10 Years Later
(Alea's POV)
It had been almost a year since our father, the former Pharaoh, died of unnatural causes. We were still grieving a little, but today was not a day to be sad. Today was the day that my brother, Atem, was to become the next Pharaoh and we were all excited.
I decided to have a little fun with my brother and took his crown when he wasn't looking. I walked into the balcony room where he would be presented as the new king. He seemed a little stressed, as did Shimon and Ema. "Atem," I said. "Yes," he said. "Missing something?" I asked, taking the crown from behind my back. "Alea, honestly," he said, a little annoyed. "Of all days to trick me, why today?" "Really," Ema agreed. "He's stressed out enough already." "Sorry," I said, smiling innocently. "Well, let's not keep the crowd waiting too long," Shimon said.
We walked out onto the balcony where we looked out at thousands of people cheering for my brother. Once he was in plain sight, everyone bowed down.
Just then, something in the distance caught my eye. It was just a little speck in the distance, but I could make out the figure of a person. Who was it. "Is something wrong, Alea?" Shimon asked. I snapped out of it. "No, nothing's wrong," I said. "Maybe we should get you inside," he said. "You look a little faint." "It's probably just the heat," I said. Shimon took me inside. Maybe that figure was just a hallucination. After Atem and Ema came back inside, we headed to the throne room. I took my place next to the throne while Ema took her place with the priests and priestesses.
My brother sat down. He looked a little ill. "Atem? Are you okay?" I asked. "Maybe we should postpone the celebration," Priest Seto suggested. Atem shook his head. "That won't be necessary," he said. "Very well," Seto said. "The time has come for the ceremonial festival of the Pharaohs." I sat down on a pillow and watched the performances.
The festivities went well into the night and I actually got a little bored at one point. I rested my head against the arm of the throne. "Are you okay, princess?" two soft voices asked. I looked up and saw Ume and Astraea, two of my brother's servants. "Yes, I'm fine," I said. "Would you mind if we sat down with you?" Ume asked. "Priest Seto is against this, but we still thought we'd ask," Astraea said. "I don't mind at all," I said. The girls sat next to me and started talking about everything.
Just then, I noticed Ema's Millennium Bracelet begin to glow. "Mahad," she said. It was a warning. What none of us had any idea of was that an assassin was targeting Atem. Just before a dart hit my brother, Mahad threw out his cloak and caught it just in time. Everything stopped. "Stop that intruder," Seto order. The guards quickly captured the man and brought him, bound, before my brother. "Assaulting the king of Egypt is an inexcusable crime," Mira, holder of the Necklace, said. "We're in the midst of a sacred ceremony," Mahad said. "Cast him into the dungeon."
"Wait," Seto said. "I have a better idea. We should use this rogue to demonstrate the extent of our power for the Pharaoh. Aknadin? Shimon?" They nodded their heads in agreement. "It shall be done," Shimon said. "I order a Millennium Trial of this man's soul," Seto commanded. I was a little excited. I had never witnessed a Millennium Trial and only knew what Ema told me of them. Apparently they were very rare. "You will now be judged by the dark magic of the seven Millennium Items," Seto said. "Suki will start."
Suki was the new holder of the Millennium Key as of last year and Shada's successor. She was kidnapped from Japan along with Ume and somehow escaped and made her way here. Unlike all the other priests and priestesses, she did not wear our Egyptian clothes. Instead, she wore what she called her "miko" uniform. Apparently mikos were Japan's equivalent of our priests.
She stepped forward. "With the power of the Millennium Key, I'll read this prisoner's mind," she said. She held out the Millennium Key and it began to glow. "The shadow of an evil creature lurks inside this man's heart," she deduced. She moved away and Aknadin took her place. "I will now invoke the energies of the Millennium Eye, revealing and extracting the being that dwells within. The Eye glowed, and then a dark shadow flowed from the prisoner's mouth. Ume and Astraea cowered behind me.
"What's happening?" Atem asked. "The Millennium Items have detected a shadow creature, or ka, dwelling in the heart of this criminal," Shimon explained. "Little is known about these beings of darkness, only that they feed on the hatred of humans. Once a ka is born, it forces its host to commit acts of evil, creating even more darkness to feast upon." I looked back at the scene. The dark shadow formed into a many-armed creature, all fangs and claws. "The guardians of the sacred court use the Millennium Items to seal these monsters within stone tablets." Two men raised a stone tablet behind Seto.
"Seto," Aknadin said. "use the power of the Millennium Rod to seal the shadow beast." He raised the Rod. "Relinquish this beast!" he commanded. A bright light surrounded the beast and pulled it into the stone tablet, sealing it away. A carved image of it appeared on the surface. "Well done, Seto," Aknadin praised. "Now that we're done with this fool, banish him to the dungeon," Seto ordered. "But Seto, we've expelled the darkness from his heart," Marni, holder of the Scales, said. "Therefore, it is the duty of the sacred court to set him free." "Marni is right," Suki said. "Release this man." "Store the tablet in the tablet sanctuary," Seto ordered.
"Mahad, the palace security is your responsibility. How did the intruder make it past the royal guard?" Typical Seto. Always having to nag people about their mistakes. "You're right," Mahad sighed. He knelt down before Atem. "Pharaoh, please accept my apologies," he said. "The Millennium Ring has been behaving strangely lately, making it difficult to detect criminal activity. May I have your permission to increase security forces to fortify the city?" "Yes," Atem said. Mahad rose, his expression slightly ashamed. Ema put her hand on his.
"Um…Mahad," I said. "If I may speak so, it wasn't really your fault. If the Ring has been acting so weird lately, then the blame doesn't fall on you." "Thank you, my princess," he said. Ema gave me a look that said "that was nice of you to say". Seto on the other hand just glared at me. I tried not to notice.
"We should continue with the coronation festivities," Shimon suggested to my brother. "But I was just attacked," Atem protested. "If your followers sense your fear, they, too, will feel unsafe," Shimon said. "The best way to hide that fear is with merriment and laughter." "I'll try," Atem said. I put my hand on his arm. "I'm sure it won't happen again," I reassured him. He smiled.
But I was dead wrong. "Wait!" Mira said. "My Millennium Necklace is sensing an evil force approaching the kingdom. It lurks just outside the palace wall, and bears a great power." What happened next was something that no one, especially me, ever expected.
