Disclaimer: We do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters, they belong exclusively to Kazuki Takahashi. We do, however, own our charcters Kora and Valeria.
As it turned out the duo made it before the week was out, their journey taking about three days. Their mounts were exhausted, as they had ridden them hard the entire way, only stopping for short amounts of time at various intervals. But they had finally arrived at their destination, the city in which the pharaoh's palace was located.
As the pair preferred to move at night, they had rented a room in a shabby inn using some of the money that they were provided with for their trip. The tired horses had been stabled nearby for a small fee where they could rest until it was time for them to depart again. The pair figured it would take about a day to complete their mission; hopefully less if they were able to get in and out of the palace quickly.
At the moment the thieves were locked up in their rented room, devising a plan and biding their time until nightfall when it would be easiest to infiltrate the heavily guarded palace.
Kora paced the small room anxiously and Valeria took up a position on the bed. "It would be best to make a plan now," she stated as she came to a stop beside the window, watching the Sun begin its slow descent.
Valeria nodded in agreement. "How are we going to get in?" she inquired. "There are guards everywhere throughout the palace, but I'm sure there must be at least one window or balcony that isn't guarded that we could climb through," she said with a sigh as she wrapped a scratchy blanket around her shoulders. She glanced up at Kora who seemed to be deep in thought.
The blond nodded. "We're thieves trained under Thief King Bakura and probably some of the best out there besides him," she said with a grin and a wink. "I'm sure we can find a way in, even if it means having to move at rooftop level. We could even race over them as we used to do," she said as she plopped down onto the hard bed beside her friend.
Valeria grinned at the idea. "Sounds like a plan. Shall we get on with it, then? The sooner we get this over with the sooner we can get back and you can let Bakura make good on his promise," she said with a smirk and then giggled.
Kora face-palmed. "I never should have told you about that," she said with a laugh. "As soon as Ra sets we'll find the easiest building to scale and go from there. Sound good?"
Valeria nodded, a wide grin pulling at her lips. So the pair sat and watched as the Sun God made his slow descent. The sky had darkened significantly by nightfall. Valeria stood and wrapped herself in her black cloak that would allow her to blend into the night.
Kora moved to the other side of the room and began to strip off the simple linens that she wore and dress herself in the same simple black robe Valeria donned. She reached back and tied her bright hair back and covered it with the hood of her cloak, knowing that if the strong moonlight reflected on her blond locks they could be caught. Finally she pulled a black cloth around her face to cover everything but her eyes.
"Do we have everything?" she asked, tightening the cloth around her waist so the robe wouldn't fall open as she moved.
"I have my dagger," Valeria said as she gestured to the sheathed dagger that was secured around her thigh. "Do you have the dagger our lord gave you?" she asked as she stood and adjusted her clothing so that it covered her weapon but made it easily accessible.
Kora nodded and pulled up her robe to show her dagger strapped to her thigh in a similar fashion to Valeria's. "And of course I still use this," she said with a grin, revealing the coiled whip that was concealed against her hip.
She always carried it on her, gaining possession of it the first day that she had joined Bakura's band of thieves. It was the very same whip that was used to murder her parents a few years back when she was fifteen. Bakura had been there, just passing through on his way to his next raid most likely, and had slit the man's throat before robbing him of any and all jewels and fine linens the man had been carrying. She had snagged the whip from the fallen man and followed the Thief King, and he had allowed her, probably thinking that she would tire of following him within the hour and give up.
But she hadn't. She worked hard everyday training herself to use the weapon of her parent's destruction, and eventually the Thief King had seen her potential and made the decision to personally train her. That had been three years ago, and now at the age of eighteen, Kora still held onto her preferred weapon.
"Off we go then," Valeria said with a grin as she leaped onto the narrow ledge of the window and scanned the area for any building suitable enough for their purpose. It didn't take her long to spot a decent one that was just shorter than the palace walls. She launched herself off the window's ledge and onto the nearest rooftop, Kora following suit. The pair made their way across the tops of the buildings and closer to their destination, each leap bringing them nearer and nearer to the palace wall, and the closer they got the higher the buildings reached.
As they ran Kora couldn't help but be reminded of the early days after joining Bakura's group. She and Valeria had met soon after on their way through an abandoned village, and she had begged and pleaded the Thief King to take her in. He accepted grudgingly. Not long after Valeria had begun training with Kora. The pair had enjoyed to race atop roofs and spar each other, honing their skills and yet still enjoying each other's company, laughing until they hurt sometimes.
Once they were close to the palace they came to a sudden halt and crouched down low on the roof they perched on so as not to be seen.
"Looks like its surrounded," Kora whispered, her voice muffled by the cloth covering her mouth, which she decided to remove to make breathing easier.
"Seems like it," Valeria agreed. "We need a distraction. Throw something in the other direction to lead the guards away from that window over there," she instructed as she pointed to a small window with only one guard standing watch inside. It must not be a very important room to have only one guard, she thought wryly.
Kora glanced around in search of something they could throw, but unfortunately they didn't have access to much from on top of the roof. Doing the only thing she could, she quickly pried away one of the clay tiles from the roof. "Will this do?" she asked with a grin.
"It should, it's likely to at least get their attention," Valeria answered and nodded in the affirmative. She watched the one guard standing at his post, his back to the window. Moron, she thought. He's leaving himself exposed.
"This is the fun part," Kora snickered. She chucked the tile as hard as she could to the right of where we were, right beside one of the many entrances to the palace. She grinned with satisfaction when she heard the resounding crash of the tile shattering. They waited in silence for a moment, and that was all it took for cries of alarm to begin filling the air and all the nearby guards swarmed the entrance, including the one who was posted at the window they had their eye on.
"Let's move while we have the opportunity," Kora urged, running stealthily over the remainder of the roof until they reached the palace wall. One after the other they leaped the short distance to the wall. "Whoever built that building must have just been asking to help people like us sneak in to the palace," she almost sighed. Using a similar method to reach the window, the girls leaped and caught hold of the sill and hoisted themselves up and into the small room on the inside.
"We're in," Valeria sighed. "Now what?"
"Bakura said that one of the high priests holds the item we seek," Kora recalled as she glanced around the room wearily, finding no immediate threat. "If I'm not mistaken, they should be with the Pharaoh or at least somewhere nearby, and I would assume he would be in the throne room," she elaborated. "Now how to get there without being noticed?"
Valeria glanced around the room they were in. It looked to be part of the servant's quarters, being able to house about four people comfortably. "Search the room, there may be some servant's garb we could disguise ourselves in."
Kora nodded in agreement. "I didn't think this job would include stealing clothes," she joked. "I thought we were after a valuable item." She quickly scanned the room and almost immediately found a heap of servant's garb, luckily in the female style dress. They must have stumbled into the women's quarters, and she briefly wondered why a male guard had been in the room. "Here, change," she said, tossing Valeria one of the simple white gowns.
The pair stashed their black robes away in the room; knowing they would need them later and only hoping they could find their way back to the same room again. However both girls kept their weapons strapped to them, now concealed beneath the white clothes.
Valeria reached up and ruffled her hair and rubbed some dirt onto her hands to make it appear as if she had been busy cleaning something. Kora followed the younger girl's, though only by a year, lead with mussing her hair and streaking her hands with grime.
The brunette opened the door quietly and glanced around the hallway before stepping out, Kora moving so close behind she could have been her shadow. "We don't have much time before the guards realize they've been tricked, if they haven't already," she pointed out, motioning for the blonde to follow her as she moved down the long stretch of hallway.
They tried to hurry down the halls without being too obvious, keeping their movement deliberately slow even though they both wanted to move faster. However once they noticed how other servants were scurrying by and already gossiping about a possible intruder they realized that they didn't have to move so slowly. Still keeping their heads down so as not to draw unwanted looks, they drew closer to the interior of the palace, and they realized that more and more people were about, so they must be close to the throne room.
"Are you ready?" Kora whispered to her companion as the throne room doors finally came into view.
Valeria nodded, following close behind the blond. "Let's do this and get it over with," she answered. "How are we going to get the item and get out of the palace undetected?" she wondered aloud, bowing her head as another servant passed by who didn't even spare them a second glance.
Kora shrugged. "Just follow your instincts; it's never failed us before. Here," she said, handing Valeria one of the empty trays that had been sitting on the floor, probably dropped in the haste of another servant to see what all the commotion was about. "Remember, we have to play the part. Be humble, show respect, and don't look anyone in the face. We should be fine." She took a deep breath to steady herself and grabbed a tray to carry before pushing one of the large doors open just enough for the two of them to squeeze through.
The brunette followed the blond into the room, a light flush coloring her cheeks. She had the peculiar feeling that there was something they were doing that wasn't quite how servants did things around the palace, but dismissed the thought as soon as it came, knowing it was better not to doubt oneself at a time like this. She glanced around quickly, never once raising her head.
Guards everywhere and nobles assembled throughout the room. What had Bakura been thinking?
"Don't fall behind," Kora whispered urgently to her friend. She walked slowly and kept her head lowered respectfully, hoping that the other thief would follow her example. She allowed her eyes to flick up, hidden only by her bangs, and scan the room once. It didn't take her long to notice the regal form sitting upon the throne, surrounded by a group of six. "Shit," she cursed, "the Pharaoh." She grabbed her fellow thief's hand and pulled her off to the side of the room so that they weren't glaringly obvious in their discomfort.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Valeria inquired, trying to regain her balance after being tugged away so abruptly.
"I wasn't expecting the Pharaoh himself to be here, and I can't see what's going on," Kora growled in response. "Judging by the amount of important people in the room and the lack of servants, I have a feeling we're not supposed to be here right now," she murmured. "It could be easier for them to spot us if we make a wrong move."
Oh how right she was, the pair stuck out beyond belief.
Suddenly a loud voice bellowed, "You there, behind the pillar, show yourselves!"
Kora flinched at the sound of his voice. "Fuck," she spat.
Valeria growled quietly as she and Kora stepped out from behind the pillar to get a look at who had caught them. Most everyone was turned to face them, but there was one guard in particular who glared as he took several steps in their direction. He must be the one. He was taller than either than them and well built. Alone he would be no match for the two of them, but surrounded as they were they had no chance.
"Don't resist," Kora whispered, taking Valeria's hand and leading her to the center of the room and kneeling in a bow, pulling the other thief down with her, the trays tucked under their arms. "Excuse us," she said, her head bowed low. "We simply wished to know if the Pharaoh and his priests require any refreshments," she explained, hoping that her assumption about the six gathered around the pharaoh was correct and that her excuse would be enough. Valeria said nothing in response, just went along with the act Kora had started.
The guard who had spoken earlier began to speak, "Servants are not allowed," was all he was able to say before he was cut off by a new, baritone voice.
"I think some refreshments are in order, thank you," the new voice spoke. Both girls glanced up to see that the pharaoh had risen from his seat to speak. He sat down again, waving off whatever the guard had begun to say again.
Kora nodded, rising and pulling Valeria up with her. As they turned to leave a new voice rang out. "Stop," it ordered, obviously a male's voice. They froze instantly, Kora's gaze slipping over to Valeria for reassurance. Footsteps echoed across the room as an unseen figure approached. "Show your face," he commanded.
Both turned as ordered, Valeria's cheeks taking on a familiar flush when she saw that the owner of the voice held a Millennium Item, though she dared not look at his face just yet. "Yes, my Lord?" she asked almost timidly, trying to play the role of a humble serving girl.
The man that stood before them was tall and dressed in robes of blue and white and a headdress that resembled that of a high ranking priest. The item clasped in his left hand was a long, golden rod, one that Kora recognized instantly.
The Millennium Rod.
This must be one of the pharaoh's six priests, Kora thought with horror.
He was a bit paler than the others in comparison and his eyes were a startling cobalt blue, a rarity in Egypt, especially if one was Egyptian born.
"Who are you?" he questioned, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
Kora mentally cursed. "Just mere servants, my Lord," she lied.
Valeria remained silent, real shyness overcoming her this time as she gazed almost openly at the man before her. His eyes seemed to be what caught her attention the most. Her voice caught in her throat, rendering her unable to speak. She silently agreed with Kora's words by nodding.
The priest's eyes narrowed further. "I've never seen either of you around before, and we haven't taken on any new servants in some time," his voice was steady and sure as he spoke. He held up the Millennium Rod towards them, and it began to shine brightly enough to momentarily blind them. Kora cursed quietly when she realized what he was doing.
He's looking into our minds! She thought desperately.
"You're lying," he suddenly declared. "Guards!" he bellowed, and suddenly they were swarmed by a multitude or armed guards, forcing them to the ground.
Despite knowing that she was not near strong enough to take them, Valeria tried to fight back, managing to grab her dagger that was still strapped to her leg and cut one of the guards deeply, though she didn't know where. "Get off me!" she hissed savagely.
Kora sighed mentally, knowing that their cover was blown. More guards rushed in, pinning the girls and immobilizing them before beginning to search them for weapons. It became obvious that one of them was enjoying this activity a little too much, when even after he had confiscated Kora's blade he continued to rub her thigh. "What the Hell do you think you're doing?" she snapped, gritting her teeth against the urge to lash out at the guard.
Valeria was receiving similar treatment buy two guards who were less discreet about their actions, one fondling her chest while another began to sneak his hand beneath her linens. "Get your hands off me, you filthy pig!" she screeched as she tried to kick at one of the guards.
Kora growled to herself in irritation. This is getting real old real fast, she thought to herself. Luckily they had not yet found her whip, still coiled tightly against her hip. Faster than the guards could see, she forced her arm out of another guard's hold and snatched her whip, snapping it out in front of her long enough to momentarily startle the guard closest to her. She cracked the whip again, this time catching the wrist of one of the guards harassing Valeria and jerking it back quick enough to break the bone. She snapped it again, this time striking the guard behind Valeria in the shoulder and knocking him off balance so that he fell back.
Her moment of freedom didn't last long, as she was pinned again, this time making sure to remove the whip from her possession, leaving her and Valeria utterly defenseless, other than their bare hands, which were no match for the amount of guards restraining them.
"Sorry, Valeria, I tried," Kora said with a weak smile.
Valeria returned the half-hearted smile. "It's alright, Kora. You did what you could." All formality gone, she looked up into the eyes of the high priest that wielded the Millennium Rod with interest.
He, on the other hand, was watching as the pharaoh rose and approached him. "High Priest Seto, what did you see?" he asked, referring to the vision the priest had seen when he looked into the minds of the two subdued thieves.
Kora barely suppressed a gasp when she finally laid eyes on the pharaoh as close as he was. She hadn't expected him to be so young or so attractive either. There was no way this was the same man that had ordered the destruction of Bakura's village or the slaughter of his people. None the less, she couldn't help but stare at him in awe, her cheeks burning with a blush.
"Thieves, my Pharaoh," the high priest responded. "Part of Bakura's band," he said with obvious distaste as he glared at them.
"What do you propose we do with them?" the pharaoh asked his priest, glancing at the two females as if debating what the best choice was.
While the two men were distracted, Valeria allowed her gaze to once again slip up to wander over the figure of the high priest. Seto, is it? She thought to herself with interest. She allowed her eyes to rake over his features, taking everything in from his startling blue eyes to his strong jaw and sculpted arms before she finally realized what she was thinking and tried to push the thoughts away.
Kora, on the other hand, couldn't suppress the shiver that raced down her spine at the sound of the young pharaoh's rich, deep voice, unlike anything she had ever heard before.
The high priest smiled, which was defiantly not a good sign for the poor girls. "Until the mess outside is cleared up, I suggest we hold them in the dungeon."
That caught Valeria's attention. She did not like the sound of being held in a dungeon for any amount of time. "My Lords," she interrupted boldly, "we were only doing what was necessary to prevent Bakura from killing us," she lied, trying to force herself to believe the tale as well in case the priest decided to peek into her mind again.
"It matters not," Seto replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. He turned away without another word. Almost casually the guards lifted them and carried them away as if it was something they did on an everyday basis, which they probably did.
They were thrown none too gently into one of the many cells in the palace's dungeon, but they made the mistake of letting them stay together.
"What do we do now?" Kora asked softly when the guards had moved away and taken up posts near the dungeon entrance.
"I don't know, Kora, I really don't," Valeria answered with a sigh. "I'm sure Bakura will figure out something went amiss when we don't return within the next few days. Until then there is nothing we can really do."
Kora sighed, knowing that what Valeria said was true. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them, suddenly finding herself quite tired. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep, Valeria following suit soon after.
Author's Note: Alright well there is chapter two. Hopefully a bit more interesting than the last one, and quite a bit longer as well.
Review and let us know what you think =]
