I haven't died just yet. I've got some sort of a plan for this fic. People like it?
Eglantine
Akunamunkano smiled. One a piece of papyrus, he scrawled down shakily what Isis told him. He signed his names and laid back down onto his bed. He could rest at last without worrying about Egypt. Yami would make a fine king. There was nothing to be worrying about. The dying man completely trusted Isis. Egypt should be in good hands. His soul was happy now. The wrinkles of worry that creased him mouth into a frown ceased to exists. With one last breath, he told Yami, "Take care of her," and passed away. Yami was extremely confused and also scared. The man's chest no longer rose and fell with life. He timidly reached out to touch the king's hand. There was no response. The young god grew even more afraid and walked back a few steps.
"Pharaoh?" It was confirmed then. The king was dead. Yami was the successor to the throne. But how did he die? No man hit him. He was so confused. What is life? As a god, he could never truly know what it was. And where did people go when they died? To the dark gates of Duat? Yami assumed so. Those pieces of information were all in his studies. Yami took his time to search around the room. Mortals were so weird…and had such odd things. He would have to do his best and try and blend in with the rest. White curtains covered a decorated window. Pale light piqued Yami's curiosity. He walked over, getting used to the feel of using his legs. In the sanctuary of Aalu, he always had used his peculiar wings.
Dawn's light flooded the room as he parted the curtains. The light was not as clear as where he lived. The cold and silent desert showed no life. In the distance, the Nile reflected the view cast into it. Yami sighed. Where would he start on the journey of love? No one could guide him. Even Isis couldn't tell him. A lone bird called out in the distance. Yami inhaled the scent of Egypt. It was quite a contrast from Aalu. It smelled dry, a hint of incense, bread cooking and something he could name. Perhaps it was the people themselves?
Bored, Yami wandered from the window. He looked back to make sure the dead king was really dead. No movement had happened and Yami turned away. He shivered. It was not pleasant to be with something dead in the same room. To find something to do, Yami busied himself with reading a book set near the note Akunamunkano wrote.
As the god read, he did not sense a servant coming until she knocked on the door. He shut the book and walked over to let him in.
"Greetings my pha– What in all of Duat…You're not the pharaoh!" With closer inspection, the servant saw the dead king and began to shout. "GUARDS! SOMEONE'S MURDERED THE PHARAOH!" Cluttering armor announced the arrival of some guards.
Yami was even more confused. "What? I never.." The guards seized him and held him in place. Bennu was outraged. How dare they touch him, a god! But they didn't know that. The foolish servant ran to the king's bed and shook him gently.
"Ra, he's dead! What say you, murderer? Why did you do this? Answer at the court. You should know the penalties of murder…especially the pharaoh, the living god."
"I told you, I didn't kill him! Look at the note on the desk."
"You probably counterfeited one. Take him to the prison!"
Yami opened his mouth to protest but remembered what Isis had taught him. Do not struggle unless you want to be killed even sooner. He went without protest, not even when he was thrown roughly into a dark cell. Completely in shock, he just started dangerously at the men. An endless amount of time seemed to pass as he sat in the room all alone.
The guards ran back down and carefully let Yami out of his jail. They sheepishly smiled and dusted off his robes.
"We are deeply sorry, your majesty. We did not know that you were crown prince."
"Listen to what people have to say before you deal out punishments."
"Yea, pharaoh." He walked up the steps that they came down from. On his way up, he crashed into the servant he saw before.
"Pharaoh! Sorry, sorry, sorry!!!" He kneeled down not even caring about the awkward position he was in. "Forgive me, master. I did not know…"
Yami waved his hand. "Excused." The boy bowed once again and left hurriedly. Looking around the hallway when he reached the top, he pondered where to go. Already he disliked mortals a bit. They were hasty and did not listen for details. Yami wandered aimlessly until he saw the throne and smiled. If there was a place where he had to spend endless amounts of time, this would be it. Somehow, the room emanated a peaceful aura. He took a seat and sat while idly fiddling around with his rings. The god wished that his phoenix companion was here. Unfortunately, that would stand out too much.
Word had spread quickly that there was a new pharaoh. The servant had outdone himself. Three women entered the room. One bearing fruit on a platter, another carrying a armful of fresh lotus and the third, a bowl of oil.
"We are here to serve you, king Yami." Two more entered with large palm leaves to fan him. They assumed their positions and duties. Yami was interested in food. People always ate and the people of the highest rank always spent their time eating it. Ambrosia for his mother was always left untouched. She did not eat. He picked up a grape and examined it. Once he was sure it couldn't do any harm, he popped it into his mouth and chewed. Delight shined in his eyes as the sweet flavor met his tongue. Instantly, Yami knew why rich people loved eating. The girl with the flowers showed them to him.
"Pharaoh, which do you like best."
Yami quirked an eyebrow. All of them were perfect, bright blue in color and very fragrant. "The biggest one, in the center there." The girl nodded and put it delicately in his exotic hair. Yami liked that smell. The girl arranged the rest of the blooms along his throne, inclined her head in respect and left. The third girl came up to him and bowed too. He would have to get used to all these gestures of honor."
"May I?" She pointed to the bowl of oil. Reluctantly, he nodded. Questions would be raised if he acted weirdly. He flinched when the girl's fingers touched him. No, he did not like to be touched.
"Pharaoh, is something wrong?"
"No…it's just…the oil's cold."
"Forgive me." Yami waved the apology off. The girl resumed her job. Once all of Yami's visible skin was applied with a light coat of oil, all the girls left. The tray of fruit remained and Yami picked up another. He sad lazily, eating fruit, waiting for something interesting to happen. Nothing did and his patience wore out. 'I will go see Egypt now.' He left on his feet and not on a chariot since he figured he'd see more on his own. The sun was beginning to warm the ground. Merchants and store owners were coming out. Many people were setting up tents to see their goods. Fresh baked bread was now available along with other foods. A fisherman brought his early catch and set it under the shade of his tent. Stray cats gathered around and they were fed. People were already out to buy from the market. A woman waited for a scribe to write a letter to a friend. Yami looked here and there as he walked. No one recognized him and Bennu was glad for it. The word had not gone that far yet.
A well kept and clean temple was not far. Yami wanted to see how mortals worshipped gods. Since his identity was hidden to protect him, he had never been prayed to. He approached the temple and the people within. A strong scent of incense reached his nose. Yami inhaled happily. Though he could not name what fragrance it was, he had smelled it plenty of times in his mother's temples. There was a great statue of Hathor in the back of the temple. On the walls around it, beautiful paintings of Egypt showed their bold colors. Hieroglyphs were carved smoothly into the pillars holding up the roof. Yami traced them with interest. Mortals indeed were very odd. In fact, he would almost call them crazy. People in need would pour their hearts out to any deity that would listen, hoping for some easy solution. Maybe it did help but most problems had to be overcome by the person.
Yami had satisfied his interest and started to leave. Suddenly a priest hurried in and came up to him.
"Pharaoh...I found you!" The people in the temple looked very surprised. They did not believe what they had just heard. In their minds, this youth was not their pharaoh. What had happened to Akunamunkano.
"This is not the place to talk," Yami hissed. The priest blushed and nodded. Yam walked out of the temple and they traveled to a place devoid of nosy people.
"Explain yourself." The priest was blond, with shoulder length hair. He was fitted with white robes and a headdress. On his headdress was a sun that extended twin 'wings'. He couldn't be older than seventeen.
"I am Mahado. I am one of your high priests. I am sorry for appearing so suddenly. The people of the palace discovered that you were not there. I was sent to find you. I'm surprised no one knew you from the clothes you're wearing. It is not easy to miss your tiara."
"It is nice to meet you, Mahado. Is something amiss at the Palace?"
"No…"
"Then, priest, tell them that I am out on a walk and will return shortly."
Mahado bowed and then rushed off. Yami shook his head amusedly. That was certainly interesting. He had his own priests. His next destination was the Nile. Yami wanted to see how the water looked in the mortal's land. Surely it would not be as breathtaking as the one in his homeland. He was awed when he reached the river. The youth was wrong. No, even here in mortal Egypt, the Nile was as awesome as it was in Aalu. In her beautiful waters bloomed several sacred lotus. Pure white, they were a good sign. Even in stagnant muddy waters, these flowers spread their roots and grew. They represented many things. Enlightenment, understanding, unfolding of the spirit, rebirth, love beauty and peace. The intoxicating scent was everywhere in Egypt. Love…it meant love. Yami was determined to find out what that was. Since his enthronement, he was entitled to do almost anything he wanted.
"I wonder what I am not able to do…"
What was his name…Mahado. Mahado had called him back. Something urgent perhaps? He doubted it. Well, so he learned. Peoples needs were not easily satisfied. Yami supposed that he should go back, lest more people were sent to find him. Not coming back could be counted as odd behavior. He did not want to make a bad impression on the first day as ruler. It was barely afternoon though. The suns rays were hot on his shoulders. The young god cursed. The weather had no extremes in his world. Carelessly, he strolled through the markets towards the palace. He watched people doing their odd things. It was even more exciting than from the portal before. Internally, he hoped that he would not see anymore death. Little did he know that it would be quite common in his rule. The palace neared and guards could be seen. That was an improvement. Yami didn't see any on his way out. By the description they were told, the men recognized him as pharaoh. They let him in eagerly.
Mahado's eyes brightened when he saw Yami. Already, the god knew that the youth had taken a liking to him. Could that be love? No…he knew that wasn't. He knew that feeling. It was the same as when he was with his phoenix. That was friendship. He promised to himself that he would befriend him.
"Hello, Mahado."
"Greetings pharaoh! The other high priests have not met you yet! Do take care to walk around and make yourself familiar with the palace. You just were crowned this morning, were you not?"
Yami laughed. Mahado sure was enthusiastic. Of course they were both young.
"Oh I will. I'll walk around. Is there anything specific I am needed for at this time? And I am curious. How many high priests exactly do I have?"
"No, not right now, pharaoh. Well, there are six of us in all. There's me, Karimu, Shadi, Aishezu, Akunadin and," Mahado wrinkled his nose in disgust. "..his son, Set."
"Well, I suppose I will go wander the palace now."
Mahado smiled and bowed. Yami turned around and left. He looked around the vast hallways and wondered where to go. There were enormous entrances to every side of him. Which would be the most interesting? Someone could get lost in there. There was nothing being accomplished by just looking. He walked up to where he could see where all trails lead to. To the left was a hallway to several more. There was too much to see there. In front, even more hallways extended. Finally, to his right, no more doorways were visible. This way did not look very used. In fact, it looked as if no one dared go this way. Dust lined the ground. Upon further examination at the ground, there were light footprints. Someone had gone this way earlier and was still there. Yami wanted to go there. He wondered who would go there when others didn't even touch this ground.
Light from the end of the path illuminated the passage. The walk was not very long. A smell of lotuses reached his nose and he sighed. From far away, he heard birds calling and the splashing of water. A beautiful laugh sounded. Yami identified it as a male. The deep timbre of the laugh was something the god had never heard before. In fact, the son of Nephthys could not even use words to describe it. He now longed to see what kind of man had such a wonderful voice. He walked a little closer and held his breath.
The sight before him had to be a dream.
Water cascaded down into a glittering blue pool. Two palm trees grew next to it in the surrounding green. The formation itself was indeed mysterious. An overflowing oasis in higher ground fueled a stream that ran down several hills and fell into a clear, deep pond. The whole area was fenced off. But that wasn't what made Yami gasp. The man standing in the water awed him. Yami simply would not believe that this enchanting person was mortal.
Brown locks of hair framed a soft, tan face. Water covered his lower half. He was laughing as he splashed the birds around him. From what Yami could see, he was very tall and nicely built. Muscles rippled with each movement beneath the perfectly sculpted skin. But that wasn't what made Yami gasp. The youth had not noticed the god watching him. Set in his handsome face were blue eyes. Stunning sapphrine eyes that made even gold dull. In Aalu, there were beautiful black haired woman with blue eyes but never, never had he seen eyes of such an exquisite shade. They seemed to be emitting their own light. Those lovely blue eyes descended upon the pharaoh. Yami blushed to be caught eyeing the mysterious human in front of him. The smile turned into a look of surprise on the brunette's face. Yami looked away to hide the red in his cheeks.
An awkward moment of silence passed through the two. The young god had never felt so vulnerable in his life.
"…"
Yami blushed a deep crimson. He had never been caught in such an embarrassing moment. Oh, it was so hard not to look at the surrealistic beauty behind him. He heard the other climb out of the water. Yami was ready to turn and run but a hand touched his shoulder. Yami stiffened and turned his head a little. He almost melted under the scrutinizing blue eyes.
"Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?" A pink petal fluttered down. Yami looked up. In the sable locks of his questioner were pink flowers he had never seen before. They smelled wonderful.
"I'm the new pharaoh. Who are you?"
The hand on his shoulder dropped. The stranger stepped back a little. The sapphire orbs narrowed as he looked at Yami. The proper outfit must've convinced him.
"I am your high priest Set. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to…dress." Yami looked down, blushing again.
The taller man walked away from the god. Something in each step he took, commanding the elegance of an immortal made Bennu watch with admiration he had never felt before. The gravity of his initial reaction gained much respect from the god. No mortal had ever dared to touch him. But Set did. Yami still was convinced that such a graceful being was not mortal. How could Mahado dislike him? It was beyond the pharaoh.
One flower had fallen from his priest's hair. Yami bent over to pick it up. He lifted the delicate petals to his nose. No flowers like this ever grew in Aalu. He cradled it close to his heart. Judging by the character of Set, that might've been the closest Yami ever got to him. But then again, maybe not.
"What is this feeling? Is this love?" He didn't know what to tell himself. It was a concept so foreign to him.
~Owari~
I love s/yy. Well, I've got a picky of Bennu on my DA account. If you want to look at it, go to my profile. Sorry if my chapters are short. I have so much homework. Review? I dun like flames.