"Okay, like what Atem?" Tea prompted gently.
"I don't know, I just know I've heard that story before." Atem shrugged, and then was getting up and heading toward the balcony.
"How do we make him remember?" Joey asked quietly, drawing the group together.
"I'm not sure." Tea faltered. "I was hoping he'd remember on his own, but it's obvious he won't. We need to up it, but the problem comes back to he's just a kid! We can't be hard on him or he'll freak out, and we can't have a Pharaoh-to-be freaking out."
"Well-"
"Prince Atem! It's time for lunch!" A lady called, smiling when she saw Atem's caretakers. "Please bring the Prince to the dining room when ready, his father wants a family lunch. It should be quite interesting, all his wives and all the children! Even the ones born by the concubines! The cooks are in a scramble, and the servants are working on the table, and everyone's in an upheaval. Anyway, make sure the Prince makes it, Pharaoh will be quite displeased if his son does not show." With that said, the lady shut the door and continued her tracking of Pharaoh's children.
"Okay, so we should get going. Atem! It's time for lunch!" Tea called, and Atem returned to the nursery.
"And then you'll tell another story?" He asked, looking at the three caretakers with puppy dog eyes.
"Um, sure. After lunch though, you must be hungry. And you'll see all your family too, your father is having a whole family lunch, won't that be fun?" Tristan asked.
"As long as I don't sit near Nefiti, she's mean." Atem grimaced, and flounced out the door. The trio quickly followed behind, and let Atem lead the way. A great dining hall had been set up with tables everywhere, and great ornate chairs of gold and silver had been brought out as well. Servants were bustling about, setting the table, seating royal children, wives, and at the head of the table stood the master servant seating the Pharaoh himself.
"Oh, there's the Prince!" Someone said relieved, and a male servant ran up. "Set him by his father at the front. The Pharaoh wants his first born son and daughter next to him."
"Of course." Tea replied, and hurried Atem up to his father.
"Oh hello, my son! I was wondering when you would arrive." The Pharaoh smiled.
"Father."? Atem replied coolly. Atem was seated at the right hand side of his father, and to the left sat a docile little girl with curling brown hair and eyes the color of Atem's. She hadn't been wearing a gold circlet on her head earlier, but now she was adorned in gold jewelry and was smiling at her brother and father delicately.
"Ankah?" Tea asked shocked.
"Hello." The girl replied in a beautiful royal Egyptian lilt. "I am Princess Ankah of Egypt, how may I be of service?"
"Ah, so not only do you know my first born son, but you have also met my dear little princess." The Pharaoh smiled compassionately at his children before turning to Tea. "What is going on? My daughter here demanded I call my family into a meeting, and she being my beautiful princess, I could not refuse her."
"What?" Tea asked shocked. "How do you know?" Ankah smiled and stood up.
"That my dear friend, would take quite a while to explain, and still would not account to why my mother's children all hold great destinies." Ankah replied, walking over to the elder girl. "Father, please start the lunch, enjoy the company of mother and your wives and children. I will return shortly."
"Anything for you, my little Ankah." The Pharaoh replied, and with a childish grin Ankah dropped her princess role and grabbed Tea hand and ran out of the dining room. Ankah ran with Tea on her heels into a veranda, and there took a seat upon a bench.
"Sit Tea." The Princess smiled, and carefully Tea sat beside the girl. "Now, I know you have a few thousand questions, but I need you to listen to me, to my family's story. Will you listen?"
"Of course, but I still don't see how you know-"
"Listen." Ankah demanded, and Tea shut up. "My family is not the most normal. Not on my father's side, because even though royalty isn't the most usual norm, my mother's family is quite strange and Gifted. The descendants of mother's family can be found out by our eyes, the original ancestor who is first chronicled of our family's line held an unusual purple color for eyes, and he wasn't exactly the most normal. His five children also held purple eyes, and an amount of their children as well. But as the line continued, less and less children were born with purple eyes, until the genealogy of our family's Gift was almost forgotten. After a century of purpleless children, my mother showed she had inherited the Gift, and then it turned out her first two children had as well, but my three other siblings do not hold any Gifts from the original ancestor."
"What's the Gift?" Tea asked slightly confused. What kind of Gift resulted in purple eyes? And what was so special about them?
"The Gift alters form from host to host. The original ancestor held the power of nature, he could control all elements, all natural, earthly powers. His childrens' Gifts were different. One could see the future, one could control elements like his father, one could speak with the dead, one was telepathic, and one held the power of wisdom and leadership. As time continued, the Gift lost prominence in each host, until the Gift was almost eradicated from my family's genes. But mother was born Gifted, she could control people. She could make them see reason even if they truly didn't, make them do as she said, and she could control their thoughts and feelings. In many a human's hand, this Gift would have driven them evil and power hungry, but mother was fortunate to also receive a Gift of humbleness, without that I am sure she would have followed a dark path. She uses her Gift for good, and her name became great in her village, the next villages over, into cities she had never heard of, and all the way to Pharaoh's City where Pharaoh chose her for his first wife. Power is important in a royal court, and because of mother's Gift she influenced the court into making the realm of Egypt prosper. Atem was born first, and mother knew he was Gifted when he opened purple eyes. Atem holds leadership like one of the firsts' did. He has the Gift of Rulers, and off the bat mother knew Egypt would be protected by her son. Like with mother, Atem has a check and balance Gift in him. He holds compassion, and like mother, humbleness. He knows loyalty, unlike my half sibling Jarare, and he knows trust and shrewdness."
"But what has that got to do about you knowing about why we're here?" Tea demanded, braking in.
"Let me finish." Ankah reprimanded. "My eyes are the color of the Gifted, like Atem, like Mother, and like my ancestors before me. I hold three unusual Gifts, Gifts that mother tells me makes me a Master Gifter. I hold the gift of future sight, I can see things to come, exact conversations, plots against father, what I will be having for breakfast and dinner. That was how I knew you would be coming, and about why you were making the journey to this palace. I have the gift of truth, I can tell truths from lies. I know when you are deceiving me, and I will find you out. The last is the one mother warns me to protect with my life. This Gift could alter all history, and can change the future for the best or the worst. It is the Gift of time travel. Now the reason I am explaining this to you is, I cannot time travel here. I knew something was not right when I could not travel, and then I saw the future. There was none. I learned this whole world was a lie. It holds no future, only a continuing present. I could not time travel, because there is no time here. The sun will set, the moon will rise, but time does not truly pass. I saw the future again, or non future, and this time I saw you. I saw you turning the tide, and so letting myself out of the castle I made sure you made it to my home. And you did."
"So, you know?"
"Of course, we are Gifted for a reason, Tea. It is my duty to assist those who are in need of help, and so I must help. Although my brother is older, and it would fall to him first, being the Pharaoh's son has spoiled him, and mother made sure I knew how to assist those in need of assistance. Father does not like it when his children leave the palace, he does not think it becoming of future royalty. But mother grew up on the outside, and after disguising me she always took me into the city to learn how to help. That is why Surji at the gate did not let me pass through the front gates, he knows to protect my secret. I am fated to help those who need it, and learning I am in a trap of a cage makes me quite displeased, quite annoyed, and I must help this cause."
"Thank you so much, Ankah. You don't know how easier this will be with you helping us." Tea breathed.
"There is one thing, you must convince my father first, and then if you can't I will support you and get mother to 'convince' father you are right. If a Pharaoh is on your side, then things will be easier for you."
"Okay, let's go convince a Pharaoh." Tea agreed, and stood up in sync with Ankah. Ankah led them back to the main dining hall, where Tea took a steadying breath and approached Pharaoh.
"Ah, Ankah! You're back, and the servant as well. I was worried I would have to send a search team after you, or a priest! Please sit, Ankah, enjoy the feast."
"Father, I told you we must speak of a matter with all the family present, and I would like to speak of that first." Ankah replied as she took her seat on the left hand side.
"Of course, whenever you are ready, daughter."
"If it pleases the Pharaoh, I would like to speak frankly and bluntly. And I will be having the servant Tea speak on my behalf. If I pleases the Pharaoh to listen and speak not a word until servant Tea has ended her request of a matter most important, I would like servant Tea to begin." Ankah said, using terms of request instead of 'you're my dad and you have to listen'.
"You have learned much from your mother, it pleases Pharaoh to listen." Her father replied, and turned his attention to servant Tea.
"Great Pharaoh, as I the Princess has said, Servant Tea will be frank and blunt, and what she says might make you, Great Pharaoh, quite mad. Please refrain from great rage until the servant has finished her words, and please father, actually listen to her on behalf of your little Princess." Ankah spoke again, and Tea mentally thanked her. It wouldn't be good to be sent to the dungeons before she had gotten out what she wanted to say.
"As Pharaoh of Egypt and as the father of the Princess on whose behalf you now speak, I promise to refrain from anger and rage until all the words you will speak have been spoken." The Pharaoh agreed with technical terms. Tea bowed her head and dropped in a curtsy before the kings with a relieved smile. "My family! All those who share my blood through marriage and who have come into the world through my blood, I demand you listen to the words servant Tea will soon speak." The Pharaoh called, and the Pharaoh Family all turned their eyes on her.
"Hello, Royalty of Egypt and Great Pharaoh himself. My name is Tea Gardner, and I am not of this world. In truth, none of you are. A huge evil was loosed upon the world, his name was and is Noah Kaiba. One of my friends defeated him, and the world was safe. But he found a way back to life, and now he's trapping everyone on Earth, all Egypt, in a fake world. He's using magic of old, evil magic, and he's trapping all populations in this fake world. Here he rules over them like a master rules his slaves, and he even went as far as to brainwash everyone. Not people have been able to remember this Noah's evil, but I am one of the rememberers. I gained all my lost memories, and now I must try to free everyone from the false memories Noah has transmitted. Great Pharaoh, you are under Noah's influence. Your kingdom's fake, your ruling's false, and none of this is real. You're trapped inside Noah's idea of a game, and you're playing with him! He's got you wrapped around his little finger, and since you can't remember the truth, Noah keeps winning! I'm sorry if you get mad, but you have to know. None of this real, no one is in fact. Everything's made up, everyone's brainwashed. I found my memories, and I fought to free myself from Noah's control. I am free, but you all are not. The two men who arrived with me have also fought Noah's influence and found freedom as well, but it is our duty to free our friends. Young Atem is among our friends, he doesn't remember us anymore though. Princess Ankah knows we speak truth, it is her divine Gift. If you won't believe me, Pharaoh, then please believe your daughter." Tea spoke the truth, and hoped it was enough. She had made this world seem evil using what she knew of Egyptian fears, dark magic. She had made them think they were slaves, and as the ruling family knew they wouldn't like that, and she had probably sacrificed her life by telling the king he was a fake Pharaoh. Tea waited for the king's reply.
"Well..." He began. "Quite an unusual tale."
"Father." Ankah warned.
"Please Ankah, what a silly little story! Did you have to bring the family together just for us to hear one of your little stories?" Pharaoh laughed.
"Father!" Ankah exclaimed. "My 'stories' are truth!"
"Do not mock my daughter's Gift, Pharaoh." A matured female voice warned.
"Amerin, do you honestly expect me to believe this?" Pharaoh laughed again.
"How is it possible you have your mind set against something, but after just getting a look from me you change your mind?" Ankah's mother Amerin demanded.
"You are my wife, I listen to you."
"No, you were planning to wipe out Mesopotamia until I spoke otherwise. The trading ability and resources were to great a loss!"
"I knew all this on my own."
"You do not make great decisions without my consultations. I knew you never believed my Gift, I knew you never believed Ankah's! I will take my family and leave if you don't take young Tea's words seriously."
"It is just a story!"
"Look at me." Amerin demanded, and when the Pharaoh locked eyes with her he seemed to fall into a trance. "Listen to her words, you have heard them. Are they truth? Honestly consider her mission, honestly consider her." Amerin's words were lyrical and simple and when Pharaoh shook his head Tea knew Amerin had used her Gift.
"Mother." Ankah smiled.
"Dear." Amerin replied.
"Upon consideration within my family I have decided that your words hold a ring of truth. I must take consul before I proceed." Pharaoh finally declared. Once he had left the room with his advisers the room burst into conversation and murmurs.
"I knew it couldn't be real!"
"I told you something was off."
"How can it be?"
"How do we defeat this Noah and return to our true homeland?"
"What are we going to do?"
"I tried to tell you."
"This is impossible."
"The Pharaoh will know what to do."
"Hey Tea, good job, please sit." Ankah smiled, pulling a chair over.
"So, the story you told me, about...Yugi...and about the...puzzle...was true?" Atem asked confused.
"It was all true. That was your story Tristan told." Tea told the young prince gently.
"I...remember." He whispered. His eyes opened wide, his mouth grew agape, and in five seconds he had reverted to his normal height and age. "Tea." He remarked. "Thank you." His voice had deepened, his features were more regal, and his unusual eyes showing his Gift were as deep and as different as ever. "Well, so that's what you look like." Ankah laughed. "Finally lost the baby chubbiness didn't you?"
"Ankah!" Her mother warned with mirth.
"Look who's talking, Ankie." Atem shot back, completely relaxed and not taking anything seriously. It was a good change for him. Tea thought with a smile. The Pharaoh came back into the room with his advisers in tow, and Tea waited breathless for the final decision. The Pharaoh sat down, and took a long look at the strange girl who had turned everything in his kingdom upside down.
"I have decided." He finally sighed. "The facts have been obvious for a time now. I can't believe I haven't done anything sooner, but I did not want my son growing up without a sister or mother. Amerin, you, your daughter, servant Tea, and her two little friends are all being sent to the dungeons. You have been decided crazy and are in treason against the country. Guards! Get them out of here!"