Chapter Ten
When in Rome…
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It had already been a week since Harry had first come to the magnificent land that was Ancient Egypt, and he would have to admit, he was growing rather fond of the place. Oh, he was still confused and ignorant about many things that these people considered common knowledge, but he was beginning to understand them and no longer got completely lost in a conversation. He had several people to thank for this.
The first was Mahaad, as the Priest had apparently decided that it simply would not do to have his apprentice be completely clueless about the going-ons around him. He had convinced Harry that it was alright to ask questions and go to him for knowledge, whether it was related to magic or not. From him, Harry had learned a lot about Egyptian society, ranks and customs, duties of the court and the like.
The second was Atem. The Pharaoh seemed to enjoy talking with Harry and visited frequently (Harry was sure these visits were excuses to escape his Priests for a little while). They had talked about many things, but what the young wizard remembered the most was when Atem had explained to him the beliefs and religion of the people of Egypt. It was absolutely fascinating, and Harry soon found himself asking more questions and increasing his knowledge. It was during one of these talks that he finally understood what was the big deal with the mark that sometimes appeared on his forehead, and why Atem insisted so vehemently that they were equals. That little bit of information had left him speechless for a moment or two, much to Atem's amusement.
The third source of knowledge was the most unexpected. High Priest Seth, the man who had tried to bash Harry in the head when they'd first met (even if the guy denied it), had been unknowingly teaching him about politics. The man could rant for half an hour when he felt someone was opposing his ideas and, for some strange reason, he seemed to feel this way whenever Harry was nearby. These rants proved to awfully informative when he could manage to pay attention.
All in all, he was slowly but steadily growing used to his life here, to the people, the landscape, the food and even the customs. It was nice…and also disconcerting. On one hand, Harry felt much more comfortable than when he'd first arrived, more sure of himself and his role in this new society…on the other, he felt like he was leaving behind the life he'd had before, in the future, and betraying his friends by doing that. This made him feel conflicted, and also made him stubbornly hold on to his memories from the future, which instead of comforting him tormented him with the idea that he might never see that future again. He was hurting himself and he knew it, but the memories were all he had left of that life, as none of his possessions had made the journey with him. It was decidedly strange, trying to resist change while also thriving in it…but then, Harry was probably a textbook definition of 'strange'.
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It was time for his lessons with Mahaad once again and Harry was currently making his way to the Magician's rooms once again, thankfully no longer getting lost. He had finally grown used to the Palace's layout and could find his way around fairly well, then there was also the fact that he had had to visit the Magician enough times that he could probably walk the way to his place while asleep.
As he rounded a corner, his eyes fell on the figure leaning on a wall next to the Magician's rooms. It was Mana, so he wasn't too surprised at seeing her here, but did wonder about why she hadn't gone in yet.
"Mana?"
His voice seemed to rouse the girl, who had been gazing at the floor with a look of dazed boredom, making her look up and meet his eyes. At once, she let out a little happy cry and bounced away from the wall.
"Harry! Guess what? Master Mahaad said we have a free day! Isn't it great? Oh, oh, and he also gave us permission to go into the city, wonderful, isn't it?" At this point, the girl was bouncing on the balls of her feet and nodding enthusiastically. Harry couldn't have stopped his chuckle even if he'd wanted to, or the soft look that his eyes took. He was rather fond of Mana, she was a sweet and energetic girl, very friendly and loyal. Harry sometimes wondered if this is what it felt like to have a little sister, a strange mix of slight exasperation, fondness and protectiveness…he would probably never know.
"Yes, yes, that's great Mana and tell you what, I'll even go with you to the city, to keep you out of trouble and all, but could you tell me why Mahaad cancelled today's lessons? It just doesn't seem like it?" And it didn't. The Magician was one of the more devotedly responsible people Harry had ever known and he took all of his duties very seriously. To have cancelled one of said duties, even for one day, was most certainly not like him.
"Hey! What do you mean keep me out of trouble? I never get in trouble. And if you must know, Master Mahaad is very busy with the Prince and the other Priests today"
The girl's look of indignation only served to feed Harry's amusement and his lips curl into a smile. "Of course you don't, you're a perfectly well-behaved young lady, aren't you?" his smirk and raised eyebrows belied his sentence, though. He also stopped worrying about Mahaad, since Mana's explanation made perfect sense. Out of all of his duties, the one as Priest certainly took priority for Mahaad, so it was understandable that he left them on their own if he was busy with that.
"Are we going to the city or not? I haven't been down there since I was brought it, and considering I was unconscious at the time I don't think it counts" He was by now trying to distract Mana away from her obviously not pleased reaction at being called a trouble-maker (not to be confused with him, who was a trouble-magnet). The exasperated look left her face as she quickly moved to take one of Harry's arms and proceeded to almost drag him to the world that waited outside the Palace's doors. The boy didn't even attempt to complain…he knew better by now.
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Harry had to admit that, for a city so…primitive, it was certainly an interesting and exciting place to visit. He and his fellow Apprentice were by now happily looking through the much varied merchandise being sold at the local market. Harry had, after being dragged directly to this market by an over-enthusiastic Mana, concluded that girls and shopping were as inseparable here as they were millennia in the future, but wisely kept his thoughts to himself (whether this was done because his thoughts included talk of the future or because he didn't want to risk angering the girl, it remains unknown).
Harry was currently looking through some scrolls and maps that the vendor was trying to convince him were almost priceless but since he was obviously someone who knew the good stuff and a polite young man he would have a special price. Harry had almost rolled his eyes at this, but managed to contain the urge.
"Harry! Come and look at this!" Mana's voice easily reached him, even though of all the noise in the marketplace. Sighing and leaving the scrolls (which wasn't that hard, since he wasn't very interested in them and the vendor was starting to get on his nerves), he made to follow said voice towards the girl.
He found her happily looking at a jewelry stand…and again had to control the urge to roll his eyes.
"Yes, Mana?"
The girl didn't even look up from some piece of gold she was examining as she answered. "Come and look at these!"
Harry decided not to put up a fight and get this over with as painlessly as possible, mostly because he had the suspicion that Mana would be impossible to deal with it he refused. He quickly made his way to her side and glanced curiously at the shiny things. Most of it was made of gold, some with jewels and some without, but there were precious stones and the likes also being sold. Harry didn't have much interest in any of them…as far as he was concerned, his bracelets and anklets were more than enough, and he didn't take those off only because you simply don't reject something a god gave you. Fancy things were never his cup of tea.
Mana, however, didn't seem to share his opinion at all. "You should buy some of these, Harry. You're an important person and important people wear gold"
That was an excuse she was using to try and convince him and they both knew it. Mana was not really one to care about what was proper with 'important people'. He shot her a blank look and raised his hands, displaying the bracelets rather pointedly. She gave a huff of exasperation, but didn't give up.
"I mean something else than that! You need to look the part of the…err, important guest that you are" The emphasis on 'important guest' along with the evil glint in her eyes and her challenging smirk quickly let him know that her intentions were most definitely not good…at least for him. If she were to accidentally let it slip out that he was a Marked of Ra, people would make a fuss and stare and bow down or something…in other words, they would focus their attention on him. Harry hated attention, despised it with a passion otherwise reserved for Dark Lords, and Mana knew that. The girl was blackmailing him.
Green eyes met green eyes in an epic battle of wills, neither willing to back down and let the other win. That was, of course, until Mana opened her mouth and took a deep breath, looking ready to yell something loud enough to be heard from here to the Palace. Harry groaned, but finally gave in. "Fine, fine! I'll buy something" He also muttered something about a 'deceptively innocent-looking, loudmouth of a she-devil' but Mana either didn't hear him or ignored him.
Fortunately, Harry remembered something that could very well save him from having to shop for jewelry (of all things). "I don't have any money"
This seemed to make both Mana and the vendor frustrated and turn to glare at him. "What? It's not my fault…where did you think I'd get money from?"
After running into this unexpected obstacle, Mana had to admit defeat, much to Harry's joy and relief, and couldn't bother him about buying anything else for the rest of the trip, much to her disappointment.
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The two apprenticed Magicians were still enjoying their day outside when Harry suddenly stopped right in the middle of the street. Mana noticed soon afterwards and looked back at him, forest green eyes full of curiosity and a bit of worry. "Harry?"
But he didn't hear her, or anything else really. There was something, some feeling that had hit him all of the sudden, like a dagger of coldness and fear going straight through his heart. Something was wrong, he was sure of it this time. The feeling of impending doom that had been nagging at him for the last few days had had a sudden growth spurt, and Harry didn't like it in the least.
He was shaken out of his thoughts by a hand suddenly grasping his forearm and he looked up to meet Mana's worried gaze. He felt bad for worrying her, especially because of some weird feeling that wouldn't leave him alone, one that could mean nothing at all. Still, it bothered him enough to ruin this trip.
"Mana, maybe we should go back to the Palace, we've been out here long enough already" That much was true at least, the afternoon was almost at an end now, sunset quickly approaching. The girl, obviously not believing his excuse but complying nonetheless, nodded and, not letting go of his arm, started the way back to the Palace.
They didn't speak for the rest of the trip, the happy mood having suffered a most tragic death.
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When the two young magicians arrived at the Palace and were about to spilt up and head to their respective quarters, they met with Isis in one of the many hallways. The Priestess looked rather grim and very worried, her posture not at all like the usually proud and firm stance she displayed…she looked as though there was a heavy burden resting on her shoulders and troubling her mind
"What happened?" The boy didn't even bother with greetings and respect as he usually did, some sense of urgency having taken over him. The Priestess looked like she understood his worry and lack of courtesy, but didn't answer. She merely shook her head sadly, her eyes glancing at both young magic-wielders with a look of regret, before she turned and walked away.
Left on their own again, Harry shot Mana a questioning glance, silently asking if she knew what that was all about. The look was mirrored in her own eyes, so he knew that she didn't get it either.
"Never mind, it's probably something to do with politics and court stuff anyways" Harry didn't really believe his own words, but he hated making Mana worry at all and was trying to convince her more than himself. The girl nodded uncertainly, not looking all that convinced either, but accepting his explanation.
"I'll see you tomorrow Harry. Goodnight" And with that, they finally spilt up, each going to get ready for what they just knew would be a restless night.
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Miles away from the city and the Palace, Mahaad was busy setting the trap he had designed for the Thief King, ready to confront the Tomb Robber and oblivious to the worries of his apprentices.
The Magician would never make it out of the temple the trap had been laid into…at least, not as he was now.
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Author's Notes: Well, and that was chapter ten! I wasn't sure about the time skip and stuff, but it felt like I needed to move things along a bit. Next chapter's going to be really interesting, to say the least…not to mention extremely sad, so that's why this chapter had a mostly lighter air and stuff.
IMPORTANT!: I was asked about pairings just a little while ago and answered that there was no paining yet decided…well, that's changes now. As I have stated a couple of times before, the story is pretty much being made up as I go along, and the pairing just clicked, and fits perfectly for the parts I do have planned. Now, I wouldn't normally post a spoiler for my own story, but I fear that some people might be offended if I don't…so here goes. This story is now officially SLASH, and that, my dear readers, means there's going to be a male/male relationship…nothing graphic or exceedingly descriptive and stuff, but still, you've been warned…
Well, see ya all next chapter!