How Many Diplomatic Incidents Can The Prince And His Childhood Friend Create In One Gathering?
The ball was anything but extraordinary in the eyes of the Prince of Egypt.
(Hehe, see what I did there?)
Ever since he was born, his father and mother would send him off to Switzerland during the weekend of the ball since they noted he was still too young to be presented to the audience.
That changed when his mother died from an unexpected illness.
Though in the eyes of his guardian Mahad he was still a child, his father had a different perspective.
"You're of age now. It's time to act like the Prince you are during your debut. No more childish nonsense, am I clear?" his father had addressed.
"Yes, father." was all Atem could reply looking down in despond at his birthday presents.
"No more child nonsense." he thought as he looked at the innocent child birthday cards he had received for his twelve birthday.
No more being a child.
Day of the Ball
"Do I have to go?" Mana whined as Atem stood still, letting the servants dress him appropriately for tonight's ball.
Mana and Atem have been childhood friends since they were in diapers. She was the daughter of two significant and rich Egyptian politicians before they were murdered. Atem's father had felt as if he had failed both of them and decided to allow Mana to live in the palace under his wing.
"Without a doubt. Now I suggest you get a move on, or you'll be in trouble soon." Atem replied with a stone-hard face.
Mana raised an eyebrow at him.
Refusing to meet her frowning face, Atem curtly added, "I think you should go now, Mana. I still have a lot to do."
Mana jumped down from his study desk.
"You don't have to be mean, you know? Acting all big and scary when you're just a year a few months older than me," she mumbled under her breath, but Atem caught it.
Atem had never allowed comments from the public or officials to affect him, but something about Mana's statement made him snap. He had only felt such fury in his life, and that was the day his mother died.
With a scowl present on his face, he replied, "You want to know what it is like to feel the weight of the world on your shoulder? Do you think I want to attend this ball instead of going skiing with my supposed best friend? Do you actually think I wanted my childhood to end in just seconds?"
Mana was too stunned to speak.
"It doesn't matter what you think. You don't know the tormented feeling that comes with the affliction of the crown."
Refusing to let her have the last word, he turned his back on her.
Slowly she left his room without another word.
Evening of the Ball
"Something wrong, my Prince?" Mahad asked as Atem gazed at the moon.
With a chuckle, he replied, "A lot of things."
"Well, if I can help in any way, I would be happy to listen."
Atem smiled.
He was grateful for his advisor and guardian. Since he was young, Mahad had always been on his side. He was everything Atem wished for an older brother.
Though Mahad's story wasn't happy, Atem was grateful his father had allowed Mahad to stay and live with them in the palace.
Patting the place beside him, Mahad obeyed and sat down next to the Prince.
"Do you think I did well?" Atem asked, a bit scared of Mahad's response.
"No. You did more than well. You were remarkable."
Atem smiled, letting out a content sigh.
"You shouldn't be hard on yourself, Prince. Even if you somehow messed up, no one could have blamed you. You are still a child."
Atem frowned.
A child.
"Father said I'm not a child anymore," he mumbled sadly.
Mahad sighed.
"I wish the King hadn't said that. It's not true." Mahad said after a pause.
"He was right, though. It's time I act like the Prince I am."
"Who said you weren't before?"
Atem was stunned.
Mahad smiled sadly.
"Before you were born, your mother, the Queen, made it clear you were to have a normal childhood. She didn't wish to place the burden of the crown on you at a young age, just as your father. She wished for you to be a child for as long as possible. Training for the crown and lessons on politics wouldn't be until you were in your teenage years so you could have a smooth transition to the throne."
Atem smiled sadly.
"The Queen's death affected the King greatly. I guess he forgot the promise they both made to give you a normal childhood. You weren't supposed to make your debut till you were seventeen or eighteen."
"Mahad," he said.
Mahad nodded.
"I think I messed up."
"What do you mean, Prince?" Mahad asked.
"I was mean to Mana earlier. I was frustrated, and with her comment, I just exploded."
Mahad placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It's neither of your faults. Mana shouldn't have made such a comment, and you aren't used to having such weight on your shoulder. However, I do suggest you both apologize."
Atem slouched.
"She probably hates me. To make things worse, I can't call her to apologize. She's probably halfway to Switzerland already."
"I wouldn't speak so soon," Mahad added.
"What do you mean? Wait- is she here?" Atem asked hopefully.
Mahad nodded.
"She told me what she did and felt she didn't deserve to go on the ski trip while you stayed here. She said if you suffered, so did she."
Atem smiled.
"I wouldn't burst in her room, though. She is still upset about what happened." Mahad frowned.
"Leave it to me," Atem said.
Standing up, Atem began to make himself ready to run towards Mana's room when he froze.
He turned to face Mahad with a nervous gaze.
"You think my father will notice my absence?"
Mahad smirked.
"I think you've done enough for tonight. Go enjoy being a child, Prince."
Atem gave a thumbs up to Mahad and took off.
It hadn't been five minutes since Atem had vanished from the courtyard when the King appeared next to Mahad.
"Mahad, have you seen Atem?"
Mahad nodded.
"Yes, I have," he said, turning to face the King.
King Aknamkanon noticed Mahad's serious gaze and instantly knew what had occurred.
With a sigh, King Aknamkanon nodded gently.
"Very well. Perhaps I've been too hard on Atem."
"Do not blame yourself, my King. You were merely trying to do your best." Mahad replied.
"Still, Atem shouldn't have been thrust into this world like this. I failed to see how much weight would have affected him." King Aknamkanon dully added.
"He doesn't blame you, my King."
King Aknamkanon smiled sadly.
"I suppose he has fulfilled enough for today. If you manage to see him again, can you tell him that he is free to join the ball or go back to his room? Either way, tell him to enjoy the rest of his night."
Mahad nodded.
"Will do, my King."
Outer edge of the Palace's Botanic Garden
Atem throws a small pebble at the large windows.
"Psst! Mana!" he says, trying not to alert the guards.
No answer from the other side of the windows.
He throws another pebble with more force this time.
"Mana!" he says again.
Having enough, he throws with all his strength another pebble, only this time she opens her window.
"I was in the bathroom! What do you want- agh!" Mana screams as she ducks the pebble.
Something shatters from inside, causing Atem to wince.
Multiple footsteps run towards Mana's window, making Atem hide behind some rose bushes.
"Is something wrong, Mana?" one of the bodyguards asked. Another four bodyguards search the small garden, and just about when one is about to find Atem's hiding space, Mana says, "Yes, everything is fine. I just broke something in here, that's all."
The bodyguards nod at her and go back to their regular posts.
Mana waits till everyone is out of range before announcing, "Okay, you can come out now."
Atem slowly crawls out of the bushes and smiles sheepishly.
"Thanks," he says but notices Mana's slight frown.
Atem and Mana look at each other, nervous and ashamed of themselves.
"I'm sorry." they both say at the same time.
They both look at each other in shock before bursting out laughing.
"I'm sorry. You go first." Atem said with a small smile.
Mana sighed.
"I'm sorry for saying that comment earlier. I didn't mean it." She stops and frowns.
"I guess I was mad seeing how unbothered you were acting. You weren't upset that you weren't coming with me to Switzerland. That made me so mad that I forgot to check up on how you were feeling."
Quietly she added, "After your mother died, you became so good at masking your emotions."
Atem frowned sadly.
"I'm sorry for snapping earlier. It wasn't my intention to hurt you."
Mana smiled sadly.
"I forgave you a long time ago, Atem."
"Friends?" he asked nervously.
"The best," she replied.
Mana cautiously lowered a rope down her window so Atem could climb up.
Once inside her room, he asked, "Why didn't you go to Switzerland?"
"And leave you here all alone? Not a chance! We made a promise to always stick together." Mana replied with a grin.
"Thank you." Atem sincerely said.
They chatted for a bit before they decided to play a board game.
After a while, she groaned.
"I'm bored."
Atem smirked.
"You only say that because you're losing."
Mana rolled her eyes.
She looked at the clock and smirked.
"It's just 9:30 pm. Want to crash the ball?"
Atem shook his head.
"I don't think that's a wise idea."
Mana sighed.
"I wanted to prank Seto tonight."
Atem raised an eyebrow at her.
"Why?"
Mana grinned evilly.
"I heard that the Princess of Greece was attending tonight's ball."
Atem was silent for a moment before replying, "Suddenly, I want to crash a ball."
Ballroom
Mana choked back a laugh from behind the tall plants of the palace as she and Atem watched Seto spit his drink on Kisara's white sparkling dress.
Perhaps they had filled up Seto's teacup with salt instead of sugar.
"He's crying!" Mana managed to say as Atem laughed from behind her.
Seto continued to cough as if he was drowning. Kisara began to smack him on the back roughly, and soon a crowd surrounded them.
"Son! Son! What's wrong!" Diplomat Aknadin said as he rushed to his son's side.
The Greece King grunted as he took a stand next to his daughter.
"Just sipping tea causes him to act like this? Imagine when he becomes the advisor? What foolishness will he cause then?" the Greece King said sarcastically.
Diplomat Aknadin glared at the Greece King.
"How dare you talk about my son that way! At least I'm not presenting my whore's child to the public as my legitimate heir!"
The crowd gasped.
The Greece King's face redded in anger.
"Why you!"
Atem paled at the commotion occurring.
"Mana-I think we took this too far."
However, Mana wasn't listening. Her attention was somewhere else.
"Look! Now it's Shimon's turn!"
Both watched as Shimon looked at the display of chocolates on the tray. Rubbing his hands, he began to eat them one by one before the Atlantic King appeared.
"What are you doing?! I gave those chocolates as a present to King Aknamkanon!" Dartz angrily said.
"Then why were they on the tray?" Shimon asked.
"I don't know! You tell me! You probably opened the box and tried to pass them up as treats for the guest so you could eat them!"
"Oh please, like I would do that."
"Yes, you would. Seeing you have a pregnant woman's stomach."
"WHAT!" Shimon yelled.
"You heard me, Grandpa!"
"Who are you calling Grandpa?!"
Both men began to insult each other, causing Mana to giggle.
Heck, even Atem had never seen Shimon so angered at being called fat.
Both heard a screech from across the ballroom, and the scene was enough for Mana and Atem to pee themselves.
"Who did this!"
In the center of the room was Prince Bakura, with his hair all colored in hot pink.
"I didn't expect anyone to walk below the closet door." Atem laughed.
They had both hid a small balloon filled with coloring under one of the many closet doors of the palace.
Perhaps Bakura was on his way to venture into a romantic session with some lady when the balloon claimed him as its victim.
"It was you guys, wasn't it!" Bakura pointed at Karim and Shada.
Both teenagers raised an eyebrow.
"As much as I want to claim the credit, sadly, it wasn't me," Karim replied.
"Nor me," Shada added.
"You're lying!" Bakura yelled before grabbing a cup full of wine and throwing it at them.
Sadly he had missed by a long shot, and the wine landed on the Princess of England.
She yelled in terror, and before Mana and Atem knew it, everyone was throwing drinks and food at each other.
"I think we should go now," Mana muttered.
"Yeah," Atem replied, and both slowly and quietly sneaked away from the commotion.
Making sure they were far away from sight. Both burst out laughing.
"That was amazing!" Mana said as she hugged her stomach.
"I was not expecting things to get so wild!" Atem added.
Both were quiet for a moment before noticing Maximillion Pegasus making his way to the ball with a massive smile on his face. His wife, Lady Cecelia Pegasus, wore a nice beige gown.
Both of them were late to the ball.
Mana stared in horror at Lord Pegasus's red outfit before leaning over to Atem.
"Don't you think Lord Pegasus looks like a clown in that outfit?" Mana pointed out.
"Mana, he might hear us!" Atem whispered.
"What? I'm just saying," she muttered.
"What did we say about shit-talking, children?" Mahad scowled from behind them.
Both Mana and Atem yelped and turned around to see Mahad with a slight scowl on his face.
"Mahad!" they both yelped.
"Oh, you both are in so much trouble," Mahad smirked, causing both Mana and Atem to gulp.
Suddenly Mana pointed out, "Hey why is your bottom lip red?"
"And why is Lady Isis hiding behind the fountain?" Atem added.
Mahad's face turned red as soon as Mana and Atem began to grin evilly.
The following day Atem and Mana had found out that seven countries had declared war on each other.
King Aknamkanon had been up since early morning trying to bring peace between the nations again.
By noon King Aknamkanon had succeeded by inviting everyone again to a peaceful ball where everyone could make up with one another.
To Mana and Atem's surprise, they weren't punished for the pranks they had pulled at the ball.
In fact, no one had managed to find out who the culprit was that pulled all those pranks.
Mana and Atem were just lightly scowled for roaming the palace late at night without a guard.
Bringing his lunch plate next to Mana's, Atem took a seat beside her.
They both opted to eat lunch out on the balcony overlooking the courtyard.
Mana smiled at him.
"Did Seto figure out we pranked him?" she asked.
Atem shook his head.
"No, and I hope he doesn't."
Mana laughed.
"You know, before Mahad escorted us to our rooms last night, I saw Princess Kisara kiss Seto outside in the courtyard."
"Kiss? Seto?" Mana said in disgust.
"I wonder why," Atem said.
Mana was silent for a moment before she gently grabbed one of his cheeks and kissed him softly on the lips.
Letting him go, Mana hummed.
"I don't see what's so special," Mana concluded before returning to eat her lunch.
Atem, on the other hand, had turned red as a tomato.
Note(s):
Cover artwork is by Siosiri on Tumblr.
The setting of the ball was 1936.
Author's Note:
Thank you very much yu-gi-ow on Tumblr for inspiring this fanfiction. I saw one of their fanarts and I was sold. This story was on my computer as a slight draft. I never intended to make it a story. It was just a document with a story idea. I still don't know what made me change my mind- but oh well.
I had to publish this story a week ahead since I'll be leaving town for Thanksgiving. I'll be leaving tomorrow and won't be back till I don't know when.
So... to my fellow Americans, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. To my international readers, have a lovely day. 3
On another note, someone messaged me the other day saying if they could use my story plot for their Yu-Gi-Oh! book with their ship, Revolutionshipping. I said no. They then proceeded to request if I could write Revolutionshipping content. Again, I said no.
Like what the heck?
It's like me going to some Revolutionshipping author and saying, "Hey can you write Vaseshipping stories?" or "Hey, I like your book about a reincarnated princess. Can I use it for my Vaseshipping book?"
No people. You don't do that. You have a great brain full of ideas ready to burst. Come on, use it. It's not cool to use the work of other people.
As they say, everyone can create millions of stories with the same foundation.
Also, this is a Vaseshipping content place. Perhaps a few Pleashipping, Peachshipping, & Mizushipping content, but the main focus is Vaseshipping.
If I shipped Revolutionshipping, I would have written fanfics about them and not about Atem and Mana.
Each person has their ships, and mine isn't Revolutionshipping. Please respect other people's ships.
The person still didn't take no for an answer and offered to pay me. Ladies and gentlemen, no, that is ILLEGAL!
I don't own anything from Yu-Gi-Oh!
All of this beautiful franchise belongs to Kazuki Takahashi and Konami.
I only write fanfictions for fun and to give more Vaseshipping content to people.
The person then proceeded to be extremely rude and mean. Criticizing why I even write Vaseshipping content.
They said I should be writing on the "canon ship" side rather than this bs ship.
Huh?
They said, and I quote, "Revolutionshipping is pretty much the same as Vaseshipping. I mean, Anzu sorta looks like the reincarnated version of Mana."
What?
Well, that was a weird experience. Don't worry. That person won't be bothering anyone anytime soon. :)
Glad we cleared that up. Because of this incident, I'm sad to say I don't think I'll ever be up to accepting requests.