A/N I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. The only character here who is mine would be Safiya.
A/N I'd just like to clarify something about Safiya's and Seth's childhood relationship. Remember that Safiya left her home as a girl of twelve, and wasn't able to see her family again. In a sense, Seth became the only family that she had. He became her older brother/best friend/protecter/all of the above. She never meant to lead him on, it's just that she was reallyclose to him and very comfortable around him. His love for her blinded him and that's when things went downhill, as you know.
Raquel: When you said you were "in a maze" regarding the flashback, I hope you meant "amazed" and not "confused." Because if you are indeed confused, I will gladly clarify.
Josephine Jekyl: I just wanted to let you know that my second A/N was a clarification I felt necessary because of your review. Thank you for making that observation. And I wanted to let you know that I am seriously considering buying at least a few of the dubbed Yu-Gi-Oh episodes on DVD.
B.E.W.DWarriorPrincess: If things start to get too complex, let me know and I'll do my best to explain things better. I'm glad that you're still with me thus far.
With the flood of memories came the reminder of her persistent denial. Seth shook the recollections from his mind, returning to the present. In his warped point of view, all he had over done was love her, and in return, she had refused him for none other than his best friend. He straightened, regained his composure and threw Atemu's hands off his shoulders. "And I thought you were my friend." Without warning, he lunged at the Pharaoh's neck, and the two tumbled to the ground.
Safiya heard the commotion and came to see what was happening. She found Seth straddling Atemu, grabbing his throat. Atemu was pinned to the ground, struggling to breathe while trying to dislodge Seth's firm grip.
All of the fear, hatred, and pain that she had suppressed over the years rushed to the surface when she was confronted with the image of Seth straddling Atemu. "Guards! Seize him!" Safiya's voice rang strong and true throughout the palace halls as guards came running from every direction. They easily removed the priest and held him immobile. Atemu remained on the ground, massaging his throat and trying to regain his composure. Safiya quietly offered her hand to him and helped him to his feet.
"Thank you Safiya. I see you are adjusting well to life as Queen," he said, clearing his throat. He then turned his fiery crimson eyes to the offending priest. "You leave me no choice Seth. I hereby banish you from the palace grounds forever. The instant you return, you will be killed." Safiya gently placed her hand on Atemu's arm, and his demeanor softened. "But, since I have pity for you, I will allow you to remain in Egypt, if you so choose."
Atemu and Safiya watched with mixed emotions as Seth was escorted to the palace gates. But before he passed through the gates, he made a promise to the Pharaoh and Queen. "Hear me now, both of you! I will not rest until I have my revenge!"
Safiya knew in her heart that he would deliver on his threat, one way or another. She turned into Atemu, finding comfort in his protective embrace.
"He's out of our lives, Saph."
"For now, my Atemu, but you and I both know that he will be back one day."
He held her tighter. "But we cannot live in fear of that day. We must live every day, looking forward to the next. If we let him steal our happiness, he will have won a premature victory, and we can't allow that."
"I'd rather he not have a victory at all."
"I agree, my love. I agree."
Within a few weeks, life in the palace had settled down. The excitement over the Pharaoh's marriage had faded somewhat, and a new high priest had been appointed. Everyone had returned to their daily routines, except for Safiya who now had to learn an entirely new routine. She had remained by Atemu's side for the first few days, learning that which was required of her; but she quickly adjusted to her new role as queen and began to venture away from him, becoming more confident in her duties and obligations.
One of the first things Atemu did, aside from teaching Safiya the role of queen, was to introduce her to the shadow games. Every night, when they had retired to their chambers, he would explain to her the rules and strategies of the games, sometimes giving her small demonstrations. He would often ask her questions, or propose situations to her and gauge her response. He even played hypothetical shadow games with her, showing her how he had come to be known as the King of Games. Within a month, she began to truly understand the games and their intricacies.
When he felt she was ready, he began to challenge her to mock games, which were played with small models of the various guardians. Atemu had his own personal guardians, but he chose to play with the models of the others so that Safiya could learn how to react in different situations. This way, she would get used to each guardian's strengths and weaknesses and become able to control or defeat any of them. She had yet to receive her own guardian, but Atemu felt that she needed to acquire a certain skill level before she could, and the mock games were one way to do so.
Since she was very competitive, she never allowed him to go easy on her, and because of this, she learned the games quickly and was even able to defeat the very King of Games himself once or twice. He went on to justify these losses by pointing out that he was not using his own guardians, and they were not playing real shadow games. Nevertheless, he had congratulated her and had allowed her to hold the victories over him for a few days.
