~III~

The Royal Palace

High Priest Kamuzu stood in the garden, holding his Millennium Rod as he faced both Mahad and Nefertari.

"You two are both very lucky to have spellcaster blood," he told the pair. "There aren't many spellcasters left. Not after the war. I believe a bright future awaits the pair of you, since you are both of noble blood and spellcaster blood."

"Will we be able to use those cool items when we grow up?" Mahad asked his father, beaming with excitement.

"Perhaps," Kamuzu answered seriously. "The items choose the owner, but I believe you two will easily be chosen."

Mahad turned to look at Nefertari, still grinning. "Which item do you think will choose you?" Nefertari only shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know," she replied before shuddering. "I hope it's not the Millennium Eye. Blah!"

Kamuzu stood thoughtfully for a moment, thinking about Akhenaden and Seto. Seto was now far away from the city with Nephthys, likely to never return again. If he were still here, he would be the one most likely to inherit the Millennium Eye.

"What about your father's item?" Mahad queried. "The Millennium Ring?"

"It looks cool, but I still don't know," Nefertari answered. "I just don't like the Millennium Eye."

"All of the items are very powerful and require a lot of strength," Kamuzu explained. "You might see the eye as the most painful to have, but all of them can be painful if wielded incorrectly.

"How else can they be painful?" Nefertari asked, tilting her head. She was only aware of the concept of physical pain.

"You're too young to understand that much," Kamuzu said in response. "I'll teach you when you're older, but for now you must begin to learn basic magic if you wish to become powerful spellcasters. Are you ready?"

"Yes, father!" answered Mahad.

"Yes, Priest Kamuzu," Nefertari nodded with a smile.

...

Kom El-Avaris

"Man, I'm getting kinda hungry," said Caspar as he rubbed his grumbling stomach. "The stock from that last village really didn't last long. I thought food from a massacred village would have lasted longer..."

"We had plenty of it," Darius reminded him. "You just ate it all."

"There's gotta be another village near this place," Rashan theorized. "People or not, we've gotta find somewhere with food."

"I'm willing to butcher a cow myself, at this point," Caspar grumbled, flopping onto his front. "I'm starving."

"I often wonder if your stomach is just a bottomless pit, Caspar," Darius sighed, shaking his head. He then looked over at Bakura, who current lay curled up under Darius' discarded blue robe. "Hey, kid. You hungry?"

Bakura didn't respond, causing the three to look at each other. "He's still shaken up," Rashan reminded the other two quietly, "but he hasn't eaten much recently, so I bet he's starving."

"Yeah," Caspar agreed sadly.

"You're the one who ate all the food," Darius growled at him, only prompting Caspar to grin and shrug his shoulders. That's when Darius stood up. "Right. Looks like we're gonna have to go and look for food, then."

"Should one of us stay here and watch the kid?" asked Rashan, looking up at Darius. Darius shook his head.

"He's coming with us," he announced.

"Whoa, whoa, Darius, are you sure that's a good idea?" questioned Caspar as he stood up, a look of worry on his face. "That kid watched his entire village being slaughter a few nights ago. I don't think he'd want to see more bloodshed if we come across a village which hasn't been abandoned."

"That kid will never get over his trauma," Darius reminded Caspar, frowning. "He won't forget what those people did to his village. Either we raise a coward, or we make him face his fears. He needs to become what he fears most."

"I don't think this will help," Caspar admitted.

"Not at first," Darius added. "He'll still hate seeing villagers being slaughtered, but soon enough he will slowly begin to take joy in seeing death. He will have pent up rage which he wishes to release, and he will release it on any Egyptian he sees. The boy will become strong and merciless. If he doesn't... he won't live for much longer."

"I just don't think it's right," Caspar sighed. "I mean, he'll grow up to hate everyone."

"Good," Darius spat. "We're raising him as one of us, aren't we? We all hate the Egyptians. We're all greedy bandits who will do anything to get what we want. If he's going to be one of us, slaughter is something he's going to see a lot. Besides, it's better that he learns to fight anyone who stands in his way. What do you suppose would happen if little timid Bakura was stealing from a tomb, only to be caught by guards? He'd be caught and tortured, possibly even killed, because he'd be too afraid to fight back. He'd be afraid of the Egyptian soldiers. If he grows in emotional and physical strength, he will fight no matter how many wounds he receives. He will not hesitate to kill anyone who threatens him. That will be the Bakura who lives a long life, not the timid little boy who cowers and hides."

"Hm..." Caspar reacted, not knowing what else to say.

"Come on," Darius commanded as he approached the horses. "It's time for us to get some food before we all starve to death."

Rashan stepped over to Bakura, lifting him up but keeping him wrapped in Darius' cloak. He decided that he would be the one to hold Bakura while riding his horse.

...

The Royal Palace

Haku was sitting within the throne room, teaching himself to read and write. He was to one day act as a scribe for the Pharaoh, but to do that he first had to make sure he was using the correct symbols.

The young boy then spotted Nefertari's father, High Priest Masudah, walking through the large room, deciding to call him over. "Priest Masudah!" he called with a wave, catching the man's attention. "Can you check my writing? Please?"

Masudah stared for a moment before nodding his head, wandering over. "Still practicing to write, boy?" he asked him. Haku nodded his head proudly.

"I want to be the best scribe ever!" he chirped. "I will write about everything! Everybody will know about the Pharaoh!"

"Some things shouldn't be written about," Masudah warned him. "There are some things which must be kept a secret."

"Huh?" Haku responded, tilting his head curiously. "Like what?"

"You'll find out when you're older," Masudah sighed before smiling. "You're symbols are perfect, by the way. Very advanced for your age."

"Thank you," Haku thanked with a grin, quickly forgetting about the short conversation between him and Masudah.

"Nefertari and Mahad are outside," Masudah then said. "You can go and see them; they've just finished their magic lesson with High Priest Kamuzu."

"Okay!" Haku beamed, jumping up to his feet. "I'll do some more learning later!" And without, Haku skipped out of the throne room. Masudah watched him leave before continuing with his walk, where he merely approached Akhenamkhanen and told him that no trouble had been found in the city. On his mind, however, he was deeply concerned about the evil he could feel within the Millennium Ring. It was a sense of pain, hatred and fear; something which made Masudah feel uneasy.

Meanwhile, out in the garden, Haku ran over to Mahad and Nefertari, who were both happily playing together. Nefertari smiled and waved at him.

"Hello, Haku!" she greeted happily. Haku waved back with a grin.

"Hello!" he giggled. "Did you guys really get to learn some magic?"

"Yep!" Mahad answered proudly, his hands on his hips as he grinned. "We got to learn about how to use magic and we even learned a few spells!"

"Can you show me?" Haku pressed, intrigued.

"We're not allowed," Nefertari cut in. "Priest Kamuzu said we should never use magic for fun."

"Aw," Haku pouted. "It's still very cool!"

"It is," Nefertari agreed smugly, folding her arms. "It's really cool."

"I've been doing some more writing," Haku announced. "Priest Masudah said that I'm really good at writing for my age!"

"That's cool, too!" said Mahad.

"Not as cool as magic," Nefertari pointed out. Mahad nudged her arm.

"Don't be rude, Neffy!" he laughed. "It's still cool!"

"But it's just not as cool as magic," Nefertari smirked. Haku folded his arms and huffed, rolling his eyes. Mahad smiled and gave him a pat on the back.

"She always likes to be better than everyone else," he assured him.

"I heard that!" Nefertari pouted, putting her hands on her hips. Haku and Mahad just laughed together, and Nefertari eventually joined in.

...

Tel el-Montu

"There's a good place to strike," Darius said as he and the other two Persians looked at a distant village illuminated by torches. They had been riding for a few hours, so night had fallen.

"Three of us won't be able to fend off an entire village," Rashan pointed out. "The kid will only be a burden, too. Our best strategy is to burn the place to the ground."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Darius agreed. "It shouldn't be too hard, either; looks like there are plenty of torches waiting to be used, anyway."

"We can still make our own, if we really need to," Caspar pointed out.

"I doubt we'll need to," Darius shut down. "Come on." He spurred his horse on, letting it rear up before he galloped towards the village. Rashan and Caspar followed, with Bakura not really being aware of what was about to happen.

The trio stormed into the village together, instantly knocking down the torches which illuminated the small streets. The nearby houses, built from wood, easily went up in flames, and almost immediately the village was full of panicked screams as inhabitants fled their homes.

"That should keep 'em from paying much attention to us," Darius said quietly. "Grab what you can, boys, and kill anyone who tries to stand in your way."

The three men hopped down from their horses, with Bakura remaining upon Rashan's mount. The screams caused him to suddenly widen his eyes as he became fully aware of what was going on. He remembered the screams from Kul Elna. He remembered how everyone ran from the Pharaoh's guards. The memories even made him feel sick, and he could feel his body trembling violently. Where were the three Persians? Were they in danger?

Bakura spotted Rashan quickly leaving a house, reaching his small hand out for him. Was he being chased? Was someone going to attack him? Bakura was too frightened to call for him, fearing that someone would only come and kill him or turn him into gold, but then he spotted a woman following Rashan with a dagger. She looked terrified, but she let out a shriek and threw herself at Rashan, only to have the man swiftly turn around and bury his own dagger into her stomach. The woman spat blood as her eyes went wide, death written all over her face, and Rashan then kicked her to the ground almost without remorse as he carried away some goods he had stolen.

The sight made Bakura turn pale. He couldn't feel himself breathing anymore. Rashan was a monster. The Persians were monsters. They were killing villagers, just like how the Pharaoh's soldiers killed the inhabitants of Kul Elna.

Without even realising it, Bakura had fallen from Rashan's horse. He yelped upon impact, quickly stumbling up to his feet before he decided to run. He had to get away.

Caspar walked among the chaos quite calmly, returning to the three horses, until he caught sight of Bakura running away. He almost dropped what he was carrying, turning his head to look towards Darius, who had just killed a man armed with a sword. "Darius!" Caspar shouted. "Bakura's running away!"

"That little..." Darius snarled, marching past Caspar and dumping his own stolen goods at the other man's feet. "Watch my stuff. I'll get him." Darius then broke into a sprint as he darted after Bakura, easily being able to catch up with the small child. He grabbed him and lifted him up, only to have the boy squirm and scream in his grasp.

"Let me go!" he wailed, flailing his little legs. "Let me go! Let me go!"

"Shut it," Darius hissed, carrying Bakura almost painfully back to the horses. The young boy continued to struggle.

"You're bad!" he cried out. "You're horrible!"

"Bakura," Darius growled, but he wasn't heard over Bakura's yells and cries.

"I don't wanna be turned to gold!" Bakura howled. "MAMA! PAPA!"

"Bakura, listen to me!" Darius snapped, almost squeezing the child to get his attention. He held him with one arm, grabbing his head with the other and forcing him to look at the chaos. Bakura tried to close his eyes and look away, but he couldn't even keep his own eyes closed.

"Look at them, Bakura," Darius commanded. "Look at them. Some of these people are dead. They've lost their homes. They've lost everything they own. Why do you think that is?"

"Because you did it!" Bakura yelled angrily.

"Because the world is cruel," Darius corrected. "Your village wasn't the first to face slaughter. Many villages, in Egypt or Persia or any other land, suffer this fate. Bandits or foreigners or soldiers will kill to get what they want. That's the reality of the world, Bakura. Either you can be like them, living a peaceful village life until you are attacked and killed, or you can be like us, living a life which lasts much longer by showing that you are strong."

Bakura stared at the sight before him before tightly closing his eyes, shaking his head. "I don't wanna hurt people," he whimpered. "I don't wanna be bad!"

"You don't have much of a choice," Darius informed him. "The only good people who live long are the rich. They are protected. They have all the food and riches they need. They can only be robbed when they're dead. But for everyone else, living is not as easy. You have to work hard if you want to live through a single day, and for what? You won't be given a decent burial. You won't be remembered. You won't even live long enough to prepare for your journey to the afterlife. You'll be living a life of fear, wondering when you'll be the victim of slaughter."

Was that true? Was the world truly like this? Was this a world where the one rule was kill or be killed? It seemed likely. Bakura's own village fell at the hands of those who were supposed to rule the land, and Tel el-Montu was now falling at the hands of foreign bandits.

Bakura's crying gradually stopped as he stared at the sight, letting everything process and sink into his mind. His eyes glazed over as if his soul had suddenly left his body, and his expression went from frightened to empty. Nothing was there. It was like he had completely shut down.

Darius took this as a sign that Bakura had listened to his words, so carried him to Rashan and handed him over. "He's learning," he said quietly. "Let's get going, boys. Back to Kom El-Avaris!"

With that, the trio rode away back towards their village, with Bakura sitting still and silent for the entire journey.

...

The Royal Palace

Masudah spent the night squirming uncomfortably in his sleep. Ever since he became the owner of the Millennium Ring, he had been having vivid nightmares. He could see death. Blood. Slaughter. All he heard was screaming, and overlooking the entire scene was a large shadow of some kind of dark dragon-like monster with red eyes.

The man gasped sharply as he threw himself out of his bed, his eyes wide. It took him a few moments to register the fact that he was no longer in his nightmare, and he looked down at the pendant around his neck. This was what was causing him to have those nightmares, but why? Why was this item showing him something like that? There was nothing like that documented in history...

Unless this was something better left in the past.

...

Kom El-Avaris

The next morning, Caspar left the hut and stretched, exaggerating the action greatly before letting out a content sigh. It was a bright and sunny day, as usual, but he just seemed to notice it more.

Rashan followed Caspar outside and yawned tiredly. "A little early for you, Caspar," he mumbled. "Usually you're the last one to wake up."

"I felt refreshed after eating some of that food we stole last night," Caspar grinned. "It was some pretty good stuff."

"Yeah, but this stock is smaller than the last," Rashan pointed out.

"Which is why we'll be moving to the Capital," Darius announced as he stepped outside, catching the attention of the two men. They both turned to face him.

"Wait, what?" Caspar reacted. "You can't be serious, Darius! Won't the guards just slaughter us the moment we even try to step foot into the city?"

"All good bandits know that the front entrance is a no-no," Darius reminded him. "We'll sneak our way into the city, and we'll find a little place to stay. If the crime rates truly are as bad as I've heard, we should find a group in no time."

"The Capital is a long way from here, ain't it?" Rashan asked.

"We'll stop by some villages along the way," Darius assured, "and we'll be sure to leave our mark."

"Hm," Rashan reacted awkwardly. "When do we set off?"

"We should give it a few days," Darius planned. "We'll finish this stock, then we'll get moving."

"Does Bakura know about all this?" Caspar queried.

"He'll be fine," Darius reassured. "He's fairly quiet when we ride our horses, and he'll probably fall asleep on the journey, anyway."

"I guess you're right," Caspar agreed, shrugging. "He'll be fine."

"Hopefully..." Rashan muttered, looking towards the house the three had been staying inside. Bakura still hadn't awoken. Both Rashan and Caspar couldn't help but feel sorry for the boy, while Darius seemed much harder to read. Even so, moving Bakura to the capital would at least prevent the child from seeing anymore village slaughter.

~End of Chapter~