ka can work with another's, or fuse with another's, though that requires a certain Millennium Item. In ultimate cases, Ka can be used as a sacrifice. It has been done before, though never willingly. Rogue magicians have kidnapped people, ripped the Ka from their souls and fed it to their own Ka. The victims are left in a comatose state, until something fills the other half of their soul again."

"They'd be free to be possessed, to be killed, anything?" I asked in horror. The Priest nodded, and curiously questioned me to my sudden curiosity about the subject. I made up a satisfactory excuse about dreaming of reaching my Ka, but being bathed in golden light. It was what I had been through when my Ka had spoken to me, but I withheld the full truth. I would tell someone another time about my communication with my Ka.

Thanking the Priest for satisfying my curiosity, I again went back to my rooms, and my thoughts became even more depressed. Bakura's threat was liable, and the ruthlessness which had been in his eyes left me with no doubt that he would do whatever crazy means to carry out his threat if he had to. My sacrifice, should I agree to give in to his demand, was a scary fate that I did not want to think about.

On the fourth day, I had to deal with my friends' enquiries to why I had been avoiding them like demons.

"I wasn't avoiding any of you! Really, I've had a lot on my mind," I said. It was one of those rare moments during the day where all four of us met up for a short break. Mana, Mahado and Atem were using the time to interrogate me on suddenly retreating into a 'shell' again.

"Don't make me lock you into a room again!" Mana mock-threatened, laughing. Mahado chuckled, while Atem and I suddenly glared at them.

"We're feeling kind right now, aren't we Charis?" Atem said with an arched eyebrow. I nodded, sighing.

"Definitely. Or the fish would have jumped out of the fountain by now."

Mana was closest to the fountain, and her master was close. Both discreetly inched away, but unfortunately, the chatter hadn't put them off their goal-to find out my sudden avoidance of them.

With three people asking me, I felt like I was suffocating from pressure, and excuses died on my lips, sounding too pathetic to be heard. I had used my best ones for Isis and Shada. Thankfully they sensed my discomfort, so left Atem to do the questioning, knowing he was the best person to get results. I glared after their retreating backs, before turning to face Atem.

I found it hurt to even look at him when I was alone, because it reminded me too much of the choice Bakura had set down on my shoulders. And Isis' unknowing confirmation that the Prince's future was in my hands, made it even more painful to look at Atem. It hurt, and it also hurt that I found pain looking at someone I loved. Of course, Atem wasn't aware of my pain, but he was aware that I refused to look at him.

He again tried to probe my worries out of me. He would be getting nothing. This depended on his life, so he would get absolutely nothing from me.

"I told you, I'm okay, just been very busy lately," I told him that in different variations. He stopped asking after the first few tries, and instead asked why I wasn't sleeping well. I was surprised at his question, because I thought I had managed to disguise the weariness on my face.

Dipping a finger into the fountain, he lifted my face, and like washing a child's face, he washed off the make up covering my eyelids. The white powder came off revealing the translucent, white-grey of my eyelids. I grumbled at him as I washed the rest of the make up from my face. "How did you know?"

"It's noticeable when I'm this close," he said simply. I realised we weren't very far apart. In fact, we were as close as if we had been in a tight embrace. Suddenly, I was very nervous. I laughed quietly, squirming a little, and made the mistake again of looking into Atem's eyes. (I'll never learn.)

There was no need to describe what they look like, since I had described it dreamily to myself many times. However, the foreign emotion that I noticed sometimes entered his eyes were back, and more noticeable. The intensity of his eyes deepened, if that was possible. The only thing that kept my mind coherent at all was the sudden flash of pain that came from watching someone I could be dangerous to. I looked away quickly again.

Atem wouldn't have that. As he normally did when he demanded direct attention, he tipped my chin back and gazed at me severely. "Looking away can be quite demoralising you know," he said. I blinked dazedly, trying to collect my thoughts.

"Really? How so?" I asked.

"Because then I have absolutely no idea what you're thinking, and how you might respond if I did something rash."

"You're never rash."

"I am now," he said. And…his lips whispered against mine gently.

The sensations of it made me feel as if…I was flying, soaring through a bright clear sky. I instinctively responded-how could I know what to do?-and for the next minute or so my spirit left my body and was dancing joyfully in the gently blowing winds. I hugged him tightly as he brushed his lips over and over again on mine, each time sending me higher and higher into the sky.

I wasn't pretty for an Egyptian. I was considered quite ugly because I was pale. And here I was, kissing the Prince of Egypt.

Wait. The Prince of Egypt. Atem.

I jumped away, and tripped over my own feet, landing on the ground. Atem stepped back as well, as if surprised. Both of us were slightly flushed and breathing quickly, gazing rather bewildered at each other. I clapped my hands over my mouth, eyes wide, and leapt to my feet.

Atem thought it was his fault I was in a panicked state. "Charis, I'm sorry-" He began, but I shook my head rapidly.

"No. Don't be sorry. I am. I'm so sorry. You didn't do anything, it was me, and I didn't deserve what you gave to me just then. I'm so sorry!" I wailed, and let out a sob. Burning with shame at my conduct, I sprinted away faster than I thought myself possible. Atem called after me, but I didn't dare respond.

Instead of running for my room, I ran close to the stables, finding a spot anywhere but where a person might think I was. Ducking behind a wall, I slid onto the ground on my knees and quietly cried.

I was rejoicing that Atem did that. Rejoicing but terribly guilt stricken. I couldn't get either of us out of the predicament we were in, a predicament earned through my own fault. Atem deserved someone much better than me, someone who wouldn't allow themselves to end up like me, a pawn for his enemy.

I wasn't worthy of him.

O.O I...just wrote...a kiss. Fluff, joy and all. Holy Ra, I'm not sure what to think of that.

So the only way to know if I did a good job, is for you readers to review, and tell me what you think! What are you waiting for, press the blue button! Pretty please? XD