Chapter 14: Royal Hospitality
written 11/11/2018 – 1/9/2019
published 4/6/2019
word count: 2,076
It's our town
Everybody scream
In our town of Halloween
It didn't take nearly as long as Yugi thought it would to reach the capital city. After what only felt like an hour or so, their carriage began to make its way down winding roads that spread themselves between tall buildings.
Time passed quickly while talking with the king of the Hollow World. He wasn't any older than Yugi and the others, despite his title sounding like it belonged to an old man, and he was energetic and eager and curious about the strangers and their world. Even so, Yugi couldn't help but feel that it might have been a little easier to talk to the young ruler if he didn't wear a mask that hid his entire face from view.
The king took them to his palace. He explained that he'd already sent a servant ahead of them to alert the royal magicians, so they should be waiting for the king and the humans when they arrived.
"What do you mean exactly when you say 'magician?'" Yugi was intrigued to learn that magic was a real thing in this world, even though such a thing really shouldn't have surprised him at this point, and he couldn't help but ask for more information. "Are they witches or something?"
"Something like that. Some of them are witches, but that's not what makes them special." There was a hint of pride in the king's voice. "The magicians of my court have dedicated their lives to studying the dark arts, and they are all very powerful and formidable Black Magicians in their own rights. If anyone in this land could return the three of you to your home, it would be them.
"And," he continued. "While my magicians are working on sending you home, I can promise you that you will be kept safe in my palace, and you will be provided with anything you may need."
Ryou smiled. "That's very generous of you, your highness. Thank you."
"Oh no, it's no trouble. Besides," the young ruler's eyes lit on Yugi for a moment. And, was it Yugi's imagination, or was there a strange twinkle in them? "Talking with you has not dulled my intrigue for those who dwell in the Surface World. Especially those who successfully make into the Hollow World."
Something about the way he was looking at him made Yugi sit up straighter. He turned pointedly to look out the window, aware of how warm his cheeks were feeling.
Part of Yugi was flattered by the idea of this young king with the smooth voice displaying such a personal interest in him. Why shouldn't he be? But, even so, the other part of him hoped he was reading the signs wrong, and that the monstrous king wasn't interested in him at all.
"So," Marik interjected, surprising everyone. He'd been quiet for most of the ride, but now he was looking intently at their host. "I can't quite get over the fact that you look like the mummy of an Egyptian pharaoh. Any particular reason why?"
"My family is of a monster type whose bodies are largely composed of ash and sand." The king raised his hand, giving it a little shake in the air. To the humans' surprise, a grainy substance escaped from the tightly-bound body linens, like a powder in the air. "Our bodies aren't as strong or as solid as most species, and we keep ourselves bound together from childhood. But, instead of binding our faces, we generally wear masks." He tapped the golden plate that hid his face from view.
"But why does it look like King Tut's death mask?"
When he answered, the king's voice sounded amused. "Where do you think your ancestors got the idea? Surely even the ancient cultures of your world saw monsters in the shadows every once in awhile?"
The carriage suddenly stopped then, and the door was thrown open, the dim light that passed for sunshine in this world catching the passengers off guard.
"We have arrived, your darkness," announced the dog-headed servant holding the door open.
The palace was a grand building that sprawled out across a vast estate, built up of smaller buildings that surrounded one large, prominent central building. Alabaster pillars and marble statues decorated the doors and walkways, but the buildings themselves seemed to be made of sand and stone. The smaller buildings were shaped like squares and rectangles, connecting together like assorted children's toy blocks, while the central building was shaped almost like a pyramid – only almost, because the triangular structure seemed to lean to the side as it rose into the air, before turning and curving back in on itself before reaching its uppermost point. Briefly, Yugi wondered if the central building was supposed to look like a royal tomb or a crescent moon, and he found it hard to make up his mind.
There were several figures standing out front of the estate. Yugi counted six in total. They didn't seem to be part of the class of servants, judging from their dignified stances and their differing attire. From the way they were watching the arriving carriage, they were very clearly waiting for the king and the human visitors.
"Welcome home, Lord of Darkness," one of the figures greeted at the king descended from the carriage. Moving almost as one, five of the figures all bowed deeply at their waists, their bodies forming unnaturally sharp angles. The sixth figure, who leaned against a walking stick, simply bowed his head in the king's direction.
"Thank you. You may rise." The king turned back to the humans momentarily, waiting until they had all three exited the carriage before speaking again. "These are the Surface Dwellers who have mistakenly trespassed on our lands. They are to be treated with care and respect during their stay." He looked pointedly at the six figures. "You are the strongest magicians in the lands. If anyone can conceive of a way to return our guests to the Surface World, it will be you."
Without waiting for an answer, he turned back to the humans. "These are my Dark Magicians. You will be under their care during your stay in my palace."
"But, my lord," one of the magicians tried to interject – a tall, soft-spoken man with blue skin and a pointed hat that was shaped almost like the central palace building. "What you're asking of us is something that has never been attempted before! You're asking us to defy the very laws of nature itself."
"I am no stranger to the dark arts, Mahad, and I do understand what I'm asking of you. But," the king's voice took on a less commanding sound as he continued. "Isn't breaking nature's guidelines the very purpose for magic in the first place?"
"... Perhaps," the blue-skinned magician finally relented.
The remaining magicians all repeated his words, murmuring their assent. Except for one magician. The sixth one with the walking stick. He seemed to have vanished into thin air while Mahad and the king spoke, and it wasn't until just now that Yugi realized he was gone.
Someone – or, something? - approached behind Yugi, Ryou, and Marik suddenly, and a gentle hand came to land on the king's shoulder. To the humans' surprise, it was the sixth magician. Up close, Yugi could see that it was an elderly man, wrapped tightly in bandages in much the same way the king was.
"Atem," the old magician spoke from behind a cloth mask, but his voice reminded Yugi of his grandfather. "When are you going to introduce your new friends?"
"I was getting to it, Siamun." Clearing his throat, the king held out a hand to the humans. "These are Marik, Yugi, and Ryou. And this..." His hand moved toward the magicians. "Is Mahad, Mana, Isis, Shada, and Karim." His hand fell as he looked toward the elderly magician beside him. "And you've already met Siamun."
With a slight smile on her face, the magician called Isis cleared her throat. "Perhaps we should take this conversation inside?"
.
.
.
"You'll have to forgive the king and Master Siamun," Isis was saying. "Our young lord was primarily raised by Siamun since infancy, and they are closer to one another than to anyone else."
They had moved into one of the smaller, rectangular buildings, and were currently seated in what looked to be an entertaining room of some sort. The floor of the room was covered with plush rugs of varying sizes and designs, and several flame-lit lanterns hung from the ceiling, washing the room in a gentle glow. Friezes were carved into the stone walls around them, depicting a scene that looked like the changing of seasons, interrupted occasionally by small alcoves that held decorative urns. A pedestal stood in the middle of the room, where a bowl of perfume was left open, its scent filling the room.
"That's alright," Ryou said politely. He was seated beside Yugi, along with Marik, on one of the many rugs that littered the floor. They knelt on their knees beside each other, while the five magicians knelt across from them. The king and the elderly magician had both vanished, leaving Yugi to wonder where they had gone.
Isis reminded Yugi of a bird, with feathers on her face and wings on her back. To her left was Shada, a lizard-man of some kind, and then Karim, a wolf-man. On Isis's right was Mahad, and beside him was Mana, a green-skinned woman with a pointed hat like Mahad's. She reminded Yugi remarkably of a cartoon witch, and he wondered if that's what she and Mahad were.
"Asss you already know, sssending you three back to the Sssurface World would involve creating a Riffft between our worldsss." Shada's forked tongue flicked out of his mouth as he spoke. His eyes shifted between the humans. "How muccch have you learned about Rifffts already?"
"We understand that they open naturally," Marik began. "And that they are only open for a short period of time, in very specific areas."
"Correct." Standing up, Shada moved to stand at one of the walls, pointing to the frieze that adorned it. "Thisss image ssshowcassses our Damp Ssseason, when the atmosssphere is so filled with moisssture that it can be easssily broken."
Karim added to the explanation. "Think of our atmosphere like a creature's skin – under the right conditions, an external force can burst through, creating open wounds. But, given enough time, the skin can regrow itself, closing up the wounds and sealing itself once more."
Shada nodded. "Our atmosssphere can be punctured, under the right conditionsss, but then it repairsss itssself again, filling in all of the holesss. This is a natural phhhenomena, and not one that is generally interfffered with."
The idea of comparing the actual sky to the skin of a living creature made Yugi's stomach twist unpleasantly. Not for the first time since coming here, he wondered why the Hollow World functioned the way it did.
Ryou spoke up, his voice curious. "We were told that another human came here not too long ago, a woman. Is this true?"
"Yeah," Marik added. "And you couldn't open a Rift for her then?"
"We offered to try," Mahad explained. "But she turned it down."
Mana nodded beside him. "She said her brother was dead, and without him she felt that she had no home to go back to. So she chose to stay here, instead." She smiled suddenly. "She actually works in the palace, so you'll probably meet her at some point. She's very nice! Her name is-"
Before the witch could finish her sentence, the heavy door to the room swung open, revealing the king and Siamun on the other side. A servant followed behind at Siamun's heels, carrying a stack of books.
"We stopped at the royal library," the king explained. "Siamun wanted to pool all our writings about Rifts."
"There is no such thing as having too much information," the elderly magician said, wagging his finger like a school teacher in a comical fashion.
"And now-" The king turned back to the humans. His eyes locked with Yugi's for a second, and Yugi could see them twinkle strangely. "-Allow me to show you around."
Yugi stared back into his eyes, and swallowed.
Author's Notes:
- For a clear idea of what Atem looks like in this story, I recommend looking up images of either the mummy of King Tutankhamon from Ancient Egypt or Prince Abidos from "YGO: GX."
- The palace's strange shape (somewhere between a pyramid and crescent moon) is a reference to those weird curly hills that Jack Skellington likes to climb up on "the Nightmare Before Christmas."
- As of today (April 6, 2019), I have finished writing the entire story for this fic. (*excited cheering comes from my own direction*) I'll be spending some time editing and uploading the rest of the chapters, hopefully in big enough chunks that you guys can binge-read.
- I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far, and I hope you continue to do so! ^_^