Author's Note: Surprise, surprise! Another chapter! And so early? Yay!
The reason I updated so early is because you don't know how much it TORTURED me to have to leave Yugi crying like that. Seriously, it made me want to cry myself. So, I went to work right away on the next chapter! :D
You know, the more you get wrapped up into a story, the easier it is to write it. The characters basically write themselves by the time you get to this point. It's a lovely feeling to be able to write this easily and have people enjoy it. :)
P.S. This chapter is a roller coaster of emotions. Just saying. Okay, you can read now.
Chapter 16
"Yugi?" Atem inquired with a yawn, awaking and glancing over to the side to spy the girl in question, "Are you awake?"
Yugi didn't stir. She, Isis, and Mahad were all sleeping next to one another, leaned on each other for support. Isis's head was resting on top of Yugi's whereas Yugi's was caressed between Isis's shoulder and her chin. Mahad was sleeping with his back to Isis, his arms folded as he lightly snored.
Atem silently laughed at the scene. They had been up most of the night, all trying to comfort Yugi. Atem had implored his father if Yugi could stay in his room to help her feel safer. The Pharaoh had been weary of this but had finally agreed, the condition being that Isis and Mahad had to stay in his room as well.
Yugi had ceased sobbing rather quickly. Atem supposed she was used to her brother by now. But Yugi was rather depressed, and Atem wouldn't have that. He talked Isis and Mahad into staying awake as long as they could, describing all the greatest places in Egypt. They started with the obvious choice, the Nile River. And they chattered on until they reached the edge of Egypt, where the great desert started in which no one had returned from. Somewhere between all these recounts, Yugi was distracted from her current problems and slowly became less despondent and returned to her happy-go-lucky self. And apparently, all four of them had fallen asleep in the middle of this all-night escapade, being that they had been asleep on the stone floor.
"Isis? Mahad? Are you two awake?" Atem gently asked, shaking Isis's shoulder, which in turn shook Mahad as well being that he was leaned against her.
Isis gradually opened her eyes, dull blue irises revealed. She adjusted her vision on Atem's tan face, slowly getting her bearings.
"Oh my Ra!" she suddenly exclaimed, "We slept in! Mahad-" She jerked forward, and Mahad fell to the floor with a surprised yelp like a kicked puppy.
"Ah, what the-"
"Mahad! We slept in! Court is probably already in conference!"
"Are you serious?" Mahad groggily blinked at Isis, questioning, "This isn't some cruel joke, is it?"
"No, Mahad, I'm serious! We have to get up and-" Isis rose, Yugi now toppling in similar matter to Mahad onto the floor.
"Oww…" she mumbled weakly.
"Yugi, are you all right?" Atem asked, leaning next to her and gently pulling her up.
"Well thanks for the sympathy towards me…" Mahad muttered just loud enough for himself and Isis to detect as he rubbed his shoulder that had been the break of his minor fall. Isis shot Mahad a disapproving look at this.
"I'm fine," Yugi assured, giving a small yawn.
"Did you sleep well?" Atem inquired, taking Yugi's hand and holding it in his own.
"Actually, yes." She glanced in Mahad and Isis's general direction. "Thanks to you two and Atem. Thank you."
Isis and Mahad's faces flushed. "It wasn't that much…" the two mumbled simultaneously, casting embarrassed glances to the floor.
Suddenly, Isis cried, "Oh, yes, we're still late for court! Come Mahad!"
"Isis, you're not late," Atem enlightened.
Isis implored, "What do you mean, Prince Atem?"
"You two deserve a break, some rest well deserved. I'll tell my father I gave you both the day off," Atem conveyed to them.
"Prince Atem," Mahad protested, "That's very kind of you, but the Pharaoh will most certainly not be pleased if I'm not directing the security when we have such a dangerous person staying at the palace."
"You're right." Atem sighed. "Then, I'll have to give you another day soon to rest. Do not let me forget that I promised you this."
Mahad gave a slight head bow before sprinting out of Atem's chambers.
When Mahad was gone, Isis assured, "And it's not necessary for me to have an entire day for rest. An hour or so will do."
"Very well, but I have one condition."
"What is that, Prince Atem?" Isis wondered aloud.
Atem gave a small motion to Yugi before stating, "When you are rested, I'd like you to watch over Yugi in case I am needed for other matters today."
"What other ma-" Isis began to ask.
"Nothing," Atem dismissed, questioning, "So, do you agree?"
"It would be a pleasure," Isis promised before rushing out the door herself.
Once Isis's footsteps could no longer be heard, Yugi finished the priestess's question: "What other matters?"
"I said it was nothing," Atem insisted, a slight hesitation hitching his breath.
"Atem, you are such a terrible liar," Yugi enlightened with a small smile.
"I am not," Atem huffed childishly, crossing his arms.
Yugi giggled but persisted, "Please tell me. What other matters?"
Atem made the mistake of looking into Yugi's wide eyes. His lie would mar their beauty, he was immediately certain. He could no longer speak anything but truth, being that any lie he contemplated in those few seconds had been drowned in a sea of violet.
"I… I am going to find Yami. I am going to speak with him," Atem confessed weakly.
"No, you're not."
Before Atem could question this, Yugi took his hand and led him across the room, fumbling with her other hand to locate the Prince's bed. Once she found it, she pushed on Atem's shoulders until he sat down on the bed.
Yugi folded her thin arms and stated, "We're staying here."
Atem felt a scarlet blush begin to creep up his neck as he took in the little scene and couldn't help but ask, "And do what?"
"Just stay in here," Yugi answered stubbornly.
Finally, Atem separated his fantasy thoughts from his logical ones and argued, "Yugi, we can't stay in here forever. We can't hide from the world."
"And why not?"
Yes, and why not? Atem's thoughts echoed in a much more suggestive tone. He swallowed down these thoughts and insisted, "Because I'm the Crown Prince of Egypt."
Yugi's stare crossed over into space as she whispered firmly, "We're staying here."
"No, we're not!" Atem raised his voice, trying to get through to her.
"We're. Staying. Here," Yugi articulated calmly.
"No, we're not!" Atem shouted again, standing up and clenching Yugi's shoulders, "I promised! I told you! You're not going to lose me! We're going to get through this! Yugi, don't you trust me?"
Yugi's unseeing eyes adjusted under this, and crystal tears began to slide down her porcelain face. She fell into Atem's embrace and cried in a strong and yet quivering tone, "I can't lose you! Yami was right! I'm at fault for all those peoples and the damage done to their families! I can never repay them! Atem, I can't change anything!"
"If you believe one word of that demon, you're wasting a thought," Atem stated, his previous tone discarded and replaced with a gentler one. He stroked the back of Yugi's head as he continued, "Secondly, do remember what Priest Seto said yesterday?"
"I- I don't remember," Yugi sniffled.
"He said the that the past cannot be changed, but the future can. Today, this is the future! If we stay in here, it can never be changed."
"You're right," Yugi admitted softly.
Atem reluctantly released his hold on the petite girl and whispered to her, "Wait here for Isis to come retrieve you. I'm going out now." He gave her a warm smile that he prayed she could sense. "You trust me to be all right, don't you?"
Yugi pondered this. "Yes" was the easiest answer, but was it the honest one? After careful thought, she decided it was.
"Yes, I trust you. Completely."
Atem smiled at this reassurance. "Thank you." He leaned down and kissed Yugi for a few lingering seconds before unwillingly remembering that he should go and separated from her lips. He began to walk towards the exit that led into the palace hallway.
Yugi called after him, surprising herself as well as Atem when she declared, "Remember that I belong to you and you belong to me! We take care of each other, remember?"
"That's right!" Atem confirmed by calling back to Yugi. With renewed happiness, he reached the hallway and vowed to himself aloud, "It's a promise that I'll always keep."
-transition-
As Atem took the shortcut across the courtyard to meet his father in his private chambers, he felt that someone was following him. Of course, lots of royal spies watched him, but the auras he sensed that day were sinister and evil, obviously not a part of the palace spies.
When he was almost to the other end of the courtyard, he turned around abruptly, finding that someone was stalking him. Someone that made his blood run cold.
Yami.
Atem was able to keep his calm and stated with some amusement, "Just the person I was looking for."
Yami smirked. "It seems I underestimated you." He took a step closer, now only a few inches from Atem. He inquired darkly, "How do you stay so calm when I could very well be ready to kill you?"
"You don't scare me, Yami. Mahad has taken all your weapons and has disconnected you from the rest of the world," Atem returned with no hesitation.
"Clever. But you've no weapons of you own. Doesn't that make you vulnerable as well?"
"I have a weapon," Atem stated simply.
"Oh, really?" Yami sneered, "I call your bluff. So, was it just a bluff like I assumed? Or are you really going to impress me?"
Atem didn't reply. But Yami's breath hitched as a winding snake of shadows began to wrap around him. Somehow, he still stayed composed and observed aloud, "Shadow magic. From your Millennium Puzzle. That's a neat trick, Prince Atem."
"You think so…?"
The shadow snake coiled around and around Yami, until its tentacles were ready to wrap around the older Motou's throat.
"You wouldn't dare," Yami stated, not even a hint of fear escaping him.
"No, I wouldn't," Atem admitted. He smirked to himself, adding, "Not yet." He continued, watching Yami's expression gradually change, "You see, Yami, I know all about you. You're powerful. You're driven. You're clever." Atem declared before Yami's smirk could arrive, "But now you're facing someone who has everything you have: power, drive, cleverness…" Atem's smirk grew as he enlightened, "But I have one thing you'll never have."
"And what's that?" Yami inquired, his eyes so narrowed, they were almost closed.
Atem leaned closer to Yami and whispered the answer:
"Yugi."
Yami's teeth grinded, and he tried desperately to make it appear like this didn't faze him.
But he wasn't fooling anyone.
"But not in the ways you think," Atem added.
"Are you going to insist in talking in puzzles, Prince Atem? Because I don't want my time wasted," Yami snarled.
"No." Atem decided aloud, "Since you do not want to listen to me, I won't stand in your way."
Steadily, the shadow snake uncoiled itself from around Yami, the Motou now free.
Yami glowered at Atem but did not say anything or even move a muscle.
Atem easily took the glare, turning back towards the direction of his initial destination. "We should continue on with our different affairs today as if nothing happened?" Atem guessed Yami's thoughts. The Prince didn't need to see Yami's expression to know that he had guessed right. "Of course. I wouldn't want word getting out that the Prince outsmarted you. Your reputation might be ruined."
Yami stayed silent, confirming to Atem that he was spot on about these deductions.
"Then, carry on, Yami. Just know that this game is being played by my regulations. Things will be different this time."
Yami shocked Atem by proclaiming, "I couldn't agree more."
-transition-
Yugi was bored. She had worried so much that it didn't even appeal to her anymore. Now she was just lying on Atem's bed in his chambers, her vision void gaze cast up to the ceiling.
She was lost in thoughts. People would presume she was thinking about the matters as of current, but that couldn't be farther from the truth.
Yugi was thinking about Yami and Seto's friendship and how it had ended.
Yami and Seto would leave Yugi home alone to go somewhere. Where, she was unsure. But after they would go to that place, Yami was always in a better mood, and Seto was always in a worse one.
The question was: Why? Where did they go?
"HELLO, LADY YUGI!"
Yugi jumped, falling off the side of Atem's bed and landing on the stone floor for a second time that morning.
"Mana!" she scolded, "Don't ever do that again!"
Mana drew back, her lower lip quivering and warning that she might cry.
Yugi couldn't see this but realized the harshness of her tone and apologized, "I'm sorry, Mana. I'm just very on edge."
"Oh, I understand," Mana ensured with an enthusiastic head bob.
You could never understand, Yugi thought sadly. But she was grateful that Mana had forgiven her. She sighed and asked, "What are you doing here, Mana?"
"Priestess Isis sent me because something came up and she said she was supposed to spend the day with you. So I'm here!"
Oh no. "That's nice."
"Isn't it?" Mana glowed with enthusiasm. She inquired, "So, what would you like to do today, Lady Yugi?"
"Preferably, I'd like to stay inside and not do anything really…" Yugi trailed off, embarrassed at her fear of leaving the room.
"Oh, but it's such a pleasant day today!" Mana insisted, "You'll love going for a nice walk!"
I might have been comfortable leaving if I was with Isis but not with Mana, Yugi thought, sighing. "No, Mana, I really rather stay in here."
Mana thought a moment, her finger resting on her lip. After a minute, she snapped her fingers and exclaimed, "Oh! I know what's going on!"
"You do?" Yugi wondered aloud, her expression skeptical.
"Yes. And don't worry about it." The brunette girl smiled, enlightening, "You don't have to leave the room to go across the palace."
"No?" Yugi was just humoring Mana now. She knew that it was, indeed, impossible to get to another place in the palace unless she left the room.
"Yes!" Mana took Yugi's hand.
"What are you-"
"I'll just do a simple spell, and we'll be out of here in no time!"
Oh, dear Ra. "That's not necessary, Mana, really," Yugi said in a rush.
Either Mana didn't hear her or she didn't care. Either way, she mumbled a spell, much to Yugi's horror.
The two immediately disappeared from Atem's room in a flash of light. If Yugi were able to see, she wouldn't have missed the vibrant colors swirling around her and Mana as they traveled through what seemed a different dimension.
"Oh, this isn't right…"
Yugi silently prayed as those words filled the air.
"… We were supposed to be brought to the courtyard! This is somewhere in the underground chambers of the palace."
Yugi took a silent breath of relief. That was all! She was in one piece! And still near the palace!
"Well," Mana suggested, her tone devious, "I've never been down here, so maybe we should check it out. You know, find some hidden rooms or something. You want to?"
Maybe it was because Yugi was desperate for something to occupy her mind, but she found herself agreeing, answering, "Yes. Sounds like fun."
"Great. Then, let's sneak around!" Mana exclaimed, capturing Yugi's hand.
"Not so loud, Mana," Yugi whispered.
"Oh, right," she whispered back, but even her whisper was loud.
Yugi internally sighed. Though, this might not be so bad. If there was one thing Yugi knew how to do, it was spy. She had gotten good practice whenever her brother had friends over or she was supposed to be in her room and was not. So, maybe she could teach Mana a thing or two…
"Lady Yugi, where should we spy first?" Mana asked, just as loud as before.
Yugi certainly had her work cut out for her.
Author's Note: *cues Mission Impossible theme*
If anyone were to draw that scene of Yugi, Isis, and Mahad sleeping, I'd love you forever. Seriously. Will someone do it? Please?
Cyber hugs to all my reviewers. You make writing this more enjoyable than it already is. :)
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