The Thief King's Wish
By: AimiKitsune
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Disclaimer: I own neither Yu-Gi-Oh! nor Aladdin, nor even the basic idea for writing this! X3 Thank you, Higuchimon? (O.o Never thought I'd say that.. .. Cool!) I do not own the name "The Dancing Dove" for the inn, nor any other names or minor elements I borrow from Tamora Pierce. I basically own nothing so far. Ya happy now?
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Aimi: Okay. So. Guess thanks to certain dumb rules, I can't have my muse anymore... sigh I love muses, too.. Anyway, Higuchimon's challenge, and thus the plot, is an Aladdin-plotted YGO fic, but WITHOUT Disney elements! No monkey, no parrot, no singalongs. And the pairing? (Not part of the challenge.) Outcastshipping! Thief Bakura x Kisara:3 Enjoy.
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Chapter 1: Roses, Dreams, and Fairy Tales
Bakura walked quickly down the busy streets of the marketplace. "Oh! Sorry!" he quickly apologized after bumping into a man. The man just sneered and walked on, dismissing the riffraff. Bakura continued as well. After a few moments to put distance between them, he pulled a small sack of gold out of his pocket, a smirk appearing on his scarred face. "Idiot.."
The thief then walked around browsing, and bought a loaf of bread and a small fish. Well, he may not have the easiest life in Agraba, but he rarely went hungry. Occasionally, he even got something nice for himself. Hm? That looked promising.. He 'tripped' and fell right into a young couple.
"Hey! Watch it!" the young man yelled, his girlfriend trying to calm him down.
"What? I'm sorry! Please forgive me?" He gave his best innocent beggar look. With his linen-white hair against his dark skin, most people thought something was wrong with him anyway. Now, clothed in just a skirt and scarred, wide-eyed face pathetic, it was rather convincing. "I'm so horribly clumsy.." he muttered in self-pity.
"Of course," the girl said. Her boyfriend began to protest, but she silenced him and quickly dragged him away. Neither of them noticed she was now missing a golden bracelet.
Bakura got up and admired his new jewelry. "I wonder how much I can get for this from the boys at the Dancing Dove?" he thought aloud. "Let's find out.."
He was about half way to his favorite inn when trumpets sounded. "Make way, for her royal highness! Heiress of our great land! Future-" The titles continued, though few were listening to them. Those who cared already knew them, and those who didn't care.. well.. just didn't care. Bakura was, of course, part of the latter.
'Great.. More stupid nobility..' he thought. He hated nobility with a passion. He would have stood right in the middle of the path just to spite them, but trampling by horses had never been his favorite form of pain.. The first of the royal guards was passing, so he had no choice but to step back and wait to cross the road until the entire train had gone by. He sighed. May as well enjoy the parade..
Guard.. Guards.. More guards.. Ah, here was the noblewoman. A young girl rode on either side of her, each holding a large feathered fan in front of their Lady. Suddenly, a little kid darted out in front of them. Before Bakura could even think, the boy's mother swooped him up, but one of the horses still shyed. She winnied and pranced, making her rider jerk her fan down to grab the reins. The young thief gaped..
There in the center, temorarily uncovered at least for those on this side of the road, was the most beautiful thing Bakura had ever seen: the princess, Kisara. Her long silk hair was the palest blue-silver imaginable, and her skin looked like ivory. Set in it were two sapphires that served as her eyes. Her thin, frail build wouldn't have looked out of place among the riffraff, yet somehow still had amazing curves and only emphasized her beauty. A dark blue ribbon with a sapphire dangling from it was tied around her neck. Her skirt and top were just a bit darker than the sky. Every last detail of her only served to enhance the next. She well could have been the perfect woman.
"I think I'm in love.." he said quietly. It took five minutes after she'd passed for Bakura to remember what he was doing and continue to the Dancing Dove. By the time he arrived, he'd forgotten all about the bracelet.
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"Hello there, Bakura!" Sol, the old bartender and innkeeper said. "I see you brought me some dinner."
The thief smirked. "Hardly. Though would you mind fixing this up for me?" he asked, holding out the fish. "There'll be 2 gold chips in i-"
"Done!" As he took the fish, Bakura shook his head, then began looking around for any of his friends, a difficult task in the hectic seen before him. Ruffians of all sorts were scattered about, gambling, drinking, or showing off stolen goods or new scars. A few nasty arguements looked to be taking place, but so far only one had turned physical. Not bad compared to usual, really.
There in the back, a young man whose platinum blonde hair looked as out of place as Bakura's white looked about to get himself in an arguement with a heavily built man who could have been either a poor merchant or fairly wealthy thief. "What are you getting into now, Marik?" Bakura asked as he approached.
"This jackass claims I'm selling junk!" Marik Ishtar exclaimed, giving the other man a dirty look.
His friend shrugged. "Well don't sell it to him. Don't get yourself in a fight over it." Marik looked suddenly sheepish. That was a simple answer.. "Alla, let me look at it even!"
"Right.. I knew that." He turned briefly to the other man and scorningly said, "I suppose you can take your business elsewhere!" Afterward, he rummaged through a sack and pulled out what looked like a half-bloomed rose. Here in the desert, even the image of one was rare. But that was not what caught Bakura's attention. The stem and leaves were made of a nearly white metal, and the 'bloom' was a carefully carved sapphire. "That neanderthal said it was tin and stone. Any man with eyes should be able to see this is worth a small fortune!"
"Which is why he wanted you to lower your price," Bakura stated matter-of-factly as he took the flower to admire it. It must have taken ages to carve every diverse face that made the petals look so real. "It really is a work of art, isn't it.. And its sapphire..." He stared at the large gem until it seemed to pull him in. He LOVED blue.. Like the princess' eyes.. What would she think of a gift like this? he wondered, staring dreamily as he imagined it.
"Hello-o.. Earth to Bakura?" The thief snapped out of his trance. "You okay? I said, where did you get that bracelet?"
"Hm? .. Oh! Right!" He looked down at the gold dangling from his wrist. "I just picked it up today. Another random robbery, nothing more." After all, it wasn't like stealing was any major deal to either of them.
"Trade ya." Bakura gave him a questioning look; surely he'd misheard. "No, I'm serious. It's a gamble finding a buyer for this thing. Gold is an easy market. And if I can't get a good price," he shrugged, "I'll wear it myself. I think I owe you a fair debt anyway. Now I can consider it paid."
Bakura considered it. I would be a gamble finding a market for such an odd piece of work, but a fortune was guaranteed anyone who did. And besides that, he just liked it. Sapphire wasn't the easiest gem to find, and who knew what the metal was? It was unique, and beautiful. Like Kisara.. He smirked. "You've got yourself a deal, Ishtar." He handed over the bracelet and got up from the table. "I'm going to find a safe place to store this."
A light laugh escaped Marik's sensual lips, playing visciously in his amethyst eyes. "So you're going to get your coat and put it in your pocket.."
Bakura's wide mouth formed a grin that would frighten anyone unaccustomed to it. "Exactly. Do you think I trust anything of value to lie around with vagabond like YOU running around?" Marik gave him a dirty look, but it was in fun. "The best way to keep something safe is to keep it with you, and even then you have to watch yourself." Marik rolled his eyes, but smiled, and stated his agreement as Bakura headed upstairs. If anyone actually used this place as an inn, he wasn't aware of it. Most of the rooms were either vacant or occupied by near-permanent boarders, himself included.
He unlocked his room and grabbed a long crimson robe, possibly the most valuable thing he owned NOT obtained directly or indirectly by theft. He wrapped the light cloth around himself and carefully slid his rose into an internal pocket. No one was going to think of stealing this without a fight.
He'd locked his room back, scant defense though it was in a place so chock-full of lockpicks, and made it down a few stairs before he noticed.. Something was wrong. .. It was quiet! The only time that happened-
His gray-violet eyes raced to the door to see two imperial guards. "There he is!" a female voice yelled. Both guards' eyes narrowed on Bakura as they raced towards him.
"Oh shit-" He turned to run, but forgot there were still a few stairs there. His face met the stone floor and his new treasure taunted him as a metal leaf nearly stabbed him. "Ow." He fought to get up, but the guards were already there. As they yanked him up, Bakura recognized the young man whose girlfriend he had robbed earlier. The only difference was that he now wore a sash with the colors to indicate an imperial guard-in-training. 'Of course..' he thought. 'Just.. my.. luck..'
As they dragged him out, both sides fighting, the building erupted in cowardly protest. Everyone yelled. No one would DO anything about it, but they ALL wanted to yell. "What did you go and do now!" Marik yelled in a slurring, harsh sounding language spoken only by the lower class.
"How was I supposed to know I was practically robbing a guard?" he answered in the same.
He could've run. He honestly could. But that would have required shedding his dear coat, and the precious treasure it still contained. And he wasn't willing to do that. Besides, they couldn't execute him for petty theft. He would spend a few days, maybe a week or two at most, in their pathetic dungeon; then he would be released. A few new scars would be the worst he might get. He sighed. The punishment was easy enough, but he still wasn't enthused. 'Perfect.. And now I don't even get to eat my fish..'
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Princess Kisara sat in her chamber, crooning three rather large foxes. These were not the tiny things found in holes in the local sand, but big, beautiful creatures nearly half her size, imported from the furthest western lands. The largest, her only male, perked up his ears and looked to the door. He gave a light yip.
"Hm? What is it, Kyprioth?" She followed his gaze, then waited. Presumably, the was a knock at the door. She answered it, Kyprioth and her younger female, Kali, at her heels.
"Princess," a servant said. Kisara noted that he was attended by a soldier. This had to be important. "It was requested of me you be given this rare gift. Please do accept it." He pulled out a sapphire rose. The metal could have been gold or even silver in the right light, but, for the most part, looked closer to white.
"It's beautiful.." she breathed. The remaining fox, the female Rispa, came to see it as well. "Who-.. Who gave this request?"
The servant seemed taken aback. "A-.. prisoner, my Lady. It was found on his person, but when we tried to confiscate it- well he fought us tooth and nail to keep it. Suddenly, he seemed to give up, and told us we could take it only if we would give it to the princess- if it pleases you, Higness." he added, and bowed lightly.
She blinked. A prisoner? What must such a man be like to fight so passionately only to relinquish such a rare treasure under such odd conditions? "Yes, thank you," she said. She hesitated a moment before they turned to leave. "Wait. A request?"
"Yes, my lady?"
"Give this prisoner my gratitude." Both servant and soldier bowed in place of a nod and went on there way. Kisara closed her door and placed the rose on a table near her bed. "It's beautiful, isn't it, Rispa?" The vixen's yip was a light, low alto. Kisara laughed. "That's right." She knew good and well her mysterious giftgiver would likely never get her thanks, but she could dream. In her dream, a strong handsome young man would come after her with his token and take them both to some wonderful exotic land, where real roses grew aplenty and everyone was wealthy. She yawned and lay down among her dozens of silk pillows, Kali climbing into her arms, Kyp and Rispa curling up at her feet. Within moments she was dreaming for real, a regular sleeping beauty.
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Bakura quite literally would have killed to be having as nice a night. He hoped to Alla he would only spend a few days and not a few weeks in this rat hole. It was scarcely more than a cave, and that only because of the sparse torches that lit most of it. They'd let him keep his coat, so at least he was warm, though he worried about whether or not the princess had gotten his gift.
"Greetings, young one." Bakura glanced up to see a royal official suddenly standing over him and smirked. He'd know that pale teal hair and those blue and gold eyes anywhere.
"Why Dartz," he said, getting to his feet. "Whatever brings you here? You never come visit anymore you know." It was well known to everyone, save for the pompous nobility, of course, that Dartz was one of the most crooked officials in the country.
The look on Dartz' face matched Bakura's exactly for sly calmness. "I do apologize, old friend. I've been so busy with these palace brats and all. I suppose it always slipped my mind." Bakura knew better, but he wouldn't bother. Getting anything out of Dartz he didn't want to tell was like trying to wrestle with an elephant. "Honestly though. I have a proposition for you." Bakura's eyebrows shot up as he waited for the rest. "I hear you are quite the thief..."
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Bakura laughed when he'd heard Dartz' story. "Let me see if I understood you. You want me to follow this pathetic little map a three-year-old could have drawn, to some cave in the middle of the desert- to find a lamp?" He laughed again at the sheer stupidity of it.
Dartz, however, was completely serious. "It's not just a cave, and it's not just a lamp. The cave is well guarded, both with traps like the tombs of kings to the west in Egypt, and by... other things," he said awkwardly. "And the lamp-? Well.. I will just say it is important to me." Before Bakura could decline him again, he added, "I will pay you handsomely for this, on top of your freedom."
That got the thief's attention. After a moment of contemplation, he smirked. "How handsomely?" A rather large bag filled with gold pieces and a few bejeweled rings, bracelets, and necklaces was dropped at his feet. That. May well convince him. "If there's any truth to this cave at all, the rest of it's a fairy tale." His grin became once again near frightening. "But then, I think I'm beginning to like fairy tales.."
Dartz' smile was deviously calm and cool, his blue and gold eyes showing the slightest bit of dark contentment. "Good.. Follow me, then, my dear friend..."
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Aimi: Woohoo! I finished a chapter! Go me! X3 Anyway, a few random things- 1) Yes, I kept the name Agraba. That is the ONLY thing even remotely kept from the movie. 2) The foxes have nothing to do with Raja. It just seems like a princess would have exotic animals. Their names are pronounced KIP-ree-oth, RIHS-puh (I know its spelled Rispah, I just felt like making it Rispa.), and kah-LEE. (:D I made SOMETHING original!). 3) The rose's stem white gold, just in case you didn't figure it out.. 4 and finally) Yes. I DID have to make them refer to Egypt even though their not in it. n.n
This has been Chapter One. Thank you for choosing Aimi's Fics, and please, don't forget to review. X3