𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚃𝚛𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚛

The signal

𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀

You did your usual routine before walking to your area beside the Pharaoh's throne. You conversed with Seto until Atem stepped in. Whenever he approached the throne room, everyone would go silent. He radiated a dark aura at the start of every day. Some would say it was his determination, but you begged to differ. Morning cases in the throne room mainly consisted of criminal cases. You shakily heaved out a sigh, deciding to lighten the mood,

"Good morning my pharaoh! Have you eaten?"

Upon the sight of you, Atem's aura instantly lightened. He shot you a serious gaze. You mentally cringed, hoping he wasn't in a bad mood,

"Hello Calixta. Yes I have, have you?"

You chuckled softly before nodding,

"Of course. It was a bit difficult to eat the fish. Bastet kept trying to take it from my plate"

The king smirked before sitting on his throne,

"Bastet is very savage"

"Indeed"

You both chuckled before getting the cases started. Although he might've gone back into a serious mood, you managed to ease him up a bit for the day.

Despite not telling the pharaoh, for the past two weeks you've been collecting all the vases in the palace. Atem allowed you to leave his side a few times a day, to accomplish your duties. After the snake incident, you were sure Bakura was after the king. With the help of Heba, you emptied out all the vases, just to make sure there were no more snakes. You crouched down, frowning at how you found nothing. Bastet suddenly appeared by your side, rubbing against you before nudging a vase with her head. Curious by her actions, you grabbed the vase.
While emptying it, a letter fell out. Surprised, you picked it up and read it,

"I will no longer hide the fact that I am after Pharaoh Atem. After my village was destroyed I have sworn vengeance on the royal family. The king thinks he is protected. He now has a sufficient amount of guards with a trusted royal guard, but he is wrong. He took something precious from me. So it is time I take something precious for him."

You tossed the paper aside not believing what you had just read. 'He is not coming for the pharaoh... he is coming for me', you thought. Bastet meowed as if she were answering. Suddenly, Heba spoke from behind you,

"Miss Calixta have you found anything?"

Quickly, you picked up the paper, stuffing it where you held your dagger,

"No Heba, there's nothing here"

You turned around to look at the boy, he smiled at you before walking off once more,

"Okay, I will go look for more vases"

"Thank you Heba" you spoke, quickly running off in to your room.

You sat on your bed thinking everything over. As you remembered picking up the letter, you realized what type of vase it was from. The vase was specifically created with a design displaying the gods traveling through the night. 'could this mean Bakura will show up at the time of nightfall?' Although you held the letter now, you did not know what day Bakura would come. You stood up, walking to the training field. You needed to have an emergency meeting with the guards.

You needed to have them ready for anything and everything,

"Calixta is something wrong?" Spoke Jounouchi, the head guard,

"Yes. I need all units assembled before nightfall. Do not worry about informing the pharaoh of this situation as I have already"

You lied through your teeth. Pharaoh Atem did not know of this situation and you did not intend on telling him. If you told the pharaoh he would want to join the altercation, and you can't have him dying. You cannot risk it. It is your duty to lay your life down for the pharaoh and his people. You intend on carrying out that duty until you no longer can.

"Of course, I shall assemble the units"

"Thank you Jounouchi, please do not let this be heard. I cannot risk scaring all who reside in the palace"

"Of course Calixta"

And with that, both of you left.

You briefly trained with the guards until the evening. You were planning to get ready in your armor. Before you could make it to your room, Atem called after you,

"Calixta, would you care to join me for dinner?

You looked up at the pharaoh and smiled,

"Of course my king"

As the two of you walked into the dining hall you realized you needed to act as normal as possible, before the pharaoh picked up on anything. You tried avoiding all acts that would give you away, but it was difficult. As you ate your meal the pharaoh scanned your features to make sure you were alright,

"Is everything alright my dearest one? You seem awfully quiet"

The pharaoh had a look of intensity on his face. You decided to lie. You prayed to the gods hoping he wouldn't notice,

"Yes my Pharaoh, I am just a bit tense is all. Did you fall asleep on me yesterday? That may be why"

You smirked at him as he began to chuckle,

" I can give you a massage to ease the pain if you'd like"

The pharaoh stared at you intently. Something about the way he said it with his husky voice sent shivers down your spine. Your cheeks burned. You needed to get your head out of the gutter. You both chuckled before concluding you would be fine without one.

"I shall be in the throne room. Priestess Isis has a feeling Bakura will show soon. Care to join?"

You looked at the pharaoh without batting an eye, "I have to take care of my guards. We will be discussing strategies on how to take Bakura down. Forgive me for the disturbance"

"Of course. I will see you soon Calixta"

"Yes my pharaoh"

You felt guilty for lying to him. But you did it to protect him. To save him.

𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀𓂀