Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Gi Oh.
Here's the lemon you've waited so long for…
*Late Nights and Egyptian Wine*
"Late! You're late! Yami get up!" Bener yelled as she hurried across the room.
Yami's eyes were still closed tightly, he felt Athena shift under his arm. He was in a dream like state, still thinking about what had happened the night before.
Athena turned around to face him and placed a warm kiss on the tip of his nose. Yami smiled, he opened one eye slightly to see her, she was gleaming back at him, although, she still looked rather tired.
He moved in for another, longer kiss, but as soon as his lips met hers, he felt a cold hand on his shoulder. Pulling away, he turned around and shot an annoyed look at Bener.
Noticing how impatient Yami was becoming, Bener just laughed at him.
"I'm sorry Yami; none of that now. You have to get ready."
Ignoring her he went back in for another kiss, but Bener slapped him on the back of his head.
"I mean it!" She snapped at him. "Sorry Athena dear, I didn't mean to…interrupt." She added putting on a more pleasant face.
"Yami, you have to get dressed and you have to talk to Seth before the ceremony. And you know how long it takes to put on all that fancy stuff." She added matter of factly. "And Athena, I saw your dress, its beautiful. I don't suppose you will be able to get ready any faster."
Athena just looked from Bener to Yami and back to Bener. Did it really take all that long to get dressed for something like this? All her life all she had to do was slip on a clean wool dress, and she was good to go. She assumed that this wasn't the case for palace royalty.
All of a sudden, the door cracked open and a few heads popped in. Athena recognized one of them; it was Anzu.
"Come in girls." Bener beckoned them. "Yami, you are going to get ready in Malik's room. Us girls are going to take over in here."
"Ok, fine." He groaned as he got off the bed. There was no way in hell that he was going to stay in here with all these girls and their girly stuff. Before he left he kissed Athena on the cheek, and noticing her discomfort he added a soft word of encouragement.
"Everything's going to be fine. Don't be nervous." He whispered so that only she could here.
And with that, he walked swiftly out of the room. Athena sat on the bed, blushing slightly. All the girls were staring at her, smiling sweetly.
"Aww, Athena that was so cute!" Anzu squealed, walking closer to her. The other girls nodded in agreement.
Athena smiled. That was nothing compared to last night, she thought.
"Ok quickly now, we haven't got much time girls!" Bener said loudly.
All the girls were hustling around the room, and more servants came in bringing the make up the jewelry, the fine perfumes and the dress.
Instantly they began to crowd around Athena, pulling her up from the bed and dragging her over near the balcony where there was good light. Anzu laid the dress on the bed; Athena was trying to get a good look at it, but she was being smothered by servant girls who were pulling at her hair; brushing it and stringing gold beads through certain strands. Another girl came over and sprayed something on her that smelled like lilies, quite pleasing to the senesces. Was all this really necessary? She thought, as gold rings were placed on her upper arms, hugging them tightly.
Then after removing here simple linen gown, they slipped the beautiful dress on over her head, being careful not to mess up her perfectly done hair. The dress was that of golden pleats, with a white see-through pleated over dress; made of the finest spun linen that money could buy. Sewn into the linen were thousands of tiny lapis, turquoise, and gold beads. The white linen over dress hung loosely over her shoulders, almost covering up the beautiful gold bands that she wore. After Bener placed a scarab broach in the middle of Athena's chest, Anzu went behind her to clasp on the wonderfully decorated collar of gold and electrum that went around her and cut off at the shoulders, it was rather heavy.
Finally, she was ready. There was only one more thing to put on. Athena felt as though she was going to collapse under the weight of all that gold. But when Anzu opened the box that contained the last piece of jewelry Athena struggled to hold in a gasp.
"By Ra! Anzu, Bener… I-Is that-"
Bener nodded, "Yes, Yami wanted you to have it. He told us it was a surprise."
What Athena was staring at was the crown of the queen of Egypt. It was the same crown that the Goddess Isis wore. Anzu took it out of the box and placed it on Athena's head. The crown was golden, in the shape of a bird with its wings outstretched to hug the side of her head. Little gold strands dangled from the wings and hung down into her hair. If she didn't have her eyes painted with black make-up she would have cried.
Anzu smiled at her and led her over to a mirror. Athena gazed at herself, she was almost unrecognizable. Feeling a little uncomfortable she began fidgeting with the many bracelets on her wrists. Her gaze kept on resting on the golden crown that was on her head, she couldn't believe it, but she really did look like an Egyptian queen. Athena noticed Anzu coming up behind her, she turned around and smiled.
"I'm so happy for you Athena. Nobody deserves this more then you." She smiled as tears began building up in her eyes.
"No Anzu, I…well…thank you for being here for me. This is so hard." Athena was beginning to feel guilty. 'I don't deserve any of this.' She frowned.
"What's wrong?" Anzu asked her.
Quickly regaining her composure Athena beamed at her. "Oh, nothing. Just a bit nervous, that's all."
"Ok girls, everybody out! Hurry Yami will be back soon!" Bener yelled over the noise that the girls were making.
"I gotta go." Anzu grinned. "Good luck." She added, still seeing a bit of tension in Athena's face.
"Thanks." Athena muttered to her as Anzu left the room.
Bener walked over to Athena to give her some last minute prepping.
"Athena, you look beautiful. When you go out to the ceremony, all you have to do is smile and wave." She told her.
"Smile and wave. Got it." She repeated. Well, that didn't sound so hard. Then why was she still so nervous? "Thank you for everything Bener."
"You're very welcome child. I have to go now, lots more things to do." Bener walked out of the room, leaving Athena alone to worry about things even more.
Sighing, she carefully sat down on the chair next to Yami's bed, making sure not to mess up anything. She was thinking about today while she absentmindedly fidgeted with her bracelets again.
* * *
Yami too was having his own problems getting ready. Servants were pulling and tugging at his hair and his clothes, all the while Malik just sat back and sniggered to himself.
"Shut up Malik." Yami warned over the crowds of servants surrounding him.
"Ooh what are you going to do?" Malik snapped. "Come over here and whack me with your gold stick?"
"For your information it's called a crook. It's for ceremonial purposes. And no, I'm not going to hit you with it, I'd rather slit your throat with my dagger."
Malik shut up real fast. Yami was only joking; right? At this point he didn't know. Yami was so on edge about this ceremony, that Malik decided to heed his warning.
Yami's garb was the traditional Pharaoh get up. A white linen kilt with a golden silk sash tied around his waist. His upper body was mostly bare except for golden armbands, and a beautiful Nekhbet collar. Nekhbet was a symbol of protection for the Pharaoh; it was a vulture shaped necklace whose wings wrapped around the Pharaoh's neck protectively, warding off evil spirits.
Just under the golden collar the motif of the scarab pushing the solar disk could be seen. Its outer face was inlayed with colored glass and semi-precious stones. When the servants were done they put Yami's gold crown on. In the middle was carved an eye. It was the eye of Horus; the millennium eye.
The servants, after finishing their work, were dismissed by the Pharaoh with a graceful wave of his hand. Bowing to show their respect, they left the room.
"Praise the Gods! You're finally ready." Malik shouted throwing his hands in the air. "Here's you other little stick thingy." He said, handing Yami a gold staff that matched the other one he had in his hands.
"Thanks."
"So…How did things go last night?" He questioned as he nudged Yami with his elbow.
"None of your business." Yami snapped.
"Hey! I helped you out! I deserve to know." Malik retorted, "Besides; I'm your best friend." He figured that if he played his cards right maybe Yami would tell him everything.
"It was nice. I appreciate all you did for me." He said cordially.
"Details man, details!" Malik insisted while he adjusted the gold choker necklace that he always wore. He too was dressed a little nicer then usual. He had a gold snake shaped armband that coiled around his upper arm, emphasizing the nice muscle tone that was there.
"I don't have to tell you anything Malik."
"Yes you do." He stated simply.
Yami gawked at him. This boy had some nerve.
"Mind running that by me again? Did you just order me to do something, Malik?"
"Uh, no. I merely…Well I just wanted to-" Malik stuttered.
"Oh just give it up. I'm not telling you, and that's final!" Yami shouted.
Malik lowered his head and chuckled, he just realized something.
"So…was she good?" He stated quietly.
"Excuse me?" Yami didn't think Malik would have the nerve to go that far.
"Was she good?" He repeated louder.
"NO! Malik I swear to the Gods I'll have your head for that!"
"No? You mean she was bad?!"
"No that's not what I meant. We didn't do that. Malik you freak! And if we did I sure as hell wouldn't tell you!"
He looked at Malik who looked like he was about to cry from laughing so hard.
"Bastard." Yami muttered.
"Stud." Malik teased.
Yami didn't have the time to try and kill Malik now, plus, he didn't want to get his clothes all bloody.
* * *
Athena was pacing around the room, her nerves were getting the best of her. Bener had come back in the room offering her a trey of date cakes, but she was to nervous to eat so Bener left them sitting on the table by the bed.
"What's taking him so long?" She mumbled to herself, putting a piece of hair back in its place. Walking over to the chair she decided she should sit down, before she fell down. Resting her head in her hands her thoughts began to wander off. 'What if I mess up? Will he be angry?' He stomach began to hurt. Closing her eyes she continued to think of the worst possible scenario, until a nock on the door caused her to jump out of the chair.
"Come in." He throat was going dry, and it was becoming hard to talk.
Yami opened the door, but stopped dead in his tracks. 'By Ra.' His breath caught in his throat. Standing before him was someone so perfect, so amazingly beautiful; she looked like the Goddess Isis.
Unable to tear his eves away from her, he walked over and placed a hand on her face. He could feel her shake a little.
"What's wrong, my beautiful lotus?" He asked, bringing his hand down to rest on her shoulder.
"I'm so scared." She whispered hoarsely, fixing her gaze on him. If ever Yami looked like a God now was the time. It almost made her shudder at how gorgeous he was.
"Well, don't be." He smiled at her as he lifted her chin up. "You look, amazing."
She smiled back at him; her heart skipped a beat. It seemed as though now that he was with her, she felt a whole lot calmer. "Thank you." She said, her voice was coming back. "Thank you for everything." She placed her hand on the golden crown that she wore, signifying what she meant.
"You like it?" He asked her.
"Yami, it's beautiful."
"Yes it is, but it pales in comparison to you. I thought you'd like it." He said as he moved a strand of hair away from her face.
Athena felt her face flush. 'Oh no I'm blushing.' But her reddened cheeks could hardly be seen under all the rouge that the girls put on her. She lifted her head up, the deep jade of her eyes was accentuated by the coal black eye make up that she was wearing. She narrowed them slightly, a smile playing across her face.
"You look like Amun himself." She told him.
"I don't need flattery, I hate dressing up like this." He sighed to her.
"I know what you mean, all this gold is weighing me down." She chuckled.
"All part of the ceremony. It's a load of crap if you ask me. I mean why can't I just throw on something and say a few prayers to Amun? Its not like the people care what I look like." He said.
She just shook her head and laughed at him.
"You are the living God, son of Osiris. You have to look like a God; sometimes. Especially when you are dedicating at temple to our father Amun." She scolded him playfully.
He just rolled his eyes as if to say 'whatever.'
"So, who all's going to be there?" She asked curiously.
"Let's see…" He thought for a moment. "Well, the entire city of Thebes, every priest of Amun from around the country. Bakura; well you don't know him, he's my high priests' apprentice, my best friend Malik-"
"I haven't meet him yet either." She interrupted.
"Yea."
"Sorry; continue."
"Ok. Umm, Seth my vizier and…oh yea, high priest Seto-"
Yami quickly stopped, he had almost forgotten what Seto had done to Athena; tying her to his bed like she was nothing more then a piece of property.
"Sorry." He apologized quickly.
"Its ok," She said, "Think of it this way. If he hadn't done what he did, we wouldn't be together."
"You've got a point. But still-"
"Shh." She placed a finger to his lips, silencing him. "Its ok. If I can forgive him, so can you."
"Ok." He whispered; she had such a good heart.
He wrapped his arms around her, very cautiously so as not to mess up the intricate beadwork of her dress.
By now, the sun was high in the sky, indicating that it was afternoon. The burning heat of the Egyptian sun could be felt all around the palace. This was usually the time when all the palace servants began to slow down on their afternoon chores, but not today. There was too much to be done to get ready for the festivities. The kitchens were bustling with activity, roasting hundreds of lambs and ducks. After all; there had to be enough food to feed an entire city, and then some. There were date cakes, figs, pomegranates and other sweet foods to eat, wine and beer, as well as water to drink. The palace had been preparing for this gala event for days.
Bener had instructed Anzu to go and put on her best attire, which was a simple but rather elegant white linen dress that cut off at the ankles, and one little gold bracelet that was given to her by her father. Tonight, she would be serving food and drink to all the palace officials, and other important people. She had to look her finest. Bener too, wore nicer clothes then usual, like everybody else that would be attending the banquet.
Once the sun began to set the torches by the temple were lit and guests began arriving by the hundreds. Either standing, or sitting at the tables that were provided, all waiting to get a glimpse of the powerful Pharaoh that had tore down all the temples to the Aten and replaced them once again with the traditional Gods of Egypt.
As soon as the guests had arrived and were waiting around the temple down in the city Seth went to the Pharaoh's room to announce that they were ready for him.
Knocking on the door, Seth waited for a response before he entered.
"Pharaoh." He said, bowing low. "We are ready." Looking up he saw Yami, with a girl that he had never seen before. He shrugged it off; she was probably just an escort for tonight's celebration. But she was enticingly beautiful. In fact, after Yami was done with her tonight he was going to see what he could do to get her in his bed. Seth always got what he wanted, being the second most powerful man in Egypt, he was never denied anything, and he was certainly not going to be denied this beautiful girl. A strong voice snapped him out of his dream like state.
"Seth, I would like you to meet Athena." Yami said as he took her hand in his.
She bowed to him and lifted her gaze to meet his.
"Pleasure to meet you." He said to her. Turning his attention to Yami he continued. "What a lovely escort great one. Truly she is worthy to be in your presence."
Her eyes shifted uncomfortably towards Yami.
"Seth, she is more then just an escort." He told him as he began stroking her hand comfortingly, sensing the sudden belittlement.
"I see." Seth said, looking at her semi harshly. 'Well, that is a little problem, now isn't it?' No matter. "Great one, we must be heading down to the city now, high priest Seto is already starting the procession." He waited until Yami and Athena walked out of the room and then he followed.
The palace was virtually empty, everyone was down in the city enjoying all the entertainment and wonderful food. Palace guards and a few of Yami's council members surrounded Yami and Athena; who were walking hand in hand. Malik was among those walking in the entourage. He was behind Seth; when Yami looked back at him he gave him a reassuring wink. Yami smiled as he turned back around.
They all made there way out of the palace and down the city streets, which were also empty. However they could hear the music coming from the temple. They could here the priestesses chanting and playing their sistras to awake the Gods.
He turned to Athena as they continued walking,
"Excited yet?" He whispered in her ear.
She merely nodded her head with a broad smile across her face. He chuckled to himself. As they drew nearer both Yami and Athena nearly jumped out of there skin. Blaring trumpets began to play, announcing the Pharaohs arrival. The crowd hushed, and the musicians stopped their playing as everyone turned their heads in Yami's direction, hoping to get a glimpse of the God king. Seth marched forward to the front of the little group surrounding Yami and Athena he raised his hands to hush what little talking was being done.
"I; the eyes and ears of Pharaoh; am honored to announce that the God king has blessed us with his presence."
Yami rolled his eyes, all this introduction wasn't really necessary, but Seth did like to babble on and on. He continued to listen to Seth's annoying speech as Athena quietly laughed at him. She knew Yami was hating every minute of this.
"The great Pharaoh Yami has come to lay a blessing on the lands of Egypt and to reawaken the almighty Gods who for centuries have watched over this land, making it the greatest in the world."
The multitudes of people began cheering at Seth's final words and the royal procession continued. They walked down the dirt path that led to the temple on the hill as people made way for the Pharaoh. Yami could see people standing on tables and parents holding up their children so that they could see him. He smiled and waved, and so did Athena. At last arriving at the top, the royal guards and the council members dispersed taking their appropriate places along the walls of the temple. Yami, with Athena at his side walked over to the priests of Amun greeting each of them. Finally he came to his high priest Seto and Seto's apprentice Bakura. Both were covered in gold and electrum, and donned pure white linen robes, they were barely recognizable. Yami shook Seto's hand and muttered a short praise to Amun.
"Welcome my Pharaoh." Seto bowed to him. Yami nodded his approval. There was a long banquet table situated in front of the temple, this was where all the important people were to sit. He pulled out a chair for Athena and motioned for her to sit. She did so, gracefully and thanked him.
"I have to say a few words, I'll be back in a minute." He said so low that only she could hear him.
She nodded and smiled at him. "Good luck." She mouthed.
Malik sat down next to her as he winked at Yami.
"Hi. I'm Malik." He said quietly as he lifted up her hand and kissed it.
"Hello Malik." She smiled, blushing a little. "Yami has told me so much about you."
"Ooh. That cant be good." He joked.
Athena just laughed. All the while Seth was watching them out the corner of his eyes.
Yami raised his hands to get the attention of everyone. Silence rippled through the crowd below. He glanced back at Athena who was sitting next to Malik, she gave him a little smile and urged him on with a little hand motion, and Malik did the same. He wasn't nervous, he had done this sort of thing a thousand times, he just wanted to get it over with so that he could be with her and enjoy the rest or the night.
Turning back around he cleared his throat and began to speak.
"My people." He began. "I come to you tonight, not as your king, but as a messenger of the Gods."
Behind Yami, Seth put a hand over his face. Yami was always belittling himself, why did he just say that? Slowly bringing his hand down, he continued to listen to Yami's speech.
"They say to you, 'vanquish that which has suppressed you for years, that which hath killed your brother. Relinquish all which that evil hath created, erase him and his false God; the Aten; from every monument, every temple, and every memory in this great land of which we live.'" He paused as he looked around the crowd, every eye was upon him, and no one was moving a muscle.
"My people," He continued, his eyes were fiery balls of lava at that moment. "The name Akhenaten shall be erased from every monument, every temple, every memory, and every mouth. I banish the memory of Akhenaten from this land, may his evil Ka be eaten by the Devourer in the netherworld and may he cease to exist." Yami slammed his hand down on the limestone railing that ran along the outside of the temple as people cheered loudly. He smiled, but inside he was screaming. This was his father that he just banished into eternal damnation.
Raising a hand to silence the crowd once more he brushed away his unease and continued to talk.
"And now, I will go into the inner sanctum to make offerings to the divine one, Amun. Please feel free to eat and drink your fill, and there is plenty of entertainment to go around." Yami turned around and walked back to the table, the music began playing again and the talking and laughing could be heard throughout the party.
Slipping over to Athena before he had to go into the temple Yami smiled at her.
"That was amazing! You can be so serious when you have to." She told him, grabbing his arm and pulling him over to his seat.
"Yea she's right Yami, although I've seen you more serious." Malik added.
"When?" She inquired.
"Oh…just about every day. Lets see, there was the time he threatened to throw me off the balcony, um…Oh yea, he told me he was going to behead me. And just this morning he threatened to beat me with a gold stick."
"No I didn't Malik." Yami snapped at him. "I was going to slit your throat you moron." He added smiling.
"Ha ha, right you are! I nearly forgot about that one!" Malik shouted over the noise.
Athena was doubling over with laughter. These two were so funny.
"Come and have something to eat." She said to Yami with great difficulty, she was trying to suppress her laughter.
"Sorry, I cant right now." He replied glancing over his shoulder, he saw Seto waiting for him at the temple entrance along with Bakura and a few other priests. "I have to go into the temple and make some offerings, say a few prayers; you know; all the perks of being Pharaoh." He said sarcastically.
"Well then, don't let us keep you any longer!" Malik tisked.
"He's right Yami, don't worry about me, Malik can keep me company." Athena added.
"Now I'm scared." He joked. "Oh and Malik, if you get her drunk, I will have your head." Yami threatened. Malik smiled innocently at him. "I'm not joking." He added, causing Malik's grin to lower a little.
"Oh just go!" Malik said as he pushed Yami towards the entrance and walked away with Athena back to the table.
"Good evening Pharaoh Yami." Bakura said as he bowed his head.
"Good evening Bakura. How is everything going with your apprenticeship?"
"Very well." Bakura answered maintaining his ritual standards as a priest of Amun.
"Shall we proceed with the ritual?" Seto stepped in as he handed Yami the holy incense.
"Yes, of course. Lead the way please Seto." Yami instructed him.
Seto did as he was told, and Bakura was close behind followed by Yami, with three priests on either side of him and twelve behind. All chanting sacred praises to Amun. The incense that was being burned was so strong it caused Yami's eyes to water.
The assembly walked into the main chamber. It was a cavernous room that was dankly lit by a few oil lamps. Yami had never been inside a temple like this before. The only temples he had been in were the ones to the Aten. They were quite different then this he noticed. See, his father believed in being close to nature so all the temples to the Aten were open to the sunlight. Not so with this temple, being in here, one would not know weather it was night or day outside.
Still, this temple was a magnificent sight to behold. Enormous columns, at least sixty feet high; much like the ones in his palace; rose at both sides of the room to support the roof. Gold and electrum, as well as rubies and other precious stones embroidered the walls.
Yami; preoccupied with looking around the room wasn't paying attention to what was happening. Bakura noticed this and elbowed him in the ribs. Snapping back into reality, Yami noticed that they had stopped walking and Seto was beginning to say some prayers to Amun.
After what felt like an eternity he was done and they began to walk again. The group was making their way into the smaller room. Yami turned around to see that half of their number was missing.
"Where did they go?" He whispered to Bakura out the corner of his mouth, so as not to disturb the chanting.
"Not everyone is allowed in this next room." He replied in an undertone. "It is holier then the previous room."
"There's one more room isn't there?" He asked as they stopped again, Yami was not very familiar with the ways of this religion.
"Yes. It is called the holy room of Amun. No one but Seto you and I are allowed to step foot in that room. It is where the sacred shrine of Amun is, with a golden statue of the God himself."
"Oh." Yami had a lot to remember about this religion. "Is that where I come in?"
"Yes. I trust that Seth told you what to say?"
"Yea. I think I can remember it all."
They began to walk again, this time only Seto, Bakura, and Yami progressed to the next room. This room was the smallest and most dimly lit of all. In the center of the room sat a gilded shrine with an altar in front of it. Seto stepped up onto the platform and opened the hinged doors of the shrine to reveal a small gold statue of Amun. This is where Yami came in, because only the Pharaoh could speak directly to the God.
"Oh great Amun," He tried his best to remember what he was supposed to do. "We beseech thee to bestow thy blessings upon this land. I, the living God, son of the sun, have raised a grand temple in your honor, so that all may know the almighty power of the favored one." He stopped and stepped up to the shrine. Seth told him that after he said that he was to take the incense and place it in the tray so that it would invigorate the God and awake him from his slumber. Now he was to order Seto to bring the daily offerings of food and wine to the altar, but Seto was one step ahead of him, and he already did it. 'Now what do I do…Oh yea.'
"Amun, true of voice. Accept these offerings of food and wine, and bestow benevolence upon your people." Yami bowed to the statue before he closed the hinged doors. Then, Seto, Bakura, and he walked out of holy room of Amun, through the next room and out into the biggest without saying a word to each other. Yami walked as fast as he could because he wanted to get back to Athena, before Malik could get her completely wasted.
Coming out of the temple, the three men were hit with a wave of activity, there was music being played and dancers on stages in their barley-there outfits, entertaining the crowds. Yami looked around and he saw some of the guests dancing as well. He laughed to himself, as he thought about asking Athena to dance. 'No way.' That was out of the question.
Making his way back over to the royal banquet table he searched for Athena, but she was no where to be found. And worse; Malik was gone too. 'Someone wants to die.' He thought to himself, trying to think of some horrible way to hurt Malik. Picking up his pace, Yami walked around the crowded plaza that was in front of the temple. The musicians started playing another song, a fast song, and the crowd went wild as most of them sprang to their feet and ran up close to the music to began dancing. For Yami this was just more of a problem because now it was harder to find Athena. He turned his head right, then left, something caught his eye and he quickly snapped his head to the right again.
He saw her; she was up close to the music, dancing. Yami took one step to the right and his eyes landed on a tan, blonde boy. 'Malik!' Yami's blood was boiling. What was this fool trying to do?
As much as he wanted to storm across the plaza dance floor and rip Malik's hair out, he decided against it. So instead he just walked back over to the banquet table and sat down. Immediately, servants rushed over to pour him wine and offer some food. He accepted the wine, but turned down the food.
Adjusting his chair so that he could see, he watched Athena dance with Malik. She was rather good; her body was in perfect accord with the music. Taking another sip of wine, he continued to watch her. The way she moved her hips…Yami could feel his face flush, for his thoughts were becoming rather lustful.
"Yes, she is astounding, isn't she." Came a voice behind him. Yami nearly choked on his wine as he turned around to she who made that comment. Seth was standing behind him, but he was not looking at Yami, his gaze was fixed on Athena. "If I were you I'd be keeping closer tabs on her."
"What do you mean by that?" Yami snarled, Seth was starting to make him angrier.
"Do you see the way he looks at her? He has lust in his eyes Yami, watch out." Seth smirked, still not able to tear his own eyes away from her.
"Seth, Malik is my best friend, he would never-"
"Yes, my Pharaoh, but you know as well as I do that Malik has a reputation. How many girls has it been?" Seth asked, trying to make his point. "Look at that." Seth pointed out as Malik grabbed Athena's hand and spun her around. "See the way he stares flirtatiously with her."
"No, but I can see the way you're staring at her." Yami growled; Seth was blowing the whole thing out of proportion.
"Great one I was merely-"
"Enough Seth. I will hear no more of your fowl talk towards Malik." Yami said as he raised his hand to silence him. As much as Yami threatened to kill Malik, he still cared for him. Malik was a good man, and they were best friends, Yami had to stick up for him.
"As you wish, great one." Seth bowed and skulked away, leaving Yami to think about what had just been said.
Would Malik ever do that to him? Nah, how could Yami even think that about his friend? Malik was always loyal to him.
Gazing back up to where Athena and Malik were, Yami didn't see them anymore. Darting his eyes through the crowd, his heart began to beat fast. Malik would never; right?
"Boo!"
"By the Gods!" Yami yelled as he jumped out of his chair, causing a few heads to turn in his direction. Turning around, he saw Malik and Athena doubling over with laughter.
"Ha ha! *Snigger* You shoudda seen *gasp* your face! By Ra, it was priceless!" Malik chuckled.
"Malik what am I going to do with you? You act like such a child!" Yami sniggered a little too; he was to relieved to be angry. He couldn't believe that he was dumb enough to think Malik would run off with Athena.
"How was the temple offering?" Athena asked as she came up to him and kissed him on the cheek.
"Oooh!" Malik teased. Yami didn't have to say anything, he just glared at him, Malik got the picture and he walked away.
"Boring," He sighed as he turned his attention back to Athena. "But I see that you are having a good time." He smiled at her. By now quite a few people were staring at them and wondering whom this girl was that just kissed the Pharaoh on the cheek. Many girls looked on with jealousy; nearly all of them were completely in love with Yami and his good looks, so naturally they'd be a little envious of Athena. Yami wasn't paying attention to them though, Malik was however. Glancing over to where Malik was standing Yami noticed him talking to two girls, they were giggling flirtatiously as they flipped their hair moving closer to him. He could tell that Malik was loving every minute of it.
"So, are you having fun?" He quietly asked her.
"Oh, absolutely. You really know how to throw a party-" She stopped in mid sentence, the musicians began to play a fast song. "Ooh Yami lets dance." She yelled as she tugged on his arm.
"No, no I don't dance, why don't you go find Malik, I'm sure he'd love to." In all honesty, Yami knew how to dance, in fact he was quite good, but he had a little bit of stage fright when it came to dancing in front of people.
"Please, please…I don't want to dance with Malik, I want to dance with you!" She was tugging on his arm harder now as she was begging him to dance.
Giving up; because he knew that he wouldn't win; he sighed as he allowed himself to be pulled into the center of all the excitement. How could he refuse her? He had seen earlier how she moved her body, and he was pretty eager to be next to her while she pulled those moves on him.
She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her, but Yami put his arm around her waist and pulled her in even closer, until both their bodies rubbed together. She smiled a little, loving the feel of Yami's body up against hers; and Yami wasn't minding it either.
"Do you want me to take it slow?" She whispered playfully in his ear.
"No, I like it fast." He smiled coyly, as he moved his hands down lower.
"Yami!" She said, sounding slightly shocked, but thoroughly satisfied.
"What?!"
"I thought you said that you don't dance?" She raised and eyebrow quizzically.
"You're right, I did say that, but I lied. I think you'll find that keeping up with me can be rather difficult."
"Ooh, is that a challenge?"
"Not sure, do you want it to be?"
"Yami, you have no idea what you're in for."
"Then show me."
"Fine." And with one swift movement she pushed away from him and removed the white linen over dress that would only get in her way. Walking up to the band, she whispered something in the lead musician's ear. Immediately, the song that they were playing stopped and a new one started, faster then any that had been played that night. She lifted her hands in the air and swiftly brought them down as she made a elegant turn, one to the right, and then one to the left, all the while, eyeing Yami as if to say 'Ha! You dare challenge me to a dance.'
Her hips swayed to the music, and by this point people were turning their attention away from their conversations and watching Athena with a great deal of interest. Even the professional dancers on the stage had stopped their dancing to see what this girl could do. She didn't miss a step, even though the music was really fast. Her body twisted and turned arching gracefully. The dance was agile and flowing. But Yami wasn't just going to stand idly by and watch her, at this point he didn't care if people were watching. Briskly walking up to her, he wrapped her in his arms possessively and whipped her around until her face was only inches from his.
"That was good." He whispered to her, "Now lets see what we can do together."
Almost in an instant every eye in the plaza was focused on the Pharaoh and this beautiful young girl. Who was she? And why was the Pharaoh dancing with her? These and many other questions were whispered around the crowd while their eyes followed the couple as they were dancing.
"I didn't know you were this good." She said, bubbling with glee. Earlier, when she was dancing with Malik she thought that he was good; and he was, but he was nothing compared to Yami. They moved like one person, in tune with each other's bodily rhythms.
"I think you're better." He told her as he picked her up in his strong arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he lowered her upper body down until her head almost touched the ground, in a very suggestive position. For it was common in Egypt to dance very sensually, and often, professional dancers danced in the nude. The Egyptians believed in arousing the carnal fervor through dance, and Yami was no exception. He blatantly showed; through his lascivious dancing that he wanted her. And she got the picture, she slowly unwrapped her legs from around the Pharaoh's waist and stared at him. She wanted him too, and badly. But she never gave a second thought about Yami wanting her, the way she wanted him.
"Yami? Do you…"
"Yes." He whispered to her. He knew what she was thinking, because he was thinking about it too. In fact, he had been thinking about it for a long time.
"Well…maybe we…" She was smiling coyly at him.
"Are you sure?" He didn't want her to do anything that she felt uncomfortable doing. And he was completely willing to wait. Athena was well worth the wait.
"Uh huh." She muttered as she nodded her head with approval. "But how are we going to get out of here?"
"Just follow me." He said as he grabbed her hand and walked her back over to the table, with curious eyes following them. There was almost no way that they were going to be able to sneak out of this party without being noticed.
When they approached their seats, they sat down, all the while Athena was shooting confused looks at Yami. No sooner did they sit down at the table, than Malik waked up to them looking rather roughed up, with a few make up marks on his cheek.
"Yami I think I'm going to head back now." He said, sounding slightly out of breath.
"Had enough of those girls?" Yami questioned jokingly. Malik just smiled as he stumbled off, heading back to the palace.
"Huh. That's a shock." Yami stated, to himself.
"What is?"
"Oh, usually after something like this Malik has two girls in each arm, making his way to the nearest bed." He laughed a little.
"Well…when are we gunna…head back?" She eyed him shyly.
"How about now?" He lowered his voice to a deep husky tone. "Who cares who sees us?"
"You're right, lets go!" She said excitedly as she took hold of Yami's hand, pulling him up from his chair. He smiled at her enthusiasm and followed her back down the path that lead from the temple to the main part of the city, which was still completely desolate, because everyone was still at the festival enjoying a night of drinking and wild dancing; and for most a night of wonderful sex; which was a common occurrence after grand festivals like the one tonight.
But there was someone watching them as they made their way up to the palace, someone that was mighty jealous of Yami. He watched from atop the temple hill, his eyes never leaving them, until Yami and Athena slipped into the palace entrance. His hands clenched into tight fists as his blood began to boil. Malice was flowing through his veins. He wanted her, and nothing in this world was going to stop him from getting what he wanted, not even Yami.
* * *
With his arms wrapped around her waist, Yami and Athena leisurely made their way through the empty corridors of the palace. No one was here tonight, they had the palace all to themselves. Or so they thought.
Arriving at Yami's chambers, they heard a muffled sound coming from a room three doors down.
"I think that's Malik's room." Yami exclaimed as he walked past his own room, towards Malik's. Athena followed close behind.
Coming to a halt at the door to Malik's chambers Yami placed a hand on the door about to open it, when he heard something. It sounded like a girl, no two girls. Were they, moaning?
"Dear Ra! I think, we better not open this door. There is something behind it that I don't want to see." He put a hand to his forehead, extremely thankful that he didn't open the door. It would have been quite an awkward moment indeed.
"What is it? What's going on?" Athena questioned as she walked closer to the door. Yami motioned for her to put her ear to the door. She did so and her face turned red as she laughed quietly. "Well I guess he wasn't getting tired of those girls. I suppose pretty soon he'll be the one tiring them." He sniggered as she stepped away from the door. She looked at Yami. "Soo…What do you want to do?"
"I don't know." But he knew perfectly damn well what. "Let's head into the room."
"Ok." Her heart skipped a beat. The thought of what might happen tonight, actually she was a little scared. Yami was the Pharaoh, and formerly, months ago, she was tied to the foot of his bed and she was there for only one purpose; not to be invited to parties or to be given fine clothes and jewelry. No, she was there completely and solely for the Pharaoh, to give her body to him; weather she was willing mattered not. She was his, no questions and no arguments. If she did not do exactly as he said, her, and her friends would have been killed. She was terrified, what would he do to her? Would he be merciful? Then, when the door cracked open and Yami stepped into the room, she saw the look in his eyes, and for a fleeting moment, she saw pain, and anguish. What he did next shocked her beyond belief, he let them go. Even to this day she still wonders why. Why didn't he do what any other man would have done?
"Athena?" Yami looked at her, as he gripped her hand and began walking back to his room.
"Yes?" She had an almost vacant look to her. She was extremely worried about what would happen after tonight. What if he wouldn't want her any more? What if this was the only thing that he wanted from her, and after he got it, he would throw her away? But then… if that were case, why didn't he just use her when she was tied to his bed?
"You know, if you're not ready, we don't-"
"Yami, its not that."
Pushing open the door to his room, he looked away from her. What if she was lying? What if she didn't want to? Was she just saying yes because he was the Pharaoh?
They walked over to the bed and sat down, there was an air of unease looming over the pair. Athena was the first to break the awkward silence when she turned to Yami to ask him a question.
"Yami, do you…love me?" Her voice shook nervously, because she was afraid of what she might hear, or not hear.
Yami was completely taken aback with her question. Yes, he loved her. That, he had already established, but only to himself. His eyes widened a little and he lowered his head, he didn't know what to say. The obvious thing would be 'yes I love you', but for some reason he couldn't do it. Raising his head back up, he glanced at Athena, he saw tears building up in her eyes, and he could tell that she was trying to hold them back.
"Ok, never mind. You don't have to answer that, but can I ask you something else?" She looked at him as she waited for a response.
"Ok." He said as he shifted his position on the bed.
"Why did you let us go? Why didn't you just do what you were entitled to do?" Her voice quivered slightly.
"What do you mean by 'entitled'?"
"Yami, we were yours, to do what ever you wanted. Why did you let us go?" She desperately wanted to know, was this Pharaoh a truly amazing man, or was he just being foolish?
"It's not right what Seto did to you. I wouldn't want anyone to go through something like that. No one deserves to be treated like an object of possession." That was the truth, he did feel that what Seto did was morally wrong. But that was only half of why he let them go, the other half was etched into his heart, the pain that followed him every day of his life.
"You had no interest in us whatsoever?" She asked curiously.
"I'm not going to lie, I wanted you. I wanted you like I've never wanted anyone before, and for a moment, I wanted to follow you and pull you back into my room."
She gaped at him, she had no idea he felt that way.
"And I still want you…to be mine. If you want to be." He turned to her and picked her hand up to his lips, lightly kissing it. "Do you want to be mine?"
"Yami I…yes. Because no matter what your feelings are towards me, I love you, and I always will."
Yami's head was screaming, he so desperately wanted to tell her that he loved her. Why was it so hard? It was probably because those three words had never issued from his mouth, to anyone. He had never had the desire to say them, but now he did, and it was killing him.
"Yami, I don't mean to cause you this much pain."
Yami was shocked by her words, they issued from her mouth, stinging Yami's heart. What would make her think that?
"Why did you say that? What I feel when I'm around you is anything but pain. You take all the pain away from me." He enfolded his arms around her and pulled her into a deep hug.
Athena sighed into his shoulders. Did he mean what he just said? She saw the look on his face after she told him that she loved him, it seemed as though he was at war with himself. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, a little tear fell down her cheek and landed on Yami's neck. The moist contact caused him to pull away, holding her by the arms.
Through the tears, she smiled meekly at him. She was so disgusted with herself, but she didn't want Yami to know. She didn't want him to know she was scared that maybe after tonight, he wouldn't want her anymore. The thought was almost too absurd for even her to believe.
But Yami saw past the smile, he knew something wasn't right.
"What' s wrong. Please tell me. I can't stand to see you like this." He pleaded to her, delicately wiping the tears from her face.
"I'm…scared." She whispered over muffled sobs.
"Of what?" He lifted her chin up, so that he could see her beautiful eyes.
She didn't say anything. He eyes fell to the floor. She couldn't look at him. It hurt too much, because she loved him so much.
"Athena. Of what?!" He repeated more aggressively gripping her arm harder, but not to the point of being harsh.
"I don't know! I don't know!" She threw herself back into his arms. "I guess, well I'm scared that you wont want me anymore; after we, after…" Her voice trailed off. She couldn't believe she just said that. Now what would he think of her.
"No. No, don't ever think that." Yami was looking at her. But her gaze was still fixated on the ground. "Athena look at me."
She did as she was told and slowly brought her eyes up to meet his.
"Please, don't think that. I will always want you, I want to be with you forever, I will never leave you, and whatever you do please don't leave me." He pleaded to her. His usually fiery crimson eyes dimmed slightly. He didn't know why she would think something like that. He loved her, he would never do anything like that. He would never do anything to hurt her. But then it hit him, like a ton of bricks, she didn't know that he loved her. So he made up his mind; the only way to save her from this terrible heartache was to tell her, to reassure that all the doubt she had was false. He was going to tell her, in due time. As sure as he was about her, as much as he knew that she was the only one for him, he still had that fear in the back of his mind. He didn't want the same thing to happen all over again. He had witnessed first hand what had happened to his father, Yami knew what a woman could do to a man. But he didn't have to worry about that, he was sure. Athena was nothing like Nefrititi, Athena loved, and she cared, and she had a heart.
"I will never leave you, I promise. Yami, you don't understand how much I love you. I don't know how you feel about me, but all I can tell you is that I know what I feel about you."
Yami was inwardly relieved to hear that, yet at the same time it only made his chest twinge more. Like someone had thrust a sword dead in the center of his heart. He was relieved in the sense that now he knew how she felt about him, but deeply irritated by the fact that he was sitting only inches away from her, but it felt like they were miles apart. He had to tell her, or he just couldn't live with himself. But he couldn't do it yet; it seemed almost like he was forcing himself to say it. He didn't want it to be like that, he just wanted it to happen. Athena looked over at him; Yami had a bemused expression on his face. She could tell that he was deep in thought, yet again.
Sighing, she fell back on the bed, shifting slightly and laying her head on the soft pillow. She could tell that he didn't love her; so she thought. But then why was he so nice? At this point she felt as if her head was going to explode. Yami was confusing her, to the point where she wanted to scream out loud. Becoming lost in her own thoughts, she almost didn't notice Yami crawling over her and laying on his side of the bed, until he latched his arms around her and pulled her in close to him. He began to lightly kiss her cheek, gradually making his way to her lips.
Her mind was wild with rage. 'Don't let him do this to you!' It screamed. 'He doesn't love you! He's just using you!' She didn't want to listen to that haunting voice that clouded her feelings for Yami. Because she knew that even if he didn't love her, he still cared about her. That meant something, right?
When his lips found hers, he kissed them gently, casually running his tongue across them. He could taste her sweetness, and that made him want her all the more.
As his tongue traced across her lips her mind was screaming. 'Stop him now! Before you go to far!' But her heart was pounding loudly, as it did almost every time he kissed her. She shut her eyes hard trying desperately to stifle the contradictions that her subconscious was yelling at her.
Yami; slightly agitated by the fact that Athena seemed to be in a world of her own; pulled away from her and laid back down on the bed. He wasn't going to do anything to her if she didn't wasn't ready. No matter how bad he wanted to.
The sudden absence of Yami's arms around her, caused her to snap out of the doubtful state she was in, and turn to him.
"Do you not want to continue?" She spoke softly.
"Athena, I can tell you don't want to do this." He stated, sounding slightly hurt.
"No, no. That's not it," She paused for a second, blushing a little. "Actually, I really want to." 'No you don't!' Her mind stepped in. But this time, she completely tuned it out when Yami gripped her arms and pulled her in for another, deeper kiss.
This time the only sound that could be heard was the soft sound of ecstasy; a reverberation of the sensation that Athena felt as Yami pressed his lips against her skin. Her mind became more at ease with each heavenly kiss.
As the kisses became more intense, the pair sat up on the bed, each becoming increasingly enthralled with the other. Their senses were heightened, and each could feel the others body against their own.
With one hand Yami cupped Athena's chin, as he brought her lips to his. With the other hand he began to slip her dress straps off her shoulders.
The light linen slipped off her shoulders, gracefully landing on the bed, leaving her angelic body revealed. She shuddered a little, feeling exposed.
'You are so perfect,' Yami inwardly thought.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her body up against his. Her breasts rubbed against his bare chest, Yami had to take in a deep breath, it was quite a wonderful feeling.
He kissed her again, and her hands made their way down. She began untying the gold sash that was wrapped around his waist.
Pulling it off, she threw it off the bed. Now all that was left was the linen kilt, which was easy for her to slip off.
After both had succeeded in removing the others clothes Yami lowered Athena down on the bed. She panted softly against his lips as she felt his weight on top of her. His body was warm, and his skin felt good against hers.
Her heart was pounding like mad now, but one look into Yami's godlike ruby orbs seemed to retain all her fears. He gave her one last look as if to ask 'are you ready'. She smiled a little at him, 'yes'
Without warning he thrust into her. A slight pain shot through her, causing her eyes to water a little as she clasped the silk sheets in her hands. She tilted her head back cringing slightly, she didn't know if she would be able to take him all in.
He was maintaining a slow and steady rhythm, trying not to cause her any discomfort. One of her hands found their way to his back roaming around the smooth skin there.
Ever so slowly, the pain that she initially felt was melting away and nothing was left but sheer pleasure. She closed her eyes basking in the elation.
Yami's pace began to speed up, the heavenly feeling was almost too much for the both of them. Her back arced sensually, as she pulled herself closer to him, driving him in deeper.
He brought his lips to hers yet again subduing them as he savored the wonderful flavor that he tasted every time he kissed her. Their bodies were moving simultaneously, and as Yami pulled away from the blissful kiss, he pushed deeper into Athena, if that was possible. His hips were grinding into hers, escalating the pleasure until it was almost unbearable.
"Ah!" Athena cried out, she closed her eyes the pleasure was like nothing she had ever experienced before, her mind went blank, there was nothing that she was able to think about now. Other then how Yami's body felt as it rubbed against her own, causing her to groan softly.
Yami tipped his head back picking up the pace once again, the peak of pleasure was upon him, as well as Athena. His body was hot, and he loved the feel of Athena's naked skin brushing up against his own.
They were drowning, passion was swallowing them up, and they felt as if they were never going to stop. But all good things come to an end, and this night ended, sometime later after an extensive bout of lovemaking.
Falling back onto the bed, breathing heavily the two snuggled up close to each other, utterly exhausted and having no intent on getting up until the afternoon.
* * *
Collapsing on the bed, Malik sighed heavily, as he wiped a few sweat beads from his brow. He and the two girls had been going at it for about two hours now.
They both lay on either side of him in his overly enormous bed, snuggling up close as he put one arm around each of them. He could tell that both of them were utterly exhausted, or else he would have kept on going for quite some time.
Things like this happened frequently with Malik. But he never asked any of the girls their names. He didn't think that it was all that important, after all, these one night stands never meant anything, they were just something for him to do to pass the time away.
They were asleep by now and Malik began to think. Sleeping around with a different girl almost every night was beginning to get old. He began to wonder what it would be like to have someone that he could call his own. Someone that would like him for him, and not just because of his gorgeous looks.
Tonight when he saw Yami and Athena together, he sort of became a tad bit jealous; something that he never really felt before because he could have almost any girl that he wanted. He wondered what it would be like to have someone like Athena, someone that he could care about, and someone that would care about him.
Shaking his head a little, he shifted his position, closed his eyes and went to sleep, deciding that something like that was never meant for him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
There you have it…a long chapter and I don't know when I'll be able to update next. Writing three stories at one time can get a little hectic, ne?…so I'll try my best…thanks for the reviews!! Keep it up, I need (desperately) feedback. It's like my fuel…Tee Hee…Sore Ja!!