Chapter 4
Seto woke up early the next morning. He once again had a meeting with the Pharaoh to discuss the enemies at the borders. At these meetings, Seto often sat and thought about dueling strategies. Not that he needed strategy. Only he could command the mighty Blue Eyes White Dragon. Nothing could defeat it.
He looked down at his brother, still asleep, with a strangely serene expression on his face. He still had to rewrap the child's arm, but it could wait. He didn't want to wake his brother up. Seto got up and walked to his bathing room. Slaves were waiting to get him ready.
He shed his garment and lowered himself into the perfumed bath. The slaves worked quickly scrubbing his body and applying special oils to his hair. When they were done, the dried Seto off and dressed him in a clean garment that they had prepared. The final step was to put the Ankh around his neck. Two slaves brought out the large, gold charm. They gingerly wrapped it around Seto's neck. There was something about the huge golden charm. When all was finished, the slaves lined up and bowed their heads in respect and fear, hoping that they had done everything correctly.
Seto took no notice of the slaves as he walked back into his chamber. They all sighed with relief when he left. He walked up to Mokuba and shook the child to wake him up, careful not to touch the child's arm. Mokuba slowly opened his eyes and winced at the pain from his arm, he remembered to bow his head in the presence of the high priest. Is it you Seto?
"Give me your arm." Mokuba quickly raised his arm, wincing slightly. Seto got to work reapplying the salve and rewrapping the bandages. Seto was right, the gash on the arm was much smaller, the salve was something extraordinary. Only the priest possessed it. When his supply ran out, it could never be made again.
"Brother?"
"Hmmm?"
"Will you take me to see the horses when you come back?" the child loved horses, he could ride them when his brother went with him.
"Yea." Seto replied, "I'll see you later, we'll go riding." Seto walked out the door.
Mokuba stared after him for a little while before he got up and walked towards his own chamber where his slave would be waiting. Mokuba didn't like to refer to people as slaves. Though he had one, he preferred to refer to her as a friend, mostly since he had no others. "Anzu?" he walked into his chamber.
A girl of about 16 with long brown hair emerged. "Mokuba, your bath is ready." She said. She noticed his arm. "What happened?" she asked gesturing to it.
"Oh, it was one of the guards." Mokuba explained, "But my brother wrapped it so it should be fine." Mokuba continued walking towards the bath. Anzu stared after him for a moment. She couldn't help it but to be surprised that the high priest would bother to do that. Anzu quickly followed Mokuba.
Mokuba had already settled into the warm, perfumed water. Anzu sat down behind him with soap and oils. She massaged the younger boy's shoulders and neck with the soap. Anzu hoped to make the child feel better. Anzu had mixed feelings about the high priest. He was extremely harsh on anyone who did even the slightest thing wrong, but seemed to seldom lose his temper with Mokuba.
"Anzu?" Mokuba began.
"Hmm?"
"My brother…" The child spoke as Anzu massaged his shoulders. "Why is he like this Anzu?"
Anzu didn't know what to say, "I-I don't know…"
"I love my brother Anzu." The child continued, "But sometimes I wonder what did I do wrong? Why does he get so mad at me sometimes?"
"Mokuba you didn't do anything." Anzu said as she continued rubbing the soap onto the younger boy's skin.
"He acts so distant around me sometimes." the boy paused and choked back a sob, "But, when he saw the cut on my arm, his eyes showed nothing but concern, when he saw the blood."
"Mokuba…" Anzu still didn't understand what the younger boy was hinting at.
"He wrapped my arm by himself. He worked slowly because the ointment stung a lot. I tried not to cry, but it hurt so much." Mokuba sobbed.
"Of course, your brother loves you Mokuba." Anzu said as she picked up the brush and oils and began to work on the younger boy's messy hair.
"When he held me in his arms, I couldn't even feel the pain anymore. The gentleness in his voice wiped away all the tears." Mokuba whispered. "Sometimes he's just different, like he's not my brother, but like he's someone else."
Anzu gently applied the oil to the young boy's hair. "Mokuba, you're brother cares about you more than anything or anybody else. He is always very sorry when he yells at you. I know that he likes to see you every night, you're all he has." Anzu put the finishing touches with the oil and beckoned for the boy to get out of the pool.
Anzu helped Mokuba get dressed and brought him food which he quickly ate, he wasn't really in the mood for eating. "Anzu, let's go out and sit in the garden." Anzu nodded and the two walked outside. The garden bloomed with an amazing variety of flowers, each one with its own unique scent and decoration. Anzu sat down on a stone bench and watched the child enjoy himself. Mokuba wasn't like other children.
He didn't like to run around and jump. A little black kitten ran up to Mokuba and rubbed against his leg. "Bastet!" he exclaimed. The little cat was named after the cat goddess Bastet. His brother had given him the kitten as a surprise. The little cat always followed Mokuba around. He kneeled down to pet the little kitten. Something else caught the cat's attention and it ran away.
Mokuba giggled as he watched the kitten run. He loved the little cat. Anzu couldn't help but smile as well when she saw the little kitten go about its antics. Anzu loved the garden. She felt free, but she was a slave. She could never be free. At first she resented Mokuba. But she soon found that he was no more free then her. Now she loved the younger child. Mokuba looked up to her like a motherly figure. The mother he never had.