Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Chance Meetings ❯ Fairy Tales - Atemu x Seth ( Chapter 2 )

7. Everyone wants you

Living a fairy tale wasn't as grand as most would think. Oh sure, the servants were dutiful and the material wealth was abundant, but on the inside…

 

Not to say he was lacking a heart or the fluffy emotions one would most associate being filled with when things were pleasant, because he had his parents and handful of friends he could turn to at any time and express such things. In fact, his life was envied by others for such remarkably good fortune. With an admired family, peaceful country, and nearly anything a child could want accessible with just a snap of fingers, everyone marveled at how the heir to the throne could be such a model child when it was expected he be a sniveling brat.

 

Well, to be honest, Atemu was a sniveling brat, but only on occasion as he couldn't stand being looked at with exasperation whenever he whined or stomped his foot like a five year old. Because he was twelve damn it, and twelve year olds shouldn't act out even when they were denied their most favorite thing, which happened to be running about in the rain for him.

 

But all that aside, he was happy and pleased with his life.

 

Save for the fact he still felt oddly disjointed within, which is why Atemu considered himself poor on the inside. He had asked his mother for possible reasons to his hollowness, but she had merely smiled and told him to play in the castle courtyard like a good boy. He had then tried to ask his father, but kings were much busier than most people gave them credit for, thus he never saw his father long enough to ask a question, much less receive an answer. So he remained poor and quiet for a long while thereafter, sneaking away from duties as heir to ponder in the rain despite being scolded time and again for such risky behavior. What did he care if he fell ill? Atemu wasn't naïve and fearless of death, he simply couldn't think of anything worth living for, especially since the emptiness inside of him had grown to an ache over time that stretched from rib to rib. Two years was a long time to think and hurt, but that's how long it took him before Atemu realized what it was he was missing.

 

It sounded silly, yes, but he had heard some of the ancients croon on about how they had met their wives and husbands, and as farfetched as their tales seemed, he associated far too easily. They had all felt an empty spot inside for much of their lifetimes until the day they met their mates, then and only then had the ache disappeared and been replaced by something lighter and pleasant. That was all the proof Atemu needed to pack and saddle up his horse in search of his mate. Then again, the castle wasn't keen on letting him run off to chase a fantasy spun by blind old bats with only half a mind put together. Fine, then he would saddle up his own horse and escape under the thick cloak of night, led by instinct and fate alone.

 

The only problem with his grand scheme was the fact the young prince had no idea where the horses were kept. Of course he knew in a stable of some sort, but he had never seen the beasts unless they were groomed and prepared for riding, always awaiting him with impatient pawing at the ground as they stood near the mounting stage. Well, how difficult could it really be to find the stables? Determination and faith were surging within him in abundance after all, so how could he not succeed? Besides, Atemu couldn't think of this as just his mission, because whoever it was that happened to be his mate was also feeling like himself, achy and empty, and he simply couldn't allow that continue.

 

Nights crept up on schedule, and every time he would sneak out of his room to sniff about the castle grounds, exploring a different area in hopes of finding the passage to the elusive stables, but every dawn he'd return to his room, shoulders slumped and eyes drooping from exhaustion. Giving up after days of fruitless wanderings, the prince figured he should just -ask- where the stables were, though Atemu had originally wanted to avoid this in case he was questioned in turn. After all, why would a royal heir want to visit the stink of a stable? It was unheard of, but he had to try because the ache was drilling him weary and he felt much worse for his fated mate for having to feel such discomfort too.

 

As it turns out he happened to ask a servant who wasn't paying a grand amount attention to who was asking for the location of the stables. Very fortunate indeed, but the prince was quite surprised to learn there were no royal stables. Instead the horses were kept in just a very large section of land with feeding pits and hay mounds for sleeping, a section of land he had never seen because it was located past the primary stone wall wrapped around the castle. Atemu felt at a loss, he was hardly allowed to roam within the castle's immediate vicinity, how would he ever manage to sneak over a wall that stood far too high for enemies to scale without trouble, much less a boy with a stature that wavered on overly petit?

 

Tears had smeared themselves over the prince's red eyes and cheeks as Atemu faced the possibility he would never find his mate, forever kept out of reach because of a stupid wall. A gloom hung over him for days on end, the hurt inside spreading and tugging his usually cheerful disposition downward until even his parents noticed, and quite frankly they were usually too busy to even recall they had a son. Eventually they questioned Atemu directly, and when he told them he wished to go to the other side of the wall so as to reach the horses, they had misinterpreted it as the boy wanting to ride a horse even though it was too cold to do so as winter had settled in and the horses were usually not used at the time.

 

And so being the kind, although wrong, parents that they were, they had bundled up Atemu with thicker leggings and warm fur to shoo him outdoors, the boy hiding the miserable surge within him at every shiver because he didn't wish to disappoint his parents. He stood out there like he should, perched atop the mounting stage, and waiting for his horse to be brought out, all the while ignoring the way his nose tingled with cold whenever the wind picked up or a snowflake would manage to cling to him. Finally there was the sound of muffled clops and an indignant whinny, a sure sign his horse wasn't appreciative of the fact she was being brought out in the cold. Raising his eyes in the direction of the sound, Atemu smiled as his horse neared with a definite huffiness to her steps, blinking a moment though when he noticed that she was being led by someone different than he was used to.

 

It was a boy, perhaps a little older than himself, or maybe just tall for his age, not that Atemu was one to judge such a thing as height. The other wasn't very well dressed for the cold, this more than evident by the violent trembles wracking his body as the cold cut through the pathetic shawl he had tucked tightly around his shoulders and partially over his head, revealing a wind-tussled mess of dark brown hair, wet and stiff from the snow that had landed there. Atemu tried to smile in greeting, after all he simply loved meeting new people since he was rather cloistered in his other wise good life, but the brunet boy didn't look up, only trembled and brought the horse near enough for the prince to mount.

 

“You'll catch your death wearing only that.”

 

The brunet seemed surprised at the sudden break in silence, shoulders going rigid with apprehension as though he expected to be struck for even considering he had been the one addressed. After all, the horse would be spoken to before himself, but when no punishment came and a sudden warmth enveloped his shoulders and back, the boy finally did look up in shock, startling the prince just as much.

 

Atemu had only been trying to help, taking off one of the furs draped around himself, and reaching out carefully to place the warmth on the boy. When the brunet had looked up at him though, the prince's breath had caught and he nearly fell off the mounting stage when his own eyes locked with the blue ones looking at him in wide confusion. As it goes, he did fall, though the brunet made a valiant, if not only slightly delayed, effort to catch him, Atemu giving a muffled cry as he landed first in the other boy's arms before they both toppled over from the motion to land in snow. He sniffled from the scare and tried to gather himself up, the prince mewling pitifully when he found himself wet and cold as the snow insisted on clinging to him and soaking through.

 

Coming to his senses as quickly as he could, the brunet scrambled to help the scarlet-eyed boy up, ignoring the sharp chills that laced up and down his body as the cold had no problem slipping within him deeply. “I apologize, My Prince. I should have-”

 

“Oh, I just slipped. I'm fine.” Atemu waved his hand dismissively at the small ordeal once he was standing and free of most of the snow, a smile gracing his face as he looked the other boy over more closely, although he did straighten up as best he could to not seem quite as short. “Are you new? Usually Jou brings about my horse, she's just so intolerant to others.”

 

“No, Sire. I've been mending the horses for several years now. I've never brought one around though.”

 

“What's your name?” At this the brunet blinked even wider, his blue gaze, which had been wandering for a place to look to without seeming offensive, suddenly locked with Atemu's own, flicking away immediately. “Come on now, I'm not going to tell on you.” The brunet mumbled something under his breath and the prince blinked and squinted, leaning forward to catch it before the cold whisked it away. “What was it?”

 

Taking a deep breath to settle his nerves, though it could have been out of annoyance as well, the brunet looked up again and forced away the frown. “Seth.”

 

“See, not very difficult, now was it?” Atemu smiled, giggling faintly at the huff of breath the other released, and covering up the brunet with the fur once again. “It's nice to meet you Seth, I'm Ate-”

 

“I'm aware of who you are.” It was a slightly biting tone, the prince looking a bit hurt at the roughness to it, Seth glancing away to soften his voice in turn. “I mean, everyone knows who you are, Sire. You needn't introduce yourself.”

 

Smiling again, the younger of the two cocked his head and watched as Seth clutched the warmth closer to himself, shaking his head disbelievingly for a moment. “No, I haven't met everyone, so it's not possible for everyone to know me.”

 

At this point Seth had to wonder whether the prince was being cute or simply ignorant, then again, there wasn't much to say about one who wanted to ride a horse in the middle of the cold, but Seth had no right to think such much less say it. “My Prince, regardless of whether you've met them, everyone living under the rule of your father knows you. Everyone wants you, everyone wants to be you, and everyone believes you're terribly wonderful because that's all they've been told to know.” Atemu blinked in confusion and furrowed his brow, shaking his head as he tried to comprehend being so… known. Certainly he wasn't naïve, he knew who he was and the importance about his existence, every royal figure does, but he couldn't digest it when it was flung at him almost bitterly. “Will you still be riding, Sire?” Seth sounded tired, and indeed looked it as well when the younger glanced up and noted the washed out appearance the brunet carried about him.

 

“No.” Whether the taller boy sighed from exasperation or relief, the prince didn't and wasn't sure he wanted to know, instead Atemu watched the brunet lead the horse around after a quick bow, Seth shivering as he clicked his tongue and tugged the beast along. The further the brunet wandered the more aware Atemu became of an ache inside of himself, the very ache that hadn't been bothering him since he had seen Seth approach. Why he hadn't been aware of this earlier escaped him, but the prince knew better than to let his long awaited chance slip by. Scarlet eyes widened as he gasped and nearly coughed on the sudden intake of frigid air. “Seth!”

 

The brunet paused and wearily began to turn around, figuring the prince had changed his mind again, only to be surprised as he watched the heir to the throne bounding through the snow quite unsuccessfully. Flurries of white would jump in the air as the younger panted and tried to tackle the snow that insisted on being far too deep for him to walk through normally, the fur at his shoulders slipping as he struggled along. Seth decided to meet the prince halfway before the younger male fell over and sunk, not expecting the huffing royal to jump into his arms though when they were an arm's length away. “…Sire?”

 

“Y-you… it's… I've been… and I couldn't… It's you!” Atemu smiled blissfully up at the other boy, waiting for a form of recognition to dawn on Seth's face, but when it didn't the prince's eyes blurred faintly with tears. “…Don't you… don't you feel it too?”

 

“…My Prince, perhaps you've been out in the cold too lo-”

 

“It's you! It has to be!” The shorter boy seemed nearly frantic, grabbing at Seth's calloused hands and making the brunet place it over Atemu's chest where his heart beat quite harshly from emotion and the fight with the snow. “It's always hurt, Seth! Every day for as long as I can remember, and they say… They say that when you find your mate it won't hurt anymore.” Blue eyes widened at this and the brunet shook his head, after all, who ever heard of stable boys and princes becoming mates? Fairy tales were for children who knew no better, and Seth was confident he knew enough not to fall for such- “Seth… You believe me, don't you? Haven't you felt it too?”

 

The brunet didn't answer, lowering his gaze as he fought off the urge to simply tell the prince to play his games elsewhere. It was too cold for such a thing, Seth didn't want to deal with fantasies and nonsense unless it was while he dreamt, even then those things were bothersome when he needed a solid night's sleep. “Sire, I-” But he was cut off when small, frail hands planted themselves on his face, the shorter boy tugging Seth to lower himself to eyelevel. They stared at each other for a moment, the hopeful streak of scarlet searching and pleading with the ocean-like blue that remained still and lost.

 

And then Atemu kissed him.

 

It almost missed as the kiss was childlike and desperate, but the heir pressed his mouth as tightly as he could against the other's until it nearly hurt, Atemu blinking widely during and after as he pulled away, keeping his hold on the brunet's face. “It's you… I know it.” The blur of tears remained in place, but for all the strength the boy was demonstrating he couldn't help it when one or two slipped free and made his skin sting as the wind found the wet trails and viciously nipped at them. “I don't care what people know of me, want of me, or anything else, I merely know what I want.” He had no evidence that Seth was even listening to him, the surprised look on the other's face remained throughout, and the prince knew he didn't want to continue seeing such. “I wanted the ache to go away, Seth. I've wanted that for a long time now…” Atemu shut his eyes and let out a quivering breath, ignoring the smell of horses and hay that clung to the taller body as he buried his face against Seth's torso, arms wrapping around a thin waist to keep the brunet from leaving. “But I've wanted the wrong thing. I don't want the ache to go away; I want you to replace it with something better.”

 

Seth wasn't sure if he could offer anything better though, and while he would have stated this, the muffled voice at his chest tore something inside of him he hadn't known to be there. He told himself what the boy wanted wasn't feasible, reminded himself that a prince wed a princess for a reason, because they belonged together and that was just the way the story goes. Stable boys simply did not fit into the tale, even when they did believe what others said and had a rush of warmth filling up a previously aching void. But he had never believed in fairy tales, now had he? With that in mind, Seth relented and decided nothing terrible would come from an attempt to test the tales of myth. “…I'll escort you inside, Sire. Perhaps tomorrow you'll feel more like riding, I'll be sure to have your horse prepared.”

 

The sniffling faded from the prince as he looked up, blinking at the statement before some sense came back to him, a smile forming as he nodded and accepted the hand that brushed against his own. “And the day after?”

 

“If you desire it, I'll bring her out the day after as well.”

 

“And the day after that?”

 

“Of course, Sire.”

 

Atemu grinned and clung to the other boy even as he was led toward the archway of the castle's entrance, nodding and sputtering his thanks and whispers of bliss while stomping away the snow that clung to him. Even when Seth had to leave him, with as faint of a smile as the prince was capable of seeing, Atemu remained pleased and watched the brunet until his eyes stung from the white glare his mate faded into. And for the first time he clutched at his chest not because it flickered with hurt, but because it fluttered with the premonition of joy.