Witness
As much as Atem wanted to be free of the emotion, he couldn't just assume he was ready to let it go. The next day, he gave some serious consideration to the issue, paying very little attention during his lessons, and only becoming fully involved in a meeting with Set after lunch.
"Something is bothering you," the High Priest said as he watched Atem pace from where he sat at the table.
"Mahad thought Time Wizard, at Shada's request, could help make my emotions less...powerful, less immediate, so they don't interfere with my state of mind so much, but he also said it would only work if I was ready to let them go, to let them become distant," the Prince explained, still pacing.
"And what about that has you so riled, then?"
"Am I ready to let them go, and what happens if I think I am, but I'm actually not?"
"If you aren't sure of your position on that or all the terms, I think the first thing you should do is talk to Shada to get those full terms, then make your decision," Set informed him simply.
"But if I let them go..." Atem began at a murmur.
"You'll still be yourself, just a self not controlled by them," the High Priest replied dryly. "And I do think it might help, assuming you're ready to let go of them, so talk to Shada and make a decision."
"...Thank you, but I need a bit more time before talking with him, to decide if I even actually want to...let it all become distant," the Prince returned with a grateful smile, turning to the taller young man and giving him a hug.
The hug was readily returned, offering comfort—and a desire for more intimacy. Since Atem wasn't ready to so much as speak with the Priest of Anubis, the two took the time for each other, instead.
PA-HPS-YM-SK
Since no one was paying any attention to Yuugi that day, he went out to the stables with the intent to look at some of the other horses and say hello to Shakir again. Rather than that, when he arrived, dismayed stable hands were watching the roan and black horse prance around in the corral, especially trying to get a white mare's attention—and she was pointedly ignoring him. Yuugi chuckled and climbed into the corral, where he walked right into the prancing stallion and wrapped his arms around Shakir's neck.
"Hello again, Shakir," he said quietly as the horse stopped and dipped his head down to snuffle against his shoulder and back, and even in his hair a bit. "Yes, it's me. Having trouble impressing the lady over there?" Shakir gave a half-angry and half-sad whinny which made Yuugi chuckle again. "How about we go for a ride, then, and you can try again when we come back? Maybe she'll want company more by then."
The big horse snuffled against him again, so the boy took it as agreement and let go of Shakir's neck to hop up onto his back and call to the now-amused stable hands, "Open the gates to the desert, please." Shakir gave a clear squeal of joy, so one of the younger boys ran over to get the appropriate gates open. As soon as they were, Yuugi urged the stallion forward, and Shakir bolted like an arrow launched from a bow.
They were outside and riding across open wilds, stone and rolling dunes, and scrub brush, all of it flying by. The boy had no time to register what any one thing was before it was gone again. He felt like he was flying—he'd actually forgotten for awhile how much he loved riding, since it had been three years since his last visit to his Egyptian relatives. Riding with Shakir now reminded him of that, and he smiled as he let the horse run, let him choose his own path as he rode bare-back and without a halter or reigns. It felt right.
Suddenly, they came to an oasis several feet from the top of a wadi, and Shakir stopped to get a drink. Yuugi slid off the stallion's back, frowning in confusion as he wondered why there was an oasis at the top of the ravine usually water would flow through the bottom of and which were riddled with caves. It was very odd. Then, he looked out towards the edge of the wadi and saw one of Set's Bennus sitting quietly on a rock outcropping there, looking down into the ravine.
To Shakir, he whispered, "Stay here, all right? I just want to see what's wrong with the Bennu." The horse gave an agreeing snort, so Yuugi walked softly out to where the Bennu was—and about four feet from the edge of the wadi, just before his shadow would have fallen down into the ravine, he heard something.
Freezing, the teen listened carefully and heard someone snarl, "Took you long enough." It was barely loud enough to hear, so he crouched down and crept forward, looking for a path down into the wadi, otherwise he couldn't risk looking over the edge, or his shadow would give him away. There was an indent nearby, where the ground dropped down without going into a path down, so he could crouch in there to hide his shadow.
"It's not like we can just recover from the deaths of nearly three thousand slave troops," another voice sneered in return as Yuugi slipped into the indent. Carefully, he peeked over the edge and saw two men below him. One dressed in Egyptian clothing of the current age, but the other dressed in modern clothes by Yuugi's standards, both in pale colors.
"Proof," the first snarled again.
"You first. It isn't as though we need you to take over here and now with our technology," the second man replied, drawing a gun lazily and pointing it at the first.
Yuugi watched in something like horror as the first man began shifting and changing to have beaded skin, a forked tongue, and thick, black claws in place of nails. He couldn't see if the eyes changed at that distance. Then, when the first had finished changing, the second also began changing, taking on the same traits—only his were less pronounced, almost diffused. Was that simply an evolution over time, or from something else?
Swallowing hard, he watched them hiss-laugh at each other, then they switched languages and he couldn't understand them anymore. What language was that? Did it matter? He moved his eyes away from them directly so he was looking above their heads instead, knowing staring at someone would cause them to sense the presence, the eyes on them.
What he had forgotten was to pay attention to his surroundings.
A hand gripped the cloth at his neck, and he was thrown to the ground a few feet away, surrounded by four of those reptile-things. He had no further time to assess anything as he felt something sharp penetrate his shoulder, passing straight through to the ground below. Crying out in pain, Yuugi looked over at the object weakly to see a sword similar to a scimitar, and the blade was anchoring his shoulder to the ground.
Oh, that was bad.
Through his pain, he glanced around at them quickly, seeing details of their appearance he hadn't seen at a distance. Their eyes were slit-pupilled, but ranged in color like any human's eyes, and their tongues weren't all snake-like, but their faces had a lizard-ish look to them, despite how human they seemed to be. Their skin was largely tan a bit darker than Yuugi's, but he could see faint hues of other colors in the beading, like green, black, brown, and even a bit of red on one of them. Otherwise, they seemed to have a human-like appearance and stance. How had he not even thought of the possibility of guards or patrols...?
Suddenly, he felt a tearing sensation in his chest and agony flared, causing him to give a cry of pain. They traded a few words in that other language, sounding amused, then turned their attention back to him with much more sinister expressions.
"What were you doing there, child?" one of the four asked him.
"Was...riding...stopped for rest...heard strange noise in wadi..." he whispered, having the sense to just not lie blatantly when they'd caught him in that dip in the ridge.
"Well, now you belong to us, as our slave," one of the other ones informed him. "It's one less Egyptian in our way."
"What...?" Yuugi asked in confusion, trying to hold still against the blade and the continued tearing sensation he was feeling. What was that tearing, what was causing it?
"Your people have been in our way for a long time. When we opened a portal to others of our kin, we found some others—ones much stronger, with much more power, with abilities and knowledge we don't have. Now, they're helping us fight you, and your people still managed to destroy an army...So we have a lot of suffering to pay you back for, don't worry," the first one informed him.
It came to him that these lizard-people were the ones who had been on the ridge, they'd just all been in human forms—or those people hadn't had lizard forms, since they'd been called slaves. They were also being a little openly free with information...then again, they weren't expecting him to escape. If he was entirely honest with himself, as long as he had a sword in his shoulder he wouldn't be able to escape, so maybe they had some right to that.
Suddenly, hooves collided with one of the lizard-people, even as a fierce, angry whinny sounded, and before the other three had time to react to the first having a crushed skull, Shakir had already turned on a second of them, trampling them. The other two drew blades to attack the horse, expressions those of seething anger and hatred—but were never able to attack the beast.
The reason: both fell to the ground with their throats slit.
"Little Prince!" a voice called to him, and Yuugi felt the sword being yanked from his shoulder, causing him to give a strangled, pained cry.
It was a struggle for him to open his eyes as he felt himself being lifted and hands pressing cloth to his injuries, but when he did, he was able to see at least five Shadow Guards gathered around him. They were quickly and efficiently binding his injury, so he closed his eyes again with a whispered thanks to the men.
"Don't sleep yet!" one called to him. "Open your eyes."
At the order, Yuugi sleepily opened them a bit, eyes drifting around absently—and saw a Shadow Guard a few feet away and facing away from the group take a sudden step back. "We have to leave this place quickly!" he told them urgently. "See if Shakir will take one of their bodies, and my stallion will be able to take one—the other two—"
"We have them. Can the little Prince be moved?" a different Guard outside Yuugi's view answered.
"Momentarily," one of the ones binding his injury said, then finished tying it. "Now."
Wait, how many Shadow Guards had come after him?
Unless he'd really misunderstood the High Priest's words, there should have only been two, maybe three, when Set had suggested he have Guards looking out for him...And why were they calling him 'Little Prince'?
He was lifted by the same Guard who had pulled the sword from his shoulder and carried, then he had a momentarily weightless sensation. Shortly thereafter, he felt the gait of a horse beneath him, but he was clearly being carried in the rider's arms. At least that infernal twisting and tearing in his body had dulled...But not stopped. What was it? There was something oddly familiar about it...
"Never seen a horse do that before..." one of the Shadow Guards called to another one. Yuugi was too tired and in too much pain to try to determine the speaker.
"If Shakir had been right beside him at the time, I'd have believed it, but...That was the reaction of a herd-master to a valued herd member in need of assistance and protection," another Shadow Guard called back. "Or of a mother protecting a foal. I'd not call Shakir any sort of 'mother'."
"Definitely not," the first Guard agreed. "I'm very glad he did it, though, or we'd never have had the ability to reach the little Prince."
"Why...?" Yuugi murmured, and felt the Guard holding him shift.
"Why what?" a near-by voice asked, as the chest he leaned against vibrated.
"Calling me...Little Prince...?"
"You have no idea how deeply that view has invaded the Palace, especially when the Pharaoh himself ordered the full guard for you His Highness has," the Guard replied dryly. "You have been adopted for the duration of your stay, Little Prince."
He chuckled at Yuugi's groan, but the boy said, "Please...call...Yuugi..." He was so tired, and he didn't think it came all from his injury or blood loss.
A cool hand rested on his forehead, then gave a concerned hiss, but the man answered, "We have chosen what title we feel you are worthy of, Little Prince."
"...Same as...Mahad..." the boy sighed, grateful to have his eyes closed and the cool hand on his forehead.
PA-HPS-YM-SK
Some time later, he was jolted awake as someone shouted loud enough to wake the dead, "Call for Priestess Isis! The little Prince was attacked and injured!"
Groaning a bit, Yuugi realized by the commotion that they must have returned to the Palace, which meant they'd allowed him to sleep. There was still the torn sensation inside his body, but it no longer felt like it was still being torn, and his shoulder ached while he was so hot...
"Yuugi!" Isis' familiar voice gasped, and he felt energy flowing into him, restoring some of his strength and easing the wound in his shoulder. "How did this happen?" she asked the Guards sharply.
"Those lizard-things attacked him when he stopped at an oasis above a wadi to let the horse drink," a Guard answered.
"I need poultices—the wound is too deep for me to heal entirely at once. You bound it well. The fever will continue for a time, while it works to heal him, but I need my apprentice to monitor the degree of fever—if it rises too high, we'll need to bring it down by force. He needs liquids, and lots of them, for the amount of blood he lost," Isis listed. "I want him in the patient's chamber next to mine until he can safely be moved back to the living quarters."
"We'll take him there, then," the Shadow Guard carrying him agreed.
"Yuugi!" a new voice yelled, Atem's voice. A hand took his firmly as the Prince's voice asked urgently, "Yuugi, why didn't you summon or fight back at all?"
"Couldn't..." the smaller teen murmured, and Atem hissed. "Sword...strange..."
"The sword was strange?" the Prince asked in confusion, still gripping his hand.
"Dark...twisting...tearing...Not piercing pain...other...what...?" At that point, Yuugi ran out of strength and fell unconscious again.
"Atem," Set said, taking Atem's hand and gently pulling it off Yuugi. "Let them take him to Isis for healing."
"But—!" Atem began in dismay. The Shadow Guard carrying the boy took the opportunity to leave.
"I know," the High Priest answered. When the smaller young man looked at him accusingly, he said, "I want nothing more than to gather him up and dump him in the nearest, deepest dungeon and throw away the key, if that's what it takes to keep him safe. Unfortunately, that won't keep him safe. We need him recovered, and he needs Isis and her apprentice for that."
Hands rested on Atem's shoulders as his father's familiar voice said, "I agree with that sentiment, Atem. Allow Priestess Isis to care for him." The Pharaoh left his hands there, gripping his son's shoulders in a way which Atem realized meant the older man saw Yuugi as another son. Ahknemkhanen was just as worried as Atem, fearing for a son's life.
"...Exactly...what are these creatures?" Karim's voice asked as he eyed the one draped over Shakir's back.
The others looked at him, then at the thing with the slit throat the horse had carried back to the Palace. Shakir began to protest the bleeding lizard-human being on him, so Atem held the horse still while Set and Karim took the lizard-human off its back, then released the stallion so he could return of his own accord to the corral.
"They're intelligent, and speak our language, as far as we could determine," one of the Shadow Guards informed them. "Our saving grace to save the little Prince was Shakir himself attacking them in defense of the boy, an action which took everyone by surprise and gave us opportunity to end the last two. They have much thicker skin than a human, but seem to be susceptible to the same methods of death. Only the little Prince knows what they discussed or how they fit in to this situation, however, as he is the one who spoke with them."
"Hey..." Atem began suddenly, making everyone look at him. "When did Yuugi become 'Little Prince' to everyone?"
Set's lips twitched as he said, "That's been building since he took over for you at the meetings, but I suspect the Pharaoh personally taking over his protection was what made it official. Others besides Mahad have now chosen the title for him. Jealous?"
"No, that just places him in more danger..." the Prince answered, rubbing his forehead tiredly. "What did he mean by the sword...?" Looking up, he asked, "Did any of the Shadow Guards think to bring the weapon back?"
"We tried," one Guard said, kneeling and bowing to the Crown Prince. "We couldn't touch it without feeling excruciating pain, even through cloth or a scabbard. I can't begin to imagine the agony the little Prince felt with it having cut into him and been left there for over a minute."
Groaning, Atem tipped his head back to stare skyward tiredly. "Then we have to wait for Yuugi to wake up, and to figure out what it was for himself..."
Everyone suddenly turned to stare at Set as one of his Bennus from the 'A Flock of Bennu' casting landed on his shoulder and began sending straight into the High Priest's mind the images of what it had seen and heard. Set soon looked ill, but the transmission had apparently ended as the bird vanished in the familiar way of a summoned spirit.
"Atem...Are you able to set Mirror Force around the Palace and city?" Set asked softly, eyes seeing something far away as he processed the bird's data.
"Why?" the Prince asked as everyone stared at him.
"I think we'll need it, since I don't think they want Yuugi to be able to tell us what he knows," the High Priest replied. "There was a witness—one of the enemy."
"Two, actually," one of the Shadow Guards said then. "One who was openly visible to us, the other not. But Mirror Force..."
"I can. As I said, I'm not sure of my range, but I suppose I'll find that out," Atem sighed, then closed his eyes and focussed.
A moment later, a wave of energy spread out from him, nearly as strong as the one Yuugi had put out a couple weeks before, and fell over Palace and city. He'd been able to reach the city wall, just as Yuugi had. Opening his eyes again, he gave a nod to Set, who returned it, and both ignored all the stares now directed at the Prince.
"Good, you have the same range," the High Priest sighed in relief. "And now, it's up to Isis, and to Yuugi. I hope you won't have to activate Mirror Force, though."
"Better safe than sorry," Atem told him. "You're right on that, and I doubt as much as you do that they would just let Yuugi reveal them to us any more than they already have been. Especially if it's true they're intelligent."
"Did the other one, the one who looked less reptilian and wore strange clothes, stay to watch what happened on the ridge, then?" Set asked the Shadow Guards.
"We don't know his appearance," the Guard who had known about the second presence answered.
"What do you mean by 'strange clothes'?" Atem blinked.
"...Similar, I suppose, to what Yuugi wore when the Gods first brought him here," Set replied, and blinked as Atem's eyes went huge.
"If he saw Yuugi, he's going to know exactly who he's dealing with..." the Prince said tersely. "Yuugi is a popular figure back home, and everyone knows what he looks like, and what his skills and powers are. If someone from his homeland saw him, our battle just got a lot harder."
"They know he can summon and such as well, when he didn't even know he could or realize what he was doing?" the High Priest asked in concern.
The question made Atem pause, then give a wry grin. "No, maybe they won't know that part. And if the Shadow Guards called him 'Prince' where they could hear, they might just think its coincidence we look alike and the one they attacked was me. Still..."
"The essential message is to be prepared for battle," the Pharaoh put in. "By the by...what was that Bennu doing here, High Priest?"
"I had called on their assistance to attempt to trace any further conflict at the hands of this enemy," Set replied, facing the Pharaoh with a small bow. "That one was witness to the events at the oasis and wadi. I am duly impressed with Shakir's protectiveness towards the younger Prince." The last point he said with a smirk at Atem.
"We don't actually know if Shakir would do the same for me, as I was never attacked while riding him," the Prince said dryly.
"Point taken—but it is still amusing," Set snickered, and Atem smiled in reply.