Atem was worried. First of all, he was unsure what was really going on. He only remembered waking up with Kira in bed, having the situation explained to him, and now his head was pounding and ancient healers were fussing with him something awful. Apparently he had been poisoned, which had messed with his head, which was why he was no longer in very good contact with his former self. The doors to his chamber opened and the high priest Seto strode in. He had the same cocky attitude as Kaiba, as Atem knew far too well, and was generally an a**, though the priest had done nothing direct to offend Atem. Yet, anyway.
Seto had just finished speaking with the fugitives, as he referred to them to himself, and needed to report to the pharaoh. He knelt upon approaching the pharaoh’s bed, waiting until the pharaoh granted him permission to rise. When the permission didn’t come, he went ahead and got up anyway. “My lord,” he started off, making Atem a little uncomfortable, “I have come into contact with the queen and the others. They have agreed to—”
“Don’t.” Atem said quickly, pushing himself to sit up. He hadn’t noticed, but the healers had left when the priest entered. He was feeling much better than he had when he had first awoken. “Don’t call her that. Just, uh, Kira is fine.” Seeing the skeptical look, Atem quickly ran through his and a few of his former self’s memories to come up with a reason. “I do not like to have her addressed as such until the official wedding ceremony is complete. Until then, I shall not accept us as married until we truly are.” There. That would buy him some time.
Seto’s lips pressed together into a very fine line. “Very well, Great Pharaoh. As I was saying, they have agreed to come without a fight. No team will need to be sent to accompany them. The boy didn’t say anything, and the qu—er, Kira—requested that…” Seto trailed off for a moment. “Demanded, actually… that we are to treat him with respect. Also that we do not hurt him or ‘bad things will happen.’” Seto frowned, not liking to be threatened like that.
To the priest’s surprise, Atem chuckled. “Yes, always was rather defensive about Ryou…” He muttered to himself, but not too quietly that Seto didn’t pick up on what he said. The brunette arched his eyebrows coldly, his sharp blue eyes focusing. Atem coughed quickly. “Ah, yes, well… From what I’ve known of her, of course, she seems like one who would quickly protect another person, especially that boy who’s always around her…” Atem tried his best to make his voice sound more official and royal-like, but the odd look on Seto’s face remained. Atem waved his hand to dismiss that and asked, “So, what else?”
Seto shrugged, looking off to the side. “Not much. The tomb robber and his woman will be joining them. I suspect you will want those two thrown in the prisons?” Seto didn’t even know why he asked; the answer—to him, at least—was obviously a yes. He got the shock of his life with Atem’s response.
“What? No, of course not.” Atem said, frowning at the high priest. “Why on earth would I want to do a thing like that? If you act hostile towards someone, they are bound to act that way right back. I’m sure Bakura’s got his own reasons for hating me; I don’t want to add anymore things to that list.”
“What?!” Seto gaped at the pharaoh, his jaw slack and his eyes wide. “My lord… you can’t be serious! What is this nonsense you are speaking? Pharaoh, you don’t NEED any kind of reason to punish that tomb robber. I say when he comes this time you should just kill him and have it over once and for all!”
Hmm. That almost seemed like a good idea. Whatever the past Bakura did certainly infuriated Seto, and from what Atem’s seen of the spirit of the ring, they might be doing good if they did something like that. “Fine. But just take him to the, uh, dungeons. I will speak to him myself and make up my mind there.”
“What do you want me to do with Rei?” Seto asked, lacing his slender fingers together.
“Who?” Atem had a puzzled look on his face. Seto nearly toppled over from the shock.
“Erm… Bakura’s wife—well, soon-to-be wife—pharaoh.” Seto said, wondering if perhaps Atem’s brain hadn’t been affected a bit too much.
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