Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters in it, the only character I own is Samira and I didn't really create Bastet she's just an Egyptian goddess that I'm using in my story.
Okay so I know I said this was the first chapter in a series of chapters of this fanfiction last time I posted this to and sorry for not writing the second chapter sooner but I couldn't help myself because I wasn't satisfied with the ending I wrote for this first chapter. So here is what you need to know, in about the middle of this chapter I originally did not have a dream sequence when she was taking a nap in the garden so I added that in because it felt that I was cutting corners in writing the chapter. I also rewrote the ending to sound more authenticated to the characters true personalities and made it longer because I felt like I left a more lose ends than I wanted to. Anyways enjoy this first chapter if you haven't read the story before and if you have please enjoy the new parts that I added in.
Chapter 1:
A cool Egyptian night is where this story begins, there's nothing like a crisp night under the radiant breast of heaven to recount the story of how a certain young woman's life would change forever. But do not fret this is nothing like your "Once upon a time…" fairytale where a princess living in a tower is rescued by her prince for this girl is nothing close to a princess. In fact, she's the opposite of a princess because she was born into a family of cultivators and every day seemed like a good day as she worked with her brothers, mother, and father to work the land. Their life was perfect, that is, until the plague came but that story is for another time and another place for now all you need to know is that this young woman is alone. So back to the luminescent pearl in the sky her Nile blue eyes were gazing on in the city of Bubastis, she was readying herself for the night of a lifetime as she pulled her hood down over her face. A small smirk graced her rosy lips as she watched her target, the Temple of Bastet, start to quiet down and the priests slowly make their way to their quarters leaving only a few guards to watch over the sacred artifacts kept inside. Backing up she readied herself for the beginning of her maneuver to get inside the temple to steal the item she was seeking, The Book of the Dead.
Taking a deep breath in she closed her eyes thinking of what she would need to do in order to achieve her goal. With her eyes flashing open she let out that breath she had been holding in and began to sprint towards the edge of the roof she had been standing on. If there were one thing she had to be thankful for it would have to be the finely toned muscles of her body thanks to the hard labor of working the fields. Taking a giant leap of faith she hurdled her body across the gap between the roof she had been standing on and the lower roof of the house directly across from her. With a thud she landed on the roof and continued her sprint towards the edge, skidding to what looked like was going to be a stop she slid off the roof grabbing the edge of the building. Light was approaching so she waited as quietly as possible, her arms straining to hold herself up as she waited for the individuals to pass by. Once the area was clear she made a sigh of relief and let her body drop to the ground landing in a crouched position. Making her way to the corner of the building she peaked her head carefully around the corner to see if the coast was clear. There didn't appear to be anyone around as she dashed towards the entrance of the temple, hiding behind pillars and walls as not to be seen. Slowly she made her way towards the center of the temple adorned with statues of the Goddess Bastet as if to protect the temple from any misguided intentions. Unfortunately for the goddess and the temple, the young girl was certain her misguided intentions would succeed.
Looking around the main area of the temple and being extra careful not to be seen by any of the guards, the young woman found what she was looking for sitting on a golden table right in front of the largest statue of the goddess she had ever seen. As she walked up to the table quietly she couldn't help but feel as though someone was watching her and that she wasn't alone. Taking a minute to look up into the eyes of the statue that seemed to be staring down at her, she held her breath as she grabbed the book. Just as she was about to turn around and make a run for it a voice rang throughout the temple stopping her in her tracks.
"HOW DARE YOU DEFILE MY SANCTUARY BY STEALING A BOOK MEANT TO GUIDE THE DEAD!"
The voice roared as the young woman trembled falling to the ground trying to hide like a child within herself. She was so shocked she did not know what to do except to just stay frozen where she was. Then the voice rang out once more as the girl squeezed her eyes shut, her arms wrapped around her body as she trembled with fear.
"WHO DARES TO ANGER THE GODS?!"
With the courage the woman once had returning to her body she slowly stood back up and looked around the room for the person who had caught her stealing the book. She didn't see anyone until she turned towards the large statue that had been hovering over the book that was now in her hands. Right before her eyes was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen before even though her face was hidden behind the mask of a lioness. The beautiful woman was very tall with long silky black hair wearing a shear dress that seemed to hug her body in all the right places as she crossed her arms with a sistrum in her hand. Although her face was unseen the would-be thief could tell that this celestial woman was becoming impatient.
"My name is S… Samira." The girl finally replied to her question, the fear evident in her voice as she struggled to get her name out.
With a displeasing snort the beautiful woman replied, "Do you not show your reverence before one of your own gods?" Immediately Samira realized who was before her as she once again fell to the floor and bowed before the celestial being before her. This could be none other than Bastet the goddess of the home, women's secrets, cats, and fertility. "Did you think I would not notice someone such as yourself entering my domain? I know why you're here and bringing your family back from the underworld will not mend the loneliness you feel in your heart."
Samira's eyes widened and she jolted her head up as she looked at Bastet, her blue orbs filling with tears as she gritted her teeth. "How would you know anything about the feelings of my heart? I prayed and prayed to you every day asking you to protect my family but you never came!" She cried out to the beautiful woman struggling to keep herself together as she bit back the tears that were trying to escape her eyes.
Turning to Samira sternly Bastet said, "How dare you question the gods! You understand nothing!" She turned her back to the tearful girl, appearing to be pondering something. Turning her head back in Samira's direction, her back still facing her, she continued, "From the loss of your family it seems you have also lost a piece of yourself." Quickly she pivoted back towards Samira, her face directly in front of her as an idea came to mind. "I'm going to do you a kindness and help you to regain that piece of you for which you have lost. I fear that if I do not make this adjustment that the fate of the world as we have designed will cease to exist."
"What are you talking about?" Samira barely got the words out before Bastet shook her sistrum and shimmering lights spilled out of the rattle, enveloping her in a celestial light. With her black hair floating all around Samira watched the sun begin to rise, she had not realized how fast the night had came and gone. Bastet slowly began to disappear with the rising of the sun, Samira could see that she had a knowing smile on her face as she waved to her and disappeared completely. Samira's body began to shrink with the enveloping light as she watch her hands slowly turn into a velvety pink paw. She looked behind her and noticed she was growing a long black tail and her body was covered in fur. Reaching her once hands now turned paws up to her head, she could feel ears growing into large triangular shapes and whiskers protruding from her face. As the light dissipated Samira gently fell back to the ground, drowsy from the sleepless night she fell into a deep slumber with everything going black.
Rocking, someone was rocking Samira ever so gently. Hazily coming to her senses she could tell that she was in the arms of a stranger. She had no idea where she was going and for the most part she didn't even care, there wasn't anything worse that could happen to her that had not already happened. Coming to a slight stop Samira could tell that the individual who was holding her was pulling back a curtain, walked a little further, and then sat her down on a very comfortable surface that was quite lush. Yawning, she stretched her body out as she listened to the person who was carrying her leave the room. Still groggy from the night she jumped down from the bed she was on and walked towards what looked like a washbowl but the stand it was on was higher than usual. Then she glanced over at a floor length mirror catching a glimpse of herself in it for a moment, she had to look once more. She walked over to the mirror and realized what had happened that night was real and not a dream.
She was a cat.
With a loud meow Samira jumped in the air starting to panic. How could she be a cat? Questions such as these started roaming her mind incessantly trying to comprehend what had happen and if there was a way if any to reverse it. How could this solve any problem that the world had, nothing made sense at the moment. The person who had left the room earlier returned and in their hands was a bowl of milk, it was a girl who had brought Samira to this place. She had brown hair and brown eyes and wore a cheerful smile on her face as she placed the milk down on the ground. "Hey there kitty! You look like you're feeling better already!" She exclaimed as she pet the top of her head. Still in shock, Samira wasn't entirely sure how to respond; she had never been a cat before. "Well, I have to get going to my class but when I get back we'll decide on a name for you, okay?" She smiled and turned her head slightly as she got up then turned to leave the room.
Samira was completely at a loss, she had no idea what to do with herself but thankfully the thoughts in her head started to dissipate. Looking around she noticed that she was in a fairly large room with a nice canopy bed with shear curtains. There was a large round mirror against one of the walls with a stand and a washbowl to the side of it. Large cushions were on the floor in purple, red, and gold colors and multiple scrolls lying on top of them as well as on the floor. This girl had to be some sort of scribe in training or something to have such a nice room and so many reading materials.
After Samira had coped with the fact that she was now a cat her next mission was to figure out how to turn herself back into a human. She started searching through the scrolls that were in the room, with a little difficulty she was able to open each one of them but they were only on minor magic spells that couldn't help resolve her problem. It was now time to explore the rest of her surroundings, maybe there was somewhere in this girl's house that held more scrolls pertaining to transformation magic. Walking out of the room Samira immediately realized that this was no ordinary house as she looked around the courtyard she had walked into. It was gorgeous! There was a pool in the center of the courtyard with exotic plants surrounding it and more exotic plants surrounded the outskirts of the courtyard. Just walking into this room felt like walking into paradise. She strolled up to the edge of the pool and looked in at her cat-like reflection still amazed that everything that had happened to her was real. As she shook her head she thought to herself that lingering on the questions wasn't going to help her answer them. So she turned around and picked a random direction to go in to search for the answers she was looking for. She struggled to walk on all four of her paws down a hallway, the rushing footsteps of servants could be heard throughout the hallways as she continued to walk down it. What kind of place was this?
After going down a couple of hallways she wasn't able to find where they kept the scrolls but she was able to make her way to the garden from what it looked like. It was breathtaking with palm trees for shade and different kinds of plants all throughout the garden. Not only that but it was right next to the Nile, there were even steps that allowed you to walk into the river. Samira made her way towards a shaded area of the garden but didn't realize that she wasn't the only one there until she was a few feet away from someone stretched out under one of the trees. It was a young man who had claimed the spot, his eyes shut ever so gently as he rested underneath the palm tree. He was an interesting figure to behold, he had black, red, and gold hair and he was adorned with gold jewelry and fine garments. Right off the bat she could tell that this was someone of lavish living especially since he had a purple cloak and only the wealthy could afford such fine clothing. Watching him breath for a moment she couldn't help but wonder what he was doing out here in the garden with so much going on inside the house.
Ignoring the fact that he was there Samira walked past him and towards the Nile. Sitting on the edge of the steps, she reached out her paw towards the water waving it around as some fish swam by. Then out of nowhere she heard a great thrust of water as she looked up and realized that she was about to be dinner for a hungry crocodile. Frozen with fright she couldn't move when suddenly everything went dark and it felt as though she was tumbling. Did the crocodile eat her? Was this the end of her short life as a cat? With her eyes shut tight she didn't want to think that this crocodile had already ate her. Slowly she peaked opened one of her eyes and realized she was in the lap of the person who saved her. Looking up she became conscious of the fact that the person who saved her was none other than the young man who had been sleeping under the palm tree. She thought that he had been sleeping but perhaps he had been only resting his eyes for there was no way he could have grabbed her so quickly were he actually asleep.
Trying to thank him, the only words that would come out of her mouth were 'meow'. He smiled at Samira and petted the top of her head knowing fully well what she was trying to say even though she couldn't speak his language. "That was a close one, probably shouldn't be so close to the water during this time of the day." He stated as she jumped off of his lap while he stood up.
"Prince Atem! Are you alright?" A voice coming from the entrance of the garden exclaimed with concern. It was a short older gentleman that looked so concerned as he rushed to the aid of the young man known as Prince Atem. With his name being called Samira suddenly realized that she was in the royal palace and the person who had saved her was the crown prince. How could this be? How did she come to be in a place such as this? And who was the girl who had brought her here?
"Atem, what happened? Are you okay?" The girl who brought me here suddenly came rushing out from behind the older gentleman to Atem's side, a young man following right behind her.
"I'm fine Mana, I was more concerned about this cat being eaten." He stated as he leaned back and pointed towards Samira, a sheepish smile gracing his lips.
The girl known as Mana blinked a few times and then realized that the cat she had rescued earlier that day was there. "Kitty, what are you doing out here? I told you I was going to be back later." She picked Samira up holding her over her shoulder.
"Is this your cat, Mana?" Atem asked now figuring out where the cat had come from.
"Yea, I was in Bubastis earlier this morning at the Temple of Bastet when I found this kitty on the floor of the temple. She looked worn out and weak so I brought her back here." She explained as she hugged Samira tightly then finally sat her back down on the ground. Samira looked up at her interested in the story she was telling to the prince for it was the first time she had heard it herself.
"Prince Atem, we need to head back to our lessons with Shimon. There is still much we have not learned." The boy that came with Mana finally spoke up, he was a lot taller than Mana or Atem and he wore a long robe and a headdress with gold around the crown of his head.
"Alright, lets return to the sparring grounds then, Mahad." Atem addressed the young man who had just spoken to him as he sighed in disappointment. The four of them turned to leave the garden with only Mana turning back to give Samira a wave.
After Samira watched them leave the garden she turned back to look at the Nile thinking that she would not go near there any time soon. So she turned back towards the shaded area where Atem had been supposedly taking a nap earlier. She curled up in the spot where he had been laying; it was still warm from his body heat and gave her a strange sense of security as she dozed off to sleep. Unfortunately, her dreams would not give her the same comfort as his warmth did but instead terrorize her mind.
Everything was dark as she looked around, she couldn't see anything until she finally heard sobbing in the distance. She looked in the direction where the crying was coming from and what she could see was herself as a young child standing in the middle of the darkness rubbing her eyes. Slowly she approached the younger version of herself, placing her hand on top of the young girls head she kneeled before her and preceded to pull her into a hug. As she held the younger version of herself she looked down and a pool of blood started spreading out with them in the center of it. Suddenly the child version of her disappeared and she was alone being sucked into the pool of blood.
It wasn't until the sun began to set did she open her eyes from the nightmare and noticed how late it was in the day. As she stretch out her body she walked back over to the Nile where Atem had saved her earlier, this time being more cautious of her surrounding. There did not seem to be any crocodiles around at this time of day, perhaps they had gone to their resting grounds and called it a day. As she watch the last few seconds of the sunset, she couldn't help but be drawn by the rising moon as her body began to walk into the Nile. It was as if she had no control of her body as she began to glow with that strange celestial light from before. Her body started to grow as her limbs and body transformed back into human form. Looking up at the luminescent sight she walked deeper into the water of the Nile to soak in the sight of the moon, which had granted her human form. Tears of happiness began to roll down her face as she began thinking, hoping that this change would be permanent.
After a long day of studying not only the magical arts but also political science, economics, and other such related classes, Atem was wiped out. He was so tired he almost fell asleep in the banquet hall during dinner. He covered his mouth as he attempted to suppress a yawn that was itching at the edge of his mouth. Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen gave a knowing smile towards his son as he ushered him to take his leave and get some rest. Atem smiled back at the king as he stood up and gave a slight bow to him signaling his leave. Then he turned and left the hall making his way to his bedroom for some much-deserved sleep. Thinking back on the days events he couldn't help but smile at his heroics in saving Mana's cat from before, it was the most exciting part of his day. As he began to walk past the garden he couldn't stop his eyes from glancing in the direction of the Nile as he thought about his little adventure he had earlier. But something was different, there was what appeared to be a young woman in the water surrounded by the moonlight. Could this be a dream? Had the prince been so tired that he had begun to hallucinate? Without thinking he started walking towards the celestial looking lady.
Distracted by the sight of the moon and her own thoughts swirling in her head, Samira was unaware that there was someone else in the garden watching her. On the edge of the steps to the Nile was Prince Atem having finished the day he was originally headed back to his room but soon became distracted himself by the sight of the young woman. Samira could hear him as he came closer and she broke out of the trance she was in realizing that it was Prince Atem from earlier. Suddenly she became aware of the fact that she had transformed without anything to cover her body, the clothes she had worn in the temple did not transform with her body. She crouched down suddenly, crossing her arms across her chest as she tried to hide her naked body from him in the waters of the Nile. It seemed as though he was a little embarrassed himself as he turned away with his cheeks burning red. He took off his purple cloak and held it out as if to offer it to Samira, which she gratefully took as she stood up and got out of the water.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He started off; his cheeks still red as she wrapped the cloak around her body hugging it close.
"You didn't scare me, I was just a little surprised." She replied, her cheeks still a little red as she turned to sit on the steps leading into the Nile.
Atem sat right next to her as he continued the conversation. "I don't think I've seen you around the palace before, what were you doing out here?"
Samira wasn't entirely sure how to reply to his question other than to give him a half-truth. "I guess you could say that I was out here enjoying the light of the moon." As she said this she looked back up at the luminescent orb, tightening her grip on the cloak Atem had given her.
Atem looked at her in awe, curious about this girl who was so different from other women he had met. He couldn't help but feel that this girl had a tortured past and a secret he was willing to figure out. It was quiet as they sat there, then finally Atem stood up, his eyes closed as he extended his hand towards the young girl. "Well let's try and find you something to wear." Samira looked up at his hand and then his face eventually taking his hand and standing up still clutching the cloak that covered her body. "By the way, I'm Atem." He smiled.
"Samira." She replied, star struck by the gentleness of the prince, he wasn't anything that she expected.
Atem began leading Samira back to his room in order to find her a more suitable garment. Samira couldn't help but stare at the prince as they walked down the hallway, she had expected some spoiled brat who got everything he wanted and instead he was trying to help her. She didn't know what to think of this individual, he had caught her off guard, which doesn't happen often to her. Eventually they finally made it back to Prince Atem's room, he let go of her hand and made his way to a golden inlayed trunk rummaging through the contents of it in search of a garment for Samira to wear. Samira just stood there where Atem had left her and her eyes began wandering the room in awe of the splendor of it, it was even more extravagant than the room Mana was staying in. Of course he hand the beautiful bed with the shear canopy as Mana did but he had golden inlayed furniture and two statues of Ra on both sides of the bed. There was a beautiful intricately designed rug on the floor and a golden table with a bowl of fruit sitting on top of it. She didn't snap back into reality until Atem returned to her side with a white garb for her to wear.
Pushing it into her arms he closed his eyes and turned his head slightly away, a slight blush still evident on his cheek. "Here, you can wear one of my tunics." Then he turned around as if to give her some sort of privacy. "Sorry it's not more suitable."
Walking behind the intricately detailed folding screen, Samira let Atem's cloak fall to the ground and began changing into the clothes Atem had given her. As she pulled the last strap over her shoulder she glanced at him, he was still turned around waiting for her to finish dressing. Samira walked out from behind the folding screen, her arms crossed behind her back as she looked up at the ceiling. "This place is pretty big." She stated as she looked at one of the potted plants in the room, touching its petals.
Atem turned his head glancing back at Samira as she stared down at the beautiful flowers. "So where are you from anyways? I've never seen you around the palace before." He asked as he sat down on one of the pillows in the room, scratching the back of his head.
"I'm from Bubastis." She simply stated as she glanced back at him. It seemed as though he was going to ask her another question so she abruptly turned and bowed to him. "Thank you for your kindness but I must be going now. I will find a way to return the favor some day."
The prince held his tongue and nodded his head towards her in acknowledgement. "Yea, no problem." He said blankly.
Samira stood up from her bow and left the prince in a confused state sitting in his room. Atem did not know what to do as his thoughts lingered on the mysterious girl who he had stumbled across in the garden. Holding her fist to her chest, Samira pushed the thoughts of the prince to the back of her mind. She was grateful to him for helping her but in reality the words she had left with him were empty and she had to plans of coming back. Quickly she made her way through the halls of the palace while being ever so careful not to be caught by the palace guards or any servants who may have been lurking around. Eventually she made her way out of the palace but not knowing what to do or where to go she walked aimlessly in the sand towards the Nile River. Standing at the waters edge her hair fell in her face as tears began to stream down her cheeks. Flipping her head back she looked up at the starry sky as small sobs escaped her lips. All she could think about was the family she lost and if there was any way to bring them back. Bastet was pretty adamant that bringing them back would be an abomination of nature and that the only way for her to be happy again was to regain the piece of her lost.
Slowly she slid to the ground as the tears burst forth and she allowed herself to feel the depths of her despair. Time passed and eventually she wiped the tears from her face then laid down on her back in the sand returning her gaze to the sky. Her arms stretched out on either side of her body it would appear that the light had left her eyes. Was there any way for her to return to the once happy person she was before the unfortunate events that protruded her past unfolded? She had a feeling that the goddess was wrong and she may never return to her former self. Slowly closing her eyes she allowed sleep to take over her exhausted body, not knowing that a less than reputable person was watching her.