A/N: This story is based off the Chinese-Folk tale explaining the origin of Chinese New Years and the reason the country hangs lanterns everywhere. So look that one up if you want something better.
Word Count w/o Author's Note: 1,642
It was a long time ago now. Princess Marik had lived for years in the Pharaoh Atem's palace. He didn't mind it there. He got lots of food and he was allowed to wear extravagant clothes. His bedroom was made of gold and the finest threads, and with the snap of his fingers, whatever he wanted was there in front of him.
But as much as Marik loved his care-free life, living in riches, he missed his family. His brother and sister weren't the richest of folks in Egypt, and he knew he should be thankful for what he had, and he was! But he missed spending time with Isis and Rishid every day. He missed playing basketball with Rishid and having Isis read him stories from the scriptures at night.
Sometimes Marik would want to go back. And he would travel through the entire palace in search for Atem. It sometimes took him hours to find the Pharaoh. But whenever he found him, the Pharaoh would always give him an apologetic smile and rest his strong hands on the boy's shoulders.
"I'm sorry, Marik," he would say, his voice deep and remorseful. "But I can't let you go home. It's too dangerous."
And before Marik could even ask why, the Pharaoh would be gone. Marik would turn sadly to his feet. Why wasn't he allowed to see Isis and Rishid? Why was it so dangerous? Marik spun on his heel and made his ways back through the palace halls, returning to his sparkling bedroom to climb in bed and fall gingerly asleep, grasping his Millennium Rod between his tender fingers.
That night, Princess Marik was having a bad dream. He was tossing and turning under his expensive sheets. But what Marik didn't know was that it wasn't a dream he was seeing. It was a vision created by the Millennium Ring. The evil brother of the Rod that belonged to Egypt's most feared foe. The Thief Lord, Bakura.
The vision was one of the most scary Marik had ever seen. He saw the palace in front of him. It was shiny and gold. But as he watched, the color dripped from every wall until the Palace was a blank slate of sand and dirt. Then, it crumbled to the ground. And before Marik could even open his mouth, the Thief Lord Bakura was standing front of him. He was covered in all of the Palace's gold: Wraps in his hair, bands around his ankles, his arms, even the Pharaoh Atem's greatest treasure, the Millennium Puzzle.
"I think I'll rob this place tomorrow night," the Thief Lord said, giving Marik a grin. Every ounce of gold on his body shone in unison as he grinned. The shine was so blinding Marik had to look away. And when he looked back, Bakura was even closer. "I'll be dripping in all the kingdom's finest treasures."
Marik tried to give the Thief a stern stare, but Bakura simply inched closer and closer until they were eye to eye. His grin was large and strong, and Marik could only tremble under his gaze.
"And there's nothing you can do about it."
Marik threw himself up in bed. He had to warn the Pharaoh! Perhaps... If they could only hide all the palace's treasures, then the Thief Lord might be tricked! He might think that the Palace had already been stripped of all its gold and he would leave. Yes, that would work perfectly!
So the Princess jumped out of his bed and rushed through the hall way, his tiny feet smashing against the floor as he went. Normally he would have to search for hours, but he knew that the Pharaoh would be in his chamber sleeping right now. Since he knew this, he rushed straight there. When he arrived he pushed through the door and ran right to the Pharaoh's bedside.
"Pharaoh, Pharaoh!" he shouted, shaking him awake. The Pharaoh's eyes opened and his pushed upwards from his bed.
"Little Marik," he said sweetly, dropping a hand on Marik's small head. "What are you doing up at such a late hour?"
Marik shook his head and looked at the Pharaoh Atem with scared eyes. "It was a vision, Pharaoh," he yelled, clenching his tiny fists. "I saw him! The great Thief Lord Bakura!"
The Pharaoh knew these words only meant danger, so he immediately pushed his legs from his bed and put both his hands on Marik's small shoulders. "You must tell me what you saw, child," he insisted, looking Marik in the eye.
"He's coming tomorrow night," Marik informed him, his eyes scrolling to the side. "He wants to take all of the Palace's treasures!"
Atem looked up with a fire burning in his eyes. "How are we to stop him," he asked himself, his eyes narrowing in a glare.
"I..." Marik started nervously. What if the Pharaoh thought his idea was dumb? What if he just wanted to fight?
"What is it, my child," Atem insisted, his grip tightening slightly. "Do you have an idea of how to stop the Thief Lord?" Marik took a breath before looking the Pharaoh straight in the eye.
"We should hide all the gold," he yelled, scared for the Lord's arrival. "He'll think someone has already stolen it all and he'll leave us alone!"
Atem listened well to the boy's idea, and he knew right away that it was the perfect plan. He pushed to his feet, his eyes staring stern into the horizon. He didn't know if Bakura was watching him now, but he knew it didn't matter.
"We shall go forth with this plan!" His voice boomed through the room, and Marik's face lit up. "Let all the gold be hidden and locked away! We'll start now and we'll work non-stop until the palace has been reduced to rubble!"
And so, the plan went forth. All of the Pharaoh's men were awoken, and every one of them worked at top speed. They tore wall paper from the walls. They ripped tapestries from the ceiling. They destroyed all the China from the kitchen. They locked away all the gold and buried it deep in the ground. Or so they thought.
Marik ran from the kingdom at top speed, panting as hard as he could. This was it. Now, the Pharaoh couldn't stop him. He was going to return to his family. With all the chaos of preventing the coming of Bakura, nobody saw him sneak from the castle walls. He ran and ran and ran until he was so far away from the kingdom, he couldn't see it, even when he looked back and searched his hardest.
It was only a short walk from there. His lungs burned from the panting as he continued traveling. He made it to the door in the ground that he knew contained Isis and Rishid inside. He stared down at it, long and hard. He wasn't sure if that vision was a vision anymore, and he didn't care. He was finally here. He was just a few steps away from his brother and sister.
He fell to his knees and reached as far as he could until his small hand wrapped around the door's handle. He pulled it open and took in another deep breath. Then, without giving the direction of the kingdom even the smallest glance, he ran down the steps and into his basement. It was dark, and it was cold. But the moment he reached the main room, his entire body was beating brim with warmth.
"Isis!" He shouted, turning to his sister. He turned to his brother next. "Rishid!"
Both of his siblings immediately got to their feet, their eyes wide. Isis ran forward, throwing her arms around Marik's small body.
"Marik!" she shouted, tears falling from her eyes. "You're back! You've returned!"
"Yes!" he responded, wrapping his arms tightly around his sister. Marik was so happy. He never thought in a million years he'd ever feel one of his sister's hugs ever again. "I can explain it all to you soon. But right now I just want to hug you!"
Isis and Rishid had no problem with that. They held tight to Marik for nearly an hour. He eventually pushed away, almost having forgotten the biggest surprise he had.
"I brought us something from the castle."
He reached in his pocket and clenched around something, bringing it out and showing it to them.
"Oh, Marik," Isis cried looking down at it. "You took this for us?"
Marik looked down at the tiny, itty-bitty piece of gold in his hand. It was no bigger than his ear. He had only taken this much, out of the castle that was over-flowing with treasures and riches, but all three of them knew that the tiny piece he had taken could feed them for weeks, even months. Nobody at the castle would miss this tiny piece out of all they had, but out of all they had, Marik would never forget this little piece.
The Thief Lord Bakura never visited the castle on that night. The Pharaoh didn't know where Marik had gone, but he owned the boy everything he had. He had saved the kingdom from one of the worse threats there was. He didn't know where Marik went, but he promised himself that he would always honour his bravery and his sacrifices.
So from then on, on that day, every year and even to this day, they strip the castle walls of every treasure inside in order to keep the Thief Lord Bakura away. And every day, even to this very one, Bakura has never visited again.