Immortal (Pharaoh Atem/Yami Yugi) (xOC)

The Palace Pools

Meri watched the sky grow a darker shade of blue as the sun went down. She could not get the handsome Pharaoh out of her thoughts, and that was a fact she was more than ready to accept.

To her advantage, they were both royalty...

But there was rarely anything to do. It was nighttime, and their first day at Giza had just went by. However, the curious Meri refused to finish it in such a boring way. She'd go explore a bit more, either way she hadn't seen the palace at night.

Meri quietly opened the doors of her bedroom and walked out. The palace halls looked a warmer shade of golden now that they were lit by torches. Meri wandered around a bit and visited whichever place she could think of, trying to avoid being seen. If she got caught she'd be sent back to her room and guarded for the rest of the night, but that would be embarrassing.

She wouldn't want to be embarrassed in front of the Pharaoh.

Then a thought hit her mind.

"I hear the pools are just divine!"

Her sister's voice echoed in her head and that was precisely where Meri began to walk next. 

As she walked, she observed more paintings and heiroglyphs that told stories of all kind, of kings before Atem and their most important achievements.

Finally, Meri arrived at a garden at the back of the palace, which had to beautiful pools. The warm gentle wind of the desert blew against her skin and through her hair, and she started to feel as though she was at home. 

She closed her eyes. The first thought that popped into her head was Atem, the way he smiled at her so gently and how caring his eyes looked whenever he did. When she opened them again, she looked up at the stars. She wondered if she was in over her head, if the Pharaoh could ever fall in love with her.

"It's late for you to be out and about, princess."

Meri gasped and turned around, startled. But when she saw who it was, well... she still felt nervous, but in a good way.

"M-my Pharaoh!"

Atem took a few steps closer to her while still smiling softly. His blue cape and his hair swayed softly with the wind. When he was next to her, he looked out at the distance.

"Why aren't you in bed?" He asked her.

"I-I..." she said. "I wasn't sleepy. I felt like I needed to do something else before actually going to rest for the night."

"Hm," Atem closed his eyes and smiled. "Then you made a good choice in coming here."

Meri blushed. What did he possibly mean by that?

He opened his eyes and looked at her again. "This is one of the most beautiful parts of the palace, if I do say so myself."

Meri smiled. "I can see that."

The two of them looked out at the distance for a short period of time, until Meri decided to break the silence.

"My Pharaoh?"

"Yes?"

"That duel..." she said. "Was that real?"

"Yes," Atem replied. "All of it."

"Wow..." she said. "I just- I'd heard about it, but I never thought it was such a big deal, or that it was real."

"It's certainly real," Atem smiled softly. "And a big deal as well. It's used for land, power."

Meri looked up at him, admiring his beauty and savoring the sound of his voice.

But then Atem's smile faded away. "However I fear it is becoming far too dangerous for the world itself. Nobody can allow it to get out of control, we simply cannot afford it."