"What is it you've brought me, cousin?"
Amethyst eyes watched as a teen was pushed down to his knee's, causing a soft grunt to slip past the boys flushed lips. His hands were tied tightly behind his back with a rope that the brunette standing behind him held at his side.
"I found him in the village. He has a black dragon inside of him," Seto stated evenly. Atem blinked and stood from his seat on the throne, "Well. That's very interesting," he mused softly and walked over to the two.
He stopped before them, "Now, let's have a look at this 'black dragon'," said. The boy lifted his head suddenly and stared up at the Pharaoh with a cautious and slightly irritated look. Atem widened his eyes when the nameless boy met his gaze.
"My..." he breathed out in fascination.
The boy was breathtaking to say the least. His hair was the color of gold and it matched his sun kissed skin so perfectly. His eyes...Oh Ra his eyes were absolutely stunning! They were like the precious ruby jewels that Atem had seen all over the Palace. And not only was the color beautiful, but they were so expressive!
They were sharp just like a dragon's but they were soft and curious just like a child's. Atem stared down at the dragon boy and smirked suddenly, "Well you don't look very scary, do you?" he queried. The blonde haired boy glared at the spiky haired egyptian, obviously not appreciating his comment.
Atem reached down and gently picked up a few golden strands of the youths hair; letting the soft silk like feel caress his fingertip, "Your hair is just like mine, it is so rare to see this color," he trailed off appreciatively. The lighter skinned egyptian growled softly at the older boy and jerked his head back. The action caused Atem to blink in surprise, he was not used to having people act so openly disrespectful toward him. He found himself laughing though, "My, you are a rowdy one aren't you?" he patronized.
The boy only frowned and continued to glare daggers at the man, "I don't know why you're looking at me like that. I'm not the one who brought you here," Atem pointed out. This caused the blonde to widen his eyes; obviously not expecting that sort of reply.
Atem leaned down to look at the boys face and smiled, "Some dangerous dragon you are," he scoffed. Atem straightened and crossed his arms staring back at his cousin, "Tell me Seto, what has this boy done to receive your attention?" he asked, suddenly taking on a more professional stance and tone.
"He was stealing from the merchants and has been for quite some time," he replied tightly sending an abhorrent look toward the boy kneeling before his cousin. The blonde, as if able to sense the brunette's gaze, looked up at the priest from over his shoulder and fixed him with a menacing glower.
Atem nodded and hummed in contemplation, "I see, tell me little one what is your name?" Atem asked directing his attention back to the ruby eyed teen causing the dragon boy to look back up at him. He stared straight up into dark violet colored eyes and kept his mouth shut; his rose colored eyes glinted defiantly as he remained silent.
Cobalt eyes glared down at the impudent teen and the Priest pulled the rope binding the others hands sharply, earning a pained cry from the blonde, "The Pharaoh asked you a question, brat."
The boy growled softly at the Priest before he looked back up at Atem. "My name is Jono," he answered tightly. By the look on his face he was obviously trying to stop himself from blowing up at any and everyone.
"Jono..." Atem breathed out letting the name roll over his tongue. It really was a lovely name for such a lovely boy. "Well then Jono, how old are you?" he asked. Jono raised a confused brow, "How old am I?" he parroted incredulously. He had been taken prisoner by that fucking Priest because of his dragon and because he had been stealing, and the Pharaoh of Egypt was asking him how old he was!
The tanned teen nodded, "Yes, your age."
"I'm 15.." Jono answered hesitantly wondering how his age was supposed to work into the grand scheme of things. Although he didn't really know what his name had to do with any of this either. He watched the king stare down at him with a contemplative look on his face, as if he was trying to figure out what to do with Jono.
"Pharaoh...shall we commence with extracting his Ka?" Seto asked wondering why the tri color haired boy was acting so strangely. Jono's body tensed upon the High Priests question and he immediately snarled up at the brunette, "What! I don't care if you are a Priest! There's no way you're taking my Dragon!" he shouted at him.
Jono quickly tried to squirm out of his bonds; ready to tear this asshole to shreds if thats what it took to get out of this place. There was no fucking way he was going to let these royal asses take away his dragon! Seto growled at the blonde his crystal blue eyes narrowing, "Be still you peasant!" he commanded.
"PEASANT!" Jono screeched. "I'LL SHOW YOU A PEASANT! YOU JUST WAIT, AS SOON AS I GET THIS OFF I'M GONNA RIP YOU TO PIECES!"
"Silence!"
The deep booming voice immediately silenced the two, and both looked back at Atem. Atem cleared his throat and looked back at his cousin, "I do not think that action will be necessary, Seto." he declared. Seto's eyes widened in shock, "B-But your Highness-" he stuttered.
"Do not argue, I have made my decision." he stated with a tone of finality. "I do not feel that you can subject this boy to such a cruel punishment when he is still too young to be held accountable for his actions." Seto sputtered at the reply, "D-Did you not hear what this...this civilian just threatened to do? I think that he is more then able to understand what he does."
Atem shook his head gently, "Having a child like temper is not a crime, Seto," he reminded softly.
"Well you can not just let this thief go free! Child or not he has still committed a crime and is still a danger to the village." he objected. Atem tilted his head, "Yes...that is true." he whispered. He glanced back at the tall brunette, "That is why I have decided that Jono will remain here, and work as my servant."
"What!" both boys asked in unison.
"That way Jono will no longer be a danger to the public and he will be able serve out his punishment."
"W-What! No way!" Jono argued fervently. "I'm no ones slave!" he bristled. Atem reached down and gently wrapped his fingers around the child's chin, tilting it up so that he could look at his face. "Well, little one, I'm afraid that it is either this, or we will have your Ka removed," he crooned. "And I know that you do not wish to part with your beloved dragon," he sympathized.
Jono gritted his teeth and pulled away from the others touch. His brows furrowed and his vermillion eyes glared at the ground; knowing that he had no other choice. It was either a life of servitude or no life at all. Jono hung his head letting his bangs fall over his eyes.
"...Fine..." he gritted out.
"Wonderful. I will have my other servants take you to my chambers and tend to you there," he announced. Jono bit back a snarl as he stood to his feet, a few people walked toward Jono. Crimson orbs narrowed in disgust, he knew these were probably the other servants.
His lips pulled back into a scowl, he found this repulsive. How could anyone bear to dominate every aspect of another person? It was a sick and disgusting practice, and it made him positively ill. It made him queasy just to think that he himself would soon be bound to a single person who would own him as if he was nothing more then a mere object.
He, a living breathing human being, would be forced to serve another living breathing human being.
Jono was led through the large palace by two older men, whom Jono assumed were guards. He growled when one pushed him inside a room past a transparent lavender curtain. He stumbled in order to regain his balance, since he was unable to utilize his hands to balance himself at the moment.
"Hello. Welcome to the palace." Jono blinked and looked in front of him to see a young girl standing there. "What?" he asked confusedly. She looked around his age, although she might have been a little older..or maybe younger; it was hard to tell.
She was quite beautiful. She had tanned skin and long dark brown hair that reached almost to her waist. She had gentle green eyes and a slender figure that was adorned with gold bracelets. Her outfit looked similar to one that Jono had seen on dancers; there was a dark purple silk cloth wrapped around her top half to cover her...{cough} yeah. And there was a lavender colored cloth covered in sparkles hanging around her hips that reached down to her knees.
"W-Who are you?" Jono asked tentatively feeling a little disoriented. After all he had just been forced into slavery and now a beautiful girl was...welcoming him? The girl smiled brightly, "My name is Amna, I am also a servant here. I was told to prepare you." she informed. Jono watched Amna walk up to him and brandish a sharp dagger from behind her, causing Jono's eyes to grow wide and fearful.
"H-Hey!" he jumped instantly moving backwards. The emerald eyed girl chuckled, "I only wish to release you of your bonds," she clarified. Jono glanced back at his hands and realized why she had been holding the knife, he felt his face flush in embarrassment. "S-sorry," he muttered hearing her giggle as she cut the ropes off.
Jono sighed in momentary relief as he rubbed his sore wrists, but gazed back at the female servant curiously, "What did you mean by prepare me?" he inquired. Amna gestured to the other side of the room where another curtain was placed, "Please follow me."
Jono shrugged innerly and followed her, figuring that he might as well. He pushed the silky curtain aside and stepped through it. When he looked up he found himself in a completely different room, the previous room had been a bedroom and this one was..well Jono really wasn't sure what it was. He found himself standing there staring almost dumbstruck at the elegant room.
"I am to prepare you for your new life here in the palace," she announced kindly and beckoned him to sit down on a red cushioned golden bench that was placed in front of what looked almost like a vanity. Jono slowly released the curtain and allowed it to fall back to its original position as he walked over to the bench. He sat down and looked at the vanity like structure, realizing that it too was solid gold. Jono frowned. Was everything in this place made of gold?
Jono's eyes shifted anxiously as he listened to Amna shuffling around behind him,"I don't get it. What're you gonna do...burn me or something?" he asked fearfully. Amna laughed as she strode over toward Jono holding a number of golden trinkets, "Of course not!" Jono sighed in relief and watched her lay the gold jewelry out on the table. He raised a brow, "What's this stuff for?"
"For you..." she replied softly picking up a gold band. Jono blinked incredulously, "W-What! I-I thought I was supposed to be a slave!" he stammered confusedly. Amna only smiled as she placed two of the golden bands around the teens neck and clasped them together, locking them in place.
"You are not a slave. Our Master never calls us slaves, he does not believe in them," she explained sweetly. Her tone softening and taking on a tone of admiration. "Master?" Jono echoed not enjoying the sound of the word and what it implied.
"The Pharaoh."
"Master says we are servants, not slaves." she stated while busying herself by clasping various bracelets and anklets onto the golden haired teenager. Jono rolled his eyes and grunted softly, "What's the difference?"
Amna flipped her hair over her shoulder, "Master says that slaves are treated as if they are not even humans. Master despises the way slaves are treated," she said shaking her head in disapproval. Vermillion orbs glanced back at the brunette shining with curiosity.
Amna smiled again and sighed happily, "Master treats us respectfully. He does not punish us in the way most Masters would," she said with a faint shiver. Jono turned partially so that he could look Amna in the eye, "What do you mean by that?"
Amna closed her eyes for a moment letting out a soft breath, "Most Masters would punish us by throwing us in the dungeon, or whipping us, or even executing us," she elucidated causing Joey to shudder at the very sound of the word 'execute'.
Now that would be a horrible way to go.
She shook herself and smiled once more though, "But not our Master," she said happily and turned around, walking over to a large dresser like object. Jono frowned slightly, "Look, he's not my Master, got it?" he bristled vehemently. Saying that he had a Master would confirm that he was owned by someone, and therefore was not free.
Amna chuckled, "Yes he is." She pulled one of the top drawers out and rummaged through it. Her emerald eyes lit up suddenly and she brought out two objects, one looked like a paint brush and the other looked like a small jar.
Jono watched her stride back over to where he was sitting and set the two object on the table. "You see, our Master takes in servants that are young. I was around your age when I became a servant here," she said evenly.
Jono's eyes widened slightly, "Is that why he asked me how old I was?" he questioned. Amna nodded, "Master only takes servants who are young," she explicated opening the jar to uncover an odd black liquid. "Oh? And why is that?" Jono asked curiously.
Amna slowly dipped the finely tipped brush in the black liquid, "Because Master believes that the young do not deserved to be punished. He thinks it is unfair since they are still growing and do not firmly know right from wrong yet."
Jono frowned his face scrunching up a little, "Hmph. I think I'm old enough to know right from wrong," he argued crossing his arms over his chest. Amna only smiled at him, "You may think so, I was the same way. But you will soon learn." she assured.
"Close your eyes, please." she instructed. Jono raised a brow, "What for?" he asked agitatedly. "I need to apply this, so please do not open them until I tell you." Jono huffed silently, but obliged and closed his eyes.
Jono soon felt the tickle of the brush running over his eye lid and heard Amna breath out softly again. "Anyways, as I told you before Master believes that we should be taken care...not punished."
"And why's that?" Jono drawled out. He wasn't quite sure yet what he was supposed to make of this Pharaoh.
"Because we are young. And because we never really had anyone to take care of us," she replied. "How do you know that I didn't have anyone?" Jono asked defensively. "Well...if you did then you would not have ended up in this situation." she said plainly.
Jono frowned and huffed gently, "Good point."
"So what happened to your parents?" Amna asked softly. Jono kept his eyes closed as he had been told to, but frowned defensively, "What happened to yours?" he countered. "My parents died in a fire when I was 7," she said without hesitation.
"...I'm sorry..." Jono apologized quietly. "It's alright. That wound has long since healed. So...what happened to yours?" she asked again.
"...My mother died giving birth to my sister. And my father was killed in battle." he said almost inaudibly. "And what about your sister?"
Jono felt his heart tug and pull in a pained way, the same way it did every time he remembered his baby sister. "When we were little, she got very sick. We didn't have much money...so we couldn't hire a healer." he explained in a sorrowful distant tone. "She wouldn't get any better no matter what we did. She was sick for a whole year... and she just got sicker and sicker," he trailed off painfully. "Until finally...she didn't wake up one morning."
"..I'm sorry to hear that...it sounds like you two were very close," she commiserated.
"We were."
"You may open your eyes now, Jono," Amna said finally. Jono opened his eyes and blinked a couple times. He watched Amna close the lid on the jar. "So that's why you started stealing?" she asked knowingly.
Jono shook his head, "I didn't have any other choice," he added. Amna nodded understandingly, "I know, Master also understands that." she reassured walking back to the drawer to put the utensils away. Jono shot an angered glare at her, "How do you know that he understands anything!" he growled.
Amna walked over to a bucket and knelt down grabbing a rag, "Master is very wise." she said completely unaffected by the blondes outburst. "Do not worry Jono. Master will treat you well and take care of you," she assured calmly. Jono grunted disbelievingly and turned away again, "I doubt it. I don't need anyone to take care of me."
Amna smiled as she wetted the rag and stood, walking back to Jono, "You think that now, but that will all change in time." she apprised. "It will take time though. Master will treat you in a way you have never been treated before...and you will become confused, angered, and perhaps even happy in due time." she whispered warningly while cleaning off all the scuffs littering the boys arms and legs.
"That is the wonderful thing about our Master. You will do many things that most Masters would execute you for doing. But Master will never lay a hand on you. He believes in correcting us humanely." she murmured thoughtfully.
Jono looked at her strangely, "You make it sound like...like you actually...enjoy being his servant," he noted bemusedly. Amna straightened and grinned at the ruby eyes teen, "That's because I do. I enjoy serving my Master very much." she affirmed mirthfully.
"Come, I will take you back to Master's chambers. He will come to meet you soon." Jono followed her back into the room he had been in before. "Come, sit." She urged motioning to the bed. Jono made a face at the bed though and shook his head.
"No thanks, I'll stand," he stated crossing his arms firmly over his chest. She only nodded, "Do as you wish," she said passively. "I will be taking my leave now, I'm sure we will cross paths again soon." Jono watched her incline her head to him courteously and then turn to leave.
Jono hesitated for a moment before he stopped her, "You know," he started causing Amna to pause in front of the lavender curtain. Jono frowned staring at her back, "I think he's got you guys all brainwashed," he stated.
Amna smiled unbeknownst to the younger egyptian, "You say that now. But soon it will all be clear to you."
Jono's frown remained as he watched Amna walk out; leaving him alone in the room of his future 'Master'. He sighed and looked out through the balcony built on the wall across from him to see the hot sun shining brightly.
"I already see clearly enough," he asserted softly.
TBC
Don't ask. Just don't. I don't know why. I wrote something sort of like this for myself...expect it was only the first little part none of the other stuff really was in there. I like the idea of Joey aka Jono as a slave. I do like having him be Seto's servant...but having him as Atem's is also a fun idea. And just gonna put this out there since someone had a problem with this last time I posted a dragonshipping fic. The fluid motions one. Atem...is taller then Jono...alright...we got that cleared up. And just incase you want to know, yeah Jono is 15 in the story...around then. And Atem is like 18. Alright...thats settled. Oh and other thing the Amna girl. I have no idea where she came from. Honestly. At first there were going to be like three generic servant girls who just gave him a bunch of shit. Then I changed it to one girl that originally I really just wanted to say hello to him and just dress him up with no conversation. ...And then I gave her a name. Damn it. Yeah Amna is like an arabic name for safety...I just liked the sound of it. And no...Amna is not like a version of any yugioh character...she's OC. No she and Jono never will be even seemingly romantically involved..no her and Atem will never be. She may show up sometimes...perhaps...who knows maybe she wont. I actually sort of liked her. And me liking a girl is just weird. Anyways though I wanted to write this..so I did. Please CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. No one is allowed to tell me they hate it...no one. Alright well..I don't know the rating may change later on. But that's kind of all I have to say so...REVIEW!