Atem x Reader ☆ A Shadow in the Dark

Chapter 24

"(Y/n)! Where are you?!"

I know the palace is big, but not so much so that it turns into a game of cat and mouse. I bend over out of breath, clutching my knees. So quickly? I forget, I've been unwell lately. My spirit diminishes with the thought of my queen's sorrow. She ran away from me. She doesn't want me right now. I had lost her in the halls, being unable to keep up due to the giant head start she had taken advantage of. I am incapable of doing right by her, as long as I do right by everyone else. By doing right, I am also wronging the one I love? How is this fair for her? Is the answer truly so ironic? I pick myself up like I always do, and follow my instincts to the best of my abilities. I say in my head, (Y/n), show me... A few simple words. Even though I can't read into her mind, I can still read through her. This time I guide myself, and like so, I walk forward, motivated by nothing other than memory. Memory? Really? Haven't I already lost this? It would seem that way, but I experience a strong wave of déjà vu. Suddenly, everything becomes so obvious.

You're hiding away in the bedroom?

Something in my brain clicks that very moment. Without any reason to stay behind, I march away quickly to where I think my queen is. No, to where I know she is. I should have remembered. The halls move past me. My feet walk at a controlled pace at first. I'll be with you shortly, and then I'll explain. As I approach the place, my knees begin to wobble. I feel my weight bringing them down. It's almost as if something's trying to stop me. I've felt this force from day one. It told me I wasn't alone, but only with malicious intentions. I've kept it away, and now it's back. (Y/n), wait for me. These damn feet of mine. Aren't I the master of my own body?

My queen, I need you. I'll find you. I'll get to you...

I repeat this as motivation for myself. Perhaps my body will fight against the presence if I choose desire over force. I've never been controlled by another. I won't let it happen today. If anything, I am defiant by nature. We should all be free.

Stop...

They listen. My feet, they halt at my command. Motionless is the room around me that now I must give to it what I have taken. I check up and down the door I've stopped in front of. This is hers. Even in the black of night, these keen eyes could track it down. I have a flashback to a vision, in which I am in a similar situation such as this. I knock on the door, as I do in real life. Am I even sure this is real life? I feel as though I'm reliving old memories, in this case, forgotten ones. It's the same case of déjà vu from earlier. This feeling... it frightens me.

"Enter."

My queen's voice is muffled behind the door, but it breaks through my pensiveness. My uneasiness, I refuse to let go of it. It's the adrenaline I need to win when I have lost. I do as I'm told, and open the door. It creaks in suspense. I almost imagine her not to be there, but it seems as if the surroundings lure me in with their ease and calm. And she, standing there so innocent, but not so. For it is her own self that lures me into the darkness. I feel it inside, not taken in what's visible. Masks everywhere?

"Atem."

Though her back faces me, she insists on speaking. I won't let her hate me for this. With several steps forward, I push my body slightly into her back, grabbing her arms from behind. I sense anger, but I let it die down. How I love her touch so. It makes me forget.

"It is a beautiful sight," I say.

"It used to be..."

A tug at my heart. I pick up on this subtle emotional change. It isn't sadness that I feel from her, nor anger. It's simply nothing. Blank. I can't read her at all. For the first time, I can't do it.