I don't own Yugioh. I do own Maria, Gold, silver, and this plot… which is co-owned by Rei…figures, but nothing more,

8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Nephoris attacked again, and Maria nimbly dodged it. It was a little fast for Bakura to see, but it seemed that Maria had used one of her old dancing moves to avoid the knife. Finally, Maria used her magic and pinned Nephoris to the ground. "See Nephoris, I'm not just a rag-tag dancer, I have more talents than you," Maria said looming over Nephoris, "Guards, tie her up and take her back to Thebes." The remaining two guards hauled Nephoris up and bound and gagged her like her sisters were.

Exiting the garden, they mounted their horses again and started their journey towards home, Maria glancing over shoulder to smirk at Nephoris who was glaring at her.

About a week later, Atemu laid on the balcony that was connected to his bedroom gazing at the stars, when a dark shape passed overhead and circling, settled onto the floor next to him. Looking over, Atemu noticed it was Horakedu, his most trusted messenger falcon.

"Hey boy," Atemu said sitting up and holding out his arm so that Horakedu could perch on his gold-covered forearm. Stroking the falcon's feathers, Atemu noticed that Horakedu had a note tied to his leg. Unfurling it as Horakedu moved to perch on his shoulder, Atemu stood and moved towards the entry to his room and read the note.

Look down.

Atemu, understanding the note, went to the edge of the balcony and looked down, smiling as he saw who was standing there.

"Took you long enough!" Maria called playfully up to him. Atemu smiled and using his magic, brought Maria up to him.

"Did everything go all right?" Atemu asked after giving Maria a gentle kiss.

Maria nodded, looking weary. "I don't like long trips," she sighed leaning her head on Atemu's shoulder as he held her close, "I just want to crawl into bed and sleep for two days."

Atemu chuckled lightly. "Good luck with that," he replied, "You now have competition for your spot.

Maria was instantly alert. "Are you hiding something from me?" she demanded but Atemu shushed her before she got too loud, which Maria found odd.

"Go inside and see," was all he said. Maria complied and stopped short, her anger melting from her face.

"You rascal," she said softly, "when you said competition, I thought you had brought some prostitute to bed."

"Don't you trust me?"

"Oh I trust you, just not male hormones," Maria replied with a smile before going over to the bed and picking up the prone form before settling onto the bed with her back against the headboard.

Yugi stirred when he felt something brush his bangs from his face and then started waking up when something warm enveloped him. Cracking his eyes open, Yugi rubbed them to get rid of blurry vision before looking up into sapphire colored eyes. "Mommy?" he asked.

Maria nodded and Yugi attached his arms around her neck in a tight hug. Atemu watched with a smile, remembering how many times Yugi asked him when Maria was going to return. "He's been sleeping in here every night since the incident," Atemu explained.

"Yugi, why aren't you sleeping in your own bed?" she asked, combing her fingers through the child's hair.

"The bad men will come to get me!" he whispered fearfully, hugging his mother tightly as if he would be taken from her.

"I guess another night is going to be all right," Maria said laying Yugi down in the middle of the bed as Atemu joined them, laying on Yugi's other side. Soon enough, the three fell into a peaceful sleep.

The next morning, Maria sought out Atemu, finding him in the stables brushing Star down. "I thought you were going to sleep for two days straight," Atemu joked when he notice Maria pull out Jasmine and let her go nuzzle Star. Star at first looked aloof, but then knowing the two humans weren't fooled, nuzzled Jasmine in return.

"I feel better after sleeping in my own bed. Besides we need to talk," Maria said starting to brush Jasmine as the said chestnut stood quietly while munching on a carrot.

"About what?"

"I'm concerned about Yugi. He's going to be afraid of his room and of the dark shadows when he's alone forever if we continue to let him sleep in our room," Maria said.

"He's only four, what do you expect once he had a very close brush with death?" Atemu replied with a shrug.

"You're taking this too lightly."

"No I'm not, you're taking this too seriously. After Yugi starts forgetting about it, I'm sure he'll go back to his room," Atemu tried to reason.

"You'll just keep saying that, won't you?" Maria asked and then cut Atemu off before he started to speak as she put Jasmine away, "You'll just keep saying that he's just a little kid until it's too late and he'll refuse to go back to his room and then what? Have him stay with us till he's a young man? I'm not going to stand for this Atemu, I just won't!" she snapped before storming out of the stables.

"Maria!" he called but knew that she wouldn't turn around. "Well boy," he said, scratching Star between the ears, "I think me and Maria just had the first fight of our marriage."

That evening, when it was Yugi's bedtime, Maria picked him up and took him to his own room. After getting Yugi ready, she laid him down, only to have the child crawl back into her lap.

"No mommy," he whimpered, "I don't want to sleep in here."

"Why not?" she asked patiently. Yugi looked at her, tears brimming his eyes.

"The bad men are going to hurt me."

"Yugi, the bad men won't hurt or come near you anymore. As long as we are able to protect you, nothing can hurt you," Maria soothed, tucking Yugi in and sitting near him on the bed after brushing his tears away. "If you spend the night sleeping in your room, I promise you that you'll find nothing to fear when you wake."

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" he whispered, cuddling his favorite stuffed toy.

"Of course Yugi," Maria replied with a smile and started running her fingers through his hair and humming his favorite lullaby. A few minutes later, she slipped out of his room, closing the door softly.

"So, what do you want me to do?" Bakura asked, coming up behind her.

"I want you to stay here and if Yugi wakes up and starts whimpering or calling for me or Atemu, go in and calm him down," Maria explained and then stopped. "You don't mind, do you?" she asked.

"I'll do this as long as you need me to," Bakura reassured, sitting in a chair by the door. "When Rei was a touch older than Yugi, I would stay near her at night. If she woke from nightmares, I would calm her, so I have some experience in these things."

"Thank you so much," she whispered before kissing his cheek and slipping off. Entering the master bedroom, she didn't look at or talk to Atemu as she prepared for sleep.

"Maria, come on look at me," Atemu tried as he snuffed the last candle and climbed into the large bed, wishing for once that it was smaller so she couldn't avoid him as much. When she didn't respond, Atemu shook her gently with a sigh. "Come on love, what's bothering you?"

Maria tried to ignore Atemu, but it was a little hard with him basically pleading in her ear. Finally getting thoroughly pissed off, she rolled over and smacked him in one fluid motion.

Maria slightly smirked when Atemu put a hand to his throbbing cheek, a look of pure shock gracing his features. "Why did you hit me?" he asked after a minute.

"Because Atemu, I'm trying to sleep, and you keep annoying me," Maria snapped lying down once more, her back to him again. "If you want to talk so badly, you can wait till tomorrow, now can't you?" she finished, using an old talent of falling asleep within fifteen seconds of closing her eyes. That was something that always annoyed Atemu once he knew trying to get her to talk or do something was futile because she wouldn't wake up for the world.

Atemu frowned, knowing this trick, and also fell asleep. In the morning, Atemu woke up before the sun rose and knowing that Maria didn't wake till the sun hit her face, merely sat there looking out the window, a small smirk on his face. Finally the sun started rising and the first ray pierced the window, hitting Maria in the face.

Maria groaned and rolled over onto her back to get the sun out of her eyes. She frowned as her mind woke when her body realized that it couldn't move after she had rolled. Cracking her eyes open reluctantly, Maria squint-glared at Atemu, who was sitting on her legs and pinning her wrists on the bed.

"Now you have to listen, and your sleep trick won't work," Atemu pointed out with a chuckle.

Maria opened her eyes farther. "The rising sun makes the magenta in your hair glow like flames," she said trying to change the subject, squirming slightly to get free.

Atemu stopped her struggles with a kiss. "You're not getting away that easily," he answered, resting his forehead against hers.

"Fine, I'm listening, but if this conversation turns out to be a waste of time, I'm hitting you again for the third time in our acquaintance. I hear three is a magic number."

"Noted. Now, we need to settle this disagreement about Yugi. I fear if we stay mad at each other, he'll be affected, thinking it's his fault. I know that feeling all too well, and I don't want him to go through with that," Atemu said, getting the ball rolling.

"Well, what do you propose we do?" Maria asked, using her magic to get her wrists free and sitting up, Atemu moving to sit facing her.

Atemu was silent, not wanting to reveal that he could solve the country's problems and not his own family's. Maria looked at his bowed head as he absently toyed with the blanket and pieced it together. "You don't know what to do, do you?" she asked quietly, sliding behind him and kneading his shoulders with gentle squeezes once he acknowledged her statement.

"And I suspect you have an idea?"

"Well, not about our feud, but I think I know how we can get him to lose his fear of his room," she said as Atemu laid his head in her lap and looked up at his queen.

"I'm listening."

"Well, I was thinking that each night, we put him to bed, and stay till he falls asleep…"

"That's just like letting him sleep in our room!" Atemu argued, but quieted down under Maria's mild glare.

"you didn't let me finish. As he got used to us being there when he fell asleep, we would slowly go toward the door while he was still awake until he would become afraid of the shadows, and we'd stay at that mark until he was used to us being away from him. Finally, we'd keep repeating this until we could exit the room without him getting scared of his room," Maria explained.

"I must admit, you thought this through, didn't you?" Atemu asked, impressed. Maria nodded and Atemu smiled. "Well, one problem gone, now about us…friends?" he asked with a pleading look.

Maria laughed and shook her head. "No, not friends," she murmured, seeing Atemu's shocked expression, "Lovers, or loving husband and wife…your pick."

"Frankly, I don't give a damn as long as I have you," Atemu replied, pulling Maria into a passionate kiss. Maria smiled and returned the kiss, sitting back up after they broke apart. "Are you going to be joining me in the throne room today? I figured Bakura or someone could watch Yugi for you today," Atemu said.

"How did you…"

"Know that Bakura was here? Who else would you turn to when you and me have a disagreement besides Mahaado?"

Maria smiled sheepishly. "I'll go ask him if he wants to watch Yugi for today," she replied, going into their bathroom to change and then leaving to find Bakura. Walking to Yugi's room, she noticed the door open, and Bakura not in his chair. Wondering what was going on, she walked into the room and was suddenly tackled by Yugi.

"I told you being patient would work, Yugi," Bakura laughed from where he was sitting on the bed.

"You two are very mischievous together," Maria chuckled as she returned Yugi's hug and sat up, "How did you sleep Yugi?"

Yugi beamed up at his mother. "I didn't wake up once!"

"He startled me when he poked his head out of his room. I didn't think a four-year-old could open those doors so quietly," Bakura added.

"He has his father's sneakiness. I'm proud of you for sleeping all night in your room Yugi, I think this deserves a reward," Maria said, turning her attention to Yugi.

"What's that?" Yugi asked, excitement shining in his eyes.

Bakura caught Maria's look and nodded. "You could spend the day with me…outside of the palace," he offered.

"Can I mommy?" Yugi asked, turning what the priests dubbed as his puppy-dog pout on Maria.

"Put the eyes away," Maria laughed, "Of course you can, just stay out of trouble."

Yugi cheered and Maria picked him up to take him to have breakfast, Bakura following close behind. About an hour later, after Bakura left with Yugi perched on his shoulders, Maria entered the throne room and sat on her throne.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" she asked, turning to Seto.

"Well, today we're trying the five sisters. We know what's going to happen, but it's just a formality," he replied.

Maria rolled her eyes as the five were brought in and the 'trial' began. During it, Maria felt eyes on her and saw Nubkhas looking at her with a fearful expression. Giving her a sad smile that said, 'you had it coming,' Maria continued looking at the others.

Neherebkan just looked at the floor. Tages and Taous held onto each other, realization of what's going to happen evident in their eyes. Finally, Maria settled her gaze on Nephoris, who even though grew paler at every word, caught Maria's gaze and held it, raising her head in a defiant manner.

"…You five are all aware of what your actions will do to you. If you had stopped at Nefer, you might have lived out the rest of your lives in prison. However, since you attempted to kill me, Maria, and Yugi, you face execution. There's nothing I can or will do to save you. All of you will die at dawn," Atemu finished, signaling his guards to take them back to the dungeons.

"Do I have to watch the execution?" Maria asked with a slight hint of reluctance.

Atemu sighed and rubbed his temples with his fingers. "Yes, it's customary."

"I don't like bloodshed. That's one of the reasons why I agreed to live in the palace in the first place," came the reply.

Atemu just laughed. "It comes with the role," he said with a chuckle.

…

About two months later, Yugi was finally able to fall asleep in his room without Maria or Atemu in there as well. Since Yugi was no longer afraid of his room, Bakura had returned home.

Bakura was currently sitting behind a rock on the lip of the valley of the kings one night, surveying the entrance to an old tomb. He had kept his eye on it ever since he had started tomb robbing, and now the time was right…only one guard at the entrance. Sliding down the slope, Bakura melded into the shadows and stealthily approached the tomb entrance.

The guard never knew what hit him. One moment, he was fulfilling a shift that was totally boring and dull. The next moment, he was dying of a slit throat as a figure shrouded in shadows stepped over his twitching corpse. Bakura entered the tomb, ignoring a sense of foreboding that he was getting, and walking down the hall, stumbled over a loose stone.

Catching himself against the wall, Bakura looked back and narrowed his eyes at the telltale sign of a booby-trapped floor panel. "I'm being clumsy," he muttered to no one in particular. "Are you happy now Diabound? Glad I didn't see a trap?" Bakura called out with a grumble, sensing his ka's pleasure and amusement.

"What do you think the trap was, since nothing has happened?" Bakura asked and then smacked himself. "Duh, stupid, this tomb is old. The trap probably rotted away…I should really stop talking to myself," he muttered, continuing down the hall.

Finding the offering chamber door a while later, Bakura and Diabound felt around a little ways down the hall and felt a hidden door shift when Diabound pushed on it. Chortling, Bakura strolled down the revealed hall, and didn't even notice the hazy cloud around the corner until he walked right into it…

5555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555

YSF: Bakura's in trouble! What do you think the cloud was? If someone reviews the correct answer, I'll reward a cookie to them.

By the way, if anyone would be so kind as to read my best friend's fic: Immortal Death by Night Spirit1. She needs five reviews, so please help her out. It's really a good story.