Haha~ Hello everyone! Thank you so much for all of the love last chapter. I'm glad you all enjoyed it even though it was quite… not up to my expectations. I hope this chapter makes up for the last one! Plus, where are all of you?! Was I so late that I've been abandoned? Expected more reviews…. Hehe. I'm kidding. I love all of the support, no matter how silent. ;D However, I hope I see more this chapter. I have a very important request for you all, so please check out my ending author note.

REVIEWS~

i – Thank you so much for the review! I have to be honest though. I get super excited when you review, and then immediately feel such dread and nervousness, and then anxiety while reading, and then relief. Seriously. You make me go through this rollercoaster, and I'm thankful each time. I went back and edited some, especially the ending with Ameneman. I don't know if there's much of a difference, but I do hope I've nailed some things. Many thanks as always~

AnimaniAshley – Thank you for the kind words! I do try my best. :)

Lesliemashburn – Hey~ You too! And, as for Yugi, we know that he's desperate for answers. However, we also know that he's not stupid. Approaching someone like Ameneman may not be ideal, but if he does, rest assured that this is Yugi and that he has his head screwed on tight and proper. Hopefully. xD Thank you!

Miqu – Ahhh! Don't worry! Atem will make his appearance soon! :D

BelieverofManyThings – Thank you!

Yuma Moto – I'm glad that you like the story. I do try my best when writing this story. It is quite original, and to stay away from the cliché, romance had to take another ship. None of that in this fic! Mystery rules! I will continue to try my best and do better, and I hope to see one of your stories one day as well. :) Thank you!

Enjoy!

Secrets Underground

Chapter 15

It was already one day before the Sed Festival, and everyone and everything around me slowly came to life as each of those days passed. Perhaps it was just my imagination, but smiles seemed to have widen, joy radiated through every street, and the increase of children's laughter made my heart soar with indescribable excitement. Although the workload and stress increased with those days as well, it did not diminish the light. And, during this moment, I couldn't feel any more content.

Sitting under the little shade at the front of Ramose's home, I gazed out on to the quiet street, the shouts and giggles of a group of boys disappearing down the road as they ran by just half a moment ago with leaves held high in the sky in their hands. From the little bits of conversation I caught from them, I understood that they were in the middle of a race of some sort, and someone named Pehram was winning.

This world, I couldn't help but continue to gawk in wonderment at every turn. It was so different from what I was used to. In many ways, it was very different. For one, there was a connection and a stronger sense of belonging. Being immersed and interacting with people throughout the day had somehow strengthened this invisible string that held us all together. Even though we didn't know each other, there wasn't much to fear. That could be compared to the world I knew, but magic? Hah. That was something else.

The Ka spirits I had seen yesterday. Everyone looked at them as if they were normal, while I was shocked. It kind of proves that what we deem strange might be normal for others. Either way, they were so majestic. It was kind of sad and amusing to learn that such creatures used in battle were also used to find runaway Princes. It was such a shame, but it wasn't my place to judge anyways. I still knew nothing about the Palace life, or the Prince. However, the man at the market sure knew something.

Ameneman. That was his name. It was hard to believe that a strong and courageous man like himself had been reduced to nothing short of a complete mess. He was a role model to many for being worthy enough to work for the nobles. Now he's jeered and made fun of, the same people who idolized him running away from him like plague. What must have happened to cause him such panic and distress that he lost his mind literally days after being within the walls? What? That's what bothers me. The palace holds all the answers. I just had to figure out a way to get there. That was for sure.

Sighing, I stared back at the street and tried to get rid of the down feeling. I smiled and watched the children again, pulling my legs up on to the stone bench to wrap my arms around them. If only Merimose was here to enjoy the calmness with me. He had disappeared earlier to go and play with his friends. I believe he said they were holding a contest of some sorts with the other boys that were free today deeper in the village, but sadly I couldn't remember any details.

One of the things Merimose and I had in opposite was that he loved to be outside, running around and having as much fun as he could while I preferred to stay indoors, immersing myself within all the unsolved mysteries the world held. Besides, I couldn't blame the boy for leaving me. With all of the work we had spent the last few days doing, he was unable to have any fun. Luckily Ramose and Senisonbe were almost done with their set of preparations for the festival, and therefore Merimose's and my help was no longer necessary. We could unwind now.

Feeling another cool breeze, this one brushing my legs, I sighed happily as I allowed my thoughts to freely float around in my mind after so long of being preoccupied. However, as relaxing as it sounded and no matter how desperate I wanted it, the peace did not last long. As soon as my mind sunk into its comforting dark abyss, a bright light shot through that blackness. I felt my heart reach my mouth in a blink of an eye, and without warning I was thrust into another vision, one that was quite different from the others.

I snapped open my eyes as if I had just surfaced after drowning, and instantly they locked on to the scene that began to unfold before me. A pitch black night sky weighed heavily with tension and fear, one that not even the bright moon could lighten, and the desert sand shone warningly with the soft moonlight upon it. I was promptly pulled away from the scenario when I heard heavy breathing and running footsteps across the sand followed with a murmur, and turning, I gasped as the person came into view.

It was me.

Shocked to the core and my eyes as wide as saucers now, I stumbled through the darkness to find a place to hide. I scurried towards a wall that seemingly led into a storage room of some sort and stood behind it, peeking out with immense curiosity and a spark of hesitation to see what my lookalike was going to do.

I had to be honest. For a split second I had thought that this person was the Nameless Pharaoh, and that was because of the uncharacteristic behaviour I was displaying. Never have I ever seen myself with such determination, such passion that burned within my purple irises like a desperate wild fire. Never had I looked so certain, especially when my pale hands grabbed the reigns of a rugged grey horse that was tied with two others to a wooden post and started to walk, jumping on to it as if it was his second nature. It was hard to believe it was me, particularly because I didn't even know how to ride a horse, never mind control one.

I continued to watch, my heart pounding as this other me sat on the horse with closed eyes, his entire frame suddenly screaming defeat. Now that he had trotted closer, I could see that his, my, body was shaking. His hands were trembling, and I strained my ears to listen to the words that tumbled out of his mouth in jumbles.

"Please, please don't do this. Please, let it not happen," he whispered, and I held my breath upon hearing the brokenness, the complete despair in his words. And then, he looked up into the dark sky and towards a mountain in the west, took a deep, strong breath, and gathered his remaining confidence. His hands clenched tightly around the reigns until his knuckles were white, and as I looked on, I was astounded as he gave a cry and took off, sand left flying in the air as he disappeared.

"Timaeus!?"

As the confusion and suddenness continued to wash over me and the scene behind my eyelids darkened into nothing, I awoke blearily and quite suddenly after hearing the call of my name. Rubbing my eyes, a hand reaching up to hold my head, I looked up to see Merimose's worried gaze, and it was at that moment I realised that I was lying flat on the sand. Merimose was kneeled down next to me, shaking me gently, and his eyes were filled with relief to see that I was able to get up.

"Timaeus!?" he called again, and a tiny smile appeared on his face.

"Merimose?" I asked. I could hardly hear my voice. My throat felt absolutely sore.

"Oh, Timaeus! Thank Ra. I thought that you had surely died," he cried, and suddenly hot tears started to spring from his eyes. I reached up to brush them away, and as I touched him, I noticed that he was trembling.

"M-Merimose? What happened?" and I watched with a tinge of fright in my heart as he sniffled, wiping the rest of the tears away from his cheeks to explain.

"I came to ask you for some help, but then… when I came here, I saw you on the ground and you were just shaking as if you had been possessed by the devil and your fists were clenched so tightly… I was so scared!" and once more he started to cry, holding my hands tightly.

I was completely shocked.

"Are you okay? Timaeus, what had happened to you?! Please, don't do that again. I would have called Mother and Father, but they went down to the Nile and they weren't here and, and-"

"I'm sorry," I whispered, and I wrapped an arm around him. I would have offered an explanation of my own, but none came to mind. I was at a total loss.

What had happened to me in my vision that caused me to react such a way? It was me, I knew it was, but it was not at the same time. Something had changed, and it was difficult for me to understand why it was so different. Or, is what I just witnessed a scene of something that will happen? Are my visions scenes that are yet to come?

Opening my eyes, I looked at Merimose softly, soothing him until her calmed down. I gave him a small, reassuring smile and allowed him to help me to my feet. I was still wobbly, so I immediately sat back down for a little rest.

After all of these days, Shadi didn't return to offer me any insight. Sure, things were fine as they were, but it couldn't stay like this forever. I wanted to get home, so therefore I had to keep moving forward. But so far, I was nowhere near reaching my supposed destiny.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Merimose asked again, and I was brought back down to earth. I dusted my tunic off and nodded, breathing carefully to calm my thudding heart.

"I'll be okay," I said, and after a while, I turned to Merimose who was sitting next to me quietly.

"What was it that you wanted me to help you with?" I asked, but he said nothing, simply choosing to gaze at me carefully. He was still very much spooked.

"Oh, don't mind about that," he whispered. "You still seem sick, so maybe you should take as much rest as possible."

"Nonsense," I retorted, and I stood up and broke into a big smile. "See, I'm perfectly fine!"

Merimose still wasn't convinced. He looked at me sadly, doubt deep within his eyes.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked after fully examining me from head to toe. I nodded enthusiastically.

"I'm perfectly fine."

As soon as those words left my mouth, Merimose smiled broadly and stood. Without waiting he grabbed my arm and started pulling me towards the street, dragging me through and around people as he walked. I was left feeling very much surprised.

"Merimose?" I called. What could he possibly need my help with? Was it something important? He should atleast let me know.

"Timaeus, you just have to help me," he said, and I saw him clench his hands tightly, a dark look developing on his kind features.

"Help you with what?"

"A game."

A game…? I felt as if I was floating on air. Wow. When was the last time I played a game or even looked at a game board?

"You should battle for me. For the rest of us," he exclaimed, and I pulled myself out of la-la land to watch him glare at the sand. He never did slow down. He just got faster. I rose an eyebrow questioningly, not yet sure what was going on.

"What is it?" I pressed again, and finally Merimose let out a sigh before turning towards me.

"Remember I told you that we were having a gaming competition today?" he asked, and when I nodded, he went on, slightly exasperated. "We were in the middle of it when Nakht suddenly showed up and ruined everything."

"Who's Nakht? What did he do?" I asked, and Merimose scowled even further. Just who was this Nakht person who caused such an ugly look?

"Nakht is this guy who's a whole ten summers older than all of us, and he thinks that he's the best gamer in the kingdom. He's trying to prove that by battling us. The other adults have things to do, but not him it seems. That jerk," Merimose muttered. "Just because he travels a lot with his father, he got to play many games. And because he played so many, he comes to us and brags that he won all of them. He wouldn't stop saying that he's the best gamer."

"Well, Merimose, I'm really sorry to hear that," I said, and I truly did feel a pang of sadness. "I wonder what I could do to help."

Merimose beamed at that.

"You can help us!" he exclaimed. "I want nothing more than having someone show him his place. I would do it, but he brings a lot of games we don't know how to play. That's when I thought of you. You learned to play Dogs and Jackals very quickly, even while playing, and still won! So you're our hope. Please, teach him a lesson, Timaeus."

I pondered deeply on the information he just told me. It was awful, and mean, and completely unfair. But, there was no guarantee that I would win against this Nakht person if I took up the challenge. I knew Dogs and Jackals before playing against Merimose. That's how I won. What if Nakht produced a new game I've never learned about? I didn't want to embarrass Merimose. Besides, was it even right to take up the challenge? Then again… it is quite shameful if a grown man is wandering around challenging children.

While I was thinking, I didn't notice the increase of people until there was loud talking going on all around me. I picked my eyes off the ground and looked around, only to have my face drained of all expressions. Without me noticing Merimose had somehow pulled me all the way to the spot where the tournament was being held. It was the same spot I had wandered to when I had first came here, the very same opened area where I watched that group of boys play. I could only stare in awe at the amount of kids that had gathered. It truly was a big tournament.

"Merimose," I started, but he patted my arm to grab my attention and pointed to the middle of the area. I followed his finger towards an older looking boy in the middle of the area. He was sitting on a stool across another boy, a variety of board games at his side and quite a few kids surrounding them, watching intently. What I also noticed though was that many of them were frowning, and the reason why soon became clear to me.

"Ha! Another loser! I can't believe you thought that you could best me. No one can defeat me," Nakht shouted, and he let out an obnoxious laugh, one that had me seething immediately. The tone was very ugly. It was the sound of a bully. And, not only that, but Merimose was right. This was no kid. Nakht seemed to be around twenty years old. The one who he was playing against looked only twelve.

"Does he always do this?" I asked, and at that Merimose hummed and nodded.

"Yeah. Every time he's in the village he does this. And even if we don't want to play, he'll just force us."

"Hmm."

We continued watching him for a moment until he turned our way, and seeing us, his smirk turned into a wicked smile. He glanced at me briefly before looking at Merimose with a raised eyebrow.

"Timaeus," Merimose then said.

"Yeah?"

"I kind of already told him that you were going to beat him."

"Oh." I paused, and his words sunk in. "WHAT?!"

"Is that him?" Nakht said loudly, and suddenly everyone was looking our way. Nakht got up and walked towards us, and quickly I hid my panic upon noticing just how large of a person he was. When Merimose nodded firmly, Nakht looked at me, his gaze mocking. He stopped in front of us, arms on his hips cockishly.

"What are you supposed to be?" he sneered. "The Prince's double?! Ha. You better shave your head because if he sees you mocking him, he'll throw in the dungeons or let the crocs snap at you. He's already hot headed as it is, so you better not doing anything to get on his bad side."

"Hot headed, huh?" I though. Allowing that little information to sit at the back of my mind, I studied Nakht's face silently. He truly was a horrible person. What was he trying to get at by saying such things? For all I knew he was spouting lies. Besides. If anyone was hot headed, it was him. Egoistic seemed to be up there as well.

"Nakht, you should be the last one to speak. Ra forbid the Prince heard you say that and you were the one to be punished. Why are you always acting as if you know everything?" Merimose exclaimed, but Nakht just chuckled in response.

"It's because I do. I've seen him, and you haven't. Your family has been serving the royal family all your lives and you haven't even seen a strand of his hair!"

"I think that's enough, Nakht," I said, and his grey eyes immediately turned towards me. I held my ground strongly, my voice unwavering. "What gives you the right to speak like that? You've accused me, insulted a member of the royal family, and now you're challenging children to prove that you're the better gamer. Why don't you challenge someone your own size?"

It was Nakht's turn to study me, but he did so only for a few seconds before laughing, throwing his head back as if I had said the most funniest joke in the world. He was angry though, and the twitch of his eyes were proof of that. I tried to remain calm. I've stood up against my share of bullies, and this one shouldn't be any different.

"What are you going to do about it?" he yelled. "You're nothing but some pompous foreigner, and tiny Merimouse here thinks you can win against me? Don't make me pound your face in for even suggesting such a thing. You don't know who you're up against. I'm the bloody King of Games," he threatened, and he took a step forward, his shadow covering my form completely.

"He can win against you, Nakht," Merimose repeated, and Nakht glared darkly at the boy. I stepped between them just in case he wanted to lash out, and immediately the glare was directed towards me. He scowled.

"You seem around my 'right size'," Nakht said. "If you think you can beat me, then try. Right now, let's play a game. If I win, I get to disfigure that pretty face of yours."

"And if Timaeus wins, you leave us all alone!" Merimose shouted, and I quickly shushed him. It didn't seem like a good idea to instigate Nakht. His fists were clenched tightly, and having him hurt someone was not an option.

"Heh. What do you say, freak? Let's battle. And, to start off, I'll have you choose our challenge. You might not know them anyways. I have Mancala, Mehen, Knucklebones and-"

"No."

He immediately stopped listing the games he had and stared at me. I repeated my answer.

"No. I will not play against you."

"What did you just say?" he growled, and his fingers that he used to count off the games closed slowly. I glanced at Merimose when he urgently held on to the waist of my tunic. The other children had made a circle around us, looking even more fearful than before. However, there was a little spark of hope in their eyes, and it was that that kept me going.

"Timaeus…" Merimose trailed off, and I flashed him a reassuring look before returning my gaze to Nakht. It was my turn to glare at him.

"I refuse to play against someone who can't respect their opponents. I refuse to play against someone as irresponsible, arrogant, and pig headed like yourself." I believe I was being rather harsh and blunt about my thoughts, but at this moment I couldn't care. Who knew how long these children were being subjected to his intolerable ways. Someone should say something, and that someone had to be a person his own age. He wouldn't be easy to convince though.

"What?!" he said through clenched teeth, and immediately I received the reaction I always got when standing up to bullies. He punched me in the face before I could even see it coming, and in seconds I was on the ground.

"Timaeus!" Merimose shouted, and I sat up and gingerly held my nose. Taking a look at my fingers I saw that it was bleeding, but thankfully nothing felt broken. I looked up at Nakht to see him smirking down at me with satisfaction. I stood once more, Merimose holding my arm with worry.

"Want some more?" Nakht said, grinning. "The last person who dared to speak to me that way had to see a healer, for the next few weeks. I would be glad to put you in that position as well."

I gazed at him levelly and sniffed, instantly regretting it when more blood poured out of me. I wiped it away and flashed Nakht a dark look when he laughed at seeing my state.

"I don't care," I said. "You need to understand that what you're doing is wrong. If you want to play against them, treat them with respect. Stop being a bully. You're an adult, aren't you? Start behaving like one."

Although simple, that sent Nakht into a fit of rage. He hurled curses and grabbed me around the throat, a fist raised ready to strike me, only to suddenly freeze. Literally. His eyes went wide, and as I calmed my racing heart and looked at his trembling fist that was stopped mid punch, a familiar voice that I didn't think I would hear for a long time caused me to turn towards her.

"That is enough!" Mana shouted, her wand raised with a faint glow surrounding her. She was eyeing Nakht with anger and frustration. Now that she had our attention, her wand went back to her side as she approached us, and with a little incantation under her breath, we were able to move again. Nakht dropped me in seconds and we both stared, dumbfounded.

"Mana!" Merimose exclaimed happily, but Mana wasn't done. She continued to stare at Nakht, and he in turn said nothing. His eyes were on the sand, refusing to meet her powerful gaze that was once kind and welcoming when I met her.

"What were you doing?" she asked coldly, stopping before us. "That is not the way for someone of such upstanding lineage to behave. What were you trying to prove, Nakht? Your father is a great merchant, one of the palace's favourites, and here you are disgracing his name, dragging it through the dirt. You're behaving like a barbarian!"

"You don't understand," Nakht suddenly started to explain, and I looked at him, waiting to hear just what he was going to say in his defense. I was not surprised, and apparently Merimose wasn't surprised either because he let out a scoff.

"He was the one who started it. He came here to our village with ulterior motives. I just know it! Look at him. He's the disgrace and he should just-"

"Enough!" she yelled, and Nakht was silenced once more. "Don't try to tell me what happened, for I saw everything myself. Yugi here did nothing wrong to you. Weren't you the one ridiculing him and also ridiculing the Prince? What the nerve," she hissed lowly, and I could see the fear in his eyes. She continued.

"I should have stepped in as soon as it started, but no. I wanted to see if you were able to understand from someone other than your father and myself. However, it's clear now. You are incapable of changing your ways no matter who speaks about it to you. Every time I enter the village, you're the one raising trouble." She pointed and finger at him. "This is the last warning. If you continue your slandering and your disgraceful attitude, I won't hesitate this time to put you before the Pharaoh himself."

By now, Nakht was evidently afraid, especially after hearing that he may have to be put before the Pharaoh for his disgusting ways. Serves him right though. If he wouldn't understand the easy way, he'll get the message the hard way.

"Yes, it won't happen again," Nakht said, his voice low, and with a wave of her hand she sent him away. After a moment of silence, everyone catching their bearings, I jumped slightly when Mana spoke once more, this time towards me.

"Will you be alright, Yugi?" she asked, and I pulled my hands away from my bleeding nose to look at her and give a small smile. I nodded hastily, still a bit dazed by what just happened. Now that it was over, it was kind of hard to believe it wasn't a dream. My nose said otherwise though.

"I'll be okay," I assured, and silence took over again. As I looked around, I felt my heart sink a bit upon seeing the other kids tidying up, most of them already gone, no doubt towards home.

"Wait a minute," Merimose's voice suddenly said, and both of our eyes turned to him. He was looking at us with confusion. He eventually focused his gaze on Mana and then spoke, his brows wrinkling. "His name is Timaeus, not… Yugi," he told her.

Hearing those words, reality returned and I slammed into it as if it was a brick wall. Dread ran through my system, followed with regret. Of course. How could I have forgotten? When I had met Mana at the Nile River, I had told her that my name was Yugi. I wasn't thinking properly when I told her my real name. Now what should I do? Lie. Lie, lie, lie and lie. "Sorry, Mana."

"Huh? Merimose, don't be silly. He told me his name is Yugi," she said, and she gave a little smile, letting out an amused giggle. Merimose wasn't convinced.

"What?" he questioned, and I couldn't hold it back any longer.

"It's true!" I suddenly said, yanking myself out of the blurry thoughts, and I looked up to see them both blinking, very much confused by my words. I laughed nervously, the sound of the cheers still going on behind me being drowned out by the heat that was rushing and taking over my head.

"Yugi is my nickname, back home," I explained, trying to sound as truthful as possible. "My real name is Timaeus Caelius. Sorry for the mix up. I guess the nickname slipped out easier than my real one during that moment. It's probably because I'm more used to it."

"Oh. That's understandable," Mana said after a while, and Merimose oohed silently to himself as my clarification sunk in. "Would you prefer it if we called you Yugi then?" Mana went on.

"Oh, no! No, no, Timaeus is fine. I prefer Timaeus, so please just refer to me as that." I chuckled, and I mentally smacked myself several times. I was a terrible liar. I hope it went through though. The last thing I needed was my real name wandering around the past. It wasn't even Egyptian, so it would be best to bury it.

"Okay," Mana said, and she continued to gaze at me. I could feel my heart floating by the look, but I pushed them away and focused on my nose that, thankfully, was starting to ease its dripping. I looked back up at her when she spoke yet again.

"That was really brave of you. Even though Nakht is twice your size, you held your ground."

I smiled and blushed with embarrassment by the compliment, but quickly shook my head. "Ah, it was nothing special, really. I'm just used to standing up to people like him, and seeing him act like that, I just had to say something."

She nodded and gave a little smile, her hands clasped tightly around her wand that was held infront of her. However, I felt a sense of graveness behind her eyes. Something was wrong. Her eyes were flickering all around her every so often, and she would let out a soft sigh, returning her gaze to the ground to hide it away. Like now, for example.

"Are you really good at games, like Merimose so recklessly tried to prove?" she asked with a smile, and my gaze faltered. I shrugged.

"I'm not that good," I admitted, but Merimose seemed to have wanted none of that.

"He is good!" the boy exclaimed, and he ran up to Mana. "He has never lost. Did you know that we've played tons of games together and he just understands it so fast?! And, he always beats me! I don't know whether he's just lucky all those times, or if he has special gaming skills. It's kind of magical!"

Mana warmly brushed his hair that was tickling his eyes out of his face and smiled. "That reminds me so much of the Prince," she said. "He's quite gifted too. Never seems to lose."

What?

"Wait, really?" Merimose suddenly exclaimed, and receiving a warning look from Mana, he lowered his voice. "Is the Prince really that good at games too?"

My eyes drifted up to her, and with my heart this time feeling as if it had stopped, I looked on as she nodded twice, a twinkle in her eyes as she and Merimose shared this supposed secret. I paid close attention.

"Yes, he is." She then looked back at me, and I gulped to hide the stunned expression. She continued. "I've never seen you play, but really, you do remind me so much of him. Especially just now with the way you dealt with Nakht."

To say my mind was blown would have been an understatement. All thought just drained out of my head like soup and vanished. I was at a complete loss for words to say anything after that large comparison. I was similar to the Nameless Pharaoh. Should that ease my worries a little? It should. I mean, Mana is friends with him too, and she's very kind. That has to say something.

"Hey, Timaeus!" Merimose yelled excitedly, and he grabbed my hand, bringing me back to earth. He didn't seem to notice my lost expression earlier. "What if you get so good, you practice very hard, that the Prince would like to play a game against you?"

"Merimose, don't be silly," I said abruptly, the thought scaring me much more than it should. Merimose however was still excited, and my fear and his excitement grew even more so when Mana then muttered that it was a possibility.

"You never know. It isn't rare for the Prince to search out his own worthy opponents. He's done it before."

"Oh, c'mon," I said, trying to brush it off. "Like I said. I'm not that good." However, know that I was thinking about it, it didn't sound like a bad idea. It would give me a good chance to speak with the Prince and get into the palace, but the chances of that happening was impossible. There had to be a more logical way.

"You are good!" Merimose argued, and he glared playfully at me.

"Really. Merimose doesn't over-exaggerate. If he says you're skilled, then you probably are. You have quite a few qualities like the Prince, and I actually came over here thinking it was him for a second," and she chuckled lightly, shaking her head. She was smiling more freely now, but still I could see that there was something bothering her. And, she was a noble. Why would she be here… wait a minute!

"What do you mean you thought I was him?" I hastily asked. "Didn't he return home only two days ago?" and seeing the happiness on her face fade away to reveal the worry, I gritted my teeth and nibbled on the inside of my mouth out of frustration. How could he leave again so soon?

"Did he go again, Mana?" Merimose asked quietly, and Mana looked up, gathered some confidence, and nodded with a deep breath.

"Yeah. He vanished just under an hour ago. They sent people out to look for him because there's a chance he might still be right around here somewhere." She shrugged, and gave a very much fake smile. "I can't understand it sometimes. Why would he leave when the Pharaoh's Sed Festival is tomorrow?"

As she mulled about it and very evidently got sucked into her mind for a moment, breaking the strong discipline of her appearances she had over herself, Merimose didn't wait for her permission or anything like that to give her a comforting hug. Looking into his half lidded eyes, it was enough proof for me to see that he was greatly saddened upon seeing Mana so distressed, and it was at this moment did I truly realise that they really were close.

"Don't worry, Mana. I'm sure he's fine, and he'll get back home soon. He can't be that reckless, right?" Merimose murmured, and immediately his mouth was covered by Mana's hand.

"Shush, don't say such things out loud," Mana hurriedly said, her actions quick. He looked up at her innocently, not understanding what trouble he could have almost gotten himself into. She went on to explain after checking around us. Almost everyone had dispersed. There was hardly anyone around.

"You just said it yourself. You shouldn't slander anyone of the royal family like that. You can seriously get punished, and I don't want your family to get into trouble. Be careful," she warned, and Merimose nodded as she removed her hand. Her eyes were still wide with sudden worry, and she gazed down at Merimose with care.

"I'm sorry," Merimose whispered, and Mana let out a sigh and patted his head.

"It's alright. For now, I think it's best if you go home," and as she said that, she turned to me. "Timaeus, please. With the Prince gone and your similarities to him quite strong, I don't want you to go through unnecessary troubles. If the guards see you they will stop you in belief that they had spotted the Prince."

"Yes, I understand," I said, nodding.

"And Meri, don't worry. After the festival I'll be sure to stop by and visit. I know it has been a long time," Mana went on, and she stepped away from Merimose who had returned to my side. He nodded, smiling even though it was a bit forced before returning to my side dejectedly.

Waving to us one last time, Mana went off in the direction she had come from, walking down the street and behind the white canopy stalls to meet with two other guards that had been surveying the area. It seemed that they hadn't spotted me through the crowd and the stall, so now would be a good time to skedaddle, especially since they were distracted by talking to a group of villagers.

"C'mon, Merimose. We should head back," I said, and turning towards him, I smiled softly as he lifted one finger up to me before rushing off towards his friends that were seemingly just about to leave themselves.

As I watched the boy's interact happily with each other, Nour grabbing him around the neck tightly, I suddenly felt my heart drop. It became hard to breathe as I whipped my head around to find the source of the eyes that were staring at me so intently. I scanned every inch of the area carefully with wide, scared eyes, only to come across no one no matter how hard I looked.

Still feeling quite perturbed, I couldn't stop looking around to ease my worries and to find the source. I didn't stop until Merimose tugged at my tunic and rose a teasing brow to ask me what was wrong. I smiled back though to erase him concerns, and we walked away without another word. However, as soon as I turned away, I felt it again. It was very possible that Priest Set was around somewhere. He followed me on a few occasions. It had to be. I was always able to sense him, but… this time felt different. This time the gaze was much more intense.

Yes! There we have it. The end of a great chapter, right? I sure hope it is fine. Again, some parts are repetitive and it may seem badly put together. That's because my entire plan for this chapter went right out the window. I managed to end it how I needed it, but still, it may seem choppy. Anyways. Surely there are other errors, so be free to point them out and give constructive criticism!

IMPORTANT~

Now, as you all must know already… Our dear Pharaoh will be making his debut in a little while. The problem is… I have no idea what to do! I know where the plot is going to go. I know when, who, what, how and everything that will happen after we hit the climax of the story. What I don't know is how to BUILD Yugi and Atem's bond. I don't want to give away too much, so I'm trying not to say a lot. But, after Yugi meets Atem, I need there to be a FRIENDSHIP between them before chaos ensues. So, your part. I would LOVE if you all can shoot me some ideas as to how I can get these two to be close. Yugi is a "villager" and Atem is a Prince. How can a bond be created between these two? Please share some ideas. Hopefully they can inspire me. Thank you so much beforehand!

Again, thank you for reading and supporting this story. I'm truly grateful.

Bye~