Stay by me

Chapter 1

I do not own Yugioh.
6 years ago...
Two squeals were heard throughout the palace, making the priests and servants "Aww,". Two tri-colored haired toddlers stumbled out of the nursery, eyes darting around for their parents. Atem, being the oldest of the two, had sharper features, resembling his father. While Heba, his younger brother, had large amethyst eyes which resembled his mother. The two loved to suck on each other's thumbs, before piling on each other to sleep. The dynamic duo staggered into their parent's room, before realizing that they weren't there. "Paaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..." Atem squealed, looking around. Heba burst into tears, crying for his mother. A sigh came around the corner, revealing the Pharaoh and the Queen glancing down at them. The twins immediately lit up, a wide smile spreading across their little faces. "Those two can't last a day without us, can they? Chuckled Queen Halima. Aknamkanon laughed along, picking the two toddlers up. Atem pouted, struggling to get out of his father's grip. Meanwhile, Heba giggled as he attempted to chew Aknamkanon's robe. Halima smiled, brushing both twins' hairs. "Let's sleep, shall we?" She asked. The Pharaoh nodded as he took the brothers into their room.

Suddenly, screams erupted from one of the rooms. The Pharaoh was the first to wake up, along with the other priests. The screams led to the twins' room, which worried everyone. "It's no good...the princes' rarely scream unless they see an insect..." One of the guards mumbled, alerting the Pharaoh. He slowly opened the door, noticing that the twins weren't in their cribs. "Atem...? Heba?" Aknamkanon stammered, fearing the worst. He stepped into the room, only to see the two huddled in the corner, with Atem having a tiny cut on his face. "Prince Atem! Prince Heba!" Cried Mahad. Heba awoke from his deep slumber, before crying out in terror, as if he had seen a ghost. Atem on the other hand, continued to remain unconscious despite Heba's desperate attempts to wake his brother up. Aknamkanon gasped when he noticed the gash on Atem's face, eyes widened when he realized that the cut was extremely deep. "Who..." He trailed off. While the toddler was unconscious, his father could still see that his eyes were brimmed with tears. "Temu...wake up, will you?" His father whispered, gently shaking his son. The young Prince slowly opened his eyes, and immediately rushed into his father's arms as he cried. The boy coughed up blood as he glanced at his father, tears begging to be let out. "Don't worry...I'll help you..." Mahad stammered, wiping the blood off Atem's face. He winced before bursting into tears. Queen Halima heard the cries of the young prince and rushed towards the scene. "Aknamkanon!" She shouted, picking Heba up. Atem hugged her tightly, crying his lungs out. "What happened...?" She asked, kneeling down. The shaken Pharaoh replied, "Someone attacked Atem and Heba...Heba had no injuries...but Atem...was hit..." he couldn't continue. Once the older of the twins calmed down, he huddled his little brother and fell asleep. Halima raised her eyebrow as she brought, "But...if the person had the intention to hurt, why didn't he or she end their lives right there and then?" It up. Mahad sighed as he pointed at a knife on the floor. "No, my queen. The person had the intention to kill the two, but decided to leave them alive for the time being."

Ever since then, the Pharaoh ordered extra guards to be standing guard at the nursery room, while two guards would stay inside, watching for the Princes'. No matter how hard he tried to keep the two safe, it always ended up with one of them getting hurt or the guards dying right in front of their eyes. Aknamkanon furrowed his eyebrows, looking at his sons.

What am I going to do? It's almost impossible to keep them safe...

His face creased with worry when one of the guards reported another attack on the two toddlers. This time, the attacks were more frequent and more brutal. Although Heba had a little pinch to the cheek, Atem ended up having a large knife wound across his face. The little ones cried loudly, hugging each other for comfort.

"Why don't we keep them in our room? That way, we can keep them both safe," Halima suggested, gently shaking the Pharaoh. He lit up, and nodded. He gestured the guards to bring the toddlers into their room and signaled more to guard the door. "Maaaaaaaaa..." Atem mumbled, burying his face into his mother's arms. The Queen and the Pharaoh both glanced at their son, feeling that keeping the two in their room will not stop the psycho who's trying to kill them. Or...hurt them. Heba threw his arms around his father, begging to be carried. "No, no carrying this time. Both of you will sleep. I must attend to other matters. Halima...do you mind if I leave you for a while?" Aknamkanon asked, standing up. Halima shook her head, before tucking her sons into bed. "Maaaaaaa..." Atem repeated, pointing at the balcony. "What do you see?" She asked, looking around. "Maaaaaaaaaa..." he cried, hiding behind her. However, as the queen glanced at the direction the young toddler was facing, she saw nothing. Little Heba, curious to see what Atem noticed, climbed off the bed and off to the balcony. He giggled as he looked around, but found nothing. "Heba!" Halima shouted, leaping off the bed. Heba squealed as he pointed into the night sky, but the Queen continued to see nothing. Atem got off the bed, also wanting to see what his brother was looking at. In the end, both toddlers faced the sky, weirdly. "C'mon you too, sleepy time." Both the boys giggled as they were safely tucked into their bed. "Goodnight," she smiled, hugging the two as she fell asleep.

An hour later... in the throne room...

"My Pharaoh!!" Yelled a terrified voice. Aknamkanon looked up, and noticed a wounded guard, trying to get his attention. "What's the matter?" He replied. "The queen...she was attacked...!" The guard exclaimed before collapsing to the ground in sheer exhaustion. Aknamkanon rushed into the room, and noticed blood splattered all over the floor, with the two toddlers sleeping soundly on the bed. The queen, however, had suffered a brutal death-Six stab wounds into the chest, but weirdly, her hands were clasped together, before being placed onto her stomach. The Pharaoh fell onto his knees, before feeling his eyes widen in fear. The door had closed behind him, before having a knife put against his throat. "Like my surprise?" The figures laughed, looking down at the poor man. "H-how could you..." He stammered, tearing up. "Well, this is the exact same thing I had to face...AFTER YOU TOOK EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME!" The man shouted, kicking him hard across the face. "W-What did I do to you?" The Pharaoh asked, biting his lip. The figure slowly grabbed Atem, holding the knife closely to his throat. "How can you not remember? 7 years ago...you killed my parents right in front of my eyes! YOU KILLED THEM!" He yelled, using the knife to make a small cut in the boy's throat. Young Atem stirred from his sleep, before crying out in terror. "N-no! Don't hurt my sons!" The Pharaoh cried, begging on his knees. The figure chuckled, widening the cut, causing the toddler to scream in pain. Heba, upon hearing his brother, woke up to see the same man that had pinched his cheek. He too, burst into tears, trying to kick the figure, but to no avail. "It's a pity you don't remember me, cuz' Saki is the name that will haunt you and your boys' dreams forever." Saki laughed as he jumped off the balcony, to where? Nobody knew. Aknamkanon rushed to his son's aid, stopping the bleeding throat. "Shhhh...it's alright...don't cry...Papa's here...Papa's here..." he repeated quietly, shaking Atem. Heba glanced at his brother, and looked at his deceased mother. "Maaaa..." He stammered, crawling towards the woman. No matter how hard he tried, she was long gone. Leaving the trio all alone.

6 years later...
Both Atem and Heba were 8...

"You can't catch me!" Giggled Heba as he dashed into the palace gardens, trying to find a place to hide. He smirked when he arrived at his favorite spot. Atem chased after his brother, only to find himself lost in the gardens. "Heba...where are you?!" He called, looking around. Heba laughed under his breath as he made sure no part of him was sticking out. Where the boy hid was where Atem least expected him to be. It was small, cramped, and even the oldest of the two never thought that the younger could fit inside. However, he decided to look into the area anyways. "Ah, found you. Never thought you'd hide in the pots." The older boy giggled, peeking over the top of the pot. "No fair, Temu! You always find me!" Heba exclaimed, pouting. "Prince Heba...Prince Atem...it's time for your lessons..." stammered Mahad as he glanced at the two. "No! No lessons for us, thank you!" The younger twin shouted, dragging his brother along with him. "Run, will you?!" He whispered. Atem blinked as he glanced back at the furious Mahad. Suddenly, the two bumped into someone, much bigger and bulkier than any of the guards in the palace. "Great, you made us crash into one of the servants! Sorry..." Heba lowered his head apologetically. Atem glared at him. "How is it my fault? You dragged me along for your little adventure!" Just then, the man smiled, before shaking his head. "No worries...I'm alright. You two be more careful, alright?" The two nodded. However, the twins asked, "Who are you?" The man smirked but walked away, ignoring the brothers.

Word count, 1657

THANK YOU FOR READING :p