When Kanika awoke, she wasn't faced with the visions of the afterlife she'd expected or even the sandy clay ceiling of her underground domain, but a intricate series of mosaic tiles. Her body was cold from her waist up; she had no idea where she was or really any recollection of what happened. However, when she sat up in bed in alarm, the searing pain that shot through her body was a quick reminder. She gasped in shock and eased herself down onto her bed, groaning pathetically.

"Take it easy," a woman's voice cooed. "It is just nice to see she awake."

She rolled her head to the side and found that a young woman, a priestess from the Temple of Ra to be exact, was passing a cloth through a wash basin. It ran red with diluted blood. Looking down at herself, she saw her side had been wrapped in linen bandages, like the ones she used to wrap up her arms. Her chest was covered too, to conceal her womanly parts. "Where am I?" she asked, her mind still fuzzy from the pain.

She smiled kindly, but something about the smile seemed forced and her eyes (which she read carefully) didn't look like she wanted to be there. Not too mention she looked deathly familiar. "You're in the palace infirmary and you have been for two days."

Her eyes widened. "Two days?! Wait, where are the maps?" she tried to prop herself up on her elbows, surveying the room for her belongings. In the corner she spotted her blood stained shirt, weapons, gold and treasure but no maps. Panic set in and she turned to the priestess harshly, forgetting all the care she had given her for the past forty-eight hours. "Where are they?" she hissed.

"They are where they belong, with the Priesthood, with the palace," came a knowledgeable, cold tone. There in the doorway stood the High Priest Seth. He leaned his body against the door frame and nodded to the priestess. "Krisitana, you may leave now. Your kindness won't go unnoticed."

She bowed to him and left the two of them be, gathering up the dirty cloth and bandages.

Seth came over to the bed and sat next to her. She shuffled over sluggishly because it hurt so much and he helped her sit up straight. She wasn't expecting his warm hand on her back and jumped, startled. "I'm changing your bandage," he soothed even if it was a little acrid. He started to unwrap the bandage, back to front and her stomach churned nervously as it got closer to her breasts. "We can't allow a thief to have the maps, especially those maps," Seth stated, coming to the last bit of linen. It turned out that her chest piece was separate from the rest, which was relieving. "How did you get them anyway?"

She remained silent and he respected that. she were too busy wincing in pain as he cleaned out her wound with some kind of cold concoction.

"Listen, I can see she went through Anubis and back for these scrolls - "

She interrupted him crassly. "I will have those scrolls Seth."

He shook his head and he could tell he was frustrated for when he was wrapping her back up, he bumped into her cut roughly and she let out a yelp and a growl.

She stayed in the infirmary for another day and a half. One night Seth came to check up on her and the bed was empty, her stuff had been gathered up and there was no sign of Kanika anywhere. He was expecting something like that, so it didn't come as much of a surprise. He huffed, threw his hands in the air in defeat and stomped off. Little did he know she hadn't even left the palace yet, but moving quietly between its halls in search of the maps. She had a general idea as to where the treasury was and knowing where the general location of the pharaoh's room was, she could find her way.
The guards were no issue to sneak passed and she was on the top floor of the palace in no time. She ventured the hall, admiring the statues and architecture used to put together the royal quarters. There were rooms upon rooms, many without locks or doors but she did pass a room whose door had been left ajar, merely a crack. She heard voices coming from inside and stopped to listen due to her curious nature. She recognized the first voice instantly as the Pharaoh Atem's having sat in on many of his announcements and the other was vague, but she knew it. It was a girl's voice, a fair one like the priestess that had looked after her. After careful deliberation, she concluded that it was hers!

"What is he doing with a priestess? A common wealth?" she pondered to herself. The temptation was too great. She felt obligated to eavesdrop.

They proceeded to talk amongst themselves, whispering in a tone barely audible to her. The Pharaoh was speaking now. He said, "It can be a secret engagement . . . no one has to know."
The priestess was silent for a moment before replying anxiously, "But, my brother and your place on the throne?"

"It doesn't matter, I love you, Krisitana . . ."

She gasped, taking a startled step back. Knocking into a plant behind her, it wobbled and scraped along the wall before she quickly grabbed a hold of it. She heard footsteps coming towards the door and the tall shadow of the Pharaoh emerged from the room.

"Who's there?" he snapped, flicking his head from one side to the other trying to catch a glimpse of the eavesdropper, i.e. Kanika, but by that time she had scurried into a shadowy veil. He ducked back into the room, shutting the door behind him and it clicked, signalling it had been locked.

Bolting from her clever hiding spot, she hurried down the hall. The treasury was well in sight and coming up to the door she picked the lock with her trusty dagger. As tempting as it was to go after the many other riches inside, she know with her injured side it would be difficult to do much else than carry the maps. Once she had stolen the maps back, the security in the palace would be on heavy alert and make it that much harder to ever rob it again. After locating the scrolls, she made a swift exit over a balcony at the end of the hall, down the side of the palace and finally landed in the garden. She was clear from then on. Hastily she ran across the yard, throwing herself over the stone wall. Now, where would she hide the scrolls? Surely she couldn't bring them back to her quarters . . . Seth was too nosey but what if she did hide it somewhere in the Temple of Ra? So complicated it might just work . . .

Her side throbbed as she navigated through the dark. The bandages were drenched with warm blood. Deep down she knew she shouldn't have gone out, but soon enough she was faced with the familiar locked door to her quarters. The scrolls had been safely tucked away beneath the altar, carved from gold the shape of Ra but she knew it wouldn't be long before Seth came for she and the scrolls, only to find her quarters free of evidence.

Bending down and feeling through the dirt for a specific rock she found it was moved when she couldn't locate it right away. That was slightly suspicious but she figured that maybe Seth had been down earlier. The pitch black made it difficult to do much and the burning pain shooting through her wounds made her head dizzy and in turn, confused. Finally her hands wrapped around a dummy rock about a meter from where she left it and she shook it, hearing the key to her room inside. Popping off the top of the rock, she inserted the key in the lock and pried open the door. Before she even had the door closed, she felt a strong force fly into her, pinning her torso against the cold, stone wall.
An excruciating yelp escaped her lips. A warm, sweet breath invaded her ear and a seething voice followed.

"Where are they, love?" The voice belonged to a man. He sounded impatient and enforced his impatience as he pressed against she, not oblivious to her soaking gash.

Between gasps for air, she pleaded ignorance. "Where are what, Bakura?" Dragging his name out that way made her gesture icy.

He smirked against her ear, amused. Then she felt something cold rest on the skin of her neck. "Don't be like this, Kanika. I know you better than that..." His tone was smooth. He took a deep intake of her smell, brushing his cheek against hers and chuckled. A shudder shot through her. "You're no use to me dead. At least, right-" Bakura stopped and removed his gaze from wherever it was to the crack between the door and the frame. Holding the blade tighter to her throat now, he whispered so quietly she barely heard him even if he was less than a centimetre away.

"Not a word, love." His hand slid over her mouth and he shuffled, holding her to him with an iron grip, along the wall into a dip which the door would close on when opened.

She heard the familiar clang of the guards boots hurry down the hall towards her small cavernous home. Seth must have revealed her position. They burst through the entry way with torches, illuminating the room in golden light.

"She isn't here..." Seth muttered angrily. "Neither are the scrolls."

Someone else spoke. He sounded husky and grunted with frustration. "Well, you leading us here might just have saved you, Seth. Hiding a thief is a criminal offence. You're lucky the Pharaoh favours you."

She was sure she could feel the two glaring daggers at each other. Their shadows stretched from the door to the wall but they vanished as soon as they had entered. The light faded until once again she was plunged into an unnerving darkness, or it was unconsciousness finding her again. Her body went cold and limp in his arms.
"You wench..." Was all she could make out from Bakura's rant.