Hey everybody! Sorry that I haven't updated in a while. If you read the latest chapter of my other story, Summer Love, you will know the reason why. But if you don't know, I will tell you anyway. I had a writing class for two semesters that required a lot of my spare time since I had to keep on writing different types of essays, and the class essentially turned me off from writing my own stories, so that's it. But, now I am back! I won't update every week but I will update more frequently. So without further ado, enjoy the chapter!
P.S I forgot to explain this small fact last chapter. The chair that the kid was sitting on is called a king carrier. I think there is another name for it, but basically it's that chair that servants carry.
P.S.S Alexandria was not named "Alexandria" until Alexander the Great conquered that city. He conquered Egypt at that time and since Atem and Yuugi are the rulers in this story that means that the city wasn't called that, but I will leave it since everybody knows it.
Yuugi stared longingly out of her bedchamber window with her head resting on her folded arms on the window sill. She sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time, waiting for any sign of Jou's arrival. For the remainder of the week, she assisted her husband on their royal responsibilities, but she mostly stayed inside the bedchamber, waiting for any news regarding Jou. Because Yuugi still worried about him, she ordered her kite, Isis, to follow him and not to return until Jou was near the palace. So now, not only was she waiting Jou, but Isis also.
Yuugi raised her head when she heard a familiar shrill cry. She saw a black and white object coming her way super fast before it swooped in (nearly clawing off her hair if Yuugi hadn't duck fast enough) and landed gracefully on a bird stand, materializing into Isis. Yuugi shook her head fondly at her avian friend. Sometimes she could be such a show-off.
The pale queen looked outside again and saw a trail of dust trailing behind a brown horse, who she immediately knew was her horse, Peter, which meant that Jou was returning.
Yuugi hastily bur carefully jogged out of the bedroom and headed to the throne room. Fortunately, Atem just finished as he was walking out with his council members.
He looked up as he saw his wife running to him. Atem caught her in his arms. "Yuugi, be more careful. What's wrong," he asked with concern.
He inwardly panicked for a second, thinking that something was amiss, but Yuugi's smile quickly alleviated his assumption.
"Sorry, but I came to tell you that Jounouchi has returned. He's almost here."
Atem nodded. "Good. I'll tell Mahad and we shall convene in his chambers."
Yuugi nodded then walked to the stables at a slower pace. Once she found Jou, they briefly greeted each other and raced to Mahad's chambers.
Everybody settled in and Atem went straight to business. "Are you certain that nobody saw you," he asked Jou.
"Yes, Atem. I managed to infiltrate Dartz's palace with little difficulty."
"And were you able to gather information about the child," Mahad asked.
"Yes, though it's just one tiny detail," Jou responded, sounding defeated.
Yuugi placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's alright. Anything can help, no matter how small it is."
"Yeah, but still. Anyway, the child isn't real. It was created in a dark ritual."
Yuugi, Atem, and Mahad were silent at the alarming news. Yuugi spoke up. "How? It looked so real."
"I couldn't believe it either, so I investigated it further. I managed to find the kid's room and snuck in. I thought it would have sensed my presence but it didn't. I had a feeling that something was wrong, so I went to look at his face. His eyes were completely blank, like there was no spark of life in them. It's just a body, no soul in it."
"Well, if the child isn't real and was created, then we should attack Dartz while we have the chance," Atem said. He sounded upset and angry at himself for not realizing this out sooner.
"Atem, let's not be too hasty," Yuugi calmly placated her husband. "I want this to be over as soon as possible too, but Dartz still has an advantage. The child may not be real to us, but it will be real to the people if it's exposed. We still can't risk attacking Dartz."
Atem cursed under his breath but completely understood his aibou's rationale. He just hated feeling powerless and not being able to do anything to protect his people.
"Is this all you were able to find, Jounouchi," asked Mahad.
"Yes, but I heard that Dartz has a scroll about that specific dark ritual. I wanted to retrieve it, but it was in his private chambers. I didn't want to risk getting caught."
"It's fine, Jou," Atem replied. "You did a great job finding this much information."
"But if there is a scroll, there must be another copy somewhere else," Yuugi said thoughtfully. "Mahad, do you think that you might have one?"
"I highly doubt it, Your Highness," Mahad answered, crossing his arms. "Such a dark and vile art as this will not be in my possession, but I will check the palace's library."
"Even if Mahad doesn't have it," said Atem, "it is unlikely that that scroll will be found in our library."
"And it most certainly doesn't exist in my palace's library," Yuugi said. "My mother made a law that forbids dark magic in my kingdom."
"So, where else can we find it," Jou asked.
Yuugi perked up as an idea popped into her head. "Alexandria! The whole city is filled with knowledge, especially the Great Library. A copy of the scroll is bound to be there, or at least some scrolls related to it."
"That is a great idea Yuugi," Atem praised his wife, "but that might take a while. The library is huge and will take days to search through for just one scroll."
"Don't worry, Atem," Jou waved his hand dismissively. "I can handle it. I managed to sneak in Dartz's palace and find something in a day. It shouldn't be too hard for me."
"Are you sure that you want to go so soon, Jou," Yuugi asked him. "We can send someone else."
"Nah, it's fine. I'll feel incomplete if I don't finish this mission. I can leave right away if you guys want me to."
"No, Jou," Atem ordered. "You need some rest. But if you want to go so badly, then leave at dawn tomorrow." He turned to a window. "Ra is already setting."
Sure enough, the temperature outside felt cooler and the sand dunes turned from yellow to sunset orange. A few stars dotted the sky. The meeting ended and everybody retired to their bedchambers to get some well-deserved rest for the next eventful week.
So, Jounouchi left very early the next day to Alexandria. A week passed and Jou hadn't returned yet. During his absence, Mahad spent his spare time in the palace's library looking for the scroll just for the off-chance that it might be there, but no such luck.
A day after the week, Jou finally came back. He, Yuugi, Atem, and Mahad met up in Mahad's study chamber.
"Sorry that I'm late guys," Jou apologized. "It took longer than I thought to find the thing we need."
Atem picked up that Jou said "thing" instead of "scroll". "Did you find the exact scroll?"
Jou rubbed his head sheepishly. "Well, yes and no." He took out his bag and dumped its content on the table. A plethora of scrolls rolled on top of the table. "Unfortunately, there isn't another copy, Dartz has the only one. But, I grabbed some scrolls about the dark rituals, so it's bound to be in one of them."
Yuugi sighed. "Well, it's better than nothing."
The group rifled and searched through the scrolls until late into the afternoon. Mahad picked up the last scroll and unrolled it. He gasped lightly at what he saw.
"What is it, Mahad," Atem asked.
"I think I may have found it," he said, shoving the other scrolls aside and placing his scroll on the table. Everybody leaned down to get a better look. There was writing on the left margin and pictures demonstrating the steps.
Mahad interpreted the scroll. It says here that in order to create a person, you first need a dead body that is recently new. Second, grab certain ingredients that will make the body resemble liveliness. Third, get something from the person that you want your corpse to look like, then the body will transform to look like the exact person."
"That's awful," Yuugi said, flopping down on a chair, slightly shivering.
Atem hurried over to her side. "Are you all right?"
She nodded her head. "Yes. Just thinking about the child that Dartz might have killed in order to do this…" Yuugi stopped talking, unable to speak further. She protectively wrapped her arms around her round belly.
Atem knelt down and kissed her on the cheek. "I understand. Don't worry, nothing will happen to our baby. I promise."
Yuugi smiled at him. She could always count on her loving husband to reassure her.
"But, I can't believe this," said Mahad. "This is blasphemy. Creating people as if they themselves are gods. Whoever came up with this horrid ritual is horrible."
"Since the kid isn't alive, can't we just bury it or something," Jou asked curiously.
"We could, but Dartz will find the body eventually or create a new one," Mahad answered while looking through the rest of the scroll. "But there might be a solution. If the child was created by a dark ritual, then it can be destroyed by a godly ritual, which is a light ritual."
"That's great," Jou said. "Now, that we know what to do, what do we do next, seeing as we can't attack Dartz?"
"I have an idea," Atem spoke up. "We wait for him to try something. Since he knows that I won't attack first, he'll try to instigate me and I let him think that by falling into the trap. Then, I attack his palace in retaliation. In the conundrum, a team kidnaps the child, brings it back here, and performs the ritual."
"But, Dartz still has the original scroll," Yuugi brought up. "Like Mahad said, he'll just create another one."
"I'll destroy the scroll and defeat Dartz myself."
"Then it's settled," said Mahad, rolling up the scroll. "Atem and I will inform the council tomorrow. This conversation will not leave this room. If this gets out, the country will panic, and Dartz will be one step closer to getting what he wants. Jounouchi, return these scrolls to Alexandria at once, please."
"Yes, sir," Jou responded, already picking up the scrolls on the ground.
Thanks you guys for reading. Review please!
