Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh
Alright everyone, this idea has been haunting me for the longest time, and my hands just itched to write, or well, type it.
My other story It Goes Where? Shall be updated shortly, and I want to again thank every single person who read it and stayed with me so far, and especially all the people who reviewed and gave me their opinions! It means so much to me that you took the time to read and review my work! I love you all!
This is just a prologue/first chapter, alright? That means you must tell after reading if it should be deleted, trashed, etc. Okay? Thank you.
Tell Me the Story…
By:
Louisiana-Southern-Belle
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Summary: "The gods will curse you for this!" Her elder screamed angrily, looking down at the girl before her in disgust. The girl's head lifted, and with her chin held high and untainted gleam in her eyes replied, "I never asked to be blessed."
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Chapter 1: "An Audience to Tell"
The sand whipped at her feet, leaving unseen indentions on her golden skin. With a hand placed high above her head to block out Ra's unrelenting rays, she scanned the vast sea of whirling beauty. She wondered why her sister loved the desert so much, it was hot and menacing, like the jaws of a monster, breathing down on your face.
That was another thing about her older sister she would never understand.
Turning around to face the small village right outside the palace walls, where the pharaoh of Egypt sat on his mighty throne, she sighed. She could faintly hear her keeper inside the hut, fussing once again with her sister about proper respect. Her sister was quite beautiful in all the places she herself lacked. Yet her temper was not to go unnoticed in their household, since her mother fell ill recently.
She shook her head, now was not the time to remember how fate was treating their dying mother. She dropped her hand by her side, relishing in the way her cream tunic left a light sensation of refreshment, since her own hands wore thin from work.
She closed her olive hued eyes, and reminisced about the current situation her household was in. If her sister did not take on her mother's last position in dancing at the festivals and banquets for coins, they may not survive through the next harvest.
But only she knew what her sister was really doing with their eldest cousin. Instead of their cousin, Aisha, teaching her the how to weave and tend to house hold cleaning, they would secretly head to the temple. And soon her sister would receive the seal of a priestess. It filled her with dread, yet made her swell with pride. It was an honor to give yourself to the gods.
Anything to do with this matter was never spoken between the two sisters. It was a silent agreement that made their bond as a family stronger. Although it meant lying to their ailing mother, it was what proved stronger than money, at least to her.
Her pale lips curved upward, her eyes still shut in thought. She would defiantly pray harder for the gods to forgive their act of treachery.
In fact she swore she could hear her sister now, calling for her. Maybe to conceal her true intentions to their keeper once again or possibly lend extra fabric to hide their faces in to sneak about the city…
"Safiya! Bring your mind about you! It is finally time for you to understand the meaning of watching the house hold…"
Her voice began to fade from her ears. Was there something wrong? She did not understand her words, yet they seemed so familiar, like she had heard them before…
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She snapped her eyes open once again. Instead of finding swirling seas with grains of sand as its master, she saw tattered stone walls, with cracks dancing about each other creating intricate patterns among themselves. She had been dreaming again, trying to grab her lost memories, for now she could barely remember her own name. It was a sad fate that was bestowed upon her, instead of growing ill and leaving this world, she was cursed to live it, but never to remember the ones she loved.
Now she no longer held her vibrant eyes as wide to the world. They now gleamed with knowledge and vacancy that would puzzle the even the most high ranked medicine man. Her bronzed streaked hair hung limply to the ground, never to bounce and whip around her face like it did when she would enjoy a day of rest with her.
No, she could not think of that memory, it pained her too much. For no matter how hard she tried to grasp the past, she could not. She wanted to cry, scream, pound her fists to the world that ridiculed her and pitied her now.
"It is time you learned the meaning of watching over this house hold…"
There it was that voice, her words. They were haunting her now.
She could see a young woman walking into the room, dragging two children behind her. Well, not specifically children, they were thirteen and fourteen summers old growing by every minute that Ra would rise and set. My, they looked so much alike, both with long flowing brown locks that reached their shoulders, with high cheek bones and beautiful strong jaws. There was one difference though; the eldest had dark mysterious green eyes that could read into your soul, while the younger had bright clear swirls of blue and green that you could read your every thought.
"Now, you will stay here. Understand that? I am your keeper, and it is my duty to show you the ways of the world, which includes this house!" A sturdy built woman with gray hair tied behind her head with a piece of cloth and brown strips of fabric tied around her dark tunic commanded, her voice not allowing room for defiance.
The two girls hung their heads in obedience.
"Listen closely now, show respect to your elders, such as Lady Safiya. She will be staying with us for a little while and I do not want to hear wind that you two gave her trouble. Yes?" she gave them a stern look which the girls complied with by nodding their heads limply. "Yes, Woserit."
Yes, she was to stay with her friend, Woserit, at least she thought that was what she knew of her. The Keeper of this house had asked Safiya if she would watch the two adolescents for a while so she may go shopping in the market. She had almost forgotten about the arrangement, though. Her cursed memory…
She ran through the crowds of people in the streets, and at the carts nearby. The smell of poultry and sweat filled the air, and it was almost comforting to her as she allowed her feet to carry her in the right direction.
She had in her hand a small silver necklace with the pendant of the sun in delicate gold, with small incrusted rubies and small aqua gems surrounding it. It would match her sister's eyes perfectly.
She clutched in her small hand, breathing heavily from the extreme heat of the day in the market. Her olive eyes scanned the carts she was fast approaching and spotted her. Excitement ran through her veins, she knew this was the perfect gift, it would mean a lot to the receiver. Her sister would admire it and wear it around her neck, allowing all to see the perfect and treasonable piece of love form one kin to another, and just knowing this made her swell with pride.
When she was so close, she called out to her, but her small voice was carried away to the wind with the noises of chatter among the market.
She tried just one more time to reach her, people crowded her vision, blocking out her figure every now and then. Finally she saw her sister stop inspecting some trade of some sort, and slowly turn around to the sound of her name. Safiya remembered the smile on her face and the twinkle in her azure eyes when she called back gently just the same.
"Sayfia, are you okay little one?"……………
"Lady Safiya are you alright?"
Her eyes once again snapped back open, but this time she was met with a pair of bright green orbs.
"You had me worried!" she smiled kindly. Safiya concluded this had to be the younger of the two, her eyes giving away warmth of innocence. "So what if she had not come to, anyway? It is not like she can do anything for us either way." The older of the two crossed her arms in defiance. Ah, she could tell this one was spirited, and hard headed. She had a point; she could do not anything for them physically.
"Layla! You should not speak in such a way!" the young one scolded. The elder scoffed, not about to be reprimanded. Ah, her name fit her, born at night. Other than the obvious reason of definition, it also seemed that the person would be darker, more withdrawn, yet acutely aware of surroundings.
"Rehema, do not try to make this woman to be more than what she is, and that is old." With the last of her words she looked Safiya right in the eyes. Her name fit all too well, compassionate.
The younger shook her head in frustration, and turned back to the older woman in the room.
"Please excuse my sister; she is not very content right now." Layla shot a dirty look right then. Obviously this was a family affair. How very intriguing.
Safiya nodded silently, and for the first time in their presence spoke, "You remind me much of my sister and I." Looking between the two she mentally nodded.
Layla's dark gems gave a distance, yet intrigued look to them. How could this old hag know a thing about her and Rehema? It was not possible, but then again she had never asked her.
The young one's bright orbs sparkled with anticipation, as if waiting for an explanation for the statement.
"Please, could you tell us how?" she was first to ask.Layla's hard expression faded slightly as if giving the signal that she too was curious. Safiya gave them a grim look, as if deciding their fate, if they were truthful to their words. Should she relive those memories? Could she do that? She did not know, but then maybe it was time to pass the story onto these two, a legacy that was time to be fulfilled.
She smiled at them, basking in their youth. She gestured with an old and shaky hand from the chair she was resting on to the floor in front of her. She decided they would listen, and that her sister would be again.
The two complied, one eagerly the other gruffly. They sat cross legged in their simple tunics on the compacted floor.
"Now, in order to understand my tale, you must first close your eyes." She stopped to watch them. Rehema complied eagerly, taking a sharp intake of breath as waiting to see what was next. Layla eyed her suspiciously, not liking the idea of shutting her eyes. Safiya offered a small smile, the corners of her mouth curving upwards. And slowly but surely, those dark jewels closed to see complete darkness.
The story teller shut her olive orbs as well, inhaling deeply.
"Now, this is not just a story of who my older sister was, but what she made herself to be. And that in my eyes was everything. She went against a government; she never fell on her knees for anyone. She fell in love with a man known to be blessed by the gods, but cursed by the gods themselves for defying them."
The two tried to imagine what this heroine would look like, talk like, and carry herself like. Safiya remembered her dark brown hair fell a bit past her bronzed shoulders. Her azure eyes sparkled like the Nile, but so much more exquisitely.
"Now, I shall tell you what my memory serves me with."
Her audience held their breath waiting for the next phase of the story. They wanted more, needed to see those vast swirls of the Nile, green patches of grass surrounding the banks, and Ra setting its last rays on the palace of Egypt for the night.
"This is a story of desire that turned to lust, lust into love, and love into passion. If you can not understand that much, I might as well stop now," she opened her eyes to observe the two, who sat eagerly waiting for more. Shutting her eyes again she continued, "I will tell her story, her story of being blessed once and cursed twice. I will tell you of my sister, Teanma and her love of a pharaoh."
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That was kind of a long chapter, don't you agree? Took me a day to plan this chappie out!
Now, incase anyone is confused I will summarize this chapter simply.
An old woman is forgetting her memories that are too painful of her youth. Something from the past is infecting her memories, making her switch between past and present, that's what the italics are for. She had been taken in by a friend who had two daughters. Thinking they would appreciate their family more after hearing about her past, maybe she would also free her mind from the past.
Whew. That is a whole lot of info for ya. This story is going to have more details than I have ever written.
And my first attempt at Ancient Egyptian story. The pharaoh is Atem and Teanma is Anzu, in case you were confused about that.
Please tell me how this sort of prologue/first chapter went. Do you want to know the rest? Is it bad? Delete? Never do this kind of fic again?
I would appreciate your thoughts and opinions so much!
Review for your choice of plushie from the Memory Arc!
Love,
l-s-b