I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Chapter One- Noticed

Seto smiled briefly as he felt Isis' hand gently and subtly brush against his own as they waited for Atem to enter for the daily court meeting. No one noticed the gesture or Seto's smile; at least Seto thinks no one noticed. For a moment, it looked as if Mahad noticed and smiled just as briefly as Seto had. Does he know that Isis and I are in love? If so, he is keeping quiet about it as Isis and I would prefer that our relationship be kept private.

Seto was attracted to Isis almost from the day he first came to the palace. He had gotten to know her as much as the rest of the court. His interest in her grew but he kept his sentiments to himself as he had seen how Isis and Mahad interacted and concluded that they were a couple. It kind of hurt to see them together but he buried the hurt and busied himself with his duties and his acquisition of knowledge. It was when he was doing the latter a few weeks ago when Isis had entered the archives.

He had nodded to her upon seeing her presence. "Isis."

She had smiled in response. "Seto." She had selected a scroll and took a seat across from him. The two read in silence for a time before Seto sensed he was being watched. He had looked up to see Isis looking at him with her gentle blue eyes.

"Isis?" he had prompted.

"Seto, I know you are interested in me. I did notice your subtle looks."

"Yes, I am interested," he had admitted.

"Why did you not tell me?" Isis had asked.

"For what purpose? To me, it seems that you and Mahad are together."

"Mahad?" Isis had gently laughed. "He is a dear friend, but nothing more than that. It is you I am attracted to."

Seto had stared at her before he reached over and took one of her hands that had been resting on the table. "Isis, I love you and would like us to be a couple."

"I would like that too and that we should keep this private. No one needs to know."

"Private. Yes, that's perfect."

Thus, Isis and Seto shared loving looks and gestures when alone while being professional and displaying a casual friendship that was common among the Sacred Court when in public. No one seemed to notice that Isis and Seto were more than friends, but now Seto suspected that Mahad was aware.

Atem then entered and Seto put his suspicions about Mahad and his thoughts of Isis aside to focus on being one of the pharaoh's priests. He gave his report on the stone tablets of the extracted shadow monsters but he was inwardly disappointed that no new tablets had been added since his last report. He shouldn't feel that way as they were charged with insuring peace in the kingdom. That peace would provide him more time to read, however, his amount of reading material was dwindling and Seto would need to find other ways to fill his days.

"My pharaoh," Mahad said. "The security of the tombs is being challenged."

"Explain. Challenged how?"

"I believe we have an expert tomb robber. Traps are triggered but there is no sign of an injured or dead person. There are also traps that are not tripped and yet there is treasure missing."

Troubled expressions were shared among the court. Their architects were masters in their trap building skills. How was a tomb robber getting past such clever traps? Clearly, they were dealing with a dangerous individual.

"What do you suggest, Mahad?"

"I want to take a squad out to some unspoiled tombs and try to catch the criminal."

Atem nodded. "Yes, a good idea. I also want another member of the court to accompany you."

Seto, seeing this as a way to occupy his time, knelt, and said, "I volunteer to go, my pharaoh."

"Very well, Seto. Make your preparations, Mahad, and then inform me when you are about to leave."

"Yes, my pharaoh."

"Court dismissed."

The Sacred Court all bowed and dispersed to attend to their individual pursuits with Mahad preparing for his mission. Seto casually followed Isis out and asked, "Will you be consulting your Item?"

"I will be. I feel I may have a vision of the future. I only hope it is not a dark one."

"If I may, it seems to me that dark futures are the nature of your Item."

"More often than not." She nodded. "But I do have visions that are happy on occasion."

Seto nodded and lapsed into a thoughtful silence as they climbed up to the Court Tower where Isis did her visions. The Items were created to root out evil and bring peace to the land. They certainly did do the first part of their purpose but the second one would take time. Yet, Seto found the Necklace to be different from the others. It gave Isis vague visions that, most of the time, predicted dark things to come. How did that fit into the concept of bringing peace? Seto dwelled on this as they sat before the fire and Isis went into her meditative state. Maybe, its role is to see the approaching threat and warn others so that they are prepared. That would make sense and that is essentially what Isis does with her Item. She sees a threat, vague as it is, and reports it to the pharaoh.

Isis stirred from her meditation and she opened her eyes. "See anything?" he asked.

Isis shook her head slightly. "No, but I will keep trying. There will be a vision today, I can sense it."

Seto heard someone approach and looked to see Mahad. He stood and said, "If you say there will be one, then it must be so." He gave her a nod and then left with Mahad.

"I noticed that you and Isis have been spending quite a bit of time together," Mahad remarked as they headed for the front gate.

"Yes. We find the other's company charming," Seto said.

Mahad hid a smile. He was fully aware that Seto and Isis were a couple, though they did an excellent job of hiding it from everyone. But Mahad had known Isis for a long time and could read her easily. Her subtle gestures and looks avoided the notice of everyone except him. Those subtle hints made it clear to him that Seto and Isis wanted to keep their relationship a secret for now.

But they should confide in at least one person and I would be the logical choice. "Seto," he said softly. "I know you and Isis are in love."

"Heh, I thought you did. I saw that brief smile you had this morning."

"I assure you, I will not speak of it to anyone."

"That is how Isis and I would prefer it. Mahad, why are you admitting to knowing of our relationship?"

"In the event something should happen to either of you and I happen to be on the scene, I can alert the other. Also, I can be someone to confide to as no one else knows you're in love."

"I cannot speak for Isis, but I personally find having someone knowing our secret to be comforting."

"I am sure Isis would feel the same way. I have known her for a long time."

"I'm aware of that," Seto said as they headed out to the tombs.