I do no own Yu Gi Oh or any other anime that inspires my fics. If I did, the characters would have their spawn running all over the place. ;)
I only own Neteb
Chapter 2: The Asp
You might've heard the same story. Boy meets girl. Girl meets boy. They fall in love. They live happily ever after, and have a family of five. It seems I am that exception. I met and loved. But I had no happily ever after.
I am Neteb, once the most wanted murderess in all of Egypt. I fit into that category of little girls who lost their way and fell into darkness. However, I was one of the ones who escaped, and was saved.
As I said, I met someone and loved him. Like almost every man in a love story, he was forbidden fruit. But still…he was my entire world.
I belonged to him, and he to me. He was the Pharaoh Atem, my dearest love, and my target.
I should perhaps start at the beginning.
My mother died when I was a week old, and my aunt had always told me that I was the cause of her death. According to her, I had misbehaved when she was pregnant with me, and damaged her body. Of course, this was not the case. I knew Mother had bled to death because I was delivered carelessly. I had no one to trust when I was growing up, except for my dear father.
Father wasn't a child beater. He acted as both parents, and practically spoiled me. We never went hungry, and I had no qualms about our obvious poverty. I was the happiest child in the world.
My world was shattered when I was ten years old. That was when I lost my dear father.
We went to one of the nearest cities, and it was my first time out of the village. I was an enchanted child, who was easily impressed.
On our trip to the market, I caught sight of a mirror. The reflection frightened me. It was me. The reflection showed unusual green eyes, and everyone I knew had very dark eyes. I was scared to tears. Was this a curse from the gods themselves? This was how innocent I was at that age. Father merely chuckled and assured me, "Neteb, your eye color is one of the things about you that makes you special. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
Right now, that would be one of the biggest clichés of the century. But I would always treasure those kind words, the last ones I would hear for years. Think what you will of it.
We joined a caravan to go home. Father surprised me with my first apple. I always treasured the taste of that sweet fruit.
The caravan was attacked by bandits. All I remember was being hauled onto a running horse. My father was dead. Our belongings were stolen. I became a slave.
I can't bear to remember my life at this point. I had no identity and was just something to yell orders at. Every night, I was tied to a post like an animal. My heart shed each hope, becoming as barren as the desert. No smile came to my face. All I could do was survive.
Four years passed.
This is an old story. The slave girl seems to become more attractive by the minute. One of my captors was quick to notice this one night.
One thought crept through my mind: Rape.
I could only do what my traumatized mind told me to do: Kill or be killed.
I killed him before he could get what he wanted.
There is no good excuse, I realize that. As I stood there, with the blood painted dagger of my captor in hand, I knew that my innocence was lost. At least I wasn't hurt. I was still alive.
I ran.
For the next two years, I killed for money. I had heard that girls in need often went to the brothels. I would never shame myself in that way. A bounty hunter. They called me the 'Asp' because my strike was always fatal. My appearance was also altered. I cropped my long hair up to my chin. I hid my eyes behind my bangs, since it would be easy to tell who I was by my eye color.
With the money I made, I could buy the necessary provisions I needed. I drifted from sand dune to sand dune and had no difficulty.
Don't think that I enjoyed this type of life. I did not enjoy killing people that I didn't know. I only killed that bandit because I was afraid. What choice did a sixteen year old girl have?
Soon, I was approached by my last client. Her name was Anukis, the Queen of Thieves. The only reason she was called that was because she was servant to the King of Thieves.
Her note merely gave me the location of our meeting place, nothing more. I still kept my dagger ready.
I arrived to find the duo I would have to serve for the moment. Bakura was a striking man. His eyes were filled with the same darkness and hatred mine were filled with. Unruly silver hair framed his scarred face. I was captivated.
How could I know that I would come to hate this man forever?
He wasted no time on introductions. "You may know why we called you here, Bounty Hunter." I gave my response, "Only to do your will, Lord Bakura."
A grin graced his features. Kissing up to a client does lead to a considerable reward. He continued, "I am quite glad you know your place, girl. If it were otherwise, I would be paying you to kill yourself." A comedian, huh? This was going to be difficult. "So, what is your wish of me, my Lord?"
Again, not a time waster, "I know of your skills, bounty hunter. You are the legendary Asp, the murderer equivalent to myself. Therefore, I have a job for you. And it should prove to be your greatest." I chuckled once and said, "No job is a challenge for me, Lord Bakura. Just tell me who, and they'll be on their way to Sokar before you know it!" This was how overconfident I had become.
This pleased him, of course. "I am glad you aren't backing down, because I will certainly not be satisfied until this person is dead! Your target, which I will pay you treasures beyond your dreams to kill off, will be none other than our dear Pharaoh, Atem. The son of Akhnamkamen." He said the names in a mocking voice.
This is where I just stared in disbelief. "My Lord, you honor me…Though I am not completely sure if this will work as planned, I will take it! Rest assured that the Pharaoh will die!"
Like every other client, he was glad to hear these words. "Trust that your reward will be great, bounty hunter! But, if you betray me, the price will be greater than you could ever imagine."
I accepted and bowed out. No job was too hard, or impossible.
This one was.
And next will be Icekitsune4ever's chapter!! I guess our stories intersect a bit and might get confusing...R&R! Give us nice reviews, and MAYBE I won't send my cat to cut you.
