Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, that right belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. I do own the crazy idea that I am putting the character through.

She sat there, feet swinging back and forth in boredom as she waited. The weeks seem to have flown by, and it was now harvesting season. Those in the Slave quarters were working from sunrise to sunset to gather all the grain and other food to be stored. The current Pharaoh was a nice man, fair to his people as well as servants. A good thing. She respected him much.

"There you are."

Lifting her head and looking to the side, she saw Prince Atem as he stood there, glaring. Smiling under her veil, she just stayed sitting. They'd come to an understanding and found some tenuous lines to follow to get along. Of course, their personalities still clashed. She was causing a few scenes here and there. Because she was not afraid to speak her mind and put him in his place when he got arrogant. But overall, she had learned he was a generally caring person.

"Well?"

Tilting her head to the side, she finally slides from the low wall she was sitting on, landing with her bare feet on the smoothed sandstone path. Walking to him, not making a sound as she let him lead her to wherever he wanted to adventure for the day. Something she had found rather amusing about the young Prince. He didn't like staying in the Palace. No, he got out and talked with people, learned about them, and on occasion (only if it benefited him) did he offer to help. His favorite place was to walk along the Nile and find various things, observing the crocodiles.

"What did you do today?"

She sighed and let her head drop. Her morning had been spent with her Auntie Chione. She had had another episode again. And it hurt her not to be able to tell her mother, but that would mean she'd leave sooner than later. She was giving her an extra year or more of more specific training to her gift. It was bad enough that come next year, after their shared birthday, she would have to leave for proper training among the hidden sect for the Seers — nothing but studying all day, every day to learn to command her god-given gift.

"Spent it with Auntie Chione," was her simple reply.

There was silence for a few seconds before he snorted. She knew how he felt about her aunt. He detested her because she had been unable to save either his mother or sister. It wasn't her aunt's fault if the gods called for Anat to come home. No one could stop that call. And she had been told that was the first time she had ever spoken.

"I see. You ready to sneak out of the Palace and to the River?"

At his question, she stopped walking and looked down. She does not have the heart to tell him about the burns on her body.

"Hey, your highness, can we stay here and just relax in the garden?" she asked, her voice soft.

When he paused in mid-step before slowly turning to look at her, it was hard to not flinch under the cold hardness of his amethyst gaze. But she met his gaze through the opaque gaze of her veils. Hating the silence as it stretched out. There was no missing his disappointment or curiosity before he sighed and nodded.

She bowed as she spoke, "Thank you, your highness."

"Stop that, and I hate it when you do that."

It had her giving a soft laugh as she rose from her bow. For all his arrogance, he was pretty humble at times. And since they'd come to their peace for the time, he'd decreed she should call him by his name. Though out of propriety, she didn't speak where others could hear. It was not proper, and having both her mother and auntie lecture her on what is acceptable and is not was not something she wanted. Especially when you never knew who was watching and listening.

Two sets of eyes watched the child and young Prince in the garden from a hidden passage in the wall. They noted how the girl acted with their Pharaoh's son. Their relationship was not normal.

"You see how they talk to each other? How it differs from where others could see them and now in the privacy of this secluded and private garden?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Because I will be doing some more research into the girl."

Silence met those words, which was fine because it had not been something that needed to be answered. The two stayed there watching the two children for another hour before leaving to go about their duties. Missing the way one of them dropped their shoulders in relief.

She had found her daughter in the garden again, talking with the Prince. It made her smile when she saw it though she frowned at the fact that her daughter didn't have her veil over her face. Not that the Prince didn't already know what she looked like. Her daughter with the pale skin, fair red-gold hair, and eyes that were of the sky. She leaned just inside the door listening to them as they talked about the things they had learned in their lessons, before conspiring for random 'adventures' that she knew took them outside the walls.

Not ignorant of her daughter's plight, Nenet had kept it to herself. She hadn't wanted her baby to be sent off for training at a young age. Wanting her to have as much of a normal childhood as possible. So, she had pretended. Keeping the knowledge from even her Pharaoh, which meant she could be killed. But in this case, she'd be a mother and protect her child first and foremost.

"Mother?"

At the questioning tone to her daughter's voice, Nenet moved from the wall and walked over to the children. Her face hidden behind her veils as she walked across the smooth pave sandstone floor of the garden on her bare feet. She was missing the days when she had been able to see the world around her. The price of a seer's powers was blindness — another reason she protected her precious daughter.

"Hello, your highness," she greeted the Prince. "And I was checking in on you, young lady. I was happy to hear you were at your lessons with Chione this morning… for once on time."

At her teasing words, she heard a snort of laughter from the Prince, while her daughter groaned. Causing her to smile, glad the veils hid it.

TBC!