Unusual Request
Set fled his chambers in the Temple after hearing those words, his head spinning with combined horror and disbelief. The horror came from how badly he'd treated Yuugi by calling someone else's name during their time together, and the disbelief came from having called another name, and Atem's on top of it. Either Yuugi was lying to him, which he somehow couldn't bring himself to believe, or he really did have such deep feelings for the Prince. None of that would help him sleep, and it was already time for the Palace lamps and lanterns to be put out for the night.
Before long, he found himself in the dark halls in the dungeons—and began searching the cells for Atem. The reason he found the right one so quickly...was because the blankets and food he'd been given were all sitting outside the bars, not in them with the one they'd been brought for. They were all within easy reach of the bars, but hadn't been touched. When he looked inside the cell, Atem was sitting slumped against the back wall, body limp and eyes staring blankly at the floor in front of him, face twisted in an expression of pain.
"Atem?" he asked tentatively.
"Go away!" the Prince fairly yelled in a broken, rough voice. It sounded like his voice had been overused earlier and was almost ready to give out, and a closer look showed Atem had been crying.
Pausing, Set asked, "Why haven't you brought the blankets into the cell? Even I can tell it's cold in here."
The other teen gave a snort and asked, "Why do you care? You don't give a damned about me now that Yuugi's here, and frankly, by the crime I committed, I should be executed. That's how order is maintained, isn't it? 'The light's' here, so 'the darkness' isn't needed anymore. Go ahead and replace me with Yuugi—everyone will be happier that way!"
Again, Set hesitated, but was actually shocked by the reason he did—he actually found himself so angry at Atem's absurdity he wanted to hit the Prince! Once he'd gotten the feeling under control, he retorted in anger, "Are you even sane after saying so many absurd things in one breath?"
The question produced extremely unstable laughter from the other young man, worrying Set. "Am I sane? Would I have tried to—to—rape—Yuugi, if I was?" And in the next moment, he broke down in tears. "What have I done...Yuugi, what have I...?"
And Set realized why Atem was still in the dungeon. "Did you...were you...not actually...intending to hurt Yuugi, but to break yourself with what you did?"
"Heh, where's your sanity, High Priest Set, asking me such a thing?" As Atem looked up at him, what Set saw reminded him eerily of a lion on the prowl, going in for the kill. There was no longer any question—Atem had shattered himself by harming Yuugi, and even he was too distraught to see it.
Drawing the Rod from his belt at his back, Set held it up and focussed on Atem, saying, "Get up and come here."
The Prince's eyes went completely blank as he rose and stumbled to the bars, where Set released him from the Rod's hold—and reached through the bars in an instant to slap Atem across the face as hard as he could. The smaller teen lifted his hand to his now-sore cheek, eyes becoming clear as he stared at Set in shocked amazement. Once he was sure Atem was calm, Set rested his hand on his shoulder.
"Did you...just hit me?" Atem asked in surprise.
The High Priest's gaze softened. "I had to—you were starting to not even make logical sense anymore. Yes, what you did was bad, but...you regret it, don't you? It isn't something you'll ever do again, or you're a fool, and even Yuugi...even after what you did to him, he was still trying to protect you. The only reason you're in the dungeons is to cool down, not because anyone is going to do anything to you, and all of us...even as confused as we are by your behavior...we all still care about you. At the same time, Yuugi alerted us to a very serious problem...That the two of you look so much alike we've pretty much all gotten some of our feelings for one of you confused with our feelings for the other. Part of what happened could have been prevented if we'd been aware sooner of how we were 'moving' our feelings. And I suspect, if there really is another man you know who looks like me...your feelings are somewhat confused, too."
Atem went tense and asked, "How do you know that?"
"Yuugi told me there was a man in his homeland who looks like me, and it's that man he has feelings for. It turned into flat-out rejection," Set answered with a wryly amused grin.
"...You don't seem too bothered by it..." the Prince commented slowly.
With a shrug, the older teen said, "I haven't had much time to consider it yet, given this current mess. He was just...sure it wasn't him I had those feelings for."
"Then don't come here!" Atem suddenly glared, pulling back, dropping his hand from his sore cheek, and heading back for the rear wall.
His attitude made Set mad, so he threatened, "Do I have to use the Rod again, to make you come back here and face me?"
"There's nothing to face when you smell like sex," Atem hissed. "So much for 'rejection'." He threw himself against the wall, turned his back to it, and dropped to the hard, stone floor of the cell.
"That's not—"
"Don't try to tell me it was someone other than Yuugi!" the Prince answered, a glare in his eyes—a glare which was trying desperately to cover deep pain, like he'd been stabbed through the heart.
"Atem, that was because of what you did to him," Set glared. "He didn't have the strength or the desire to stop me until he'd gotten over the shock of what happened. As soon as he did, he told me simply it won't happen again. Don't jump to the worst possible conclusion when you don't know anything about what's happened in the last half a day."
"Heh..." Atem snorted, looking down at the ground. "Just...go away. I don't want to know, or hear, or see, anything else. So just...go away."
"But if you don't—"
"Go away!" the Prince yelled, holding his hands to his head and hunching.
After a silence, the High Priest sighed and said, "This isn't over, Atem." He then walked away, realizing the other teen—through his own carelessness—had just been put back into the shattered, insane state he'd been trying to get him out of.
As he was wondering what else he could do or where else he could go in the now-dark Palace, Set suddenly stopped and stared. He was in one of the outer halls, the ones open to the air, and that fact meant there was some light, a light which made everything look like shades of gray. Except, not too far ahead of him, a pale, yellow-orange light shone on the stone—and a human—around it.
Silently approaching the person, Set was surprised to see the Pharaoh holding a lamp and staring worriedly out at the area past the half-wall. "My Pharaoh, are you well?" he asked from a respectful distance—outside sword range.
The older man tensed and spun to face him, then relaxed when the light shone on Set's face and clothing. "High Priest, how unusual. I thought you would be tending the boy, given my son's inability to do so." The light reflecting off the Millennium Puzzle the Pharaoh wore drew Set's eyes and he had to force himself to focus again on the man's face.
"Yuugi is sleeping, or should be at this hour," Set answered the indirect question. "As should you, My Pharaoh."
"And you as well, as you apparently rose too quickly to remember a lamp," the older man replied in mild amusement.
Shaking his head wanly, the High Priest answered, "No, this was somewhat accidental. I left Yuugi to rest and went to visit His Highness, and had intended on leaving before dark fell, but...things rarely go as planned."
"Certainly, of late more than ever," the Pharaoh agreed, his expression becoming worried as he turned back to the view over the half-wall.
"What seems to be the matter?" Set asked with a worried frown.
"The dignitaries from the north come tomorrow, and my son was supposed to be present as one of the representatives of our land, but in his current condition...I doubt he would be capable of doing so, even were he not in the dungeons..." the man admitted with a tired sigh.
"...What would be required of the Prince during the meetings?" the High Priest asked in a thoughtful tone.
"Nothing much, mainly just to be present. He may have a question or two directed at him, but those would be random at worst and non-existent at best. At this point, he would not even have a requirement to sign a treaty or trade agreement. Why?" the Pharaoh asked, looking back at Set questioningly.
"Yuugi can fill in for the Prince for a day, or for two, if it becomes necessary," Set replied. He knew he was putting a lot of faith in Yuugi being Atem's future incarnation, but it was their best bet to preserve the peace. After all, the only way both the Prince and Pharaoh would be needed in the meetings, even just for show, was if it was an absolute requirement.
"Can a common child truly fill the role of the Prince should he be asked questions?" the older man asked in concern, sitting down on the half-wall and holding the light above his head so he could see the High Priest better.
Set stepped forward and bowed, then said, "My Pharaoh, I have reason to believe Yuugi will be able to do this. Dressed as the Prince, he would look so much like him even we would have difficulty telling the two apart, and he is a highly intelligent young man. More, the bond he and Atem share, and some of the things Yuugi is aware of as a result, lead me to think they have shared many personal events and lessons with each other, so the younger of them should be able to give a believable response if he is asked any questions. I would not suggest him if I felt it would be a detriment to you. However, there is one thing..."
"And that is?"
"Yuugi may legitimately see something neither you nor the Prince would notice, My Pharaoh, so please, if he has something he must tell you during a break in the meetings, hear him out, listen to his words as you would your son's. He will not ask things which are fool's questions or say things which are irrelevant to the situation."
For a minute, the man sat quietly and thought about Set's words, lowering the lamp to his knee as he did. He then looked up at the younger man and said, "I would like to meet with him to ask him personally if he would be willing to help. If he is so willing, I will take your words into consideration."
"Very well. This way, My Pharaoh," the High Priest agreed, turning to lead the way to his chambers in the Temple.
When they got there, the Pharaoh sat at the table without being asked or offered, and said, "I will wait here while you wake him."
With a nod and bow, the High Priest went into his sleeping chamber, where Yuugi slept on the cushions. Shaking his shoulder gently, he grinned as the smaller boy scrunched up his face while waking, something like a young child or an animal would do. He then leaned close to him and said softly, "Sorry to wake you, but the Pharaoh has a problem he needs to discuss with you."
"Huh...?" Yuugi asked sleepily. "The Pharaoh...with me? Why?"
"Because Atem currently can't fill his role, but he's needed to keep the peace. And that means you need to help us," the High Priest explained as he rose and went to the boxes where he stored his clothes, looking for something which would fit Yuugi.
"...You mean, pretend to be the Prince?" Yuugi gasped, sitting up suddenly as he came wide awake.
Having found a decent robe, Set faced the boy again and threw it so it landed on Yuugi's head. Yuugi yelped in surprise and pulled it off him as the High Priest replied, "It'll only be for a day, maybe two, and most of what you'll need to do is just be present for the discussions, not to participate in them. You don't have to sign anything, and if you're asked a question, which you probably won't be, I'm sure you can divert it or answer it well enough for them to be satisfied."
"But Set, I've never done anything like this before!" Yuugi gasped.
The older teen met his gaze evenly and said, "I know, and I know you aren't a fool, Yuugi. I wouldn't have made the offer if I didn't think you'd be able to do it. The other Priests and I can teach you some things you'll need to do or ways to behave or other similar things tomorrow morning. And you need to talk with the Pharaoh."
With a sigh, Yuugi pulled the robe on and got up to follow the High Priest into the main room, where the Pharaoh was waiting. "This is Pharaoh Ahknemkhanen," Set said to Yuugi, then to the older man, he said, "This is Prince Atem's guest, Yuugi."
The older man nodded, and indicated Yuugi should sit across from him, so the smaller teen did, sitting straight and looking into the man's eyes evenly, waiting quietly for the conversation to begin. After a silence, to Set and Yuugi's surprise, the Pharaoh smiled. "Did no one ever teach you to bow to the nobility?" the Pharaoh asked, his tone sounding completely amused.
Yuugi smiled wryly and said, "No, it's not that...actually, in my homeland, to be 'properly polite' you have to bow to everyone around you at all times. The thing is...I traveled a lot, and many other kingdoms near my homeland had no such rules about politeness, and a lot of people were more likely to bow to me than to make me bow to them. Some of them even got mad at me for bowing. That's why I stopped."
Blinking in surprise, the man asked, "Were you a noble after all?"
Shaking his head, the boy replied, "I was a commoner who also happened to be so good at games no one could beat me. One game in particular was taken up by nearly all the kingdoms nearby, so when I was...er...forced to join the tournaments for it, and won them, I got to be really popular in all those kingdoms. Everyone knew me."
For a minute, Ahknemkhanen was silent, then asked—to Set's surprise—of the boy, "Has my son taught you common games in this kingdom, and if so, has your ability to win continued here?"
"Atem has been teaching me some of them, like the one with the lights, and unless I lose on purpose, I've either won or tied with him. To help me learn actual control over my power, Set turned my lesson into a game of manipulating balls of water. What he and I have been doing in my lessons was eerily similar to a game Atem showed me, and played with me nearly every evening since I got here. That one, it's harder when Set and I play it because of the lesson rules, but with Atem, about half the time we draw and half the time I win. I lost once on purpose because I was tired and didn't want to play anymore. Why would that matter, though?"
"He taught you...the Royal's Hand?" the Pharaoh asked in surprise.
"Yes...Was he not supposed to?" Yuugi asked in concern.
"Apparently, if the High Priest is also aware of the game, it has extended beyond just the nobility," the man replied in amusement.
"You can thank Vizier-Priest Akhenaten for teaching me the game in question—he said as the High Priest, I was now included amongst the nobility," Set answered the implied question. Yuugi looked amused by the answer.
The Pharaoh nodded. "I thought something to the effect had been the case," he said to the High Priest, then turned his gaze back to Yuugi. "If you know it, that is all to the good, since he also taught you a required skill of a Prince of Egypt. May I hear your best approximation of royal speech, in the event you may need to speak to the northern delegates?"
"Eh?" the boy blinked in surprise, then paused to think about how he would reply. Once he had, he asked carefully, "What, exactly, would you like me to say?"
Set blinked in surprise as the Pharaoh considered the question, then said, "You say you are highly skilled at 'games' in your homeland. What kinds of 'games' do you mean? Dangerous ones, ones based on luck, ones which require strategy, ones which the Gods command, or others entirely?"
Yuugi's expression became wryly amused. "All kinds of games. Ones which take place in the Shadow Realm, ones which are pure luck, ones which require planning and tactics, puzzles of all sorts, and once, even a judgment by a deity like Ma'at. Many of them were dangerous, sometimes where my grandfather or friends were in danger, and a few times where whole kingdoms stood to be destroyed. None of them were games I could afford to lose, but I had always been interested in games since I was a small child, and knew how to play most of them. Even when faced with a game I knew nothing about, I was able to adapt quickly and win the game regardless. Part of it could be simple luck, but...my 'luck' goes well beyond normal boundaries. In my homeland, there are those who feel I have the God of Luck's hand on me, and others think I have even cheated, but whenever they try to challenge me, no matter the setting or suddenness, I still find the strength and skill to win. When we have been forced to set foot in old, trap-ridden temples and tombs, I can only be thankful for my knowledge and luck in games."
The High Priest went cross-eyed as Ahknemkhanen smiled and asked, "Have you got a heel-bone at hand, High Priest Set?"
"Yes, My Pharaoh, just a moment," the younger man said, going to one of his shelves of objects and scanning it. A moment later, he returned with the object.
Holding it out towards Yuugi, the older man said, "This is a simple game of pure luck. We each roll three times, alternating, unless there is a draw on all three rolls or one win, one loss, and a draw for each of us. Each side is numbered, from one to six. The winner of each pair of rolls is the one with the lower number. Winning two or more rolls is the requirement to win."
"It sounds fairly simple. Are there terms to this, or are you merely testing my luck?" Yuugi asked shrewdly.
Again, the Pharaoh smiled. "You are alert. Yes. If you lose this 'game', I will let my brother have you for one day, on the restriction that he is not allowed to take your life. I trust, with the way he has been presented to you by the other Guardian-Priests and my son, you will find that sufficient incentive to allow your luck to flow. If you win, you may state a term you would like fulfilled."
"...Would it be more practical for me to state it now, so you can tell me if you even have the capability of granting the term?" Yuugi asked in a dry tone.
"There is such a term for the Pharaoh?" the man asked in obvious surprise.
"Just, for example, I could ask you to return me to my homeland," the boy said in a quiet tone—and the man's eyes widened. "Because the Gods brought me here, though, that is a term you would be unable to fulfill, even were I to demand it."
"He has a valid point, My Pharaoh," the High Priest commented. "Since he has already given a clear example of something neither you nor any man in this land could grant him."
After a silence, the Pharaoh nodded. "Very well. State the term now, and I will inform you if it is within my power to give you."
That time, it was Yuugi's turn to fall silent. Then, after a minute, he said softly, "Atem has someone he cares for very much, but normally, if the relationship were to develop, others would have issue with it. If they ever...begin a relationship, and keep it between themselves and possibly a few trusted friends, please, either give them your blessing or turn a blind eye to it."
Both Set's eyes and Ahknemkhanen's widened at that, then the man asked, "Not a term for yourself?"
"My time here is limited," Yuugi replied. "Atem will make much better use of any agreement than I will, and also...even after what happened earlier, I care deeply for him, and I want him to be able to be happy when I leave again. That...would also be better for all of your people...the people Atem will one day rule."
For a minute, the man was silent, then nodded and asked, "And the name of the one he cares for?"
"I must say it for your ears alone," Yuugi informed the man shrewdly.
"Why?" Set frowned.
"Because both that person and Atem have issues independently and with each other to resolve first," the boy told Set with a gaze which unnerved him and made him look away.
"Very well," the Pharaoh agreed, beckoning Yuugi over to him. Yuugi went around the table to the man and leaned down to whisper in his ear. The man's eyes widened in complete shock, then he sighed and nodded. "I agree to your term. Shall we begin, then?"
Yuugi went back to his seat and sat as he said, "Yes."
With that, the Pharaoh cast the first roll of the 'die'.