Azzure-Hey Malik, long time no see.

Malik-Yeah, yeah, yeah can we get the disclaimer over with please? I have other things to do.

Azzure-Sure, whenever you want. Actually I do have a question about…

Malik-Azzure does not own Yu-gi-oh. Now what were you saying quick please I'm looking for someone to help me with disclaimers

Azzure-Yes, about that; what I was going to tell you, was that I got a message from someone who was considering working with you.

Malik-Yes! I'm going to check in on this. Do you need anything else?

Azzure-Nope, in fact I was just going to put up the chapter.

Malik-Alright bye.

Azzure-And with that I give you the newest chapter of Two Egyptian Princes.

Atem

Atem scribbled furiously on the pages of a book, all the while listening to the report being presented by a soldier to his uncle Gozaburo. If he was to someday run this country then he had to know how it worked, even down to brief army reports, that was what his uncle had taught him and that's what he planned to do. His uncle had been the father figure in his life for several years now, and although he did not always agree with his uncle's judgment he had learned that it was best to listen to it. After all it wasn't as though he had anyone else that could teach him.

Well no one except for perhaps his father's old advisor, Shimon, he was the only member the high court that still remained from the court of his own father. All the others had left and supposedly been reported dead, but Atem knew otherwise. Or he knew otherwise as of four years ago, he hadn't heard any reports concerning the priests since then.

He turned his attention back to the conversation at hand; the soldier was reporting the dull results of another patrol of the desert area, and he was taking notes not because he wanted to rather because he would someday be king and he would need to know what to do in certain situations; including addressing boring patrols that took place day after day.

He leafed through his notes, there was a minor war meeting after all the reports that would lead to a larger one tomorrow.

It wasn't as though he couldn't understand his notes; well…he couldn't understand all of them. He had tried to ask his uncle the questions he had about the conversations in meetings, but he just didn't understand what Atem didn't know. So that's why when Atem had turned to Shimon for help.

He had first bumped into him after a meeting three years ago when he was taking a large stack of notes to the library to attempt to translate into something he could understand. His papers had been thrown all over the floor, he had apologies numerous times but Shimon had helped him pick them up all the same. He had asked what Atem was trying to do, and been quite happy with his enthusiasm for learning. He had then offered to tutor Atem on his notes, the boy had agree since had had been having trouble learning them by himself. Since then his understanding of strategy had greatly increased, much to his uncle's pleasure. If Gozaburo himself knew of the extra training he never said anything about it, or perhaps he didn't care.

As he looked up to see the soldier leaving he opened to a fresh page, now for the minor meeting after that he would go talk to Shimon. Normally the two of them met at the beginning and end of the weeks but because of the meeting tomorrow Atem wanted an extra lesson just to assure himself he knew what would be discussed. He briefly heard Gozaburo summon a guard to go find Yugi, a small smile crossed his lips. His cousin wouldn't enjoy that summon, his father had been trying to get him into strategy for some time now, the boy came to the meetings he had to, but otherwise spent time doing his own things.

He looked up once again as the doors opened to let in a few soldiers that would be briefing the selected members of the council. He sighed and titled his new sheet before he heard the door open and again and Yugi's voice politely thanking the guard. He smiled as his young cousin first to his father then sat down beside Atem at a table situated slightly right of the throne.

As he settled in the chair he looked at Atem and whispered, "So what's going on?"

Atem looked over at the other table at the other selected members, "Prewar meeting." Yugi groaned and Atem patted him on the shoulder, "It won't be that bad. Since he made you come to this one he probably won't make you come to the actual meeting tomorrow."

Yugi folded his arms on the table and set his head in them, "Yeah, but this is bad enough."

Atem shrugged and opened his mouth to speak again when Gozaburo's voice echoed in the room, "Thank you all for coming." He instead turned his attention to the floor where the first soldier had stepped forward.

"I have a report my pharaoh." He said very stiffly.

Gozaburo nodded, "Very well, continue."

"This past week we sent several patrols into the territory at the edge of the desert." He paused as though to see if Gozaburo meant to interrupt, when he didn't he continued. "Out of the twenty patrols we've sent in the last two months, six have been ambushed by the enemy forces. After each attack we've sent a force after them, but even with our best trackers we couldn't trace them far into the desert."

Atem made a few notes and looked over at his uncle, the man was frowning but not just at the news, he was also glaring in Atem's direction. Atem looked startled and turned his attention desperately to his notes, but he continued to feel Gozaburo's glare burning a hole in his skull. He glanced up repeatedly until he noticed his uncle wasn't staring at him but rather next to him. He looked over by tilting his head ever so slightly and caught sight of Yugi lying asleep on the table. So that was what was making his uncle mad, he looked over to find his uncle glaring at him as if to say, do something.

Atem looked back at him and shrugged, he mentally spoke though he knew that his uncle couldn't understand him. What do you want me to do?

Come to me. The voice was soft and feminine, but he hadn't ever heard it before. He jumped and hit Yugi with his elbow; the boy stirred and slowly opened his eyes.

"Atem?" He whispered his name as he sat up, Atem noticed that Gozaburo had turned his attention back to the meeting. "I fell asleep didn't I?" Yugi asked quietly.

Atem nodded and focused his attention back on his notes, "Just try and stay awake." Yugi nodded, his eyes were half closed as he leaned over on his hand.

Atem tried to focus on his notes but he couldn't get over the voice in his head, who was he? Or rather she, it sounded like a girl. But what did she want with him? Hello? He thought silently. Are you still there?

Come to me my prince. Her voice came again, but he still couldn't recognize her.

Who are you? How do you know who I am? And what do you want with me? He asked once again,

Everything will be explained in time, but first you must come to me.

It seemed that she wasn't going to give away any secrets, so he decided to play along with her to try and answer some of his questions. Where can I find you?

Come to me.

He frowned, how can I go to you if I don't know where to find you.

Just come to me and you'll learn everything that you want to know.

Everything? He commented, in his mind that was a bit farfetched to be true, unless of course there was some kind of a catch to the matter.

Well, not everything, but you get my point.

There was a slight pause before Atem asked. So what is it that you will be telling me?

Look I've told you too much as it is…just come to me alright?

Atem frowned, But how…

Just come! She sounded slightly annoyed, that is if thoughts in someone's head could have emotions attached to them.

Atem himself was losing his composure, as well of his like for this game. I'd love to come to you, but I need to know where you are to do so.

Just come.

But…! He started to say.

Atem!

Atem gasped silently as he heard his name, How!

Come.

But…! He started again.

No buts! Just come.

How am I supposed to do that! He practically screamed aloud, but there was no response. Hello? Hello! He sighed and started scribbling on his paper as he tried to catch up on the conversation, so much for learning anything. He glanced up see Gozaburo glaring in his direction; he looked over to see Yugi back asleep on the table.

He sighed and nudged his cousin again, the boy sat up quickly again, but after a few minutes he once again looked as though he was going to fall asleep. So for the next half of the small meeting Atem would nudge his cousin awake every five minutes or so after receiving glares from his uncle.

After about the twelfth time Atem quietly tore a blank sheet of paper from his notes and set it on the table before Yugi. The boy looked at him, clearly confused, but Atem had turned his attention back to his notes. He saw Yugi watch for a while the begin scribbling on his own page. As Atem turned the page Yugi tapped his shoulder as if asking for another sheet. He passed the sheet to the boy and noticed Gozaburo watching them; he shrugged and continued to take notes.

He had filled up several more sheets of paper before the meeting had ended. As everyone started filing out of the hall he turned and nudged Yugi, "Meetings over."

"One second." Yugi muttered, still hunched over the paper.

"I never knew you were so enthusiastic about taking notes." Atem commented while debating whether or not to tell Yugi about the voice he had heard in his mind.

"Oh…well I'm not exactly…it's just that…" Yugi stuttered several times as he attempted to find the right words. "You see it's actually…"

Atem crossed his arms over his chest, "What are you doing Yugi?"

His cousin held up the page to reveal three to four pages of random drawings and other doodles, Atem had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing out loud. So that's what Yugi had been doing, he had thought it was odd for his cousin to suddenly take an interest in notes. "I should have expected it."

"You really thought I was taking notes?" Yugi asked.

"It was a logical guess based on the situation." Atem replied as the two of them left the throne room and the doors boomed shut behind them.

Yugi's laughter filled the hall and caused Atem to smile, he loved it when his cousin laughed. It was such a sweet innocent sound and it never ceased to make his day better. "So you really thought I was taking notes?"

"As odd as it sounds, yes I really did." Yugi laughed again and Atem opened his mouth to continue but he was interrupted.

"My prince?" The two of them turned to see a girl standing a few feet away, she bowed to Atem then turned to Yugi, "My mistress wanted to know if…"

She jumped as someone set their hand on her shoulder, "You can head back to the kitchen darling, I'll handle things here." The girl bowed once then hurried quickly down the hall. As she vanished around the corner Atem turned his attention to the new woman. She wasn't someone he had seen a lot although he could say that he had seen her before. She was tall, or at least taller than he was, with blond hair that ran down to the lower part of her back. She stood with her hands on her hips and a confident expression in her purple eyes; he looked over to see Yugi blushing at her. She folded her arms over her chest and smiled at him, "So are you coming to help me cook dinner or not kid?"

Yugi looked over at Atem, his face was beet red and Atem could only bit his lip to stop himself from laughing aloud. "I'm sorry Atem, but I agreed to help Mai and the other cooks with dinner, because of my lessons… you know... and I know you said we could hang out after the meeting but…"

Atem smiled and cut him off, "It's fine Yugi, go and have your cooking lesson. We can hang out again after dinner."

A smile of relief crossed Yugi's face, "So you're not mad?"

"No Yugi."

The boy relaxed and turned to Mai, "Alright I'm ready."

Mai smiled and started down the hall with Yugi on her heels, the boy turned down the next hall that would eventually lead him to the kitchen, but Mai paused and turned back to look at Atem, "By the way darling, Shimon said that he wanted a word with you if you had a few minutes." Then she turned around and headed down the hall.

Atem's eyes widened at the mention of Shimon's name, he was going to visit the old advisor after the meeting and had completely forgot. And yet somehow Mai had known to remind him, how? He shook his head, it was probably nothing, after all she had said that Shimon wanted to see him. Hadn't she? It was probably just an odd coincidence that Shimon wanted to talk to him exactly when he wanted to talk to Shimon. Yes, it was definitely just a coincidence… not.

He sighed and started down the hall to the old advisor's room, at least he could get help on his notes if nothing else. But another part of his mind was wondering, what was it that Shimon wanted to talk to him about?

Yugi

"What happened to those peaches! Somebody check on that bread, I don't want it burned! And where on earth is that meat!" Yugi flinched as Mai's loud shouts filled the air, all around him the kitchen was in complete chaos.

One girl raced passed him with a bowl of peaches, "Right here Miss Kujaku!" She tripped over one of the legs of the chair that Yugi was standing on so that he could reach the high counter where the spices were located. He reacted quickly and reached back to catch the bowl edge, the girl regained her footing and took the bowl from Yugi with a nod. "Thank you my prince." Then she hurried and took the bowl to Mai.

Yugi continued to put the seasonings and herbs on his salad as he listened to Mai's conversation. "Alright we have the peaches, and the bread is good to go. Now all we have to worry about is the meat. So where is it?"

"It hasn't been delivered yet." Yugi looked over to see the boy next to him speaking, "We haven't gotten any of the delivery this morning."

"Wheeler's late again!" Mai was clearly annoyed, "I'm going to kill him!"

"Kill who?" Yugi turned to look over at the door; the delivery door was open to reveal a blond haired boy about his age standing with a basket slung over his shoulder. "What's got your hair in a twist now Mai?"

"Katsuya Jonouchi, you're late as usual." The boy next to Yugi muttered again.

The boy, Jonouchi, glared in his direction, "Shut up you." Then he turned to Mai, "I wasn't that late was I Mai?"

The woman scowled at him, "I have two things to say to you Wheeler, one its Miss Kujaku, not Mai. And two…" She snatched the bag out of his hands and tossed to one of the girls, "If you had come any later we wouldn't have had a meal ready for the pharaoh, and you don't want to know how that would have turned out." She turned around to observe the girl who had taken control of the meat, "Get it started over there dear."

Jonouchi sighed, "Look Mai…"

Mai turned halfway, "Who?"

His blond hair fell into his eyes and he scowled as he brushed it away, "Look Mai, this really isn't the time for…"

"Who Wheeler?"

The boy frowned, "Mai this really isn't…"

"I'm afraid I don't know who you're talking about."

"Ugh…" He groaned and frowned, he didn't speak for several minutes before he finally exploded, "Fine! Miss Kujaku?"

Mai turned, a large smirk drawn across her face, "Yes Wheeler?"

Jonouchi glared at her, "I hate you."

Mai grinned, "I assume you wanted to tell me more than that dear."

Jonouchi sighed and grunted, "So will you go out with me now?"

Mai didn't even stop to consider, "Nope."

Jonouchi's brown eyes widened and he started to whine, "Oh come on Mai! Please!"

"Calling me Mai is one of the things keeping me from going out with you, so no."

"You mean if I stop calling you Mai you'll go out with me?" The whining instantly cut from his voice.

"Did I mention that it was only one problem out of many? You're gonna have to seriously clean up your act if you want me to go out with you."

"Clean up my act!" He looked shocked, even slightly mad, "What do ya mean by that Mai?"

"Exactly what I said Joey. You're too loud, compulsive, aggravating, nosey, and just plain obnoxious."

"Obnoxious! Loud! Aggravating! Oh come on Mai!"

Mai smiled and waved at him, "Face it, your chances are slim to nothing around me."

"Please!"

"No"

"Please!"

"Absolutely not!"

"No!"

"Oh come on please!"

"For the last time no." She waved at him, "And you can get out of my kitchen while you're at it."

Joey frowned, "Awww come on. Pleeease?"

Mai rolled her eyes, "For the last time, not a chance. Now out."

Jonouchi ran up behind her and grabbed onto her arm, "No, you have to go out with me! I"ll die without you!"

Mai rolled her eyes, "Sure you will, that's exactly what you said last time too." She shoved at him and knocked him off on the floor next to where Yugi was working.

Jonouchi glared at her and turned to one of the other girls, "What about you good looking? You want to go out with me?"

There was a clang as Mai hit him over the head with a frying pan, knocking him back down onto the ground "And don't be flirting with my kitchen girls either or I'll definitely throw you out."

He stood up and rubbed and his head as he glared at her, then he looked over and caught sight of Yugi who was trying to make himself as unsuspicious as possible. "Who's this?"

Mai grabbed his arm and dragged him away, "I wouldn't be messing with the prince if I was you. You don't want to go see the pharaoh because you were messing with his son."

"You can't be serious about that; you're just using it as an excuse so that I don't mess with him. He's not really the prince."

Mai opened the door and shrugged, "Believe what you want." Then she shoved him outside, "You can think about what you want to believe as you go home." She leaned out to catch sight of him hit the ground with a thud, "And send Miss Tea in the morning, I don't want to have to deal with you."

He groaned, "Alright, it's her turn anyway." He started towards his bike and turned back at the last minute, "So will you…?"

"Once again, not a chance." Mai replied before slamming the door in his face and walking back over to one of the tables and sighing, "He'll never learn."

"Who was that?" Yugi asked as Mai came over to inspect his salad.

The woman sighed and brushed her hair out of her face, "His name is Katsuya Jonouchi, also known to some as Joey. He's in charge of delivering meat from the shops in town to the castle."

"I don't remember ever seeing him before." Yugi commented,

Mai sighed, "He splits the job with a few others in town; mainly another boy, Tristan Hiroto Honda, and Miss Anzu Tea Mazaki." She reached down a plucked a lettuce leaf from the bowl, "We also normally get the deliveries earlier in the morning, when you normally aren't working." She popped the leaf into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully for a moment, "Needs more dressing."

Yugi reached for the bottle and asked, "If his name is Jonouchi then why did you call him Wheeler?"

Mai smiled, "You saw his bike right?" Yugi nodded and she continued, "Well he got the nickname from how fast he goes on that thing, you wouldn't believe that it could even go that fast." She shrugged, "Anyway, it's just a nickname. Some of us use it, some others don't it's all personal taste."

Yugi looked down at his work, "Does he like you?"

Mai leaned on the counter and looked over at him, "I don't know truly, he keeps asking me out though I'll keep turning him down. Why?"

Yugi's face turned red, "N..no reason!" He replied hurriedly.

Mai turned to leave, "Whatever you say honey, now if you would excuse me I have other things to check on, like that meat for one thing."

Yugi smiled as Mai headed over to chew out a group of workers on the far side of the room who weren't doing anything. It was relaxing to work in the kitchen, even if his father didn't approve of it. And after dinner he could look forward to spending time with his cousin, but before tomorrow he had to remember to track down some paper. Yes, lots and lots of paper.

Atem

Atem walked up the stairs to the highest floor of the castle, carefully placing each foot firmly on the next step; it was a long way to fall back down. No one was quite sure why Shimon lived at the top of the castle, some people said he had a strange obsession with birds; but Atem didn't believe it, Shimon was a little strange, but he wasn't that odd. As he reached the top he looked down either side and caught sight of no one anyway in the hall. He started down the left passage and paused when he came face to face with a door at the end of the hall.

He held up his hand and knocked softly, his notes clung tightly to his chest. When no one answered he knocked again only slightly louder. After no one answered once again he pressed his ear to the door, perhaps he was asleep or out of the room. He held his breath and closed his eyes as he tried to feel a vibration of through the door.

He was about to give up and leave when he heard a voice on the other side. "We've lost only two so far, and removed nearly eighty of them." He frowned, that definitely was not Shimon. It was higher and more feminine, but it wasn't the voice he had heard in his head earlier in the meeting.

He was about to turn away and tear down the stairs to find the guards when he heard Shimon's voice, "Good, are you sure none of you were caught?" Caught? Atem wondered, caught doing what?

The strange woman's voice spoke again, "I'm sure, they keep careful track. If we were missing even one of them he'd let us know immediately."

"Good." It was Shimon's voice again, "I was worried since his sacrifice that he couldn't handle the task, but he seems to know exactly what he needs to do."

There were a few moments of silence and Atem clenched his hands into fists to resist the urge to race down the stairs, Shimon was up to something. Something he didn't think his uncle would approve of. "So how are they getting along?"

His eyes widened and he pressed his head against the door. It was a good thing too, because Shimon's reply was very soft. "They're doing well nothing odd has happened yet?" Odd? What odd things are they talking about? And who are these odd things supposed to happen to?
"So they still have no idea?" She commented.

He could see Shimon shaking his head, "No, they are as oblivious as ever." He frowned, who was oblivious to what?

He heard a frustrated sigh, "You can't keep it a secret from them forever. Sooner or later they have to know."

"They aren't ready to know!" Shimon's voice sounded fearful and nervous.

"You can't continue to protect them from a part of their life Shimon. One of them met him four years ago for a reason, you can't deny that." Atem frowned, who were they protecting? And what was Shimon trying to protect them from?

"I'll…I'll talk to them. Just give me another few weeks."

"You'll talk to the one who met him next week."

"That's too soon."

"They're all on the end of their patience Shimon, a week is all I'm going to be able to give you. Any longer than that and you'll have to deal with the six of them yourself." She sighed, "I really don't want to do this to you, but they have to know. We can't get any further without them."

Shimon sighed, "I understand, one more week and I'll talk with the pharaoh's son." Yugi? Atem gasped, what did Shimon and this stranger want with Yugi?

"Very well, I'll get you your last week. Just remember our deal."

"I will."

Atem got the feeling that the conversation was ending, and if he wanted to find out anything about this stranger he had to act fast. He quietly opened Shimon's door and started inside as though he was just here for lessons. "Shimon! I'm here."

He heard mad fluttering as he continued, "Shimon? Where are you?"

Shimon's course whisper could be heard from the next room, "Go quickly! I'll send word later!"

"Shimon? Are you here?" He entered the room just quick enough to see a pair of white wings flutter out the window. Perhaps the bird theory wasn't as farfetched as he thought. Shimon himself was sitting in an armchair on the other side of the room; he had a book on his lap and was reading peacefully as though nothing odd had happened.

He looked up as Atem entered, "Ah Prince Atem, it's good to see you."

Atem smiled, though the thoughts in his mind were racing. He wanted to ask Shimon who he was talking to, but didn't want to give away that he had been listening in on the conversation. "Master Shimon." He said with a bow, then after a few seconds pause he added, "I thought that I heard you talking to someone."

Shimon shook his head, "Just the birds, young one." As if on cue a small yellow bird flew in the window and settled on Shimon's shoulder. The older man smiled at it, "And here he is now." He gestured to the chair across from him, "Have a seat and let's take a look at those notes."

Atem nodded, sat down in the chair, and set his notes on the table; Shimon sat up and placed his book on the table as well. Shimon was one of the older members of the palace, his hair was very much like his own or Yugi's but kept contained under the man's larger blue hat and a gray color instead of their own more vibrant shades of yellow and red. He folded his hands in his lap and waited expectantly for Atem to hand him the first sheet. Atem handed him the paper and he scanned it with his eyes, "So what happened today?"

Atem sighed and leaned back in the chair, "The usual, stared out reminding everyone what happened at the last meeting, then they went over reports, crops, and patrols."

"Patrol reports? So how are those keeping up?" Shimon kept his gaze fixed on the paper.

Atem shrugged, "Nothing different I guess, nothing happens to any of them except those that journey towards the edge of the desert. They never come back untouched, always completely removed or with only one or two people left alive with no memory of what happened."

Shimon nodded, "And who do you think is doing it?"

Atem sighed, "It's obviously the resistance, no one else ever attacks our people like that." When Shimon raised an eyebrow he added, "And the only other possible threat would come from the north, our enemies wouldn't circle all the way around just to try and attack from behind. If they were that good they would just hit us from their side. Also the guards would have noticed them should they have tried coming around."

Shimon nodded, "Very good my young pupil." He studied the notes. "But would we do if it was our enemies from the north."

"But it's highly illogical that…" Atem started.

Shimon raised his hand and Atem stopped speaking, "I didn't say that it was logical, but what if it was."

Atem frowned, "Then I suppose the first thing for us to do would be to send patrols out to the east and west to break off their supply caravans." Shimon nodded and he continued, "Then we should scout areas in the desert to try and determine the exact location of their camp."

Shimon nodded, "But what if their supply lines are out of our reach?"

Atem bit his lip and frowned, "Then I suppose we would have to find some other way of sabotaging them." Shimon started to laugh and Atem frowned, "What?"

"You have improved tremendously since we started these lessons my prince, you will make a fine pharaoh someday." Then he reached down and picked up another sheet, "Now let's roll back a bit and return to what seems to be the problem. First of all let's see what you know. Who is attacking our people?"

"The resistance." Atem replied confidently.

"That is the most logical answer yes, very good." Shimon said nodding, "Now how are they attacking us?"

Atem sighed, "They're attacking the patrols we're sending along the desert border, they use ambush tactics so that we can't see them before they strike and then finish us off quickly before we can see who they are. That's why they're so hard to identify."

"Good." Shimon said nodding, "And the other reason."

Atem frowned and bit his lip in concentration, "They wear dark cloaks that cover their faces and prevent us from identifying them. Correct?"

Shimon nodded again, "Indeed, now for a slightly harder question, why?"

Atem frowned, "Why what?"

"What are their motives for attacking us?" Shimon asked.

"How am I supposed to know?" Atem said frowning, "And why should I care?"

"You must remember Atem; a pharaoh is responsible for protecting his people. That means that he has to work out differences with those that disagree with him. If he doesn't know what the disagreement concerns he cannot solve it." He leaned back in his chair, "So I shall ask again, what motives do they have for attacking us?"

Atem shook his head, "I don't know."

"Very well, then we shall take the question piece by piece. First we must know who we are dealing with. So who makes up the resistance?"
Atem paused and thought carefully before answering, "The resistance is made up of the shadow creatures and the priests of the Millennium items."

"And who are these shadow creatures?"

"They are creatures that were originally contained within stone tablets. But they were somehow released upon the death of my father. They are sent back to their tablet upon death, but the tablet temple has always been sacred knowledge known only by the pharaoh and the chosen priests." Atem replied clearly; he had gone over this information himself thousands of times, it was one of his favorite topics.

"Your uncle is the pharaoh, so why can't he find this hidden temple?" Shimon questioned, Atem could tell he was going to have his brain racked for every possible answer today.

"He can't find the temple because my father did not pass the knowledge onto him before he died, and he was never informed by the priests."

"So you're saying that if he did find the location of this temple he would be able to access the tablets within?" Shimon rubbed his beard thoughtfully as he looked at Atem, "Interesting."

"No, even if he did manage to find the temple he wouldn't be able to access the inside, only the pharaoh himself knows the words to open the doors of the temple. Besides, even if he didn't get inside it would do him no good. The powers of the shadow games were lost with my father." He sighed and picked up one of his note sheets from the table.

Shimon folded his hands, "They were lost with your father were they? Was he the only one able to harness their powers?"

Atem frowned thoughtfully, "Well…it was said that the priests could also control the shadow creatures, but if they could then why wouldn't they just bring back that ones that we defeat?"

Shimon looked thoughtful, "That's a good question, why do think they can't?"

Atem stared at the ground and tapped his toe against the floor, "Maybe they can't get inside, and since they can't use their magic they've forgotten how it works."

Shimon looked thoughtful, "A very keen observation young prince. Now you spoke of the priests. Who are they?"

"The priests are the six wielders of the Millennium items, they work along with pharaoh to keep balance, at least they used to." Atem said.

"Ah, but there are seven of the Millennium items, where is the seventh?"

"Well normally it's passed down to the newest pharaoh, but when the priests left after the death of my father they took the puzzle with them." Atem shivered, he felt the heavy weight of the puzzle under his shirt, but he couldn't tell Shimon about that, Mahado had told him not to tell anyone.

Shimon nodded, not at all noticing Atem's nervous expression, "So now we're back to where we were, what would the priests want from the pharaoh?"

"Well, I don't think they like him." Atem's face turned red, his comment had sounded very silly.

"Oh?"

"We'll it's not that they don't like him, it's just that I don't think they agree with my uncle's claim to the throne."

"Tell me Atem, why wouldn't they agree to your uncle's claim to the throne?" Shimon looked interested at the direction the conversation was taking. "What wouldn't they like about it?"

"Maybe they don't agree with how my uncle is ruling the country."

Shimon nodded, "True, but if they were just unhappy with the way that he was ruling they would have come right out and asked him to change his ways. The priests are not openly violent my prince, when they can they like to handle things with negotiation it resolves things much more quickly."

Atem frowned, "How do you know all this?"

Shimon shook his head, "You are forgetting young prince, that I was your father's advisor well before all of this happened, that alone gave me interaction with the priests." He paused to let this information work its way into Atem's mind, then he added, "But that is not the only way I know them."

"I don't understand." Atem said as he looked over at the older man, "Could you explain?"

"Actually I think that's enough on this topic for a single day, don't you think?" Shimon stood up and walked over to look out the window. Atem opened his mouth to protest when Shimon spoke again, seemingly reading his mind, "Let it go Atem, we'll discuss this topic another day."

The boy frowned and crossed his arms over his chest as he slouched in the chair, "Are we done then?"

"We can be if you'd like, but I had a proposition for you if you were interested." He glanced back over his shoulder to see the interest in Atem's eyes, "Would you be interested in knowing?"

Atem straightened in the chair and eyed Shimon curiously, "I'm listening."

Shimon smiled and slowly walked over to the table where he returned to his chair, "In a few days I will be leaving to go see an old friend." He watched Atem's reaction as the boy nodded, "What I wanted to know was if you were interested in joining me to visit him. I could be very…" He paused and looked thoughtful as he chose his words, "educational."

"Where are we going? How long will we be gone? Is my uncle alright with it? What exactly would we be doing? When are you leaving?"

As he paused to take a breath Shimon cut in, "If you would my prince, one question at a time." Then he drew in a breath and started to speak once again, "Now I shall answer all of your questions, starting with the first. We are going to city a good distance away; we shall be gone for four days including travel, I have already asked you uncle and he is in agreement with idea as long as I follow certain guidelines." He paused and glanced at a paper sitting on the table beside him, Atem had no doubt that those were his guidelines. "As for the rest of your questions, if you decide to accompany me I will explain what we will be doing then, and, should you choose to come, we will leave the day after tomorrow." He let out his breath and looked in his direction, "Any other questions?"

Atem shook his head, "That about covers it." He turned to leave when another question came to mind, "What exactly will I need to pack?"

Shimon smiled, "Just whatever specific items you want yourself, I shall take care of everything else we might need. And if you are considering coming with me then I should like to know by tomorrow."

Atem smiled as he opened the door, "Well, until tomorrow then."

Shimon nodded and opened his book as Atem stepped out the door. As he pulled it shut behind him he frowned, Shimon wasn't telling him everything, and he had been talking to someone before Atem had come in. A single thought crossed his mind and he smiled, perhaps the theory of him talking to birds wasn't as farfetched as he had thought. He shook his head, but he couldn't think about that now, he had to decide what he was taking with him.

Malik- *Dies* Gahhh!

Azzure-That bad huh? I'm gonna go with no luck.

Malik- Kill me!

Azzure- No thanks.

Malik- I have no wish to live.

Azzure- What if I told you I had cake and another lead.

Malik- I am suddenly wishing to live.

Azzure-That's what I thought.