This is kind of based off Aladdin since I was watching that movie when I got the idea. The beginning seems a lot like Aladdin, but the rest won't really be anything like it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! I still don't own Yugioh in case anyone had the crazy idea that I did.

"Stop, thief!" The guards were in hot pursuit of the thief from the market. There was nothing that annoyed Mahad—head of the palace guard—worse than having to send his guards out chasing worthless thieves, except watching them fail to catch the thieves. This was one of those times as the girl ran down the street with her stolen food.

Stopping and looking back, she said, "These guys have nothing better to do, do they? Honestly, it's one loaf of bread." She ran down a side street, trying to lose the guards.

Unfortunately for her, the town was crawling with guards, some of whom were in front of her. "Oh, hey guys," she said with a grin. Then she turned and ran into someone's house. The people inside screamed, shocked by her intrusion. "Don't mind me, just passing through!" She bolted through the main room and out a window on the other side.

Usually, she didn't have this much trouble getting her food, but this time the guards had seen her. More specifically, the priest in charge of commanding the guards was visiting town today, and he saw her. "The pharaoh needs to hire people who are more concerned with catching real criminals than me! For crying out loud, I only steal what I need! It's not like I'm a grave robber!"

Having lost the guards for now, she decided to avoid them even more by blending in with the crowd. When some guards came through the crowd toward her, she pushed through the crowd until she was fairly well hidden from view. They went right passed her.

Quickly and carefully, she made her way back to her home. A man she passed on the way said, "Hey, Mana. I see the guards are madly searching for a thief. In trouble again, are we?"

She waved a hand dismissively. "Nonsense. You're only in trouble if you get caught!" Then she scurried off toward her home, a ruined building that most people passed off as empty. It might not have been much, but it was her home. Probably where she would be living her entire life—at least until it completely collapsed.

"Home sweet home," she sighed. It wasn't much, but it was her home.

Meanwhile, a young man was sneaking around the palace. But, unlike most people who sneaked around in the palace, he was trying to sneak out. The cloak he wore hid his identity, so (he hoped) nobody in town would recognize him. He wanted out.

The man in question was Prince Atem. He was next in line to become pharaoh, and he had never been outside the palace walls. His father was ill, so the throne might be passed to him soon. Before that, he was determined to get out and see the town, while he still had relatively little to worry about.

As he slipped out the gate, he was relieved to find that the guards were immersed in conversation. "The thief in the market got away again. That street-rat is fast!"

"We'll get her one of these days. We just have to find out where she's hiding."

Atem made a mental note to thank this thief after he became pharaoh, maybe by ordering the guards to leave her alone. He also found it amusing that a woman was causing the guards so much trouble. Maybe she was using her feminine charm to distract them before she ran for it.

The sun was just coming up as Atem entered the town. The merchants in the market were getting ready to open. Once the market opened, things got more exciting. People were all over, buying the various merchandise sold by the merchants. Merchants called out to him, trying to get him to buy something.

A young boy caught Atem's attention. He had white hair, and was probably about ten or eleven. He was standing off to the side of one of the stands, talking to the merchant. As Atem watched, a girl came around the other side of the stand and swiped some of the food from it. As if on cue, the moment the girl had gotten away from the stand, the boy ended his conversation and walked off, toward the girl. Narrowing his eyes, Atem followed the thieves down a side street.

"Great job, kid! We should team up more often. You're so cute and innocent, nobody would ever suspect you were working with me," the girl said to the boy.

"Uh, okay. So, can we eat now?"

The girl laughed as she handed the boy some of their stolen food. "Sure, kid, sure."

"Hold it!" Atem called. The girl froze, staring right at him. The boy turned wide eyes on him. "That's not yours. Either return it right now, or I'll turn you in."

The girl threw her hands up in exasperation. "Honestly, isn't it bad enough that the guards and merchants have it out for me? Seriously, what did I do to deserve this?"

"That depends," said Atem. "How long have you been stealing?"

She shrugged. "As long as I can remember. But, hey, you've got to eat to live, don't you?" She put her hands on her hips. "Honestly, your kind doesn't appreciate that I'm broke!"

Atem froze. These two were homeless? "Where are your parents?"

"Mine? Dead. His? Not a clue."

"So you aren't related?"

"Not in the least. We just met today. Which means if you turn us in, this kid has never stolen anything in his life. That's all me."

Atem raised an eyebrow. "You just admitted you're a thief."

The girl shrugged. "Why would I deny it? The whole town knows, including one of the pharaoh's priests, so I see no reason why I should try to lie about it."

"So you're an honest thief?" Atem asked with a smirk.

She grinned. "Yeah, you could say that."

The boy sighed from relief, apparently viewing the danger of being caught as passed, and ate his stolen food. The girl looked at the boy, then back at Atem warily. Atem just looked at the boy. Seeing that he wasn't going to turn them in, the girl relaxed.

"So," Atem asked, "who are you two?"

"I'm Mana," the girl said. "This kid's Ryo." The boy waved in response. "And who might you be?"

"Well, I might be the prince of Egypt," he said seriously. Mana laughed.

"Yeah, but I doubt that! Okay, who are you, really?"

Stunned, it took Atem a moment to answer her. "Atem. My name is Atem."

Mana nodded. "Nice to meet you. Now, it might be a good idea for us to get farther from the scene of the crime, Ryo," she added, looking at the boy, who nodded.

Atem watched them for a moment before following. He made sure not to let them see him, and he made no noise so as not to be heard. These two were two of his people; he had to know where they lived so that, when he returned to the palace, he could have somebody come out and fetch the two. After all, they needed help if they were stealing for survival. As prince of Egypt, he viewed it as his responsibility to make sure that they were dealt with appropriately—not as thieves but as people in need.

Mana led Ryo down a series of streets that Atem was certain was meant to throw off any guards who might be following—or any other people. Did she suspect that he was following? If she did, she must have thought that they had lost him because she finally announced to Ryo that they had arrived.

As the two entered the dilapidated building, Atem wondered if it was even safe for anyone to live in there. It looked ready to fall down at any minute. However, he supposed it made sense that they would seek refuge in such a place. Nobody else was living there, and it was free. Hoping the roof wouldn't cave in, Atem entered the building after the two of them.

"So do you think we lost him?" he heard Ryo say as he carefully ascended the stairs. So they had thought that he was following them.

"Sure we did, Ryo," Mana answered. "If the guards can't keep up with me when I'm trying to get away from them, what makes you think some random 'Good Samaritan' can?"

"Unfortunately, Mana, you seem to have underestimated me." She turned, startled, to see him standing at the top of the stairs behind her. "Pity, really."

Ryo ducked for cover behind Mana, who glared at Atem. "What do you want with us anyway?" she growled.

"Nothing. I'm just worried about the two of you, that's all." Mana blinked, apparently stunned by his answer.

"So, you aren't after anything at all? Food, a place to stay, sexual pleasure?"

"I'm offended that you would even suspect that I wanted that last one. No, Mana, I'm just trying to make sure you two don't die in the next few hours."

Ryo peeked out from behind Mana. "And how are you going to do that?" he asked.

Atem sighed, "Good question."

"Well, the only way that we are going to die in the next few hours is if the guards find my hideout, which I'm seriously considering changing." Mana crossed her arms as she finished.

"I'm not going to tell anyone where you're staying. But it wouldn't be a bad idea to change your hideout, as you call it."

Mana raised her eyebrow as he continued, "Come live with me. I have plenty of room, and you wouldn't have to worry about getting arrested anymore."

"Who are you?" Mana's voice was laced with suspicion.

"I already told you. So, what do you say?"

Mana opened her mouth to say something, but Ryo beat her to the punch. "Where do you live?" he asked.

Atem smiled warmly at the boy, trying to indicate that the offer was not a trap. "Some place much better than this, Ryo."

Ryo thought for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, I'll come with you."

Mana looked appalled. "Ryo, this has to be some sort of a trap! Don't trust him."

"It doesn't seem like a trap. Besides, he seems nice."

Mana groaned, then said, "Fine, I'll come. But I swear, if you try anything at all, I'm taking the kid and we're both bolting, and you'll never see either of us again. Got it?"

Atem nodded. "Just don't overreact if you see any guards. Give me a chance to deal with them first." Mana looked at him suspiciously again at this statement. Atem realized that he was going to have one heck of a time keeping her from running when they headed back to the palace.

Mana didn't trust this man as far as she could throw him. There was no reason why she should either: He had threatened to turn them in for theft before following her and Ryo back to her home and offering to let them live with him. And what did he mean about seeing guards? Was he nobility, just pretending that he wanted to help them? She wouldn't have accepted his "offer" if it hadn't been for Ryo; the boy was way too trusting, deeming Atem trustworthy just because it didn't "seem like a trap." Well, Mana was sure that it was, and she wasn't going to let Ryo get into trouble because he was so naïve.

Atem led them back through town, and Mana was worried when she realized that she didn't recognize the area. Finally, they emerged at a familiar place—she had never been inside, but she saw it every day.

"The palace?" she exclaimed. "I knew it! This is a trap!"

"No, it's not. Just relax." As Atem said this, he took hold of her hand. No doubt he wanted her to think that this was meant to calm her when in reality it was probably to keep her from running away.

"Who goes there?" one of the guards said. Mana winced when she realized that she recognized the other one, whose eyes were widening as he looked at her.

"It's the street-rat!" he yelled, pointing his spear at her. Mana tried to pull away from Atem, but he tightened his grip.

"She's with me." He sounded so calm, Mana was certain he was about to turn her in. "They both are."

The guards both pointed their spears at him. "And you are...?"

Atem threw off the hood on his cloak and the guards gasped. "P-prince! What are you doing out here?"

Mana gaped. He had been serious when he said that he might be the prince? Mana groaned inwardly, realizing that there was no way this would end well.

"That's none of your concern. Now, let us pass."

"B-but, my prince, that girl is a criminal!"

Mana was waiting for him to hand her over to the guards. She was taken by surprise when he simply said, "Tell me something I don't know. Now, let us pass."

His tone left no room for argument. The guards let them enter. Mana, however, didn't lower her guard at all.

"Prince? You were serious about that?" she hissed at him as he dragged her deeper into what she considered enemy territory.

"I told you I might be the prince of Egypt. It's not my fault you thought that was impossible." Ryo chuckled as Mana groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but think of the odds of me meeting the real prince of Egypt! You actually expected me to believe that it was possible?"

Atem looked at her, sarcasm written all over his face. "I'm sorry, are you angry with me?"

Growling, Mana told him that he already knew the answer to that question. Atem just chuckled at her anger, which made her angrier.

As he dragged her through the palace, with Ryo tagging along, she saw somebody too familiar. She may only have seen him once, but she would recognize that priest anywhere. To her horror, Atem called out to that priest, who turned to see what the prince wanted. His eyes widened when they fell upon Mana, confirming her fears: He recognized her, too.

"M-my prince, who are these two?" the priest said.

Atem smirked at his confusion. "Well, Mahad, these two are my new friends. I just met them in the market."

The priest, Mahad, groaned. "Please tell me why you were out in the market to begin with, my prince."

"I, actually, would like to know that myself, 'my prince,'" Mana said. Atem ignored her and Mahad.

"I just thought that you should meet my new friends because they will be staying with us for some time. If your reaction is any indication, you've already met Mana," he said, nodding at the girl in question. Mana wanted to hit him for telling that priest her name. "And this is Ryo, her new friend. You two, this is Priest Mahad, head of the palace guard and master magician."

Mahad stared at Atem for a moment. "Uh, does your father know that you're inviting criminals into the palace?" Mana almost laughed at the dumbfounded look on his face.

"Not yet, but he won't object. Trust me."

Mahad sighed, obviously annoyed with the prince. Briefly, Mana wondered if he was allowed to show the prince that he was annoyed with him. "Well, then, you'd best hurry up and tell him that you've brought a thief and her new partner into the palace. I won't keep you any longer." With that, he left, not even bothering to show any respect to his prince. To Mana's surprise, Atem let it slide.

"What, you aren't going to get on him for being so disrespectful?" she asked, trying her best to sound annoyed but sounding more confused than anything.

Atem shook his head, saying, "Mahad is an old friend of mine. Do you have any idea how strange it is to have your friends bow down before you? Honestly, I like it when he forgets to respect me." This didn't make a lot of sense to Mana, but she couldn't ask anymore questions because Atem dragged her onward. "Now, let's go introduce you to my father. Then I'll show the two of you around the palace."