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Egyptian Princess

Crowing Ceremony part 2

Ryou wandered around the halls dispiritedly looking for Cat. She was so beautiful... he thought. Then, then something else woke in him. Not only that, she possesses some power within herself, that might even rival the Head Sorcerer, Kaiba. More such thoughts entered his head as he continued searching for her. He wondered why she looked so ill so early in the evening....

Kaiba and Lesha strolled through the gorgeous gardens of Memphis. Sweet scents floated through the warm night air. Strange as it seems, there was no one about on such a perfect night except the couple. Kaiba held Lesha's hand rather tightly as the night grew later in the hour. Trying not to wince in pain, Lesha tried to start a conversation. "it's a marvelous night to be out, Kaiba."

Mhm...yes... was all she got in reply. Lesha wondered if he was starting to sleepwalk. She tried again.

"Wasn't the crowning great? I mean, wasn't that awesome how the gods came to Yami's crowning?"

"I called them."

"Oh, of course..."

Kaiba silently cursed himself for talking in such a dead-pan manner. He was next to an intelligent babe who seemed to outshine the other sisters and she was talking to him. Wouldn't someone like her be with the pharaoh instead? Not some sorcerer. He turned to one side where the flowers were. He picked a locus flower and handed it to her. Then Kaiba leaned closer to Lesha. He whispered softly in her ear, "Just as the Nile will always flow, so will my love for you..." Without warning he kissed her.

The wind whistled in her ears and the waters splashed on the shore as Yami and Videl walked on the bank of the Nile. Birds were already asleep in there nests and even the waters seemed to quell their noise at this time.

Somewhat to her discomfort, Yami placed his arm around Videl. She looked at him, her innocent sad like dark brown eyes giving him a slightly startled look. He reluctantly withdrew his arm and walked alongside of her. Videl blushed slightly at what happened. He smiled, reassuring her. "Videl...." he started hesitantly.

"uh, yes Pharaoh?" Videl replied softly. Annoyed with himself, he stepped closer to her. Videl forced herself to stay put. Yami's in my bubble... She thought. For lack of better words, he blurted out, "Videl, I love you!" Their two faces blushed madly in the darkness. An uncomfortable silence followed. Videl's cheeks grew rosy red as she replayed in her mind at what the Pharaoh said. She suddenly grew alarmed as she felt Yami's arms wrap around her. "Yami I-" she began, but he pressed his lips against hers, cutting off her statement. Strangely growing calm she returned the kiss, she felt a comforting glow coming from the ring that the young pharoah gave to her. Neither of the kissing couple noticed something large in the dark that was beginning to stir....

~~~~~~

The palace looked a lot bigger from the inside than it did outside, Cat noted. Still, some parts, particularly the corners of the place looked dark and foreboding. Dragged unmercifully across the floor, she tried desperately to wiggle away. The cords were starting to loosen, too.......

Cat was distracted as they forced her to kneel down on both knees. They're probably going to sacrifice me to one of their gods..... she though sadly. Voices from behind reassured her, for at least a moment. "Hail Malik, ruler of the outer lands!"

Calming herself, Cat relaxed her body, hoping to fool the guards. They fell for it, and they lessened their grip on her. Doing the amazing talent of doing two things at once, Cat half-listened to the long, idiotic speech that one of the guards were giving, and carefully began to loosen the ropes that were cutting into her wrist.

"Cut the theatrics, Anok, and tell me what happened." A male voice cut in. "Well, m'lord, we found this impostor sneaking around the palace grounds." He lifted up the rope that he had tied Cat onto, and found out that she was not there. He had only a moment to comprehend that before he received a hard chop behind the head and fell down. His companion had the same punishment dealt to him as well.

The only sound that was heard was a golden goblet filled with wine falling onto the floor as Malik dropped it in shock.

"Man, that was annoying." Cat said loudly. She suddenly stopped and inhaled deeply as she used the last reserves of her strength. She looked up, but her vision became clouded and fuzzy. Soon, she could not see anything, and her limp body slumped to the floor, glowing slightly. *Pause for effect*

Hmm.....where am I? Cat wondered. A cool, soothing cloth touched her forehead. She jumped up in shock. A lady managed to back away in time to avoid being knocked over. "Where am I?" Cat asked.

"Princess....you are a long way from home." A voice said from behind. Nervous, she whirled around to come face to face with another woman. "Wh-who are you?"

"I am Isis."

"Um, OK, uh, how do you know that I am of royal blood?" Cat said rather haughtily. She hated to be called a princess, it seemed so sissy.

"Leave, before you tempt fate again. You may lose more than your dignity. Come, follow me." Cat's stomach rumbled loudly, quite unladylike, interrupting the walk. "'scuse, me, umm whateveryournameis, what time is it?"

"An hour afore the sun sets."

"Uh, how do you know so much about me?" Before her companion could respond, a tall, very sexy, Malik strolled in the doors. His eyes widened as he saw Cat. "Well, well, who do we have here? Don't answer. I'm sure you're really hungry. D'ya want to enjoy a spectacular banquet with me?" Before Cat could respond, or Isis could react, Malik grabbed her arm and pulled her to his side and strolled down the hallway.

Forgetting all manners, Cat stared at this handsome young man in admiration and wonder. Then she turned her head towards the sound of constant banging. Her breath was taken away at the beautiful banquet lay before her eyes. She gasped in delight at all the delicious foods she saw and smelled. Malik grinned at her reaction and grasped her hand warmly. For the first time in years, she began to feel that warm glow inside of herself. Happily, she returned the smile.

Finally sitting down, and when she gazed at all the food, it took all the self-control and patience she had to keep from gorging all the food in sight. After a humble prayer to the gods, ones she wasn't familiar with, she finally started to eat. "So, what brings a princess out here?" Malik spoke rather bluntly. Slightly nettled at the question, she started with a tactic that boys seemed to love. "Well, I don't know if it is any of your business, sir." Malik laughed. "Says the one who dared to trespass onto my lands and defeated the majority of my guards."

"Those were guards?" Cat asked innocently.

"Now, c'mon, tell me why I would see such a pretty sorceress-princess here?"

"Fine... well, I, ummm...." she blushed faintly, furious with herself. Malik smiled at her again, encouraging her. "If you won't tell me why, then at least tell me where you're from, and what is your name."

"If you insist, my name is Catherine, and I hate that name, so I call myself Cat. I have 2 younger sisters, Lesha & Videl...."

"Videl?!" Malik interrupted her. "Is she the one that Yami proposed to?" Cat eyed him curiously. "Yeah. How'd you know about that?" He shrugged. "C'mon, everybody in the land knows about that. Lemme guess, he tried with you and you blew him off, right?" Cat smirked. "Nope. Never cared about him. I have other interests...." she broke off. Malik gave her one of those dazzling smiles. "So, how come you're still single?"

'Uhmmmmmm...." Suddenly, Cat froze. Chimes behind her tolled out the hour. One...two...three...four...five.....six.....seven..... She grew paler and paler. "Cat, are you OK?" No answer. Sometime later, she managed to relax, and her skin gradually returned to normal. "Cat, answer me!" Malik said sharply, startling her. She shook her head, embarrassed. "Sorry. Is there a window somewhere? I think I need to get a fresh breath of air." Much to her surprise, Malik looked concerned for her. "Right this way. Are you all right? Can you walk?" She rolled her eyes and stood up shakily. He took this as a sign that she was OK, and helped her up. "Well...what are we waiting for?" Cat replied impatiently, and they walked over to a huge open window facing the garden. It even had a well-cushioned window seat as well. Cat was impressed with all the simple luxuries she had seen.

It was wide enough for two people to lie on it comfortably. Cat stroked the velvet-lined cushion gently before sitting down. She looked outside, where there was a full moon shining brightly on the garden. "It's all so beautiful....." she said softly. Malik sat next to her. "Yes, isn't it?"

"You know...I didn't ask you what your name is."

"It's Malik." He breathed in her ear. Cat turned and smiled at him. "I like it."

"What? The palace, the garden...?"

"Everything." She leaned back into him, and got the satisfaction of seeing him slightly blush. "What happened to you at the dinner table?" He asked tenderly. To his surprise, she shuddered. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes."

"Can I trust you?"

"Can you not?"

"Fine...do you know about a man called Seto Kaiba?" Malik's face hardened. "Yes...I know him. Why?"

"He...well....umm...well managed to put a curse on me."

"What?"

"Yeah, and at night I have to struggle to counteract it. It takes a lot of concentration. Sorry. Sigh..."

"Now what?"

"You know why I ran away?"

"I was about to ask." He grinned down at her. "I heard rumors...."

"About what?"

"My marriage." It was Malik's turn to freeze. He held her hand tightly. "with whom?"

"Rayou... a man in my country he asked me to dance with him, but..."

"What?" Cat smiled at him. "I like you better." Without warning, she kissed him. There were no words to describe the shock on his face. Then, he too returned the kiss, and wrapped his arms around her. Tears pricked her eyes as she felt the new joy within her. Eventually, they paused, with Malik still looking quite stunned. "You, know... you could have all this....." He whispered to her. Cat smiled and snuggled closer. "I would....." Pleased with herself, she tilted her head against his chest and began to fall asleep. Malik looked at Cat under the moonlight. There was such power within her.... He ran his fingers across her thin, muscular frame. She looked like a girl that would never back away from a good fight. It's not too often you find a girl that is powerful and beautiful at the same time. Oh, how he wanted her! He went to enfold her waist with his arms, only to get a slight zap. He studied her carefully. So... she found one of the Lost Millenium Items... he came to the discovery just as he was falling asleep under the stars.

Malik arose early the next morning feeling very satisfied. "So, Cat--?" He turned to ask her, but she wasn't there. A piece of paper was pinned down where she was. Without hesitation, he opened it.

Malik,

*I am thy first love, I am thy garden

Scented with spices, fragrant with flowers.

Deep runs my channel, smoothed by thy tillage,

Cooled by the North Wind, filled by the Nile.

I'm sorry to leave you so, but I must return to my duties. I want to keep this relationship secret. You'll probably understand. I will miss you and think about you everyday. I will try to come and see you. BUT DON'T COME TO SEE ME! I fear for you.

Love, Cat

*King Tut's love poem to somebody.

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