Title: Dark Secrets
Genre: Angst
Rating: R for content
Summary: Anzu knows secrets that could get her beheaded and now that she's in the hands of Priestess Isis, she has no choice but to tell the truth, but when will she admit them and what if it's too late?
Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh
Notes/Warnings: Anzu's POV, Pro-Anzu
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I first started to find the secrets out when I was in the Pharaoh's bed. He had apparently thought I was asleep, but I was wide-awake. He was speaking to his advisors Simon Muran and Shadii. I shivered, hearing what he knew. Tomb Robber Bakura's hiding spot, how he would catch him, torture him and kill him. I had had an encounter with the almighty thief just earlier that day when I was coming to the Pharaoh's bedchambers. He had slammed into me and seemed shocked.
"Oh!" I gasped, staring at him.
"Where is he? Did he go this way?" A guard shouted from down the hall.
"Damn!" He cursed and shoved me into a closet, along with himself. He held his hand over my mouth, barely breathing. I felt sick. This closet was small and I was crammed inside of it. I didn't like it and I wanted to shout, 'He's in here, he's in here!', but I knew better. Just by glancing at him I knew how strong he was and how he could crush my bones in an instant. When the guard's footsteps faded, he let me go, peering cautiously out of the crack in the door, making sure no one was out in the hall. He slid the door open, grabbing my wrist, jerking me out of the corner I had been cowering in. "I expect you'll keep your mouth shut, wench?" It was a question. I hated when people questioned me. It made me uncomfortable.
"Yes." I squeaked pathetically. He narrowed his eyes into slits and eyed me.
"Are you the Pharaoh's whore?" The thief asked me. I also hated me position in the palace. I was the Pharaoh's whore and if I didn't moan in his ear, I got 10 lashes after his activities.
"Yes." I replied once again.
"If I find out you squealed to him," he waved a jeweled dagger in my face, "you'll be seeing me again." At that, he dashed off, as I stood there dumbfounded. It was then that my dark secrets started. I didn't like to keep secrets, but in the position I was in, I had no choice.
When I arrived at the Pharaoh's bedchambers, I heard the three words I dreaded, "You are late." He was smirking in his evil way, holding a whip. If I were even a second late, he would still whip me. I didn't enjoy the way he whipped me. Each lash felt like a hundred. He pounded the whip's tongue on my back and shoulders, never halting for a breath. After he did that, I had to be ready for sex. That was how it was for me. And every time I came to the slave quarters, the others would look at me with a pitiful look. Often a guard had to carry me to the quarters because I couldn't move. This time, however, I slept in his bed and he didn't wake me. It was Shadii's soothing, cool voice that woke me from my sleep. I curled into a ball, feeling the pain in between my legs and the sharp pain piercing my thighs. My back and shoulders stung a little, but thank Amon, not much.
"Good, you've found Thief Lord Bakura's hide out." Pharaoh chuckled. "Now all we have to do is make a plan to catch him." I felt the weight of another dark secret weigh on me shoulders. Compared to how he planned on torturing him, catching him was nothing. And the way Pharaoh planned on killing him...I shivered and gave a moan, shifting, pretending to just wake up. Pharaoh looked over at me.
"Awake?" He asked me, faking sweetness.
"Yes, Pharaoh." I mumbled, sitting up.
"Good. Get up and go to the slave quarters." I got out of bed and bowed, my forehead touching the hard ground. "Stand." I did so and he walked to me, flicking some of my short brown hair out of me face. "Rest up, little one. I plan on going rougher on you tomorrow. Don't be late."
I bowed yet again, murmuring, "Yes, Pharaoh."
"You may leave." He sighed, waving his hand lazily. I left, with two secrets on my shoulders and no one to tell them to. I wanted to escape this prison, to escape the dread of the secrets.
The next day, I left earlier to get to the Pharaoh's bedchambers. I didn't want to be beaten by him; I wouldn't be able to handle sleeping with him. Fortunately, I did not have to endure either. A young priestess named Isis Ishtar was there, waiting with the Pharaoh for me.
"Anzu, you are going to have a new master—ah, mistress." Pharaoh glanced at Isis, fixing his problem before she noticed.
"Yes, Pharaoh." I bowed in that obedient way I was required to do.
"She's already paid for you, so you can go with her now." He smirked and as my new mistress and I were leaving, he pinched her butt. When he shut his doors, laughing, she cast a dark look at the doors.
"Come, little one," she said kindly to me, "we shall go to my manor and get you cleaned up." I stared at her warily, suspicious of her sweetness.
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"Let me see..." Isis looked through some clothes as some servants washed me. It was a good experience. It felt like years since I had last been in a bath. "Ah!" Isis held a skimpy dress that to me, looked like a robe. "We'll see if this fits you." After they had cleaned my cuts, they attacked my hair with a brush. I was dressed and Isis painted my eyes (A/N: That means she's putting eyeliner and eye shadow on, but they referred to it as "painting".)
"There, you look like a priestesses servant already." Isis declared, holding a mirror up so I could see myself. I peered at the image in the glass, shocked. I took the glass mirror from her and touched my hair and my face. "You look beautiful." I agreed with her, I really did.
When I was cleaning some statues out, I heard Isis gasp. I turned and my eyes went wide. It was that thief, Bakura! I stood gawking, until I dropped my cloth. Bakura looked over at me and growled.
"You," he said, slowly advancing toward me, "what are you doing here?" He took me by the hair, glaring down at me. I gulped. I was doomed. Then he dropped me, staring down at me. He knelt down and eyed me, just as he had before.
"Bakura, I bought her from Pharaoh." Isis said hurriedly. I didn't enjoy his stares. It made me uncomfortable.
"Hmm," he stood up, "and I see you've made her your little doll."
"That's unfair, Bakura!" Isis said pleadingly. "She is my servant now and Pharaoh was not properly taking care of her like a young lady should!" Bakura chuckled and embraced Isis.
"No, he wasn't, now was he?" I felt a jab in my chest, realizing by Isis' blush these two were in love. I inched away, going to the servant's quarters. I lay in my makeshift bed, staring up at the ceiling. Soon, I grew stiff and went upstairs on the roof. I could feel angry tears flow freely. Now I had three terrible secrets on my shoulders, weighing all my emotions and self-esteem down.
"You must be the new servant." I jumped at the voice and turned. I remembered the male as my mistress' brother, Malik.
"Yes...Um, master."
"No," Malik gave a shake of his head, "don't call me master." I fell silent, not looking at him. "Don't you have work to do?"
"I...Do, but Bakura...He...came and Isis and he..." Malik snorted, cutting me off.
"Sickening, isn't it?"
"What is?"
"Them." Malik gave a dark look, picking up a stone and chucking it at the stone roof. "My sister's ignorance is what caused her to fall for him." I blinked; surprised that was how he felt.
"What if someone finds out?"
"Seth already knows." Malik sighed, laying down and staring up at the starry sky. "And his feelings get in the way of telling Pharaoh."
"Oh." Silence overtook us and it's probably good that it did. I craned my head to look at the stars. It was apparent Nuit, the goddess of stars; decided it was necessary to be clear and wide tonight. I heard Malik shift and stand up.
"Goodnight," I murmured.
"I'll be coming back up here if Bakura is still here." He informed me. I glanced up at him. I hadn't been aware of how close he was to me. "What's your name?"
"Anzu."
"Anzu..." He tasted my name on his tongue, "Pretty. Then I shall see you later, I am sure, Anzu." At that, he left downstairs, leaving me on the roof, alone. I sighed and crawled to a small corner, closing my eyes and falling asleep underneath Nuit.
-
When I awoke, a thin blanket was covering me and a feather-filled pillow propped up my head. Both were much more elegant than my servant ones.
"So you're awake." I blinked and sat up as Malik peered over at me from the stairs. "Come down and eat."
"I'm not hungry." I lied. He raised an eyebrow.
"Fine." Five minutes later, he was handing me a plate of food. "Eat."
"I'm not hungry." I repeated, even though the food was very tempting.
"I order you to eat." I stared up at him as he smirked. I sighed and took the plate of food. He sat next to me and chewed on a piece of bread as I ate, famished. "Stubborn little thing, aren't you?"
I swallowed my food and answered, "I suppose." He chuckled and once I was done eating, I stood up to take the plate down to the kitchen, but he pulled me back down.
"Stay, I'll take that down with me later." I looked at him, suspicious.
"Is everyone here so nice?" I asked. He snorted.
"I'm not a nice person."
"Yes you are." I expostulated.
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are." He raised his eyebrows at me, a hesitant grin spreading across his lips, before he laughed.
"You are stubborn!" Malik commented.
"Okay, let me reword what I said." I said, sighing. "You're nice to me." He glanced at me through the corner of his eye.
"Yes, I suppose I am." I felt his fingers take my hand, massaging mine softly, "You used to work for Pharaoh, am I right?"
"Yes," I looked away from him, "I was his whore." I thought that he might make a disgusted sound, but he didn't.
"His whore." Malik repeated darkly. "Why does it not surprise me that he would pick such an innocent girl like you?" I could feel his steady gaze on my face and I felt my skin grow warm.
"I don't know." I mumbled, not looking at him. I wanted to tell him what I heard in Pharaoh's bedchambers, how I hadn't told Pharaoh about Bakura slamming into me that day and how he had pinched his sister's rear. I wanted to tell him every secret that was bottled inside of me.
"Hm." I felt my face grow warmer as he drew my body against his. "And ironically, you end up in Isis' hands." I felt his fingers run through my hair and I shivered. "So tell me," I glanced up at him, "what secrets are you holding from us?" I could feel my inside go cold and I drew away from him, shooting up in my feet.
"I'm not hiding any secrets!" I blurted out hastily.
"You're lying." He accused, his eyes narrowing. "The first time I caught sight of you I knew you were keeping something from everyone."
"I won't tell anyone!" I said, backing into the corner and sliding down on the stone roof, feeling panic build inside of me.
"Anzu," his breath massaged my ear, but I didn't answer, "at least tell me." I shook my head 'no'.
"If Pharaoh finds out, he'll behead me, I know he will." I felt tears rushing out from underneath my eyelids. "H-he'll rape m-me and b-b-beat me." I could feel Malik pull me against him, his arms securing me against his hard body. My whole body was shaking. I knew I wasn't the slave of Pharaoh anymore, but I did know that he would hunt me down. He's always been after Thief Lord Bakura and when this one chance to get him is because of me, he'll crush me!!
"Shush," Malik whispered, "he can't hurt you anymore, I'll make sure of that." I hiccupped and raised my head to look at Malik.
"Y-you will?" I sputtered.
"Of course." He smoothed my hair, kissing my forehead softly. "Now tell me what's going on." I swallowed my tears and taking a deep breath, I told him everything that had happened two days ago.
-
Isis was pacing the room, swallowing her tears. Malik was sitting in a chair. Bakura had left after Malik told him what was going on. I was standing, watching Isis pace restlessly. I hated to know that this was all happening because of me. No one knew that it was because of me. No one but Pharaoh and me. The truth was, a vicious rapist named Heru had kidnapped me and other servants. He was a partner with Bakura and Pharaoh had sent someone to get us. We were the Pharaoh's entire harem. And he valued us for that. But the man who Pharaoh had sent was Niko, an ex pirate, who used to be a partner of Bakura's. That was how Pharaoh found out Bakura's hide out: I had told him. I had a good memory for directions and I told Pharaoh so I wouldn't be beaten for being late for a month. It was a good deal; I just didn't know that I would become friends with Isis, who was Bakura's lover. It made my whole body grow cold and I knew that eventually Pharaoh would find out that it had been me whom had warned Thief Lord Bakura.
"I wonder if he's okay..." Isis said worriedly and then she started to sob again, hiccupping and swallowing her salty tears. Malik made no move to comfort her and I stood there, feeling every piece of my heart being shattered at the scene. I lowered my eyes to the floor, silently wishing I had never lived through that fire in my village.
"Isis." Isis looked over at the thief at the door. Seeing his solemn face, she began to weep. "Bakura would have wanted you to keep this." He tossed a ring at her. She caught it and pressed it to her bosom, rocking back and forth, weeping silently. "Goodbye." He turned and left. I turned and walked up to the roof, staring out at the village. I heard a cheer from the palace. I had a feeling that was Bakura's head rolling into the basket. I sighed, slumping on the stones.
"Anzu?" I turned to see Malik, looking worriedly over at me.
"It's all my fault." I said miserably. "I should have told her sooner...Or him at least." Malik sighed, laying a tan hand on my shoulder and squeezing it.
"We did what we could," he paused, "that's what counts."
"He should have stayed here once you told him."
"Perhaps." I stared out at the sunset. "Is that what you want?"
"Yes." I said, nodding. "There's nothing left for me here." Malik nodded solemnly and took out a dagger and handed it to me. I sighed and sliced my wrists. I felt the world shifting, before everything went black.
Owari
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