A/N: Yes! Finally, an update! I can't stay long – I've got to do a Mandarin project (design your own dream house and write an explanatory paragraph for why you want each item and room) from scratch, and finish off a screenplay for Writing. There's also the fact that if I don't complete this stupid piece-of-butt-poo package, things will be very bad for... me. So read, and here's hoping you'll both enjoy and review it. Tah!

Whoops! Before I forget, this chapter's dedicated to another four lovely people – thanks to Ari-ko and Hua-chan, again, and also Blade-chan (Anime-Blade) as well as the revered Kingyosou-san (dragonwrangler). And, just 'cause I'm a review whore... review, please?


In Ancient Past

A Yuugiou fanstory by Arashinobara

Part One – Of Ebb and Flow

'A week ago to-day, the fever plague came to the Palace doors and slipped within; it claimed the lives of servant, slave and high-born alike, their deaths indicating the Gods' contempt and displeasure. The Pharaoh's High Priests remain closeted away, scrying diligently for whatever misdeed our People have committed to bring upon this sudden curse... for even the Highest were not spared.

'The Great Queen of Egypt is taken ill this night.

'Pharaoh has not left her side; his Queen always held great favour with him. Until I came to be alone, I have heard his other wives' anguished prayers keen through the air; the mere memory of their cries continue to blister my ears.

'It was only a half-hour ago I was given leave to pray and sleep, for –'

The reed pen paused in its scratching as Seth listened intently. The faint knock sounded through the room again. Seth sighed and scratched out another hieroglyph. "Enter, if you be my brother."

"Young Seth; you work late. I expected you to sleep, when I dismissed you from the Temple."

Putting aside the board and reed-pen before standing, Seth bowed shallowly and held his bent stance in silent deference. "Master Shimon."

"There is no need to bow to me, young Priest. We are familiar, are we not?"

"Your kindness is a gift I cannot dishonour by treating you without respect you deserve," the boy replied, straightening. "As for my sleeplessness, I found I could not rest without chronicling today's dark happenings."

"A admirable pursuit, but not at this time; your eyes are hooded with weariness. Sleep soon; I came to ensure my most prodigious apprentice would be sharp for the ritual summons come tomorrow."

Seth's hazel gaze sharpened. "There is no other way, then." It was a half-question, and Seth read the answer in his Master's eyes. "There is great risk in this –"

"There is no need to tell me what I already know," Shimon said sharply. "But we have discovered a way to lower the cost, should all fail..."

Seth didn't answer, and Shimon sighed. "Rest, young one... and perhaps anticipate a visit from the Prince tonight. I should not condone such disrespectful fraternisation, but from what I know of children, he will be anxious, the Queen's condition being what it is. The Night send you pleasant visions, Seth."

"May She bless your dreams tonight also," Seth replied. "You have spoken of my restlessness – if you will pardon my insolence, perhaps you will consider that you rest also. There are other Priests to take your place."

Shimon smiled tiredly. "These old bones don't like waking in bed any more; it is better to keep fitful vigil in the Temple."

"Regardless, Master –"

"Thank you, Seth. Sleep well, and I forbid your appearance in the Temple until Ra is high."

"I'll be there when His first rays touch the sand, then," the brunet quipped, and Shimon laughed quietly as he left.

Seth sighed, sparing a brief glance for his writing-board and the half-filled papyrus scroll before he removed his clothes and fell ungracefully into bed. He barely stirred even when the door to his chambers slid open and a small body crawled in at his side.


'It is done. We have summoned not only the Realm's monsters, but the Realm itself.

'At the very centre of the Shrine of Wedju lies the Portal. It is monstrously large, and permits the spirit ka of the Shadows to pass freely between our True Realm and theirs. No longer is the length summons limited to the summoner's ba, for the spirits can answer their master's call through the Rending, and stay as long as need be.

'There is immense risk in this; the Shadows are not to be toyed with. It is true that the summoned ka are free to wander in our True Realm until they are dismissed, but there are some monsters lacking the shackles of the human soul – they are not 'ours', in any sense.

'Still, we hope to cure the plague through assistance from the Shadow – my brother Shada has left in search of the Holy Elf, whose healing talent has been legendary, but whose last known mistress has passed into the next life not four moon-cycles past. It is our hope that the Holy Elf has not followed her Sharifa into the arms of Osiris. The lack of her presence, however, would not be so terrible if only we could discover a sister to her healing progeny.'

Seth felt another exhausted tremor run through him and put down the pen so as not to ruin his work – he was still exhausted from the morning's ritual Summon of the Shadow. He shook out the cramps in his hand before casting another look at Atemu's sleeping face, the younger boy having yet to wake. The Priest felt a faint pang in his chest as he took in the Prince's tear-swollen features. He lifted his pen once more.

'For the Prince's sake, I would hope it is so. May the Gods bless Shada on his quest.'

"Brother."

Seth almost started, but forced himself to lay down the reed pen again. "Priest Karim. What brings you here?"

The shorter Priest blinked languidly. "I carry a summons from the Queen. She insists on her Prince's presence soonest." The older Priest's caramel-shade eyes flicked pointedly to Atemu's sleeping form huddled on Seth's bed. "You are indecently fond of him."

Seth bristled visibly, drawing himself up to his full height. His brown eyes flashed. "You have delivered your message. I ask you now to leave."

Karim laughed shortly, seeing that Seth's hand lingered dangerously close to his slingstone pouch. "You have not heard all of what I have been asked to say."

"Then say it and leave." Seth watched as Atemu stirred, and forced his tone to gentle. "I am waiting."

"There are those who will see that you lose your head, the day our Prince forgets his love for you." Karim bowed stiffly. "I leave by your grace."

Seth's pen hit the door as it closed behind Karim's low chuckle.

A hand rose to cover his face. The young Priest stayed that way for a few moments before standing forcibly, his mouth thinning angrily. Karim had always been one of the Queen's few favoured... perhaps there was some credit to his words, but Seth would not worry about them now.

Forcing himself to relax, Seth sat again, this time on the bed. He raised a hand to touch Atemu's cheek, and . "Prince –?"

"Seth," came the murmured reply with instant speed, Atemu nuzzling into the Guardian's hand with an adoring sigh. His eyes were still closed; he continued to sleep, though a hand had curled its fingers possessively into Seth's robe. With a sigh, the Priest disentangled himself and began to straighten when he realised Atemu's cheeks were wet again.

His chest clenched, and he bent his head to alleviate the sympathetic ache the only way he had learned how, pressing a gentle kiss to Atemu's forehead. The younger boy stirred at that. "Seth?"

Seth left the room quickly, driven by both embarrassment and duty. He needed to leave Atemu's presence to consider the fine line between loyalty and blasphemous devotion... and to quest for food from the kitchens.

His charge would be hungry when he woke.


Atemu woke with grit in his tear-swollen eyes and a blocked nose. Realising the space next to him on the bed was unoccupied, he attempted to call out for Seth but only a dry rasping emerged. His throat worked silently before he swallowed and tried again. "Seth?"

Misery curled in his gut as silence greeted him; there was no Seth at the window, no Seth squatting irritably on the floor as he scribbled on a scrap of papyrus. The young Prince rubbed at his eyes before burying his face in the blanket, inhaling his Guardian's familiar, clean scent, and sighing as he thought about his mother's illness.

Atemu was not all that close to the Queen, but she was still his mother; the thought that she might pass from this life at any time frightened the young Prince. He had cried shamelessly the night before, unable to go to Seth, whose position as the High Priest's apprentice would have held him late at the temple.

Eventually, however, Atemu could bear the loneliness no longer, and slipped by the guards and into Seth's quarters to find the older boy in bed, ceremonial jewellery still adorning his arms and throat. Atemu took a moment to remove them before settling into his customary position, spooned against his Guardian's larger body, and falling asleep.

Now sitting up to look out the window, Atemu realised that Ra was already beginning his descent towards the Western horizon. "How long did I sleep for?" he half-whispered, grimacing at the raw note in his voice. He heard the door close and felt a grin curl his mouth as Seth entered the room.

"Long enough, my Prince," the Priest's normally harsh voice was gentle as he set a large copper platter on the floor before seating himself next to his charge. "Your grief leaves its mark upon you," he said bluntly, touching Atemu's swollen eyes, "but allow me allay your fears; the night has seen an improvement in the Great Queen's condition, and she will see you soonest."

The younger boy paled, his smile fading as crimson eyes lifted uncertainly to meet Seth's dark-eyed gaze. "But – the Queen, I –"

"There is little time to spare – the healers tell me she requires much rest in order to fight the sickness. Your bathe must be swift; she will not be awake much longer."

Atemu tumbled off the bed and into Seth's arms, tightening them about him. "Seth..."

"Come," Seth advised. If possible, his voice had gentled even further. "Due to the time we must adhere to, I have ordered a bath be drawn in your chambers, and have brought with me some fruit."

Atemu pressed a slim hand to where the hunger pains gnawed at his stomach. "Thank you," he said simply, a smile forming on his face.

"Here," the older boy sliced out a section of pomegranate seed, ate three, and then held the remaining fruit up to his Prince's lips. "Eat." Atemu opened his mouth obediently to take the fleshy seeds into his mouth, but lifted his hand to catch Seth's so that he might lick the juice from the older boy's fingertips also.

Unexpectedly, Seth's cheeks darkened and he jerked his hand away, hands clenching nervously. Atemu raised confused eyes to his Guardian's suddenly-flustered face. "Seth...?"

Seth forced his hands to relax and busied himself with scooping out more of the seeds, offering them to Atemu. "It's nothing," he answered briskly, pushing down his instinct to flinch as the younger boy sucked at his fingers again. Seeing the bizarre expression twisting his companion's face, Atemu paused while picking at the fruit on the plate. "Seth?" he asked, and Seth took a moment to realise, quite idly, that the red of the pomegranate juice staining his charge's mouth and fingers was a little too light and a little too pale to match the shade of Atemu's eyes. "Seth!"

"My thoughts wandered, my Prince. I apologise. Your touch... it just... just... felt strange." He picked up the platter of fruit and stood, Atemu following his example obediently, though he gazed with some disappointment at the remaining fruit. "Your bath should be ready now."

Atemu smiled sweetly at Seth and stepped forward to hug the older boy again, all apprehensions at seeing his ill mother gone. "You'll help me?"

The young Priest didn't quite manage to hide his scandalised expression. "My Prince, there are slaves –"

"I do not desire this to be the labour of slaves. I want you to help me... or I won't go to see the Queen."

Seth's mouth tightened briefly, an ominous pang touching him as he thought of Karim's half-threat, half-warning. "She could have my head for that, my Prince."

"I forbid it."

"Regardless, she is Hathor's Child, both merciful and judging." There was the smallest note of reprimand in Seth's voice.

"...please? I dislike the slaves – their hands do not feel friendly."

Seth started, stung. "And mine do?" he all but snapped.

Atemu shrugged, uncharacteristically untouched by his Guardian's equally unusual temper. "Yes. Now, will you help me?"

The older boy turned so abruptly that a piece of fruit flew off the platter he was still holding, and stalked out the door. "Come, then."

Grinning at what he knew to be a victory, Atemu trotted to keep up with his Guardian's longer stride, hand snagging Seth's free one. Seth looked down and shook his head again before they entered Atemu's chambers. "Never mind the Queen – Shimon would draw and quarter me for the sheer impropriety."

"Shimon cares too much about what the people think," Atemu said airily. "It is stupid."

Seth's brows snapped together warningly. "It is wise. Should the people misinterpret the actions of one they hold to be a God, turmoil is easily stirred in the streets; the beliefs of a people take generations to change. They cannot speak against the Gods or the Living Horus, but there are other ways to express uncertainty."

Atemu let go of Seth's hand, sufficiently scolded. Seth dismissed the slaves in the room with a wave of his hand before kneeling to undress the younger boy. "Shimon is mindful of the lower caste's thoughts because, though you and the Pharaoh hold the power and potential of Gods..."

"'A Leader is nothing without His People'," Atemu said suddenly. "The Gods lead us... but we are Their People...?"

Seth hesitated to answer; his planting of such thoughts in his charge's head could very well be interpreted as blasphemy. "...Yes. In a way, it is so."

Atemu lifted each foot as his slippers were eased off. "Such an uncertain answer is not like you, Seth – you are acting strangely today." The older boy declined to answer, instead lifting Atemu bodily and settling him into the deep basin. "Seth? I have not offended you...?"

"No." The answer was curt enough to catch even Atemu's notice.

"...I have upset you!"

A muscle twitched in Seth's cheek. "There is nothing to be upset about."

"Which would be why I am confused as to the reason you are upset!"

Seth took a bar of almond-scented soap and worked it into a lather between his hands before applying it to his Prince's shoulders and back. "Sit up a little more," he instructed. "Good, now the other foot...?"

"Refrain from changing the subject, Seth." Atemu squeezed Seth's hand briefly before it was snatched hastily away.

Huffing, the Prince caught his Guardian's hand again and pressed a firm kiss to the back of it, smiling coyly. Seth froze again. "See, you are acting strangely!" Atemu tilted his head as if offering his cheek to Seth, crimson eyes glancing sideways at his Guardian. "Usually, you'd kiss me back... right here." Atemu pressed Seth's hand to the side of his face. "You've been avoiding it since the last half-moon." Crimson eyes glazed unhappily. "You don't love me anymore?"

Rinsing his hands slowly, Seth reached out and wiped the soap from his charge's mouth before hesitating. "You are growing, in both age and power. It is no longer appropriate for one such as myself to show you affection."

Atemu's mouth curled into a sly smile much unlike the shy one from earlier. "Your mouth speaks Shimon's words, Seth. There are no slaves about – no one. Please?"

Seth muttered something about spoiled Princes and reached out with both hands to cup Atemu's face before pressing his lips chastely to the younger boy's. Feeling the lips beneath his own curve into a smile, Seth resisted the urge to frown, making as if to break away, and started skittishly when Atemu raised dripping arms to wrap them securely around Seth's neck.

Seth's gasp was muffled as small tongue probed at the young Priest's half-parted mouth and he snapped, throwing off Atemu's hold and bolting to the doorway. "What are you doing!" Seth's composure was shattered; it crumbled further when he saw Atemu's tear-filled eyes. "P-P-Prince...?"

"Sa... Safiya showed me and said that people who loved each other kissed like that..."

For the first time he could remember, Seth ignored Atemu's tears and fled.


Atemu remained frozen a while longer, chest still heaving from the kiss, and his heart fluttering pathetically in his chest. He waited for several long minutes, but it was only when his tears dried and Seth had not reappeared that the young Prince finally admitted that something was wrong, because Seth never turned his back on Atemu – not when he screamed, not when he cried...

'Fool. He isn't returning.'

As he reached that realisation, his shriek tore his throat raw, and Atemu fell down to the cold floor and beat his small fists against it until many sets of cold, unfeeling hands attempted to calm him. Slaves. Atemu hadn't lied when he told Seth he disliked their touch. Not once did they attempt to sooth away the hollowness in his chest, and Atemu could not blame them, for what would a slave know of their Prince's insatiable yearning for his Guardian?

Atemu wanted Seth. He wanted Seth to kiss him and to hold him, like Seth had done when Atemu was younger. He wanted Seth to stop preaching the heart of the People, and instead teach him the wisdom of Shadows, like they had done before. Atemu wanted Seth to love him as he had once before.

'He doesn't love you any more. He tries not to feel, now. See how you have offended him?'

Atemu sank into the cooling water, his shoulders slumping. He resisted the slaves' grasping hands feebly before stopping his defiance altogether, fixing his stare blankly upon the farthest wall. He would find Seth, and then demand the reason as to his Guardian's sudden flight, and then –

– No. He would have to obey the Queen's summons, first.

Atemu sank lower into the water, and closed his eyes. The tears could not be seen that way.


The Queen's purple eyes blinked open slowly as she sensed the seething Shadow that wreathed her Prince. "Draw for me these curtains, Safiya," she said to her favourite slave, careful to keep her voice low so that it would not rasp. "I wish to see the face of my son."

The girl leapt to obey, bowing as the Prince's diminutive form stalked imperiously into the room. "Great Queen," he said, his voice quiet but clear. "I have come as you summoned me."

She beckoned him closer, and lifted his face to hers, trying to see through the Shadows that swirled about him. "What's this?" she said dangerously, touching her hand to his swollen eyes. Atemu tried to break away but failed as she lifted the other hand to cup Atemu's face, and her fingers smoothed over drying tears. "Who has caused this grief in my Prince?"

Atemu bowed his head and said nothing.

"I see." She kissed his forehead gently before straightening to bestow a fearsome glare upon her young slave. "Safiya. Send for Seth, the Priest of Shadow."

Crimson eyes lost their blank look, and Atemu's head shot upwards in denial. "No!"

"Pharaoh taught you many things, and one is to allow no individual to touch you – the people's needs come earlier. There is but one boy who can dismantle the nation through your love for him, and his identity is no secret. Perhaps it is better if we are rid of him earlier, if he can make your spirit so weak."

"He is my Guardian!" Atemu swelled indignantly, his red eyes narrowing to angry slits. "I shall do with him as I see fit!" The Queen's gaze remained cruel, and she nodded to Safiya, who bowed deeply and disappeared into the corridor.

Atemu flew into a rage. He looked as if he might run after the slave to drag her back himself, but settled instead for drawing desperately from the darkness he loved. The Queen watched stoically as her son became the Shadows, the Sennen Eye glowing bright upon his brow. He flew at her, all but spitting his hatred.

"HE IS MINE!" Atemu raged. The Realm glittered at the edges of his vision, and he reached to draw it closer – to show the Queen what Seth, whom she had condemned, had taught him. "MINE! I OWN HIM! HE IS MINE!"

The Shadows were suddenly wrenched from him and he gasped from the shock, sitting abruptly. He scrabbled to touch them again, but felt only a glass wall – he could feel the potential, but not grasp it. The Prince let out a howl of fury before he slumped into his mother's arms, his chest heaving as he sobbed hysterically. "Why!"

"Learn to control yourself," the Queen said, not unkindly. "Your obsession with this Priest must pass in time... I do not know if I will live to see the day your love for him dies, but I know it will. One day."

Atemu bowed his head and fought tears again. His mother was right on many things, but wrong on this one. He would never stop loving Seth. Never.

"One day, you will." The Queen smiled, but her words continued to coil insidiously about her son's mind. "You will cause the sundering of his soul. You cannot love him, if that is what you shall one day do. I have seen it."

Atemu shook his head, his tears soaking his mother's shoulder. "Lies! Lies!"

Queen Maia's purple eyes drifted shut, her dark hair coiling damply from the fever-sweat. Her smile, however, was triumphant.

"What I have seen will come to pass. Remember, Atemu, that the Pharaoh has many other Priests."


"Damned bitch Safiya... 'pure', indeed," Seth hissed, eyes still closed. Dios stroked Seth's hair, the Priest's headdress lying discarded some distance away. "...Putting inappropriate ideas like that into the Prince's head... I would give a good deal of my ba for a mere opportunity to strangle the life from her worthless form."

"I am not much aware of the way your body functions, but I am fairly certain that this repressing of anger is not the most intelligent way to calm down, as I assume you have come to me to do," Dios' said wryly. "I do not understand your abhorrence of your Prince's kiss. You don't seem to mind it when I help you breath."

"...he is too young. He is a living incarnation of Horus. He is as far above me as the stars are to the flea. It is sacrilegious, and blasphemous – and I do not like his insistence I always touch him."

Dios' silence told more than any words could.

Feeling his anger crack the walls of its crystal prison, Seth tilted his head back and felt Dios' fingers resume their soothing. "I am tempted to stay here for a good while; perhaps they will forget all about the Priest Seth who was foolish enough to contaminate his Prince's –"

"Priest Seth!"

Seth stiffened before rising to his feet, Dios melting into the insidious purple-grey mists about them. "...Or perhaps not," he murmured to himself. "High Priest," he said more loudly, bowing. "I –?"

"Is this the boy, Shimon?" The voice that rasped from the Shadows was tired, though somewhat teasing. "He cannot be as intelligent as you say, if he has dared venture into the Shadow without a ka-monster for protection."

Seth felt himself bristle, but continued to hold his submissive position. If Shimon allowed this man to insult him, then he must be important. Seth could understand the need for discretion with a powerful man, and so he remained still until a callused hand tilted his chin upwards, and his eyes were met with a tall figure garbed completely in undyed linen.

"Greetings," Shimon's companion said formally. A golden eye flashed within his deep hood, and Seth noted absently that the stranger's other, natural eye was dark brown in colour, with flecks of gold and green gleaming deep within the iris... just like Seth's, really.

It was suddenly hard to swallow. The unknown man's Shadow signature was strong enough to cloak Shimon's, and was all but choking Seth with its density and darkness.

"I am Akunadin."


A/N: I had planned to update at three thousand words, but found that there was too much... well, 'fluff' and 'stuffing', to be blunt, and too little action or plot. Le sigh. It's a little crazy, but it is a character study, mainly, so...

You Might Want to Know That...

...Safiya means 'pure', which kind of leads to Seth going bitchy about her name as opposed to what he perceives as her nature. She is Anzu's past incarnation in this story.

...Sharifa means 'respected', and the person in question was a well-known doctor/healer of the land. I would assume people defer to her.

...in some Houses, it was customary for a servant to test their superior's food for poison, hence Seth's habitual tasting of three pomegranate seeds.

Just to Verify:

Seth's 'your grief leaves its mark upon you' basically translates to a blunt 'you look like crap, no thanks to you crying your eyes out'.

Atemu's reference to the Pharaoh and the Great Queen is kind of like a Duke's son calling him Your Grace or a Baron's 'Milord/My Lord' and a Duchess 'Milady/My Lady'. It indicates respect as well as an awareness of the addresser's and addressee's respective stations.

Yes, Seth has hazel eyes. So sue me.

Regarding Seth's upbringing:

Because Seth was raised by and apprenticed to Shimon, he has developed a certain attitude about some things that he would not have under Akunadin... namely, he would be more willing to submit to superiors, and more prone to recognising that he has a superior. Don't get me wrong – he still has his pride, but he's also a little confused about everything. At this point, there's little knowledge of him before he got apprenticed to Shimon... but it was young enough that he could split his two lives into two: Priest and Guardian Seth, the Prince's favourite and a younger Seth/Seto who ran with the wildest. I'll leave you to figure it however you want.

Regarding Seth and Atemu:

A great deal of people write about Seth's indifference to his Pharaoh's wishes – I've decided that Atemu is a Prince, and later a Pharaoh. Being that Seth is milder at the moment, having grown up under Shimon's tutelage, and as a result instilled with a deep loyalty to the Royal Family even before he was assigned as Guardian to Atemu, I think Atemu would take great advantage of Seth... and do it multiple times.

It's kind of a combination of bullying and puppy eyes, really... and Bastard!Kaiba often crumbles under that, so why shouldn't somewhat-mild!Seth?

As for the age difference, have you ever had a crush when you were Atemu's age (eleven, going on twelve), and one someone Seth's age (sixteen, going on seventeen – and yes, here's the urge to cry 'the hills are alive with the sound of music' from the mountaintops)? If you had their loyalty, would you take advantage of them? Plus, it's a little early on for Atemu to think seriously of wanting Seth – he's thinking small at the moment. May Seth and Shimon burn me alive for thinking and even typing it, but even Princes and Pharaohs are human.

Regarding Queen Maia:

Maia is a good Queen. She is cold when she needs to be, and harsh. She loves Atemu, however, and dislikes that Seth could command such loyalty from one of her blood. Maia is somewhat arrogant, and yes, I have made her Maia's past incarnation, simply because I can see Mai as a Queen, and why would I create a stupid OC when I have Mai-the-nifty right here?

I hoped to make it obvious that the fever had unhinged her, causing some level of delirium in her speech and actions.

Reviews are good. Good are reviews. Ack! Developed a Dr. Seuss complex, I have... Sam I am... I am Sam... I will not eat green eggs and ham – SHUT UP/bangs head wildly/ Ahem. Sorry... I do that at times. Forgive the Yoda-ness and Seuss-ness above, for a moment, and review? 'Cause reviews are good. Good are reviews...

Right. I'll stop. Right. There. -.-;;

Arashinobara (Nimbirosa)