Secrets In Thebes- Royal Banquet
Disclaimer: I forgot one in the first chapter so...
KhalidMuse: Chibi Hikari No Yume only owns Makyra and Burkyna... she thinks. She may not even own them... Definitely no ownership of Yuugiou, Thebes, or Kuru Eruna.
YoukoYamato: I continued.... um.... don't hurt me!
Okay! On with the story!
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"Where are we going tonight?"
"A friend's," Khiseki said gleefully. Atemu rolled his eyes and said, "What he means is, it's a surprise. Now c'mon, we have to ditch the guard."
With that, he grabbed Makyra's and Khiseki's arms and plunged purposefully into the crowd, emerging in the bazaar.
"Okay. Now we get going," the prince said, and they started towards the outskirts of town. Soon, they had passed Malik's street, and Makyra glanced down the dirt road, only to see Malik sweeping out his family's small shack. He looked up from his task and his eyes widened as he saw who was passing. He hollered, "Hey Mak! I thought you had to stay up at the school! Where are you going out here?"
She bit her lip, pausing as the brothers turned around and looked at her questioningly.
"Who's that, Makyra? And how come he calls you Mak?" Khiseki asked suspiciously.
Malik jogged up to the trio and frowned as he said, "What! You mean you never told the palace starfishes about me? Why, Mak! I'm hurt!" And he proceeded to faint in her arms.
She sweatdropped heavily.
Atemu had remained silent through all of this, just had to ask, "Makyra, who is this madman? Starfish?"
Makyra stifled a giggle as Malik woke up from her arms and did a double-take of who Mak was traveling with. He bowed low, his nose almost touching the ground. Then he straightened and said, "Makyra, that's- that's the prince and the um, other prince."
"Yes, Atemu," she said, pointing to each, "And Khiseki."
The bewildered boy blinked and laughed. "Nice to meet you, I bet. I'm Malik, and to everyone out here but you two, Makyra's name is Mak."
Atemu nodded and said, "Umm... would you like to join us?"
"Sure, just let me tell Mother," Malik said running back to his house. When he returned, he asked, "Where are we going?"
"Err... the desert mansion, Kuru Eruna," the oldest prince replied, uncomfortable.
"But Kuru Eruna burned years ago..." he trailed off, "Oh. Mak, what strange friends you have! Two princes visiting the Dorobou?(That means thief, in Japanese.) That's stranger than some people we know!"
"Yeah, I guess," said Makyra, sweatdropping again. They continued on their way, with Mak praying they didn't just happen to meet Isis. Isis was the seventh Sennen Item holder, but no one was supposed to know, not even the other six. After she finished praying to every god and goddess she knew, she began to think about what Malik had said. He had meant any thief, he meant The Thief, Khalid. She looked around at her companions, and realized Khiseki was whistling. She smiled and everything seem a lot better.
A candle mark later, they reached some ruins that Makyra could assume were Kuru Eruna. Suddenly, two figures popped out of a nearby sand dune, grinning like mad. One was a young woman with black hair and violet eyes. The other was a man with white hair like an elderly, but lively brown eyes with a scar under one of them.
"I didn't realize Burkyna was joining us," Atemu commented. But Burkyna didn't reply, as she was looking at the newcomers. The girl had brown hair with red bangs, and green eyes. The boy had sandy hair, sandy skin, and violet eyes. She thought if he got lost in a sand storm, and if he had enough sense to close his eyes, no one would find him until they tripped over him.
Khalid decided Burkyna wasn't going to answer, so he said, "Idiot girl. Who are your friends, Prince?"
"Oh," Atemu exclaimed, "This is Makyra- no, Mak, right?" She nodded in affirmation.
"And I'm Malik," he interrupted, "So, you're the elusive thief Lord? And his maid, or something?"
Burkyna coughed, and said, "I would hope I'm not a maid. I can't cook. I'm Burkyna, Khalid's second-in-command. So I've finally met this 'Mak' You do realize people get suspicious when some one among them uses a mix of Common and High Egyptian? (Back in the day, the commoners used a different form of the language than the high-born.) The men in the Lower Quad Tavern think you're the seventh Priest."
Mak and Malik twitched when she said this, but Atemu interrupted by saying, "How about we head inside?"
Everyone jumped down the trapdoor and headed towards Khalid's luxurious dining hall. When the reached it, Malik gasped. The others just shrugged, most of them were used to the palace dining hall. Mountains of practically any food you could think of were piled on a heavy dining table. Atemu, Khiseki, and Makyra, who were used to Palace and Academy dining rules, waited for Khalid to seat them.
He did, first leading the girls to seats, then motioning for the boys to take a seat anywhere else. Finally, he sat and motioned for everyone to dig in. They willingly obliged, and for the next few minutes, the hall was silent except the sound of young people eating. Then Khalid noticed that Malik was slipping food into his pockets.
"If you want to take some home, I can give you a bag for it," Khalid whispered, as Malik happened to be sitting next to him. Malik glanced up, startled. He nodded and grinned.
"Thanks. I wanted to take bananas for Odion, but they don't fit in my pocket."
Khalid grinned in return, and caught Khiseki looking at them thoughtfully. But before he could say something, Burkyna tried to grab a piece of bread off his plate, which caused a mini-war between the two. Sometime later, they moved into the sitting room, Malik carrying a bag of food. When everyone was settled, Burkyna and Mak slipped off to talk without the boys.
"So I would assume you have and interesting background, since not many people have a nickname many people believe is your real one, and keep company with princes," Burkyna said.
"Well, uh," Makyra started, "Let's see. I was born here in Thebes, but when I was little, we moved to Tanishi(Valley of Death). It was attacked when I was eight, and my kaa came out and saved us. A few days later, Seto dragged me back to Thebes and the Academy. When I turned nine, I met Malik when he got in trouble inside the School, and I helped him. We've been friends since then. Then last year, Mana and I were allowed to go to the Palace to study with Seto and the other Priests. Actually, I'm only thirteen, the same age as Khiseki. Malik's fourteen, Atemu's fifteen, and Seto's twenty. Hmm... what about you? You're second-in-command to the most wanted thief in all of Upper Egypt."
Burkyna laughed. "My story isn't that exciting. My family lives in the slum area of Thebes. Me and Shaw, my brother, were pick-pockets. One day I tried to cut Khalid's purse string. He practically broke my wrist, and he dragged us off to his burnt little village. He fed us there, and sent us home with some coins. Shaw wouldn't go back there, but I started running with him and his buddies. Then on my birthday, oh, two years back, he made me second-in-command. Best birthday gift I ever got. I'm seventeen, and Khalid's, oh, eighteen, maybe. I dunno how the heck he met Atemu and Khiseki, they just showed up one day."
Mak sighed and said, "I heard a rumor that Khalid actually lived in Kuru Eruna. Is it true?"
"Yeah," Burkyna said sadly, "The Pharaoh only needed ninety-nine sacrifices for his Sennen Ritual thingy. Khalid happened to be luck one-hundred. They killed his little sister, y'know. She wasn't white-haired like him, though. He stayed in Thebes a bit, but he finally went back to his father's place, and got a name for himself."
Meanwhile, back with the boys, Khiseki had asked the older boys who they thought would get married first. They had all decided probably Atemu, since he had to when he turned sixteen, so they started to describe what their wives would be like.
Atemu knew his would be a princess, and Khalid and Malik had no idea.
"Khiseki, Thieves don't get married. They either live a full live, be really good at what they do, retire early, and spend the rest of their days getting a beer belly, or live a full life, die early, and only be remembered if you left your name somewhere important," Khalid had said indignantly.
Malik had laughed it off and said, "No one what's to marry into a family with the sickness."(I don't know what sickness. Anyone have a suggestion?)
Khiseki had stuck out his tongue and the conversation had moved on.
Soon, it was time for them to say their good-byes. Khalid's guests all headed back to their homes, and the princes got told off by Mahado again.
Owari
CHNY: Yay! This chapter's the longest I've ever written! But I'm trying really hard not to make Makyra and Burkyna Mary Sues. Is it working?
Atemu: You seem to be ignoring me.
CHNY: That's because you're the Crown Prince and always get the attention. Plus, you get a big part later.
Chibi Khalid Muse: Fwames wiwl be used ta twy an' mewlt Seto wock-head. Conswuctive cwitism wiwl be wevewed, and wevievews wiwl be thanked!
(Flames will be used to try to melt Seto's rock-head. Constructive criticism will be revered, and reviewers will be thanked.)