Adult-FanFiction.org : Yu-Gi-OH

Mistaken Assumptions	By : tavia454 Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 17844 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, I make no money off this story! Bummer!

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
Hello, sorry for the wait!
Please forgive me? (chibi eyes).

First off let me say this...not
my best chapter! I know this. I do not do S/J very well and after
that scene none of us could get this chap to flow the way it should
have. But since I simply cannot deal with this chapter any longer I'm
going to post it and let it be.

A very big thanks to
Renaiya88027 for beta – and to Hikari-and-Yami, and Natoya for
looking it over for me cause I think it sucks that badly. (sighs)
Sorry guys, S/J will forever remain a mystery to me. But hey, on the
bright side, this was needed to further the plot along – which
should be getting very interesting starting next chap.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Having exhausted his seemingly
endless supply of patience Solomon huffed loudly, his irritation all
but destroying the pregnant silence that was in the process of
suffocating the cavernous room. His faded plum-colored eyes sought
out and held a second pair of identical orbs above the diaphanous
veil that his eldest brother had worn since his childhood accident.

The eldest triplet nodded at
him sympathetically before turning back toward the entryway in
anticipation. And he, in turn, went back to his observation of the
gaudy mural on the wall in a vain attempt to control his mounting
temper. Oh, someone was going to die today – it was just a
matter of who.

The
creases in his brow deepened slightly in thought. This was most
definitely not
what
the elderly man had expected to walk into when the three of them and
their escorts stopped off at the Hyksos palace to inform his young
grandson of his continuing absence. Everything was so changed, in
fact, that Solomon had purposely halted their group just shy of the
palace, where thoughts of warm, comfortable beds beckoned them, in
order to consult the stars that had guided them on their journey.

At first he had thought them to
have bypassed Hyksos altogether, for the entire countryside was
teeming with soldiers bearing the Egyptian royal insignia. But as
they made their way into the royal city it was to find the town, and
the palace itself, heavily guarded by members of the Egyptian
military, to the point where they had a hard time gaining entry, even
with their credentials.

Once inside it became all too
apparent that there was no place either within or beyond the palace
walls that did not have the mark of the Egyptian empire stamped
prominently in the reconstruction efforts, right down to the slew of
newly recruited soldiers who hadn't even earned their uniforms yet
training with their Egyptian counterparts out in the immense palace
courtyards.

Nothing was as they had
expected it to be once Yugi had ascended the throne. In fact the
young monarch himself seemed to have vanished completely – no
one they had spoke with had seen him in over a month. The situation
was inexcusable – and to Solomon more than a little
frightening. And they were going to get to the bottom of it.

Silent minutes later the pair
of near exact duplicates gave each other another anxious glance as
they awaited word from either their third copy, their guards, or one
of the palace residents to find out just what in the name of the gods
had happened during the middle triplet's absence...

---------

“Priest
Seto!” The out-of-breath guard skidded to a stop on one knee in
front of the Egyptian priest just as the latter had shuffled the
finished papyrus off to the side of the table laid out in the gardens
for his use. “Y-your presence is re-requested in the throne
room, post-h-haste.” He sputtered breathlessly.

The brunette rolled his eyes
with a sigh, rising from his comfortable chair. “Very well,
lead the way.” He acknowledged with a wave of his hand.

What trouble had Bakura gotten
himself into this time? The thief was the only one to ever summon him
thusly. Smirking to himself Seto wondered if it would be anything
like the time that Bakura had felt the need to try out that half-wild
horse in the corner of the stable, the one that belonged to the
former Hyksos king, a ride that resulted in the younger white-haired
boy, Ryou's, arm ending up in a sling for a couple of weeks due to
his trying to play hero.

Before stalking off after his
rushed escort the Egyptian priest gave one last longing glance at the
blonde he had been observing so closely during these past hours,
wondering what had sparked such a drastic change in his personality.
He honestly didn't understand. What had happened? These past weeks
the blonde's tongue had been more acerbic than usual, as if he were
actually looking to wound with his words rather than just to casually
bait him into their usual harmless verbal sparring matches.

Jou,
on the other hand, watched the other's exit out of the corner of his
eyes. Once assured of his stalker's complete departure from the
courtyard the blonde sank to his knees with a sigh of relief, sending
a fiery glare back to where the priest had sat earlier, supposedly
working on paperwork or whatever, while he watched over him. With a
hearty snort the blonde recalled the lame excuse that his priestly
annoyance had given for his persistent presence this morning. Needed
fresh air indeed?! What
was with that guy anyways?

After
flicking one more anxious glance toward the doors where his stalker
had disappeared, Jou turned back to his seemingly endless task of
weeding the garden that he himself had planted in the earlier season,
not long before the Egyptian invasion, wishing, not for the first
time that his life could have been different – that he and Seto
could have had a chance together. But he understood that he would
never be anything more than the bastard child of a dead and
dishonored king, and half-brother to another who'd been enslaved.

For
those reasons alone he would never be good enough for a man of the
High Priest's standing. It was just better for him to put a stop to
the other's advances before they both got caught up in this fantasy.
But it had been so worth it while it lasted. So worth it to feel like
he was needed by someone, anyone. Especially someone amazing like
Seto...such a beautiful person he had never...

Shaking the unwanted images
away Jou glared unseeing at the small pile of weeds he had pulled
from around the careful rows of lettuce, his thoughts once again
finding a perverse sort of refuge in the priest's persistence. He
frowned. Hadn't he made his sentiments clear enough these weeks past?
What would it take to make that guy go away and leave him alone? He
couldn't take much more of this before he caved in to these feelings
that he had no business indulging in.

Angrily he plucked yet another
weed of unknown origins, trying once again to reestablish the rhythm
that he had going when he had first arrived in the early near-dark
hours, before the priest had come and ruined his concentration. This
was supposed to be his safe haven, his secluded, quiet place to think
when life got too stressful, as it had been for weeks past.

But lately he had not quite
managed to attain that moment of peace where his thoughts would
become clear to him, and it was making him irritable. Too many things
vying for attention within his mind and he was torn over which
subject to worry over first.

Firstly there was his
sovereign's – his half-brother's, as his inner thoughts
reminded him of the recent discovery – situation, then there
was Ryou's obvious falling for his white-haired captor, and lastly
his own feelings for the aloof Egyptian priest. The thoughts tumbled
around his head with no direction, one thought just leading to
another and then back around in a circle to where he had started in
the first place. It was getting him nowhere.

“Are
you Prince Jounouchi, son of Hasim?” A soldier that he had
never seen before asked, invading his thoughts and quiet time for a
second time that day.

Jou stood quickly, adopting a
defensive stance just in case it was another threat. One could never
be too careful around here, being related to his father and all.
“Yeah, what's it to ya?”

-------------

Seto followed his guard through
the winding corridors, preoccupied with the very person he had just
left a moment ago. The highly strung, mouthy blonde had always
intrigued him from their very first meeting. The thorny,
stay-away-from-me attitude that he wore like a shroud clashed so
completely with those enticing honey-colored eyes that seemed to
search his soul every time their eyes met, enticing him to want to
take a closer look at the one who was always hurling insults in his
direction.

And look he did, always giving
back a little of what he got from the irascible blonde, but
everything had changed on the night when Jou had been informed of his
sister's unfortunate demise. And Seto found himself taking on the
role of protector, of guardian – realizing rather quickly that
he liked having the self-sufficient, independent blonde lean on him.

He needed the chance to
continue their verbal foreplay, just as much as he had also come to
need those tender nights they had shared when the other would look at
him with that hopeless, wounded expression right before they would
end up in bed, their sex often frenzied and desperate.

But the blonde had cut himself
off from the rest of the palace once he had regained his balance from
his sibling's death, hiding away from him and the others when he
could and making obnoxious comments when absolutely required to be in
their presence. He didn't know how else to get through to him, how
else to catch his attention, instead falling back on their routine
sniping that had managed to bring the other around in the first
place. Except now it wasn't working.

To further exasperate the
point, lately the priest had heard snatches of whispers amongst the
staff of supposed 'bastard royalty'. And yet that title didn't seem
to fit with what he had observed either. The blonde still worked just
as hard as the palace slaves, weeding the royal gardens, tending to
certain horses and other menial chores that were always left to the
lesser servants, always remaining just as mouthy as ever. Not exactly
a trait common in royalty...but what if it were true?

He was hoping against hope that
the rumors were untrue, that his gorgeous blonde aggravation had no
ties to the royal house, for that would put him well beyond reach.
Why did everything have to be so complicated? He needed more time. He
had yet to completely break through the prickly exterior of the
blonde's shell but he had been given glimpses of the lonely, caring
person beneath and it was that person that he sought to find.

Shaking himself from his
contemplation, Seto threw open the doors to the throne room only for
his eyes to widen when he found an unknown, and unexpected, presence
sitting quite comfortably on the previously unoccupied throne. His
eyes narrowed, brow furrowing as he called out, “What is the
meaning of this?!”

The man on the throne swiveled
around from the person beside him – whom he had been having a
quiet conversation with – and Seto could feel the heat of the
glare leveled at him from over the sheer veil that the other was
wearing. Recognition was instant as the High Priest knelt to the
ground.

“Ah...High
Councilor! To what do we owe this pleasure?!” Seto acknowledged
automatically, his inner voice shrieking: Shit!
We're screwed!

Having met the High Councilor
once on a chance encounter when he and Akunadin visited Persia many
years ago, Seto knew all too well who was lounging on the Hyksos
throne, the mere thought making his body tremble. The question was:
why was he here? Was he not supposed to be in Egypt to help settle
the rift between Atemu and the Hittite ruler, Pegasus? What if he
misread the entire situation and had them imprisoned? Pharaoh Atemu
had not planned for a situation such as this. What would become of
them now?

The former Persian king opened
his mouth to answer the question but before he could make a sound
three other people were herded into the room by his personal guards.
The first one was a familiar blonde, who tripped to the ground, a
nasty retort spilling from his lips when shoved roughly by the guard
behind him. Seto rose quickly at the slight, ready to lend a hand if
it was needed. But the blonde stood, brushing himself off from the
incident, and turned away, refusing to acknowledge his effort.

“Hey!
What gives?!” Bakura snapped as he was thrust bodily into the
room. The former thief scanned the room briefly, his eyes skipping
over the presence on the throne as another, smaller version of
himself was hauled, protesting, into the room as well. Bakura
growled, “Get your hands off him!” Immediately helping
the younger white-haired boy off the floor with a fierce glower at
the guard whose insignia he didn't recognize.

“Please
forgive the overzealousness of my men – ” The figure on
the throne spoke out authoritatively, commanding their immediate
attention. “When your retainers were unable to locate anyone I
sent my men to find you and have you presented forthwith.” So
saying he aimed a look at his soldiers that sent them to their knees
in apology. “However, I did not give them permission to be so
rough in their handling of the situation.”

“What
in the name of Seth's robes is going on around here!” The
figure who had been standing beside the throne addressed the room in
general, aged hands clenched tightly in anger.

“Easy,
my brother, we shall get to the root of the problem shortly.”
The seated figure held out a hand in supplication, calming the other
with the gesture. He turned his eyes toward the two Egyptians,
demanding. “Just what
is
going on around here? Why are you occupying my grand-nephew's
territory?”

Seto
opened his mouth to comment, but it quickly turned into a groan as he
heard “They started it!” come from Bakura's mouth. He
whipped his head around to stare at the white-haired Egyptian, eyes
wide. Oh gods
no!

“Hey!”
Jou shouted, moving steadily toward Bakura in answer to the
challenge. “You
started it! Coming in here and – ”

“You
destroyed our village – ” the former thief took an
aggressive step forward, meeting the headstrong blonde halfway.

Once within arms reach Jou
snatched the white-haired teen up by his cloak. “ –
taking Yugi away – ”

“ –
murdered
our people – ” Bakura grasped a hold of the other's
tunic, aiming a punch at Jou who merely ducked and attacked back.

“ – you
stole our rightful king!” Jou's fist flew, finding its mark
easily and Bakura dropped to the ground taking the blonde with him.

“Yeah,
well you killed our friend!” Bakura's punch caught Jou by
surprise and he was thrown to the side, where he scrambled for the
upper hand only to find himself pinned beneath the white-haired
Egyptian's weight. The pair rolled around on the floor, each
determined to gain an advantageous position, only to find they were
evenly matched.

From
the beginning of the commotion Seto slapped a hand over his face in
embarrassment, catching Ryou's mimicking of the gesture out of the
corner of his eye. Why
now? Of all times? He
couldn't even comment the situation was so mortifying. If only there
was a hole big enough for him to crawl into right now...

The ruckus continued as the two
combatants tried to outshout each other, punching and kicking as they
rolled around the center of the room, blowing off steam that had
built up since the very first day they had all been thrown into each
other's company with no way out. Eventually the figure standing
beside the throne lowered himself gingerly off the dais, landing with
barely a noise, and made his way towards the fighting duo.

Without bothering to pause he
snatched both combatants up by their collars and pulled the two of
them away from each other, snarling. “That is enough out of
you! Be silent!”

He dragged the duo over to a
pair of chairs, giving a vicious shake to Jou when the blonde refused
to calm down, kicking out at Bakura while they were being led away.
The elder man dumped them both unceremoniously into chairs and
ordered them to sit in a voice that spoke well of his irritation with
their behavior. Once assured of their cooperation his eyes scanned
the room making sure that all knew who he was addressing with his
questions.

“Where.
Is. My. Grandson?!” He growled.

Of course this sent the two
former combatants right back into their accusations and the elder man
rubbed his head emphatically, feeling a sudden urge to knock heads
together. A quick glance at the veiled sibling sitting on the throne
seemed to make up his mind and he strode back up behind the arguing
duo to smack them both upside the back of their heads.

Jou put a hand to his head.
“Hey!”

“What
the – ?!”Bakura snarled.

When
he finally had their undivided attention the elder man aimed a glare
at the blonde who was technically still under his control.
“Jounouchi! You are henceforth restricted to your chambers for
your misbehavior. You will
comport
yourself as befitting the royalty you are from this moment on! And
furthermore, if I catch you fighting again I shall take the strap to
your hide! Now go!”

Jou's
mouth dropped open at the threat. “Yes Grandfather Solomon.”
He muttered, his expression crestfallen as he rose
from his chair.

Head down, the blonde exited
the room in all haste, Solomon sending a guard after him to make sure
his instructions were followed without the slightest deviation.
Seto's eyes dropped to the floor, understanding all too well that the
one he'd had his eye on for so long was now completely out of his
league.

Stupid,
he thought, his eyes misting up at the thought of what he had lost
before he could even protest. He had known all along that he hadn't
had the slightest chance.

Shortly after Jou's ignominious
exit Bakura was banished from the room as well by the man lounging on
the throne – his exit only slightly more violent as he was
carried out by a pair of guards that were summoned to the High
Councilor's side with just a look.

Seto gaped openly as the thief
that had been a pain in his side since long before their arrival on
Hyksos soil was pinned down by the pair of men before they finally
managed to catch his flailing limbs and cart him carelessly from the
room. He barely managed to close his mouth as the door slammed shut
on the other Egyptian's curses, leaving him with the High Councilor,
his brother and Ryou – the latter attempting and failing rather
spectacularly to contain his laughter at the Egyptian thief's plight.

Once the entertainment was
over, though, the atmosphere of the room became stifling in its
intensity and the priest had to physically restrain himself from
reaching up to adjust his clothing, keeping his hands folded demurely
– if a little tightly – in front of him. Even Ryou had
the grace to flush after that little demonstration of humor,
shuffling his feet nervously as his eyes darted around the room,
landing anywhere but on the elderly men.

In the midst of all the tension
the remaining occupants in the room failed to take notice of a third
elderly man peering in the servant's entryway, his familiar
faded-plum colored eyes narrowing in anger. After a moment the door
creaked quietly shut and the man strode quickly away from the scene,
his mind on other things – such as the beating of a certain
stubborn relative of his.

Finally, after some minutes of
tense silence the figure on the throne descended the steps of the
dais. “I wouldn't worry too much over their welfare...they
shall not be treated poorly...now, I would like a full accounting of
everyone's actions starting from the moment that that bastard Hasim
left his throne to invade my son's country. And I do mean a full
accounting.”

Ryou and Seto eyed each other
warily before reluctantly joining the two elder men at the table that
had been stashed to the side of the room while they had been in the
stages of rebuilding Hyksos. Mounds of papyrus were shuffled aside to
make room for the foursome and everyone remained rather quiet as the
High Councilor gave one of his guards the mission of hunting down a
servant to fetch them refreshments.

Another tense moment or so
later and pitchers of beer and warm bread were set down within their
reach. Only after everyone other than those of importance had
withdrawn from the room did the veiled elder man seem to want to
pursue the discussion, as he glanced distractedly around the room.

“Where
is our dear brother?” He questioned the other man.

“He's
around somewhere.” Solomon shrugged idly, his mind on more
important issues. “Where is my grandson? Ryou...where is
Yugi?!”

Ryou ducked his head under the
other's intense look, nearly whispering. “He was coerced into
accompanying the Pharaoh back to Egypt.”

The white-haired teen cringed
when the elderly man leapt from his chair, shouting. “PHARAOH
ATEMU KIDNAPPED MY GRANDSON!?”

Even Seto started at the volume
of his voice. He hadn't realized that the old man had it in him to be
so loud. “Eh-he...perhaps kidnapped is a little strong of a
word...If I may explain the situation a little further.”

At his comment both elder men
fixed him with a glare, the veiled one speaking for the pair. “Oh?!
Do tell, I am quite anxious to hear this tale.”

---------

Not far from the gates of the
Hyksos palace, the youngest of the triplets cursed the slowness of
his ancient nag. He needed to make it back to his homeland, and
Atemu, before the whole situation blew up in all of their faces. The
last thing Egypt needed was for the High Council to wage war against
them. Pharaoh Atemu was already on the High Councilor's list for
refusing to cease the squabble between Hatti and Egypt.

It wasn't that his brother
believed Pegasus necessarily, he just believed that Atemu should have
been the better person and called the council in to mediate instead
of shunning their efforts. That was, after all, as Sugoroku had
preached to him throughout their journey, exactly what he had put
together the council for.

Arrogant
young whelp.
The old man shook his head, reaching for his water skin to take a
quick sip. It was going to take him nearly three days to reach the
Egyptian palace and he was more than glad to have this time to calm
down, for if he were to see his young sovereign while he was this
pissed off he might do something that would result in the loss of his
head.

He had practically raised that
child, having been there from the moment of his birth, right up until
his coronation, and even after. For Atemu to turn around and do
something like this was wholly unacceptable. Siamun gave a light tap
to the horse beneath him, looking for a bit more speed. While he
could use this time to gather his thoughts it wouldn't do for the
others to catch up with him. Especially when he so desperately needed
to have words with his sovereign before the whole clan became
involved.

For the life of him, he just
couldn't figure out what was going through the Pharaoh's mind for him
to kidnap someone like that – especially someone he knew was
related to Siamun himself, for he could have sworn he mentioned that
at some point and time during their affiliation. So help him he was
going to murder that boy!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“Mana!
Wait up!” Yugi barely managed to huff as he skidded around the
corner, out of breath and afraid that he was lost. The barest glimpse
of white skirt rounding the corner ahead was the only sign that he
was on the right path. He took off like a shot in pursuit of his
younger friend, not wanting to lose sight of her again in the maze of
nearly identical corridors.

Atemu had given the pair of
them permission to access the royal library to further their studies
and as Yugi didn't know the whole layout of the palace yet he was
resigned to following Mana's lead. But the younger girl had decided
to turn their outing into a race and he was hard pressed to keep up
with her fleetness of foot. Being short was of no help, as he was
quickly finding out.

Around the corner and halfway
down yet another corridor Yugi lost sight of his friend and he
dropped to a slow jog, realizing that he was completely and
hopelessly lost. Mana would come back for him when she realized he
was no longer with her, of that he was certain. He sauntered over
towards a window overlooking the courtyards, his troubled thoughts
carrying him back to the earlier conversation with the Phar...Atemu
just before he had left the suite.

He could tell that the Pharaoh
was still having problems, not that the stubborn man gave off any
conscious signals. It didn't matter, the signs were evident in the
softer tone of his voice, the way his hands tended to gravitate
towards the center of his pain without his knowledge. And Yugi felt
every flinch as if it was his own.

Mahaado had once told him that
Atemu's migraines were triggered by stress. And with all the strife
lately in the palace it was a wonder that the Pharaoh was still able
to function normally. The past two days had been so bad that Yugi had
made up two extra potent batches of elixir just in case they were
needed. The young Hyksos wished fervently that there was something
that he could do to easy his lover's pain, but so far nothing came to
mind.

“Hey!
What happened to you?” Mana stuck her face right into Yugi's
causing him to jump back, startled. “I look back and you're
gone, and then I come back here and you're staring into space. What
gives?”

Yugi gave her a wide grin after
recovering from his shock. “I'm fine Mana, just thinking is
all.”

“Hello
Mana...” A quiet voice spoke from behind them, both Yugi and
Mana whirling around to see who was interrupting their private
conversation.

Yugi's eyes widened. Standing
before him was the woman he had seen in the throne room a couple of
days ago, just before the Pharaoh's collapse. He glanced up into her
solemn almond-shaped eyes, noticing a distinct sadness that lingered
about her closed-off form. The lady folded her arms tightly around
her figure, looking distinctly uncomfortable and out of place. She
glanced once at him and then seemed to dismiss his presence
altogether as she focused on Mana's stiff form.

“Katara...”Mana
replied, somewhat coldly.

The princess bit her lip,
glancing down the empty corridor, as if looking for a reprieve from
the awkward conversation before continuing. “I...I messed up
badly, Mana...I'm sorry...I truly am. I did not originally mean to
involve anyone else in my troubles...Atemu hates me, doesn't he?”

“Katara...I...”
Mana sighed. “I don't know what to tell you. I will say you're
not his favorite person at the moment. Why are you here?”

The older lady continued
worrying at her lip, silent for a minute as she gathered her courage.
Her confidence seeming to have slipped after that meeting with Atemu.
“I just...I had to see him one more time, Mana....You
remember...we all used to be such good friends...I never meant for
this to happen...”

Mana nodded thoughtfully. “Yes
you did...we all did, Katara. But you hurt him when you...well, you
know what you did. I doubt seriously he'll ever forgive you for
that.”

“I
know.” She responded softly. “But I still need to right
this. It isn't fair to him, nor to my son.”

“Then
why did you start the rumors?” Mana asked curiously.

“I
didn't...I just didn't bother to deny them.” She replied
solemnly. “I was afraid of what my brother would do if he found
out who was responsible...I didn't know until yesterday that they had
traveled so far this direction. That so many people took my silence
as confirmation.”

Mana coughed discreetly, Yugi
sending her a questioning glance when it sounded quite like a curse
word that he had heard before, but she paid him no mind, instead
turning back to the princess. “Yeah, well...I wish you luck,
but we really need to be going. We're supposed to be in the library
studying.”

At that Katara turned her gaze
towards Yugi as if seeing him for the first time. “I'm
sorry...I am not usually so dense. I am Katara of Hatti. And you
are?”

“This
is Yugi, reigning king of Hyksos.” Mana replied for him. “He
is Pharaoh Atemu's current love.”

Katara seemed to flinch at the
word love, her gaze shooting to the floor as she whispered. “I
hope that the two of you have many happy years together. I won't keep
you from your studies. Good day to you.”

The princess gave a slight bow
before turning and continuing on down the corridor, her figure
dejected.

Yugi followed her retreat with
his eyes, wondering why she had spoken to either of them in the first
place. Only days ago he had thought her haughty and cold from the
snatches of conversation that he had overheard. But today, it was as
though a different person resided in her features, this one timid and
unsure, and he couldn't quite connect one to the other.

Mana tapped him upside his
head, drawing him from his perusal of the corridor where the princess
had just vanished. “Come on, we really should go now. I really
wouldn't worry too much about her...she's always been like that. I
don't think she'll ever own up to her part in what happened.”

He nodded and stepped away from
the window, choosing to ignore her comment on the princess's
troubles. “Yeah, you're right, we've got a lot of work to do
before Mahaado comes for us.”

The two of them continued down
the hall at a more reasonable pace. “He really likes you, you
know?” Mana laughed as she bumped into him with her hip.

Yugi returned the gesture. “I'm
beginning to think so...he's just so hard to read sometimes. Always
so guarded. I always thought it was just lust for the longest time.”
He shook his head. “He's so beautiful, Mana...I just don't
think I'm anywhere near his level. I'm just not good enough.”

His companion laughed at him.
“Oh please, I've known him for so long...you're his whole world
now, you have been since you arrived. I've never seen him so
infatuated with another person...well, barring Katara anyways. But
she's not worth his time...she never was...”

“Who
is she, to him? I asked, but his answer was kind of cryptic.”
Yugi questioned.

Mana motioned for him to join
her as she sat down on one of the decorative benches that littered
the corridors, making sure no one was around to eavesdrop before
leaning over to whisper at him.

“Look,
you're new here, and as far as everyone's concerned you're his
concubine, so no one's going to spill any secrets to you for fear of
irritating him...so I'll say this. Katara...she's...I don't want to
say she's not a nice person, she really is. She just got caught up in
a bad situation and thought to make the most of it by blaming our
Pharaoh for her state. The truth came out though, quite quickly I
might add. Her lover was more than pissed when he was tossed aside
and made his claim very loudly. It affected our Pharaoh very badly
and colored his view of nobility. They used to be
friends...before...”

Yugi sat back against the
coolness of the wall, an astonished expression crossing his face. “Oh
gods! They were friends before?! What exactly happened, Mana? Tell
me...please”

After a moment's consideration
the younger brunette glanced over at Yugi with a sigh. “In a
way, yes, they were friends. He's since gotten over her
betrayal...but it was thrown in his face constantly. She claimed that
she was carrying his child, Yugi. This wasn't something to be taken
lightly. If she had been truthful, or her lover less vocal then Lord
Pegasus would have gained a foothold in the Egyptian empire. But it
wasn't just that. Everyone he ran into after her...they were all...”

Yugi nodded thoughtfully,
recalling the rare times he'd come into contact with visiting
royalty, and what he had thought of them afterwards. His lover would
have been highly sought after, not only for his exotic looks, but for
the title that came with him. He could only imagine how hard it was
for the Pharaoh to find someone with even the slightest loyalty,
someone without greed as their main motivation. It would be nearly
impossible. Was that why his captor always seemed so cold? Why he
remained so closed off?

Understanding
that he now had enough to dwell on for a very long time Yugi turned
the topic of discussion in a different direction. “So how are
things coming along with you and Mahaado?'

Mana swallowed thickly.
“Mahaado...er, what makes you think there's something between
us?”

“Oh
come on!” Yugi retorted. “Its obvious as Re's light that
you both feel for each other! So, what's up...give over!”

In lieu of response the
brunette punched him in the arm, announcing that the discussion was
over. “Tag, you're it!” She called as she scampered away.

Yugi rolled his eyes, deciding
to go with it for the moment. He had enough to think on right now,
better to just let it go and deal with it later when he had the time.
There was a prize at the end of this game and he intended to get to
it so that he could further his training. He wanted so badly to be
someone that others looked up to, someone they could trust –
someone that Atemu could trust.

Without further thought he
launched himself off the bench and took off after his friend,
determined to keep up with her this time. He followed the swift
brunette through a couple of twists and turns and then down a flight
of steps, wary of others that could step into his path without
notice. But when Mana stopped so suddenly he almost ran into the back
of her.

He shot her a questioning look
as she peered around the corner, before turning to him with her
finger to her lips. “There's a group of nobles in the middle of
the corridor.” She explained with a puzzled frown. “I
don't know what they're doing in this part of the palace but...ah
well, come on. We just have to keep quiet and act like we have a
purpose. They shouldn't bother us.”

With no other option available
Yugi dropped his gaze and followed her lead. Once around the corner
it became apparent that the small group of men standing between them
and the library was rather distracted as they argued quietly amongst
themselves. Perhaps they could pull this off after all. Yugi kept
pace with his dark-haired friend as she skirted the side of one of
the men who had stepped back into their path, blocking Yugi from
following.

The Hyksos royal froze,
considering his predicament. He would either have to wait until the
man moved out of his way or turn around and go back the way he came
from. It was then that the muted, not quite argument turned into a
full-blown quarrel as one of the men struck out at another with his
hand.

Please
let me pass, please let me pass,
Yugi prayed as he waited for the other's reaction. But the other just
reached up to touch his face as if in disbelieving of what had
happened. Relaxing slightly the young royal edged a little closer to
the wall in an attempt to squeeze through the small space that had
opened up.

All
of a sudden a well manicured hand shot out and gripped his wrist like
a vise, halting him in his tracks. “Well, what do we have here?
Did Pharaoh Atemu send something to entertain his guests, how
nice.”
And amused voice sneered loudly.

Yugi's head snapped up and time
seemed to stand still as he locked eyes with the man that had haunted
his nightmares. The other's shock melted into rage as recognition lit
up his features

“You?!”

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(cowers under rock) Please
review?
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Mistaken Assumptions