Chapter 22


Ancient Egypt

"Hold the hunting party," Prince Aknatem ordered. His face was twisted in a soft rage. "I'll be back in a moment."

The Prince strode off. If the ground had been capable of shaking with his footsteps, the earth would have moved. None of the men present had ever witnessed such incensed behavior from their Prince. They had seen small pockets of violence from him in sports and in wrestling matches. He had a mean and tough right hook when it was necessary. It had only taken thirty seconds after his departure for the discussion of what had just transpired to begin.

"When did they become a couple?" One of the other men had asked. A soft murmured discussion broke out.

"How long have they been…?"

"Well, that was a surprise!"

"That's the most exciting thing that has happened in days!"

When the distant shouts started, Mahado and the others could hear the rise and fall of their argument. Everyone shut up to try to make out the words being said. To some of the men's dismay, none of them were able to make out the words. The only obvious thing evident was the vocal hostility.

"Sounds like she is giving it out as good as he is," Karim said, commenting on the equal amount of shouting from the Prince's voice versus Mana's. Mahado's face burned with anger and embarrassment. Karim's thoughtless comment made Mahado and everyone else in earshot aware of the subtle innuendo.

Their shouts were then followed by a long silence that was almost as loud as the yelling had been.

The pair had been gone now for more than twenty minutes. The horses and dogs were getting restless. The men who had been excited by the shocking events were starting to get bored, but Prince Aknatem told them to wait. They didn't dare disobey a direct order.

Soon, the discussion transitioned into:

"How disrespectful to our Pharaoh in waiting…"

"She deserves to be beaten for such behavior…"

"Contemptuous wench…"

"I would not have put up with that from my…"

As it often does between men when women are not present, the conversation devolved from there, diving into dangerous territory.

"I don't care for such women. Women should be seen and ridden, not heard."

"Heh, bet she's a spitfire in between the sheets!"

"Ha! I bet the Prince must love riding her!"

The conversation was becoming more vile and raucous. Mahado had reached his limit and was about to raise his voice when an escape was offered from an unexpected source.

"Silence! You will not speak about our Prince in such a way!" Seti yelled. "If I hear of another disrespectful word against our Prince, I will ensure that the speaker is flayed!"

Everyone shut up immediately. As one of the high priests, his authority held more weight. Seti hadn't done it to help Mana, but Mahado was grateful nonetheless. He was sure that any positive reputation for Mana had just blown away the minute she had behaved so publicly foolish. Once the witnesses of the event left, and they were numerous, unflattering rumors about Mana would spread like a brush fire.

Mahado was markedly more upset with Mana than he was with the Prince. He had granted his acceptance of their relationship, but that didn't mean he cared to have the intimacies of their romantic life thrown in his face, or anyone else's, for that matter.

Seeing Mana reach for the prince and kiss him so tastelessly in front of absolutely everyone had been bad enough, but to see the prince's knee-jerk reaction of uncapped desire was worse. Prince Aknatem had pulled himself together quickly, so quickly that Mahado wasn't sure that anyone else had caught it. The Prince had replaced his desire with rage. Mahado had never seen Prince Aknatem look so angry. His impending explosive outrage was very palpable, but it was a small comfort. Mahado wouldn't have objected if the Prince had wanted to beat her. He would never do that to her, though, no matter the circumstances. Mahado knew him too well.

Eventually, Prince Aknatem had reappeared, his face and head slightly damp as if he had dunked himself in a trough of water. It was probably exactly what he'd done. His khat and clothes were slightly askew and wet. They were already mostly dry due to the intense heat of the day. Mahado hoped that only he and Seti would have known him well enough, or would have paid close enough attention to notice.

Mahado's mind had filled in what might have happened between his apprentice cousin and the Prince during those long, silent moments. Being a man, Mahado was able to recognize in Prince Aknatem the aftereffects of a cold dunk to douse any obvious physical signs of unexpressed desire. Mahado felt embarrassed over Mana's behavior, part of her actions would reflect on him. She was his apprentice and a Lady, she should know how to conduct herself better than the humiliating manner in which she had done.

The others were already mounted on their horses, and Atem rose to join them on their level. Aknatem turned and gave the crowd a very telling look, 'Not a single word or feel my wrath'. Prince Aknatem didn't need to ask for or demand their respect. Despite his youth, his natural personality and his victories from previous encounters had already gained him high honor and adoration from the men at court. Almost every man there would fight for him willingly out of reverence for him, without being asked.

Atem took the reins from the stable boy who had faithfully waited for him to return. Taking a moment to collect himself once mounted, he tried not to think about what he and Mana had almost done in a dusty storage closet. He had nearly rutted Mana like a brainless animal in heat. He wasn't sure what their first time making love was going to look like, but Mana deserved to be loved in a bed. Preferably his bed, after making her his wife.

He shook his head. He needed to distract himself if he was going to ride comfortably. Atem glanced at the hallway where the courtiers had been ogling them earlier. Most of them were still there. They had been chatting amongst themselves before he had rounded the corner, but their voices had fallen silent when had made himself known. Curious female glances were mixed with vindictively hopeful ones. He could read their minds. They had been hoping that he would have dragged Mana out to punish and embarrass her publicly, better still, if done so with physical violence. It's what a lesser man, a lesser Prince, would have been expected to do.

Making sure he wasn't obvious, he mentally counted them, comparing the number to what had been there before Mana had kissed him. One person was missing. It was probably nothing, but still, it irked him. He wasn't sure why. Atem made sure his bow, his arrows, and his khopesh were tied firmly to his saddle. It wouldn't do to hunt leopards or lions unarmed. He nodded at and thanked the stable boy, who was only a few years younger than him.

"To the hunt!" Atem shouted to the men behind him, and he turned his horse, kicking it into a gallop. A raucous shout from the men erupted and off they went, running at high speed out of the palace into the low wildlands with barking dogs in tow.

Mana stared at the door Atem had shut behind him. She was still dazed and frankly, baffled, at what had transpired between them. She was having trouble processing what they had just been through. They had been furious at each other, screaming and throwing accusations back and forth. In the entirety of their friendship or relationship, they had never been so cross or furious with each other.

They had never torn at each other so passionately before, either.

They had almost had sex for the first time…in a dirty storage closet. Neither of them had wanted to stop, but cooler heads had prevailed. She could still feel his hands everywhere on her skin as if he had left a smoldering burn behind where his hands had roamed… He was so good with his hands, and such a good kisser. Something had been provoked between them, a kind of excitement they had never seen in each other before. There had been yelling, fighting, and horrible news given. The premonition of her seeing his death had completely rattled him. She could see it plainly on his face. Almost instantly, his explosive anger was gone as if she had poured cool water on an inferno. His anger had been replaced with confusion and contrition for what she had seen and had been struggling with.

There was no use following that line of thinking now. He was gone for the day, out hunting lions or leopards. She wasn't sure it was wise to linger much longer where she was. Leaving the closet and its fiery memory behind her, she walked as far away from the courtyard as she could get. She had heard the receding sounds of galloping horses and barking dogs not long ago. Atem was gone, and since he was no longer present, that hopefully meant that the courtiers were gone too.

Mana was thankfully alone in the hallway.

She walked down the hallway, thinking over their fight, repeating the things they had shouted to each other in her mind. It was safer to consider the argument instead of what had nearly happened afterwards.

What is wrong with me? She chastised herself sternly. She had never let the courtiers get to her before. Not like this. She had always been a little jealous of the attention Atem had received, but he had never leaned into it beyond what was considered polite in public. He had never given her a reason to doubt his affection and love for her. Why had those malicious words hit her so hard?

They had disparaged her and Atem's attempt to betroth her. They had viciously sneered at hers and Atem's relationship. They had called her a slave, a servant… Hadn't her father said that Mana would be nothing but a servant to Atem should he return from death? It didn't seem possible! Atem would not ever do that to her, she was certain!

But if he were to return, as most Egyptians believed the Pharaohs would, what if he came back and had forgotten her?

Would it be possible for him to forget the love between them?

Perhaps, the anger at her father's words had made her preemptively resentful of her Prince.

She had kissed him forcefully in front of everyone and had then pushed him away. That overt kiss hadn't been full of the normal tenderness and affection. Instead, it was motivated by and riddled with her unexpressed anger at her anticipation that he would willingly forget about her. Perhaps her hanging on to all of her fear and bitterness over his potential tragic death had been building inside of her. Had she told Atem of her father's premonition sooner, would she have been so disturbed at the superficially spiteful words? She realized now that she had subconsciously been expecting him to mentally neglect the love that had blossomed between them.

Before he could even think to defend himself, she had publicly punished him for abandoning her in some future event that was not yet set in stone.

They were at a point in time now when he had nothing but love for her in his heart and had shown that to her again and again faithfully. Perhaps some of her anger towards his potential future actions was justified, but she had erroneously claimed all the power and responsibility in this situation and hadn't allowed for them to tackle it together.

Mana felt terrible about what she had done. Atem had been right to be angry with her.

Some of the harsh words they had said to each other, though they had felt right in the moment, now seemed mean, senseless, and shortsighted. She'd called him an ass and he had accused her of keeping secrets. Neither of those things was true.

Turning away from the stable and retreating into the cool of the inner palace seemed like the best place for her to form an apology. She wanted to make sure that she apologized to him when he returned from the hunt later that evening. At first, she had been remiss of the current space and distance, but she was thankful for the time now that she had to properly digest everything that had occurred in their relationship. She started to chew on her bottom lip. It was a bad habit that she had picked up that announced that she was thinking over something hard or was nervous.

Someone grabbed Mana's hair from behind her and jerked Mana's hair so hard she was sure there would be nothing but a bald scalp. The unforgiving hand pulled and tugged.

"You horrible little slut," Each word was laced with venom. It was Marija's voice. The same viciousness that Mana had overheard in the courtyard was still there, but now there was an underlying, slow danger.

Leaning with the pressure pulling her hair, Mana tried to relieve the pain on her scalp. She summoned her heka and tried to mutter a spell, but her incantation was cut short.

"Ah—

A hand clapped over her face, then Mana nearly choked as something was stuffed into her mouth. The feeling in the back of her throat threatened to make her vomit, but Mana instinctively knew that if she vomited, she'd suffocate, so she forced the reflex down. A forceful band of pressure was rapidly put around her head, holding the gag in. Multiple sets of hands pulled her into a dark, secluded area of the palace.

Mana was pushed and shoved into a room she had only been in a handful of times. The room was dim, the only light came from one high ceiling window. There were multiple people wrestling with her, at least three based on the number of hands on her arms and torso. She was not going to make it easy for them. Someone hit her back with something sturdy, trying to beat the fight out of her.

"Do you think that I'm going to allow someone low like you to outmaneuver me again? I've been watching you, Mana. I know you haven't mastered nonverbal spells yet."

She has been watching me? Mana resisted the urge to shudder from the eeriness of those words. She didn't want to give Marija the satisfaction.

"I was hoping that the Prince would beat you senseless for that horrid display, so I followed the two of you to make sure I got a front row seat. But it seems he was more interested in beating into you instead. Did you like it when he fucked you like a whore inside a dirty closet? You're not worthy of any better,"

Fear struck Mana hard enough that she stopped fighting. Had Marija heard the things they had said to each other? Had she heard Mana scream about Atem dying young? There was a very good chance she had, since Mana and Atem had been screaming at each other at the top of their lungs. What would Marija do with such dangerous information? Did she even understand the gravity of what she had heard?

Oh, you fool, Mana! How could you allow such vulnerable information to slip?

Marija slapped her. Mana could feel the rings Marija was wearing, which left bruises on her jaw. Tears immediately brimmed her eyes, and the urge to sneeze made Mana feel like she was choking.

Mana had never been slapped before. She had never been the recipient of such mean-spirited avarice. Marija could hate so much better than Mana ever could.

"Marija, you said we were just going to scare her," One of the courtiers complained. She didn't sound confident enough to make too much noise against Marija's actions.

"Oh, I fully intend to scare her," Marija said.

"…You have painted a huge target on your back, Mana…"

Atem was right.

For the first time, Mana wished he had been wrong.


Domino City

Yugi was moving a little easier around the apartment these days, but he hadn't been ready to tackle the stairs outside unless it was absolutely necessary. At Yugi's first post-operation appointment, his doctor had taken off his bandages and had expressed his delight (and shock) at how well Yugi was healing.

Yugi was so thankful that his doctor had given him permission to shower. He wasn't allowed to bathe or swim for a while, but he was happy with that. Yugi had been forced to clean himself as best he could with bathing wipes, but nothing beat hot water and soap on skin.

Anzu had been extremely helpful, and Yugi was eternally grateful to her. It just wasn't reasonable to have either Jounouchi or Honda help him day in and day out. They both had full-time jobs. Yugi's contribution to caring for the apartment and managing their bills had been severely diminished. During the time that Anzu had left to practice her dance routine, Yugi made due by either playing video games or scrolling through the best Egyptology schools online. There was a very reputable one in Cairo that Yugi was interested in. What better place to learn?

There had been no notice about the Millennium Items from either Marik or Ishizu. Using an expensive end-to-end encrypted messaging system to communicate (naturally provided by Pegasus), they had promised to keep each other informed. Other than a direct message from Ishizu confirming her theory of Yugi's DNA connection to Atem, there had been no news. Going to the last place where the Millennium Items had disappeared was the smart place to start looking for clues. If Ishizu was right, Yugi and the other former Item-bearers were pivotal to finding the stolen artifacts.

Yugi had already decided that when he was well enough, he was leaving Domino to go to school. He'd made enough money from the interviews and sponsorships to cover his rent for at least the next year. If he competed in some of the international dueling tournaments and won, he could cover his rent, tuition, board, and much more if necessary. Maybe he should sublet his room to another friend? He wondered if Ryuji would be interested.

He hadn't told Jounouchi or Honda yet, but Anzu had been supportive when he'd told her.

She was wonderful in more ways than one.

"What about your game, Yugi?"

"I'll still work on it. Kaiba and Mokuba came to see me in the hospital. They were intrigued when I brought up. Mokuba seemed excited. Kaiba would never admit it, but I think he was interested in what I had to say. They aren't signing up for anything just yet. A lot has to happen first. For now, I can do that anywhere,"

"Have you thought of a name yet?"

"I have one or two ideas,"

Yugi started to explain the basic game strategies and rules. He showed her his concept drawings in a notebook. Anzu watched as his entire face lit up. His whole body became animated. For the first time since his injury, she started to see the joy that was such an integral part of his personality. He started to look like the Yugi she had always known. He didn't look lost.

"Kaiba Corp technologies and Pegasus' Industrial Illusions are the only ones who can make it come to life…"

"What about your title as 'King of Games'?"

"Well," he said, taking a breath. "I only got that title because I had to duel. First, the threat from Pegasus, then helping Atem in Battle City, until I had to beat him to help him go home. The 'King of Games' title isn't something I pursued. It was thrown on me."

Dueling became a duty instead of a way to have fun with his friends.

Anzu nodded. They'd had similar conversations, but never at this depth.

Yugi leaned back on the couch, trying to get comfortable. It was so difficult to find comfort these days. He was happy that he needed his pain medication less and less every day. Today, he'd barely used his cane to get around. Anzu and Yugi sat together on the couch watching TV, cuddled under an electric blanket, listening to the sleet fall outside.

"It was never a title that was just mine. Atem and I earned it together. I may use it for a while. I've thought about entering some of the international tournaments to help fund my game and my education, but when I'm ready, I'm going to put it away. I don't want to be dueling forever,"

"Yugi?"

Yugi's smile was contagious. Anzu found herself getting excited with him.

"Yeah?"

"I'm so proud of you,"

His smile became slightly embarrassed. His eyes were closed when she leaned in and kissed him.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that," He said when her lips left his.

"I hope you don't," she kissed him again, and he placed his hand on the back of her head to keep her close.

"Speaking of dreams, are you going to head back to school soon? Not that I'm complaining that you're home, having you here has been wonderful, but I don't want your schooling to suffer because of me."

"I have thought about it." Anzu had been able to get by the first week, but getting into her second week away from school was starting to eat at her. She was torn, she didn't want to leave Yugi, but she had a responsibility to finish what she started. Now that they had found each other again, it seemed wrong to just get up and leave. Yugi was having his second surgery in a few days

"I don't want to leave you," she whispered.

Her somber face was enough to have him tilt her face towards his. Making sure she was looking him in the eye, he said,

"I'm not going anywhere, I promise." He said tenderly.

Anzu gave him a weak smile. She looked like she didn't believe him.

"I'm not going to die, Anzu. I'll be right here."

You mean you're not going to die again. She thought sadly.

He could tell where her mind had gone. Trying to bring a smile back to her face, he tilted her chin and kissed the tip of her nose. It had the desired effect. Anzu smiled, giggled, and tried to avoid him when he made another attempt. Hearing the sounds of someone entering a key in the lock of the door, their little game ended. Yugi gave her one more quick kiss before the door opened. Jounouchi was home. They were still snuggling on the couch when he walked in.

"Damn! It's cold outside!" He shivered and shook his head, shaking the sleet out of his hair. "You two certainly look cozy," Jounouchi said with a mischievous grin. It was good to see Yugi have some happiness. For all his teasing, Jounouchi was happy for them. It had taken too long for them to become a couple.

"If you make one more perverted comment, I swear, Jounouchi you'll have to adopt—

"Ok, ok, I give. Geez, Anzu."

"Shut the door, will you?" Yugi said. "There's tea in the kitchen."

Jounouchi poured himself a cup of hot tea and joined them in the living room. While Jounouchi was out of earshot, Anzu was silently encouraging Yugi to share his plans with his friends, pointing at the webpages of the Egyptology schools and then at Jounouchi. Yugi shrugged.

"So what are you two lovebirds doing?" Jounouchi asked, taking a seat on one of the chairs facing the TV.

"I'm looking at a few schools,"

"Schools for what?"

As an answer, Yugi turned his computer around and showed him the school's website. Jounouchi's face turned pensive as he read.

"Egyptology, huh? This one's all the way in Cairo. I hope your planning on learning online, the commute would be a real bitch everyday." He said with a smirk. He handed Yugi's computer back to him.

"Well…"

A message pinged in Yugi's messenger app. A large box appeared at the corner with Ishizu's name. Yugi and Anzu glanced at his computer together.

"Is that a message from Ishizu?" Anzu asked.

Yugi didn't answer, choosing instead to digest the message. His heart paused for a second as he took it in. It said only three words.

We found one.


Ancient Egypt

Atem was exhausted. They had found and killed one leopard. It had put up quite a fight. The leopard's carcass was strapped to the back of one of the horses. The attitude among the men was a joyous one. Some sang, some cheered, others were trading insults and or making comments back and forth, relaying the story. The story of the leopards' capture and kill was getting more and more exaggerated as the wine was being passed around. Atem grinned, shaking his head back and forth, choosing not to indulge in the festivities. His mind was on Mana. In between tracking and bringing the leopard down, Atem had been doing damage control for Mana's reputation amongst the men. In the subtle way that men handled this sort of thing, he had done his best to staunch a bad situation.

They rode back into the courtyard they had left, dismounting and taking care of their horses and cargo. Several of the female stewards of the palace were there to greet them. Atem silently thanked whoever would listen that the courtiers were not there.

"Karim! You smell like the back of a hippos ass," One of the elderly stewards said with a disciplinarian gaze. She treated each of them like they were her own grandsons.

Karim smiled and sent her a mischievous look.

"Give us a kiss then!"

He pretended to try and kiss her, giving her a hug, trying to put as much of his bad smell all over her apron. She laughed and slapped at his shoulder. She eventually succeeded in shooing him away, pushing him inside the palace.

"Off with you now! There's baths drawn for all of ye. Plenty of food to go 'round,"

Atem smiled at the easiness he had come home to. He dismounted and started to remove his things. The steward came to him, whispering,

"Your Highness, Lord Irynefer asked to know of the moment of your return. He is requesting your presence. He is in his quarters. He says it's urgent."

I saw this coming. Atem thought irritably. He probably wanted to discuss the event between him and his daughter. Atem nodded and thanked her, and handed the reins of his horse to the nearest stable boy.

Atem made his way to Irynefer's quarters, going over the potential discussion in his head. He was outlining several scenarios as he knocked on Irynefer's door. Without waiting for permission, Atem opened the door. He found Irynefer standing over his desk with his head bowed. His back was towards the door. Atem could see all of the tension in his shoulders.

"Your Highness," Irynefer said quickly as he turned to greet his guest.

"Lord Irynefer," Atem said with a small head bow.

"I won't delay why I have asked to have you meet me here, Your Highness. Where is my daughter?"

Atem hadn't been expecting this. His eyes grew worried and pensive.

"She is not here?" Atem couldn't think of any reason why Mana wouldn't be in the palace. She wouldn't have run away. The scene in the courtyard hadn't been that bad, had it?

"Have you hidden her?" Irynefer's voice was growing concerned.

"Are you saying Mana is missing?" Fear settled into Atem's bones at the speed of thought. Where could she have gone? Had something happened to her after he'd left her? He knew all of Mana's hiding spots, he could go and look for her, but Mana would have surely been seen by somebody. The palace was large, but not so big that someone could completely disappear.

Irynefer watched Aknatem's face very carefully. He could see immediately that the Prince was concerned.

"Your Highness, I do not mean to accuse you, but the last time anyone saw her was when she stormed off from the courtyard. The witnesses said you followed her and that there was shouting between you."

"Are you implying that I harmed her in some way?"

How dare he! Atem wanted to punch Irynefer's stupid face, but he resisted the urge. His accusation wasn't the issue. He was telling him that Mana hadn't been seen since this morning. Mana was the priority here. Atem could hear the rising panic in Irynefer's voice. He chose to let Irynefer's insinuation slide. There were more important things at hand.

"I would never, ever harm Mana. You have no idea the depths of our feelings for one another. You couldn't possibly understand." Atem laced as much venom in his voice as possible.

"Mana is the priority here," Atem said, voicing his earlier thought. "Rest assured, I will find her." A dark and painful feeling settled in his stomach. Something wasn't right. Mana would have surely shown up by now, even if she had gone off somewhere to think. Turning around, Atem left to go find her, slamming the door to Irynefer's quarters behind him.

Atem ran as fast as he could, checking all of the normal hiding spots. He even checked his room, hoping to find her sleeping in his bed, waiting for his return, but Mana was nowhere to be found. He decided to run back to the courtyard and the hallway where they had last been together. A few people were milling about here and there, but none of them reported seeing Mana since this morning. Atem checked the closet of their near-lovemaking and found nothing. There was no evidence anywhere of her recent presence.

The bad feeling in his stomach was getting heavier.

Mana, where are you?

He took the time to scout the nearby rooms off the courtyard. He was about to scream in frustration when the floor outside one room caught his attention. There, by the entryway, were a few drops of a red substance already dried. Atem stooped down to get a closer look. It was blood. There wasn't a lot of it, but it was enough to look like it had come from a small cut or nosebleed. The floors were cleaned and mopped every morning. This blood had appeared here sometime after the servants had come through to clean. He couldn't prove it was Mana's, but it implied that someone had been injured in this location at some point today.

His gut was telling him this was an important clue. Had Mana been injured in some way? Had someone taken her against her will? If anything happened to her, he would be sure that the ones responsible would be punished. Severely.

Mana, where are you?!

Mana was tightly wrapped and stuffed into a trunk of some sort. She was still gagged, but now her hands and feet were bound. Her back and shoulders ached. She was on a cart, being pulled by horses. She had no idea what direction she was headed. The smell of dirt and horseshit was everywhere. It had been nearly half an hour of listening to Marija insulting her and hitting her before Mana's eyes were covered, and she'd been thrown in the trunk.

She had no idea how long she had been stuck in here. She had tried to free herself of her bindings, but she only succeeded in making her skin raw and burned. She started chewing on her gag, trying to bite through it, or at the very least make it easier to breathe.

A sudden jolt and the lack of horses' hooves hitting the ground ceased. The cart had stopped. Mana heard the sounds of a few people getting closer to where she was. Someone was fiddling with the lock. Had someone found her? Had she been rescued?

"Put her over there," A bossy, feminine voice said.

The trunk jolted again as she was picked up. She heard the footsteps of men carrying a heavy load. Suddenly, she heard the splashing sounds of people wading through water.

Water started to seep into the trunk.

Oh no! They intend to drown me!

Mana screamed through her gag.

Soon, the entire trunk was full of water. Mana struggled to look for any pocket of air she could find. No! I will not die like this!

Salvation came when water started to seep out of the creases of the trunk. Mana felt like she was suffocating through the soaked gag. Being able to breathe through her nose was the only way she could get oxygen.

It continued on like that for several minutes. She was lowered into the water, nearly drowning, then raised again, gasping for breath.

Eventually, her torturers seemed to get bored because her systematic sinking and rising out of the Nile had stopped. Someone fiddled with the lock to the trunk again, but this time, the lid was opened. Mana squinted as the evening light of the day pierced her eyes.

Marija stood over her like a judge presiding over her courtroom. There were others there, men surrounding Marija, but they were just featureless bodies to Mana.

"I'm not a murderer, Mana," she said. "But that doesn't mean I can't be cruel."

Mana stared at her with as much hatred as she could muster.

"I won't kill you, but I need you out of the way. You're going home, Mana. Before you know it, you'll be in Chaldea and I will have married your Prince."

Like hell! Mana screamed through her gag. Atem would never marry you, you bitch!

"Should you return from Chaldea, you will be calling me your Chief Queen,"

Marija stooped and pinched Mana's cheek.

"Have a safe trip," she cooed.

Mana tried to rise, to get out of the trunk before Marija could shut the lid again, but she failed. The lock was snapped shut once more, and Mana felt the trunk jolt and rise. She was being placed back on the cart. Soon, the patter of horses' hooves sounded.

No! No! Atem! Atem! Mana cried in her mind.

Atem!


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End of Part II

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Author's Note: 1) The welcoming scene was inspired by "Outlander" Season 1.

2) The torture scene was inspired by an episode of 'The Great' Season 1.

3) According to Kazuki Takahashi, the game Yugi creates doesn't get developed or launched until four years after he graduates from high school. Kazuki posted a picture of Seto and Yugi playing Spherium 2 in space. So, to line up with that timing, Yugi has some things he needs to have in place first, before that event happens. Also, if you notice in Kazuki's picture, the back of Yugi's right hand is never shown.