Thank you and welcome to a third chapter to a story that I didn't believe would ever see the light of day again. The translations and those responsible for them are at the bottom of the chapter. A huge! Thank you goes out to Roweena5000 translating and to Shamise for beta work. Thanks guys
o ~ O ~ o
Isis gazed at the petite youth laid out on the cot. So far everything was going according to her plan. She had clearly heard the argument in the outer hall. A mischievous smile graced her features as she mentally pictured the look on Atemu's face when Akhenaten informed him of his plan. The Pharaoh would get over his objections; she would make certain that it was so.
The priestess began to hum a soothing tune as she checked over her patient, peeling off the brightly colored garments to assess the damage that was done, to wrap him carefully in a light sheet. She had sent the healers from the room as soon as the argument between Akhenaten and Atemu began, wanting to listen in without being disrupted.
The young one would be fine. She was sure of it. Between her and her superior they had pulled off the switch with little damage done. It was fortunate for her though that Re had been paying attention at the time or all her planning would have been for naught.
Now she only needed to nudge the Pharaoh in the right direction, if she even needed to do that. Isis could tell that her sovereign was already intrigued with his find, just as she had expected him to be. Although Atemu was still a complete soul there was still a part of him the recognized and responded to the little one with his missing piece. She would just have to further that bonding in the scant amount of time that they had left.
But it was so hard to stand back and watch her son as he floundered through this mortal life, knowing what would happen to him and understanding that he would never know who she really was – who he was – until far in the future. But as Re had decreed, what happened the first time still needed to stand. She couldn't alter the future that extensively for the repercussions would be vast, and they would not know until far too late if their enemy, Apophis, managed to find another entry into the mortal realm
It was for this reason, and this reason only, that she staid her hand from forcing Horus to recognize who he truly was. As much as she wanted to comfort him and take over the position of the mother he had lost so early in his mortal life, she had been unable to devise a way that would leave the mortal realm in relatively the same state that it was before they interfered.
"Hello, beautiful lady."
Isis started physically at the recognized voice; a hand to her chest as she turned to greet her cherished other. "Osiris...hello. You startled me."
"You think so little of me that I would stay away while you are fighting for our son's life?" Shadi approached his wife of many millenia with an unrepentant grin, bowing low to the floor before her. "It is Shadi, by the way. You should know me by now not to stay away when it comes to my family."
Isis grinned back. "Shadi then. Hello"
Isis had caught glimpses of her husband a couple of times over the past month, having found out about his recent application to the palace priesthood through Siamun, who approved whole-heartedly. She really wasn't all that surprised that he managed to convince Re to help her watch over their son.
But she had thought that he would keep his distance from her in order to further the appearance that he was nothing more than a desert wanderer who happened to have an uncanny ability to see the future, and the need to be of service to his country. So his appearance in her realm of the palace caught her off guard, and she felt a pang of longing for their peaceful home in the after world.
"As far as anyone else is to know, I am here to catch a glimpse of the person who has the entire palace in an uproar." Shadi shrugged offhandedly. "But my true mission was to lay your mind to rest concerning the scrolls that Priest Seth has uncovered –"
"– oh! The scrolls!" Isis put a hand to her mouth, horrified at her lapse. In her eavesdropping she had overheard Siamun speaking with Atemu about the break in at his mortal father's tomb. She should have been dealing with that rather than fussing over her charge. He was fine, an oversight like that was not.
Shadi laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Relax, my pretty lady; I have already altered the spell. Everything is in readiness for the next step of your plan. You do have a plan, am I correct?"
Isis nodded distractedly. Thank heavens Osiris had realized that she had so much on her mind and would not be able to tend to every detail. "I am attempting to keep this as simple as possible. It would not do to have so many small details rewriting the future of this realm. Set will call forth Aphop – ah, the demon known as Zorc, just as he did originally and Hor...ah...Atemu shall fall..."
"...As he did before." Shadi finished solemnly. "With a little luck we can turn this to their advantage." He raised an eyebrow. "But are you certain that you can handle two children? One of them seems enough trouble for me. Relax, my beautiful one, we shall make this right. Apophis shall fall when all is said and done, then Ptah himself shall deal with him."
"I hope you are right." Isis smoothed a blonde lock from her patient's forehead as a distraction from the other's nearness. "The young one here is nearly beyond hope. He needs his other half to continue existing. And I want my baby...babies back where they belong when they are finished playing in this realm."
Shadi kissed her forehead tenderly, placing a gentle hand against the boy's face. "They shall be. They will have to face the fires of the underworld but together I am certain that they shall succeed, and come out the stronger for their trials."
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
Time had proven Isis' theories correct. In the three days since his return from his father's ravaged tomb Pharaoh Atemu had stopped by to visit no less than twice a day. Many times she had walked into the room only to find the young ruler in the process of reaching out to touch the unconscious boy, only to jerk his hand back at her entrance.
She, in turn, would feign ignorance of his actions and go about her duties as if his presence in her private chambers was nothing out of the ordinary.
Her heart longed to reach out and hold the young ruler to her breast, just as any other mother would, or at least warn him to flee now before it was too late. But to do that would mean risking her plans, the young one's entire existence, and her dream that once this was over her son – both halves of him – would know who she was without prompting. They needed to face these trials without her further interference.
With those thoughts weighing heavily on her mind, Isis went about her duties as head of the healing ward, attempting to ignore the presence behind her – both of them.
Atemu gave a soft sigh after nearly being caught by his priestess once again, pulling his hand back to his side. He was beginning to think it was a ruse between the two of them, one where he would pretend that he wasn't about to reach out and feel the softness of their young guest's skin and she would pretend that she hadn't seen his transgression.
It was the same routine day in day out, he would come here to check on the boy's status before court, and once again before he retired, feeling an inner need to make sure that what he had seen was indeed real and not a figment of his imagination. He needed to find a way to thwart Akhenaten's plans without arousing suspicion. He didn't want this beautiful being to be subjected to the humiliation and pain that was to be his coming of age ritual. He wouldn't willingly subject anyone to that.
His eyes wandered over the unconscious youth's bare skin, taking note of the healing bruises. The boy was a little on the skinny side but hopefully that would change once he woke up and they could give him the nourishment he needed. In his intense study of the other's sleep softened features Atemu missed the small hand that twitched at the boy's side.
Atemu's attention slipped towards the door as it slid open to admit another visitor to the healing ward, the lady crying as she cradled her burnt arm carefully to her chest. He nodded to Isis in the understanding that it was time for him to retreat, and in doing so he missed the movement as the hand twitched once again.
...Yugi felt like he was falling. His hands flailed out to catch whatever they could latch onto to stop his descent, but there was nothing within his reach. The scream that he longed to let loose stuck in his throat, and he prepared himself for a painful ending to his forever lasing free fall.
A suctioning sound put pressure on his eardrums and they popped loudly as he gasped, his eyes flying open only to find himself in a strange room with massive pillars that held a strange pictorial writing. Neat rows of what looked to be clay pottery lined shelves along the walls which held the same style of writing as the pillars.
He blinked a couple of times to clear his eyesight, but the scenery did not change in the slightest, in fact becoming even more strange as he caught sight of the room's occupants. There were two women of what appeared to be mid-eastern descent, standing somewhat close to him, in long, hand-dyed gowns talking to one another as one rubbed something on the other's hand. As his mind processed the curious sight his eyes wandered, and happened to touch on a third occupant in the room.
This third person was male from what Yugi could tell by the firm, bronze back and the slim, tapered hips. But he couldn't tell much more than that as the other's attention was taken up by the two women's actions. He figured whatever had landed him here in this strange room – with these strange people – must have damaged his hearing, for he couldn't make out a word of what the other three were saying, their words sounding garbled and unintelligible.
Everything sounded so wrong, looked so wrong, but Yugi couldn't figure for the life of him what was so wrong with this picture, until his eyes cut back to the stunning male figure before him, landing on something that would have been blatantly out of place in his society. The guy was wearing a skirt! And what appeared to be a literal ton of gold and jewels adorned his every limb. Without thinking Yugi gasped loudly, drawing the man's attention directly to him.
The figure in front of him turned around and Yugi lost his ability to form thought. The man was breathtakingly gorgeous. Exotically slanted eyes of such an intense mahogany color that they appeared nearly scarlet in the light stared at him from beneath a fringe of black lashes so thick that they would have been better placed on the chick-flik actresses that he watched sometimes on the television.
He studied the majestic vision, taking note of the angular jaw, the full, cupid's-bow lips and the straight nose only for his eyes to land on the bejeweled, winged crown perched on his brow with a start. Oh shit! He was fucked! Hell, he was beyond fucked!
Yugi cringed. Wherever he was, whatever he had done to land himself in this position, he knew what that crown symbolized. But what did he do? The last thing he recalled was his professor's questions about his personal life. But what happened after that? Yugi wracked his brain for the answer, only for his jaw to drop as the other spoke out in a deep, commanding baritone.
"Isis... sw iw ii neh?"
Yugi's eyes widened to the point of nearly popping out of his head. Oh god, what language was that?! He could recall some of the words from the many languages of his youth, but this wasn't one he recognized.
The words were spoken in a questioning tone and from what he could tell they were not directed towards him, but to one of the ladies in the room – the taller one if he wasn't mistaken, for she finished her perusal of the other lady's arm to turn and gape back at him, allowing the third person to take her leave unnoticed. She fired off a quick comment to the one who was studying him so intently.
"bw-ikr."
And then the one with the crown turned his attention back onto him as well with a questioning frown. "Iri k rh -n md-t?"
"Uh..." Yugi licked his lips, sliding his sore body up the mat and away from the imposing figure's reach, fearful of the scrutiny he was receiving. "I-I can't understand you...please...I don't know what you're saying."
A look of understanding was passed between the two figures before the lady gathered the dirty supplies and made for the other side of the room. There she seemed to busy herself making something that Yugi couldn't see from his poor vantage point, but definitely smell, it was so strong.
Not long after she returned to the other figure's side, speaking so quickly that Yugi couldn't catch anything other than the soft inflection of her voice. She held out a bowl containing some of whatever she had made, mimicking a drinking motion with her hand before handing it over to him.
Yugi eyed the goblet distrustfully. "What do you want?"
"n db3-tn s-rwd. iti st." She replied softly.
He felt a feminine hand on his chin, forcing his eyes up to meet with hers. Gentle doe-like brown eyes met with his, and Yugi understood that she meant him no harm. He nodded shakily, reaching for the bowl. The stuff smelled terrible, whatever it was. So he held his breath and downed it in one swallow, almost choking as it burned a fiery path down to his stomach. He gasped for breath, his eyes watering against the pain.
Before he could gather his wits another bowl was held out before him, this time by the figure with the crown, and he was given no choice but to take it – either that or wear it. Then the crowned man began speaking with the woman, his tone gently chiding even as he urged Yugi to drink this bowl with a simple hand motion.
Yugi started to protest, but found himself stopped short by the other's unmistakable command.
"mr. iti st."
Against his better judgment Yugi took a small sip, finding to his relief that it was only water. He chugged the rest of it to quench the raging fire in his throat. When he was finished he handed the bowl back to the lady, who immediately took it back to the other side of the room, and turned his eyes to the person standing by his bedside.
His vision hazed over and he blinked once to clear it. But the action didn't help as the room began to spin before his eyes. Yugi lay back against his bed, closing his eyes against the dizziness. Then his body went limp as the potion worked its magic, carrying him off to a dreamless sleep.
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
Atemu's breath caught in his throat as he spied the other's amethyst eyes. The boy was awake! Atet's injury faded from his mind as he studied the boy who was staring at him with wide eyes. Without thought to his priestess's current dilemma he brought the other's attention to the boy's wakefulness.
"Isis, he has come to."
She turned with a gasp, allowing her patient to leave now that her injury had been tended to. "Excellent." And she turned to the boy. "Do you know what I'm saying?"
"B-boku wa etoku arimasen...onegai...anata no kotoba etoku arimasen."
Disappointment clouded her eyes as she realized that she had again forgotten one of the intricacies of her plan. This would not do.
"What is he saying?" Atemu questioned.
Steeling herself for the lie Isis made her way to the other side of the room. "He is speaking gibberish, pr-Aa. I do not believe he has completely recovered from his trauma. Give me a moment and I'll mix up a potion to help him."
That answer seemed to satisfy Atemu, and he went back to studying their guest while she mixed together a potion that would render the boy unconscious so that she could utter an incantation to his subconscious mind that would allow him to understand and speak their language. She berated herself for her oversight as she worked. Another flaw like this and she could kiss her son – both of them – goodbye.
"He needs to drink this." She announced as she carried a bowl full of liquid back toward their visitor.
Catching the boy's attention she pantomimed a drinking motion and held the first bowl out for him to take.
But the boy only shook his head and scooted back against his mat. "Anata no kiboo wa nan-ka?"
"Drink it." She put a gentle hand on his chin, looking deep into his eyes. Something in her voice or her expression had gotten through this time for the boy took her offering and downed it in one swallow. And then he began to gag at the fiery sensation. She quickly pushed the other bowl toward him, but he refused, thinking that he had been tricked the first time.
"Drink." Atemu commanded softly, taking the bowl from her hand and thrusting it at their guest.
It seemed as though the Pharaoh's command had done the trick for this time he grabbed the bowl and took a hesitant sip, finding that one more to his liking, drinking the entire thing. Not long after his eyes rolled up in his head and he passed out on them again.
"Will he be alright?"
She turned to look Atemu in the eyes. "We can only hope, pr-aA."
He stared at her for a moment before nodding. And then he took his leave. Once she was certain he had left the room she climbed on top of her unconscious patient and murmured a few soft words to his subconscious. That should do it. He may, or may not retain the memory of the scene that had just taken place, but that was not her concern. Atemu's younger double needed to understand what was taking place in order to figure out his new role in their lives. That meant he needed to understand their language.
Sparing one last glance at the youth lying on the mat she murmured a quick prayer to Re that what she was planning would work out as she had thought it to. And then she left for her duties to the court.
o ~ O ~ o
The Egyptian translations are as follows:
Isis... sw iw ii neh: Isis, he has come to
bw-ikr: Excellent
Iri k rh -n md-t: Do you know my words
n db3-tn s-rwd. iti st: I need you to drink this
mr. iti st: Drink it
And Japanese translations are thanks to Roweena5000 (and Kirsten Icklish for a set that I seemed to have lost in the fanfiction PM purge ^^). Thank you so very much!
B-boku wa etoku arimasen...onegai...anata no kotoba etoku arimasen: I-I can't understand you...please...I don't know what you're saying.
Anata no kiboo wa nan-ka: What do you want