Hey people! What's up! So-NEW STORY TIME! This one I've had in my notebooks for months and I said: Screw it! I'm posting it! Hope you enjoy!

PS-cover art was done by yours truly! Hope you like it! :)

Trial And Error

What do you do when you're about to die? Some people look back on their lives and wonder where it went all wrong. Some are so paralyzed by fear their sense leave them, rendering them unable to see, hear or think until the executioner's blade is within sight. Many pray, hoping for some last-minute pardon from the gods. A paltry expectation, really. Especially when it is only at the end when they truly give themselves up to belief out of naught but desperation. But as she sat in the cold stone cell and examined the chains around her thin wrists, the young woman decided to feel none of these things. She wasn't afraid to die, because she didn't believe that was going to happen today. She wasn't numb, she was rather alert to everything. From the scurrying rats down the hall to the hard but steady beating of her own heart. As for prayers? For what? She had never seen a god, nor had any prayer pushed past her lips in her childhood ever been answered. Everything she had ever desired she had always gotten for herself. And being born with magic, this meant that her will was all but absolute. If anything, she was her own goddess.

As for the wondering, she didn't have to. She knew where she went wrong.

She fell in love.

An emotion she thought long lost. The plan had been simple: Gain the trust of the royal family. Steal the heart of the prince Atemu, heir to the throne. Then on the wedding night she was to slaughter them all and take the kingdom of sand and gold for herself. Gaining access to the family had been ridiculously easy. She had come to the kingdom as a travelling healer-gaining notoriety for her " wonder" cures by treating the locals both rich and poor in her path. Within weeks of her arrival she had been summoned to the palace to treat the Pharaoh Aknamkannon of a stubborn illness. ( Which she had cursed him to in the beginning) She then lifted her curse and cured the Pharaoh and was then made the royal family's personal physician. Just as she had planned. She played the part of the beguiling maid well, and made sure to endear herself to the fellow healers in the palace as well as the royal children. It wasn't long before she was spending more and more time with Prince Atemu.

The next step had been just as easy: Gain the prince's friendship. Atemu was a kind and caring man, fiercely devoted to his family, his friends, and his kingdom. Qualities many said would ensure that he be a good king when his time came. But they were also things she used. She continued to travel about then, from the posh, wealthy estates to the dirtiest of slums, treating all who needed aid. An act that tugged at the prince's bleeding heartstrings with ease. She would talk at length with the royal's head magician and his apprentice-two very close friends of Atemu's, feigning interest and friendship all the while. A laugh here and a sob story of her past there to present herself as sensitive and caring. And all too soon she was bosom buddies with the prince's closest friends. But the best part by far had been the seduction. Flirtation was a game she knew well, and day by day, month by month she coyly teased and baited the prince. And as he stroked her face and kissed passionately at her lips, the Pharaoh's son actually believed he was the one doing the seducing. Ha. But then, the young woman supposed she didn't mind that. Not when night fell. How often had they lay entangled in each other's embrace? A tingle of pleasure shuddered down her spine as she recalled the feeling of being joined so intimately with him. His strong, beautiful god-like body flexing above her as her insides were massaged and pounded pleasurably by his pride. His hot mouth on her lips, her neck, her breasts...Oh yes. Atemu was indeed a magnificent lover. These were the only times she did not mind relinquishing control.

Not at all.

But something happened to her. She began to lust for the prince. Desire him. Atemu was after all, a descendant of the gods if local lore was to be believed. And he had a beautiful body to boast with. Hair like gilded twilight, eyes like the finest of polished rubies and a body endowed with strength and kissed by the sun... No surprise then that his people thought him a god. But there was more. When Atemu kissed her, her heart would flutter. When he smiled at her, her body would flush with warmth. And unlike so many others who wanted her power or her body, Atemu just wanted...her. It was new. It was refreshing. It made her feel light. The young woman in the cell wasn't sure if that was love. She had never felt it before, and her heart was so cold she wasn't even sure she would recognize it if she really were in love. But love was the closest she could come to identifying her feelings for the prince. Because of this, plans had to change.

She cursed the Pharaoh Aknamkannon to fall ill again, only this time, there would be no cure. The plague she set would spread to nearly all in the palace. Originally designed to kill them all, by her new design the curse only she, Atemu, the apprentice magician and only a few of the servants would remain immune. Once they were all dead Atemu would be crowned and then she would have gladly ruled at his side. But there was one thing that had hindered her plan. The sennen items. There were seven in total, all magical amulets that grant great power to the keeper. Not just anyone could have them, however. The items possessed a will of their own, selecting their keepers and loyal only unto them. The Pharaoh possessed one, and so did his six council members-including the head magician. So he would have to die, of course. Friend of Atemu's or not. Though restricted to her, she could feel their power. And she craved it. And once the keepers were dead absorbing their powers would be, she assumed, not too difficult. But the items held more power than she supposed. The Pharaoh was old and weak, the council was seasoned and strong. At the merest touch of her curse the items had reacted and the council became aware of her darkness. And while the items had for the most part, protected the Pharaoh from death, it could not still her hands as she suffocated the body to death using her dark magic. Her plan had been to kill him and sap his magic from the item at the same time. The Sennen items had sensed her. Her and her dark magic. Betrayed her. She supposed it was her own fault. Using her own magic she had been able to cloak herself from the items view, but she knew the more she used, the more the items and their hosts might sense her. And the killing curse she had cast WAS a powerful one. She had assumed her spell-while arousing the sensitivity of the items, would be powerful enough to kill their hosts, so it would not matter anyhow. This proved to be wrong however, and thus she was found out. All her planning and for what?

To be laid to waste.

She knew if she had gone with her original plan-to conceal herself with magic and simply kill them all with her blade in the shadows of the night, her chances of discovery would have gone down drastically. Paired with a strong sleeping draught at dinner the plan would have been near flawless. But she...loved? Loved Atemu? She had wanted to make clean work of it. Stage a tragedy. Something easier for him to take rather than mangle the bodies of his loved ones. Keep one friend alive for his sake. And now look. Sentenced to death. To die when the moon was at it's highest in the night sky. She might escape. She had the power to do it. She could. She should. Simply disappear and forget all of this. But revenge was why she had begun this journey, and revenge was an unforgiving, relentless master. For revenge, it seemed she would indeed have to kill every last one of them all.

Even Atemu.

Pity.

The moon's light cast an ominous glow in the secluded yard where the ceremony was to take place. The air was chill and the sky was filled with thousands of stars. Such a beautiful sight was somewhat off-putting for the events due to take place on this night. The soon-to-be-crowned Pharaoh Atemu sat at the throne of stone, cold and biting against his skin. Around him is sacred council, ahead of him a scaffold containing a wooden pole and wooden pyre where the witch would be bound, killed and utterly destroyed for her crimes. Atemu still couldn't believe it. His best friend, his partner, his lover...a cold-blooded killer. Even when his mind and eyes had been flooded with all-knowing time magic to see the curse and the murder as if he had been there... Even when she had been caught, rather than claim or show any innocence, his former lover had instead tried to kill his cousin, Seth. With a hidden poisoned blade. Were Seth not the extremely skilled warrior he was, the blade would have found his heart. For killing his father, assaulting his cousin and trying to kill them all, the sentence was oblivion. Not death. Oblivion.

Like a caterpillar turns in to a butterfly, death only transforms one in to another state of being. The body is protected so that the soul may pass peacefully in to the realm of the gods. So that family and friends might recognize one another and welcome the departed. No death was truly a death. Merely a sending of sorts. Were she to merely die on this earth, the witch would not be neutralized, rather she could exist everywhere. Plague them everywhere. Tonight's ceremony would prevent that. Her body would first be burned. Then, as she screamed in the flames, he and his council would use the seven Sennen items to shred her soul in to nothingness. Apart from her ashes blowing in the wind, it would be as if she had never existed at all. To the left a heavy wooden set of double-doors creaked open, drawing everyone's attention. The soldiers-one in the back and one at the front-led the criminal to the scaffold. She showed no fear. No remorse. Her face was calm and her eyes seemed to hold no interest in the pole she was being chained to. One of the guards motioned behind him, and the witch sighed tiredly as she pulled her arms about behind her so that the soldier could chain her in place. Atemu glared in shock and anger. She was BORED!

Once she was secured the guards stood at opposite ends of the platform, both lighting torches. The fires flickered in the darkness. Not even the cicadas were singing on this ominous evening. All was deathly quiet. Atemu stood up from the throne, stepped down from the dias and crossed his arms as he looked at her. He lifted his chin and when he spoke, his voice was stern and curt as he addressed her. " On this eve, before the protectors of Khemet and witnessed by the moon god Khons, you have hereby been sentenced to oblivion." An arrogantly arched eyebrow was her response. Atemu heart, for the briefest moment, clenched. He looked her over hard, trying to find any semblance to the girl he fell in love with. She was lithe and small of stature, but boasted a body that may have been endowed by the goddesses themselves. She was strong-her thinly muscled frame a testament to hard work. Ebony black hair tipped in violet cascaded down her back in elegantly long locks. Golden bangs framed a deceptively childish face. Her skin was pale. So pale she seemed to glow in Khons's light. And though her eyes were like polished amethyst, they held no sparkle. No light. Had they always been like that? Had he simply never noticed? Atemu had once thought this beautiful girl was his soul-mate. His forever. As he locked eyes with her Atemu slowly walked forward. He climbed the stairs of the scaffold, never once breaking his gaze with his past lover's empty gaze. His heart cracked and splintered with each step until he was standing before the youth. One last chance. One more search for the one he had once loved most.

" Have you anything to say for yourself, Heba?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

A beat of silence.

"...Why are you talking? If you're going to try to kill me, then do it. Not very productive of you to simply stand there and speak of it." Heba said blandly, shrugging this off. Small gasps of outrage issued from behind the young king, an indignant " How dare she?!" Breathed from the priestess's lips. Atemu's eyes hardened.

" So this is your choice, then? No remorse? No sorrow for the chaos you have wrought?" A blank blink of the eyes. " No love?" He pressed. Heba's brows fell in confusion.

" How can anyone love a leech hanging on their skin?" She asked coldly. And with those words Atemu felt whatever was left of his heart shatter. His body went ridged as cold fury flooded through his veins. Every moment between them, every promise and show of trust...it had all been a lie. A beautiful, wonderful, heartbreaking lie.

" Then hence, the sentence shall now be carried out. So let it be written, so let it be done!" He snapped. Heba rolled her eyes.

" Finally." The ridged royal spun on his heels and stormed down the stairs as the royal guard stepped forward, each one of their sacred items glowing. When he took his place standing before the throne, Atemu's Sennen item-inherited to him from his father-also began to glow. A golden glowing eye appeared at the center of his forehead as his magic energy began to grow. The torches were thrown to the pyre at Heba's feet and the seven of them began to call upon their items to cast the final spell. They chanted as one. But there was no fear from Heba. No screams. No struggling. Instead, Heba's lips were moving rapidly as she lowly chanted a spell of her own. Beams of dark shadow magic shot from the items to Heba, but instead of hitting her, they hit the fire, which caused the flames to turn black.

" Quickly! She's casting!" A member of the sacred guard yelled. Snarling Atemu willed the energy of his item to grow even stronger, push further in to the flames. Heba smirked as she chanted. This was what she'd been waiting for. Channeling their power with her own she chanted faster and suddenly the black and purple flames shot to the sky, obscuring Heba from view. A booming of thunder-a crack of lightning tore from the sky and shook the ground and struck the scaffold. Everyone was forced to duck down and shield their eyes as the flames burst outward. It was only a moment, and then the fire was gone. Atemu shot to his feet, the council quickly following suit. There was nothing. No burn marks. No signs of destruction, no chains, no pyre...and no Heba. Atemu's body shook with rage as his fists clenched tightly in anger. One of the members, a priest dressed in gold and blue walked forward until he was standing by the new Pharaoh's side. The priest-named Seth-scanned the are with his sharp blue eyes briefly, then sighed in quiet disappointment.

" She got away." Seth said simply, his tone grim.

" Impossible!" Shouted another council member. An old man in white robes with a glowing eye of pure gold peeking out from his long silver hair. " Our items assure our powers! Our will absolute! She cannot have gotten away!"

" Then where is she, Aknadin?!" Seth challenged the old man angrily. The man-Aknadin-bared his gritting teeth angrily an growled in frustration. He had no answer. A man with long brown hair and kind eyes turned to the priestess in the group.

" Isis, you said before you felt a foreboding about this evening. Did you foretell this?" He asked quietly. Isis sighed, her deep blue eyes looking down at the golden eye necklace around her neck. She touched the item gently as her head lowered down, her long black hair falling to shadow her beautifully sculpted face.

" No, Mahad. Ever since Heba first came to us, even with my Sennen necklace I have never been able to properly see her. I only sensed something untoward might happen tonight. But this..." She trailed off. Atemu shot a glare at her.

" Indeed. Your fabled talents of time-reading are not as prominent as you have boasted, Isis. Perhaps your presence may better be served in a kitchen rather than a council!" He spat. She flinched back, her head shooting up as she looked at Atemu hurtfully.

" My Pharaoh, Please! This is not Isis's fault." Mahad said beseechingly. Atemu whipped around to face him. He continued to speak, despite the dangerous aura the young monarch was radiating. " It was not one but us all. We ALL were deceived by her lies and we ALL have underestimated her. Though our magics are strong we all knew Heba had power of her own. None of us thought to examine how much and she has proven herself to be as strong as we-perhaps even stronger! In the end we all invited this doom to it's determined end." He finished. Atemu smirked cruelly at Mahad.

" So then you not only admit you failed your king, but you also put the blame on him as well?" He asked derisively, his tone cold. Mahad's eyes widened in shock.

" No, never! I only meant-"

" That you are incompetent, and so you are. So hence fourth, I shall handle this matter myself." He snapped. Hurt flashed across Mahad's face before he forced himself to look away. What happened to him? He and Atemu had been the best of friends since they were children. The Atemu he knew was such a proud, kind man with so much love in his heart it could easily best the feather of Ma'at's scales. This cold, callus beast before him was NOT the same man. Atemu had NEVER spoken to him-to ANY of them this way. Until now. And Mahad knew why. ' By the gods, Heba. What have you done?' Atemu turned away, fixing a glare of absolute hate at the empty scaffold. " I care not what it may cost me, nor how long it may take. Even if I must tear this kingdom to the ground I will find Heba. And when I do, I will kill her with my own hands and bathe in her blood!"

No one contradicted him. No one looked at him. No one said a word. He sharply turned around and stormed from the council, all six of them bowing in trepidation as he passed them. The doors slammed shut with a bang behind him.

No one moved.

Above the night sky, a brilliant shooting star streaked across the heavens and disappeared in to the unknown.

Done! Soooooo….yeah. That happened. Next chapter: Enter Yugi! Yay! Please R&R and as always, bless your happy happiness!