Remember The Time

Preface

The Egyptian Afterlife

It was quite lonely and quiet in the afterlife. Silence was the only thing that the former pharaoh, Atem could hear as he sat in his chambers pondering.

It wasn't like he was unhappy, his father and friends from his ancient life were there and Mana always amused him, much to the dismay of her teacher, Mahad.

No, Atem missed his life in the future. His daily life filled with the kind words of his host Yugi, The amusing jokes and insane antics of Joey and Tristan. He even missed Kaiba sometimes, much to his surprise. But, the one thing he missed must was...Her.

Tea Gardner was the one person that Atem always yearned to see again. Her voice that always uttered encouraging words and advice, always ringed in his ears.
Her azure eyes and appearance would almost always flash in his mind and dreams. In fact he dreamt it so much that he had taken up painting and drawing.

Most of his art was pictures of Tea as an Egyptian princess and queen.  As he created, Atem began  to have flashes of memory that he had never seen before. It was as if another person from his past was erased from his memory.

As these thoughts troubled Atem, he asked his father Pharaoh Aknamkanon who had taken notice of his boy's melancholy, what the visions meant. With a saddened expression on the elder pharaoh's face, he admitted to his son the truth that he hopped he would never remember.

Before Atem sacrificed himself and sealed away his memories, he had a queen named Teana. She was an Egyptian dancer who danced for all of the great kings. When she came to Aknamkanon's palace however, Atem was so mesmerized by her grace,
Her beauty also her wit and charm, that he proposed to her after courting her for just two days. Aknamkanon's face grew in a small grin and his eyes lit up as he remembered how happy his son was on the day of his wedding.

"But, why don't I remember her?" Atem pushed. He looked up at his son's face
"Atem, my son, you need to be seated for this" He said as he lead his son to sit.
As him and his son were seated he took a deep breath and prepared to tell his son why he didn't remember his wife.

"During your disappearance, after your battle with the thief king, Teana was with child, she didn't tell you because she had miscarriages and false pregnancies before, and she didn't want you to be dissappointed again. But, when your guard couldn't find you and presumed you dead, the news reached her and she ended up losing the child in her distress."

"And what happened to her?"

Aknamkanon sighed
"Seeing that you were dead, that she was just going to be a slave to the thief king and that she had already lost the only piece of you that she had left, she took her own life."

Atem gasped as he remembered coming back to only find his dead queen laying dead in their chambers, her dress covered in blood, and how he cradled her dead figure until priest Seto and Isis had to drag him away from her so she could have a proper royal buriel.

"So that's why she isn't here in the afterlife?" Atem asked
"Yes and no"
"How do you mean father?"

"First of all you didn't remember her because you instructed Isis that you were not to remember Teana because her memory was to painful for you to bear, and she isn't here because one, people who take their lives don't receive in afterlife. But, seeing as she was still a good queen and was very kind to all, the gods forgave her and aloud her to be reincarnated."  Aknamkanon finished

"Do you know who?" Asked Atem

His father smirked in knowing "I believe you know who my son,"  he mused as he gazed at one of Atem's paintings. Atem gasped "T-tea?"
"Yes my son, she is whom you seek, is she not?"  "Yes but, how?"  "There is a way, Mahad and Mana can help you."

"But, what about you and mother?" He asked
Aknamkanon smiled sadly  "Atem, your mother and I lived our lives, you still haven't. We support you in whichever path you choose, we only wish for your happiness."

"Thank you father , I won't ever forget you."
"I love you, Atem" he said as he embraced his son and left the room.

Atem smiled as he picked up his paintbrush and started on a blank papyrus.  "Soon my sleeping beauty, we will be reunited again."