Chapter 9 (Duran Duran – What Happens Tomorrow)

Yugi slowly opened his eyes. 'Where am I?' he thought, trying to push himself off the floor and look around him. He winced as cuts reopened on his arms. His eyes were blurred with tears and blood, but he could still see the billowing white curtains around him.

'The pharaoh's room? Oh, Mudada brought me back to see the pharaoh. I can't meet the pharaoh like this! He'll be disgusted!' Yugi tried in vain to clear some of the dirt and blood from his arms. 'Heqet I've failed you. It doesn't matter how skilled I am, he'll never consider me if he sees me like this!'

Yugi's entire body trembled as he lowered himself to the floor again. Fresh tears fell from his eyes. Yugi pulled his knees under him and crossed his arms over his chest, keeping his forehead to the floor. He remembered the pharaoh's crimson eyes the day he saw him on the veranda, eyes that he would never see again. "Oh my pharaoh…." Yugi sobbed. He closed his eyes and locked his legs and arms into position to wait for the pharaoh.

***

Atemu sighed as he left the banquet hall, this time on foot. Formal occasions like this always seemed to take forever for him, but this one was by far the worst. The Grecian nobles were a rude lot by Egyptian standards. They ate like pigs and they never seemed to want to discuss anything but business. Seto had said that he should be grateful, as this interest in business made dealings with them very simple, but Atemu couldn't help thinking that even complicated meetings would be more bearable if they were about something besides money. His mind kept wondering to the young concubine who had returned his pendant. He raised his hand to call Heqet, but before he had even completed the gesture she was by his side.

"Yes, my pharaoh." she said, bowing down quickly but continuing to walk with him.

"The boy concubine who stopped us, how old is he?" Atemu asked.

"Yugi was born about seventeen summers ago, my pharaoh." Heqet answered.

'So he isn't really a boy anymore, is he?' Atemu thought. "Has he been trained?"

"He has been trained from birth to serve you, my pharaoh." Heqet said. "He is one of your most loyal and talented servants."

"From birth? Has he been here that long? Who are his parents?"

Heqet thought for a moment before replying. "His mother was a concubine; his father was a servant in the palace. At his birth he was chosen to replace the former male concubine in your harem. Shortly after his father was sent on an ambassadorial mission. He was to serve the guards who would protect your ambassadors. He never returned. His mother died of disease when he was almost two summers old. He has been raised and trained in your harem ever since."

'A child raised in my service! And as a concubine no less!' Atemu thought. It was not unheard of for children to work in the palace, but not directly under the pharaoh and certainly not as concubines. 'It is a wonder that he doesn't hate me for his fate. Why did he go through so much trouble for me?'

"Tell me, Heqet, what of his temperament? Is he well liked?" Atemu asked.

"He is well liked by the palace slaves, save for the guards. As I said he has been raised as your most loyal servant. He wants only to please you and, as I have overseen his training, I can assure you that he is very capable of doing so. You know," Heqet smiled slyly. "no one has taken him yet. Nothing would make him happier than for you to be his first."

Atemu's step faltered and he looked at Heqet with wide eyes. 'He would…he would really….Oh Ra, this is too much.' He quickly looked away. 'Why have I never seen him before? What does he look like beyond all of that dirt? And why do the guards hate him?' He was about to ask Heqet when they arrived at his rooms.

Upon entering the room Heqet's eyes were immediately drawn to the small, bloody figure kneeling on the floor. Brushing the pharaoh aside in a most disrespectful manner, she rushed to kneel beside Yugi and examine his injuries.

Atemu's mind stopped when his saw the young concubine covered in blood and filth upon his floor. Ignoring Heqet's lapse in respect he stepped forward. At first he was afraid to touch the boy, for fear he may already be dead, but as Heqet turned him over, he heard a faint murmur.

"My pharaoh…."

Heqet quickly left to get bandages and water from the bathroom. Without thinking, Atemu drew Yugi's head into his lap and held him gently. He reached down to his ankles and the cruel bonds clattered to the floor. When Heqet returned he took a wet cloth from her and proceeded to clean Yugi's face, still holding him as if he were made of glass.

'Whoever did this will pay!' Atemu thought. He felt his breath quicken as the dirt and blood came free of Yugi's face. 'Oh Ra, he's an angel. Who….who would hurt this young innocent?' Atemu felt tears come to his eyes. His heart beat hard in his chest as he looked at the soft young face of his most loyal servant. 'He'll never be hurt again, I swear it!'

"Yugi, Yugi, can you hear me?" Heqet's voice broke through the Atemu's musings as she tried to wake Yugi. "Pharaoh, I have to get him to a bath." She slipped an arm under Yugi's waist to lift him, but the pharaoh held out a hand to stop her.

Yugi's eyelids fluttered. He heard Heqet calling but she seemed so distant. He felt a warm presence and gentle hands on his face. 'Heqet, huh?' Slowly he opened his eyes.

Time stopped as Atemu saw the brilliant violet eyes gazing up at him. The world seemed to revolve around the small body in his arms and his heart stopped beating. Atemu couldn't think, but it didn't really bother him. It was clear that there was only one thing left in the world that was worth worrying about.

Atemu gently gathered Yugi into his arms and walked towards his own bath, without ever glancing back.

Heqet was stunned. For an instant she stood staring after them with her mouth hanging open. Then she picked up the bandages she had brought in earlier and followed the pharaoh.