I still own nothing!

Also, here's a special thanks to Silver- Haired- Thief, Cam, Midnight, and whoever my lovely guest was. Without your reviews the story was likely to have been discarded. I deeply appreciate your feedback and hope you're still with the story.

One note for the chapter. Since the two regions do not speak the same language, when someone is speaking in Egyptian it will be in italics.

Even though Ryou had removed himself far away from the palace he could still hear the loud voices, furiously bounding off of the walls. Surely the walls would begin crumbling at this rate. The last few days had been hellish at best, with Marik in a fever of paranoia and Malik in a state of exasperation at his brother's horrid demeanor. For hours on end they would now lock themselves away from the rest of the palace, discussing what the future of their country and military would be. To Ryou, it seemed as if the skirmishes were for the sake of proving who could raise their voice louder.

Despite Malik's assertions of discussing peace with the Egyptian pharaoh, Marik was relentless, plagued by what he called visions of the pharaoh's blood dripping from the throne room. In the new king's eyes, their family would not be avenged until the pharaoh and his court lay rotting outside his palace. No less than these bodies would be equivalent to the late Ishtar's life. Ryou, upon hearing one of the heated discussions between the Ishtar brothers, found his self frightened and quickly removed himself from their vicinity.

Marik had been raving of all of the ways he wanted to decorate his new palace, insisting that they could preserve different parts of the pharaoh's body with careful wrappings; the idea had been supplemented by their foreign guest. There were rare moments when Akefia was not plastered to Marik's ear and the countless displays of the king clinging to the man had grown nearly obsessive. Even though Marik paid little thought to either the lives of the men he was sending into battle or to the fact that he had rendered his little brother's concerns to nothing, he abided by every whisper the abrasive man could think of.

When it was just the two of them, Malik would complain of his brother's sanity, worried that the situation was driving his brother mad. In addition to his brother's mental stability, Malik worried over his people and their guest. In the young Ishtar's opinion his brother was playing into Akefia's hand with complete disregard for the suffering their people were in or the repercussions of his actions. Rather than focusing his people's time on making food, Marik had decreed that the production of agriculture needed to be cut so that the funding and time granted to sustaining their people's lives could be placed in priority after the production of new weaponry and armor for the militia.

It seemed to all of the onlookers that the king was becoming possessed and the people began to quickly spread word of black magic; the foreigner was crippling their king so that he could usurp him, take the crown for himself.

But for Ryou the problem was larger. Marik had requested that he watch over Akefia at night. Contrary to his initial concerns of treason, Marik now wanted to offer the young whitenette to the Egyptian as a gift: a companion for his troubles and to assimilate him to their customs. Once Malik heard the plan that Ryou was to keep Akefia's company he had to be removed from the room because of his passionate outburst. When Ryou was given the proposition he, despite his concerns and Malik's anger, knew he could not deny the king and would resolve the butterflies in his stomach with a smile.

Tonight was the night that his belongings would be moved to the man's room.

Doe eyes looked down to where his hands lay clasped in his lap; the nails were bitten down dangerously low. Earlier that morning, his nerves had gotten the better of him when he saw the maids packing his things into careful carriers. Just the thought of being in a room with the man alone worried him. Previous to their new living arrangements, he had not been naïve to the glances the man regularly gave him. Wringing his hands out, he smoothed down the skirt like bottoms that he had been required to continually wear and stood.

The sun had begun setting while he sat in reverie and he knew that there would be people looking for him if he did not return soon. His tread back to the palace did not take long because he knew all the paths that would quickly lead him to the front doors. He chose his second favorite path, a windy dirt road that showcased the remains of buildings that were built ages ago. Somehow, even the old wooden foundations remained. It was a wonderful thought that despite everything the structures had been through, sabotage and fire, there still were glimpses of the power they had.

He didn't allow himself to stare at their remains too long due to the rising Moon. With the moonlight following his footsteps, he arrived to the bottom of the stairwell. He should have taken his time when he reached it because of the dew that had accumulated along the stairs. But he lost his footing and was thankful that he had managed to thrust out his arms to break his fall. Gritting his teeth at the sting produced from his knees and palms hitting the rough stone, he began to recollect himself into an upright position. It was easy for him to blame his misstep on the new clothing he had been forcefully asked to wear.

"Seems to me you're a clumsy little dove." Ryou blinked at the rough but playful voice, looking up the large stature leaning, almost hidden, against the balcony. There was a sun scorched hand languidly waving at him before he pushed from the ledge. "I will assist you."

"Oh, you don't have to…" The small boy trailed off, allowing Akefia to fix his disheveled clothing and to move a piece of hair from the front of his eyes. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"No, no." The tanned appendage reached for him once more, and he flinched before the fingers presented to him a twig that had been stuck in his hair. "It is my, how do you people say, pleasure."

Despite their language barrier, Ryou nodded and blushed, noticing the devious eyes roaming along his body. His heart rate increasing, Ryou muttered another thanks, bowing before turning to leave. He wasn't surprised when one of the calloused hands wrapped around his wrist to hold him there.

What did surprise him was when the Egyptian stepped beside him, offering him his arm.

"This is how we walk, correct?" Akefia tilted his head to the side and a delighted grin settled across his mouth when Ryou nodded and gently placed his hand on top of the offering. "Come little dove."

It was difficult for Ryou to keep up with the brisk walk that the man set but that was the least of his concerns. His focus was on where their skin connected the paleness of his skin which was an obvious contrast against the deep tan that he was certain the man was born with. All of the man's striking features were new to the pale boy and Ryou could not decide whether their differences were completions of one another or a margin that needed to stay separate. Ryou decided their walk was the best time to get a better look at the other. He tried to be discreet as possible as his eyes flitted over the sculpted, majestic physique of Akefia.

The Egyptian's body was adorned with precious jewels and metals all twinkling in their personalized beauties. It was strange that so many precious gems were present in the barren desert that the man claimed to hail from. The fabric, that Ryou assumed to be linen, was set deep in crimson. Surely the light and lack thereof of much clothing was also linked to the dry and heated environment the man was accompanied with.

Completing the man's aura were various daggers and scabbards decorating the underside of his robes and along his abdomen. Accompanied with the scathe marks and healed scar tissue, Akefia's overall undertone was an exotic danger.

"I do hope you like, dove." Ryou flicked his eyes to the man's gaze, embarrassed that he had been caught when he had been so careful in his calculating gaze. Rather than respond, he averted his gaze to the side and hoped that his bangs would hide the fire reaching across his cheeks and down his neck. "At least as much as I approve of you, little moonlit bird."

"I'm sorry but I do not understand what you are saying." Even though he did not want the older man to think of him as ignorant, he had to address the fact that he could not understand the language that sounded like gibberish to him.

"That is best for now, dove." Akefia cast a flashing smirk to the smaller male. "Now, come. We eat together tonight."

Despite the fluttering in his stomach and the feeling that his heart was in his throat, Ryou kept walking along. Regardless of the uneasy feeling, he knew he had to treat this man with a certain degree of respect because of the emphasis that Marik had placed on his happiness while he stayed in their home.

"I have food from my home that I would like you to try." Akefia cut his eyes at the nodding white head. "And drink if you would like."

"Sounds lovely." Ryou internally sighed, wondering what situation Marik had placed him into. Currently, the man seemed beneficent enough but he knew that he had daggers hidden. Quite literally. Then a thought hit him. He needed to impress the man, needed Marik to remain unsuspicious towards his current opinions of Akefia. He needed to pick up his side of their conversation. "I was also wondering, if it was alright with you, could you teach me a dash of your language?"

Stopping in his tracks, Akefia peered closely at the smaller male. Taking in the small boy's startled state and honest eyes, he decided that the boy was smart, no doubt, but he presented no threat. Even though he did not understand the boy's sudden interest, he grinned.

"I will see that you learn by my own tongue." Continuing on their way, he explained further. "But for now, let me introduce you to my culture."

At Ryou's questioning stare, he gave a list of items, trying his hardest to explain the concept to the smaller male without the proper word.. Once he had pointed towards his clothes, skin, and stomach, it helped Ryou understand.

"If there is anything I would love to know of your people, asides from your language, it would definitely be your food." Akefia noticed the beaming face and the pale hand resting on the boy's stomach; he figured it would serve their relationship well to keep the boys stomach full.

Akefia, while Ryou was drooling at the thought of new spices, took personal mental notes of the layout of the palace. He counted the doors, any of which were open or locked. He took note of open windows, of closed drapes, different waterways, and exits. He noticed the bulky guards whose prowess were surely sitting on their asses rather than doing any real work. They would pose his people no threat. But more important than what was within the castle, he measured the height and durability of the walls. In relation to the pyramids of his homeland, this would be a simple construction to break into.

In his brief stay he had managed to pick pocket a key to all of the doors, pillage the armory, and burn multiple land fortifications around the castles to the ground. The last thing that he needed to secure before Marik gave word that they would return to his desert homelands was his impression on the small boy at his side.

If all played out as he believed it would, the boy would not only come with their team back to Egypt but he would never want to leave it. The little bird would be more than happy to reign at his side and their union would help solidify the relationship between both kingdoms. Akefia never considered his self knowledgeable of the soft things that life offered but the beautiful gemstones that life presented to him, he not only understood, but always claimed as his own.

The only struggle that he was sure he would have with the boy was not his homeland and the attachments that he held to it but of the attachments to the king's younger brother. From his understanding, the two had been together for many years and were reliant upon one another. He was sure he could make his dove reliant upon him but knew he had to be careful where the little prince was concerned. It couldn't be too obvious that he wanted the young Ishtar out of the picture permanently. Especially since the one he was interested in held the bronzed boy so highly.

Before he could place his plans into motion for the bronzed king and his kin, Akefia had another royal figure that he could not wait to disembody. Oh how the thought of desecrating the small pharaoh offered him comfort late in the night. How the slaying of the boy's people would come naturally from him and his fellows. And once he and his followers had taken the Egyptian capital, they would turn on their newly acquired allies when their guards were down.

And then, without the threat from either kingdom, he could peacefully rule with Ryou at his beck and call. So long as everything went according to his plans.

By the time the two had reached the thief's quarters, a delightful smell wafted through the doors. Ryou, not a moment later, had let go of the larger arm and tore open the doors, breathing in deeply and closing his eyes in bliss. The strange spices were inviting and he could hardly contain himself. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see a small pit of fire in the middle of the room, lifted on top of stones, with their meal crackling on top of its flames.

Akefia's room was anything but simple like the pit of fire. The rest of the room was decked with gold, immeasurable amounts, which were in laid in unnecessary locations. Heaps of gold were piled in all corners of the room, a golden charter map was propped against the wall, and a golden scale held on both sides' piles golden flakes. The sides were equal, both seeming to strain against the other to prove that they were worth more than the other.

Ryou's breath was taken with all of what looked like family jewels thrown in random nooks of the room. Ringing out his hands, he felt unsure of standing in the room. There were more fineries in this room than he had seen in his entire life. The throne room and royal reserve of the Ishtar's included.

As one of Akefia's hands landed on his shoulder, he gasped, and he tried to promptly excuse himself from the room.

"I really should not be in here. I-I mean I thank you for the kind…invitation but just feel that I, um, well I don't know but-"

"Nonsense, I would like your company for the night and I insist that you stay." Despite Ryou's concerns, Akefia placed his hand at the smaller male's lower back and guided him to a two person seating arrangement beside the fire pit. "Are you not enjoying?"

"Excuse me?" Ryou was distracted by the hand still holding him in place, the intense fingers gripping gently at his side, to try to piece together the others words.

"You're not happy?" Akefia's eyebrows created a valley as a near snarl presented itself. "Why?"

"No! No, no, no." Ryou put his hand on top of man's large bicep, smiling up at him. "I just feel so small in comparison to your things. Like I shouldn't be in here with them."

"Wrong." Akefia swept his hand around the room, picking up a golden goblet and throwing it. "These are nothing but you are something. Stay."

The earnest way in which the foreigner said that had a flush creeping up Ryou's pale neck, reaching to burn the tips of his ears. He nodded, biting at his bottom lip because he did not know what else to say or do. He could feel Akefia pull him closer, pressing his lips against the shell of his ear.

"You mean more." Before he had the chance to regain his breathing, the larger body had pulled completely away.

Akefia shed his blood red robes and slipped out of his shoes, now only clothed in his skirts and the bindings around his waist. Crossing his legs, he sat beside the fire, stirring at the pot. He lifted the spoon below his nose, sniffing and smirking, placing the spoon back to stirring some more.

"It is almost time." He patted at the spot beside him, watching as Ryou carefully removed his own cloth shoes, contemplated on the rest of his dress just to leave it alone, and finally took the offered seat. Lifting the spoon again, he placed it in front of Ryou's lips. "Try?"

There was a hesitation before the boy blew at the steaming broth and brought his lips around the spoon. He leaned his head back as Akefia tilted the contents into his mouth. Regardless of all the palace foods he had ever encountered and of all the chefs he had ever loved, the spoon held more flavor than he could appreciate.

"Mmmm. That is delicious!" At the questioning glance from Akefia, he took the spoon and ate another bite, smiling. "It's very good."

Akefia grinned, nodding. "I am very good."

"You made this?" He was not sure why but the thought of this man not only knowing how to cook, but cooking so well, had never crossed his mind. Nonetheless, the large white head nodded. "Really?"

"I do not have servants to do everything for me, little dove." That also struck Ryou as strange. Perhaps it was his cultural ignorance, but he had assumed a man with as much power as Akefia would definitely have maids and butlers that did anything the man required. "Unlike your pampered princess."

The door to Akefia's room burst open to reveal to them an annoyed Malik, a sneer on his face. His arms were crossed, his nails pressing indents into his skin as his knuckles turned light. It seemed to take all of the strength that he possessed to not lose his cool and as he placed his hand against the doorframe, he exhaled.

"I'll have you know, thief, that I am quite fluent in your language and your charming words are more than enough to infuriate me." Lilac eyes drifted to Ryou and he smiled. "Now I think it's time to apologize to me and let Ryou know what you think of me."

Akefia settled into a deep laugh, slapping at his knee as the blonde stood fuming at the man. After biding his time, for the sake of decreasing Malik's mood further, Akefia transitioned his seemingly lighthearted demeanor into a cold glare. He looked to Ryou, resting a hand on top of the boy's knee. Taking notice of Malik's instant rigid stance at their bodies touching one another, he lightly rubbed at the fabric and leaned close to Ryou, whispering into his ear.

"Your prince is angry at me for keeping your company tonight." He caught the small gasp from Ryou when his voice dropped and shot a grin towards the blonde. "Seems to me he's too reliant on his night time companion and wants me to return what he claims is his. Am I really all that bad for company?"

"Well Ryou, while I said none of what that slimy bastard has told you, I really don't want you in his arms tonight! I thought you were going to stay-"

"Malik!" Ryou stood and placed his hands in front of his chest; his eyes looked betrayed and his lips pulled into a frown. "You're taking this too far. You cannot just disregard your brother or insult our guest. Just think a little before you start spouting out things because you heard something through a door. Besides, why were you eavesdropping outside the door?!"

"Are you kidding me Ry?" Akefia smirked, lying against the pillows that were surrounding where he and Ryou were sitting. He propped his leg up and poured himself a glass to drink. "You of all people shouldn't be taking up for my brother or this guy. I thought you were-"

"Were what Malik? You thought I was just another of your possessions that have no right to judge for themselves?" Sniffing, Ryou wiped at his nose and blinked away rising tears. "I would think you would not… be like the rest of them."

"I know you're not blind to him Ry!" Malik waved a frantic hand towards Akefia, staring down his nose at Ryou. "Just think for a bit would you?"

Malik reached out for the small pale figure only for his touch to be shied away from. He went to take a step forward, reaching for the trembling form only for his hand to be caught within a steel bronzed grip. Regardless of how Malik tried to rip his hand from the larger male's grip it was no use. Akefia finished the step that Malik wanted to take, breathing his heated breath into the small blonde's face.

"Think it's time for you to take your leave, princess." Malik looked towards his childhood friend, sad and upset with their quarrel. "Now."

"Ryou, I'm sorry for…" An exasperated sigh left his lips. "For whatever it is I said that hurt you."

"I think Akefia is right, your highness." Ryou never turned to meet the desperate purple hues. "It's late now and I think you should go."

Before he could respond, Akefia had dragged the young Ishtar towards the door, pushing him into the dimly lit hallway. Raising both of his arms, Akefia extended his body so that the shorter male could not get back into the room.

"Guess we'll both see you in the morning, little princess." Slamming the door in Malik's gaping face, he turned to his main concern. As he walked to stand behind the small fair boy there came a thud from the closed door. "What a temper, that one. Your friend is a little fireball."

Ryou nodded, wiping both of his palms against his face. Before he turned to face the older man he cleared out his throat. His small frame was still shaking from the built up emotions that he did not understand how to control. Akefia was loathe to look into those broken eyes when Ryou finally turned around. The deep brown irises were watery and bloodshot from his silent cries and straining to hold the tears in. The tip of his nose matched the bloodshot whites of his eyes and his cheeks still looked damp.

Considering his options for a few moments, Akefia threw any caution he should have had away, and reached to stroke the damp cheeks dry. Ryou looked surprised when the rough hands took ahold of his cheeks but then the gentle gesture caused his bottom lip to tremble. Biting his lip, Ryou struggled to regain control of his emotions.

"I-I am s-so so-rry for-" He was cut off when the large body abruptly pulled his slim frame against hardened muscle. "Akefia?"

"There is no need for you to direct your sorry at me. Just let me show you how real men should treat those special to them." The Egyptian's hold tightened around the lithe waist and he smoothed down the tussled light locks, weaving his hands into them to hold the other's neck close to his chest.

"Special to them?" Ryou looked towards the softening features on the other's face and gave him a small smile. When the gruff male returned his smile, he could feel his spirits lift. The hand in his hair felt wonderful and soothed his raging thoughts. Sighing, he could feel the blush from early that night come back full force when his face was pressed into the tight pectorals. "Thank you, Akefia."

As they stood in silence, the whitenette listened to the dull thumping echoing throughout the foreigner's chest and decided his verbal expression did not efficiently portray his thanks. Ryou caught the hand that was combing through his hair and brought it to his face, placing a chaste kiss to the back of Akefia's hand. He could think of no other way to show the other man how he did appreciate his kind words and finally decided that a quiet thanks would do better than any of his words. Akefia stilled his rubbing along the smaller male's back and watched the soft lips descend on his rough hand.

Resigned, he caressed Ryou's cheek and raised his face to meet his own gaze. Akefia's eyes lidded and he dropped his head so that the two of them were at perfect eye level with one another. Leaning further in he saw the small boy's breath catch but he continued closing the gap between them. Just as his lips were about to meet Ryou's, he tugged the dainty form closer, and settled his lips to the side of the boy's mouth. Akefia held his lips in place and noticed how Ryou' eyes widened before closing.

Taking the breathless boy's hand in his own, he pulled away. "Come, it is time to eat." All Ryou could do was agree.

xXxXxXxX

Malik paced within his chambers, his mental stability had been drastically threatened as it began to battle itself due to his run in with his best friend conceding with the thief. As soon as he had been kicked out of one of his own castle rooms, he could feel a darkening within himself. Resisting the temptation to burn the door to the ground, he punched the door with his fist before making his way back to his own rooms.

Because Ryou was not at his side there was no way that he would get any sleep tonight. Instead, he gave way to the restlessness of his body and mind by pacing around in circles. During his rounds, he resolved that there was no fathomable way he would allow the foreigner to poison his precious one's mind. Ryou, as naïve as the boy was, could not allow his self to succumb to the wistful promises that the Egyptian poured from his lips. But, since the man's black magic had already taken its course within Ryou, Malik knew that the full responsibility of saving the angelic boy was now completely resting in his hands.

Malik chuckled, toying at the rod that rest on his hip, and decided that there was already a course of action available to him if the foreigner refused to halt his advances on the boy. This course of action was one that his brother had recently given to him upon his return from his most recent travels. Plucking the rod from its sheath and delighting in the shimmer of gold that caught his eye, he noted that Marik always seemed to know when to give the best gifts.

Glad you got this far! I'm wondering now what everyone thinks! How are the characters portrayed to you? Justly? Who/ what do you want to see more of? Before you say it, the smut will be for sure in the next chapter. :D Atem? Malik? Marik? Anyone else? I will introduce the pharaoh's domain soon so let me know.

R&R, Fav, and Follow to see the drama continue!

-Madz