...

Angela swallowed as she locked eyes with the Jackals...she had seen many over the years. Sometimes they'd come into the garden and eat the vegetables or steal a chicken from the neighbors. But whenever that happened they'd be only one or two; not four or five looking at her like a prized catch.

A large one, the Alpha, bared it's teeth and growled as it poised to jump...but Oberon had a different idea. He turned and dashed off the path, making his rider press against his neck as branches hit and scratched her arms. She prayed that the wild dogs would be slowed down a bit...but she was sadly mistaken. Through the trees the young woman saw the Jackals running to catch up with her and Oberon; one even got close enough to snap at her leg. But Oberon rammed the Jackal into a near by tree with his flank, wounding it a bit.

The Jackal's clearly didn't want to lose a large meal...to them it was eat or starve. Angela knew that, but she had no intention of being torn to pieces. When she thought they had finally out run them, they cut them off!

Startled, Oberon reared up which made Angela tumble off his back for real this time. She landed on the sand and quickly got up, while un-sheathing the knife she remembered to bring. Her Godfather had taught her how to defend herself, not wanting Angela to feel like a helpless damsel. Once she reached the age of six; he taught her until she was seventeen. While she wasn't as skilled as him, the young woman mentally thanked him for his teachings.

One of the beasts went to bite her, but back off when the knife was swung in it's direction. Oberon kicked out at any Jackal that dared to take a chunk out of him; managing to keep them at bay for a bit. However, they started to close in...making it hard to move around.
Angela swiped at another Jackal who came too close, but the alpha tackled her to the ground and grabbed her hair in it's teeth. "Let go of me!" She yelled, cutting it across the mussel. It yelped, but didn't release her hair. A whinny made her turn and see Oberon being pushed into a corner, before another joined the alpha and bit the handle of the knife...ripping it from her hand. Then poised to jump on her. The young woman closed her eyes and waited for her end...but it never came.

Instead, there was a familiar roar and the yelp of the tow Jackals as they were knocked off of her. She opened one eye, and the other flew open at what-or rather who-she saw.

The Pharaoh!

He crouched on all fours as the Jackals put all their attention on him, instead of Oberon and Angela. He had seen the young woman run from the palace on the back of her horse; and wasn't going to go after her at first...but the cry/howl of the desert wolves made him think otherwise. He had summoned a Ka Spirit known as Sliver Fang, to find Angela quicker in the jungle...however, the Pharaoh's powers were limited to only the boundaries of the palace. When he had gotten too far away, Sliver Fang vanished.

And now here he was...putting himself between Angela and the hungry Jackals. the said canines snarled and the fur on their backs raised even higher as they glared at their new prey. In a heartbeat, they leaped on him; fighting with fang and tooth. The Pharaoh roared and ripped the animals off of him, tossing them to the side. Angela dashed over to Oberon and watched as the battle unfolded; there wasn't much she could do without her knife and there were no fallen branches to use as a club.

Wounds soon appeared on the Pharaoh's arms and shoulder, making him bleed. Plus he was starting to tire as the Jackals seemed to keep coming, even though there were only four or five. He tossed the alpha into a solid tree, making it yowl in pain and the other wolves back off. They turned and ran into the lush flora while their leader struggled to get up...clearly winded and scared. The Pharaoh panted and clutched his bleeding shoulder; he shot a glare towards the Jackal...meaning to finish the battle. Angela looked at the creature and then to the Desert Wolf. "Please, go back to your pack." She prayed. "Just go back to them..."

The Jackal looked at them both then turned and dashed into the deeper parts of the Oasis. It was then, that the Pharaoh collapsed to the wet sandy ground...tried from the pain of his wounds. Lines of cerise could be seen and his breathing was heavy.

Angela looked down the path that led out of the Oasis; with the Pharaoh wounded she could continue home and pretend none of this had ever happened. But...he had risked his life to save her. She couldn't turn her back on him and leave him to die from blood loss. The young woman carefully stepped over to the beast-like man, and placed her shawl over him. His eyes fluttered slowly open and, for a minute, neither moved.

"Can you stand?" She asked, speaking first.

He shakily got up, and got on Oberon's back with her help. Angela led the horse, by tying a thick vine around his neck, back to the palace. Every so often, she would check the Pharaoh to make sure he hadn't fallen asleep...and her body un-tensed when the palace came into view. The Giant Soldier Of Stone, who had been snoozing when Angela had bolted, woke up and helped lift the Pharaoh off of Oberon's back before opening the door. Seth was the first to see them return and ordered two strong Ka Spirits; Celtic Guardian and Flame Swordsman, carry him up to his room. He shot a glare at Angela, before Isis gently led the young woman to a chair. Which was smart because Angela started to shake all over.

Mahad came over with Seth to hear what happened...well, Seth stomped. Rage coming off of him like ocean waves.

"What in the Underworld, have you done?!" The Duos ordered. "Our lord is injured terribly and to top it off...you went into the Wing Of Ra! Give me one good reason I don't-"

"Enough, Seth!" Isis roared, wings spread in anger. "Look at her, she's scared-"

"I want to help."

They looked at her in surprise, as she got up shakily from her spot. Mahad hovered by her side in case she fell, "Miss Angela, you need to rest."

"It's my fault he got hurt...he saved me from the Jackals. I have to do this." Angela explained. "Please...let me do this."

"At least you take responsibility." Seth grumbled.

Isis shot him a look, before asking Angela, "What do you need, my dear?"

"I need warm water...Medical Herbs...clean rags and bandages...and a mortar if you have one." Angela listed. "Also, I need to go to your lord. If I'm to tend to him."

The Duos was about to say 'no' when Isis whapped him with her wing, allowing Mahad to bring Angela to the Wing Of Ra. As her legs were wobbly, he conjured up a magic circle that acted like a magic carpet for the young woman to ride. To which she was grateful. A roar was heard when they reached the foot of the stairs to the Pharaohs chambers; clearly the lord of the palace had woken up. Upon entering, Angela saw that the Ka Spirits had cleaned the bed, and adorned it with fresh sheets and placed their king on it. However, the pain of his wounds had brought him out of unconsciousness. Making him bare is teeth at his servants.

Angela stepped down from the floating circle, and went over to the bed. "You're safe, the Jackals are gone." She said, softly.

He looked at her and growled, before cringing as a new wave of pain shot through him. Isis came in with the things Angela needed, and placed them on a table by the bed. The young woman handed her wet shawl to Isis when she asked to take it, and dipped a clean rag into the steamy water after adding a teaspoon of a certain powdered herb. As she wrung out the extra water, Angela glanced up at the creature and saw him licking his arm. "Don't do that, you'll make it worse."

He growled at her once more, but she didn't draw back.

"Just stay still-"

A roar erupted from him when the touched his shoulder, making all cover their ears. Except Angela; for some reason it didn't scare her anymore.

"THAT HURTS!" The Pharaoh yelled at her.

Angela narrowed her eyes. "If you'd hold still it wouldn't hurt as much."

"Well if you hadn't run away, this wouldn't have happened!"

"If you hadn't frightened me, I wouldn't have run away!" She countered.

He snarled, before growling, "Well you shouldn't have been up here! You were told to stay away!"

Angela glared at him, her temper rising...but like before, she kept it at bay. He wanted to play this game? Well, that was fine with her. "And you should learn to control your temper. Further more, I didn't know that this was the Wing Of Ra. Plus, the only reason I came up here was because I heard a cry of pain. Being a healer; I couldn't walk away when someone needed help. Also, don't forget you chased and scratched me...instead of letting me explain why I was in your chambers."

He looked away when she mentioned her scratches; they were still visible, but not bleeding. An arrow of shame hit hard, and guilt rose within him. He shouldn't be feeling that yet he was...as he had been taught by his uncle to never feel guilty or sympathy. But...

"Now hold still, this might sting a bit." She said, placing the damp rag on his wound again. The Pharaoh grunted in pain, but didn't roar this time. A minute of silence past between them, before Angela cleared her throat. "By the way, thank you...for saving me."

The Pharaoh was surprised for a second, as it had been a long time since someone had said that to him. "...You're welcome."

Angela cleaned the wounds on his arms as best she could, also making an ointment to help them heal faster. Isis was impressed with the way she dabbed the ointment on each wound and cut, before bandaging the Pharaoh's arms. "Show me your hand."

He hesitated, then slowly brought it out from under the blanket. The cut from the broken wood wasn't deep, but it still looked painful. Plus there was a splinter of wood still in it. Carefully, Angela removed the piece of wood as to not hurt the Pharaoh further. "It's strange..." She thought, while bandaging his hand. "I was under the impression, that he had no feelings except anger and cruelty. But now that I look more closely; he does feel other emotions. Perhaps he forgot about them? Or is it that...he couldn't use those other ones?" Angela finished with his hand, then said to him, "I need you to lay on your side, so I can get the wound on your shoulder."

He turned over, too tired to refuse. His shoulder wound wasn't deep, but it still made Angela mentally cringe. She cleaned it before placing the re-soaked cloth upon it. A muffled whine of pain came from the creature, but he didn't lash out. Once it was finished, Angela gathered the things and handed them to Isis. But not before making a tonic to help with the pain, and held it out to him. "Here drink this."

The creature raised a brow.

"I'm not going to poison you, if that's what you're thinking. It'll only muffle the pain and help you sleep."

He would've yelled, but throbbing pain he was experiencing made him re-think and take the cup from her hand. Angela sat back as the creature swallowed the medicine in one gulp. In a few minutes, his eyes started to close.

Mahad led Angela to another side of the room, so they could talk quietly. "Thank you, miss."

"He should be ok, now. But he needs to sleep."

"As should you." Isis said, coming up beside them. "You need to get out of those wet clothes, before you fall sick."

Shada volunteered to watch over the Pharaoh until Isis got back from putting the things away. Mahad, meanwhile, took Angela back to her room. The sun was just peeking over the clouds, once she arrived back in her room. There the young woman slowly changed back into her nightgown, before falling on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. A shadow flew past the window, making her sit up in time to see a dragon with white scales hover by the balcony.

"Kisara?"

The dragon gave a nod, then gave a small sad growl.

"I know, I know...I shouldn't have worried you all. But I'm back."

Kisara gave another nod, then gestured her head at the rising sun. Angela seemed to know what she was trying to say. "Yeah, I should get some sleep. Talk to you tonight?"

A light growl and a nod was her answer, before Kisara left Angela to sleep.

:~*~:

In the Village, all lights were blown out. All except for the tavern; which had one oil-lamp still burning at a table, at which Bakura sat. He sharpened his knife with his feet on the table, without a worry in the world. Ryou sat at the other end, chin in hand while he sipped the last bit of the herbal tea he had made. He would have to thank her a thousand times for it, the next time he saw her. A shadow suddenly moved, and before Ryou could blink a knife was at his throat. "Help!"

"Wrong one." Bakura muttered, not looking up from his knife. "Thought you'd memorize which of us was which, by now."

Ryou blinked, eyes still wide. "Wha-?!"

"Kindly let my brother go. I'd rather not have to gut you right here."

A low chuckle was heard, and the shadowy figure pulled off the hood that had covered the face. Revealing a man with dirty blond hair, a nose that looked like it had been broken once and eyes gleaming like a fox. He wore grey clothes and a black vest with black gloves. "You could never gut me, Bakura. You know that." He sat next to the ex-thief, with a smug smirk.

"Been a long time, Keith. I thought you were killed, after you got caught cheating at cards."

"Ha! As if, they couldn't catch me if they tried." He leaned back in his chair. "So, the note you sent said it urgent...at least I think that's what it said. Hard to read what you wrote; were you drunk when you wrote that?"

Ryou coughed to cover a laugh, but it didn't escape his brother's notice. While Ryou shrank away a bit, Bakura turned back to Keith. "I may have had a drink or two...but to the point, I need your help with something. There's a young lady I've been trying to court into being my wife; but she needs a bit of motivation."

"Even through she turned you down time after time."
Ryou thought. "And yet you still won't let her go."

"Tell me you have a point," Keith growled. "'Cause I don't have any advice on women."

Bakura narrowed his eyes. "My point is: I need your help to make her my wife. You see, all village knows that John is...heading to being senile. In fact he was in here tonight, raving about a 'beast' in an 'abandoned palace'." He gave a dark chuckle. "He's the only family Angela has...and she will do anything for him. So..."

"Let me get this straight, you want me to help you hold the old man hostage. Until the girl agrees to marry you?"

The once King Of Theives shrugged, "More or less. Think of it this way...we can even have him tell us where the palace is. And all the treasure there, will be ours." He paused and held out his hand. "You in?"

Keith tapped his chin. "The plan is despicable, unjust, and down right evil..." An evil smile spread across his face, and he shook Bakura's hand. "And I love it!"

In his house, John finished gathering all he needed. He grabbed his walking stick, while muttering, "Call me crazy, eh? Fine! I'll get Angela back me self." Without a second thought, he headed out on foot. Just as he disappeared over the hill; Bakura, Ryou and Keith arrived and forced open the door. Only to find that it was dark.

"Must've stepped out." Ryou said, with a nervous chuckle.

"Thanks for the obvious." Bakura snarled. "We'll just wait here for them." He grabbed Ryou by the front of his shirt. "Any objections?"

Ryou shook his head quickly, clearly afraid of his older brother at the moment.

"Good. Now, make us some food-"

"B-But they've got no more wood."

With a snarl, Bakura dropped his brother and grabbed a bushel of herbs that were hanging from the ceiling, before tossing it into the hearth's dying embers. It roared to life. "Now get started."

:~*~:

Over the next few days, Angela took care of the creature. Every two hours she'd change the bandages, and apply more medicine to the wounds. She sat beside his bed, never once leaving until Isis came to take her place at night. It was during that time, that the Pharaoh started to feel something odd stir within him. It had been centuries since he felt anything other than anger and despair; which was somewhat nice.

Angela apologized to Kisara the day after that night, of course seeing her as a dragon was a bit shocking...not that she minded. And they mended their friendship during the past few nights. Which lead to them acting as if they had known each other since birth.

Once his wounds weren't going to reopen and were healing nicely, Isis deemed the Pharaoh fit to walk around. Much to his relief, as he was starting to go a bit stir-crazy from lying in bed for who knows how many days. New clothes were brought; a white tunic and Shendyt, a gold belt and a red cape. A few servants helped him dress, then left when Karim shooed them out. The pharaoh went out onto his balcony, mind whirling. Almost to the point where one would feel light-headed.

"Just what's wrong with me?" He thought, as he looked out at what used to be the vast gardens. "My chest gets so tight whenever I think about her. Has she cast some sort of spell on me?" A whinny made him look down and he saw Angela brushing down her horse, an olive green hooded cape covered her from the wind. She petted Oberon's nose a few times, before giving him an apple. The Pharaoh remembered how gentle her hands were, whenever she would re-bandage his wounds or apply the medicine.

"Pardon me, your highness."

The creature was brought out of his thoughts as a servant came into the room. "Yes?"

"Forgive me, if I disturbed you." He said, bowing low. "But I've brought your breakfast; Lady Isis said you should eat in here today. For the Dining Room is being cleaned."

The Pharaoh nodded and sent the servant away with a wave of his hand, before sitting down to eat.

Back in the Garden...

Angela led Oberon back to the stable, once he was groomed. And was about to return inside when a blue and pink blur shot past her. She turned to Mana, for that's who it was, stop just inches from hitting the ground. "Goodness Mana! Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking, Angela." The girl magician straightened her hat, and dusted off her clothes before floating over to the raven haired woman. "I've been looking all over for you."

"'For me'? Why?"

"Remember when I mentioned the animals that are here? I thought maybe you'd like to come meet them."

Angela smiled. "I would love too."

Mana gave a 'whoop' and took Angela's hand, before leading the way to a large section of the garden. Barren trees were dotted about, and a few bare bushes were placed here and there. A large pond was in the middle, which was the source of water for the animals to drink. The Dark Magician Girl put her wand under her arm and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Come on out, everybody! I brought someone to meet you!"

Slowly, creatures poked out their heads before stepping forward. 'Fusionist'; with it's black cat body, pink horse tail and little gold wings, came over first. Eyeing the young woman, before rubbing against her leg with a purr. Next to come out was a 'Dark Grey'; a grey colored goat with also long horse like tail. Then came 'Amethyst Cat'; eyes the color of it's name sake with pale pink fur and the size of a panther. A gold collar hung around it's neck. It nosed a 'Ruby Carbuncle'; a dark purple cat with four ears and bright red eyes, over towards their new guest. Seemed that Ruby Carbuncle was a shy one. A few others flew up to Angela, like 'Peite Dragon', Watapon, Baby Dragon, and finally Kuriboh.

The brown puff-ball was more affectionate than the others; for it almost knocked Angela off her feet, and nuzzled her over and over. Causing her to laugh. "Well, 'hello' to you too."

"They all like you!" Mana cheered, clapping happily. "They're amazing, huh?"

"Oh yes," Angela replied, sitting on the ground to give Watapon a pat on the head. "I've never seen such animals like these before."

The female magician giggled. "Who wants to play tag?"

A few of the winged creatures squealed, before Mana choose Kuriboh to be 'it'. Angela watched the game from where she was, wondering who would win against the young apprentice magician. Who darted to and fro in the sky to dodge her little friends, that wanted to tag her.

Someone else was watching too; from his bedroom window, the Pharaoh shook his head with a bemused smile at Mana's antics. He had been having a meeting with Seth and Mahad, when he heard Mana laughing. The sight of her playing with the Animal Ka Spirits, brought back memories of the past. He then lowered his gaze to Angela, who was scratching the Amethyst Cat under the chin. Ruby Carbuncle pawed at a strand of her raven hair in a playful manner.

"We've checked the larder and pantry, my king." The Duos stated, going down a list. "We won't need the Wizard or Witch Ka spirits to grow vegetables or fruit with magic for a while, swords and weapons are also being sharpened for the Warrior Ka Spirits, and new tapestries and cloth are being spun. Plus, the tailors and jewelers are hard at work to make you new clothes per my instructions. Repairs to parts of the palace are underway and the gardens shall be next as soon as we-"

Mahad held up a hand to stop Seth in mid-sentence, then motioned that the Pharaoh had his attention on something else. He and Seth stood beside their king. "Majesty?"

No response.

"Pharaoh?"

Nothing.

Seth cleared his throat, loudly. "Sire? Are you alright?"

The creature blinked in surprise, before fighting down a blush. "Oh, I'm...I'm fine..."

"What were you looking at?"

"N-Nothing, really."

If Seth could've raised a brow, he would be doing so. He had been with the Pharaoh long enough, like Mahad, to know when something was on his mind. He took a quick glance at the gardens and instantly knew what had gotten the monarch so flustered. A smirk slid across his lips. "'Nothing', huh?"

Mahad elbowed his friend's side, before nodding at the young woman below. "She seems to be getting used to it here."

"Strange..." The Pharaoh murmured

"I wouldn't say that, she's quite able-"

"No, I meant I feel strange. I've-I've never felt this way before...about anyone. Whenever she smiles at me I lose my voice...my heart pounds so heard and I can't breathe at all."

The two priests gave each other a knowing look, they knew what was going on.

"I want to do something for her," The pharaoh continued. "But I'm not sure what."

Seth crossed his arms, in thought. "Well, there are the usual things; flowers, poetry, promises you never mean to keep your word to. However, from what I've heard and seen Angela isn't an ordinary girl."

Mahad tapped his chin, then snapped his fingers. "I got it." He said, before whispering in the Pharaoh's ear his idea.