Owww.
Atemu clutched the throbbing pain coming from his forehead as he sat up, trying to let his eyes adjust to the darkness of the room. Strange. Seto always woke him up, so where was he this morning?
"Ryou!" he hollered and waited for his healer's soft footsteps. None came. Begrudgingly, the Pharaoh swung his feet over the side of his bed, putting his feet on the cold floor. He tilted his head to the side. Where was the rug that held his sandals?
Massaging his temples, Atemu moved to the curtains that overlooked the balcony of his bedroom. His palms met another smooth surface. Hmm…his palms continued along the wall, maybe he hadn't gone far enough.
"RA!" he hissed when his shin collided with a new object that had never been there before. The door handle rattled while he knelt to put pressure on his new wound.
"Your majesty!" footsteps charged towards him. The stranger was holding a torch and urgently knelt beside him, his blond hair so close it nearly brushed Atemu's face as he inspected his shin. "What are you doing up so early?" he asked, helping the king to his feet.
Atemu said nothing, and stared at the blonde, as he waited for his response. Who was this man?
"Oh, I get it, you're still mad after our spat. Look, I already apologized. I don't know what else you want from me." He retorted, crossing his arms.
Atemu raised his eyebrows. Clearly this man had no idea who he was talking to. "Excuse me?" he spat, eyebrows furrowing.
"Easy there Atemu, no need to get all cranky," He laughed, turning towards the door again. Wait, a door? His bedroom was so massive he didn't have a door, just huge hallways and corridors. He'd never seen this area before.
"Who are you to use my name?!" Atemu hissed.
The blonde simply laughed again, "Very funny. We've only known each other since we escaped Alexandria together."
"I have no memory of this," he shot back.
"Why Atemu, I'm hurt. You don't remember our execution sentence?" The blonde looked dumbfounded.
Atemu glared. This man was accused of a crime punishable by death and he was implying that Atemu was also? Absurd. Whatever was going on, he wasn't amused.
The man shrugged, "It's probably that spell you casted. It's got you all jumbled in the head- hey! Where's your millennium ring?!"
Atemu absentmindedly reached for were his puzzle usually rested to find only his bare skin. Panic started to seep in.
"Did you just say my millennium ring?" He realized the error in the blonde's words.
"I betcha Yugi got it again. You need to be more careful. Come on." The man gestured for the door.
Atemu had a few courses of action here. He could refuse to listen to the man and demand he be taken back to his palace. He could fight the man and escape. Or he could play along until he had more information about his situation.
The blonde was talk and strong; Atemu now noticed the green cape flowing from his shoulders and the swords sheathed on his hips. Atemu was in nothing but his tunic, and without his puzzle he didn't have any magic. Fighting him didn't seem to be the best idea. He could probably move faster, but he was still unarmed, and the armor strapped to the man looked to be quite sturdy. Perhaps he could outrun him?
"Lead the way." Atemu commanded.
The blonde stopped at the door and turned to face the king quickly, "Are you going to get dressed?"
Atemu was surprised, usually his servants dressed him. Perhaps he'd gotten lazy in his reign. Looking around the dimly lit room, he began to search through the many chests adorning the walls and foot of the bed. Opening the chest that he'd roughed himself up on, he froze. A very familiar red cloak sat staring at him. He lifted it out gently, feeling the incredible fabric between his hands.
It was his fathers. The one that thief had stolen so long ago.
He didn't know what twisted fate brought it back to him, but he wasn't going to complain. After pressing his face into the wonderful fabric, he clothed himself in the gold trimmed cloak for the first time. No weapons were in any of the chests. The person who owned this room was quite cocky, assuming he or she wouldn't need one. He found a pair of worn sandals underneath the cloak and turned to face the blonde.
His head was tilted to the side, mouth slightly ajar in confusion, "What on earth are you doing? I've never seen anyone take that long to get dressed."
Atemu shot him a glare as the blonde punched his shoulder playfully. Atemu was right though, he was quite strong.
"Let's just get my millennium item," he snarled.
"Yes, your majesty," the blonde chortled.
Going through the door, a huge and unfamiliar throne room that could put his room back at the palace to shame came into view. Treasures were placed on barrels, gold was flowing out of bags, the whole tent was filled with more shiny riches Atemu had witnessed at one time. The soft glow of the torch made each and every jewel glisten as bright as the night sky on the oasis. The back what Atemu assumed was a throne was right outside his door. The throne was the only thing that looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.
Large pillars chiseled in the shape of some of the gods held the second floor which also looked down on the throne room. He could see large unlit chandeliers above him. He didn't envy the poor sod that would have to light those. In front of each pillar stood a guard with white capes, hands behind their backs. They all seemed unarmed.
Atemu was taken back for a moment. Where on earth was he?
"Ya coming?" the blonde asked, his voice echoing in the large empty space. He was already down a few steps looking back at him.
Atemu nodded, trying to plan an escape route if need be. There were no windows and the only doors were the two which spanned both stories with intricate carvings, similar to the doors in his own throne room. Except those were always open by law.
He couldn't quite tell from his angle if there were any doors on the second floor, but there were two spiraling staircases leading up.
It too two guards on each door to open the large doors. Hot air hit the king's face as they slowly opened revealing a makeshift town made of all different types of tents. The moon shone bright in the sky and a huge fire was in the center. The tents seemed to go on for miles in all directions. It was clearly late, but there were several merchants out, and civilians sitting around the fire, chatting and some even playing music.
"Aye! Marik! You know where Yug' is?" The blonde hollered, causing Atemu to break from the trance he had on the city.
Another man (Atemu assumed was this Marik) with practically white hair and a large mug stumbled over to meet the blonde halfway. A large purple cape had been pulled from his shoulders and was woven around his waist as a long tunic, dragging behind him. He reminded the king of his guard captain.
"Joooono!" Marik slurred, taking a large swig from his mug, some spilling down his chin and onto his strong chest. Atemu notice quite a bit of built up scar tissue. These men clearly weren't to be messed with.
"Wow. How long have you been drinking?" Jono chuckled, punching Marik's arm. Must just be his greeting Atemu concluded.
"Just getting started my friend!" He bellowed, smacking the blond hard enough to make him cough.
"Anyways, have you seen our lovely Yugi anywhere? It seems he has relieved our illustrious leader here of a precious item," Jono explained. Atemu furrowed his eyebrows. He was this crazy band's leader? Is this what is left of his mighty Egypt?
Marik smacked his knee and laughed, "Of course the little runt did! No, I haven't seen him. But I think a certain someone is looking for you Jo! Best keep on your guard." He winked and walked back to a tent with a large mug sign in front of it. The tavern. A few girly squeals could be heard at his entrance.
Jono sighed, "All due respect, I'm going to have to take my leave. If Duke finds me, I'll have to kill him, and frankly, it's way too early. Good luck finding Yugi! I'm sure he'll show up."
Atemu almost objected, but he let the blond disappear into the valley of tents.
Step one, his millennium item. Step two, a horse to get back to his people. Maybe a map. He looked up at the moon. He had not a clue where he was. He could be on the outskirts of Persia or halfway to Egypt, he had no clue.
Atemu cracked his neck and rubbed his temples. This was going to be a long morning.
Bakura hissed at the sun that shone on his face, falling out of the large bed onto a squishy rug. He jumped up, his hands curled into fists, ready to strike who ever decided to pull off the boards he'd covered all the windows in his room.
"YOU!" His red eyes flared when he saw the horrendous priest in front of him. Bakura lunged and the priest moved swiftly to the side, looking unamused. He swung again. Dodged. And again. Parried. Again. He ducked. The thief king roared and attempted to tackle the swift moving man.
"Really now Bakura, how many times must we do this," he sighed, removing his headwear and setting on the huge bed. Bakura grunted as he lifted himself from the floor, a throbbing between his ears. He looked up at the brunette that had foiled his attempts to overthrow the Pharaoh many times. How the hell did he get into his room? He had hidden his camp so well.
The gold that glistened on the table caught the king's eye. Off on a table sat the very thing he'd been after for a very long time. The idiot Pharaoh had finally taken it off. The millennium puzzle. He stormed past the priest and clutched it tightly. It was real! He could feel the energy radiating off of it and he breathed deep.
"Ryou requested you to stop by the infirmary as soon as you can. He has made a cure he'd like to bring to your attention," the priest stated, placing his hands behind his back and standing tall.
Bakura turned to him slowly, "You've got a lot of nerve," he hissed.
Seto simply sighed, "I know you've been under a lot of stress lately with the visiting dignitaries, but can you please be civil with Lady Anzu? I know you don't want to be tied down, but she would be a powerful ally."
Bakura scoffed, "I can't wait until the day I can truly humiliate you in the ways you've humiliated me, priest!" He stood inches from the brunette's face. He looked amused.
"What is so funny?!" Bakura hissed.
"I'll be in the council room when you're finished with Ryou," he stated, and turned on his heel. Bakura threw a punch towards his head as hard as he could.
The priest caught it with one hand, and turned to glare at Bakura, "Stop being an immature child cousin. This is getting ridiculous."
"Cousin?!" Bakura snarled, ignoring the pain forming in his knuckles. The brunette made a simple gesture with his hand, causing a tremendous amount of pain to pulse throughout his arm. Bakura fell to his knees, yowling.
"Ryou can help you with that too. As I said, I'll be in the council room. Please be on time this time cousin," he stated firmly, his blue eyes narrowing at the thief.
Bakura cradled his wounded arm as he stood and watched the priest leave. Bastard. He grabbed the puzzle and turned to see several young women enter the room in single file, all with their heads down. He glared in suspicion.
The first woman glanced up nervously, but said nothing.
"What?" He hissed.
"W-we are here to dress you, your majesty," she stammered, fidgeting with her hands. Bakura stepped back and furrowed his eyebrows. What was going on here?
He glanced around the room. This wasn't his cozy dark room. It was all open and bright and ivory. But he'd been here before. He was in the Pharaoh's chambers.
"You're joking," he scoffed.
The young servant glanced to the girls behind her, unsure what to do, "N-no my Pharaoh."
"What did you call me?"
She was practically shaking at his stern tone. Did she do something wrong? "Ph-pharaoh?"
Bakura started cackling and prancing around the room. It all made sense now.
"Proceed my darlings!" he cackled.
The servants were leery, but they quickly moved to dress their king.
It had worked. That stupid spell had actually worked.