Author's Notes: The rest of the story takes place one year after the previous chapter.

Dream Prince

Chapter 3

The Year

"It has been confirmed my pharaoh", one of the nobles gathered in the throne room spoke. Atemu had been listening with mild interest when his father had been given reports on taxes and the visits to the city. The nobleman speaking at the moment was the one who made all the reports concerning the army. He rarely had anything to report so the young prince's attention had been immediately aroused from its slumber when the man had stepped forth to speak.

"The enemy forces are headed towards our lands", the man said. "So far they have been able to overrun all the forces that have been sent to stop them. Still, they have not bothered to seize control of the areas they have cleared out. It is becoming very obvious that they are interested in a bigger target and that is Egypt."

Akhenamkhanen was nodding his head slowly, his brows furrowed in a thoughtful frown. The ruler ran a finger down his nose before questioning: "How long until they reach the border?"

"It couldn't be longer than a few moons, my pharaoh", the man replied. "What do you propose we do?"

"We need to enhance our army before the confrontation", Akhenamkhanen answered instantly. "We will need to recruit new forces from the farther away villages and train them in the use of a sword. Our enemy is relying on numbers to take all the opposition down. We will strike them with the same strategy, only in greater quantity."

"There have been some strange sightings as well", the man added suddenly. Akhenamkhanen actually looked startled for a moment but quickly wiped the expression away as the man continued: "Some odd reports have come in of a large, flying creature that seems to be controlled by the enemy forces. No one has been able to give it a name but they say it has the head of a coyote and the wings of a dragon. They say it is almost completely covered in black fur."

Atemu could not believe his ears as his eyes widened in realization. That description was very similar to the one he had gotten on the monster that had killed Lord Arat and kidnapped Prince Yugi and Lady Mia. If it truly was the same monster, then there was a very high possibility that Atemu could find out what had happened to Yugi if he could capture whoever was controlling the beast.

"We need to find out more about this mysterious advantage the enemy has", Akhenamkhanen spoke sternly, seemingly not worried by the unsettling news. "We will most likely need to send a summoner along with each legion in order to neutralize the threat of that monster."

The man confirmed the orders the pharaoh had given and then gave room for the next man who was supposed to give a report. It had something to do with agriculture so Atemu's attention drifted away from the throne room and to the far away lands, where the unknown enemy was marching onward. Perhaps this was the chance he had been waiting for; the chance to prove once and for all if Yugi was still alive or not. A year had passed since the day Atemu had lost his only chance to be with the young boy and not once had Atemu thought about another. He had never forgotten, even though he had convinced everyone else in the palace otherwise. He would never give up on Yugi unless he had Lord Arat's murderer in his hands, telling him that he had slaughtered the whole ruling family of Ateru.

1.

Seto knew Atemu wanted to speak with him without the prince needing to give him any sign of it. The brunet was able to predict the upcoming conversation the second that strange creature had been mentioned in the report given to the pharaoh. It was very likely not a coincidence that they would hear of a beast that was described in the same manner as the one they had heard of a year earlier.

That night had been confusing, and Seto and Atemu had both been unable to find an explanation that would cover everything that had happened. Seto had told Atemu that they should not, under any circumstances, let out any comments about that night when a third party was present to hear. It was very possible that the man who had called that beast had spies in the palace and might even be Egyptian himself, since it was a widely known fact that only Egyptian masters knew how to summon beasts.

The theory the two boys had been able to put together was that there had been a spell placed over the entire palace, altering their memories of the night when Lord Arat had been murdered. Seto and Atemu had not been affected because they had left the palace as soon as they had heard of the attack. By the time the two had returned, the spell had already been cast and all the memories had been replaced with other ones. Anyone who had the ability to cast a spell so powerful that it could alter minds was a very powerful opponent so Seto and Atemu had agreed that for once it would be no use to rise against the magic openly.

Atemu had decided to go back to the desert and bring something back to prove to his father what had happened but by the time he had reached the place of the attack, all traces of the assault had disappeared. Most likely the disappearance had been caused by the same person who had made everyone in the palace forget all about the injured messenger.

"Seto", Atemu spoke in a raspy tone of voice and the brunet turned around to meet his cousin's gaze before speaking sternly: "I know, Atemu. But we mustn't discuss this here. We should go to your quarters."

"Right", Atemu said with a quick nod and swiftly walked past Seto and down the hallway. Seto followed after his cousin. The brunet did not need to walk as fast as Atemu in order to keep up with him, thanks to his much longer legs.

It was after the two teens were inside Atemu's chambers, standing on his high balcony, that Seto finally gave his cousin the permission to speak: "I don't think anyone will be able to eavesdrop on us here. Now, what is your idiotic plan this time around?" Seto looked at Atemu with a sideways glance as he leaned on his arms that were crossed on the balcony railing. There was an angered huff from Atemu before the prince snapped: "My plans are not idiotic!"

Knowing very well that he was not going to get any information out of his cousin if the two of them started fighting Seto decided to let the opportunity to make a comment about the maturity level of Atemu's words slide. Instead the priest spoke in a calm manner: "You know I was only fooling around with you, Atemu. Now what are you planning to do next?" He even turned to look at his cousin in the eye when he asked the other this.

The prince leaned on the railing next to Seto before speaking out in a silent voice, as if afraid that he might be overheard: "I want to participate in the war."

Staring at Atemu for a moment silently Seto, tried to figure out the best kind of answer to the comment. His first reaction would have been to burst into laughter but fortunately Seto had long ago learned to never go with his first reaction in any situation. So, instead the brunet lifted a sceptical eyebrow as he spoke: "Of course you are going to participate, it's almost expected of you." The priest smirked in an amused manner before adding: "It makes you look good for the masses." Then the expression turned serious. "You do realize that your father would never let you engage that man alone, whoever he is, right?"

"I know", Atemu spoke in an irritated manner with an undertone of impatience. "That's why I have devised a plan to avoid being constantly under my father's watchful eye." Then the prince smirked in a devious manner. "I'm going to propose to father that I lead my own battalion. That way he won't be able to tell me what to do."

"And you honesty think that he is going to agree to it?" Seto questioned incredulously. "That's highly unlikely, if you allow me to be blunt."

"No point in asking for permission when you already were", Atemu grunted in a miffed manner. "Why do you never trust me in anything?"

"Because you always get either yourself hurt or the two of us in trouble. Usually it's both at the same time", Seto spoke as he straightened himself and crossed his arms over his chest. "You know what they say; one who once draws in trouble, will always draw in trouble."

"You're the only one who says that, Seto…" Atemu muttered darkly. "You just wait and see. Don't go dismissing my plan before we have tried it out."

"Fine", Seto said with a smirk of challenge to his cousin. "Go to your father right now and make your suggestion to him. Then we will see who's in the right here."

"Alright, I will", Atemu spat before turning around and stomping off. Seto leaned his back against the balcony railing and took a deep breath, enjoying the rare chance for some peace and quiet. He allowed his head to fall backwards, closing his eyes against the bright sunlight as the warm wind ran through his hair.

2.

It was silent in the pharaoh's chambers, not counting the soft breathing of the two people in the room. The first person was sitting down with a thoughtful expression on his face as he observed the smaller male. The male in question was standing in front of the older man with a nervous look on his face and an expectant gleam in his ruby eyes.

"So, father, what do you say?" Atemu questioned, urging Akhenamkhanen to give his answer. The pharaoh's frown deepened as the man closed his eyes momentarily, opening them up again almost instantly afterwards. He looked up at his only child and nodded his head.

"Yes, Atemu. I think that sounds like an excellent idea. You will need practise on leading an army before you take my place on the throne", the older male said. Atemu was just about to whoop from joy when suddenly his father continued: "But I will add a little something to it." He looked at Atemu square in the eye and it reminded the boy of the first time his father had told him to accompany him to a court meeting. That look told Atemu, better than any words could, that he was not going to like what he was going to hear. Indeed, Atemu's eyes widened when Akhenamkhanen spoke his next words: "You will train your own battalion yourself. I will give you the responsibility to train the new recruits. After you have proven your leadership skills and the skills of your soldiers, I will allow you to join me in the front lines."

"Say what?" Atemu exclaimed in disbelief. "You can't be serious!"

"I am very serious, Atemu", Akhenamkhanen said with a glare that actually had Atemu shrinking back. "I will not place you in harm's way without being absolutely certain that you can handle it." The pharaoh then smiled gently at his son. "I will see to it that you will have someone trustworthy do your evaluation. You will probably prefer someone closer to your age group. I think that would be a good idea."

It was those words that convinced Atemu completely of his father's seriousness. Akhenamkhanen was thinking this through so thoroughly that it was painfully clear that he was serious, and also convinced. There would be no pulling back now, Atemu realized with the slightest bit of regret.

"Okay then…" Atemu spoke finally, since there was really nothing else he could do. "I'll be going then."

"Yes, go ahead", Akhenamkhanen said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I have some scrolls left from the meeting which I need to look through." With that the man turned his attention to the scrolls piled up on his desk. Since their discussion was now over Atemu turned on his heels and left his father's chambers, heading towards his own ones. Seto was most likely still there, waiting for Atemu to come back defeated. But Atemu had not been defeated. His plan had merely gained a small setback, but it could be overcome. He simply needed to impress his evaluator with his leadership skills. Seriously, how difficult could it be to train a bunch of soldiers?

As soon as that thought passed in Atemu's mind the prince was already back at his quarters. He entered the main chamber and quickly crossed over to the balcony. There, right as he had expected, was Seto. The brunet was leaning his back against the balcony railing with his eyes closed and his seemingly constant frown away from his face. When the brunet did not acknowledge the added presence on the balcony Atemu wondered if it was possible for a person to fall asleep in that position.

"So, how did it go?" Seto questioned suddenly and Atemu found himself as the target of the priest's piercing gaze. Atemu glared at his clearly awake cousin for a short while before smirking victoriously and saying with extreme satisfaction: "He said yes."

"Mhm", Seto hummed as he tilted his head to the side and gave the shorter teen a smirk of his own. "So what is the catch?"

Damn, that brunet was perceptive, Atemu cursed in his mind as he glared again. Seto's smirk widened as Atemu answered: "I will have to train my own battalion myself. He will put someone from his court to determine when we will be ready to join the rest of the army." The prince smiled after that. "Shouldn't be too hard, now should it? I mean I'm the prince of Egypt. I was born to lead."

"Even if there was nothing wrong with your leadership skills", Seto started with a slow drawl, "you'll have to remember that we are talking about peasants here. Ordinary people with no experience on any form of weaponry other than a wooden stick."

"Surely you must be exaggerating", Atemu said with a light laugh. "There's no way that anyone could be that useless in a fight."

"It is very possible if the group you get consists solely of farmers and their sons", Seto said with a small shrug. "Many of them are going to be twice as old as you are and not have half the fighting skills you possess." The brunet smirked slightly, the expression annoying Atemu even more at the moment than it usually would have. "Are you still planning on going through with this?"

"Of course I am", Atemu replied snappily before his expression softened slightly. "I still remember what you told me that night. I can't feel sorry for every person who dies…" His resolve hardened once more. "That doesn't mean I will stand back and do nothing. Innocent people will suffer and I may be able to make a difference."

Atemu was half-expecting to be laughed at but when it did not happen the prince was surprised to see his cousin smiling at him, a rare occurrence indeed, since it was not one of the usual amused and insulting ones, but an honest one that agreed with Atemu wholeheartedly.

"I think I know what you're thinking", Atemu spoke slowly. "That expression says it all. You're planning on coming along, aren't you?"

There was a brief chuckle from the brunet before Seto replied: "You know me too well."

Answering the grin on his cousin's face with one of his own Atemu spoke: "Well, I've had to stand you for years."

"If I were you I wouldn't be talking like that", Seto spoke seriously but there was still an amused glint in his eyes. "I'm going to be the only person on your side for weeks so you'd better stay on my good side."

"Why do you say that?" Atemu asked, growing curious. "Surely the soldiers might be difficult from time to time but I will also have that guy father will send with me."

"Who will most likely be the son of some nobleman and extremely jealous of your high status", Seto added without any hint of humour. "He will probably try to make everything more difficult for you, clinging to every mistake you make and ignoring all of your successes."

Atemu nodded his head at his cousin's reasoning. The brunet was absolutely right. No one would dare to openly go against the prince but since there would be no one else present the person could very well cause Atemu all kinds of trouble out of spite. But fortunately Atemu would have one advantage; he had Seto on his side and together the two of them could fight back twice as hard. If someone tried anything with them they would be in for a rude awakening to the fact that no one messed with prince Atemu.

To be continued…