Atem was pissed, there was no other words for it. Not only had Anubis nearly succeeded in kidnapping his son (thwarted only by the extreme paranoia none of them were aware his wife possessed regarding the matter), but he had also made several insinuations regarding his wife that made his blood boil. The thought of his beloved Avatre being magically forced to service Anubis made him rage at the idea.
The fact Anubis had successfully managed to capture his wife, more so.
The man's smug grin and the dull, almost expressionless gaze in her eyes was riling him up something fierce. It was only the meditation exercises Avatre had taught him that kept him from doing anything rash.
And then it happened.
Anubis went to kiss his queen in front of Atem...only to start howling in absolute agony as blood began to seep from a very obvious target. One that made Atem cringe in almost sympathy.
Avatre's gaze went from dull and lifeless to pissed off and vengeful. She looked like an angry goddess about to let loose extreme violence on someone very deserving of their ire.
By the end of it Anubis is barely able to duel the Pharaoh and certainly in no condition to survive it. His lovely wife is very thorough.
"I'm almost afraid to ask this...but exactly what did you do to him once you dropped the act of being under hypnosis?" he asked carefully.
"Castration hex. Specifically one that would cause his manly parts to quite literally explode into so many pieces that it would take an expert with perfect control of their magic to put it together properly," she said without hesitation. "Like hell was I going to let his little plan of raping me and using me as a toy for him to take out his hatred of you unanswered."
Atem blinked, turned to the now cooling corpse of the dead sorcerer...the openly cringed.
Avatre's chuckle was the farthest thing from reassuring.
"Relax, the worst I would ever do to you if you annoyed me would be to turn you into a small animal for a few days at the most. I like that part of you a bit too much to use that particular hex," she said with far too much cheer.
"Good to know," he said faintly.
The fact he makes a point to remind of this for weeks after so that she definitely never considers using that particular hex on him was a private matter. She certainly wasn't complaining.
This was undoubtedly Anubis' back-up plan. Atem had briefly mentioned the dangerous outsider who was the reason why his father had ordered the creation of the Millennium Items, but he had told his wife with confidence that this "Scorpion King" had been driven back in defeat thanks to the Items.
So when Avatre saw an obviously magical army lead by a man who fit the bare description Atem had of the Scorpion King on one of her flights, she knew she had to warn her husband.
"You saw a what?" said Atem.
"There was a magical army heading in this direction, at least three days ride," said Avatre. "Since I haven't seen the man in question, I was mostly basing it on what you told me of this Scorpion King."
"Preposterous. We drove him deep into the desert," said Akhenaten.
"Again, I wouldn't know if it was him or not. But unless you know of people naturally being born with a jackal's head wielding a weapon with what could only be well trained proficiency, I'm going to assume an army that was created by magic," said Avatre flatly.
Atem had a grave expression on his face, and who could blame him? His father had beaten back the mad king after losing his wife, and had been forced to rely on an until-then untested magical set of artifacts.
Hearing that Matthias the Scorpion King had returned with a magical army wiping out everything in it's path was the last thing he wanted. Particularly since they were still recovering from the chaos the false god Anubis had inflicted on their home.
Either way they were forewarned, and Atem had mixed feeling about the fact that his wife would be leading the battle mages into the fight, while he took the regular soldiers.
It was exactly as Avatre had warned them. Matthias was leading a vast army that reeked of Anubis' corrupted magics, all of whom bore the jackal head of the Egyptian God that the sorcerer had tried to emulate.
Atem could see the fear and uncertainty in the eyes of his men. They were ordinary men, and the ways of mages were not something they normally concerned themselves with.
However they took one look at their Pharaoh and his Queen and girded themselves anyway.
Atem kept his concerns hidden behind a stalwart mask, and Avatre had an imposing, but determined expression on her face.
As the army and their mad king drew closer, Avatre shared a look with her beloved. He nodded slightly, and she drew herself up to her full height.
"Archers, fire!" she ordered.
The men did not hesitate...arrows fell like a deadly rain upon the army, felling the vanguard. It quickly became apparent that only attacking the head would be of any use...any other area was ignored.
As the archers reloaded, Avatre turned to the battle mages. They didn't need to be told, her expression said volumes. Beasts of great power were summoned, and she directed those capable of flight to attack Matthias' "protection" directly. While they were uncertain if killing him would cause the army to fall, he was still a danger in his own right to be dealt with.
If it wasn't for the seriousness of the situation, watching his wife's battle magic in an all-out war against the unholy monstrosities that were Anubis' army would have had Atem all over her in a heartbeat.
As it was, he was saving it for after the fight.
The battle was difficult...much like his father before him, Atem suffered heavy losses. However it seemed Anubis didn't want anyone to discover how he had empowered the Scorpion King, for when it became clear he would about to lose, he suddenly lost his life.
For Atem, the battle was a bitter one. He had lost far too many good men to the whims of a tyrant. For his wife, the loses were just as hard...she had personally assisted in the training of the battle mages, and every man she lost felt like a personal blow.
Atem curled up against his wife, taking comfort in her presence.
Two days later...
Avatre was in the infirmary, tending to the wounded. Thanks to her knowledge, the number of casualties from after the battle had dropped considerably.
The men took heart seeing their queen there. Her beauty was unrivaled, and the fact she was personally insuring they lived meant the world to them.
While the loyalty of the soldiers was to the Pharaoh, the mages were firmly loyal to their queen.
Which was why the mages came to an agreement that they needed a better communication arrangement. It was an embarrassment that they had to rely on their queen to act as a scout when she should be protected. It was obvious to them that Queen Avatre was a goddess, and thus shouldn't have to sully her own hands to deal with threats to their king.
It was only after the fact that Avatre would learn her personal guard of mages had decided to make an entirely new tribe known only as the Medjai, lead by her thirteen most devoted disciples.
Some time later...
Avatre had a by now familiar feeling in her magic. She should have known that sleeping with her husband once the losses were tallied would have consequences. However this was one she didn't mind overly much.
Isis shared a knowing look with her queen, though Avatre missed the sad expression that soon flickered across her face.
The second Atem learned of her condition (he was overjoyed with the news) he placed her under strict guard. After the mess that happened with Anubis, Atem was taking absolutely no chances.
And, as if conspiring against her with her husband, Avatre's personal guard of mages dragged her into a rather fascinating project that would allow one to communicate anywhere in the vast desert with a reflective object.
By the time Avatre registered the presence of Ba-Ku-Ra, the thief king in the palace, events had already been set into motion that could not be stopped.
Avatre stared down the man before her. Her mages had managed to capture the thief king while in the process of building a new encampment deep in the desert. Thanks to magic, living that far from human civilization was possible...just difficult.
She had been dubious of the idea her most trusted men had given her, of a new desert tribe designed to protect magical royalty such as herself and her children.
Avatre had seriously underestimated her popularity as the Pharaoh's wife.
"So. You are the tomb robber that broke into my father-in-law's tomb. Would you care to explain why you desire those Items so much?"
Bakura spat at her, causing the guards to tense up. Avatre was unmoved.
"Like a whore queen like you would understand. If you're going to kill me, do it already."
Avatre looked him in the eye, annoyed at his behavior.
"I could really care less if you broke into a tomb and robbed it. Pharaohs have had it done before to add to the treasury regardless of their belief in the afterlife. What I want to know is why you seem so fixated on the Items in particular," said Avatre flatly.
Bakura seemed taken aback by that comment.
Something told him he could trust this woman, regardless of her relationship with the Pharaoh.
"Have you heard of the village of Kul-Elna?" he asked finally.
"It doesn't ring a bell," said Avatre. It wasn't like she paid attention to the village names after all.
"My village was sacrificed because your father-in-law used it as a sacrifice to create your precious Millennium Items," spat Bakura.
Avatre stared at him for several moments, before she said "I believe you."
"You... believe me?"
"I've always found it suspicious that the Items are so powerful, particularly since the priest with the Eye refused to tell me how they were made. And there was something particularly malevolent in their magic, though it seems relatively dormant at the moment."
Bakura sneered at her.
"So what do you plan to do?" he demanded.
Avatre looked him in the eye...before she undid his shackles. His look of shock was particularly gratifying.
"I can only assume that the souls of your friends and family are still trapped in the Items. If that truly is the case, then I cannot fault you for targeting my husband if only so that you might finally lay them to the rest," said Avatre calmly. "However I do draw the line at you targeting the son of the one who ordered the death of your kinsmen."
Bakura gave her an odd look, but there was something akin to respect in his eyes now.
"What do you want?" he demanded.
"An agreement not to target my husband's life or the life of my children directly. I could care less if you steal the Items, but I don't want to deal with the headache of another person trying to kill my son because they have a grudge against the family," said Avatre bluntly. "It's bad enough I was orphaned that way."
"You're not telling me to leave your husband alone?" said Bakura surprised.
"I'm saying I will not get involved in what is a legitimate grievance. All I ask is that you not get my children involved. In exchange I will not send my mages after you or come after you personally," said Avatre.
Bakura didn't say anything, but leaving the children of the pharaoh alone was a small price to pay to keep the infamous "demon queen" as the bandits called her far from him. He had seen her in action...he didn't want her after his ass anytime soon.
Then her wording hit him, and he had a sudden epiphany as to why he hadn't seen her whenever he attacked the pharaoh before now.
She was pregnant again. Considering what happened last time, it was obvious the Pharaoh was trying to keep his wife out of this if possible, so that there would be no harm to the unborn child.
The idea of an overprotective, hormonal female coming after his ass for going after her child gave him nightmares.
"You have my word, I will not target the children," said Bakura, stressing that particular word out. "However I will not hesitate to use lethal force against the pharaoh if he comes after me."
"I would not ask the ridiculous of you," she agreed. "I have no hold over you to begin with, I just wanted to be sure that the children are safe from any machinations from you."
Atem didn't know whether to be relieved that his wife was staying out of this, or upset. Either way he knew she had his back.