Author's note: I've been working on this for a while. Most of the chapters are written, so here you go! It contains Forbbidenshipping! Which is Bakura and Tenionia, an OC belonging to Sorceress of the Nile! Man, I haven't worked on Yugioh in forever it seems! So yeah, the beginning chapters are mostly world building and such. If you don't like OC pairings, then leave. I haven't decided the rest and haven't gotten to that just yet.
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: I don't own the sandbox. I just jump the fence to play in it.
If there was anything Akefia hated more than sand in his shoes, it was the Pharaoh and his family.
For three days without any food or water, he wandered the desert until he came upon the royal city, Thebes. Alone, he stood on a hill overlooking the city with clenched teeth and fists, eyes seething at the people running about the city. How could these people be so happy when only three days ago, mass killing of hundreds of men, women, and children took place?
"Curse them," he snarled, dirty white hair brushing across his eyes. "Damn them all!"
They could not hear him, he knew that deep inside, but oh did he want them all to suffer. It didn't matter if they knew or not, they needed to pay! Pay for just sitting by while people he knew, his mother and sisters, were brutally slaughtered before his eyes.
He rubbed his eyes, the image of his mother's body hitting the ground as her soul howled a mournful scream as she entered some golden object. His sisters were next, the two of them huddled together as the man with the blade stalked closer. He closed his eyes. He had hidden behind the wall, paralyzed with fear as people around him died. He could have, no, he should have done something! He was their older brother, his mother's oldest son! The man of the family, really, and all he could do was stand there and watch. Useless, completely useless.
He ran the minute his sisters' bodies fell to the floor, motionless. He didn't remember where he had hid, but that didn't matter. He tried to block out the screams, but there were so many! By dawn, things were quiet. He hid a little bit longer and when he crawled out of hiding, there was nothing but blood stains and missing body parts.
He hurled, and did it for five minutes as bile rushed out of his mouth. He couldn't find his mother or sisters, but he did find his mother's cloth that she always wore around her mouth. He had never fully seen her face, for reasons unknown. But the destruction of his village ensured he never would.
"Avenge me, my son," her voice whispered in his ear, soft and low, the way she always spoke. "Destroy the wicked ones."
"You survived for this reason," another voice hissed, one he didn't really recognize. "Destroy the Pharaoh! Kill him!"
"Kill him!"
"Butcher his family!"
"Make him pay for his crimes!"
"Revenge! We must have our revenge!"
For a moment, he felt his mother's presence near him, holding his shoulders as if to guide him towards the city. "You know your destiny," she said calmly. "You know what path you must take. Avenge me! Avenge your sisters! Can't you hear them howling in despair?"
He could hear them. Though he could not see his younger sisters, he could hear their sobs and howls of pain and despair. He swallowed dryly, seeing his younger sisters' faces. "Mesta, Samira," he ground his teeth together, the image of the two twin girls crying in front of him. "Mother, I will avenge you and my sisters."
He could feel her smile, and her hands press firmly on his shoulder blades. "That's my boy," she sounded pleased, and energy surged through him. "Make us proud, my son. Make our enemy fall to his knees. We will always stand behind you."
"Yes, Mother."
The other spirits swarm around him, faces of his friends smiling vengefully. There were faces of people he didn't recognize, most likely people in his village he hadn't quite gotten to know quite well. The thought of people he could have been friends with dead in the ground made the blood rush to his face. Floating in the air, he could see his mother smiling proudly down at him. "You must promise me one thing," she said, her mouth still covered by that strange white cloth, hand stretching out to him. "Promise me, Akefia."
"What?" he called out, trying to reach her. "What do you want me to do?"
"I'm sorry I could not protect you," a small flash of sorrow crossed her eyes, but then it faded, her now transparent gray lavender eyes hardening. "Please treat the world as your enemy. And remember that Mother will always be on your side."
The spirits dispersed and he pushed back the tears, making his way down the hill. The city was busy today, no one really giving him any second glances. Coming from a village of thieves and criminals, pickpocketing was almost second nature. When a man shopping with his wife wasn't looking, he looted several gold coins from the pouch around his waist. By the time he was five vendor stands away, the man noticed and hollered, but could not find who had taken his money.
"Idiot," he snickered, snatching a piece of fruit from a fruit stand as he passed it. The man was too busy haggling with a big boned woman supporting a baby on her hip.
He was so busy walking quickly through the crowd of people, looking for a place to hide, that he didn't notice the sandy blonde blur that ran past him. He felt the brush of fingertips against his and before he knew it, the small person ran off with his money! "Hey!" he shouted back, immediately taking off after the boy. "Give my money back!"
The boy just continued to run, glancing back at him just briefly enough to catch his gaze. He had lavender eyes and spikey sandy blonde hair. His skin was tan, just like his, but it looked cleaner. The kid was quick, he would give him that, but nobody stole from Akefia! No one!
"Get back here!" he snarled, loud enough for the boy to hear him. "I'll kill you! Give me my money!"
He had the boy cornered now in an alleyway, the walls much too high for the boy to climb and there were no crates available to jump on. The boy glared back at him, the pouch of coins still clenched tightly in his hand. "Why do you need it?" he asked the boy. "You dare to steal from me?"
"You're not a noble or royalty," the boy snapped. "Why do you need it?"
"It's mine!"
"Liar! You stole it! I saw what you did!"
He crossed his arms, knowing full well that the boy was correct. Technically the money belonged to the people he had stolen from, but that was beside the point. "I need it because I have nowhere else to go. I have no food, just the clothes on my back," he glared harder at the boy. "Look at you! You're too clean to be a beggar!"
The sandy haired boy just sighed. "Fine, take the money," he tossed the pouch back and Akefia caught it with ease. The boy then gave a tiny smile. "Just let me have a few coins."
"No way, they're mine!"
"Either let me keep it or I'll take the pouch back."
"I'd like to see you try," Akefia growled. "Why don't you go run back home to your Mommy?"
The boy made a face. "My mother is dead, and my father wants me to do things that I don't want to do. So, I ran away. I've been living on the street for a week now. Can I have a few coins? I'm hungry."
He paused, opening and closing his mouth. What should he do? This boy, the more he looked at him, was hungry. His clothes were worn and tattered. Would it hurt to sacrifice five little coins? "What's your name?"
"Marik," the boy responded. "My name is Marik. And yours?"
"Akefia," he replied slowly. "Since I'm in a merciful mood, I'll let you keep the money. Just don't get in my way again. I'm off to destroy the Pharaoh."
"You dislike him too?"
He turned around, now a bit surprised. "You, a citizen of Thebes, hate the Pharaoh?"
Marik nodded, mouth twisting in an ugly grimace. "It's because of him that my father is the way he is. My father is a priest and ever since I was born, he's been training me and my sister for our jobs as Priests for the Pharaoh's son, Atem."
"And your sister?"
"Older sister, but by four seasons," the boy continued to frown. "She's all for serving the Pharaoh when the other Priests step down, but not me. I don't care about monarchy. They're not really descended from the Gods, you know."
Actually, he didn't know, but he refrained from saying anything else. "So what are you going to do now?" he asked. "Your father is looking for you, isn't he?"
"Probably," Marik grumbled. "That's why I need money to get out of here. To start a new life and do what I want to do. Can I go with you?"
He jumped at the question, not expecting the boy to ask him that. His lavender eyes were earnest, almost demanding in a sense. He could sense that this boy had no love for the Pharaoh and his followers, but could he trust him? Could this boy become an ally, or even a friend for that matter?
"Alright," he stuck out his hand. "You can come with me. But I'm in charge, got it?"
"Right," Marik took his hand, shaking it. "You're the boss. But just because you're in charge doesn't mean I don't have a say. I'm not some common slave!"
"Whatever."
"So, where do we go first?"
Bakura stared off into the distance, the direction of the west. "We'll head to Teorna. I hear there are some nobles there who need to be robbed."
Tenionia, for a nine year old, knew many things. Too many things, really.
She knew her father was a crazy man, her mother kept busying herself to keep distracted, her brother was quite possibly her best friend and her sister liked to hide herself away for hours on end. Perhaps it could be considered a curse to be too perceptive, but it's not like she could change it.
"Tenionia, work harder!"
She gritted her teeth as sand was kicked in her face, hissing in pain at the individual grains that stung her eyes. The magician in front of her advanced forward, manipulating the earth around her to attack the small child. She could see the fear in the woman's eyes; worried that attacking the king's daughter would have consequences for her, but her father just stood against the wall with his arms crossed.
"Father!" she called out, panting in exhaustion. "Can I please have a break? I'm tired!"
"Not until you defeat her!" he snarled at her as the double doors to the room opened. "You are not using your full potential!"
"But-"
She toppled over as the earth under her feet moved, sending her sprawling onto her back. The magician winced, turning to her king cautiously. "Sire, perhaps she's not ready," the woman spoke carefully, dark eyes looking at her carefully. "She's only a child."
"You will do what I tell you to," her father barked at the magician, who bowed her head as he spoke. "Tenionia, get up! Don't you dare bring shame upon our family for your weakness!"
She wiped the dirt off her face, blinking in the sight of her father glaring at her. Standing next to him, with her arms crossed behind her back, Zireria looked at her coldly, black eyes unreadable. She leaned up to say something to their father, her eyes never leaving hers the whole time. He sighed, muttering something and shoed her away. She didn't like the look her father cast towards the thirteen year old girl as she walked calmly away.
"Zireria!" she called for her oldest sister. The older girl paused for a moment, but then resumed walking as if she hadn't heard her. Tenionia only whimpered. "Ria! Don't leave me!"
"Get up, you pathetic girl!" her father snapped at her again. "Get up!"
She snapped. The anger and exhaustion building up until she could see nothing but white. The whole room was engulfed in the bright light, sending the magician across the room and her head hit the pillar with a sickening crunch. She fell to her knees, panting as the light disappeared and looked to her father, who was now smirking cruelly.
"Good work," he smiled at her, but it didn't look quite right. "I suppose you're not so useless to me after all."
"Okāsan! Okāsan! Look!"
Peering through the flap of the cage, a pair of blue eyes peered out from the little cutaway piece of fabric. From the setting sun, she could see a landscape that looked so unfamiliar; like nothing she'd seen before. She'd seen sand before, but never this much. Huge triangular sculptures topped with shining gold made her jaw drop in wonder, eyes shining with awe.
She knelt down, shaking the woman on the floor. "Okāsan, get up! Come look!"
The woman only opened her eyes, the same shade as the girl's and moaned a little in discomfort. "Not now, musume. I'm tired; I want to rest."
"But-"
"I'll look later, alright?" she wrapped the thin cotton blanket around her, a curtain of once glossy black hair falling over her face. "I have a feeling this is the last leg of our journey."
"It is?"
She coughed, hiding the blood in her hand, but unaware that the girl had already seen it. "Hai," she nodded, coughing again. "I don't know if I'll make it till then."
"What?" the girl narrowed her eyes, sitting down to kneel next to her mother. "Don't say that; we're going to be together no matter what! You promised!"
"I know," the woman coughed again and reached around her neck to unhook the silver pendant she'd kept hidden from the men who'd taken them from their home. "Your father crafted this for me shortly after we got married. Do you remember what the little characters on it say?"
She took the pendant from her mother, narrowing her eyes to read the tiny engravings. "Love," she said out loud, her mother nodding her head. "And Family. Am I right?"
"Yes," her mother nodded, stroking her dark hair as she curled up against her mother's side. "Now, keep it where the men can't see it."
"Okay," she tucked the object into her dirty and torn grey cotton dress. Her mother kissed her head, humming soothingly under her breath until she felt her eyelids begin to drop. At the last moment, she saw the faraway and sad look in her mother's azure colored eyes. "Okāsan," she started in a sleepy voice. "Otōsan is looking for us, right?"
She noticed her mother's eyes widen for a moment, a few tears welling up in them. "No," she answered in a quiet voice. "Your father isn't looking for us. Don't you remember what happened?"
"Hai," she responded, squeezing her eyes shut. "But I don't want to remember what happened."
Her mother pursed her lips tightly and just smoothed back her dirty hair. "Remember this, musume. And listen well because I'll only tell you once. Your eyes are like mine. Our souls have lots of water in them. And water is very powerful. It can put out fire, wash away earth, and even destroy iron. When it's trapped, water can break through stone and forge a new path."
She didn't know it then, but that was the last time she ever saw her mother. When she awoke the next morning, her mother's body was cold and she would not wake. She screamed, and cried over her body until one of the men pulled her off. She could only watch through the flap on the cage as her mother's body was tossed to the ground. No funeral arrangements; not even a moment for prayer.
So she sat in the cage, curled up in a ball and holding her mother's necklace close to her.
"You cannot read loss," her father once told her one day before he went fishing with the other men. "Only feel it."
Just a forewarning, there is going to be historical inaccuracy. I don't know when Egypt came in contact with Japan, and vice versa. But for this story, we're going to bend history a little. And doesn't Yugioh already do that? I don't know, review please!