.:. Alyssa rushes towards the dining hall, late for her performance. She'd been playing in the courtyard again today and had forgotten until just a few minutes ago. She finally found the room after looking for it for another five minutes and entered.

"Here she is." Yami announced to his guests as she peeped through the doorway. "Uh…hi…" she said nervously to the rest of them. Bowing her head politely she began to explain, " I was in the courtyard and I'm afraid I lost track of time." She started, her mouth dry. "I apologize."

"You are here now and that is all that matters." The Pharaoh told her. "Better late than never." He said. "I'm not so sure." She replied. "At least, in my haste to get here I'm afraid I never returned for my shell…" she says, her voice growing quieter as she grew redder. "If you'll give me but a few minutes I can retrieve it."

"Nonsense" the Pharaoh says. "I see you have your flute, and I know you are skilled at that. Would you mind if you played that, and I sent someone to retrieve your other instrument for you?"

"That would be fine, my Lord." She told him, sighing with relief. He nodded at someone and they disappeared, off to get what she had forgotten she expected. "Shall I begin then?" she asked him and he nodded at her. She brought the flute to her mouth and began to play an airy melody, a light and dancing tune. She thought she saw a few of the people in the back dance around in a little circle as they could not be seen by the Pharaoh or the guests. Finishing her song, she lowered her flute to applause and smiling faces. A man walked up to her and handed her shell to her. "Thank you." She said to him and glanced around for a place to set her flute, another coming up to take it from her as she bent to set it on the floor.

She straightened up and looked towards the Pharaoh again, waiting for his signal to begin. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she brought this funny instrument to her lips and began to play, pouring her soul into the song.

The room grew quiet and spell bound as the notes reverberated off the walls, the tune enchanting and drawing its audience in. It grew louder at the end, a crescendo until it could go no farther, and then quickly came down to a whisper, her fingers lightly dancing across the instrument as she spun the head and slowed the song to a halt.

She opened her eyes for the first time since she had begun and glanced around the room, noting the eyes of her listeners. The room was still, without any movement, and the expressions of those around her were hard to read. Feeling her eyes starting to fill with tears as she her heart sunk at her apparent failure, she mumbled an excuse and dashed out of the room, aware that she was no longer blinking back the heavy tears and instead could feel them falling faster than grains of sand.

"Is there something wrong?" One of the people outside the hall asked her. "I ruined it." She said as she moved past them. "After all he's done for me, and I ruined his party. I ruined it!" She ran past them, leaving them confused in her wake. She did not pause to look back.

In the hall the Pharaoh was debating whether or not to leave his guests or stay and talk to her later. "Oh just go." Siamun says to him again. "You know that's what you really want to do anyway." The Pharaoh looks at him. "Why bother acting?" his advisor chuckles. "Right." He nods as he quickly stands and exits, looking for her. "If you hurry you might catch her." He hears him call from inside.

Jogging down the hall he looked for her. Spying someone, they merely pointed. "She went that way." They said. He nodded and began in that direction. He had a pretty good idea of where she was going to be.

And a few minutes later he saw to his relief that he was. There on the balcony where he had first seen her he found her again. She was leaning against the railing this time, however, her face buried in her arms. He could tell she'd been crying.

Walking over to her, she rose. "My Lord." She said standing and wiping her eyes as she hid her face so he couldn't see her tears. He walked next to her and set his hands down on top of the railing. "Why did you leave like that?" he asked her. "I'm not stupid, my Lord." She told him. "I saw how they were looking at me. I'm sorry I disappointed you."

"Disappointed me?" he asked. "How so?" "My song." She said, a look of anguish playing across her face. "The one thing I'm supposed to be good at and I ruined it." "No you did-" "Yes, I did." She said, interrupting him. "For once I did look at everyone's faces. I saw the way they looked." "And how was that?" he asked. "They weren't smiling, that's for sure." She said. "They were just surprised." He tells her. "They haven't had the chance to hear such things before. It was entirely new to them. They were shocked." "Just because it was something new doesn't mean it is allowed to be unpleasant." She says. "It doesn't matter if it was new or not. Either they would like it or they wouldn't, and it wasn't the former option, my Lord." He chuckled. "I'm sorry I ruined your party." She repeated.

"You ruined nothing." He told her. Sighing, he tried to figure a way to pose the question he knew was inevitably going to be asked.

"There's…something I've been wanting to…to ask you." He said, looking down at his own hands, unsure of how to come about it. Somewhere along the way he'd fallen in love, and he knew that there was no way to escape it, nor did he want to.

"You don't have to worry." She said. "I understand." "You do?" he said. "Yes. It's okay, really."

"We can leave tomorrow."

"What?" he says surprised. "No, it's okay, really." She tells him, laughing as the tears fell a little slower. "I've been expecting it anyway. I think I have enough to get us a small room somewhere until I figure the rest of things out, so it's no problem. Really." "But I-" "Will be paid for everything." She interrupts him again. "I don't know how much it would be to stay in the palace for so long, a lot I'm sure." She adds. "But I promise you you'll have it all someday. It might be a while, but you'll get it. And if I can't seem to come up with it I'm sure that my children will continue what I left unfinished. And should you leave this world, then your children will receive the payments. One way or another it will come back to the throne, I promise."

"But-" "We can leave tonight if you want." She said, not really hearing him this time. "I'll just need a few minutes for my parents to get ready."

"That's not what I meant at all." He said before she could continue further. "Of course it is." She says. "I've been giving you problems since we got here." She said. "And then tonight not only was I late but I was horrible." "No you weren't." "Yes I was." She said. "How can you want me to stay after that?" she asked, fresh tears falling again.

"Very easily." He says. "Alyssa," he hesitates. "Would you…please..." He begins. "Just say it." She mumbles, dejected. "I'm trying to." He says. "I don't know how." "Then just spit it out!" She tells him. Hesitating, he begins again. "Would you…please…do me the honor of...becoming my wife?"

She freezes. "What?" she asks him. "You heard me." He says, awkwardly. "Will you marry me?" He takes a ring off one of his fingers and slips it onto her ring finger. A small green stone sparkles up at her. "It's not nice to toy with other's feelings, my Lord." she says, returning the ring to him and walking a few paces away, sitting on the bench. "Why do you say that?" he asks, coming to sit beside her. "Look at me!" she tells him. "And look at you! You're handsome and nice and wonderful and smart and" she sighs before continuing. "Rich. Not to mention the Pharaoh of Egypt." She says. "And?" he asks. "You could get anyone you wanted!" she shouts, gesturing to the city below him as she stands and walks over to the railing, resting her arms on it again. "You could walk into any home, pick a girl and she'd happily marry you. Even the elite would do it in a heartbeat." She sighed. "When you could have anyone…why would you want me?"

"But that's it." He tells her. "I don't want just anyone…I want you." He says. "I can't…" she tells him. "There's someone out there that's better than this" she says, gesturing to herself "…And she's pretty and smart and talented." She says. "But you just described yourself." He says, amused. "And rich." She adds. "Like you. So it's more equal. I certainly don't have any money." She says, scraping one of her sandals against the top of the other. "You don't deserve me." She says. "You deserve better."

"And you?" he asks her. "What do you think you deserve." She laughs sarcastically. "I don't think I need to worry about that." She says. "No one asks for me, and the one or two times they went to my father for my hand I refused. My father will not make me marry some man I don't want to, which is lucky for me because I don't want to just sit in a house all day and clean for some fool that won't give me the time of day unless he's interested in having children." She says plainly, crossing her arms as she gazes out at the lights below.

The Pharaoh smiles and stands. "Alright. I see." He says. "If after this you still don't want to, if you still say no, then I'll leave you be. You can stay here at the palace or leave if that is what you want." "After wha-" she begins, turning and dropping her arms as she feels the Pharaoh's mouth come down over hers and his arms encircle her waist. For a moment she is shocked but then allows herself to be lost in the kiss. Her body melts into his as he supports her entirely, her limp arms resting against his strong ones. They stand there like this for what seems an eternity to her, as his spicy scent once more infects her body and leaving her happily dizzy. The Pharaoh breathes in hers, thinking she tastes even sweeter than she smells. Finally they separate, she still leaning against him, her eyes closed.

"Please." He says quietly, slipping his ring over her finger again. She looks at it, opening her eyes and watching it glint. Burrowing her face in his chest again, she says "After that how can I say no?"
"So that's a yes then?" the Pharaoh asks, his heart full to bursting. "Yes." She says, and he catches her up and kisses her again. Her head swims in a blissful ocean of warmth, and she rests against him when he releases her once more. "I'll send someone to your suite tomorrow for measurements for a wedding dress." He tells her softly as he stroked her long, soft hair. She mumbles something and burrows into him again and he laughs, enjoying the feeling. After a few more minutes he sighs. "I should probably be getting back then." "And I should probably be getting to bed." She tells him, still resting against his chest. "I'll be by tomorrow." He tells her, planting a soft kiss on the top of her head. "I'll be waiting." She says, squeezing him in a hug once more as he wraps his arms around her tight again. They separate then, and she picks up her shell from where she set it down on the bench almost forgetting it in her joy. She walks on air back to her room, floating on cloud nine as she enters the suite. She climbs into bed, sighs happily, and promptly falls asleep.

Entering the hall the Pharaoh once more sits down. "What took you so long?" one of them asks him. "Hey, look, he's a little red there, aint he?" They laugh, including the Pharaoh. "Hey Yami, where's your ring? You drop it?" One of them asks. "No, I gave it to my soon to be wife." He says nonchalantly as he reaches for his cup of wine." There is a rousing chorus of sheers and whistles as they get up and clap him on the shoulder, congratulating him. "I am pleased for you." His advisor says, raising his glass to him. "Not nearly as much as I am." The Pharaoh says. "When are you two tying the knot?" one of them asks as they pick up an apple. "I don't know." The Pharaoh says. "As soon as everything's ready." They raised their glass in a toast and drank deep, the Pharaoh the happiest he'd ever been.

.:. Yami stood up and walked towards his friends. He'd found Yugi only to lose him again. He did feel slightly better now though. Slowly he made his way towards the edge of the circle.

Atop the hill the four of them and Skye looked down at the Pharaoh. "Poor Pharaoh." Tea said again. "If he can't stop feeling bad about himself we'll never get Yugi back." "It's a hard loss for him." IronHeart says, "But he will grow better in time." "Especially when we do get Yugi back." Alyssa adds and Tea nods.

The ground rumbles beneath the Pharaoh's feet as he looks around. "Who's there?" he calls out, scanning around him for someone. "Show yourself!" he says. A large figure made of Rock bursts from the ground. It makes a low groaning noise and holds out a hand. A monster comes forth from the ground and attempts to attack the Pharaoh. He dodges, and turns away. Similar attacks follow, and the Pharaoh becomes cornered as he notices the symbol of the Orycalcos beneath his feet. The monster attacks again and the Pharaoh holds out his arm to block the blow. A shield forms around him though, and he hears a whispery voice. "The spirits of Atlantis will help you, but they can not do it alone. You must call upon your cards!" It says, as it swirls together and enters his deck. "This thing can't be dueling me, can it?" The Pharaoh asks. He pulls out a card as he sees it ready to strike at him again. "I play my Celtic Guardian!" The Pharaoh says, as the card moves to attack. The Pharaoh's card is the stronger of the pair, and defeats the monster, draining it of its life points. "That was too easy." The Pharaoh says, narrowing his eyes. The monster attacks his Guardian again, and it dodges. "Are you alright?" the Pharaoh calls to his monster and it nods it's head. "Then strike it again!" he says, and the Guardian does so, once more bringing down the opponent. The Pharaoh is not as surprised when it emerges again. "It get's stronger each time." He comments as his Guardian strikes at it, once more defeating it. "But this time…" the Pharaoh says, as it comes up. "It won't be able to defeat it this time." Surely enough the monster squarely lands a blow on the Celt, and he bursts into pieces. The monster once more advances on the Pharaoh, who plays a trap card to dodge the blow.

"What's going on?" he says as he is drawn away into a world of gray. "IronHeart?" he says, noticing someone similar to the old man he had met.. "And Chris!" he says, his eyes alighting to the figure next to them. They were dressed richly, IronHeart holding a battle axe in his hand and she holding a staff as she rode on Skye, who looked like a wolf more than domesticate.

Stretched out before them was a cast battlefield full of monsters. On one side they were deformed, their ugly shells dark and full of spines. On the other side a variety of majestic beasts spanned, the two sides ready to collide.

They did, and battles were fought, soldiers on both sides of the field going down. Across the Way he could see a man laughing as he rode atop a dark black serpent. The beast fired at the other side, effectively taking out many of its men. A great cry rose up as the side of Good was ravaged.

But then another cry took up. "Look, it's Timeaus!" they shouted. In the sky the Pharaoh saw his own legendary dragon flying through the air, blasting away an equal number of monsters on the other side. "Timeaus, how nice to see you." The man on the other side of the field said. The Dragon turned toward him and began flying at an even faster pace. "Foolish, Timeaus." The man said. "I call upon the sword of the Orycalcos!" he shouted, and a large green sword descended to him from the sky. "I have more power in the tip of my finger then you do in your whole body!" the man shouted as a green light flew from his finger to the dragon. Timeaus fell then, hitting the ground hard. "Timeaus!" the Pharaoh called out, though no one heard him. The dragon lifted it's head up and shot a blast at the other dragon, the one this man was riding on. "Attack, Leviathan!" the man shouted, and a deep red beam met the light blue of Timeaus's. They collided, a bright sphere forming at the meeting point, before expanding into a bright light.

Atop the hill the foursome stands, worried. Removing Timeaus from his coat IronHeart says "The Pharaoh will need his card." He starts running down the slope at a furious pace. Lightning bolts fall from the sky and attempt to hinder him. "C'mon Skye." The young girl says, hopping onto the back of her dog and running down the hill. "Grandpa needs our help!"

IronHeart reaches the foot of the slope before a lightning bolt finally catches him. "Grandpa!" Chris shouts as Skye comes to a halt next to his fallen figure. "Chris, the Pharaoh needs his card." He says, holding it out to her. She takes it and promises him with a nod of her head. Separating into a wave of bubbles as Yugi had, he floats away on the wind. "C'mon Skye!" Chris shouts, hopping onto her canine comrade and continuing towards the Pharaoh.

"No, it's too dangerous." The Pharaoh says, having seen her grandfather fall and she riding towards him, bolts of lightning splaying the ground around her. She makes half the distance to him before Skye trips, landing on his side. "Oh no, Skye!" she says, kneeling next to him as he whimpers. He licks her hand and likewise disappears after turning into a hundred feathery bubbles.

Watching her run, the Pharaoh is forced to dodge a few more attacks, some of his monsters that were in defense mode becoming destroyed. Only a few feet away a lightning bolt triumphantly catches Chris's ankle, and she pulls herself the rest of the way. "Pharaoh," she says, as she holds a shaky arm to hand him the Eye of Timeaus. "Grandpa wanted you to have this card. Please, take it." She hands the card through the barrier to him. "Thank you." The Pharaoh tells her. She nods and smiles at him, vanishing into a curtain of bubbles as had Graybeard and Skye.

Looking at the cards he holds in his hands, the Pharaoh speaks to them. "I know I have wronged you. I do not ask you to do this for me, but for all those that are counting on me and have fallen." He closes his eyes momentarily before swiftly opening them. "I call upon the Eye of Timeaus!" he shouts and the dragon triumphantly roars out to the field. "And I'll merge him with my Dark Magician to, to create Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight!" Again she comes out of the card before spinning in a circle and possessing a shiny coat of armor. "And now to heighten their attack power, I'll play the card Excalibur, adding one thousand points." He says. A shiny sword appears in her hand as their power reaches five thousand. "Now, attack this creature of darkness!" he shouts, as Timeaus and Dark Magician Girl let out colorful beams of blue and purple that intertwine to form one, blasting the monster and successfully ridding it of all its life points so that it never returns again.

After it had disappeared the Dark Magician Girl and Timeaus appear before the Pharaoh. "I thank you." He tells them. "If you could ever forgive me for what I have done, it would be more than I deserve." He tells them as they nod and disappear.

"Not more than you deserve, Pharaoh." He hears a voice from behind. "Just more than you would ask for."

"Alyssa" he says, turning to see her smiling as Tea runs up behind her. "We were worried." Tea says. "We were debating coming down and ended up playing rock paper scissors for it." "Oh?" the Pharaoh says, cocking an eyebrow. "If I won we would come down. If Tea won we'd stay." Alyssa told him. "And who won?" asks the Pharaoh. "I did." Tea says. "Then how come you are here?" he asks. "Well," Alyssa starts. "You can't let rock paper scissors decide everything."

.:. Alyssa lays in her bed, snuggling deeper under the covers and their warmth. She pulls at the pillow, her head burrowing deeper into it. She mind is enveloped in a sea of happy dreams, and she is blissfully sleeping.

Just then her mother unceremoniously opens the door so that it swings into the wall, startling the young girl in her bed as she awakes from the sound. "You're engaged to the Pharaoh, and you didn't tell me?" her mother asks her. "Hmm?" she says, still not fully awake. "You're getting married, and you didn't tell your own mother?" her mother says, shaking her lightly. "I wasn't even sure I wasn't dreaming it." She said taking hold of her mother's arm and stopping her. "Why, how do you know? Did he come by?" she asks, now fully awake. "No, he's sent a group of people to help make your dress." Her mother explains. "Imagine that. Me. Mother of the bride, and I don't find out until someone outside the family tells me."

"I'm sorry." She says, sliding out of bed and looking for one of her dresses so that she might change for the day. "I'm getting married. Happy?"

"Of course I'm happy for you!" Her mother says, giving her a hug. "You know, I could tell he had eyes for you." She said to her daughter. "Mom…" she said, looking around still. "I did. I told myself, wouldn't it be funny if he really could call me mom?" "Have you seen my-"

"Ah, there she is!" A woman says loudly, bursting through her door. About three other women trail after her, and one or two more carrying different fabrics. "Set the stool down." She tells one of them. "You must be the lucky girl." She says to Alyssa. "Hold this." and hands her a bit of fabric. "Okay." She says. Suddenly she can feel herself being wrapped around by long sheets of soft fabric and feels herself lifted onto the stool. "This really isn't necessary," she says. "I can make my-" "The ribbon, please" a woman says interrupting her. In the short space of time that they had been there there was already a flurry of activity going on and she couldn't even really hear herself over all the buzz that was going on. Giving in she allowed herself to be positioned and tilted and standing still as they began their work.

It seemed like hours she stood there and her stomach growled since she had missed the chance to eat breakfast. Her mother had stayed with her for a while, but they being unable to hear each other, she left laughing at the situation. The women were busily talking among themselves, citing measurements and ideas and many other things. Alyssa merely stood there as they began sewing and talking and things that all seamstresses do.

It was around lunch when the Pharaoh finally made his way to her room. He entered the suite after knocking and noticed her uneaten tray. He received a warm hug from her mother-his in-law now-and proceeded to the back room where he found everyone busily at work. He could not keep from laughing as he saw the exasperation on her face as the other woman worked around her.

Spying him in the corner Alyssa made every effort to try and release herself from the fabric enclosure she was in. After trying in vain for several minutes she finally just shrugged it all off, the women catching it and continuing to work on it. Flushed she walked over to him.

He handed her flute to her. "You forgot this last night in the hall." He told her. "Thank you." She says, taking it from him. "I could not seem to escape before. Perhaps they won't notice if I remain quiet as I sneak away." She tells him, looking back at the mad scene within her bedroom. "Did they mention when they expect to have it finished?" he asked her. "I think I heard them say three days, but at the pace they are going at I wouldn't be surprised if it is finished by the end of the day." She says. He laughs jovially at the comment and she flushes a little bit more. He tucks a lock of hair behind her ear happily as he hears her tummy growl.

"Have you eaten lunch yet?" he asks her. "No, nor breakfast either." She says. "I woke up and minutes later I was bombarded with this mass of people." She tells him. "Would you care to join me?" he asks her. "Yes, I'd like that very much." She tells him as he takes her hand and leads her away from the loudness of the room.

Later after they had eaten they strolled through the garden, she resting her head on his shoulder as they walked. "Is this the first time you've been through here?" he asks her. "I've been to the beginning before, but never this deep, no." she says looking up. "It's like we were in a jungle." She comments. "You even have monkeys in here." She says, a small one jumping between trees and she smiles. "Would you like to have one?" he asks her. "Oh no, my Lord." She tells him, smiling. "While I do believe the ones you have here are wonderful, I also think that here is where they should remain."

"Why do you still address me as such?" he asks her. "And how come you still will not look me in the eye. "We are not married yet, my Pharaoh." She tells him simply. "Until such a time I will treat you as always. Though I am sure that afterwards it will change. Unless you would prefer that I still address you by your title, that is." She says. "No, that's okay." He tells her, kissing her hand. "I'd much rather hear you call me something else." He says.

They return to her suite (the Pharaoh taking care to go the long way, though she did not know that.) and she leaves him at the door.

"Thank you, my Lord." She tells him, bowing her head slightly. "I enjoyed that." "As did I." he tells her, bowing his own head to her and smiles as he sees her blush. "There she is!" and "We were wondering where you'd slipped off to." Can be heard from various people inside. He sees her surprised look as they surround her and lead her back to her room, where she replaced the unfinished cloth and stood as they worked over her, until night fell and it was time for her to sleep