Chapter 22: A New Story Begins

Juliana slowly woke up in her own room in the palace and slowly looked at Seto, who was sitting at her bed side, looking down. She looked around and notice besides them, the room was completely empty. "Seto...?"

He quickly looked at her. "Juliana. You're awake...thank the gods..."

"Where are the others? What happened? Is everyone alright?"

Seto sighed and looked down. "Follow me..." He slowly stood up and walked out of the room. Juliana stared for a while, then got out of bed and followed him.

They walked down a few hallways into the Grand Hall, which was almost empty except for a few guards that stood by around the walls. They walked to the far end of the room where a long table covered in a fancy cloth was. On this table were small pedestals where each Millennium Item sat, honoring the priests that had fallen. They walked down the line until they came up to the Millennium Chain and the Millennium Age.

Juliana's eyes widened as she fell to her knees. "No...it can't be..."

"I'm sorry, Juliana...you and these items were the only things recovered from the attack..."

"And...Pharaoh Atem...?" she asked looking over at him. He slowly shook his head. "I see...I suppose that makes you Pharaoh..."

"He gave his life protecting the people of this country and our dreams for peace in Egypt. He will never be forgotten, and neither will our fallen comrades..."

A few days later...

Juliana and Seto walked down the road of half destroyed and half built homes as people walked back and forth with building supplies. Mana ran up to them covered in dirt from assisting the townsfolk. "Is it true? Are you really leaving, Lady Juliana?"

"I'm afraid so, Mana...I have a promise to keep to Atem. And with Naru and Vash gone...I have no reason to stay here. You keep an eye on things while I'm gone...make Master Mahado proud."

Mana smiled. "You know I will!"

They continued to walk to the edge of town where a horse with bags strapped to its sides stood waiting. They turned and faced each other. "You will be missed, Juliana...I'll come visit you whenever I can."

"Thank you, Pharaoh...but this city needs you more now than I do. I will be fine, I promise you."

Seto stepped forward and hugged her tightly. "It's strange suddenly being called Pharaoh all the time...but at least now I understand why you watched over me as much as Atem and Sethos."

Juliana nodded and mounted her horse. "Goodbye, Seto...and good luck." She lightly tapped the horse's side and rode off into the desert...

"I spent five thousand years in the pyramid we had sealed Heishin within. I trained my abilities and guarded the pyramid from anyone who tried to enter until the day came the Pharaoh returned and Heishin was released (The Egyptian Adventure). Not long after that I came to Domino and began realizing who I really was, and what my purpose was."

"Wow...that was a great story," said a small boy about the age of 6. He had longish brown hair and bright blue eyes. "How did you meet Naru and everyone else?"

Juliana laughed a bit and gently pushed the boy down onto the bed, pulling the covers to his chest. "Maybe some other time I will tell you. It's about time you got some sleep. You have a big day of training tomorrow."

"Aww...do I have to?"

Just then a tall man walked into the room. He had longish black hair and brown eyes that symbolized his strength. He wore a black leather jacket over a white t-shirt, black jeans and an amulet with a large jewel in the center was around his neck. "Aric, listen to your mother. Get to bed."

"Alright...goodnight mother. Goodnight father." He rolled over and closed his eyes.

"Goodnight, son." Juliana leaned in and kissed his forehead before standing up and walking over to the man. They both quietly shut the door and walked down a dark hallway.

"Seemed like an interesting story you told him," the man said as he put his arm around her. "What's it about?"

"Oh nothing special...action, suspense, love, and about finding yourself."

"Wow...would you tell it to me?"

Juliana smiled as they walked into a common room and sat down in front of the fire. "Sure...the best place for any story to start is the beginning..."

The End...for now...