Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or its characters. I do own my OC, Akunriou / Tory and Kishtoh, plus the storyline.

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING NOTICES!

MidnightBallad: As you may or may not know, I live in Australia. Over here, it's pretty hard to watch the entire Yu-Gi-Oh series without them being cancelled for another show halfway through; you need Foxel/cable TV to see the entire series. Therefore, I had to get a lot of my information for my story from websites. If any part of the story is wrong, blame it on the website, not ME! Thanks a lot.

P.S: If you see 'present' at the start of the chapter, then that means the story is set in 'the now'. If it says 'past', then it is set 3, 000 years ago, back in Egypt.

Past: The Morning of the Nile

'Come on, sister!' the dark-haired Kishtoh shouted. 'Help me to move this wagon from the road! Pharaoh Atemu will be passing by shortly and we do not want him to get bothered with us quickly.'

A girl – perhaps only two years younger than Kishtoh – came stepping gingerly up from the wet banks of the Nile, pulling a brown shawl over her face. She had promised herself that she would wear this shawl at all times, unless she were at home. Akunriou was not an ordinary Egyptian: she had golden hair, fair skin and eyes that were never the same colour two days in a row. Luckily, she was usually out of everyone's way, working small deeds with her brother.

'I am so very sorry, Kishtoh!' Akunriou panted, wiping mud from her old leather sandals. 'Time appears to become faster when you are enjoying your work.'

Kishtoh raised his eyebrows to his sister. 'You enjoy your work? I shall be sure to tell mother that.'

He and Akunriou moved over to a wagon full of crops that sat beside the road. No donkey or horse pulled this wagon – instead, Kishtoh slipped himself between the two poles of wood that would usually be attached to the horse's saddle. Akunriou went to the other end of the wagon and pushed as her brother pulled. Slowly, the wagon moved away from the road. As it came to a stop by a clump of reeds, someone appeared from them. Kishtoh stepped away as a tall, white-haired man smiled at him with very cold eyes.

'Morning, Kishtoh.' The man said.

'Bakura! Leave this place, the Pharaoh is coming!' Kishtoh hissed, moving toward a small dagger that he wore on a belt. Bakura grinned and turned to Akunriou. 'Ah, the cursed one. How are you, dear?'

Akunriou had only met Bakura the Thief a few times, and she despised him already. He usually called her 'dear', because no one else thought she was very dear. And it usually hurt Akunriou, too.

'Better than you will be if Atemu catches you around.' Akunriou mentioned, peering at the road. It was still Pharaoh-less. It seemed that Bakura would be staying for a while.

'That is no way to treat a friend.' Bakura said, leering. Akunriou looked at him in disbelief. 'Friend? I would rather live with the crows that befriend you, thief.'

Bakura only laughed at the girl's attitude. She was still fairly young, and her threats did not scare him. 'Oh so witty, Akunriou. Watch what you say though,' his hand stroked the blade of his own dagger. 'Or I may just have to remove that tongue of yours, how about that?'

'Enough of this!' Kishtoh said, giving Bakura a shove toward to road. 'Just go, thief! Do not bother my sister and I again!'

There was a sudden crack of a whip and the neigh of a horse from the road. Kishtoh, Akunriou and Bakura turned toward the road. Seven horses, each white and wearing armour of the royals, were striking down the road at a brisk trot. Bakura vanished like a cat being chased by a dog.

'Whatever you do, Akunriou,' Kishtoh said to his sister. 'Do not let the Pharaoh see your face. His lackeys would see you dead.'

'How do you know that, brother?'

Kishtoh took a plough from the wagon. 'I have my suspicions. Now, make it look as though you are doing something.'

Akunriou bent down and began to pick up stray stalks of crop that had fallen from the wagon. She glanced up every so often to see if the Pharaoh was coming nearer.

They arrived in a chorus of horse's whinnies, and Akunriou was met with the sight of the Pharaoh Atemu, his palace servants and a few of his priests – in particular, the High Priest Seto, who rode side-by-side with Atemu.

Akunriou dropped her head and picked up yet another stalk of crop. Her mother had told her what Atemu did to people he did not like, however, Akunriou did not believe her. Nevertheless, she kept her head down.

Today, the Pharaoh was out surveying the work in his kingdom. So far, he was pleased with the results, and the Nile was the last stop he would make before returning to the palace.

'So, what do we have going on here?' Pharaoh Atemu asked the High Priest, who said, 'We are making way for a new dock, my King. Only a small one, but it shall help with transportation of goods.'

The Pharaoh's eyes had fallen upon Kishtoh; he opened his mouth to ask a question. At the same time, Akunriou thought, No, please do not have them speak! Kishtoh hated Pharaoh Atemu, and Akunriou knew it would result in some kind of fight.

'You there,' Pharaoh Atemu said to Kishtoh. 'You have been a loyal worker for many years. Tell me –'

'Loyal?' Kishtoh muttered under his breath. Bad thing to do. There were the sounds of whips being flexed and, before she could stop herself, Akunriou ran in front of her brother.

'No! My Pharaoh!' Akunriou shouted. A deep silence fell, a silence in which Atemu gazed confusedly at Akunriou. She had very pale skin...

'Please, I ask forgiveness of my brother,' Akunriou went on. 'He does let his heart run away with his head at times.'

'And who are you, child?' The High Priest Seto asked Akunriou, also noticing Akunriou's fair skin. 'A new worker? Tell me, what is your name?'

' ... Akunriou.'

A servant flashed his whip. 'Well, you and your brother should know when to keep quiet!'

Snap! The whip lashed around Akunriou's waist, and she fell to the ground. The servants laughed – and then stopped. The girl's shawl had fallen from around her head, and her golden hair fell back over her shoulders. Kishtoh raced forward, seized his sister by the hands and pulling her to her feet. Dark red blood fell from two horizontal whip slashes across her waist, and she whimpered in pain.

'It is the girl!' the same servant cried. 'The one that the servants speak of! The cursed child!'

'She is not cursed!' Kishtoh shouted. 'She may be different, but she is not cursed.'

All the while, Pharaoh Atemu and the High Priest Seto had said nothing. Atemu looked at Seto, and nodded. Seto loudly jumped from his horse and came over to Akunriou. 'You must come with us, child.'

'What?' Kishtoh gaped. 'No, please. Take of me my home and my food, but do not take my sister!'

Seto grabbed Akunriou's wrist and pulled hard. Kishtoh only just held on, grabbing his sister's other wrist. Akunriou screamed as her slashes seared with pain. 'It is for her own good!' Seto snapped. Kishtoh let go of his sister and attempted to tackle Seto –

Something sprung up from around his feet. Golden beams of light, which stretched up over his head and joined in the middle, until Kishtoh was trapped behind bars of magic. He attempted to break through the bas, but they seared his hands whenever he touched them.

Now with Akunriou by his side, Seto walked away from Kishtoh. 'The cage will vanish soon, don't you worry.'

Akunriou struggled from his side and hurried over to her brother, linking her fingers between his from outside of the cage. 'Kishtoh! I'll come back for you, I promise, brother!'

Kishtoh squeezed her hands and smiled sadly. 'And I shall wait, Akunriou. Do not forget me.'

Seto grabbed Akunriou from the hood of her shawl and took her back toward the horses. He lifted her onto his own horse, and then climbed on after her. Akunriou bowed her head as the horses cantered off, and Kishtoh struggled one last time. 'If I have to sell my soul to the dark forces, I will see you again, sister...'

-End Chapter Two-

MidnightBallad: Oh dear, Kishtoh's not very happy. I was listening to a very sad song when I was writing that. The next chapter may be the final I post before I decide whether or not to write any more. Or maybe one more. I'm a pretty quick typer, to I don't mind writing heaps in one day. Now, back to writing my Beyblade fic...