The growing darkness of the great Northern Sea was what was in front of Atem's eyes. His limbs felt numb and incapable of moving. When he attempted to move his legs to swim up towards the surface, he only managed a weak twitch of the muscles. The blade embedded in his right thigh didn't help. Now, he was helplessly sinking lower into the sea. If anything, some strange creature of the deep would finish him off before drowning did.

The attack had come out of nowhere from a mysterious people that not even his great kingdom of Egypt could hold off. It had been a regular patrol, and Atem ignored the protest from his advisors and joined it. It had been quite some time since he'd been out at sea. Watching the sails unfurl in the strong breeze and the glimmer against the sun were beautiful sights.

It started when a group of strange, unfamiliar ships approached theirs and instantly knocked against them, boarding without hesitation. The men who invaded were strong and merciless. Their muscled arms alone were easily enough to snap Atem in half. His guards fought bravely, swords clashing against each other. Backed into a corner, Atem drew his bronze sword. It was curved at the end, different from the swords the strange warriors brandished. Before he had the chance to fight back, one ran up and stuck a dagger right into his right thigh. It hadn't been a lethal strike, making Atem conclude that they didn't intend to kill him. They could have easily done so since they killed his guards off without a second thought. They could easily do away with the young Pharaoh too. What sent chills down his spine was that they intended to capture him alive, merely wounding his leg. What could possibly be their motive? These people often attacked coastal villages but not much more. Why did they want to kidnap a pharaoh? Perhaps they were working with the Hittites or various other enemies of Egypt. Whatever it was, Atem couldn't allow himself to be taken by these brutes. A pharaoh isn't one to give up.

Before they could grab him, Atem dealt a swift kick with his good leg to the man's stomach, stunning him for a few seconds before piercing his bronze sword through his shoulder where the armor didn't protect him. Another had come up from behind and grabbed a fistful of his hair, his hand like a vice and undoing his braids. With gritted teeth and determination, Atem pulled the sword out of the man's shoulder and flipped it to plunge it into the man behind him. With a grunt of pain, he finally let go of him. Now, he'd make his escape while he tried to pull the sword out. What did him in was smacking his back against the side of the ship in the process of jumping overboard. Now, a ways away from the where the ship was, he found himself sinking deeper and deeper into the sea. Just as darkness was about to take over his vision, he felt something rough surround him and stopped him from sinking further. Not soon after, he felt himself being tugged towards the surface. From the rough feel of rope on his fingers, it had to be a net. Thank the gods. He must've run into a fisherman's net by sheer luck or it was possible that it was the same men who attacked him reeling him back in. He prayed for the former. He didn't know how long he had been floating around for, but he hoped it had been enough to run into a benevolent fisherman. Right before he reached the sparkling surface, everything faded into darkness.

When Atem woke up, he was lying on his side. From the rolling feel and sound of waves crashing, he guessed that he was on a boat. It was hopefully the boat of someone who would help him. He could barely move out of sheer exhaustion and pain. As he opened his eyes, he looked upon a calm sea, the surface like glass save for a few small waves that broke the smoothness of it. They must've been nearing a port as he spotted many boats either coming back or setting out to sea. The sun made the water practically illuminate with varying hues from deep blue to light indigo, getting lighter and lighter as they neared the port. A sharp pain in his leg made him nearly cry out when he attempted to move. The rough feel of the wooden deck of the boat didn't help as it dug into his skin at even the slightest movement. The dagger in his thigh may have been gone, replaced by bandages, but it still hurt. He risked serious infection without proper treatment. If he was in Egypt, it would have already been treated and dressed properly. Atem's heart ached when he thought back to his home and people. He wondered what was being done about his disappearance. Did they think he was dead? Was he being mourned at this very moment?

"Ah, so you're awake. How are you feeling?" a voice asked in Aramaic.

Luckily, Atem was familiar with the dialect having learned a few foreign ones. He hoped his Egyptian accent wasn't too apparent.

"As well as can be expected. You have my thanks for rescuing me."

Atem had to be careful with how he spoke. He was used to speaking as a pharaoh. Now, he had to speak like a regular common citizen to avoid suspicion even in another language. He couldn't even be sure that this man didn't know who he was already.

"How did you even end up in my fishing net, young one? You could imagine my surprise when a young man was in my net along with the fish," the man chuckled.

Atem managed to get himself into a sitting position and looked at the older man.

"Well, I suppose it's kind of a long story..as you can imagine."

Atem took a sharp intake of air, suddenly remembering his hair as he brushed his fingers through it. His hair was the most unusual aspect of him that instantly made him different. Because of its tendency to spike upwards, he usually kept it in braids in the Egyptian style. However, the water and rough handling had left them loose and only partly braided. With one of the bands around his wrist, he combed his fingers through it to undo the braids and did it up in a bun, hoping that would keep it lowkey, though that wouldn't help with the golden bangs. He was thankful that his pharaoh regalia had been washed away into the sea at least somewhat making him look like a common citizen. All Atem was thinking about was getting off this boat once they got to the port and making his way back to Egypt without getting captured or killed. The key would be to go about unnoticed, but first things first were his injuries.

"Yugi! Come back up here. We're about to dock," the older man yelled.

"Coming, grandpa! Hey, is that guy awake yet?"

Atem's violet eyes met similar ones belonging to a young boy somewhere around his age he guessed. What was stranger was this kid had the same kind of hair, same style, and colors more or less. He had figured that he was the only one with hair like that. He also noticed that the boy didn't seem to resemble his grandfather much, possibly adopted from some land far away.

"Oh, hello, you're awake! I'm Yugi, and that's my grandpa, Solomon. You gave us quite the surprise when we pulled you in along with fish," Yugi said excitedly.

"Yugi! The dock!"

"Oh, right, sorry!"

Atem only nodded, watching Yugi scramble off to help with docking the boat. They both seemed nice enough and unsuspicious of him, though the grandpa had been rather quiet. If he could, he'd jump off and run as fast as he could if it wasn't for his injured leg. For now, he'd have to rely on these two until he could at least walk properly. It felt humiliating to not even have the ability to run away. If they wished ill will upon him, there wasn't much he could do.

"Yugi, you're young. You help him walk," Solomon said as he oversaw the fish being loaded into a cart. "I'll meet you back at home."

"Don't worry. We'll get your wound patched up better."

Atem sighed and begrudgingly accepted Yugi's hand. With a pained groan, he managed to stand up on shaky legs. He took deep breaths, leaning heavily on the other. How could one wound cause so much pain? Being submerged in the sea probably didn't help along with the threat of infection. For the time being, he was completely at the mercy of his rescuers.