Tea sprinted through the ornate gardens in which she had strolled only the previous day. Still stunned by her revelation, she hardly noticed when the heavy gate she had just wrenched open caught her on the elbow.
~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~
A young page stumbled into the room and prostrated himself upon the stone floor in front of Yami. "My lord Pharaoh," he said, gasping, "an urgent message from your high priest."
~~~~End Flashback ~~~
By the time she had finished recalling the incident, Tea had reached the outskirts of the village surrounding the palace. Winded, she walked slowly into the glaring desert.
As pharaoh, Yami had always been in control of most everything that went on, not only in his own life, but in those of his people as well. Consequently, he was more than a little panicked when events beyond his control had conspired to ruin his confession. Ra, Tea had actually looked frightened. He could only sit dumbly in his chair for the first few minutes after his love tore out of the room. Finally, that same infuriating voice that had prompted the pharaoh to tell Tea in the first place jolted him with, "What are you doing still sitting here? Go find her, NOW!" Shaking his black and gold head to clear it, Yami rose, focused now, and strode out of the room to inquire as to the princess' whereabouts.
Tea had been walking for only fifteen minutes but under the scorching desert sun she was quickly becoming dehydrated. Just when she was about to give up and collapse, the princess spotted a patch of green about a hundred yards distant. Putting all her energy into reaching the oasis, Tea stumbled the last few feet and collapsed beside a small spring. Dipping her face into the water, she gulped the cold liquid and slowly gathered her wits. To say that she was shocked would have been an understatement of cosmic proportions. Her kind, loving, handsome Yami could not possibly be the cruel, piggish man who supposedly ruled Egypt. Tea suddenly recalled how strongly she had objected to marrying the pharaoh the first day that she and Yami met. "I said such terrible things, and they weren't even true." Unable contain her misery, her briny tears mixed with the fresh water of the spring.
Yami quickly gathered that Tea had abruptly left the palace, heading west. He ran to the stables, mounted his favorite black Arabian without even bothering to saddle him, and galloped out gate without so much as a backward glance. When he reached the fringes of the desert, Yami picked up Tea's clearly visible tracks almost immediately. He followed them at full speed, his horse's hooves leaving clouds of sand in his wake. At last he arrived at the end of Tea's trail. The young man could hear quiet sobs emitting from the lush greenery. Yami felt as though his heart was being ripped from his chest. Slowly, he parted the plants and approached the source of the weeping. He found Tea curled upon the ground with her knees drawn up to her torso, her eyes red and swollen. Yami kneeled down beside his love and gently gathered her to him, rocking slowly back and forth and making soft crooning noises.
Tea was too lost in her misery to notice Yami's arrival until she felt herself being pulled into a tender embrace. Tilting her tearstained face up towards him, she managed to croak out, "I-I'm sorry I ran like that. I just needed to….to…..I don't know!" Here she lapsed into fresh sobs and was comforted once more by Yami. "I'm sorry too," he whispered against her hair, "I should have told you sooner, but I just couldn't find the right time." Tea calmed herself so that only the occasional sniffle escaped her. She focused her sparkling blue gaze solemnly on Yami's and said almost inaudibly, "I don't care if you are the pharaoh, I still love you." Yami sighed with relief and crushed her against him, declaring, "Nothing, nothing could make me stop loving you." Pulling back slightly, he tucked a damp strand of chestnut hair behind Tea's ear, and then leaned forward to softly brush her lips with his. Her senses buzzing, Tea pressed back against him more firmly while twining her arms around his neck. Yami delicately stroked her bottom lip with his tongue, silently asking permission. It was granted, and Tea opened her mouth slightly to allow him entry. Their tongues intertwined, eliciting a soft sigh from Tea. Finally the need for air drove them reluctantly apart. Tea smiled shyly up at her beloved before her mouth opened in a silent "O" in shock. "Yami, do you realize what this means?" she asked breathily. He shook his head, bewildered. "You're pharaoh! I was sent to be the pharaoh's bride! We're getting married!" With this she flung her arms around Yami, sending them both tumbling to the ground, laughing. Cradling her head on his chest, staring up at the sky, Yami noticed that the sun was nearing its zenith. Sighing, he drew himself and Tea to their feet. "We should head back now if we don't want to get caught in the desert during the hottest part of the day." Nodding in agreement, Tea stood on her tiptoes for one last kiss. After parting, they walked hand in hand to where the horse stood contentedly munching on the foliage. Yami vaulted on and then reached down a hand to pull Tea up in front of him. As they neared the village, Yami suddenly commented to his bride-to-be, "Love, if I'm going to marry you, you have to promise me one thing." Tea twisted to look him in the eye and replied, "Anything." Grinning mischievously, Yami said, "Swear to me that I'll never have to rescue you from the desert again." Elbowing him gently in the ribs and laughing, she responded, "I promise."