Okay. Here's the next chapter.
Enjoy!
Chapter 3- Attempt
Several weeks had passed by since the confrontation that Heba had had with Atemu in the dining room. Although Seto, Atemu, Marik, and Bakura still had no liking for their husbands, they had stopped the arguments and had taken to just ignoring the, when they were around them, and avoiding them if possible.
Seto was currently reading a book in a chair while Bakura and Marik played each other on a game.
"Where are Atemu and Yami at?" Bakura asked.
"I don't know. There's no telling with those two." Marik replied.
Seto rolled his eyes. "Unlike you two, they don't stay cooped up inside all of the time. They were out to play a few games of tennis together." Seto said.
"Oh. I didn't realize they had gone there." Marik said.
"Maybe we should go ourselves. It couldn't hurt." Bakura said.
Seto closed his book. "If it means getting you two outside, then fine. Come on." Seto said.
Bakura turned off the game system and the TV before the three headed outside.
Yami and Atemu were in the middle of their game of tennis.
The two were hitting the ball back and forth across the net, neither giving the other any slack.
Bakura, Marik, and Seto arrived to find them in the middle of the game.
Bakura smirked. 'This is too good.' Bakura thought.
Seto noticed Bakura's smirk and frowned. 'What is he plotting?' Seto asked himself.
Suddenly, Bakura shouted, "HEY, ATEMU! DON'T MISS IT!"
The sudden shout startled Atemu and caused him to trip, missing the ball has he landed on the ground.
Bakura started laughing hysterically along with Marik, who thought that it was just hilarious.
Atemu looked up at his cousins and growled. "Bakura! I'm going to kill you! You just made me lose the game!" Atemu shouted.
"Come on, Atemu! It doesn't matter!" Bakura shouted back.
"Yeah! Don't be sore just because Yami beat you!" Marik added.
Yami walked around the net. "Actually, I don't' consider it a win since you made Atemu lose his concentration! It's a draw!" Yami said.
"Thank you, Yami." Atemu said, dusting himself off.
"I don't like to win unfairly. That was a little unfair." Yami said.
"I appreciate it. I know that those two idiots wouldn't do that." Atemu said as they headed toward where Seto, Bakura, and Marik were at.
"Sorry about that." Bakura said insincerely.
"Yeah. Like I really believe that." Atemu said.
"Sorry. I wouldn't have told them where you were if I had known they were going to do that." Seto said.
"Seto, this is Marik and Bakura we're talking about. This is what they live for." Yami said.
"Come on. Let's go." Atemu said.
The group started to walk back toward their rooms.
"So, what should we do now?" Marik asked.
"Hey, look." Seto said.
Up ahead, Aknankanon and Aknaudin along with Mahado, Mana, and Isis were standing at the balcony, watching something.
"What's going on?" Atemu asked as they approached them.
"See for yourselves." Aknankanon said.
The five looked and saw that Joey and Malik were sword fighting in the training area below the balcony.
"What did they do to piss each other off?" Bakura asked.
Mahado shook his head. "They're practicing. They have been for the last hour." Mahado said.
"You have to admit that they are great swordsmen." Isis said.
"Yes, they are." Aknaudin agreed.
"Why are you letting them? They could be planning something." Marik said.
"They haven't done anything wrong. We knew that they were swordsmen before they came here. As far as we know, they are just keeping themselves trained." Mahado said.
"Besides, they could use that training in case an assassin comes after them, and you know that that is a major possibility." Isis added.
Seto looked and saw that Ryou was sitting on a bench watching them. "Where is Prince Heba?" Seto asked.
"We haven't seen him, so he must not be out there with them." Aknaudin said.
"Um, actually, I know where he is." Mana, a palace magician trainee and Mahado's student, said.
"Where, Mana?" Atemu asked.
Mana pointed up.
The group looked at where she had pointed and saw that Heba was in a tree that was near the edge of the training area.
Heba was laying lengthwise across a wide, thick branch with one leg laid on the branch and the other handling of the tree. He was reading a book.
"Wow. That's pretty high." Atemu said.
"Yeah, but he seems comfortable." Yami said.
Joey's sword clashed with Malik's sword. Joey ducked and turned, trying to kick Malik, but Malik moved to the side before charging at Joey, bringing his sword down at Joey. Joey blocked the sword and forced Malik's sword up and rammed himself into Malik, causing Malik to lose his footing. Joey then tried to punch Malik, but Malik ducked and grabbed a hold of Joey's wrist, grabbing Joey and flipping him over his shoulder. Joey landed on his feet and pushed himself backwards, ramming right into Malik. Malik then charged forward again.
Ryou watched the two. 'Hmm. Malik's always been the better swordsman, but Joey's doing pretty well. If Malik let's his guard down, he's lost this one. Joey has improved a lot since the last time he and Malik fought.' Ryou thought.
Heba lay up in the tree, reading his book. Every now and then, he would glance down to see how Joey and Malik were doing before going back to his book. 'They've been at this for over an hour. They need to stop soon, or they're really going to wear themselves thin.' Heba thought.
There was a rustling in the branches.
Heba looked around, but didn't see anything. He frowned. 'I've felt like we were being watched for a while, but I don't know why.' Heba thought.
Joey and Malik were still in their fight. Joey blocked Malik's sword and rammed himself forward, knocking Malik backwards. Malik landed on his back and rolled out of the way before Joey could strike at him again. The two swirled around with their swords, and both stopped their swords so that the blades were only a few inches from the other's neck.
Both were panting as they tried to regain their breath.
"That was-the best fight-we have ever had." Malik said.
"I told you-that I would catch up-to you one day, Malik." Joey replied.
The two then withdrew their swords.
Heba suddenly sensed something and jumped away from the branch as a sword went down into his.
Hearing commotion, Joey, Ryou, and Malik as well as Aknankanon and the other looked up to see Heba falling from the tree.
The man in the tree then went down at Heba.
Heba landed on his feet on the ground before he ducked out of the path of the sword. The man charged at Heba again. Heba ducked and grabbed the man's wrist before twisting his wrist, forcing the man to drop the sword. Heba then punched the man so hard in the face that he slammed back into the tree.
"Heba, you okay?" Joey asked as the three ran forward.
"Yeah." Heba said.
Aknankanon, Aknaudin, Atemu, Yami, Bakura, Seto, Marik, and Mahado also ran down. They had told Mana and Isis to stay where they were.
The man growled before charging at Heba again. Heba ducked out of the way of the punch and grabbed the man by the arm, twisting the man's arm and turning it behind his back before forcing the man to his knees.
"I'd stop while I was ahead if I were you." Heba warned.
"Are you all right?" Aknankanon asked as they arrived at them.
"Yes, Pharaoh. He must have been watching us and waiting for the right time to strike." Heba answered.
"Mahado, take this man to the dungeons. I'll deal with him soon." Aknankanon said.
Mahado nodded and grabbed the man, making sure eh had him securely before walking off with him.
Heba picked up the sword and headed it to Aknaudin.
"Those were some interesting moves. I wouldn't take you for a fighter." Aknaudin said.
"Please don't let my size fool you, Lord Aknaudin. I am a very good fighter." Heba answered.
"I am glad that you weren't harmed. I will deal with this man." Aknankanon said.
Heba nodded.
Aknankanon then walked off with Aknaudin following him.
"Prince Heba, did you know he was there?" Yami asked.
"I felt like someone was watching us. I sensed his present enough in advance to avoid the sword." Heba answered.
"That's impressive." Seto said.
"I wouldn't have thought you would be impressed with anything." Joey said snidely.
"I wasn't talking to you, mutt!" Seto snapped.
Heba put a hand to his head. "I'm killing him." Heba muttered as Joey and Seto started a full-blown argument.
"Why are you killing Seto?" Bakura demanded.
"He was referring to Joey." Ryou said.
"Well, I'll be inside. I don't want to listen to them." Heba said, grabbing the book he had dropped.
"You might not want to do that. Father will want us present when that man is sentences." Atemu said.
"We'll be there, Prince Atemu." Malik said.
Later that day, the sentencing for the man that had attacked Heba was held.
Aknankanon sat on the throne. Amara, the Queen and Aknankanon's wife, sat on the smaller throne beside Aknankanon. Yami beside Amara while Atemu stood beside Aknankanon. Heba was standing beside Atemu.
Aknaudin stood with the other priests.
Seto, Marik, and Bakura were off to the side with Joey, Malik, and Ryou standing beside them.
The guards brought in the man who had tried to kill Heba. He was forced to kneel before Aknankanon at the foot of the throne.
"You have been charged with an assassination attempt on Prince Heba, the husband of Crown Prince Atemu. How do you plead?" Aknaudin asked.
'This is stupid. They know he did it, so why go through this?' Joey asked himself.
"I'll gladly say guilty. That bastard isn't worthy if Prince Atemu. He should be dead by all accounts." the man spat.
Heba remained unfazed by this. He was used to such talk.
"You will stop! Your opinion does not matter. You broke the law by making an attempt on his life." Aknankanon said.
'Why kill him? Heba hasn't done anything wring yet.' Atemu thought. He glanced over at Heba. 'In fact, he's done nothing at all.' Atemu thought.
The man glowered. 'So, the Pharaoh is a traitor to his people. He has to go. Maybe Prince Atemu will do as Pharaoh what his father will not.' the man thought.
"The law states that an attempt on any Royal is an immediate death sentence." Aknankanon said.
"That fool isn't even an Egyptian! The law doesn't apply!" the man growled.
"The law applies to all Egyptian Royals. Prince Heba is now married to my son, which makes him an Egyptian prince." Aknankanon said angrily. He was tired of this man's ignorance.
"Then perhaps it is time for a new Pharaoh." the man said lowly.
Before anyone had a chance to react, the man had gotten out of the guards' grip and grabbed one of their swords, charging at Aknankanon.
Heba, acting on pure instinct, grabbed the dagger that he kept hidden for protection purposes and lunged out, intercepting the man and blocking the sword with the dagger.
Every gasped as they realized what had nearly happened.
"Die, bastard!" the man shouted, trying to strike Heba.
Heba grabbed the man by the wrist as he tried to bring the sword down into Heba, and Heba twisted the man's wrist, snapping his wrist, effectively breaking the man's wrist.
The man screamed in pain.
"Guards, get that man!" Aknankanon ordered, on his feet.
The guards ran up and grabbed the man.
Heba merely stepped back and replaced the dagger where he had gotten it from.
"Someone will kill you, bastard!" the man screamed at Heba.
"But not you, and you've ended your life with your actions today." Heba said.
"Get him out of here!" Aknankanon ordered.
One look from Aknankanon told Mahado and Karim to go as well.
The two priests accompanied the guards in taking the man back to the dungeons, intent on letting the guards have it for letting the man get out of their grip.
"Aknankanon, are you all right?" Amara asked, going to her husband's side.
"I'm fine, Amara." Aknankanon assured her.
"That was close." Yami said.
Joey, Ryou, and Malik went over to Heba.
"You okay, Heba?" Joey asked.
"I'm fine. That man didn't lay a hand on me." Heba answered.
"He meant from what he said." Ryou clarified.
"Guys, you know me better than that. I don't let things like that bother me." Heba said.
Aknankanon looked at Heba. "Prince Heba." Aknankanon said.
Heba turned, and Joey, Ryou, and Malik all stepped aside.
"Yes, Pharaoh." Heba said.
"It would seem I owe you my life. If you had not acted when you did, I might have been killed. You have my thanks." Aknankanon said.
"I am glad to have been able to help, Pharaoh." Heba replied.
Since the sentencing was over, Heba, Joey, Ryou, and Malik left the room.
"Pharaoh, should you not do something about him?" Shada asked.
"Why would he do that, Shada? Prince Heba just saved his life." Amara protested.
"He was carrying a concealed dagger. He could have been planning something." Shada explained.
"He's right." Isis added.
"No. I knew Heba was carrying a concealed dagger as I am certain Lord Joseph, Lord Ryou, and Lord Malik are." Aknankanon said.
"What do you mean, Father?" Atemu asked.
"Prince Heba knew that any Royal has the right to carry a concealed weapon with them for protection purposes. He came to me several weeks ago and requested that they be allowed to carry them for their own protection." Aknankanon explained.
"Was that wise?" Seto asked.
"I wasn't sure at first myself. I knew that they had the right, though. I think that today just proved they should be allowed to. There are many Egyptians who resent the fact that you four are married to Millennials. Any one of them could make an attempt on any one of their lives. They need to have protection. I think I made the right decision." Aknankanon said.
"We cannot truly question Heba for having it then." Isis said.
"If they truly wished to do something, they would have already done it." Aknaudin said.
"For now, I think that we should just leave them be. After all, Heba didn't have to save my life. He could have allowed me to die and acted like eh couldn't do anything." Aknankanon said.
"He's right." Atemu said.
Everyone nodded their agreement.
"That was a good move, Heba. Any later, and the Pharaoh might have been killed." Joey said.
"I acted on instinct, Joey. I've been on guard since we arrived here at the start. I'm not taking any chances. I'm just glad that I was able to save the Pharaoh." Heba said.
Malik plopped down into a chair in Heba's room. "Well, they won't act any different. You could save every one of them, and they would still treat us like we're trying to overthrow Egypt." Malik said.
"Malik, I didn't do what I did to try and change their minds about us. I did what I did because it is the right thing to do." Heba said, sitting down on the bed,
"We know that, Heba, but Malik is right." Ryou said. He stopped and said, "Wow. I never thought I would ever say that."
Malik glared at him.
"Heba, is there any way to get them to trust us?" Joey asked.
"It'll be hard, but we might can. I don't know." Heba said.
"Well, I don't think we should even try right now. They're going to be suspicious of us since they know that you were carrying a dagger that they didn't know about." Ryou said.
"The Pharaoh knew, though." Malik said.
"It would be the perfect way to get rid of us." Ryou pointed out.
"It doesn't matter. We look after ourselves and do what we can. We know what's coming, and we have to protect everyone here as much as we possibly can." Heba said.
"I find it hard to believe that Heba was willing to save Dad like that." Yami said.
"I know what you mean. I thought that they were here to try and help Emperor Kenshin take control of Egypt, and that would have been the perfect way to. I mean, if Dad had died, I would have been the next Pharaoh, and that would have given Heba power as well." Atemu said.
Yami sighed as he stretched out on Atemu's bed. "You know, Atemu, I think we need to consider the fact that maybe Heba doesn't have an alternative for being here. Maybe he doesn't want to do anything." Yami said.
"I know that that's a possibility, but I just have trouble believing it completely." Atemu said.
"Maybe you ought to consider it." Yami said.
Atemu glanced over at his brother. "What are you implying?" Atemu asked.
"Atemu, I know that you hate the fact that you were forced to marry Heba because of Emperor Kenshin's ultimatum. I get that. You're making this whole thing out to be Heba's fault, though. You resent him for something that his father forced on us. I mean, has Heba really done anything against to make us think that he had plans to try and take control of Egypt, the time he slapped you aside, which you deserved completely." Yami said.
Atemu sighed. "No. He hasn't done anything against us at all. I know that. I was just so sire that that was why he was here. I didn't want to give him the chance to take any power from us." Atemu said.
"Atemu, I know that you were wanting to get married for love, but that's just not going to happen. Not for you anyway. You could try to be his friend, though." Yami said.
Atemu looked at his brother oddly. "You really think that we can be friends?" Atemu asked.
"Atemu, I think that you can do anything if you really want to. It's a matter of if you're willing to set aside you anger and resentment to try and see what Heba is really like instead of continuing to believe this preconceived notion that you have about him." Yami said.
Atemu looked at his brother and knew that what he was sating made a lot of sense.
"Just think about it." Yami said before getting up and leaving the room.
Atemu sat down on the bed that his brother had vacated. 'Maybe Yami's right. Maybe I do need to try and see what Heba's really like. I would like to be on good terms with my husband at least.' Atemu thought.
Heba was laying on his bed, looking through a photo album that he had brought with him from home. He smiled as he looked through them. 'I really miss home. I miss almost everything about it.' Heba thought. He sighed. 'Than again, there's a lot about Egypt that is more enjoyable as far as living goes than in the Millennial Kingdom.' Heba thought.
Heba came to a picture and stopped.
The picture had Heba in it as well as a boy who looked exactly like Heba except for the fact that he had pale skin whereas Heba had tanned skin.
Heba traced a finger over the other boy's face. 'Yugi, I really miss you. I just hope I can keep that promise to you.' Heba thought.
A knock on the door knocked Heba out of his thoughts.
Heba closed the photo album and put it in a drawer in the nightstand. "Come in!" Heba called.
The door opened, and Atemu walked into the room.
Heba was startled that Atemu had come to him, but hid it well. "Can I help you with something, Prince Atemu?" Heba asked.
Atemu sighed and closed the door behind him. "I was wondering if maybe we could talk for a minute." Atemu asked.
"Talk or yell?" Heba asked.
"Just talk without yelling if possible." Atemu said.
Heba nodded and moved to sit down on the edge of the bed. "All right." Heba said.
Atemu looked at him. "First off, I want to thank you for saving my father's life. You don't know how much that means to me." Atemu said.
"I only did what I thought was right. I couldn't have lived with myself if anything had happened to the Pharaoh." Heba said.
"Prince Heba, I also wanted to apologize to you. I have treated you unfairly since we were married. I spent the last three months hating you without having a real reason to hate you. I resented the fact that I had been forced to get married at seventeen to someone that I had never before in my life. I took my anger and frustrations out on you. I shouldn't have done that. You haven't done anything to warrant the way I've treated you. You haven't done anything wrong at all." Atemu said.
"Prince Atemu, you don't have to apologize. I understand why you felt the way you did. I treated you as unfairly." Heba said.
"It doesn't excuse a lot of what I've said. I've said a lot of hurtful things to you, especially what I said about you ruining our lives. I didn't even think of everything that you had lost. I'm sorry." Atemu said.
"It's all right. We both got off on the wrong foot. Neither one of us wanted this, and we both are suspicious of the other." Heba said.
"You were suspicious of me?" Atemu asked, surprised.
"As you said, it was an unwanted marriage. I didn't know what you would do. I was afraid you might do something to try and hurt me because you didn't want to be married to me. We were both wrong to think the way we did." Heba said.
"I know it might take some time, but could we at least be friends? Or try anyway?' Atemu asked.
Heba smiled. "I think that we can try." Heba agreed.
"Good. I really got tired of arguing all the time, Prince Heba." Atemu said.
"Well, if we're going to try and be friends, I would like it if you would just call me Heba." Heba said.
"All right. Then you call me Atemu." Atemu said.
Heba nodded. "Okay." Heba said.
Atemu smiled back at him.
'Maybe things can work out after all.' Heba thought.
In a large palace in the throne room, Emperor Kenshin sat on the throne with five men bowing before.
"You summoned us, Emperor. What can we do for you?" one man asked.
"I need you to do something for me. I want you to attack the Egyptian palace. Kill anyone who gets in your way." Kenshin said.
"What of your son? What if he and the others were to get in our way?" one man asked.
"Kill them. I could twist it so that it would look like the Egyptians did that, and then I could start my war with them." Kenshin said.
"What if we are captured?" another asked.
"You will say that you are members of the growing rebellion here. After all, a rebellion is so unpredictable in what they do." Kenshin said with a smirk.
The five men smirked.
"Those Egyptians won't stand a chance against us." a different man said.
"Now go." Kenshin ordered.
The five nodded and left.
Kenshin smirked. 'I will have Egypt as my own, and then the rest of the world will follow. My son and his friends won't stop me. Not with the little insurance that I have. At least, they think I have it.' Kenshin thought, laughing out loud at his own thought.
Hope you liked it. Atemu and Heba are just trying to be friends right now. Romance will come later.
Next: That last paragraph of this chapter should tell you that. A battle is coming!
R&R.