In My Dreams
Watching from the shadows Ri's lips curled in disgust as she watched her brother and his so called friends. They were having quite the party, complete with concubines and more liquor then a herd of elephants could consume. In other words an orgy she had no wish to enter but she had been summoned and therefore was expected to show herself. She could of course plead ill or fatigue but that wasn't her style and besides that she was just plain curious as to why her presence had been ordered. What possible reason would Rameses have to include her in his little get together? That very unknown had had her hiding a knife in the back of her skirt and another strapped to her thigh before coming to find out. Of her brother she had no real worries in certain areas but she couldn't say the same for the others in his company. If they attempted to attack her she doubted her brother would come to her aid when he could watch the show instead. Well she couldn't doddle much longer and so taking a deep breath Ri moved away from the shadows and into the light, walking across the room to where everyone was lounging about on pillows and fine rugs, more then one of her brother's friends busy feeling up his poor concubine for the evening. Her stomach rolling in revulsion she ignored their looks and kept her eyes on her brother who lounged slightly above his friends, three women at his feet with one serving him food, one holding his wine for him and the other...well Ri just prayed the woman got her hands under control before she got sick to her stomach. "You called for me, Rameses?" Ri said coolly, her gaze pointed and arrogant.
"Hello, my dear sister. Hungry? Thirsty perhaps?" Rameses said with a charming smile, well aware of his sister's discomfort with her present surroundings. Not that he cared, he wanted her in her place which was at his mercy.
"There is nothing here I wish to sample." Ri said as she scanned her surroundings, letting her disgust show plainly on her face as she met the gazes of her brother's friends in turn. "Was there something you wanted?" Ri continued when her gaze came back to Rameses, her tone condescending and belittling.
"Actually there was." Rameses replied, his eyes flashing slight before cooling down. As his nagging mother was constantly reminding him a ruler couldn't let himself be ruled by his anger if he wished to be great. And a ruler was precisely what he had every intention of becoming. "Raten here had heard of your great beauty and wished to see if the rumors were exaggerated. I of course had told him they were true but he was of the opinion that as you are my sister I would be biased." Rameses said with a leer as he turned his head towards the friend in question. "Is she not everything they say she is, Raten?"
)
"Everything and more, my friend." Raten said with a look in his eye that had Ri itching for her blade. Rameses's 'friend' looked to be nearly old enough to be her father with a body long gone to fat from overindulgence to the extreme. Likely while his underlings starved and labored till they dropped, Ri thought darkly. "There is no jewel I have ever seen to compare. Quite splendid." He added, his gaze raking over Ri's body in a way that would have had Yami across the room and removing Raten's head from his neck.
"How unfortunate that your eyesight is so flawed then, sir." Ri said with a look on her face that said plainly she was not going to stand around here while she was discussed like a bolt of cloth or a mare to be sold. "For I am neither stone nor an ornament to be worn. Now that he has seen me may I go, Rameses?" Ri said in a way that clearly showed she viewed him as being no better then any of his friends regardless of their birth or rank.
"Why don't you join us, sit down and get to know Raten a little better. You'll be seeing a lot of him since he is to be one of my personal advisors now that I sit upon the throne." Rameses said, well aware of his sister's revulsion to Raten. Raten was in fact a lecherous, disgusting old man but he was a powerful one and giving him Ri would solve any number of problems. He'd have Raten's unwavering support and he would see his sister pay dearly for every taunt and insult she had hurled his way.
"Then he won't be staying long as you'll have to remove yourself from said throne once the one, true pharaoh returns and retakes his place." Ri seethed, well aware of what her half brother was up to. Over Raten's dead body, Ri thought grimly, her hand resting against her thigh where the blade was sheathed. She'd gut the pig and send her brother the head first. "Now if you'll excuse me.."
"What's your hurry?" Raten asked as his fingers clamped around her wrist like a vise. "We've only just been introduced." Raten added as he yanked her against him, Ri's head automatically turning to avoid the coming, rough kiss.
"You will release her at once!"
)
Everyone's heads swerving to view who had dared issue such an order, several cringing when they saw that it was the High Priest Seto who looked none too happy and radiated a coldness that sent shivers down everyone's spines. "You will let the princess go or I'll cut off your hand, beggar." Seto said coldly, watching with satisfaction as the fingers that had been digging into Ri's delicate flesh let go in haste under his cold stare.
"What is the meaning of this, High Priest?" Rameses demanded, lurching to his feet with anger in his eyes at the priest's audacity. He was in charge, by all the gods. Who did the high priest think he was? "You will not speak to him in such a manner. It is you who are the beggar in comparison."
"I have no need to force a woman to do my bidding either. She is your sister, Rameses..why did you not protect her from this villain? I'm sure your father will very much like to know the answer to that question." Seto said coldly as he stepped forward, getting between Ri and Rameses's so that Ri wasn't visible from behind him. "I am the High Priest of this kingdom as well as the Dragon Master and loyal advisor to the pharaoh Yami. In his absence I promised to keep an eye on the members of his family and so I shall whether you like it or not, PRINCE Rameses. If you or any of your friends attempted to manhandle Princess Ri or another member of her family again I will unleash every drop of power I have upon you and those who've harmed them. Do I make myself clear?" Seto said, his tone biting and only hinting at how much he'd like to draw his sword and slaughter the rats that were infesting the palace, daring to try and mar its beauty.
"Leave this room, High Priest and take my sister with you." Rameses snarled, humiliated and angry to be shown up. The High Priest was a dangerous man and to incur his wrath could prove fatal at the moment. Once word got out why the priest had done it Rameses's had no doubt the priest would escape punishment. Bitter hatred running through his veins like the wine he'd consumed Rameses's swore they'd both pay if it was the last thing he ever did. "Or shall I have you escorted out?"
"I believe that unlike several members of this room the High Priest and I are more then capable of walking without help." Ri shot back from behind Seto, torn between being furious at his high and mighty attitude and being touched that he'd risk her brother's deadly wrath to come to her defense. "Shall we?" Ri said as she turned around and strolled out of the room, Seto a foot behind her as he watched their backs until they were safely in the hallway.
)
"Thank you for your intervention though I was about to take care of the problem myself when you came in." Ri said softly as they walked down the hallway side by side, more then aware that the walls had ears.
"I'll walk you to your personal chambers." Seto replied shortly, his blood still boiling as he pictured again in his mind that disgusting leech grabbing her and pulling Ri against him for a kiss as if a pig like that were deserving of such a thing. It had taken ever ounce of control not to gut the bastard and already he was regretting not following through on that impulse. "You're alright? That grip looked painful."
"He didn't break any bones if that's what your asking. As you know well by now I'm not at all as delicate as I look sometimes." Ri said with a grin, ignoring how much her wrist hurt and the fact that she could still smell that bastard's breath. God but what had he been eating before she'd arrived? "You're arrival was well timed as it has in the past since Yami left. Are you watching over me, High Priest? Somehow I cannot see my brother truly asking you to watch over us." Ri added with a smirk as she watched him from the corner of her eye.
"There are few who would be powerful enough to protect you and yours. I am one of them, Princess." Seto replied, not about to admit that she was right. The pharaoh had not requested him to play the role of protector but it was a role Seto had found himself slipping into seamlessly. The royal family needed protecting and so he would protect them with his life in these dark times. He was a man of power after all and with great power came the responsibility of using it properly. "If you are in need of my help or my council you have only to ask."
)
"What do you believe dreams mean, High Priest?" Ri asked abruptly, her head turning so that she could look into his surprised eyes, something rarely found in those icy blue depths. "Do you believe they are the foretelling of the future? A vision to show you what has come or will come? Or are dreams simply representations of what we want and think about?"
"I do not know." Seto said shortly then came to a stop as they approached her chambers, something or in this case someone's' obviously missing. "Where are your personal guards?"
"They've been reassigned." Ri said wryly with a slightly shrug of her shoulders though it still pissed her off. "Rameses claims that there have been threats against himself and his mother so he's..borrowed guards from other members of the family to heighten the security around himself and Nefeteri."
"Meanwhile leaving you unguarded and unprotected." Seto seethed, his blood beginning to reach its boiling point. "Does your father know about this?"
"I saw no reason to. The ones that wish me the most harm wouldn't be stopped by my personal guards anyway." Ri said with a hint of a smirk as she walked forward, opening her doors and was about to step through when Seto's arm came around her waist, drawing her away from the opening and closer to him. "What?" Ri said in surprise, too shocked by the move to pull away or comment.
"I'll go in first and make sure it's safe." Seto explained as he removed his arm, trying not to think about how much he'd wanted to pull her just a little closer. Which would have made him no better then the prince's drunken friend, Seto thought in disgust as he walked into the room scanning the area and really wasn't surprised when he heard Ri right behind him. "I suppose asking you to wait outside the door is pointless?"
"Pretty much." Ri agreed with a grin as she covered his back. Together the two searched the room for a good ten minutes before Seto was satisfied that the room was clear of any danger. Turning around he very nearly collided with her but quickly took a step back to prevent it.
)
"It appears that everything is as it should be. Lock the doors after I leave." Seto commanded in a voice that said plainly that disobeying him on this would not be a good idea at all.
"Really? And here I was going to leave it wide open in case anyone wanted to come in and pay a late night visit." Ri shot back sweetly, smirking slightly at the annoyed look he sent her even as he seemed to try to hid the reaction. She was really starting to get to him it would seem and nothing would please her more if it were true.
"As it's you anything is possible." Seto shot back dryly, pleased when she shot him an annoyed look. She wasn't the only one with subtle comebacks. "I'll leave you now, good night, Princess." Seto said before bowing low, his eyes briefly glancing her wrist but that was enough. "He's bruised your arm." Seto said as he straightened, his eyes flashing dangerously as he reached out, his fingers encircling her arm as he lifted it up for his viewing. The delicate skin was already beginning to bruise and it clearly resembled a man's painful grip. "I'll kill him for this." Seto hissed without thinking, blood in his eyes, his intent clear as he let go of her arm and turned to go.
"No." Ri commanded, putting herself in his path with only one thought running through her mind. She had to stop him. "Nothing will be gained by spilling Raten's blood tonight and you know it."
"He will pay for putting his mark upon you. Were the pharaoh here he would agree with me." Seto said coldly, absently thinking that it would be one of the few times he and the pharaoh would have been in absolute agreement about something. "Step out of the way, Ri." Seto commanded, dropping the title of princess without even realizing it.
"No, he'll kill you for it. My father is weak, High Priest and he cannot bear to see Rameses for what he is so he refuses to see. He won't let himself hear the truth and you will be punished for your actions, possibly with death. I cannot stop it and as much as my father loves me..the truth would kill him. I..I beg of you..to let it go." Ri said as she stepped forward, placing her hands against his bare chest. "I'm all right and I'm always on my guard. When my brother returns he'll clean this place of the evil that has taken refuge here. I know that you are strong enough to do that in his place but the price you would pay would be everything. You know I'm right."
)
"I will assign you one of my personal soldiers, he'll be with you at all times." Seto said slowly, staring at her with eyes still filled with burning rage. "You will make no attempt to lose him and you will listen to him as you have never listened to anyone in your life time. Those are my terms."
"And I accept them." Ri said with a barely audible sigh of relief that she had stopped him for the time being at least. To keep him from being harmed because of her she would do most anything, including putting up with a human shadow. "Thank you."
"I begin to see why you get away with so much." Seto said with a sigh of his own, this one of angry acceptance. She had spoken true and no matter how much he might thirst for the blood of Raten he would hold back because it meant so much to her. That she would humble herself enough to beg him not to spoke volumes. That she would do that to protect him was even more humbling. "Do you always get what you want?"
"No. I'm afraid I do not. Only in my dreams is everything possible and without consequences or boundaries." Ri said as she locked eyes with him, a million wordless messages passing in mere seconds. Moving slightly closer, her hands still pressed against his chest Ri smiled up at him. "What about you, High Priest? What do you dream about?"
"That which is now and always will be forbidden to me." Seto replied softly, her hands like brands upon his skin. She was so beautiful, she was the fire to his foolish moth. She drew him to her so coyly even as he saw the flames leap forth to consume him until there was nothing left of him but ash. But even knowing that, even feeling and sensing the danger he continued to draw closer, hypnotized by the warmth, the heat of the dancing flame. "And I am not the only one playing with fire here."
"That which doesn't kill us can only make us stronger." Ri replied as she moved closer so that they were practically chest to chest, her hands slipping up to rest upon his shoulders even as his head lowered as his lips met hers. His arms coming around to encircle her waist Ri had never felt so safe and yet at the same time so afraid and exhilarated. This was the ultimate rush, the ultimate test of strength and control. They stood there, two individuals who were not meant to be together in any sense, their strict roles in society mapped out for them long before either drew their first breath. But then again....love has never recognized such boundaries as being of importance.
)
When they finally pulled apart it was with shallow breathing and racing pulses, their eyes clinging to each other as if the other's were their life line. "Damn it." Seto breathed even as he ached to pull her to him once more even as he forced his arms to withdraw from her waist. "We cannot do this. We both know better."
"What we know and what we feel are two very different things." Ri said quietly, wishing she could return to his arms even if were only for another moment. Already reality was beating on their doors with knocks too loud for even the strongest of minds to ignore. "You should go." Ri said as she turned around, giving him her back. "While I still have enough pride to let you."
"Your Highness." Seto said softly as he bowed at the waist out of respect and because he needed to remind himself of exactly who they were. Turning around Seto headed for the door, hesitating for a moment when he had reached it, his hand upon the handle. There were so many things he wanted to say and knew he had no right to say them. That they would only bring more problems and grief upon their heads. "Good night." Seto said so softly he doubted she heard him as he opened the door and stepped through, carefully closing it behind him
"I think I will dream again of you tonight." Ri said softly to the empty room, suddenly feeling very much alone. "And in my dreams you will never leave me...my priest."