Princess, Crown Not Included

“Astarte, what’s wrong?”Atem asked, sliding his arms around me comfortingly. Shaking with the effort of repressing my sobs, I tried to force my words out, but the only noise I managed was a strangled sort of choking noise. Murmuring comfortingly, he ran a hand up and down my arm, letting me hold him tighter. "This is a familiar situation..." I half-laughed at the comment despite myself- I really did seem to be making a habit of this "falling into his arms sobbing" thing. Kissing the top of my head, he pulled me over to the steps to the dais and I sat down, pulling my knees up to my chest and burying my head in my knees. He slid an arm around my shoulder and tried again. "Now what's wrong?"

"I... I was..." No matter how hard I tried to talk, tried to push the sobs down, tears kept blocking my throat and choking off the words. He rubbed my arm comfortingly and kissed the top of my head, and I relaxed against his chest under the familiar gesture. "I was at the market, doing the errands, I mean, it's Zahra's turn but everyone except me, Femii and Ariam is faking being ill so all the work falls to us three..." He let me ramble. I had a tendency to say whatever came into my head when I panicked. "Any way, I was walking along this alley I always walk down, it's all quiet and shaded and... but there was no-one there today and... and..." I trailed off, tears threatening to spill over again.

"And what, Astarte?" Atem pressed gently, apparently not minding that my tears were soaking his shoulder. Swallowing hard, I pulled myself away from him and took a deep breath to steady my voice and nerves.

"Well, there was someone... he grabbed me and--"

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Atem interrupted, his voice suddenly hard and threatening. I felt a small pang of pride that the Pharaoh was worried about my wellbeing.

"Only my shoulder, it didn't really hurt," I assured him, unable to look at him.

"Do you know who it was?" he asked, his voice more gentle now. I took another steadying breath.

"It... It was Bakura."

A deathly silence fell on the room, broken only by my slowly steadying breathing and the sound of birds cawing outside. "Are you sure..." he asked finally, his words coming through clenched teeth. I nodded mutely, brushing away the last tear that stuck to my eyelashes. Taking his hands from my shoulders, he stood up and walked away a few paces, his fists clenching as he struggled to keep his breathing steady.

"Atem, please, calm down, I-"

"How can I calm down?!" he yelled, spinning on his heel to face me, flames of rage flickering in his amethyst eyes. "Where does he get off doing this?! First he terrorizes the city, he kills one of your friends-"

"You can hardly call Dendera a friend," I tried to reason. He carried on as if I hadn't spoken.

"Then he has the nerve, the nerve, to even touch you!" he finished. Seeing how I had pulled back from him, scared of his anger, he sighed, one hand going to his temples. "I'm sorry..."

"You don't need to be, it's actually quite flattering," I tried to laugh. Sitting down next to me again, he kissed my forehead.

"Well, I have to be protective of you, don't I?" he murmured, half-grinning. "It's my duty as your lover, and one I intend carrying out to its fullest."

"I don't intend offering any objections," I laughed, pressing a kiss to his lips gently. "I just feel bad. You shouldn't be worrying about me when you have important problems."

"Oh, to hell with Libya!" he declared, waving one arm extravagantly. It missed my nose by the smallest margin, sending me reeling backwards. I felt the back of my head connect hard with something, and a clatter as something toppled over.

"Oomf..." I muttered, my hand flying to the back of my head. Biting his lip and muttering apologies, he helped me back into my sitting position. Still rubbing my head, I turned to see what I had fallen onto. My eyebrows raised bemusedly at the sight of a scattered sennet set. Picking up one of the white pieces, I turned to fix him with my steeliest glare. "Sennet?"

"Erm... No?" he attempted, grinning in an attempt not to look guilty. I threw the lapiz-inlaid piece at his head.

"Don't be clever with me," I growled. "That really hurt... Is that what you and master Seto do? You tell everyone you're discussing important state matters and then you sit and play sennet all day?"

"Not all day!" he replied defensively. I raised my eyebrows again. "Sometimes we play Hounds and Jackals..." I bit back a laugh.

"Aren't you a little old for Hounds and Jackals?" I sniggered, an image filling my head of the two of them arguing over who got to be Jackal.

"Oh, and of course you don't play it at all," he returned, smirking.

"It... I... That's different!" I stuttered. "Girls are allowed to be children for longer!"

"Of course, whatever you say," he grinned, dodging the half-hearted punch I threw at him. "Want to finish the game? Seto won't mind." I flushed a little and looked away.

"I'm not very good at sennet," I mumbled, twisting a strand of hair around my fingers. I heard Atem laugh behind me.

"Have you ever actually tried?" he asked. I nodded slowly.

"My brother and I used to team up against my father when we were children... But that was years ago!"

"All the more reason for you to start again," Atem announced firmly, setting the board back the right way up and collecting the scattered pegs. "Do you want to be white or black?" I sighed, knowing it was useless to argue.

"White..." I decided, picking up the last piece from the ground and placing it on the board. After a brief search for the four ivory throwing sticks, we began my swift and painful defeat.
The first three games were complete disasters. It must have been twelve years since I had last played, half of the rules I couldn't even remember. By the fourth I had managed to remember not to land on the House of Water square, and the fifth time I actually came close to winning- Atem just managed to capture my last piece on the Eye of Horus.

"When you think about it," I commented, deliberating between two pieces, "Sennet is like running a kingdom. You always have enemies near you, you have to weigh up every option before you make a move, and-" I switched one of his pieces for mine, "there's always someone ready to sabotage you." I offered him a sweet smile.

"And you have to be able to sabotage them right back," he replied, undoing my move. I gaped bemusedly, making him laugh and ruffle my hair condescendingly. "Don't feel bad. A woman can't do the Pharaoh's job."

"Oh I can't, can I?" I smirked. Scooping up the little sticks, I let them clatter to the limestone floor, dealing myself a five which took my last lapiz-eyed piece right off the board. With a smug smile, I pushed the last black pawn over, reveling in his shocked expression. "What's the matter? Upset you lost to a girl?"

"Not upset..." he mumbled. "Bemused, a little... Scared, put out- okay, I'm a little upset!" I grinned again and began collecting the pawns together again, slotting them into the drawer inside the board. I was still shaken over Bakura's proposition, but Atem had managed to push it almost completely from my mind. And I managed to beat him in a game I hadn't played in over a decade.

"I should get back to the temple. I don't think Lady Isis will be best pleased with me," I sighed. I didn't relish telling Isis I'd dropped the basket back in the alley, but I couldn't hide from her forever. Nodding, Atem pulled me into a quick kiss, stroking my arm comfortingly.
"Tell Isis, or anyone else for that matter, if they have any problem with you coming back empty handed they can come and talk to me," he told me, his serious expression betrayed by the laugh in his eyes. I returned the kiss, pulling myself away reluctantly from his embrace and making my way over to the balcony. "Erm... the door is over there?"

"It's quicker if I go this way," I grinned, sitting on the ledge and swinging my legs over. With a final wave back at him I dropped from the balcony, sending up clouds of dust under my feet where I landed. Laughing to myself at the image of his shocked face, I dusted myself off and slunk back into the temple. Femii and Ariam would doubtless be in our room, and it would probably be the safest place for me with an angry Isis on the warpath.

Back in the dark, claustrophobic corridors of the temple, my anxiety returned partly, and my pace quickened, even though I knew someone like Bakura wouldn't dare set foot inside a temple. I was glad to reach the familiar doorway, and hear the voices of my two friends chattering softly behind the curtain. Pulling it open, I waved to them both, a sheepish smile on my lips.

"Oh, here she is!" Ariam commented caustically, raising one eyebrow. "Where've you been, Princess?"

"Leave her alone, Ari," Femii scolded her, pushing her sideways at the nickname she had given me. She turned back to me, her expression one of maternal concern. "Where were you? You were only going to the market!"

I laughed nervously. "Long story, actually..."