Prompt VI: Royalty
"What's royalty mean?" Yami asked, blurting the words.
Yugi stopped short of his story, blinking in surprise, and glanced at Atem sideways. The God Dragon licked his paws clean of blood from the sheep he'd brought back to the den earlier. He wiped blood from his beak and flicked his tongue. His eyes shot toward the hatchling, claws flexing for a single second as he watched him with something like amusement and slight surprise.
"It means a higher class of human individuals, so…a family with a really distinct bloodline. It makes them more important than the rest, and everyone accepts them as…being basically their rulers." Yugi struggled for a moment to pick more words. His eyes shot to Atem again. The God Dragon looked between them for a moment and grimaced, a clear sign that he didn't know how to help him. Yugi had the feeling his reluctance to try came from the fact that he was not drawn to humans and avoided them as much as possible. "They're treated as better than the rest for the most part, and sometimes they're elected into position and sometimes they're just raised to take their parent's place."
Yami looked over his shoulder and back. "What does elected mean?"
"It means they were chosen to be their leader. The majority of people have to rule in favor and then they'll go from there. Descendants are considered treasured above everyone else and they're all titled as royalty from there."
Yami blinked. "Why would they treat them better than everyone else?"
Yugi shook his head. "Humans are weird?" he tried, smiling faintly and considering Atem from his peripheral. Yami watched him a moment before turning to Atem in confusion.
"Daddy, why would they treat them better than anyone else?"
Atem looked at his paws. "Humans are weird and follow strange traditions. From what I know of it—which is limited and far less accurate than anything Yugi could tell you—they see the descendants of someone great as marked for greatness. So instead of someone seeing potential in them for who they are, they take what they saw in the parents and project them onto the offspring."
Yami blinked and looked between them awkwardly, seeming bewildered as he blurted, "Why?"
"Because humans are…fickle," Atem said slowly, and Yami turned back to him with wide eyes. "Humans are fickle and it makes them…more likely to believe that someone must be as their parents or siblings are."
Yugi considered the two of them for a moment. Yami looked confused before he turned back and asked, "So, then… Are they normally like their parents after all of this?"
Atem looked away, staring down at his paws more pointedly. "Sometimes projection does make it easier for someone to meet the standards they felt necessary at the time. It makes it simpler for them to fall into that line of expectation."
"Well…why?"
Atem seemed to struggle for a moment, then answered softly, "Because when you know what others expect of you, it's easier to meet them by acting as they ask. It's easier to project what someone else puts on you because it makes it that much simpler to become someone you aren't."
"Why would you want to do that?"
Yugi almost laughed at the glint of frustration in Atem's eyes.
"Because sometimes it's easier to cope with things gone wrong when you pretend to be someone you aren't," the God Dragon said slowly, speaking through his teeth now. Yugi knew he wasn't upset that Yami had asked, nor that he persisted querying so much. But Atem was becoming uncomfortable. He was flustered and unsure, tired, and his patience had grown thin due to his discomfort with the subject. "Sometimes it's easier when you pretend and become someone everyone else expects. You can't disappoint someone if you can pretend to be who they're looking for."
Yugi flinched at the venomous edge to his words. Atem glanced at him sideways but did not speak. Yami turned his head to look over at his parents, unsure for a long moment, and then turned around and back. He looked the two of them over with a curious expression, eyes flickering about their faces.
After a moment he settled neatly into a seated position once more. Yugi wondered if he blamed himself for Atem's change of tone and stance, and desperately wanted to reassure him he had done nothing wrong. But the words died in his throat. Atem likely hadn't even noticed he was breathing as hard as he was, because he was so wrapped up in thoughts about his own coping mechanisms.
Yugi had the impulse then to reassure him as well, to say that he wasn't at fault for being unable to discuss it all the time, that this wasn't anything to be ashamed of. But the words died there as well. Atem always withdrew, quiet and distressed that Yugi had noticed, that he'd paid so much attention to him in the first place.
A small, cold silence settled over the den for several heartbeats. Yugi struggled to think of a topic change, and Atem opened his mouth once and then twice, as if he were trying to speak and couldn't.
Yami looked from Atem to Yugi again, then leaped forward. "So, am I royalty then?" he demanded eagerly, grinning.
Atem raised his head, blinking and staring at Yami in bewilderment. Yugi blinked, startled, but didn't answer him for a split second. "Uh, no, Yami, that's not what that means… Um, dragons don't title themselves as royalty. Dragons just have their lineages and then they… There're Clan leaders, seconds-in-command, and others, but it's not quite considered royalty."
Yami blinked and turned around to face Atem. "But you're a God Dragon and I am too! So doesn't that make us royalty?"
Yugi snorted. "No, little ruby. That just means you're adorable and related to the most important, best God Dragon ever." Yugi grinned wider and Atem snorted. "Although, if Atem were human he'd definitely be a king."
