Bound
Chapter Thirteen
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Mahalah patted Anzu's back sentimentally. She knew what it was like to be alone. Her parents had died when she was a child, much like Anzu, and she had no siblings to turn to, nor any welcoming relatives. She had survived well on her own for seven years until she was captured as a slave at the age of sixteen. She had been a temple slave for the first year, but had been moved to dancer status as her young beauty blossomed. Unlike the other girls, she hadn't been regretful of becoming a dancer; she made the best out of every situation life threw her way. "Don't fear, sweetling. You're too good for him anyway," she murmured softly. Anzu's shoulders shook with silent sobs. Mahalah felt even more pity for her since she wouldn't allow herself to audibly express her sadness and anger.
"It is hard for me to believe that I actually care what he thinks. He abandoned me when I was just a small child! How could I think he would be sorry now?" Anzu spat, most of her anger directed at herself.
Mahalah tsked. "He is a fool to reject such a wonderful daughter! He is not a father, so you should not consider him so." Mahalah looked up when she heard the main door open and close. She lifted Anzu's chin with a finger and wiped away one of her crystalline tears.
"Dry your tears; he isn't worth it. I'll be right back," she said in a loving, yet commanding tone before rising to head towards the meeting room. However, Yuugi had already walked to the dining room and had stopped to stare at Anzu huddled on the floor.
Mahalah bowed, and Yuugi asked, "Is she ill?"
The older woman shook her head. "My Pharaoh, she is hurt about her father." Yuugi's eyes narrowed and his lips turned downward in a sneer.
"He is a pitiful creature," Yuugi stated bluntly.
Mahalah nodded in agreement. "Indeed, he is."
"Anzu," Yuugi cleared his throat regally, "I assure you that your horrible father shall never be invited to court unless it is to issue him his punishment; he is disgraced."
Mahalah fought back a grin at the young Pharaoh's methods. She knew he was trying to help Anzu's pride, yet she found the way he went about it nothing short of amusing. Anzu wiped at her eyes and stood up slowly. "Thank you for trying to make me feel better... both of you."
Mahalah smiled gently. After Yuugi's bath was brought to him and he had already prepared and left for the midday meal in the great hall, Mahalah and Anzu returned to their daily duties, both glad to have something to keep their minds busy.
~*~*~
Bakura stared around him in both amazement and horror. A few of the other boys, mostly around his age, had stopped to stare at him appreciatively. However, most spared him a glance, but ignored him otherwise. If he wasn't so astonished, he would find the entire situation quite humorous. He was a manwhore.
"You!" he pointed out one of the boys staring at him. The gorgeous ebony-haired, golden-eyed spectacle of complete bronzed male hesitated then approached Bakura.
"Yes?" he asked in a deep tone once he stood in front of his opposite in appearance, Bakura. There wasn't a thing feminine about the boy who Bakura guessed to be eighteen or nineteen. Damn, but he was beautiful. Bakura shook himself out of his stupor.
"What is this? A damn man harem?!" he demanded though he already knew the answer. The boy covered his smiling mouth with a hand.
"Women have needs, as well. Welcome," he said simply, lowering his hand to his side. Bakura sighed exaggeratedly.
"So... what? Noblewomen call on us for a good romp in the sack?" he joked and the other man nodded soberly. Bakura shook his head bemusedly. "I never knew that there was a harem in the Palace for men..." he trailed off, looking around. "This is fucking ridiculous. Now I'm a damn pleasure slave."
The boy raised an eyebrow curiously at Bakura's displeasure. "Are you a virgin?"
Bakura scoffed. "Of course not!" He eyed the apparel of the other boys which was minimal at best. "I hope I'm not expected to clothe in practically nothing." Bakura didn't wait for an answer before he stalked off to the darkest corner of the room to sulk.
~*~*~
Anzu spun around in a circle as she eyed the vegetable, fruit and herb garden amazedly. She didn't particularly love cooking or any ingredients dealing with it, but she loved nature. Since the glorious garden contained trees and plants of a non-food nature, she was in heaven. The Pharaoh had given her the task of collecting the dinner meal's ingredients.
She was happy to admit to herself that they were really starting to get along well together. Sometimes if Yuugi was finished with his duties early, he would come back to his chambers in the evening and they would talk about minor and unimportant things. He still irritated her sometimes, but he was nice to talk to, as well.
She waved over to a Palace servant who she had spoken with a few times when he helped the lady servants gather up the Pharaoh's laundry, bedding and so forth. He had taken to calling her Miss Anzu, a name that had made her blush profusely. She had politely reminded him that she was a servant, just as he was, but he insisted that she carried herself as a lady should.
She crouched down next to a tomato plant and plucked a few especially ripe ones and put them in her basket. She walked a little further, gathering up a few spices and herbs along the way. After half an hour of gathering ingredients, she backed up against the Palace wall to take a small break.
Just in time, she heard the swoosh of the wind as the boulder soared down towards her head. She hadn't even time to scream before she darted out of the way at the last minute. The boulder landed on her foot, however, which did indeed elicit a scream of pain from her lips. Her friend had spotted the whole incident and came running to her side. He struggled, but eventually got the boulder off of her foot.
Amidst the tears streaming from her eyes, Anzu managed to look above her in time to see a shadow flee back inside the Palace. Her servant friend lifted her effortlessly into his arms and walked towards the Palace entrance, but she felt and saw no more as she fell into the blissfulness of unconsciousness.
Anzu awoke what she figured to be a few minutes later to see the door to Yuugi's chambers being opened by Mahalah. The older lady let out a gasp of horror as she saw Anzu's half-conscious state.
"My foot... it hurts," Anzu croaked out, her voice breaking at a high pitch. Mahalah ushered the servant inside where he deposited her gently onto Yuugi's plush couch.
"Miss Anzu had a big rock felling on her foot," he said with downcast eyes. Mahalah ushered him back out, thanking him gratefully, before flocking back to Anzu's side in a motherly fashion. She examined Anzu's blue and swolen foot briefly.
"My lord Pharaoh!" she called out as she ran into the dining room. He had just been finishing his midday meal. Mahalah had to restrain herself from dragging him to Anzu's side. When he questioned her on what was going on, she had only made a sound of desperation. His eyes widened as he spotted Anzu laying on his couch, cradling her foot and crying silently.
"Fetch the physician," he ordered Mahalah. She wringed her hands as she ran out the door to do her bidding. Yuugi gently pried Anzu's hands away from her foot to examine it more closely.
"What happened?" he asked, moving her hair away from her face.
"Yuugi," she whispered. That she said his name so affectionately gave him pause. He felt his stomach flip over, but pressed on.
"Yes?"
"I think someone tried to kill me. I saw a shadow after the boulder fell on me," she said in a barely audible volume. He sat back in shock.
"A boulder? In the garden? What absurdity is this? Who would have cause to bring you harm?" he bombarded her. Anzu's head swarmed with the many questions, and she almost fell back into unconsciousness.
"Anzu!" he shouted, shaking her slightly. Her head lolled back and forth, it throbbing with the pain stemming from her foot. As she stared into his violet-magenta eyes, the pain subsided for a few moments. She grasped his hand softly. He slowly leaned forward, and Anzu's heart caught in her throat. Her breathing sped up as his lips hovered dangerously close to her own. Fortunately, or unfortunately -- she wasn't quite sure -- the door burst open with a frazzled Mahalah and the physician in its wake.
Yuugi stood and backed away to allow the physician access to Anzu's injured person. Anzu, on the other hand, spent the next five minutes calming her beating heart.
~*~*~
Bakura drummed his fingers on his bare thigh in an attempt to slow his raging temper. He had insisted that he would simply not be wearing any type of minimal malewhore clothing. He simply would not! He glared down at his white apparel. It consisted of a short -- unbearably short -- kilt, and absolutely not a thing to cover his chest. He admitted to himself, albeit grudgingly, that a lot of the Egyptian male population didn't have any cloth covering their chests, but he usually did not fall into that category. He usually liked his robe just fine, thank you very much.
He had already seen two ladies of apparently important stature stop by these secret-kept chambers to point out a fine piece of meat to entertain them for the evening. From what Bakura could gather, he was simply to remain as he was in case a lady should pick him out. What a joke. Male concubines. Why, the very idea was ludicrous.
His eyes narrowed as a new lady looked his way, and his cruel gaze quickly turned her attentions elsewhere. And it was just as well. He certainly did not like being put up on the auction block, so to speak. He continued to drum his fingers irritably for the next two hours, glaring at any female who entered. His 'friend' from earlier had taken it upon himself to keep Bakura company. Bakura all but ignored him, however.
After another thirty minutes, a familiar figure entered the 'whoring facilities,' as Bakura had begun referring to his new living quarters as. The dark boy seated next to Bakura gasped and quickly tapped Bakura on the shoulder.
"That's the High Priestess Isis's brother!" he exclaimed in as quiet a whisper as he could manage. Bakura, however, had already noticed Malik. How could he not? "Oh, goodness! He's coming this way!" the boy continued excitedly. "He's never been here before, but I always thought he was magnificent when I first worked in the temples."
Bakura stood to acknowledge Malik. He mustered up as much pride as he could to hide the fact that he was, in fact, extremely embarrassed about his mandatory attire. When the blond stopped before Bakura, he looked him up and down purposefully.
"Mayhap I should leave you here and simply call on you every once in a while," Malik said seriously. Bakura resisted the urge to wring his neck.
"Get me out of here," he ground out. Then he smiled maliciously. "Or if you would prefer me to be called upon by my various admirers?"
The dark-haired boy still sitting on the floor looked between them curiously. Malik chuckled. "Don't make me jealous," he said with a grin. He took Bakura by the hand and led him out of the chambers. A few of the boys gawked at them as they passed by, some in jealousy of Bakura being taken off by such a handsome man.
As soon as Malik and Bakura were out of hearing range and not a soul was nearby, they dropped the pretense of two lustful boys about to satisfy their urges.
"A whore? They couldn't have thought of anything better?!" Bakura yelled, trying to keep his voice low, but to no avail.
"You look so cute though," Malik admonished cheekily. He sobered then. "Enough about that though. We must be more secretive not only because of my damned sister, but because the Pharaoh might even become suspicious."
"The Pharaoh? What did you do?!" Bakura accused. Malik glared at him.
"I did nothing! After our last meeting, I did not tell you this, but I had a feeling someone was watching us. And so I was right. I had to dispose of him, of course, but I'm unsure of whether he was completely dead or not. After I stabbed him, he ran off and hid." Malik paused fretfully. "I don't know if he made it back to the Palace or not."
"Good job leaving business unfinished," Bakura scolded angrily. Malik turned his back to the other man abruptly.
"It isn't as if I did it apurpose!"
"Fine. So we need to be more secretive. You have made that abundantly clear," Bakura said, turning Malik back around to face him.
"Was that our first lovers' quarrel?" Malik purred, running his finger down Bakura's chest seductively.
Bakura eyed where his finger was traveling and asked incredulously, "Can you think of nothing else?" Malik shook his head shamelessly and pulled Bakura towards the nearest vacant room. It didn't take long since they were still in the pleasure quarters of the Palace, and neither of them needed any invitation.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
NEXT CHAPTER: Yuugi's birthday is one week away and Bakura and Malik's plan is down to the nitty-gritty. A second attempt is made on Anzu's life. Yuugi starts to come to a realization.
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Aw... the kiss was so close! Alas, not yet should it come. XD The next chapter will be the beginning of the end. ...Eh, so to speak. XD There's probably five to eight chapters left; I'm not entirely sure because I'm not positive exactly how the ending will go. It'll just have to flow out of me. I've had a lot of essays and presentations since the end of the semester is nearing; finals are also around the corner. So saying, I have no clue when the next chapter will be out, but it probably won't be very soon. Hang in there with me!
Chapter Thirteen
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Mahalah patted Anzu's back sentimentally. She knew what it was like to be alone. Her parents had died when she was a child, much like Anzu, and she had no siblings to turn to, nor any welcoming relatives. She had survived well on her own for seven years until she was captured as a slave at the age of sixteen. She had been a temple slave for the first year, but had been moved to dancer status as her young beauty blossomed. Unlike the other girls, she hadn't been regretful of becoming a dancer; she made the best out of every situation life threw her way. "Don't fear, sweetling. You're too good for him anyway," she murmured softly. Anzu's shoulders shook with silent sobs. Mahalah felt even more pity for her since she wouldn't allow herself to audibly express her sadness and anger.
"It is hard for me to believe that I actually care what he thinks. He abandoned me when I was just a small child! How could I think he would be sorry now?" Anzu spat, most of her anger directed at herself.
Mahalah tsked. "He is a fool to reject such a wonderful daughter! He is not a father, so you should not consider him so." Mahalah looked up when she heard the main door open and close. She lifted Anzu's chin with a finger and wiped away one of her crystalline tears.
"Dry your tears; he isn't worth it. I'll be right back," she said in a loving, yet commanding tone before rising to head towards the meeting room. However, Yuugi had already walked to the dining room and had stopped to stare at Anzu huddled on the floor.
Mahalah bowed, and Yuugi asked, "Is she ill?"
The older woman shook her head. "My Pharaoh, she is hurt about her father." Yuugi's eyes narrowed and his lips turned downward in a sneer.
"He is a pitiful creature," Yuugi stated bluntly.
Mahalah nodded in agreement. "Indeed, he is."
"Anzu," Yuugi cleared his throat regally, "I assure you that your horrible father shall never be invited to court unless it is to issue him his punishment; he is disgraced."
Mahalah fought back a grin at the young Pharaoh's methods. She knew he was trying to help Anzu's pride, yet she found the way he went about it nothing short of amusing. Anzu wiped at her eyes and stood up slowly. "Thank you for trying to make me feel better... both of you."
Mahalah smiled gently. After Yuugi's bath was brought to him and he had already prepared and left for the midday meal in the great hall, Mahalah and Anzu returned to their daily duties, both glad to have something to keep their minds busy.
~*~*~
Bakura stared around him in both amazement and horror. A few of the other boys, mostly around his age, had stopped to stare at him appreciatively. However, most spared him a glance, but ignored him otherwise. If he wasn't so astonished, he would find the entire situation quite humorous. He was a manwhore.
"You!" he pointed out one of the boys staring at him. The gorgeous ebony-haired, golden-eyed spectacle of complete bronzed male hesitated then approached Bakura.
"Yes?" he asked in a deep tone once he stood in front of his opposite in appearance, Bakura. There wasn't a thing feminine about the boy who Bakura guessed to be eighteen or nineteen. Damn, but he was beautiful. Bakura shook himself out of his stupor.
"What is this? A damn man harem?!" he demanded though he already knew the answer. The boy covered his smiling mouth with a hand.
"Women have needs, as well. Welcome," he said simply, lowering his hand to his side. Bakura sighed exaggeratedly.
"So... what? Noblewomen call on us for a good romp in the sack?" he joked and the other man nodded soberly. Bakura shook his head bemusedly. "I never knew that there was a harem in the Palace for men..." he trailed off, looking around. "This is fucking ridiculous. Now I'm a damn pleasure slave."
The boy raised an eyebrow curiously at Bakura's displeasure. "Are you a virgin?"
Bakura scoffed. "Of course not!" He eyed the apparel of the other boys which was minimal at best. "I hope I'm not expected to clothe in practically nothing." Bakura didn't wait for an answer before he stalked off to the darkest corner of the room to sulk.
~*~*~
Anzu spun around in a circle as she eyed the vegetable, fruit and herb garden amazedly. She didn't particularly love cooking or any ingredients dealing with it, but she loved nature. Since the glorious garden contained trees and plants of a non-food nature, she was in heaven. The Pharaoh had given her the task of collecting the dinner meal's ingredients.
She was happy to admit to herself that they were really starting to get along well together. Sometimes if Yuugi was finished with his duties early, he would come back to his chambers in the evening and they would talk about minor and unimportant things. He still irritated her sometimes, but he was nice to talk to, as well.
She waved over to a Palace servant who she had spoken with a few times when he helped the lady servants gather up the Pharaoh's laundry, bedding and so forth. He had taken to calling her Miss Anzu, a name that had made her blush profusely. She had politely reminded him that she was a servant, just as he was, but he insisted that she carried herself as a lady should.
She crouched down next to a tomato plant and plucked a few especially ripe ones and put them in her basket. She walked a little further, gathering up a few spices and herbs along the way. After half an hour of gathering ingredients, she backed up against the Palace wall to take a small break.
Just in time, she heard the swoosh of the wind as the boulder soared down towards her head. She hadn't even time to scream before she darted out of the way at the last minute. The boulder landed on her foot, however, which did indeed elicit a scream of pain from her lips. Her friend had spotted the whole incident and came running to her side. He struggled, but eventually got the boulder off of her foot.
Amidst the tears streaming from her eyes, Anzu managed to look above her in time to see a shadow flee back inside the Palace. Her servant friend lifted her effortlessly into his arms and walked towards the Palace entrance, but she felt and saw no more as she fell into the blissfulness of unconsciousness.
Anzu awoke what she figured to be a few minutes later to see the door to Yuugi's chambers being opened by Mahalah. The older lady let out a gasp of horror as she saw Anzu's half-conscious state.
"My foot... it hurts," Anzu croaked out, her voice breaking at a high pitch. Mahalah ushered the servant inside where he deposited her gently onto Yuugi's plush couch.
"Miss Anzu had a big rock felling on her foot," he said with downcast eyes. Mahalah ushered him back out, thanking him gratefully, before flocking back to Anzu's side in a motherly fashion. She examined Anzu's blue and swolen foot briefly.
"My lord Pharaoh!" she called out as she ran into the dining room. He had just been finishing his midday meal. Mahalah had to restrain herself from dragging him to Anzu's side. When he questioned her on what was going on, she had only made a sound of desperation. His eyes widened as he spotted Anzu laying on his couch, cradling her foot and crying silently.
"Fetch the physician," he ordered Mahalah. She wringed her hands as she ran out the door to do her bidding. Yuugi gently pried Anzu's hands away from her foot to examine it more closely.
"What happened?" he asked, moving her hair away from her face.
"Yuugi," she whispered. That she said his name so affectionately gave him pause. He felt his stomach flip over, but pressed on.
"Yes?"
"I think someone tried to kill me. I saw a shadow after the boulder fell on me," she said in a barely audible volume. He sat back in shock.
"A boulder? In the garden? What absurdity is this? Who would have cause to bring you harm?" he bombarded her. Anzu's head swarmed with the many questions, and she almost fell back into unconsciousness.
"Anzu!" he shouted, shaking her slightly. Her head lolled back and forth, it throbbing with the pain stemming from her foot. As she stared into his violet-magenta eyes, the pain subsided for a few moments. She grasped his hand softly. He slowly leaned forward, and Anzu's heart caught in her throat. Her breathing sped up as his lips hovered dangerously close to her own. Fortunately, or unfortunately -- she wasn't quite sure -- the door burst open with a frazzled Mahalah and the physician in its wake.
Yuugi stood and backed away to allow the physician access to Anzu's injured person. Anzu, on the other hand, spent the next five minutes calming her beating heart.
~*~*~
Bakura drummed his fingers on his bare thigh in an attempt to slow his raging temper. He had insisted that he would simply not be wearing any type of minimal malewhore clothing. He simply would not! He glared down at his white apparel. It consisted of a short -- unbearably short -- kilt, and absolutely not a thing to cover his chest. He admitted to himself, albeit grudgingly, that a lot of the Egyptian male population didn't have any cloth covering their chests, but he usually did not fall into that category. He usually liked his robe just fine, thank you very much.
He had already seen two ladies of apparently important stature stop by these secret-kept chambers to point out a fine piece of meat to entertain them for the evening. From what Bakura could gather, he was simply to remain as he was in case a lady should pick him out. What a joke. Male concubines. Why, the very idea was ludicrous.
His eyes narrowed as a new lady looked his way, and his cruel gaze quickly turned her attentions elsewhere. And it was just as well. He certainly did not like being put up on the auction block, so to speak. He continued to drum his fingers irritably for the next two hours, glaring at any female who entered. His 'friend' from earlier had taken it upon himself to keep Bakura company. Bakura all but ignored him, however.
After another thirty minutes, a familiar figure entered the 'whoring facilities,' as Bakura had begun referring to his new living quarters as. The dark boy seated next to Bakura gasped and quickly tapped Bakura on the shoulder.
"That's the High Priestess Isis's brother!" he exclaimed in as quiet a whisper as he could manage. Bakura, however, had already noticed Malik. How could he not? "Oh, goodness! He's coming this way!" the boy continued excitedly. "He's never been here before, but I always thought he was magnificent when I first worked in the temples."
Bakura stood to acknowledge Malik. He mustered up as much pride as he could to hide the fact that he was, in fact, extremely embarrassed about his mandatory attire. When the blond stopped before Bakura, he looked him up and down purposefully.
"Mayhap I should leave you here and simply call on you every once in a while," Malik said seriously. Bakura resisted the urge to wring his neck.
"Get me out of here," he ground out. Then he smiled maliciously. "Or if you would prefer me to be called upon by my various admirers?"
The dark-haired boy still sitting on the floor looked between them curiously. Malik chuckled. "Don't make me jealous," he said with a grin. He took Bakura by the hand and led him out of the chambers. A few of the boys gawked at them as they passed by, some in jealousy of Bakura being taken off by such a handsome man.
As soon as Malik and Bakura were out of hearing range and not a soul was nearby, they dropped the pretense of two lustful boys about to satisfy their urges.
"A whore? They couldn't have thought of anything better?!" Bakura yelled, trying to keep his voice low, but to no avail.
"You look so cute though," Malik admonished cheekily. He sobered then. "Enough about that though. We must be more secretive not only because of my damned sister, but because the Pharaoh might even become suspicious."
"The Pharaoh? What did you do?!" Bakura accused. Malik glared at him.
"I did nothing! After our last meeting, I did not tell you this, but I had a feeling someone was watching us. And so I was right. I had to dispose of him, of course, but I'm unsure of whether he was completely dead or not. After I stabbed him, he ran off and hid." Malik paused fretfully. "I don't know if he made it back to the Palace or not."
"Good job leaving business unfinished," Bakura scolded angrily. Malik turned his back to the other man abruptly.
"It isn't as if I did it apurpose!"
"Fine. So we need to be more secretive. You have made that abundantly clear," Bakura said, turning Malik back around to face him.
"Was that our first lovers' quarrel?" Malik purred, running his finger down Bakura's chest seductively.
Bakura eyed where his finger was traveling and asked incredulously, "Can you think of nothing else?" Malik shook his head shamelessly and pulled Bakura towards the nearest vacant room. It didn't take long since they were still in the pleasure quarters of the Palace, and neither of them needed any invitation.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
NEXT CHAPTER: Yuugi's birthday is one week away and Bakura and Malik's plan is down to the nitty-gritty. A second attempt is made on Anzu's life. Yuugi starts to come to a realization.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Aw... the kiss was so close! Alas, not yet should it come. XD The next chapter will be the beginning of the end. ...Eh, so to speak. XD There's probably five to eight chapters left; I'm not entirely sure because I'm not positive exactly how the ending will go. It'll just have to flow out of me. I've had a lot of essays and presentations since the end of the semester is nearing; finals are also around the corner. So saying, I have no clue when the next chapter will be out, but it probably won't be very soon. Hang in there with me!