A woman walked briskly through the hallways of the temple her black cloak flapping behind her.
"That damn man." She said her pace quickening. "He will pay dearly for what he has done."
* * *
The thief king wandered around the city late at night, looking up every time the palace came into view between the homes.
"That damn man, I can only hope he is damned by Anubis and Ma'at when his time comes, which if I have any say will be soon." The pale haired man said bitterly.
* * *
"That man will fall, I will be sure of that, for he has committed a crime against a goddess!" the woman grabbed a few valuable items from her chambers and returned back down the halls from which she had come.
A young girl of maybe fifteen stepped out from around a corner almost running into the woman in black. "Oh, I'm so sorry my mistress. Madam high priest where are you going, and with all your belongings?" The girls eyes widened. "My lady, you aren't leaving the temple are you! The Head Priest Kiaba forbids us from leaving after nightfall."
"What power does that man have over me; I have an immensely greater connection with the gods than he does, considering I am one." The woman said pushing past the young acolyte.
"My lady, do not say such blasphemous things! You will anger the gods! I can not let you leave the Pharaoh will hunt you and persecute you as a traitor!" the girl said scrambling over her words.
The woman lashed out her hand abruptly striking the girl across the face. "Do not dare talk about that swine in front of me you impudent mortal!"
"M-my lady…"
"You have brought upon you the wrath of an immortal, now you must pay the price," Sparks began to jump on her skin "but I will be merciful, you will not be punished until the day you stand before Anubis and Ma'at, until then I suggest you pray." The woman lightly touched her hand to the girls forehead, when she removed her hand the symbol amenta, the symbol of the underworld, was imprinted on her forehead.
The girl slumped on the ground and the black clad woman walked briskly past her as if she weren't even there.
* * *
The man weaved through back alleys becoming one with the shadows. He eventually reached the Nile, he stood at it's banks staring across to the palace on the other side.
A malicious grin lit his features, "This will be fun."
* * *
"What do you mean he escaped?!" A man wearing the head dress of the high priest exclaimed.
"I-I am sorry sir, he was there one second and then the next…" the guard stammered out in fear.
"Well, there is nothing to be done now." The High Priest said. "You are dismissed."
"Yes Master Kaiba. Thank you sir." The guard quickly excused himself.
The high priest wearily walked back to his desk that was piled high with scrolls that needed attending to. He slumped in his chair and removed the heavy headdress, he rubbed his forehead.
"I suppose the Pharaoh doesn't need to be bothered with this. This far to much stress, I'm going to be an old man by the next moon cycle." He said to himself. The high Priest was young considering his position, for his mentor the previous High Priest had died of disease several years ago. Though he is young he is not the only youth in power for his age is shared by his female correspondence, the high priestess and he is a senior to the recently enstated Pharaoh.
There was a knock at his door.
"Enter." he called to the visitor.
The door swung open to reveal a woman. "Kepi, what are you doing here?" he asked.
"Hello, Kaiba." The woman responded.
* * *
The man emerged from the Nile his ratty red cloak dripping with water. He shook himself off and looked up at the palace.
"It seemed closer from the other side." He commented absently to himself. He shook his head like a dog in a vain attempt to dry his Pale, almost white hair. He stood out very much among his own people, an Egyptian with white hair. This appearance was not a freak accident of the gene pool, it was marking him and all his kin as cursed.
He made his way up the steep muddy bank towards the palace a malicious smile still plastered on his face.
* * *
"Kepi what are you doing here?" Kaiba asked again, rising out of his chair.
"I'm sure you would love to know wouldn't you?" she replied closing the drapes that servered as a door to the room.
"Is there an emergency?" he asked.
"Why are you so devoted to our young Pharaoh, Kaiba?" she asked ignoring his question.
"What is that supposed to mean?" he responded.
"What's in it for you?" she continued. "You are in contact with the gods, he is a mere man with royal blood."
"Do not spew such blasphemy, Kepi! You may be the High Priestess but you will still be held responsible for your actions!" he said grabbing her arm firmly.
"Don not touch me!" she said slapping his hand away. "You have no right, mortal!"
"What are you talking about." He asked taken aback.
"Oh you know Kaiba, you knew from the moment you met me, you just didn't want to believe it." She said glaring at him.
His eyes widened in recognition.
"I thought so." She commented at this slight reaction.
"No, it's not possible." He said.
"How would you know? You have what, twenty-three years to speak of." She said, she flashed him a sly smile. "You can rise to greatness too Kaiba, you just have to leave the Pharaoh. His empire will crumble, the choice you make now will determine whether you fall with him."
"Are you serious? You have always been the Pharaoh's devoted servant. What happened?" he asked.
"King Atem crossed the line." She responded "He took my one most precious item out of his greed for power. I plan to get it back, whether you help me or not. Make your choice by the time I return." With that she left as quickly as she had come.
* * *
"Such a shame, but I suppose there is still a chance with him, no matter how small he would be useful." She said to herself exiting the temple. She raised her hand and then cursed. "Oh yes, I have to walk now don't I?"
Furrowing her brow she set off towards the royal ship dock on the Nile.
* * *
The white haired man continued his trek up the steep banks of the Nile, cursing every time he lost his footing in the mud.
"Damn it." He said slipping again. "At this rate it'll be dawn before I make it to the palace."
"Damn it!" he heard a woman's voice say. He froze looking to his right, farther down the bank he saw a woman in priestess robe treacherously making her way towards the royal docks.
"A priestess?" he thought. He looked back up to the palace, "It will be dawn by the time I get there anyway."
He set off in the direction of the woman, his footfalls completely silent in comparison with the constant string of curses flowing out of her mouth.
* * *
"I swear that man isn't going to know what hit him, making me go through this! Ahh!" she called catching her foot on a rock.
The ground was rushing toward her fast and once she hit it would be a one way trip into the Nile. She clenched her eyes tightly bracing for the impact, but something caught her. She opened her eyes to find that a man had caught her, a mere foot from the ground.
He slew her over his shoulder in one quick movement. "Hey! What are you doing?" she said trying to swing around to get a look and the man, but all she could see was the back of his white head.
"You shouldn't be wandering this kind of terrain, especially if you're a palace brat." He said starting down back to the riverside.
"Who do you think you're talking to?! Let me go!" she yelled squirming in his grip.
"You wanted to get to the dock right?" he asked, she went still. "So will you stay still or should I dump you back in the mud?"
She was silent for a moment before saying in a strained voice, "Fine."
"There, it'll only be a moment now." He said. After a few minutes he had reached the riverside. "Alright, I'm going to let you down now."
He gently set her down in front of him, being sure to minimize contact as much as he could, he could tell this woman was in a very foul mood. Kepi looked up to the man that had saved her from tumbling down the hill and into the Nile. Before her was a tan man with messy white grown out hair wearing only a tattered red cloak and a dark peasant pants. She stretched out her hand and brushed a lock of his hair, a thoughtful look on her face. "You have been cursed by Ra, have you not?"
He gave her a cold stare, caught her hand and pushed it away from him.
She turned away from him giving him a sidelong glance. "I bet you want revenge don't you?" she looked over her shoulder flashing him a menacing grin. "I bet you want to see them fall back to earth."
* * *
The two made their way across the Nile after stealing a boat from the royal dock and were now walking through the tightly packed city.
"Who are you?" the woman asked.
"Just a local thief," The man responded
"I didn't ask your profession, I asked your name." she snapped at him.
"Your skin is very pale, are you a foreigner?" he asked her still wearing a smirk.
"Answer my question, what is your name?" she demanded, her patience running thin.
"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours." He replied only about five feet away from her now.
She figured this is the best offer she could get so she said, "I am Kepi, Head Priestess."
"Kepi, that means tempest, but you don't seem so tough. I'm Bakura." He answered her, "So now you answer me, are you a foreigner?"
"I guess you can say that, I'm not like you." She said.
"I know that," he responded. "Just not quite sure which difference you're referring to. Is it that I'm cursed and you're not or maybe I'm Egyptian and you're not?"
"I am Egyptian, just a certain kind of Egyptian." She said "Why are you cursed? Did you commit a crime against Ra?"
"No, I didn't do anything." He answered her. She gave him a curious look, "Ra's little pet, the now deceased Pharaoh accused my father of killing his first son while he was…borrowing a few of the prince's items."
"I'm not ignorant, I know who you are, as I recall I watched you receive your sentence from the Pharaoh himself, Thief King." She commented giving him a sly look from the corner of her eye. "I can only assume that after the death of his son, thinking it was your father who killed him that he pleaded to the god of the pharaohs, Horace, for vengeance. Horace then asked his brother Ra, king of the gods to curse your father and all his kin."
"You really should watch where you step, woman." He commented.
"As should you, but you'll find that out soon enough." She said.
The two looked at each other just for a moment with sinister gazes and plans began to swim through their heads.
* * *
The Pharaoh tossed in his bed, nightmares plaguing his mind. He woke with a start sitting up right in his bed, his breathing erratic.
"By the gods." The Pharaoh said running his hands through his shoulder length black hair. He rose from his bed and walked to the window of his chambers. He looked over his vast lands, the sun barely peaking over the horizon. "The servants are probably just getting up."
The pharaoh gave a sigh of defeat and began preparing himself for the day. He pulled on his royal robes, though this was something the servants did he had been doing it more and more often as of recently with these constant night mares waking him up at dawn or before. He could call for the servants but he figured that someone might as well get sleep if he's not.
He took a moment to gaze at the new ring that adorned his right ring finger. He had recently acquired this from his dear Head Priestess, she wasn't very compliant, but it's not like there was anything she could have done. He was hypnotized by the odd stone inset in gleaming gold. The stone was pitched black with occasional spark that set the insides ablaze.
"My lord it's time- oh dear sir I am so sorry, I didn't know you were up!" the servant said in panic.
"Do not distress, it is fine." replied the pharaoh. "What is my agenda for the day?"
"Oh, well High Priest Kiaba request a meeting with you, he says it's urgent." The servant said.
"Alright then when he wakes bring him to me." The pharaoh ordered.
"Well the thing is, my lord, sir Kiaba has been up waiting on you for a good two hours now." explained the servant.
There was now a shadow of panic in the Pharaoh's eyes, "What could cause Kiaba to distress this much." He thought to himself. "We shall go now." He said to the servant and the Pharaoh set off to the temple.
* * *
The high priest Kaiba paced his chamber, Kepi's words flowing through his head. A rustle of the drapes of his door brought him out of his thoughts. It was none other then Pharaoh Atem himself wearing the crown of upper and of lower Egypt, golden bands adorning his wrists and ankles and the whitest linens for his clothes.
"My lord," Kiaba said in surprise dropping to his knee, "I am so sorry for calling on you like this."
"It is fine Kiaba," King Atem said waving away the servant. "Now what is it that you needed to tell me?"
As soon as the servant was gone the High Priest said, "My lord, it seems that High Priestess Kepi has left the temple."
Shock entered the Pharaoh's eyes followed by guilt, "When? Why?"
"She came to me late last night, she-she said that you, sir, had taken something from her." He said cautiously.
There was a long silence before Atem said, "Did she say anything else?"
"She did ask me to come with her, to…betray you." Kiaba said.
The Pharaoh gave Kaiba a cold stare, "I'm sure you know the consequences of such betrayal, don't you Kiaba?"
"Of course sir,"
"Good, she will be replaced with her apprentice, Hilima." ordered Atem as he walked to the door. "From this day on Kepi is a fugitive, put a price on her head and double that if she is brought in alive."
* * *
Kepi and Bakura both decided to sleep, he brought her to a furnished cave that he used as his hide out. There were exotic things from all times and places strewn about the room and the floors were covered with Persian rugs and the walls in odd works of art.
"You can have the bed." He said throwing some blankets on the floor.
"Thank you." She said, though she would have insisted upon it if he hadn't offered. She sat down on the bed as he hung a rug over the entrance of the cave to keep out the now rising sun.
He removed his red cloak revealing an interacate pattern of scars trailing up his back. He turned to her "Why do you trust me so much, you just met me?"
"It's not that I trust you, I simply trust my own ability to take care of myself should you prove untrustworthy." She replied, "If any thing odd happens while I sleep just ignore it."
He gave her an odd look but nodded laid down in his make shift bed and closed his eyes, softly snoring within seconds.
She laid down gingerly, she took a deep breathe and exhaled slowly. An odd smoke came out of her mouth as she drifted into an unconscious state. The smoke stopped and began swirling in a vertical column slowly taking the form of a person. Eventually there was the form of Kepi made of translucent smoke, she gave off a flash of light and her sleeping form on the bed stopped breathing. After the light dimmed her smoke form was now solid, she was wearing a sleek, form fitting black dress with yellow steaks of lightning literally dancing on the light fabric. She was adorned in shining gold bracelets, anklets and a gleaming head dress.
"Ah, that feels much better." She said stretching out her arms. Her clothes weren't the only change, now sparks were constantly jumping across her skin and her hair was wild and untamed like thousands of bolts of lightning. "Well I'd better get going."
Lightning struck at the woman's feet and suddenly she was gone. She was now soaring up into the sky far above the clouds when a gold and alabaster structure came into view. She stopped her accent at the edge of the structure.
It was like a grand palace had been plucked from the earth and suspended in the sky. She made her way up the gem encrusted alabaster steps and into a wide, square shaped courtyard. Column supported awnings ringed the outside of the stone gathering space.
Inside the courtyard, were an assortment of immortals lounging in shady areas. Geb, the god of the earth, and Nuut, the goddess of the sky sat under a palm tree in a patch of grass that Geb had no doubt created.
Geb's skin was darker than that of the rest of us, almost like the color of the dirt of the earth. He had a crown of braided savanah grasses and wore an olive green tunic. Nuut, Kepi's mentor, had a light blue dress on with clouds slowly gliding over it. Though she is married to the king of the gods, Ra, it is well known information that she and Geb are in love for they have already had five children.
Two of these children, Seth and Osiris, were bickering under the shade of one of the awnings. Osiris and Seth were brothers and Seth is Kepi's father. Seth is the god of the desert, storms and destruction. He wore a gold and red linen tunic and had a ruby encrusted crown-like circlet with a head of a jackal on the front. In his hand was a scepter with a head of a jackal on it with rubies as eyes.
Osisris wore a tunic that look like it was made of burial wrappings, being the god of the dead. He was bald with a black goatee and sitting upon his head was a crown like that of upper Egypt only this one had a large emerald inlaid in the middle. His large necklace was also covered in emeralds and his eyes were the same color. In his hands he held a shepards crook and a flail.
Isis, Osiris's wife, walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder trying to calm him down.
Isis is the goddess of magic, specifically healing. Oddly enough she is not married to Ra but is considered the queen of the gods, she had tricked Ra into giving her most of the power she possessed now. She wore an almost glowing white dress with the pattern of gold lilies trailing up from the hem. She had on a large very intricate gold headdress covered in opals, as were her bracelets and other jewelry.
Kepi scanned the area for a more appealing group to hang out with. That is when she spotted her friend Ma'at and Thoth in deep discussion at the back of the courtyard.
Ma'at, her best friend, is the goddess of justice and harmony. She is married to Thoth, he is older than she is but they talked so easily they didn't really notice the age difference, and their marriage was more of a promise to talk to each other about the most complicated things they could think of more than anything else.
Ma'at wore a long flowing beige dress and rather than gold jewelry she had on worn leather bands with silver hieroglyphs carved into them. She had her brown hair pulled back in a braid and the feather of justice that was used to weigh the deeds of man after their death hung from a silver circlet around her head. Her skin was pale like Kepi's and her cheeks were dusted with freckles.
Thoth, the god of wisdom, had on a humble white tunic and only one piece of jewelry on, a head piece with the image a stork with its wing spread wide inlaid in jade. He looked a little older and wiser than the rest of the gods there but still looked quite handsome with long black hair.
They looked up as Kepi approached the two. Ma'at's eyes lit up and she reached out to hug her. "I'm so glad to see you, your presence has disappeared for the past few years, what happened?"
"I decided to see what it feels like to be a human for a while, and my mission isn't quite done yet." Kepi replied.
Ma'at shook her head, "Getting into trouble again are we?"
Thoth joined our conversation, "If I'm correct you've been living as a head priestess for the past eighteen years or so."
"Nineteen, actually." Kepi corrected.
Ma'at sighed, "Well whatever, just don't be getting into trouble."
Kepi didn't answer.
"Well look who it is." Said a man approaching the group.
Kepi's eyes narrowed as Horus, the protector of pharaohs walked towards them. Horus is the son of Osiris and Isis, Kepi's cousin. He wore white linen pants and a gold breast plate with a hawk engraved on it like that that Ra wore. He wore his hair back in a short ponytail and atop his head rested the crown of the pharaoh.
"Hello, Horus how are you?" Kepi said through a tight smile.
"Fine, I thought you had disappeared…hmpf what a shame." He said giving her a superior smirk.
"I see you're still trying to be like Ra." She responded in a venomous tone. "And I thought you were too old for dress up."
Horus glared at her and was about to respond when;
"Well if it isn't my favorite cousin!" said another man walking up to the gathering.
"Anubis?" Kepi said.
"So what're we talking about?" he asked with a big grin clasping a friendly yet restricting hand on Horus's shoulder.
"Nothing, Anubis. I think I should check on my father, Seth is causing trouble again." With one last lethal glance to Kepi he headed off to his parents.
"Gods I hate that guy." Anubis commented as soon as Horus was out of earshot.
Anubis is the god of mummification and protector of the dead. He had shoulder length wavy brown hair with the oddest blond highlights. His skin was a little lighter than the usual but still tan. Anubis wore white pants with a navy belt had a tattoo of the symbol of life on his forearm. He had on a gold head piece on that looked like a head of a jackal with sapphires for eyes.
"Nice to see you too, Anubis." Kepi greeted with a genuine smile.
"You've had quite a busy few years haven't you?" Ma'at commented. "The death of the Pharaoh and his oldest son, no wonder Horus is in such a bad mood. The protector of Pharaohs isn't exactly rising to the occasion."
"Wait, when was it that the old Pharaoh's first son died?" Kepi asked.
"What have you been hiding under a rock for the past ten years?" Anubis asked.
"I guess you could say that." Kepi answered.
"It happened about eight years ago," Ma'at answered her question. "The Pharaoh tried to keep it under wraps as best he could so as far as most of the kingdom knows the current Pharaoh, Atem is his first son."
"You don't say? Why would he try to cover it up?" Kepi questioned.
"I don't know, to keep the honorability of his second son?" Anubis guessed.
Ma'at was about to make an input when a large flash caught the attention of the crowd. Before us was our king, god of the sun, Ra.
Nuut quickly jumped away from Geb so not to be caught in the act of cheating on her husband even though he was well aware of the situation.
We all quickly fell to our knees saying, "Lord Ra."
"Rise my friends." Ra said. A solid gold throne appeared behind him and he took a seat and we all rose to our feet.
Ra was an amazing being even by our standards, his lightly tanned skin seemed to always give off a soft glow, he had a long black ponytail that disappeared behind his long violet cape that was fastened to his shining gold breast plate with gem encrusted fastenings. On his breast plate was the image of a hawk like that on Horus's breast plate only this one was made of countless jewels and was almost difficult to look at. Placed on his head was a large circlet with an eye carved on it and in the center of the eye was a shining fiery stone.
Ra gave off an aura of friendliness and confidence that just made you want to trust him it just radiated from him like the sun. Also like the sun he also had an uncontrollable fury. When Ra found out about Nuut and Geb's relationship, he was angry and said that Nut could not give birth to any children during the 360 days of the year. Nut was unhappy and asked the God of Wisdom, Thoth, to help. At this time, the Moon was as bright as the Sun. Thoth got some light from the Moon, so now the Moon gets bigger and smaller each month. With this light, Thoth made five new days, so now the year is 365 days long. Nut gave birth to her five children, on these five days.
A woman, Hathor the goddess of music came to sit at Ra's side. Hathor had mood swings to say the least. Sometimes she was the peaceful goddess of music, at other times she was the ferocious Sekhmet, the goddess of destruction. It was Ra that gave her this alter ego, the destructive Eye of Ra. She is his right hand, willing to do what ever he commands.
Now she looked peaceful, wearing a dark rust colored dress with gold images of joy painted on it and her short wavy light brown hair fell loose to frame her pale face. But when she changed into Sekhmet her hair grew darker and longer and her skin darkened several shades. Her dress would proceed to burst into flames that she wore like a terrifying shroud. It was quite a sight to see.
The gods all migrated closer to the throne should Ra call on one of them.
One of them, Bastet the goddess of cats and Kepi's mother went directly up to Ra and started a conversation. Her face would have reminded you of a cat, a wry smile always on her lips and her eyes told of mischief and distrust.
Kepi her own daughter didn't have any trust in her, Bastet was constantly trying to heighten her own status among the immortals, doing anything to reach her goal as queen of the gods.
Her appearance often changed, today her skin was pale and she had short jet black hair that fell straight to her chin. She wore a black dress that resembled Kepi's only hers had a lack of lightning. She wore a gold circlet and gold bangles on her wrists and ankles. In her hands she held a staff with the head of a cat on it that had dimonds as eyes.
"Oh, my dear daughter." She said as Kepi and her group approached Ra's throne. She gave her daughter a hug and whispered in her ear, "I see that at this very moment you are sleeping in a man's room."
The two pulled away from the hug, Bastet is a very sly and cunning being and every ounce of wit that Kepi possesses she learned from her mother.
"It is a temporary arrangement." Kepi replied. Bastet is not unaware of her daughters' activities like the other gods. She has kept tabs on her daughter's every action since she decided to take on a human form, but she did not do this out of concern of her daughters safety. She was simply curious as to how her daughter would apply herself among mortals, and to say the least she is pleased.
"You wouldn't mind if I stole my daughter, would you?" Bastet addressed Ma'at and Anubis.
"Of course not." The two replied.
"Thank you." Bastet said leading her daughter out of the crowd. Once they were out of earshot of the rest of the gods she said. "I know of your situation, what happened?"
"Pharaoh Atem took the ring." Kepi stated not meeting her mothers eyes.
"When?" asked Bastet.
"Yesterday. He approached me as I was cleaning up after the mid-day ritual to Ra. He tried to knock me unconscious, I came to as he was leaving." Kepi explained.
"You didn't assault him did you?" Bastet asked with a shadow of panic.
"No." Kepi calmed her fears "I know that would have caused a near war among the gods, Horus would have insisted I be killed."
"We have to get the ring back before Horus finds out the Pharaoh has it, he'll fight tooth and nail for the Pharaoh to keep it." Bastet said. "You will have to work through a mortal to get it back."
"I know, that's what I'm working at now." Kepi replied
"Oh, so that is the explanation for the cursed man." Bastet commented. "Good, I was afraid you were falling in love with a mortal."
"Hardly, he is no more than a tool." Kepi explained looking away from her mother. "But what if I want to do more than just take back the ring?"
"What do you mean?" her mother questioned.
"I want to change things. I want to change the pecking order of the place." She answered looking out at the group of immortals fawning over Ra.
Bastet let out a short laugh, "Well if nothing else you got my ambition."
"More then anything I want the Pharaoh and his kingdom to fall."
* * *
Bakura turned over in discomfort. He got up from the floor and peeked outside to find a blood red sunset. "Damn woman, my back is killing me and she didn't even say 'Thank you'" he thought to himself.
He slowly walked over to the woman sleeping on his bed and glared at her. His glare softened, "She's quite pretty isn't she." He thought, cocking his head to the side. That's when he relized there was no rise and fall of her chest.
His eyes widened in terror and he bagan shaking her. "Kepi! Kepi wake up!"
* * *
Kepi gasped quietly.
"What is it?" Bastet asked a look of worry clouding her features.
"Bakura is a wake." Kepi replied quickly setting off for the steps at the enterance of the palace, her mother in tow. "Please apologive to everyone for me, I must go." With that she stepped off the ledge dropping into the abyss.
* * *
Bakura was kneeling by her side shaking her with panic calling her name.
Her eyes snapped open and connected with Bakura's, "Yes?"
"You weren't…breathing." He stated.
"Do you need something or are you going to keep spouting the obvious?" she asked like that was the most normal thing in the world.
He rolled his eyes, "You are too much trouble stupid palace brat, I should've just let you fall."
"You say that now," Kepi commented under her breath.
* * *
Kepi walked through the streets wrapped in cloth so as to hide her face. She idly wandered from street vendor to street vendor eyeing their wares. She had seen the many shops and stalls that lined the streets, but had never really visited them due to her upper class palace life.
She bought some food, giving the vendor gold coins that appeared out of thin air.
"Stupid humans, having to eat." She muttered to herself as she walked away. "Making me go buy the food."
Suddenly a palace chariot flew past her, stopping in the middle of the square. It was a head guard of the Pharaoh's. He pulled out a scroll and everyone crowded around to hear the announcement. "The woman Kepi, ex-High Priestess, is now an escaped convict on the charges of treason! The price on her head is a thousand gold pieces, anyone who aids this criminal or hides her from her consequences will share her fate therefore being put to death! So Pharaoh Atem has said and so it shall be done!"
A wave of unrest spread through the crowd, for they all knew the High Priestess and most of them held her in high regard. The chariot rider shot out of the crowd to spread the news to other areas of the city.
Kepi couldn't help herself, she began laughing, attracting her a few strange looks from some passer byers. "Well, if he wants me so bad…"
She snapped her fingers and a bolt of lightning struck at her feet. The surrounding crowd screamed in alarm and when the dust had cleared she was gone.
* * *
Sparsely clad girls danced across the court room of the Pharaoh to fast beat music to amuse the Pharaoh and his large court made up of friends, family, military leaders, and many high ranking priests and priestesses with many servants scurrying around to serve the guests.
The Pharaoh sat in his large gold throne elevated above the rest of the crowd, the High Priest and soon to be High Priestess sat to his right also on the large platform.
The Pharaoh rose and held out his hand. The music died and the dancers stilled quickly making their way to the edges of the crowd. Once the pharaoh had everyone's attention (which didn't take long) he announced, "We have gathered here to celebrate the enstating of a new High Priestess." He walked over to Hilima, Kepi's old apprentice, and motioned for her to rise. Once she did he took her wrist and held it high in the air and said, "I now crown Hilima as the new High Priestess of Egypt."
Cheers erupted among the crowd, and the Head Priest Kaiba rose and placed the gold diadem of the Head Priestess on the girl's head.
Suddenly a manical laugh burst through the crowd, the applause died and the crowd parted to make way for a person in a black cloak, face hidden from view under their hood. This one person continued clapping as they walked into the middle of the court. Unease spread through the party goers sparked by the continued laughter.
The person stopped laughing and said in an amused tone, "Honestly Pharaoh, I've been gone for a couple days and you're already replacing me, you work fast." The voice was that of a woman.
"Who are you?!" yelled the head guard, "Show yourself!"
"Just as insistint as ever." She commented, "Well Pharaoh, you wanted me back so badly, so here I am." The woman took off her cloak and discarded it on the floor.
"Kepi!" Pharaoh Atem cried taking in the view of the recent fugitive. "Is she insane? She has been tried for treason, she will be put to death!" Atem thought, seeing no reason behind her actions. "Guards, Seize her!"
A guard rushed at her from the right.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." She said. She pointed a finger at him and a lightning bolt shot from her finger blasting the man back. There was a sharp intake of breath from the crowd. The other guards stopped in their tracks.
"I'm hurt Pharaoh," she said palcing a hand over her heart. "You didn't even invite me."
"What do you want with me, Kepi?" Atem asked.
"Actually I came here to talk to Kaiba." Kepi replied. The two looked at the man in question. "So Kaiba, I told you I wanted your answer by the next time you saw me. So Kaiba, will you join me or stay on this sinking ship of an empire?"