[Well, I have the chaps handy, might as well upload them, ne? the last chap was bloody and violent. And... kinda sad ;-;. Well, now... the battle ends.]
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Dance the Forbidden Dance
Chapter Ten
"The Battle Ends; Aftermath"
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Yami, for the rest of his life, would wonder what happened in those feeble hours between midnight and dawn, when the Imperial Order congregated with the militia to finally beat off those foreign invaders. He had heard rumors and had been told stories, but the picture never became clear in his mind.
The reason being, around midnight, he had been knocked unconscious by a blow to the back of the head. He wasn't sure what had happened or who had done it, but all he remembered were some screams, yells, and cheers in another language.
Next thing he knew, he was opening his eyes, very bright lights above his head. He remembered blinking a lot from the morning light and the torches above him, and Asenath was wetting his head with a cloth.
Asenath hadn't known he was awake. She was looking in the opposite direction, talking to someone. It sounded like Mahaado from the voice speaking back to her from the doorway. He turned slightly and muttered "Nefer-Asen..."
From what he had heard, soon after he had been knocked out, the Imperial Order decided that it was now time to face brute strength with magic. So his father's priests destroyed what little hopes the invaders had left of winning, causing them to back down.
At a great price, however.
The northern border of the city was in shambles. It wasn't a place where many people lived, but a lot of people had been hiding there and were injured in the battles. Tents had been set up by the younger members of the Imperial Order, while the older units watched for any more attacks. The injured were laid out on blankets, and doctors and any other able people began to try to save as many innocents as possible.
Most of the militia was laid out on those blankets. Unfortunately, the militia had been cut nearly in half.
"Come on, come on, now," Jono said softly to a female nurse, who was trying to calm a soldier. "It'll be alright." Jono shifted his position, the sling around his neck making it hard to bend down efficiently. He glanced down the rows of people, ranging from soldiers to small children. He traveled to the next tent, where the surviving injured of the militia were stationed. All of the people who had been killed were being buried out in the sands. There was just too many of them.
"Hey," Jono called, walking in. Men in the militia were sitting up, talking to each other and their families. Jono saw many a flurried woman throw her arms around a militia man, hanging onto his neck and praising him for his safe return. Jono's heart fell for those who didn't return.
He glanced out into the city center, where they were stationed. The sun was high in the sky, which is why tents were set up. Able children were busily scrubbing and cleaning the center, so it was sanitary enough for proper medical procedures.
"Hey, Jono, you're not dead," a voice said from behind him. Jono turned to see Tiet sitting cross-legged on a bed made of blankets and fibers, his right arm and his back covered with bandages. He was holding a cup of steaming liquid in his hands, smiling at his friend.
"Hey, you're not dead, either," Jono joked, laughing. He shot a quick glance around the tent, searching for his raven-haired friend...
Dai wasn't there.
He didn't make it.
Jono knew this; he had seen Dai die out in the battlefield. Still... He secretly wished Dai would be alright. Tiet sighed heavily and drank from his cup.
"Seems that we won, eh, Jono?" Tiet said off-handedly. "All's that's going on now is to see if good ol' Yami is still with us."
"I know," Jono admitted. "When I heard he had been injured..." he trailed off. Tiet closed his eyes and shook his head.
"Ya' know, he was their objective," Tiet said softly. "Killin' Yami. They eitha' wanted Yami or lil' Sekhem dead. Or both. That've made their day."
"Yeah..." Jono shuffled his feet nervously and glanced at the tall wall surrounding the palace. No one had come to announce that Yami was actually alive.
"Shit... they had better do it soon," Jono said slowly. "Because the people are getting antsy."
"Me included," Tiet said, motioning towards himself. "I' anxious to hear if Yami is still alive. Hell, we'd be caught in one nasty situation if he ain't."
"I agree."
Rumors and whispers flew everywhere. People whispered to each other, saying that the prince was dead. A lot of people had seen the attacker run up silently behind him and whack him in the back of the head with a long, sharp, metal sword...
The invaders had cheered, thinking they had succeeded in killing the future Pharaoh.
Would they be disappointed if they knew...
Jono walked through the tent, acknowledging that a good deal of his troops were still alive. He felt his heart wrench as he realized many of his good friends were gone, but he moved onto the next tent. This one was filled with young children and young teens. People about eleven and younger. Sometimes, the occasional thirteen-year-old or fourteen-year-old.
Jono walked through, looking down at little kids with various wounds. He walked along, not really focusing on any...
"Jono!" a voice said from the ground. Jono stopped.
That voice--
"Maia?!" Jono cried, spinning around and kneeling down. Maia was sitting cross-legged beside a make-shift bed, where a young-looking, dark-haired girl was laying. Her breaths were raspy and her side was bandaged from the heavy bleeding. She was lying on her side, Maia gently brushing all the dirt out of her hair.
"Maia... Thank Ra you're alive..." he whispered, holding onto her. They embraced for a moment, Maia pulling back, tears in her eyes.
"I was so sure... That... You..."
"Shh," Jono said, pressing his finger to her lips. "I'm here now. And... Holy--!"
The girl laying on her side was Teana.
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Asenath wouldn't let Yami sit up.
"You're injured," she said, a huge grin plastered on her face. She couldn't hide the fact that she was joyous for his awakening. Yami sighed.
"Nefer-Asen, I'm fine," he protested. Hearing her childish nickname being said by a thirteen-year-old made her laugh a bit. He hadn't called her that since he was Sekhem's age. Maybe younger.
Yami attempted to sit up, but Asenath pushed him back down.
"Rest for at least a couple more hours--"
"Nefer-Asen!!"
"Just go with her, Yami," Mahaado said from the doorway, chuckling. "She hasn't left your side since the fighting ceased hours ago."
"Mahaado, shouldn't you be downstairs?" Asenath asked, rolling her eyes. The future priest shook his head.
"Nah, we're not needed. We're not important."
"Yet. Not until he's Pharaoh," Asenath said, motioning to Yami. Yami rolled his eyes. Mahaado shrugged.
"Ah, so you say. At his rate, he'll be dead before then."
"Mahaado!!"
"It's true," Mahaado said, shrugging again. He had a knack for a speaking a little too truthfully. Yami scoffed and laid back down, resting his head on his pillow.
"Go find the others, then," Asenath said. "I don't know why Father insists you all stay here. I don't understand why you were even chosen, Mahaado," she said, thinking for a moment. Mahaado shifted his feet.
"An Item took to me."
"Why you?"
"I don't know. The Sennen Ring just likes me."
"Yeah, sure...." Asenath looked down at Yami. She honestly couldn't think of a time that her father and his priests weren't in charge. It would be strange once Yami took control. He would be Pharaoh instead, and six new priests would be issued to the Sennen Items. Five priests had already been chosen by five of the Items.
Mahaado turned to leave, when he ran right into Seto.
"Ah, just who Asenath doesn't want to see," Mahaado said, walking by Seto. Seto frowned and entered the room.
"What was he just talking about? And why was a low-life servant like him doing up here?" Seto asked harshly.
"Calm yourself, he's one of Yami's future priests. He has... a right," Asenath explained. "I was just saying how annoying it was to have you all wandering around here." Seto frowned even more and walked into Yami's room.
"I came here to see if he was awake yet," Seto said slowly. Asenath nodded.
"He's awake and doing well. His wounds aren't that great. Just a blow to his head. He'll be fine." Seto folded his arms behind his back and stepped forwards, his tunic swishing lightly.
"You're sure...?" he asked. Yami sat up again, his forearms shaking a little.
"I'm right here, Seto," he said, smiling. "I'm alright. Nefer-Asen..."
Asenath scoffed.
"Fine," she said reluctantly. Yami smiled brighter, sitting up more. He rotated his shoulders and stretched his arms, then pushed his covers back. "Where's Father?"
"Downstairs, in the courtyard," Seto said, nodding. He knew he should treat the Prince with proper respect as he slowly climbed out of bed, but he was injured, pissed-off, and just plain tired and sick of all the fighting.
Along with his cousins, he, too, had been born into a time of great war and death. And he didn't like it that much...
"Come on, Yami," Asenath said, taking his arm in her hand. "I'm sure Father wants you." Yami nodded, wincing a bit as he lurched forward. It wasn't until then that he realized something strange.
"Sekhem... Where is Sekhem?" Yami asked. "And Aklia?"
"Aklia's downstairs," Asenath explained. She looked to Seto. "I... Don't know what happened to Sekhem." Seto opened his mouth, then a thought passed his mind. He narrowed his eyes devilishly, but looked to the floor. "Seto...?"
"Where's Sekhem?" Yami asked, panic rising in his voice. Seto looked away, turning around and leaving the room without a word. Asenath felt her heart quicken.
What had happened to Sekhem?! She thought, gripping Yami's forearm a little too tightly. Yami didn't notice, however, for his mind was thinking along the same lines as Asenath. He began to shake a little, his own natural reaction to stress and anxiety.
Did Sekhem make it?
As he walked down the hallway, Seto thought about what he had done. He wasn't sure why he had played such a mean trick on them, but he couldn't help it. He was tempted to do it.
"It was... So easy," he muttered to himself. "Just so damn easy to do..." He knew Sekhem was in the courtyard with his father, having made it out with barely a scratch.
Lucky, for everyone else had wounds.
Seto stopped walking at his quick pace. His right leg - from his hip to his toes - was throbbing. He had been stabbed in the thigh, twisted his ankle, nearly broke his knee, and been flipped and had twisted the joint that attached his thigh to his hip. All on the same leg.
"Oww... ow ow ow owww..." he murmured, hopping on one foot for a few feet. He gingerly dropped his foot to the hard stone floor, slipping his sandal off to see if there was anything wrong. The large, crimson bandage down his leg was mostly hidden by his long tunic and robes, but he could feel it through his clothing. It was very thick and it felt strange, like his right leg had become twice as big as before. Wriggling his toes, he slid his sandal back onto his foot, gently tapping them to the stone. Then he went on his way.
Damn injuries, he thought. Always in my way.
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Ankumanukanon was sitting on a stone bench, head in his hands. They had defeated the army... But at a cost of many lives. It was a lucky thing he broke in when he did, or the entire militia might have been wiped out. Sekhem, who was unharmed, was tying, untying, then re-tying his sash. He couldn't get it tight enough for his liking. Ankumanukanon watched without really focusing on the boy. He was also worried on the welfare of Yami.
Everytime he thought of Yami, he thought about Asenath. Which lead to the 'victory' the foreigners thought they had won.
They had successfully killed off Asenath. Three arrows, right to her heart. She was barely breathing when they got her to the palace.
Ankumanukanon wondered where he would be if Asenath wasn't a Blessed Child. She would have died long ago, he knew... This morning, she woke up with sore shoulders and a sore chest. No wounds, perfectly fine...
He glanced over at Sekhem, who, unknowingly, was a Divine Child himself. Another child of the gods. Sekhem had the ability to see into souls and to lighten the mood, to read what your fears were by looking straight into your eyes. He could tell what type or person you were or would come out to be.
Sekhem pushed his black hair back and angrily un-tied his sash again.
"Damnit," he muttered, tying it again. Soon, he gave up and threw up his hands, sitting down on the warm ground instead. Ankumanukanon smiled a half smile.
"Father!" a voice called from the edge of the courtyard. Asenath, with Yami in toe, was standing there, walking into the yard. Her eyes fell upon Sekhem, and both she and Yami sighed with great relief.
"Sekhem!" They cried, running over to him. Sekhem blinked, confused. "You're alive!"
"Of course," Ankumanukanon said, smiling still. He was glad both Asenath and Yami were alive. "He had barely a scratch." Both Asenath and Yami frowned at Sekhem with pretend jealousy. Sekhem beamed.
"It was funny to watch the faces of the invaders when they heard Father say that you two weren't gonna die," Sekhem remarked. He got on his knees and smiled at them. "You two were a mess."
"Yes, they thought that they had slaughtered you both," Ankumanukanon said, sighing. "How mistaken they were." Asenath shrugged. Yami blinked, confused. Then, a sudden understanding came over in his eyes.
"Ohhh... It's because of your kaa you're alive, right?" Yami asked Asenath. She nodded, her long, black braid swinging.
"My wounds heal in over half the time," she explained, standing straight. "Which is why I was able to go down this morning and begin healing people before I tended to you."
"You're lucky," Ankumanukanon said, nodding towards Yami. "They thought a little blow to the head would finish you." Asenath 'tsked', standing up. She put her hands on her hips and looked around the courtyard at nothing.
"If it didn't kill you when you were six, it won't kill you now," she said exasperatedly. "Kind of sad, eh?" Yami shrugged. Ankumanukanon was watching him.
"We have to announce to the city that you made it," he explained, sitting up straight. He stood, towering over his three children. "They'll be relieved."
"Jono made it," Asenath said to Yami suddenly. "Saw him this morning."
"Thank the gods," Yami said, breathing a sigh. "I was so sure he'd die." Ankumanukanon crossed the courtyard to the gate, standing before it. It was a break in the high baked brick wall, casting tall shadows down upon him. The sun was high in the sky, marking midday.
"Come," he beckoned. "After the announcement, you may go see the militia, if you like." Yami nodded, walking behind Asenath into the palace.
On the short pathway to the palace, there was a break in the wall where you could take a second's glance at the people. As they went by, Yami glanced over.
All he saw were tents and what looked like sacks of cloths all laid out in heaps. Then the dark bricks re-appeared, blocking him from the world.
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"Teana!" Jono exclaimed, sitting down on the other side of her. Teana had blood running down the left side of her face, from what looked like a head wound. "What happened?"
"She was lying against a wall when they let off those strange things, those... smoke things, [1]" Maia explained. "She seemed to lose consciousness and people started running... She was trampled." Jono winced at the thought of being stepped on by hundreds of hurried people. Teana coughed a little and moaned, breathing hard. "I can't tell if she's gonna make it or not."
"She'd better," Jono muttered. "Yami loves her so much."
"I know," Maia said, nodding. She took a damp cloth and gently wiped the blood from her face. Only for it soon to be replaced with another thin trail of the crimson curse. Maia frowned.
"I'm so worried," she said. "D'you think, by now, she knows...?" Jono nodded solemnly.
"I think she knows now." Maia sighed.
"She's not the type to forgive easily. You know this, right?" Jono sighed.
"I know this very well." They couple just sat there, watching Teana as she breathed softly. Her breaths seemed to come to her easier now, her body not heaving as much. She turned a little onto her back, her hair mixing with her blood. Maia would wipe it away every few minutes.
It wasn't until someone accidentally bumped into Jono that they realized people were getting up and moving. Both Maia and Jono followed with their eyes.
"What's going on?" Maia asked, her long hair swaying as she attempted to pull it back. "Jono...?"
"The Pharaoh... He's announcing something," Jono said, shading his eyes and peering into the midday. "I'll go see." He carefully stepped around people who were too injured to move, promising them he would tell them what was happening when he returned. He entered the sunlit center, the warm bricks radiating heat. It was getting to be much warmer; flood season was coming soon [2].
Jono went into a humongous courtyard beneath a tall balcony on the inside yard of the palace, where Pharaoh Ankumanukanon made all his major announcements. The entire area was quiet as Ankumanukanon spoke. Jono had come in a little late to get the full extent of the announcement, but he heard some.
"...assure you that the invaders have been decimated too much to return," he was saying. "They did not succeed in killing my family. Hell, they didn't succeed in killing half the city." This was met with cheers. Jono frowned.
"Doesn't matter, that bastard captain of the Imperial Order still sent us out anyway..." he muttered angrily. Ankumanukanon continued.
"They're main objective was to kill my two sons and my daughter, and to kill at least half the city. I am regretful to tell you that a little over one fifth of the city was slaughtered last night, most of them being our soldiers. However," he said, raising his hands to silence them, "their sacrifices were not in vain. We now know they're major weapon, and our blacksmiths and silversmiths are working hard to find some weapon to counter theirs." Jono gave a half-smile.
"Saved yourself there, bud," he said, standing on his toes to see onto the balcony. His heart grew light as he saw that Ankumanukanon was right; Yami was standing with Aklia hanging onto his arm, muttering something to Seto. Jono frowned. He never much liked Seto...
Seto glanced at the crowd momentarily, then turned back to Yami. He kept his eyes on the crowd, however, as was Yami to see if he could see Teana.
"See her yet?" Yami hissed to Seto. Seto shook his head.
"No. I see... Jono," he said, his voice growing cold. Yami smiled. "And I see... Other militiamen."
"Is that it?"
"Yes. I... Don't see..." Seto trailed off because Aklia tuned in. She sighed deeply.
"This is so complex, isn't it?" she said. "Well... at least most of the people are still alive. I was hoping... they would all survive."
"Someone always pays the price in war," Seto said, turning away. Yami rolled his eyes.
Great way to cheer her up, Seto, he thought, sighing heavily.
Down below, Jono stayed and listened to Ankumanukanon speak a little longer, then ran out of the crowd. His spirits lifted, he eagerly ran back to tell Maia and Teana the great news.
"Maia! M-Maia!" Jono gasped, slipping over himself in his haste. He pushed the make-shift door of the tent aside, running over legs and around bodies towards the back, where Teana lay, injured. Maia looked up from her task. She had been changing Teana's bandage. The wound on her side was especially deep, and, from the looks of it, was scarring.
"What is it?" Maia asked. Jono grinned, his excitement being unable to be contained.
"Yami is alive! He and Asenath are alive!" he rejoiced happily. Maia's round face broke into a large smile. Her blonde hair flipped as she pushed it back, letting Jono into her embrace.
"Finally, some good news," she said, laying her head on his chest. "Now all we need is for Teana to be alright and we're set."
"Yes," Jono said, agreeing. He let Maia go, but linked arms with her and glanced down at Teana. Teana sighed in her sleep, turning a little onto her back. Jono pulled her blanket to her neck, laying her arms beside her. Her head tilted to the side, her hair askew... Several tears rolled down her cheeks, smudging the dirt and dust settled there.
"Teana," Jono whispered. "It's gonna be alright. I promise."
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[1] Smoke bombs: I know, they didn't have very efficient things like this back then. They usually hit and didn't work. I decided to make these sleeping gas-filled bombs work
[2] Flood season: flood season is at the end of the summer. Around early spring, and then around mid-summer the heat rises a, er... LOT in Egypt, which is why it was suddenly getting warmer. Yesh.
[phew... long chappy there, sorry Well, for all you YamixTeana peoples, you should like the next chap. Well, kinda like it, anyway. Yami goes to see Teana... counts to three 1... 2... 3... AWWWWWWWWEEEE... Okay, now I'm off... to read a news article about octopuses having sex? What the hell? Well anyway... damn science! next chap: Incidiare Clair de Lune…
BTW, I've discovered this fic is much too long for one fic, so at a certain point, this fic shall end, and another shall begin in its place. It's called "Pearl White Blood" and you'll hear more about it later...Tata]
Shibby-One