Sorry I took so long to get this up, but I haven't had much time to myself. Was looking through Egyptian Book of the Dead in Library, and found a spell 'for not eating faeces or drinking urine in the land of the dead'. O_____o;;; anyone who knows their egyptology care to explain?
Oh, and hello! to the Aussie girl, Rin. *waves*. And everyone else, of course. *waves again*
Disclaimer: I don't own it. I also probably ignore the whole Egyptian manga. But this is completely unintentional. I haven't read it (all) yet, so I wouldn't know.
Chapter 30: Say My Name
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Seto reluctantly disentangled himself from his conveniently sleeping boyfriend, and crept into the living room. Everyone was sleeping, just the way he'd left them last night. Everyone except Shizuka, who was making coffee. His eyes swept the rest of the room, eventually finding Mai asleep against Jou's shoulder. He quirked an eyebrow at this, but kept looking. Rebecca was curled on a beanbag. Excellent. Isis was alone in her room.
"Morning, Kaiba. Would you like a cup of coffee?"
"No, thankyou," He answered cordially, before skidaddling to the girls' room. Shizuka watched him curiously. Isis was pregnant, and Kaiba... But no... He couldn't be...
* * *
Isis span around, suddenly confronted by a tired-looking Kaiba. Said teen closed the door before turning to look at her properly. "Isis..."
"You're worried about Yami, and his loss of power?"
Seto looked rather taken aback. "How did you -"
"Know? Kaiba, you're in love. I can read you like a book. The suitcases under your eyes are a bit of a giveaway too. But Bakura, Malik and I have noticed it too."
"But do you know -"
"Why? Yes. My travels in the past have revealed many things." She smiled at him. "Take a seat, Kaiba. It is time you heard the story you were too stupid to listen to before."
"Almost 5000 years ago," she began, "a young Pharaoh came to power, after the death of his wise father. He was barely fifteen, but he was strong, intelligent, and very skilled in psychic abilities. He was very short though, and there was one interesting incident concerning the height of the throne..." Isis was ushered on by a slight cough. "Anyhoo, Yami was beloved by all who knew him, except, of course, his jealous, arrogant, stuck-up, pretty-boy priest..."
"I am not a -"
"Not you exactly. You are High Priest Seth's reincarnation. Odd name for a priest, really... Well, what really seemed to piss this priest off was the fact he got no respect from the Pharaoh. It was always 'priest' this and 'priest' that; never 'Seth'. I think that's why he resented his cousin so much; or at least why he thought he did."
"Cousin?"
"Yes. That's another point. See, High Priest Seth was a few years his elder, and a *man* in Egypt. Yami was still technically a boy. So the priest got this notion *he* should be Pharaoh, not this uppity little teen with weird hair. Quite hypocritical, come to think of it. So, as was the fashion of the time, he challenged him to a Shadow Game."
"You've shown me that with you're necklace."
"Yes, and I would have shown you more, had you not been so stubborn. As you know, the Pharaoh's lesser priests hadn't a hope in hell of defeating Seth, especially once he called upon his own Ka monster. The ultimate light, Blue Eyes White Dragon. Thus, the Pharaoh was obliged to fight his own bloody battle. Nearly lost it, too..."
"Yami lost a duel? To me?"
"I said *nearly*, Kaiba. White lightning shook through the golden halls, with a direct hit to Yami, rather than his monster, which was the Dark Magician. Very naughty. A High Priest should know better. Treason. The Pharaoh was knocked off his feet, and slammed into a pillar. People were screaming, and Yami was on all fours, coughing up blood. It looked bad for him. That attack should have rendered him powerless."
"But as you have discovered many times, Yami is not so easily beaten. His eyes met Seth's accross the hall, a fire raging in his crimson depths. And that look, from one so vulnerable yet still so in control, humbled Seth. He needed it, too. And amongst the resentment and jealousy, respect grew."
"But the duel?"
"Oh, the Pharaoh summoned Kuriboh, and with a little incantation, transferred its power to the Dark Magician, which tipped the balance of power just enough."
"Oh."
Isis laughed. "You are such a terrible loser, Kaiba. As was Seth. He disappeared for almost a month, walking around in a strop. Well, sulking, and trying to avoid being mummified alive for betrayal. They eventually found him, bound him, and brought him before the Pharaoh."
"That's how I... *he* died?"
"No! Of course not. Yami ordered the servants away. Then he looked down at the kneeling Seth.
'Stand, priest.' Seth stood, and shot the Pharaoh a death glare. As respectfully as he could, of course. 'Why did you challenge me?' The priest shrugged, unable to meet Yami's eye, like a child scolded by their parent."
"The Pharaoh laughed. Seth found this pretty confusing; after all, he was expecting to be locked away for a *very* long time. 'What is my sentence, my lord?' he asked, eating humble pie for once in his life. Well, not *pie*, they didn't have it in ancient Egypt..."
"Pharaoh Yami just looked at him. 'Seth, my cousin, I'm not going to have you killed. Though, you are now officially in my debt. You owe me.' This took the priest wholly by surprise. Not so much what was said, but the look in his eyes when he said it."
"What?" Seto wasn't ususally one for stories, but this was about Yami and *him*. And Isis was a good storyteller.
"Desire. Which was, undoubtedly, shocking. But it was there, unless the priest was dillusional. 'What would you have me do, my lord?' he asked. And just to prove he wasn't imagining things, and in the spirit of being deliciously evil, he casually moistened his lips."
"The poor Pharaoh. He was caught utterly off guard. His eyes widened, and his head dropped abruptly to stare at the floor. Then again, the priest wasn't much better. He suddenly seemed to remember that he *hated* his cousin, and they awkwardly took leave of each other, and avoided one another like the plague."
"Is that it?" asked Seto, disappointed.
"Not at all. It is but the beginning, really. Both boys were completely distracted as they went about their duties. Not a perfect condition for a Pharaoh to be in; or a High Priest for that matter. Yet Seth was starting to realise why it had bothered him so much when the Pharaoh ignored him, or seemed to. And at that time, Yami was doing more than just ignoring him. So the priest decided to change things."
"The Pharaoh's bed chamber was, as a rule, a no-go area, even for servants. Unless, of course, Yami was feeling sick, or lazy. So he wasn't expecting to come face-to-chest with his High Priest. He gave a shocked little squeak.
'Hello, Pharaoh,' he greeted Yami very, *very* slyly, brushing a lock of hair from his cousin's face. His red eyes widened further.
'Priest?'
'Yami, I'm going to have to teach you to say my *name*.' And with that, he planted a smacker on the Pharaoh's lips. His eyes, which had been staring at his obviously starkers priest, fluttered closed, as the priest's tongue found its way into the boys mouth. And when they finally broke apart, the Pharaoh did indeed speak Seth's name. More like moaned it."
"'Better. But perhaps louder could be good?'? He pushed him onto the bed..."
"Stop!" Seto ordered. "I have two problems with this."
"And they are?"
"One, we're... they're *cousins*."
"Oh. Technically second cousins, actually."
"Right. Incest."
"It was very common in ancient times. How do you think Yami got that hair? Joking," she added, seeing the look on Kaiba's face.
"And Isis?"
"Yes?"
"Were you *really* using that necklace for 'the good of the world', or slightly more... perverted reasons?"
"Are you kidding? That thing was better than Adult's Only." She laughed at Kaiba, who was obviously horrified at the thought. "Kaiba, do you really think I would have used my item to see *that*? I have a life. Although I did happen to catch the guards' faces when they came rushing in, thinking someone was being murdered. Could hear them halfway through the palace." She laughed more. "They were the talk of the kingdom; the High Priest in the Pharaoh's chamber, doing uspeakable things to their ruler's ar-"
"Yes, Isis, I get the picture. But what does this have to do with Yami's loss of powers?"
The woman sighed. "Everything. For just when things were so decidedly right for the couple, things began to go wrong."
"How so?"
"Kaiba, have you ever read Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'?"
* * *
Phew. That took a lot of typing. The next one is nearly finished, but I have to type it up, too. I have a problem with deadlines. And so what do I decide to be? A journalist. How intelligent...