The female magician knelt in front of the tablet, hands clasped together in a vow. The tablet rose above her, worn sandstone of ages bearing an image of some sort of magician. The woman looked up at the image, tears brimming her emerald eyes. Brown hair stuck out under her head decoration, so fashionably crazy it looked attractive.
Slowly, from the tablet came a faded image of the magician. Robes trailed down his body, a headdress covering his long hair. Cool blue eyes smiled down onto the woman, love apparent within those inky depths.
Priestess Mana grieved profusely, trails of tears sliding down her face. She let her head rest against the stone tablet, feeling the presence of her teacher surround her.
'Was it that long?' she wondered as she felt herself getting lost in the Kaa that was seeming to embrace her. 'Was it twenty years ago that this happened?'
"Teacher-sama?" a small voice piped up, driving the Kaa back.
Mana lifted her head, wishing now more than ever to see him again. In front of her was a little girl around ten. Brown hair framed her Egyptian skin, crystal blue eyes shining in sorrow.
"Anisa." Mana stated, letting her student know that she could come over.
The petite girl quietly tip-toed over, careful not to make more noise than acceptable. Anisa hesitated, not sure if she really should sit next to her elder of 25 years. Mana nodded, motioning to a seat next to her. Anisa plopped down next to her teacher.
"Teacher-sama, why are you so sad?" Anisa asked, eyes shimmered with questions.
Mana looked over to her student, feeling the pain well up in her chest when she called her "Teacher-sama".
"Today is the day...Teacher-sama died..." Mana whispered, burying her head into her knees. Mana, even after all these years, still called Priest Mahaado "Teacher-sama", just as Anisa was calling her. Anisa looked on her teacher, regret in her eyes.
'I shouldn't have asked that,' Anisa thought, worry plain in her minds-voice. 'Teacher-sama is sadder now!'
"I'm sorry, Teacher-sama," Anisa whispered, eyes pointed shyly at the ground.
Mana looked up, hand wiping away all of the remnants of tears that leaked out. "Don't feel sorry, I'm just being a little sentimental,"
Anisa was silent, hugging her knees to her chest as she looked down at the sandy temple ground. "Teacher-sama? How did Priest Mahaado die?" Anisa whispered, hoping that Mana didn't hear the words that slipped out.
Mana looked at her student in surprise. Anisa was never bold enough to ask a question like that. But Mana was glad that Anisa asked. She needed to talk to someone.
"Well, four days had passed since Teacher-sama had left for the Valley of the Kings..."
I slipped in and out of the palace, sneaking past the eyes of watchful guards professionally. It was the fourth day. Mahaado wasn't back yet. I snuck a glance out of the corner of my eye at the guards, apparently finding something funny to argue about.
I rolled my eyes. 'Guards,' I thought exasperatedly. All prim and proper when there were nobles about, then talking about sex and drinking once they were out of earshot. 'I'll have to tell Teacher-sama about this!'
Something tugged at my stomach, feeling it plummet down. I dismissed the gnawing, assuring myself that Teacher-sama would return. My heart searched out desperately for his presence, but he was too far away. I still wasn't as good as him when it came to detecting people's presence miles away.
An hour of more passed. All of the sudden, guards rushed passed me, almost knocking me off my feet.
"Get there quickly! The tablet has an image on it now!" I heard a few of the guards nudging others on in emergency. They soon disappeared down the long corridor.
'No!' my mind screamed, fearing for the worse thing that could happen. My legs carried me down the hallway, not caring if anybody caught me or not. I quickly passed the entrance to the courtyard, where a big commotion was going on.
One glance at the tablet, at the Pharaoh Atemu, at the priests, made me realize that it was true. "TEACHER-SAMA!!!" I screamed, trying to get past the guards that took their posts, standing between me and my beloved teacher.
"Hey get back!" "MOVE!"
"TEACHER-SAMA!" I cried out again, looking towards the surprised Pharaoh.
Atemu looked at me in surprise, crimson eyes wide. "Mana--!" he gasped, blond bangs moving around awkwardly under his headdress. He then nodded at me, understanding apparent his eyes.
"Let her pass!" he commanded, holding out a hand in authority.
The guards grumbled, but eventually cleared a pathway for me to cross. I instantly ran through to the tablet, looking up at the carving forever embedded into it's crusty surface.
"N-no...I-it can't be true..." I whispered, eyes threatened to release the floodgates. My knees turned to jelly, pooling down onto the ground. "TEACHER-SAMA!!!!" I screamed, floodgates releasing the tears that were gathered behind my emerald eyes.
I trembled as crystalline liquid plopped onto the sand. "Mana..." Atemu's voice rose up from my side, worry clearly plain in his voice.
"Pharaoh!" I snapped my head up to Atemu, tears flowing down my face freely. "Call out the spirit in that tablet!"
Atemu
looked at me in surprise, crimson eyes filled with mixed emotions.
"Please...I just want to see Teacher-sama again..." I sobbed, tears flowing down my face in fresh waves.
"Mana!" Priestess Aishizu gasped, looking down at me in mild surprise.
"She wants to see Mahaado's soul that was just hurt in battle!" whispers among the guards started spreading around me, but I didn't care. I didn't care as long as I could see Teacher-sama.
"You're heka isn't at the level where they can see spirits. You're heart doesn't even have a spirit inside of it yet," Aishizu informed me, sympathy growing in the hardened blue eyes. That struck a chord in my heart.
I looked down at the ground, salt-water blurring them.
"Now go train," I heard Aishizu's voice drift around me, her voice filled with sorrow and regret. "That was Mahaado's will."
Something seemed to be pulling my heart up, my body obeying it's will. For a split second, I thought that I saw Mahaado's smiling face.
"Mana..." he whispered, leaning down towards me. I felt a gentle caress on my cheeks, soft lips planted on my dark cheek. More tears fell down as I wiped them away.
"I...Will become a great Magician!" I declared through my tears, wiping them away though they kept falling. The image of Mahaado smiled, before fading entirely.
Anisa looked down towards her feet, scuffling them innocently. The brown-haired girl looked up at her teacher, realizing she was crying profusely. She didn't even think about it as she wrapped her tiny arms around Mana.
"Did you love him?" Anisa whispered, feeling the pain flow through her as she embraced her teacher.
Mana nodded, burying her head in Anisa's shoulder. "I loved him more then a teacher, I LOVED him. Like...like..." Mana broke down wrapping her arms around the little girl.
Anisa held her teacher, tears now glistening her sea-blue eyes. "Teacher-sama..." she whispered.The scene stopped.
Anzu Mazaki woke up in bed suddenly, beads of sweat trickling down her face. She sat up in her bed, gripping the blankets in frustration. 'What's with this vision I keep having?!' she mentally screamed at herself, slipping out of bed into the cool night air.
Her brown hair plastered to her face, blue eyes glistening with memories. The cold wind played on her bare shoulders, dressed only in a bra and shorts.
Anzu sighed as she leaned against the balcony railing, letting the wind cool her down. 'This keeps getting more confusing... Mana and Mahaado were basically lovers, and Anisa is now Mana's apprentice.'
Anzu glanced at the shimmering city below her. She wondered what Anisa would think of this view. But she already knew, since Anisa was herself. Music from the near-by radio tickled her ears, the music entering her mind.
Loving you, isn't really something I should do Shouldn't want to spend my time with youI should try to be strong
But baby you're the right kind of wrong
The cinnamon-haired girl smiled, the wind playing around with her short hair. "Sounds like you, Mana," she whispered to herself. "Apprentice falls in love with the teacher. Typical romantic shoujo comedy."
Anzu shook her head, berating herself silently. She shouldn't be puzzling over these memories she was reliving. Anzu stole one more glance at the city, before she entered the room, sliding the glass door behind her.
..................
Numero tres is done! I am a proud supporter of Apprenticeshipping! =waves flag around= the ending was kinda...blah...I kinda made it so Anzu was the reincarnation of Mana's student. Hope the ending wasn't too confusing.
