Chapter 5- Misconceptions

Heba and Atemu walked down the hall to head to the throne room for Court.

"Prince, can I ask you a question?" Atemu asked, remembering that he was supposed to call Heba by his title outside of the room in case anyone heard.

"What is it?" Heba asked.

"What exactly do you do in Court?" Atemu asked.

"It's where the citizens will come to Yugi and ask him to help them with various problems that come up. It's also used to sentence prisoners." Heba explained.

"Okay." Atemu said.

"Hey! Heba! Atemu! Wait up!"

Heba and Atemu turned to see Jou, Malik, and Ryou running down the hall to them.

"I thought that you guys were already in the throne room." Heba said.

"No. Our husbands were being royal pains today." Jou said.

Atemu smiled. "That sounds like my brothers. They love to be trouble." Atemu said.

"That hasn't changed." Ryou said.

"Let's get to the throne room." Heba said.

The group headed on down the hall and walked into the throne room.

Yugi and the council were already in the throne room.

Heba, Jou, Ryou, and Malik went to their seats as always, and Atemu stood behind Yugi's chair as he was told to do.

"Let's begin." Yugi said.

The Court started, and there were several people that came in with their problems.

Yugi, although showing no emotion, was fair and generous to the people that came in, His decisions showed a great amount of wisdom and knowledge that surpassed his years.

A man came in with the problem that there was a drought, and the crops in his village and the surrounding villages were failing, and they needed relief.

"Tell me. Are there underground water sources around these villages?" Yugi asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty, but no one knows where they are." the man replied, keeping his head bowed respectively.

"The elders in your village should know where these water sources are. I will send a group to the villages, and the elders will show these people where the water sources are, and they will dig there. The water sources will help to ease the effects of the drought." Yugi said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." the man said, bowing before he left.

"Is there anything else?" Yugi asked.

"Yes, There are two prisoners which need to be punished." Rishid said.

Yugi nodded.

One of the prisoners had been caught stealing food for himself because he was unable to get any legally.

Yugi had sentences him to working for the person he had stolen from for three months before he was released.

The other was a murderer who had killed three families all because he was searching for food and a place to stay.

That man had been sentences to death for killing eleven people.

"Is there anything else?" Yugi asked.

"No, Your Majesty. There is nothing else." Rishid said.

"Then Court is dismissed for the day." Yugi said. He stood up, and Heba, Jou, Ryou, and Malik stood as well.

Yugi walked down the steps to the floor. Jou, Malik, and Ryou walked down first with Heba behind them, and Atemu followed Heba down, and they all left the throne room.

Yugi turned and went to the right, leaving the other five alone.

"Come on. Let's get back." Jou said.

The group started down the hall to the left.

"I really hate those Court sessions. They last for entirely too long." Ryou said.

"It was only a few hours." Heba said.

"I don't see why it is that we have to go." Malik grumbled.

"You know that it is customary considering the fact that we are all members of the Royal family." Heba said,

"Doesn't mean that we have it like it." Jou muttered.

"No, you don't, but you do have to go." Heba said.

The group arrived back into the west wing.

"See you later." Jou said before disappearing into the room he shared with Seto.

Malik and Ryou also went into their rooms.

Heba and Atemu went into their room.

"I know that Court can be a bore, Atemu, but it's something that I have to do." Heba said.

"I understand, and I found it rather enlightening." Atemu stated.

"What do you mean?" Heba asked.

"Well, from what I heard from my village, there were people who said that the Emperor was a cold-hearted person who didn't care about anyone. My view has changed some." Atemu said.

"How so?" Heba asked.

"The Emperor does seem kind of cold, but he's not heartless. All of his decisions today were geared toward helping the people that came here. Even the prisoner that was stealing food was helped." Atemu said.

Heba nodded. "That's what he always does. Yugi wants to help people." Heba said.

Atemu noticed that his voice seemed kind of distant and wondered what it was that had Heba like that, but he chose not to ask that question.

Later, Heba and Atemu joined Jou, Seto, and the others in the lounge to eat their dinner.

"I heard that Court was boring." Seto said.

"It was. I can't stand it when I have to do that." Jou said.

"What did you think, Atemu?" Marik asked.

"I wouldn't call it exciting, but I didn't find it too boring, either." Atemu replied.

"Give it a week or so, and you'll find that it is very boring." Ryou said.

"We all thought that it was like that, too, but we also got to the point that it bored us." Marik said.

The group continued to eat until their dinner was finished.

"I really wish that we wouldn't have to go to these things every blasted day." Jou said.

"It's not too bad. It's not like we have to make any of the decisions." Heba said.

"Yeah. We leave that to the cold-hearted king." Jou said.

"Jou, there's no need in that." Heba said quietly.

"Why the hell not?! It's not like Yugi's the most cheerful person in the world like he used to be!" Jou growled.

"Yeah. After he got all the power as king, then he became like that." Malik added.

"He doesn't smile, he doesn't laugh, he doesn't joke around, and he doesn't act like he gives a damn about anyone or anything." Ryou said.

"Hell, he doesn't even spend any time with us anymore, and we're his family." Jou said.

"Knock it off, guys." Heba said.

"Come on, Heba. Your own brother hadn't had much to say to you since he became the Emperor. He doesn't give a damn anymore." Jou said.

"After everything several of the slaves have done to you, he never once acted like he really cared about what they put you through." Malik said.

Atemu was confused by the verbal lashing at Yugi and looked at Seto, Marik, and Bakura, who also wore confused expressions.

In all the time that they had been with Jou, Ryou, and Malik, Seto, Bakura, and Marik had never heard them attack Yugi in such a way.

"He's cold and doesn't care anymore. Why should we?" Jou asked.

Heba tightened his hands into fists. He was getting angry at the verbal lashing.

"All the power that he has went straight to his head. He doesn't care anymore about us." Ryou said.

Heba snapped.

Heba slammed his hands down on the table with such force that the table shook as he said, "Shut up!"

The room became deathly quiet at the sudden outburst from the normally quiet Heba.

"I have had it! Maybe you don't agree with how Yugi acts, but it doesn't give you the right to talk about him in such a cruel and demeaning way! He's still my brother, damn it, and I'm not going to let you three attack him like that! Maybe Yugi has changed since he took the throne, but he isn't cruel and heartless! You don't even try to spend any time with him! I actually do, and you may think you know everything there is know about this situation, but you don't, so just drop the damn subject!" Heba shouted.

Jou, Ryou, and Malik all jumped and backed away at Heba's harsh words and tone. They hadn't realized that Heba was so sensitive about Yugi.

Heba turned and stormed out of the room, slamming the door in the process.

The silence continued.

Atemu started for the door, going after Heba.

"Atemu, maybe you shouldn't go after him. Heba's really upset right now." Seto said.

"Maybe, but I want to make sure that he's all right." Atemu said, ignoring his brother's advice and going after Heba.

Bakura turned to Jou, Malik, and Ryou and said, "I would say that you just riled Heba up."

"Man. I didn't think that Heba would react like that." Jou said.

"Whether he likes the changes in his brother or not, the Emperor is still his brother, and nothing will change that. I know that I would have said something along the same lines if anyone ever said something like that about one of my brother's." Seto said.

Ryou sighed. "I think that we might have gone a little too far with this." Ryou said.

"Yeah. Pretty much you did." Bakura said.

Atemu walked into Heba's chambers to find Heba sitting on the bed with tears falling down his face. He walked over and sat down beside Heba. "Are you all right?" Atemu asked, rubbing Heba's back.

Heba sighed. "I hate it when I hear people talk about Yugi like that. It just makes me so angry." Heba said.

"I can understand. I wouldn't want someone to talk about any of my brothers like that." Atemu said.

Heba looked over at him. "Atemu, I know that since my brother became the Emperor, he has changed. I admit that, but it doesn't mean that they should talk about him like that. He's a good man. I know that hasn't changed." Heba said.

"I agree. From what he's done to help improve the kingdom and the decisions I saw him make today in regards to the problems brought before showed me that. He may not show feeling very often, but I can tell that he is a good person." Atemu said.

"most people think that because Yugi doesn't show emotion that he is a cold and heartless person who only cares about how much power he has and tried to do things that benefit him, but he doesn't. Yugi is nothing like that." Heba said.

"Heba, what did Jou, Ryou, and Malik mean that Yugi's different than how he used to be?" Atemu asked.

Heba wiped his tears away and said, "When we were kids, Yugi was a very happy and cheerful person. You never saw him without a smile. He was always laughing, joking, playing, and just having fun. He did take his duties seriously, but he also made time to just be himself and have fun. My father would joke that Yugi's joy and cheerfulness were infectious because anyone around him usually became like that when Yugi was around. When Yugi became the Emperor, he changed. He didn't smile. He didn't laugh. He didn't have fun. He just became the Emperor. He completely changed. Before, a person could just look into Yugi's eyes to know exactly what he was feeling or thinking, but now, no one can really judge what Yugi feels or thinks. It like he closed off his ability to feel anything."

"That's a big change." Atemu stated.

"Yeah. It was, and I know that everyone thinks Yugi is cold, but he's not. I know it." Heba said.

"You said that Jou and the others didn't try to spend any time with the Emperor. You did, though." Atemu said.

"Yes. I knew that Yugi had changed, but I still wanted him to be a part of my life and for me to be a part of his. No matter how he changes, he is still my brother and I will always love him." Heba said.

"Does he want to spend time with you?" Atemu asked.

"he does. He's still kind of cold, but not as much. I can see and feel a bit of warmth form him. I know that who my brother really is still exists. Something is just keeping him from being who he really is. You know about the slaves who mistreated me in order to gain favor in my Brother's eyes, right?" Heba asked.

Atemu nodded.

"Everyone thinks that Yugi just punished those slaves for how they treated me, and nothing to help me. The truth is that Yugi was my biggest supporter when I was hurting. He just did it in a way that no one saw." Heba said.

"How so?" Atemu asked.

"Well, Yugi could just sense when I was really upset about something. He would come in here and let me talk to him about what I was feeling. He would listen, give advice, or just hold me when I needed it. Maybe he was still cold, but he was there. I didn't need to hear him say that he was worried to know that he was." Heba said.

"Do Jou, Ryou, and Malik not try and talk to the Emperor or anything?" Atemu asked.

"No. After eh changed, they just stopped trying. I think they wanted Yugi to be the same as he always was." Heba said.

"People always change. No one is going to stay the same forever." Atemu said.

"I just wish that they could see that." Heba said.

"You okay now?" Atemu asked.

Heba nodded. "Yeah. Thanks. I don't really think that there's anyone else I could have told that to." Heba said.

Atemu smiled warmly. "Any time that you need to tell someone something, just come to me. I'll listen." Atemu said.

Heba leaned against him. "I know. I just don't want what was said to leave this room." Heba said.

"It won't. I promise." Atemu said.

Heba nodded against him.

Yugi's POV

I had been going into the lounge because I was wanting to talk to Heba.

I heard what Jou, Ryou, and Malik said. They're my cousins, but I didn't realize that they felt like that about me. I didn't realize that I had become so cold and unfeeling that I had unknowingly alienated my cousins.

Heba came to my defense, though. It didn't surprise me. Heba was always defensive of me to anyone. He was pretty upset. I hid behind a pillar when Heba came storming out.

Heba wasn't angry. He was pissed, and that was much worse.

I was about to go after him when I saw Heba's slave, I think his name is Atemu, leave the room and go into Heba's room, a look of worry on his face.

I don't know much about Atemu, but I think that he might be different from the other slaves. He seems to genuinely care for my brother.

I'm not blind. I saw the looks that Atemu and Heba were giving each other at Court. No one else noticed.

I have a feeling that they are lovers now. I don't mind. As long as Heba's happy, that's all that matters.

I decide to leave and go to my chambers since I think that Heba wouldn't want me to know that I heard what was said.

When I entered, I took off my cape and drape it over a chair. I walk into the bathing chambers and prepare a hot bath. After I get out of my clothes, I sink into the warm water.

I sigh. No one, not even Heba, understands why I am like this now. It's hard to explain, and I don't want to burden my brother.

Heba seems to have found something worthwhile to focus on right now. I think that Atemu may be the best thing that happened to Heba.

Only Heba knows this, but I receive visions of the future sometimes. I have seen the future that Heba will have with Atemu. I know that they will be happy.

I let out another sigh.

I just wish that I could find someone that I could spend my life with like Heba will.

I feel so alone so much. No one really understands how I feel.

I'm not sure that I'll ever be happy like Heba.

I am so alone.

Sorry about making Ryou, Malik, and Jou seem like jerks, but it needed to be done. I also thought that you could use a little insight into Yugi's mind to see some of what he's feeling.

The next chapter will be about Heba and Atemu. Most likely, there'll be a lemon.

R&R.