Of Egypt and Rome

by Repmet

Seto the snearing Roman Prince, Jou the defient slave from Egypt. He doesn't remember how or when he was captured, just that he was. But what happens when they go to Egypt? Jou as slave, Seto as master? Will he handle seeing loved ones? SJ

3. Hate is Mutuial

Of Egypt and Rome

Chapter 3- Hate is mutiual

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Joey groaned as he looked out over the square at night. He was shivering in the cold, his lips blue as snow fell around him. Slowly he moved one hand, listening to the deadly sound of chains clinking and closed his eyes. Rah, why did he have to end like this? This was the way he would die? Chained and helpless, someone's plaything. He bowed his head in shame, not wanting to hear his father's voice which crept into his head, invading his mind like a cloud of locust. He found himself creeping into forgotten and dieting memories, breath quickening and came in sharp gasps as he remembered

'How much for the boy?' A man asked softly, looking over Joey with beady eyes. The old drunk the was holding Joey by the back of his hair started, alcohol on his breath he asked.

'What do you mean?'

'How much for the boy? How much will you sell him for?'

Joey stared in horror as the scrawny man brought out a pouch of gold, shaking it expertly as if luring a mouse with cheese. His beady eyes watched Joey closely, face twisted in amused satisfaction. Joey whimpered, making a noise deep in the back of his throat, looking quickly at his father with fear.

The older, buff man seemed to be thinking, though greed etched all over his face. He looked down at the blond, gears slowly turning in his head. He looked back up, staring evenly at the smiley looking man. 'You want to buy my son?'

Joey heart leaped. His father would never sell him, he may be a drunk, and hit him sometimes, but he loved him. The smaller man smirked. 'Yes. How much?'

'35 gold.' His father said quickly, pushing the boy forward so he fell to his knees in the mud of the dark alley. Joey eyes widened, his breath caught in his throat. His own father would sell him as a slave. His own father did not love him. He shuttered, picking himself up steadily, only to be knocked down again by a blow from the stranger. He saw the gold exchange hands, felt himself being kicked, then hit on the head sharply. Everything was black.

Joey's eyes snapped open, he was back in the present, the clod snow forming icicles on his tear stained face. He would not fall asleep. He would not let old memories of pain and suffering defeat him, he would not die.

O0oo0O

"Seto! Are you paying attention!" The Emperor slapped his fingers sharply with a flat stick.

Seto jumped out of his stupor and rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair and resting his head on his hand. "Yes father." He drawled, looking out the window as the small snowflakes fell on the dark landscape. He sighed tracing invisible patterns on the rich wood of his desk with a finger, only half listening to his father and the senate drown on and on...never ending rumble of voices.

"As I was saying." The emperor started, glaring at his son. "I am informed that our ties with the far away heathen country of Egypt are fraying. Do you have any ideas of what we should do? I am not stupid, I understand that if there was a full fledged war, at this time, we would loose. Maybe in a few years, maybe in hundreds. But friends Rome was not built in a day and we will not try and destroy Egypt in a day either. So what do you propose we do?"

There was mumbling from the senate, they seemed to ponder what Seto's father had just said. One man stood up, re-arranging his toga. "We could perhaps get the gladiator, rally them and force them to fight in our armies in exchange for their freedom?"

"Or, we could send a diplomat to Egypt to do peace talk?"

"Perhaps if we send their kind presents, showed them that, though we may have never meet, we enjoy the friendship we have and would not like to change it?"

Seto snorted. "War, peace, friendship from afar." He shook his head. 'None will work, eventually some sort of war will happen and we will win or loose."

"I do not want to fight a war we will not win!" The emperor said loudly, glaring at Seto, who shrugged.

"But with the slaves-"

"Then who will farmer our crops? Who will serve your wife and children? Be serious Oforious, you would not live with out your slaves to work what you can not." The third man shook his head, white beard quivering slightly.

"And you think by sending simple gifts we will be able to fix broken ties? They're heathens Torio! They would not know what to do with our gifts!" Oforious argued.

Seto sighed, shaking his head from where it lay in his arms. "we need someone to go down to Egypt, someone of high rankings. From what I know of Egyptians, they are proud people, they would take gifts sent at just times of unease a offence and sign of weakness, they would be happy to fight us in a battle. We need an equal peace agreement."

The second man smiled happily. "See I told you! PEACE!" He smiled triumphantly.

Seto snorted. "For a time, yes. But who's to say when we're stronger we can't just turn around and stab them in the back?"

The emperor frowned at his son. "What are you saying Seto."

Seto shrugged, raising his head from his arms. "Now, we are too weak to fight, so we make peace only to keep ourselves and our people safe, but later, if Egypt is still a primary goal, when we are strong, we break our agreement and we attack."

"That is dishonest son." The Emperor shook his head. "Rome is honest in all ways. A king must keep all promises."

"But who's to say it'll happen in your life time? Or mine? Or Mokuba's? Or my sons? Who's to say? They would not be breaking their promise, they would be breaking yours."

"They'd be breaking a promise from Rome. That's bad politics Seto."

"I though that was politics?" Seto shrugged, getting up and yawning, he stretched. "I am young, I am stupid, what do I know? Hump. You do not need me to participate in your high diverse senate. My ideas and suggestions fall on scornful ears of old men. I'll bless you by leaving your most wise and holly presence." Seto said scornfully, giving a mock bow and turning on his heal.

"SETO!" The emperor yelled after him, though to no avail. "SETO YOU HAVE NOT BEEN EXSUCED! GET BACK HERE SON!"

Seto snorted, pushing aside the drapery that served as a door and stalking up to his rooms. Ateama stepped aside quickly, correctly intercepting his Master's fowl mood as he pushed open the door with a bang. Seto spun in the room, growling with mince. "ATEAMA! HAVE MY SLAVE BROUGHT UP TO MY ROOMS!" He yelled, throwing odd, breakable things about with great force. A glass bowel hit the floor and shattered.

O0oo0O

Joey shivered in the snow, moving for the first time in hours as he saw the familiar burly form of Ateama approaching. He looked up, face covered with soft tears that had frozen in the cold. He shivered again, his breath heavy on the air.

"The master wants you." Ateama said gruffly, pulling out a key to undo Joey's chains. "DO what he says, do not argue. Do not fight him."

"Go to hell. " Joey hissed in anger.

Ateama slapped him hard across the face. "Do not use your heathen tong here, little one, or it'll be cut out."

Joey glared, getting to his feet slowly, in order to flex his swore and frozen joints. He shook slightly, frost clinging to him. Ateama smirked, looking the shaking Egyptian over. Joey froze, following the guard's eyes, down across his chest and legs, lower and higher, his lips, his neck, his cheeks, his hips. He shivered, but this time not for the cold. "You said my master needed me." He said quickly.

Ateama snapped back to life nodded. "This way." He said, leading Joey inside. They walked through the dark stone hallways, the torches leaving large black marks on the walls above. Ateama stopped at a familiar door, knocking, then opening it slowly.

Seto grunted, telling them they could enter. Hey lay in a large metal tub, steam wafting up from the surface, only his upper body visible above the water. "What?" He snapped.

"You requested your slave?"

"Oh, yes. Boy, my back." Seto seemed unconcerned as he lay in the water.

Joey looked at Ateama confused, then to Seto. Ateama smirked, pushing a large hard bristled scrub brush into his hands. Joey nodded, walking to behind Seto and wincing slightly as he crouched down to wash the other's back. Joey sighed contentedly, enjoying the warmth that came off the bath. Ateama nodded smugly, leaving the two.

Seto winced as Joey pushed the bristles hard to scrub at Seto's back. "No so hard you fool, I want the dirt washed away, not the skin."

Joey muttered an apology under his breath and scrubbed softly. Seto shifted, sending a large amount of water spilling from the bath and into Joey's lap. Joey sigh as the warm water washed over him, but soon it turned from warm to ice cold and he was shivering again.

Seto snorted. "Fool, if it's wet take it off." He muttered, dipping himself underwater.

Joey was still fully clothed when he came up. "I'm not wearing anything under it sir." He muttered, returning to his work of washing Seto's right shoulder.

Seto shook his head. "And neither am I. Honestly, I thought they went naked in Egypt all the time."

Joey swallowed. "Slaves and commoners do sir, but I am not accustom to it."

"You're a slave now aren't you? What are you a fool? Does your pride rate your death? If you leave it on you'll catch a cold."

Joey blinked, knowing what the word 'cold' meant, but not the context it was used in. However, he heeded the other's words and pulled the toga over his head, draping it on the floor next to him to dry. He blushed scarlet, though Seto couldn't see, and his fingers gripped the brush tell they were white.

"Sing for me." Seto ordered suddenly. Shifting his shoulders as Joey scrubbed.

Joey swallowed. "What song."

"Egyptian." Seto said. "It's an interesting language, I'm greatly interested in it. Now sing."

Joey nodded slowly.

"Heave hoe my child,

Bend your back,

Heave hoe my boys,

Don't dare slack.

The Pharo in his giant temple,

Eyes as cold as steel,

He watches you,

So heave hoe my boy,

Heave hoe my slaves,

Bend your backs.

Don't look back.

Don't look back.

They say in thousands of years we'll be free,

Those who are here by birth,

But while the pharos watches you,

Bend your backs.

The prince in the temple does not know,

He does not see his fate,

The lord who's god summoned him,

Will set you free some day.

But heave your backs,

One day you'll walk free,

But Me?

I'm here to stay.

Sold as a beggar,

Beaten as a worker,

Slave never free.

So I must work,

Or I will die.

Heave hoe,

Heave hoe."

He sighed, breaking off and continuing to scrub circles on Seto's back.

"What was hat about?" Seto asked suddenly. He turned to look at Joey, frowning.

"A sad song." Joey answered, leaning back on his heals. "Just a sad song."

"Why?' Seto frowned his eyebrows.

"Because it is about two peoples who are the same, yet they each get a different end. One good, one bad." He bit his lip confused. "A prophesy about Egyptian slaves, that they will someday be free. But not all slaves fit the prophecy. Only those who follow their God." He bit his lip harder, not wanting to bring up religion.

"Really. One God?"

"Yes."

"And Jesus?"

"I do not know. All I know is that they are the same as the others, but because they believe something else they are chosen."

"Were you a slave in Egypt?"

Joey looked away, not wanting to bring back memories.

"Answer me slave." Seto said, a little more softly, but still with an edge that cut.

"Yes but not all ways."

"Yet even with this Prophesy you did not believe in that one God, didn't you want to be free?"

"A song is not enough to change my loyalties to Ra and Orsis." He closed his eyes, steadying him self for a blow that came a few seconds later.

"Remember your loyalties are to ME and MY God now." He hissed, a ring on his hand drew a cut across Joey's face and blood sprouted, slipping from the skin in an uneven sheet. Not much, but enough for Joey to wince in pain.

He bowed his head, looking off to the right of the metal tub and whipping the blood off his face. "Sorry master." He muttered, whipping the blood on his hand onto his already wet Toga.

"Yes, I'm sure" He muttered, turning back in the bath. "My shoulders are tight, rub them for me."

Joey sighed, complying without complaint and rubbing Seto's shoulders as he soaked.

O0oo0O

Seto sighed as the mussels in his shoulders loosened. The door banged open and he felt his slave behind him jump ten feet.

"SETO!" The emperor yelled, his eyes flashing at his older son, who looked up at his father evenly.

"Yes?" He asked softly, noticing his slave was now sulking back into a corner.

"If I do not excuse you from the council, you do not leave!" He yelled, towering over Seto.

"You did not need my council." Seto shrugged. "You did not care for my advice."

"But you ASK before you leave the senate!"

"Father, I am sorry." Seto said in mock sorrow. "Next time I am insulted and ridiculed in front of my face, I will ask before I angrily exit the room."

"No one was ridiculing you son, I was teaching you morals." The emperor sighed. "Do you not understand this?"

Seto snorted shaking his head. "Please."

"We did come to a conclusion, however." The Emperor said, pretending he didn't hear his son's comments. "We're making to trip to Egypt in the spring."

"We as in who?"

"We as in you and me."

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rpmet- Me evil to Seto. I'll reviews well be answered in next chapter. Esept for this one.

Q:What is a Jou-bot?

A: Something I made up. A 'Jou clone' Pretty much it's just me being goofy and give you a thing that looks like

Certificate of Birth

Jou-bot 000

Offical Joey clone

In your review. Just a stupid thing I made up! Joey MINE!