Ascension [A Yu-Gi-Oh! FanFiction]

12: Compromise

Tears shook free of Satiah's cheeks with each stair she ascended on her way back up to the palace. She rounded the corner past the main entrance and trekked along the outer walls again, forgetting that the prince's friends were likely still sitting by the Sacred Lake. Sure enough, as she passed through the gate into the gardens, she met the cheerful eyes of the young girl, Mana, who was sitting alone under a nearby tree with an open spellbook in her lap. Satiah froze, and the girl's sunny face fell with concern. Lowering her eyes, Satiah hurried by her without a word and climbed the stairs back to the living quarters.

Once inside, she made swiftly for her room, opening and closing the door with an audible slam. She leaned her back up against the cool wood and huffed one last shuddering sob before gathering herself. It was bad enough she had broken down in front of the prince — but it somehow felt even worse now that his friend had witnessed it as well. The show of emotion had taken her thoroughly by surprise — the last thing she had expected to see in the Wedju Shrines was a reminder of her brother.

Sniffing back her tears, Satiah lifted her hand, which had been clenched during the entire walk back to the palace. Slowly, she opened her fist, revealing the soft glow of the lotus again, looking undisturbed despite the force with which she had clamped down on it. It took everything in her not to burst into tears again as she looked down upon the flower. She was spared only by the multitude of other emotions that now began to fight her sorrow — joy at this immaculate effigy of her brother, anger over his untimely death, despair at the thought of living the rest of her years without him — all of them, tumbling together and ringing hollow in the depths of her empty heart.

Satiah moved further into her room, cradling the blossom close to her chest as if she might feel the captured rays of Ra's warmth within it. After Metka's death, Satiah's only relief came from the thought that his ka had been allowed to pass peacefully on to the Duat. It was a small comfort knowing he would never suffer being sealed in stone for eternity, as was the fate of her own spirit. But as she thought back to the queen's peaceful ka, Satiah couldn't help but feel a spark of jealousy. What she wouldn't give to see Metka's spirit again — to commune with it, even if it couldn't speak back.

Her dark thoughts were interrupted by a sudden knock on her door. Instinctively, she clenched her fist around the flower again and snapped her eyes to the source of the sound. "Who is it?" she demanded.

After a brief pause, a meek voice came from behind the door. "It's Mana, my lady."

Satiah hissed a curse for letting herself be seen by the girl. Sighing, she approached the door, rubbing tears and black ink from her eyes with the back of her hand. She opened the door a crack, just enough to catch a glimpse of the girl's cheery smile.

"May I come in?" Mana asked.

Satiah forced a smile in return. She opened the door a bit wider, allowing Mana to cross the threshold. The girl looked around at the room for a moment before turning to Satiah, bouncing from heel to toe.

"Is there something I can do for you, Mana?" Satiah asked, trying not to sound as impatient as she felt.

"Well..." Mana began in a sing-songy voice. "I was just wondering if maybe...you'd like to do something?"

Satiah cocked a brow. "Like what?"

"Anything!" Mana chirped. "We could go into town for a little shopping...? Or maybe walk down to the river and watch the ships come in?"

Satiah tried to maintain a smile, but when Mana seemed suddenly desperate, Satiah feared it was turning into more of a grimace. "That sounds very nice, Mana, but I'm afraid I'm not feeling very well just now—"