It's been forever, hasn't it. That would be my problem and I'm very sorry about that. It's not like I wanted to go away and shit. Life caught up real quick. So I have to inform you guys that from now on, I don't have a set time on which I update so the chapters will be longer. I have news in general for my stories. I'm not giving my babies up, but the fact is, I'm getting older, (like that's a problem) but I have a job, I have to get another job. Less time on my hands and just me wanting to sleep.
So basically, longer update times but in return longer chapters.
I will be redoing my stories over time. How long, who knows. What I'll be doing is checking the spelling for anything I might have missed, plot holes I might have forgotten about. So this could take some time. I want to thank everyone for waiting and staying by me. If you're keeping an eye on me on Tumblr, you probably know I was still alive but still, I am very grateful for everyone. :)
Reviewers! A guest asked how long this story would be. Answer. I've got no clue. Who knows how many chapters this will have.
Forbidden-Hanyou, the Egyptians actually had some very good birth control.
Crystal, I am continuing, don't worry.
I'm sure there's quite a few new readers so I'd like to welcome you guys, more notably kitanalao, the fanfic lover anon, LadyRaider92, Bloody death cat, and Crystal. The only reason why you guys stand out if because my phone did a lot of beeping over your reviews when I was trying to get sleep. :3 But don't worry, I'm not mad. You guys were more like reminders. (so thank you)
So here it is, chapter 21!
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or it's characters.
The Fountain of Time
Chapter 21
Anzu took a deep breath and marched up to the door of Atem's study, a place she rarely went into unless it was something serious, and a baby was serious, right? 'Yes stupid," she thought angrily to herself. 'It is.' The study room was something Anzu had been in once, but Atem had been quick to put his foot down.
"While I will allow this once, since you don't know, this place is my personal space where I am Pharaoh, not lover." He said softly. Anzu frowned a bit feeling like a child.
"Okay then, so . . . the only exception if I do come in here is if it's really serious, right?" Atem paused for a moment, eyes narrowed as he thought. Damn he was really thinking this over, not as her lover but Pharaoh. Then she remembered something her mother had told her of, in every relationship, there are certain boundaries that the couple sets and this was the first boundary Atem was to set.
"I see no problem in that as long as the matter is truly serious."
Anzu smiled. "I'll take that as a deal, though," then she frowned. "I guess since you're all business at this moment I can't really give you that kiss you skipped out on this morning, huh?" His crimson eyes widened in shock.
"You sneaky little woman." He growled. Anzu looked up at him innocently.
"I don't know what you mean by that, Great Pharaoh." She shrugged and walked out.
It was obvious that when Atem came back from his long day that she paid for making him frustrated afterwards but hey, consequences were consequences. Just as Anzu was about to open the door, two voices, Atem and . . . damn, what had been that guy's name? It started with the letter N, that's what she could remember.
"…enough of this! Maut broke a magical law; you know that I cannot even touch upon those matters, only the magical community has the power to allow what you are asking."
"Mahado is your Priest, cousin; surely you cannot speak to him about the matter as he is one of the judges who will decide Maut's fate."
"I cannot do that!" Atem spat. "Enough, I will not speak of this anymore as there is nothing I can do to influence the magician court." There was a moment of tense silence before a very quick shuffle of feet. Anzu quickly moved to the side as the door swung open with force, nearly hitting her. She decided it was better to let him have a cool down so for a good twenty minutes she quietly turned people away with a quick shake off the head and wide eyes.
'Body language, Anzu,' Linda's advice came to the front. 'Is very important and sometimes, more powerful than words.' When she was sure that Atem was perfectly calm, hopefully, she knocked. Listening, she heard him groan before he spoke. "Enter!"
'You can do this, Anzu.' Bastet whispered softly.
'Thanks.' Anzu opened the door to see Atem, facing away from her, rubbing his temples. He was Pharaoh here, not lover. "Pharaoh Atem." Ugh, her voice was starting to shake. Atem's shoulders stiffened as he slowly turned to face her.
"Anzu, what is it?"
Licking her lips, Anzu sat down in a chair, hands shaking. Dammit, dammit, just say it! "I . . . I'm pregnant." Immediately the knot in her stomach went away and the weight lifted. Looking up to see his reaction, Anzu had to fight not to laugh. Atem had moved to sit behind his desk but with her comment he must have paused before actually sitting, looking at her with wide, very wide, eyes. "You could say something." She muttered.
Her words must have broken whatever spell he'd been under because at the sound of her voice Atem straightened himself up quickly and moved to stand in front of her. "You're serious?" he whispered, kneeling in front of her, holding her hands tightly with his. "Truly?"
Anzu nodded. "Yes . . . I wanted to tell you first before anyone else found out." He laughed and pulled her out of her chair so he could twirl her around.
"This is wonderful news, in fact the best news I've had all day!"
"Yeah, I sort of figured after that great conversation with your cousin."
Atem froze and looked down at her. "You overheard?"
"Well I was on my way to tell you and just before I opened the door you yelled and I sort of listened . . . while totally not meaning to eavesdrop on something really personal. I also allowed you to have a twenty minute cool down."
"Ah." He blinked. "I was wondering why I had a few people who were late."
"Yeah, sorry about that but I did tell them it was better to come back tomorrow."
"Did they say anything?"
"Surprisingly yes, even though as just your mistress I sort of expected some dirty looks, but back to the point, they did say they would come back tomorrow at the same time . . . is that okay?"
Atem nodded. "It's fine. I was actually thinking of canceling the rest of my engagements today."
"Was it that hard, the argument with your cousin?" she asked, leading him to the couch he had in the office. He gave a short laugh.
"I guess so . . ."
"What happened?"
Atem stretched a bit before giving her a quick glance. "Pretty basic really, but to explain what she's done I'm going to have tell you the little details."
"I have all day."
"If you say so." He yawned. "There are two courts, my court and then there is the magician's court. In the magical community there are nine judges chosen to make laws that anyone who falls under the magic community must follow, this was made to protect those who don't have magic. Even I fall under the rules."
"What are the rules?" Anzu asked, truly curious.
"Well, there are a total of four main rules of magic. One, harm no one who doesn't have the ability to use or cast magic, two, no one can forcibly shape shift someone."
"Oh, so basically turning you into a cat so I can take the throne is illegal."
"Exactly. Third law, one cannot hold another against their will, mind and body for obvious reasons. Fourth law, necromancy is not allowed. Even wishing to learn it is considered a taboo, almost. There are books, but they are all under heavy magical seals and locks, all located in another part of this palace."
"Do you know where it is?"
He gave her a dark look. "Yes, I do. I was charged to protect that door, not even Mahado knows where the door is, and he's one of the nine judges."
Anzu blinked. "So where do you rank in this magical community?"
"There are five ranks, Apprentice, Adept, Master, Guardian, Elder Master. The judges are Elder Masters, Mahado being the youngest in history to gain the title of Elder Master. I am a Guardian."
"I take it as a Guardian you do exactly what the title says?"
"Yes, there are three types of magic that are considered forbidden. Necromancy, Dark Magic, and Charm Magic. Each of these is given to a specific Guardian that the Elder Masters believe to be the best in protecting it."
Anzu chewed her bottom lip in thought. "So how many Guardians are there?"
Atem chuckled. "Nine, remember, Guardians are a rank under Elder Master plus you need a certain amount of power. You can't just go from Master to Elder Master. To be a Guardian and protect one of the forbidden magics is considered just a step away from becoming an Elder Master."
She smiled. "So not only are you Pharaoh, but you're pretty close to being one of the most powerful people, magically and physically, in Egypt." Anzu wrapped her arms around his neck to give him a quick peck on the lips "I sort of feel a little special."
Atem chuckled as he rested his hand on her hip. "And here I thought you'd always feel special." They snuggled close for a moment. "But back to the subject, Maut somehow found out where the Charm Magic was held and attempted to steal a book."
"She failed."
"Very much so." Atem chuckled forebodingly. "And now, as her cousin, Guardian, and Pharaoh, I must be present at her judging."
"I was wondering where she went off to. I mean, I haven't even heard about her from Mana since she was kicked out of Mahado's class."
Atem sighed. "She's been a mess ever since she got kicked out of the class. Well, I would have to say that she's been a mess since my cousin asked Mahado if he would like to marry Maut. For a time and this was Mahado biggest mistake, he didn't answer immediately, so she got it in her head that he would say yes but of course that didn't happen so you can imagine the girl's rage."
Anzu had a very good feeling as to why the priest had turned down the marriage proposal from Atem's cousin. 'Mana is one lucky girl to have someone stay loyal to her, not even knowing if she'll come back.'
~o~
Isis was nearly there, she was sure of it. The three orbs she had seen in her vision continued to haunt her but not today. Today she would put as much power in as she could to try and get a clearer vision of these orbs and what they represented. The other priests were here, but for some reason, Mahado had put up a fight about this, saying there was no point to the orbs anymore, but not for Isis.
Those orbs bothered her; always close enough to get some information but not a complete picture. He still looked vexed, but with the other priests backing her up, along with Shimon, the magician could not argue.
The world around Isis faded and once again, the three orbs came into focus. This time though . . . there were four. The new orb was small, colorless and hid behind the light blue orb that seemed to no longer protect the other two, as though the new orb was its main concern.
The white and golden one came close; enough to let Isis know it was Mana and Kisara. The white orb, Kisara, fled from the golden orb, Mana, a game of what looked to be tag. The light blue orb got just a bit closer, as though just to watch the two girls. 'Wait . . . if the other two are Kisara and Mana . . . the light blue one must be Anzu!' Isis could now put together her vision with a little more clarity but now there was another orb, one that frustrated Isis to the point where she lost concentration and the vision was gone.
"Damn!" she cursed loudly.
"What is wrong?" Teana said worriedly.
"I know who the orbs are, the white one Kisara, the golden one Mana, and the light blue one is no doubt Anzu." Isis cursed again, angry to the point where she felt as though she had to throw something. "But now another orb has joined them, but this time Anzu's orb is refusing to let this one come near me!"
They remained silent; shocked that Isis was actually getting this angry. Normally she was calm, but not at this moment. Mana entered just as Isis finished her yelling. She'd heard part of it, knowing that the new orb could be the baby. Best thing to do was to distract her.
"Hello, everyone, where's Mr. Serious?" she asked loudly, knowing full well Mahado would make some noise. Isis turned to look at her in shock along with the others. Mahado sighed and shook his head.
"Mana, we were in the middle of something."
She narrowed her eyes. "Yes . . . so I heard." What Mana didn't know was that her eyes were starting to glow, very softly, the same soft gold as her soul. "You should probably curse a little bit quieter, Isis." Mahado hissed.
"Mana!"
She shrugged. "Our business is our own. Anzu specifically pointed that out in the deal. Did he not tell you? Privacy is number one; you are breaking that right now." Isis felt her mouth go dry. This girl was threatening her, but by all means, it was enough to make her stop using her necklace to look into the orbs, which she now new was the three sisters. Mana smiled. "A magician has a message for you, something about someone's judgment."
He sighed. "So starts the drama." He muttered darkly. "Guards, call the Pharaoh and tell him he needs to get ready for Maut's trial." A guard nodded and rushed off. Mana was a bit surprised, wondering what on earth Maut could have done. "You will be coming too, Mana."
She bowed her head. "Yes, Master Mahado." Mana left quickly, not because she wanted to get ready quickly, but to get away from the cold stare of Isis. One day she'd have to apologize to the priestess but she had to keep the attention away from the baby.
"Mana!" Oh darn.
She turned to see Mahado storming towards her, his own eyes glowing, rather brightly, with his own magic. Mana found herself against the wall, afraid. "What you did back there was highly improper of you." He growled once he cornered her.
She bit her lip. She could trust him with this information, couldn't she? 'Tell him!' Mana looked around and spotted a room. Grabbing his hand she tugged him into the room after checking to ensure it was empty before sitting him down and spelled the room so no one could listen in. "I know it was wrong, but I had to get her to look away from the other orb, if she figured it out what that orb meant, Anzu would be in serious danger."
Mahado paused, eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
"You cannot repeat what I am about to tell you. Anzu is pregnant."
He stared. "You are serious?"
"Very, that's what the new orb is. I can't let Isis figure it out."
"Why, if anything, Mana, it would secure Anzu's position." Mana rolled her eyes.
"Oh please, her position was secure the moment she made that deal with him. Anzu is worried about Atem's former Mistress. We know that she loves him and if she finds out that Anzu is pregnant with the child of Pharaoh, who knows what she'll do." Mana pointed out.
Mahado could see what his pupil was saying. Akuktata was a cold woman, if someone stood in her way of what she wanted, she got rid of them. "I can see what Anzu is getting at . . . has she told Atem?"
"As far as I know, she has, but I don't actually know but we'll ask them later. We need to get to that trial." Removing the spell from the room, Mana stepped out of the room. "Please remember to keep it to yourself." She asked once more before skipping off. Mahado watched her go with a flurry of emotions swirling around him.
It was not fair to compare this Mana to his friend and bride but there were times where the line blurred. Mahado sighed and shook his head. Trial, he had a trial to go to.
~o~
Kisara sighed and flopped on her bed, alone. Anzu was doing something for Atem while he was at some trial. That left Kisara to do . . . ugh, nothing. She stood up and decided to walk through the halls, since she found there was nothing to do in her room but upon turning the corner Kisara had to pause as a small group of servant girls were whispering quietly together, all appeared to be very worried.
"Um, hello?"
They all turned but one of the girls, Kisara couldn't remember her name as it was really long, she knew. "Lady Kisara!" the girl cried and rushed to the older young woman. At first, like many servants, she had kept her distance as any good servant would when she did not want to get involved in those above her. That was how one could be killed in this cruel world but Lady Kisara had been different from the start. "One of the palace servants, Tauau is giving birth but it just is not happening. The woman who is usually here to help has left, saying there is no hope." The girl cried.
Kisara bit her lip. She was still learning but . . . she had to try. "I'll do my best, but I don't make any promises." The girl didn't seem to mind that, only that she was going to try.
Entering the room, Kisara snapped to attention upon seeing a young woman, covered in sweat, looking completely exhausted and by the looks of it, she was crying too. "Hey, Tauau?"
The young woman looked to her before bowing but Kisara shook her head. "Don't mind the formalities right now. You're in need at this moment." Tauau looked so hopeful. "Okay, now I might do a few things that are strange, but they will let me know how far you are."
Tauau nodded and closed her eyes while Kisara carefully measured her. She could fit two fingers, loosely but that meant she wasn't even at six centimeters! Kisara pulled back and looked Tauau in the eye. "How long have you been told to push?"
Tauau could not understand why Lady Kisara was so angry. "For an hour, my Lady." To the woman's surprise the pale woman exploded angrily.
"How dare that stupid woman. She could have hurt the baby!" the righteous anger for some reason seemed to put Tauau at ease. "Listen, labor can go on for a day or so. I know this might seem strange, but I want you to walk around, let yourself dilate. Okay?"
Tauau nodded. "Thank you." She stood up and began to walk around, waddling around the room and occasionally pausing to let a contraction pass. "Lady Kisara, can I have one of the girls come in, to keep me company?"
"Of course! Just give me a moment." Kisara said and went out of the room, grabbed two girls and began to give them instruction. "Okay ladies, this will be a team effort. I need one of you to be with her, to help get through those contractions and so on. Who wants to do that?"
One of the girls practically jumped. "I can do it; I've helped my mother many times."
Kisara grinned. "Excellent! Now, I need another girl to stay outside the door so if something happens, one can run to get me while there's still someone here for Tauau. Names." Kisara said. "I need names."
"I am Ubaid." The girl who had volunteered to stay with Tauau said.
"And I am Layla." The other said who said she could relay whatever message to Kisara if she was not here.
"Okay, Ubaid if something you think is wrong, tell Layla and she will come get me, got it?"
"Yes!" they both said at the same time.
"For the rest of you, the room needs a deep cleaning. Sheets, water for Tauau to get cleaned as well. Get extra blankets to block the light from that window and bring lamps." The girls quickly went to the tasks Kisara had asked them to do. Taking a deep breath, she went back into the room to remove the sheets.
A moment later some of the girls came in with pots of water and towels. "Wonderful, Tauau, I want you to freshen up and if it's too bright then these girls will cover the window and light some lamps for you."
Tauau looked over her shoulder and smiled. "Thank you, Lady Kisara."
~o~
Seto grumbled which was something he picked up from Kisara. They were in a relationship, they kissed in private, even though he actually wanted to simply claim her publicly to keep other suitors off her, but close to a week ago he had tried to go further but they were interrupted by a messenger stating there was someone to see him.
Now there was this pause, they still kissed, held one another close, but it never got farther. Was she simply not ready? That could be it. A knock at the door made Seto turn to face the person who would walk through. "Enter."
To his surprise, it was Nefret. "Priest Seto, I am here to apologize for my unseemly behavior."
He nodded but paused, uncertain when she placed a small cake in front of him. "I am no true professional cook, but I have tried my best."
He blinked. "Thank you, Nefret." She left, leaving the priest puzzled, but still, food was food. Bit by bit, he snacked on the honeyed flavored cake. Not knowing what would happen afterwards.
~o~
Mana had made up her mind. She was going to tell Atem and Mahado who she was. Why it had been made up so quickly was the fact that she had seen her mother and father at the trial, along with a new little sister. From what she had picked up, the magical community was hoping for a union with her new little sister, Omorose and Mahado.
Her heart hurt at the thought so it was time to speak up. The whole trial was just drama, screaming from Maut's part, but the court had deemed her insane at this point which might have been because of the shields guarding the charm magic. The only thing they could do was take care of her until she died, which wouldn't be long, from what she had heard about some of the seals.
As it turns out, the seal that had messed up the girl's mind had in effect, shortened Maut's life considerably. Nekure was devastated knowing that he would be losing his daughter bit by bit. Mana felt bad for him but it had been her choice to go looking for magic that was forbidden.
At the end of the whole thing Mana found Atem and Mahado were talking to one another, both looked tired. "Um . . ." They turned to face her. "I need to tell you guys something . . . it's really important."
"What is it, Mana?" Atem asked, curious.
How would they actually react? Would they laugh at her, not believe in her? "Eight years ago you two lost a friend, her name was Mana."
They both froze at that. "Mana, what are you getting at?" Mahado whispered.
She took a deep breath. "When I was eight years old, I got bored because my parents kept me inside due to my magic, so got out, but I ran into a scorpion, something I'm very afraid of. My magic responded to my fear and sent me far away, so I never got to see my friends again, or the boy who I was supposed to marry." She looked Mahado dead in the eye. "I am the Mana you lost."
There you have it, another cliffhanger but hey, you got Atem's reaction, which wasn't as silly as some of you might have imagined. Things will start taking a dark tone involving Nefret, as some of you might guess. As for Maut, she's tied into it as well, but in a much more sad way. This is when I start twisting some of my characters so get ready.
One more thing, this story will be starting to lean on some very mature content, sex, no. (But that's one of them.) Kisara is heading towards being a healer(this is not a spoiler, this was stated in previous chapters...somewhere.) that means there's going to be some body talk going on.
This is not the story to be leaving reviews that could be easily mistaken for a fourth grader to leave behind. I am not meaning insult anyone but I thought it would be a good time to remind some that this is rated M for other reasons than sexual content. (just so we're clear)
Please review and tell me what you guys think, ask questions, go on Tumblr and bother the living shit out of me. I don't mind. See you next time!
Over and out!