Disclaimer: Don't own, never did.

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Chapter I: He Who Lives

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Perhaps that trait has always been within me; buried in my soul. Even in ancient times, honor is known as a trait many have, but only few achieve successes from. Some may suffer, others shall abuse it, and the rare blue moon few know how to use it. The embodiment of honor includes many things: faith, trust, security and many times affection. These qualities lie in the honor of which I speak of; the honor of my Millennium Pendant.

For years I've sensed his existence in the pendant, not quite sure why he nestles in my most prized possession, but he has yet to taint my appearance as Pharaoh of Egypt. Truth be told, I am far more positive that if his presence ceased to exist whilst we've never met in person, I would die all the same. He is one contradiction in many found in my court; the evil lurking in the underbelly of me, who sheds no darkness.

And I doubt he ever is to shed impure power; cruel darkness. For he, the one who resides in my Millennium Pendant that once belonged to the King Akhenamkhanen, shines light matching even the powers of Ra in the shroud of evil known as the Dark Games.

littleone.

Light crept into the large window of my wall, but I was already awake. My eyes gazed upon the beautiful sky reigned by the almighty Gods as my day started the way it always did. For a second, I mused how I shouldn't stare far too long; Mana found it something to be concerned over. Mahado thought I'd go blind. Cousin Seth assumed I'm finding a new way to defeat him. To that I smirked, hand grazing through tricolor locks as I shifted under the bed sheets.

In a few minutes, the servants shall knock upon my door, tell me to wake and get the waters ready. After that, Mana will most likely confront me in the kitchen, urging me to help her out with a new spell and Mahado will lecture her about wandering the halls unsupervised without studying her text books. Maybe it was unsettling to know the cycles of my day. Some find it boring, pitying me for having to endure the daily troubles of villagers and start the cycle all over again the next day. On the other hand, some admire me for my work, my title, and the pride I lay out for Egypt.

I found it comforting.

The Millennium Pendant wavered back and forth across my bare chest. I looked down; watching as it flickered and reflected the rays of Ra's beauty and ran a finger across its many engravings. My hand never softened over my most precious prize. Instead, my eyes fell to the floor and watched for a few more minutes as the light filtered through my window. Not long after, the entire room beamed with the sun's beauty. Robes lay scattered everywhere, straggling my floor as last night's events came flooding back.

Someone gave a soft moan next to me. A hand wrapped around my bare waist and the presence of soft hair against my back caught my attention. I smiled briefly, eyes casting a glance to one of my favorite concubines, Teana.

"Why hello to you, too." I slipped out of bed and retrieved my tunic before, like I had said earlier, a knock echoed from my door. "Your presence has satisfied me, Teana. You may leave now."

When I turned back, she looked at me with mischief in her eyes. My eyes fell to the sheets she shed from her breast and took a moment to memorize the patterns of her muddled skin before landing on her face. She pouted ever-so delightfully. "Last night was fun, my pharaoh. Thank you for not shooing me."

"You did seem tired." I notified the servant that I was awake and ushered her to my bathing quarters to pour hot water. Teana appeared behind me, finally covered in robes. She pressed her fingers against my shoulders and rested her cheek to mine.

"Shall I stay and entertain you while you bathe, my pharaoh?" Teana appeared in front of me, eyes gazing deep into mine.

"One may not speak to the pharaoh directly unless spoken to, Teana. Nor may they look him in the eye." A frown tickled my lips as I narrowed my eyes at her. She suddenly halted her pursuit and ducked her head to the ground.

"Yes, my pharaoh."

"Do as you please. Come back tonight if I call for you." I took out my earrings and rested them carefully on my bookshelf. When I turned back, she remained bowing with a particular smile dancing across her cheeks. "Teana?"

"If I may, my liege," she hummed with a tone both loyal and sly, "you come from work with stress heavy on your shoulders. As a woman with the honor given to be one of the pharaoh's personal concubines, I am obligated to relieve you of your duties. With the stress as great as yours, Horus, I shan't hesitate using new techniques meant only for the body of a royal."

"Well," I held back a grin, but she surly caught a glance of my amusement and lighting to her "responsible" suggestions, "'tis duly noted, my loyal concubine. Shall I reward you for fulfilling your duties?"

"The type of reward that I want," she crooned as I walked past her, "is one that even you, the Pharaoh, are unable to offer, my liege."

"May I try this challenge, loyal concubine?"

"If you wish, my pharaoh. Mm, yes, and I wish too, my pharaoh…"

"If it pains you this much, loyal servant, I wonder how much trouble it shall give me. This curse goes on 'til the depths of night, does it not?"

"Yes, my pharaoh! Only one as enlightened as you; as beautiful and as noble, gift beautifully crafted by the nimble, delicate fingers of the gods, is able to save me from my anxious troubles! Save me from my darkness, shed your bravery upon my bosom!"

"Perhaps tonight." I looked at her, eyes twinkling softly with exotic amusement. She bowed; smile playing across her lips as if she'd accomplished the impossible. Teana stood with one last bow before finally leaving my chambers altogether.

I peered into my bathing quarters, noticing that the servant had already left before slipping off the robes I mindlessly put on before. The water engulfed my aching body, warmth surging through every throbbing limb and washing away the sins of the night before. There were many tasks to be filled before the next full moon; nearly thirty days away. In a short few days would there be the Festival of Min. My muscles already ached from the hard labor to come from yet another season of celebration.

A frown befell upon my lips. I opened one of my eyes, hand settling on the pendent. Had it just shot a pang of warmth?

From the day I inherited my prize I found it to be the key to everything; what would solve all my troubles while I reign as pharaoh. It has become my dependency; something that I looked at in order to know all I needed to do was look forward and rise from the shadow of my father.

But no, that was not just all. Far from it, actually. This pendant was my life.

Reassurance, my thoughts settled. What this otherworldly prism was offering me as it teemed with warmth was reassurance.

Days at end I found myself staring at this majestic piece of jewelry; the only one of its kind yet from a collection of seven. According to Mahado, it had only been recently that I became intrigued by its presence. Despite his telling me that of course it was a millennium item and therefore worthy to only the pharaoh, I urged that there was more to it. The pendant was melded from the finest gold, pressing to me as an upside-down pyramid. They urged that it was shrouded in darkness, and this was true under almost all circumstances.

But not in the case of which I speak. This was my light.

Through my meditation my eyes wandered to my reflection; one considered by many to have been sculpted by the gods. I wondered how much of that was true; how they praised my eyes to rival the beauty of rubies, or how streaks of beautiful gold captivated my frame while locks as dark as charcoal cast outward and high and proud until the tips faded into beautiful amethyst. A walking contradiction was what they called me. Eyes as fierce as a storm, but affection as gentle as a newborn kitten. Perhaps that was the role I was sewn into by fate, so who was I to argue?

On the other hand, that was not what I saw. I stared at this reflection as I did every day for my sixteen years upon this earth, wondering how someone as I, Pharaoh Atemu, took the throne at such a young age and held such high authority. Blood red eyes, far too dark for one of my age, evenly-tan skin like my people, and exotic hair. My hair retained its oddities after all the years, with no doubt the most prominent of my features, but that was it.

Though used to the extent I force myself every waking day, it was obvious to not only I, but my court that I aged further than I should have in the highlight of my years. There were days where I did not smile because of the stress that I dwelled on. The people claim they work for me, but truly do I work for them, maintaining the country and expecting nothing but happiness in return. At times I wonder if 'tis selfish of me to ask for more. If the peasant walking through the streets of my kingdom is able to get riches from one success, why not I?

And then the one sealed in my pendant reminds me. The tone that the other part of me used was not harsh; it did not demand righteousness when it was gravely needed. Instead the tone of the pendant's essence spoke kindly, so gently that it seemed that if one was to touch him he would fall apart altogether. He was the one who walked around with eyes of a newborn kitten to my fierce storm. I tightened my grip over the pyramid tightly, eyes narrowed, and asked it softly, "So what joy shall you make me experience today, my good friend?"

It didn't answer, but that was what I expected. I was holding a sacred item, not the lamp of a genie.

littleone.

"My Pharaoh. Did you have a good sleep, your highness?"

My eyes did not leave the jewel held preciously in my hands. It tingled with feather-light warmth since the dawn of this morning, as if it was trying to tell me something. "Well," softly mused I as the faintest glow wavered from the center, "if you were meant to speak, pendant, than you would have been made with a mouth."

As looked up, Mahado's gaze soon enticed be instead of the pendant held in the palms of my hand. He stared back, eyes falling to the jewel. "You seem to be in quite the mood this morning, Pharaoh Atemu."

"What?" I mused. "You saw me bring Teana to my bedchambers, did you not? She is my most loyal dancer after all, Mahado."

"No no, 'tis not that," he quickly protested. Mahado looked at me again, slowly gesturing to the pendant nestled in my grasp. "You were staring at it again, my pharaoh. The other essence you sense in it…does it truly bother you?"

"My pendant is never a bother, Mahado, don't be ridiculous." I grinned at the embarrassment teasing his demeanor before I shook my head. "Have you good sleep yourself?"

Mahado nodded. "Yes…My pharaoh, you constantly stare at this artifact. If something truly bothers you and offers a bad omen, do not think we shall hesitate to inspect it."

"It was a gift from my late father. Is it a sin for me to gaze upon his most precious possession??" His expression softened from the hardened shell I grew up to know after all these years. Mahado nodded, understanding of my actions.

"Very well then," I said carefully to change the subject, "what duties must I, the pharaoh, form today?"

"Oh, yes." He and I walked down the halls toward the kitchen. "There is a man here from Minya, Pharaoh Atemu. He represents the village and asks for help in constructing a new dam. The old one has flooded the village."

"Now I remember." There was a glint in my eye. I nodded, thoughts of suffering villagers filling my mind. A tyrant had lodged explosives in the dam residing in Minya, destroying it completely and flooding the entire town. Last to be heard, there were half the survivors there were the population. "Have they caught the fool, yet?"

"No."

His tone was more hesitant than usual. I looked his way in utter confusion, eyebrow arched. "There be something I know not, my priest?"

"Perhaps you should…Mana." I hid the hint of a smile as Mahado's reluctance morphed into sternness. His eyes narrowed to an urn sitting daintily against the wall. He reached out carefully and put his other arm in front of my form. "Child, you do little to hide your ba. I know that you are there. Appear and greet your pharaoh."

Silence. I arched an eyebrow of suspicion, arms crossed. A frown played across my lips, of course disapproving by the current situation. Mana had a poor habit of prancing around in pots and urns like we did when we were nothing but children. She, unlike the rest of us, refused to grow up. Of course, Mahado was far more negative of this behavior than I. "Perhaps it's time to alleviate from fun and games, Mana. 'tis far too early in the morning for this type of foolery.

A groan. Eyes with the intensity of emeralds peep from the urn before us and she whined again. Mana, my best friend, peered out with her flurry of hair and pouted. She lifted herself from the pottery and tackled me into an embrace. "Tag," she declared, "you're it."

"Mana!" Mahado frowned in horror, opposite to the lightheartedness I felt. This was part of the daily cycle, after all. "You know very well that Pharaoh Atemu is far too busy for your disobedience."

In the back of my mind, he told me to stop frowning. Mana's emerald, twinkling eyes dare stared me in the face with the pout still on his face. I sighed; having both entities scold me in the face was never a good thing. Instead, the smile enveloped my lips and I looked down to her. "Maybe we can play later."

"Play," she began speculating, "as in how you play with Teana, or play as in you'll let the kind you out?"

Oh, he would find joy in that, now wouldn't he? I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and instead shrugged. "Well, if all goes well, then you shall join me for a stroll through the town, Mana. If all does not, which means if you do not practice your spells to get Mahado off your back and therefore off my back, then you shall be sent to your room and not be allowed to look me in the eye for days to come."

"Oh, pooie." Mana smirked playfully, saber pressed to her breast as we continued our walk to the kitchen. I motioned the reluctant Mahado to follow after us with her still clinched to my arm. "So, what be the boring duties of Mister Pharaoh today, your highness? As the lovely, personal assistant to my pharaoh, I am obligated to assist in any way!"

"Despite your eagerness," I smirked back, "I can only handle one woman at a time, priestess-in-training, and Teana is fulfilling her obligations tonight."

"Oh, yuck." Emerald eyes rolled with exaggeration while a tongue peeped between her lips. She giggled, finally relieving me of her grip and sat to the chair parallel of mine. Mahado took the seat next to her, eying us both precariously. "Shan't you be at the age where you find a consort, my pharaoh?"

"I shall court a wife when Priestess Isis is courted by Priest Mahado." I smiled knowingly, watching as Mahado blushed a decadent hue of red, and plopped a grape in my mouth. Mana's giggle followed in suit as she sat erect next to her master. Eyes watching in between them, I sighed warily.

"Siamun urges we all meet later," Mahado suddenly said, "to plan the last preparations for the Festival of Min. All seven of us are needed to figure how to honor the God of Fertility this year, your highness."

"Duly noted." Despite his reminder, this part of the festival was always very clear in my mind. The preparations would always be the same; how Seth insisted arguing over my saying to keep it the same, his father shushing him for disrespecting my decision, Siamun bluntly reminding us that this was a festival to help women become fertile, Isis humbly arguing that speaking of the woman's body in such a way was so vulgar, and Mahado silencing us all before apologizing for causing disruption in my court in the most shyest way. In the end, it always ended up working out for us and my decision would overrule all of theirs.

"There are many ripe women this year, aren't there?" I looked over to Mahado, smile settled across my features. "I heard that even Karim and his wife are trying for a baby this festival."

"You'll have to be trying for one soon, too, Atemu." Mana looked up mischievously, mouth crammed with all sorts of delicacies. Mahado grimaced with disgust, quickly getting a rag and wiping her face off like a father disciplining a child. "Ow, Mahado, that hurts! But I mean, really, don't you have to look into having an heir soon?"

"Mana, I am a ruler. Just exactly when do I have time to raise an heir this day and age?" I arched an eyebrow and smiled. "The needs of my people come before my own, Mana."

"Spoken like a true king, Pharaoh." Mahado smiled and rubbed the last of many sauces off Mana's face.

She pouted, arms crossed. "Blah, blah, blah, your needs! Don't you think it makes more sense having an heir, Atemu? At least this way, I'll have a little tri-headed kid waddling around that actually laughs!"

"I laugh."

"You see, you see? If you laughed, you would have laughed at that very moment." Mana harrumphed and tossed her nose in the air. "Perhaps I shall bring it upon myself to have your child, dear pharaoh. You're so busy with paperwork and what-not you wouldn't notice!"

"Oh, our child?" To that, I actually snickered and ran a hand through my hair. "I fear the day you wed and have children, Mana. Unless they are with me, then all our faults will balance out and they child will appear normal. Any other way and they will end up being the destruction of mankind as we know it."

"Enough." Mahado looked between the both of us, mortification written across his features. "Mana, you are far too young to be bedded and Atemu, your duties as pharaoh outweigh your need for a child."

"We're the same age!" Mana reached across the table and pulled me into a hug as if to prove a point.

Instead, I ignored her and gestured to the entry-way on the other side of the room. "Shall I go see what the man from Minya needs of me?"

"Yes. Don't you think it would be better if you ate more, first?" Mahado's eyes narrowed at me, full of concern that extended further than being one of my viziers. He always spoke kindly to me and was wary of my actions like an overprotective sibling.

"I should," I agreed, "but I won't."

"Don't forget about our little deal, Atemu! Er, I mean, Pharaoh!" Mana smiled cheerfully and lifted herself from her seat. She bowed respectfully to Mahado. "I guess if I really have to, then I will study the scrolls and textbooks in the library, Mahado."

"See you later," both Mahado and I said together. Once she left, I turned back to Mahado, who quickly turned away.

"What troubles you, Mahado?" Although he had the tendency to be hesitant and aloof when it came to speaking to me, Mahado never abruptly looked away from my seeing eye. I arched an eyebrow, furthering my interrogation of his form.

"Nothing," he responded quickly.

"Liar. I trust you with my life, Mahado and by now I hoped for you to realize that you could trust me with yours. We are like family, after all." I looked at him at a different angle, voice becoming sterner. "I am also your pharaoh and have the backbone to behead you if you shan't speak your troubles, priest."

"You wouldn't."

"No, I would not," I smirked, "but 'tis enough a threat for you to tell me what is bothering you, is it not?"

"I suppose." He offered a small smile. "Far be it from me to try and fool the king, your highness. With good time, I will speak with you of this matter. For now…we should be getting over to the throne room. Shall we not?"

"Ah." I nodded and pushed myself out of the chair. "Let us go."

littleone.

The man from Minya was tall, high and proud. His face was long and narrow, eyes gray and wise of the older days while the robes he wore were almost above any peasant. His beard was long with fingers crooked from hard days of work reforming the destruction the flood had caused. Cruel gray eyes stared at me, stern and strict.

"Good day." He bowed in front of me, eyes still fully open.

I arched an eyebrow and looked to Shada for answers. He frowned, quite unsure himself, and lightly shook his head. If the motives of this man be ill-intended, it would have most likely become clear by now. Instead, Shada only looked on and warned me to keep an eye on this villager.

"I am Enu from Minya. We have been flooded from a horrid attack. May we seek a compromise to rebuild the dam?" Enu continued bowing, eyes never leaving the ground.

"Very well." I nodded and gestured for him to stand. "Speak."

"The attack on our town was sudden and quick, your highness." Enu hesitantly stood up, eyes narrowing. "But for days the misfortunes kept arising into a series of bad omens. To leave it in such a state is horrible, don't you think? I plead that you send your best men to protect us from any attack."

"Preposterous!" Seth broke into a sneer before I even had the chance to speak. He stood protectively in front of me, Millennium Rod high in his hand as he scowled. "Do you expect us to fall for this trickery? All that must be done is repair to the dam."

"Seth speaks the truth," I said. My eyes narrowed expectantly to the non-wincing villager. I leaned forward and folded my hands above my muzzle. "Enlighten me, Enu. Why should I send my best men to this village? Can I not just send my constructors to help build a new and better, impervious dam?"

"My pharaoh." Enu bowed graciously and writhed before me. "Many innocent lives have died because of the mysterious explosion. I simply wish to protect them from further harm in the near future. If you were to send your best men, we would be able to live in a greater peace with the people who have suffered their lost."

"Hm." I analyzed the man further like many of my court insisted and caught the glance of Mahado. Arching an eyebrow, the question quickly went to him. He crinkled his nose, unsure himself what to do in this type of situation. Seth, impatient as ever, stood up for me.

"Suppose that you truly were concerned for your village, commoner." Seth's eyes narrowed despicably and he clutched the bottom of his sheathed rod. "The explosion was enough to wipe out most of your people. Don't you think that this means that Egypt is threatened by an outside force; that someone would want to behead his royal highness? Why send for the best solders when all you need are some?"

"Well," Enu began sputtering. He quickly lost his form and forced himself to reconstruct it. "I understand, great priest, but what happens if in this village that the men who decided to kill all of my family; my fellow neighbors, decide to come back? What am I to do, what are we to do if he attacks thrice?"

"Thrice?" Isis repeated. She clinched her Millennium Necklace tightly, eyes narrowing at the man before us with a despicable frown. "Are you saying that the wellbeing of Minya has already been threatened once before?"

"Yes!" He nodded, eyes for once landing on me, and poked a finger in my direction. "'Tis because of you, is it not? They threaten you by threatening us! Shall you show some dignity and make amends with the sin you have provoked, Pharaoh Atemu?!"

"You are out of line!" Seth drew the true form of his scepter: a glaive hidden under his sheath. He stepped forward, scowl planted warily across his features. "How dare you speak of Pharaoh Atemu like you are worthy of his gaze?! Well, commoner?! Apologize, peasant!"

"Apologize to him?!" Enu looked at all of us, face wrinkling at the very thought. "Should I really beseech the one whose sins sinned my homeland? I ventured to Cairo with the knowledge from others that the pharaoh is sympathetic and gracious to those who are in need! It is I who he should plead for an apology! His rule is no better than his father's!"

"You shan't speak of my brother that way," sneered Akhenadin. He frowned. "Tell us, peasant. What are your true intentions?"

"Was it not right for me to think that the kind ruler would spare pity on my village?" Enu growled and tucked his arms behind his robes. "This is atrocious and horrendous!"

"Tell me, Karim," Isis's gentle voice tingled in my ear. She turned to the side and to the man on her left. "What does the scale judge?"

"Negativity," the other mumbled. "But 'tis not enough to be concerned about. The scale speaks of desperation. This man is willing to behead the Pharaoh himself if it means he can get away with our best guards in hand."

Mahado exchanged looks with the pair and gestured to Isis. "And your necklace, Isis?"

"It senses death." Isis frowned, eyes returning to the man crested in the middle of my throne room. "Either way he shall give us horrible grievance. While Seth continues his argument, it's obvious that this man will listen to one person and one person only."

All eyes landed on one person in particular: me.

"Enough," I roared and pushed myself off my throne. Seth and Akhenadin silenced and returned to their elusive stance around me. "I have already decided against it. We will send my constructors to fix the dam, but that is all till further action arises, Enu. Understood?"

Enu's eyes doubled in size. He looked to the ground, his entire entity shaking with an emotion I was far from familiar with. "Understand…? You truly think that…I would understand this matter, king of Egypt? Of all things?!"

"My court speaks rightfully of me." I gestured to Seth, lightly glaring for his standing up like he himself was the pharaoh, and then to the rest of my priests who, too, were wary of the new behavior. "I shall do what is logical and then what is right."

Enu's hands balled into fists. He lunged forward, eyes full of hate and disgust. "And you expect me to understand this?!"

"My pharaoh!"

The warmth of my millennium pendant flowed through my bones. I halted all thoughts, staring only at its entity and became entranced by the beautiful glow that rivaled even the sun.

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Author's Note:

Wellll, that's good for now. Anyone confused on what the heck's going on? Bah, don't worry, that's more of that to come! Reviews would be nice. C: