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A/N(1): Big thanks to everyone who reviewed....
A/N(2): So, we found out Reira was really Marik. What else happened last chapter? Ah, the "scene" {cough} Yeah, I didn't really want Yami and Anzu doing any dirty business because I was getting jealous. Whoa, {cough} I mean, I kind of received an infraction a couple of weeks ago and if I did a lemon of some sort...this story would probably be deleted. Yeah, well, YOU CAN TAKE MY FANFIC, BUT YOU CANNOT TAKE MY FREEDOM! Oops....just had a Braveheart moment. Hehehe. Anyway, sorry for raising the rating Hysterik-Angel! I probably won't raise it any higher than PG-13. And thanks to Shining Friendship for encouraging me to continue. I really almost discontinued this story. Maybe I was just depressed about the lack of Yami/Tea moments in the show. LOL...
Title: Almost Royalty
Chapter VI: Assertion of Knowledge
"Yes, Pharaoh," walking out of the shadows, Seth continued, "it seems we have some things in common." Smiling, he approached an invaluable clay vase and removed it from its pedestal. "I suppose you can count the whore as one of them," he remarked, carefully turning the vase in his hands.
""Listen here, Seth," Yami stood up, now fuming from the remark, "you have no right to walk in here and talk about my mother-"
"Our mother," Seth interrupted, still admiring the pottery.
"What do you want?"
Seth returned the vase to its bolster, "only a brotherly discussion."
"Priest Seth," Yami started, emphasizing his position, "I do not understand your request."
Seth folded his arms. "Maybe Reira can enlighten you." He pointed to the disarray of papyrus on the ground.
"Reira has served his purpose," he spoke through clenched teeth, "and I think you have as well." Without another word, Yami kneeled down and started to pick up Reira's writings. Before he could pick up the last of the papyrus, Seth weighed it down with his foot.
"On the contrary, Yami, I believe there is much to discuss."
Yami stood, glaring virulently, "you will address me as Pharaoh! Do we have an understanding?"
His words were as sharp as daggers, but Seth remained unscathed, "there's no reason for the formalities, brother. Besides, I think Kentara would find it rather pleasing to see her two sons divulging in conversation."
"I am not amused, Seth." Yami's tone grew more angry than serious.
"Come now, you don't find the fact that we are brothers amusing?"
Yami shook his head, "I find it hard to laugh when your words do not speak the truth."
"Or are you too blind to see the truth?" Seth threw back, bringing a silence between them.
"Seth," Yami put a hand to his forehead in frustration, "written words don't make your assumption true."
"Assumption?" Seth repeated, not pleased with his choice of wording. "This is more than an assumption." He walked over to the reading stand and grabbed the pile of papyrus, "this is based on fact!" He waved the writing at Yami.
"Come to your senses, Seth-"
"Fine," Seth threw the bound papyrus on the stand, "if you would much rather see the truth than read what is right in front of you, I have a solution." Closing his eyes, Seth searched through his robes to pull out a gold scepter.
"A....millennium item.." Yami stuttered, eyes widened.
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"It has come to be, and I, Marik, will rise victorious." The spirit smiled, indulging in his own confidence. "For once Seth carries on his mission of destroying the Pharaoh, I will rise as the new supreme ruler of Egypt." Laughing, he stood from the steps he was sitting on and looked around the maze. "And then....when I have control of Egypt...I will use my three Egyptian Gods to take over the world!" Through this assertion came another menacing laugh.
Suddenly, though, his laughter came to a halt when the door of his soul room swung open. Then, without warning, came Seth's ghostly image in the doorway. He was about to ask about the priest's sudden presence when Seth read his mind. "I need your help."
"Help?"
Seth nodded. "Yes, I need you to show Yami the truth about his mother."
"What? I thought you were going to confront him about Anzu?"
"In due time," Seth smiled, "now I must take care of more important manners."
"I understand."
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"How did you obtain a millennium item, Set--Reira?"The Pharaoh's eyes flashed horror, now frightened by the image of Reira before him. Were his eyes deceiving him? It wasn't possible for Reira to come back from the afterlife. "H-how?"
Reira did not answer. Instead, his eyes bore into Yami's complexion, disbelief swimming in the mystery of his orbs. He was finally here.....to get his revenge. Now, Bel Saf would pay dearly for confining him in the rod. "I admit, though, I didn't think it would be this easy."
"I'm only here to bring you the truth." He finally said, trying his best to imitate the dead priest.
Before he could retaliate for wrong, however, he would bring Yami the truth about his mother. "It's only fair that I rest him in peace." Raising his rod, he flooded his mind with images of Reira and Kentara. "Close your eyes..."
Yami obeyed, closing his eyes to the darkness of his eyelids. Then, without warning, came a bright flash of light. Following this flash, images of Reira and his mother projected in his mind. He was about to say something, but their voices closed his mouth.
"Is it his?" The conversation started with Reira--a very young Reira.
His mother nodded. "Yes....but Bel Saf does not want the child." Before Reira could say anything, she continued, "...even before this child was made, he told me that after Yami was born, he didn't want any other children. Yami was to be the one and only Pharaoh of his time. I will not go against his wishes."
"You're going to rid the child?"
"This why I asked you to come tonight. I need your help. I want you to take care of my child, Reira."
"This strictly goes against the clergy code."
Yami watched his mother fall to her knees. "I can't keep this from you any longer....the true reason I don't want this child to grow up with Bel Saf is...because...I'm afraid. I'm afraid Bel Saf will notice that Yami and my unborn child look different than one another." A tear slid down Kentara's face. Yami reached out to wipe it, but his common sense pulled back his hand. It was only an image.
"I don't..understand.." Came Reira's deep voice. His stern face lost to the confusion.
"Bel Saf is not Yami's...father."
Yami felt his knees growing weak under him. "No..." He shook his head, trying to rid the images. "STOP!"
{A/N: Anything Italic from here on is in the character's head.}
"What?" Reira pulled his rod away, finding the Pharaoh at his knees. "He must know the truth about Kentara now.." He smiled at the Pharaoh's vulnerable position. "Maybe it's time to release the gods of abeyance..."
Facing Ra's eye at Yami, he concentrated his energy to control the three behemoths. "Come forth, my three Gods!" He yelled as the rod turned a shade of red, blue, then yellow. "Yes, that's it! I want to see your true power!"
"Reira, what are you doing?" Seth called from within his soul room.
Closing the connection with Seth, Reira focused his attention on the Pharaoh. Not a hint of remorse found in his eyes, only satisfaction. The satisfaction in knowing that Bel Saf had finally found the pain he felt when he was locked in the rod."It's time....my Gods...they're hungry.."
He lifted his rod. "Taste my revenge, Bel Saf!" Lowering it slowly, he stopped when the staff met the grieving figure of the Pharaoh. "Let me enjoy this.." Before he unleashed the attack, he heard something from the other side of the room that freezed his actions.
"I'm not Bel Saf's son.."
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Usually crowded with peasants, the marketplace was located in the heart of Cairo. Fruit, jewelry, and clothing stands stood side-by-side, waiting for the chance to catch a merchant's eye. Often, Anzu would follow the dirt path from the temple to the market to gather fruits and vegetables to cook for her master. Today, though, she followed the dirt path through the market to the outside of the city.
"I need to clear my head," she whispered, masked under a cloak.
Picking her head up, her hood was blown back by a heavy gust of wind. Not just any gust of wind. It was a Sahara wind. For, beyond the city rest the Sahara Desert, the protector and destroyer of the Egyptian people. "So much for my cover..." Before she could lift the fabric of her cloak over her head, she was pushed roughly into the ground by a cloaked figure. The accumulated dust made it hard to see the figure, but the way the masked one was running, Anzu knew she wouldn't have a chance of knowing.
"Dear Isis," standing up, Anzu dusted her cloak. "Have I angered you in some way?" Leaning against a stone house, she tilted her head toward the sky for a sign. None came. Sighing, she covered her face with her hands in frustration.
"I deserve it," she slammed her fist into the stone, "I agreed to help Seth obtain Yami's puzzle, lied to Jou and Yami about Seth's remembrance of yesterday, and I pushed Yami away because I was too afraid of what would happen." A tear threatened to stain her cheek, but she wiped it away quickly. "I shouldn't be crying, I mean, I knew what I was getting myself into with Yami. I should have stopped my feelings before they started. Now, Yami probably won't even talk to me. He has a right. I made him think that we could actually be together, and then I pulled the rug right under him by telling him that we were not meant to be together...." She slid to the floor, arms hugging her legs. "I denied our love..." She leaned her face into her knees, crying.
"I might as well be stoned in public....it's better than seeing...the betrayed look on..his face.." She choked, now wiping the tears away. "I'm just going to have to tell Seth that I couldn't retrieve the puzzle." She raised her head up, the city entrance mirrored in her eyes, "or maybe I should just leave."
"No," her heart said, though she knew her mind was thinking otherwise. "I can't..." She shook her head, but her eyes remained on the entrance. "It would save me public humiliation, and the painful disapproval in Yami's eyes though.."
She knew she wasn't thinking straight, but her guilt and sadness were taking over her thoughts. "If I'm going to go, I have to go....now." Wiping the rest of her tears away, she pulled the hood over her head. "This is right," she convinced herself as she walked back on the dirt path.
Suddenly, though, she heard the faint sound of footsteps behind her. "Hey, you! Get back here!"
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"What?" Reira lowered his rod, "what are you saying?"
Yami looked up at Reira. "The child they were talking about, it was....Seth."
Reira raised an eyebrow, not understanding what the young Pharaoh was talking about. Reira's memories were part of the rod, not him. He never really looked at Reira's memories, but he learned enough from Seth to know that Kentara had two sons. One was royal blood, the other he never mentioned. He always thought Reira was a pathetic human, whom he was forced to live inside until he decided to poison his mind with corruption. "I don't regret anything. Reira deserved everything he got. But, what's this about Yami not being Bel Saf's son?"
"Seth was right....mother had two sons..." Yami clenched his fists, tears now on the brink of falling. "My mother lied to me! She lied to my father! And you....you knew all along that I wasn't Bel Saf's son!" Yami looked down at Reira's writings. Then, with one swift motion, he brushed the papers roughly onto the ground. "Why?!" His scream echoed throughout the chamber. "Why? I respected you like I respected my own...father....." He fell on his bed, violet eyes fixed on Reira. "Ra...no...it can't be."
"Are you my....father?"
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Before Anzu could react, she felt strong hands grab her shoulders. She froze, not making an attempt to run. When her captor turned her around, however, she wasn't expecting two guards to approach her as if she was a grave robber. She was about to speak when they pulled down her hood and gasped.
"She must be still running on foot!" One guard exclaimed, pushing past Anzu.
The other guard nodded as he walked after his partner. "We must capture her before she leaves the city."
Confused, Anzu watched the guards disappear behind a stone house. "You had to anger the Gods, Anzu." She whispered, concealing her face under her hood again. "Or maybe that was a sign not to leave Cairo." She chuckled at her own Oracle skills. "Yes Isis, leaving Cairo was not one of my better solutions." Her face grew serious, "it's time to face Seth and...hope for the best."
Setting herself on the dirt path again, she was ready to return to the temple when she heard the guards again from around the corner. Slipping through an alley, she placed her back against a stone building and listened for their voices. She only heard the struggle of a woman.
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Reira was speechless. "It makes sense. I can see the resemblance between Reira and Yami. But, that must mean Seth is..." He gasped, eyes full of understanding. His vengeance was really toward Seth, Bel Saf's true heir to the throne.
"Answer me, Reira!"
Reira only smiled at the Pharaoh. "Some answers should lay hidden."
A bright flash soon surrounded the priest, and then, Seth appeared through the light. When Seth finally spoke, his voice was somber. "Yes, Reira is your father. Kentara wanted to keep it a secret so she wouldn't be shunned upon." He paused, taking a deep breath. "I was cared for by Reira, and you..you were left in the hands of a stranger--Bel Saf." He watched Yami shake his head in disbelief.
"I trusted Kentara," he felt the tears coming, "Seth, how can you be so calm about this?!"
"When I first found out about Kentara and Reira, I was as angry as you are now." He explained slowly, not knowing why he was comforting one of his enemies. Walking toward the doorway, he stopped to glance over at the Pharaoh. "But, maybe it was destined to happen."
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Seth stepped out of the palace, frowning. "Reira, what were you trying to do before?"
"I needed to talk to Yami alone," he answered, his voice quiet.
"I didn't ask you to have a conversation with the Pharaoh!" Seth yelled, eyes transfixed on the temple.
Marik growled to himself. "When Anzu retrieves the puzzle for me....he will be the first to taste the true wrath of the millennium rod!" Sighing, he controlled his anger forcefully. "It will not happen again."
"You better make sure of that."
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"Let me go!" The girl yelled, still struggling for her freedom.
Anzu squinted her eyes to examine the girl, but her features were unfamiliar. "I wonder what they want with her.." She whispered, watching the guards bring her toward the marketplace. "Could she be a thief?" Anzu remembered how fast the girl was running when she pushed past her.
Following the guards, Anzu started hearing the faint sound of voices--angry voices.
"NOOOOOOO!" the girl screamed as she was stripped of her cloak, only to reveal a servant uniform.
Anzu gasped. "She's a servant to royalty. I never seen her around..." Her words were lost when she saw a familiar face in the crowd. It was Prince Honda. He looked lost in his thoughts--almost deaf to the world. "What could have happened?" She listened to the crowd.
"You have disobeyed the code of conduct!" One yelled, throwing a stone at her arm. "Seducer! Prostitute!" Yelled the rest of the crowd as they started throwing stones at her. The girl only stood there, trying to hold back tears.
Anzu only looked at the girl. She was a foreigner. Tall with ivory skin, her apricot hair fell well below her shoulders. Though her eyes were closed, Anzu knew her eyes were an emerald color due to their encounter before. She was beautiful, and yet, her body was now a target for heavy mockery and stones.
"This is...horrible.." Her eyes oscillated from Honda to the girl. She now understood the crime being committed. "She's like..me..." The girl's scream awoke Anzu from her thoughts. When she turned her head, Anzu found the girl on the floor, holding her stomach in a paroxysm of tears. "This has to stop."
"NO!" She yelled, attracting a few stares from the crowd. "This girl has done no wrong. It...was me."
Now, everyone looked at Anzu.
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"I remember growing up with rumors about my birth. I would always run into my mother's chamber and repeat the story to her, but she would always tell me not to listen to their mindless talk. Now, though, I listened...and.." Standing up, Yami unconsciously paced around the room. "It was her that fed me the mindless talk. Only her." He tried to sit down, but his nerves kept him standing.
"Ra," he whispered, brushing a hand through his hair, "everything seems so confusing now." His thoughts brushed upon the incident with Anzu, but quickly jumped to Reira's poem and Seth's intrusion. "Is this all a dream?" He paused, "or maybe I'm living a dream that's become a nightmare." Trying to calm himself down, his mind drifted toward Anzu again. Soon, though, his composure was lost again. "She even thinks I'm living in a dream because I believe that we could make our relationship work."
He sighed. "Kentara and Anzu are really alike. They both have strived to protect me, but only hurt me in the end."
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"Isis, what have I done?" Anzu was frightened by the attention she had brought upon herself. Examining the crowd, she only met with the confused looks of men and women who were searching her soul for the answers. Her eyes finally met with the girl. Courage soon building up again within her, she walked through the crowd to the side of the servant.
"Yes," she swallowed hard, "I'm the one who should be punished." Gasps and whispers soon filled the air.
The girl stood up, carrying a frown upon her face. "What are you doing?" She said, in a hushed voice.
"You don't deserve this," Anzu whispered back, "you deserve to be with him."
The girl looked baffled. "How do you know--"
"Don't worry," the girl's eyebrow raised at Anzu's calm. It looked like the girl needed more convincing. "Even I need more convincing," the brunette thought as her eyes wandered through the crowd for any sign of hope. "This place is heavily guarded," she noted, eyes now on the three guards surrounding their superior. Honda. One even had his hand wrapped around his arm, almost as if stopping him from running to save his love. Sighing, her eyes continued to glide over the crowd.
"I confess for my many wrongs." She finally found what she was looking for--an opening. She grabbed the girl's hand for their escape, but continued to speak to the crowd in hopes of preoccupying them from their sudden movements. She didn't want them getting suspicious. "Now that I'm in the face of the Gods, however, I know that I'm not worthy of being forgiven." This was her chance. She had to run--now!
Squeezing on the girl's hand, she dashed toward the marketplace. "Where can we go?" Spoke Anzu, once they were quite a distance from the angry crowd. The girl, who was on her heels, shrugged her shoulders to Anzu's dismay. "That's right, she's not from here." Quickly looking ahead of her, she started seeing the apex of the palace and the temple. And then it hit her."Come on, I know where we can go."
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"Ra, please help me," the Pharaoh rubbed his temple. "I don't know what to do anymore." His thoughts turned over and over in an array of confounding images--Anzu, Kentara, Reira, Seth....and the millennium rod. "Nothing makes sense."
But, maybe, it was destined to happen
Yami shook his head, still holding his head. "How could destiny want me to live with a lie?"
"I...need to leave." He stood, legs slightly shaking from rising so quickly. "I need to clear my head."
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Delving into the garden, Anzu's eyes slightly watered at the sight. The plants, the flowers, even the wooden bench brought back the events of last night. Before she could remininsce about last night, however, she heard a quiet voice from the other side of the garden. "Why?"
She turned around. "I told you, you didn't deserve that." Her eyes lowered from the girl.
"How would you know? I--" She stopped herself, feeling ungrateful. "I'm sorry, I should be thanking you."
"No, you're right." She pulled a strand of hair behind her ear, "I'm in the same situation as you." Anzu couldn't believe she was telling her story to a stranger, but somehow, she felt she could trust her. "I love a royal very dearly, but.."
The girl put a hand on Anzu's shoulder for comfort. "You don't have to tell me, I feel the same way about Honda." Her smile brightened at the sound of his name. "He doesn't even act like a prince. He's..."
"Like us," Anzu continued, "and hates being the Ph--a royal."
The girl nodded, not noticing Anzu's mistake. "Yes, and he always treats me like...a person." She looked down at a discoloration, now forming on her arm. "It doesn't matter though." She rubbed her arm, "they don't want us to be together."
"Would you like a bandage?" Anzu asked, eyes examining her arm.
She shook her head. "Unless it's for my heart." She sniffed back a couple of tears.
There was a sad silence. "What's your name?" Anzu asked, breaking the silence.
"Shizuka." She slightly bowed her head, "servant to Prince of Simbel."
"I'm Anzu, a servant to Priest Seth." The girl looked amazed, surprised almost. "What?"
"I didn't know Priest Seth was capable of love."
Anzu raised an eyebrow, now realizing what Shizuka was saying. "No, no! I'm not in love with Seth! Nobody can break through that cold heart of his." Shizuka nodded, waiting for the real answer. "I'm in love with the....umm..." She blushed. "The Pharaoh."
Shizuka's mouth dropped. "Pharaoh Yami?! Dear Isis!" She stumbled back, hand on her mouth.
"Hold on," Anzu put a finger to her lips, looking around the garden. Her face was flushed. "I think I heard something." Shizuka bit her lip as she watched Anzu silently walk around the garden. She shook her head, looking back at Shizuka, "I thought I heard--"
"Shizuka? Is that you?" They both gasped.
"Honda?!" Shizuka called out, "It's me!" Her eyes were pleading for an answer.
Suddenly, her hopes were answered when the plants rustled quietly to reveal the Prince. "Shizuka!" he yelled, arms open to accept her embrace. She strode directly to him and wrapped herself in his arms. When he pressed his lips to hers, Anzu looked away, knowing that they deserved a moment to forget their fear and pain. Then, "thank you, Ra," came from his lips as he pulled out of Shizuka's embrace.
When Anzu turned around, she wasn't expecting to meet eyes full of thankfulness. "Prince Honda--"
"Honda," he corrected.
She nodded. "Forgive me for asking but how did you find us?"
"I followed you...and my heart." He looked at Shizuka. "I'm sorry, Shizuka, please forgive me."
"I already have."
He smiled and looked back at Anzu. "I don't know how to thank you..."
"Anzu."
He nodded, stepping forward. "You are always welcomed in my palace."
"That's very kind of you, Honda." She bowed, but he shook his head, holding her hands in his. When she looked up to meet his eyes, she saw something beyond his eyes that made her slightly gasp in surprise. "Yami..."
Once called upon, he stepped out of the shubbery. "Prince Honda."
"Pharaoh," he nodded, "always a pleasure to see you."
Yami gave an exhausted smile. "What brings you to my garden?" His question was laced with curiosity.
"It's complicated," he sighed, throwing a side-glance at Shizuka, "but Anzu helped us..."
When he turned to look at Anzu, however, he was only greeted by an Egyptian water lily.
"Anzu?"
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To be continued....