Author's Notes: This is one of my old stories that I've had on my computer for a while, and I decided to re-write it. I do not own any of the characters aside from Raziya.
My name is Raziya, and I am the sister of Pharaoh Atem, and a Princess of Egypt. Technically, I am the next in line for the throne, unless my brother has children. He is young, he has no wife and, as far as I can tell, he has not showed interest in taking a wife as of yet. So, there is a chance I may inherit the throne one day. I am not saying that I want to inherit the throne- I would really rather not, and my brother has proved to be a fine Pharaoh besides.
I have lived in the Palace for my whole life; it is actually more boring living there than some people may imagine it to be. I am friends with Mahado, who is a Priest. Mahado has always been very kind to me, and he is a good friend to me. I do not know what I would do if I did not have Mahado around to talk to. It can get quite boring just wandering about the Palace, and it is nice to have Mahado around to talk to.
Occasionally, I will sneak out of the Palace, dressing in commoner's clothes, to explore the village by myself. My brother and Mahado are always furious when they find out about my trips into the village, but I cannot help it. At the Palace, everyone seems to make such a fuss over me all of the time. Even my brother, and especially Mahado. I do not want to be fussed over, as if I am some fragile little creature. I can take care of myself, and I just wish that they would see that.
It had started out like any other ordinary day. I had managed to sneak out of the Palace unseen, using my usual route to elude the Guards, and had gone to explore the Marketplace, like I did almost every day. After a morning of strolling among the merchant's stalls and looking at the items being sold, I returned to the Palace. I went to my chambers, where I played with my two kittens, whom I had purchased from the Marketplace several days earlier.
I had named the male kitten Akil, and his female counterpart I had named Akila. I sat with the kittens on my lap, stroking them and smiling as I watched them. It was then that I heard the guards running through the corridors. It was not just the guards, as I soon found out. The servants were scurrying about the corridors and rooms as well.
I heard my personal servant, Jamila, a girl with beautiful long black hair, cry out that a thief was in the Palace. I set my two kittens, who had fallen asleep, on a pillow. I was careful not to wake them. I set them out of the way and I walked out of my chambers. I heard some servants mention that a thief was in the throne room, so that was where I headed without a second thought.
Once I had reached the throne room, I saw that my brother was there as well as all of the Priests, including Mahado. I then saw someone else, a man with stark white hair. He must be the thief. I gasped when I noticed that he had one foot atop of a mummy that was lying on the ground. Such disrespect! That thieves could not even respect the dead, if no one else, I found infuriating.
"How dare you!" I shouted, running over to the thief. "You should respect the deceased, especially a past Pharaoh!" I snapped at the white haired man.
I could hear the Priests and my brother calling to me, telling me to stay away from the thief. But, I would not listen to them. I was too angry at this man. I pushed the thief away from the mummy, causing him to stumble and fall in his surprise. I stood in front of him as he got to his feet.
"You must be the Princess..." The thief said, glaring at me.
"That I am. And you... You are a lowly, grave robbing thief!" I replied, my anger rising.
"Am I...?" He asked, sounding amused. "I am the King of Thieves, girl!"
"King of Thieves...?" I said, raising an eyebrow.
A sarcastic smirk graced my lips as I narrowed my eyes at the thief. My brother walked up to me, then. I looked at him, and then I looked back at the so called 'King of Thieves'.
"Razi, go back to your chambers immediately." My brother told me with a stern voice.
"Brother... Must I? It is much more exciting here, in the throne room." I said to him. "You know brother, that I can take care of myself? I am not helpless. Why, just this morning I went to the Marketplace, all by myself and I'm perfectly fine!"
"You slipped out of the Palace again?" My brother said, angrily. "Mahado, take her to her chambers now!" He ordered. "We will talk later, Razi." he added.
"Come on, Razi. Let us get you back to your chambers." I heard Mahado say as he approached and placed a hand on my shoulder. I sighed, looking toward my brother and glaring at him. Then, I looked at the 'Thief King' and smiled.
"Well, I am sorry. It looks like our talk is over, for now." I said before turning around and following Mahado out of the throne room.
Once back in my chambers, I sat down on my bed, looking over at Mahado who stood in the room. I wondered what he was thinking.
"Mahado, why is it that everyone thinks that I am weak?" I asked him.
"No one thinks that you are weak, Razi. We just worry about you." He told me, sitting down next to me. I sighed, still looking at him.
"I can take care of myself, Mahado. I could beat that so called 'Thief King' in a fight any day! And that is just with my bare hands!" I said in a whiny voice.
"A princess should not talk so violently." Mahado said.
"Then, I resign."
"You cannot resign, Razi." Mahado told me.
"Well, I will just have to run away, then." I said, folding my arms in defiance.
"You would not do that... Would you, Razi?" Mahado asked me, a sad look in his eyes.
"Mahado..." I said quietly, regretting my earlier words. "I do not know. Sometimes... I want to. I might not ever be a Queen, and I really would rather not be one, anyway." I told him, and I watched as he stood up.
"I would miss you if you ran away... you know that, Razi?" He said, and I looked down at the floor for a moment.
"I know, Mahado... I would miss you if you were gone, too. But..."
"Do not run away, Razi... Please." Mahado said before he left my chambers.
I had remained in my chambers for the rest of that day and night, trying to calm my earlier emotions. Mahado had come in the evening to tell me that the thief had gotten away. The good news was that the mummy, which he told me had been my Father's mummy, was safe and sound back inside it's tomb, where it belonged.
I had then asked Mahado to tell me a story about my Father. It was a story of when my brother and I were just babies. Mahado was a great storyteller, and I always enjoyed hearing about my Father. I fell asleep as Mahado told me the story. I had heard it so many times before, and it made me feel relaxed and happy.
I awoke in the morning to find that my head was resting in Mahado's lap. I quickly sat up, slightly flushed, and looked at Mahado's sleeping form. He looks so peaceful... I smiled for a moment before I shook the thoughts from my head and stood up. I looked at Mahado once more before I left my chambers quietly.
I sneaked through the halls and corridors of the Palace, carefully avoiding the Guards who patrolled their depths. I climbed out of a window in one hallway, hiding behind columns as I left the vicinity of the Palace.
Once within the village, I happily walked down the streets, looking about at all the people. I was still wearing the commoner's clothes from the day before. No one even noticed me, really. Anyone who did look my way, did not recognize me as the Princess. No one had seen me since I was a little girl, back when my Father was still alive. And, I looked and acted like a normal village girl, so I remained mostly unnoticed.
Only mostly, because there was someone who had their eyes on me, watching me. Someone who knew who I was. I did not notice, though. I walked through the town until I came to the more quiet area of the village. No one was around this area at the time, probably because everyone who lived around this area were merchants and would be down at the Marketplace.
As I walked deeper into this part of the village, suddenly someone grabbed a hold of my arm and pulled me into a nearby alleyway. I held in a scream, instead narrowing my eyes and looking at the person who had grabbed me.
"Why, it is the Thief King. What a pleasant surprise." I said sarcastically.
"Princess, why are you out here all alone?" The white haired man asked me. "No guards, no priests. You slipped away again?"
"Not that it is any of your business, but yes, of course. It is so boring staying in the Palace all day." I said, yanking my arm out of his grasp. "What are you doing here, Thief King? Do you have nothing better to do with your time than torment a random girl that walks by?" I asked. "You are a king, all right, but no Thief King. King of Perversion is more like it." I added.
I had obviously struck a nerve by saying that, for the next thing that I knew, I was pushed up against the side of a house, staring into the eyes of the so-called 'Thief King'. Maybe I should not have said all that. How was I going to get out of this situation?
I felt our noses touch, and I felt his warm breath on my face. My blood ran cold and I was thinking of screaming, which usually worked. There were usually a few people left in some of the houses, since the merchants did have families. But, I did not have to scream. The Thief King stepped away, backing away from me and muttering to himself. I sighed in relief and moved to stand outside of the alleyway.
"Thief King... Do you not have a name?" I asked, more calmly than I felt at that moment.
"Bakura..." He replied.
"Bakura..." I repeated, thoughtful. "Well, I am Raziya, if you did not know already. Now, I really should get back to the Palace. You have kept me out far too long. Mahado must be worried sick about me by now!" I said before I walked away.
I had ran through the village until I had reached the Palace. Instead of sneaking my way back in, I chose to stroll in the usual way everyone else did. In doing so, I alerted the Guards and everyone else to the fact that I had been out alone again. It was not long until my brother and Mahado had both came to my chambers, which I had went to after returning.
"Sister!" Atem said as he entered the room. "Why did you sneak out again? You know that it is dangerous!"
"Razi, that thief could be in the village. We have heard about deaths occurring there, possibly caused by that thief." Mahado said, sounding worried.
"I am okay, see? I can take care of myself. And that thief is scared to death of me, anyway!" I said as my brother sat down beside me.
"Raziya, you have to be careful. None of us want you to end up hurt, or worse. It is best if you stay within the Palace." He told me, and I looked down at the floor.
"Brother... I hate staying in the Palace all the time! Mahado is the only one I can really talk to, aside from you." I said. "What about when I want to take a walk outside? Talk to someone new? I already know everyone here in the palace, even all the servants!" I said angrily.
"Razi, please... Just stay here in the Palace until we can get rid of that thief." Mahado told me and I stood up, shaking my head.
"It seems like you all think that I am weak, and fragile... But, I can take care of myself, and I will not be confined to this Palace! I am not going to be a princess anymore, not if it means I have no choice but to stay here forever, never to go outside, or to have any freedom." I said, closing my eyes tightly before I opened them again and looked at Mahado. "I am sorry, but I cannot stay here anymore!" I shouted before running out of my chambers.
I had ran through the usual route I used when sneaking out of the Palace, which made it harder for Mahado and Atem to follow me. I got outside of the Palace and ran for the village. Tears filled my eyes and then streamed down my face as I ran through the village. Why did they want to keep me trapped in that palace?
I kept running through the village. I ran through the Marketplace. And I ran out into the desert, hiding behind a rock once I had reached it. It was big enough to hide my form, and I sat down, leaning against the rock and panting. I closed my eyes as tears continued to stream down my face.
"Well, look what I have found. Raziya, all alone and crying her eyes out..." I heard someone say...