Cerise was sitting on the bed in her tent when Set came in through the flaps of the tent she was in.
"I heard you wanted to see me." he said as walked up to her.
"Is it true?" she asked him but he frowned.
"Is what true?" he asked as he sat down next to her, out of the way of her legs.
She looked at him with her swollen and red eyes. She had been crying, and it made it his heart ache to see her like that.
"Have you been crying?" he asked her and she nodded, lifting the golden chain connected to her bejewelled collar.
"What do you think?" she asked him, leering at him as best she could through her swollen eyes.

He sighed and looked at her. She was the most precious thing in this camp, and his most beloved, pet.
"Yes, I'm sorry about that, but I can't risk you running." He said, lifting his hand to stroke her arm.
"I won't run, Set. I don't know where I am." She said, starting to cry again.
"I mean, I'm a Queen, not a dog." She cried into her hands.

He sighed and looked at her.
"Okay, if it will make you stop." He said, before reaching over and unclipping the collar. He took it off and set it down beside him. She watched him and when he turned to face her again, she wiped her tears away.
"Thank you." She sniffed.
"You were about to ask me something." he reminded her.
"Oh." She remembered he was right.

Her memory was slipping, she wondered why.
"Did you really…" she said but stopped, unable to finish, to say the words.
"Really, what?" he moved closer to her, risking another blow to the eye.
"Kill… Atemu." She said softly, not wanting to use her tears again, yet.
He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, pulling her slightly into him.
"Yes." He admitted.
She reached up and hugged him, needing to be held in that moment, no matter who was offering it.
"I'm sorry, but it had to be done." He said, looking down at her hugging him.

He smiled. Finally, she understood his plan. But he had misread the situation, slightly.
She lifted her hand and made it into a fist. She punched him on his chest, and again, beginning to cry. Not as a weapon, or manipulation, but from pain, lodged in her chest deeper than any arrow. The type of pain caused by the loss of a soul mate.
"YOU BASTARD!" she shouted at him at the top of her lungs, crying loudly.

He pushed her away from him slightly and held her at arms length and looked at her, sobbing deeply in front of him. He needed to help her understand.
"It was quick. He felt very little pain. I promise." He said, trying to calm her.
Despite what he had done, he loved her very much. She lay down on the pile of pillows and cried and cried, until she couldn't cry anymore.
She eventually looked at him with puffy red eyes and he wiped her moist face with his hands.
"Everything is going to be okay. You'll see." He said to her, before smiling.
"So, I assume, then, that you're going to claim the throne." She said softy him.
He nodded.
"Ateru is too young. He can't be Pharaoh yet." He said beginning to lay out his plan. This was the moment she had been waiting for.
"So, you're not going kill us." She asked him and he looked at her like she didn't know him at all.
"Why would I kill you? I want you to be my Queen." He said.
She sat back up and looked at him. Surely he knew that when Ateru came of age, there would be war for the throne, and she would back Ateru.
"This whole time, you never wanted the throne," she asked him and he shook his head again.

This threw off her course; this made no sense at all. If he was anything like Seto, he craved only power, and more power.
"I wanted you." He said, reaching for her hair and twirling it around in his fingers. "But I must admit, Ateru might become a problem, in the future." He said to her, not looking at her.
"Wh...What?" she asked him, knowing where this was going.
"You see, at some stage, even if you do tell him that I'm his father, he will start asking questions. 'Why do I look different to you and mommy?', and that might become a problem when we have to tell him the truth. That I killed his real father." He said.
"The hair will give our little, lie, away, you see." He added, looking at her.
She had to think quickly and make promises to keep Ateru safe. He was Egypt's only hope now.
"No, he won't." She began to beg for her son's life.
"He's too young; he won't remember Atemu, please." She tried to convince him, but he shook his head.
"That won't work. He's very smart. And he will grow up to be just like his father, and then, he could kill me." Set said, getting up and walking to the water jug.
He poured some water for himself and looked back at her.
"You want some?" he asked her, but she shook her head.
"So, you see, I have a crisis of conscience." He said, coming back to her.
He sat down on the bed.
"Do I kill him now, or will I allow him to grow strong enough to challenge me?" he said without a grain of remorse.
"No, please, Set. You can do anything to me, but please just leave Ateru alone." She begged him.
"He's going to want to kill me." he said to her, sipping some water from his glass.
"Set, he's just a boy." She said softly.
"And the rightful heir to the throne." He said.
She looked into his cold blue eyes and saw that he was serious. She felt the tears falling from her eyes again.
"Set, he's the only thing I have left. Please..." She begged him.
"If you promise that you will be able to control him, then I'll leave him be." He said. "I will. I'm his mother, he has to listen to me." she said quickly.
"Okay, then I assume you will be my Queen?" he asked her and she looked down at the bed.
"Do I really have a choice?" she asked him.
He moved closer to her and she watched him through the corner of her eye.
"You do." He said, smelling her hair.
"You always smell so nice." He smiled at her.
"The sweet oils of Arabia are nothing compared to you." He added.
"Give me my choices." She said, looking at his cold blue eyes.
"Okay." He looked at her.
"Marry me, name me Pharaoh, or I'll kill Ateru." He said to her.
"You wouldn't." She said.
"I would. Just like I killed his father, and his grandfather." Set smiled, revelling in the thought of killing three successive Pharaohs.
Cerise stood up and walked a little bit away and realized what he was saying.
"You killed…all those years ago..." she said not looking at him.
"My uncle, yes. Atemu's father, Pharaoh Aknamkanon." He smiled.
"My first kill." He added with sentimentally.
"Imagine, three generations of the same line, all killed in the same way." He smiled.

She had very little choice then. She had to keep Ateru alive long enough to challenge Set.
"If you swear to me, that you will spare my child, I will do anything you ask of me." she said, coldly, feeling it spread across her chest, as her heard hardened, for Ateru's safety.
"Even if I ask you to give me a child, and heir of my own?" he asked and she looked up at the fabric, tears flowing over her cheeks.
She nodded and said the words softly.
"Yes." She said sadly to him.

He nodded and smiled, knowing he had finally broken her. How he had waited for this day, it seemed to good to be true.
"You accept my betrothal?" he asked and she nodded, still not looking at him.
"I'll marry you, but only after I have Atemu's body embalmed and put to rest." She said to him, laying out her terms.
"Agreed." He said, getting up and walking towards her.
"Do you remember the first time we met?" he asked, placing his hand on her shoulders.

She guessed he wanted to begin writing their own love story now.
"No, not really." She admitted.
"It was the first meeting of the priests that you and Atemu were allowed to." He said. "Oh, yes." She smiled, thinking back to the first day she met the Pharaoh, Atemu's father.
"I was too busy looking at the paintings in the throne room to notice anything else." She said to him, lying.

She had a feeling she would be doing a lot of that.
"I saw you for the first time then." he smiled.
"And ever since then, I have loved you." He admitted.

He bent down to kiss her neck, but she pulled a little bit away from him.
"Set, please, not now." She said, looking down at the ground.
He knew she would take a bit more convincing, so he went on.
"When I was 16, I gathered up enough courage to ask you to dinner, but Atemu got to you first. He asked you about the Osiris and Isis ritual. I knew then, that I was too late." He said.
"Set, I never knew." She said to him, over her shoulder.
"When Atemu went after that tiger, I decided that I had to make my move, or I would lose you forever. I couldn't believe my luck when," he stopped and blushed.
"I know." She blushed too.
"But, I won in the end. Atemu's dead, and I got the girl." He smiled.
"Yes, but you know it will never work. Ateru will be Pharaoh, one way or another." She said to him.
"I know." He sighed, looking at the back of her head.
"So it looks like I'll have to kill him after all." He said suddenly, walking towards the tent door.
"No, please don't." she said walking a little after him.
He stopped and looked at her. He walked back to her and grabbed the collar. He put it back on her neck after a brief fight and he chained her to the bed.
"I'm sorry." He said to her, before walking out.
"SET." She shouted.
"SET!" she shouted louder.
She threw her head back down on the pillows and knew she had to get to Ateru. She looked at the bed posts she was chained to, and thought, that if she got in a few good pulls, she might be able to break it. She was so busy thinking about getting out of the bid she was in; she failed to see the next mess walking into the door.

Malik came into the tent and looked at her silently. All his life, he had waited to meet her, his Queen. He never imagined she would be so tied up and ripe, just for him.
"Is something wrong?" Malik asked her finally.

She looked at him and saw him staring at her, and she knew she might be able to get through to him, being a sworn tomb keeper. And her servant.
"Untie me, please." She asked him.
"Now why would I do that?" he came closer to the bed and her.

She moved a little away from him as he came closer.
"He's going to kill Ateru." She said to him, trying to get through to is better half.
"I think, you should do what we ask you to, or we will kill him." he said, sitting down on the bed, next to her.

She looked up at him and saw the same Malik that had imprisoned Joey and Mai, and threatened the world, all those years ago. She had to get through to Marik.
"Marik, I know you can hear me. Marik, help me." she said to him.
"Marik is in the other realm now. It's only me, and you." He said, reaching for her leg.
She moved away, but he got hold of it when she couldn't move anymore, being chained to the bed.
"So young, so full of fear." He said, moving closer to her.
He lifted his hand off her thigh and put it on her stomach.
"Still so firm." He smiled wickedly at her.
"Thanks." She said sarcastically, trying to get away from him.
He reached for the bottom of her top and pulled it up to just below her chest.
"Ah." He said, putting his hand on her stomach.
His touch was gentle, but firm. He was so warm. She looked down at his hand.
"I know you like it." He leaned over and kissed her stomach.

She tried to shy away, but she couldn't anymore, there was no slack in the chain. He kissed her stomach gently, working his way up. She had to admit, it was good to feel someone touching her. When he got to the top of her top, he lifted his head and smiled at her.
"Must I go on?" he asked.
"No." she breathed to him.
"Okay, I'll stop." He moved closer to her face.
"You know, before we took you, Kaiba told us what you like." He said, twisting his head to the side and breathing on her neck.

The warm air made her feel more relaxed, but she didn't want to. He brought his lips closer to her neck and kissed her neck tenderly. He kissed and kissed, over and over, till it was the only thing that she could think about. He lifted his head and looked at her.
"You're so beautiful." He whispered.
He leaned down and his lips touched hers. He kissed her tenderly and carefully. She almost felt like kissing him back, but then he pulled away. She opened her eyes and looked into his eyes. They looked just like Atemu's.
"Just, like his..." she thought, inching closer to his lips again.
"MALIK!" Seto shouted at him from the door.
Malik stood up and looked at him, like a naughty child that had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"What are you doing?" Seto asked him as he walked closer.
"I'm just taking what was promised to me." he said, turning and winking at Cerise. She came to her senses quickly and looked up at him, knowing what she had almost done. Now she had another burden to bear.
"Leave." Seto said to him, gesturing to the door.

Malik stared at him, but he left, and Seto and Cerise were left alone.
"Did he hurt you?" Seto asked, walking up to her and untying her.
She sat up and rubbed her wrists.
"No." she said softly.
Seto's eyes were suddenly drawn to her bare stomach, her golden skin and her exquisite figure.
"Not bad for having a baby hey?" she said, pulling her top down.
"No, not bad at all." He smiled.
"What was Malik talking about, a promise?" she asked.
Seto looked up at her and then he got up and walked away a little. She would find out by night fall, he had to tell her. Cerise got up and walked after him. She put her hand on his shoulder and stopped him. He stopped and looked back.
"Tell me, please." She asked him.
He turned to face her then he took hold of her hands.
"Set promised that if we helped him get you, we could," he stopped, feeling guilty that he ever considered it.
"What Seto? Tell me." she urged him.
"He said we could share." He said, looking at her.
"I don't get it. Share what?" she asked.
"Share you." Seto said to her.
"Me, how can you share me?" she asked, then she realized.
"Oh." She let go of his hands and walked back a bit.
"And... and you agreed to this?" she asked him and he nodded, ashamed.
"Every night, one of us gets you to ourselves." He said to her.
"Me, but… but." She backed away from him more.
"I tried to pull out, and then he got hold of Mokuba. I had no choice." He said, walking back towards her but she stopped him and she sat down on the bed.

She had no idea this whole crazy thing would go the same way as her nightmare, but it seemed she may have inherited her mother's foresight ability.
"When..." she said but stopped.

She had to be strong, for Ateru.
"When, is this, supposed to, start?" she asked him, not looking at him.

He looked down at the ground and wished he would be the first to have her, but she was now engaged to Set.
"Tonight. Set is first, then I, then Malik, then Bakura." He explained to her.

She looked down at the ground, swallowed hard and nodded.
"So tonight…" she asked and he nodded.
"Set intends you to be pregnant with his child, before he takes the throne." He said to her and then suddenly she looked up at him.
She stood up and walked up to him.
"Seto, I have to get out of here." She said to him, looking out the door.
"You can't. There are thousands of men out there, and more are coming soon. You can't get away." He said, trying to make her see the flaw in her plan.
"Seto, I don't have a choice. I need to get us out of here." She said to him.
"Us. Who's us?" he asked.
"Ateru and I." She said, but not knowing it, reached for her stomach.

He saw this and looked down at her hand, unconsciously touching her belly.
"Cerise..." Seto said to her, looking up at her face.
"Yes?" she asked him.
"Are you… pregnant?" he asked her and she just about broke down.

She didn't know if she could trust him, if he would tell the others, and subject her to some kind of torture to kill her baby.
She looked at him with wide eyes and looked down at her hand.
"I... think so." she whispered.

He looked at her in shock, and looked out the tent. There was no way of sneaking her out of the camp.
"How long?" he asked, looking back at her.
"Just over a week." She shrugged.

He nodded and understood.
"Now I know why you need get out of here." He said to her.
"Ateru and this baby are all I have now. I need to protect them." She said to him.

He knew he had to help her, but he couldn't get caught, or Set would kill Mokuba.
"Okay. I'll help you where I can." Seto said finally to her.
"If you can get Ateru out, I'll be fine. Set won't kill me." she said to him, thinking about a plan.
"How will he live, he's only a year and six months old?" Seto asked her.
"He's very advanced for his age. He talks fluently already and he rides well. Give him a horse, and the direction to the nearest town, and he'll be okay." She said.
"He can talk already?" he asked.
"Yes, he started when he was nine months old." She smiled, thinking about how smart her son was.
"Smart, just like his mom." He smiled and she blushed.
She realized he was right. She was the same. She started talking when she was only nine months old too.
"I'll get Ateru a horse, your horse." He said.
"Fire, is she here?" she asked.
"Yes, with the other horses. She's killed a few of the others, but she's okay." He said. "Well, she is a war horse." She smiled.
"Give Fire to Ateru, and she'll take him home." She said.
"That would work." He said.
"Tonight. Do it tonight." She said.
"I'll write a letter to whoever is still at the palace, and they can come get me." she said to him, looking around for paper and a quill.
"Okay." Seto said, seeing her begin to write her letter.

That night, Seto helped Cerise to get out of the tent, and took her to Fire. Ateru and Alihana were there, waiting for her.
"ALIHANA!" Cerise shouted and ran to her.
Ateru saw her and ran up to her and hugged her tightly as she picked him up. She walked over to Alihana and hugged her too.
"I didn't know that they got you too." She hugged her.
"Yes, but are you okay?" she asked Cerise.

Cerise nodded, but was crying. She had hoped to be able to take Ateru hope herself, after breaking away from Seto. But Fire couldn't carry three people.
"Yes, I'm fine." She smiled at her, half-heartedly.
"Are you oaky, my boy?" Cerise asked, rubbing Ateru's cheek.

He smiled and nodded up at her.
"I want you two to take Fire home." She said, looking at Alihana.
"But what about you?" she asked.
"Don't worry about me. Just go." She said, looking at Ateru and smiling.
"I'm not leaving you, mommy." Ateru said to her.
"I'm not giving you a choice." she smiled at him.

She handed him to Alihana just as Seto came around the corner, dragging something behind him.
"Would this help?" Seto asked, pulling a chariot towards them.
"Very much." She smiled, walking over to him and taking it from him.
She reversed Fire into the harness and strapped her up.
"Now she can take Mokuba as well." She turned to Seto.
He nodded and went back to get him.
He came out the tent a few seconds later and saw Cerise.
"Cerise!" he shouted and ran to her.
She bent down and hugged him.
"When are you going to start growing?" she asked him, patting him on the top of his head.
"I don't know." He joked.
"Okay, Mokuba, I want you to go with Alihana and Ateru. They'll take you home to my palace." She said to him, standing up and showing him the chariot.
"But I can't leave without Seto." Mokuba said, looking at his brother.
"You need to. As long as you're here, they have a hold over me. You know I don't like that." Seto said, bending down and looking at Mokuba.
"You will be safe at the palace, till I can get to you. Then, we're going home. Okay." Seto smiled at him.
"Okay, but if you don't come, I'm coming back with an army of my own." Mokuba said, looking at him.
"Deal." Seto smiled at him.
Mokuba turned and looked behind Cerise.
"Is that Ateru?" he asked her and she nodded.
"Yes." She smiled at him.
"Ateru. Come here, my boy." she said to him.
He let go of Alihana's hand and came to her.
"Mommy, who is this?" He asked her.
"This is Mokuba, he is a good friend of mine, and he's going home with you and Alihana okay." She said to him.
He nodded. He took Mokuba's hand and ran with him to the chariot. He left Mokuba there and ran back to Cerise.
"Mommy, are you not coming?" he asked.
"No, I have to stay here. With uncle Set." She looked at Seto.
"You take care of her." Ateru said to Seto.
"I will, Your Highness." He played along, bowing to him.
Ateru ran to Seto and hugged his legs.
"What's he doing?" Seto asked Cerise.
"He likes you." Cerise smiled.
Ateru looked up at Seto and Seto looked down at him. He looked just like Yugi. He smiled at Seto. Seto waited a few seconds, and then smiled back. He picked him up and took him to the chariot.
"You need to leave now." She said to Alihana.
She nodded.
"Tell who ever is in charge there that I'm here and they must come get me." she said to her.
"I will." Alihana said as she began to tear up.
"And if Atemu is there, tell him," she looked at Ateru and Mokuba.
"Tell him, I'm waiting for him." she said to her.
"I will." Alihana said.

They hugged and Alihana got up onto the chariot. Mokuba and Ateru followed shortly after.
Cerise walked to Fire's head.
"Fire, my dear, dear Fire. Please take them home. Take my baby home." She said to her.
She dipped her head, and a tear fell from her eye.
"Don't cry. You'll see me soon again." she said to her, becoming teary eyed herself.
She kissed her on her head. Fire pawed the ground with her front hoof. Cerise stepped aside, and Fire started to walk. She broke into a trot then into a canter. Alihana and the others waved as they ran off.
"At least they're safe." Cerise said to Seto.
"We need to get you back before Set gets to the tent and sees that you're not there." Seto said to her.
She looked at him and smiled.
At least she had one friend here. They turned around and walked back to the tent.