Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Daughter of the Nile ❯ Reminiscing ( Chapter 3 )

(Meira: *grumbling darkly*

Yami: What's up?

Meira: Just watched an episode of Tutankhamen (Is that how you spell it?) You wouldn't believe how many facts on Egypt they got wrong… like Set for example…

Yami: Why can't they do a show on my life as a Pharaoh instead? I mean, that's way more interesting than… wait… who's this Tutankhamen?

Meira: *throws up hands, exasperated* You need to go back to school… Tutankhamen was an Egyptian Pharaoh… probably the most well known and famous.

Yami: WHAT?!? THERE WAS ANOTHER PHARAOH AFTER ME?!?! I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE AN HEIR TO THE THRONE!!!

Meira: *shakes head* I think in the Egyptian Arc, you handed the throne over to the High Priest…

Yami: WHAT?!?! *calms down* But why can't they do a show on my life as Pharaoh?

Meira: *exasperated* They did… ever hear of something called Yu-Gi-Oh?

Yami: … Oh yeah…

Meira: *sigh* I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, though I do own Shadow, Lila, and the village of Al LeÄÅ£uÅ MevÅrica. I made that name up off the top of my head… Hehe…

I'm now going to put Isis as Aishisu, [or is it spelled Aishizu? Not sure…] Set/Seth as Seto, and Atemu [I got it wrong again… it's supposed to be Atemu… and I'd just changed it too…] as… Atem. And no, Téa is not Atem's sister in this fic. GLTB got really grossed out when I told her that Téa was supposed to be Yami's arranged bride and sister. *shudders at the thought* [No, I don't know if that's the true facts… I read that somewhere {and I don't remember where either.}]Imagine that… thank Ra Yami never got married.

And thank you to Buka2K for supplying me on info about the characters in the Egyptian Arc! *hands her a Yami plushie* I do think that Yugi looks better than Yami though… I mean Yami's eyebrows just seem to point straight downwards… And don't you think that a Chibi Yugi would look cute? ^-^

And I got something else wrong… earlier I asked if anybody had the deck list for the Soul of the Pharaoh… though it's supposed to be the Soul of the Duelist. But doesn't the Soul of the Pharaoh sound so much better?

Yami: *anime fall x 7*)

<<Last Time>>

"Prince!" a voice shouted. I turned to see many people rushing towards us. I'd never seen so many people at once in the same place, since our village was a relatively small one. Especially not people with as many pointy sticks as they had.

"Atem, are you alright?" a woman said, pushing her way to the front.

"Mother," Atem mumbled. "I'm fine."

"Yes, Queen Ara," Téa answered. "We're fine."

But before I could say anything, about a million of those pointy sticks were pointed at me.

"What?" I said, looking around. "What did I do?" I asked, my eyes filling up with tears. Whatever I did… I didn't want to be jabbed by one of those pointy sticks.

"Stand back!" a voice called. I turned to see a man standing there, with a weird golden eye in his left eye.

"Seto!" Atem called. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Stand back, Prince Atem," Seto said. "We are here to capture this assassin!"

"She's a little girl!" Atem called. "She's only four years old! How could she be an assassin?"

"She was going to bewitch you and the princess," Seto replied, glaring at me. I whimpered in fear. His expression softened for a moment, then he regained his composure. "Arrest her!"

"Stop!" Atem called. "She was just afraid of a scarab beetle, so the princess and I came to her aid!"

"Is that so?" Seto said, glaring at me. I prayed to the gods to help me. But it was no use. Until I heard a call behind me. I turned to see my father, my brothers, and the warriors from our village running up.

"Release the princess!" a voice called. My father was there to protect me!

"Princess?!?" Atem and Téa said in unison.

"I'm the village leader's daughter," I said, forgetting that I was being pointed at by a million pointy spears… but only for a minute.

"STOP!" a voice bellowed. I turned back around, and saw a man wearing robes fit for a king, with some sort of a pyramid around his neck. He stormed up to Seto. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, SETO?"

"Pharaoh Akunumkanon," Seto said, bowing. "I'm capturing this assassin."

"SHE'S NOT AN ASSASSIN!" Atem bellowed. "SHE'S MY FRIEND!"

[Meira: Kind of a long Last Time… but I meant to put in that Seto was there too. That guy with the Millennium Eye is his dad, Akunadin.]

<<Now>>

I blushed furiously. All the villagers were staring at us. Téa was glaring daggers at me. I mean, literally. But why?

Oh yeah… he was engaged to Téa. I'd always found it strange, how anybody could be engaged, that young. How old were they now? Sixteen or so?

"Atem," a man said, emerging from the ship. He looked like he was a Pharaoh, wearing some sort of a golden pyramid around his neck, with the eye of Ra on it. "Don't you think that we should get going? You may reminisce with your old friend later."

"Yes," Atem replied, straightening up. Téa was still glaring at me. Well… I glared right back at her. Served her right…

Another man emerged from the ship, carrying some sort of a strange rod, with the eye of Ra on it. Was the Eye of Ra some sort of symbol for a clan?

I smiled weakly at him. Something about those eyes looked oddly familiar… Like I had seen them somewhere before. But where?

"High Priest Seto," Atem said, turning around, speaking to that man. "Come greet the Princess Shadow."

He scowled at me and came down. Did he recognize me or something? But the name Seto… it sounded awfully familiar…

I smiled weakly at him. He simply nodded. Behind him, Téa was still glaring at me with a look of pure loathing on her face.

"Shadow!" my brother Imad hissed. "Bow down to the Pharaoh!" I glanced around. Everybody was on their knees, except for me. I turned red, and quickly got down to my knees.

"You don't need to bow, Shadow," Atem said, sounding amused. "You're a princess."

"And you're a prince," I said, trying to sound authoritarian. Kind of hard for a fourteen year old though. Atem and the man with the pyramid laughed.

"Father," Atem said to the man. Oh… so this was the Pharaoh. Pharaoh Akunumkanon. "Perhaps we should continue."

I could see the Pharaoh nod, and start walking. Many guards were following, carrying those same pointy sticks that I had seen so long ago… of course now I knew that they were called `spears.'

As soon as they had all passed, my brothers and I got up. Father was leading the way into our village, so he had been the first to go.

"Mana," I heard Atem say. "Where's Mahado?"

"Teacher-sama went with the Pharaoh," a girl replied. I glanced over at her. She was well dressed, and probably in training to become a Priestess. "Where are you going, Prince-sama?"

Atem was heading toward me. "I'm going to talk with an old friend. You go ahead and catch up with Mahado and Aishisu." Mana nodded and ran off toward the retreating crowd.

"Shadow," he said, smiling. "Long time no see."

"You actually remember me?" I asked, still surprised.

"Of course!" he laughed. "It's impossible to forget somebody that was afraid of a scarab... And yet you still remember me as well."

"It's impossible to forget somebody who has hair as strange as yours," I retorted, angry at him reminding me of my fear of scarabs. Of course, I wasn't telling the truth. Atem's hair was strange, all up in those spikes.

"Don't insult the Prince's hair!" Téa shrieked, coming toward us. "His hair is heavenly and only somebody like him can have hair as majestical as his!" Atem cringed.

"Princess Téa," I said, remembering my manners. "'Majestical' is not a word. It is not even a form of `majesty.' I would assume that somebody of your class would know that…"

Atem nearly burst out laughing at that remark. Clearly he didn't appreciate Téa's constant compliments and such…

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY?" Téa screeched. Normally I would have covered my ears at the sound of her voice, being so horrible and all, but today I had to put on a fake mask. After all, I did not want to offend the Pharaoh. "YOU INSOLENT, UNGRATEFUL LITTLE-"

"That's quite enough, Téa," Atem interrupted. "Shadow's village has been kind enough, to let us stay here on my father's journey through Egypt. They are the only village for miles around, and we do not wish to offend her."

"But-" Téa sputtered. Atem gave her a look that clearly stated that she should shut up. Téa fluttered her eyelashes at him. I could swear that I saw Atem grimace. "As you wish," she replied in a sugary sweet voice. Okay, that time Atem did wince. Ugh… I'd hate to be him.

"We'd better get back to the village," I said, looking toward my home. "Father will wish to see you two there at the banquet tonight." Téa squealed at the sound of a banquet, and grabbed Atem's arm.

"Come!" she squealed, literally dragging him toward the village. Atem glanced back at me and mouthed the words `help me.'

I shrugged and followed them.

***`

"Let us all thank the goddess for this bountiful feast!" Father said, standing up. [Meira: Does anybody know what the Egyptian god/goddess of harvest is? I can't seem to remember…] The Pharaoh was sitting at the head of the table, with father and Queen Ara next to him. [Meira: Does anybody know the name of Yami's mom?] Téa had to sit across from Atem, and I got to sit next to him. From the looks that she was giving me, I could tell that she wasn't happy about that.

"Possibly this feast would be better if Princess Shadow and I switched places," Téa said in her sugary sweet voice. Atem cringed. I almost felt sorry for him… if it were not for the fact that he embarrassed me this morning.

"Possibly we should stay this way and begin this feast," Atem said, sounding like a true prince.

"Yes," Father replied, lifting up his hands. "Let the feast begin!"

It was quite nice actually, but I couldn't help noticing the fact that both the High Priest and Atem were kept sneaking glances at me. What the hell? Luckily Téa only noticed that Atem was looking at me. How did I know this? She kept on glaring at me. How could Atem stand this?

"Come on," Atem said quietly, when the feast ended.

"What?" I asked blankly. "Why?"

"Can't two old friends talk?" he asked, pretending to be mortified. I laughed.

"Possibly if one of them wasn't a prince…" I teased. He just laughed.

"Or perhaps if one of them was a prince, and the other a princess," he retorted. Téa glared at us.

Everybody started to leave the table, when the Pharaoh had finished. Atem started to stand up, but Téa rushed over and grabbed his arm.

"Come!" she said in her annoying voice. "We must go see the chambers that we are staying in tonight!"

"Um…" Atem said. Clearly he had no control over Téa. In a desperate attempt to save him, I spoke to Téa.

"Perhaps it would be pleasant if some old friends were reacquainted," I said, using as many complex words that I could come up with. Apparently that worked, Téa just stood there staring at me like I was an alien.

"Yes," Atem said gratefully, pulling out of Téa's grasp. "Perhaps Shadow and I should talk some more… we have not seen each other in ten years."

"Then I will come with!" Téa squealed, grabbing Atem's arm again.

"Maybe it would be best if Shadow and I talked, alone," Atem said gently. I cringed. How could he be that patient with somebody like Téa?

"But-" Téa sputtered.

Atem pulled out of Téa's grasp, and motioned for me to follow him. I followed, leaving Téa gaping at us. Well… she was glaring at me.

***`

"Where are we going to go?" he asked, turning around, once we were outside.

"Dunno," I shrugged. "You got rid of Téa at least."

"True," he laughed.

"How do you stand her?" I asked, curious.

"I stay away from her as much as possible, then attempt to ignore her when I see her, and go hide underneath something when she is coming," he replied. I laughed.

"She is nearly unbearable," I said, turning toward him. "But this isn't the place to talk about this. I know an oasis that's near here, we can talk there."

Atem nodded, and followed me. I led him to the stable, and stopped near my horse, Asima.

"Choose a horse," I said, seeing his hesitation. "You do know how to ride, don't you?"

"Of course!" Atem said smugly. "Better than you ever will."

"Oh yeah?" I challenged. "Watch me." I jumped onto my horse, and he grabbed my father's horse. Luckily he didn't scare him, I had to admit that watching him get onto my father's horse was amusing. Atem was good, I had to admit that too, much to my displeasure.

"Come on!" I said, riding out of the stable. Atem followed closely.

***`

"Here we are!" I said, getting off of Asima. This oasis wasn't conspicuous to many people in my village, but it was within the boundaries that I was allowed to go, being the village leader's daughter.

Atem jumped off too. He glanced around the place. "Nice place," he remarked. "Do many people know about this place?"

"Nope," I replied. "I can't go any farther than this oasis, Father always said so."

"So your father knows about this place?"

"Yup. Only the villagers. Most people just pass right by it," I replied. "That's why we call it the Mythical Oasis. It's a bad name, but according to legend, apparently only the villagers can get here, and their guests." Atem nodded.

"You remember when we first met?" he asked, glancing into the pool of water. I nodded.

"Yeah," I replied. "I was afraid of a scarab beetle, and you helped me get rid of it without harming it."

"Not to mention the fact that you couldn't seem to perform magic while the scarab was still there," Atem laughed. "You do know… I can perform magic too."

"Oh yeah?" I challenged. "What's a prince going to do?"

"I'll show you," he smirked. He summoned a Shadow monster. [Meira: I can't think of one… can anybody think of one besides the Egyptian gods?]

"Not bad," I said. "Not many villagers can do that."

"Can you?"

"No… females in our village are forbidden to be able to do that."

"That's ridiculous!" Atem exclaimed. "Females in our kingdom are allowed to!"

"But this is a different village, one that doesn't go by the rules of your kingdom," I replied, glancing down at the water.
"Perhaps it would be easier for you if I taught you how," Atem said softly. I glanced into his eyes.

"That would be nice," I replied.

(Meira: *flipping through book on Egypt* Ooh! Immortality!

Yami: When will you learn that immortality is important to us Egyptians?

Meira: *scowling* Why do you think I'm reading a book on Egypt? So I can get the facts about Egypt right… so you won't yell at me.

Yami: Hehe… it's fun to torture the authoress… though she'll probably make me stand in the corner…

Meira: *towering over Yami* GO STAND IN A CORNER!!!

Yami: I'm taller than you! You can't make me do that! I'm 5'4" and you're only 5'2"!

Meira: So? I'm the authoress and I can kill you off at any minute…

Yami: *runs into corner*

Meira: That's better… now. *points at Yami, singing* You're betrothed to Téa! You're betrothed to Téa!

Yami: *shudders violently* Don't remind me… Then I'll come up with a question…

Egypt Question: Who is a better Pharaoh - Me or Tutankhamen?

Meira: I think you should leave the questions to me… and I think that Tutankhamen's better.

Yami: WHAT?!?! YOU CAN'T THINK THAT!!! THIS IS AN EGYPTIAN ARC STORY!!! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!!

Meira: *sigh* Fine. *crosses fingers behind back, away from where Yami can see* Yami is the best Pharaoh that ever existed.

Yami: That's better.

Meira: Egypt question!

Atum is the evening facet of Ra. [No, I don't know what facet means. I think it's similar to the meaning of `feature' though… the dictionary definition makes no sense to me.] According to Egyptians, Atum makes the sky go dark, as when Ra sets.

Do you wish that Atum didn't exist, so that the world would be in eternal light? Why or why not?

Lousy question, but I couldn't think of a better one.

Yami: *anime fall*

Meira: Please read and review!)