"The Red Eyes Black Dragon is more powerful!"
"Ra! I swear that the Blue Eyes White Dragon is!"
Yami crossed his arms. "Seto! Katsuya!! Just because we spied on the high priest's duel yesterday doesn't mean that we know everything about the monsters."
"What are you arguing about?!" a new voice demanded. "Did you go to the temple last night and spy on the priests' duels?"
"Yes."
"No."
"Well..."
Atari scowled at the three seven-year-old boys. "You're lucky you weren't caught. If the master hears of this...you will be severely punished."
"Boys!"
The four turned towards the voice. It was Silas, the overseer. "Get back to work!"
They quickly split up, each working his own row in the wheat fields by the Nile.
"Yami?" Katsuya sidled up to his friend.
"What is it?" the dark-haired boy replied quietly.
"Which dragon do you think is more powerful?"
Yami paused, letting the sickle in his hands fall slack.
"I don't like the dragons that much," he admitted after a moment, bending to neatly cut a sheaf of wheat. "My favorite is the pharaoh's monster, the Dark Magician."
Seto scoffed. He had come behind the two unnoticed.
"The pharaoh's monster is weak. Unlike the high priest's favorite."
Katsuya gave him an annoyed glance. "What do you know?!" he demanded. "You've never seen a whole duel in your life!"
Seto was quiet. "I have," he said after a moment.
"What?!"
"My father was one of the priests in the temple of Amen-Ra. He was a master duelist, and almost the high priest! But then Terran came." The brown-haired boy glared at the ground. "My family was split up. I haven't seen them for what seems like...forever. The only person with me now...is my brother."
"Your father was a priest...!" Katsuya shook his blond head.
Yami scowled. Someday, I will be pharaoh, and I will keep Egypt from going into more darkness. I will bring back the light to this country. He looked towards the pyramids.
Someday...
****
"What's your excuse for being late this time?" Atari demanded.
Yami reddened. "I-I was across the river..."
"The pyramids, again?"
"Yes..."
Atari crossed his arms. "You aren't supposed to be there, Yami. Haven't I told you before that any slave who-"
"-is caught in or near the pyramids without his master's authorization is in danger of execution." Yami scowled. "I know!"
"Then why do you insist on doing it?"
"Because someday I'm going to be renowned! Just like the pyramids and my father...and the pharaoh."
Atari stared at the boy for the longest time. Yami...I promised your father that I'd watch over you...but how can I do that if you won't even listen to me?!
"Yami, prominence does not allow one to do as he wishes," he declared finally. "Neither is it acquired that way."
"Then...how?"
The dark-haired teenager sighed. Yami's questions always made him think hard. "Think of it this way. You remember how your father purified his gold?"
The boy nodded. "He puts it through the fire."
"Exactly. In this life, you are the unrefined gold. Soon the fire will come to refine you."
"What do you mean?"
"Bear the heat, Yami, and you will be prepared for greatness. The finest gold in all of Egypt."
Yami frowned, thinking over what Atari had said. "When will the fire come?" he asked at last.
Atari was stunned by the question. How much does this boy think?! "I...don't know."
****
Three years passed, in which Yami grew up rather quickly. Not physically; he was still rather short for his age; but mentally.
Everyone knew that he and Seto were the smartest on the estate, and even smarter than Terran, a fact that tormented their master endlessly. How long would he remain in power if his own slaves knew more than him?!
Then came that day...
The day on which his life changed.
Forever.
****
"Who's that?"
Yami glanced in the direction Katsuya pointed. "It's Silas."
Katsuya raised an eyebrow. "Since when did the vizier's favorite soldier act as if we exist?!"
The other boy shrugged. "Help me sharpen this sickle, Katsuya."
"Yami." Silas had come behind them.
The ten-year-old boy tensed. "Wh-what?"
"Master wants you," Silas explained, a grim look in his dark eyes.
Yami scowled. "Where is he?"
Silas pointed. "On the roof."
Muttering inwardly, the dark-haired boy got to his feet. Something was afoot; he could sense it. With a nod, he strode from the riverside fields and up the sandy hill.
****
Katsuya ran as hard as his feet could carry him. "Atari!" he shouted. "Atari, where are you?!"
Atari was just outside the gates, sharpening a stick with his knife. He set down the stick, tucking the knife in his belt. "What's wrong, Katsuya?"
The blond-haired boy panted as he explained. "Silas...he-he told Yami that Terran wanted to see him...I-I followed them, and..."
"What happened?!" Atari grabbed Katsuya by his shoulders. "Tell me!"
Katsuya was almost crying. "Terran...he's-he's going to kill Yami...I-I saw it..."
Without waiting to hear more, Atari shoved open the gates and rushed back inside, Katsuya on his heels.
****
"You lazy, good-for-nothing boy! If I'd had my way, you would have been fed to the crocodiles with your father." The man leaned close to the boy's face. "You have defied me for the last time."
Yami didn't reply. His thoughts were a whirl of the many languages he had learned just by listening; Egyptian, Babylonian, Chinese, they all voiced the same vow. I am going to kill you...
He was slapped across his face. Tasting blood in his mouth, the boy scampered out of reach of his master's whip.
Since when had Terran used a whip on anyone?
"Yami!" The boy turned halfway, only to be struck down by an impending blow.
He almost screamed. "Atari!"
The dark-haired teenager stepped between the two. "You bastard. What are you doing?!"
A sneer twisted Terran's hideous face. "Killing him..." He chuckled, and Yami cringed at the sound. "What did you think I was doing?"
"I figured as much." Atari's face darkened. "You dog."
"So you defy me too, eh?" Terran lashed out at the teenager, but he was too quick. He sprang forward, grabbing for the whip, but stumbled, losing his balance.
Taking advantage of the younger one's unsteadiness, Terran grasped his wrists, pulling his arms back with a sickening crack.
The last thing Yami remembered was Atari shouting.
"Yami! Run! Get the hell out of here while you still can!"
Then his voice was lost in the cries...the screams...the confusion...
The darkness.
****
Yami slowly opened his eyes. The shapes around him gradually became recognizable.
"Katsuya...?" He was almost frightened by the sound of his voice; so weak and faint it seemed.
The blond-haired boy almost grinned. "So you're awake."
"What...happened?" Yami whispered.
"How could you forget?" Seto's scathing voice tore at his scattered thoughts.
So you defy me too, eh?
"Ai!" Yami sat bolt upright. "Atari...where is he?"
The two boys exchanged a brief, troubled glance.
"Is he dead?" the dark-haired boy demanded.
Katsuya finally spoke.
"Yes," he said softly. "Terran...he killed him."