I don't own Yugioh. I do own Maria, Gold, silver, and this plot… which is co-owned by Rei…figures, but nothing more,
YSF: okay, I have to clear two things up for two certain people. 1) Rei, Maria only said you're cryptic because she had to cover up your statement so Yami wouldn't get suspicious, and 2) Schala, Bakura is a nice guy at times… like when he's with his sister or with Maria. He was only "evil and moody" during the fight because his hatred towards Yami and his father greatly outweighed his gentleness towards Maria and Rei… that, and he has to deal with Yugi now if he manages to 'take care' of Yami.
YSF: Also, I'm going to be skipping forward in time quite often so I can get to the more important events.
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A week later, Atemu was starting to regain mobility in his arm even though it hurt like hell if he did move it even the slightest. Pacing around the garden, Atemu couldn't help but think that his troubles with Bakura were only beginning.
"Come on 'tem, why are you so worked up?" Mahaado asked looking up from where he was lounging on a bench in the sun. Atemu just looked at him and sat on the bench opposite of Mahaado.
"I don't know Mahaado, I guess I'm just restless," Atemu answered with a shrug.
"Well, let's do something, oh mighty game king, ruler of glorious Egypt, the people who live there, and of course his royal bedchambers at night," Mahaado said and would have continued if it weren't for Atemu side arming a rock with his good arm at one of his most trusted priests, effectively knocking him off the bench.
"Oh yeah," Mahaado laughed as he reappeared, "Maria dominates the bedchambers."
"You're toast," Atemu said as Mahaado ran, with the smaller, but faster pharaoh giving chase and easily catching the said priest.
"You know Atemu," Maria calmly said as she sat on the palace's front steps watching Yugi exploring nearby, "You shouldn't rough house, you'll just hurt your arm more."
Atemu grinned sheepishly. "Mahaado started it," he mumbled.
"Well, I was only stating facts. You didn't have to take it so hard," Mahaado complained.
"Grow up both of you," Maria muttered, going over to where Yugi was entangled partially in a plant and freeing him.
"So Maria," Mahaado said changing the subject, "When are you going to let us teach Yugi how to ride?"
"When he gets older."
"But I knew how to ride almost before I knew how to walk. Besides, if we taught him on Jasmine, she wouldn't let him fall if you told her to," Atemu argued.
Maria sighed, knowing she was outnumbered and cornered on this. "Fine," she finally conceded, handing Yugi to Atemu, who held him with his good arm, "but I'll only let you teach him if you find a gentle foal or yearling to teach him on for Jasmine's too big, and also no teaching till Atemu can use both arms without pain." Maria walked off before either could argue.
"Well, Seto told me that Jasmine was going to give birth to her baby in about three months, so if it's gentle, Yugi can have it," Atemu said ignoring the teasing smirk on Mahaado's face.
"Who is the father of Jasmine's foal?" Mahaado asked as Atemu set Yugi down so he could continue to explore.
"I'm not sure, but I think it's Star," Atemu said with a confused face, "After all, he's protective of Jasmine, now more than ever."
Mahaado shrugged, and the two followed Yugi to make sure he didn't get hurt.
Finally, Atemu could move his arm as freely as before he got injured, with only a minimal soreness and stiffness, of which he kept to himself so Maria wouldn't keep him from doing things. Standing on the balcony, he watched the horses graze in the pasture, noticing that Jasmine was missing.
"What are you staring at so intently Atemu?" Maria asked.
"Your horse isn't in the pasture. Usually she's near Star so Anubis won't try anything," Atemu said turning to Maria as she adjusted the sleeves of her dress.
"Of course she wouldn't be, she had her baby last night," Maria replied sitting at the desk and looking at him.
"Really? Is it a boy or girl?"
"Boy. He's a looker too, takes after Star in body shape, but takes after Jasmine in the shape of the head and I'm guessing her intelligence," Maria said with a smile.
Atemu headed towards the door. "I'm going to go show Yugi, want to come?" he asked.
"Not now, I was down there already. Go on, the foal will be Yugi's once it's big enough," Maria said.
Atemu nodded and headed to the classroom, where he knew Seto was teaching Yugi his letters. Entering the room, he only had time to utter a hello before Yugi practically glomped him.
"You know," Seto said looking up and nodding his head respectfully, "I finally got Yugi to focus on writing for more than five minutes, and then you showed up, causing his concentration and attention to go out the window."
"Oh well, I'm ending Yugi's lesson early today," Atemu said with a shrug before returning Yugi's hug.
"And why is that?" asked Seto.
"Jasmine had her baby last night, and I'm taking Yugi to see him. Would like that Yugi?" Atemu said looking into Yugi's eyes.
"Yeah! I wanna give Jasmine a carrot!" Yugi exclaimed and then suddenly turned to Seto and looked at him with pleading amethyst eyes. "Will uncle Seto be coming too?" he asked sweetly.
"I guess I'll come too, I have nothing better to do," Seto said ruffling Yugi's hair and rewarding the toddler with a rare smile. Yugi cheered and raced out of the room, the two adults following at a slower pace. Reaching the stables, Yugi started bouncing up and down in an attempt to see over the stall door. Atemu picked up Yugi, and the three looked into the roomy stall.
"Jasmine," Seto called softly, "come here so we can see your baby." Jasmine pricked her ears in their direction and headed over. As she munched on the carrot that Yugi gave her, Yugi spotted a set of long, wobbly legs hiding behind Jasmine.
"Daddy, I wanna go in the stall," Yugi said with a slight whine.
Atemu laughed, and opening the stall door set Yugi down inside. "Just don't make any movements that look like they'll harm the baby," he cautioned.
"Do you think that's wise letting Yugi go in alone, cousin?" Seto asked as Yugi crept over towards Jasmine's rear legs.
"Jasmine won't harm Yugi, he's fine," Mahaado said coming up from where he had been tending to his own horse, "Atemu knows that he would get bitten or attacked by Jasmine if he enters. Believe me, I know."
Seto nodded and watched in slight amusement as Yugi coaxed the baby horse out of hiding and it was now standing as far as possible away, sucking on Yugi's fingers with Yugi giggling like mad. Jasmine nudged the baby closer, and Yugi started petting him.
"So Yugi," Atemu said, "What are you going to name him?"
Yugi looked at his father and smiled. "Amir," he said proudly.
"Prince? That's a good name," Mahaado said with a laugh, "After all, he can be considered as the prince of horses with his lineage and looks."
About another month later, Maria went to get Yugi for dinner and found him missing. Looking around his room, which happened to be Atemu's old room, Maria called out softly, "Where can Yugi be hiding?" and waited. Usually that would make Yugi start giggling, but this time nothing came forth.
Biting her lip, Maria searched the room a little worried. When Yugi still wasn't present, she headed to the throne room. Seeing Atemu was busy at the moment, she stood off to the side and waited.
Atemu finished his business with the merchant that was requesting some demands that he wasn't particularly interested in. When the merchant left, he looked up and saw that Maria was standing off to the side shifting from side to side slightly… something she only did when she was worried or nervous.
"Maria, what's wrong?" he asked as Maria started trembling slightly.
"Atemu, Yugi's missing, I can't find him anywhere. He's not in our room, the classroom, or his room," she said.
"Shh, calm down. Yugi couldn't have gone far, we'll search the palace for him, ok?" Atemu asked hugging Maria and rubbing her back. Maria sniffed and looked at him.
"Okay, let's go," she whispered.
About an hour later, Yugi still hadn't been found and Atemu was also starting to get nervous. So far, all of the priests but Seto had reported that Yugi wasn't in their assigned parts of the palace. Atemu was about to summon Seto, when Seto strode through the doors with a small smile on his face.
"Brother, did you find him?" Maria asked from where she was sitting on her smaller throne.
"Well, it turns out that he wasn't in my part of the palace, so I got a crazy idea and headed to the stables… It would be easier to explain if I showed you," Seto said leading the way out. Maria, Atemu, and the other priests followed Seto to the stables where he stopped outside of Jasmine's stall and pointed towards it.
"In there," he whispered. Maria looked into the stall and sighed in relief. In the hay, Yugi and Amir were lying down back to back, sleeping. Jasmine looked up at the sigh from where she was lying on the other side of Yugi, keeping him warm.
"I tried to go get him for you Maria, but Jasmine wouldn't let me come in very close," Seto said. Maria just shrugged and walked into the stall.
Jasmine immediately flicked her ears backwards and nickered in a protective warning to Maria as she drew closer. Maria, seeing this, stopped. "It's okay Jasmine, I'm just getting my little child. I promise I won't disturb yours," she said slowly while heading more towards Jasmine and stroking her head until Jasmine's ears went back to forward. "Thank you," she whispered, picking up Yugi carefully and heading out of the stall.
As they headed back to the palace, Yugi cuddled closer to Maria and went into a deeper sleep. "Mommy," was all he said as a sort of greeting before slipping into his deep sleep. Maria smiled down at him and then looked at Atemu who was also smiling softly at their child.
"Yugi reminds me of myself when I was little," Atemu explained, "I would wander off, throw the palace into more chaos than he did because I would not allow myself to be found for more than half of the day, and then conveniently fall asleep before father could scold me once I was found."
"You know, you're a bad influence on Yugi sometimes," Maria said quietly.
"I never taught him that!"
"Shh, well behavior is passed down from parent to child, so technically, you did teach him that."
"Well, then I guess he won't be picking up on any of your tendencies to stay put," Atemu retorted as they entered Yugi's room and Maria laid Yugi down on his bed. "For if I remember correctly, you were just as bad as I was when it came to sneaking out now almost three years ago before we had Yugi," he added in an undertone.
Maria came up and leaned against Atemu, who wrapped his cape around the two of them. "It's because of your persuasive nature…which, by the way, is the only way you convinced me to marry you."
"It was well worth it. I have a beautiful child and an even more beautiful wife. No one in the world can hold a candle to your divine beauty," Atemu said running his hand through Maria's hair.
"You flatter me. I'm not that beautiful," Maria said blushing and then giving Atemu a tiny kiss and then led him out of the room so Yugi could sleep.
About a year later, Maria sat on Atemu's throne dealing with some of the business that was at hand since Atemu was off taking a break. Finishing, she sighed and reclined into the soft padding for a minute before she heard footsteps entering through the rear door of the throne room.
"What can I help you with Mahaado?" she asked not even opening her eyes.
"Well, come to the pasture. We have a surprise for you," he said grabbing her hand. Maria opened her eyes and cocked her head before complying. Walking out to the pasture, she spotted Atemu, Seto, and some other priests gathered around the fence.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Look," Atemu replied pointing to the pasture. Maria, following his point, widened her eyes. In the pasture, Yugi sat on Amir riding him slowly while Rei followed on Sekhmet in case he fell. "Yugi's a natural… just like his mother," Atemu explained.
Three and a half year old Yugi spotted Maria watching and turned Amir towards her. "Hi mommy!" he said riding up, amethyst eyes shining while his tri-colored hair waved in the breeze.
Maria grinned at the cherubic young face and whistled. Almost immediately, Jasmine trotted up and Maria climbed the fence. "You are doing good, but come off for a minute," she said still smiling.
"Love, what are you doing?" Atemu asked as Maria picked Yugi up and sat him on Jasmine, "There's no way in Ra's name he is big enough to control Jasmine."
"I'm aware of that," Maria said as she instructed Yugi where to hold onto the mane.
As even Seto was about to protest, Maria suddenly swung up onto Jasmine's back behind Yugi and urging her into a gallop, jumped the fence and kept going, Yugi giggling all the way, and Amir standing at the fence whinnying for his master/ friend.
"We should have seen that coming. Most likely, they won't be back for a while," Mahaado plainly stated with a sigh. Rei dismounted Sekhmet and just smirked, knowing exactly where Maria was headed as everyone nodded at Mahaado's statement.
Maria and Jasmine headed out to the desert, giving Yugi a look at what lay beyond the palace walls. Turning Jasmine in a big circle, Maria slowed her to a leisurely walk as they approached the Nile.
"Where are we going Mommy?" Yugi asked tilting his head backwards.
"I'm taking you to meet a friend of mine."
"Oh, how do you know where to go?" he asked.
"I used to live here in town before I became a mage," Maria answered stopping in front of a two-story house and dismounting. Jasmine laid down and Yugi slid to the ground. Picking up Yugi, Maria walked up to the door and knocked on it.
The two didn't have to wait long before the door opened and Bakura stood in the doorway, surprise written all over his face.
"Are you going to stand there gawking or let us in?" Maria asked. Bakura grinned embarrassed and opened the door wider.
As Maria entered, Bakura spotted Yugi scamper behind his mother, suddenly shy. "Who's this?" Bakura asked with a chuckle. Maria turned and picked Yugi up.
"My son," she replied.
"Man," Bakura said with a small whistle, "he really takes after his father."
"In more ways than one," Maria replied, "Yugi, don't be shy, say hello."
"Hi," Yugi said with a small smile.
"Bakura, this is Yugi. Yugi, this is Rei's brother," Maria said as an introduction. Bakura did a sort of bow and smiled.
"Make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back," Bakura said exiting the living room. Maria sat down and settled Yugi on her lap.
"Why doesn't Bakura look like Rei, Mommy?" Yugi asked curiously.
"Because when me and Rei were younger, I basically took her in as a sister, and it's remained that way ever since," Bakura answered reappearing from the kitchen with some fruit.
"Oh."
Towards evening, Atemu was starting to wonder where Maria and Yugi could be even though he knew they were safe, when he heard horse hooves clatter on the alabaster outside the palace. Heading outside, Atemu shook his head when he saw Maria slide off Jasmine. And head into the stables to put Jasmine up for the night.
"Have fun?" Atemu asked as he came up behind her and gave her a hug. Maria jumped and then turned and smiled.
"Of course I did. You can't expect me to raise our child without showing him off to my old friends," she said with a smile.
"Speaking of which, where's Yugi?" Atemu asked tilting his head.
Maria pointed into the stall behind her, which Atemu noticed wasn't Jasmine's stall. "He wanted to say hello to Amir before we came in. He felt guilty for not bringing Amir with us," she explained.
As if waiting for a cue, Yugi emerged from the stall and bolted the door shut. "Hi daddy!" he said giving Atemu a hug. Atemu returned the hug and scooped Yugi into his arms.
"So, who did you visit?" Atemu asked. Yugi grinned and rattled off names like he and Maria had rehearsed, Maria knowing that Atemu would disapprove greatly if he found out that they visited Bakura.
As they headed into the palace, Yugi kept babbling on about what he saw outside the palace walls. "Daddy," he wondered suddenly, "why don't you take me out that often?"
Atemu and Maria looked at each other. "Two reasons," Atemu sighed, "first, you're too young, and secondly, Thebes is way too dangerous right now."
"Kay," Yugi said sullenly as the three headed into the dining hall for dinner. During dinner, a messenger falcon swooped into the hall and landed at Mahaado's place, right next to Yugi.
"Birdie!" Yugi laughed happily as he tried to reach the bird. After a minute of petting, the falcon flew away. Mahaado opened the note, and after taking a quick glance at it, passed it to Atemu.
"It's for you," Mahaado said as he tried to get Yugi to stop pouting about the falcon flying away. Atemu read the letter quickly and the tossed it down with a groan.
"What is it Love?" Maria asked getting a bad feeling about the letter.
Atemu just gave her a 'do you really want to know?' look, but by then, he had the attention of everyone but Mahaado, because he had read the letter, and Yugi, because Mahaado was keeping him occupied. "Fine," Atemu groaned, "The letter was from my six step-sisters. They said that they will be coming to visit in a week and a half's time."
At once there was a protest from all of the priests and Aniba. Atemu didn't even want to look in Maria's direction, for he knew that her eyes were blazing with rage.
"Quiet!" Seto barked and at once it was silent, for no one liked getting on Seto's bad side. "How about we all go into the throne room and talk this through…clear?" he suggested.
Everyone nodded and got up. Maria picked up Yugi before he could protest and took him to bed. "Mommy," Yugi asked as he rested his head on her shoulder as Maria headed to his room, "Why was everyone upset?"
Maria didn't answer at first. Finally, she looked at her son and smiled slightly. "You know how your father said his stepsisters would be visiting?" she wondered. Yugi nodded and she continued as they entered Yugi's room and sat on the bed. "Well, a bit before you were born, they visited and basically caused trouble. No one really likes them, but we're forced to put up with them because they're family," she explained as she removed Yugi's miniature cloak, jewelry, and sandals.
"Are they bad people?" Yugi asked as he cuddled one of his stuffed toys and looked at his mother.
"No, they're not…Me and your father don't see eye to eye with them, that's all. Now go to sleep and I'll see you tomorrow," Maria said with a slight laugh as she kissed Yugi's forehead and left.
Upon reaching the throne room, Maria's humor died away as she entered. Once she was seated, Atemu cleared his throat. "We need to find a solution to this. I for one think we have no choice," he stated.
"Do you not remember what they did last time! They basically sped your father's illness up by stressing his out!" Karim argued with disdain.
"We don't know that for certain," Mahaado argued back, "I agree with the pharaoh. We have no choice. By the time we send a message, and it reaches Dahshur, they will be here already."
"I will not host them," Maria snapped, her eyes once again blazing, "Atemu, don't you remember that they almost killed Yugi? How can you let them come here as if they were actually of blood relation?"
Everyone was silent as they remembered that day:
Flashback
"Maria, come show us the market!" the youngest sibling, Nefer, pleaded. Maria looked up from where she had been reading in the sun with Seto and sighed.
"Do I have to?" she asked, "I'm not feeling all that great today."
"Please? I promise it won't be too strenuous. We'll only go for an hour," Nubkhas, the second youngest urged.
"Go on," Seto said as Maria looked at him for his advice, "It'll do you good to be out of the palace for a while. Just make sure not to harm your child."
Maria smiled and then agreed to go. About an hour later, the seven girls were headed back to the palace, when Maria felt hands on her back and give her a hard enough push to send her down the stairs that they were near. As she stirred with pain, Maria looked up into the faces of the oldest three siblings: Tages, Taous, and Nephoris.
"That's what you deserve," Nephoris said with a smirk. "After all," she continued as Maria's vision started darkening, "We can't have a street whelp being queen, now can we? Considering it's my role to be Atemu's bride." With that, Maria blacked out.
A while later, Maria awoke to find Rei, Ishtar, and Atemu standing over her. When they saw her awake, they relaxed and some of the worry left their faces.
"Where am I?" she asked, feeling a soft cushion under her aching back.
"At my home," Rei replied, "My brother found you and brought you here, so naturally, I sent Ishtar to get Atemu."
"Are you alright?" Atemu asked, "Neherebkan said you had wanted to go off on your own for a while."
"Don't believe them Atemu," Maria said trying to sit up, but stopped, seeing as pain shot through her body, threatening to make her faint again. "Tages, Taous, and Nephoris pushed me down the stairs that I was found at the base of…Oh Ra, do you think…" Maria trailed off horrified and placed a hand on her stomach. After a moment, Maria relaxed. "Our child's alright. I don't know if he's hurt, but he's alive," she said.
Atemu nodded, still concerned. "Let's go home. You may hurt a little on the way back, but nothing bad," he promised as he scooped Maria up gently. Maria winced, and then relaxed in Atemu's arms.
"You can carry me?" she asked.
"I don't mean to burst your bubble, but you're not the heaviest person I've carried," Atemu replied with a snort as he headed back towards the palace.
"People," Maria corrected with a small laugh.
"I remember when you two returned that day. Akunumkanon was not happy with your stepsisters at all when he heard the true story. If I remember correctly, they were sent packing almost immediately," Mahaado said with a snort.
Atemu looked uneasy with that remembrance. "Maria, I see your point, but like I said, by the time a refusal letter will reach Dahshur, they will already be here," he said holding up his hand before Maria or any of the priests could protest, "but I will say this. I expect all of you to be in attendance to greet them and be at the welcoming feast. After that, you need not associate with them, but I will ask that you will be civil to them if you should cross paths with Tages, Taous, Nephoris, Neherebkan, Nefer, or Nubkhas, fair enough?"
All of the priests looked at each other and agreed to those conditions. Maria was silent, mulling it over, and then agreed somewhat reluctantly. As everyone dispersed, she called Seto and Mahaado to walk with her.
"Okay Maria, what do you have up your sleeve this time?" Seto asked as the three walked along the inside of the palace walls, their kas flying above them gleefully.
Maria looked at Seto and Mahaado before smiling. "Well," she said, "how about we make those six step-sisters depart earlier than planned?"
Mahaado raised an eyebrow. "As much as I like that idea, how do we pull it off?" he asked, with Seto in quick agreement as both were reminded how Tages and Neherebkan had crushes on them.
"With the help of our 'friendly' neighborhood tomb robber," Maria replied nochantly and saw Mahaado's and Seto's expressions. "Come on you two, you know he will listen to me, and I'd only tell him to be mischevious and not cause harm. We could get the whole palace in on it. I'm sure they'd play along," she pleaded.
The three kept walking in silence, and finally, Mahaado and Seto stopped. "You win," they said at the same time, causing Maria to laugh happily. Smiling, they returned to the palace to get a good night's sleep before putting their plan in action the following day.
YSF: I can't wait to start the next chapter. This is going to be so much fun! If you guys have a good prank/ scare that Bakura can pull off, tell me in a review, and if I like it, I'll use it with kudos to you guys, so read and review please!