Ascension [A Yu-Gi-Oh! FanFiction]

30: Everything

AN: Beware - dangerous levels of fluff incoming! n_n Shamelessly, this is one of my favorite chapters so far. I hope you enjoy it too!

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On the third and final day of their journey, Atem awoke yet again to an empty bed. Fighting a yawn, he leaned up and looked to the porthole across the cabin, greeted with a thin stream of light cast upward on the ceiling — barely daybreak, and Satiah was already gone. Atem knew he shouldn't be surprised — at any moment, her home city would be rising up on the horizon. A smile came to his lips at the thought of the elation she must be feeling upon returning to her birthplace. Remembering Isis's parting words, Atem rose and readied himself for the day, hopeful he hadn't missed too much of his wife's excitement already.

As he dressed, he thought pensively about how such joy was long overdue for Satiah. For months, she'd been run through a hellacious gauntlet of challenges, and she had so far managed to weather them with grace. But Atem was ashamed that, even with his new sovereign power, he'd been unable to shield her from many of the stigmas being thrown at her — some by his own court, no less. After her clash with Aknadin the day before, Atem had gathered his Guardians and delivered a thorough reprimand against addressing the queen in such a manner. The tongue-lashing was largely out of character for him, and featured such extreme terms as "unacceptable," "disrespectful," and "forbid," but it helped Atem overcome some of his guilt to make the matter abundantly clear for the future.

These thoughts put a noticeable spring in his step as he left his cabin and traced his hands along the dark halls in search of the dawning light above deck. When he entered Nefertem's embrace, however, Atem was forced to raise a hand to shield his eyes from a piercing ray of gold rising over the flat plateau to the northwest — the capstone of Khufu's Great Pyramid, flashing harshly with each sway of the ship, as if beckoning them toward it. Atem couldn't help but feel a bit of anxiety at the sight.

He made his way over to the side of the ship, hoping the beauty of Memphis would help to quiet his nerves. But as the white pylons of Sekhmet's temple emerged above the rolling fields of green and gold, the only thing he could bring himself to feel was remorse — a quiet, burning shame for what had been set in motion the last time he'd walked along the hallowed ground of Memphis.

Thankfully, his attention was drawn away at the sound of his wife's bright laughter rising over the bustle of sailors and deckhands working. Further down the ship, Satiah was leaning up against the railing, her father standing beside her with his arm thrown over her shoulder. Even from where he was standing, Atem could all but feel their cheer. They laughed together and pointed out familiar landmarks along the horizon, bright-eyed and red-cheeked.

After another moment more, Satiah met his gaze, and though her laughter died down a bit, her smile remained. She whispered something to her father, then ducked out of his embrace to make her way toward Atem. She said nothing, even as she came within arm's reach and leaned her hip against the railing. Atem found it impossible not to mirror her smile, despite the slight twinge of nervousness that was still tugging at the back of his mind.

"It's hard to believe I've only been gone two months," she said, turning her eyes west again. "So much has changed since then ... and yet the city looks the same as it ever did."

"That's good," Atem replied. "Right?"

Satiah grinned wider and nodded, then moved in and wrapped her hands around his forearm, leaning her head against his shoulder. In that moment, it seemed as though he were peering into the very vision Isis had foreseen — his wife a beautiful portrait of light and shadow, her smile forever painted with brushstrokes of truth.