.:. Alyssa awoke the next day, tingling with happiness as she began counting down the hours until her wedding. They were to be married at noon, when the sun was at it's zenith in the sky. Her tummy was so full of excited butterflies that she thought they would lift her off the ground. Despite her protests they brought her breakfast in bed again but she was so excited she could barely eat anything at all. Her mother laughed and told her to breathe when she began talking, her speech rate fast with her eager happiness and her sentences long and incomprehensible.

She began getting dressed, taking care with the long sleeves of lace. She marveled at it and its intricacy; the feathery feeling of the fans made from the softest fabric around. They were smooth and satiny, and she felt as if the entire garment were made of delicate down.

In his own room the Pharaoh also was growing excited. His friends clustered around him as he himself began getting ready, teasing him lightly and joking with him. The Pharaoh laughed as his eyes strayed to the sun, wishing it to move faster. His companions helped him adjust his cape so that it flowed out behind him. He was wearing his puzzle still, and it hung about his neck. He held it in his hands and asked it to give them a wonderful day, to see that all went well. His friends clapped him on the back as he finished preparing. It was time to go to the temple.

Inside spanned many seats, filled with people from the city who had come to watch the event. They bowed to him as he walked by, and he nodded in each direction, the crowd returning to their seats as he passed. Near the front he hugged his friends and left them to sit, kissing the hand of his soon to be mother in law and shaking the hand of the father of the bride as he saw them. He smiled as he felt the man thump his back in a fatherly manner and as her mother gave him a kiss on the cheek before heading to the front of the room.

He climbed the golden stairs to the top and saw his advisor, Siamun, who was here to perform the marriage. He chatted with him momentarily. "Nervous, my boy?" his friend and mentor asked him. "Not at all," the Pharaoh replied, his eyes twinkling with excitement. "That's good," Siamun says as he sees someone motion to him. "Because she's here."

The Pharaoh looked up and saw her walking towards the front, a few attendants behind her. She ascended the stairs and stood facing him on the platform and the pharaoh thought he'd never seen anyone move with such grace before as she did then. He held himself back as a wisp of her hair fell from behind her ear, longing to brush it away for her. He tried to turn his thoughts back to Siamun, who had apparently begun talking.

"People of Egypt," he hears as he projects so that all may hear him. "We are here today to witness the marriage of your Pharaoh." He starts, the crowd cheering for a moment as Siamun motions for quiet and continues. "On this day he shall take his bride…" he began again, but the Pharaoh was already zoned out again. He could hear his voice but the words sounded jumbled and far away. He reached out and took her hands as Siamun continued his oratory, gently stroking the tops of them with his thumbs. He heard her intake of breath as he did so and smiled.

She'd been so nervous she would fall or her fine dress would catch as she ascended the stairs. She couldn't believe how clumsy she felt, but managed to get to the top. She bowed her head before the Pharaoh, the ebullient butterflies returning to her again. She heard his advisor, Siamun she recalled some one telling her, begin the ceremony. She tried to concentrate so she would remember this always, but found herself fading in and out. The Pharaoh took her hands at one point and she felt a thrill go through her entire body, the ability to pay attention becoming even harder.

"Pharaoh" Siamun says, slightly louder than his previous words so that it draws the Pharaoh back to the world. "You wish to take this woman as your wife and make her your queen, so that she retains all the powers of one? You vow to keep her always, so long as she does you no wrong, and that you will show her all the kindness you may?" he asks. "I do." The Pharaoh says.

"And you," he says, Addressing Alyssa. "You promise to remain faithful to your Lord and husband, to aid him in whatever matters and tasks he may ask of you, and that you will fulfill the duties you hold as High Queen?" he asks her. "Of course I do." She says.

"Then by the symbol of this ribbon that binds your hands, so you are bound to each other." He says, tying a light ribbon about their interlocked hands. When he is finished he begins again. "I pronounce you Atemu Yami Yugi, Pharaoh of Egypt, and Alyssa Yugi, his High Queen." "I promise to love and cherish you, for forever, and long after." He tells her. "And I the same, my Lord, my love, my friend, my Pharaoh." She tells him. "Kiss her already" Siamun tells the Pharaoh so that only he could hear as he nudges him in the back and turns towards another group of people to call them forward.

The Pharaoh laughs as he finally brushes back the lock of hair that had fallen, feeling his new wife trembling. "Why are you shaking?" he asks her quietly. "Because I'm afraid." She tells him, her voice quivering. "Afraid that I'll wake up; that this will all have been just a dream." She lets out a reserved laugh. "Maybe I should pinch myself." She says. "Maybe you should." The Pharaoh agrees. She releases his hand and moves it towards her other arm, the one that had been tied to his by the ribbon which had since been removed. He stops it, taking both her hands in one of his. Lifting her chin with the other, he looks into her eyes, and for the first time the jewels of sapphire looked back, before he closed his mouth over hers once more.

As he had the night he had spoken with her on the balcony he pulled her into him, and he could hear the crowds cheering and music begin playing behind them as he dipped her backwards, her arms going about his neck as he once more supported her. Finally he stood her up and released her, their noses touching as their heads rested against the other's.

Siamun congratulated them, shaking their hands as they beamed at him. He put a new, fancier crown on the Pharaoh, thumping him on the back and messing up his hair. "You old rascal!" He told him lightly as the Pharaoh laughed once more. "And now, you have to look like the Queen." He said to her, as he picked something up off a ruby colored pillow. He fastened it so that a small oval, blue-green gem stood on the center of her forehead, two thin chains of gold wrapping around her brow until they met in the back. "This is your crown." He tells her. "It suits you well." he says. "Thank you." She says to him, lightly touching the cool, smooth stone that was set in gold.

The Pharaoh beckoned to another person, who brought with them a small box. "I have a present for you myself." He tells her. "But, I've nothing to give to you." She says nervously. "It doesn't matter." The Pharaoh says. "Someone told me that you gave away something very precious to you in effort to keep your home." He says as he opens the box. "I hope this might help." He says, taking out a lovely necklace. The gem in it is like the one in her crown, set in gold. It was in the shape of an upside down teardrop, the round top thinning down into the point. Two thin golden chains met at its top, twisting around each other in a tight double helix. She gasps as she looks at it. "It's beautiful." She tells him. "And if you look in the middle, you'll see that the Earth saw fit to grace it with a heart."

She did look, and in the middle there was the image of a heart. Swirls and splotches of slightly darker blue-green met together in the middle, their unconnected spacing outlining the shape of a heart. She held her hair as he went behind her, drawing it about her slender neck and locking its clasp for her. "You shouldn't have-" she tells him. "It must have cost a fortune." She states. "I was only returning it to its rightful owner." He tells her as she turns to face him. "You mean…" she says, her hand going to the jewel at her throat. "This couldn't be…" He nods and chuckles as he sees her surprised expression. "I only had them cut, clean it up, and set it." He tells her. "That's the same one you had before."

She smiled up at him and leaned up to kiss him as he took her hands in his again. He smiled. "I hope you'll be doing that a lot more."

They descended the platform, smiling and hand in hand as they walked down the aisle towards the entrance. Siamun followed after them, joined by her parents. The Pharaoh's friends took up the next small section before the people of Egypt began filing out.

They sat in the large courtyard of the palace, tables filled with fine food that had been prepared stretching throughout. There were festivals in the streets, music everywhere. They laughed as they sat together and feasted, watching performers perform and musicians play. Many guests were in attendance as the Pharaoh had invited anyone who wished to come to do so, and the people danced, they joining them sometimes.

They ate and drank and danced and laughed until the moon had long been in the sky. Finally they left the party, merrily walking together as they talked about the day. They said goodnight to his friends and her parents who were remaining, the celebration still going on. They passed by her suite and walked to the Pharaoh's room together.

Right as they reached it he lifted her up of her feet as she laughed, carrying her over to his bed where he set her down. He climbed up with her sitting next to her, and he could see she, as he was, was slightly nervous.

He went behind her, massaging her back, his hands sliding up and down as he worked on the muscles, kissing her shoulders and neck. He moved his hands down her arms, removing the circlets about them, the rings on her fingers, and setting them aside. He laid her down as he felt her begin to relax, and slowly removed her dress.

He gazed at her, he fair skin soft as he ran a finger down her side. She looked up at him. "Now you see me how I am," she said. "Without anything to hide any faults you might see with your eyes." She hesitated, and he knew she was not speaking of her body (which he could not find a fault with), but of the walls she no longer built around herself, allowing him to see into the innermost chambers of her heart. "Do you still think I'm pretty?" she posed, a quick, hopeful smile playing across her nervous face that waited for his reply.

"No," he told her, and she looked away quickly, hurt registering across her face. He turned her back towards him, her chin in his hand. "I think you're beautiful." He said, and closed his mouth atop hers.

.:. "What's the matter, Wheeler? Worried 'cause you're gonna lose?" Mai says as her Harpie destroys another of Joey's monsters. "Not quite, Mai." Joey says. "I'll place these two cards face down, and end my turn." Joey fumbles with the cards trying to get them in their slots as he tries to maintain upright. "Man, I really wore myself out in that last duel." He says as he places a hand to his eyes, trying to clear his head of the double vision.

"Then Harpie, attack his scapegoat!" Mai says on the other side of the field as the monster attacks, followed by two more. They effectively remove his scapegoats and drain him of some life points. However he plays his face down card on the last one and shields himself from the attack.

"Basic dueling. I don't know how I ever even bothered with you before." Mai says condescendingly from the other side of the field. "It worked, didn't it?" he said. "Mai, can't you remember anything?" he asks her. "We had such good times. Did none of that matter to you?" "We never had good times." She says tersely. "Make your move."

"Of course we did." Joey says. "We used to hang out together. Remember how Yugi won your stars back for you? And then how you gave me that card?" Mai is quiet as she seems to remember, not so angry for the moment. "We made that candy bar soup around that fire. And then you gave us a ride around the town that time. We even saved your life from that scuzzball." " Stop trying to mess with my mind!" she shouts, shaking her head. "This wouldn't be happening if it weren't for you! The only 'scuzzball' I've met is you." Mai says. "Now go."

Joey sighs. "Fine, Mai." He tells her. "I never thought that thing on your forehead could control you so much. I guess the Mai we knew really is gone, just like you said." "Just go!" she yells at him, frustrated. "I place my Panther warrior in defense mode, and two cards face down." Joey says. "That ends my turn."

Mai destroys his Panther warrior. Joey stumbles as the next Harpie comes to attack him, falling as it hits its mark. He attempts to get to his feet, but can't. "Come on Wheeler, what're you doing?" Mai asks him after witnessing his fruitless efforts. "I'm…ready." He says, finally making his way to half standing. "Fine then, this will finish you off! Harpie Lady," she begins but stops as Joey falls onto his side on the floor. "What is it? Wimping out now that you've lost?" she calls to him. "You're not fooling anyone!" she yells.

After he is silent for a few more seconds she says, "Joey?" the softer look she had gotten in her eyes when he was stirring memories returning. "Joey!" she shouts rushing over to him and lifting his head. "You got your wish Mai." He tells her. "No…" she says, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm just…glad to have you back." Joey says looking at her. "But Joey," She says. "You're still in this. I never played the card." "I'm too worn out." Joey explains to her. "I can't keep up. You win, Mai" Joey says as the seal comes to take him. "Joey no, don't go!" she says, but he is already gone.

As her tears hit the rooftop, the green crystal around her neck shatters. "I'll get you back." She says, after setting him against the fence, having done the same for Valin. "I've got a fight to pick with someone." She says. "Don't worry. I'm going to get you back."

She hops on her bike and speeds off then, leaving the two behind.

.:. She awoke the next morning, her head resting on the Pharaoh's chest as sunlight streamed in through the windows. She smiled as she felt his arm strong around her waist. She nuzzled into him and closed her eyes as he was still sleeping. She breathed in the way he smelled, thoughts coming back to her from the day before. She sighed happily as she sat up and looked at him.

"You're so beautiful." She whispered, knowing he couldn't hear her as she brushed one of his blonde bangs out of his face. She placed a soft kiss on his forehead before lying back down on her side, tucking her body against his, her head once more resting on his bare chest. Lightly she traced his abs with a finger. He had such strong muscles. Sometimes when he was holding her she felt so small because of them.

The Pharaoh sighed as he awoke and turned towards her, his eyes opening. "Good morning, my husband" she said looking at him. "Good morning, my wife." He said, grinning. "Did you sleep well?" she asks him. "Very well." he says and the two of them laugh. She sits up and stretches a little, the Pharaoh just waking up. "Are you hungry?" she asks. "Only for you." He says, pulling her down and giving her a kiss before holding her around the waist and kissing her neck. "I didn't mean me." She said, though she did not try and pull away.

"But you taste better than anything I know." He says. "And I could say the same." She tells him, turning so that she faces him and kissing him on the tip of his nose. She giggles and he smiles.

"Would you like me to have them bring something up?" he asks her, the two of them lying down again. "No." she says. "We can go down. I'm still not used to having people wait on me like that." "Alright then." The Pharaoh says, and they sit up after resting for a small while more.

Looking around she asks, blushing, "Where's the rest of my dress? Do you know?" "Where you'll never find it." He says darkly. "Mwahahaha!" "I need it." She tells him. "I can't walk around like this." She says. "I don't mind it." He tells her. "I wouldn't think you would." She says lightly poking him. "But I need it. At least so that I can get to my room and change. I don't plan on wearing my wedding dress everyday."

"Of course not!" the Pharaoh says. "That is why I had them make you others." He says, handing her another small package. "What's this?" she asks him, opening it.

She gasps as she takes it out of the box. Again it was made of the softest material. She noted that it was sleeveless but had fans that were attached to small bands of fabric that would go around her arms. There was a small one that went from her upper arm to her elbow, and a larger one that went from her elbow to her wrist. She remembered remarking to them that she liked the fans on her dress once, and was touched that he'd thought to have them added.

"It's wonderful." She tells him as she continues looking at it. She laughed as she saw the slit up the side again. "You can use everything you wore yesterday with that too." The Pharaoh says. "Those items you can wear everyday." He tells her. "You spoil me so much already." She tells him, her eyes shining as she looks up at him. "Thank you so much."

"It's about time someone did." He tells her as he gives her a quick kiss on top of her head. "Try it on." She does and it fits perfectly. He nods as she says so. "They used the same measurements from your wedding dress, so I figured it would fit. I just wanted to make sure."

They went down to breakfast in the dining hall and saw Siamun already seated. "Hello." He said, smiling at the two of them. "Sleep well?" he asked and she blushed. "Yes, very well." he said. She noticed all the empty chairs and wondered where she was supposed to sit. "You sit here." The Pharaoh said, noticing the confusion in her eyes and pulled out a chair for her towards the top of the table. "Right next to me." He said as he took the large chair at the front.

Servants came and began placing trays in front of them. One came and laid her plate in front of her and filled her glass with wine. "Oh, thank you." She said. When the Pharaoh began to sample from the trays she did the same.

A few minutes later his friends arrived as well, taking their usual seats. "You're in my seat." One of them said, tapping her on the shoulder. "Oh!" she says. "I'm sorry, I didn't know." She says, standing to move. She glances down the table to see the seats are filled except for the one at the very end. She starts walking towards it feeling sheepish when she hears the Pharaoh call out to her. "Where are you going?" he asks her. "I was in the seat of one of your friends, so I was going to-" "Don't be silly. You're my Queen." "I'm not hungry anymore anyway." She tells him. "I don't mind. I'll go upstairs." "Stay." He tells her. "You can sit next to me. They don't mind, right?" The Pharaoh says, looking to his friends. " 'Course not!" they say again as the one leads her back to the seat. "I would never take the seat if I knew you wanted to sit there." He told her. "Thank you…" she says, not sure if she believed him as he was gripping her arm rather tightly.

She seated herself again and listened as his advisor began speaking. Siamun was sitting across from her and he smiled at her. "Well, it's time for our riddles. Anyone have any?" he said. "come on, Siamun, yours are always best." The Pharaoh says. "You know so. So start us off, won't you?"

"Very well then." He says. "Let's start with an easy one. What crawls on the ground and clings to the pillars?" The Pharaoh's eyes twinkle as he figures out the answer. Down the table his friends come up with a chorus of "Easy? That's supposed to be easy?" and "You don't know the meaning of that word."

"It isn't all that difficult" he says, crossing his arms. Alyssa fumbles with her utensils. "Do you know?" he asks her, remembering that she was supposed to enjoy such things. "Well, I think I might know the answer." She says slowly. "Care to venture a guess at my puzzle?" Siamun asks her from across the way. "Go ahead." The Pharaoh tells her. "Well…I thought it might be a…a shadow." She says, reaching for her glass. "Correct!" Siamun says across the way. She smiles back at the Pharaoh as she sees him looking at her, pleased. However she tries to ignore the stony faces that await her at the other end of the table.

"Let's have another." The Pharaoh says. "Always hungry and needing fed. The finger I lick will soon turn red. What am I?" "Fire." She said immediately. "Ohoh. I can see I'm going to have to step it up a level with you, my Queen." He tells her. "Alyssa is fine." She tells him. "I'd rather you not call me that." She says. "You see how I feel." The Pharaoh whispers into her ear. "I see…Yami." She tells him, taking another sip from her glass. "Yami?" one of the people asks her. "Well…yes." She says. "Atemu just sounds so formal, and I've heard you all call him that before. He tells me he doesn't want me to call him by his title, but if he does…" she says nervously, looking at him. "No, it's fine." He tells her. "I like that best anyway." He says. "So Yami, then." She says.

"Care to try another?" he asks her. "Of course." She says, eager to get off the subject. "The person who makes it doesn't use it, the person who pays for it doesn't want it, and the person who uses it doesn't know it. What am I?" he says. She thinks. "Do you know the answer?" the Pharaoh asks. "A tomb." She says. "Correct." Siamun says beaming at her.

"Should any of you run into a sphinx this should help." He says. "What has four legs at dawn, three legs at noontime, and three at the end of the day?" More people mumble and grumble at the end of the table. "Ask the know-all up there." One of them says and the group sniggers. The Pharaoh shoots them a look and they stop. Siamun looks expectantly at her. "Let someone else answer." She tells him, not wanting to play anymore. "Does anyone else know it?" Siamun says looking down the table as the rest are quiet. "No volunteers?" he asks. "Pharaoh?" "I believe I know it." He tells him. "But I would like to see if my Queen does as well."

He knew he was calling her that so they would leave her alone, but it still sounded strange to her ears to have herself addressed as such. "A man." She says quietly, taking another sip of her wine. "Hmm?" Siamun asks her. "I couldn't hear you."

"A man." She says louder. "It appears we have a King of Games and Queen of Puzzles." Siamun says, acknowledging her answer accurate. "How could the answer be a man?" someone says sitting in the middle of the table. "Last time I checked, I had two legs."

"That is because you are at noon." The Pharaoh tells him. "It's only morning." His friend says. "No," the Pharaoh explains. "The times of day represent the stages of life. When you are a babe you crawl on your hands and knees, or four legs. When you grow older, you learn how to stand and walk on only two. And when you grow old, some need a staff or other form of support to help them along, and that acts as the third leg. Understand?"

"Yeah. Sure." His friend says, crossing his arm grumpily. The Pharaoh laughs good heartedly. "You will understand it later, I am sure, when you aren't thinking about it so much." He tells him. "Just hope you never run into a sphinx." Siamun tells him. Some of them laugh. "Ha ha." The one says, offended. "Why don't we have her tell the riddles? It's not hard to answer them. Let's see her make one."

"I remind you you didn't get a single one." Siamun tells him crossly. He ignores him and reaches for an apple. "No, it's alright." She says. "Let me think of one for a second." She says. She hears him bite into his apple again. "That'll work." She says.

"I have no windows and no doors, but inside of me a star is born. What am I?" she asks him. In her head she says "I'm sometimes red or green or golden, in fact I'm exactly what you're holding." She laughs privately at the thought. "That's an easy one. I'm sure he'll get it."

"What?" he says, setting his apple down on his plate. "How can you have anything inside something with no doors or windows?" he asks. "Even a star?" "The answer's right in front of you." She says hinting to him. "Just take a step back and you'll see." She hears the Pharaoh and Siamun chuckle as they pick up on it. She blushes and takes a sprig of grapes from a plate, eating a few while she waits.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" the man asks her, taking another bite from his apple. "Tell us the answer."

"I don't want to." She says, nervously, looking at Yami for a way out. "Ha! That's because there is no answer!" he says. "It's a trick since you couldn't come up with a riddle."

"No, there is." She tells him. "Perhaps you should take another minute to-" "Just say the answer already." He says, irritated. She looks at the Pharaoh and he nods. Slumping down in her chair she mumbles.

"An apple."

At this his friends double over with laughter, the man getting red and furious. "How is that an apple?" he asks. "It's simple, really." She tells him, taking an apple from a nearby tray. "When you have an apple and you cut it like this…" she says, demonstrating. "The seeds in the middle form the shape of a star. See?" she says, holding it up so he can see. "That's stupid." He says. "I can't believe you'd ask something like that. "I asked it because I thought you'd get it. It was one I learned when I was a child." She said.

"I've had enough of this." He says, pushing his chair back. It falls over on itself as he stands and pushes it in and his friends laugh again. "I really thought he'd get it." She says, looking at her cup.

"It's alright." Yami says. "I'll go and talk to him." He gets up and exits after his friend. A few minutes later he returns, his friend still angry but at least calmed down. "I think that is enough of the game." He tells Siamun quietly as he seats himself again.

They continue on and after a while, when all are filled, they get up. The rest of the day went well, as did the day after that and the day after that.

In fact, it wasn't until six months later that they began to have trouble in paradise.