An extremely long author's note
Summary: Ancient Egypt, a time of turmoil and darkness. A pharaoh and a thief meet under unusual circumstances. Can a relationship be born? It may be hard to say under strict laws and a priest that stands in their way. Bakura/Yami.
Spoiler warning. My characters might also not be that accurate, because I changed some of their roles and personalities. For example, I know that Shadi in Ancient Egypt was named Shadah, and he really wasn't that friendly with the Pharaoh, and in fact betrayed him later on. I happen to be fond of Shadi, however, and changed his role in my stories. Baku-re (Bakura) is also loyal to the Pharaoh, instead of wanting to kill him or whatever. I write this in hopes that people will not think me ignorant about the roles the characters played in Ancient Egypt. Thank you very muchly.
This fic is based on roleplays in Ancient Egypt (YGO style) by my sister and me.
I do not own Yugioh.
Rath: darn right he doesn't.
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Characters and roles
Pharaoh Yamara // The Pharaoh, who inherits the throne after his father's death. A bit naïve but he is learning his lessons on cunning, courage and loyalty. present day: Yami Yugi
High Priest Setau // The arrogant, power-greedy priest in charge of all ceremonies and worship. First encountered Baku-re when the thief threw a tomato in his face. present day: Seto Kaiba
Priestess Isis // The Seer and Royal Healer. Gentle and kind, her predictions of the future with her Millennium Tauk is often accurate, but full of riddles. Alignment: neutral. present day: Isis.
Priest Akunadin // The Royal Spy. However, one does doubt his loyalty to the Pharaoh and his ability to actually spy… present day: no idea.
Priest Karim // A minor, background character, assistant captain of the guards. His loyalty to Mahado, however, is doubtless. present day: the Celtic Guardian??
Priest Mahaado // Captain of the guards, Mahado is also a spirit mage, trusted by the Pharaoh himself. present day: the Dark Magician
Priest Shadi // Guardian mage, skilled in the arts of protection, he guards the Pharaoh and is also a loyal follower. present day: our favourite guardian Egyptian Shadi (wid the turban!
Shimon // Minor character, he is the Pharaoh's advisor and (muffled laughter) his nurse. present day: Grandpa!
Baku-re // The King of Thieves, arrogant and cocky, but surprisingly trusted by the Pharaoh. present day: our favourite Ring spirit Yami Bakura!
Mana // Mischievous young girl, apprenticed to Mahado. Minor character. present day: Dark magician girl
the late Pharaoh Akunumkanon // Yamara's father. present day: n/a
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1. How Baku-re meets the Pharaoh and lives to tell of itHis name was Baku-re. Self proclaimed King of Thieves. But he lived up to his title. Stealthy, lean, and mysterious, he was often the center of gossip in the town market. You didn't want to mess with this thief. He carried three knives, a longknife (no-one has ever seen him draw it) and two deadly throwing knives. He could steal the nose off of a man, they say, he was that quick and clever.
However, today, his goal was more than a nose. Today, his goal was the tomb of the late Akunumkanon. He had passed the throne to his naïve heir, Yamara, but according to Egyptian custom, he could not officially ascend the throne until the ninety days of mourning had passed. It was the perfect time to rob the tomb. The whole country was mourning and in confusion, and by now, they would have sealed the tomb under a pyramid, and there probably weren't many guards.
Why would the dead need the jewels and gold anyways? Baku-re licked his lips. He would, of course, put what he stole in good use.
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The figure crept forward, the darkness covering him like a cloak, and carefully slipped into the secret entrance he had found while scouting a few days ago. He would succeed, he had planned for this for countless cycles of the moon[1]!
Footsteps of a guard were heard, tramping his patrol. Baku-re froze, his body tense and alert. The footsteps paused, then faded away.
Breathing easier, he slid deeper down the tunnel and landed in a dark chamber. He looked around and followed the walls, depending solely on his sense of touch, for there was no light in the tomb, and bringing a torch might have attracted attention. His heart pounding with excitement, he leaped up and arrived at the entrance of the pyramid. Confused, Baku-re cursed under his breath and turned back to try again. Maybe he had taken a wrong turn somewhere.
"Going somewhere, thief?" hissed a sinister voice. Baku-re felt the cold tip of a spear on the back of his neck.
"Turn around slowly," directed the voice. The almost tomb robber did so, and nearly impaled himself on a wall of spears. The owner of the voice was the High Priest Setau. Setau happened to be extremely angry at Baku-re, for two moons earlier the white-haired thief had thrown a tomato at the priest.
That bastard, thought Baku-re. He glanced at the soldiers. Too many of them…
Setau laughed, a cold and hollow sound. He was enjoying this. Finally he was having his revenge! That tomato had stained his best robes…
"Ah, the King of Thieves. Do you know how much money is being offered for your head? I see that you do not know. Sixty thousand gold pieces!" He paused to let this sink in. "Now whatever shall I do with you?"
For perhaps the first time in his overconfident life, Baku-re felt fear. Cold sweat trickled down his face, over the scar on his right cheek. The punishment for attempting to rob a tomb was to cut off both the robber's hands. He spat at the priest. Damn him!
Enraged, Setau stared at Baku-re for a few moments, then he beckoned to his guards. "We'll see what the Pharaoh has to say to this!"
Baku-re was dragged, growling and swearing, to the grand palace[2] of the Pharaoh Himself.
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Baku-re's mouth dropped open. This was the Pharaoh? This short, whiny, spiky-haired kid? Why, even with all that hair, the so-called Pharaoh would only come up to the thief's chin! [3]
Yamara frowned at Baku-re's scrutiny.
"What are you looking at, thief?"
"Show the Pharaoh proper respect!" growled Setau. The Pharaoh glared at the priest.
"I didn't recall giving you permission to speak, High Priest."
Baku-re snickered. A flicker of amusement glinted in Yamara's eyes, and he made an abrupt movement with his fingers. "This thief amuses me. Let him go free."
Surprised, Baku-re widened his blood-red eyes [4], then narrowed them. What sort of trick was the Pharaoh playing?
Setau scowled menacingly. "Your majesty, he is the King of Thieves! The one your father, the blessed son of Osiris, Akunumkanon, wanted to catch so badly!"
"My father is with the gods," said Yamara, annoyed. "This thief entertains me so I order you to set him free!"
"Your majesty-" began Setau.
"Silence! Mahaado, kindly escort our guest outside palace." From his place with the guards, Mahaado bowed and strode over to Baku-re.
"Take advantage of this," he whispered, "the Pharaoh is inexperienced and you are free this day. For now, I am obliged to your safety and will not harm you. However, if you use this to harm or blackmail the Pharaoh in any way I will personally hunt you down and destroy you."
Baku-re was marched out of palace grounds.
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He ran back to the dark alleys, his only home. Whistling, he smiled.
I have met the Pharaoh Himself, as the King of Thieves, and I am alive, with both hands intact[5], he thought to himself. Life was good.
Then he realized in irritation that he now owed the Pharaoh. Darn!
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[1] cycle of the moon = Egyptian month
[2] Palace? Not sure if Egyptians had palaces, but oh well. Sounds really royal.
[3] Okay, so he's really that short…
[4] he's sort of albino, therefore I concluded that he should have red eyes. What? What?
[5] the penalty for thievery or tomb robbing was either being impaled on a very large sharp stake or getting both hands chopped off. Gulp.
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Well, how was the first short story? Please read and review, so I could add a second one to this collection! ^__^
Yours truly the psychotic mage.