Welcome to my newest Gemshipping story! This is based off of the musical Aida, so each chapter will have the title of a song.

If you don't know the general story of Aida, then here is a huge thing. THERE WILL BE AT LEAST ONE CHARACTER DEATH. I won't say who, but there is definitely a character death (or two or three...)

Here's my usual disclaimer for fics based off of other material: It's LOOSELY BASED. So if your favorite part of Aida is cut out or it ends differently, I'm not sorry! That's just how I decided it fit the characters better.

Also, the characters I chose might seem a little odd at first, but trust me, it'll work! I've planned it all out! And I know the characters can get confusing, so I'll list them here for you!

Akefia: This is season 5 Bakura, ok? Thats why I use the name Akefia. I know a lot of fans disagree with it, but I think it's less confusing for the Gemship if I use a completely different name instead of Bakura.

Ryou: One of the royal priests son. In the beginning, he's going to be a little more uppity than usual.

Mana: The current Pharaoh's best friend. The reason she plays such a large role in this story is because I wanted a royal, female Egyptian in this role and she's the best option. Not to mention, Atticshipping is kinda cute if you think about it.

Marik: This is normal Marik, not Yami Marik. And he is actually going to be from Kul Elna in this story.

Atem: Of course, is the current Pharaoh.

Akila: OC! Akefia's sister.

So here we go!

Fortune Favors the Brave

A young child was walking through a museum, tightly gripping his mothers hand. He didn't want to come here in the first place, but as soon as they entered the ancient Egyptian section of the museum, he instantly became interested. There were large stones covered in hieroglyphics and several open caskets with mummies inside. Long sheets of beautiful silk and a stone tablet filled with golden items. But one thing caught his attention more than anything else.

In the center of the room was a large glass case with a wax figure inside. She was tan with lots of thick, dark brown hair and had regal eye makeup. But most importantly, she had the classic headdress of a royal pharaoh. The young boy stepped closer, reading the sign on her case. It was almost as if he could hear her voice reading it to him, her voice smooth and confident.

"Every story, new or ancient
Bagatelle or work of art
All are tales of human failing
All are tales of love at heart."

-Pharaoh Mana

3000 Years Earlier

This is easy to believe
When distant places call to me
It's harder from the palace yard
Fortune favors the free
Fortune favors the young
Fortune favors the brave

For the past few years, the royal Egyptians had taken it upon themselves to travel down the Nile, and when they found the town of Kul Elna, they decided that they would capture them and keep them as slaves. Kul Elna was seen as a town of thieves and murders, so the royals believed that they were saving the thieves by taking them. But what they didn't see was the way that the royal guards went about the kidnapping. When the people fought back to save those that were being taken, the royal guards killed their men and raped their women, burning the houses down to the ground.

And Akefia was sick of it. When the town got burned down, he took the few remaining people and went to a hideout, hoping they wouldn't be found before they could form a plan. Unfortunately, the hideout was far from the Nile, and they needed to get more water sooner or later. It had been months since they arrived at the hideout, and the supplies were running low.

So Akefia decided he would be the one to go. It was his responsibility, since he chose the hideout, so he would be the one to go. Besides, he was quick and very good at hiding. If he went by himself, he should be back in no time. He did this several times a week, being careful.

What he didn't account for was Akila following him one day. Akila was his younger sister, the one he was doing everything to protect. He told her to stay back and stay hidden, but of course, she didn't listen. Being only 16, she felt like she had a mind of her own and should be allowed to assist her older brother.

Akefia was very down on the other side of the river, his red coat pulled up over his head so the sun would not reflect off of his blinding white hair. He could see the royal guards camp across the river, that way he could make sure they weren't out on a scouting mission. He crept really close to the ground, trying to stay out of the view of the guards. When he reached the rivers bank, he dropped the sack he was carrying and pulled out the 7 jugs he'd brought. They would be really heavy to carry back, but he knew that they would all need as much water as possible.

He was filling up the 4th jug when he heard a startling scream, and he recognized the voice of his sister instantly.

"Kefi! Kefi, help me!"

Normally, a person's first instinct would be anger, as he did tell her to stay put and she had disobeyed him, but Akefia only felt fear. He'd lost so many people, there was no way he was going to lose the most important person to him. He dropped the jug and ran as quickly as he could towards the sounds of Akila's screaming, drawing his cheaply made sword as he went.

He reached the group of royal guards and saw that there were seven. Two of them were leading his sister away as she kicked and pulled, trying to get away. The others were laughing at her efforts, which pissed Akefia off more than anything. Seven was too many to fight off alone, but he had to try. He couldn't just leave his sister.

He leaped from his hiding place and launched himself towards the royal guards. He made no battle cry, as that only would've given away his intentions. He was hoping that these guards would still be drunk after celebrating their capture of Kul Elna, but when did fortune ever play out to his favor?

The first guard to notice him swiftly blocked his attack with his khepesh*, shoving at Akefia's sword hard enough to knock him off balance, but Akefia regrouped quickly. He struck back, knowing that the khepesh is best for slashing, so he blocked each slash of the royal guards attack and took him down easily. The second and third guards were reacting by then, both coming from each side. He was doing pretty well at defending himself against two people at once, that is, until one got to his face, slicing down across his eye. Akefia cried out in pain, grasping his face.

"Kefi!" Akila yelled, tears streaming down her face. She heavily regretted ever deciding to follow him in the first place. If she hadn't come, he wouldn't be hurt the way he was now. Akefia couldn't see very well, so it was fairly easy to take him down.

"What the hell is going on over here?" a man called from the banks of the river. He'd taken a small boat and crossed to where he could hear the commotion coming from. Akila looked at him, stunned. She'd never seen someone so pale, although the royal Egyptians always did seem slightly paler when compared to the rest of the poorer towns. But this man was as pale as his hair, which matched her own white hair in comparison. He had tied his up out of his face, however, with a red ribbon that matched the bright red vest he had on. She'd never seen anyone like this before.

The guards pulled Akefia's sword away from him, and one pulled a piece of rope out of his garb to tie up Akefia's hands before he could do anymore damage.

"Just two others captured, sir," a guard replied, motioning to Akila and her brother. "We'll put them with the others."

"Yes," the man said. "Be quick about it and put a bandage on his face. We're setting off soon." This person seemed to be in charge, Akila thought, as she was roughly lead towards the small boats that sat on the banks. For a second, she thought that his white hair meant he was one of them, come to rescue her and her brother, but apparently not. The royals are nothing but scum.

Ryou was standing at the front of the longboat. They had just finished building their first wooden boat in Egypt and he was directed to lead it down the Nile. It was an honor to be chosen by the Pharaoh to lead his royal guards, but of course the Pharaoh was a family friend, so it wasn't an unexpected choice. He was good at his job anyways, charting and leading. He never went to join the action of the fighting though, as the Pharaoh demanded he stay safely in the tents during the raids on the towns such as Kul Elna. The people of Kul Elna were so violent, the Pharaoh wanted to protect Ryou, for whatever reason.

From where he stood, Ryou could see the docks approaching quickly. The guards were rowing the boat while the slaves they had captured during this particular raid were sitting in the back, bags over their heads. As soon as they docked, they would be put to work, carrying the supplies off of the boat and into town where they would be assigned jobs within the palace and beyond her gates.

While Ryou was lost in thought, the guards had started moving the slaves. As soon as the bag was removed from their heads, one of them jumped up, kicking a soldier swiftly at the knee. The guard fell to the ground, yelling obscenities while the other guards quickly brought down the slave that had caused the scene.

Ryou was amused at this. It was the one who had a bandage wrapped around half of his face, making him half blind. The slave was practically within the gates of the palace already. Where did he think he was going to run to?

SPLASH!

Ryou's head turned towards the opposite side of the boat where the splash had sounded. One of the captured slaves was trying to escape! The man had just been a diversion for her!

"Get her!" a guard yelled. "Don't let her escape!" She didn't make it far before one of the smaller boats that was following behind us snatched her up out of the water. Ryou glanced back at the man who had originally kicked the guard and the look of anger on his face was rather terrifying. How long had he been planning this? And why would he want to help her escape so much, even at the risk of his own safety. He could've been killed.

"Sir, we're docking," a guard called, saluting against his chest.

"Thank you," Ryou nodded. "Make sure you secure all of the slaves together and have them carry those boxes. But leave that one that attacked Nebka behind. I'll deal with him." Ryou thought he was being quiet, but the man that was still glaring angrily looked up, narrowing his eyes at Ryou.

"Alright. Be careful, sir. He's pretty big."

"I can handle him."

After they attached the wooden boat to the posts, the guards started leading the others away, leaving the still angry slave on the ship with Ryou. He refused to stand up as Ryou got closer to him, because that would insinuate respect. Ryou, instead, sat down in front of him and held up his foot.

"Wash my feet for me," he said. The man appeared to be taken back at first, but his face settled in an angry expression again.

"Well I can't do much with these ropes on, now can I?" he huffed, holding up his hands which were still tightly tied together. Ryou wasn't surprised to hear how deep and gruff the man's voice was. It showed years of living in harsh conditions, while Ryou had grown up within a palace yard.

"You expect me to take off your binds?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, but do you really expect me to wash your feet?" It sounded like he was making a joke, but he still showed such fury in his eye. Ryou had watched him as the others were lead away and he never stopped looking at that girl that had tried to escape.

"Well, I didn't expect you to be happy about it."

"Let me put this in a way you will understand, palace boy," the man said, standing up suddenly. He towered over Ryou, who stood up as well, crossing his arms. "You know nothing about us! You take our town and our people. You've bled us dry of everything! But the thing you really long for is our spirit. And that, you will never possess!"

The man started walking away after his little speech to follow the others, not even caring to try to escape. He must really care about that girl.

"Wait!" Ryou called. "Listen to me."

"What could you have to say that I would find important?" he asked, cynically, but not turning to face me.

"The other slaves, along with that girl that was captured with you," Ryou said, knowing that would catch the man's attention. "They will probably end up in the copper mines."

"What?" he asked, fear suddenly breaking through his anger as he faced his captor. "They'll die down there!"

"That's why the send the slaves," Ryou shrugged. It was true. When mining copper, you would often breathe it in and get sick. It caused a slow, painful death where you would get nausea, vomiting, and more, worse symptoms until death carried you away. And at that point, you were glad to go.

"You can't do this! Send me instead! Please!"

This certainly was a change of pace. The man who was so strong in his defiance was now begging. Begging for his own death no less.

"I can have them put somewhere safe instead. But I ask 3 things from you first," Ryou said, knowing that he had the upper hand here. The man's anger was back now.

"What do you want?" he nearly growled out.

"Firstly, you will accept the job I have chosen for you, no complaints. And I don't think you will like it either." Ryou was ready to convince him to accept, but he found that he didn't have to. Despite the man's fury, he nodded, listening intently.

"What else?"

"Second, what's your name? If I'm going to make sure you're in the place I want you, I'll need your name to give to the guards. Not mention I will have to call a healer for your eye." Again, he gave in a lot easier than I thought he would. Names are very important in Egyptian culture, so I really expected him to deny this request.

"It's Akefia. What's the last thing?"

Ryou thought back to hearing the commotion on the banks and coming to find the two being captured. He suddenly remembered what the girl had been calling and his final question was answered.

"Kefi! Kefi, help me!"

But he had to confirm his fears.

"That girl, is she your sister?" Again, he answered immediately, ready to protect her at all cost and not even hesitating to do so.

"Yes. Now put her in a safe place and let me know where I am to be assigned...sir."

Ryou could hear the cynical poison dripping from Akefia's voice as he left the boat. But Ryou wasn't thinking about that, and he didn't even question whether Akefia was actually going to follow the other slaves. He knew that he would go and he knew that Akefia wouldn't abandon his sister. Just like...

"Amane..."

A khepesh: The "pharaoh's sword". It is kind of shaped like a sickle. It's really pretty cool and good for slashing and chopping instead of jabbing.