Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Truthfully, in My Soul ❯ Encounter ( Chapter 17 )

Chapter 17: Encounter

 

Disclaimer: All Yu-Gi-Oh! characters belong to Kazuki Takahasi. The character of Neferue belongs to me.

 

Mana was back in the royal chamber again. The room was empty, with no sign of Atemu and Neferue. She scanned the room quickly, looking for any sign of the feather. But there was none. If he did leave it in his room, Mana thought, he probably wouldn't leave it out into the open. He must have put it somewhere safe. She headed towards one of the shelves where the feather may possibly be kept.

 

Suddenly, a sound of approaching footsteps could be heard entering the room. “What are you doing here?” a voice demanded.

 

Mana turned around to see Atemu blocking the doorway. He didn't look too pleased with her presence.

 

“You're that misconstrued girl from before,” he remarked. “I thought I had you taken away.”

 

Mana could see the dismayed look on Atemu's face; he still failed to recognize her, and he looked as if he was going to call the guards off again. “Ouji-sama, please don't call the guards and send me away again,” she pleaded. Her eyes grew soft and sad, and they seemed to beseech the pharaoh to listen what she had to say.

 

He decided to give her a chance to speak out.

 

“What I tell you is the truth,” she began. “Neferue has befuddled your mind somehow. She's attempting to control you so she can get whatever she wants.” She hoped that her words would be enough to convince him.

 

“How do I know you're telling the truth to me?” he asked in all seriousness. “You once told me that we were the best of friends, yet I do not even know you.”

 

He looked into her eyes, and they seemed to be consistent and held conviction. It made his thoughts waiver about this girl who was standing in front of him. His mind felt as if it was swimming in a sea of doubt and deception.

 

His mind is still confused, Mana thought. But, perhaps there is a way to show that I am not lying.

“The feather,” Mana blurted out. “Isis said that you had a feather with you, a sacred feather of truth.”

 

A feather? he wondered. He walked over to one of the shelves, which was carefully hidden from plain view. From the shelf he removed a box with sacred inscription carved onto it. The inscriptions were designed to protect whatever precious cargo was held inside.

 

The lid was carefully removed, revealing a soft, white feather, clean and beautiful in appearance.

Mana looked at Atemu, whose eyes became glassy and heartrending. She watched as he picked the feather up carefully with his fingers.

 

“I…I always wondered why I had this feather with me,” he said quietly, with thought. “After I returned to the palace, it seemed that some of my memories have gone missing. Sometimes, I question if my thoughts really belong to me.”

 

He looked at the feather, then at Mana. “If this is indeed the sacred feather of which you speak,” he replied, “then it will surely show me the path to the truth.”

 

Then, both Mana and Atemu's ears perked up. Another set of footsteps could be heard, coming towards the direction of the chamber. They were headed there fast.