(I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh)

~Chapter One~

The young pharaoh opened his eyes to near-darkness, the only hint of light a faint, flickering of torchlight. He moaned quietly, startled at the sound of movement behind him.

"Mahad?" he called quietly. "Seth?" A blood-chilling laugh from the shadows made his heart skip a beat. He tried to stand, but found that his hands and feet were bound tightly. He struggled to remember what had occurred.

He had been in his private chambers, waiting for his adviser, Mahad, to join him. He had heard his door open, but hadn't bothered to turn around until Mahad didn't return his greeting. All that he saw then was a flash of dark skin and white hair, before a sharp blow to the side of his head had plunged him into darkness. Yeah, he was definitely feeling that blow...

"Well, hello, pharaoh," hissed a dangerous, angry voice. "Something the matter?" It taunted Atem as he struggled against the ropes holding him.

"Who are you?" He demanded, sounding much more confident than he felt. "Show yourself!"

"Oh, acting tough, are we?" His captor obviously wasn't fooled by such an act. "I don't think you're in any position to be making demands." Atem continued to struggle against his restraints, to no avail. He froze suddenly at the sound of approaching footsteps. A figure stepped into the dancing light, and his heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. He recognized the man (who wouldn't?) and he knew that he was, effectively, dead. Everyone in Egypt had at least heard of the thief king Bakura. He was a local hero among the peasants and lower class, especially those who made their livings outside of the law, and he was infamous for his deep-seated hatred for the pharaoh. His fear must have shown on his face, because Bakura appeared pleased. "Yes, you know who I am," he crooned to the young king.

"What have you done with Mahad? And Seth? Have you harmed them?" Atem demanded, fearing more for the well-being of the two than that of himself.

"Of course I didn't do anything to them, what do you think I am? A pharaoh? Unlike you, I don't murder innocents." He shot back contemptuously, the word full of resentment. Atem's confusion was evident to the thief. "Don't even try to play stupid," the thief warned.

"I don't know what you are talking about, but I demand that you release me." He realized that he had made a mistake the second the words were out of his mouth, mainly because of the curved blade now hovering dangerously close to his face.

"What did I say, pharaoh?" Atem swallowed nervously, making the man towering above him laugh. "Of course you don't know. That would tarnish your spotless reputation, now wouldn't it? Well guess what, pharaoh. Playing dumb will not save you." Atem's heart raced in terror, and throwing his pride away, shouted out in fear.

"I swear!" He cried. "I don't know what you mean! I-I don't hurt innocent people! I know nothing of what you speak!" Bakura faltered for a moment. "I-I swear..." his voice was full of fear, and the thief frowned. Even this lying, cheating scum known as 'pharaoh' wasn't that good of an actor.

"Do not tell me you don't know what you've done..." His voice was quiet, though, as if contemplating some newfound revelation. Atem remained silent, even more confused. Bakura studied the boy's face, and saw truth there. He sighed heavily. "You really don't know anything, do you?" Atem was offended by the thought that he knew nothing (he was considered a god on earth, after all. Surely he knew something), but decided that keeping quiet was in his best interests. He still feared for his life, but the anger seemed to have subsided from Bakura's demeanor. "Well. This changes things a bit..." Atem was unsure what the man meant. He cringed in fear as Bakura hauled him roughly to his feet, cutting the ropes around his ankles with his dangerous-looking blade. "Come," he commanded in a tone that left no room for disobedience, even from the pharaoh. Atem stumbled as he attempted to walk on his numb feet. "Keep up," the thief called, and Atem struggled to comply. He knew that he did not want to be left in the dark tunnels. He would never find his way out alone, and he knew that by himself and with no light, he wouldn't last long. Finally, he caught a whiff of fresh air, and they eventually emerged into the cool night air.

"C-can you untie me?" he asked nervously as the thief walked to a horse waiting nearby, his voice sounding small and weak. Bakura spun, his expression angry.

"Now why would I want to do that?" Bakura asked, smirking dangerously. Atem flinched backwards. "So that you can escape from me?" Atem shook his head frantically, not wanting to anger this man.

"I-I don't know w-where we are. W-where would I go? I mean, I c-couldn't escape..." Bakura paused before motioning for the boy to come closer. He obeyed (out of fear- normally, he took orders from no one), only wincing slightly as Bakura cut the remaining ropes. He then took another length of rope and secured it around Atem's wrist. "Just in case," he explained, before hoisting first the unsuspecting boy and then himself onto the horse. Atem sat in front of his captor, his skin crawling from the contact. He closed his eyes against the wind as they rode, unconsciously drifting into sleep- it had been a rather stressful day. As his head nodded forward, Bakura's arms tightened around the boy's body, ensuring that he would not fall. Things were not going as planned, he had fully intended on keeping the pharaoh in the labyrinthine tunnels of the tomb, perhaps torturing him a bit (for fun, of course) before killing him. This pharaoh, however, was so different from the tyrant he had envisioned. He seemed so young, so innocent... he couldn't torture and kill him, not when he reminded him so much of... the young boy who had watched, as his family was slaughtered and his village burned. Who had been toyed with and used, then left to die... He wouldn't stoop to that level. After all, it was possible- unlikely, but possible, that those men hadn't even been his men. Maybe they were bandits, posing as the royal troops. Or they may not have been acting under direct orders. They were, perhaps, still the pharaoh's men, but that didn't mean that he had control over everyone he employed.

He had kidnapped the pharaoh. The pharaoh, for crying out loud. That was like kidnapping Ra, or any other god. The boy was even named for Aten, the sun god.

"Shit," he muttered, the wind instantly drowning out his voice. "Bakura, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" Perhaps he hadn't thought things all the way through...

A/N: Hey, everyone. I realize how short this chapter is, and I'm sorry, but that was pretty much all that I wanted to happen in the first chapter, and I didn't want to put in a lot of needless filler. Anyway, next chapter should be a lot more interesting. I hope.

We're talking about ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, etc. in my western civ class and in my modern culture and the arts. Krista (my lovely beta) sits next to me in both classes, and we can't look at each other whenever our teachers mention anything about Egypt or the pharaohs. We are very, very mature college students who quote the abridged series a minimum of five or six times a day. usually, way more than that. But, I digress. Basically, we were studying Egypt, and every time they said anything at all about tombs being robbed, one of us would whisper "Bakura!" our teachers think we're special. :D

I stuck a couple references in there about how the pharaoh was viewed as the physical embodiment of a god. Literally, the pharaoh was divine, so whatever he/she said went without question.

Heh, when our teacher mentioned Aten, Krista and I about had heart attacks.

I hope you like this... I just kind of wanted to try an ancient Egypt fic. it should be fun to write, and hopefully fun to read...

I would really really appreciate any reviews and feedback... anything. I get so excited when I get reviews. You have no idea. well, maybe, but... okay. I'm shutting up now.

*many thanks to soundofmadness223*

thanks for reading!!!

~alex~