Every King Needs a Queen

Chapter 1: Fire and Holy Gold

Story and character Alai by Lady of Life and Death.

The character Sheba is by Francheska Arroyo.

All Yu-Gi-Oh characters belong to the writer of Yu-Gi-Oh.

Historical characters belonging to History itself.

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No one can control who they are fated to be with. For some reason the stars always know. When I first met my beloved, I felt only anger. Slowly the love grew for him and rooted itself so deeply, I feel it even now in Death's lands. And I know he too felt it, deep and beautiful and one of the most powerful feelings he'd ever experienced. Our souls are intertwined and forever connected, destinies that will meet over and over in years to come and this is just one story of such a thing happening…

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"Alai! Take Sheba and run!" her older brother Wati, yelled. His dark eyes were full of worry and fear for his two sisters, both who were younger than him. He unsheathed his two daggers, both which had a red ruby set in the hilt, and stood between them and the doorway. Alai, the second oldest and only three years younger than her eighteen-year-old brother, grabbed her sister's wrist and pulled her to the back of the room. Both girls opened the hidden trap door, Sheba going down first. Alai turned back before heading down, frightened for her brother and hearing the shouts of the guards as their parents fought them back.

"Brother!" she cried, "Let me stay and fight!" She pulled out matching daggers, identical to her brother's, and made an attempt to run by his side. He turned and pointed at the trap door.

"GO!" he yelled. She stopped abruptly and headed back. The door slammed down over her and her sister's heads just as the heard a woman's scream and a man's yell of anguish. Sheba held in her smaller hands a torch that flicked in the closed space of the tunnel. Alai took her other hand and took off at a run.

"Come, sister," she whispered. "We'll help them as soon as we get out." She bit her lip to hold back the tears trying to leak their way out of her eyes. Sheba already was crying. They ran for a long time, the tunnel stretching on what seemed miles.

They reached a seemingly dead end finally with ruts dug out of the dirt. Sheba held the torch up towards the ceiling, illuminating the shadow of a small circle. Alai climbed a few of the ruts and pushed up on the circle. It swung open to reveal the starry night sky and the light of the full moon. On further inspection, they were near a beautiful waterfall and a small lake. The Oasis of Thieves as their family's guild called it. All houses with a member in the guild had a tunnel that led to this very oasis.

"Put out and save the torch, Sheba," Alai whispered. She finished climbing up and helped Sheba up once she'd stuck the torch in the dirt to extinguish the flame. After brushing off her sister, Alai grabbed her hand and dashed in the direction of their family's small house. Looking into the sky, they saw a deep, black smoke clogging the air and blotting out the sky. 'No!' she cried in her mind. 'Let them still live!'

By the time the two girls came to the edge of the Oasis forest, the saw the little house, built just on the edge, burning. Alai's eyes widened and tears burst forth, streaming and making runs in her dirt smudged cheeks. Sheba let out a wail and made a dash for the burning building. Alai tackled her sister and held her down.

"N-no Sh-Sheba!" she whispered, sobbing. "W-w-we can't… Th-Th-They're… gone…" She closed her eyes and gripped her sister in a tight hug. The two girls sat on their knees, sobbing and watching as their home, the place where they were born and raised to that point, burned and consumed the bodies of their mother, father, and beloved brother.

"Why have gods punished us so, big sister?" sobbed Sheba. She latched her arms around Alai's neck, seeking as much comfort as she could manage.

"I don't know, Sheba," she whispered. "I just don't know…

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Five Years Later

Barely any of the people in the town took notice of two strangers entering the only tavern in town. Besides, they had money and looked like they had more to spare. In the older, dusty tavern, they picked the table farthest away from everyone and sat there. Drawing away their hoods, they revealed themselves to be two women of exceptional beauty. Both had long dark hair they pulled out from under the hoods, only the elder of the two kept her hair trimmed in a straight line. Where the elder also wore three gold choker rings around her neck, the younger wore one, but left an appealing show of her neck.

After ordering their food, Sheba whispered eagerly, "So, where are we going to hit tonight?" Alai tossed a simpler dagger, more or less a knife really, and glanced around the room.

"No where little sister," she said. "Although a trip to worship the Goddess Hathor in her temple may be good." She grinned and winked at her sister. "I must keep my little sister educated in the gods!" Sheba blinked, and then grinned back. The barman came over and set a plate in front of them and they both dug in.

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The young priestess didn't know her heart could feel so full or her body. As her white-haired bed partner arose and started to dress, she reached out and barely skimmed his back with the tips of her fingers. He'd made her feel full of life and beautiful, filling her with hope and his seed. He glanced back at the dark haired girl, making her recoil. His reddish-brown eyes, usually so full of mystery and wonder, were cold and uncaring.

"Bakura? What's the matter?" she asked softly, afraid someone might hear her speaking to the forbidden man. It wasn't just the fact he was a notorious thief, but a man in a supposed virgin priestess' bedchamber… Well, it didn't bode good tidings.

"Nothing that concerns you, Boki," he muttered. He tied his loin cloth and started for the door. She sat up, alarmed and eyes filling with tears. Her fears were starting to boil up from within.

"Bakura, where are you going?" she quickly asked, wrapping the blanket around her and starting after him. He sighed I turned around, crossing his arms and taking in the sight before him. Boki was crying now, fearful he would leave her, and clutching at the cloth from her bed. She reached out to touch his shoulder, but he shoved her hand off.

"Girl, I'm leaving," he heartlessly admitted. "And no, I wont come back for you. Ever." With that, he went out the door and left the poor girl to deal with the burden of letting herself be used. He chuckled to himself as he climbed the wall and headed towards the holy chambers of the temple. At least she was bedded by the King of Thieves, right?

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Alai and Sheba were inside the inner walls quick like always. They walked along the roof's rafters, watching the clergy as they passed under the thieves. They reached the end of the rafter and slipped to the ground, pressing their backs against the wall. Alai barely looked in the door way and examined the room using her excellent peripheral vision. A glimmering golden bowl caught her attention and she smiled broadly. Sheba handed her a leather bag and followed her big sister into the room.

"Alai, look!" She said, pointing to the wall near the alter. A shelf of scrolls and books sparkled to the young thief's eyes. Sheba hurried over to the wall and stuff her own bag with the papyrus papers to her sister's pleasure. Alai couldn't read, but knew Sheba valued her small ability to understand a few of the symbols and so thought it cute. She herself turned her attention to the gold and began putting it away.

Finished with this room, they hurried on, hoping to find more. The young women stayed on the ground, not wanting to risk loosing any of their take because it was too heavy to go on the rafters. They seemed to melt into the shadows as anyone passed, not knowing or seeing the two as they stole the valuables necessary to the clergy's holy lives.

As they passed through a hallway, a creaking rafter caught Alai's attention. She grabbed Sheba's shoulder and glanced up without moving her head. Sheba looked at her sister curiously and moved against the wall as Alai pulled her back. Without taking her eyes off the shadow in the rafters, she dropped her bag and slipped two daggers from the folds of her skirt.

Alai stepped out and stood directly under the shadow and gauged the distance up. In one swift motion, she threw the dagger up the left side, sending the shadow off balance and threw the second, knocking it of its feet. Its arm shot out and swung on the rafter and fell. Right onto of Alai.

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Well, this is my first chapter! A lot has happened already, huh? Well, keep reading and we'll see what happens!