Atem returned to the room a few hours later, smiling as Joey began to stir. "My apologies-I wasn't able to move you to a bed before you fell asleep. I hope you were able to sleep well, at least."
Joey blinked. "Huh, what? What happened?" He tried to get up but ended up getting tangled in the blanket and falling flat on his face.
Atem stifled a laugh behind his hand, crouching down by Joey's side. "Are you alright?"
Joey let out a muffled 'yes' before standing up to tower over the younger boy. "So what is there to do around here?"
Atem stood up as well, smiling wryly at his question. "I'm going to assume you mean what there is to do for leisure, seeing as I have plenty of things to do around the palace that you would most likely find dull." He gestured for Joey to follow him out of the room. "Come, I will show you around-I just ask that you please stay by my side at all times, and try not to speak too loudly or too much; it isn't proper for anyone to casually speak with the pharaoh unless they are of a high rank."
"So you want me to be quiet?" Joey managed to stay that way for a few minutes, but couldn't help but ask more questions. "So where is everyone?"
Atem could barely open his mouth to say yes, that was what he was asking Joey to do, before the boy already moved on to do the opposite of what the pharaoh wanted him to do. Still, Atem couldn't bring himself to be even mildly annoyed, so he let it slide as he walked through the ornate halls at a leisurely pace. "All of the servants are busy doing their duties, and I believe the priests are-" He cut off as he heard Mahaad's voice in the distance, quickly pulling Joey down a different hallway with a smile that was both sheepish and impish. "... I believe the priests are looking for their pharaoh who probably should be doing that dull work he mentioned before." Not that anyone had the authority to do much more than give him a stern talking-to, of course, so he wasn't too concerned.
"But why can't they see me?" Joey asked, not really understanding the situation. Normally he wouldn't like someone grabbing him like that, but with Atem it was different, he felt fine with the boy touching him; it didn't put him on guard for a fight.
"Because you were a prisoner up until a few hours ago, and if you're seen walking around with me before I have the chance to explain things, then it's likely that they'll assume that you escaped on your own and are attempting to kidnap me or something of the sort," Atem explained, leading him down a different hallway. "I need to have a proper talk with my priests so that they understand that you aren't a threat and that you're to be treated with the utmost respect during your stay here; however, I am still uncertain of how much I should tell them... it's very possible that most-if not all-will be skeptical of you actually coming from a future point in time. However, without a doubt none of the servants will know anything of your being from another time; to them, you are just my new personal servant."
Joey blinked slowly. "Oh right, if I see that Kaiba-look-a-like jerk again..." The rest of what Atem said finally set in. "Wait, what, servant? I ain't no servant. What does a personal servant even do?"
"If you see him again, I will be sure that he gives you an apology for his treatment of you," Atem said, his lips twitching in amusement as Joey belatedly caught the tail end of his statement. "Yes, servant, " he responded teasingly, his smile impish as he glanced at Joey's current attire. "You're dressed the part as well, so no one will question such a statement—as for what a personal servant does, normally it would be to tend to whatever needs their master has, but since it's just for appearance's sake I won't be requiring you to do anything but stay by my side and not get yourself into any trouble."
"So how am I gonna stay by your side while you do the stuff you need to do while staying out of sight?" Unless Atem could get away with sneaking around or something Joey couldn't see how he could manage this.
"Simple: I'm not going to be returning to my duties until I speak with my priests about you. You won't have to stay out of sight once they know about you-I just need to be the one to approach them rather than have them stumble on to us walking around with no explanation," Atem explained, continuing on his way down the hall. "It's just a matter of figuring out who to speak with... Mahaad will surely scold me for avoiding my work and venturing into the dungeons, but he would be the most likely to hear us out and believe that you are from a different time... perhaps Isis would believe us as well... Seth is far too stubborn, and after the way he treated you I would rather not go to him about this..." The young pharaoh continued muttering, more musing aloud than speaking to Joey.
"How many of these priests are there? And what do they do?" It seemed unnecessary to Joey to have that many of them. He wasn't paying attention to where he was going and ran right into one of the priests. "Oof, watch where you're going, buster!"
Atem was about to answer Joey when they rounded the corner, quite literally running into one of the six priests-and thankfully (for Joey's sake more than his own), it was one of the priests he'd hoped to find. "Mahaad, wait," he quickly stepped in before Mahaad could say anything, shooting Joey a look that clearly told him to watch his tongue before turning his attention back to his childhood friend. "If you would allow me to explain..."
…
Mahaad frowned as he searched the palace for the pharaoh, calling out to him once before remembering who he was dealing with-if Atem was going out of his way to avoid his duties, then making it known that someone was searching for him would only make the young pharaoh more determined to hide. With that in mind, he silently roamed the palace halls, searching the routes that Atem habitually took with the stealth of a person well-trained in the art of sneaking up on a certain two lazy children day after day (honestly, sometimes he felt more like their babysitter than their friend, though for all his griping he couldn't say he really minded).
He was rewarded a few minutes later as he turned the corner and bumped into someone, though it wasn't the person he expected-but standing next to him was the person he was looking for, which momentarily threw him off until he took a good look at the tall blond that he bumped into, recognition flashing in his eyes as he recalled Seth's mention of a mysterious, foreign intruder that had been brought to the dungeons.
It seemed as if the pharaoh caught on to his train of thought as he stepped forward, as if-oddly enough-to protect the boy, and Mahaad eyed the blond warily for a moment before sighing and releasing his grip on the Millennium Ring around his neck, which he'd reflexively grabbed in preparation to defend the pharaoh without even thinking. "... Very well then, I'm listening-however, you had better have a good explanation for this."
Atem let out a quiet, relieved breath, giving Mahaad a grateful smile before glancing over at Joey. "Perhaps you should be the one to explain? Since you were the one who was brought to this time, after all."
Joey relaxed his balled fists after realizing that Atem knew the man. He looked closer at the tall man, something dawning on him. "Holy crap, you look just like the Dark Magician!" Joey stared, open mouthed. He'd never thought he'd see someone who looked so much like a Duel Monster in person.
Atem's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "'Dark Magician'? Well I suppose he is fairly dark skinned, and he is a magician...," he responded, confused by Joey's outburst. "His Ka is the Illusion Magician, but I doubt that could be what you're referring to," he added as an afterthought.
"In my time we have this card game called Duel Monsters, and he looks like one of the monsters. Yugi's ace monster, actually." Joey was tempted to reach out and touch Mahaad, to make sure he was real, but didn't want to come off as a total creep.
Atem was immediately interested at the mention of a game. "A game with a monster that looks like Mahaad... and this creature is the 'ace monster' of your friend that looks like me?" He couldn't help but feel like such a thing was more than a mere coincidence, but he brushed the feeling off-he hardly knew anything about the future which Joey came from to draw any definitive conclusions, anyway.
Mahaad frowned, his curiosity piqued as he murmured, "A monster who looks like me, who is loyal to one who looks like the pharaoh... a magician... 'Dark' Magician..." The memory of a forbidden spell suddenly emerged in the forefront of his mind, but he quickly pushed the conclusion he'd come to aside before Atem could notice the slight paling of his complexion. I would never use such a spell unless it was a dire emergency-it must only be a coincidence. "I would like to hear an explanation from the very beginning," he said, giving the blond his full attention. "You and the pharaoh have both made a distinction between 'times'... so I am to assume that you were brought here from a different point in time, correct?"
"Yes, I'm from about 3,000 years in the future." Joey explained to the magician how he had come to the past, and what had happened to him since he got here, leaving out the part about his bath with Atem. Even to him the whole thing sounded a little far-fetched and crazy.
Mahaad remained silent as the boy spoke, taking in everything that he said with an expression that showed neither acceptance nor denial of his claims. Once the blond finished recounting his tale, Mahaad let out a drawn-out sigh, running a hand through his hair. "... Time-travel magic is extremely risky-you must have incredible luck to have made it here alive and in one piece. Often people who attempt traveling through time end up falling into rifts in time and space and subsequently erase themselves from existence; it's a very difficult spell to use, and an extremely risky one to cast on someone else," he said, before turning his attention to Atem. "I will inform the rest of the priests of the situation, and I will look into a way to safely return him to his own time. In the meantime, however...," he gave him a warning look. "This is not an excuse for avoiding work, so return to your duties. As for you," he then turned his attention to the blond, "do not repeat any of the information you told us to anyone else, and do not reveal any further information about the future-you could drastically alter the future if you aren't careful, and even if I were able to return you to your time, I can't guarantee that things would be as you knew them to be. Is that understood?"
"I can't do magic, I didn't cast anything on myself." With the exception of playing Duel Monsters, Joey had no knowledge of performing magic (and Duel Monsters were actually holograms anyway.) "I'd really like to know who sent me here in the first place...And yeah, yeah, no messing with the past or I might change the future, I know." He'd seen enough science fiction movies to know that much.
"Then someone must have cast it on you... for what purpose I cannot say, however," Atem mused, glancing over at Mahaad and receiving a nod in agreement. "If nothing else can be done for the moment then I suppose I'll return to my duties," he said with more than just a slight bit of reluctance, letting out a resigned sigh. "Mahaad, I leave this case in your capable hands-be sure to inform the rest of the priests before anything, and...," he hesitated for a moment, his expression turning worried for a moment as he continued, "... be careful."
Mahaad couldn't help but crack a small smile-though his friend was forced to mature faster than he should have, underneath it all he was still the same sweet, caring prince that Mahaad knew well. "As you wish, my lord," he responded, giving Atem a deep bow before straightening up and turning on his heel to begin the duty he'd been assigned. Convincing the priests-especially Seth-of the truth behind this absurd tale might just end up being more difficult than researching the spell to send that boy home... Ra give me strength, he thought wryly, rubbing his temples as he felt a migraine already coming on. It was going to be a long, long day...
"So what are these duties you need to do?" Joey was starting to get bored with nothing going on. He'd like to actually go outside, he hadn't seen the sun in days.
Atem began walking again, gesturing for Joey to follow him. "Nothing interesting, really, so I will apologize in advance for boring you-I have to go over laws, ascertain that taxes were collected, hear the complaints and resolve the disputes of my people, and other such tasks. Occasionally I am required to take part in religious rituals, as well as war planning, but I don't have to do either of those as of now." After a moment, he frowned and lightly grasped his Millennium Puzzle as he added, "It is also my duty to oversee the conviction of criminals and the removal of their evil Ka, and to step in and aid with the sealing of the Ka if it proves to be too strong for my priests to handle-which it never does, of course."
"What's a Ka?" Joey asked. He saw a flash of black out of the corner of his eye and found that the kitten from earlier was following them. He stooped down to pick it up.
"Ka are spirits that reflect the nature of the person that they come from. They are fueled by the energy of the soul: the Ba," Atem explained, pausing and watching with a smile as Joey picked up the kitten that had apparently followed them before continuing. "Whenever you command a Ka, you lose Ba, and if you lose all your Ba you lose your life. The strength of the Ba determines the strength of the Ka—a person with a good soul will have a spirit or good Ka, but a person with an evil soul will have a monster or demon Ka. With the Millennium Items, The Sacred Guardians are able to seal the Ka of a person within a stone slab and would be capable of summoning and controlling them from the Shrine of Wedju," he explained.
Joey started absently petting the kitten. "That does sound an awful lot like Duel Monsters..." Remembering what Mahaad had said about not revealing things about the future, he didn't explain further. The kitten let out a contented purr as it fell asleep in his arms.
Atem was tempted to ask more about this 'Duel Monsters' game, his temptation nearly getting the better of him before he remembered Mahaad's warning. "Well, you may get to see the Ka removal and sealing ritual yourself if someone is brought in, so you can judge for yourself just how similar or different it really is," he responded before adding, "Though I'd like to hope that you don't have to witness such a thing." He led Joey out through the courtyards, nodding in acknowledgement to the servants that bowed to him as they walked past.
"Why? Is it painful or something?" Joey was a little intrigued to know what this Ka removal was all about. "Isn't it kinda weird to have all these people bowing to you and stuff?" he added as he saw all the servants bowing as they passed.
"I can't say firsthand how painful or not painful it is, since I've never physically experienced it myself, but from what I've seen and heard it definitely seems to be an excruciating process—which is to be expected, I suppose, since Ka are tied to a person's spirit, so it's the same as having half of your spirit torn out," he explained. The pharaoh blinked in confusion at Joey's question, as if never even having considered such a thing, before shrugging. "I suppose when you are raised in such a setting, you become accustomed to it."
They walked through the courtyards for a few minutes before reaching another section of the palace, Atem leading the way all the way up to a large set of ornate doors, which two guards immediately opened for him and his 'servant' to reveal a room larger than the courtyard itself. With a mixture of familiarity and resignation, the young pharaoh made his way into the room, walking all the way over to the throne before taking a seat with a quiet sigh before glancing up at Joey. "My apologies, but there are no seats aside from the throne in this room, so unless you wish to take a seat on the floor, you will have to bear with standing for the next few hours."
"Can't I just sit on the arm or something?" Joey asked, not waiting for an answer and perching himself on the arm of the throne. "How can you sit on this thing all the time? It's so hard and uncomfortable..."
Atem, while he secretly enjoyed the expression on Siamun's face as he looked on from the opposite side of the throne (it was a mixture between shock, horror, bewilderment, and indignation, among other various emotions), did not want his people starting to think that such behavior was acceptable (or worse... after all, such a position would most likely imply that the blond was a special kind of servant, and he did not want his kingdom finding out that he felt no attraction towards women), and so he shot Joey a glare and responded quietly between clenched teeth, "It is hard and uncomfortable because the arm of the throne is not meant to be sat on—now please remove yourself and take a seat on the ground before anyone arrives." It was obvious that his request was an order, as well as a thinly-veiled threat—the pharaoh was not above pushing Joey off of the arm of the throne and onto the ground if need-be, and if the boy didn't get up himself within the next few seconds, the pharaoh was considering doing just that.
Joey didn't seem to catch on to Atem's threat. "Wow, you sure are possessive over a dumb chair." He didn't get off, but started swinging his legs around like a small child in a chair that was too big for him.
Atem gave Joey a flat look, and—despite how cute the image of the blond was at the moment (not that he would admit such a thing aloud, of course)—pushed him off the arm of the throne, watching in a mixture of amusement and slight guilt as Joey fell to the floor. "I apologize, but I asked nicely and you didn't obey, so I was forced to take drastic measures—now stay there and keep quiet, the guards are about to let in the first set of people."
Joey let out an audible "Humf" before sitting down beside the throne, his arms crossed and a glower on his face. "Stupid pharaoh and his chair," he muttered under his breath. Did he really have to treat him so harshly? He was just playing around. He also really didn't want to sit there for the next couple hours doing nothing, but he didn't really have a choice.
Atem felt even more guilty as he saw the upset expression on Joey's face, but there wasn't much he could do since the first of what would be a long list of people were brought into the throne room to air their grievances. By the time the fourth and fifth people were brought in, Atem was already tuning them out, though he was at least able to feign an expression of interest as the two tried to argue their cases about who the livestock belong to or some other trivial matter along those lines. The only thing that was keeping him awake was the feeling of Joey's soft hair, which he gradually became aware of sometime in between the second and third person—but it didn't seem as if Joey really minded (or at least, he wasn't making a fuss about it if he did), and so he saw no reason to stop idly playing with the boy's hair if it was the only thing keeping him from falling asleep on the throne.
At first Joey was going to protest Atem playing with his hair, but he had already been scolded once today and he really didn't want to start anything by complaining about it. Besides, though he could barely admit it to himself, he kind of liked the feeling of Atem's fingers running through his hair. The blond found himself leaning into the stroking hand and slowly falling asleep for the second time that day.
Atem glanced over in surprise when he felt movement under his hand, his cheeks flushing slightly as he realized that Joey was actually leaning into his touches. Is he... enjoying this? It took all of the pharaoh's self-restraint to keep a soft smile from spreading across his features as he saw Joey beginning to nod off with a peaceful (and somehow adorable) expression on his face, and while part of him lamented having to sit through the rest of these people's grievances on his own, he found himself continuing to gently run his fingers through the blond's hair regardless as the hours passed—after all, the boy was still recovering, and he could use all the rest he could get (and not only that, but he had a feeling that Joey's patience would have worn out sometime around the twelfth person had he not fallen asleep, so this really was for the best for everyone involved).
Finally, a few hours later, the last person was escorted out of the throne room, and Atem let out a relieved sigh as he immediately got off of the throne and stretched his sore and slightly numb limbs. Now that he had no need to hide it, Atem allowed a soft smile to grace his features as he glanced over at the sleeping blond, crouching down by his side and quickly losing to the temptation of running his fingers through Joey's hair once more as he spoke quietly. "Joey... wake up, the hearings are over. If you're still tired, you can return to my room and sleep there if you wish."
Joey mumbled something inaudible and slowly blinked his eyes open, looking like a confused and sleepy puppy. "Huh, what, Yugi, you watch that video I lent you? I want it back..." The blond's head went back down as he fell asleep for another minute. Suddenly, he was fully awake and stood up very quickly, almost tripping and falling for the second time that day, but was able to stop himself by grabbing hold of Atem's shoulders. "Oh, I'm still here, it's not a dream..." he said quietly, almost wistfully.
Atem chuckled quietly at the odd, mumbled statement, realizing that Joey was just talking in his sleep, and he patiently waited for Joey to fully wake up. He was startled as Joey suddenly shot up, just barely keeping his balance as the other boy gripped his shoulders to avoid falling over, and his heart clenched in sympathy at the tone of his voice and the expression on his face. "... My apologies," he murmured, knowing that apologizing would do nothing to help the boy return to his time yet feeling unsure of what else he could possibly say in response. He hesitated a moment before giving Joey a small, reassuring smile. "You will be home soon enough, don't worry—for now, how about we retire for the night? I believe my priests can handle everything else that needs to be done today."
Joey held onto Atem's shoulders for a little longer than was entirely necessary. Realizing he was still gripping them, rather tightly, he let go. "Sorry, didn't mean to hurt you," he apologized sheepishly. "Sure, sleep sounds good," he added after hearing the shorter boy mention them retiring. "I could sleep for a year at this point." Joey let out a huge yawn, stretching his arms and legs out wide.
Atem smiled, waving off Joey's concern (and resisting the urge to rub his slightly-sore shoulders). "It's alright, I'm fine." He chuckled quietly at the boy's comment, waiting until he was finished stretching before leading him out of the throne room and back through the halls of the palace. Within a few minutes, they were back in front of the large doors belonging to the pharaoh's personal chambers, and he led Joey into the room, gesturing towards the bed. "Make yourself comfortable," he said, stifling a yawn behind his hand as he pulled off his clothing and jewelry, setting it aside and leaving him in just his 'underwear' (as Joey had referred to the cloth) as he made his way over to the bed to sleep.
Joey stood watching as Atem took his clothes off. He felt that he probably shouldn't watch, but he was doing it right there in front of him... "Wait, there's only one bed?" he asked, searching the room for a second one.
Atem felt the boy's eyes on him as he undressed but said nothing on the matter (despite the light blush that colored his cheeks), instead raising an eyebrow when he spoke. "Unless there was a bed hiding somewhere in this room that I did not know of, then yes, there is only one bed," he replied with a touch of sarcasm, smiling slightly in amusement and laying down on one side of the bed. "There is more than enough room on this bed for two, or even three people." (He would know, since he'd often shared his bed with Mana and Mahaad when they were younger, after all.) "Now lay down and get some rest."
Joey found himself blushing as well. Even so, he stripped down and went over to the other side of the bed, not yet getting in but sitting on the edge. With the exception of when he was very little and Serenity had had a nightmare and wanted to stay with him, he'd never slept in the same bed with someone before. It was rather awkward.
Atem rolled onto his side, looking up at Joey in confusion as the boy sat on the edge of the bed instead of lying down. "Is something the matter?" He frowned. "If the bed is not to your liking, I could have a few servants bring a different bed into the room..."
Joey shook his head, his blond mop of hair poofing out around his head. He should stop being stupid, they were just sleeping. No big deal, right? "Nah, it's fine." He flopped down on the bed and pulled the covers over himself, yawning even wider than last time.
Atem smiled slightly, shifting under the covers and covering up a yawn as well. "Very well then. Goodnight Joey, sleep well." The pharaoh closed his eyes, his exhaustion from such a long, eventful day quickly catching up with him as he swiftly drifted off to sleep.