A/N: Thanks to everybody who reviewed the first chapter! This one is lots of little scenes but that's just how it worked out. I split part of it off for the next chapter just because it was running long :D

Chapter 2: the plan

Atem held it together until he got back into the Council of War room, Seth following close behind. Once there he spun on his heel and snapped, "What in the gods' name were you thinking?"

Seth looked momentarily taken aback before he frowned. "Pharaoh, they were blatantly disrespecting you to your face. Did you expect me to sit there quietly and bear such an insult to our nation?"

"Yes!" Atem snapped. "Now we face the prospect of violence on our borders, and my people in that disputed territory are in more danger than they already were!"

Seth actually rolled his eyes at the reprimand. "If you thought so, then why didn't you have me dragged from the room?"

"You…" Atem's frustration was so great that he physically turned from Seth and rubbed his temples, trying to contain his frustration. If he hadn't known his priest for some years now he wouldn't have believed what he was hearing.

"I fail to see the issue, Pharaoh," Seth said mulishly. "You are the divine king of this land, and they dared to speak down to you before one of your subordinates. Anyone in my position would have done the same – the ruler may exercise patience if they chose, but it is up to his subordinates to protect their interests. Surely you understand that?"

Atem's shoulders raised and lowered as he forced himself to breathe evenly, trying to contain himself.

"And if you didn't like my intervention," Seth continued, taking his silence to mean he was listening, "Then you should have said as much, and take my lead from there."

"That only works if my main goal is preserving my pride and prestige," Atem snapped, whirling back around to face him, "Instead you made it impossible for me to contradict you without looking weak! You committed me to a path of fire and blood – it was obvious the moment you spoke you gave them what they wanted, and no power on earth would have kept them in that room from there!"

"You underestimate the means at your disposal. Have them chained to the table if you intend to postpone fruitless negotiations for that long."

Atem sighed, yet again turning away from him. Seth just didn't see it. And it didn't help that the priest was so much taller and a good few years his senior – walking into a room with him or any of his priests made Atem paranoid at the best of times that the delegates that came to see him would suspect they were the ones leading the country, and not the young Pharaoh. Having his priest be so forthright and so sure of himself only made his speaking out of turn worse than it already was…

But if he got into that now, nothing would get done. Seth wanted him to be the same, to be frank and forthright and damn the consequences?

So be it.

Atem turned back to face him, covering his anger with coldness. "I see that you walked into that room the same as those delegates – you had decided on violence also and damn the consequences." Seth started to protect but he shook his head, his voice raising again as he said, "No, I do not wish to hear it. I'm putting you under house arrest until I know I can trust you again – no input on meetings with delegates, no input on battle plans. You carry out the minimum of your responsibilities, and nothing else without my say-so."

His priest's eyes lit up with an indignant fire and his body tensed with an obvious desire to get into a serious fight – but he didn't. The cold wall Atem was presenting told him this wasn't a fight he could win – the Pharaoh could practically see the thought passing through his mind, and the urge to argue being extinguished.

And maybe, Atem hoped, he recognised that now was not the time to question the Pharaoh's authority.

So he stood back, nodded and held his Millennium Rod across his chest in a sign of submission. But his eyes told Atem he was clearly not happy with the decision.

Atem just nodded back, waiting for Seth to bow before dismissing him with a wave of his hand.

Asserting his authority again now was cold comfort when he knew what they were all about to face.

If the other priests were surprised or disappointed with the news that the Pharaoh was now expecting an invasion on their doorstep any minute, they didn't show it. If anything, they seemed more concerned for his state of mind – Mahad in particular trying to catch his eye and look reassuring – which only annoyed him further.

"So our military forces aren't concentrated around that border due to the long peace with them," Atem said, nudging the military units into place across the map. "And it will take some time to get them into place to defend our borders. That leaves us with few options."

"Is it worth stalling?" Mahad suggested. "We could tell them we wish to make a last ditch effort to negotiate while we get out units bolstered around the border."

Atem hesitated. That might have been an option normally, but Seth had forced him into a position where backing down would just make him look weak, and that would reflect on what ground they had to negotiate with.

He clenched his fists, trying to school his expression and keep his tone level as he said, "No, that's not going to work. There's no way they're going to want to listen to any missives we send. We're just going to have to defend the border ourselves until the rest of the army can join us."

"How many units should we send, Pharaoh?" Shada asked. "With the current dispersal of the army and the forces remaining at the palace, we could bolster quite a modest force and likely overwhelm their forces handily."

"We could. But…" Atem sighed, squaring his shoulders. "I think we should maintain only the minimal amount of forces here, and send a secondary force large enough to let them know we are not to be trifled with. The time for conciliation has passed."

The priests all exchanged glances. It was a clear elephant in the room that Seth was not there, and though none of them had addressed it Atem suspected they could all easily surmise what had happened. And though some of them might be grateful that the abrasive priest wasn't there, the Pharaoh felt ill at ease. He thought of them all as a team, and as far as the rest of the world should be concerned they were his friends. There was a piece missing when they weren't all together…

The priests were looking at him, concerned again. Atem cleared his throat and pushed back from the table so he could stand up straight. "It goes without saying that the primary force will be myself and everyone gathered here. I intend to take the Egyptian Gods and give them such a show of strength that they have no choice but to retreat and accept the trade agreements for what they are."

The mood in the room immediately lifted; the Egyptian Gods were such an overwhelming power that everyone in the country seemed to have confidence Atem could successfully see off any threat that faced them.

Normally Atem would feel buoyed knowing he had such a great power to fall back on when times were tough, but the one-two punch of Atem not being able to summon Ra that morning and Seth going so far over the line had rattled him.

He hoped and even prayed to those same gods that their power would be enough.

He didn't like to think of what the cost would be to his people if it wasn't.

From there, everything happened quickly – Atem asked Isis to send Spiria on ahead to the border to be their eyes, and they all prepared their weapons and passed on their orders to the captains still at the palace, as well as sending messages to recall troops to bolster their number.

Atem wasn't satisfied with just that, though, and decided to have Osiris fly him to the border immediately with the priests in tow, so that the group could set up a military encampment in preparation for the battle that was soon to come.

Seth sent a messenger asking to speak with him before he left, and Atem dismissed him. He didn't have the time to humour the man's pleas right now.

He knew the priest would never apologise for getting them into this mess, after all.

Atem had the group gather at the back of the palace and stood out separately from the troops. While the priests had summoned their ka already, Osiris was a size apart from the rest. It was only wise that they gave him some space while he called her down from the heavens.

"Answer my call," he said softly, trying to ignore the feeling of so many more eyes on him. He'd done this many times before, after all. "Osiris the saint dragon of heaven!"

He raised his arm and the Puzzle thankfully flashed in answer, the heavy heartbeat of his power just as strong as ever. Normally even he was a little awestruck seeing the dragon descend from the heavens, but as lightning struck he felt nothing but powerful.

It didn't matter he couldn't summon Ra yet, he told himself. He commanded two of the Gods near flawlessly at this point. And soon enough he'd have all three.

Osiris landed and immediately approached him, nudging his arm with her huge head. There was an unexpected gentleness in her eyes and through their unspoken connection Atem knew she could sense he was nervous. He reached out and patted her nose, trying to pass the motion off like he was just greeting her to everyone else who was watching.

Then he gestured imperiously to her and Osiris obliged, dipping her head low and lowering her wing so he could clamber onto her back and clasp his hands around one of her spines. He turned back to the watching crowd and addressed his priests. "We ride for the border. They should be expecting us, so there is nothing to fear."

He caught Mahad's eye again and noticed the priest was giving him an encouraging look, seeming to want him to say something more. Atem bristled, turning away.

"And I promise you, if anyone dares set foot on our land, I will strike them down where they stand!" he said, not speaking to anyone in particular but earning a roar of approval from the crowd nonetheless. But he didn't wait any longer: he urged Osiris to take off so fast the downdraft of her wings would have knocked down everyone gathered there if they'd been standing a bit closer.

They were in the air then and the wind racing past Atem lifted his cape so it flapped freely in the wind, his bangs whipping around his face. He leant back slowly, letting his hands let go of the death grip they had around one of Osiris' spines, and shut his eyes.

It felt so good up here, so freeing. He hated everything about this situation, but getting an excuse to leave the palace and see his kingdom was a rare opportunity indeed…

Osiris tensed beneath him, telling him through their mental connection that they'd arrived. Atem opened his eyes to see the clearing they were touching down on, not far from the border.

From the air he could see the distant between Egyptian soil and her neighbours. At most they'd have one night before the enemy was bearing down on them. Atem doubted he'd sleep much until the battle was over, but he was determined to try.

He wondered what Seth was doing, then shook off the thought. If Seth had wanted to be here he shouldn't have let him down so badly, and that was all there was to it.

They landed and Atem gently patted Osiris on her nose, silently thanking her for the support. She nudged him again with her tail, pushing him towards his priests in a none too subtle message: talk to them.

He approached his priests, clasping his hands formally before him. Just like before, Mahad appeared to be waiting patiently for him to speak.

But all Atem said was, "It'll be getting dark soon. We should set up the encampment ready for tomorrow."