Sorry for the late update. A few things came up, but now I'll be back on track!! Anyway, I really hope you like this story/chapter. Reviews are welcomed!! Enjoy the chapter.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 2: He Did It To Keep You Safe

Yuugi sighed. "I will find you! You can't hide forever!" He ducked under the bed, but nothing was there. "How did he find such a good hiding spot?"

It was a few days after Yuugi's sixth birthday. His father and the Priests were able to celebrate with him, but today they were busy. In order to keep Yuugi entertained until his work was done, Atemu had Mahado's Illusion Magician stay with his son. It seemed that his son liked this monster the best.

After a few minutes, Yuugi decided to play a game. The Magician would hide and Yuugi would try to find him. Once he found the Magician, Yuugi would hide and the creature had to find him.

"Where are you, Magician? You can't use magic remember?" Yuugi froze. He looked up at the ceiling and there was the Illusion Magician, clinging to a stone post near the top. "Found you!"

The Magician jumped down, landing quietly beside Yuugi. It smiled at him. Yuugi beamed back and said, "Now it's my turn!"

He went off to find somewhere to hide, but the door burst open. Mahado and Shimon were standing in the entrance. Yuugi smiled at them. "Hello! The Illusion Magician and I are playing a game!"

"I'm sorry, my Prince. But there's no time for games." Mahado said. "Illusion Magician! Come!"

It nodded and followed Mahado out the door. Yuugi stood there, watching them leave. "But . . . our game isn't finished."

"You can finish it when they return, my Prince. Come now, it is time for your lessons." Shimon took Yuugi's hand and the Prince followed him into another room that was used for teaching.

Yuugi sat down at a table and Shimon sat across from him. "Now, where were we?"

"We were learning about the Gods." Yuugi said.

--

Meanwhile, Mahado ran out of the palace, Illusion Magician in tow. "I'm coming, my Pharaoh!"

He burst through the gates and glared at the bandits trying to raid the palace. "Attack, Illusion Magician!"

From the air, the Magician pointed his staff towards many of the bandits and sent of a ball of green energy towards them. The bandits didn't have shadow creatures to call upon so they had no way of protecting themselves against them.

The sand started turning red with blood. Atemu stood back to back with Mahado for a moment. "Mahado, where is my son?"

"Never fear, my Pharaoh. He's with Shimon. He doesn't know about the bandits attacking us." Mahado informed. "There are guards posted at the door and at the door of the treasury room. If they get inside both treasures will be protected."

Atemu grinned. "Excellent. I knew I could count on you." They leaped into battle and ordered their monsters to attack.

--

"Hathor?"

Yuugi paused. "She's . . . she's the goddess of Motherhood."

Shimon nodded. "Correct. And what of Chons?"

"The moon god!" Yuugi cried triumphantly.

Again, he nodded. "Correct. Maat is?"

He hesitated. "The . . . the . . . Goddess of truth and justice!"

Shimon smiled. "You're learning quickly, my Prince. Your father would be proud."

Yuugi giggled and wrote down all the correct names beside the correct paintings on his papyrus. "Thoth is the God of wisdom, magic, and writing! He created all the arts and sciences such as medicine and music!"

Shimon laughed. "Yes, that's correct. You know the Gods almost as well as your father, my Prince."

"Can I show him how well I'm doing?" Yuugi said excitedly.

Shimon hesitated. He knew that the Pharaoh was still protecting the palace from the bandits, but he couldn't tell Yuugi. "Yes. Wait for him in the thrown room and I'll let him know that you want to see him."

Yuugi nodded and ran out of the room. On his way to the thrown room, he heard his father's voice. "Have this cleaned up immediately. I will not have their bodies rotting in my courtyard."

Yuugi smiled. "Papa!"

He ran out to the courtyard towards the gates. He wondered why the gates were open but thought nothing else of it. Running out past the gates, he was just about to call for his father. Suddenly, his feet slipped out from under him and he fell into the sand. "Ow."

Instead of feeling dry, hot sand, Yuugi felt wet. The sand was wet. It didn't rain; in fact it hadn't rained for a long time. So why would it be wet? He raised himself off the ground and looked down. "It's red."

He grabbed a handful of this strange red sand and stared at it in awe. "Why is it-"

Yuugi heard a pain filled groan beside him. He looked over and gasped. There was a man with no legs lying on the ground just to his left. The man looked at Yuugi and glared. "Pharaoh! You did this to my men!"

Yuugi looked around the battlefield. His eyes grew a few more sizes as he saw the dead bodies laying in the sand just a few steps from the gate. Yuugi looked back to the man with no legs. "N-no . . . I didn't . . . Papa wouldn't-"

The man grabbed Yuugi's arm and pulled him down to the ground. He took out a small dagger and pointed it to Yuugi's chest. "I'll kill you Pharaoh! You-"

He screamed as a spear impaled it self into the man's chest. Mahado cried, "Release him!" as he shoved the tip of the spear through the man's body, inserting it to the ground. The man gave one last gasp of breath before his body collapsed.

"My Prince!" Mahado picked him up in his arms. "You're covered in blood!" He wiped the blood from Yuugi's face. "Are you hurt?"

Yuugi shivered in terror as he leaned against Mahado, curling in a ball. "P-Papa wouldn't . . . do this . . ."

Mahado silently cursed. He carried Yuugi back inside and into his chambers. The magician retrieved a bowl of water and a cloth to wipe the blood from him. He took off Yuugi's clothes leaving the boy still in his clean pair of undergarments.

He gently wiped the blood away feeling Yuugi's body tremble under his hand. He sighed. "I'm sorry that you had to see that, my Prince. It's not right. Killing isn't good, but sometimes it must be done. Those people were bandits. They would have killed your father if they had the chance. The Pharaoh isn't a bad man. He just wanted to protect you and Egypt. He did it to keep you safe."

Yuugi slowly looked up at him. His voice could only muster enough to whisper. "Mahado . . . did you kill them too?"

He nodded. "Yes. I won't lie to you; I helped your father kill those men. So did Karim, Shada, Seto, and Isis. But it was to keep Egypt safe, as well as to keep you safe. That man who wanted to hurt you was trying to get to the Pharaoh. He was a bad man. You may not understand now, but someday you will."

He finished wiping the blood away, thankfully none of it got in Yuugi's hair. Mahado picked out a new garment for Yuugi to wear while the other one was cleaned. He put the Prince to bed and sat with him until he fell asleep.

Yuugi closed his eyes and was about to drift off. He quietly whispered, "Mahado, please tell Papa I'm not mad at him. I'm not mad at you or anyone." He yawned.

Mahado smiled. "I will tell him, my Prince. Sleep well."

Yuugi sighed and fell asleep. Mahado silently stood up from the bed and walked out of the Pharaoh's chambers. Atemu then arrived and was surprised to see Mahado standing there as he closed the door. "What are you doing here, Mahado? Have you seen Yuugi? Shimon said he wanted to see me."

Mahado bowed to the Pharaoh. "I put the Prince to sleep, my Pharaoh. He . . . He-"

"What's wrong, Mahado? Is Yuugi all right?" Atemu asked, voice rose in concern.

Mahado sighed. "He remains unharmed."

"Stand, my friend. Please, there's no need to bow." Atemu said.

Mahado stood up and looked down at the Pharaoh. "You said he wanted to see you so I suppose he must have heard your voice. He ran out of the gates and into the battlefield. I saw him trip over a dead man's arm and fall into the bloody sand. One of the bandits who was still alive mistook him for you and tried to kill him."

"What?! Is he all right!?" Atemu barked.

Mahado nodded. "As I said, he is unharmed. I saved him before that man could hurt him. He was covered in blood from when he fell. He was terrified. I cleaned him and put him to bed. And, if I had not gone too far, then I explained to him what had happened. I'm very sorry for this, my Pharaoh."

Atemu sighed. "It's not your fault. I should have had a guard escort Yuugi during . . ." he sighed again. "Next time I will be prepared. Thank you for taking care of him, Mahado. I will watch over my son now."

"Of course, my Pharaoh." He bowed again and turned to leave. "Oh, and I have a message to give you from the Prince." He turned around once more. "'Tell Papa I'm not mad at him.'"

Atemu smiled. "Thank you, Mahado."

He entered his chambers and sighed. 'Forgive me, Gods of Egypt. I've been far too careless with the gift that you have given me. I swear to you that I will protect him. I will not let him be hurt ever again.'

He walked towards the bed and saw Yuugi lying on his side, breathing evenly. There was a speck of red amongst his golden bangs and Atemu knew it was blood. He went to his knees in front of the bed and gently caressed his son's face. "I'm so sorry, Yuugi. I never meant for this to happen to you. I'm a terrible father."

Atemu held Yuugi's hand and rested his forehead against the mattress, praying to the Gods once again. It was several minutes before a whimpering noise was heard. Atemu looked up and saw a look of distress and fear on his son's face. 'He must be having a nightmare.'

He tightly gripped Yuugi's hand and gently touched his shoulder. "Yuugi, wake up. It's time to wake up, my son."

Yuugi writhed around on the bed. He lifted his other arm as if reaching for something. Tears spilled from his eyes. Atemu shook him. "Yuugi, wake up!"

Yuugi gasped and opened his eyes. He looked over at his father and burst into tears. "Papa! I thought you were dead!"

Atemu sat on the bed and gathered Yuugi in his arms. The boy clutched at his father's garment and cried against his chest. "It's all right, Yuugi. I'm not dead. I'm right here. Tell me what happened."

"I-I saw someone holding you at your neck. T-they had a knife and-and they-" He was interrupted momentarily by a sob. "They killed you! I tried to save you but I could barely move! I'm so sorry, Papa! I'm sorry!"

Atemu smiled sadly at the boy and smoothed back his hair. "Yuugi, my dear son, you have nothing to be sorry for. What you saw was only a dream. I'm here, alive and unharmed. Everything is all right. You're safe and so am I. Don't cry, Yuugi. It's all right."

Yuugi nodded against his chest. "I was just so scared. I didn't want you to die."

"I know. But I'm not going anywhere for a long time, Yuugi. I'll be with you as long as I can. I promise you that." Atemu squeezed his son tightly. "These arms will always be here to hold you."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I hope that was a good chapter. Please review so I won't have to worry about it!! And to all Bakura fans, he shows up in the fourth chapter. Sorry if it's a little late, but that's how it is. Anyway, please review!!!