Anaya's Creator: Another update!
Mokuba: This one's a longer chapter.
Anaya's Creator: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. And Nthn5: I hate you. I want to bite your head off because you dissed my other fanfic and you give me pychoneurotic problems! Next time read the entire fanfic not just skim it in ten seconds. GO BACK AND READ IT AGAIN!!!! AND WHAT'S WRONG WITH MY 16TH CHAPTER??!!
Adele:I apologize for the short 18th chapter. This one is longer.
Back to Canaan:
The next morning, just before dawn, Akina and her mother were given back their peasants clothes and Joshua and two other horses were prepared to go back to Canaan with them. Terentina approached Yami and asked, "Why are there more horses than Joshua going with us to Canaan?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Yami answered. "There are more people going with you than just the two of you." Terentina looked confused.
"I'm going with you," Marik said. He did want Akina going anywhere without him to help protect her. Also, he needed to discuss certain things with her mother.
"And you're taking Serenity back to the oasis," Asim said carrying a struggling Serenity over to a horse.
"I'm not going big brother, I want to stay her with you," Serenity argued. She was kicking and squirming and putting up a pretty good fight.
"Yes you are; Ma needs your help managing the oasis, so you're going back to her and that's that."
While this sibling struggle was going on, Akina was helping Marik get acquainted with Joshua.
"You weren't with us in Canaan last time, but I'll bet you probably heard about it from Jahi..."
"What? About Yami going flying, yeah, I heard," he answered.
"Well, to help prevent that from happening to you, follow my instructions: go breathe on his nose." (1)
"What?"
"Like this... Joshua come here for a moment,"
Joshua trotted swiftly her way, stopping directly in front of her.
Feeling his breath on her nose, she leaned forward and demonstrated, breathing back. "Unluckily for you he doesn't like men very much and he's overprotective of me, so you got to wait for him to make the first move. You breathe on his nose, and if he breathes back you can touch him. Give it a shot,"
"What if he doesn't?"
"Don't me silly, he will, but if he doesn't just back away very slowly. Quick movement might inspire him to chase you."
Cautiously, Marik approached Joshua. The unicorn didn't falter, but he kept his eyes on Marik at all times. Warily, he went up to Joshua and breathed on his nose. Joshua hesitated for a moment then breathed back. "He's letting me touch him," Marik told Akina as he patted Joshua on the nose, since she couldn't see what was happening.
"Wonderful, now let's see you get on him."
"Akina it's time to start off, we want to get going before the sun gets high." Terentina shouted.
"Okay, what perfect timing. Now mount him just like any other horse and I'll get on behind you."
"Don't you need help getting on?" Marik asked as he mounted and led Joshua over to her.
"Just lend me your arm and I'll be fine." Akina replied, groping her way to the barrel (2) of the horse. She grabbed Marik's outstretched arm and mounted behind him. Anchoring her arms around his waist, she gave Joshua a soft kick and they started off. "It'll be easier if you just let Joshua take control, he knows the way back to Canaan without anyone's help. When I escaped, I fell asleep on his back and he was able to get me to the oasis in one night."
"Have an enjoyable journey," Kesi said as the horses and unicorn departed.
"Are you joking? We have to cross the Wilderness of Shur; you know how exciting that is." Akina yelled back sarcastically.
The trip through the desert was a boring as ever for Akina, possibly even more tedious now since she had lost her sight. After a long while the rocking of Joshua's swift trot she fell asleep against Marik's back.
Around midday she awoke again. They were taking a small break while the noontime sun was high. Food was passed around and Marik proposed his plan to Terentina.
"I have no objection as long as Akina agrees with it; however, don't expect her to bring much into your home. If anything has happened to the village, and I pray to Zeus and Hera not, she will have little for a dowry, but we'll worry about that later, for now we must rest. Akina, since you were sleeping earlier, you can watch the camp."
"No arguments here," was Akina's reply. "I could use something to do anyhow."
"We will depart when the sun gets lower in the sky."
It is pointless for me to describe the time while everyone was sleeping, and later the trip rest of the journey to the oasis. For it was as monotonous as looking at a blank white canvas that someone claims to be artwork. So instead of torturing you by explaining how dull this time was, I will return to Egypt and tell you what happened there.
After Akina, Marik, Terentina, and Serenity had departed Kesi put a cloak over her palace clothes and went into Thebes to her family tavern.
Immediately her father, mother, and siblings swooped down upon her and closed her in a tight hug.
"Sister you're finally home!" Odion exclaimed.
"Sissy home, sissy home," Atsu and Kakra chorused.
"Where did you go Kesi?" her father scolded light-heartedly, picking her up off of her feet and spinning her around in the air.
"We were so worried," her mother said, enveloping Kesi in her arms as her father set her down.
"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you," she said squirming out of her mother's grip.
"Sit down and have breakfast with us and we can try."
Breakfast was a highly enjoyable affair for Kesi since she hadn't seen them for days. Afterwards, Kesi changed into some of her older clothes and began work. Like Akina, palace life, however relaxing it may be, didn't suit her, she liked having the life of a commoner. It was busy, active, and at her father's tavern she always saw interesting people. After working for a while, Kesi saw someone she hadn't seen in a long time, Bakura. Praying that he would remember her, she got back to her work with her other customers.
Suddenly a man grabbed her arm. "Hey babe," the man said right in her face. She could instantly tell he had drunk way too much by the small of the man's breath. "How about coming to a room with me upstairs?"
"I'd rather sleep in garbage," Kesi retorted, struggling to get away from the drunkard, but he held her wrist firm and she couldn't get away. "Let go of me!" she demanded loudly.
"You're coming with me Missy," the man sneered harshly getting up from his chair and trying to drag her towards the stairs.
"No, I won't!" Kesi yelled as she struggled to get away.
Bakura turned at the sound of the commotion and recognizing Kesi ran to help her, just as her father and brother come out of the kitchen. He got behind the drunkard and held a dagger to his throat. "Let go of the girl," he hissed.
"What are you going to do if I don't?" the drunkard jeered.
"This," Bakura pressed the dagger to the man's neck drawing a drop of blood from one of the man's veins it cut.
The drunkard immediately let go of Kesi, Bakura dropped his dagger, and the drunkard ran off the steps. As the man dashed past her, Kesi launched herself at her rescuer. "Bakura," she cried, throwing his arms around him.
"Kesi, who is this boy," her father asked coldly, eyeing Bakura with an icy stare.
"We'd better not discuss this here, in front of everyone." Kesi said eyeing the rest of the customers. She led Bakura into the back room as her father followed.
In the back her father asked again, "Kesi, who is this?"
"This is Bakura," she answered meekly.
"The tomb raider?"
"What's it to ya?" he demanded.
"How did you two meet?"
"I was going to rob the palace and then I ran into your lovely daughter."
Kesi blushed.
"And you just saved her life. I hate to say this to a criminal, but what can I do to repay you?" her father asked.
(1) Just in case you've forgotten, horses greet each other by breathing on each other's noses.
(2) The belly of a horse is sometimes referred to as the 'barrel'.
Anaya's Creator: What do you reviewers think? Should Bakura ask Kesi's father for Kesi as a wife?
Mokuba: Review and tell us!
Anaya's Creator: Hasta La Vista peoples!